Spatially Varying Liquid Crystal Order: Theory and Simulations
Gavin-Rae Barnaby with Rolfe Petschek
Hard Tetrahedra and shapes close to hard tetrahedra pack well when they are oriented in ways different from their neighbors. The Petschek group has hypothesized that long-range periodic orientation or liquid crystal order explains the complicated crystalline structures...
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Tyler McMaken with Glenn Starkman
Constraining the Topology of the Universe: A Generalization of Flat Manifold Parameter Spaces
An open question for cosmologists concerns whether the universe is infinite or finite. For a flat cosmology, the topology of the universe can take on any one of 18 manifolds, some of which are...
Philip Smith with Rolfe Petschek
Optimizing the Search for Order Parameters in Quasicrystals
This research seeks to apply existing phase transition theory to quasicrystals in order to develop a better understanding for their underlying physical theory. This will consist of running simulations of hard tetrahedral particles that tend to develop quasicrystalline...
Nicholas Barron with Jaoa Maia and Ed CanerLow Temperature Suspension of Shear Thickening non-Newtonian FluidsThere are a variety of useful applications in industry for shear thickening non-Newtonian fluids. For certain applications, maintaining shear thickening properties for long periods of time at temperatures below -25 Centigrade is desirable. In this...
John Dulin with Glenn StarkmanHearing the Shape of the UniverseThe past few years of work on discerning the topology of the universe have focused on methods like cosmic crystallography and circles-in-the-sky searches, as well as examinations of the correlation matrix to uncover manifolds with non-trivial topology. While helping to...
Joseph Flannery with Harsh MathurDirac theory of topological insulator boundariesA topological insulator is a material that behaves as an insulator in its interior but whose surface contains bound conducting states. The bulk of a topological insulator may be described by a massive Dirac model while the gapless surface states follow the massless Dirac...
Calvin Gao with Dan Akerib and Tom ShuttAnalysis of Single-Electron/Few-Electron Background in LUX S2 DataThe LUX dark matter experiment consists of a two-phase xenon detector which detects interactions between particles and the xenon nuclei and electrons. Such interactions will excite the xenon atoms causing them to emit photons and...
Jacob Derzon with Justin Gallagher
Evaluation of US Renewable Portfolio Standards in Terms of Effectiveness and Intention
In the past several decades, there have been several attempts by lawmakers to increase the use of renewable resources in various states through legislation known as the renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which mandates increased...
Matt Vaughan with Ben Holtzman, Felix Waldhauser, and Lapo Boschi
Can We Use Sound Perception to Identify Rupture Patterns in Earthquakes?
The processes by which earthquakes occur is poorly understood. In more detail, an earthquake results from the relative motion of blocks of crust, or pieces of tectonic plates, across a...