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What can classical chaos do to quantum systems is a fundamental issue highly relevant to a number of branches in physics. The field of quantum chaos has been active for three decades, where the focus was on non-relativistic quantumsystems described by the Schr¨odinger equation. By developing an efficient method to

What can classical chaos do to quantum systems is a fundamental issue highly relevant to a number of branches in physics. The field of quantum chaos has been active for three decades, where the focus was on non-relativistic quantumsystems described by the Schr¨odinger equation. By developing an efficient method to solve the Dirac equation in the setting where relativistic particles can tunnel between two symmetric cavities through a potential barrier, chaotic cavities are found to suppress the spread in the tunneling rate. Tunneling rate for any given energy assumes a wide range that increases with the energy for integrable classical dynamics. However, for chaotic underlying dynamics, the spread is greatly reduced. A remarkable feature, which is a consequence of Klein tunneling, arise only in relativistc quantum systems that substantial tunneling exists even for particle energy approaching zero. Similar results are found in graphene tunneling devices, implying high relevance of relativistic quantum chaos to the development of such devices. Wave propagation through random media occurs in many physical systems, where interesting phenomena such as branched, fracal-like wave patterns can arise. The generic origin of these wave structures is currently a matter of active debate. It is of fundamental interest to develop a minimal, paradigmaticmodel that can generate robust branched wave structures. In so doing, a general observation in all situations where branched structures emerge is non-Gaussian statistics of wave intensity with an algebraic tail in the probability density function. Thus, a universal algebraic wave-intensity distribution becomes the criterion for the validity of any minimal model of branched wave patterns. Coexistence of competing species in spatially extended ecosystems is key to biodiversity in nature. Understanding the dynamical mechanisms of coexistence is a fundamental problem of continuous interest not only in evolutionary biology but also in nonlinear science. A continuous model is proposed for cyclically competing species and the effect of the interplay between the interaction range and mobility on coexistence is investigated. A transition from coexistence to extinction is uncovered with a non-monotonic behavior in the coexistence probability and switches between spiral and plane-wave patterns arise. Strong mobility can either promote or hamper coexistence, while absent in lattice-based models, can be explained in terms of nonlinear partial differential equations.
ContributorsNi, Xuan (Author) / Lai, Ying-Cheng (Thesis advisor) / Huang, Liang (Committee member) / Yu, Hongbin (Committee member) / Akis, Richard (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
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Description
To detect and resolve sub-wavelength features at optical frequencies, beyond the diffraction limit, requires sensors that interact with the electromagnetic near-field of those features. Most instruments operating in this modality scan a single detector element across the surface under inspection because the scattered signals from a multiplicity of such elements

To detect and resolve sub-wavelength features at optical frequencies, beyond the diffraction limit, requires sensors that interact with the electromagnetic near-field of those features. Most instruments operating in this modality scan a single detector element across the surface under inspection because the scattered signals from a multiplicity of such elements would end up interfering with each other. However, an alternative massively parallelized configuration, consisting of a remotely interrogating array of dipoles, capable of interrogating multiple adjacent areas of the surface at the same time, was proposed in 2002.

In the present work a remotely interrogating slot antenna inside a 60nm silver slab is designed which increases the signal to noise ratio of the original system. The antenna is tuned to resonance at 600nm range by taking advantage of the plasmon resonance properties of the metal’s negative permittivity and judicious shaping of the slot element. Full-physics simulations show the capability of detecting an 8nm particle using red light illumination. The sensitivity to the λ/78 particle is attained by detecting the change induced on the antenna’s far field signature by the proximate particle, a change that is 15dB greater than the scattering signature of the particle by itself.

To verify the capabilities of this technology in a readily accessible experimental environment, a radiofrequency scale model is designed using a meta-material to mimic the optical properties of silver in the 2GHz to 5GHz range. Various approaches to the replication of the metal’s behavior are explored in a trade-off between fidelity to the metal’s natural plasmon response, desired bandwidth of the demonstration, and

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manufacturability of the meta-material. The simulation and experimental results successfully verify the capability of the proposed near-field sensor in sub-wavelength detection and imaging not only as a proof of concept for optical frequencies but also as a potential imaging device for radio frequencies.
ContributorsMostafavi, Mahkamehossadat (Author) / Diaz, Rodolfo E (Thesis advisor) / Pan, George W (Committee member) / Aberle, James T (Committee member) / Ning, Cun-Zheng (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
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The honors thesis presented in this document describes an extension to an electrical engineering capstone project whose scope is to develop the receiver electronics for an RF interrogator. The RF interrogator functions by detecting the change in resonant frequency of (i.e, frequency of maximum backscatter from) a target resulting

The honors thesis presented in this document describes an extension to an electrical engineering capstone project whose scope is to develop the receiver electronics for an RF interrogator. The RF interrogator functions by detecting the change in resonant frequency of (i.e, frequency of maximum backscatter from) a target resulting from an environmental input. The general idea of this honors project was to design three frequency selective surfaces that would act as surrogate backscattering or reflecting targets that each contains a distinct frequency response. Using 3-D electromagnetic simulation software, three surrogate targets exhibiting bandpass frequency responses at distinct frequencies were designed and presented in this thesis.

ContributorsSisk, Ryan Derek (Author) / Aberle, James (Thesis director) / Chakraborty, Partha (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
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Description
The ability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to image any part of the human body without the effects of harmful radiation such as in CAT and PET scans established MRI as a clinical mainstay for a variety of different ailments and maladies. Short wavelengths accompany the high frequencies present in

The ability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to image any part of the human body without the effects of harmful radiation such as in CAT and PET scans established MRI as a clinical mainstay for a variety of different ailments and maladies. Short wavelengths accompany the high frequencies present in high-field MRI, and are on the same scale as the human body at a static magnetic field strength of 3 T (128 MHz). As a result of these shorter wavelengths, standing wave effects are produced in the MR bore where the patient is located. These standing waves generate bright and dark spots in the resulting MR image, which correspond to irregular regions of high and low clarity. Coil loading is also an inevitable byproduct of subject positioning inside the bore, which decreases the signal that the region of interest (ROI) receives for the same input power. Several remedies have been proposed in the literature to remedy the standing wave effect, including the placement of high permittivity dielectric pads (HPDPs) near the ROI. Despite the success of HPDPs at smoothing out image brightness, these pads are traditionally bulky and take up a large spatial volume inside the already small MR bore. In recent years, artificial periodic structures known as metamaterials have been designed to exhibit specific electromagnetic effects when placed inside the bore. Although typically thinner than HPDPs, many metamaterials in the literature are rigid and cannot conform to the shape of the patient, and some are still too bulky for practical use in clinical settings. The well-known antenna engineering concept of fractalization, or the introduction of self-similar patterns, may be introduced to the metamaterial to display a specific resonance curve as well as increase the metamaterial’s intrinsic capacitance. Proposed in this paper is a flexible fractal-inspired metamaterial for application in 3 T MR head imaging. To demonstrate the advantages of this flexibility, two different metamaterial configurations are compared to determine which produces a higher localized signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and average signal measured in the image: in the first configuration, the metamaterial is kept rigid underneath a human head phantom to represent metamaterials in the literature (single-sided placement); and in the second, the metamaterial is wrapped around the phantom to utilize its flexibility (double-sided placement). The double-sided metamaterial setup was found to produce an increase in normalized SNR of over 5% increase in five of six chosen ROIs when compared to no metamaterial use and showed a 10.14% increase in the total average signal compared to the single-sided configuration.
ContributorsSokol, Samantha (Author) / Sohn, Sung-Min (Thesis director) / Allee, David (Committee member) / Jones, Anne (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2022-05