Jake Lansberg

Created a Simulated Universe using 'Holodeck'

• Advanced python software package created by Dr. Luke Kelley (project advisor) for the purpose of modeling the behavior of supermassive black hole binaries
• Focused on manipulating and generating semi-analytic/semi-empirical models (SAMs) with a finite set of useful parameters

Evaluating Simulated Data

• SAMs are initialized over a 3-dimensional parameter space of total massive black hole binary (MBH) mass, MBH mass ratio, and redshift
• All other relevant quantities such as distance from Earth, or relative separation in field of view were calculated from these initialized parameters
• Evaluation involved performing a suite of statistical algorithms on the parameters gathered from the SAMs to characterize a probability space for MBH binaries
• Required strong understanding of stellar evolution, nucleosynthesis in stars, optical interferometry, 2-body dynamics, and heat transfer using thermodynamic modeling

Contact with EHT Representatives

• Specific instrument capabilities were provided by contact with a representative from the Event Horizon Telescope

Micromanipulation of small (~50 Micron) Samples

• Cut silicone dioxide sheets using high-precision needles
• Coated and heated silicone dioxide wafers with graphite and boron nitride (BN)
• Performed Reactive-Ion Etching (RIE) on silicon dioxide wafers
• Stacked 2D hetero-structures with fine control motors via adhesion to a liquid Polypropylene Carbonate (PPC) sample to create a device
• Transferred devices to clean silicone wafers
• Annealed completed devices in furnace to discard PPC

Characterization of small samples

• Performed atomic force microscopy (AFM) on devices to check for abnormalities at very high resolution
• Used a Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) to probe devices for material properties
• Scanned wafers under a microscope for graphene monolayers (of order 10x10 microns) and BN samples (of order 50x50)
• Identified monolayers by eye and verified using high-precision optical software.
• Identified BN samples by eye and microscope lens augmentation

Evaluated the Hall Effect in a Semiconductor

• Probed an aluminum-doped germanium sample via the Van Der Pauw technique to measure the Hall Effect in the crystal
• Performed advanced statistical analysis on data to derive findings on inherent properties of the material such as carrier concentration or Hall Coefficient

Evaluated the Hall Effect in a Plasma

• Observed the Hall Effect in a plasma to probe for and generate models for various properties of the plasma
• Findings presented orally and defended

Performed Optical Pumping

• Performed optical pumping on 2 rubidium isotopes
• Determined the resulting Zeeman splitting of their hyperfine energy levels via the ‘optically detected maChargnetic resonance’ (ODMR) technique

Constrained performance Characteristics of CO2 Laser

• Explored the electrical and optical characteristics of a CO2 laser

Optimizing Semi-Classical Variational Quantum Eigensolver

• Maximum circuit depth
• Minimizing frequency collisions

Presenting the Findings

• Findings were presented orally in May 2023 at the ULAB poster presentation
• Findings and methodology defended to PI