Bulletin of the American Physical Society
Joint Fall 2017 Meeting of the Texas Section of the APS, Texas Section of the AAPT, and Zone 13 of the Society of Physics Students
Volume 62, Number 16
Friday–Saturday, October 20–21, 2017; The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas
Session P8: SPS IV |
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Chair: Bob Glosser, University of Texas at Dallas Room: JSOM 1.212 |
Saturday, October 21, 2017 3:45PM - 3:57PM |
P8.00001: Simulating the Hydrogen Molecule Montana Marquez, James Espinosa The chemical bond is presented in physics textbooks as a completely quantum phenomena, not explicable by classical physics. The applied mathematician Donald Greenspan showed that computational results reproducing the correct vibrational frequencies and bond lengths was possible if the assumption was made that two electrons in the molecule attracted each other. Using Visual Python, we will reproduce his work and show the time evolution of the molecule. A modified Ritz theory will be discussed that gives us the opportunity to develop an electron structure that will explain the electron attraction in this simple bond. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 21, 2017 3:57PM - 4:09PM |
P8.00002: Theoretical and Computational Ising Model Studies: Work and Time Costs of Information Erasure Francis Cavanna, Artemy Kolchinsky An Ising model is used to test whether computational operations optimize at critical points, which are specific values dividing two distinct phases of a statistical system. The Ising lattice takes a bit value of $1$ for an average magnetization (or net magnetization) greater than 0 ($M > 0$), and a bit value of 0 if ($M < 0$). The simulation is varied through multiple values of $k_B T$ to replicate the phase transition at the critical point $k_B T = 2.269$. Next, the minimum values of the required external magnetic field $h$ and the associated work consumption are found for performing the boolean computational operation RESET TO ZERO on a 4x4 Ising lattice with the following erasure success rates: $0.75,\;0.80,\;0.85,\;0.90$, and $0.95$. Finally, a time-evolving Ising lattice simulation is performed for the 4x4 lattice to measure the time required to drive the net magnetization to 0 from an initial value of 1 with and without negative external magnetic fields. All programs use Jupyter Notebooks and Python 3.6.1. The work required for a RESET TO ZERO operation for any arbitrary tolerance is found to approach 0 as $k_B T$ approaches 0, but the time for the operation with the minimum required external magnetic field appears to go to infinity. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 21, 2017 4:09PM - 4:21PM |
P8.00003: Using Kepler Telescope Data to Determine Extra-Solar Planetary Transits Andrew Hamilton, Calvin Berggren Data obtained by the Kepler Space Telescope was analyzed using an algorithm written in Python, which analyzes flux vs. time data using the Kepler data to determine the presence of exoplanets transiting distant stars. The algorithm searches for dips in intensity below a certain threshold in this data as indicators of a transit event, and can then determine the period of the object causing the transit. The results gathered from this algorithm indicate that the algorithm is able to accurately analyze certain star systems with distinct transit events, but has difficulties in systems with high levels of noise. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 21, 2017 4:21PM - 4:33PM |
P8.00004: Neutrino Energy Resolution Difficulties due to Neutrons in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment James Frisby The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will be a long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment to measure elements of the PMNS matrix $\theta_{13}$, $\theta_{23}$, and $\delta_{CP}$ as well as $\Delta m^2_{32}$. These measurements rely on an accurate energy reconstruction of the interacting neutrino. This talk discusses degradation of neutrino energy resolution caused by an inability to reconstruct neutrons in the DUNE detectors. Simulations of the far detector muon neutrino interactions predict 5.4 neutrons per interaction with a combined energy and standard deviation of 350 MeV and 400 MeV, respectively. This presents a significant challenge to DUNE’s scientific objectives. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 21, 2017 4:33PM - 4:45PM |
P8.00005: Magnetopause Movement Under Strong Southward Interplanetary Magnetic Field Chris Sherrill, Richard Bonde, Ramon Lopez A continuous yet nonuniform stream of plasma emanating from the Sun is referred to as the solar wind. The solar wind carries with it the Sun's magnetic field, which is called the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). The shape of Earth's magnetic field is controlled by the solar wind encountering it and is called the magnetosphere. The boundary between the Earth's magnetic and the IMF embedded in the solar wind is called the magnetopause, and its location is dependent on the upstream solar wind conditions. A series of spacecraft launched in 2007, called THEMIS, is in a highly elliptical orbit around Earth. These spacecraft's orbits allow them to cross over the magnetopause. When the IMF is directed southward, the magnetopause moves inward and this motion is generally referred to as magnetopause erosion. I will show a case where the THEMIS spacecraft crossed the magnetopause during a period of strong southward directed IMF and compare the magnetopause location as determined by THEMIS observational data to predicted values. [Preview Abstract] |
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