Evan Large with Harsh MathurModels of Biological EvolutionMany complex natural systems are believed to evolve into a non-equilibrium critical state, following which the system experiences change through drastic non-gradual events. The original Darwinian view of biological evolution was that change happened gradually over the course of time. More recently, Gould...
Academic Year
Aaron Manalaysay with Dan AkeribMonte Carlo Simulation of a Neutron Rejection Technique in Dark Matter Detection The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) attempts to detect dark matter in the form of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, or WIMPs. The project uses low-temperature devices to detect these particles via scattering from nuclei. ...
Jason Radachy with Arnold DahmDirectional diffusion of isotropic impurities in an hcp crystal of solid heliumAt a certain temperature and pressure, 4He will crystallize in an hcp lattice. It has been seen that vacancies in a 4He lattice propagate as waves in straight lines along the planes of the...
George Ricco with Harsh MathurNetwork Models of the Quantum Hall EffectThe Hall effect occurs when charge carriers moving through a medium experience a deflection due to an applied magnetic field. This deflection results in a measurable potential difference across the side of the medium that is transverse to the...
Michael Salem with Tanmay VachaspatiStability of Oscillatory Solutions in Field TheoryThe Standard Model of electroweak interactions permits a variety of non-topological solutions such as magnetic monopoles and Z-strings. It has been demonstrated that static Z-strings are unstable: if any were produced (in, say, a particle accelerator) they would decay...
Sharon Stefanovic with Lawrence Krauss & Cyrus Taylor Information and Genetic EvolutionAll genetic information necessary for reproduction is passed from generation to generation through DNA. Just how this information is processed during the DNA replication process is of vital interest in understanding the mechanics of genetic evolution of species. We...
Jeffrey Steinberg with Corbin CovaultMoonlight Calibration of STACEE-64 Optical SystemThe Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE) is an experiment designed to measure gamma ray sources ranging from 40GeV to 250GeV in energy from the universe via the interaction of the gamma rays with the atmosphere. These interactions result...
Jacob Yoder with Robert BrownNovel Techniques in Magnetic Resonance ImagingTwo new approaches of MRI will be investigated. The first is a birdcage resonator that would allow simultaneous imaging over a wide area of sample. This result could be achieved by having the resonant modes converge at a single point. ...
Brian Blackmore with Cyrus TaylorPeriod and Periodicity of Classes of Cellular AutomataCellular automata (CA), or lattice systems coupled with local rules, can be used to model a variety of dynamical systems including neural networks, chaotic systems, biological systems, and gas lattice systems. CA have a variety of physically-realizable properties...
David Hanneke with Arnold DahmA New Technique for Measuring Isotopic Impurity Diffusion in Solid HeliumAt low temperature and high pressure, 4He forms a solid with an hcp lattice. At temperatures near the melting point, 3He atoms diffuse by tunneling into delocalized vacancies about which little is known experimentally. Reported...