Sam Llaneta with Andreas Berlind (Vanderbilt)
Dissecting the Angular Momentum of Dark Matter Halos
We want to test the current theory that the dark matter of a halo imparts its angular momentum on infalling gas, dust, and stars that ultimately forms the disks of galaxies. Under this model, the spin of...
BS, Math and Physics
Methods for the Improvement of High Energy Cosmic Ray Shower SimulationsJohnathan Harper with Corbin CovaultExotic forms of matter such as Quark Gluon Plasma and Dark Matter are difficult to detect. Before attempting to directly observe evidence of them in cosmic ray showers, it is advantageous to first perform simulations...
Logan Smith with Julia DobrosotkayaAnalysis and processing of hyperspectral data with the purpose of classificationHyperspectral imaging is an advanced imaging technique that measures visible and near-infrared light reflecting off a surface. Hyperspectral imagery has a wide range of applications from geospatial sciences to ecology, surveillance and more. A hyperspectral...
Edwin Bernardoni with Rolfe Petschek
Optimization of the Static First Hyperpolarizibility of Many Non-Interacting Fermions
Large non-linear electronic polarizabilities would be advantageous for a variety of devices and have been intensely studied for around three decades. This project will examine theoretical limits on the static first non-linear electronic susceptibility of...
Nicholas Clyde with John Ruhl
Polarization Properties of Half-wave Plates
Millimeter wave optical components are useful for current Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB) experiments in the field of astrophysics. Therefore, it is useful to characterize these components. The purpose of this study is to test specifically the polarization properties of Millimeter...
Kristen McKee with John Ruhl
Measuring Scattering, Absorption, and Reflection Properties for Filters in the South Pole Telescope
A current problem with many ground-based telescope experiments, such as the South Pole Telescope, is that the optical loading on the detectors is undesirably high. In the South Pole Telescope, millimeter-wavelength photons from...
Thomas Norton with Wojbor A. Woyczyński
Stochastic Differential Equations Driven by Compound Poisson and Lévy Processes
Stochastic differential equations (SDEs) provide a rigorous setting for investigating the dynamics of systems subject to “noise,” by which we mean source terms whose behavior is not deterministic, but governed by a probability distribution. The...
Andrew O’Desky with John F. R. DuncanDynkin Diagrams and the Groups of Umbral MoonshineElliptic curves are number theoretic objects with many important applications in mathematics, cryptography, string theory and beyond. The supersingular elliptic curves in prime characteristic constitute a special family, and in 1974 Andrew Ogg showed that there...
Daniel Pfeffer with Claudia de Rham
The Accelerating Universe and Vacuum Energy
During his senior project, Daniel Pfeffer will investigate the acceleration of the Universe. He will explore whether or not it is possible to screen the effect of a large vacuum energy and give rise the amount of acceleration currently...