Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2022
Volume 67, Number 6
Saturday–Tuesday, April 9–12, 2022; New York
Session F01: Poster Session I and Welcome (5:30-7:30 pm)Poster Undergrad Friendly
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Room: 9th Floor Terrace |
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F01.00001: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
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F01.00002: Investigating Gluon Fusion as New Channel to Search for Dark Matter Connor H Menzel, Tae M Hong, Benjamin T Carlson In Higgs portal models, it is predicted that the Higgs boson could decay into dark matter particles. We may be able to detect these processes with the ATLAS detector, located at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva Switzerland. There are many different production modes of the Higgs boson that could be used in a search for these Higgs boson to invisible decays, and when used together they provide our best chance at discovering new physics. Previous work has been done with vector-boson fusion production (VBF), but gluon fusion (ggF) production has a larger cross section, making it a promising candidate to aid in the search. Therefore, we are investigating the feasibility of using a MET+photon trigger at ATLAS to provide sensitivity to ggF production of the Higgs boson; Large MET is characteristic of any Higgs boson to invisible decay, and the photon requirement would provide sensitivity to |
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F01.00003: Simulating NuDot: A Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay Detector with Direction Reconstruction in Liquid Scintillator Ravi C Pitelka The theorized process of neutrinoless double-beta decay (0𝜈𝛽𝛽), in which the two antineutrinos emitted during a double-beta minus (𝛽−) decay annihilate with each other, could provide a mechanism to explain the matter-antimatter imbalance in the universe. Liquid scintillator-based 0𝜈𝛽𝛽 searches use isotropic scintillation light to measure the energy of the outgoing 𝛽− particles, searching for a peak at the predicted energy of the 0𝜈𝛽𝛽 decay. NuDot, a 1/2-ton research and development effort for the next generation of these detectors that is undergoing commissioning at Bates Laboratory. It will additionally use directional Cherenkov light to identify otherwise irreducible background events. |
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F01.00004: Energy-Dependent Morphology of HAWCJ2019+368, an Energic Pulsar in the Dragonfly Nebula Elaine Nieves Inside the Dragonfly nebula is the pulsar PSR J2021+3651, one of the brightest sources of TeV gamma rays. Data from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory has resolved the MGRO J2019+37 region, where the pulsar and nebula are located, into two sources: HAWC J2019+368 and HAWC J2016+371. The study of this source’s energy dependent morphology is indicative of the underling particles causing this gamma ray emission. Energy dependent morphology indicates that the size of the source is limited by energy lost in the particles producing gamma-rays. Using an expanded dataset from HAWC, we will search for energy dependent morphology. Measuring this energy dependent morphology will confirm the interpretation of HAWC J2019+368 as a TeV Pulsar Wind Nebula (PWN). |
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F01.00005: Entropy change during measurement of free particle in the relativistic quantum case. Athanasios Petridis, Justin Brutger, Grace Dunleavy, Daniel Deeter The relativistic quantum mechanical transition amplitude for a free particle is the propagator of the Gordon-Klein equation and is calculated through multiple methods. This propagator is transformed into an information entropy change by means of a Wick rotation. However, the entropy may also be derived from a variational principle. The Fourier method and path integral approaches produce similar entropy functions with Bessel-function factors, but with key differences in normalization. Various approximations to the path-integral derivation of the relativistic Green's function and related entropy are examined. Uncertainty-like relations are developed for the non-relativistic case, while the relativistic one leads to proper-time quantization. A relation between dimensional time and information-entropy time is developed. |
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F01.00006: Measurement of half lives of exotic nuclei of P, S and Cl Diya Choudhary To understand the universe better, it is important to understand the behavior of nuclei that are far away from the line of stability. It can help us understand how the nuclei behaved billions of years ago before settling to those presently stable elements that we now see. This paper reports on the measurement of half lives of four such unstable neutron rich nuclei, namely 42P, 44S, 43S and 45Cl. These isotopes eventually beta decay to mostly excited states in the daughter nuclei which decay by gamma rays that are detected by gamma ray detectors and provide information about the internal structures of both the parent and daughter nuclei. The experimental work for this paper was performed at National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (now Facility of Radioactive Ion beam) at Michigan State University using the Beta Counting Station along with an array of sixteen high purity Germanium detectors. |
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F01.00007: Using Lasso Regression and the Glitch Rate of the LIGO Detectors to Increase Detector Range Michael J Lowry, Marissa B Walker Characterization of the Advanced LIGO detectors involves looking at detector output and searching for the underlying causes of transient noise that decrease the effective sensitive range for detection of gravitational waves. As such, analyzing certain such transient noise types, or "glitches", that appear regularly in both detectors is important. If a source or pattern to these glitches can be found, the sensitivity of both detectors can be improved through improvements to the components of the instruments that are responsible for the noise. In my research, I am attempting to find a correlation between the rate of certain glitches and the auxiliary sensors of the detectors that monitor the overall status of the detectors' components. Specifically, I perform lasso regression with the rate of certain glitches and the auxiliary sensors' data streams for particularly glitchy time periods. |
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F01.00008: Scalar Field Wave (Fuzzy) Dark Matter, the Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation, and the Formation of Galaxies Benjamin Hamm, Philip Mocz, Jingshu Wang Within the context of galactic Dark Matter halos, we investigate Scalar Field Wave Dark Matter and analyze the Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation (BTFR). To understand the properties of Dark Matter, we provide a new model for deriving BTFR theoretically and computationally by solving the Einstein-Klein-Gordon equations based on a special family of excited state solutions. In the mass range m≥10-22eV, we show that the BTFR is compatible. And this requires the excited state solutions to obey certain boundary conditions, which is interesting for implying the formation and morphology of galaxies. Our simulation also presents a possibility of Scalar Field Dark Matter rotation curves and the structure of Scalar Field Dark Matter halos. |
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F01.00009: Probing the Statistical Relationship Between Binary Black Hole Mergers and Active Galactic Nuclei Amanda S Beck, Yasmeen Asali, Eve Cully, Zsuzsanna Marka Since 2015, LIGO/Virgo has detected dosens of Binary Black Hole merger Gravitational Wave signals. Identifying the origins of these is key to discover more about these mergers. Rare host galaxies, like AGNs, present a favorable environment for these events due to the possible dynamical interactions in their accretion disks. In this talk, I will present an investigation of the statistical relationship between BBH mergers and AGN hosts by analyzing the overlap in localization, as outlined in Bartos et. al. 2017. The method developed here will be aplicable to establish the fraction of BBH GW detections that come from AGN and to inform real-time EM follow-up. |
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F01.00010: Cross Section Analysis of ep → K+Λ* Rebecca L Osar In nuclear particle physics, there is a discrepancy between theory and experiment concerning the numbers of existing nucleon resonances. Current models of nucleon resonances predict far more states than have been observed. To investigate this problem, Λ(1520) baryons are reconstructed from a K- and a proton from the CLAS12 detector. Using the reaction ep → K+K- p with electrons of energy 10 GeV, the invariant mass of the K+Λ(1520) system is used to determine yields, which are efficiency corrected and normalized to produce cross sections. The cross sections of the K+Λ(1520) system assist in uncovering the resonance spectrum. In this presentation, the cross section for the reaction ep → K+Λ(1520) in the range W = 2 to 5 GeV will be presented. |
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F01.00011: Study of the color diffusion model in $^12$C(e,e'p)$ at Jefferson Lab 12 GeV kinematics Wim Cosyn, Clare E Bennett In nuclear knockout reactions at high energies, quantum chromodynamics predicts the reduction of final-state interactions between the knocked-out particle and the nuclear medium, resulting in a rise of the nuclear transparency observable with increasing energies. This is the so-called color transparency phenomenon and is in contrast to regular Glauber theory, which predicts flat values for the nuclear transparency. A recent Jlab 12GeV experiment measured the nuclear transparency for Carbon in the $A(e,e’p)$ reaction between the $Q^2$-range of 8-14 GeV$^2$ and observed no apparent signs yet of a color transparency signal. |
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F01.00012: Cosmological General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations Edward Mata, David Garrison this research involves Numerical simulations as a tool for investigating the early conditions of the universe. we will show how numerical relativity can be used for studying cosmological models. we are working on developing a large-scale simulation of the dynamical processes in the early universe. this involves looking at the interactions of dark matter, scalar perturbations, magnetic fields and turbulent plasmas and their effects on gravitational waves. for this research we are using a code based on the Cactus framework called a GRMHD code. this code uses different differencing methods to choose from at run-time. it is currently being developed and tested at the University of Houston's Maxwell cluster. These Cactus codes are composed of a framework called "the flesh" and the thorns that provide the physics. the codes used in this work are FixedCosmo and SpecCosmo, a collection of cactus thorns. written in F90, C and C++. these codes use the relativistic MHD evolution equations proposed by Duez. these tests also include MHD waves induced by gravitational waves test, the consistency of cosmological expansion test and shock tests. |
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F01.00013: Computational Challenges in Solving the Time-Dependent Dirac Equation for Self-Interacting Fermions Trevin Detwiler, Timothy Kutnink, Athanasios Petridis One of the most significant concerns related to numerical algorithms to solve quantum mechanics differential equations is maintaining stability. In this project, the time-dependent Dirac equation is solved using the MSD2 method to determine the wavefunction and various operator expectation values of an electromagnetically self-interacting fermion. The resulting non-linearity of the equation may become a source of instability. The latter is controlled by checking the norm and verifying Ehrenfest's equations. The spatial lattice used in the algorithm introduces a momentum Fourier cutoff whose effect is eliminated by choosing appropriate initial conditions. The use of dynamic memory allocation accommodated the large memory demands of the algorithm. There is an inherent tradeoff between the accuracy imposed by the spatial lattice and the run time and computer memory as stability requires smaller time-steps. Finite results for the renormalized mass and charge of the fermion have been obtained proving the validity of the method. |
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F01.00014: Correlating Cosmic-Ray Electronsand Positrons is Search of Spectral Features from Pulsars Thressay C Hoover, Tanvi Karwal, Ilias Cholis In recent years, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) on-board the International Space Station has provided unprecedented precision measurements of the electron and positron cosmic-ray fluxes in the 0.5 GeV to 1 TeV energy range. At the lower energies cosmic-ray secondary positrons dominate the flux, while at higher energies a new type of source becomes important. If that source is energetic local pulsars, they are expected to contribute to both the cosmic-ray positron and electron fluxes. This would result in features in their respective spectra that would coincide in energy; which we search for. We first fit the individual fluxes with parametrically smooth spectra to identify the significance of such features on either the electrons or the positrons and evaluate their respective residual fluxes. We then perform a cross-correlation analysis on the residual fluxes to see if their features are related and report our results. |
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F01.00015: Development and Analysis of Machine Learning in Neutron Clustering Reconstruction in the LHC Aryan Vaidya A new radiation hard reaction plane detector (RPD) will be installed in ATLAS for the upcoming LHC run 3 heavy ion collisions, located in the far forward region of the LHC and inserted between two modules of the Zero Degree Calorimeters (ZDC). The detector measures reaction plane geometry for nuclear collisions with sufficient spatial resolution to perform directed flow analyses. As part of this, the RPD will measure the spatial distribution of spectator neutrons emerging from each collision as they interact with sixteen channels, excited via Cherenkov radiation, although there is no internal structure with which these channels reconstruct neutron clustering. In previous runs, RPD clustering reconstruction has been accomplished through the naive assumption of neutrons being clustered around the center of mass of an incoming shower, which frequently does not match up with truth values. This study provided an alternative method by utilizing gradient-boosted decision trees and neural networks, both fully-connected and convolutional, to find neutron clustering in GEANT4 simulated data using the energy readings of each channel. Analyzing these models provided information about relative channel importance and implicit biases in the construction of the RPD. |
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F01.00016: Studies of angular distributions in meson photoproduction at GlueX Alan S Sosa, Joerg Reinhold |
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F01.00017: Attenuation of Interplanetary Radiation via Novel Materials Keegan M Finger, Justin Brutger, Trevin Detwiler, Katya Harycki, Timothy Kutnink, Julie LaFranzo, Meredith Luttrell, Jack Messerli-Wallace, Sam Mortenson, Noah Peterson, Athanasios Petridis, Gabriel Summers, Daniel Viscarra, Mateo Viscarra, Zach T Wellens One of the primary concerns with interplanetary travel is the attenuation of radiation while maintaining a light and efficient craft. To begin to address this concern, we compiled a database of measured interplanetary electromagnetic and ionic radiation of solar and cosmic origins from a variety of space probes such as ACE and SOHO. The compiled data will be used as input to a relativistic Monte Carlo particle trajectory model developed to test the efficacy of using a combination of intense magnetic field and ionizing gas to stop or deflect massive ions. However, the magnetic field and gas concept will not effectively attenuate electromagnetic radiation. To this end, we test the radiation attenuation properties of a few novel materials which used as structural elements of the craft and the ionization chambers can reduce the intensity of X-rays and possibly gamma-rays without the need for massive, passive shielding. Measurements on a combination of Nitinol and Demron have shown significant attenuation of X-rays while maintaining desirable elastic properties. |
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F01.00018: Ultrasonic Properties of Prostate Cells Maria Teresa Herd, Emma Ushchak, Sarah Iacoviello In the United States, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death and the most diagnosed form of cancer in men. It has been shown that healthy and malignant cells have differences in their quantitative ultrasonic (QUS) properties. This study explored the fundamental QUS properties of healthy prostate cells by determining attenuation, speed of sound, and backscatter, with the object of comparing the QUS differences between cancerous and non-cancerous prostate cells in the future. Ultimately, these findings could lead to a non-invasive way of detecting cancer through quantitative ultrasound. It was found that in the higher frequencies, the cells reflected more of the waves leading to higher backscatter coefficients generally matching the theoretical fit for a spherical scatterer, attenuation also increased with frequency following a power law of f0.7. Speed of sound was determined to be frequency independent. |
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F01.00019: Neutron Energy Distribution of an AmBe Source at the MGH Proton Center Alexandra N Leeming, Kendrick G Koumba, Cameron T Martin, Joshua J Bourgoin, Ari M Goldberg, Brooke Bolduc, Molly R McDonough At Suffolk University, the Neutron Research Project has been investigating the neutron energy distribution of an Americium-Beryllium (AmBe) source located at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The energy distribution of AmBe sources varies and the distribution of the one at MGH is unknown. Using an array of commercially available energy threshold bubble detectors, we have constructed a six window energy histogram of the activity ranging from 0 to 20 MeV. To mitigate backscattering that causes artificially high bubble counts, we used a rectangular array of detectors on posts with the source on a polyethylene stack. Additionally, to eliminate non-physical negative activities due to statistical errors, we developed a program to solve the six-coupled energy absorption equations by minimizing the error squared from predicted and measured bubble counts. The end result is activity, with errors, of the AmBe source in the six different energy regions. Knowing this we will be able to pursue the determination of energy dependent neutron attenuation coefficients of different materials. |
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F01.00020: Design and construction of a Modular NaI(Tl) Detector Array for use in the Parity and Time Reversal Violation Measurements for NOPTREX. Jon Mills The goal of the NOPTREX collaboration is to probe the Standard Model by utilizing the properties of low energy neutron-nucleus resonances to find evidence of parity- and time-reversal-odd violations. In order to conduct these sensitive experiments, it is needed to design and simulate an array of modular, high precision NaI(Tl) detectors. These detectors will be designed to operate in both pulse and current modes. We have tentative beam time at LANSCE to perform a search for new parity violation in heavy nuclei as candidates for time reversal and to perform a research and development effort on the n+d=t+gamma experiment. We will discuss the results of our experiments to determine the most efficient design of the detectors, electronics, and magnetic shielding, as well as our progress on the construction and characterization of the array. |
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F01.00021: Interacting dark energy axions in light of the Hubble tension Ennis Mawas, Lauren Street, Richard Gass, L. C. R. Wijewardhana A current problem within the ΛCDM framework is the tension between late and early time measurements of the Hubble parameter today, H0. We entertain the possibility that dark energy modeled as multiple interacting axion-like-particle species can alleviate the current Hubble tension. We then test these parameters against the milder tension between the CMB and large scale structure (LSS) observations of σ8 to ensure that these models do not exacerbate the tension. We find that there exist parameter spaces for models of two and three axion-like-particles which can potentially alleviate the Hubble tension as well as the σ8 tension. |
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F01.00022: Search for vector-like quarks in the single lepton final state using deep neural networks Brennan A Luetke, Julie M Hogan, Cody M Holz, Evan Scharnick Vector-like quarks are massive fermionic top quark partners featured in several new physics models. We present a search by the CMS experiment for vector-like T and B quarks in the single lepton final state using all data collected in Run 2. This search improves on previous CMS searches by using deep neural network jet identification and a custom deep network for signal discrimination, providing expanded sensitivity to high mass T and B quarks. |
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F01.00023: Improvements to and Functionality Testing of ATLAS Online Trigger Rate Prediction Tool in Preparation for Run 3 Enzo Brandani, Tae M Hong, Joerg Stelzer, Connor H Menzel The ATLAS detector at the LHC is subject to millions of events per second. ATLAS employs a trigger system to select events of high importance for offline storage. To ensure the triggers are working as expected, we use a software tool called xMon, which has been in operation in the ATLAS control room for a decade. xMon works by predicting the trigger rate based on offline fits from previous runs, which can then be compared to the live trigger rates at ATLAS. We discuss the recent developments to prepare xMon for Run 3: (1) formatting the new visual interface hosted within the Grafana TRP dashboard, (2) analysis of results from pilot beam data, (3) addition of a bunch factor callback function. |
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F01.00024: Gallium-68 in Medical Diagnostics Brecca Bettcher Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans generate images of the body making noninvasive diagnostics possible for thousands of cancer patients. To provide higher image quality that better establishes and locates malignancies, ensuring more accurate and precise diagnoses, scientists continually develop new radiotracers. Gallium-68-based radiotracers have demonstrated promising clinical applications. However, predicting successful implementation in clinical practice requires a cost-benefit comparison against existing radiotracers such as fluorine-18-based radiopharmaceuticals. This presentation examines the imaging advantages and cost-effectiveness of gallium-68-based radiotracers against other conventional radiotracers and imaging modalities to assess when gallium-68 PET diagnostics would be beneficial in clinical settings. |
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F01.00025: Testing Data Cuts for Updated Gravitational Wave Triggered Searches Jacob E Buchanan, Ryan P Fisher Gravitational waves have the potential to lead to many new discoveries about the nature of the universe. One area of inquiry in particular is a correlation between gamma ray bursts and gravitational waves. The LIGO-Virgo collaboration is upgrading the analysis pipeline used for coherent, modelled searches of gravitational waves associated with gamma ray burst events, known as PyGRB. The purpose of this project is to reimplement a set of data quality tests in the pipeline, called chi-squared tests, that help distinguish signals from transient noise. Next, the effectiveness of these tests and the computational cost are being reevaluated in the new implementation. Overall, this project will finally be used to determine the relative cost to benefit ratio of these tests and whether they will be used for analyses in the upcoming fourth observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. |
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F01.00026: Analysis and Comparison of Light Intensity Spectra Using Wavelet and Fourier Analysis Gracie Buondonno, Kathryn Ormond, Amna Haider, Joseph J Trout This poster demonstrates our research on analyzing the light intensity spectra of stars with data provided by the Kepler Space Telescope. We analyzed the stellar light curves using Fourier Analysis and Wavelet Analysis. Continuous data of the light spectra intensities are used for the analysis of astronomical phenomena such as discovering the orbit of previously unseen planets. We are looking at various phenomena with stars and comparing the two techniques and seeing which one is more efficient and accurate. This poster presents the comparison of data collected and analyzed with Fourier Analysis and Wavelet analysis. |
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F01.00027: Predicting the First and Last Frost using Historical Data and Numerical Weather Predictions Courtney M Weber, Joseph J Trout Community gardens have become and effective and popular way to increase the variety of nutritional foods in food deserts, especially inner-city food deserts. Community gardens in the city of Philadelphia have been experiencing problems with disease and pests, especially for the tomato plants. The tomato plants would mature until harvest time, and then experience problems when the tomato plants were stressed by the hottest part of summer. The heat of the summer is magnified by the urban heat island effect, which we suspect may causing part of the problem. This project evaluates the historical temperature data and researches the influence of the urban heat island effect. One solution to this problem is to grow tomato varieties with short growing periods. In order for this to be effective, an accurate prediction of the last frost of the spring and first frost of the fall is required. This project looks at using historical data and the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model to predict the seasonal frosts. |
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F01.00028: PHYSICS EDUCATION
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F01.00029: Undergraduate modern physics projects for non-major students Andrey V Semichaevsky, Joseph Tumulty Lab experimentation is an essential part of any undergraduate physics program. Other STEM and non-STEM disciplines have requirements for labs to include modern physics (e.g., atomic physics and spectroscopy) experiments. In this work, we present our approach to such experimental projects for electrical and computer engineers and also for other STEM majors in a liberal arts HBCU (Lincoln University, PA). According to von Karman, "engineers create the world that never was". To train our students for an engineering career, we designed our modern physics projects based on the challenges coming from recently published papers on HEP and gamma-ray detectors [1], [2], and other experiments, e.g., effects of temperature on characteristics of optoelectronic devices. A typical course introducing STEM non-major students to experiments in modern physics is an Engineering Capstone. Examples of student experiments, their attitudes and achievements are presented. We also discuss non-STEM labs that teach important concepts of modern physics at an introductory level. |
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F01.00030: ULAB:An Accessible, Peer-Led Framework for Facilitating Undergraduate Research Experiences in Physics Yi J Zhu Undergraduate research is a critical component of students' training in physics. We present a unique case study of a peer-led undergraduate research experience: The Undergraduate Lab at Berkeley (ULAB) program. ULAB is a student-run, research training course at UC Berkeley. The ULAB framework emphasizes acquisition and application of research skills in a manner that is accessible to all students. The program utilizes a flexible curriculum to teach essential research skills to students from diverse backgrounds and with varying levels of research experience. Students then have the opportunity to apply these skills to a year-long research project. They form teams lead by a senior undergraduate mentor and design a project, write a research proposal, carry out the project with funding from the University, and present their results at a department poster symposium. The focus of our case study is a 1-year study (n = 60 ULAB students) of the effectiveness of the ULAB framework in (1) building competency in research skills, (2) building confidence in research skills, (3) fostering students' sense of belonging within the research community. Using qualitative and quantitative techniques developed by the Berkeley Undergraduate Research Evaluation Tools (BURET) project, a pre and post survey is conducted throughout the duration of the program. Here we present the results of our case study and argue that ULAB is an effective, accessible, and novel framework for facilitating undergraduates taking their first step into research. |
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F01.00031: Using manim to create instructional videos for introductory physics students Matthew Bellis, Alexis Leuci Manim is a python module, created by Grant Sanderson, initially for use in his 3Blue1Brown video channel. In his videos, he uses manim to create complex, detailed videos to explain mostly high-level math concepts. We were interested in exploring the use of manim to create short videos, 1-2 minutes long, that supplement topics that students encounter in introductory physics courses in high school and college. With these videos, students could review concepts that they might be struggling with, in an engaging format. We created 4 videos, 2 math and 2 physics, along these lines and made them available on YouTube. We shared some of them with students and have collected informal feedback. Here we present these videos and our thoughts on how they can be used, as well as future plans for this work. |
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F01.00032: Developing interactive physics simulations using the processing programming language Matthew Bellis, Michael DeLouker Processing is a programming language that was initially developed for artists. It has significant built-in support for animations and user interactions. With the development of p5js, a javascript impementation, it is even easier to embed these animations in websites. We have created interactive simulations that let the user explore both simple physics concepts (projectile motion) and more complicated ones (neutrino oscillations). In these simulations, users are able to play around with the experimental setup and the parameters and then observe the results. We present these demos along with informal feedback from students as to their educational benefit. The current status of these demos and ideas for future efforts will be presented. |
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F01.00033: How Students use their Conceptual Resources and Mechanistic Reasoning to Sensemake about Electric Circuits Clausell Mathis, Lisa M Goodhew, Paula R Heron The sensemaking process, in which students recognize an inconsistency or gap in their thinking and work to resolve that gap, is one way of modeling how science learning happens. As an attempt to understand students' learning of current flow in circuits, we analyzed a discussion amongst three undergraduate physics students who were attempting to formulate an understanding of how charges move within a circuit depending on the number and orientation of resistors. Students were attempting to solve a problem set designed to understand their conceptual resources around current flow in circuits. Discourse analysis was done to understand students' vexation points – the moments where they articulate that something doesn't "make sense", along with moments of resolution in their understanding of charge movement in a circuit. We analyzed students' conversations to understand how students' conceptual resources about charge and current flow and their mechanistic reasoning about circuits may support their sensemaking process. |
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F01.00034: Quantum Party! An educational board game built around quantum mechanics observations and experiments Matthew Bellis, Abigail Huffman, Germaine Gatewood Given the amount of competition students have for their attention (social media, extracurricular activities, jobs, etc), it can be a challenge to get them to fully engage with classroom material while *in* the classroom. There are a variety of approaches to reclaiming some of their attention, such as introducing material so fascinating that they can't help but think about it outside the classroom or gamifying the classroom interactions to the point that they may not even realize they are learning. Since 2018, a small group at Siena has been working on a board game that teaches quantum mechanics at the middle- and high-school level, driven by rules inspired by the science behind 4 classic science experiments/observations: the double slit experiment, blackbody radiation, the photoelectric effect, and the Rutherford scattering experiment. The first version of the game was completed in 2021 and is being manufactured by a small company that specializes in independent board games, now available for purchase by anyone. In addition to the game board and pieces, the game comes with a pamphlet that concisely describes the science behind the game at an introductory level. We present our experience designing the game and feedback from high-school teachers about how it might be used in the classroom. |
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F01.00035: Learning physics by experiment: VIII. Radiation Saami Shaibani "The ideal range of values for the UV index in a particular environment is 3.0 to 7.0. If a UV bulb produces a UV index of 1.8 at a distance of 42 cm, what distances are required to create the ideal range?" This is the essence of an electronic message from a non-scientific friend. A subsequent meeting revealed some major difficulties, including (a) the non-trivial location of the effective center of the bulb when placed in a reflective shade and (b) severe limitations in measuring values for other distances due to various constraints. Such problems caused the initial solution from an intentionally simplistic analysis to be reconsidered. An empirical approach with minimal laboratory equipment resolved item (b), but the challenge of item (a) resisted any experimental technique. Theoretical methods were then devised to identify the equivalent point source of the lamp, thereby producing a calibration curve for the lamp that applies to any environment. This success further extends the power of the philosophy implemented for more than ten years {nominal bookends in [1,2]}, with special emphasis on the benefits of showing students how physics solves problems in the real world. |
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F01.00036: PHYSICS EDUCATION RESEARCH
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F01.00037: Comparison of an Onlne Astronomy Course and a Face-to-face Astronomy Course Joseph J Trout, Courtney Weber This project compares the success of an online astronomy course based on the free, online OpenStax textbook produced at Stockton University and a face-to-face version of the same course. The success of the course is examined using a 100-question pretest and posttest. A survey was also completed of the students to evaluate the perceived success of the online course and the acceptance of online courses. |
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F01.00038: PRECISION TESTS OF PHYSICS LAWS
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F01.00039: Levitated Ferromagnetic Torque Sensors for Fundamental Physics Tests Derek F Jackson Kimball, Dmitry Budker, Alex O Sushkov Under conditions where intrinsic spin contributes significantly to the total angular momentum of a ferromagnet, the ferromagnet will behave as a gyroscope. If a ferromagnetic gyroscope (FG) can be sufficiently isolated from the environment, it is predicted to be far more sensitive to spin-dependent interactions than existing systems. Even when the intrinsic spin is a subdominant component of the total angular momentum, measurement of the oscillatory modes of the levitated ferromagnet can be used for precision measurements of spin-dependent interactions. In fact, such LEvitated Ferromagnetic Torque Sensors (LEFTS) can surpass the "energy resolution limit" for magnetic field measurements as well as the limit on measurement uncertainty imposed by the Heisenberg principle for independent particles. The remarkable sensitivity of LEFTS can be understood to be a result of rapid averaging of quantum noise. We discuss experimental progress toward realization of LEFTS and recent proposals to use LEFTS to search for new interactions and investigate physics at the intersection between quantum mechanics and general relativity. |
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F01.00040: Tabletop Search for Planck-Scale Signals in the Regime of Quasiclassical Oscillations Vladimir I Tsifrinovich, Gennady P Berman We consider quasiclassical oscillations in the Bekenstein’s proposal for the tabletop search of the discreteness of space. In the original proposal, a transparent block which transmits a sequence of single photons, is suspended from a fiber. We consider a situation when the block is set into the quasiclassical oscillations. This allows us to better understand the dynamical regimes of the center of mass (CM) of the block for two limits, quantum and classical. We also analyze the correlation function for the CM of the block and argue that it does not describe real fluctuations which could make the proposed experiment impossible. We suggest that the best place for the implementation of the Bekenstein’s proposal could be the International Space Station, where the fiber is not required. |
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F01.00041: Testable Implications of the Heisenberg Interpretation for General Relativity Armin Nikkhah Shirazi Recently, this author proposed a novel interpretation of quantum mechanics called the Heisenberg Interpretation. Its principal difference from the textbook formalism is a mathematical distinction between things which exist merely as possibilities and those which exist as actualities. This is achieved by means of representing the latter as elements of a set separate from the Hilbert space, called the classical states set, and associated with quantum measurements. The distinction imposes a hard boundary between the quantum and classical domains, which under identification of the latter with the domain of general relativity leads to the prediction of novel phenomena. These novel predictions arise because under the current prevailing views, it is presumed that there is no such boundary, and this presumption, in fact, underlies the quantum gravity paradigm. As a first step toward testable precision predictions, we characterize the predictions generated from the existence of such a boundary mainly at a conceptual level and classifiy them by the testability. |
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F01.00042: The Anomaly in the Orbital g-factor and the Structure of the Electron Ayodeji M Awobode High precision measurements of the electron spin and/or orbital g-factor complement very well, the atomic/molecular experiments which test for parity, search for a permanent electric dipole moment and test the CPT Theorem, or investigate the Lorentz symmetry and test QED. A search for an anomaly in the electron g-factors also provides a stringent test of QED (and therefore the Standard Model), in which it is currently assumed that the orbital g-factor is unaffected by the radiative interactions, though the anomaly (gS – 2) in the spin g-factor is attributed to radiative corrections. Furthermore, it is currently assumed, without the benefit of sufficient experimental investigations, that the electron has a uniform mass-to-charge distribution like a classical point particle, hence its orbital g-factor must be exactly equal to one, i.e, gL = 1. Nevertheless, determinations from the measurement of the ratio of gJ values in In, Ga, Na, Ar, Ne and He, indicate that the anomaly in the electron orbital g-factor is of the order of 10-3 to 10-4 to very high precisions. Therefore, continued search for anomalies in the electron spin and orbital g-factors, or, alternatively high-precision measurements of the electron g-factors, will constitute a useful guide in the search for new physics beyond the Standard Model, while also providing a low-energy means of elucidating the nature and/or structure of the electron. |
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F01.00043: Information Mechanics: Hypothesis & Evidence John L Haller The Bernoulli Process is one of the simplest mechanisms to model a discrete random walk. We explore the possibility that particles in nature follow the Bernoulli Process and we examine resulting implications. While it is possible to set the parameters of the process such that the first moment of the particle’s locations follow special relativity exactly, the second moment brings new physical insight. Specifically, the variance of the particle’s location is dependent on the particle’s velocity. Since no reference frame is given, we deem this velocity absolute. Furthermore, it is possible to calculate this velocity by a measurement of the particle’s variance over time from the magnitude and phase of the Fourier Transform of the variance of the space time location. We present the results of an experiment to measure the absolute value of the jitter on a pair of atomic clocks as a proxy for variance and show that by following the hypothesis, the resulting velocity of the laboratory is the same as it is in the Cosmic Microwave Background Reference Frame (the obvious choice if a preferred frame existed). These data indicate we are able to measure the velocity of a particle without specifying any reference frame, a break from our current understanding of physics. |
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F01.00044: Detecting traces of non-contact quantum friction in the corrections of the accumulated geometric phase Fernando C Lombardo, Ricardo S Decca, Jing Liu, Paula I Villar, Ludmila Viotti In this presentation quantum friction is proposed to be determined by means of the measurement of the geometric phase in a two level system. The study of the open dynamics of a neutral particle while traveling at constant velocity in front of a dielectric sheet in quantum vacuum is described. The effects of the quantum vacuum are disentangled by looking into the changes associated by the presence of the dielectric sheet and the motion of the particle in quantum vacuum. As the geometric phase accumulates over cycles, the correction to the geometric phase becomes relevant at a relative short timescale, while the system still preserves purity. A proposed experiment to measure the effect of quantum friction will be described, with particular emphasis in the velocity dependence of the corrections to the phase. The experiment consists in measuring the changes induced in the geometric phase of a NV-center embedded in a nanodiamond, kept at a constant short distance (~3-10 nm) from a rotating doped Si wafer. This experiment would be the first one in tracking traces of quantum friction through the study of decoherence effects on the two-level system. |
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F01.00045: Design of experiments testing light-speed invariance to moving observers Qian Chen The principle of the constancy of the velocity of light, which stated that the light velocity is invariant to the motion of the emitter, was well established and directly proven by many experiments. Puzzlingly, the further assumption that the light velocity is also independent of the motion of the observer was, arguably, never conclusively proven by any experiment for a century, if we leave out the indirect proof through inferences and arguments. For example, the Michelson-Morley-experiment only proved that the light speed variance, if any, is much smaller than the earth's speed, 30 km/s. This paper tried to address some perceived technical difficulties in such experiments and proposed two experiments to test this assumption. One is to directly measure the light speed as to moving sensors, with the setup designed in such a way that the concerns of time synchronization and dilation can be avoided. Another experiment is to test the isotropy of the light speed to a high-speed particle by measuring the momentum to acceleration ratio. The experiment results, if positive, will provide direct proof of the assumption. Otherwise, it may imply a need for further investigation. Since the light speed invariance to moving observers is a key assumption of some fundamental physical theory, either way, the experiments will have significant importance. |
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F01.00046: The Global Network of Optical Magnetometers for Exotic physics searches (GNOME) Derek F Jackson Kimball A host of astrophysical and cosmological measurements strongly suggest that the majority of matter in the Universe is dark matter. Understanding its nature is of paramount importance to astrophysics, cosmology, and particle physics. A well-motivated possibility is that the dark matter consists of ultralight bosons such as axions, with masses far smaller than 1 eV. The collective behavior of such ultralight bosonic dark matter is well-described as a classical field. Due to topology or self-interactions, ultralight bosonic fields can form stable, macroscopic configurations in the form of boson stars or topological defects (domain walls). Even in the absence of topological defects or self-interactions, bosonic dark matter fields exhibit stochastic fluctuations. Furthermore, cataclysmic astrophysical events (like black hole mergers) could produce intense bursts of exotic low-mass fields (ELFs). In any of these scenarios, instead of being bathed in a uniform flux, terrestrial detectors will witness transient events when the exotic bosonic fields pass through Earth. The Global Network of Optical Magnetometers to search for Exotic physics (GNOME) is an international collaboration to search for such transient events with a worldwide network of more than a dozen time-synchronized optical atomic magnetometers, with stations in Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia. We report on our latest results and future directions. |
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F01.00047: EQUITY, DIVERSITY, & INCLUSION
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F01.00048: A Machine-Learning Investigation into Publication Bias in Author Ethnicity and Gender Huey-Wen Lin Evidence and reports document that unprofessional peer reviews disproportionately harm underrepresented groups in STEM. Unfortunately, these reviews are not publicly available and examining such reports would take full-time study by many people over a long time period to discern the impact in the various subfields of physics. Lattice QCD is at the intersection of theoretical physics and computer science, two fields for which diversity in ethnicity and gender are in poor shape. Analysis of publications in this field could provide indirect evidence of any hidden issues. Toward this end, we analyze papers that are classified as primary hep-lat, studying whether there is any race or gender bias in the journal-publication process. We implement machine learning to predict the race and gender of authors based on their names and look for measurable differences between publication outcomes based on author classification. We would like to invite discussion of how journals can make improvements in their editorial process and how institutions or grant offices should account for publication differences in gender and race. |
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F01.00049: ACCELERATOR SYSTEMS
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F01.00050: Muon Collider Low-to-Medium Energy Lifetime Enhancement via Topological Impedance Matching peter cameron In geometric representation of Clifford algebra, gauge fields are of two varieties - translation and rotation. Translation gauge fields are associated with scale-dependent geometric impedances, rotation with scale-invariant topological impedances. In the baseline muon collider design, translation gauge fields of RF cavities provide high-energy lifetime enhancement via time dilation of special relativity. At 255 GeV/c the enhancement is gamma = ~2500, providing lifetimes of a few milliseconds. However, our muon sources provide muon energies of only a few GeV, where lifetimes are a few microseconds. This first low-energy step is perhaps the most challenging of the project, to cool and accelerate enough low-emittance muons to provide useful luminosity. |
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F01.00051: High-Gradient Accelerator in the mm-Wave Regime Emma Snively, Emilio A Nanni, Mohamed A Othman, Ann V Sy We present the design of a high gradient accelerator operating at 94 GHz. Simulations of the cavity geometry and RF coupling network are performed in ANSYS-HFSS and using SLAC's parallel electromagnetic code suite ACE3P. The distributed coupling topology enables optimization of the individual cell geometry, including reentrant nose cones, to achieve a high shunt impedance exceeding 400 MΩ/m. Using cryogenic cooling to liquid nitrogen temperatures, we expect a normal conducting cavity, fabricated from copper, would approach a shunt impedance of 1 GΩ/m. We discuss the design challenges for accelerators operating in the mm-wave regime, as well as the potential advantages for applications requiring ultra-compact structures. We also report on progress made in prototype fabrication. |
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F01.00052: Thermionic Source for electron cooling at IOTA Mary K Bossard, Nilanjan Banerjee, Young-Kee Kim A new electron cooling experiment is planned at the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) at Fermilab for cooling ~2.5 MeV protons in the presence of intense space-charge. Electron cooling is integral to the study of beam dynamics and has valuable applications for producing high-intensity hadron beams in particle accelerators. For such goals, the electron lens placed in the IOTA ring will be used for electron cooling, as well as space-charge compensation and non-linear dynamics. Here we present the simulations and design of a thermionic electron source for cooling at IOTA. We particularly discuss dimensions and materials of the thermionic source electrodes, as well as the simulation results under such parameters. Furthermore, we present future steps for production and commissioning of this thermionic source at IOTA. |
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F01.00053: Solid-State Driven X-band Linac for Electron Microscopy Ankur Dhar, Mohamed A Othman, Sami Tantawi, Emilio A Nanni, Ann V Sy Current transmission electron microscopes (TEM) accelerate electrons to 200-300 keV using DC electron guns with a nanoamp of current and very low emittance. However at higher voltages these DC sources rapidly grow in size, oftentimes several meters tall for 1 MeV microscopes [1]. Replacing these electron guns with a compact linac powered by solid-state sources could dramatically lower cost while maintaining beam quality, thereby increasing accessibility. Utilizing compact high shunt impedance X-band structures ensures that each RF cycle contains at most a few electrons, preserving beam coherence. CW operation of the RF linac is possible with distributed solid-state architectures [2–4] which power each cavity directly with solid-state amplifiers which can now provide up to 100W of power at X-band frequencies [5]. We present an initial design for a prototype low-cost CW RF linac for high-throughput electron diffraction producing 200 keV electrons with a standing-wave architecture where each cell is individually powered by a solid-state transistor. This design also provides an upgrade path for future compact MeV-scale sources on the order of 1 meter in size. |
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F01.00054: Bayesian active learning for autonomous parameter space exploration in particle accelerators Juan Pablo Gonzalez-Aguilera, Ryan Roussel, Young-Kee Kim Characterizing the particle beam response with respect to the input parameters is a crucial step when operating an accelerator. Current characterization methodologies involve grid scans over the input space, which become impractical in the presence of measurement constraints, high-dimensional input spaces, or when there is limited prior knowledge of the beam response. In this work, we introduce an adaptation of the Bayesian optimization algorithm which can be used to explore input parameter spaces autonomously in accelerators. Our algorithm replaces grid scans without the need for prior information about the measurement's behavior or constraints. We present the implementation of this algorithm in the characterization of the vertical beam emittance at the Argonne Wake Field Accelerator. This experiment demonstrates that our algorithm conducts an autonomous, efficient, and adaptative multi-parameter exploration, which can be potentially orders of magnitude faster than grid scans while maintaining similar accuracy. |
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F01.00055: GRAVITATION
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F01.00056: The Characteristic Problem in ideal GRMHD with Magnetic Monopole Dampening Justin C Tackett, Eric W Hirschmann, Ryan Hatch We consider the characteristic problem in ideal, general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics. Writing the relevant equations in 3+1 and balance law form, we verify the characteristic equation together with the relevant wave speeds. We provide corrections to a previous calculation of the full eigenvalue problem with complete, normalized left and right eigenvectors. We discuss extensions to include constraint damping of the magnetic monopole constraint and renormalizing the eigenvectors to handle degenerate cases. We speculate on possible applications of the full characteristic decomposition in high resolution shock capturing techniques and high energy astrophysical systems such as jet launching. |
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F01.00057: History dependence of self-force during an extreme mass-ratio inspiral Charles E Derbyshire, Thomas Osburn Perturbation models of gravitational waves produced by an extreme mass-ratio inspiral (EMRI) often involve simplifying assumptions that introduce accumulating errors. One common assumption, which we are correcting for, is that the small object in the EMRI system has historically followed a fixed geodesic. To improve this aspect of EMRI models, we apply a two-timescale expansion to the Teukolsky equation for quasi-circular non-spinning EMRIs. By including the next term in the two-timescale expansion, we will account for past properties of the orbit. We have already solved the Teukolsky equation for perfectly circular orbital motion, and compared these results with past work. We now turn our attention to the next term in the two-timescale expansion, which will account for history dependence of the gravitational perturbations and self-force. |
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F01.00058: Parameter estimation of gravitational wave events near instrumental noise Joshua C Brandt, Sudarshan Ghonge, John M Sullivan, Nadia Qutob, Katerina Chatziioannou, James A Clark, Tyson Littenberg, Margaret Millhouse, Neil J Cornish, Laura Cadonati Gravitational wave signals received by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) can overlap in time with transient instrumental noise. These "glitches" introduce errors in the analysis of a signal since the parameters (properties) of the originating astrophysical system are inferred by comparing gravitational waveforms with the data. By adding known simulated signals into data containing glitches from both of the LIGO detectors, we study how glitches affect parameter estimation. To characterize the efficacy of improving accuracy across different glitch classes, we re-analyze the data after using BayesWave to excise the glitch by modelling it, and the signal, as a separate sum of wavelets. We show that this de-glitching process can greatly improve the accuracy of parameter estimation, but results are dependent on glitch morphology. |
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F01.00059: Building Fully Analytic Gravitational Waves from Eccentric Binaries Maria C Babiuc, Dillon P Buskirk The first observation of gravitational waves (GW) by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory in 2015 marked the beginning of the new field of GW astronomy. All GW detections reported until now come from circularized binaries, because current detectors don't have enough sensitivity to detect eccentricity. As techniques improve, detection of GW from eccentric binaries will become not only possible, but preponderant, because they collide faster. The eccentricity encoded in the GW signal reveals valuable information about the long-time evolution of the binary. To decipher it is essential to have complete, accurate and easily reproducible GW templates for elliptic binaries. GW data analysis libraries contain very few eccentricity methods because they are challenging to build and to describe due to the complex physics involved. In this work we develop and share the knowledge necessary to understand and build fully analytic eccentric GW templates, using published scientific results. We compare various methods used to determine the mass, spin and fundamental quasi-normal resonance mode of the final black hole, highlighting some subtleties regarding the inherent ambiguities that enter in those methods. We employ two related analytic models for generating GW in the strong field of the merger: the Implicit Rotating Source and the Backward one Body methods, and analyze their performance against numerically generated GWs. Our goal is to make all these intricate methods less intimidating and more accessible to a larger audience, which is imperative in training researchers and students into the next generation of GW scientists. |
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F01.00060: Deflection of Light in the Equatorial Plane of the Kerr Black Hole: From the Last Photon Orbit to Infinity Savi V Iyer, Robert C Sinesi Series expansions for the bending of light in the equatorial plane of a Kerr black hole are given for the strong and weak deflection limits with various values of the spin parameter ranging from zero to one. From the exact bending angle expression, with no known analytical solution, we get power series approximations for the bending angle in terms of the impact parameter of the incident light ray. Analytical expressions allow us to obtain various pieces of information for images formed in gravitational lensing. Specifically, the asymmetry that arises in the spin-dependent shifts in image positions can be predicted by the analytical expansions. We apply our results for the case of a galactic supermassive black hole to predict angular shifts of relativistic images from the optic axis. The possible observation of the asymmetric image shifts with telescopes can only be predicted with the perturbative expansions in the strong deflection regime. |
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F01.00061: Differences Between Black Hole Solutions in General Relativity and Conformal Gravity William I Throndson, Ethan Podolsky Although General Relativity (GR) has made a number of predictions that have all been confirmed, it is not a perfect theory; it is incompatible with Quantum Mechanics, making a quantum theory of gravity based in GR impossible. However, Conformal Gravity, a slight alteration of GR, is more compatible with Quantum Mechanics and is thus intriguing to investigate as a possible theory of gravity. Black holes, having singularities, belong to both the large realm of gravity and the small realm of Quantum Mechanics, so we investigate the differences between solutions in GR and Conformal Gravity. We found that Conformal Gravity eliminates the need for a cosmological constant, eliminates the need to account for dark matter in galactic gravity, demonstrates functionally identical vacuum solutions to GR, and has gravitational pull for charged black holes, rather than in GR, where charge creates anti-gravity. |
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F01.00062: New method to calculate self-force during inspiral into a Kerr black hole Balor Brennan, Thomas Osburn We are developing extreme mass ratio inspiral (EMRI) calculations of the Kerr self-force with methods that avoid time-instabilities encountered in previous work. To develop methods that will be applicable to gravitational perturbations, we examine a toy model consisting of a scalar charge orbiting a Kerr black hole. We will avoid instabilities by separating the "t" variable, and the "phi" variable was separated for simplicity. This leads to elliptic partial differential equations (PDEs) with "r" and "theta" derivatives which are solved via the finite difference method. Preliminary results will be presented to demonstrate progress towards these goals. Our eventual results will enhance theoretical models of gravitational waves detected by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). |
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F01.00063: Determining Optimal Analysis Techniques for Characterizing Dust Distributions in Virgo Clearnooms Zachary Yarbrough One of the primary contributors to noise in the optical benches of LIGO and Virgo is stray light. Stray light differs randomly in phase and adds noise to the measured phase after recombining with nominal light. A main cause of stray light in optical systems is particulate matter that contaminates clean surfaces and serves as a mechanism for scattering. Impacts of stray light can be calculated with tools like simulational analysis, however parameters necessary for simulations must be calculated for each specific environment. We present progress towards developing an imaging and analysis procedure that accurately produces values for particle characteristics that can be used to calculate such parameters. Optical elements that had been purposefully contaminated by particles with known values were analyzed, allowing us to take images with different settings and determine which combination was the most accurate. Our results showed that an aperture of 5.6 with an exposure time of 40 milliseconds produces accurate values with more regularity and less uncertainty than any other combination of settings. As this project is the first of its kind within the EGO collaboration, our results and procedures have the potential to be applied to numerous optical systems in Virgo, LIGO, and beyond. |
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F01.00064: Analysis of the Average Glitch Rate Around a Gravitational Wave Event Candidate Paolina Doleva, Marissa B Walker The main goal of Advanced LIGO is to study and detect gravitational waves, and an important aspect of working towards that goal is analyzing the glitches in the data. These glitches are short-duration bursts of noise in LIGO detectors, and often interfere with gravitational wave signals, making it difficult to study events. Currently, we use a tool for testing the data quality surrounding the time of gravitational wave event candidates, called a data quality report. The purpose of this research is to conduct an analysis of the average glitch rate preceding past gravitational wave event candidates. This analysis will include a comparison between the time period shortly before the candidate and the overall trends in the glitch rate at other times. These studies will allow us to better analyze the quality of the data around the time of possible gravitational waves. |
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F01.00065: Improving SQL Measurements Using Cross Correlation Measurements Ronald Pagano
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F01.00066: Testing Geometric Surface Conjecture for Rotating Transversable Wormholes John J Marchetta, David D McNutt, William Julius, Matthew Gorban, Christian Brown, Patrick Brown, Gerald B Cleaver
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F01.00067: Limits on axion quark nuggets and Kaluza-Klein gravitons from diffuse background radiation William Mann We revisit experimental limits on dark-matter theories involving axion quark nuggets (AQNs) and Kaluza-Klein gravitons (KKGs). The latter predict sharp signals in the diffuse gamma-ray background (DGB) and are strongly constrained by data from the FermiLAT telescope. The former predict a flatter signal due to bremsstrahlung radiation that extends into the far ultraviolet (FUV) band and may be consistent with observations by the GALEX telescope that suggest an excess over that associated with known sources (primarily dust-scattered starlight). |
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F01.00068: Towards realizing opto-mechanical phase sensitive amplification Shruti Jose Maliakal, Aaron Markowitz, rana X adhikari, Christopher Wipf Squeezed vacuum injection in gravitational wave detectors to reduce the impact of quantum noise can be complemented by phase-sensitive pre-amplification at the output. Losses in the readout chain, namely optical losses, cause decoherence allowing noise (including quantum fluctuations) to couple back into the system. This can be prevented by applying phase-sensitive amplification to amplify the signal quadrature beyond the limitations posed by phase-insensitive amplification, i.e., the standard quantum limit. |
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F01.00069: Optical frequency comb for cryogenic interferometer lock acquisition and calibration Francisco Salces Carcoba, Anchal Gupta, Yehonathan Drori, rana X adhikari Advanced LIGO uses multi-color cavity metrology to bring several cross-coupled cavities into resonance quickly and robustly. This scheme, known as arm length stabilization (ALS), uses the beatnote between a frequency doubled auxiliary field and the main laser to stabilize the 4-km arm interferometer into its operating point. Third-generation cryogenic gravitational wave (GW) detectors such as Voyager will operate well beyond the Si absorption band, i.e. $\geq 1.3 \,\rm \mu m$, rendering the second harmonic ALS scheme impractical for wavelengths $\sim2\,\rm \mu m$. The auxiliary wavelength is instead chosen to be near 1.5$\,\rm \mu m$ which has no simple relation to main laser that can be bridged over with a single non-linear interaction. Here, we propose using an optical frequency comb as a beatnote measurement tool between the two wavelengths. We consider a feedforward technique to suppress most of the frequency comb intrinsic noise in the beatnote fluctuations detection and derive the stability requirements based on lock acquisition, and for doing differential strain calibration in future cryogenic gravitational-wave detectors. |
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F01.00070: 0.1% uncertainty multicolor calibration scheme for gravitational wave detectors Anchal Gupta, Francisco Salces-Carcoba, Yehonathan Drori, rana X adhikari Advanced LIGO (aLIGO) achieves detection of gravitational waves (GWs) originating in distant astrophysical events by reducing the detector measurement noise below the signal strength in the frequency band they arrive. However, the lower the detector noise becomes, the more the uncertainty of a measurement outcome depends on systematic rather than statistical errors. For example, strain in aLIGO is currently calibrated using a standardized laser radiation pressure on the end test masses with an uncertainty of about 5%, highly dominated by systematic error. With next-generation cryogenic GW detectors aiming to bring the detector noise floor further down, new calibration procedures ensuring statistical uncertainty limited measurements are required. Here, we describe a calibration procedure that uses stable oscillating auxiliary fields in the 4-km long arms as a reference to calibrate the differential arm length fluctuations of the interferometer. With this new method, we aim to achieve 0.1% relative uncertainty in the calibration under similar signal-to-noise conditions. Our calibration method will directly impact the precision in compact binary merger parameters and rate estimates, self-calibrated Hubble constant measurement, tests of general relativity, and limits on continuous GW sources and stochastic GW background. |
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F01.00071: Modeling Equatorial EMRI Orbital Evolution using Semi-Relativistic and Teukolsky Calculations Calla I Bassett, Daniel J Oliver, Aaron D Johnson, Benjamin M Bogner, Harry T O'Mara, Daniel Kennefick As a result of radiation damping, extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs) will decay from highly eccentric, long period capture orbits to eventually produce gravitational waves detectable by the proposed LISA mission just not long before they reach the last stable orbit (LSO) just before plunge. Rather than rely on Newtonian order approximations we aim to use semi-relativistic and, where possible, Teukolsky codes to estimate radiation reaction and step evolve the orbit by assuming adiabaticity. Highly eccentric orbits will be modeled using numerical semi-relativistic approximations, mid and low eccentricities will be modeled using adjusted analytical semi-relativistic models and orbits near the plunge will be modeled using a Teukolsky-based code. |
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F01.00072: Generating EMRI Waveforms for Highly Eccentric Equitorial Orbits in LISA Signal Confusion Noise Harry O'Mara, Daniel J Oliver, Aaron D Johnson, Joel Berrier, Kostas Glampedakis, Daniel Kennefick Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) will occasionally capture a stellar-mass compact object (CO) into a highly eccentric orbit, this is known as an extreme mass ratio inspiral (EMRI). These events are prime sources for the proposed space-based gravitational wave detector LISA. However, highly eccentric EMRIs produce significant gravitational radiation only when the orbiting body has evolved in its orbit close to the SMBH. While a single source earlier in its inspiral is not likely to be detectable, an ensemble of many such sources may cause background confusion noise that could mask sources that LISA would otherwise detect. This project aims to improve upon previous studies by implementing a numerical kludge model. We will create a waveform catalog for use in modeling the signals emitted by highly eccentric EMRIs from the point of capture through one period. We will then obtain a SMBH mass function from Illustris, a cosmological simulation, and generate an updated noise curve for LISA. |
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F01.00073: Mapping out peaks in the spectra of highly eccentric orbits of EMRI gravitational wave signals for LISA Benjamin M Bogner, Daniel J Oliver, Aaron D Johnson, Calla I Bassett, Harry T O'Mara, Daniel Kennefick Equatorial orbits of extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs) are a potential source for LISA, the proposed gravitational wave detector. This project aims to find the shape of the gravitational wave (GW) spectrum from such sources. This is done by implementing a frequency domain, Teukolsky based code that can calculate the highly eccentric orbits from the capture of compact objects by a SMBH. In order to save on expensive computation time, it is important to anticipate the frequencies which need to be calculated to accurately characterize each spectrum. Previous studies have shown that peaks of the radial harmonic mode should follow a predictable pattern. We systematically explore the parameter space to predict where the peak mode (kmax) is going to be so that negligible modes can be skipped. |
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F01.00074: Superradiance in massive vector fields with spatially varying mass Zipeng Wang, Thomas Helfer, Katy Clough, Emanuele Berti Superradiance is a process by which massive bosonic particles can extract energy from spinning |
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F01.00075: Angular emission patterns of remnant black holes Xiang Li, Ling Sun, Rico Ka Lok Lo, Ethan Payne, Yanbei Chen The gravitational radiation from the ringdown of a binary black hole merger is described by the solution of the Teukolsky equation, which predicts both the temporal and angular dependence of the emission. Many studies have explored the temporal feature of the ringdown wave through black hole spectroscopy. In this work, we further study the spatial distribution, by introducing a global fitting procedure over both temporal and spatial dependences, to propose a more complete test of General Relativity. We show that spin-weighted spheroidal harmonics are the better representation of the ringdown angular emission patterns compared to spin-weighted spherical harmonics. The differences are distinguishable in numerical relativity waveforms. We also study the correlation between progenitor binary properties and the excitation of quasinormal modes, including higher-order angular modes, overtones, prograde and retrograde modes. Specifically, we show that the excitation of retrograde modes is dominant when the remnant spin is anti-aligned with the binary orbital angular momentum. This study seeks to provide an analytical strategy and inspire the future development of ringdown test using real gravitational wave events. |
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F01.00076: Black hole scattering experiments Healey Kogan, Helvi Witek We perform scattering experiments of initially spinning black holes in hyperbolic encounters using numerical relativity simulations with the Einstein Toolkit/Canuda. We identify the critical impact parameter for scattering versus non-scattering binary black holes. In the case of the black holes scattering off each other, we find that the outgoing black holes are spun-up. We will discuss observational implications for gravitational wave detections, population models and for estimates of the spin distribution in black hole binaries. |
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F01.00077: Calculating the Entropy of Black Holes with AdS2 X S2 topology within Conformal Gravity using the Nöether’s Current Method Quentin Dancewicz Helmers, Nesibe D Sivrioglu, Leo Rodriguez, Shanshan Rodriguez The Nöether’s current method, which leads to conserved boundary charges and killing isometries, allows us to reach an expression for the conserved charge of a black hole with AdS2XS2 topology within conformal gravity. By computing canonical commutators of the boundary charges, we generate a virasoro algebra from which we read off the central charge. Using Cardy’s formula to calculate entropy we find that our result from the Nöether’s current method agrees with the Wald entropy formula. |
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F01.00078: Matter Inferred from Geometry Thomas A Barnebey A rudimentary model universe is developed in the context of classical General Relativity, incorporating gravitational and electromagnetic fields. The behavior of the system is determined by an invariant action which includes contributions characterizing paths through the fields. No matter is assumed á priori. The existence of matter in the form of point particles arises from the equations of motion of the system, and particle masses appear as integration constants of the path equations. The derived masses act as sources of spacetime curvature, as well as measures of inertia. A modified Nordström/Reissner metric describes the gravitational field of each particle. The point particles exhibit characteristics qualitatively similar to the properties of observed particles. |
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F01.00079: Nanocrystallite Formation in Amorphous Titania Coatings Phoebe K McClincy, Marco Bazzan, Giulio Favaro The use of sophisticated optical elements is integral to the functionality of gravitational-wave-detecting interferometry. The mirrors in the interferometer, constituted by a Bragg multilayer coating, are one of the main sources of noise, particularly thermal and quantum. Furthermore, these coatings need to satisfy very tight requirements in terms of optical quality. In this project, we observe the crystallization process of the optical coating titania (TiO2) when it undergoes a thermal treatment, and how these phenomena change with respect to temperature. Five different annealing temperatures were tested: 330°C, 340°C, 350°C, 380°C, and 390°C. We analyze the parameters recovered from the x-ray spectra of TiO2 following heat treatment, and subsequently build a crystallization kinetics analysis from them. From this, we hope to understand how the crystallization process proceeds and use it to limit mirror-related noise in Virgo. |
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F01.00080: f(R) gravity and its astrophysical significance Vaibhav R Kalvakota f(R) theories of gravity are a class of the family of extended theories of gravity formed by perturbing the approach to general relativity. Such theories help us in understanding several important features in astrophysics, such as accelerated expansion of the universe or the dynamics of cosmologies. In this talk, I will briefly discuss several important points, starting from formalisms towards deriving the field equations in such theories, and aiming at understanding the implications of different f(R) theories. |
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F01.00081: Fu-Xi Universal Nature Tunnel and Muskat interface Flow Zhi an Luan The Unitary Space-Time and its evolutions is the heart of the Generalized Newton's Laws (GNL). The Fu-Xi Universal Nature Tunnel is topological representation of the GNL. In this paper, using self-similar solutions for the Muskat Equation as an example, I prove that the Fu-Xi quantum tunnel is a unique nature orbit for Universe, Fundamental Particles and Life. |
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F01.00082: 2022 Snowmass Summer Study Gordon T Watts The US Particle Physics Community will meet in Seattle in the summer of 2022 to conclude the 2-year long Particle Physics Community Planning Exercise (a.k.a. “Snowmass”), which is organized by the Division of Particles and Fields (DPF) of the American Physical Society. Snowmass is a scientific study. It provides an opportunity for the entire particle physics community to come together to identify and document a scientific vision for the future of particle physics in the U.S. and its international partners. Snowmass will define the most important questions for the field of particle physics and identify promising opportunities to address them. The P5, Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel, will take the scientific input from Snowmass and develop a strategic plan for U.S. particle physics that can be executed over a 10-year timescale, in the context of a 20-year global vision for the field. |
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