2024-03-28T11:42:33Z
http://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/do/oai/
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:physicshp-1000
2010-06-21T19:36:15Z
publication:honors
publication:physics
publication:physicshp
Determining the Temperature of Exoplanet HAT-P-1b
Todorov, Kamen O.
Honors Paper
2008-04-30T07:00:00Z
exoplanets
planets
Exoplanets, or planets orbiting stars other than our Sun, are difficult to detect. It is even more difficult to determine their properties. In this thesis I focus on HAT-P-1b, which is a ¨Dhot Jupiter¡¬ ¨C a gas giant, extremely close to its parent star. It is important for this thesis that HAT-P-1b is also a transiting exoplanet, i.e., it periodically passes directly in front of, or behind, its parent star, which gives scientists unique opportunities to determine its physical properties, to measure its temperature and to study its atmosphere¡¯s chemical properties. The purpose of this thesis is to measure the brightness temperature of the transiting exoplanet HAT-P-1b. The observations used were made with the Spitzer Space Telescope through a filter with center wavelength of 8.0¦Ìm, which covered a secondary eclipse of the planetary system, i.e., when the planet is behind its parent star, ADS 16402B. We created a light curve for the system, detected the eclipse and fitted a model eclipse curve in the data. From the eclipse depth I determined HAT-P-1b¡¯s flux. Knowing the planet¡¯s distance from ADS 16402B and the masses and radii of the star and the planet, I estimated the brightness temperature of the planet. My calculated result is 1300¡À170K. Future research will involve similar measurements in three additional wavebands, which will provide information about the chemical and thermal structure of HAT-P-1b¡¯s atmosphere.
Astrophysics and Astronomy
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/physicshp/1
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:physicshp-1001
2011-05-30T15:46:30Z
publication:honors
publication:physics
publication:physicshp
An Analysis of Wind Resources and the Feasibility of Wind-Energy Generation on the Connecticut College Campus
Marshall, Michael
Honors Paper
2011-01-01T08:00:00Z
wind power
Connecticut College
<p>The original WindPro project files and the output PDFs are available for further research in the Connecticut College Archives. Please note that WindPro and WAsP are needed to open most of these files.</p>
<p>A wind-resource analysis was undertaken on the Connecticut College campus to augment the preliminary wind-power feasibility study conducted by Global Energy Concepts (GEC) in 2006. Based largely on modeled wind speeds, this earlier study concluded that wind resources at the college were insufficient to generate large amounts of electrical energy given the small-scale turbine believed to be suited to the campus's available land. In the current wind-resource analysis, rather than using modeled values, on-site wind measurements were made over the course of a year and extrapolated to the hub heights of various turbines. These extrapolations suggest that the mean annual wind speed on campus, due partly to a favorable hill-acceleraiton effect, may be at least 5.2 m/s at a height of 35 m above ground level, which is 6% greater than the mean wind speed that GEC estimated. Moreover, when a wind turbine sited in the college's extensive arboretum is considered, much larger-scale projects become possible. These entail higher hub heights and therefore the capture of faster, more energy-dense wind. The current study found that, even allowing for large uncertainties in the wind-resource calculations, a commercial-sized turbine built at high elevation in the arboretum may be able to produce enough electrical power to meet a substantial proportion of the school's total electrical energy needs. Because of the many acres of woodland surrounding such a turbine, its visual and acoustic effects on its neighbors may be within acceptable limits. The study results need to be verified, however, and air turbulence over the forest is another issue requiring further investigation.</p>
2011-05-30T07:00:00Z
Sustainability
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/physicshp/2
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:physicshp-1002
2012-05-19T18:38:01Z
publication:physics
publication:physicshp
The Black Box Module for Low-Level Light Detection and Probing in Optogenetic Studies
Maret, Elizabeth
Restricted
2012-01-01T08:00:00Z
2012-05-18T07:00:00Z
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/physicshp/3
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:physicshp-1003
2016-05-26T19:54:59Z
publication:honors
publication:physics
publication:physicshp
Failure at Fidenae: Visualization and Analysis of the Largest Structural Disaster in the Roman World
Napolitano, Rebecca
Honors Paper
2015-01-01T08:00:00Z
<p>A digital reconstruction of the amphitheater at Fidenae, which collapsed in 27 A.D., was produced as a result of textual, architectural, archaeological, and engineering analysis. Primary literary sources, such as Tacitus and Suetonius, examined in conjunction with proximal archaeological evidence, allowed for the most probable seating capacity and the scale of the amphitheater to be determined. Architectural evidence of other wooden structures found on Trajan’s Column allowed for a most probable projection of a three dimensional model to be created using AutoCAD. With this most probable model determined, engineering analysis was utilized in order to understand the failure at Fidenae almost 2000 years ago.</p>
2015-05-27T07:00:00Z
Architectural Engineering
Classical Archaeology and Art History
Classics
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/physicshp/7
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:physicshp-1004
2015-05-27T18:23:46Z
publication:physics
publication:physicshp
Modeling Lahar Inundation with the Aid of Historic Flow Deposits at Redoubt Volcano, Cook Inlet, Alaska
Iezzi, Alexandra
Restricted
2015-01-01T08:00:00Z
<p>Redoubt Volcano is a 3108 m tall stratocone located in Cook Inlet, Alaska that explosively erupts roughly every 20 years. The five eruptions since 1900 all share the common characteristic of being accompanied by multiple large to very large lahars (108 to 109 m3), as well as many that are smaller in magnitude (104 to 106 m3). About 35 km from the crater of Redoubt Volcano lies the Drift River Marine Terminal that, if inundated, has the potential to cause an oil spill comparable in size to the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989. Non-Newtonian lahar flows evolve as they move down valley as a result of their bulking and debulking processes. The aim of this project was to model the largest lahars from the three most recent eruptions of Redoubt to better predict the area of inundation during future eruptions. Using GIS and the lahar simulation program Laharz_py, inundation models were created and compared with the known mapped area of post-eruption inundation done by the USGS for the seven most extensively studied lahars spanning the three most recent eruptions (1966-68, 1989-90, and 2009). The input data for these simulations consisted of a ten-meter resolution DEM and estimates of glacial meltwater volume as a measure of initial lahar volume proposed by both Dorava and Meyer (1994) and Waythomas et al. (2013). To capture the specific characteristics of the Redoubt Volcano lahars, a retrospective manipulation of the calibration factors was performed, such as the starting coordinates of the lahars, using the previously mapped areas of inundation. It was found that lahar volumes of approximately 4<strong>–</strong>5 x 108 m3 were required in order for the lahar run-out to reach the Drift River Marine Terminal. Volumes of this size appear to be consistent with estimates by both Dorava and Meyer (1994) and Waythomas et al. (2013), with the exception that the mapped areas of inundation appear more channelized than the simulations. These modeling techniques can be used in order to aid in the prediction of the lahar inundation for future eruptions of Redoubt Volcano.</p>
2015-05-27T07:00:00Z
Earth Sciences
Volcanology
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/physicshp/6
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:physicshp-1005
2015-05-27T18:34:54Z
publication:honors
publication:physics
publication:physicshp
Experimental Simulations of Recurring Slope Lineae on the Surface of Mars
Eddings, Elizabeth
Honors Paper
2015-01-01T08:00:00Z
<p>Recurring Slope Lineae (RSL) are active surface features found on rocky Martian slopes commonly in the southern hemisphere equatorial to mid<strong>-</strong>latitude regions. These low albedo, dark streaks on Mars demonstrate seasonal characteristics;; they appear and grow darker and longer in warm months and fade to possible disappearance in colder months. One proposed mechanism for the formation and evolution of these features by McEwen et al. (2011) is the melting of subsurface water on Mars. The goal of this study was to test this hypothesis by reconstructing features similar to RSL in the lab that display the same seasonal characteristics as a result of freezing and thawing cycles creating a source of subsurface liquid. Laboratory experiments were conducted at both the Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences and at Connecticut College using small open<strong>-</strong>topped and insulated boxes filled with saturated regolith. The two main constraints that were identified in these simulations were the effects of topographic distribution of regolith and of large boulders on the overall thawing of the system and production of features. Results showed that dark wet streaks could appear along the slope as a result of capillary rise through a thin dry overburden of sediment, but there must be some sort of anisotropy introduced into the system in order for the dark line to occur in a linear trend, such as the generation of a small channel extending down the slope. Additional results indicated that different heat transfer properties of larger particles could initiate subsurface thawing from a point along the slope. The lack of recurrence of slope lineae in these experiments suggests a need for larger scale varying topography experiments or a possible limitation due to the size of the small boxes not reaching the critical length necessary for features to form.</p>
2015-05-27T07:00:00Z
Earth Sciences
The Sun and the Solar System
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/physicshp/5
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:physicshp-1006
2015-05-27T18:39:04Z
publication:honors
publication:physics
publication:physicshp
Wind, Waves and Surge: An Analysis of the Movement and Post-Storm Recovery of Bushy Point Beach in Groton, CT
Medley, Grace
Honors Paper
2015-01-01T08:00:00Z
<p>Barrier beaches are highly dynamic systems that respond to variations in wave energy, increases in storm surge heights and changes in relative sea level. Bushy Point barrier beach is a barrier spit located in Groton, Connecticut, and is one of the last unconstrained barrier systems in the State of Connecticut. Since 1934, the morphology of the beach has been changing in response to storm events as well as the local rise in sea level. On September 21, 1938, a category three hurricane made landfall in southern New England and devastated many coastal communities, including a summer community on Bushy Point barrier beach. More recently, the storm surge generated by Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012 also caused over-wash and significant retreat of the barrier spit. In order to create a history of the beach’s movement, multiple elevation transects were performed in 2012, 2013 and 2014, sediment samples were collected and analyzed, and data from multiple previous elevation surveys taken in 2003 after Hurricane Isabel and 2007 after Tropical Storm Noel was mapped. Additionally, five new survey locations were added to the original collection of data, in order to determine profile changes down the length of the barrier. These profile measurements coupled with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping and analysis of historical photographs demonstrate that Bushy Point barrier beach in Groton, Connecticut is moving inland at a rate that directly corresponds with the number of over-wash events associated with storm surge. The system is moving inland at higher rates at different points on the barrier, the highest rates being at the east end near the Bluff. The vulnerability of the east end of the barrier is directly related to the established energy regime of the barrier system, which incorporates fetch, sediment size, and prominent wind directions during major storm events. Sea-level rise due to anthropogenic climate change is causing a significant upward shift in high water levels during storms, and will continue to increase in the vulnerability of these coastal systems to be over-washed and pushed inland. </p>
2015-05-27T07:00:00Z
Earth Sciences
Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/physicshp/4
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:physicshp-1007
2018-06-14T19:00:31Z
publication:honors
publication:physics
publication:physicshp
Simulating Interactions of Lorentz-Violating Interpoles
Sarkar, George
Honors Paper
2017-01-01T08:00:00Z
<p>Theories with spontaneously broken symmetry can give rise to a specific class of solutions known as monopoles. In one such theory, being tested in this paper, an antisymmetric two-tensor eld that spontaneously breaks Lorentz symmetry can form such monopole solutions. Very little is known about the interactions of these monopoles; as the equations of motion are nonlinear, simulational techniques are required. We present progress towards creating a simulation of these time-dependent monopoles, seeing if monopoles are still in existence today, and estimating their density in the current universe. We simulate a subset of the equations of motion of the antisymmetric two-tensor eld. Our results show that the eld stabilizes to a non-uniform value over time.</p>
2017-06-14T07:00:00Z
Physics
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/physicshp/8
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:physicshp-1008
2023-05-09T13:38:54Z
publication:honors
publication:physics
publication:physicshp
Design, Construction, and Stabilization of an Adjustable Repetition Rate Frequency Comb for Precision Spectroscopy
Carter, Matthew
Honors Paper
2023-01-01T08:00:00Z
<p>Optical frequency combs have numerous applications across the sciences. One of the most powerful applications is in molecular spectroscopy, which takes advantage of both the coherence of lasers and combs’ inherent broad bandwidth. One well-established design is the erbium fiber comb, which is popular due to its low cost and relative ease of construction. I have modified the traditional all-fiber design by introducing an adjustable free-space section which allows for adjustments to the path length, and thus the comb’s repetition rate. This low-cost addition allows for repetition rate matching, a necessity for dual-comb spectroscopy, and active repetition rate stabilization, which is essential for long-term stability and precision measurement. Stabilization is achieved through passive and active means; active stabilization involves both temperature control and a piezoelectric transducer in the free-space section. Preliminary results, frequency comb spectra, and other diagnostic measurements are presented. This comb will be implemented in a dual-comb spectrometer to conduct rotationally-resolved measurements of small molecules such as hydrogen cyanide, and in a supersonic beam apparatus to measure larger molecules such as benzene.</p>
2023-05-22T07:00:00Z
Optics
Physics
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/physicshp/9