Polarized emission from aligned interstellar dust is both a crucial tool for studies of magnetism in the interstellar medium (ISM) and a troublesome contaminant in studies of the polarized cosmic microwave background. In each case, an understanding of the significance of the dust polarization signal requires well-calibrated models that accurately...
In this thesis I develop and apply techniques to the masses and eccentricities of tran-siting exoplanets from their transit timing variations. These techniques include both analytic and numerical means for measuring planet masses and orbits and assessing the robustness of the inferred properties. I apply these techniques to a sample...
The advent of computers brought a profound change in the way the practical problems in the physics of materials are addressed. Within the last decade, a rapidly evolving area of research is oriented towards interfacing the existing numerical tools in an optimized way, by explicitly taking advantage of the specifics...
In this thesis we investigate the orbital evolution of planets in binaries.Unlike our own Solar System, at least one out of five planetary systems known to date is associated with additional stellar companions. Despite their large distances from the planetary systems, these stellar companions play an important role in significantly...
Microarrays are powerful tools in gene expression assessment, protein profiling, and protein function screening, as well as cell and tissue analysis. With thousands of small array spots assembled in an ordered array, these small devices makes it possible to screen for multiple targets in a fast, parallel, high-throughput manner. The...
With the interference of several coherent beams, a periodical potential is produced for the particles trapped inside. The theoretical calculations show that the optical force applied on the particle in such optical lattice is in sinusoidal form. The force amplitudes vary greatly depending on the ratio of the particle size...
The mechanisms governing selective CaCO3 crystal nucleation in living organisms remain unclear. For example, nacreous layers from the inner surfaces of shells are built as brick-and-mortar complexes of plate-like aragonite single crystals and organic layers. Unstable [001] surfaces of calcite columns in prismatic layers are also stabilized by organic molecules....
We present initial results from Hertz/VPM, the first submillimeter polarimeter employing the dual Variable-delay Polarization Modulator (dual-VPM). This device differs from previously used polarization modulators in that it operates in translation rather than mechanical rotation. We discuss the basic theory behind this device, and its potential advantages over the commonly...
Breakout reactions from the CNO cycles leading into the rp-process in explosive stellar hydrogen burning environments have been studied using the Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS). Earlier work is reported and summarized with an introduction to the beam, target and detector development in the nuclear astrophysics group at Argonne...
One of the central features of the now half-century old theory of the microscopic origins of superconductivity in elemental materials is the correlations between pairs of electrons with opposite spin and momentum. The constituent electrons of these Cooper pairs have the unusual property that their mean spatial separation is much...