To: Physics and Astronomy students (sophomores, juniors, and seniors)
Date: September 15, 2008
From: Joel Weisberg
Re: Ideas for Special Projects (Physics or Astronomy 356) and Independent Studies (Physics or Astronomy 291 or 391).

Fall term is a good time to engage in research projects, and it’s not too early to start them sophomore year. We highly recommend that you do one, as do most students who have tried them. If you take one, you will learn something about actually doing Physics and Astronomy research, which will help guide you in decisions about “life after Carleton.” To lure you, we list numerous suitable projects below. The descriptions here are very brief; talk to us to us to explore more fully those projects that interest you and to be sure that we have not already promised a particular project to someone else.

Please note that these are offered only on S/Cr/NC basis since it is very difficult to assign grades to independent and cooperative projects. Special projects are for 2 to 3 credits and you will need to complete a special project form that will get deposited with the registrar. Independent studies can be 1 to 6 credits, and again you need to complete a special form. You can pick up a copy from Mary Drew, Olin 331 or get one online under the Physics and Astronomy Department web page >> Student Resources >>Forms.

Tom Baraniak
Special Projects in Physics
Solar Panel Project: Carleton was donated a system of solar panel shingles. Right now they are in storage in need of a home. A geology student, Rob Lamppa from facilities and I looked into their installation a bit late last spring. We would like to continue this project and get them installed. This project involves finding the appropriate building roof, building the structure to support the solar shingles, wiring them as much as we can, and installing sensors to monitor their output and getting that information online.
Sun Tracker Project: Using a two dimensional light sensitive detector I would like to build a sensor that can lock on and track the sun using an x-y steerable platform. I have the sensor but need the optical path designed as well as the electronics. Also, it would be nice to characterize the response to see how well it can track the sun, actual and predicted.
Characterizing LED’s as Sensors: We all know LED’s give off light at a certain wavelength, but they also respond to light at limited wavelengths. I would like to characterize the response of several commercially available LED’s and ultimately publish the data, as well as use it for solar sensors.

Cindy Blaha
Special Projects in Astrophysics
I have several projects to share with students who are interested in astronomical research and observation. Please come and talk to me if you are interested in working on these projects.

1. Evolutionary History of Galaxies: Interested in finding out how stars and gas interact to affect the life of a galaxy? Massive stars and the gas they ionize play an integral role in shaping the evolutionary history of a galaxy. Recently we’ve been working identifying the ionized hydrogen regions in spiral galaxies M31 and M33, spiral neighbors of our own Milky Way. Optical observations were acquired for three large fields in M33 and ten fields in M31. Each field has a set of B, V and R (blue, green and red) broadband images as well as three images taken through narrow interference filters centered on specific emission lines of ionized hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen. Using all these images together, we are trying to compare the galactic “life history” of M31 and M33. Data analysis will involve use of the Image Reduction and Analysis Facility (IRAF), IDL and other image processing software.

2. Carleton's CCD Project: I am also involved with developing educational materials for our set of eight CCD (Charge Coupled Device) cameras as well as our digital spectrometer and video cameras. This equipment is used on our 8" and 16" telescopes and allows us to record digital observations of astronomical objects and analyze them with a wide variety of software packages for image processing. We will continue to experiment with our CCD cameras, spectrometer and computers to develop observational labs and independent research projects ranging from lunar imaging and compositional analysis to determining the age of stellar clusters.

Hector Calderon
Special Projects in Physics
I have two projects that can involve students majoring Physics or Mathematics. A double major is a plus. You will need some mastery of Mathematica. I will make sure that you learn the Physics as needed. Thus, no prior coursework is required.

1. Looking for models of future singularities where dynamics and thermodynamics might not coincide in their prediction: This is a follow up to a recent paper. There, it is argued that the vacuum state of quantum fields become thermal states because of self-interactions, and interactions with cosmological fluids. Thus, some simple thermodynamical calculations can be done to predict the evolution of the system (is it exothermic or endothermic?) These thermodynamical results can be compared to the dynamical results obtained using methods of Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetimes (QFTCS). We will repeat the calculations for every possible model of future spacetime singularities (there are about 10 of them). If we find that for any model the dynamics and thermodynamics do not coincide, then it would furnish a very valuable example at the forefront of the investigations on Quantum Gravity.

2. Is the set of metric connections dense in the set of connections? A long-standing question in General Relativity is to obtain the metric (the quantity that expresses the amount of "gravity") from the connection (the quantity that expresses the amount of "force") without any extra assumptions. This is the problem of the Inverse of the Fundamental Theorem of Riemannian Geometry. In unpublished work, I have partially solved this problem (I found the formula, proved its uniqueness, and I am working on the integrability conditions). There are very few published examples of nonmetric connections (connections that cannot possibly be matched to a metric). The problem is to find how many there are and how they are distributed. If we find that any nonmetric connection has an arbitrarily close metric connection, then some ideas about metric theories of gravity will have to be revised.

Nelson Christensen
Special Projects in Physics
I am looking for new students (frosh, sophomore or junior) to conduct research on gravitational radiation detection. This is in association with the Laser Interferometric Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO). The goal would be to start research work now, and possibly continue through the summer of 2009. A summer stipend would be available for the summer work. Research during the year could be done for academic credit. Trips to the LIGO observatories are a possibility. Stop by and talk to Nelson about both of these projects.

1. Applying advanced numerical statistical and data analysis techniques for extracting gravity wave signals from coalescing compact (neutron stars or black holes) objects. We will be analyzing LIGO data and looking for these events. Programming experience is a must. We can learn the general relativity and statistics as we go.

2. Analyzing LIGO data and signals from environmental monitors (seismometers, magnetic field monitors, microphones, etc) in order to identify sources of noise in the detector. We will try to distinguish what could be real events, and what could be glitches or noise.

Steve Parker
Special Projects in Physics
I am an experimental physicist interested in aspects of surface science, condensed matter physics, and nanotechnology. I have some ideas for special projects that will involve some great “hands-on” experiences in the laboratory.

One of the standard characterization techniques in surface science is Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM). STM is one of only a handful of techniques that can be used by a “nanotechnologist” to image surfaces with atomic resolution. The technique, which received the Nobel Prize in 1986, is performed by rastering a small metallic tip angstroms above a surface and monitoring the tiny nanoampere current that results due to quantum mechanical interactions. Carleton has an STM, and this project would involve learning more about the STM technique and making some measurements with the system on well-ordered surfaces.

This same instrument also functions as an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). An AFM works slightly different than an STM, in that the probe tip is now in the form of a small cantilever. This cantilever (in one of the imaging modes) makes physical contact with surface. As the cantilever is rastered across the surface, the small deflections that it makes as it flexes due to the features of the surface are measured by bouncing a laser off the end of it and detecting the signal with a photodiode. Other non-contact imaging modes can be used as well. The beauty of this technique is that it can be used with samples that are non-conductive (one of the unfortunate limitations of the STM). A special project with this system would revolve around learning the AFM technique and learning how to operate the system in this mode.

Arjendu Pattanayak
Special Projects in Physics
I have several research projects ongoing, trying to understand the broad behavior of quantum nonlinear systems, and exploring in particular issues such as decoherence, and the difference between quantum and classical systems. The work is both analytical and computational, and I could get students going with few assumptions about their background. Last year I had two juniors, and a senior working with me at various times during the year. First-year and sophomore students have been able to contribute significantly as well. I do like a long-term commitment -- for at least 2 terms. There will be summer research positions available as well. Some of my research is conducted with off-campus colleagues (Brazil, Canada, and Germany for example) and collaborative visits are a strong possibility, as well as travel to conferences at the appropriate time. More information is on my research web page at http://www.people.carleton.edu/~apattana/Research

Bill Titus
Special Projects in Physics
Project 1. For the past several years, I’ve been working on a research project that attempts to create a probabilistic, theoretical framework to determine physical properties of a gravitational anomaly embedded in the earth by analyzing data determined from measurements of the combined gravitational field of the earth and the anomaly. This theoretical work has primarily been in two dimensions and I would like to start to extend the analysis to three dimensions. I’m looking for a student with well-developed analytical skills and an interest in computational work. This is a two-term commitment that could evolve into a summer internship. The project would begin winter term and is open to all students in any discipline who have taken introductory physics as well as Math 211. Some background in geology would be a plus.

Project 2. This project involves studying quantum mechanical scattering from an inverted, quadratic potential well, both from classical and relativistic standpoints. This is a one or two-term commitment and is open to all students who have taken Physics 336 (Quantum Mechanics I).

Joel Weisberg
Special Projects in Astrophysics
Pulsar Research at Carleton and in Australia
Pulsars are rapidly spinning (up to 700 times per second!) neutron stars that are born in supernovas. My students, colleagues, and I use the giant radiotelecopes in Arecibo, PR, Green Bank, WV, and Parkes, Australia for a variety of pulsar projects. This year’s students will spend the school year and the first two months of the summer studying pulsars primarily at Carleton, and then spend August 2009 with Joel and colleagues at the Australia Telescope National Facility headquarters near Sydney, and at the ATNF’s Parkes radiotelescope. There is an outstanding pulsar research group at ATNF whose members happily welcomed several Carls in collaborative research while Joel was there for the 2004-05 school year, and they are eagerly awaiting a new batch of Carls to do a variety of pulsar projects. Here and in Australia, we are studying the properties of pulsars in an effort to understand the underlying emission mechanism; measuring the density, turbulence, and magnetization of the interstellar medium by watching its effects on pulsar signals; and studying Einstein's General Theory of Relativity by carefully observing the orbit and pulseshape of a binary pulsar. The projects involve the use of unix, fortran, IDL, and C programs to plan the observations and to analyze the data we collect on these objects. For this year’s students, I request a full calendar year minimum commitment (including summer research at Carleton and in Australia); preferably much longer. Astrophysics I or II is a suggested prerequisite but we can be flexible. We would start fall term by studying pulsars in general and learning the various software; then slowly ramping up through the year to more and more sophisticated analyses of pulsar data and trips to Australia and observatories. Expressions of interest should be sent soon. Sorry, but seniors are not eligible due to the summer 2009 component of the project.