ALBERT

Description: Author(s): Christopher H. Baker and Pamela M. Norris We report the role of long- and short-range order on the thermal conductivity and mode relaxation times of a model Si 0.5 Ge 0.5 alloy using molecular dynamics simulation. All interactions used the Stillinger-Weber potential and the Si and Ge atoms differed only by their mass. The simulated alloys were... [Phys. Rev. B 91, 180302(R)] Published Tue May 12, 2015

Description: Author(s): M. A. Broome, S. K. Gorman, J. G. Keizer, T. F. Watson, S. J. Hile, W. J. Baker, and M. Y. Simmons We investigate the nonequilibrium charge dynamics of a triple quantum dot and demonstrate how electron transport through these systems can give rise to nontrivial tunneling paths. Using a real-time charge sensing method, we establish tunneling pathways taken by particular electrons under well-define… [Phys. Rev. B 94, 054314] Published Fri Aug 26, 2016

Description: Author(s): C. Danielle Leonard, Tessa Baker, and Pedro G. Ferreira By considering linear-order departures from general relativity, we compute a novel expression for the weak lensing convergence power spectrum under alternative theories of gravity. This comprises an integral over a “kernel” of general relativistic quantities multiplied by a theory-dependent “source”... [Phys. Rev. D 91, 083504] Published Fri Apr 03, 2015

Description: Author(s): Q.-C. Sun, S. N. Baker, A. D. Christianson, and J. L. Musfeldt Phonons are exquisitely sensitive to finite length scale effects because they are intimately connected to charge, structure, and magnetism, and a quantitative analysis of their behavior can reveal microscopic aspects of spin-lattice interaction. To investigate these effects in a model correlated oxi... [Phys. Rev. B 84, 014301] Published Tue Jul 05, 2011

Description: Author(s): Christopher H. Baker, Donald A. Jordan, and Pamela M. Norris The continuous wavelet transform is employed to analyze the dynamics and time-dependent energy distribution of phonon wave-packet propagation and scattering in molecular dynamics simulations. The equations of the one-dimensional continuous wavelet transform are presented and then discretized for imp... [Phys. Rev. B 86, 104306] Published Thu Sep 20, 2012

Description: Author(s): Tessa Baker, Joseph Clampitt, Bhuvnesh Jain, and Mark Trodden We propose a consistency test of gravity based on the weak lensing signal of cosmic voids. For a given void profile, as traced by galaxies, the lensing signal can vary in different gravity theories. Thus the comparison of the lensing shear profile of such voids with the general relativistic predicti... [Phys. Rev. D 98, 023511] Published Fri Jul 13, 2018

Description: Author(s): Tessa Baker and Mark Trodden We investigate the potential of high-energy astrophysical events, from which both massless and massive signals are detected, to probe fundamental physics. In particular, we consider how strong gravitational lensing can induce time delays in multimessenger signals from the same source. Obvious messen… [Phys. Rev. D 95, 063512] Published Mon Mar 13, 2017

Description: Idealized numerical simulations are performed with a coupled atmosphere/land-surface model to identify the roles of initial soil moisture, coastline curvature, and land breeze circulations on sea breeze initiated precipitation. Data collected on 27 July 1991 during the Convection and Precipitation Electrification Experiment (CAPE) in central Florida are used. The 3D Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) cloud resolving model is coupled with the Goddard Parameterization for Land-Atmosphere-Cloud Exchange (PLACE) land surface model, thus providing a tool to simulate more realistically land-surface/atmosphere interaction and convective initiation. Eight simulations are conducted with either straight or curved coast-lines, initially homogeneous soil moisture or initially variable soil moisture, and initially homogeneous horizontal winds or initially variable horizontal winds (land breezes). All model simulations capture the diurnal evolution and general distribution of sea-breeze initiated precipitation over central Florida. The distribution of initial soil moisture influences the timing, intensity and location of subsequent precipitation. Soil moisture acts as a moisture source for the atmosphere, increases the connectively available potential energy, and thus preferentially focuses heavy precipitation over existing wet soil. Strong soil moisture-induced mesoscale circulations are not evident in these simulations. Coastline curvature has a major impact on the timing and location of precipitation. Earlier low-level convergence occurs inland of convex coastlines, and subsequent precipitation occurs earlier in simulations with curved coastlines. The presence of initial land breezes alone has little impact on subsequent precipitation. however, simulations with both coastline curvature and initial land breezes produce significantly larger peak rain rates due to nonlinear interactions.

Description: In situ measurements of ice crystal concentrations and sizes made with aircraft instrumentation over the past two decades have often indicated the presence of numerous relatively small (〈 50 m diameter) crystals in cirrus clouds. Further, these measurements frequently indicate that small crystals account for a large fraction of the extinction in cirrus clouds. The fact that the instruments used to make these measurements, such as the Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP) and the Cloud Aerosol Spectrometer (CAS), ingest ice crystals into the sample volume through inlets has led to suspicion that the indications of numerous small ]crystals could be artifacts of large ]crystal shattering on the instrument inlets. We present new aircraft measurements in anvil cirrus sampled during the Tropical Composition, Cloud, and Climate Coupling (TC4) campaign with the 2 ] Dimensional Stereo (2D ]S) probe, which detects particles as small as 10 m. The 2D ]S has detector "arms" instead of an inlet tube. Since the 2D ]S probe surfaces are much further from the sample volume than is the case for the instruments with inlets, it is expected that 2D ]S will be less susceptible to shattering artifacts. In addition, particle inter ]arrival times are used to identify and remove shattering artifacts that occur even with the 2D ]S probe. The number of shattering artifacts identified by the 2D ]S interarrival time analysis ranges from a negligible contribution to an order of magnitude or more enhancement in apparent ice concentration over the natural ice concentration, depending on the abundance of large crystals and the natural small ]crystal concentration. The 2D ]S measurements in tropical anvil cirrus suggest that natural small ]crystal concentrations are typically one to two orders of magnitude lower than those inferred from CAS. The strong correlation between the CAS/2D ]S ratio of small ]crystal concentrations and large ]crystal concentration suggests that the discrepancy is likely caused by shattering of large crystals on the CAS inlet. We argue that past measurements with CAS in cirrus with large crystals present may contain errors due to crystal shattering, and past conclusions derived from these measurements may need to be revisited. Further, we present correlations between CAS spurious concentration and 2D ]S large ]crystal mass from spatially uniform anvil cirrus sampling periods as an approximate guide for estimating quantitative impact of large ]crystal shattering on CAS concentrations in previous datasets. We use radiative transfer calculations to demonstrate that in the maritime anvil cirrus sampled during TC4, small crystals indicated by 2D ]S contribute relatively little cloud extinction, radiative forcing, or radiative heating in the anvils, regardless of anvil age or vertical location in the clouds. While 2D ]S ice concentrations in fresh anvil cirrus may often exceed 1 cm.3, and are observed to exceed 10 cm.3 in turrets, they are typically ~0.1 cm.3 and rarely exceed 1 cm.3 (〈1.4% of the time) in aged anvil cirrus. We hypothesize that isolated occurrences of higher ice concentrations in aged anvil cirrus may be caused by ice nucleation driven by either small ]scale convection or gravity waves. It appears that the numerous small crystals detrained from convective updrafts do not persist in the anvil cirrus sampled during TC ]4.

Description: High-resolution mesoscale model simulations of the 6-7 May 2000 Missouri flash flood event were performed to test the impact of model initialization and land surface treatment on timing, intensity, and location of extreme precipitation. In this flash flood event, a mesoscale convective system (MCS) produced over 340 mm of rain in roughly 9 hours in some locations. Two different types of model initialization were employed: 1) NCEP global reanalysis with 2.5-degree grid spacing and 12-hour temporal resolution, and 2) Eta reanalysis with 40- km grid spacing and $hour temporal resolution. In addition, two different land surface treatments were considered. A simple land scheme. (SLAB) keeps soil moisture fixed at initial values throughout the simulation, while a more sophisticated land model (PLACE) allows for r interactive feedback. Simulations with high-resolution Eta model initialization show considerable improvement in the intensity of precipitation due to the presence in the initialization of a residual mesoscale convective vortex (hlCV) from a previous MCS. Simulations with the PLACE land model show improved location of heavy precipitation. Since soil moisture can vary over time in the PLACE model, surface energy fluxes exhibit strong spatial gradients. These surface energy flux gradients help produce a strong low-level jet (LLJ) in the correct location. The LLJ then interacts with the cold outflow boundary of the MCS to produce new convective cells. The simulation with both high-resolution model initialization and time-varying soil moisture test reproduces the intensity and location of observed rainfall.