Physical Science

The main objective of this project is to study neutrino interaction in the Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC), mainly those between muon neutrinos or antineutrinos and argon targets, producing final state particles in the detector. Event simulation software based on GENIE and GIANT4 are used to simulate the neutrino interactions that would take place in the ArgonCube 2x2 Demonstrator, ... Read More

The possible existence of the doubly charged Higgs boson necessitates the existence of a beyond Standard Model extension. Models that include the doubly charged Higgs boson are dependent on other particle interactions that redefine the current understanding of Standard Model particles. Determining constant factors of the doubly charged Higgs boson allows limits or cuts to be placed, reducing background in ... Read More

In search for new physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM), theories such as the Left-Right symmetric electroweak model predict the existence of doubly charged Higgs bosons (H++) which have the unique decay signature of a pair of same-sign dilepton (SSDL) jets which is unlike anything present in the Standard model. This unique signature makes the H++ a promising search candidate ... Read More

For centuries, most astronomical observations have been conducted using viable light. However, within the last 60 years, astronomers have been exploring other wavelengths, including infrared, ultraviolet, and microwave. Infrared astronomy became more prevalent due to the Spitzer Space Telescope and the new James Webb Space Telescope This project utilizes mid-infrared (mid-IR) data for supernovae (SNe) obtained with the Spitzer Space ... Read More

Some current dark sector theories predict the existence of a dark photon that interacts with the Standard Model (SM) particles through kinetic mixing. Searching for the existence of the dark photon could have implications for understanding the nature of dark matter and the legitimacy of the theories predicting it. Dark photons are theorized to primarily decay into lepton jets. Our ... Read More

Relic neutrinos are some of the oldest particles in the universe, produced around 1 second after the big bang. Locating these relic neutrinos may help answer fundamental questions about the universe such as how it began. There have been attempts to study these relic neutrinos, with one proposed method being the KATRIN experiment. In our work, we hope to use ... Read More

The doubly charged Higgs boson is part of a Beyond Standard Model theory that aims to explain the left-right asymmetry of the Standard Model through the introduction of a right-handed gauge group. The doubly charged Higgs boson arises from the spontaneous symmetry breaking caused by the right-handed gauge group. Pair-produced doubly charged Higgs bosons decay to two same-sign dilepton pairs, ... Read More

The doubly charged Higgs boson is a Higgs-like scalar particle that arises in certain extensions of the Standard Model. In a search for the H++ particle at the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) we investigate the decay of the H++ particle in the context of the left-right symmetric model (LRSM) so that we might reconstruct collected data ... Read More

Many different theories of dark matter and the dark sector predict a massive dark photon of GeV scale mass, with an event signature of opposite-sign leptons (in this case, muons) forming a lepton jet (a lepton pair with a very small angle between the leptons). Calculations of lepton jet efficiency under different cuts are needed to determine the potential of ... Read More

The doubly charged Higgs Boson is a particle predicted by various theoretical models such as the Type II seesaw model. In assisting the search for possible doubly charged Higgs boson decay, we determine the lepton sign mismeasurement rate of lepton pairs reconstructed near the Z-peak mass to calculate expected background in doubly charged Higgs decay signature detection. We use data ... Read More

Recently, a class of hybrid quantum-classical algorithms called Variational Quantum Algorithms (VQAs) have been investigated as a promising candidate for practical near term algorithms. VQAs require quantum circuits that consist of parameterized gates, which can then be fine tuned to minimize cost functions. In practice, implementing a quantum gate requires compiling it to a sequence of pulses that can be ... Read More

The phenomenon of dark matter has perplexed physicists for decades, and, to find it, some physicists hypothesize a dark sector of particles. These particles interact little with Standard Model particles and have an electromagnetism like force carried by dark photons. We find that using one trigger that searches for isolated muons with pT>24GeV and another that searches for a muon ... Read More

In 1820, the correlation between magnetic field and electricity was discovered by physicists and led to the study of electromagnetism. Magnets put charge particles (electrons) in motion, creating magnetic fields that make magnetic forces. This force can be measured through the use of a magnetometer, which requires real magnets and time to put the experiment together. These magnetic fields are ... Read More

Under the supervision of Dr. Anil U. Mane, this investigation explores the environmental factors and the electrical resistance characteristics of microchannel plates. In particular, it examines the fundamental query: What impact do variables such as choice of materials, film thickness, temperature variations, and atmosphere have on the resistance properties displayed by these thin films? As researchers in the field of ... Read More

A popular Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm in the gaming world used for the Robo player is called Minimax. This paper presents research aimed at improving the efficiency of minimax algorithms in the context of quantum chess, a variant of traditional chess that incorporates principles of quantum mechanics. Quantum chess introduces additional complexity due to the superposition and entanglement of quantum ... Read More

Scintillating bubble chambers detect particle interactions between ionizing radiation and molecules in superheated liquids—liquids maintaining their state of matter despite being heated past their boiling point. These particle interactions can generate nuclear recoils, causing hot spikes experienced by small groups of the liquid’s molecules, which lead to bubblenucleation in the chamber. Interactions with dark matter may also produce nuclear recoils; ... Read More

Physical fingerprints are frequently used as evidence in forensic investigations. However, fingerprint evidence is often chemically tampered with. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the individual impact that two chemicals: sodium hypochlorite and isopropyl alcohol have on the DNA that can be successfully extracted from a fingerprint. The results collected from this research can inform the advancement of ... Read More

Ferrofluids, composed of magnetic nanoparticles suspended in a carrier liquid, offer unique fluidic properties and can be manipulated by external magnetic fields. My research project focuses on employing varying magnetic fields to control ferrofluids and investigates manipulating them to explore their potential for innovative navigation systems.

The experimental setup uses high-speed cameras to image a ferrofluid drop on a hydrophobic ... Read More