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1
Binnie, Anna-Eugenia. "From atomic energy to nuclear science : a history of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission". [Sydney] : Macquarie University Physics Department, 2003. http://www.ansto.gov.au/libsite/Fulltext/Binnie_atomic-energy.pdf.
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Johnston, Kimberley Gail. "Not equal partners : Anglo-American nuclear relations, 1940-1958 /". [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2001. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe16172.pdf.
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Boland, Joseph B. "The Cold War legacy of regulatory risk analysis : the Atomic Energy Commission and radiation safety /". view abstract or download file of text, 2002. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p3055670.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2002.Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 665-706). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.
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Seltzer, Michael William. "Atomic testing and population genetics : the AEC and the classical/balance controversy, 1946-1957 /". Thesis, This resource online, 1993. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-12162009-020310/.
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Gaunt, Adam P. "Towards micro-imaging with dissolution dynamic nuclear polarisation". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2018. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51219/.
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Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of small samples and nuclei with a low gyromagnetic ratio is intrinsically insensitive due to the received signal dependence on Boltzmann's statistics. This insensitivity can be partially overcome through the application of hyper polarisation techniques such as Dissolution Dynamic Nuclear Polarisation (D-DNP). It is hoped that the hyper polarised 13C signal received from labelled small molecules could facilitate imaging of metabolic and transporter processes in biological systems. In order to realise this, appropriate molecules and experimental hardware must be used. A detailed description of the experimental set-up used for carrying out DDNP is given and the system is characterised. the advantageous use of a dual iso-centre magnet system is elucidated with optimisation of acquisition of fast relaxing molecules. such a system allows for interrogation of processes with short relaxation times, not possible with traditional, stand-alone polarisers. To acquire the maximum amount of hyper-polarised 13C signal in an imaging experiment, parallel acquisition techniques have been implemented and the hardware designed with such goals in mind. Multiple coils have been used to allow accelerated image acquisition. As such this work has validated the SENSE algorithm for artefact free, image reconstruction on the micro-scale. These techniques require an array of coils which add to the complexity of the design of the probehead. Decoupling methods and array coil construction must be considered the methods used to ensure well isolated coils, such as geometric decoupling, are presented. The novel fabrication and implementation of micro-coils for imaging and spectroscopy of nL scale samples is presented this will help facilitate the acquisition of images showing metabolic processes in active transport in cells. By placing the coils close to the sample it is possible to gain sensitivity relative to the mass of the sample in question. To achieve signal detection on the order of nL a novel, exible micro-coil array has been fabricated and the results of NMR experiments carried out on both protons and 13C are shown. This is the final stage before integrating the coils with the D-DNP system. The acquisition of 13C signal with the micro-coils displays optimal electronic characteristics when compared with other detectors presented in the literature. The final goal of the work is to produce a system that is capable of micro imaging in small biological samples such as the Xenopus Oocyte with a view to monitoring metabolic processes and transportation without the need for the use of the large fluorescing proteins (GFP's) that have been used in previous work (1). The need for GFP's attached to metabolites results in the measured data being non-physical as the fluorescing protein is often much larger than the molecule being transported. It is hoped that the use of hyperpolarised small molecules (such as pyruvic acid) may be able to remove this need for GFP's in the study of metabolite transportation.
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McGeorge-Henderson, Ben P. "Novel acquisition strategies for dissolution dynamic nuclear polarisation". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2017. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43266/.
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Dynamic Nuclear Polarisation (DNP) produced molecules with spin polarisation levels that are up to three orders of magnitude larger than their thermal equilibrium values. Most DNP mechanisms work at temperatures of 2 K and lower, meaning that the sample is stored in the solid-state. Combining DNP with a rapid temper- ature jump to room temperature allows liquid-state NMR analysis with a signal that is ve orders of magnitude higher than observed with thermal polarisation. However, the information obtained during a dissolution experiment is limited by the intrinsic liquid-state longitudinal relaxation of the spins of interest. is thesis looks to increase the information acquired in a number of ways. First, by devel- oping a new dissolution system for the dual iso-centre magnet it was possible to reproducibly perform enhanced NMR acquisition 600 ms following sample disso- lution. is has allowed the observation of hyperpolarised 13C spins with T1 times as low as 200 ms. Complimentary information can be obtained following sample dissolution by observing multiple spin species simultaneously. 13C and 15N spins are both polarised by microwave irradiation of the same frequency, so both can be analysed during a single dissolution DNP experiment. A novel probe has been used that contains six individual 13C microcoils. ese coils are separated in space and operate independently. is probe, in conjunction with dissolution DNP, can be used for observing dynamic molecular information on the time scale of 200 ms, however with further development this time scale should drop to less than 100 ms while maintaining a required minimum spectral resolution. Initial tests have been performed with both thermally polarised and hyperpolarised samples.
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Howlett, D. "An analysis of a regional nuclear safeguards organisation : The European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and the development of nuclear safeguards in Western Europe". Thesis, University of Southampton, 1988. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.235227.
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Steinfelds, Eric V. "Radioisotopic energy conversion system (RECS) : a new radioisotopic power cell, based on nuclear, atomic, and radiation transport principles /". free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 2003. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p3091969.
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Wisniewski, Daniel. "Simulations of Dynamic Nuclear Polarization pathways in large spin ensembles". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2017. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39045/.
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Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) is a method for signal enhancement in NMR, with numerous applications ranging from medicine to spectroscopy. Despite the success of applications of DNP, the understanding of the underlying theory is still limited. Much of the work on the theory of DNP has been carried out on small spin systems; this is a restriction due to the exponential growth of the Liouville space in quantum simulations. In the work described in this thesis, a methodology is presented by which this exponential scaling can be circumvented. This is done by mathematically projecting the DNP dynamics at resonance onto the Zeeman subspace of the density operator. This has successfully been carried out for the solid effect, cross effect and recently for the Overhauser effect in the solid state (see appendix A.4). The results are incoherent state-dependent dynamics, resembling classical behaviour. Such form of effective dynamics allows the use of kinetic Monte Carlo algorithms to simulate polarization dynamics of very large spin systems; orders of magnitude larger than has previously been possible. We verify the accuracy of the mathematical treatment of SE-DNP and CE-DNP, and illustrate the insight large spin-system simulations provide into the mechanism of DNP. For SE-DNP the mechanism of polarization to the bulk of spin systems is determined to be spin diffusion, and we carried out studies into the efficiency and performance of radicals, with an outlook on radical design. We also show that the Zeeman projection can be applied to heteronuclear spin systems if the nuclear species are close in frequency, and we present a formalism for simulating C-13 nuclear spin systems based on a linear rate approach, enabling simulations of thousands of spins in a matter of minutes. A study into the scaling of the kinetic Monte Carlo algorithm error, and the simulation run time, with respect to an increasing number of spins is also presented. For CE-DNP the error analysis led to establishing a parameter regime in which the effective dynamics are accurate. We show that spin diffusion is the mechanism of transfer of polarization to bulk nuclei. We also show how the effective rates for CE-DNP can be used to understand the efficiency of bi-radicals, point to optimisation possibilities, and hold a potential to aid in bi-radical design. We finally show large scale simulations for CE-DNP bi-radical systems with improved parameters; leading to very rapid build-up of nuclear polarization.
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Pérez, Linde Angel Joaquin. "Application of cross polarisation techniques to dynamic nuclear polarisation dissolution experiments". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2010. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11417/.
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Dynamic Nuclear Polarisation (DNP) was suggested for the first time by Albert Overhauser in early 1950s. In DNP experiments the polarisation from electrons can be transferred to nuclei by irradiation of the electron resonance line. There are several possible mechanisms for polarisation transfer that involve DNP in solid state depending on the width of the electron line in respect to the nuclear Larmor frequency. In this thesis, the efficiency of TEMPO radical (2,2,6,6 tetramethilpiperidine, 1 oxyl) for DNP is demonstrated in combination with nuclear polarisation transfer techniques for dissolution experiments. New cryo-probes were developed for DNP and cross polarisation (CP) for operation temperatures as low as 1.5 K. Two of them were designed for dissolution experiments. Some published sequences of nuclear polarisation transfer were tested at low temperatures and compared. Novel sequences were implemented for efficient CP in organic samples doped with TEMPO to allow for a consecutive dissolution experiment. The combination of DNP with new CP sequences at low temperatures, achieved at least twice the 13C polarisation obtained with DNP and in a substantially shorter time (between 5 to 10 minutes) in samples doped with TEMPO. The polarisation levels obtained in samples of [13C-1] labelled Na acetate in a few minutes was comparable to the polarisation obtained with trityl radicals in a few hours. In addition, another strategy was investigated by using brute force polarisation as a mechanism for achieving large levels of nuclear spin order. The problem presented by this method is the long relaxation time required to obtain the thermal equilibrium polarisation. By doping with lanthanides samples of [13C-1] labelled Na acetate in 1:1 glycerol-water, it was possible to obtain thermal equilibrium for a 13C spin system in less than one hour.
11
Breeds, Edward. "Novel hardware for temperature-jump DNP". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2018. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/52518/.
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Although NMR is a versatile technique, the low values associated with nuclear spin polarization provide inherently weak signals. A novel system to perform temperature-jump dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) has been designed and developed at the University of Nottingham, with the aim to enhance this signal and improve the sensitivity of the NMR experiment. This system utilizes a bespoke helium flow cryostat, located within the bore of a superconducting magnet, to achieve temperatures down to 1.75 K for high levels of polarization to build up on an electron spin population. This high level of polarization can then be transferred to a nuclear species of interest using microwave irradiation, while remaining at low temperature, allowing the weak signals associated with NMR to become enhanced. Following ample nuclear polarization build-up, a powerful mid-IR laser is used to rapidly bring the sample to 300 K, ensuring the spectra benefit from the line narrowing associated with liquid-state NMR. An Er:YAG laser with a wavelength of 2.94 μm has been chosen for this as it couples energy directly into the vibrational modes of hydroxyl groups present within the sample. The rapid heating mechanism underpins the success of this experiment twofold. Firstly, performing the temperature-jump in a shorter time period preserves a greater signal enhancement. This needs to be done carefully as too much heating will obliterate the sample, destroying the signal. Secondly, a temperature-jump without dilution of the sample, as occurs in dissolution DNP, allows sample recycling to take place. This opens the technique up for otherwise unavailable applications, such as multidimensional correlation spectroscopy with repetitive excitations. Development of the cryo-system, heating mechanism and NMR probe, alongside preliminary experiments and calculations, suggest that this technique should greatly improve the sensitivity of the liquid state NMR experiment.
12
Fernandes, Carolina C. "Multinuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the human brain at ultra high-field". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2017. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46607/.
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In this thesis, new acquisition and analysis methods are described for multinuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) for the quantification of brain metabolites at ultra high magnetic field strengths (7T). An analytical model was derived for the optimisation of the stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM) sequence timing parameters for lactate detection. The effects of the chemical shift displacement artefact on the J-modulated signal for a weakly-coupled spin system were considered in the three applied directions of field gradients and the product operator formalism was used to obtain expressions for the signal modulation in each compartment of the excited volume. The validity of this model was demonstrated experimentally in a phantom and acquisitions with optimised parameters were performed on a healthy volunteer. The spectra acquired with an echo time (TE) of 144 ms and with an optimised mixing time and TE of 288 ms showed easily detectable lactate peaks in the normal human brain. Additionally, the acquisition with the longer TE resulted in a spectrum with less lipid/macromolecular (MM) contamination. The simulations demonstrated that the proposed analytical model is suitable for correctly predicting the resulting lactate signal. With the optimised parameters, it was possible to use a simple sequence with sufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to reliably distinguish lactate from overlapping resonances in a healthy brain at ultra high-field. Estimation of metabolic changes during neuronal activation represents a challenge for in vivo MRS, especially for metabolites with low concentration and signal overlap, such as lactate. This thesis also includes work focused on the reliable quantification of lactate during a paradigm with 15 minutes of visual stimulation. The lipid and MM signals were significantly reduced by using a long TE (144 ms) sequence and the remaining MM signals in the vicinity of the lactate peak were individually fitted with simulated Lorentzian peaks, to ensure a good fit of the inverted lactate doublet. Statistically significant changes in lactate (~10%) and glutamate (~3%) levels during stimulation were detected in the visual cortex and agree with previous measurements. Furthermore, the use of a prolonged stimulation period unveiled a distinctive metabolic response pattern, which can provide further insight into brain activation mechanisms. 13C MRS combined with the infusion of labelled substrates is able to provide unique information on the relationship between neuroenergetics and brain function. However, the lack of sensitivity associated with the general complexity of 13C experiments has hampered its widespread use for research into human brain disease. In this study, a new methodology for acquisition and analysis of 13C signal is presented for the study of neuroenergetics and neurotransmission in a deep brain structure - anterior cingulate cortex - that is thought to play a major role in the processing of sensory information and can be impaired in patients with schizophrenia. In vitro testing was performed to evaluate the performance of the implemented sequence for signal localisation and polarisation transfer, both proving adequate for the intended purpose. In vivo data were acquired in four subjects, one diagnosed with early schizophrenia, with a protocol which involved 60 minutes of infusion of [1-13C]glucose. Turnover curves for the labelled products were generated from the dynamic 13C spectra with a temporal resolution of 10 minutes and were in agreement with the ones obtained from rodent experiments. Therefore, the feasibility of 13C experiments for the study of psychosis was here demonstrated, taking advantage of the increase in SNR at ultra high-field for determination of metabolic fluxes.
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Masango, Senamile Khethekile Ntombizothando. "Measuring transitional matrix elements using first-order perturbation theory in Coulomb excitation". University of the Western Cape, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/6704.
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Magister Scientiae - MScThe aim of nuclear structure physics is to study the interplay between singleparticle and collective degrees of freedom in nuclei and to explain how nuclei get excited and decay under di erent external conditions, such as strong electric and magnetic elds. If nuclei absorb a large amount of energy and angular momentum, like in a scattering reaction when you bombard a target that is in the ground state with a projectile at high bombarding energies, the energy from the projectile gets transfered to the target and vice versa, hence both projectile and target may get excited. During the de-excitation process nuclei may release the energy in a form of electromagnetic radiation (gamma rays) which carries angular momentum. The atomic nucleus is a many-body system, whose structure is de ned in terms of interactions between protons and neutrons. In nature there are only around 300 stable isotopes [1]. They are all in their ground states (although some are in a low-energy excited isomeric state with a long lifetime). To study excited states in these nuclei one needs to provide energy to the system. In addition, there are some 3000 unstable nuclei, most of which do not exist in nature. Many have been produced and studied in research laboratories, and there could be more than 3000 other unstable nuclei that can in principle exist in astrophysical environments, but have not yet been synthesized on Earth [1].
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Zak, Chen. ""Neither illusion nor despair" : strengthening the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) effectiveness in deterring and detecting non-compliance followng the adoption of "Program 93+2" /". Thesis, Connect to Dissertations & Theses @ Tufts University, 2004.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2004.Submitted to the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 571-601). Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;
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Goulding, Philip. "The use of electric potential sensors in nuclear magnetic resonance and particle detection applications". Thesis, University of Sussex, 2015. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/57919/.
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The work in this thesis extends the applications of the Electric Potential Sensor (EPS) designed by the Sensor Research Technology Centre. Combined is work undertaken in two areas related by their application in security systems: low-field nuclear magnetic resonance with electric-field acquisition, and particle detection for alpha, beta and neutron radiation. In both these areas the EPS is used as to acquire signals. The first half of the thesis consists of the work undertaken to design a low-field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometer to detect drugs and explosives. In doing so, the use of the electric field detection technique - patented by Sussex University - is extended to low-field NMR work. The eventual negative results in this field lead first to the design of a simpler proton magnetometer apparatus, a design which would confirm the use of the EPS at low frequencies, and eventually to a change in direction of the research: particle detection. Detailed in this first section are a theoretical explanation of NMR in chapter 2, and a chapter covering the design and testing of the equipment in chapter 3. The particle detection part of the thesis covers modifications made to the EPS in order to detect particles and experiments conducted to confirm their operation. As in the NMR section, the work is split into a theory chapter which underpins the work, providing context for the experiments chapter. Chapter 5 covers the detection of alpha, beta and neutron radiation and the use of feedback to control the RC time constant of the front end of the sensor. The work in this thesis concludes negative results in the NMR area, but proves the EPS particle detector as a viable, cost effective alternative to conventional detectors.
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Møller, Morten. "Optimizing the structure of scanning probes for atomic manipulation". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2017. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44916/.
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Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) allows us to directly measure the interactions between a probe and a sample at the atomic scale. Techniques such as non-contact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM), allows us to to characterize the forces present on a surface, resolve the atomic structure of molecules or examine their chemical properties, while scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) allows their electronic properties to be characterized. As the interactions take place at the atomic scale, the atomistic state of the probe apex plays a crucial role. In AFM, it is the atomic scale forces between the outermost atoms of the probe and surface that are dominant, while for STM the density of states (DOS) that contribute to tunneling are crucial. Therefore, understanding and controlling the tip termination is crucial to derive meaningful interpretations from experimental data. In this thesis, the role of the tip termination is examined for various surfaces and situations. We find that determining the "right" tip state depends critically on the experiment and several general strategies for shaping the tip apex into a preferred state are therefore outlined. H:Si(100) surfaces were used as a substrate for lithographic patterning using STM. We have successfully implemented an automated extraction routine for performing large scale patterning with high fidelity and single atom specificity. Our ultimate goal is to combine the extraction routine with SPM image recognition software to allow analysis and manipulation of atomic scale features without human intervention. To perform manipulations reliably, the tip influence on "what we see" (tip imaging states), or specifically on what the recognition software can identify, needs to be considered. We find, counter-intuitively, that atomic scale manipulation with the highest fidelity occurs when silicon dimers are observed as rows as opposed to when atomic resolution imaging occurs. The tip state influence on measuring surface diffusion of PTCDA on Ag(110) surfaces, was also investigated. We find that the adsorption kinetics of diffusing molecules can only be detected for specific tip imaging states. To allow examination with no-human intervention, the tip state needs to be carefully considered, and a combination of analytical and spectroscopic tools needs to be implemented in conjunction with the experiment. Additionally, characterization of the tip apex was investigated at the tunnel junction between a STM tip and a metal surface using field emission measurements. Our results suggest that field emission measurements performed at the tunnel junction are sensitive to changes in the nanoscopic/mesoscopic tip apex structure, thus opening up the possibility of automating the process of characterization the tip apex.
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Buck, Duncan. "Type IIb Kähler moduli : inflationary phenomenology". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2010. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11088/.
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The inflationary paradigm of standard big bang cosmology provides a mechanism to generate primordial curvature perturbations and explain the large scale homogeneity and isotropy of the observable universe. This is achieved through requiring a period of accelerated expansion during the early universe and requires a deep understanding of particle physics for its correct formulation. With the emergence of string theory as a potential description of a fundamental laws of nature provides a the natural framework in which we can construct realistic models of inflation seems plausible. A common feature of string theories is the requirement of extra dimensions and, in the absence of a complete formulation of the theory, it is necessary to dimensionally reduce the theories to give a 4d effective theory. String compactifications provide a promising approach through which this can be done. However compactifications lead to the generation of a large number of massless scalar fields (moduli) which would mediate unobserved 'fifth forces'. Methods of stabilising these fields give rise to exponentially flat potentials which provide the means of obtaining inflation quite naturally. In the introductory chapters a review of Type IIb flux compactifications gives methods to stabilise the complex structure moduli and dilaton through the use of fluxes. In order to stabilise the Kähler moduli additional non perturbative corrections to the superpotential are required. We introduce the well know class of meta stable de Sitter string vacua obtained when such corrections are included. An additional class vacua at large volume are discussed, these are found when leading order perturbative corrections to the Kähler potential are also considered. The large volume vacua are then shown to give rise to a model of inflaton using a Kähler modulus as an inflaton field. We show that there exists a large class of inflationary solutions corresponding to a constant volume V of the compactification manifold. In a second chapter on this inflationary model the existence of a basin of attraction for inflation with a constant volume is described. We also find a larger class of inflationary solutions when we evolve the axionic components of the Kähler moduli and the phenomenological aspects are discussed. We finally review the standard slow roll analysis and discuss its use in multiple field inflationary models. We introduce two multiple field extensions to the standard single field slow roll approach. We proceed with an investigation into the suitability of the multiple field slow roll approaches in predicting the slow roll footprint of Supergravity models of inflation. This is achieved through comparing the results with single field results and numerical simulation data when more complex models are considered.
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Frantsuzov, Ilya. "An NMR relaxometry study of heteronuclear effects upon proton transfer in hydrogen bonds". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2010. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11334/.
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The inherent quantum-mechanical nature of the proton transfer process in hydrogen bonds has been investigated through its effects on the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate. The fast magnetic field-cycling techniques employed allowed a direct measure of the rate characterising this dynamic process, which is closely related to the potential energy environment experienced by the mobile proton. Various heteronuclear effects from magnetic and non-magnetic nuclei outside the hydrogen bond were characterised. The contribution to proton tunnelling from the displacement of heavy atoms in the molecule is an important consideration within a complete description of the process. This interdependence was accurately measured for the carboxyl-group oxygen atoms in benzoic acid dimers through the isotope effect. Careful comparison of ¹⁶O and ¹⁸O-enriched benzoic acid relaxation allowed this relationship to be measured from the difference in low-temperature tunnelling rates. Fluctuating dipolar interactions caused by proton transfer motion couples the Zeeman states of different nuclear species. The cross-relaxation occurring through this natural coupling was explored as a function of field in 2,4,6-trifluorobenzoic acid and ¹³C-enriched pure benzoic acid. Characterising the strength of this interaction endeavoured to broaden the comprehension of heteronuclear coupling and served as confirmation of the model used. Beyond the carboxylic acid dimer, this investigation also showed dynamic disorder in intermolecular short, strong hydrogen bonds of pyridine-3,5-dicarboxylic acid. This proton transfer mechanism was found to be strongly dependent on the molecular vibrational modes creating a pathway between two potential minima. A finite change in entropy between the proton sites ensured that greatest proton mobility occurred at intermediate temperature, between relatively stable configurations at the extremes of temperature. A study of different sources of molecular dynamics within one compound showed the efficiency of field-cycling NMR at separating their contributions to relaxation. Dynamic rates from the proton transfer and methyl group rotation in 4-methylbenzoic acid were reliably extracted to the extent of identifying separate contributions from a small percentage of molecules around impurity centres.
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Omotani, John. "I've got the world on a brane". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2012. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12345/.
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This thesis treats several topics in the study of extra-dimensional models of the world, concerning Heterotic M-Theory and the dynamics of branes. We describe a reduction to five dimensions, over a Calabi-Yau manifold, of an improved version of Heterotic M-Theory, which is valid to all orders in the gravitational coupling. This provides a starting point for considering the consequences of the improved theory for the very fruitful phenomenology of the original. We investigate the singularities formed by the collision of gravitating branes in scalar field theory. By considering the asymptotic structure of the spacetime, the properties of the horizons formed and the growth of the curvature we argue that the singularity is not a black brane, as one might have expected, but rather a big crunch. Finally, we construct a restricted class of multi-galileon theories as braneworld models with codimension greater than one, developing in the process some of the formalism needed for the general construction.
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Mullinger, Karen Julia. "Simultaneous EEG and fMRI at high fields". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2008. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14142/.
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The work described in this thesis involves an investigation of the implementation and application of simultaneous EEG and fMRI. The two techniques arc complementary, with EEG providing excellent temporal resolution and fMRI having good spatial resolution. Combined EEG/fMRI thus forms a powerful tool for neuroscience studies. In initial work, methods for improving the removal of the gradient and pulse artefacts, which are induced in EEG traces recorded during concurrent MRI, have been developed. Subsequently, the effects of the EEG hardware on MR images were investigated. This involved acquiring a series of scans to identify the sources of B0- and B1 inhomogeneities and the extent to which these affect EPI data. The adverse effects on data quality of combining EEG and fMRI increase with field strength. Consequently, EEG-fMRI at 7T is particularly challenging, although a number of advantages make its implementation desirable. Safety tests were performed which showed the presence of the EEG system caused a negligible increase in RF heating effects during scanning at 7T. After elimination of a number of noise sources, the first simultaneous EEG-fMRI experiments at 7T using commercially available equipment were performed. Concurrent EEG/fMRI at 3T was then used to investigate the correlation between the BOLD (blood oxygenation level dependent) response measured during visual stimulation and both the preceding alpha power and the strength of the driven, electrical response. In considering the correlation of the range of variation of the alpha power and BOLD response, a trend emerged which allowed tentative conclusions to be drawn. Variation of the BOLD and driven response with the frequency of visual stimulation relative to a subject's individual alpha frequency (IAF) was also investigated. A significant increase in the driven response, accompanied by a decrease in the BOLD response was observed in visual cortex when it was driven at the IAF.
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O'Neill, Jason Darren. "Brute force polarisation of xenon-129". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2008. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/13887/.
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In recent years the number of applications using NMR spectroscopy of hyperpolarised noble gases has expanded rapidly. The signal enhancement hyperpolarisation provides has led to its implementation in studies as diverse as materials science and biological imaging. 129Xe in particular, with its easily deformed electron cloud, is proving to be a uniquely sensitive probe for nanoporous structures. At present hyperpolarises gas production is limited to optical pumping (SEOP). In this study we investigate another approach, the brute force technique. At very low temperatures and high magnetic fields the Boltzmann distribution of spins for magnetic nuclei is heavily biased in a single direction. At temperatures below 10 mK and in magnetic fields of 15 T, 129Xe polarisations exceeding 40% are attainable. The utilisation of the brute force technique is hindered by the extraordinarily long relaxation time need for this polarisation to occur. In this study, we give details of our investigations of two relaxation catalysts, oxygen and helium-3. It is shown that paramagnetic molecular oxygen causes rapid relaxation of solid xenon at temperatures as low as 500 mK. We report on the enhanced relaxation, by liquid 3He of xenon films adsorbed on to silica gel and exfoliated graphite substrates. The investigation of this mechanism is extended to other magnetic nuclei and improved rates of relaxation are observed in 13C and 1 H. Details are also given, of how this mechanism of relaxation can be halted by the addition of superfluid 4He. Unique observations in the 129Xe NMR spectra are reported, providing a unique opportunity to study the coupling between individual layers of 129Xe atoms. Finally, a novel mechanism of cooling, by the filtering of energetic atoms through a porous ceramic membrane, is investigated.
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Ball, Iain Keith. "Functional pulmonary MRI using hyperpolarised 3He". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2011. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12207/.
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The microstructure of the lung is complex, containing many branching airways and alveolar sacs for optimal gas exchange. Lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF), asthma, and emphysema lead to a destruction of this microstructure. As such, there is a growing interest in the early identification and assessment of lung disease using non invasive imaging techniques. Pulmonary function tests such as spirometry and plethysmography are currently used for this purpose but can only provide quantitative lung function measurements rather than direct measurements of lung physiology and disease. Computed tomography (CT) has also been used but due to risk of cell damage and mutation from the ionising radiation, long term monitoring of the lungs is severely constrained. Recently, new methods based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been developed to provide diagnostic imaging of the lung. Conventional MRI is not very well suited for lung imaging due to the very low proton density of the pulmonary airspaces. This problem can be overcome by making the patient inspire noble gases such as 3He whose polarisations have been vastly increased through optical pumping. Therefore 3He MRI permits a non-invasive determination of lung function. The high diffusion coefficient of 3He can be exploited to probe the microstructure of the lung. By measuring how fast 3He diffuses within the lung, the size of the lung microstructure can be assessed. Normally, the airspace walls impede the diffusion of the gas but for diseased lungs where microstructure has been destroyed, diffusion is less restricted and a higher apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) is observed. The research conducted for this thesis focused on the measurement of ADC using three different MRI pulse sequences with each sequence being designed to assess the peripheral airspaces over different length scales. These sequences were then implemented on three different subject study groups.
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Van, der Drift Anniek. "Progress in DNP theory and hardware". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2012. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12643/.
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Dynamic nuclear polarisation is a technique that allows one to increase the signal-to-noise ratio in an NMR experiment substantially, by transferring the inherently larger electron polarisation to the nuclei. Quantum mechanical models of this effect have thus far been limited to the description of only a few nuclei. This is due to the exponential scaling of the matrices involved in the description of the system. In this thesis methods of reducing the state space needed to accurately describe the simulation of solid effect DNP were explored and tested. Krylov Bogoliubov averaging has been used to remove high frequency oscillations from the system Hamiltonian and confine the trajectory of the dynamics to the zero quantum coherence subspace. Truncation of the basis spanning the Liouville space to low spin correlation orders has been tested and a condition for a minimum truncation level was found. A strategy based on a projection method, which allows one to describe the spin polarisation transient with multi-exponential functions, is introduced. This results in a linear scaling of the propagator with the number of spins. The influence of the parameters involved in the solid effect on the dynamics of the polarisation build up is discussed. The second part of this thesis is concerned with a novel approach to detecting fast molecular dynamics with the use of multiple RF receive and transmit coils. A proof of principle probe with two decoupled RF coils is presented, as well as a field map based shimming strategy and fast 2D data acquired with the probe. Lastly a probe with six RF coils, based on the design of the dual coil probe, will be presented, and initial data shown. The potential for using this probe in hyper-polarisation experiments for protein binding and folding studies will be discussed.
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Stanton, Nicola Marie. "Experimental studies of electron-phonon interactions in gallium nitride". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2001. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14212/.
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This thesis presents an experimental investigation of the electron-phonon interaction in GaN. Bulk epilayers, grown by MBE, and AIGaN/GaN heterostructures, grown by MOCVD, have been studied. The energy relaxation rate for hot electrons has been measured over a wide range of temperatures, allowing both acoustic and optic phonon emission to be studied in GaN epilayers. Direct phonon measurements, both studying the emission and absorption processes, have been performed. Detection of phonons emitted when hot electrons relax their excess energy complements the measurements of relaxation rates. Absorption of acoustic phonons by the epilayers, using both fixed and extended metal film phonon sources, allowed investigation into the effectiveness of the 2kF cutoff in the low mobility layers. The experimental findings are compared with the predictions of theory. AIGaN/GaN heterostructures were characterised and measurements of the energy relaxation rate in the temperature range 4K-40K obtained. Excellent agreement with theory is observed. A preliminary study of phonon absorption by the 2DEG system is presented, which allowed experimental determination of the "thickness" of the 2DEG and demonstrated the applicability of the technique in the study of low dimensional systems.
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Harvey, P. R. "Hyper-fast NMR imaging". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 1991. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/13753/.
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The work presented in this thesis was carried out in the Physics Department at the University of Nottingham between October 1988 and October 1991. It is the original work of the author except where indicated by reference. This thesis describes the continuation of the development of Echo Volumar Imaging (EVI) to facilitate snapshot imaging of a volume within the human body. Variants of the technique which have also been investigated include a spin echo version, SE-EVI, and a zoomed version ZEVI. All formats acquired data in a modulus fashion in times ranging from 64 ms to 120 ms. Hardware limitations have restricted the image matrix size to 64 x 32 x 8 voxels and prompted the employment of more efficient gradient driver circuitry. A multi-mode resonant gradient circuit is described for use in both Echo Planar Imaging (EPI) and EVI. The circuit behaves in an overall resonant manner but at a fixed number of discrete frequencies. By choosing the number of resonant modes, the circuit can be used to generate approximations to a square wave or trapezoidal waveform. Because of the energy conserving nature of the circuit design much faster current rise times can be achieved with a given amplifier and gradient coil. The multi-mode gradient driver circuit was utilized both for planar imaging and to investigate the effect of rapidly modulated magnetic fields on the human body. A simple neural stimulation model is used to evaluate the stimulation threshold current density for a variety of magnetically induced waveforms and for sinusoidal stimulation as a function of frequency. Experimental results correlate well with the model showing that for short times, contrary to the widely held view, neural stimulation is independent of the magnetic field switching rate dB / dt, but depends on the final magnetic field value.
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Cross, Andrew John. "The electron-phonon interaction in GaAs/(AlGa)As quantum wells". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2001. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14316/.
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This thesis presents a study of the electron-phonon interaction in two dimensional electron gases (2DEGs), by measuring of the acoustic phonon emission from a sequence of n-type doped GaAs/(AlGa)As quantum wells. Previous studies of emISSIon from 2DEGs confined in GaAs heterojunctions (Chin et al., 1984) have shown a surprising absence of longitudinal acoustic (LA) mode phonon emission, in contrast with theoretical studies (Vass, 1987) which predict that deformation potential coupled LA mode emission should dominate the energy relaxation processes. This may be attributed to the finite width of the quasi-2D sheet, which imposes a restriction on the maximum emitted phonon wavevector component perpendicular to the 2DEG, leading to a suppression of the emission (the "1Iao cutoff') at smaller phonon wavevectors than predicted by the earlier theory. By using the quantum well width w as a means of modulating the thickness of the 2DEG, the dependence of the 1Iao cutoff on the phonon emission can be directly measured. In the present work, significant LA phonon emission from the quantum well samples is observed. To complement the experimental measurements, the theory of emission from a 2DEG has been modelled in detail using computer simulation techniques. Calculations of the electron-phonon interaction, including matrix element anisotropy and dynamic screening, as well as phonon focusing effects, can be combined to produce accurate predictions of the experimentally detected phonon emission energy spectra.
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Shehu, Yusufu. "Search for the electroweak production of supersymmetric particles in three-lepton events at the ATLAS detector with focus on compressed mass spectra". Thesis, University of Sussex, 2017. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/67205/.
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This thesis presents a search for the electroweak production of supersymmetry using the dataset taken by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider with √8 = 8 TeV during 2012. Events with three leptons are selected and required to satisfy additional kinematic criteria that define optimised signal regions. In these signal regions, Standard Model processes are discriminated against, whilst retaining a large fraction of events produced by specified compressed supersymmetry scenarios. Compressed refers to near massdegeneracy between the decaying gauginos and the final state gauginos. The expected number of Standard Model events are estimated using a combination of Monte Carlo and data-driven methods, where the predictions are tested against data in specifically designed validation regions. Exclusion limits are then set at 95% confidence level (CL) on via ℓ`L- and via WZ-decay scenarios for the decaying charginos and neutralinos. With the ℓ`L halfway between the decaying charginos and neutralinos and the final state neutralinos, there is a new sensitivity up to 250 GeV. In scenarios with large mass splitting, the decaying chargino and neutralino masses are excluded up to 740 GeV. Looking forward to the 13 TeV data-taking, a search for the electroweak production of supersymmetry with threelepton final states is presented, with a first look at an optimisation strategy to improve sensitivity to charginos and neutralinos.
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McAslan, Heather Turmeau. "A general method for the resummation of jet observables in e+e− annihilation, or, On the weirdness of tiny things". Thesis, University of Sussex, 2017. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/71197/.
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This thesis introduces a novel technique for resummation of a wide class of observables to next-to-next-to-leading-logarithmic accuracy in e+e− annihilation, and potentially beyond. The method is applicable to observables that exhibit recursive infrared and collinear (rIRC) safety and continuous globalness. A systematic analysis of logarithmic counting in emission phase space reveals the contributions necessary to achieve NNLL-accurate results. A detailed description of the derivation and subsequent calculation of these effects is given. A framework of computer code (called ARES) has been developed to carry out automated numerical implementation of each of the NNLL contributions. ARES (Automated Resummer of Event Shapes) provides the user with an efficient determination of the resummed result for a desired observable. New results for several observables are presented, including the first NNLL resummation of the two-jet rate in the Durham and Cambridge algorithms which is crucial for determination of the strong coupling of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). This work as a whole presents an important addition to phenomenological precision calculations. Validation of the obtained predictions is performed, using both matching to NNLO fixed order calculations and comparison to data from the Large Electron-Positron collider at CERN.
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Lerner, Giuseppe. "Search for third generation scalar quarks in events with b-tagged jets with the ATLAS detector". Thesis, University of Sussex, 2018. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/79188/.
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The thesis presents the results of two searches for the direct pair-production of third generation scalar quarks, the stop and the sbottom, in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV delivered by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Third generation squarks are studied in the context of natural supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model, highlighting their role in the solution of the Higgs hierarchy problem and considering both R-parity conserving and violating decay scenarios. The signal models of interest produce final states characterised by the presence of two bottom quarks, and the identification of the hadronic jets generated by their fragmentation plays a crucial role in the analyses. The performance of b-jet identification algorithms is studied in detail, and a novel approach for the estimate of the associated systematic uncertainties is presented. The first analysis in the thesis is a search for a pairproduced sbottom with two-body decays into Standard Model third generation quarks and quasi-degenerate electroweakinos, while the second targets the pair-production of the stop followed by R-parity violating decays into a bottom quark and a lepton. No evidence of SUSY particles is found, and exclusion limits are set on the relevant signal models using dedicated statistical tools.
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Grout, Zara. "Supersymmetry searches in events with at least four leptons using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider". Thesis, University of Sussex, 2015. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/57321/.
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This thesis presents a search for supersymmetry using the dataset taken by ATLAS at the Large Hadron Collider with ps =8 TeV during 2012. Events with four or more leptons are selected and required to satisfy additional kinematic criteria that define optimised signal regions. These criteria are chosen to reject the majority of events produced by Standard Model processes, whilst retaining a large fraction of events produced by a variety of proposed supersymmetry scenarios. The expected number of Standard Model events are estimated using a combination of Monte Carlo and data-driven methods, the predictions of which are tested against data in specifically designed validation regions. No significant deviations from the Standard Model estimations are observed within statistical and systematic uncertainties. Exclusion limits are then set at 95% confidence level (CL) on a wide range of R-parity conserving and R-parity violating supersymmetry simplified models, as well as models of general gauge mediated supersymmetry. In R-parity violating models, 95% CL exclusion limits of 1350 GeV and 750 GeV are set on the masses of gluinos and charginos respectively. Exclusion limits are also set at 95% CL up to 620 GeV on the mass of heavy neutralinos for an R parity conserving scenario with decays via righthanded sleptons. Results are also presented for the combination of the four lepton analysis with another lepton-rich supersymmetry search.
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Waterfield, James. "Optical calibration system for SNO+ and sensitivity to neutrinoless double-beta decay". Thesis, University of Sussex, 2017. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/67570/.
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The SNO+ experiment is primarily looking for neutrinoless double-beta decay, an unobserved, lepton number violating radioactive decay. This is achieved by loading liquid scintillator with tellurium whose isotope 130Te decays via double beta decay with a Q-value of 2527 keV. An optical calibration system, located outside the scintillator, has been developed to help meet the radiopurity requirements of the experiment. This thesis describes the hardware component of the optical calibration system which calibrates the timing and charge response of the photomultiplier tube array of SNO+. A set of quality assurance tests showed that the system was at the required standard for installation. Data taken with SNO+ and the optical calibration system showed that the system was stable enough for photomultiplier tube calibration, identified resolvable issues with the SNO+ data acquisition system and allowed measurement of single photoelectron spectra. Data quality checks have been developed to ensure data is of calibration standard. The sensitivity of SNO+ to neutrinoless double-beta decay with nearly 800 kg of 130Te and five years data taking is investigated with a comprehensive evaluation of systematic uncertainties. Two new methods for acquiring a greater sensitivity to neutrinoless double-beta decay were developed; a one dimensional fit in event energy and a multidimensional fit in event energy and position. A simple event counting analysis, developed previously by the collaboration, was shown to be sensitive to systematic uncertainties. A fit in an extended energy range was shown to constrain the systematics and achieve a half-life sensitivity of 9.30x1025 yr corresponding to a 5.6% improvement over the counting analysis which neglected systematic uncertainties. The multidimensional analysis with systematics included achieved a 20% improvement over the counting analysis with a half-life sensitivity of 1:06 x 1026 yr, corresponding to an effective Majorana mass between 52 to 125 meV.
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Abraham, Nicola Louise. "Search for Electroweak Supersymmetry in final states with three electrons or muons plus missing transverse momentum in 13 TeV proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider with the ATLAS Detector". Thesis, University of Sussex, 2018. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/79859/.
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A search for the electroweak production of charginos and neutralinos decaying into final states involving three electrons or muons is presented. The analysis is based on 36.1 fb^-1 of √s = 13TeV proton–proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Scenarios considered are based on simplified models with the associated production of the next-to-lightest neutralino and the lightest chargino, followed by their decays into final states with leptons and the lightest neutralino via either sleptons or Standard Model gauge bosons. No significant deviations from Standard Model expectations are observed and stringent limits at 95% confidence level are placed on the masses of relevant supersymmetric particles. For a massless lightest neutralino, masses up to 1.13TeV are excluded for the associated production of the next-to-lightest neutralino and the lightest chargino, assuming slepton mediated decays, whereas for gauge-boson-mediated decays, masses up to 380 GeV are excluded.
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Marchais, Edouard. "Infrared properties of scalar field theories". Thesis, University of Sussex, 2013. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/45244/.
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Phase transitions and critical phenomena are of central importance in quantum field theory and statistical physics. We investigate the low energy properties of O(N) symmetric scalar field theories using functional renormalisation group methods for all N. This modern formulation of Wilson's renormalisation group allows a continuous interpolation between short and long distance physics without resorting to a weak coupling expansion. To leading order in the derivative expansion, we study the phase transition and the approach to convexity in the deep infrared limit. In the limit of infinite N, the fluctuations of the Goldstone modes dominate allowing for a complete analytical discussion of the effective potential. For finite N, the radial fluctuations become important and we resort to systematic series expansions. In both cases a systematic and thorough analysis of the diverse fixed point solutions is carried out. This leads to a comprehensive picture of the scaling potential for a large number of universality classes. We also study the dependence of our results on the regularisation scheme. Finally, we establish that the infrared completion of the effective potential in the broken phase is driven by a fixed point that leads to the flattening of the non-convex part of the potential.
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Anblagan, Devasuda. "MRI of foetal development". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2012. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30592/.
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Foetal MRI represents a non-invasive imaging technique that allows detailed visualisation of foetus in utero and the maternal structure. This thesis outlines the quantitative imaging techniques used to investigate the effect of maternal diabetes and maternal smoking on foetal development at 1.5 Tesla. The effect of maternal diabetes on placental blood flow and foetal growth was studied. The placental images were acquired using Echo Planar Imaging and blood flow was measured using Intra Voxel Incoherent Motion. The results indicate that peak blood flow in the basal plate and chorionic plate increases across gestation in both normal and diabetic pregnancies. Conversely, diffusion in the whole placenta decreases across gestation, with a more pronounced decrease in diabetic placentae. Following this, a method was developed to use a Tl weighted fat suppressed MRI scan to quantify foetal fat images in-utero. In addition, HAlf Fourier Single-shot Turbo spin Echo (HASTE) and balanced Fast Field Echo (bFFE) were used to acquire images encompassing the whole foetus in three orthogonal planes. These scans were used to measure foetal volume, foetal length and shoulder width. The data shows that foetal fat volume and intra-abdominal fat were increased in foetuses of diabetic mothers at third trimester. The HASTE and bFFE sequences were also used to study the effect of maternal smoking on foetal development. Here, foetal organ volumes, foetal and placental volume, shoulder width and foetal length were measured using a semiautomatic approach based on the concept of edge detection and a stereological method, the Cavalieri technique. The data shows that maternal smoking has significant negative effect on foetal organ growth and foetal growth, predominantly foetal kidney and foetal volume. The work described here certainly has a great potential in non-invasive assessment of abnormal placental function and can be used to study foetal development.
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Chowdhury, Muhammad Enamul Hoque. "Simultaneous EEG-fMRI : novel methods for EEG artefacts reduction at source". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2014. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14297/.
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This thesis describes the development and application of novel techniques to reduce the EEG artefacts at source during the simultaneous acquisition of EEG and fMRI data. The work described in this thesis was carried out by the author in the Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre, School of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Nottingham, between October 2010 and January 2013. Large artefacts compromise EEG data quality during simultaneous fMRI. These artefact voltages pose heavy demands on the bandwidth and dynamic range of EEG amplifiers and mean that even small fractional variations in the artefact voltages give rise to significant residual artefacts after correction, which can easily swamp signals from brain activity. Therefore any intrinsic reduction in the magnitude of the artefacts would be highly advantageous, allowing data with a higher bandwidth to be acquired without amplifier saturation, and facilitating improved detection of brain activity. This thesis firstly explores a new method for reducing the gradient artefact (GA), which is induced in EEG data recorded during concurrent MRI, by investigating the effects of the cable configuration on the characteristics of the GA. This work showed that the GA amplitude and its sensitivity to movement of the cabling is reduced by minimising wire loop areas in the cabling between the EEG cap and amplifier. Another novel approach for reducing the magnitude and variability of the artefacts is the use of an EEG cap that incorporates electrodes embedded in a reference layer, which has a similar conductivity to tissue and is electrically isolated from the scalp. With this arrangement, the artefact voltages produced on the reference layer leads are theoretically similar to those induced in the scalp leads, but neuronal signals are not detected in the reference layer. Therefore taking the difference of the voltages in the reference and scalp channels should reduce the artefacts, without affecting sensitivity to neuronal signals. The theoretical efficacy of artefact correction that can be achieved by using this new reference layer artefact subtraction (RLAS) method was investigated. This was done through separate electromagnetic simulations of the artefacts induced in a hemispherical reference layer and a spherical volume conductor in a time-varying magnetic field and the results showed that similar artefacts are induced on the surface of both conductors. Simulations are also performed to find the optimal design for an RLAS system, by varying the geometry of the system. A simple experimental realisation of the RLAS system was implemented to investigate the degree of artefact attenuation that can be achieved via RLAS. Through a series of experiments on phantoms and human subjects, it is shown here that RLAS significantly reduces the GA, pulse (PA) and motion (MA) artefacts, while allowing accurate recording of neuronal signals. The results indicate that RLAS generally outperforms the standard artefact correction method, average artefact subtraction (AAS), in the removal of the GA and PA when motion is present, while the combination of RLAS and AAS always produces higher artefact attenuation than AAS alone. Additionally, this work demonstrates that RLAS greatly attenuates the unpredictable and highly variable MA that are very hard to remove using post-processing methods.
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Newton, Hayley Louise. "Hyperpolarised xenon production via Rb and Cs optical pumping applied to functional lung MRI". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2014. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14339/.
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Hyperpolarisation encompasses a multitude of methods to increase the species' spin polarisation for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications. Hyperpolarised 129Xe is produced via spin-exchange optical-pumping (SEOP). Firstly, electronic spins of alkali metal vapour are polarised via absorption of circularly polarised light. Alkali metal polarisation is subsequently transferred to noble gas nuclei via collisions. Within this thesis, the SEOP process is examined by probing the kinetics of the 129Xe polarisation build up. A combination of diagnostic techniques are used including low field NMR to measure 129Xe polarisation (PXe) at different spatial positions, near-IR optical absorption to give a global estimate of the alkali metal polarisation, and in situ Raman spectroscopy to spatially monitor the energy transport processes by detecting the internal gas temperatures (TN2). TN2 values were found to be dramatically elevated above oven thermocouple readings, with observations of up to 1000 K for an oven heated to only 400 K. Internal gas temperatures are presented for the first time along the length of the optical cell, showing spatial temperature and PXe variations during steady state and rubidium runaway conditions. Two contrasting methods of Raman spectroscopy are examined: a conventional orthogonal arrangement of detection and excitation optics, where intrinsic spatial filtering of the probe laser is utilised; and a newly designed inline module with all components in the same optical plane. Optical filtering is used to reduce the Rayleigh scattering and the probe laser line. This new inline device is presented herein and has a 23 fold improvement in signal to noise enabling increased accuracy and precision of `real-time' temperature monitoring. Rubidium, caesium and a rubidium/caesium hybrid are compared as the alkali metal of choice in the SEOP process. Caesium has a higher spin-exchange cross-section with 129Xe, thus a system is envisaged where current Rb D1 lasers in many polarisers can be utilised with a Rb/Cs hybrid to gain improvements in polarisation rates or levels. Xenon polarisations are shown up to 50% for a hybrid cell. Finally, preparatory experiments crucial to the imminent lung imaging study are presented, including measurements of PXe at low and high magnetic fields. In addition, polariser technology is examined including the current Nottingham device and an open-source consortium polariser.
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Croal, Paula L. "Quantification of the BOLD response via blood gas modulations". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2014. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14382/.
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This thesis is intended to contribute to a quantitative understanding of the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signal in order to increase its clinical potential. Here, the vascular, neuronal and physical processes which combine to give a resulting BOLD signal are investigated using respiratory challenges. The effect of isocapnic hyperoxia on vascular responses is investigated at 7 Tesla. No significant change was found in resting-state cerebral blood flow (CBF), resting-state cerebral blood volume (CBV) and task-evoked CBF. This challenges a previously held idea that hyperoxia is vasoconstrictive. The effect of isocapnic hyperoxia on neuronal oscillations was assessed with magnetoencephalography (MEG). Whilst a significant reduction in oscillatory power is reported in the occipital lobe, the change is significantly smaller than the global reduction previously measured with hypercapnia. These findings suggest that hyperoxia is an ideal tool for calibrated BOLD fMRI. The relationship between the change in blood oxygenation and change in transverse relaxation plays a key role in calibrated BOLD fMRI. However, previous measurements have been confounded by a change in CBV. Here, the relationship was found to be sub-linear across 1.5, 3 and 7 Tesla. Previous results which suggest a supralinear relationship at 1.5/3 Tesla and a linear relationship at 7 Tesla, are attributed to the relative contribution of intravascular/extravascular signals and their dependence on field strength, blood oxygenation and echo time. Finally, a comparison of single and multiphase ASL is made at 7 Tesla, with a modified Look-locker EPI sequence presented which allows simultaneous measurement of CBF and transit time, whilst increasing the available BOLD signal. This could have important implications for hypercapnia calibrated BOLD fMRI, where choice of ASL sequence may affect the estimated change in CMRO2. Furthermore, it provides a framework for future cerebral haemodynamic studies where simultaneous measurements are required.
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Mou, Zong-Gang. "Fermions in electroweak baryogenesis". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2015. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30597/.
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We study the chiral anomaly by solving the Dirac equation for fermions in parallel electric and magnetic fields. In such case, only the lowest-energy Landau levels are relevant to the anomaly. Specifically, for massless fermions, the chiral anomaly is a result of the production of particles of one chirality, and no creation of particles of the other chirality. For massive fermions, we find that the chiral anomaly equation can be simply obtained via a proper regularization of the range of the momentum. We extend the method to anomaly cancellation, and conclude that the conservation of the baryon number plus lepton number must be violated as a quantum anomaly in the context of the Standard Model. Accordingly, such baryon number non-conservation can play a vital role during the electroweak transition to achieve the baryon asymmetry of the Universe. Through real-time lattice simulations, we refine the implementation of ensemble fermions for a cold electroweak transition, involving the SU (2) gauge field, Higgs field and one generation of fermions. We find that the dynamics and most observables converge quickly with a reasonable number of fermion realizations, and the method of ensemble fermions for the entire electroweak sector becomes numerically tractable. We apply the method to the computation of the effective preheating temperature during a fast electroweak transition, relevant for Cold Electroweak Baryogenesis. We find that the fermion temperature is never below 20 GeV, and this can indirectly rule out Standard Model CP -violation as the origin of the baryon asymmetry of the Universe, as Standard Model cold baryogenesis requires a temperature of at most of order of 1 GeV. For this reason, new CP -violation source from physics beyond the Standard Model is required in order to explain the baryon asymmetry. We further present a first-principles numerical computation of the baryon asymmetry in electroweak-scale baryogenesis, where the CP -violation is obtained as a consequence of including another Higgs doublet. For one particularly favourable scalar potential that could provide a high sphaleron transition rate, we calculate the asymmetry through large-scale computer simulations. The numerical signal is at the boundary of what is numerically discernible with the available computer resources, but we tentatively find an asymmetry of |η| ≤ 3.5 × 10−7 . We also find it is attainable to include the complete electroweak SU (2) × U (1) gauge fields in the reduced Standard Model that we are using in practical simulations, so that in further studies we can measure the cosmic magnetic field generated during the electroweak phase transition.
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Shah, Simon Michael. "Magnetisation transfer effects at ultra high field MRI". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2017. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39398/.
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Increased signal to noise ratio in ultra high field Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has allowed the development of quantitative imaging techniques and new contrast mechanisms, such as Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) to be probed. The development of CEST contrast imaging has involved overcoming a number of technical challenges associated with ultra high field MRI. The B1 transmit field was, and still is, a major challenge. Presented in this thesis, the B1 transmit field in regions of low B1 are improved with the use of dielectric pads and a simulation study shows that the overall B1 transmit field homogeneity is significantly improved when multi-transmit slice-selective RF spokes pulse sequences are used. Multiple methods have been developed to quantify the chemical exchange from slow exchanging proton pools seen in CEST contrast imaging. However, magnetisation transfer (MT) from the macromolecular bound pool contaminates current quantification methods, and presented in this thesis is a method whereby the CEST and MT are simultaneously saturated using dual frequency saturation pulses, allowing the CEST contrast in z-spectra to be separated from the MT and to enhance visualisation of the CEST effects. Despite the considerable interest in CEST, only one study has probed the CEST effects in blood, and interestingly high levels of CEST signals can be observed from the superior sagittal sinus. To investigate these effects, z-spectra from ex vivo blood samples considering the effects of oxygenation, haematocrit levels and cell structure were quantified. Quantification shows that the main source of the CEST signals was from the cells within the blood.
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Everest, Benjamin. "Dissipation as a resource for constrained dynamics in open many-body quantum systems". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2017. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43375/.
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This thesis studies non-equilibrium open quantum systems where the dissipation is crucial to the achievement of novel physical regimes. We focus on atomic systems which allow for the coupling of a ground state to a Rydberg state, relying on the strong interactions between Rydberg atoms to produce the collective behaviour that we aim to investigate. For atoms in an optical lattice undergoing standard dissipation forms, e.g. loss and dephasing, we find these simple settings allow for the production of models contained in the non-equilibrium realm. We start by looking at a system with engineered pair dissipation on a one-dimensional lattice. When the dissipation is strong relative to a tunnelling process it creates a quantum Zeno effect which projects the system onto a Zeno-subspace. This subspace is found to contain complexes which experience a binding due to the dissipation. The properties of these complexes are found to feature spin-orbit coupling and, in certain instances, a flat band. We then study what kinetically constrained models (KCMs) can be reproduced in a lattice system. KCMs are models which typically feature trivial steady states, but a complex relaxation dynamics. These models appear in the fields of glasses and soft matter physics. We find a general framework for the consideration of a quantum Hamiltonian and a classical potential with strong dephasing noise. We then focus on a model mimicking volume excluded KCMs and find characteristic constrained behaviour, such as ergodicity breaking. We apply this framework to the decay of a many-body localised state in an open system with interactions in which we find the decay to be classical in the two interaction limits. For weak interactions, it follows a stretched exponential form due to pair relaxation, while for strong interactions the decay follows a compressed exponential, now being modelled as an Avrami process due to the correlated relaxation. We also find that on-site loss only affects the strong interacting limit. We then move on to the study of universal non-equilibrium behaviour in the directed percolation (DP) class. We consider on-site atomic loss and gain as a substitute for the standard decay channel. We show that this replaces the absorbing state with an enlarged absorbing space, leading to a loss of the DP transition at lower average densities. This class of DP-like systems has received little study, and we present a method of experimentally realising it in current set-ups. We finish with a look at a quantum DP model, where we consider its quantum and classical limits. We find that the transition changes from first to second order as the system becomes more classical, featuring a bi-critical point. We then numerically demonstrate that the same transitions are visible in idealised and Rydberg models.
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Michailidis, Alexios. "Numerical studies of quantum lattice systems". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2017. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42574/.
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The research work in this thesis is based on strongly interacting quantum lattice systems. The biggest part of research was conducted using state-of-the-art tensor network simulations. Tensor networks provide efficient and highly accurate representations of quantum states when any simply connected patch of the quantum state is slightly entangled. Matrix Product States (MPS) is a tensor network representation for quantum states which is quasi-exact for one-dimensional systems when entanglement entropy of any bipartition of the state follows ``area-law". Projected Entangled Pair States (PEPS) is the extension of MPS for higher dimensional systems, where entanglement entropy area-law is non-trivial. These formalisms and their relevant ground state optimization techniques, Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG) for MPS and Simple Update (SU) with Tensor Renormalization Group (TRG) for PEPS are thoroughly analysed. Entanglement entropy area-law is usually obeyed by the ground state of local Hamiltonians, while generic highly excited states follow a volume-law (they span a finite part of the Hilbert space). Recently, a class of interacting system was shown to undergo a dynamical phase transition (Many Body Localization) where the entropy of every eigenstate follows an area-law. This transition is achieved when the system is highly disordered and the quantum many body state becomes localized similarly to the free particle Anderson localization. The area-law property makes highly excited eigenstates of Many Body Localized (MBL) systems efficiently represented by the MPS ansatz. We develop a highly optimized algorithm (eDMRG) which goes beyond ground state optimization and successfully target eigenstates in any part of the spectrum. This algorithm is used together with analytical calculations, based on local integrability of MBL systems, to identify the universal behaviour of the entanglement spectrum of highly excited eigenstates in MBL systems. In the second part we study interacting bosons in 2D optical lattices. Strongly interacting bosons are simulated using the Bose-Hubbard (BH) model when the interactions are strictly local and the Extended Bose-Hubbard (EBH) model, when additional dipolar interactions are present. The ground states of BH/EBH Hamiltonians in a hexagonal lattice are studied. The phase spectrum includes various insulating and critical phases which are studied in detail using infinite-PEPS ansatz. Additional results on entanglement entropy scaling with respect to the filling of the lattice are presented. Finally, a strongly interacting Harper-Hofstadter Hamiltonian is realized by combining synthetic fields with the BH model. The homogeneity of the system is then broken by a parabolic trapping potential, similar to the ones used in cold atom experiments. Using time-dependent Gutzwiller ansatz (GA) the expansion dynamics of the cloud in large square lattices are studied. In contrast to the expansion dynamics of the BH model, it is found that the synthetic fields generate a self-trapping effect. Using phenomenology and simulations the dynamics are studied in the hard-core and soft-core limit.
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Park, John Sang-Hyoung. "An examination of the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections during the 1994 North Korean nuclear crisis". Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.412974.
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Nelson, Craig Doyle. "Nuclear Bonds: Atoms for Peace in the Cold War and in the Non-Western World". Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1237397691.
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BARBOSA, JOSE A. M. "Contribuicao a legislacao brasileira no setor de energia nuclear". reponame:Repositório Institucional do IPEN, 2009. http://repositorio.ipen.br:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/9463.
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Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:27:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:56:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0
Tese (Doutoramento)
IPEN/T
Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP
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Pollard, Andrew J. "Scanning probe microscopy of adsorbed molecules on boron nitride and graphene monolayers". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2010. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12121/.
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In this thesis, a study of a range of functional surfaces formed in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions using primarily scanning probe microscopy is presented. The construction of a combined scanning tunnelling and atomic force microscope, and the experiments performed using this instrument, are also detailed. Boron nitride and graphene monolayers were formed on rhodium thin films in UHV and investigated with in-situ and ex-situ (ambient conditions) scanning tunnelling microscopy. Simultaneous scanning tunnelling and atomic force microscopy images were also produced for the graphene monolayers. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and diffraction results for graphene monolayers on Rh(111) surfaces, as well as low energy electron diffraction data, are also included. The novel formation of monolayer and few-layer graphene on nickel thin films is also described. Graphene layers were detached from these nickel thin films and isolated on other substrates. The results of characterisation experiments using scanning probe microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy techniques are detailed. Graphene layers with approximately 75% monolayer graphene coverage and an increased electronic quality, when compared to many other methods of graphene production, were revealed. Different organic molecules were adsorbed on both the boron nitride and graphene monolayers formed on rhodium thin films in UHV conditions. Perylene tetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI) and di(propylthio)-PTCDI molecules were investigated on these surfaces and compared with the adsorption of PTCDI on a graphite surface. Furthermore, dibutyl-coronene tetra-carboxylic diimide was deposited on the graphene (on rhodium) surface, in UHV. Although the boron nitride and graphene surfaces were similar, it was discovered that very contrasting molecular formations were formed on the dierent surfaces. The positioning of these nanostructures was determined by the Moire superstructure formed due to the mismatch between the monolayers and the Rh(111) surface. Additionally, different hydrogen-bonded molecular junctions were formed depending on the length of the side chains of the adsorbed organic molecules.
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Bennison, Tom. "Adaptive discontinuous Galerkin methods for the neutron transport equation". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2014. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28944/.
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In this thesis we study the neutron transport (Boltzmann transport equation) which is used to model the movement of neutrons inside a nuclear reactor. More specifically we consider the mono-energetic, time independent neutron transport equation. The neutron transport equation has predominantly been solved numerically by employing low order discretisation methods, particularly in the case of the angular domain. We proceed by surveying the advantages and disadvantages of common numerical methods developed for the numerical solution of the neutron transport equation before explaining our choice of using a discontinuous Galerkin (DG) discretisation for both the spatial and angular domain. The bulk of the thesis describes an arbitrary order in both angle and space solver for the neutron transport equation. We discuss some implementation issues, including the use of an ordered solver to facilitate the solution of the linear systems resulting from the discretisation. The resulting solver is benchmarked using both source and critical eigenvalue computations. In the pseudo three--dimensional case we employ our solver for the computation of the critical eigenvalue for three industrial benchmark problems. We then employ the Dual Weighted Residual (DWR) approach to adaptivity to derive and implement error indicators for both two--dimensional and pseudo three--dimensional neutron transport source problems. Finally, we present some preliminary results on the use of a DWR indicator for the eigenvalue problem.
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Espin, Johnny. "Second-order fermions". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2015. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/29954/.
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It has been proposed several times in the past that one can obtain an equivalent, but in many aspects simpler description of fermions by first reformulating their first-order (Dirac) Lagrangian in terms of two-component spinors, and then integrating out the spinors of one chirality (e.g.primed or dotted). The resulting new Lagrangian is second-order in derivatives, and contains two-component spinors of only one chirality. The new second-order formulation simplifies the fermion Feynman rules of the theory considerably, e.g. the propagator becomes a multiple of an identity matrix in the field space. The aim of this thesis is to work out the details of this formulation for theories such as Quantum Electrodynamics, and the Standard Model of elementary particles. After having developed the tools necessary to establish the second-order formalism as an equivalent approach to spinor field theories, we proceed with some important consistency checks that the new formulation is required to pass, namely the presence or absence of anomalies in their perturbative and non-perturbative description, and the unitarity of the S-Matrix derived from their Lagrangian. Another aspect which is studied is unification, where we seek novel gauge-groups that can be used to embed all of the Standard Model content: forces and fermionic representations. Finally, we will explore the possibility to unify gravity and the Standard Model when the former is seen as a diffeomorphism invariant gauge-theory.
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Kaya, Dilan. "Quantal Effects On Growth Of Instabilities In Nuclear Matter". Master's thesis, METU, 2004. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/2/1116037/index.pdf.
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The quantal Boltzmann&ndashLangevin equation is used to obtain a dispersion relation for the growth rates of instabilities in infinite nuclear matter. The dispersion relation is solved numerically for three different potentials. The quantal results are compared with the semi-classical solutions. It is seen that with the inclusion of the quantal effects the growth rates of the fastest growing modes in the system are reduced and these modes have the tendency to occur at longer wavelengths for all the potentials considered. Furthermore, the boundaries of the spinodal region is determined by the phase diagrams using the same three potentials and it is observed that the expanding nuclear matter undergoes liquid-gas phase transition at reduced temperatures when the quantum effects are included.
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Ferreras, Jorge. "One-dimensional Bose gases on an atom chip". Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2018. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53074/.
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Ultracold atomic gases have proven to be an excellent tool for research in quantum systems. A Bose gas can be trapped on an atom chip using very well defined and tunable spatially-dependent potentials. The proximity of the atoms to the chip permits the use of low currents allowing for highly accurate temporal changes. Excellent experimental apparatus is needed to achieve Bose-Einstein condensation with a sufficient atom number to study low-dimensional physics. The setup described in this document utilises a set of current-carrying structures on top of which an atom chip sits. For improved atom loading rate, a two-dimensional loading stage was added, extending the lifetime of the magnetic trap. From this loading stage to the atom chip, Bose-Einstein condensation of 105 Rubidium-87 atoms was achieved in less than 30 s, allowing for a large rate of experimental cycles. The high spatial and temporal tunability of this setup results in the ability to split the atomic cloud and quench the trapping potential geometry. Maximising the ratio between trapping frequencies for different spatial directions leads to the system presenting features of a one-dimensional gas. Manipulating the coherence dynamics of a one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate creates fluctuations in the phase properties of the wavefunction. These fluctuations are observed as atom density perturbations after releasing the trapping potentials, and are a tool for temperature measurements. When the cloud of atoms is positioned at a few tens of micrometres from the surface of the atom chip, corrugations in the microstructures of the chip affect the trapping potentials at very low temperatures 1 μK. This effect is simulated and quantified in the thesis, with the aim of improving future setups. Additionally, the effect is explored for microscopy purposes. The behaviour of a Bose-Einstein condensate, especially the expansion rate, has long been studied. In this thesis, the Gross-Pitaevskii Equation is introduced, finding its numerical solutions to the two-dimensional and three-dimensional forms, using the Split-Step Fourier Method. The results show very good agreement with the experimental results, as well as with other well- established theories of condensates. The creation of such a toolbox opens up the opportunity to further investigate the coherence dynamics of low-dimensional systems.
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Atkins, Michael. "Bounds on the effective theory of gravity in models of particle physics and cosmology". Thesis, University of Sussex, 2013. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/47195/.
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The effective theory of gravity coupled to matter represents a fully consistent low energy theory of quantum gravity coupled to the known particles and forces of the standard model. In recent years this framework has been extensively used to make physical predictions of phenomena in high energy physics and cosmology. In this thesis we use theoretical tools and experimental data to place constraints on various popular models which utilise this framework. We speciffically derive unitarity bounds in grand unified theories, models of low scale quantum gravity, models with extra dimensions and models of Higgs inflation. We also derive a bound on the size of the Higgs boson's non-minimal coupling to gravity. This represents an important area of research because it helps us to better understand the theories and models that many physicists are currently working on and crucially it can inform us where we can reliably use the effective theory approach and where it breaks down.