We describe a setup to search for the existence of a massive gauge boson A', the "dark photon," mediating dark matter interactions with coupling strength [alpha]'. In certain models, the A' decays promptly but invisibly ...

We study a new form of dark matter interaction which may significantly affect the thermal relic abundance of dark matter. This new interaction takes the form C+D --> C+[phi], where D is the dark matter species present ...

In this thesis we present a data-driven neuromuscular model of human walking and its application to prosthesis control. The model is novel in that it leverages tendon elasticity to more accurately predict the metabolic ...

In this thesis we study the D-brane physics in the context of Witten's cubic string field theory. We compute first few terms the low energy effective action for the non-abelian gauge field A, from Witten's action. We show ...

The physics of blackbodies has been an ongoing source of fascination and scientific research for over a hundred years. Kirchhoff's law states that emissivity and absorptivity are equal for an object in thermal equilibrium. ...

Inflation is a substantial modification to the big bang theory, and supernatural inflation is a hybrid inflation motivated from supersymmetry. In this thesis we carry out a one dimensional numerical simulation to verify ...

This thesis describes the design and construction of two laser systems to probe the 674nm transition of ⁸⁸Sr⁺ ions in a linear Paul trap. The first laser system made use of a molecular transition in Iodine to stabilize the ...

A periodic arrangement of atoms in a crystal presents a periodic potential for electrons. The bragg diffraction of electrons from the atoms may lead to a band gap, which represents a range of frequencies the electrons ...

An extrasolar planet discovered around one of the brightest stars in the sky would be a prime target for follow-on observing and characterization, especially if the planet were within the star's habitable-zone. The brightest ...