Session B20: Undergrad Research III

Expanding the reach of APS PhysicsQuest using STEP UP Principles

PhysicsQuest (PQ) is one of American Physical Society's public engagement projects that aims to introduce middle school students to basic physics concepts through short activities and experiments. Recently, PQ has undergone updates to make physics more accessible and relatable as a career path, engage diverse students, focus on DEI pedagogical strategies, and incorporate principles from the STEP UP program. In order to ensure these changes are implemented, I created a set of guidelines that will be used by PQ developers and reviewers. These guidelines will help to ensure that the new goals of PQ are met in the future. Additionally, I have worked on adding extension activities, or "after the experiment" activities, to past and present PQ activities that teachers can use to further engage their students with physics concepts. These extension activities include making real world connections, presenting content in a creative way, and a design challenge, all of which have been shown to connect with diverse student populations.   

Improving Optical Lattice Clock Stability by Quantifying EMCCD Camera's Noise Sources

The EMCCD (electron-multiplying charge coupled device) camera has found widespread use in a variety of fields from developmental biology, to astronomy and optical physics. The various sources of noise, including readout noise, dark current, and clock induced noise, and their contribution to the total noise of the camera can be characterized in order to find the total Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of the camera. Through investigation and analysis of a variety of parameters of the camera's use (light source, exposure time, gain, and temperature) the camera setup that yields the highest value of SNR can be chosen for the given experimental setup, leading to more accurate and precise experimental results. These analyses will ultimately serve the goal of improving the noise within the collected fluorescence spectroscopy data of a strontium clock experiment through replacement of the current EMCCD camera. Improvements in the strontium clock means improvements in many related areas that heavily rely on the precise measurement of time, such as GPS systems, space travel, and overall ability to measure new phenomena.   

Studying the Optical Emission of Lightning Associated with Terrestrial gamma ray flashes at the Telescope Array Detector

Terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGF) are emissions of gamma rays in the earth’s atmosphere during thunderstorms. In this investigation, we delve into the optical emissions linked to a TGF observed in 2022. This TGF was observed by the Telescope Array Surface Detector (TASD) in conjunction with lightning detectors including an INTF, a fast antenna, high-speed camera, and a  slitless spectroscopic system. The spectrograph recorded images at about 33 μs time resolution with spectral resolution of 2.1 nm per pixel, and spectra range from 400 nm to 900 nm.

This study presents an analysis of the spectra obtained from the lightning flash associated with the TGF. Additionally, preliminary findings from a photometer array, installed at the site in 2023, will be discussed. These photometers share the same field of view as the high-speed video camera and provide higher timing resolution, offering insights into optical emissions from atmospheric electrical discharge processes in the ultraviolet and infrared spectra. This enhanced temporal resolution aims to contribute to the development of conclusive support for the model responsible TGF initiation.

TA & LMA collaboration   

π-axion interactions and their parameter constraints

Axions and axion-like particles are leading dark matter candidates which appear in many extensions of the Standard Model. In their paper, "The π-axion and the π-axiverse of dark QCD," Alexander et al. propose a dark copy of the standard model wherein the photon is massive and the 6 quark flavors are light. In their model, dark matter can take the form of dark pions in the axion mass range. These 35 'π-axions' are grouped together into neutral, complex neutral, and complex charged states, and have parity-odd and parity-even interactions with dark and visible photons. We present constraints on the couplings of these π-axions to the photon. We use Tilburg et al.'s limits on couplings between ultralight scalar dark matter and photons to constrain the parity-even π-axion-photon coupling. These constraints offer new insights into the behavior of π-axions and opportunities to distinguish them from other dark matter candidates.   

Searching for Heavy Dark Matter Annihilation with the HAWC Observatory

Understanding dark matter’s elusive nature is crucial for the framework of particle physics and the standard model. This experiment utilizes the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Gamma-ray Observatory to indirectly detect dark matter (DM) by studying gamma-ray emissions from dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs). Selected for their high ratio of dark matter to baryonic matter, dSphs are useful for this type of detection. HAWC expanded its previous study by increasing the number of dSphs and the amount of data collected on each. We searched for DM signals in each dSph using an updated reconstruction algorithm that greatly improves HAWC’s energy reconstruction and angular resolution. The project established limits for the velocity-weighted DM annihilation cross-section, given the absence of a signal from DM-DM annihilation <σv>.   

Simulating the Response of Quantum Devices for Dark Matter Searches

Quantum sensors could provide unique promise as particle detectors, especially for dark matter searches, due to their sensitivity to low-energy processes. To fully simulate superconducting quantum devices as particle detectors, we need to understand (1) how particles deposit energy, (2) how energy (in the form of phonons) propagates in the detector, and (3) how quantum processes in the detector produce an observable readout signal. While (1) is handled by the GEANT4 simulation toolkit, and (2) by the G4CMP software, the Quantum Device Response (QDR) package models the quantum physics that underlies the response of quantum sensors such as transmon qubits and phonon-mediated Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs). MKIDs, which are superconducting microresonators commonly used in astronomy, are attractive candidates for sub-GeV particle dark matter searches given their potential sensitivity to sub-eV quanta and their native frequency-domain multiplexibility. This presentation will focus on the process of simulating the response of phonon-mediated MKIDs by mapping phonon energy deposits from G4CMP to realistic detector readout signals. In this talk, we will present on building out this critical last stage of the simulation chain.   

An Analysis into the Demographics of Physics and STEM Education

Physics and STEM education continue to have underrepresentation by individuals with marginalized gender, racial, and ethnic identities. As an intern for the American Physical Society, I worked with Dr. Christine O'Donnell to analyze demographics of higher education degrees in physics and STEM. I used the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to collect data for degree completions disaggregated by gender, race, and ethnicity as defined by the database. My work included updating eighteen of the "Physics Graphs & Statistics" and nineteen "Top Educators" tables for APS webpages. Furthermore, I carried out an additional analysis on the effects of using an updated definition for "STEM" that is more consistent with the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), and other groups. The new definition introduced fields with a higher fraction of degrees awarded to women, including Agricultural Sciences and Psychology, leading to greater female representation in STEM degrees. Overall, my work throughout the summer will help drive changes that support diverse students in science education.