The 2021 University of Chicago Undergraduate Research Symposium: Online Proceedings
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College Center for Research & Fellowships University of Chicago The 2021 University of Chicago Undergraduate Research Symposium: Online Proceedings Virtual Poster Session 2: Physical Sciences Collegiate Division The College, University of Chicago W. ccrf.uchicago.edu E. [email protected] College Center for Research & Fellowships University of Chicago The 2021 University of Chicago Undergraduate Research Symposium: Abstract Learning from Artificial Intelligence Applied to a Pursuit-evasion Problem Based on Physical Laws Callum Welsh, 2nd-Year, Physics Mentor(s): Prof. Cheng Chin, Physics, James Franck Institute, Enrico Fermi Institute; Connor Fieweger, Chin Lab ______________________________________________________________________________ Modern physics research has identified artificial intelligence (AI) as a powerful tool for solving complex problems; one should ask, however, if such tools can lead to a deeper understanding of these problems, or equivalently if humans can learn from the solutions. To answer this question, we consider a simple pursuit-evasion game, “Cat and Rat”, where the “Cat” attempts to catch the “Rat” and the "Rat" attempts to escape. Based on simple physical laws, we construct a 2D simulator and employ the known effective guidance law of Augmented Proportional Navigation (APN) as the baseline strategy for the Cat. We then apply a Cartesian Genetic Programming (CGP) AI algorithm to control the Rat to attempt escape. We show that CGP was consistently able to counteract APN for a wide range of parameters. More importantly, we note that CGP offers human-readable solution output. To this end, we demonstrate how the CGP output allows us to realize a new Rat strategy and to improve our performance in counteracting APN. We argue that this ability to learn from AI is a primary benefit of CGP and that this learning is critical to the use of AI in physics. The College, University of Chicago W. ccrf.uchicago.edu E. [email protected] College Center for Research & Fellowships University of Chicago The 2021 University of Chicago Undergraduate Research Symposium: Abstract Assessing the X-ray Evolution of Galactic and Magellanic Cloud Supernova Remnants Chris Albert, 3rd-Year, Astrophysics and Mathematics Mentor(s): Prof. Vikram Dwarkadas, Astronomy and Astrophysics ______________________________________________________________________________ This project presents an X-ray study of the supernova remnant (SNR) population within our Galaxy and the Magellanic clouds (LMC and SMC). A more accurate data set exists for the latter due to better distance determination, while Galactic SNR properties have larger error bars due to uncertainties in distances. We study the relationship between the X-ray luminosity and remnant radius, limiting our sample to remnants for which reasonably well-defined measurements of total X-ray luminosity and size exist. We examine various trends in the data, taking into account estimated age and ambient densities given in the literature. We demonstrate how the X-ray luminosity to size relationship can sometimes help to constrain distance estimates, or reduce the error bars on derived properties. We assess the difference between the Galactic and LMC SNR distribution and find it can be explained by densities in the LMC being on average 30% that in the Galaxy. This agrees with the densities around X-ray SNRs in each galaxy. Our results show agreement between observed X-ray luminosities and predictions using a Sedov-Taylor solution. They offer a framework that may allow for convenient estimation of the evolutionary state and physical properties. The College, University of Chicago W. ccrf.uchicago.edu E. [email protected] College Center for Research & Fellowships University of Chicago The 2021 University of Chicago Undergraduate Research Symposium: Abstract Investigation of Solvation Effects of Electrolyte on Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction Reaction in Organic Media Christopher Birch, 4th-Year, Chemistry, Neuroscience Mentor(s): Prof. Chibueze Amanchukqu, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering; Reginaldo Jose Gomes Neto, Amanchukqu Group ______________________________________________________________________________ Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction shows potential for conversion of CO2 to industrially useful chemical compounds, such as alcohols, carbon monoxide, and alkenes. However, the field has focused on aqueous media for these reactions, limiting high Faradaic efficiency to desired products due to a competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Research on this reaction in organic solvents is in its early stages and may eliminate the competing HER. By investigating the solvation mechanics of this reaction in organic media, a more efficient reaction may become possible, as indicated by previous work showing that a minimally solvated cation may lead to desirable intermediates for this reaction. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was used to investigate solvation environment of the electrolytes in a nonaqueous medium. These results were compared to cyclic voltammetry (CV) and double layer capacitance (Cdl) values for the CO2RR against metallic Au and Cu as working electrodes. The CO2RR electrochemical performance was also correlated with intrinsic properties of each electrolyte solution, such as conductivity, solvent Gutmann donor and acceptor numbers, and cation alkyl chain length. The resulting NMR data analysis showed minimal evidence of differing solvation of the electrolyte cation regardless of the anion present, which shows that properties of the electrolyte anion are not influential on the solvation environment in DMSO. Because of this lacking impact of the anion on solvation behavior and CO2RR electrochemical performance, the next step to investigating the optimal environment for the CO2 reduction reaction in organic media is comparing organic solvents. A preferential solvation environment may improve experimental data and product distribution without introducing competing HER. From there, the pathway will be opened to explore further electrochemical properties to move this technique toward industrial scale conversion of CO2 to societally beneficial products. The College, University of Chicago W. ccrf.uchicago.edu E. [email protected] College Center for Research & Fellowships University of Chicago The 2021 University of Chicago Undergraduate Research Symposium: Abstract Documentation and Website Construction for a New Custom Electronics System at the ATLAS Experiment Daniel Paraizo, 3rd-Year, Physics & Mathematics Mentor(s): Prof. David Miller, Physics ______________________________________________________________________________ As part of the Phase-I upgrade for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a new custom electronic system called the Global Feature Extraction (gFEX) module is being developed and tested. The gFEX unit is a Level-1 trigger detector that uses jet algorithms to select for large-radius jets - essentially a collection of final state particles that comprise a single parent object - typical of particles such as top quarks, W/Z bosons, and the Higgs boson. Some of the key upgrades the gFEX unit provides is that it will considerably enhance the selectivity of the Level-1 ATLAS trigger and will be capable of processing the entire calorimeter (a specific type of detector found at ATLAS) on a single electronics board, all while allowing for local event-by-event pileup (noise) suppression. The ATLAS Phase-I upgrade is a complex and ongoing series of updates involving several new systems, including the gFEX unit, all of which must work together to ensure smooth functioning of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Thus, an important task is the documentation and internal communication of the most up-to-date technical design and details of the gFEX unit to the various teams working on the ATLAS Phase-I upgrade. Additionally, it is essential to publicize ATLAS-approved information on the gFEX project to a wider audience in the physics community. One way to accomplish this is through a central gFEX website that collects and presents the most relevant information for quick and easy reference. The content of the webpage will be pulled from numerous GitLab repositories, Twiki’s, and CERN’s version of a document control system called EDMS. Aspects of website coding will also be presented, and future work on the webpage, such as ease-of-updating, will be explored. The College, University of Chicago W. ccrf.uchicago.edu E. [email protected] College Center for Research & Fellowships University of Chicago The 2021 University of Chicago Undergraduate Research Symposium: Abstract Calibration of Lithium-6 Atom Numbers in a Magneto-Optical Trap with Absorption Imaging Huiting Liu, 3rd-Year, Physics & Philosophy and Allied Fields Mentor(s): Prof. Johannes Hecker Denschlag, Institute for Quantum Matter, Ulm University, Germany ______________________________________________________________________________ The size and shape of an atom cloud and the distribution of atoms inside are some of the most important observables that we can access in a cold atom experiment. Images of the atom cloud are often the exclusive primary data from which such information can be extracted. One widely used imaging technique is absorption imaging, where a camera records the shadow cast by the atoms when a laser is shone into the camera through the atom cloud. However, several additional effects can complicate the imaging process and make one extract wrong atom numbers from the images. Under laser illumination,