Quantum Encryption -- Shyam Munshi (WPAFB/BGSU)
Recent advances in quantum computing and entanglement have given rise to new, realisitic methods of encryption and codebreaking. In this talk I will discuss what quantum encryption is and how it works.
Geometric Algebra - A Unifying Language for Physics? Part II - Electrodynamics -- Marco Nardone (BGSU)
Geometric (Clifford) Algebra provides a novel prospective of spacetime and a simple language for discussing physical phenomena. It will be shown that a covariant form of electrodynamics can be formulated where Maxwell's equations are reduced to one, without any knowledge of
tensors. The algebra was shown to simplify and clarify classical mechanics in Part I of the series and Part III will show how this extends seamlessly to quantum mechanics and, possibly, general relativity.
The Use of DAOPHOT on the Globular Cluster M30 -- Mike Smitka (BGSU)
Obtaining photometry of stars in crowded fields requires specially designed techniques and computer software. One such piece of software is the DAOPHOT program. I will discuss the basic inner scheme of this program and its application as well as my future plans to use it to analyze CCD images of the globular cluster M30 (NGC 7099).
Rotational Inertia and the Merry-Go-Round -- Adam Lark (BGSU)
The merry-go-round is one of the best real-life examples of AngularConcepts in Physics. I propose a fun experiment to do with physics students to get them to experience and calculate the rotational inertia of a merry-go-round. While this seems straitforward and simplistic, the results are startling.
The Measurement of Thermoelectric Figure of Merit of a Novel Material -- La0.6Fe3CoSb12 -- Jagannath Paul (BGSU)
This research is an investigation of the thermoelectric figure of merit for the filled-skutterudite materials - La0.6Fe3CoSb12. The electrical resistivity of the samples is measured under adiabatic and isothermal conditions. The ratio of adiabatic electrical resistivity to the isothermal electrical resistivity has a simple relationship with the figure of merit. Using that relation, the figure of merit of the samples is determined from the obtained data at room temperature.
Hybrid Bistable Device Realization Using CdS & Lock-in Amplifiers -- Mithun Bhowmick (BGSU)
A Hybrid Bistable Device (HBD) can be developed in CdS employing Lock-in technique. A HBD can work as an extremely sensitive detector as well as a tool for developing digital circuits.
Coin Tossing between Two Distant Parties -- Sumana Abeyratne (BGSU)
Coin tossing is an easy way to make a decision between two parties. There is no secure classical method for coin tossing between two distant parties who do not trust each other or a third party. Using some laws in physics, however, this can be securely performed. In this talk, how coin tossing can be deduced from an existing quantum game and how one of the parties can influence its gain will be discussed.
A Model for Financial Market Dynamics -- Hemantha Maddumage (BGSU)
Stock market dynamics are of interest to physicists because of their resemblance to the systems studied in statistical physics. There are several multi-agent models that have been suggested to explain the characteristics of these systems. A new model was propoesed by examining the nature of human decision making. Simulations of the proposed model have proved that it exhibits most of the stylized facts observed in financial markets: fat-tailed probability distribution, log normal volatility distribution, slowly decaying autocorrelation of absolute return, multifractal properties, and the leverage effect. New results obtained after my first talk on this topic would be presented in this talk.
The Structure and Initial Mass Function of h and chi Persei -- Dr. Ann Bragg (BGSU)
While most babies are born with about the same mass, stars are quite different. Stars are formed with an enormous range of masses, from less than one-tenth of our Sun's mass to more than a hundred times our Sun's mass. Understanding the number of stars formed with different initial masses is critical to understanding the chemical evolution of galaxies and the Universe. An accurate measure of this initial mass function also helps test star formation theories. If a theory predicts the wrong end products, the theory needs work. I will discuss the initial mass function of h and chi Persei, a pair of open star clusters located about 2000 parsecs away. In addition, I will discuss how the spatial variation of this mass function can be used to help understand the formation and evolution of these clusters.
The Davis-Besse pressurized water reactor was taken off line on 16 February 2002 for routine maintenance. After a hole was discovered in the reactor vessel head it was kept shut down for repairs. It did not return to producing electricity steadily until two years later, 4 April 2004! What happened, how it might have happened, how it was fixed, whether there was cause for alarm among the general public, and what effects it had on FirstEnergy will be discussed.
The basics sounds (phonemes) of human speech begin their journey as pulses of air shaped by the valve action of the oscillating vocal folds. An effective one-mass model (EOMM) explains the self-oscillations of the vocal folds as a limit cycle, excited by a transfer of energy from the glottal airflow and regulated by the viscous losses of the tissue motions. In order to establish the EOMM as a research tool, it is proposed to use it as a means of providing quantitative explanations of the physiological measures of the vocal intensity characteristics of four distinct groups of speakers (young male, elderly male, young female, and professional tenors) recently examined by three different research studies. The driving forces that energize the EOMM will be discussed as a consequence of a judicious choice of the coordinates of the classic two-mass model of Ishizaka and Flanagan. Connections with the glottal flow and the intraglottal pressure data collected with the model M5 at Bowling Green will also be discussed.
The ChaMPlane Project -- Dr. Allan Rogel (BGSU)
The ChaMPlane project is a multiwavelength survey designed to classify the serendipitous X-ray sources detected within the Galactic plane to understand the source of the observed diffuse X-ray emission background in the Galaxy. The detection of cataclysmic variable stars (CVs) is of particular interest because to date nearly all CVs have been detected serendipitously during the course of other projects. The ChaMPlane project will result in a well-determined volume sample of CVs that will result in well-defined spatial parameters for the CV distribution in the Galaxy.
Targets for CV detection are determined by finding X-ray sources in archival Chandra data and finding H-alpha-excess objects in images taken of the same fields. Classification of these targets is done using spectra acquired with Hydra at WIYN. A Monte-Carlo model of the CV distribution of the Galaxy is used to translate the observations into CV space density parameters. To date, with somewhat limited data (4 CV detections in anticenter fields), the observational results are consistent (within 2-sigma error limits) with the predictions made by the model using published values of the local CV space density and scale heights.
Observations of young stellar objects tell us that disks are a natural consequence of star formation across the IMF. There is evidence for disks around objects ranging from Ae-Be stars through brown dwarfs with masses as low as ~15 MJupiter. In recent years, mid-IR surveys have shown that a substantial fraction of young objects at or near the hydrogen burning limit have disks. At the extreme low-mass end of the protostellar mass distribution, the mid-IR emission from disks can serve as a signpost pointing to a secure sample of young objects uncontaminated by the numerous background sources with similar near-IR colors. With the sensitivity of the IRAC instrument on Spitzer and of modern ground-based imagers in the near-IR, it is possible to detect young objects down into the mass range occupied by extrasolar planets and to detect circum-object disks, should they be present. Detection and investigation of such disks can help us to understand the origin and nature of very low mass objects, as well as the structure and physics of their disks. We discuss here a program that uses results from the Spitzer Legacy program “From Molecular Cores to Planet Forming Disks” (c2d), combined with sensitive near-IR observations, to detect a sample of young brown dwarfs with extremely low masses and to identify them by their circum-object emission. We use these data and near-IR spectroscopic observations to characterize both the disks and the objects themselves.
Andy Layden -- Fall 2005