The Nab experiment at the Spallation Neutron Source aims to measure non-polarized beta decay correlation parameters, which will be used for precision tests of the Standard Model. The apparatus is installed on the Fundamental Neutron Physics Beamline and will be taking data over the summer. One of the vital systematic tests is to make sure no contribution from polarization observable exists. To this end, a dedicated series of measurements where the beam will be actively polarized with novel techniques will be performed. The successful student will assist in planning and preparing for the measurement, carrying it out, and participating in the data analysis.
Advisor: Professor Nadia Fomin
Topological insulators (TIs) are exotic quantum matters that become metallic
only on the boundary. The surface/edge
conductive channels of TIs are believed to be a necessary outcome of the
topological properties of bulk electronic wavefunctions. However,
recent studies have revealed violations of this 1-to-1 relation between boundary
metallicity and bulk topology in out-of-equilibrium quantum systems.
In this project, we will explore such
unconventional topological physics in nonequilibrium systems subject to a
time-periodic drive. A major goal is to reveal
whether and how spacetime symmetries can protect fractionalized quasiparticles
in these systems. The students will have hands-on
experience in model design of quantum systems, numerical simulation, and
symmetry & topological analysis.
Advisor: Professor Ruixing Zhang
The CMS experiment at CERN will start colliding protons again this year, opening up new opportunities to search for physics beyond the Standard Model. Students will have an opportunity to help design these searches, studying triggers that make sure our detectors capture the particles we’re most interested in. We also have projects related to the design of future LHC detectors, focusing on an upgrade to the CMS tracker. In addition, there are opportunities in the group to influence where our field may head next by doing studies for a future muon collider. Projects will involve programming, so students are encouraged to build familiarity with python and a unix terminal in advance of the summer.
Advisor: Professor Tova Holmes
The UTK group is involved in the development of neutron detectors for the future FRIB Decay Station and its present incarnation, FRIB Decay Station Initiator https://fds.ornl.gov/initiator/. The FDSi is currently the primary detector to study decays of exotic nuclei at the Facility for Rare Isotope (FRIB) https://frib.msu.edu/. Our focus is on developing a new generation system that uses neutron interaction tracking to improve the energy resolution of the neutrons. Neutron-time-of-flight measurements also require the implementation of fast-response pixelated implant detectors. The summer projects will include characterizing pixelated detectors constructed using GAGG inorganic scintillators and implementing new scintillator materials for neutron detection.
Advisor: Professor Robert Grzywacz
High-energy quarks and gluons lose energy as they traverse the hot, dense matter created in high energy nuclear collisions. We study what happens to this energy, investigating measurement techniques and making comparisons between data and models. This project will involve using a high performance computing cluster to run model studies and may involve using machine learning techniques to understand methods better. Students will learn how to use tools such as Rivet for conducting analysis and will make presentations to working groups in the JETSCAPE, PHENIX, or sPHENIX collaboration, as appropriate.
Advisor: Professor Christine Nattrass
We use a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to probe various kinds of quantum materials in the atomic scale. By analyzing the atomic and electronic structure acquired by STM, it is possible to reveal the novel quantum states in these materials. In this project, students will be involved in three tasks: (1) use STMs to acquire atomic structure of materials; (2) modify materials properties by manipulating individual atoms; and (3) analyze STM data with advanced statistic tools to extract hidden orders.
Advisor: Professor Wonhee Ko
In preparation of a new experiment at the HFIR reactor at Oak Ridge searching for mirror dark matter neutrons, two solenoidal magnets are being constructed at UT. Experiment are expected to start in Fall 2024. The magnet commissioning and calibration work are planned for the summer. This work will be performed at UT and at ORNL. Participation of an undergraduate student in this commissioning work is highly desirable. After completion of the commissioning, the student will have a chance to participate in the physics experiment at the HFIR in the Fall and in the subsequent data analysis, and be the author of the published paper with the results of the measurement.
Advisor: Professor Yuri Kamyshkov
A basic building block of life is a cell. It hosts DNA and myriad other complex molecules such as proteins, lipids, and RNA species. How these molecules arrange in space and time in a coordinated manner to make a cell a living entity is yet unclear. Equilibrium statistical physics can explain some of their organization, but non-equilibrium processes also play a significant role and is a hallmark of life. This summer project will combine state-of-the-art microscopic measurements and image analysis, including AI-based methods, to understand how DNA is organized in a bacterial cell. This knowledge is important in designing next-generation antibacterial drugs and synthetic cells.
Advisor: Prof. J. Mannik
https://volweb.utk.edu/~jmannik/index.html
The CMS Experiment at CERN is upgrading its silicon tracking detector for the High-Luminosity LHC era. This project will involve participation in the assembly, control, calibration, and QA/QC for tracker modules at Fermilab. The project will require training in programming in C++ and python, analog and digital electronics, and the physics of particle detection. This work will involve working closely with the team at the Silicon Detector Facility at Fermilab, in Batavia, IL.r.
Advisor: Professor Larry Lee
https://leejr.web.cern.ch
Protons and Neutrons are constituents of most observable matter in the universe. Understanding the origin of nucleon spin has been an overarching challenge for nuclear physics since the 1980s. To probe this experimentally with a polarized electron beam, spin-polarized nuclear targets are required. We have a program if such experiment approved at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. This summer, the successful student fellow will assist in setting up a lab at UT to polarized 3He gas using Metastability exchange optical pumping method. The work will include characterizing the cell, mapping the magnetic field, laser testing, writing code to control equipment and optic alignment.
Advisor: Professor Dien Nguyen
The gravitational wave emission for two stars of nearly identical mass but different stellar structure and, therefore, different explosion history. Gravitational waves may allow us to disentangle the two scenarios when stellar mass becomes a degenerate parameter and where, in this regard, electromagnetic observations are inconclusive.
Advisor: Professor Tony Mezzacappa
The gravitational wave emission associated with anisotropic neutrino emission in a series of models initiated from the same progenitor mass but using different nuclear equations of state. The gravitational wave “memory” in each of these models may provide a signature of the underlying equation of state and, consequently, the underlying high-density, neutron-rich nuclear physics.
Advisor: Professor Tony Mezzacappa
The oxygen you breathe, the calcium in your bones and about half of the iron in your blood were formed in the deaths of massive stars as core-collapse supernovae. We model these explosions in two and three dimensions using supercomputers as the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility and other computing facilities. Many of the most important observations, which can tell us if our models are correct, depend on the new atomic nuclei that are produced in the explosion. You will assist in running our nucleosynthesis calculations and analyzing the results so that we may better understand the nuclear contributions from these exploding stars.
Advisor: Professor Raph Hix
In this project, you will work with members of the ORNL-UTK astrophysics
collaboration to extend a novel analysis framework written in Python in order to
analyze our next generation of supernovae simulations. The design focus of the
analysis tool lies on the way the hydrodynamics and neutrino radiation dynamics
are evolved in the code framework and in analyzing neutrino data as a function
of neutrino energy from the simulations. In particular, the fluid and spectral
radiation data, which live on different computational grids during the
evolution, need a unified representation for analysis. There will also be plenty
of opportunity to gain experience using the supercomputers at the Oak Ridge
Leadership Computing Facility, managing data, and producing publication level
figures from the relevant analysis.
Advisor: Professor Bronson Messer
Photoelectron Diffraction is a methodology of photoelectron spectroscopy that
allows the determination of the local crystallographic arrangements around an
emitting atom. In one of our research endeavor, it would be highly important to
be able to determine the local crystal structure around Fe and Se atoms in FeSe
layers grown epitaxially on oxide substrates. These are systems that revealed
unconventional superconductivity, with superconducting transition temperatures
much higher than those found in bulk FeSe. The determination of the
crystallographic environment in FeSe monolayers is fundamental for a correct
description of their electronic structure.
We are looking for a highly motivated student who can run simulations with a
dedicated program called EDAC (Electron Diffraction in Atomic Clusters). The
student will have the chance to learn fundamental concepts in solid state
physics, crystallography, and to apply notions of quantum mechanical scattering
to photoelectrons.
Advisor: Professor
Norman Mannella
In a collapsed massive star, the new born neutron star (proto-NS) that drives the explosion of the star through the emission of neutrinos has a vigorous convection zone in its mantle, but the impact of proto-NS convection on the development on the supernova explosion is unclear. For this project, you will use supercomputers at ORNL or elsewhere to compute and compare 2D core-collapse supernova models with the CHIMERA supernova code with and without proto-NS convection to analyze the impact of convection.
Advisor: Dr. Eric Lentz
