Session S01: Poster Session III (14:00-17:00)

Atomic Shannon entropies in astrophysical Lorentzian plasmas

The nonthermal effects on the Shannon entropy for the atomic states are investigated in astrophysical Lorentzian plasmas. The Shannon entropies for the ground and excited states in astrophysical Lorentzian plasmas are also obtained as functions of the spectral index, effective screening lengths, and plasma parameters including the radial and angular parts. It is shown that the nonthermal characteristics of the Lorentzian plasma suppresses the entropy changes in the ground state as well as in the excited states. In addition, it is found that the entropy change in excited states is more effective than that in the ground state in Lorentzian astrophysical plasmas.   

Impact of Neutron Induced Fission on r-process Nucleosynthesis Calculations

Recent evidence indicates that the r process, which is responsible for the creation of the heaviest elements in the universe, occurs at the site of a neutron star merger. Within such merger environments fission has the potential to be greatly influential on abundance yields of nucleosynthesis calculations. We perform sensitivity studies that look at how changing individual neutron induced fission rates and yields affect the abundances of such calculations. We do this for two distinct sets of theoretical nuclear data (based on FRDM 2012 and HFB-17 masses, respectively) and then relate the result to the fission barrier predictions for both models. Additionally, we perform Monte Carlo variations of all of the fission rates to determine the potential uncertainty range in these nucleosynthesis calculations given two distinct fission yield prescriptions (simple symmetric split and GEF). We find that varying the properties of neutron induced fission have a dramatic impact on r-processes nucleosynthesis yields and require further study.   

Jupiter, Mars, Asteroid Belt, Dark Comet Belt And New Impacted Extinctio

Mars is boundary of the terrestrial planet; Jupiter is boundary of the Jovian planet; there is a asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. The asteroid belt is a balanced area between the sun and the dark sun in solar system; there also is a balanced area as a belt of the dark comets between the sun and the dark sun in dark solar system and there is a balanced area between the solar system and the dark solar system too. When the balanced structure of the system periodic changed, both orbit of Mars and Jupiter which has 9%deviation for the systemic orbit of the planets, would be changed more. Sometime, both of asteroids of the asteroid belt and the dark comets of the dark comets belt would be changed orbits to impact to our earth, and periodic mass extinction would becaused. A new periodic, they are impacting to our earth and are causing nextmass extinction \underline {http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2009.MAR.C1.241}   

Buoyant Centre of Dark Matter Is A Focus of Elliptic Orbit of Planet

A spring force explains a negative gravity of the dark matter, and the spring force equals buoyant force, and there is a buoyant center of the dark matter of the solar system which is one focus of the elliptic orbit of the planets (the other focus is the sun). Inertial force is a force of a spacetime structure of the dark matter; and gravity is a force of a massenergy structure of the matter. The equivalence principle is a relationship that the force of a spacetime structure (as the first driving force) equals the force of a massenergy structure A equation of a balanced system between the force of a spacetime structure and the force of a massenergy structure decides the equation of the elliptic orbit of the planets. ``SPACETIME STRUCTURE, MASSENERGY?STRUCTURE, AND EXPLANATION OF HUBBLE'S REDSHIFT, DARK MATTER, AND DARK ENERGY'' \subsubsection{http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/APR19/Session/G16.9} \label{subsubsec:mylabel1} ``New Einstein Field Equation Explain of Structure of Fluid'' \subsubsection{http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/APR18/Session/F01.48} \subsubsection{``MEST- there is a dark hole around solar system''} \label{subsubsec:mylabel2} \underline {http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2015.APR.L1.2}   

Gravitational instability on propagation of MHD waves in astrophysical plasma

We determine the general dispersion relation for the propagation of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves in astrophysical plasma by considering the effect of gravitational instability and viscosity with anisotropic pressure tensor and heat-conducting plasma. Basic MHD equations have been derived and linearized by the method of perturbation to develop the general form of dispersion relation equation. Our result indicates that the transverse propagation of waves in such a plasma is affected by the inclusion of heat conduction. For wave propagation, parallel to the magnetic field direction, we find that the fairhose mode is unaffected, whereas the mode corresponding to the gravitational instability is modified in astrophysical plasma with anisotropic pressure tensor being stable in the presence of viscosity and strong magnetic field at considerable wavelength.   

A HaloSat Analysis of the Cygnus Superbubble

The Cygnus Superbubble (CSB) is a large structure near the plane of the galaxy. The region is roughly 450 parsecs in diameter and glows in the soft X-ray band. Such a massive X-ray structure may be the result of a combination of stellar winds and supernovae or a hypernova. As Cygnus is in the direction of the local spiral arm, determining if the CSB is a cohesive object or a line of sight composite is vital to understanding its nature. HaloSat was used to take X-ray observations of different sections of the CSB in the 0.4-7.0 keV band. The spectra produced by these observations were analyzed to determine temperatures and column densities in order to probe the cohesive nature of the CSB.   

Green Function for the Poisson Equation in a General Case of Astrophysical Interest

This paper suggests an exact solution of the Poisson equation that appears in the calculation of the gravitational potential of spiral galaxies. We use the finite integral transformation technique to find an analytical solution to the problem in cylindrical coordinates. The final solution is presented as an expansion of the functions of the corresponding Sturm-Liouville problem. The green function of the problem is found. Using the density of Miyamoto-Nagai that is used to study disk galaxies; the gravitational potential can be calculated and the rotation curve of our Milky Way can be found.   

ABSTRACT WITHDRAWN

ABSTRACT WITHDRAWN   

Calculation for imaging unknown objects by cosmic-ray muons

Cosmic-ray imaging is a nondestructive detection technology that is studied to detect unknown objects. Transmission and scattering imaging schemes are investigated. The transmission scheme uses a multilayer detector to measure the direction of a cosmic ray passing through an object. The scattering scheme involves placing two detectors upstream and downstream of the cosmic ray to record the incident and exit directions of the muon passing through the object. The effect of the detector resolution on the imaging clarity of transmission imaging is studied. The applicable scenarios of the two schemes are analyzed. The calculation results show that transmission imaging of hundred-meter objects can achieve a spatial resolution of 2.5 m and a density resolution of 1.1 g/cm3. Scattering imaging is mainly suitable for meter-level objects, and a 0.1 m chamber and heavy metals in rock can be distinguished.   

HaloSat Observations of the Vela and Puppis A Supernova Remnants

The Vela and Puppis A supernova remnants (SNRs) comprise a large emission region of $\sim$8$^{\circ}$ diameter in the soft X-ray sky. The Vela SNR is a nearby (250 pc) middle-aged SNR around 11.4 kyr old that has a large angular size due to its close proximity. The Puppis A SNR is a distant (2.2 kpc) middle-aged SNR between 3.7 and 4.45 kyr old. The HaloSat CubeSat mission provides the first soft X-ray (0.4-7 keV) observation of the entire Vela SNR at moderate spectral resolution. We report on the best-fit spectral models of each SNR and the X-ray luminosities of the Vela and Puppis A SNRs. HaloSat spectra of the Vela SNR are best fit with a two-temperature optically-thin thermal plasma model with a cooler component in collisional ionization equilibrium and a hotter, non-equilibrium component. Puppis A SNR spectra are best fit with a plane-parallel shocked plasma model with a single non-equilibrium component.   

The Magnetorotational Instability Prefers Three Dimensions

The magnetorotational instability occurs when a weak magnetic field destabilises a rotating, electrically conducting fluid with inwardly increasing angular velocity. The MRI is essential to astrophysical disk theory where the shear is typically Keplerian. We show that the fastest growing modes of an ideal magnetofluid are 3D provided the shear rate, $S$, is near the 2D onset value, $S_c$. For a Keplerian shear, three-dimensional modes are unstable above $S \approx 0.10 S_c$, and dominate the two-dimensional modes until $S \approx 2.05 S_c$. These three-dimensional modes dominate for shear profiles relevant to stars and at magnetic Prandtl numbers relevant to liquid-metal laboratory experiments. Significant numbers of rapidly growing three-dimensional modes remain well past $2.05 S_c$. These finding are significant in three ways. First, weakly nonlinear theory suggests that the MRI saturates by pushing the shear rate to its critical value. This can happen for systems such as stars and lab experiments that can rearrange their angular velocity profiles. Second, the non-normal character and large transient growth of MRI modes should be important whenever three-dimensionality exists. Finally, three- dimensional growth suggests direct dynamo action driven from the linear instability.   

The HAWC AGN survey: four years of data

Active galactic nuclei are prolific sources of GeV gamma rays bound to play a preponderant role as extragalactic particle accelerators. Their study at TeV energies is limited to the nearby Universe due to the interaction of high energy photons with infrared extragalactic background light. The HAWC gamma-ray observatory, an extensive air shower array located at 4100m in central Mexico, has surveyed 2/3 of the sky at TeV energies since early 2015, with enough sensitivity to detect the Crab Nebula in single transits. HAWC upper-limits on TeV long-term emission from AGN constrain the extrapolation of the Fermi-LAT measurements for a number of AGN. An update on the HAWC follow-up study of a redshift limited sample of AGN drawn for the Fermi-LAT 3FHL catalog will be given.   

The First Look at an Eclipsing Polar: V1309 Orionis

V1309 Orionis is a unique magnetic cataclysmic variable system that was recently observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) with a cadence of two minutes over a period of four weeks. These observations are the first uninterrupted look at an eclipsing polar. The data show that the orbital light curve contains two humps and a deep eclipse over an 8 hour orbital period. The structure of the orbital waveform is suggestive of ellipsoidal variation, but the maxima near quadrature have different amplitudes that vary independently of each other. The mid-eclipse timings and brightnesses are studied to seek evidence for systematic changes across orbits. The duration of observation also allows for the study of the stability of this accretion rate. Additionally, the trailed power spectrum shows intermittent quasi-periodic oscillations near a frequency of 112 cycles per day.~   

New data on the space curvature may support a non- inflationary geometrical solution for the horizon problem

Encouraged by the recent Planck data, which suggests that the Universe is curved and closed, we are presenting new results on our alternative interpretation of the CMB uniformity [1]. Within the $\Lambda $CDM model supplemented in the spherical space with an additional perfect fluid with the constant parameter 1/3 in the linear equation of state, there is an elegant solution of the horizon problem without inflation. Under the proper parameter choice, light travels between the antipodal points during the age of the Universe. Thus, one can suggest that the observed CMB radiation originates from a very limited spatial region. Consequently, the CMB uniformity can be explained without the inflationary scenario. In addition, this removes any constraints on the uniformity of the Universe at the early stage and opens a possibility that the Universe was not uniform and that the creation of galaxies and large structures may be caused by the inhomogeneities that originated in the Big Bang. We reach the agreement with the supernovae data at the same level of accuracy as within the $\Lambda $CDM model and show that changing the amplitude of the initial power spectrum one can adjust the proposed cosmological model to the CMB anisotropy and that the discussed change is inside the experimentally allowed constrains. [1] B. Vlahovic, M. Eingorn, C. Ilie, Modern Physics Letters A, 30, 1530026 (2015).   

Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter Models: The X-Ray Line and Small-Scale Structure

Recent X-ray observations of galaxies and galaxy clusters may be evidence of sterile neutrino dark matter with a mass of 7.1 keV. However, the simplest production mechanism for this dark matter candidate produces dark matter spectra that are in tension with observed large scale structure. In this poster, we examine a variety of sterile neutrino dark matter models, including a variety of active-sterile neutrino coupling schemes and mixed dark matter models, comprised of both sterile neutrinos and cold dark matter. We assess the compatibility of these models with observation by calculating cosmological observables resulting from these production mechanisms.   

Jovian Planets Have Center of Spacetime Structur

In 2009, the new idea that Jovian planets have a center of spacetime had brought forward Jovian planets have more density of spacetime (spacetime/massenergy) than Terrestrial planet'; and Terrestrial planets have more density of massenergy (massenergy/spacetime) than Jovian planets' A fluid has more density of spacetime (spacetime/massenergy) than solidity's; a solidity has more density of massenergy (massenergy/spacetime) than the one of the fluid. Spacetime has a spacetime structure and a center of the spacetime structure; massenergy has a massenergy structure and a center of the massenergy structure. The dark matter and dark energy also have a center of the spacetime structure. \textbf{Mass, Energy, Space And Time System Theory---MEST A way to help our earth} http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2009.APR.E1.33   

Using a String Derived cMSSM to analyze regions of the Parameter Space to Find Dark Matter Candidates

We identify the neutralino, a potential dark matter candidate by analyzing parameter spaces using the dark matter computational model, MicroOmegas. We use a string theory based derived Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Model(cMSSM) to mitigate the issue of naturalness and fine-tuning. Our results will determine whether the neutralino can be found at the electroweak scale.   

Isolated galaxy simulations in the multicomponent DM model with full baryonic feedback

The conventional LCDM model is highly successful at describing the large-scale structure formation of the universe. However, tensions of LCDM on small -- galactic and sub-galactic -- scales indicate that slight modifications to the DM physics may be needed. The simplest two-component DM (2cDM) model with inelastic interactions has recently been shown to robustly resolve the small-scale problems in N-body cosmological DM-only simulations [1,2]. Here we further explore the model in an isolated galaxy simulations with the full, state-of-the-art baryonic feedback used in IllustrisTNG simulations. Our preliminary results show that the inelastic DM interactions lead to certain heating of the central parts of the galaxy akin to the effect of the stellar and SN outflow feedback. We discuss observational predictions following from our study. [1,2] K. Todoroki, M.V. Medvedev, MNRAS, 483, 3983 (2019); MNRAS, 483, 4004 (2019)   

Constraining the properties of dark matter particles through gravitational wave observations of Binary Black Hole mergers in Advanced LIGO

Dissipative dark matter models predict the formation of Dark Black Holes through sufficient cooling and collapse of dark matter halos in the universe. Such black holes could form binary systems that could merge and emit gravitational waves. Binary Dark Black Hole systems with merger times shorter than the age of the universe could be observed with existing and future gravitational wave detectors. In [1], Shandera et al estimated the expected event rates for dark black hole mergers that could be observed by Advanced LIGO and the Einstein Telescope for a range of dark black hole model parameters. Here, we wish to constrain the properties of dark matter particles like the dark proton mass, dark electron mass, etc. using the observed / reported event rates from Advanced LIGO for binary black hole systems in the sub-solar mass range. We explore how the mass distribution of these binary systems is related to the merger times and event rates observed with LIGO, which can in turn help us constrain the parameters of the model. [1] Shandera, Sarah {\&} Jeong, Donghui {\&} Gebhardt, Henry. (2018). Gravitational Waves from Binary Mergers of Sub-solar Mass Dark Black Holes. Physical Review Letters. 120. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.241102.   

Principal Component Analysis For The Dark Sector

The physics of dark matter is still poorly understood, although its effects are evident in the angular power spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature map. Because there is not currently a preferred physical model of dark matter, a model-independent description is more justified, an example being the Generalized Dark Matter (GDM) formalism. In GDM, dark matter is a fluid whose equation of state is a free function of time, and whose sound speed is a free function of time and wavenumber. This formalism can be applied in a finite-dimensional setting by expanding each of the GDM functions (the sound speed and equation of state) in a basis of functions, and treating the expansion coefficients as model parameters. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) can be used to reduce the dimensionality of high-dimensional data, and so is a natural way to find structure in the GDM parameter space. An approximate simulation of fluid perturbations before recombination is implemented, which has two fluids: a coupled photon/baryon fluid and a GDM fluid. This model is used to compute a prediction of the CMB power spectrum. PCA is used to identify the functional components of the equation of state and sound speed which have the most influence on the CMB power spectrum when varied.   

Searching for Axion Dark Matter Below 1 micro-eV: the Dark Matter Radio

The Dark Matter Radio Cubic Meter (DMRadio-m$^3$) is an experiment to search for QCD axion dark matter over more than 1.5 orders of magnitude in mass, from 20 neV to $0.8_eV$, including substantial coverage of the two benchmark QCD axion models (referred to as KSVZ and DFSZ). The QCD axion, originally proposed as a solution to the strong CP problem in QCD, is one of the most strongly motivated candidates for dark matter. The design for DMRadio-m$^3$ is being developed under the DOE Dark Matter New Initiatives program. The DM Radio Collaboration brings together the teams that developed both the ABRACADABRA-10cm experiment and the DM Radio Pathfinder experiment. In this mass range, dark-matter is probed by the signals induced in lumped-element electromagnetic resonators. I will describe the design of DMRadio-m$^3$, as well as a related experiment, DMRadio-50L, which will probe axion-like particles and hidden photons at masses below 10 neV. These experiments both utilize lumped-element resonators to couple to dark-matter-induced signals.   

Probing Dark Matter Throughout Cosmic History

I will review the status of cosmological searches for dark matter-baryon interactions, summarizing the best current limits on scattering of sub-GeV particle candidates with protons derived from the CMB anisotropy measurements. I will then present stringent new bounds on the same physics, inferred recently from the observed population of the Milky Way satellite galaxies. I will highlight complementarities between different observations and discuss the prospects for the coming decade, especially in context of the next-generation CMB observations.   

Is There a Dark Matter in Solar System

There are two illogicality ideas. One, there is a lower density of matter of the universe (than the solar system's) for explaining an observation of the flat structure of the universe. Two, there is an observation of 96% dark matter and dark energy in the universe, but there is not more dark matter and dark energy in the solar system The new idea defines the spacetime is wave, and it is the dark matter and dark energy. And the dark matter has negative gravity. That can explain the flat structure of the universe by a balanced structure between matter and dark matter. The matter likes boats, and the dark matter likes water. There is dark matter in the solar system which floats in the dark matter. And they build up a balanced (structure) system \subsubsection{Spacetime Structure, Massenergy?Structure, and Explanation of Hubble's Redshift, Dark Matter, and Dark Energy} \label{subsubsec:spacetime} \underline {http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/APR19/Session/G16.9} \subsubsection{New Einstein Field Equation Explain of Structure of Fluid} \underline {http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/APR18/Session/F01.48}   

Our Experiments Support My Hypothesis of The Dark Radiations of Dark Matte

The dark matter is spacetime, the spacetime is waves, and waves have a probability effect of spacetime structure. (a negative gravity of the dark matter is one kind of spring force of spring waves.) The center of dark matter has dark radiations (dark black body radiation) of the massenergy field which is different from black body radiation. The dark radiation has a probability effect of spacetime structure which can change the output voltages at the same changed rate in our experiment. That is a method of observation of dark matter The dark radiation is a cold and a slow wave, and it is another kind of the gravitational wave The other hypothesis is the experimental objects (photoelectric system) can understand the orders of the thinking of the experimenter. See Dayong Cao, ``Spacetime Structure, Massenergy Structure, and Explanation of Hubble's Redshift, Dark Matter, and Dark Energy'' and``Bio-wave change photo-voltages of the solar cells at same changed rate by probability effect of spacetime structur'' \underline {http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/APR19/Session/G16.9} \underline {http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR17/Session/R5.9}   

Scalar Field Dark Matter: Developing Galactic Simulations

The matter we see in our universe accounts for less than 20 percent of all matter, and the rest is a type of matter that does not interact electromagnetically, called Dark Matter. We don't have much evidence for what Dark Matter is yet, but one promising model is as a scalar field. However, it is computationally expensive to numerically evolve the Klein Gordon equation, which describes scalar fields. One way of tackling this problem is to instead work with the Schrodinger equation, which is a non-relativistic approximation of a scalar field. We have been investigating whether this is a good approximation to make for Dark Matter, using codes that model Dark Matter on both a cosmic and galactic scale. Here we will discuss how we have been looking at modeling galactic Dark Matter halos, and how this has begun to shine light on possible issues with our calculations of Newtonian Gravity.   

Probing ultra-light axion dark matter with the kinetic SZ effect

We derive mean pairwise velocity spectra as obtained from observations of the kinetic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect for cosmological models with scale-dependent growth arising in the context of ultra-light axions (ULAs). Such scalar particles with masses in the range $10^{-33} [Preview Abstract]

A Standard Model Mechanism for Dark Energy Based on Hubble Length Frozen Fermions.

Universal expansion forces all space apart at such a rate that any information on one end of a Hubble length can never reach the other. Any fermion having a wavelength scaling with the Hubble length is then effectively frozen in place as one side can never reach the other. In other words, a trough can never reach a crest such that all ultra-low energy fermions are then forced to be stationary. Being fermions, their antisymmetric wave functions give rise to the Pauli exclusion principle so that any portion of overlapping wave functions which might otherwise be indistinguishable would then push each other to perturb any changeable quantum number to allow conservation of fermion number. This can be described as a minimal orthogonal overlap condition but for identical fermions, the obvious properties which can be changed while obeying all conservation laws becomes that of energy and/or position. The small and limited push from one frozen fermion on another due to the Pauli exclusion principle then serves as a force from one to the other. With these fermions being coupled to the Hubble length, it is assumed that just as the Hubble length can pull on these fermions, they can in turn push on the same giving rise to a universal expansion property effectively being a dark energy force. Reference; Hayes RB. (2017) A standard model approach to dark energy and inflation. J. Cosmology 26, pp 14850-14859..   

Backreaction effects in initially contracting models of the Universe

The effects of radiation and particle production due to a massive conformally coupled scalar field on the evolution of the Universe are considered for models in which the universe initially contracts. The stress-energy tensor for the massive scalar field is renormalized using adiabatic regularization. This introduces higher derivative terms in the semiclassical backreaction equations which result in extra solutions that can often be physically unrealistic. A method similar to that of order reduction is used to remove the extra solutions.   

Spacetime Spatial Dimensions - Why are There Three?

One of the first lessons in physics tells us how to represent our spacetime's three spatial dimensions in mathematical terms. As we advanced our understanding of physics, we devised new theories that required more and more spacetime dimensions to better represent what is being proposed as physical reality. And yet the only reality that is experimentally demonstrable is the three spatial dimensions of spacetime. It is mathematically expedient to add theoretical dimensions into theories for the purpose of trying to make a theory ``work'', and yet these theories still fall short. Perhaps this approach needs to be reconsidered. It may be more helpful if we first knew how a spatial dimension in spacetime comes to exist. If spatial dimensions are a consequence of dark energy, then it would seem unlikely that we could just artificially add more dimensions by the flick of a pencil. Understanding how a spatial dimension is created may answer why spacetime has only three spatial dimensions. Accurately determining the creation of a dimension with a new understanding of its mathematical representation can then be used to advance new theories.   

Sephirot Genesis Cosmogony Scenario: "Big-Bang" Thom Double-Cusp Catastrophe: Physics(Effects/Something)+(Its Root-Cause Mathematics Pre-Physics/"Nothing") "Meta"

[In reverse chronology nearly(Planck-time) simultaneously]:(B)Physics:(9)SUSY/Higgs BEC symmetries-breaking.(8)Guth exponential-inflation intersects dim=0=t ordinate axis at (0,1)[terminated/ongoing/cyclic].(7)BEC to Nambu(60)BEC quantum-vacuum (3+1) spacetime.(6)Mermin-Wagner theorem BEC space-dimension expansion 0->3(at least)["by whose command dimensions open up"[Maariv]] with boson-pressure in (3+1)-dimension lightcone.(5)exponential-inflation intersection with ordinate=time-dimension at (0,1)[cusp #2].(4)bosons-singularity in time:1/[exp(00)=-1]=dim=0=t.(A)"Meta":(3)dim(0->9=digits(0->9).(2)1/[exp(w~

QED Plasma at Finite Temperature up to Two Loops

We study the vacuum polarization tensor of QED (quantum electrodynamics) up to the two loop level and its effect on the propagation of particles in QED medium. One loop corrections to QED coupling vanish at low temperatures (T\textless 10$^{\mathrm{10\thinspace }}$ K), but they are significant at high temperature ( T\textgreater 10$^{\mathrm{10\thinspace }}$ K). Due to the small contributions, higher loop corrections do not affect the convergence of perturbative series, and renormalizability of QED is guaranteed around neutrino decoupling temperature, at least. We use the renormalization scheme of QED at finite temperature in real-time formalism to study the dynamically generated mass of photon indicating the plasmon production in such a medium. Temperature dependence of QED plasma parameters is then calculated up to the two loop level.   

Approximate Analytical Solutions to the Quantum Kinetic Equations in the Early Universe

The quantum kinetic equations (QKEs) self-consistently describe the coherent quantum mechanical evolution and kinetic evolution induced by the scattering of particles. We solved the QKEs numerically for neutrinos in the hot and dense early universe where both neutrino flavor oscillation and scattering are important in the evolution of the neutrino states. The results show that the neutrino states reach an approximate “equilibrium” where the coherent and scattering effects balance. In this poster, we present approximate analytical solutions to the QKEs in this environment to better quantify and understand these numerical results.   

Out-of Equilibrium Decays in the Early Universe: $N_{eff}$ and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

The hot and dense early universe combined with the promise of high-precision cosmological observations provide an intriguing laboratory for Beyond Standard Model physics. We simulate the early universe around the time of weak decoupling to explore the effects of the existence of massive sterile neutrino states and their decay into Standard Model particles on the Cosmic Neutrino Background and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN). These particle decays create a population of high-energy out-of-equilibrium active neutrinos that can be constrained by their inferred value of $N_{eff}$, the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom. This work looks to identify sterile neutrino properties that are consistent with $N_{eff}$ observations and to discuss the implications of the high-energy neutrino population on BBN yields and the relic neutrino background.   

Circular Polarization Survey Results of the CLASS Telescope

There are several predictions for the circularly polarized (Stokes V) emission of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), but few experimental constraints have been made. The Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS) is conducting a multi-frequency CMB polarization survey covering 75\% of the sky. Though its primary goal is measuring CMB linear polarization, CLASS also has explicit sensitivity to circular polarization due to its Variable-delay Polarization Modulator (VPM) technology. With this sensitivity, we are able to present new constraints on circular polarization.   

What is a Void? The Systematic Impact of Galaxy Void-Finding Algorithms on Studies of Large-Scale Structure

Voids are expansive regions in the universe containing significantly fewer galaxies than surrounding galaxy clusters and filaments. Voids are a fundamental feature of the cosmic web, and provide important information about galaxy physics and cosmology. For example, correlations between voids and luminous tracers of large-scale structure improve constraints on the expansion of the universe compared to using tracers alone. However, the definition of a void can be vague and may differ significantly between void-finding algorithms. In this work we systematically compare several void finders and describe the relative strengths and weaknesses of each algorithm for cosmology and environmental studies. We quantify the impact of the definition of a void on cosmological parameters using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (data releases 7 and 12) and simulated surveys from the upcoming Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument.   

Hubble Tension: Can Dark Energy in the Early Universe Resolve the Issue?

Understanding the origin of the discrepancy between the value of Hubble constant derived from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiations data using the Lambda Cold Dark Matter Model, and that calculated from the experimental observations of supernovae I and pulsating stars is an outstanding problem in cosmology. One of the approaches to resolve this controversy is to use new form of dark energy in the early universe and integrate it into the Lambda Cold Dark Matter model. These studies will present theoretical calculations on the values of the Hubble constant obtained using the different mathematical forms of dark energy. The outcome of these studies will be discussed in the context of Hubble Tension problem.   

Improved Modeling of EMRI Signal Confusion Noise for LISA

Scattering events around a supermassive black hole (SMBH) will occasionally toss a stellar-mass compact object (CO) into a highly eccentric orbit around the SMBH, this is known as an extreme mass ratio inspiral (EMRI). A single source of highly eccentric EMRIs is not likely to be detectable because gravitational waves are only emitted when the CO is very close to the SMBH. However, If we consider an ensemble of such sources, spread across the Universe, together they produce an unresolvable background noise that may obscure sources otherwise detectable by LISA, the proposed space-based gravitational wave detector. A previous study of this EMRI signal confusion background used a Newtonian order approximation and older models of SMBH and compact object populations. We seek to improve this characterization by implementing a frequency domain, Teukolsky based code (where necessary augmented by a semi-relativistic approach) that can calculate highly eccentric orbits. Further, our group has used Illustris, a cosmological simulation software package, to improve on previous population models. Here we present some of the preliminary results of this study.   

Novel Constraints on Un-Modeled Physics in LIGO's First and Second Observing Runs

We present a flexible model to describe the effects of generic deviations of observed gravitational wave (GW) signals from model waveforms in the LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave detectors. With the detection of 11 gravitational wave events during LIGO's first and second observing runs, we are able to constrain possible deviations from our modeled waveforms and general relativity. In this paper we present our model that describes the deviations generically as interpolated spline functions in frequency space for the amplitude and phase deviations. We then choose to validate our model on two phenomenological, astrophysically motivated departures in waveforms, for both the high mass Binary Black Hole (BBH) mergers and low mass Binary Neutron Star / Neutron Star-Black Hole(BNS / NSBH) merger regimes. We find the model is capable of recovering the deviations we simulated to a great detail. We then analyze the entire GWTC-1 catalog of events with our model and find that there is no significant posterior support that there are departures present from the modeled template waveforms.   

Observing and Modeling Ultracompact Binaries Detectable by LISA

Many binary stellar remnants emit both gravitational and electromagnetic radiation as they rapidly orbit each other in ultracompact binary systems (UCBs). According to general relativity, UCBs strongly emit low frequency gravitational-waves (GW) detectable by the future Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). Current and upcoming long baseline time domain surveys such as the Zwicky Transient Facility and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope will observe many of these UCBs. To predict and verify UCB GW detections and maximize LISA's scientific potential, it is necessary to both identify these UCBs in long baseline surveys and conduct follow-up observations of UCB candidates. We present a new fast periodic object search tool, GPU-Accelerated Conditional Entropy (gce), which searches time domain photometry for periodic sources over both periods and the time derivative of the period. To demonstrate this tool and constrain the range of UCBs we expect to be detectable, we simulate a catalog of gravitational waveforms and light curves for white dwarf UCBs in decaying orbits generated from Galactic binary population modeling. We also present follow-up observations of UCB candidates using Palomar Observatory's Triple Spectrograph and Kitt Peak's Electron Multiplying CCD.   

Piecewise Polytrope Parameterization for Neutron Star Equation of State

With an average mass of 1.4 times that of the sun, yet with only an average radius of 10 kilometers, neutron stars are highly dense remains of dead stars. Such mass within such a small volume leads neutron stars to take up a form of exotic matter that cannot be replicated in a laboratory. It is possible, however, to probe the neutron star equation of state (an unconstrained relationship between pressure and density for neutron star matter) through gravitational-wave observations of binary neutron star mergers. The LIGO-Virgo network has already detected two such events: GW170817 and GW190425. I have developed software to model the neutron star equation of state as a dynamic piecewise polytope and started incorporating this software into the LIGO Scientific Collaboration's flagship parameter estimation software package. The finished program will provide another way to measure the neutron star EOS from a gravitational wave observation of colliding neutron stars.   

Computational Study of Formation and Growth of Black Holes.

The recent advances in physics.in detecting gravitational waves call for more detailed computational research on the formation and the growth of black holes of different sizes. The focus of our work is on the formation of black holes (BHs) by the failure of Core Collapse Supernovae (CCSN). We use an adaption of the computational techniques, based on the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkof (TOV) equations, used by researchers such as O'Connor and Orr to raise the maximum mass of the proto-neutron star (PNS) 32{\%} above the cold PNS value, due to the thermal pressure support in the outer PNS core, Our calculations take into account the effects of progenitor rotations Our models incorporate the full Boltzmann transport and the effects of multi-dimensional dynamics. We examine the implications of our results for the mechanisms for the formations of supermassive black holes (SMBH).y.   

Force free states in magnetofluid formalism and eruptive events

Magnetofluid formalism captures the dynamics of multi-species ideal hot plasma by treating the electromagnetic and flow field in an equal footing. For certain class of flows near black hole, the momentum evolution equation in this formalism has a structure similar to the source-free ideal MHD ohm's law. As a result, the evolution equation of vorticity, which is a now a combination of magnetic field and flow vorticity, is source-free and the topological invariant helicity is conserved for arbitrary thermodynamics. The steady state solutions of this equation have been extensively studied in classical and special relativistic systems. We present two such solutions near black hole horizon: (i) a diamagnetic solution where the vortical field is completely expelled from the interior of the plasma and (ii) a Beltrami solution which predicts the alignment of vortical field lines and plasma flow near black hole. In order to do so, we first extend the model to appropriately incorporate GR into the formalism and use 3$+$1 formalism to cast the momentum and vorticity equation into the familiar 3D equations. We predict that if any large scale magnetic or velocity field structure near black hole can be modeled as Beltrami field, the loss of such states can be associated with events such as outflows and jet production near black holes.   

Building CCSN Explosion Simulation with Spectral Two-Moment Neutrino Transport Using FLASH

We are developing the toolkit for high-order neutrino-radiation hydrodynamics (thornado) to simulate in an efficient and robust manner core-collapse supernova (CCSN) explosions. thornado implements spectral two-moment neutrino transport with a high-order discontinuous Galerkin method and implicit-explicit time stepping. More details of our numerical methods are presented in previous publications\footnote{Endeve et al. 2015, JCP, {287}, 151-183}\footnote{Chu et al. 2019, JCP, {389},62-93}. WeakLib\footnote{WeakLib: https://github.com/starkiller-astro/weaklib} is a microphysics library that provides input microphysics (equations of state (EoS) and neutrino opacities) by table interpolation. thornado and WeakLib have been coupled with FLASH\footnote{Fryxell et al. 2000, AJSS, 131.1, 273} as external libraries. With this enhanced FLASH code, we hope to simulate CCSN explosions in multiple dimensions with self gravity, hydrodynamics, spectral two-moment neutrino transport, the Steiner, Hempel and Fischer (SFHo)\footnote{Steiner et al. 2010, Astro. J., 722(1), p.33} EoS, and ``Bruenn~85"\footnote{Bruenn, S. W. 1985, AJSS, {58}, 771-841} neutrino opacities. Here we present select physically motivated test problems and preliminary results from gravitational collapse.   

Spectral analysis of the Weibel turbulence with PIC simulations

The filamentation (Weibel) instability is ubiquitous in energetic astrophysical systems, such as in collisionless shocks of gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, relativistic jets, accretion shocks in galaxy clusters and others. It is generated in weakly-magnetized environments, where the initial magnetic energy density is well below equipartition, and with anisotropic particle distribution function in momentum space. Radiation from the Weibel-generated, sub-Larmor-scale magnetic fields, known as the jitter radiation, differs significantly from the cyclotron or synchrotron radiation. In particular, the radiation spectrum carries much information about the magnetic field properties, as is shown in both theoretical and numerical studies. We perform simulations of the Weibel instability with the state-of-the-art PIC simulations. Next, we perform spectral analysis of the produced turbulent state which includes electromagnetic and fast magnetosonic modes. Thus, our analysis is the first, truly first-principles study of the Weibel turbulence state. We discuss our numerical techniques and present preliminary results.   

Repeating FRBs from Low-twist Magnetars

I will discuss the recently-published magnetospheric model for repeating FRBs generated during short bursts in magnetars with low-twist magnetospheres. We propose FRBs arise during common magnetar short bursts from field dislocations in the inner magnetsophere where pair cascades violently ensue. I will detail current observational evidence supporting the model. We formulate an inversion protocol which directly relates the power-law distribution index of magnetar short burst fluences to that for FRBs. The protocol indicates the FRB energy scales virtually linearly with crust/field dislocation amplitude, if magnetar short bursts prevail in the magnetoelastic regime. We predict a relatively narrow energy distribution for recurrences in repeating FRBs. Requiring magnetic confinement and charge starvation, we obtain a death line for FRBs which segregates magnetars from the normal pulsar population. We convolve the burst energy distribution for individual magnetars to define the distribution of luminosities in evolved magnetar populations.   

Using Machine Learning to Identify Astrophysical Transients in the DESI Survey

During the next five years, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will carry out a massive redshift survey of more than 30 million galaxies and quasars, mapping the large scale structure of the universe out to a redshift of 3. During the survey we expect that many of these objects will contain bright transients such as supernovae, tidal disruption events (TDEs), and compact binaries that contaminate the spectra of the host galaxies. The identification of transients is thus important not only to ensure correct estimates of the host redshifts, but also because it provides an opportunity to obtain “serendipitous” spectra of the transients themselves. Spectroscopic classification is the “gold standard” in the categorization of transients, making these discoveries invaluable when combined with data from large photometric surveys. We have developed machine learning tools to identify and classify transients in galaxy spectra measured with DESI. In this contribution we describe these tools, characterize their performance using simulated spectra, and estimate the sensitivity of DESI to several types of astrophysical and cosmologically interesting transients.   

Quantifying the Lag-Luminosity Relationship in Gamma-Ray Bursts

Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic explosions in the universe, releasing energy on the order of 10$^{\mathrm{52}}$ ergs in the form of gamma rays. Two classes of GRBs, the short duration (SGRB), and the long-duration (LGRB) classes have been so far confirmed to exist. Unlike SGRBs, the light-curves of LGRBs typically exhibit temporal lags at different energies. A potentially-strong negative correlation between the intrinsic brightness and the lightcurve's lag at different energies for this class has been also observed and hypothesized to exist. The extent to which this relationship holds, however, has been the subject of debates due to the lack of information about the redshifts for the majority of the observed GRBs. In this work, we further quantify the strength and the validity of this relation. We achieve our goal by first quantifying the observed spectral lags of GRBs in the largest catalog of GRBs available to this date: the BATSE catalog and second, by mapping the computed GRB lags and brightness to the cosmological rest-frame of these events. Our findings indicate that the originally-proposed strong correlation between the lag and the luminosity of LGRBs is likely affected by the presence of strong selection effects in the detection and redshift-measurement processes.   

Effects of Strong Photospheric Dissipation on Accretion Disks with Nonzero Inner Torque

We present numerical calculations of spectra and structure of accretion disks models appropriate for near-Eddington luminosity black hole X-ray binaries (BHB). Our work incorporates non-zero torque at the ISCO as well as several dissipation profiles based on first-principles three-dimensional disk interior simulations. We found that significant dissipation near the photosphere can produce steep power law-like spectra for models with moderate viewing angles spanning a range of black hole spins while including inner torque push the spectral peak to higher energies. Consistent with previous studies, we also conclude that disks with stresses at the inner edge remain viable models for high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (HFQPO), especially given that increasing dissipation near the photospheres actually resulted in QPO power spectra with higher quality factors compared to those found in recent work.   

A Study of a Pulsar Pumped Cavity at Longitude +36$^{\circ}$

A systematic search of cavity like structure in far infrared (100 $\mu$m and 60 $\mu$m) IRAS (Infrared Astronomical Satellite) survey was performed by using sky view virtual observatory.In order to find the isolated cavity like structure not studied yet, we used SIMBAD database to locate discrete source in the region.A cavity like structure(size $\sim$ 3.9 pc x 2.5 pc ) was found around the coordinate of R.A. (J2000) $20^{h}$ $38^{m}$ $12^{s}$ and Dec (J2000) 30$^{\circ}$ $19^{\prime}$ $25^{\prime\prime}$ at distance of 450 pc. In this present work we have studied the flux density and temperature variation within the structure. We found that the variation of temperature from 20.8K to 28.8K within offset of 8K (greater than 5K) suggesting that the cavity is either very deep or might formed due to interaction of pulsar with interstellar medium.The mass profile of each pixel of the region of interest was calculated with the help of this temperature. Similarly, the excess mass is calculated and mass deficit per pixel within the region of interest was found to be {1.1}$\times${$10^{26}$} Kg.The amount of energy of the pulsar to create that inhomogeneity in structure is calculated to be {2.2}$\times${$10^{40}$} Joule.   

Properties of QED plasma in magnetars

Quantum electrodynamics (QED) effects are interesting phenomena that occur in strong electromagnetic fields. Astrophysical systems such as strongly magnetized neutrons stars and magnetars possess magnetic fields close to or even stronger than the Schwinger field. Whereas some QED effects are being understood and incorporated in plasma codes, theoretical studies of QED plasmas are lacking. Here we derive the general equations describing QED plasma modes. We discuss the properties of the low-frequency modes, for which the transitions between the Landau levels can be neglected. These results can be of interest for understanding of the origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs).   

Not Participating

The discovery of a Halo around Geminga by Fermi-LAT confirmed HAWC observations of $\gamma$-rays produced by a large spatial distribution of electrons and positrons. Both HAWC and Fermi-LAT are uniquely positioned to perform unbiased views of the $\gamma$-ray sky, from $>$100 MeV to $>$100 TeV, which allows for investigation of energy-dependent lepton diffusion around pulsars. This helps us understand the contribution of positron excess from nearby pulsars, such as Geminga, which is measured by space-based instruments like AMS and PAMELA. Producing templates from simulated distributions of leptons and their transport, rather than phenomenological modeling, allows for a more fundamental understanding of the underlying physics by producing different templates depending on the effects taken into account. Because the $\gamma$-ray morphology of younger pulsars are expected to be more advectively dominated, rather than diffusively dominated for older pulsars, applying time-integrated templates can probe the question of when the Halo is established during the pulsars lifetime. This poster will focus on showcasing the template applied to HAWC data, with preliminary results for a select number of sources.   

A Fundamental Plane of Gamma-Ray Pulsars: Observations and Kinetic PIC Models

The Fermi data imply that the gamma-ray observables, i.e., the gamma-ray luminosity, spectral cut-off energy, stellar surface magnetic field, and spin-down power obey a relation that represents a 3D plane in the 4D log-space. This observed fundamental plane (FP) is remarkably close to the theoretical relation that is obtained, assuming that the pulsar gamma-ray emission is due to curvature radiation. We will present advanced kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) models that reproduce both the shapes of the gamma-ray light curves and the FP. Our modeling predicts also that the cutoff energies decrease toward low spin-down powers for both young and millisecond pulsars implying that the observed death line of gamma-ray pulsars is due to cutoff energies dropping below the Fermi band.   

Discovery of Bright Radio Pulses from the Reawakened Radio Magnetar XTE J180-197

XTE J1810-197 is a transient radio magnetar, discovered in 2003 during a bright X-ray outburst. Radio pulsations were first detected from the magnetar in 2004 and in late 2008 without warning from either its timing or flux density behavior. The magnetar has remained in a quiescent/low-activity X-ray state for the past decad, until December 2018 when radio pulsations were redetected. We report the discovery of bright, persistent individual radio pulses using the Deep Space Network antennas in , Australia. The radio observations were carried out simultaneously at 8 and 32 GHz using the DSN's 34-m diameter dishes, resulting in the detection of bright radio single pulses during almost every rotation. We find that not all of the radio single pulse emission components are emitted over a broadband frequency range, and there is frequency structure in the individual radio pulse components only at lower frequencies. These radio observations support the notion that there is a phenomenological connection between the radio pulses detected from magnetars and fast radio bursts (FRBs).   

CALET Ultra-Heavy Cosmic-Ray Observations Incorporating Trajectory Dependent Geomagnetic Rigidities

The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET), launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in August 2015, continues to measure cosmic-ray (CR) electrons, nuclei and gamma-rays. The main calorimeter (CAL) has a 30 radiation length deep calorimeter for high energy electrons that also measures the energy spectra and secondary to primary ratios of the more abundant CR nuclei through $_{26}$Fe. The CAL charge detector has the dynamic range to measure CR nuclei from $_{1}$H to $_{40}$Zr, but to maximize the acceptance of the rare ultra-heavy (UH) CR above $_{30}$Zn a special high duty cycle ($\sim$90$\%$) UH trigger is used that does not require passage through the main calorimeter. Forgoing the calorimeter energy measurement provides a $\sim$6$\times$ increase in geometry factor that reduced by ISS obstructions allows CALET to collect in 5 years a UHCR data set similar to that from the first flight of the balloon-borne SuperTIGER instrument. Previous CALET UHCR analyses using time and position corrections based on $_{26}$Fe and a geomagnetic vertical cutoff rigidity selection have shown abundances of even nuclei in agreement with SuperTIGER/ACE-CRIS. To further improve resolution and maximize statistics a trajectory dependent geomagnetic rigidity selection is employed here.   

In-Flight Performance of ISS-CREAM Calorimeter Electronics

The Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass for the International Space Station (ISS-CREAM) instrument is comprised of a suite of particle detectors capable of continuously collecting cosmic ray data. By being in space, it is free from secondary particle background from the atmosphere present in the past balloon-borne CREAM instruments. One of the detectors comprising the ISS-CREAM instrument is the calorimeter, which measures the energy of the incoming cosmic rays between 10$^{12}$ eV to 10$^{15}$ eV using 20 layers of tungsten plates and scintillating fibers. Since its activation, the calorimeter recorded pedestal data, on an hourly basis, in all 2560 electronic channels during the flight. This hourly data, including the mean and root mean square, for August 17th, 2017 to February 12th, 2019, were analyzed. We will present results such as correlation between instrumentation and environmental variables with the pedestal data.   

Unassociated candidate TeV sources from HAWC

There were 19 TeV candidates with no association with any known high-energy sources in the 2HWC catalog (508 days) of TeV sources. We will report the results from the follow-up of these unassociated HAWC sources using the most recent HAWC dataset, which has 1523 transits.   

Probing the EBL near-IR region with HAWC

The extragalactic background light (EBL) is comprised of all the radiation emitted by nuclear and accretion processes since the epoch of recombination. Direct measurements of the EBL in the near-IR to mid-IR waveband are extremely difficult due, mainly, to the zodiacal light foreground. Instead, gamma-ray astronomy offers the possibility to indirectly set limits to the EBL by studying the effects of gamma-ray absorption in the spectra of distant blazars in the very high energy range (VHE:>100 GeV). HAWC is a water Cherenkov telescope that can detect extragalactic gamma rays significantly up to ~10 TeV, making it one of the few instruments sensitive to gamma rays in the energy range > 5 TeV. This offers the opportunity to probe the EBL in the near IR region: $\lambda$ = 5 $\mu$m - 15$\mu$m. In this study, we assume an intrinsic spectrum as the extrapolation of Fermi-LAT GeV spectrum and derive multiple absorbed spectra for different EBL models. We then calculate confidence bands in the EBL $\lambda$-intensity space by comparing and testing the agreement between the spectra and HAWC highest energy data bins.   

HAWC observations of Multi-TeV emission from Galactic sources in the 3FHL catalog

We will present a search for significant multi-TeV emission from the sources flagged as good TeV candidates in the Third Catalog of Hard Fermi-LAT Sources (3FHL) using data from the most recent HAWC sky map (1523 days).   

Optical follow-up of GRB 180720B: the first Gamma-Ray Burst observed in gamma-rays from the ground

While the gamma-rays from the bursts are usually detected by space telescopes, GRB 180720B marks the first ever observation of gamma-rays produced by a burst from the ground. We perform the optical follow-up and multispectral analysis of the long Gamma-Ray Burst GRB 180720B in order to establish the physical properties of the relativistic fireball related to the burst. The major part of the observational data presented in this paper was performed by the robotic telescope D50 at the Ond\v rejov Observatory near Prague, Czech republic. The system started observing 9.8 hours after the trigger and continued detecting the optical afterglow for the following 3 days.   

W-boson and trident production in IceCube and IceCube-Gen2

Detecting TeV–PeV cosmic neutrinos provides crucial tests of neutrino physics and astrophysics. The statistics of IceCube and the larger proposed IceCube-Gen2 demand calculations of neutrino-nucleus interactions subdominant to deep-inelastic scattering, which is mediated by weak-boson couplings to nuclei. The largest such interactions are W-boson and trident production, which are mediated instead through photon couplings to nuclei. We study their phenomenological consequences. We find that: (1) These interactions are dominated by the production of on-shell W-bosons, which carry most of the neutrino energy, (2) The cross section on water/iron can be as large as 7.5%/14% that of charged-current deep-inelastic scattering, much larger than the quoted uncertainty on the latter, (3) Attenuation in Earth is increased by as much as 15%, (4) W-boson production on nuclei exceeds that through the Glashow resonance on electrons by a factor of ' 20 for the best-fit IceCube spectrum, (5) The primary signals are showers that will significantly affect the detection rate in IceCube-Gen2; a small fraction of events give unique signatures that may be detected sooner.   

Improved Methods in Neutrino Astronomy

The evolving field of Neutrino Astronomy has the potential to associate high-energy neutrino detections with point-like sources, thereby identifying astrophysical particle accelerators. Further informing this search with local neutrino flavor ratios allows for greater sensitivity in the identification of astrophysical neutrino sources. Past IceCube Collaboration studies were unable to find statistically significant correlations between neutrino data and point source locations, aside from the notable TXS 0506+056 discovery linking a neutrino to a blazar in 2017 as well as 13$\pm$5 additional neutrinos from a 158-day flare in 2015-16. Even though the neutrinos from an astrophysical source are expected to be a mix of all flavors, no satisfactory method for utilizing all flavors in a single search has been found. This project involved the use of a detailed Earth attenuation model to calculate the survival and detection proportions of astrophysical neutrino fluxes. These findings were used to create an Ideal Event Type Ratio, describing the ratio of cascades to tracks - a proxy for the neutrino flavor ratio - as a function of energy. The resulting distribution is useful in generating probability distribution functions for flavor ratio informed neutrino point source searches.   

Searching for Prompt Atmospheric Neutrinos at Low Energy

Conventional atmospheric neutrinos are produced from the decay of pions and kaons made by cosmic rays colliding with the earth's atmosphere. The decay of heavier mesons, usually containing charm quarks, is another source of atmospheric neutrinos called prompt atmospheric neutrinos. The prompt atmospheric flux has not yet been observed but may provide a background to measurements of the diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux. This analysis attempts to test whether broadening the energy range to lower energy events will improve sensitivity to the prompt atmospheric and astrophysical fluxes.   

Accretion - Wind Interaction In IC 10 X-1 : Black Hole+Wolf-Rayet HMXB

IC 10 X-1 is a massive high mass binary, it consists of a Black hole and a Wolf - Rayet star with a period of 34.9 h. In a series of xray observations, it's discovered to have a eclipsing period of $\approx$ 5 h. The source shows consistent variability around 7$\times$10$^{37}$ erg s$^{-1}$, except in a spectral hardening event in 2009, But when the optical RV measurements made from the He II are compared with the x-ray eclipse ephemeris they shows a phase shift. Either the He II line originates in a shadowed region of the stellar wind, hence not directly tracing the motion of the WR star, or the BH is being eclipsed by trailing shock/plume. This motivates us to look into accretion - wind interaction in this binary system. A shock front must be forming where the WR wind collides with wind from the BH/accretion disk. To understand the influence of x-rays on the WR's optical spectrum we used CMFGEN to model the spectrum with x-rays in the wind which mimics x-rays coming from the BH. CMFGEN takes into account Non-LTE atmosphere and solves for the radiation field in comoving coordinate, but it uses simple spherical geometry which doesn't account for the asymmetries. Future work will account for the asymmetric geometry and will use archival optical spectra to generate RV plots.   

An Extremely Wide Companion Candidate to a Nearby M-dwarf System

Low-mass M-dwarfs comprise over 70\% of nearby stars, and their occurrence rates in multiple systems provide important diagnostics of the star formation process. Yet, the frequency of their brown dwarf companions – objects too low in mass to burn hydrogen like stars, yet too massive to be planets – is uncertain. It is difficult to ascertain fundamental parameters such as mass and age for isolated brown dwarfs due to the fact they cool and dim throughout their lifetimes. Thus, a wide brown dwarf orbiting an M-dwarf system presents an invaluable laboratory to explore formation and evolution processes. We present one such system consisting of a closely-separated (15 AU) M-dwarf binary with a candidate substellar companion at a remarkable distance of 7700 AU. We use near-infrared spectra from the ARIES instrument on the MMT Observatory and photometric analysis to determine spectral types of the wide companion candidate and each star in the binary pair. We measure astrometry using Gaia kinematics and archival widefield photographic plates to determine whether the companion is physically bound to the binary. If confirmed, this system will be one of the widest known brown dwarf companions to an M-dwarf system and an important benchmark for the study of low-mass multiple star formation.   

Ongoing Investigation Into Long-Term Solar Variability Based On Current Sunspot Number Databases

Many calibrations of historic sunspot number observations have been carried out in the past. New improved databases of historical sunspot data are in development. A US-India collaborative group with the participation of authors (2, 3) at NSO (National Solar Observatory), have constructed a proxy of sunspot parameters based on archived spectroheliograms of daily observations in Ca K II spectral line which began in 1904 at Kodaikanal Observatory (India) and in 1915 at Mount Wilson Observatory (California).group made up of an international team at ISSI (International Space Science Institute, Bern) with participation of author (3) at NSO, is working on re-calibration of sunspot number time-series. There is an effort to recover all past records of sunspot observations and calibrate the observers to create a unified time-series. The most recent time-series of monthly sunspot numbers starting from 1818, is available via SILSO (Sunspot Index and Long Solar Observations). Author (1) investigating long-term solar variability based on historic sunspot number observations, presents a summary of historical sunspot number calibrations along with current findings from ongoing analysis.   

On the Feasibility of Detecting Magnetospheric Radio Emissions From Terrestrial Planets in the Alpha Centauri System.

The detection of Jovian-type magnetospheric emissions in nearby star systems has been proposed. [1] It also appears feasible to detect magnetospheric radio emission in the 1-3 MHz region from Terrestrial Planets in the Alpha Centauri System, though this may require space deployment of radio telescopic arrays in Cis-Lunar Space to avoid ionospheric absorption. This, assuming the radio emission power in the MHz range of approximately 30Megawatts, depending on stellar wind conditions. The resultant radio power fluence at Earth from a Terrestrial Planet orbiting one of the stars of the Alpha Centauri system, should be detectable by radio telescope arrays[2]. In particular the terrestrial extrasolar planet Proxima Centauri b would appear to be a primary candidate for such a detection experiment. Detection of a magnetosphere would factor into estimates of the likely-hood of biology on such a planet.[1]Lazio, T. et al. \textit{The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 612, Issue 1, pp. 511-518. [}\textit{2] Wolfe, JH; et al. (1979).~}{"CP-2156, Chapter 5.5. SETI -- The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: Plans and Rationale"}   

HaloSat Observations of Solar Wind Charge Exchange

The main science goal of HaloSat, the first CubeSat mission funded by NASA's Astrophysical Division, is to help determine if gravitationally bound hot gas in galactic halos makes a significant contribution to the missing cosmological baryons. The instrument is designed to map the oxygen line emission from hot gas across the sky in the 0.4 to 2 keV band. However, solar wind charge exchange (SWCX) emission may also contribute at these energies, confusing the measurements. To minimize SWCX contributions, HaloSat strategically observes the Milky Way's halo within 70\textdegree of the anti-Sun direction and away from the interplanetary He-focusing cone. Some SWCX contribution is still possible regardless of the observing strategy, so HaloSat also conducts a series of observations to study both heliospheric and magnetospheric SWCX emission. These observations aim to improve the accuracy of SWCX emission models -- the secondary science goal of HaloSat -- and thus improve the accuracy of HaloSat's ongoing measurement of the Milky Way's halo. The observational strategy and analysis method for the dedicated SWCX observations are discussed, and preliminary results are presented for a selection of the SWCX data set.   

Shock Breakout and Shock Interaction Mission.

Supernovae (SNe) are keystone astrophysical objects that have played a vital role in the formation and evolution of our universe. Despite our progress in unraveling how they behave, our understanding of them is still quite limited.~To address this deficiency, we propose a relatively inexpensive space-based mission that focuses on two primary science goals: 1) constraining the poorly understood explosion mechanism of core collapse supernovae (CCSNe) which directly affects our understanding of massive star progenitors over cosmic time, and 2) unravelling variations in the standardization of Type Ia SNe used as cosmological standard candles by studying the interaction between the companions. The science goals are achieved through measuring the parameters of the outer envelope of exploding massive stars by observing the shock breakout (SBO) and post-SBO phases of CCSNe, and determining the companions of Type Ia SNe by probing their shock interaction after explosion. Here we detail the science cases and the mission profile.   

Design, characterization, and performance of feedhorn-coupled transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers for the Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS)

The Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS) is a polarization-sensitive telescope array located at 5,200 m in the Chilean Atacama Desert. CLASS is designed to characterize primordial gravitational waves (GWs) via B-mode polarization in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), as evidence of an inflationary epoch during the first moments of the universe. Constraining B-modes is one of the principal goals of next generation CMB telescopes. High instrument sensitivity is required for this measurement, as it is orders of magnitude fainter than unpolarized CMB. Multifrequency measurements are also required to separate the CMB from Galactic foregrounds. Transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers provide background-limited sensitivity, and are easily scaled to large arrays and multiple frequencies. CLASS uses feedhorn-coupled TES bolometers, voltage-biased to $\sim$150 mK. CLASS consists of four telescopes: one at 40 GHz (Q-band) with 72 TESs; two at 90 GHz (W-band) with 518 TESs each; and one high frequency (HF) dichroic system at 150/220 GHz with 1020 TESs. We discuss the design, in-lab characterization, and on-sky performance of the CLASS detectors.   

CLASS Carbon Fiber Pilot Study

The Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS) is a microwave polarimeter located in Chile, and will survey ~75% of the sky in four frequency ranges, 40, 90, 150 and 220GHz. CLASS’ ultimate goals are to find and characterize both the signature of inflationary gravitational waves and the optical depth to reionization through the detection of the polarization spectra within the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). The next generation of CMB telescopes will be capable of housing an order of magnitude more detectors. This increase in sensitivity will require improved mechanical stability for the calibration of the optics. CLASS currently has four telescopes divided into two mounting structures such that two telescopes are housed in two separate aluminum cages. In order for us to adapt to innovation, new materials, will need to be utilized to improve optical calibrations. We will present a pilot experiment on our second mount using carbon fiber tubes as the supporting structure for a 500lb baffle. Carbon fiber was chosen for its high stiffness and low coefficient of thermal expansion. Finite-element simulations of a supporting truss-style structure indicate that the displacement of the carbon fiber tubes under such stress would be less than that of Aluminum by a factor of two.   

Performance of a Prototype Telescope Module for Optical SETI

Today, the most efficient mechanism for sending large amounts of data through space corresponds to digitally encoded optical signals generated by pulsed lasers. This is the basis of Optical SETI (OSETI). We present a progress report on the design and development of a new telescope for OSETI called the Scanning Observatory For Optical SETI (SOFOS). SOFOS will consist of four independent telescope modules operating in coincidence. We describe performance results from one prototype SOFOS telescope module which we have constructed. The module is composed of a Fresnel lens above a simple camera of four photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) whose discriminated outputs are operated in coincidence so as to eliminate false backgrounds. We measure optimal operating settings for each of the PMTs using tests done in a dark box. The prototype telescope module was operated outdoors to view the night sky with an LED to imitate a hypothetic OSETI laser pulse. We report on the response of the 4-fold coincidence system to the pulsed signal in the presence of skylight and light pollution. Two configurations of the PMTs were tested corresponding to observations at different sky positions. We also describe plans to expand to a two- and then four-module prototype system.   

IceAct: Small Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes for the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole

IceAct is a proposed surface upgrade to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory of cost effective and compact (50 cm) Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes. In coincidence with the in-ice and surface components of IceCube, IceAct will form a hybrid detector, combining new information from the Cherenkov light image with the surface particle footprint and the in-ice muon tracks of extensive air showers. During January 2019, two new versions of the IceAct telescope demonstrators featuring 61 SiPM pixels and improved optics were installed in the center of the IceTop surface detector at the geographic South Pole. The combination of the data from these two telescopes with the data from IceCube allow for tests of the performance of IceAct in primary particle identification, detector calibration, and veto capabilities. We present the status of the project and our future plans.   

Lanthanide Database of Abundances for Neutron Star Mergers

Kilonovae are optical transients associated with neutron star mergers (NSMs) and are powered by the radioactive decay of heavy elements created by the rapid neutron capture process(r-process). It is important to note that the blue and red emission component from the kilonovae, along with their timescales, are greatly dependent on the abundance of the lanthanides and their various charge states in the merger material. To analyze these mergers and their abundances, we study the event through an Atomic Physics lense. We study how varying atomic data inputs, such as ionization energies, affect the total abundance of these unique elements. We use elemental abundances calculated by Skynet, a nuclear reaction network code, and uncover how distinct isotopes evolve over time due to variables such as temperature and electron fraction. We then use these calculated elemental abundances, the Saha Equation, and NIST ionization data to predict the ionization state populations of lanthanides on timescales similar to the expected time of the kilonova peak. We will report on our most recent results, and how a multi-element merger material should evolve over time. This work is supported by Michigan State University, the Honors College of MSU, and the Joint Institute of Nuclear Astrophysics.~   

Maximizing the KURF Materials Screening Sensitivity using a Cosmic Ray Veto

Secondary muons are high-energy particles created from the interaction of cosmic rays with Earth's atmosphere. Muons are a major source of high-energy background interference for underground particle detectors as they are difficult to shield. Virginia Tech has a high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector housed at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility (KURF) in Ripplemead, VA at about 300 m.w.e underground. While muons are partially shielded by the rock overburden at KURF, our team worked to integrate the HPGe detector with a two-layer muon detector to further veto persistent radiation caused by muon events. After installing the muon detector on top of the HPGe detector, we developed a readout program integrating both the HPGe detector readout system and the muon veto. We have added remote control capabilities and a logic gate redundancy to increase efficiency and select low energy events with increased photoelectron sensitivity. We calibrated the muon veto using various radioactive sources to determine the separation between gammas and muons in the energy range optimal for the HPGe detector. Ongoing analysis aims to enhance the integration and analyzing of radioisotopic samples in high-purity environments.   

Three Flavor State Neutrino Oscillations

The quantum kinetic equations (QKEs) simultaneously describe the quantum mechanical coherent development of phase and the damping of phase due to scattering. We study the evolution of neutrinos in the early universe where both quantum and scattering effects impact their behavior. The quantum-kinetic evolution of the two-neutrino system is well described by a ``polarization'' vector in three-dimensional space. In this poster, we search for geometric analogies to describe the evolution of the three-neutrino system, the evolution of which is described mathematically in eight-dimensional space.   

Observation of Low-Energy Surface Photon Events with a Point Contact Germanium Detector

Point contact germanium detectors lead the field in the search for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0vBB), and they have been used to achieve one of the greatest half-life sensitivities to date. These detectors have excellent energy resolution, low noise, and low-energy thresholds, making them well suited for a variety of rare event searches. One aspect of germanium detectors that is difficult to characterize is their passivated surface. Data from the MAJORANA Collaboration, which searches for 0vBB, shows the presence of a 46.5 keV gamma ray peak from Pb-210, but the absence of its 10.8 keV peak. It is hypothesized that passivated surface effects are the cause of this unexpected result. To understand the response of the passivated surface to low-energy photon events more thoroughly, we have designed an x-ray fluorescence source of variable x-ray energy using a collection of various foils. Using this source, we aim to build a more complete model of the passivated surface that will allow backgrounds for the MAJORANA Collaboration to be more accurately modeled.   

The BeEST Experiment: A Search for keV-Scale Neutrinos in the EC Decay of 7Be with Superconducting Quantum Sensors

The search for sterile neutrinos is among the brightest possibilities in our quest for understanding the microscopic nature of dark matter in our universe. Sterile neutrinos - unlike the active neutrinos in the SM - do not interact with normal matter as they move through space, and as such must be observed via their mass-generated effects that result from momentum conservation with SM particles. One way to observe these momentum recoil effects experimentally is through high-precision measurements of electron-capture (EC) nuclear decay, where the final state only contains the neutrino and a recoiling atom. This approach is the most powerful method for BSM neutrino mass searches since it relies only on the existence of a heavy neutrino admixture to the active neutrinos, which is a generic feature of neutrino mass mechanisms, and not on the model-dependent details of their interactions. In this talk, we report the first measurements in the Beryllium EC STJ (BeEST) experimental program, which uses the decay-momentum reconstruction technique to precisely measure the $^7$Be$\rightarrow^7$Li recoil spectrum via $^7$Be ions implanted into sensitive superconducting tunnel junction (STJ) radiation detectors.   

Improved Modeling of Cherenkov Light Produced by Neutrino Interactions in the South Pole Ice

Neutrinos are ubiquitous but not well understood fundamental particles that come in three flavors: electron, muon, and tau. When a muon neutrino collides with the nucleus of an atom, another fundamental particle, the muon, is often created. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, located in the South Pole ice, detects light from charged particles (including muons) when they travel faster than light does through the ice. We use this to reconstruct the lengths (which translate into energies) and directions of the muons, from which we infer the original neutrinos' energies and directions. Our goal is to augment our model of a muon's light deposition to include that of particles created when the muon undergoes stochastic interactions in the ice. This should lead to more accurate reconstructions of energy and direction. In this project, we simulate muons interacting in ice, record the particles emitted, and parameterize their light output to inform our model.   

All-Sky Search for Neutrinos Correlated with Gamma-Ray Bursts in Extended Time Windows Using Eight Years of IceCube Data

Since the discovery of a diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, many sources have been studied as possible progenitors of high-energy neutrinos.  In particular, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been considered as possible neutrino sources due to their extremely high energy output. Several analyses with IceCube data have set strong limits on prompt neutrino emission from GRBs; however, there has been limited study of neutrino emission beyond the prompt phase.  This analysis searches ten time windows for each GRB, ranging from ten seconds to fourteen days, to measure both prompt and possible extended neutrino emission. Eight years of full-detector IceCube data will be used in this analysis, which includes over two thousand GRBs for increased sensitivity over previous searches.   

Detecting Supernova Neutrinos using the DUNE Photon Detection System

The photon detection system (PDS) is a subsystem of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). It is an integral part of the DUNE detector whose primary task is to measure the scintillation light signal and use it to determine the time of occurrence of non-beam events. The photon detection system will also provide a complementary measurement of the deposited energy, and can contribute to triggering. This talk will report on simulation-based analyses of how neutrinos from supernova neutrino bursts can be detected using the DUNE photon detection system.   

Electrodynamic friction of a charged particle passing a conducting plate

We calculate the friction that a charged particle will experience due to the electromagnetic interaction with a dissipative metal surface. In our calculation, a simple Drude model with a damping parameter $\beta$ is used to describe the metal. Even though the problem entirely lies within the realm of classical electrodynamics, we found some very surprising features of the friction force experienced by the charged particle. First, instead of increasing monotonically with velocity, the friction reaches its maximum at an intermediate velocity, less than the speed of light. Second, the friction appears to be finite even when the damping parameter $\beta$ approaches zero. Since any real metal have some damping according to the Kramers-Kronig relation to respect causality, this electromagnetic friction should be inevitable regardless of the type of metal involved. As a matter of fact, at a high enough velocity, the friction is even greater for metal which has a smaller $\beta$. Further, we found the magnitude of the friction is comparable to the corresponding Coloumb force at a distance of 100 nm. Therefore we expect this friction should be easily observed experimentally.   

Exact Sum Rules for Approximate Ground States

Electromagnetic, weak, and other transitions tell us a great deal about the structure of atomic nuclei. Yet it is often easier to compute the ground state, if only as an approximation, than a full spectrum of excited states, which makes testing transitions difficult. One alternatives are through sum rules, in particular the non-energy-weighted and energy-weighted sum rules, which can be written as the expectation value of an operator. To explore this, we compute the sum rules for a variety of nuclei, comparing the numerically exact full configuration-interaction shell model, as a reference, to Hartree-Fock, projected Hartree-Fock, and, where practical, the nucleon pair approximation.   

Quark-Gluon Correlations

Using a spectator model, we are studying quark-gluon-quark (qgq) correlations in nucleons, which are relevant to describe the distributions of particles produced by the high-energy lepton-nucleon scattering. Experimental access exists only near the `soft-gluon pole' from studies of single-spin asymmetries. For QCD evolution, information is needed away from this line, and in the literature prescriptions exist on how to extrapolate into that region. Within the spectator model, we studied qgq correlations both at the soft-gluon pole (the diagonal) and away from it and tested the accuracy of these prescriptions. We find that away from the `diagonal', the qgq correlations are significantly larger than anticipated.   

Deep Neural Network extraction of Compton Form Factors from DVCS data

With the rapid development of new nuclear physics programs aimed at studying the 3D structure of nucleons, the use of more advanced data analysis tools becomes crucial. We present an application of recent machine learning techniques for the extraction of Compton Form Factors. A Deep Neural Network learns to map kinematic variables to form factors by fitting against observables measured in deeply virtual Compton scattering experiments. The predictive power of neural network analysis is used to highlight kinematic regions where new data should be gathered to efficiently study the physical properties of the nucleon such as partonic angular momentum. We also include an open source software package to encourage continued development of these techniques as new data is collected.   

ABSTRACT WITHDRAWN

ABSTRACT WITHDRAWN   

Testing and Analyzing the BONuS12 RPTC at Jefferson Lab

The BONuS12 (Barely Off-shell Neutron Structure) group intends to measure the fundamental structure of the neutron in the valence quark region. In order to accomplish this, electron beam would scatter off a deuteron target. To ensure scattering is off the neutron, slow, backward moving spectator protons would be tagged with a Radial Time Projection Chamber (RTPC). A gas panel has been built to distribute and control gas flow through the RTPC as well as a Drift Monitoring System (DMS). An RTPC is currently being tested using An RTPC is currently being tested using HeCO$_{\mathrm{2}}$ and ArCO$_{\mathrm{2}}$ under high voltage, looking for tracks and signals with cosmics data. This talk will focus on this testing and plans.   

Status, Plan, and Physics Potential of the ICARUS T600 Experiment

The ICARUS T600 detector is the first large-scale Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber. With an active mass of around 470 tonnes of liquid argon, it had a very successful three-year data taking run at the underground Larboartori Nazionali Gran Sasso (LNGS), Italy. The detector was then moved to CERN for upgrades and subsequently moved to Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in the United States in 2017. Here, it will function as the far detector in the Short Baseline Neutrino (SBN) program with the main purpose of studying neutrino oscillations over short propagation distances in which possible sterile neutrino states would manifest. At the end of 2019, the installation of the detector was in its final stages, and detector commissioning will soon be underway. In this talk, I will present the current status and plan for physics data taking, as well as the physics potential of the experiment.   

The Straw Tube Tracker for the MUSE Experiment

The MUon Proton Scattering Experiment (MUSE) at the Paul Scherrer Institute aims to address the proton radius puzzle through simultaneous measurements of the muon-proton and electron-proton elastic cross sections. One of the main elements of the MUSE setup involves the Straw Tube Tracker (STT) that will provide high resolution and high efficiency tracking of the scattered particles from the target. Details regarding the design and performance of the STT detector system will be presented in this work. Acknowledgement: This work is supported by the DOE award DE-SC0016577, the NSF award 1614756, and by the United States - Israel Binational Science Foundation.   

Investigation of a Gas Photo-multiplier as a next generation neutron detector

Particles lose energy while interacting with scintillating material, which subsequently emits light. These detectors are usually coupled with photo-multiplier tubes (PMTs) placed on both sides to convert the light generated into an electrical signal. The difference between the PMTs' signal timing allows reconstructing the location of the interaction as well as the time at which it occurs. For the MoNA-LISA detector at NSCL the resolution is within a few cm for position and within a few ns for timing. The limited position resolution and granularity of the current design induce some uncertainties that could be significant, thus reducing the resolution of reconstructed invariant mass and missing mass spectra. The technological advances of gas detector technologies, especially in the areas of micromegas and gas electron multipliers (GEMs), have enabled sub-millimeter position accuracy and pico-second timing resolution that have impacted greatly the fields of low and high energy nuclear physics research. Coupled with their relatively low material budget, these devices are increasingly becoming the standard for tracking energetic particles (charged and neutrons). The novel concept of a gas photo-multiplier (GPM) neutron detector was developed as a collaboration between the NSCL detector group, the MoNA Collaboration and JLab. It couples GEMs to plastic scintillator detectors thus possibly enabling the capability to allow for visible light detection, sub-mm position reconstruction of the emitted light and picosecond timing resolution. Preliminary studies will be presented and discussed.   

Design and Commissioning Results of the New HCAL-J Hadron Calorimeter for Upcoming Nucleon Form Factor Experiments at JLab

The new hadron calorimeter, HCAL-J, will be used in the upcoming Super-BigBite Spectrometer (SBS) experiments measuring the nucleon form factors $G_M^n$, $G_E^n$, and $G_E^p$/$G_M^p$. These experiments will provide stringent tests of theoretical predictions, allow for the extraction of flavor form factors, and greatly increase our understanding of the fundamental building blocks of matter. The HCAL-J is a sampling calorimeter designed to measure the energy of several GeV protons and neutrons. The detector consists of forty layers of iron alternating with forty layers of plastic scintillator. The iron causes the hadrons to shower while the plastic scintillator samples the energy. HCAL-J contains 288 modules with attached PMTs and weighs approximately forty tons. Each module contains a wavelength shifter to increase light collection efficiency attached to a light guide which directs the photons to the PMT. In addition to the design of HCAL-J, commissioning results will be presented including timing resolution ($<$1 ns rms) and efficiency studies.   

Ubiquitous radiation detection for nuclear nonproliferation, emergency response and safeguards.

This work shows how thermoluminescence, optically stimulated luminescence and electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometry are being used to convert ubiquitous items such as common building materials or items on a person into both gamma ray spectrometers and 3D spatial cameras.   

Template~Synthesis~of Uranium-Based Metal Organic Frameworks and Clusters under Ionothermal Conditions

Nuclear physics applications for nuclear waste management demand a deep understanding of the behavior, physical and chemical properties of the actinides elements. In this research, uranium (VI) compounds (uranyl nitrate and uranyl acetate) were used as starting materials to form clusters, chains, and metal organic frameworks (MOFs) with commercially available organic ligands. Ionic liquids, novel compounds with the ability of acting as both the solvent and templating agent, were also employed in the hydrothermal synthesis. Different templates, such as 1,4-diazabicyclo [2.2.2] octane and Pluronic F127 were used in the process. The physics behind the template and ionothermal synthesis effect was also examined. Likewise, different ratios and thermodynamic conditions were tested for optimizing the experimental method. The resulting clusters and MOFs obtained were characterized by X-ray diffraction techniques (single crystal, powder, and small angle) and spectroscopy techniques such as Raman, NMR, and mass spectroscopy.~   

The Urban Heat Island Effect and Urban Community Garden

As the popularity of organically and locally grown produce, there is increasing interest in urban community gardens. A number of community gardens in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania have encountered problems with some produce that naturally mature, and should be ready for harvest, during the hottest part of the summer. There is a suggestion that the problems may be the result of the urban heat island effect. This study is looking at the historical weather data from stations in Philadelphia to determine if there is any correlation between the crop failure and any heat island effects. The second part of this research is to experiment with short term tomato varieties to see if the varieties can be successful by maturing to harvest before the hottest period of the summer has arrived.   

Impact of the $\gamma$-ray strength function on $\gamma$-process nucleosynthesis

The $\gamma$ process refers to the production of the 35 neutron-deficient nuclides that cannot be produced in the slow neutron-capture process or rapid neutron-capture process. Modeling this process with network calculations requires the input of an astrophysical environment and the nuclear physics. In this case, the nuclear physics refers to the tens of thousands of reactions linking thousands of nuclides, many of which are radioactive. Because measuring all of these reaction rates is unrealistic, the statistical model is commonly used to calculate the reaction rates. One key ingredient in the statistical model is the $\gamma$-ray strength function. In this work, the statistical model as implemented in TALYS was used to calculate (n,$\gamma$), (p,$\gamma$), and ($\alpha$,$\gamma$) reaction rates with different models for the $\gamma$-ray strength function. These reaction rates were used in network calculations to investigate the impact of the $\gamma$-ray strength function model on the predictions of the $\gamma$-process nucleosynthesis calculations. Results from this sensitivity study will be presented.   

Removing radon from xenon by cryogenic distillation

The nEXO experiment will search for neutrinoless double-beta decay, and to reach its final sensitivity its ultra-low background goals need to be reached. One of the leading background contributions in nEXO will be due to the decay of radon-222 in liquid xenon, emanating from all materials in contact with xenon. The baseline strategy to mitigate this background is material screening and removal using an in-line charcoal-based radon trap. We propose to investigate the possibility of doing cryogenic radon distillation as an alternative approach to the charcoal based trap. Over the last few years this new technique has shown great progress on a smaller scale in low-background dark-matter experiments. In this talk we will present the theory behind, and the possible implementation of, a 350-slpm cryogenic radon distillation column designed for nEXO with an in-line reduction factor of \textgreater 100.   

Development of a Supernova Neutrino Trigger for LArTPC Detectors

Supernova neutrinos provide scientists a unique view of core-collapse supernova phenomena that is unachievable through electromagnetic counterpart observation. The future Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will be using a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) detector and will be sensitive to supernova neutrino events, provided the DUNE detector would be able to trigger on a potential supernova burst. The currently running MicroBooNE LArTPC neutrino detector is being used as a platform for the development of LArTPC based triggering for supernova neutrinos, and the efforts are ongoing to demonstrate some of the trigger schemes envisioned for DUNE. This poster will describe these development efforts and future plans.   

Possible Origins And Equations Of Rotation And Formation Origins Of Two Armed Spiral And Barred Spiral Galaxies, Stars, Planets And Some Satellites As Universal Patterns In Nature Existing On A Grand And Small Scale

Very old powdered coffee creamer added to a cup of fresh instant coffee and stirred resulted in surface pairs of semi molten coffee creamer strands orbiting the coffee cup rim. As the coffee slowed down, the orbits of the strands decayed, tangentially accreted in their fore sections forming a perfect two armed spiral and a two armed barred spiral galaxy. Each two armed galaxy began rotating due to the transformation of strand orbital motion into galaxy rotational motion when the strands combined to form the new galaxy. The galaxy Rotation/Formation Equation may be $I\omega galaxy = I_1\omega arm1 + I_2\omega arm2.$ Some irregular small creamer chunks slowly rotating were tangentially accreted by a creamer strand creating a faster rotating semi spherical body. Imagining the irregular chunks as possibly prestellar/preplanetary cores,a possible star or planet rotation /formation equation could be $I\omega newstar/planet= I\omega prestar/preplanetarycore + I\omega hydrogen/materialstrand1 + ...+ I\omega hydrogen/materialstrandn.$Photos of two armed spiral galaxies indicate possible external origin of galactic arms as observed in coffee cup above in M51, M99, M101 etc. Insights into actual galactic, stellar, planetary formation/rotation may now exist.   

Learning from Star Shadows: Investigating an Activity Cycle on Eclipsing Binary Star FL Lyr

Analysis of eclipsing binary stars is essential for determining basic stellar properties, which then inform models that are used for wider astrophysical studies, including stellar evolution, stellar population densities, and cosmic distance scales. This project uses data from the advanced space-based telescopes Kepler and TESS, as well as ground-based observations from the Maria Mitchell Observatory and Sierra Remote Observatory to examine FL Lyr, one of the brightest eclipsing binary stars that has sun-like components. A curious trend in the Kepler data shows the primary eclipse deepening over time, while the secondary eclipse is getting shallower. Using a Gaussian processes method, we extract the best fit parameters of the FL Lyr system at different eclipse events and find that the only parameter that changes significantly over time is the surface brightness ratio. From this we conclude that the trend in the Kepler data is due to an activity cycle on the star, which is also observable in the out of eclipse variation of the light curves. This project was supported in part by the NSF REU grant AST-1757321 and by the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association.   

Revealing new processes with superfluid liquid helium detectors: the coherent elastic neutrino atom scattering

The particle physics community is studying and building new technologies to detect processes never detected before. Among these, strong efforts are put into studying innovative He detectors based on the quantum evaporation process. The main outcome of such a detector is the possibility to detect light dark matter particles. However, they have enormous potentialities also for exploring neutrino properties. Indeed, we propose an experimental setup to observe coherent elastic neutrino-atom scattering (CEnAS) using electron antineutrinos from tritium decay and a liquid helium target. In this scattering process with the whole atom, that has not been observed so far, the electrons tend to screen the weak charge of the nucleus as seen by the electron antineutrino probe. In addition to this discovery, it may be possible to measure fundamental weak interaction parameters at very low energy scale, never reached before, and set very strong limits for the presence of electromagnetic properties of neutrinos.   

Li6-doped plastic scintillators for reactor antineutrino detectors

In recent years, significant progress has been made at LLNL in synthesizing a new class of plastic scintillators that support Pulse Shape Discrimination (PSD) and Li-6 doping. Two distinct chemistries have been developed to solubilize Li-6 compounds in organic solvents, in which they are typically insoluble. Elements as large as 40cm have been produced, with efforts continuing to improve manufacturing procedures for larger components. These developments open new opportunities in fast and thermal neutron detection, as well as for reactor antineutrino detectors. Plastic PSD scintillator materials can enable new detector geometries, potentially reduce system complexity, and are straightforward to handle and transport. In this presentation, we will describe the materials and performance metrics. Material performance will be described in the context of a 64-segment Li6-doped plastic scintillator detector with SiPM readout which would have otherwise been difficult or impossible to realize.   

A Deuterium-Deuterium Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Fusion System

Due to the paywalls associated with national defense, fusion research remains widely inaccessible within academia. Using a redesigned model of the Farnsworth-Hirsch Fusor, undergraduates at the University of Texas at Austin have designed and assembled a relatively low-cost vacuum chamber capable of deuterium-deuterium inertial electrostatic confinement fusion with the potential for high neutron yields. Additionally,~ a robust and low-cost fusion detection system capable of confirming 587 kV gamma rays produced by activated silver was also developed using a combination of a photomultiplier tube and silicon photomultipliers attached to large plastic scintillators. Calibration measurements were made using an AmBe neutron source to characterize the photon sensitivity of the detection systems relative to the half life of activated silver for comparative analysis to our assembled fusor to determine reliability and practicality. Future studies include the characterization of the emitted neutron energy spectrum and further determination of neutron yields.~   

Interpretable Conservation Law Estimation from Trained Deep Neural Networks

Several deep neural networks(DNN) model, has been developed to the estimation of the Hamiltonian from a time-series data of a dynamics. Although, these methods have a limitation of interpretability. We propose a new approach to extract the interpretable physical laws from DNN trained by time-series data. The approach is realized by developing two methods. One is an estimation method of transformations that makes the target system invariant. Another is an estimation method of conservation laws based on Noether's theorem. These methods are constructed by derivating the relationship between the manifold structure of time series data and the necessary conditions for Noether's theorem. The feasibility of the approach has been verified in some primitive cases whose conservation law is well known.