Magnetic fields (MFs) and cosmic rays (CRs) are decidely important aspects of galactic disk and halo evolution, however, their precise roles are not yet completely understood. While there are many simulations studying galactic evolution, few have deeply explored the exact impact of CRs and MFs in the evolutionary process. The current goal of our research is to learn more about how CRs and MFs contribute to the evolutionary process by looking at how MFs grow and change in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) under the influences of CRs. Using a suite of simulated, isolated disk galaxies, we investigated the role of CRs in MF growth and galaxy evolution by comparing different galactic models, each possessing slightly varied CR physics. We present the role of CR transport on the geometry, strength, and growth rate of MFs in these simulated galactic halos.

We present optical and infrared photometry of the T Tauri binary KH 15D acquired in the 2017/2018 observing season. The data were obtained from the A Novel Dual Imaging CAMera (ANDICAM) instrument on the 1.3m telescope operated by the Small Moderate Aperture Research Telescope System (SMARTS) at the Cerro-Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO). KH 15D includes two young stars (A and B, with 0.72 and 0.74 solar masses, respectively) orbiting their common center of mass, surrounded by an inclined precessing circumbinary disk. The recent data reveals Star B gradually emerging from the trailing “fuzzy” edge of the disk and is now in a stage that is completely unocculted for the first time since the system’s discovery in 1995. We use time-series photometry, or light curves, to probe the composition of the disk, derive parameters of Star B, and demonstrate the overall mechanics of the system. Recent data also shows reddening during the egress of the last eclipse, proving that the trailing edge of the disk is transparent and consists of dust-sized particles. Additionally, the most recent data displays Star B at a brighter magnitude than ever than before, allowing us to calculate an apparent I magnitude of 14.079, which is 12% brighter than previously computed.

For years, scientists have been baffled by the imbalance between matter and antimatter in the universe. The properties of the neutrino, a subatomic chargeless particle, may ultimately help us explain this anomaly. Double beta decay takes place in an atomic nucleus, and it occurs when two neutrons spontaneously transform into two protons, emitting two electrons and two antineutrinos in the process. However, if the neutrino is its own antiparticle, the antineutrinos could annihilate each other, so that the two electrons are emitted with no balancing emission of antimatter. This is a postulated process known as “neutrinoless double beta decay.” The MAJORANA Demonstrator, a collection of germanium detectors, allows us to search for this creation of matter in a laboratory setting. However, there are naturally occurring background processes, such as gamma rays, which closely resemble that of the creation of matter. In order to accurately distinguish one process from the other, we must understand them extremely well. The Demonstrator relies heavily on the use of simulation software, called Geant4, in order to predict the occurrence of gamma ray backgrounds. Geant4 previously generated the gamma rays’ directions isotropically, but many sequences of gamma emission are emitted in correlated directions. We contributed new code that uses the computation of associated Legendre polynomials to correctly generate the gamma emission directions. This code used a recursive algorithm that was too slow for general use. A speedup was attempted using a cache, meaning it stored computations to avoid repetition. However, the cache was implemented inefficiently and incorrectly. Improved caching should speed up calculations. If it is insufficient, we will unwrap the recursive algorithm into a generative for-loop. For gamma emissions with extremely large angular momenta, the code may still be too slow. In that case, we will explore asymptotic formulae to speed up computations even further.

Neutrinos (and their antimatter counterparts, antineutrinos) are some of the most mysterious particles in physics. Their masses are unknown; it is not even known which type is heaviest. Learning about neutrino mass might give clues about physics beyond the Standard Model. The Project 8 experiment is developing a new way to study neutrino mass called Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES). Measuring the energy spectrum of the electrons emitted in nuclear beta decay can put an upper limit on the neutrino mass. In CRES, the electron’s energy is measured by observing the cyclotron radiation emitted by the electron as it accelerates in a magnetic field; because of a special relativistic effect, this cyclotron frequency depends on the electron’s kinetic energy. A radiofrequency detection system collects, measures, and digitizes information about the cyclotron radiation, and a Project 8 analysis software package called Katydid processes the data to distinguish electron signals from noise and extract the measured cyclotron frequencies. However, many electron signals are comparable in power to noise, which can lead to missed signals and errors in frequency reconstruction. This work aims to quantify the systematic effects of variations in signal properties on measured cyclotron frequencies. We use a Project 8 software package called Locust to create simulated electron signals and noise. We vary the signal-to noise ratio (SNR), and “slope,” which here is change in cyclotron frequency over time, of the simulated signals. We then measure how these variations affect Katydid’s efficiency in finding signals and its accuracy in determining their frequency. These calibrations will make it possible to quantify uncertainties in Project 8’s ongoing experimental observation of the spectrum of electrons emitted in the beta decay of tritium.

At the UW tandem particle accelerator located at the Center for Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics (CENPA), a program is searching for new physics though precision measurements of electron spectra from radioactive decays. The most sensitive searches require very pure Neon-19, which has a halflife of about 17 seconds. Accordingly, we have designed and constructed a system that produces Neon-19. We first bombarded Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF₆) with protons from the accelerator. We then metered the SF₆ and Neon-19 mix out into a cryogenic trap where it freezes only the SF₆. After the trap, we transported the remaining Neon-19 with a turbomolecular pump into the detector. Once the trap had filled with solid SF₆, it was valved off from the target, then heated, at which time the frozen SF₆ sublimated into to a storage tank before refilling the target. By using a pair of traps, the experiment can be run continuously; one trap thaws while the other freezes. Through models based on nuclear cross-section data from previous experiments, the system will produce on the order of 10¹⁰ Neon-19 nuclei per second. Our system will contribute to an effort to better describe the interactions of particles and refine the Standard Model of particle physics.

The Lyman-alpha power spectrum has previously been used to constrain the Universe’s initial conditions and particle constituents (such as the amount and mass of the dark matter) and the temperature of intergalactic gas (which constrains reionization processes). To further improve these constraints, we use another Lyman series transition (Lyman-beta). The Lyman-beta absorption cross-section is lower than that of Lyman-alpha so it probes the intergalactic medium at higher densities where Lyman-alpha features are saturated. Therefore, the Lyman-beta forest allows for a better measurement of the slope of the temperature-density relation, allowing additional constraints on reionization and the subsequent thermal evolution. In this work, we present an analysis of the Lyman-beta power spectrum using the VLT/XSHOOTER XQ-100 Legacy Survey.

IC 10 is an irregular galaxy located in the constellation Cassiopeia. Despite its relative proximity to our own galaxy, it is difficult to study because it lies near the plane of the Milky Way, where interstellar matter obscures visibility. Most notable is the fact that IC 10 is the only known starburst galaxy in the Local Group of galaxies, meaning it is undergoing an exceptionally high rate of star formation in comparison to the average long-term rate. Within these formed stars, our research project aims to find red supergiant stars. Using stellar evolutionary theory, estimates can be made about how many RSGs are expected, based upon analyzation of known facts such as size, age, and metal content. The research conducted will allow for a comparison between observational data to theoretical expectations. RSG's are massive stars with a supergiant luminosity class; they are the coolest of the supergiant’s and have spectral types of K and M; hence temperatures below 4,100 K. Typically, they can be up to a thousand times the radius of the sun, and are therefore highly luminous. We begin our search by collecting the Two Micron All-Sky Survey data of point sources for IC 10 through the VizieR Astronomical catalogue database, and downloading important values such as color band magnitudes and distances, into a table. To determine the temperatures and luminosities within the galaxy, the All-Sky Survey colors are transformed to the Bessell & Brett photometric system, and then de-reddened by taking into account the value for IC 10’s reddening. Temperature of the point sources is then determined, and applied to find the bolometric correction and magnitude, from which luminosity can be identified. Furthermore, to visualize this data we will plot the luminosity and temperature to construct an HR Diagram which will allow us to identify the RSGs.

Women and people of color are underrepresented in classrooms as both instructors and students, as well as in the field of physics. A lack of diversity limits the ideas that evolve and creates disadvantages for systemically nondominant groups. The goal of this research is to understand how we can make students feel more empowered to change the culture in physics. Students in introductory, calculus-based physics classes from both a two-year college and a four-year university participated in a similar equity unit, which focused on increasing awareness of the systemic marginalization of women and people of color in physics. At the end of the unit students brainstormed how to raise awareness of, and then ultimately remove, this inequity. We analyzed and coded students’ responses using key words and phrases coinciding with similar ideas. The themes were tested for reliability by the authors who addressed discrepancies through discussion, after independently categorizing these responses. Students from both populations (two-year and four-year colleges) concluded that learning about their own bias and having intentional conversations about equity issues are both important steps in physics for changing societal structures. One theme unique to the two-year college setting was to develop coping strategies that combat inequities in physics. Future work will involve acquiring more data from different student populations and using that data to better support students in various physics learning contexts. By following students’ suggestions from the equity unit, we can take action to create an inclusive and diverse physics culture.

The DAMIC experiment searches for dark matter particle interactions with silicon charged-coupling devices (CCDs). The expected signal are the nuclear recoils following the interaction between the external particles and the silicon nuclei of the CCD. These appear as groupings of pixels on the CCD images where the charge collects from the ionized silicon. Recently, it was proposed that the recoiling silicon nucleus could cause a secondary ionization signal a few pixels away. This is due to a three-body final state where a third particle, a photon, is emitted at the point of interaction. We investigated a series of images from a CCD that was exposed to a neutron source, which also produces nuclear recoils in the silicon. We looked for spatial correlations between events and found that there was an excess of correlated events within the energy range of the neutron source. This excess was found in the neutron data but was absent in the background data. Currently, we are looking at the energy and separation of the events in more detail to learn about their origin. If the observation of three-body final states is confirmed, DAMIC will have found a new way to search for dark matter.

Companion-affected mass loss complicates our understanding of evolved stars; for example, theoretical models predict up to 70% of all main-sequence O stars interact with companions at some point during their lifetimes, but the details of mass loss and transfer in binary systems are poorly understood. V367 Cyg is an eclipsing, low-mass binary system with a complex geometry that offers a unique opportunity to better understand mass transfer processes; the primary star has overflowed its Roche lobe, resulting in an accretion disk that surrounds the secondary star. Using new spectropolarimetric data of V367 Cyg taken with the University of Wisconsin’s Half-Wave Polarimeter (HPOL) at the Pine Bluff Observatory, I have resolved the behavior of the accretion disk by determining the position angle and intensity of the polarized light from the system as a function of orbital phase. Here, I will present an analysis of this data and discuss their implications for the mass-loss geometry of the system. By constraining the properties of this interacting binary, we can more precisely study the details of stellar mass transfer.

Quantum systems are building blocks for promising new technologies such as fundamental secure communication, quantum computing, and quantum sensing. One quantum system, the diamond nitrogen-vacancy center, presents many of the best traits among scalable qubit candidates. Preferential lattice orientation of nitrogen-vacancy centers, while technically difficult, would improve signal to noise ratios in quantum sensing and efficiency of quantum repeaters. I report defect orientation changes in diamond through week-long diamond anneals at high temperatures. I discuss my techniques to measure, characterize and spatially track thousands of nitrogen-vacancy defects through confocal microscopy to observe orientation changes as a function of annealing temperature. I show conclusive data supporting a critical temperature for achieving nitrogen-vacancy orientation changes and discuss follow on applications.

The Zwicky Transient Factory (ZTF) is a telescope located at Caltech in southern California. It is part of a new generation of wide field survey telescope programs. With its 47 square degree field of view and the ability to cover 4200 square degrees per hour of the night sky, ZTF is equipt to complete its survey of the Northern hemisphere. ZTF takes photometric data in multiple color bands including visual (r and g) and (i) bands increasing the accuracy of data collected on an observed body. It’s limiting magnitude is ~21 allowing us to see deeper into our universe. We constructed a pipeline of code which pulls photometric data from ZTF and fits light curves for asteroids with previously reported orbital parameters. A light curve is a recorded fluctuation in light intensity of a variable body. As an asteroid rotates its albedo or surface reflectivity varies producing the variation in flux we measure as a light curve. From a light curve you can calculate many properties of the body such as period, diameter, and mass. Our pipeline fits the observed light curve for its period and, for a subset of the asteroids with previously known periods reported in the Light Curve Database (LCDB), we test the accuracy of the fitting process. Of the initial ~4000 asteroid samples, 437 had periods reported in LCDB. In this subset we matched ~60% of the reported rotation periods within 5%. We continue improvements on the pipeline, specifically in outlier rejection, in hopes to use our pipeline in future telescopes like the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. As well as data collection hoping to fully resolve the Jovian Trojans, two asteroid groups that co-orbit with Jupiter.

The Time-Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS) is the largest spectroscopic survey ever carried out specifically targeting variable objects. In this poster we consider the subsample of some 22,000 TDSS variables characterized spectroscopically as stars, and evaluate best methods for retrieval and analysis of light curve data from the Palomar and Catalina surveys. We analyze light curves using Python and the VARTOOLS code of Hartman & Bakos (2016). A combination of the VARTOOLS output, spectroscopic information from Sloan, and classification of periodic variables in Catalina from Drake et al. (2014) is used to guide future classification of the entire TDSS sample, including some discussion of the larger variable sample for which no significant periodicity is found. The particular patterns of each type of variable star we find can be used to learn more about stellar evolution and the physical processes taking place within stars. The discovery of new and unexplained types of variable stars can also act as a driver that leads astronomers to an explanation of the underlying mechanism behind it. The SAO REU program is funded in part by the National Science Foundation REU and Department of Defense ASSURE programs under NSF Grant no. AST-1659473, and by the Smithsonian Institution.

X-ray binaries consist of a star gravitationally bound to a compact object (white dwarf, neutron star, or stellar mass black hole). Matter from the star is pulled onto the compact object and accretes in a disk which emits high-energy X-rays. These objects have variability observable on human time-scales—days and weeks rather than millions of years—and provide insight into high-energy physics. In this project we analyzed the light curves of time-variable objects to identify candidate binary systems. We cross matched data from optical variability surveys such as ASAS-SN, ATLAS and ZTF with the ROSAT all-sky X-ray survey. We were able to confirm known cataclysmic variables (CVs) and active galactic nuclei, and also discovered new CVs. These methods will be useful in identifying these rare objects in LSST’s massive data set in a few years.

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will be capable of observing objects of 25+ magnitude across the u, g, r, i, z, y broad-band filters. At these extremely dim magnitudes the survey will turn up a large number of unresolvable red point-like sources. With some variation depending on the filter, beyond roughly 25 magnitude these filters will lose the ability to provide data accurate enough for an observer to reconstruct the parameters of the objects being detected. In other words, past that point it will become difficult to tell whether an object is a nearby low mass main sequence star, a far away giant, or a high-redshift galaxy. The simplest possible solution to this problem is to add some more filters, specifically ones with narrower band width. If these narrow band filters allow for accurate data to be collected at higher magnitudes than their broad band counterparts can, it would not only solve the problem, but do so without necessitating a longer survey or requiring any great feat of engineering to implement. A simulated LSST field consisting of roughly 127,000 stars was used to explore this possibility. The (simulated) observed magnitudes and colors of each star were compared to a catalog of each star’s true magnitudes, with a nearest-neighbor algorithm applied in an attempt to recover that star's true effective temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity. This process resulted in accurately-recovered stellar effective temperatures out to far greater magnitudes than allowed by the broad band filters. Unfortunately, improved parameter recovery seems for now to be unique to effective temperature, as this initial test has not shown any great improvement in the recovery of gravity or metallicity over the broad band filters.

We identified an optically varying light source in the night sky labeled PTFS1623al. In our search for interesting stars, this object caught our attention when we found that it was within the X-ray emitting region 1RXS J235728.5+671600. The light that came from the object varied by 2.5 magnitudes over a 96 minute period. An average light source only varies by a tenth of a magnitude over a week, month, or even a year time scale. The large change in magnitude over such a short period sparked our investigation. We confirmed this 2.5 magnitude variability with the Neil Gehrels Swift space based gamma ray observatory using the X-Ray Telescope as well as confirm a correlation between the optically varying source and the X-ray emitting source. Using the Keck telescope on Mauna Kea and the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer or LRIS we collected spectroscopic data. Spectroscopic data is a different way of viewing light where the individual molecules in the object radiate light at different wavelength allowing us to identify the specific elements in an object. Geometry of the object can also be identified by the shape of the spectral lines. We identified strong double-peaked Hydrogen and Helium emission lines with phase-dependent morphology. After reading through scientific literature and making comparisons, we concluded that the features present in the spectroscopic data are consistent with a magnetic cataclysmic variable, or a magnetic accreting white dwarf star. Accretion is the process of moving mass from one star to another, so this system is a binary system with an unknown donating star. A white dwarf and cataclysmic variable are two exotic classifications of a star with unique spectral characteristics. We present our observations and discuss their implications for our understanding of the system parameters.

We present a study on 13 years of HPOL optical linear spectropolarimetry of the famous star P Cygni. P Cygni is a Luminous Blue Variable, an important transitional phase in the lives of the universe's most massive stars. We revisit previous findings on the nature and variability of P Cygni's observed linear polarization and report on discrete features in P Cygni's observed polarization spectrum. Using this dataset we also test the assumption that line blanketing effects suppress all intrinsic polarization from strong emission lines. This assumption is vital in determining the wavelength dependence of P Cygni's intrinsic polarization. Our results allow us to constrain the geometry of the polarizing region to better understand the circumstellar material around P Cygni.

Our current research with the Kinematics and Impacts Lab at the University of Washington entails the design, buildup, and field testing of an asteroid sampling system. These field tests include the buildup of two stage closer rockets, which are highlighted in this presentation. This asteroid sampler field testing helps characterize the sampling process of impacting an asteroid at high speeds- necessitating our rocket system be capable of stable, high speed flight, even at an inverted trajectory. The booster stage, or primary stage, of the system consists of a single large motor to allow the system to reach between 3000-4000 feet above the ground. The sustainer, or second stage, consists of eight smaller motors clustered around a central body tube, allowing the second stage to be hollow. Finally, a hollow point steel nose cone caps the sustainer. Inside the nose come assembly a sample dive is attached, designed to eject during impact. Field testing of this system occurred in December 2018, with preliminary results being compiled.