2014 CAP Congress / Congrès de l'ACP 2014

America/Toronto
Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

Sudbury, Ontario
Description

CHANGES TO PROGRAM AS AT JUNE 13 (CHANGEMENTS AU PROGRAMME)

GENERAL INFORMATION - PLEASE READ

INFORMATION GÉNÉRALE - VEUILLEZ LIRE

CLICK ON "TIMETABLE" IN THE MENU ON THE LEFT TO VIEW THE ONLINE PROGRAM.

The 2014 CAP Congress is being hosted by Laurentian University, June 16-20, 2014. This Congress will be an opportunity to showcase and celebrate the achievements of physicists in Canada and abroad. Mark your calendars and bookmark the main Congress web site at http://www.cap.ca/en/congress/2014 for easy access to updates and program information.

CLIQUEZ SUR "TIMETABLE" DANS LE MENU À GAUCHE POUR VOIR LA PROGRAMMATION EN LIGNE.

Le Congrès 2014 de l'ACP se tiendra à l’Université Laurentienne du 16 au 20 juin 2014. Au cours de cet événement nous pourrons profiter des présentations et des réalisations de physiciens et physiciennes du Canada et d'ailleurs, et les célébrer. Inscrivez la date du congrès à votre agenda et créez un signet de l'adresse du site web du congrès (http://www.cap.ca/fr/congres/2014) pour accéder facilement aux mises à jour et au contenu de la programmation.

 

2014 CAP Congress Poster
    • 08:00 12:30
      Meeting of CAP Executive (Old and New) / Réunion de l'exécutif (ancien et nouveau) Room B (Holiday Inn)

      Room B

      Holiday Inn

    • 12:30 17:00
      CAP Council (Old and New) / Conseil de l'ACP (ancien et nouveau) Room B (Holiday Inn)

      Room B

      Holiday Inn

    • 13:00 17:30
      IPP Annual General Meeting / Town Hall Georgian D&E (Holiday Inn; Remote Call in: 1-888-289-4573; Access code: 1129370)

      Georgian D&E

      Holiday Inn; Remote Call in: 1-888-289-4573; Access code: 1129370

      Convener: Michael Roney (University of Victoria)
      • 13:00
        Introduction 10m
        Speaker: Michael Roney (University of Victoria)
        Slides
      • 13:10
        Compute Canada-Upcoming Competition 15m
        Speaker: Dugan O'Neil (SFU Simon Fraser University (CA))
        Slides
      • 13:25
        News From CINP and Interest in Joint CREATE Grant 20m
        Speaker: Garth Huber (University of Regina)
        Slides
      • 13:45
        SNO+ 20m
        Speaker: Chen Mark (Queen's University)
        Slides
      • 14:05
        SuperCDMS 20m
        Speaker: Wolfgang Rau
        Slides
      • 14:25
        Belle II 20m
        Speaker: Steven Robertson (McGill)
        Slides
      • 14:45
        ATLAS 20m
        Speaker: Richard Teuscher (University of Toronto (CA))
        Slides
      • 15:05
        BREAK 15m
      • 15:20
        EXO-WIPP 20m
        Speaker: Kevin graham
        Slides
      • 15:40
        VERITAS 20m
        Speaker: David Hanna (McGill University)
        Slides
      • 16:00
        BaBar 10m
        Speaker: Christopher Hearty (University of British Columbia)
        Slides
      • 16:10
        PiENu 10m
        Speaker: Douglas Bryman (U)
        Slides
      • 16:20
        HEPNET 10m
        Speaker: Randy Sobie (University of Victoria (CA))
        Slides
      • 16:30
        PICASSO-PICO 20m
        Speaker: Carsten Krauss (U)
        Slides
      • 16:50
        T2K 20m
        Speaker: Hirohisa A. Tanaka (University of British Columbia)
        Slides
      • 17:10
        DEAP 20m
        Speaker: Mark Boulay (Queen's University)
        Slides
    • 19:30 22:00
      Board Meeting for IPP / Réunion du Conseil de l'IPP Georgian D & E (Holiday Inn)

      Georgian D & E

      Holiday Inn

      Convener: Michael Roney (University of Victoria)
    • 20:00 21:30
      CINP Board Meeting / Réunion du Conseil de l'ICPN Room 251 (Holiday Inn)

      Room 251

      Holiday Inn

      Convener: Prof. Garth Huber (University of Regina)
    • 08:30 10:30
      Joint CINP-IPP Reports from NSERC, SNOLAB and TRIUMF (DNP-PPD) / Rapports conjoints ICPN-IPP du CRSNG, SNOLAB et TRIUMF (DPN-PPD): DPN-PPD A-226

      A-226

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Conveners: Prof. Garth Huber (University of Regina), Michael Roney (University of Victoria)
      • 08:30
        NSERC SAP ES Chair's Report 40m
        Speaker: Dugan O'Neil (SFU Simon Fraser University (CA))
      • 09:10
        TRIUMF Scientific Director Report 40m
        Speaker: Prof. Reiner Kruecken (TRIUMF)
        Slides
      • 09:50
        SNOLAB Director's Report 20m
        Speaker: Nigel Smith (SNOLab)
        Slides
      • 10:10
        BREAK 20m
    • 09:30 11:00
      PiC Editorial Board Meeting / Réunion du Comité de rédaction de La Physique au Canada F-336

      F-336

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Bela Joos (University of Ottawa)
    • 10:15 10:30
      Health Break / Pause santé
    • 10:30 12:00
      CINP Annual General Meeting / Assemblée générale annuelle de l'ICPN C-304

      C-304

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Prof. Garth Huber (University of Regina)
    • 10:30 13:00
      IPP Annual General Meeting (cont'd) / Assemblée générale annuelle de l'IPP (suite) A-226 (Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne; Remote Access: 1-888-289-4573; Code: 1129370)

      A-226

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne; Remote Access: 1-888-289-4573; Code: 1129370

      Convener: Michael Roney (University of Victoria)
      • 10:30
        IPP Director's Report & Council Election Results 20m
        Speaker: Michael Roney (University of Victoria)
        Slides
      • 10:50
        ALPHA 15m
        Speaker: Makoto Fujiwara (TRIUMF (CA))
        Slides
      • 11:05
        The Moller Experiment - JLAB 15m
        Speaker: Michael Gericke (University of Manitoba)
        Slides
      • 11:20
        HALO 10m
        Speaker: Clarence Virtue (Laurentian University)
      • 11:30
        ICECUBE 15m
        Speaker: Darren Grant (University of Alberta)
        Slides
      • 11:45
        Review of Canadian Theory Activities 20m
        Speaker: Itay Yavin (New-York University)
      • 12:05
        Potential Roles of IPP to Support of Theory Community 10m
        Speaker: David Morrissey (TRIUMF)
        Slides
      • 12:15
        Use of Potential CREATE Grant to Suppprt IPP Community 20m
        Speaker: Adam Ritz (University of Victoria)
        Slides
      • 12:35
        Discussion: IPP Priorities and Inititatives - Summary 20m
        Speaker: Michael Roney (University of Victoria)
        Slides
    • 13:00 13:45
      (M-PLEN-1) Plenary Session - Start of Conference - Nigel Smith, SNOLAB / Session plénière - Ouverture du Congrès - Nigel Smith, SNOLAB FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 13:00
        Deep Underground Physics: the SNOLAB Science Programme 45m
        The field of astroparticle physics studies many of the major outstanding questions in contemporary astro-particle and sub-atomic physics, through the study of naturally created particles within the Universe. These questions range from "what makes up most of the Universe", through “what accelerates the most energetic particles in the Universe" to "why are we here at all?" These studies are undertaken by deploying extremely sensitive particle detectors into various environments, often extreme and challenging, to provide the required conditions to search for rare events, faint signals or weak interactions. The SNOLAB astroparticle physics research facility based 2km underground at the Vale Creighton nickel mine has been developed from the initial successful SNO project to host a new programme of experiments. These experiments focus primarily on sub-atomic physics, with studies of supernova and low energy solar neutrinos, neutrino-less double beta decay and Galactic dark matter searches. These all require the quiet radiation environment that SNOLAB affords, due to the reduction in cosmic rays activity and clean-room operation of the facility. This talk will outline the initial science programme that is being conducted at SNOLAB, detailing some of the first projects that have been deployed. The status of the facility itself will be discussed, illustrating the purpose and requirements for a deep underground laboratory, and a brief review of the global situation in underground physics will be given.
        Speaker: Nigel Smith (SNOLab)
    • 13:45 15:15
      (M1-1) Topological States of Matter - DCMMP / États topologiques de la matière - DPMCM A-226

      A-226

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Steve Dodge (Simon Fraser University)
      • 13:45
        Spin-orbit coupling + Interaction = ? 30m
        Strongly interacting electron systems have fascinated the condensed matter community for a few decades. The addition of interactions to a model leads, in many cases, to new kinds of states, especially in low dimensional systems where fluctuations are pronounced. Notable examples are unconventional superconductivity and the fractional quantum Hall effect. Spin orbit coupling, on the other hand, has been in the spotlight in recent years due to its important role in topological insulators and superconductors. It is responsible to the non-trivial topology of topological insulators in two and three dimensions. It is therefore tempting to ask what is the combined effect of electron-electron interactions and spin orbit coupling. In this talk I will discuss several models which include these two ingredients. The resulting behaviour ranges from incommensurate spin density wave to a strongly correlated topological superconductor. I will discuss the challenges of characterizing these topological many body states.
        Speaker: Prof. Tami Pereg-Barnea (McGill University)
        Slides
      • 14:15
        Topological insulators: interaction effects and new states of matter 30m
        Topological insulators are recently discovered states of matter that are electrically insulating in the bulk but support novel conducting boundary states that are exceptionally robust to perturbations. The physics of topological insulators is due to strong spin-orbit coupling and, despite its exotic character, is well understood in a single-particle picture where electron-electron interactions are neglected. A topic of tremendous current interest in the field is to understand how the physics of topological insulators is affected by the presence of substantial electron-electron interactions. In this talk I will argue that the combination of a topological bandstructure and strong electron-electron interactions can give rise to novel phenomena that have no counterpart in either noninteracting topological systems or nontopological interacting systems.
        Speaker: Dr Joseph Maciejko (Princeton University)
        Slides
      • 14:45
        Phonon-induced topological insulation 30m
        Recent years have witnessed the unexpected discovery of novel topological phases in certain electrically insulating and semimetallic solids whose low-energy bulk excitations are Dirac fermions. Topological phases in these ‘‘Dirac materials’’ are characterized by nonzero integers (topological invariants), which manifest themselves through peculiar and robustly gapless states localized at the boundaries of the material. Partly enticed by a vision of transistors that would operate by switching topological invariants on and off, there is keen interest in finding ways to induce topological phases in intrinsically nontopological materials. In this talk, I will show that electron-phonon interactions can alter the band topology of narrow-gap Dirac insulators and semimetals, at both zero and nonzero temperature. The underlying mechanism for this effect can be explained in terms of the electron-phonon scattering matrix elements, which show a peculiar dependence on the sign of the mass of the Dirac fermions. Contrary to the common belief that increasing temperature always destabilizes topological phases, our results highlight instances in which phonons might lead to the appearance of topological surface states above a crossover temperature in a material that has a topologically trivial ground state. I will discuss possible experimental implications of this effect in HgTe/CdTe quantum wells and in Bi Tl(S_x Se_{1-x})_2.
        Speaker: Prof. Ion Garate (Université de Sherbrooke)
    • 13:45 15:15
      (M1-2) ePOP satellite mission I - DASP / Mission satellitaire ePOP I - DPAE C-205

      C-205

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Robert Rankin (U)
      • 13:45
        Probing the Ionosphere with the Radioscience Instruments on CASSIOPE/e-POP 30m
        Two major themes in the ePOP ionospheric radioscience plan are the structure and dynamics of the three-dimensional distribution of density and plasma-wave processes. The e-POP wave instruments involved are the GPS Attitude, Position and Profiling (GAP) instrument, the Coherent Electromagnetic Radiation Tomography (CERTO) beacon, and the Radio Receiver Instrument (RRI) The e-POP radioscience agenda exploits opportunities for observations coordinated both with other instruments aboard CASSIOPE and with ground observatories and other ionosphere-thermosphere spacecraft. The GAP receives signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites for studies of ionospheric structure. When combined with data from earth-based GPS receivers, these measurements are used to improve ionospheric tomography. CERTO transmits at VHF and UHF for detection by dedicated receivers on the ground, for similar purposes of two- or three-dimensional imaging of density structure and for investigation of scattering by ionospheric irregularities. RRI is a four-channel digital receiver for recording the electric fields of waves between 10 Hz and 18 MHz. Collaborative studies using transionospheric HF propagation are under way for imaging mesoscale structures near the peak of the F-region, through the reception of waves from ionosondes, coherent backscatter radars or other HF transmitters. The structure thus observed can be compared with the results of ionospheric tomography from CERTO and GAP. Electromagnetic phenomena of spontaneous origin are investigated in collaborations involving the RRI and ground-based receivers of space emissions. Propagation at frequencies from ELF to HF are studied to understand access to the magnetosphere of manmade signals and access to the ground of spontaneous noise from space.
        Speaker: Dr Gordon James (CSA David Florida Laboratory)
        Slides
      • 14:15
        Back to the Ionosphere 50 Years Later: the CASSIOPE Enhanced Polar Outflow Probe (e-POP) 30m
        The launch of the Alouette I satellite on September 29, 1962, marked Canada’s entry into the space age. The successful launch on the CASSIOPE small satellite fifty-one years later to the day marks Canada’s return to the ionosphere. CASSIOPE carries two payloads: the Enhanced Polar Outflow Probe (e-POP), an 8-instrument scientific payload, and CASCADE, a communications technology demonstration payload. The e-POP instrument suite is comprised of plasma, magnetic field, radio, and optical instruments designed for in-situ observations in the topside polar ionosphere at the highest-possible resolution, and it utilizes CASCADE for onboard data storage and telemetry downlink - to help demonstrate the capabilities of CASCADE. In this paper, we present an overview of the e-POP payload and its scientific objectives, and selected examples of initial results from the early part of the CASSIOPE mission.
        Speaker: Prof. Andrew Yau (University of Calgary)
        Slides
      • 14:45
        Science Objectives and Results from the ePOP Suprathermal Electron Imager 30m
        The ePOP Suprathermal Electron/Thermal Ion Imager (SEI/SII) uses a microchannel-plate-intensified CCD-based detector to record 2-D (energy/angle) electron distribution functions having a nominal energy range of 2-200 eV, and ion distributions at energies that include the ambient ionospheric population ($<1$ eV) and extending up to 100 eV. At the highest measurement resolution, distribution images are 64 pixels in diameter, read out at a rate of 100 per second. The SEI is designed to address one of the principal scientific objectives of ePOP, namely to characterize polar ion outflow and its drivers including ambipolar electric fields generated by suprathermal electron populations, and direct heating of ions by plasma waves or collisions with neutral particles. In SII mode the instrument can track ion velocity in two dimensions, and can characterize ion temperature and higher-order properties of the distribution. This talk presents highlights of the first half year of ePOP SEI operations.
        Speaker: Prof. David Knudsen (University of Calgary)
    • 13:45 15:15
      (M1-3) Medical Imaging I - DMBP / Imagerie médicale I - DPMB C-204

      C-204

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Robert LeClair (Laurentian University)
      • 13:45
        The Potential of Polariszation Imaging of the Eye to Provide a Window on the Brain in Alzheimer’s Disease and Malaria 15m
        Imaging the retina may provide a “window on the brain”, potentially enabling diagnosis of neural conditions. Two of these are malaria and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is a neuro-degenerative disease, characterized by the formation of insoluble fibrils (plaques) composed of amyloid beta proteins. There is currently no definitive diagnosis available prior to death. Neurotoxic effects of amyloid beta have been demonstrated in the retinas of animal models and human retinal function is affected by AD. Previously, our group was among the first to find amyloid beta in the retinas of those diagnosed with AD and we have demonstrated that polarization imaging could improve the visibility of malaria in retinal vessels. Here we will describe the development of non-invasive imaging methods that might be used for *in vivo* diagnosis of both conditions. Imaging in the human retina in both malaria and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) could lead to a better understanding of the diseases and earlier and more accessible diagnoses. Whole mounts were prepared of post-mortem retinas of subjects with AD and malaria and of age matched subjects without disease. In the AD study, retinas were stained with thioflavin S and examined using a fluorescence microscope. Previously, in some retinas, positive for AD, fluorescently labeled structures near the retinal surface were studied using Atomic Force Microscopy. The polarization properties of the *ex vivo* retinas were imaged under crossed polarizers along with the surrounding retina. In addition, spatially defined Mueller matrices were found by imaging in a microscope modified with an adjustable polarization generator and an analyzer. We have confirmed the presence of amyloid beta in the *ex vivo* neural retina of those with AD and not in age matched normal donors without the disease with sensitivity and specificity each at 75%. The polarization properties of amyloid beta deposits differed significantly from those of bare glass from the surrounding retinal tissue and from control retinas. Ours are the first measurements of the polarization properties of unstained amyloid beta. We believe that the *in vivo* imaging methods that we are developing could become a more accessible, less invasive and less expensive technique than others under development for the diagnosis of malaria affecting the brain and Alzheimer’s disease.
        Speaker: Prof. Melanie C.W. Campbell (Physics and Atronomy, School of Optometry and Guelph Waterloo Physics Institute, University of Waterloo)
      • 14:00
        Wide angle x-ray scatter models in breast diagnostics 30m
        In our group we are devising wide angle x-ray scatter (WAXS) models for breast diagnostic applications. A major focus is to use the models in conjunction with energy dispersive x-ray scatter measurements on breast biopsies. A custom built WAXS system has been assembled and it provides quantitative differential linear scatter coefficients (MUs) to be obtained for samples. Comparison between fibrous and cancerous breast samples showed differences but results were not consistent. The fat content in the biopsies could have affected the results. A method to correct for the presence of fat has been formulated and tested with breast phantom materials. A digital x-ray imaging method provides estimates of the fractional volume of fat νf in the biopsies. The protocol for analysis is first to measure the MUs of the composite sample in the WAXS system, then estimate νf of the sample via an x-ray imaging analysis in another system. Once νf is known, a WAXS fat subtraction model using νf is applied to estimate the MUs of fatless tissue. Consider a chicken composite consisting of fibrous and tissue components. The νf within an ROI of the sample was estimated to be 0.32±0.05. The subtraction of this component from the WAXS composite signal provided a good estimate of the MUs of chicken fibrous. The results were encouraging and analysis of breast biopsies is to re-commence. The WAXS models are also being investigated for their potential use in CBCT breast imaging. The models can be used to correct for scatter. The scatter projection obtained via the WAXS model was subtracted from a GEANT4 projection to yield an estimation of the energy incident signal from primary photons. For a 14 cm diameter cylindrical 50:50 fat/fibrous phantom the estimation was 1.017 ± 0.012 relative to the GEANT4 output.
        Speaker: Prof. R. J. LeClair (Laurentian University)
      • 14:30
        An energy dispersive bent Laue monochromator for K-edge subtraction imaging 15m
        K-Edge Subtraction (KES) is a powerful synchrotron imaging method that allows the quantifiable determination of a contrast element (i.e. iodine) and matrix material (usually represented as water) in both projection imaging and computed tomography. With living systems, a bent Laue monochromator is typically employed to prepare imaging beams above and below the contrast element K-edge which focus at the subject location and subsequently diverge onto a detector. Conventional KES prepares the two beams by utilizing a splitter that blocks approximately 1/3 of the vertical beam size to prevent “edge crossing” energies beyond the monochromator. A bent Laue monochromator has been developed that has very good focal and energy dispersive properties for KES. Approximately 4% of the vertical beam profile is involved in “edge crossing” energies, thus no splitter is employed. The beam can be narrowed vertically allowing a smaller crossover angle than a splitter based system which minimizes artifacts. The combination of good spatial resolution, energy dispersive properties, flux and a unique approach to data analysis make this system nearly ideal for KES. Some of the relevant details of the monochromator will be discussed, especially the focal and energy dispersive properties, as well as, some details of artifacts caused by the beam focusing at the sample location. Example images of the beam and the object images will be presented as well.
        Speaker: Nazanin Samadi (U)
      • 14:45
        A New Software for Image Registration in Multimodality, PET-MR, Imaging in Cell Tracking Studies 15m
        Positron emission tomography (PET) is an essential tool for in vivo molecular imaging, due to its high sensitivity. Combined with the unparalleled soft tissue contrast of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), PET–MRI allows for accurate quantification required for cell tracking studies. The purpose of this study is to develop a landmark based image registration program capable of fiducial registration, for application in a stem cell tracking study . PET and MR Images acquired with fiducial markers located in the field of view around the specimen were registered using our landmark based program, written in Matlab. The fiducial markers were also used to test the accuracy of our Matlab program, along with other automated image registration software including: automatic image registration (AIR), FMRIB’s linear image registration tool (FLIRT), and medical image processing, analysis, and visualization (MIPAV), all available online free for download. All of the programs were able to successfully register the images; however, our Matlab program provided the best registration accuracy, with a fiducial registration error (FRE) of 1.36 mm.
        Speaker: Esmat Elhami (U)
        Slides
    • 13:45 15:15
      (M1-4) Energy Frontier: Standard Model and Higgs - PPD / Frontière d'énergie: modèle standard et boson de Higgs - PPD C-112

      C-112

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Oliver Stelzer-Chilton (TRIUMF (CA))
      • 13:45
        Standard Model Measurements with the ATLAS Detector 30m
        The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider includes a large program of Standard Model measurements covering a wide range of interactions and final state topologies including jets, charged leptons, and photons. Measurements of Standard Model processes are essential for comparison with theoretical calculations and modeling. This talk will present the latest results from ATLAS using data collected in 2011 and 2012 at energies of 7 and 8 TeV. The topics studied include QCD studies, top quark physics, and vector boson production.
        Speaker: Matthew Scott Rudolph (University of Toronto (CA))
        Slides
      • 14:15
        Global Sequantial Calibration of jets at ATLAS 15m
        In the ATLAS experiment the measurement of hadronic final states usually involves the detection of collimated cones of particles, more simply called *jets*. Despite all the efforts at the hardware and software levels to correctly reconstruct the 4-momenta of jets, there is still room for improvement. Many factors can influence the shapes and amounts of energy deposited in detectors; for example, gluon-initiated and quark-initiated jets have different radiation patterns. A sequential jet calibration based on global properties of jets (Global Sequential Calibration, or GSC) measured by the ATLAS detector was developed to account for these differences. This calibration, based on Monte Carlo studies, aims to reduce the flavour uncertainty and to improve the resolution of jets. In the case of high-energy jets, a correction is introduced to account for the energy lost by jets that are not contained within the calorimeters (leakage). An overview of this calibration and the performance expected is presented. The GSC was derived for $\sqrt{s}=8\mathrm{TeV}$ and jet sizes of R=0.4 and R=0.6.
        Speaker: Santiago Batista (University of Toronto (CA))
        Slides
      • 14:30
        Measurement of the top quark polarization in semi-leptonically decaying top-antitop pairs with the ATLAS detector 15m
        The Standard Model predicts that top-antitop pairs produced through the strong interaction will have zero net longitudinal polarization due to parity conservation. Physics beyond the Standard Model could allow for non-parity conserving top-antitop pair production which would produce a net polarization signal at the Large Hadron Collider. I will present a measurement of the average polarization of top-antitop pairs decaying to the lepton plus jets final state as measured by the ATLAS detector at a centre of mass energy of sqrt(s) = 8 TeV. Events passing selection criteria expected of top-antitop pairs decaying to two b-quarks jets, two light quark jets, a lepton (electron or muon) and a neutrino, are included in the measurement. The measured jets, lepton and missing transverse energy are used as inputs to a kinematic fit which solves for the 4-momentum of the neutrino, which is not detected. The polarization can then be extracted from the distribution of angles formed between the lepton and leptonically decaying top quark in that quark's rest frame.
        Speaker: Garrin Mcgoldrick (University of Toronto (CA))
        Slides
      • 14:45
        Higgs Particle Searches with ATLAS 30m
        This contribution will present the latest results on the Higgs searches performed with the ATLAS detector, including beyond the Standard Model (BSM) Higgs searches, as well as the recently discovered Higgs particle consistent with the Standard Model (SM). Special attention will be given to the decays of the Higgs particle to gauge bosons.
        Speaker: Doug Schouten (TRIUMF (CA))
        Slides
    • 13:45 15:15
      (M1-5) Quantum Gravity and Quantum Cosmology - DTP / Gravité quantique et cosmologie quantique - DPT C-304

      C-304

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Gabor Kunstatter (University of Winnipeg)
      • 13:45
        An overview of Loop Quantum Gravity 30m
        The definition of a quantum theory for gravity is a long standing problem. Currently, different approaches exist. In this talk, I will present the main ideas behind Loop Quantum Gravity and the Spinfoam frameworks. These are attempts to quantize directly General Relativity using respectively Dirac’s canonical quantization and Feynman’s path integral quantization. I will give an overview of these dual frameworks, focussing on their successes but also on the difficulties and problems they face.
        Speakers: Aristide Baratin (University of Waterloo), Dr Florian Girelli (University of Waterloo)
      • 14:15
        Possible Astrophysical Observables of Quantum Gravity Effects near Black Holes 30m
        Recent implications of results from quantum information theory applied to black holes has led to the confusing conclusions that requires either abandoning the equivalence principle (e.g. the firewall picture), or the no-hair theorem (e.g. the fuzzball picture), or even more unpalatable options. The recent discovery of a pulsar orbiting a black hole opens up new possibilities for tests of theories of gravity. We examine possible observational effects of semiclassical quantum gravity in the vicinity of black holes, as probed by pulsars and event horizon telescope imaging of flares. Pulsar radiation is observable at wavelengths only two orders of magnitude shorter than the Hawking radiation, so precision interferometry of lensed pulsar images may shed light on the quantum gravitational processes and interaction of Hawking radiation with the spacetime near the black hole. This paper discusses the impact on the pulsar radiation interference pattern, which is observable through the modulation index in the foreseeable future, and discusses a possible classical limit of BHC.
        Speaker: Prof. Ue-Li Pen (University of Toronto, CITA)
      • 14:45
        The Everyday Phenomena of Black Hole Chemistry 15m
        The cornerstone of thermodynamics is the first law, which for a black hole identifies thermodynamic energy with its mass, temperature with its surface gravity, and entropy with its area. Recent work that posits the identification of a cosmological constant with thermodynamic pressure results in black holes behaving somewhat like chemical systems, with pressure-volume terms appearing in the first law and the black hole mass interpreted as enthalpy instead of energy. This perspective on black holes leads to a broad range of novel and interesting phenomena that have counterparts in everyday chemical thermodynamics, including liquid–gas Van der Waals transitions, reentrant phase transitions seen in the mixing of two liquids, and the analogue of a triple point.
        Speaker: Robert Mann (U)
        Slides
      • 15:00
        Quantum Gravity and Accelerated Frames 15m
        We formulate quantum field theory in accelerated frames using Prigogine transformations. We then derive a background independent formulation of such transforms, and attempt a new formulation of quantum gravity.
        Speaker: Arundhati Dasgupta (University of Lethbridge)
    • 13:45 15:15
      (M1-6) Testing Fundamental Symmetries I - DNP-PPD-DTP-DIMP / Tests de symétries fondamentales session 1 - DPN-PPD-DPT-DPIM C-309

      C-309

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Gerald Gwinner (University of Manitoba)
      • 13:45
        Testing Fundamental Symmetries with the Next Generation Ultracold Neutron Source at TRIUMF 30m
        Ultracold neutrons are neutrons that have been cooled below 3 mK. At this temperature they travel at a speed less than ~8 m/s and exhibit the peculiar behavior of being able to be stored in magnetic, material, and gravitational bottles for periods ranging up to their beta-decay lifetime (~15 min). They present a new avenue for performing fundamental neutron experiments such as: searching for a non-zero neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM), precise measurement of the neutron lifetime, and precise measurements of neutron beta decay correlation coefficients to name a few. These measurements have important consequences for extensions to the standard model of particle physics which could help explain the baryon asymmetry of our universe. In the past, UCN were obtained by cooling neutrons from fission based nuclear reactors. However over the last 15 years several new sources of UCN, called super thermal sources, have been pioneered. Here spallation neutrons are cooled by cryogenic convertors and afford UCN densities many orders of magnitude over reactor based systems. One such super thermal source based on conversion in superfluid helium is being developed at RCNP (Japan) and will be moved and installed at TRIUMF (Canada) in 2016. The first experiment planned is a highly anticipated measurement of the neutron’s EDM with an order of magnitude better sensitivity than current measurements. I will provide an overview of the rich physics opportunities available to UCN experiments and the current status of the TRIUMF UCN source.
        Speaker: Dr Russell Mammei (The University of Winnipeg)
        Slides
      • 14:15
        First Determination of the Proton's Weak Charge 30m
        The Qweak collaboration has reported first results of a program of precision measurements of parity violating electron-proton scattering at small momentum transfer at Jefferson Laboratory[1]. Together with earlier measurements at higher momentum transfer, which are used to constrain hadronic corrections, this initial Qweak data set has provided the first experimental determination of the proton’s weak charge. Results are in good agreement with the Standard Model and set new limits on the neutral weak quark couplings C1u and C1d. Approximately 25x more data are currently undergoing analysis, with the aim of providing a stringent experimental test of the running of sin2(θW) when completed. As part of its ancillary measurement program to constrain and characterize systematic errors, Qweak has also obtained precision measurements of transverse polarization asymmetries, inelastic asymmetries, and parity violating scattering on aluminum. An overview of the Qweak experiment and the status of Qweak physics results will be presented. [1.] D. Androic et al., Physical Review Letters 111, 141803 (2013)
        Speaker: Dr Shelley Page (University of Manitoba)
        Paper
      • 14:45
        Using the Xe-129 co-magnetometer as a tool to improve the neutron electric dipole moment limit 15m
        For more than half a century now, the neutron Electric Dipole Moment (nEDM) experiments have ruled out more CP-violation theories than any other violating type of experiments in history of physics. All the new generation nEDM experiments use a modified NMR technique and are aiming to reduce the current upper limit by one to two orders of magnitude by means -among others- of improving the statistical and systematic errors. The Xe-129 optical co-magnetometer is expected to be a very useful tool to characterise accurately the magnetic field experienced by ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) while storage. The higher the Xe gas pressure the stronger the emitted optical signal which is used to measure the precession frequency of the polarised gas atoms. On the other hand, the presence of Xe-129 gas results in a lower neutron storage lifetime due to the finite capture cross section and leads to electrical breakdown and subsequently to a decreased high-voltage across the UCN storage cell. Both of these factors limit the sensitivity of the experiment. In lack of experimental data, I am working on testing the high voltage (around 15 kV/cm) stability using Xe-129 alone and in mixture with other gases in the few mTorr region seeking to find the optimum conditions of gas pressure/composition and electrodes separation. The results of these tests are expected to be implemented on the nEDM experiment at KEK-RCNP/TRIUMF.
        Speaker: Dr Katerina Katsika (TRIUMF)
        Slides
    • 13:45 15:15
      (M1-7) Ultrafast Imaging and Spectroscopy I - DAMOPC / Imagerie ultrarapide et spectroscopie I - DPAMPC C-207

      C-207

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Jim Martin (University of Waterloo)
      • 13:45
        Ultrafast Optical Control of Quantum Dot Excitons Using Engineered Optical Pulses 30m
        Femtosecond pulse shaping provides a flexible approach to tailoring the Hamiltonian governing the interaction of light with matter. Together with powerful adaptive feedback algorithms, this approach is now used routinely in the control of a variety of physical processes. For quantum computing applications, pulse shaping provides a means to optimize the speed and fidelity of elementary quantum gates, and may enable the realization of schemes for complex instruction set quantum computing. In this presentation, I will discuss our recent experiments demonstrating ultrafast quantum control of charge based (exciton) qubits in semiconductor quantum dots. Using optimal quantum control techniques, we show that pulse shaping provides a means to optimize the fidelity of a C-ROT gate in single quantum dots [1,2], and enables parallel single qubit gates on distant quantum dots within the laser focal spot [3]. We also demonstrate adiabatic rapid passage on a subpicosecond time scale in single semiconductor quantum dots, yielding new insight into the role of phonons in dephasing of exciton qubits. 1. A. Gamouras, R. Mathew, and K. C. Hall, J. Appl. Phys. 112, 014313 (2012). 2. R. Mathew, C. E. Pryor, M. E. Flatte, and K. C. Hall, Phys. Rev. B 84, 205322 (2011). 3. A. Gamouras, R. Mathew, S. Freisem, D. G. Deppe, and K. C. Hall, Nano Letters 13, 4666 (2013).
        Speaker: Prof. Kimberley Hall (Dalhousie University)
      • 14:30
        Ultrafast dynamics of a polariton gas in organic-semiconductor Fabry-Perot microcavities 30m
        In high-$Q$ microcavities, non-perturbative mixing of the highly confined electromagnetic field and exciton resonances results in new quasi-particles termed exciton-polaritons. These are composite bosons with very low effective mass ($< 10^{-4} m_e$). Above a certain critical density and below a critical temperature, these can undergo Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC), resulting in macroscopic spontaneous coherence. BEC has been well-documented in inorganic quantum-well microcavities, while this effect has not been convincingly demonstrated for molecular materials. Nevertheless, larger oscillator strengths and higher exciton binding energies should permit polariton condensates at higher temperature than in inorganic devices, even at room temperature, if the coupling is larger than the disorder width. In this oral contribution, I will describe recent efforts to unravel polariton-polariton nonlinear coupling by means of two-dimensional electronic coherence spectroscopy (2D-ECS). It is an ultrafast spectroscopic technique belonging to the family of 2D Fourier Spectroscopies and it allows to measure correlations between quantum transitions induced by the electromagnetic field. In 2D-ECS a sequence of four phase-related ultrafast optical pulses excites quantum states of a material system. Each pulse separately excites a quantum wave packet with spectral phase and amplitude imparted by that pulse, while the effect of the pulse sequence is to collectively excite multiple quantum coherences. Interferences between the various combinations of the pulses wave-packets determine linear and non-linear contributions to the material optical response. With this technique, we address polariton-polariton coupling dynamics towards the formation of quantum condensates.
        Speaker: Prof. Carlos Silva (Université de Montréal)
      • 15:00
        Dissociative Excitation of Thymine by Electron Impact 15m
        A crossed electron-gas beam system coupled to a VUV spectrometer has been used to investigate the dissociation of thymine (C5H6N2O2) into excited atomic fragments in the electron-impact energy range from threshold to 375 eV. A special stainless steel oven is used to vaporize the thymine and form it into a beam where it is intersected by a magnetically collimated electron beam, typical current 50 µA. The main features in the spectrum are the H Lyman series lines. The probability of extracting excited C or N atoms from the ring is shown to be very small. In addition to spectral data, excitation probability curves as a function of electron energy will be presented for the main emission features. Possible dissociation channels and excitation mechanisms in the parent molecule will be discussed. The authors thank NSERC (Canada) for financial support.
        Speaker: Collin Tiessen (U)
    • 15:15 15:45
      Health Break / Pause santé Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 15:45 17:15
      (M2-1) ePOP Satellite Mission II - DASP / Mission satellitaire ePOP II - DPAE C-205

      C-205

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Jean-Marc Noel (Royal Military College)
      • 15:45
        Modelling Van Allen Probes Observations of ULF waves and Outer Radiation Belt Electron Dynamics 30m
        Pc5 waves with toroidal and poloidal electric fields are ubiquitous in Earth’s magnetosphere and are often present in the recovery phase of geomagnetic storms. We present results of simulations of Pc5 wave-particle interactions and show how they can be used to explain Cluster (1) and Van Allen Probes (2) observations of shock-initiated outer radiation belt electron flux enhancements and modulations. Theory suggests Pc5 waves are capable of producing such modulations over energies that range from 10's of keV to greater than 1MeV. Using a model of ULF waves, and constraints from satellite observations, we show that solar wind pressure pulses can excite Pc5-range ULF waves and, through drift-resonance interaction, energize electrons in the outer belt. We examine the electron response to pressure-pulse excited waves by evolving electron phase space density in a kinetic transport model that ingests time series from the wave model. The kinetic simulations reveal various features of the interaction, including prompt adiabatic energization by the pressure pulse, drift echoes of this signature at the location of virtual satellites placed in the model, and enhancements and modulations in phase space density that are in agreement with observations. 1. Zong, Q.-G et al., “Energetic electron response to ULF waves induced by interplanetary shocks in the outer radiation belt”, J. Geophys. Res, 114, A10204, doi:10.1029/2009JA014393 (2009). 2. Claudepierre, S.G. et al., “Van Allen Probes observation of localized drift resonance between poloidal mode ultra-low frequency waves and 60 keV electrons”, Geophys. Rev. Lett., 40, p.4491-4497, doi:101002/grl.50901 (2013).
        Speaker: Robert Rankin (U)
      • 16:15
        Initial transionospheric HF observations by the Radio Receiver Instrument (RRI) on the enhanced Polar Outflow Probe (ePOP) satellite mission 30m
        The Cascade Small-Sat and Ionospheric Polar Explorer (CASSIOPE) satellite was successfully launched and began operations in late September of 2013. The suite of 8 scientific instruments on CASSIOPE comprise the enhanced Polar Outflow Probe (ePOP). One instrument is the Radio Receiver Instrument (RRI) which is used to measure radio waves, from 10 Hz to 18 MHz, on two crossed 6-m dipole antennas. The first reception by the RRI of a dedicated ground transmission, at 14.01 MHz, was from the Saskatoon SuperDARN coherent scatter radar on 7 November, 2013. A similar pass on 17 January, 2014 was also successful and such experiments are continuing. The unique eight-pulse sequence transmitted by the Saskatoon SuperDARN radar was clearly observed throughout the passes on both mentioned days. A comparison of signal parameters received by the RRI (e.g., time delay, signal strength, and differential mode delay) and ray tracing simulations of the same parameters shows good agreement. This presentation will present these initial results, as well as additional RRI-SuperDARN experiment configurations and their results as related to radio wave propagation through the ionosphere. It will also included a discussion of the absolute time abilities of the experiment, which are essential for its successful operation.
        Speaker: Glenn Hussey (University of Saskatchewan)
      • 16:45
        e-POP Magnetic Field Instrument (MGF) - Instrumentation and Early Results 30m
        The scientific objective of the Enhanced Polar Outflow Probe (e-POP) is to study plasma outflows, neutral atmospheric escape, and associated effects of auroral currents and plasma microstructures on radio propagation at an unprecedented level of detail. Field-aligned currents are an important coupling process between the Earth’s magnetosphere and the polar ionosphere. Field-aligned currents may be detected via measurements of magnetic gradients along the track of a polar orbiting spacecraft. The detection of gradients does not require observatory class measurements of the geomagnetic field. The Magnetic Field Instrument (MGF) uses two fluxgate magnetometers to measure the DC and low frequency magnetic field and detect and remove the stray field from the spacecraft. The fluxgate sensors are based on the MAGSAT design and are mounted on a modest 80 cm carbon-fiber boom. They are double wound for reduced mass and cross-field dependence. The MGF measures the magnetic field at 160 samples per second to a resolution of 0.0625 nT. Data output is 1952 bytes per second including temperature measurements. Power consumption is 2.2 watts. Noise levels of 7 pT per root Hz at 1 Hz were obtained using sensors built with Infinetics cores. The MGF has been successfully commissioned and is available for science observations. This presentation will review the capability of the instrument, describe the routinely generated science data products and present some early results from the instrument.
        Speaker: Mr David Miles (University of Alberta)
    • 15:45 17:15
      (M2-10) Testing Fundamental Symmetries II - PPD-DTP-DNP / Tests de symétries fondamentales II - PPD/DPT/DPN C-309

      C-309

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Zisis Papandreou (University of Regina)
      • 15:45
        Superallowed Fermi Beta Decay Studies at TRIUMF-ISAC 30m
        High-precision measurements of the ft-values for superallowed Fermi beta decays between nuclear isobaric analogue states provide a number of demanding tests of the electroweak Standard Model, including confirmation of the Conserved Vector Current (CVC) hypothesis at the level of 1.3 parts in 10,000, the most stringent limits on weak scalar current contributions, and the most precise determination of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) quark-mixing matrix element V_ud. In addition to high-precision experimental measurements, these tests rely on small (order 1%) theoretical corrections for radiative effects and the breaking of isospin symmetry by Coulomb and charge dependent forces in the nucleus. The latter, in particular, depend strongly on nuclear structure, motivating further studies by a wide variety of theoretical approaches, as well as continued high-precision experimental tests. At the Isotope Separator and Accelerator (ISAC) facility at TRIUMF, 500 MeV proton beams of up to 100 microamps have been used to generate high-quality ISOL beams of several of the superallowed emitters with world record intensities. Superallowed half-lives have been measured with record precision using a 4pi gas proportional beta counter and tape transport system, the 8pi gamma-ray spectrometer at ISAC has been used to perform both superallowed branching ratio measurement and high-precision half-life measurements via gamma-ray counting, and the TITAN Penning trap mass spectrometer has demonstrated the first high charge-state mass measurement for a short-lived superallowed emitter. In this presentation, recent highlights from the superallowed program at ISAC, including high-precision measurements for 10C, 14O, 18Ne, 26Al, and 74Rb superallowed decay, will be presented. The impact of these measurements on tests of isospin symmetry breaking in superallowed decays will be discussed and future developments in the superallowed program at ISAC, including the installation of the new GRIFFIN gamma-ray spectrometer, will be presented.
        Speaker: Prof. Carl Svensson (University of Guelph)
      • 16:15
        High-Precision Half-Life and Branching Ratio Measurements For The Superallowed $\beta^{+}$ Emitter $^{26}$Al$^m$ 30m
        High-precision half-life and branching-ratio measurements for the superallowed $\beta^+$ emitter $^{26}\mathrm{Al}^m$ were performed at the TRIUMF-ISAC radioactive ion beam facility located in Vancouver, Canada. The branching ratio measurement was performed with the 8$\pi$ Spectrometer, an array of 20 high-purity germanium detectors, in conjunction with SCEPTAR, a plastic scintillator array used to detect the emitted beta particles. An upper limit of $\le$ 12 ppm at 90$\%$ confidence level was found for the second forbidden $\beta^+$ decay of $^{26}\mathrm{Al}^m$ to the state at 1809 keV in $^{26}\mathrm{Mg}$. An inclusive upper limit of $\le$ 15 ppm at 90$\%$ confidence level was found when considering all possible non-analogue $\beta^+$/EC decay branches of $^{26}\mathrm{Al}^m$, resulting in a superallowed branching ratio of $100.0000^{+0}_{-0.0015}\%$. The half-life measurement was performed using a 4$\pi$ continuous-flow gas proportional counter and fast tape transport system. The resulting value for the $^{26}\mathrm{Al}^m$ half-life, T$_{1/2} = 6.34654(76)$ s, is consistent with, but 2.5 times more precise than, the previous world average, and represents the single most precisely measured half-life of any superallowed emitting nucleus to date. Combining these results with world-average $Q$-value measurements yields a superallowed $\beta$-decay ${ft}$ value of 3037.58(60) s, the most precisely determined ${ft}$ value for any superallowed emitting nucleus to date. Combined with the small, and precisely quoted, theoretical isospin-symmetry-breaking corrections for this nucleus, the corrected ${\mathcal{F}t}$ value for $^{26}\mathrm{Al}^m$ of 3073.1(12) s is also the most precisely determined for any superallowed emitter by nearly a factor of two and now rivals the precision of all the other 12 precisely measured superallowed $\beta$ decays combined. The high-precision experimental ${ft}$ value for $^{26}\mathrm{Al}^m$ superallowed decay reported here provides a new benchmark to refine theoretical models of isospin-symmetry-breaking effects in superallowed Fermi $\beta$ decays.
        Speaker: Paul Finlay (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (BE))
        Slides
      • 16:45
        HIGH-PRECISION HALF-LIFE MEASUREMENTS FOR THE SUPERALLOWED β+ EMITTER 10C 15m
        High precision measurements of superallowed Fermi beta transitions between 0$^+$ isobaric analogue states allow for stringent tests of the electroweak interaction described by the Standard Model. Particularly, these transitions provide an experimental probe of the unitary of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix, the Conserved-Vector-Current (CVC) hypothesis, as well as set limits on the existence of scalar currents in the weak interaction. Half-life measurements for the lightest of the superallowed emitters are of particular interest as it is the low-Z superallowed decays that are most sensitive to a possible scalar current contribution. There are two methods for measuring the superallowed $\beta$ decay half-life of $^{10}$C: via directly counting the $\beta$ particles or measuring the $\gamma$-ray activity following $\beta$ decay. Previous results for the $^{10}$C half-life measured via these two methods differ at the 1.5$\sigma$ level, prompting simultaneous and independent measurements of the $^{10}$C half-life using both techniques. Since $^{10}$C is the lightest nucleus for which superallowed $\beta$ decay is possible, a high precision measurement of its half-life is essential for obtaining an upper limit on the presence of scalar currents in the weak interaction. In October 2013, $^{10}$C half-life measurements via both gamma-ray photo-peak and direct beta counting were performed at TRIUMF's Isotope Separator and Accelerator (ISAC) facility using the 8$\pi$ spectrometer and a $4\pi$ gas proportional $\beta$ counter at the ISAC General Purpose Station. The 8$\pi$ $\gamma$-ray spectrometer consists of 20 High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors as well as the Zero Degree $\beta$ detector, a fast plastic scintillator located at the end of the beam line within the 8$\pi$. This presentation will highlight the importance of these measurements and preliminary half-life results for $^{10}$C will be presented.
        Speaker: Michelle Dunlop (U)
        Slides
      • 17:00
        Atomic Magnetometry for Neutron EDM experiment at TRIUMF 15m
        The neutron electric dipole moment (EDM) experiment at TRIUMF aims to constrain the neutron EDM to the 1 x 10^{-27} level in its initial phase of operation. At this level of precision, magnetic stability must be measured at the tens of fT level in the 1 uT operating field of the experiment. Comagnetometers based on Hg-199 and Xe-129 will be used to measure this stability in real time inside the neutron EDM cell, at the same time as the EDM measurement is being conducted. Furthermore, external magnetometers with similar precision would be used to confirm the magnetic environment with a similar level of precision around the neutron EDM measurement cell. We have been developing external magnetometers based on non-linear magneto-optical rotation (NMOR) in rubidium vapour, based on the successful techniques developed by Budker, et al. Magnetometers based on this principle promise to provide the precision necessary for the EDM experiment. Recent results from our prototype NMOR system at the University of Winnipeg will be presented.
        Speaker: Prof. Jeffery Martin (The University of Winnipeg)
        Slides
    • 15:45 17:15
      (M2-2) Nuclear Astrophysics - DNP / Astrophysique nucléaire - DPN C-301

      C-301

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Barry Davids (TRIUMF)
      • 15:45
        Nuclear astrophysics with DRAGON 30m
        The DRAGON facility at TRIUMF measures radiative proton and alpha capture reactions relevant to nucleosynthesis in a variety of astrophysical scenarios. DRAGON experiments are performed in inverse kinematics, taking advantage of the intense radioactive and stable beams available at TRIUMF. In this talk, I will present an overview of recent activities at DRAGON, which include the first successful measurement with a high mass beam, 76Se; measurement of proton capture on radioactive 38K; and extensive upgrades to the data acquisition system and installation of low-intensity beam diagnostics. I will also discuss some future plans for DRAGON, including an indirect measurement of the 330 keV resonance in 18F(p,g) via 15O(a,g) and 15(a,a).
        Speaker: Dr Gregory Christian (TRIUMF)
        Slides
      • 16:15
        Measurement of the p-process branching point reaction 76Se(α,γ)80Kr at DRAGON 15m
        The photo-disintegration process (*p*-process) is thought to be the primary method by which the rare *p*-nuclides (stable isotopes that cannot be produced by either the slow (*s*) or rapid (*r*) neutron capture processes) are produced. This process occurs in the high temperature environments in the late stages of massive stars and in their subsequent explosion as core collapse supernovae. Recent work to explore and expand the capabilities of the DRAGON recoil separator to beams of mass A > 40 has enabled us to make our first measurement of an important *p*-process reaction: 76Se(α,γ)80Kr. This reaction is of particular interest as 80Kr is a possible branching point of the *p*-process. The relative reaction rates of the 80Kr(γ,α)76Se, 80Kr(γ,n)79Kr, and 80Kr(γ,p)79Br will determine the reaction flow from this point, which in turn affects the resulting abundance of p-nuclide 78Kr. This measurement and its implications, as well as the preliminary high mass tests. will be discussed.
        Speaker: Dr Jennifer Fallis (TRIUMF)
        Slides
      • 16:30
        Current Status of the Canadian Penning Trap Mass Spectrometer at the CARIBU Facility 15m
        The astrophysical r-process is thought to be responsible for the formation of almost half the elements in the universe heavier than iron. The r-process reaction path is located on the neutron-rich side of the chart of the nuclides approaching the neutron drip line. Reaction rates of the r-process and the location of the path are dependent on the neutron separation energies of the nuclei. As the neutron separation energies are derived from the mass of the nuclei, high precision mass measurements are vital. Currently, most of the nuclei in possible r¬-process paths are beyond experimental reach due to their short lifetimes and difficulties in production so their masses must be predicted by theoretical models. Mass measurements allow testing and refinement of these models and provide new data of astrophysical interest. Our group uses the Canadian Penning Trap Mass Spectrometer at the Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) facility at Argonne National Laboratory to measure masses of nuclei with lifetimes approaching on the order of 100ms and precisions down to 10 ppb. Changes made to the instrument system have improved the transmission efficiency of ions to the trap, allowing the investigation of shorter lived species. At present, the masses of over 70 species have been measured. The planned implementation of a new ion detector will allow phase imaging cyclotron frequency measurements, further increasing the number of exotic nuclei accessible. We present, in this talk, recent and future upgrades that will allow measurements of shorter lived, more exotic, isotopes that are of interest for studies of the r-process path.
        Speaker: Graeme Morgan (U)
        Slides
      • 16:45
        Gamma-Ray Infrastructure For Fundamental Investigations of Nuclei 15m
        Several groups from universities across Canada are collaborating on the GRIFFIN (Gamma-Ray Infrastructure For Fundamental Investigations of Nuclei) project to significantly upgrade the decay spectroscopy capabilities at TRIUMF-ISAC. GRIFFIN will replace the HPGe aspect of the 8pi spectrometer with an array of 16 large-volume hyper-pure germanium clover detectors instrumented with a state-of-the-art digital data acquisition system. This Canadian-led project will serve both the national and international interests in low-energy nuclear physics research at TRIUMF-ISAC. The facility will make use of all the ancillary detector systems developed for the 8pi spectrometer which include the SCEPTAR array for beta-tagging, PACES for high-resolution internal conversion electron spectroscopy and an array of lanthanum bromide scintillators for fast gamma-ray timing measurements. In addition, GRIFFIN will accommodate arrays of neutron detectors, such as the DESCANT array developed by the University of Guelph and TRIUMF, to enable studies of beta-delayed neutron emitting nuclei relevant for the astrophysical r-process. The low-energy area of ISAC-I is being reconfigured and the new experimental equipment is being installed during the first half of 2014. It is planned to performed experiments using an early-implementation of the GRIFFIN facility during the Fall schedule of 2014. The array will be fully completed in 2015 with the full complement of 16 clovers. GRIFFIN will greatly enhance the capabilities in the nuclear structure, nuclear astrophysics and fundamental symmetries research programs with stopped radioactive beams available from ISAC and in the future ARIEL. A detailed overview and progress update of the GRIFFIN project will be presented.
        Speaker: Dr Adam Garnsworthy (TRIUMF)
      • 17:00
        GRIFFIN Detector Acceptance Tests 15m
        Gamma-Ray Infrastructure For Fundamental Investigation of Nuclei (GRIFFIN) is a state-of-the-art facility for spectroscopic studies following nuclear decay being built at TRIUMF, Vancouver, B.C. It will accommodate 16 detectors, each made of four high purity Germanium crystals arranged in a clover configuration. GRIFFIN's efficiency will allow decay spectroscopy studies to be extended to regions far from stability that are currently not accessible at TRIUMF. Individual GRIFFIN detectors are delivered to SFU for acceptance tests. To accommodate these detectors an automatic LN$_2$ cooling system, as well as analog and digital data acquisition systems have been set up to carry out the acceptance tests. Software analysis tools and experimental procedures have also been established to examine the consistency of the hardware with the list of specifications provided by the GRIFFIN collaboration. The acceptance tests include measurements of energy resolution, absolute efficiency, analog timing resolution with respect to a BaF$_2$ scintillator, preamplifier and cryogenic properties, and mechanical dimensions. As of February 2014, eleven GRIFFIN detectors have been delivered by the manufacturer and nine have been fully accepted and transferred to TRIUMF. Several additional investigations of the GRIFFIN clover performance have been undertaken. The improvement in photopeak efficiency via energy add back of gamma rays which scatter between the four crystals of a clover has been measured with standard calibration sources. Digital timing resolution with respect to a BaF$_2$ scintillator has been measured using 14-bit, 100 MHz digitizer cards. An absolute efficiency response curve has been measured in the 80-3500 keV energy range. In addition, GRIFFIN detectors were incorporated into a charged-particle-gamma-ray coincidence setup enabling studies of the angular distribution of gamma rays following $^{241}$Am alpha decay. In this presentation the details of the aforementioned tests will be discussed.
        Speaker: Usman Rizwan (Simon Fraser University)
    • 15:45 17:15
      (M2-3) Advances in PP and NP Theory - DTP-PPD-DNP / Progrès en théorie des particules et des noyaux - DPT-PPD-DPN C-304

      C-304

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Rainer Dick (University of Saskatchewan)
      • 15:45
        Microscopic simulations with modern nuclear forces 30m
        I will first go over the status of modern nuclear theory, especially in connection with first-principles studies of strongly interacting nucleons. After some general points on the underlying theory of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), I will go over the efforts toward connecting QCD with many-nucleon studies (via chiral Effective Field Theory [EFT]). I will then introduce a recent local reformulation of chiral EFT, which makes it possible to use such modern potentials within the framework of Quantum Monte Carlo (an essentially exact type of microscopic simulation method).
        Speaker: Alexandros Gezerlis (University of Guelph)
        Slides
      • 16:15
        The long arm of the lattice 30m
        Lattice simulations have an impact that reaches into several aspects of QCD and nuclear physics as well as the standard model of particle physics and theories beyond. A selection of recent examples will be reviewed.
        Speaker: Randy Lewis (York University)
        Slides
      • 16:45
        Coupled-channel vibrational-model studies of nucleon scattering from oxygen isotopes and the corresponding mirror systems. 15m
        A Multi-Channel Algebraic-Scattering (MCAS) method that was developed in 2003 for the analysis of low-energy nuclear spectra and of resonant scattering has continued to be effectively used for nuclear-structure studies. The focus now is on nuclei away from the valley of stability. Such nuclei are the subject of experimental study at Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facilities, and may have application to astrophysics. The MCAS approach allows the construction of the nucleon-core model Hamiltonian which can be defined in detail (coupling to the collective modes, diverse components of the interaction operators, nonlocal effects due to Pauli exclusion). As reported at previous CAP congresses, MCAS analyses have given good descriptions of bound states and low-lying resonant spectra of medium-light nuclei. This presentation deals with new results for oxygen isotopes, and their mirror systems, using a vibrational model to construct the nucleon-nucleus potential matrices used in MCAS. New results will be shown for n+16O and p+16O, as well as preliminary results for nucleon plus 18O.
        Speaker: Dr Juris Svenne (University of Manitoba)
        Slides
      • 17:00
        Open Charm Production in p + p and Pb + Pb collisions at the LHC 15m
        The phase transition from hadronic to partonic degrees of freedom in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions is a central focus of experiments at the LHC. Heavy-flavor quarks are an ideal probe to study early dynamics in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions. This contribution will present new results on the effects of strong longitudinal colour electric fields (SCF), shadowing, and quenching on the open prompt charm mesons production in central Pb + Pb collisions at √sNN= 2.76 TeV. This study is done within the framework of the HIJING/BBbar v2.0 model. We show that the above nuclear effects constitute important dynamical mechanisms in the description of experimental data. The strength of colour fields (as characterized by the string tension κ), partonic energy loss and jet quenching process lead to a suppression factor for the open charm production is heavy-ion collisions consistent with recent published data. Predictions for beauty mesons will also be presented. * Work supported by NSERC (Canada), the U.S. Department of Energy and by the Romanian Authority for Scientific Research
        Speaker: Prof. Jean Barrette (McGill University)
        Slides
    • 15:45 17:15
      (M2-4) Neutrinos Long Baseline PPD-DNP / Neutrinos sur de longues distances - PPD-DPN C-112

      C-112

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Zoltan Gecse (University of British Columbia (CA))
      • 15:45
        A long distance for the smallest particle: recent results from long baseline neutrino experiments 30m
        One of the most promising investigations of beyond-the-Standard-Model physics has been the study of neutrino oscillation, that is, the conversion of neutrinos from one flavor to another as they propagate. While neutrino oscillation is studied in a wide variety of laboratories, the strongest constraints on the neutrino oscillation mixing parameters, theta23 and Dm2(32) come from long baseline neutrino experiments. A long baseline neutrino experiment employs a particle accelerator to produce a neutrino beam which travels 100-1000km in one of the grandest tests of quantum mechanics imaginable. This talk will describe how long baseline experiments are shaping our understanding of neutrino oscillation physics, with the latest results from experiments around the world such as T2K, NOvA, and OPERA.
        Speaker: Kendall Mahn (TRIUMF)
        Slides
      • 16:15
        Neutrino Cross Sections at the T2K Near Detectors 15m
        Measurements of the neutrino oscillation parameters have improved markedly in the last three years, with recent results from T2K casting the first light on possible CP violation in the lepton sector. For these oscillation measurements, systematic errors are becoming as important as the statistical error, and neutrino cross section uncertainties are a major contributor to the total systematic error. To improve our knowledge of neutrino oscillation physics we must therefore improve our understanding of neutrino cross sections. The T2K near detectors provide a good environment to measure neutrino cross sections, with a well understood, high intensity neutrino beam and multiple target elements. The off-axis near detector is also equipped with a magnetic field, which allows the identification of charged particles and precise measurements of their momentum, and a fine grained target to measure vertex activity. This talk will present the published T2K cross section results and describe the work that is currently being done towards future measurements.
        Speaker: Dr Mark Scott (TRIUMF)
        Slides
      • 16:30
        Identifying Charged Current Single Pion Production Neutrino Events at Super Kamiokande 15m
        Super Kamiokande is a large water Cherenkov detector that is used to detect neutrino interactions and measure neutrino oscillation parameters. In Super Kamiokande charged particles are identified by classifying the rings of Cherenkov light, traditionally as either electron-like with a fuzzy ring edge, or as muon-like with a sharp ring edge. A maximum likelihood reconstruction algorithm now makes it possible to identify other particles such as pions. Although the Cherenkov rings produced by muons and charged pions are very similar, charged pions, unlike muons, undergo hadronic interactions in the water which affect the amount and properties of the Cherenkov light they produce. These hadronic interactions make it possible to distinguish charged pions from muons, and by extension to identify charged current single $\pi^{+}$ production neutrino interactions ($\nu_{\mu}+p/n\rightarrow\mu^{-}+\pi^{+}+p/n$) at Super Kamiokande. Charged current single $\pi^{+}$ production neutrino events have never been explicitly identified at Super Kamiokande before, and including them in analyses will require evaluation of the systematic errors associated with charged pion hadronic interactions and Cherenkov light production in water.
        Speaker: Sophie Berkman (University of British Columbia)
        Slides
      • 16:45
        The NuMu and anti-NuMu interaction rate measurements in the T2K near detector 15m
        The neutrino oscillation measurement made by the Tokai-To-Kamioka (T2K) experiment relies greatly on the measurements of the neutrino flux and cross sections from its near detector, ND280. This measurement will be even more crucial when T2K operates with an anti-neutrino beam to investigate CP violation in the neutrino sector. In this mode, the muon neutrino component of the beam will be a significant background for the oscillation measurement, whilst the muon anti-neutrino cross section is not very well known at the T2K neutrino energy peak. This talk will present improvements to the ND280 analyses for the neutrino and anti-neutrino beams.
        Speaker: Dr Anthony Hillairet (University of Victoria)
        Slides
      • 17:00
        Using the T2K near detector in neutrino oscillation measurements 15m
        The neutrino oscillation measurements performed by the Tokai-To-Kamioka (T2K) experiment are dependent on the energy spectrum of the neutrino beam, as well as neutrino cross section model parameters. Measurements made at the near detector (ND280) provide important constraints on these quantities. This talk will discuss how these constraints are derived from ND280 measurements, and show the dramatic impact of ND280 on the T2K neutrino oscillation measurements.
        Speaker: Jordan Myslik (University of Victoria)
        Slides
    • 15:45 17:15
      (M2-5) Magnetic / Frustrated Systems - DCMMP / Systèmes magnétiques / frustrés - DPMCM A-226

      A-226

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Tami Pereg-Barnea (McGill University)
      • 15:45
        New Routes to Quantum Spin Liquid Physics 30m
        The quantum spin liquid (QSL) is a quantum entangled and dynamical ground state of a magnetic material with strange fractional excitations. This enticing phenomenon was predicted decades ago to occur in materials with competing (frustrated) interactions. However, the road to discovering real materials of this nature is a long one and it is only recently that we have access to several good QSL candidates. Most often the search for QSLs has concentrated on simple frustrated, spin-1/2 models. I will show that some of the most recent discoveries in this vein have come in unusual places, in systems with additional degrees of freedom or larger magnetic moments even on normally unfrustrated lattices. In addition to a general introduction, I will present some of my recent contributions to these discoveries, specifically in measuring magnetic properties at the microscopic (local) level with the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and muon spin rotation (muSR) techniques.
        Speaker: Prof. Jeffrey Quilliam (Université de Sherbrooke)
      • 16:15
        Magnetic Excitations in Thin Film Iridates Probed by Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering 15m
        We have performed resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) measurements on epitaxial thin film samples of the layered perovskite iridates Ba$_2$IrO$_4$ and Sr$_2$IrO$_4$. These compounds display a novel J$_{eff}$ = 1/2 Mott insulating ground state driven by strong 5d spin-orbit coupling effects. By studying 10 to 50 nm thin film samples grown on a variety of different substrates (GSO, STO, LSAT), we have investigated the impact of applied tensile and compressive strain on the characteristic magnetic and electronic excitations of these materials. Unlike other perturbations, such as doping or applied magnetic field, we find that epitaxial strain does not alter the magnetic structure of Ba$_2$IrO$_4$ or Sr$_2$IrO$_4$. However, applied strain does affect the magnetic energy scales of these systems, providing a means of tuning both the ordering temperature (T$_N$) and the strength of the magnetic exchange interactions (J). Most strikingly, we demonstrate that RIXS can be used to perform detailed magnetic dispersion measurements on thin film samples of 10 nm (~4 unit cells) or less.
        Speaker: Dr Patrick Clancy (University of Toronto)
      • 16:30
        Has Compelling Experimental Evidence for Order-by-Disorder at Last Been Found in a Frustrated Magnetic System? 30m
        In some magnetic systems, known as frustrated magnets, the lattice geometry or the competition between different spin-spin interactions can lead to a sub-exponentially large number of accidentally degenerate classical ground states, or false vacuua, and thus a sort of landscape problem for condensed matter physicists. Order-by-disorder (OdD) is a concept of central importance in the field of frustrated magnetism. Saddled with large accidental degeneracies, a subset of states, those that support the largest quantum and/or thermal fluctuations, may be selected to form true long-range order. ObD has been discussed extensively on the theoretical front for over 30 years and proposed to be at play in a number of experimental settings. Unfortunately, convincing demonstrations of OBD in real materials have remained scarce. In this talk, I will review the phenomena of thermal and quantum of order-by-disorder and discuss how recent work may have evinced compelling evidence for ObD in some frustrated XY pyrochlore antiferromagnetic materials.
        Speaker: Prof. Michel Gingras (University of Waterloo)
    • 15:45 17:15
      (M2-6) Radiation Therapy - DMBP / Thérapie par rayonnement - DPMB C-204

      C-204

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Eduardo Galiano (Laurentian University)
      • 15:45
        The unintentional irradiation of a live human fetus: assessing the likelihood of a radiation-induced abortion 30m
        Purpose: The purpose of this work was to calculate the dose accidentally absorbed by a live fetus during a diagnostic CT procedure to a pregnant patient, and to assess the likelihood that the premature termination of the pregnancy was radiation-induced. Methods: A patient underwent a diagnostic CT procedure as part of her initial clinical work up for stage II cervical cancer. At the time of imaging - and unbeknownst to the staff – the patient was found to be 12 weeks pregnant. Approximately two weeks later, the fetus became non-viable and was surgically removed. Following established institutional procedures, the case was referred to the Physics Department for further dosimetric evaluation to determine what role - if any - the fetal dose played in the premature termination of the pregnancy. The fetal dose was determined using Wagner’s CTDI Phantom Dose Reference Model method. 6 A slice thickness of 6 mm and a CTDIvol of 1.13 mGy were used in our calculations, as suggested in the Abdomen Baby manufacturer’s protocol. 7 KVp, mAs, and slice thickness corrections were applied to the CTDIvol, as suggested by Wagner. Results: With these parameters, our estimated absorbed dose to the fetus was 19.3 mGy. Further, we estimate that the rotation of the fetus through an approximate 90º angle along the caudo-cephalic axis during imaging had no clinically relevant effect on the calculated absorbed dose. Conclusions: The fetal dose was well below the consensus levels for negligible risk (50–150 mGy), and the “actionable” level of 150 mGy. 8 At the time of exposure, the fetus was developmentally beyond the critically radiosensitive phase of organogenesis. We conclude that the premature termination of this pregnancy is most unlikely to be of radiological etiology.
        Speaker: Prof. Eduardo Galiano (Laurentian University)
        Slides
      • 16:15
        Medical Physics Residencies-101: The What’s, Where’s, and How’s 30m
        Medical Physics residencies serve as an excellent bridge between putting together the didactic knowledge obtained from a graduate program with practical experience in a Medical Physics sub-specialty. Most residency programs are within the Radiation Therapy sub-specialty, although Diagnostic Imaging-based residencies are slowly starting to become more prevalent over recent years. Residency programs prepare one to take a board examination in order to become a board-certified Medical Physicist. The boards which an individual can apply to are the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM) and the American Board of Radiology (ABR). Residencies can be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs (CAMPEP) body or are non-accredited. Since CAMPEP states minimum requirements to be met in order to ensure adequate coverage of residency program content, there is a continual push for an increase in the number of CAMPEP-accredited residencies. CAMPEP also accredits Medical Physics graduate programs. Enrolling in an accredited graduate program ensures that the individual graduating obtains a minimum standard of didactic knowledge, which will serve him/her for successful completion of a residency program. This talk will serve to inform the individual of how to prepare for applying to a residency program, what one can expect from a residency program, and where one can apply to residency programs. Participants will also be exposed to how one can prepare for taking a board examination, as well as the general scheme of how the board examinations are administered. CAMPEP requirements for residency and graduate programs will also be discussed.
        Speaker: Jeff Frimeth (Xspect Inc.)
        Slides
      • 16:45
        Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy: A New Paradigm for Radiation Therapy 30m
        Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) is a new radiation treatment technique characterized by high dose per fraction (6-30 Gy), a limited number of fractions (1-6) and very accurate and radiation treatments that tightly conform to the disease. SBRT was first reported in Sweden in 1995 and due to favourable clinical evidence has recently spread to a number of disease sites including lung, prostate, liver and oligometastatic sites. A large number of clinical trials are now ongoing investigating the efficacy of SBRT for a number of disease sites. This talk will review the history, radiation biology, treatment technology and clinical evidence supporting SBRT.
        Speaker: Mike Oliver (Health Sciences North)
    • 15:45 17:15
      (M2-7) Ultrafast Imaging and Spectroscopy II - DAMOPC / Imagerie ultrarapide et spectroscopie II - DPAMPC C-207

      C-207

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Paul Barclay (University of Calgary)
      • 15:45
        Controlling nuclear quantum dynamics with shaped laser pulses 30m
        The use of tailored laser pulses to control chemical processes has received much attention over the last 25 years, in part due to the rapid development of experimental pulse shaping techniques. This has permitted studies of control in an ever widening array of systems with increasing complexity (i.e., dimensionality for molecules). In this talk, I will present our computational approach for these problems involving the use of optimal control theory (OCT) for determining laser pulse shapes combined with the multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) approach for solving the quantum dynamics. MCTDH is a useful approach for solving high-dimensional (4D-21D) problems for molecules. However, for efficiency, MCTDH requires the underlying molecular potential energy and dipole moment surfaces in product form. I will present recent efforts to determine potential energy surfaces for HFCO and HONO based on high-level ab initio results. If time permits, I will discuss initial efforts on the control of dynamics in these systems.
        Speaker: Prof. Alex Brown (Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta)
      • 16:15
        Control of Electron Localization in Molecular Dissociation by a Midinfrared Two-Color Laser Field 15m
        Intense femtosecond (10-15s) laser pulses can induce molecular dissociation via a broad range of pathways involving different electronic states. Furthermore, breaking the symmetry of a laser field allows control of these processes via the steering of electron motion, which is accomplished by superimposing electronic states of different parity. The symmetry break can be obtained, for example, by controlling the carrier envelope phase (CEP) of a few-cycle laser pulse, or by combining two laser beams of different wavelength, whose relative phase is adjusted. Both techniques are compared for mid-infrared (MIR) laser pulses (1.8 µm) generated from a laser source that was developed at the Advanced Laser Light Source (ALLS). They lead in many cases to a significant control gain compared to an excitation wavelength of 800 nm. We used a MIR two-color (1.8 µm and 900 nm) laser field to ionize and control H2 and D2 dissociations, thus providing an alternative to CEP stable laser source. By varying the relative phase of both colors, asymmetries (i.e., electron localization selectivity) of up to 15% were calculated directly from a time of flight (TOF) mass analysis. By retrieving fragments position and flight time from their initial spatial location, kinetic energy release (KER) asymmetries up to 30% were also evaluated. Dissociation channels such as the bond softening (BS) channel and the recollision excitation (RCE) channel were identified according to pathways suggested in literature. The results demonstrate a higher level of control compared to previous CEP control experiments and suggest the possibility to shape the proper asymmetric electric field for a specific dissociation channel. The method was further used to ionize and control the deprotonation of C2D2 and C2H2.
        Speaker: Mr Vincent Wanie (INRS-EMT/ALLS)
      • 16:30
        Molecular movies in colour! Coulomb imaging with table top femtosecond laser pulses. 30m
        One of the primary objectives of science is to extend our senses to the smallest realms and to observe processes which occur on the fastest time scales. Coulomb explosion imaging using femtosecond, few cycle, laser pulses has been able to make measurements of the structure of small molecules on the angstrom length scale and observe their dynamics on the timescale of a few femtoseconds. Recently, a team from University of Waterloo and INRS working at the Advanced Laser Light Source have employed increasingly ambitious pulse control and wavelength selection, to control and image dynamics with new levels of accuracy. I will give an introduction to the imaging methods used, for non specialists and put our recent results into the context of worldwide efforts. I hope to show that the tabletop femtosecond laser approach has several distinct advantages, over other methods, and that if it continues to develop, by incorporating, the best aspects of complementary approaches, it can continue to set the standard for the near future.
        Speaker: Joseph Sanderson (University Waterloo)
      • 17:00
        Mode invisibility and single-photon detetction
        We propose a technique to probe a quantum state of light in an optical cavity without significantly perturbing the photon field. We minimize the interaction of the probe with the field by arranging a setting where the largest contribution to the transition probability is cancelled. We show that we obtain very good resolution for measuring the photon population difference between any given states the photon field by means of atomic interferometry
        Speaker: Marvellous Onuma-Kalu (University of Waterloo)
        Slides
    • 15:45 17:15
      (M2-8) Teaching Physics to a Wider Audience - DPE / Enseigner la physique à un auditoire plus vaste - DEP C-206

      C-206

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Martin Williams (University of Guelph)
      • 15:45
        Who should be conducting scientific outreach in high schools? 30m
        We all agree that systematic science outreach in high schools is absolutely imperative. But how should we do it? And perhaps as important, who should be doing it? There may be many benefits for increasing the role of postsecondary students in outreach, such as a smaller age gap and better familiarity with the local high school audiences, but lack of literature in the area highlights the need for a national survey on physics outreach in Canada. The talk will outline a project piloted at Acadia University where a physics honour student visited schools with a presentation on physics, his own experiences, and careers in science. It will also be argued that students with research experience, especially students granted the IPP/CERN Summer Student Fellowship or similar awards are in a particularly apt position to participate in physics outreach in high schools.
        Speaker: Svetlana Barkanova (Acadia University)
        Slides
      • 16:15
        TA Orientation Day for Physics Students at SFU - The Design, the Implementation, and Our Observations 30m
        Simon Fraser University, like other universities, has offered an orientation day for teaching assistants for many years. While many of the sessions are aimed at a general audience, physics and other science students usually consider them to be not very useful. To address their needs, we - two faculty members and an educational developer - developed a 6-hour program designed specifically for the needs of our new graduate students who are about to start their first TA job. We will report on the development of this program, how our observations from previous work with first-time TAs influenced our design decisions, and the outcomes that we are aiming for. In particular, we will point out how our program differs from the general audience TA orientation, and how it is integrated with a mandatory course for first year graduate students at SFU called "Introduction to Graduate Studies: Research and Teaching in Physics". We will share the final orientation program, with a focus on some specific examples, and our observations from the first implementation in the Fall of 2013. Some of the feedback we received after the session will also be discussed and compared to reflections by participants after they had completed their first term as TAs.
        Speaker: Daria Ahrensmeier (Simon Fraser University)
      • 16:45
        Round Table: Assessment: what constitutes a "good assessment" 30m
    • 15:45 17:30
      (M2-9) Status and Future of Precision Frontier - PPD-DIMP / État et avenir de la frontière de précision -PPD-DPIM C-114

      C-114

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Dr Florian Urs Bernlochner (University of Victoria (CA))
      • 15:45
        Latest results from the B factories 30m
        Since the end of data taking in 2008, the BABAR experiment at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, along with its Japanese counterpart, Belle, has continued to produce interesting scientific results spanning a broad range of topics in heavy flavour physics, QCD and searches for physics beyond the standard model. In this talk I will discuss ongoing activities of the BABAR collaboration and present recent highlights from the ongoing physics programs of BABAR and Belle.
        Speaker: Steven Robertson (McGill)
        Slides
      • 16:15
        Belle-II: searching for new physics in the heavy flavor sector 30m
        Belle-II will probe the flavour sector of particle physics at the high-luminosity SuperKEKB e+e- collider, located at the KEK laboratory in Japan. Physics operations will start in late 2016, with the goal of collecting by 2022 thirty times the combined integrated luminosity of the two previous generation B-factories, PEP-II at SLAC and KEKB at KEK. This precision-frontier facility will open an exciting window on new energy scales beyond the reach of existing colliders, including the LHC, by virtue of quantum loop corrections that are sensitive to massive, and as yet undiscovered, particles. These hypothesized particles manifest themselves in precision measurements of processes involving bottom and charm quarks and tau leptons, such as CP violation and other asymmetries, rare decays, and processes that are forbidden within our current understanding of physics. This program is complementary to direct searches for new physics at the LHC. The Canadian group is working on an upgrade of the electromagnetic calorimeter that will enable it to achieve excellent efficiency and resolution in the presence of very high luminosity-related backgrounds. It will use pure CsI crystals with fine mesh photomultiplier tubes and custom analog and digital electronics, which are being designed by the Canadian group. We are aiming for installation in summer 2018.
        Speaker: Prof. Christopher Hearty (University of British Columbia/IPP)
        Slides
      • 16:45
        Search for the rare $B^-$ $\rightarrow\Lambda\bar{p}\nu\bar{\nu}$ decay at the BaBar experiment 15m
        The decay $B^-$ $\rightarrow\Lambda\bar{p}\nu\bar{\nu}$ is a semileptonic, flavour-changing-neutral-current decay. It proceeds exclusively through one-loop box and penguin diagrams and is therefore expected to be heavily suppressed ("rare") within the context of the Standard Model (SM) with a predicted branching fraction of $(7.9 \pm 1.9) \times 10^{-7}$. The possibility of new physics particles contributing in the quantum loops make this decay a very sensitive probe for beyond-SM physics, as any deviation from the predicted decay processes will noticeably affect the suppressed branching fraction. Using data from the BaBar experiment, this analysis aims to establish the first experimentally measured branching fraction limit for this process. In this talk I will describe the experimental and analytical techniques used in this research and present preliminary results.
        Speaker: Mr Robert Seddon (McGill University)
        Slides
      • 17:00
        Search for the rare B meson decays at the BaBar experiment 15m
        Flavour changing neutral current B meson decays, such as $B^{\pm}\to K^{\pm}\tau^{+}\tau^{-}$, are a powerful probe of physics beyond the Standard Model (SM). Comparison of the experimentally measured rate to SM predictions can provide evidence for new physics. Deviations from the SM prediction might arise due to hypothetical heavy particles such as Supersymmetric quarks or bosons or a charged Higgs. Similarly, $B^{\pm}\to K^{\pm}\ell^{+}\ell^{-}$ , where $\ell= e^{+}$ or $\mu^{+}$, has been recently measured by as well as other experiments. The search for $B^{\pm}\to K^{\pm}\tau^+\tau^-$ is specifically interesting, because it involves third-generation leptons, which have greater potential sensitivity to new physics. The search for this rare decay is performed using a sample of 471 million $B{\kern 0.18em\overline{\kern -0.18em B}{}}$, collected with the detector at the PEP-II $e^{+}e^{-}$ collider. The analysis approach is discussed, along with the expected results.
        Speaker: Ms Racha Cheaib (McGill University)
        Slides
      • 17:15
        Modeling Tau Decays for the Energy and Luminosity Frontiers. 15m
        The tau lepton is the heaviest of the known charged leptons and therefore provides a unique tool to probe electroweak interactions, low energy QCD and for searching for new physics. New physics may appear in decays with tau leptons in the final state or in decays of the tau lepton. A key ingredient for any physics programs involving the tau lepton is the modeling of the decay structure. In this paper, recent developments for the modeling of tau decays and the prospects for tau physics at the luminosity and energy frontier will be presented.
        Speaker: Ian Michael Nugent (RWTH-Aachen)
        Slides
    • 17:15 19:30
      Welcome BBQ Reception / Réception d'accueil avec BBQ FA-244+Terrace

      FA-244+Terrace

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 19:30 22:00
      (M-HERZ) Herzberg Memorial Public Lecture - John Ellis, King's College London / Conférence commémorative publique Herzberg - John Ellis, King's College London FA-054+5+6, A-226

      FA-054+5+6, A-226

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 19:30
        The Higgs Boson and Beyond 1h
        Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? The discovery of the Higgs Boson at the LHC provides new insights into these basic questions about the Universe, marking the start of a new era in fundamental physics, and opening new vistas in astrophysics and cosmology as well as particle physics.
        Speaker: Jonathan R. Ellis (CERN)
    • 07:30 09:00
      CAP Foundation Annual General Meeting / Assemblée annuelle de la Fondation de l'ACP F-335

      F-335

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 08:30 17:30
      Exhibit booths open 08:30-17:30 / Salle d'exposition ouverte de 08h30 à 17h30 Fraser Foyer

      Fraser Foyer

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 08:45 10:45
      (T1-1) Energy Frontier: Higgs Properties - PPD-DTP / Frontière d'énergie : propriétés du boson de Higgs - PPD-DPT C-112

      C-112

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Doug Schouten (TRIUMF (CA))
      • 08:45
        Review of the current status of Higgs Properties 30m
        I'll report the current status of Higgs property measurements from the Large Hadron Collider experiments ATLAS & CMS. In particular, I'll review the determinations of couplings from combined fits to the individual H -> bosons and H -> fermions channels. Further, the results of hypothesis tests to verify the spin 0 nature of the Higgs and the current knowledge of differential cross section measurements.
        Speaker: Dr Florian Urs Bernlochner (University of Victoria (CA))
        Slides
      • 09:15
        Higgs: theory review 30m
        2012 has been an extremely exciting year for particle physics. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN discovered a new particle: the Higgs boson. In this talk I review the properties of this newly discovered particle. In particular, I will present the basics of electroweak symmetry breaking in the Standard Model (SM), that lead to the Higgs discovery. After that, I will discuss how New Physics (NP) beyond the SM can affect the Higgs phenomenology. In particular I will focus on some of the decay channels that could be easily affected by NP: the decay into two b quarks and into two photons.
        Speaker: Stefania Gori
        Slides
      • 09:45
        **WITHDRAWN** A Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson Produced via Vector Boson Fusion in the WW Channel using Boosted Decision Trees 15m
        In July of 2012, the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider announced the discovery of a new particle that is consistent with the Standard Model Higgs boson produced by gluon fusion. However, in order to avoid problematic divergences at high energies, the Standard Model also requires that the Higgs boson couples to the weak vector bosons. As a result, the search for the Higgs boson produced by vector boson fusion is an important test of the Standard Model. In addition, it also makes it possible to probe the exclusive coupling of the Higgs boson to the weak vector bosons. The ATLAS collaboration has developed a multivariate analysis that searches for the Standard Model Higgs boson that is produced by vector boson fusion and subsequently decays to two leptonically decaying W bosons. This analysis is driven by a boosted decision tree which significantly improves the expected sensitivity over a simple cut-based method.
        Speaker: Mr Jacobus Van Nieuwkoop (SFU Simon Fraser University (CA))
      • 10:00
        Search for the Standard Model Higgs boson produced in association with top quarks in pp collisions at 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC 15m
        The physics program of the ATLAS experiment pursued at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN succeeded in the observation of a new particle in the search for the Standard Model Higgs boson. The Higgs boson production in association with a top-quark pair provides key features to further investigate the nature of the Higgs boson. Its coupling to other bosons was discovered and evidence for its coupling to fermions is given. The associated $t\bar{t}H$ production with the Higgs decay into two bottom quarks provides a good opportunity to probe its coupling strength to top and bottom quarks in the production and decay, respectively. In order to improve the signal sensitivity of the search, multivariate analysis techniques are used to enhance the background and signal separation power relying on robust signal and background models. Therefore, dedicated studies of the $t\bar{t}H$ signal predictions by various Monte Carlo generators at different orders in QCD perturbation theory including differing features and the evaluation of systematic uncertainties assessed to the signal model were studied. The search for the $t\bar{t}H$ ($H \to b\bar{b}$) in pp collisions at ATLAS is presented. The analysis is based on the 8 TeV data recorded during Run I of the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 $\rm fb^{-1}$.
        Speaker: Steffen Henkelmann (University of British Columbia (CA))
        Slides
      • 10:15
        Search for Standard Model Higgs boson production in association with a top quark pair in the four lepton signature with the ATLAS detector 15m
        An overview will be presented of a search for the Standard Model Higgs boson produced in association with a top quark pair decaying into the $t\bar{t}H\to 4\ell$ signature. The study has been performed using data with an integrated luminosity of $\mathcal{L}=20.1 fb^{-1}$ collected by the ATLAS experiment in $pp$ collisions with $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. This production mode provides direct access to the top quark-Higgs coupling and can be beneficial to this measurement, despite its relatively small cross section. The $4\ell$ analysis, which was carried out in combination with analyses of other multi-lepton final states, is sensitive to three Higgs boson decay modes, $H\to W^+W^-$, $H\to\tau^+\tau^-$ and $H\to ZZ$. The majority of the signal comes from the $W^+W^-$ mode, which is probed by requiring that all W bosons (including those from the top quark decays) decay leptonically. This yields a final state signature which includes two bottom quarks, 4 charged leptons and neutrinos (in the form of missing energy). Preliminary plans for future study of this channel during LHC Run 2 will also be presented.
        Speaker: David Anthony Demarco (University of Toronto (CA))
        Slides
      • 10:30
        On a Heuristic Point of View Concerning the Mass of the Higgs Boson. 15m
        In a recent paper [1] on the modeling of emergent patterns in complex biological and physical systems, an overview of the Bayesian approach [2] that has been used to model the space-time curvature of a static spherically symmetric massive system is presented. Among the emergent properties of such a system, stands a gravitational field that can be described by a modified Newton’s law under low speed weak field conditions. Moreover this methodological approach suggests that many physical constants can be seen as emerging numerical patterns, some of which being linked together by specific relationships, once the proper mappings between flat and curved space representations are taken into account. The basic hypothesis behind the present paper is that if all the masses in the Universe have a common origin, through the interaction with a Higgs field, there might be some indirect manifestations of this phenomenon at various scales and may be some relationships could be pointed out between the different masses values as measured in an arbitrary system of units. To highlight this assumption, we briefly explore in the sequel, a few relationships and limits that can be established among reference masses and their measurements (like the electron, the proton and the Higgs boson masses…). This study indirectly suggests that some constants of the Standard Model are not independent, which might reduce their number. [1]Plamondon, R., O’Reilly, C., Ouellet-Plamondon, C., (2014) Strokes against Strokes, Strokes for Strides, Pattern Recognition, 47, 929-944. [2] Plamondon, R.”Patterns in Physics: Toward a Unifying Theory”,Presses Internationales Polytechnique (2012). [3] Plamondon, R., Ouellet-Plamondon, C., (2014) Emergence of a quasi Newtonian law of gravitation: a geometrical impact study, in Press, Proceedings of the Thirteenth Marcel Grossman Meeting on General Relativity, K. Rosquist, R.T. Jantzen, R. Ruffini, (Eds), World Scientific, Singapore, 1-3.
        Speaker: Prof. Réjean Plamondon (École Polytechnique de Montréal)
        Slides
    • 08:45 10:45
      (T1-2) Testing Fundamental Symmetries III - DNP-DTP-PPD-DIMP / Tests de symétries fondamentales session III - DPN-DPT-PPD-DPIM C-309

      C-309

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Pierre-Philippe Ouimet (University of Regina)
      • 08:45
        Testing Fundamental Symmetries with Precision Parity-Violating Experiments: Past, Present and Future 30m
        Although the Electroweak Standard Model of Particle Physics has been enormously successful to date, we known it is incomplete. High-precision parity-violating electroweak experiments can provide access to new physics at a wide range of energy scales and play an important complementary role to the LHC research program. The talk will provide an overview on the past, present and future of precision tests of the Standard Model with the special attention on Qweak and MOLLER experiments. The first subset of results from Qweak recently completed at JLab provides the smallest e-p asymmetry ever measured making possible the first determination of the weak charge of the proton. The MOLLER experiment will measure the parity-violating asymmetry in e-e (Møller) scattering proportional to the weak charge of the electron, another excellent place to look for new physics. We will also briefly outline further development of the theoretical and computational approaches to higher-order electroweak effects needed for the accurate interpretation of experimental data. The talk is aimed to physicists in all fields of research.
        Speaker: Svetlana Barkanova (Acadia University)
        Slides
      • 09:15
        Progress toward a Measurement of Hadronic Parity Violation in the Capture of Cold Neutrons on Helium-3 15m
        The n3He experiment aims to measure the parity violating asymmetry in the direction of proton emission from longitudinally polarized cold neutrons capturing on an unpolarized $^3$He target in the reaction $\vec{n}+^{3}He\rightarrow p+T$. The size of the asymmetry is estimated at $(-9.5)- 2.5\times 10^{-8}$. The goal is to measure this asymmetry with an accuracy of $2\times10^{-8}$ to provide a benchmark for modern effective field theory calculations. The nHe-3 target is also an ion chamber and it will be used to measure the direction of the protons from the break up reaction. It consists of 16 signal wire planes with 144 sense wires, and 17 high voltage planes. Each signal wire will be read out individually to accurately measure the forward-backward shift in the ionization cloud, produced by the protons and tritons, as a function of longitudinal neutron polarization. The cold neutrons are polarized using a supermirror polarizer and guided through the experiment by a 10 Gauss magnetic holding field. The neutron polarization will be reversed using a RF adiabatic spin flipper. In this talk I will present an overview of the experiment, including a detailed description of the target-detector chamber and the measurement concept.
        Speaker: Mr Mark Mccrea (University of Manitoba)
        Slides
      • 09:30
        The NPDgamma Experiment: Hadronic Parity Violation in the Capture of Cold Neutrons on Protons 15m
        The NPDGamma experiment has completed a measurement of the parity-violating directional gamma-ray asymmetry in the capture of cold neutrons on protons in a liquid hydrogen target. The asymmetry is directly related to the weak pion-nucleon coupling constant $h^1_{\pi}$, within the framework of the meson exchange model, and it is related to the effective field theory couplings $\tilde C^{\pi}_6$ and $m_N \rho_t$. The asymmetry has a predicted size of $-5\times 10^{-8} $, with large uncertainties in the theoretical prediction for the coupling constants. The goal precision of the measurement is $1\times 10^{-8}$, which would serve as the most precise constraint on the couplings in both theoretical frameworks. Since the asymmetry is a result of the interference between the weak and strong nucleon-nucleon forces, this measurement also provides an experimental benchmark for theoretical developments in the non-perturbative strong interaction regime. NPDGamma completed a two year long second phase run at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the final analysis is currently ongoing. I will provide an overview of the experiment, the analysis procedure, and some preliminary results.
        Speaker: Michael Gericke (University of Manitoba)
        Slides
      • 09:45
        Observation of Hyperfine Transitions in Trapped Ground-State Antihydrogen 15m
        Cold antihydrogen promises a unique opportunity to study the properties of atomic antimatter, and via comparisons with its well-studied matter-counterpart, the possibility to test fundamental symmetries such as CPT invariance. We report the first observation of positron spin flip transitions between hyperfine levels of ground state antihydrogen and the first experimental constraint on the zero-field hyperfine splitting of these atoms. The experiments involved antihydrogen atoms confined in a 0.5 Kelvin deep magnetic potential well, and provides compelling evidence that ground-state are held in the trap for long periods of time. Transitions between hyperfine levels are induced by injecting microwave radiation at appropriate frequencies. The resulting spin flip causes the antihydrogen to be expelled from the trap and the resulting antiproton annihilation is then observed. Remarkably, this experiment was performed with trapping rate of approximately 1 anti-atom/attempt. The observed results will be compared with expectations from simulations of trapped particle dynamics and independent in-situ electron cyclotron resonance measurements of magnetic and microwave field amplitudes. Prospects for experiments that will constrain the zero-field hyperfine splitting of the antihydrogen atom at the $10^{-6}$ level in a newly constructed apparatus will also be discussed. *ALPHA collaboration http://alpha.web.cern.ch; C. Amole, M.D. Ashkezari, M. Baquero-Ruiz, W. Bertsche, P.D. Bowe, E. Butler, A. Capra, C.L. Cesar, M. Charlton, A. Deller, P.H. Donnan, S. Eriksson, J. Fajans, T. Friesen, M.C. Fujiwara, D.R. Gill, A. Gutierrez, J.S. Hangst, W.N. Hardy, M.E. Hayden, A.J. Humphries, C.A. Isaac, S. Jonsell, L. Kurchaninov, A. Little, N. Madsen, J.T.K. McKenna, S. Menary, S.C. Napoli, P. Nolan, K. Olchanski, A. Olin, P. Pusa, C. Ø. Rasmussen, F. Robicheaux, E. Sarid, C. R. Shields, D.M. Silveira, S. Stracka, C. So, R.I. Thompson, D.P. van der Werf, J.S. Wurtele.
        Speaker: Art on behalf of ALPHA Collaboration Olin (TRIUMF)
        Slides
      • 10:00
        Developing a Lithium Doped Glass Detector to Measure the Electric Dipole Moment of Ultra Cold Neutrons 15m
        Matter domination over anti-matter in the universe is not explained by the Standard Model. Extensions to the standard model which could account for this lack of anti-matter introduce larger amounts of CP-violation. If neutrons have larger Electric Dipole Moments (EDMs) than predicted by the standard model, this would indicate one source of CP-violation. To measure the neutron EDM to high precision, Ultra Cold Neutrons (UCN) are cooled to temperatures of ~3 mK. UCN have the interesting property that they can be contained in material bottles, and since they move so slowly (~ 7 m/s), they follow ballistic trajectories in gravity. A new high intensity UCN polarized source is being developed at TRIUMF, which is based on a spallation neutron source. UCN from this source will be used to measure the neutron EDM (nEDM) and place stringent limits on models of physics beyond the standard model. In order to detect the high rate of neutrons expected in this new nEDM experiment, a neutron detector capable of high rates ~1.3MHz for a period of several seconds is required. A spin analyzing foil set before the detector means that neutrons of a single spin state are measured at a time. A lithium doped glass scintillator detector, based on the detector used at PSI is being designed. In this talk the principle for how this detector works, and how the high rates of data will be handled will be presented. In addition to handling the high rates, the background rejection, and stability of the efficiency will be considered. One challenge in the nEDM experiment is determining the number of neutrons in the experimental cell, and thus accounting for any variations in UCN production due to moderator temperature changes or number of protons on target. Several possible scenarios for how to normalise the number of neutrons observed to the actual number in the cell are presented, such as using a rate monitor, sequential counting, and simultaneous detection.
        Speaker: Ms Lori Rebenitsch (University of Winnipeg/University of Manitoba)
        Slides
      • 10:15
        Magnetic Shielding for the Neutron Electric Dipole Moment Experiment at TRIUMF 15m
        If a non-zero neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) were discovered, it would signify a previously unknown source of CP (or T) violation. New sources of CP violation are believed to be required to explain the baryon asymmetry of the universe. The TRIUMF nEDM experiment aims to measure the nEDM to the level $10^{-27}~e\cdot$cm in its initial phase, which is over an order of magnitude more precise than the previous best experiment. The experimental method relies on placing ultracold neutrons in a bottle with electric and magnetic fields and performing precise NMR experiments over hundred second measurement times. The magnetic field B$_0$ in the experimental volume must be strictly controlled during this time, and a combined passive and active magnetic shielding system is being developed to meet the requirements of the experiment. Prototype systems have been constructed at U. Winnipeg. The prototype passive shielding system consists of 4 concentric cylindrical layers of high permeability metal (amumetal), and provides an estimated magnetic field reduction of $10^{6}$, based on Opera simulations. The prototype active shielding system uses a fluxgate magnetometer to provide magnetic field measurements in a Helmholtz-like coil set. The currents in the coils are adjusted by custom software dependent on the fluxgate measurements, forming a feedback loop. The active system provides RMS shielding factors $>$ 1000 for magnetic field perturbation frequencies $\lt$ 20 mHz, and $>$ 100 for frequencies $\lt$0.5 Hz, and can therefore reduce magnetic field variations on the order of tens of $\mu$T to the level of tens of nT. The prototypes represent good progress towards the eventual system for nEDM experiments, where multi-axis low-frequency field drifts of 100 nT require active shielding to <$\sim$1 nT. The present magnetic shielding prototypes will be discussed, with focus on the active shielding system and with view to future improvements. Progress on internal coils and precision (co)magnetometers will also be discussed.
        Speaker: Mr Michael Lang (The University of Winnipeg, The University of Manitoba)
        Slides
      • 10:30
        Belle-II calorimeter endcap upgrade 15m
        The improvement of the electromagnetic calorimeter endcap is the primary hardware contribution of Canada to the Belle-II experiment. The very high luminosity and large associated backgrounds dictate technology improvements required to ensure the performance fulfills the physics needs, despite these backgrounds. Meeting those challenging requirements will be achieved by replacing the crystals with pure Cs-I as well as changing the photo-detection technology and designing new signal conditioning and signal processing electronics. Validation of those technology choices based on simulations estimating the background level and the detector response will be discussed. Providing proper beam background shielding is an important consideration, which is assessed concurrently. The optimal geometries and materials for those shields are determined from Geant4 detector simulations and must balance conflicting space and performance requirements without compromising the endcap mechanical structure. The overall mechanical integration of all components in the enclosure designed for the previous Belle iteration will also be presented.
        Speaker: Alexandre Beaulieu (University of Victoria)
        Slides
    • 08:45 10:45
      (T1-3) Relativity and Gravitation - DTP / Relativité et gravitation - DPT FA-054

      FA-054

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Prof. Arif Babul (University of Victoria)
      • 08:45
        Numerical simulations and analytical modeling of precessing binary black holes 30m
        Advanced Gravitational Wave Detectors like Advanced-LIGO are expected to commence searches for gravitational waves as early as 2015. One of the prime sources for these instruments is the in spiral and coalescence of binary black holes. Numerical simulations of binary black holes play an integral role in this effort, and have matured now sufficiently to begin to address the most general case of spinning, precessing binary black holes. In this talk, I will describe recent successes of the SXS collaboration (CITA,Caltech,Cornell) to numerically simulate these systems, and to analytically model the resulting gravitational waveforms.
        Speaker: Prof. Harald Pfeiffer (CITA, University of Toronto)
        Slides
      • 09:15
        Black Holes in the Extreme 30m
        Black holes are one of the most interesting theoretical predictions of general relativity. They arise as solutions to Einstein's equations which govern the classical gravitational field, generally described by a small number of parameters - mass, charge, and spin. A particular subset has recently attracted a great deal of attention: extremal black holes. For fixed mass, they are characterized by having the maximum spin and charge. There is good astrophysical evidence that they exist in our Universe. Further, they have zero temperature and do not suffer from the quantum mechanical instability of Hawking radiation. In short, they occupy a privileged position in a number of contexts. In this talk I will discuss the key properties of extremal black holes and some of the techniques used to understand them. In particular I will describe the notion of the near-horizon geometry of an extremal black hole. This gives us a precise representation of the black hole close to its event horizon, allowing us to study Einstein's equations in a simplified setting. Near horizon geometries provide us with the ability to analyze extremal black holes in a way not possible for general, non-extremal black holes. I will discuss a symmetry enhancement result for these geometries and progress made on their classification.
        Speaker: Dr Hari Kunduri (Dept of Mathematics and Statistics, Memorial University)
      • 09:45
        Critical Phenomena in Higher Dimensional Spherically Symmetric Gravity 15m
        String theory provides motivation to investigate critical phenomena in microscopic black hole formation in higher dimensional gravity theories. We investigate gravitational collapse in higher dimensional spherically symmetric Einstein and Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet (EGB) gravity. Our previous work has suggested the existence of a mass gap in odd dimensional EGB gravity. With adaptive mesh refinement code I have developed we are now able to investigate in more detail the possibility of such a mass gap as well as the difference in the scaling relation between even and odd dimensions. In addition, work on gravitational collapse in spherically symmetric anti-deSitter spacetime is being done.
        Speaker: Mr Nils Deppe (University of Winnipeg)
        Slides
      • 10:00
        Mass and Thermodynamic Relations for Lifshitz Symmetric Black Holes 15m
        The definition of a meaningful thermodynamic mass (appearing in the first law and the Smarr relation, when a cosmological constant is taken into account) is a difficult concept in Lifshitz symmetric spacetimes, due in part to the boundary conditions that need to be satisfied. Knowing such a mass opens up opportunities for examining the critical behaviour of these black holes which is interesting in a gauge/gravity context. Here we discuss our attempts at formulating a mass for some exact Lifshitz symmetric black hole solutions.
        Speaker: Wilson Brenna (University of Waterloo)
        Slides
      • 10:15
        Weak Lensing in Modified Gravity: A ‘Plug-and-Play’ Approach 15m
        At a time when understanding the accelerated expansion of the universe is one of the key questions of cosmology, we are compelled to examine the possibility of modifications to general relativity on very large scales. To do so, we consider the weak lensing power spectrum, for which deviations from the standard general relativistic form may be hallmarks of modified gravity. However, computing this quantity from scratch for each of the many theories of modified gravity can be intensive and inefficient. We consider instead linear-order deviations from general relativity and Lambda-CDM, motivated by the results of recent cosmological surveys. We hence construct an expression for the deviation of the weak lensing power spectrum from its general relativistic value, which has the form of an integral over two terms: a ‘kernel’, which is dependent only on GR+LCDM, and a ‘source’, which encompasses all deviations from this standard theory. This form provides a much more efficient way of computing the weak lensing power spectrum in each theory of gravity. It hence allows for easier comparison between theory and observation, as well as permitting more straightforward forecasting of constraints from upcoming surveys. I will discuss our derivation of this expression and demonstrate its application to illustrative modified gravity examples.
        Speaker: C. Danielle Leonard (University of Oxford)
        Slides
      • 10:30
        To Infinity and Back 15m
        An interesting property of anti-de Sitter space is that massless fields can travel to infinity in a finite time, bounce back more focussed and collapse to form a black hole. This has recently been shown to lead to the instability of AdS against the formation of black holes. Our goal is to shed light on this by numerically examining the effect of adding higher curvature terms to the Einstein-Hilbert action. In the case of of 5-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity, for example, there exists a mass gap. That is, there appears to exist a minimum mass below which no black holes can form. It is of interest to see if this mass gap restores stability to AdS space in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity.
        Speaker: Ms Allison Kolly (University of Winnipeg)
        Slides
    • 08:45 10:45
      (T1-4) Mass Spectrometry and Nuclear Structure - DNP / Spectrométrie de masse et structure nucléaire - DPN C-114

      C-114

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Garnsworthy Adam (TRIUMF)
      • 08:45
        TITAN ion trap experiments for nuclear structure 30m
        The TITAN (Triumf's Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science) system is set up the ISAC rare beam facility at TRIUMF and enables precision experiments on very short-lived rare species. I present new measurements of atomic masses for nuclear structure in the so-called Island of Inversion, and for light Mg isotopes, where tests of the IMME were possible. The latter allowed for tests of the influence of three body forces in the theoretical description. Moreover, the ion trap system makes it possible to carry out decay studies of stored highly charged ions. These experiments are motivated by double beta decay searches and the need for bench-marking the theoretical framework of the transition matrix elements.
        Speaker: Prof. Jens Dilling (TRIUMF/ University of British Columbia)
        Slides
      • 09:15
        Multiple-Reflection Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry: from nuclear physics experiments to clinical applications 30m
        Mass spectrometry is a technique, which was developed more than hundred years ago. It led to epochal discoveries and contributed to the foundation to what is now called nuclear and particle physics. Nowadays mass spectrometry is also applied as analytical tool in many directions of science, e.g. in chemistry, biology, geology, space science and many other fields. Time-of-Flight (TOF) mass spectrometry is one of the established methods, where ions are separated in a mass-dispersive flight path. The novel technique of Multiple-Reflection Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MR-TOF-MS), where ions are reflected multiple times between electrostatic mirrors enhances the range of applications. Arbitrarily long flight paths (typically of several 100 m) can be realized in compact systems (~ 1 m), resulting in a mass resolving power of several 100 000 as well as a mass accuracy of about 10^-7. MR-TOF-MS have been commissioned for rare ion beam facilities all around the world and are key devices of several projects. At GSI (Germany) a MR-TOF-MS performs direct ultra-high precision mass measurements of exotic nuclei and allows mass-selective decay spectroscopy. At TRIUMF (Canada) it will serve as an isobar separator to suppress isobaric beam contaminants and enable high accurate mass measurements of very short-lived products. A down-scaled, robust and mobile MR-TOF-MS opens up new applications in different fields e.g. in environment, climate research and in health, nutrition and security applications. In this way an instrument originally invented for nuclear physics experiments can contribute to modern medical diagnostics via fast (~ 1 s) detection of cancerous tissue in electro-surgery. In general, a new era of reliable analysis of breath gas can be made, as well as the microscopic composition of biological samples. Actual achievements and resulting opportunities with the novel method will be discussed in the present contribution.
        Speaker: Mr Johannes Lang (II. Physikalisches Insitut, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen)
      • 09:45
        Absolute nuclear charge radii for elements without stable isotopes via precision x-ray spectroscopy of lithium-like ions 15m
        There is currently no method to experimentally determine the absolute charge radius of nuclei for elements that have no stable or extremely long-lived isotope: The standard methods, electron scattering and muonic atom spectroscopy, require macroscopic amounts of the isotope under investigation. Thus, for nuclei with charge Z > 83, (uranium is the exception), there is no experimental data for the absolute nuclear charge radius. We are currently developing a technique to measure the absolute charge radius of any heavy isotope of sufficient half-life (order of seconds) using precise x-ray spectroscopy of the electronic 2s-2p transition in lithium-like ions. The finite nuclear size shifts the transition energy by more than 10 eV in these systems, whereas experimentally, the transition energy can be measured absolutely with an accuracy below 100 meV [1]. In addition, recent progress in QED theory allows us to account for radiative corrections at a comparable level as well [2]. As a result, the contribution by the finite nuclear charge distribution can be extracted at the 100 meV level. In this presentation, we will give details of our computational approach, and address prospects for future experiments. Supported by NSERC and the University of Manitoba. [1] P. Beiersdorfer et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 3022 (1998). [2] V.A. Yerokhin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 253004 (2006).
        Speaker: Mr Andrew Senchuk (University of Manitoba)
        Slides
      • 10:15
        Gamma-ray spectroscopy in the vicinity of $^{100}$Sn 15m
        The heaviest doubly-magic and self-conjugate nucleus $^{100}$Sn is known for its super-allowed Gamow-Teller decay with the smallest $\log ft$ value and providing experimental data for quenching effects and $rp$-process path models. In addition, $^{100}$Sn and its neighbouring species offer valuable insights for nuclear structure. Gamma-ray spectroscopy of $^{100}$Sn and nuclei in its vicinity with $N \simeq Z \simeq 50$ will probe single-particle/hole energies near the proton dripline, challenging current large-scale shell models in this $A$ and $Z$ region. The nuclei of interest were produced at RIKEN Rare Isotope Beam Factory in June 2013, where a high-intensity (36 pnA, $2.3 \times 10^{11}$ pps) $^{124}$Xe beam with 345 MeV/u energy was fragmented on a 4-mm Be target. The fragments were identified via energy loss, magnetic rigidity and time-of-flight measurements with BigRIPS and the ZeroDegree Spectrometer. In total, 2035 events of $^{100}$Sn were identified after 8.5 days of beamtime - the largest $^{100}$Sn yield to date by a factor of 8. Many other exotic nuclei with similar $A$ and $Z$ were produced,including previously unobserved species such as $^{98}$Sn and $^{96}$In. These nuclei were implanted in WAS3ABi, a set of position-sensitive silicon strip detectors which measured ion implantation position, $\beta^+$ particles' position and energy. Subsequent $\beta$-delayed gamma-rays were measured with the EURICA spectrometer featuring high-resolution/efficiency HPGe clusters and fast-timing LaBr$_3$ detectors. Of the more abundantly produced nuclei, the level scheme for $^{98}$Ag from the $\beta^+$-decay of $^{98}$Cd has been reproduced with new candidate transitions. Preliminary analysis and level schemes of exotic fragmentation species will be presented.
        Speaker: Jason Park (University of British Columbia/TRIUMF)
        Slides
      • 10:30
        Canadian Charged Particle Accelerator Consortium 15m
        Many materials analysis techniques rely on the 'particle in - particle out' principle, where a source produces precisely controlled probe particles that interact with a sample and a detector characterizes the scattered or transmitted probe particles, providing information on the nature and structure of the sample under study. Examples of probe particles are electrons (electron microscopes), photons (synchrotrons), neutrons (indeed), and, in our case, ions. The Canadian Charged Particle Accelerator Consortium (CCPAC, http://ion.lps.umontreal.ca/) is a national facility, accessible for all Canadian and many international researchers, which provides ion beams for materials analysis and modification. In this contribution, we will present the suite of thin film analysis techniques available at CCPAC, showcase their strengths and limitations, and give some recent examples of analyses performed in aid of research in the field of physics of advanced materials.
        Speaker: Sjoerd Roorda (U)
    • 08:45 10:45
      (T1-5) What we can do to help our students succeed in non-academic careers - DPE / Comment aider nos étudiants pour des carrières non académiques - DEP C-203

      C-203

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Barbara Frisken (Simon Fraser University)
      • 08:45
        What your advisor never told you: Education for the 'Real World' 30m
        Studying physics (or any other subject...) because you love it is great. There are many career paths available to those who have studied physics, but there are skills, knowledge, and attitudes that physics education, by itself, doesn’t typically provide to prepare students for the real world that they will enter – no matter what that career path may be. Entrepreneurship education is the key to bringing this content to physics students, with important benefits for all: Better preparation of students, greater ability to recruit students to the discipline, new opportunities for research projects, opportunities for partnerships, and, yes, the potential for financial reward. Carthage College created the ScienceWorks Entrepreneurial Studies Program in 1994 to address this issue and fill an education void. Now one of the leading programs in technical entrepreneurship, ScienceWorks is one model through which entrepreneurship education can be implemented. This talk will discuss some of the history of technical entrepreneurship education, the key components that such education includes, resources available to create and implement entrepreneurship education, describe a number of ways that it can be implemented at colleges and universities, and discuss the benefits that such a program will bring to the physics community.
        Speaker: Dr Douglas Arion (Carthage College)
        Slides
      • 09:15
        Easing the Transition of Physicists into Industry 30m
        All physicists are told that physics is the foundation of subjects such as engineering. One might be led to believe that thus, finding a job as a physicist would be as easy, if not easier, than as an engineer. Sadly, this is far from the truth in the real world. Graduating with a degree in theoretical physics makes it even more difficult to get an industrial job - though, one may question why anyone in a theoretical stream would want a job in industry. The fact is that, things change. A student may one day find that though their efforts have been focussed on physics, theoretical or experimental, that life choices, or even changes of interest, can cause a rethinking of one's career. While it should be an easy transition from physics to an engineering job, or to a related technical field, the reality is that the outside world really does not know what physicists do, or what they are capable of doing. Human Resources departments are staffed with individuals looking for key words in resumes, with little or no understanding of how to match skills to job requirements. Many individual's resumes never make it to the hiring manager. This paper presents some thoughts on the subject of moving physicists from academia to industry, presented by someone with a degree in theoretical particle physics who has spent almost 25 years doing hardware design for the space industry. Recently, I've come to see a problem identical to my own career path where quantum physicists across Canada and particularly at the University of Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing have begun to tackle this very problem.
        Speaker: Dr Ian D'Souza (COM DEV International Systems)
      • 09:45
        An Undergraduate Degree Program at the University of Windsor for Students Interested in a Non-Academic Career in Medical Physics 15m
        The Department of Physics at the University of Windsor offers three streams within our B.Sc. Honours Physics degree program: General Physics, Physics and High Technology, and Medical Physics. Of these programs, the latter two are both targeted specifically toward students interested in non-academic careers (NAC). As of the Fall of 2013 these students comprised 57% of the undergraduate physics student population. In this talk I will describe our relatively new medical physics stream (the largest stream in the Department), including our motivation for starting this stream, the specific career education and experiential learning opportunities afforded our students, our expectations for these students after graduation, and the career progress made by our graduates so far.
        Speaker: Steven Rehse (University of Windsor)
        Slides
      • 10:00
        Panel discussion – "What can we do to help our students succeed in non-academic careers?” 45m
    • 08:45 10:45
      (T1-6) Quantum Optics - DAMOPC / Optique quantique - DPAMPC C-301

      C-301

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Jack Sankey (McGill University)
      • 08:45
        Effects of Time Ordering in Parametric Down-Conversion and Frequency Conversion 15m
        Parametric down-conversion (PDC) and frequency conversion (FC) are two of the most common nonlinear processes used in quantum optics. In the first process a nonlinear crystal is used to down convert photons from a pump laser into pairs of photons correlated by energy and linear momentum conservation constraints. In the second process, the frequency of photons is increased or decreased after interaction with a strong pump field inside a nonlinear crystal. These two processes share the property that the Hamiltonian that governs them does not commute with itself at different times and hence time ordering becomes an important aspect in the description of their dynamics. The two processes also share the attribute that whenever the pump photons are prepared in a coherent state with an amplitude that can be assumed un-depleted during the time evolution, the Hamiltonian is quadratic in the bosonic operators of the down-converted or frequency converted photons. This property implies that the dynamics of the system is ``Gaussian preserving'' and that the output state of spontaneous PDC is, even when time ordering is considered, a two mode squeezed vacuum. In this work we study the effect of time ordering in PDC and FC using the Magnus expansion. The Magnus expansion approximates the time evolution operator as the exponential of the Magnus series $U_{\text{Magnus}}= \exp( \Omega_1+ \Omega_2+\Omega_3+\ldots) $. We obtain analytic approximations to the evolution operator that are unitary and Gaussian preserving and that allow us to understand order-by-order the effects of time ordering. We contrast our perturbative solution with the more common Dyson series solution $U_{\text{Dyson}}= I+ T_1+T_2+T_3+\ldots $ which is not able of preserving the Gaussian form or unitarity at any finite order and thus leads to unphysical results. We also calculate the effects of time ordering in the Joint Spectral Amplitude (JSA) of the photons generated in spontaneous PDC and show that even in the case when the phase matching and pump functions are real the JSA becomes complex because of time ordering. Finally, we show that whenever the phase matching function is broad enough the corrections due to time ordering vanish exactly.
        Speaker: Nicolas Quesada (University of Toronto)
        Slides
      • 09:00
        Improved quantum light generation in optical fibres through incoherent nonlinear optics 30m
        Entangled photons are a very useful resource for quantum optics experiments. Entanglement is usually obtained through nonlinear parametric effects, such as modulation instabilities in optical fibres. We show that the coherence properties of the pump laser greatly affects the efficiency of third-order parametric effects. We present a model for incoherent nonlinear processes in optical fibres and demonstrate how the use of an incoherent pump leads to improved quantum sources.
        Speaker: Stephane Virally (Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal)
        Slides
      • 09:30
        From classical to quantum nonlinear optics in photonic structures 30m
        Nonlinear polarizations described by the χ(2) and χ(3) susceptibilities are central to many of the phenomena of classical nonlinear optics, including processes as diverse as second harmonic generation and four-wave mixing. These same susceptibilities govern quantum optical processes in which correlated photons are generated, such as spontaneous parametric down-conversion and spontaneous four-wave mixing. We argue that it is useful to address classical and quantum calculations within the same framework, particularly in the integrated optics structures that will be important for quantum information processing “on a chip.” When this is done a more unified picture of nonlinear optics, involving both classical and quantum regimes, results; we show how analytical or numerical classical calculations, or even just the results of classical experiments, can immediately be used to predict the behavior of a device in the quantum regime, and how it will scale as parameters are changed. We also show how it is possible to do a “virtual tomography” of the entangled states that would be generated in a quantum experiment by recording the results of a series of easily-performed classical experiments.
        Speaker: Prof. John Sipe (Department of Physics, University of Toronto)
      • 10:00
        Good Vibrations: Ultrafast Quantum Processing in Molecules 30m
        Speaker: Prof. Benjamin Sussman (National Research Council)
      • 10:30
        Quantum Control of Wave-Particle Duality 15m
        Wave-particle duality, superposition and entanglement are among the most counterintuitive features of quantum theory. They clash with conventional classical wisdom and motivate the construction of hidden-variable theories. Here I point out that realism (defined as a property of photons being either particles or waves, but not both) is incompatible with determinism provided superluminal communication is forbidden. This places severe constraints on HV theories, which in turn can be subject to experimental tests using quantum delayed-choice experiments.
        Speaker: Robert Mann (U)
        Slides
    • 08:45 10:45
      (T1-7) Quantum Materials - DCMMP / Matériaux quantiques - DPMCM A-226

      A-226

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Young-June Kim (U)
      • 08:45
        Terahertz-frequency test for Fermi liquid conductivity in MnSi 30m
        Fermi liquid theory predicts that electron-electron scattering will contribute $\rho_{e-e}(\omega,T)=A \left[(\hbar\omega)^2+b(\pi k_B T)^2 \right]$ to the frequency-dependent resistivity of any metal at low temperatures and frequencies. In its simplest form, the theory further predicts that the temperature and frequency dependence are related by $b=4$, but numerous experimental studies have yielded $b\approx 1$ for different metals, and none have observed the predicted value. I will review progress in understanding this issue, with an emphasis on our measurements on MnSi with terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. As with other metals, the resistivity exhibits the quadratic frequency dependence predicted by Fermi liquid theory, but with $b\approx 1$ over a wide range in temperature. At the lowest temperatures, we observe evidence for a crossover to $b\approx 4$, although this is currently limited by a large systematic uncertainty that we will discuss. Additionally, we have determined the Drude scattering rate and plasma frequency at low temperatures, and compared these to realistic band theory calculations. Above a coherence temperature $T_{coh}\approx 50$ K, we find evidence for the existence of a pseudogap. Below $T_{coh}$, $\tau$ increases dramatically to $\tau\approx 0.5$~ps at $T\approx 5$~K. From a comparison of the low-temperature plasma frequency measurement with band theory, we determine a mass renormalization of $m^*/m \approx 5.5$, which compares favorably with earlier quantum oscillation measurements.
        Speaker: J. Steven Dodge (Simon Fraser University)
        Slides
      • 09:15
        How density of states singularities found in the Anderson model evolve with the addition of electron-electron interactions 15m
        The influence of disorder on correlated electron systems remains poorly understood. Recent work [1], [2] by Johri and Bhatt shows singular behavior in the density of states (DOS) of non-interacting disordered systems. This is surprising because there was a significant and unsuccessful effort to find a singularity in the DOS after Anderson’s prediction of localization in 1958. Furthermore, in two-site systems the singularity marks a transition to an energy range where the DOS contribution comes from pairs of sites with similar potential called resonant states. We are studying how the addition of electron-electron interactions affects this singularity in the DOS. We find that the singularity persists at lower interaction strengths and new singularities appear at higher values. We examine how these DOS features correlate with the resonant states present in two-site interacting systems. [1] Johri, S., Bhatt, R. N., Singular behavior of eigenstates in Anderson's model of localization, Physical Review Letters 109, 7, 076402 (2012) [2] Johri S., Bhatt R. N., Singular behavior of Anderson localized wave function for a two-site model, Physical Review B 86, 12, 125140 (2012)
        Speaker: Jayanayana Perera
        Slides
      • 09:30
        Entanglement entropy in quantum fluids and gases 30m
        We present a scalable algorithm for computing Rényi entanglement entropies in systems of itinerant bosons in the spatial continuum via quantum Monte Carlo. This method is applicable to the study of spatial mode entanglement, particle partitioned entanglement, and the entanglement of particles under a spatial partitioning. We demonstrate its utility by studying a non-trivial interacting Bose gas in one spatial dimension where we uncover a logarithmic scaling of the entanglement entropy in the number of particles and confirm bounds on it related to the experimentally measurable condensate fraction. For the first time, this method opens up the numerical study of quantum correlations in experimentally relevant quantum fluids such as helium-4 and cold atomic gases.
        Speaker: Adrian Del Maestro (University of Vermont)
        Slides
    • 08:45 10:45
      (T1-8) Surfaces and Thin Films - DCMMP-DSS / Surfaces et couches minces - DPMCM-DSS C-304

      C-304

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Mark Gallagher (Lakehead University)
      • 08:45
        Transition Metal Oxides based Chromogenic Thin Films and Interactive Devices 30m
        Transition metal oxides (TMO) with their metastable multiple oxidation states offer a wide range of optical and electrical switching properties. Chromogenic materials are characterized by their ability to undergo a reversible change in their optical properties under the application of a small external force in the form of heat, light or an electric field. Hence, TMO based chromogenic materials and devices have become the object of an intense research ,lately, in photonics and communications area. Through a small activation energy applied in different forms, one can drive these systems from one metastable state to another with large variation in their optical and electrical properties. By preparing these materials in thin film form, interactive optical (transmittance, reflectance and absorption) and electrical switching devices with facile operation can be constructed with a highly versatile control of these properties. In addition, these switching properties are found to depend extremely sensitively on the film nanostructure. Much of the present work in this area is focussed on the methodology of a controlled inducing of the nanostructure in these films and their devices to increase their switching contrast. Hence, these materials are of immense importance both from the underlying physics and chemistry point of view as well as from the application point of view. A review of the state of development of this field in terms of the physics of these materials and their development towards application in photonics and communications will be presented. The work being carried out in our Thin Films and Photonics Research Group (GCMP) laboratories at Université de Moncton will also be discussed.
        Speaker: Prof. Pandurang Ashrit (Université de MOncton)
      • 09:15
        Ordered supramolecular polythiophene structures on passivated silicon surfaces. 15m
        The functionalization of semiconductor surfaces with organic molecules is a necessary step in the development of hybrid organic-semiconductor structures. A significant challenge to organic layer formation is the fact that semiconducting surfaces exhibit a large number of dangling bonds which suppress the diffusivity of adsorbed molecules and can even break the molecules apart via the formation of Si-C bonds. Recently it has been shown that these problems can be obviated by depositing the molecules onto a passivated surface [1]. We have studied the adsorption of brominated tetrathienoanthracene molecules (TBTTA) onto the Si(111)-√3×√3-Ag surface. Thiophene based molecules like TBTTA are of considerable interest in organic semiconductor research due to their efficient conjugation and the chemical stability [2]. The Si(111) √3×√3-Ag surface has no Si dangling bonds and should provide a high mobility surface suitable for TBTTA adsorption. Scanning Tunneling Microscopy images reveal that at low coverage the molecules readily migrate to step edges and defects in the √3 overlayer, in fact many images show direct evidence of molecular mobility. With increasing coverage the molecules eventually form compact supramolecular structures. In terms of the √3 lattice vectors (a and b), the oblique unit cell of the supramolecular structures is am = 3a + b, and bm = a + 2b. These structures are quite fragile and can decompose under repeated STM imaging. Our results suggest that TBTTA is weakly bound to the √3 surface at room temperature and that the supramolecular structures are held together by weak van der Waals forces. 1. T. Suzuki et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 11 , 6498–6504 (2009). 2. R. Gutzler et al., Nanoscale 6, 2660-2668 (2014).
        Speaker: Mr Renjie Liu (Lakehead University)
        Slides
      • 09:30
        Facile nucleation of gold nanoparticles on graphene-based thin films from Au144 molecular precursors 15m
        We demonstrate a facile and cost effective method to obtain gold nanoparticles on graphene by dispersing Au144 molecular nanoclusters by spin coating them in thin layers on graphene-based films and subsequent annealing in a controlled atmosphere. The graphene-based thin films used for these experiments are prepared by solvent-assisted exfoliation of graphite in water in the presence of ribonucleic acid as a surfactant and by subsequent vacuum filtration of the resulting graphene-containing suspensions. Not only is this method easily reproducible, but it leads to gold nanoparticles that are not dependent in size on the number of graphene layers beneath them. This is a distinct advantage over other methods. Plasmonic effects have been detected in our gold nanoparticledecorated graphene, indicating that these thin films may be useful in applications such as plasmonic solar cells and optical memory devices.
        Speaker: Andrei Venter
        Slides
      • 09:45
        Atomistic Studies of Semiconductor Nanowires 30m
        Semiconductor nanowires (NWs) are quasi-one-dimensional nanostructures that have sparked a surge of interest as powerful and versatile building blocks for an extended range of emerging nanoscale technologies. These novel technologies exploit size-related effects, the flexibility in the fabrication and design offered by the use of NWs, and the concomitant progress in probing nanoscale properties. In this presentation, we will focus on NWs synthesized through VLS/VSS modes. More precisely, we will discuss the current understanding and technological implications of defect engineering and impurity incorporation into these NWs. The phenomenon of mass transport at the catalyst-nanowire interface will be elucidated. Particularly, catalyst atoms injection and trapping in NWs will be addressed. This phenomenon implies atoms detachment from the catalyst and their injection into the growing nanowire thus involving atomic scale processes that are crucial for the fundamental understanding of the catalytic assembly of nanowires. Herein, we present an atomistic level and quantitative study of this phenomenon of catalyst dissolution by three-dimensional atom-by-atom mapping of individual silicon nanowires using highly focused ultraviolet laser-assisted atom-probe tomography. This catalytic doping is described using a model of solute trapping at step edges and the key growth parameters are identified based on a kinetic model of step-flow growth of NWs. The control of this phenomenon provides myriad opportunities to create entirely new class of nanoscale devices by precisely tailoring shape and composition of metal-catalyzed nanowires.
        Speaker: Oussama Moutanabbir (Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal)
    • 08:45 10:45
      (T1-9) Medical Imaging II - DMBP / Imagerie médicale II - DPMB C-204

      C-204

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Melanie Martin (University of Winnipeg)
      • 08:45
        Preliminary results of a Beam Expander for Biomedical Imaging 15m
        X-ray phase based imaging is becoming increasingly important due to the high contrast that can be obtained from soft tissues. A number of synchrotron facilities use phase contrast routinely for imaging of biomedical systems. One of the simplest and most used phase contrast method is in-line or propagation based phase contrast. Due to the small beam size available from synchrotron sources there are significant limitations on the physical size of objects that can be imaged without scanning the object through the beam. This severely limits the applicability of synchrotron sources for imaging systems in real time. We present results of a bent Laue beam expanding double crystal monochromator for use at the Biomedical Imaging and Therapy (BMIT) beamlines at the Canadian Light Source. This system will enable live animal dynamic imaging not previously possible at this facility, as well as drastically reduce image acquisition and processing time for work already being done. Previous experiments led us to an expansion of 7.7x the incident beam height, however the loss of beam coherence seriously limited its usability for phase-dependent imaging techniques. Recent improvements to the system have increased this expansion to 12x while maintaining phase coherence. Implementation of this expander in the insertion device (wiggler) beamline at BMIT has the potential to bring this facility to the forefront of biomedical synchrotron imaging facilities worldwide.
        Speaker: Mercedes Martinson (U)
        Slides
      • 09:00
        CARS microscopy of cancer cells in vitro and tumors in vivo. 15m
        Identification of cancer cells in tumors is still a challenge in the biomedical field. Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS) microscopy may be useful for fast retrieval of 3D imaging and to distinguish cancer cells from the non-cancerous environmental cells as it is a label-free imaging technique that is capable of real-time, non-pertubative examination of living cells and organisms based on molecular vibrational spectroscopy with a sub-micron spatial resolution. In this project, we have taken CARS and Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) images of normal and cancer cells using a optical setup developed in collaboration with Genia Photonics. Epithelial cancer cells (HT29 and MCF-7) and normal epithelial cells (MCF-10A) were embedded in 300µm-thick collagen gel laid on glass coverslips and then observed directly on a microscopic platform equipped with a 20X objective. Control observations were done with fixed (formaldehyde) and stained (dyes and fluorescent probes) specimens. Tumor xenografts were induced after injection of cancer cells (HT29) in mouse spleen (lymphoid tissue) to reproduce lymph node metastases. Cryosections (20-30mm thick) of retrieval and unfixed tissues were performed to allow direct CARS and SHG microscopy through a glass coverslip. Routine histology sections were used to compare imaging. Resulting 3D cell morphology was close to that seen by optical microscopy. Cancer cells were also seen in tissue sections of lymphoid tissue-grafted tumors for which imaging was clearly distinguishable from the inflammatory reaction and fibrotic reaction (observed with SHG) as well as the normal lymphoid tissue.
        Speaker: Mathieu Laliberté (I)
      • 09:15
        Medical radioisotopes made at TRIUMF: Accelerating medicine for Canada 30m
        One of TRIUMF's main objectives is to develop isotopes for use across applications in science and medicine. The nuclear medicine division has a long history of producing short-lived F-18 and C-11 as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) tracers for the Pacific Parkinson's Research Centre. Recently, we have expanded to investigate the production of isotopes to help address looming shortages of important clinical isotopes and promising new isotopes that are of increasing interest to chemists, biologists and medical researchers. Herein, we present the status of our Tc-99m effort, which is used in 20-40 million nuclear medicine procedures worldwide every year. Typically, Tc-99m is made available via a generator through the beta decay of Mo-99, which originates from nuclear reactors. Canada has played a pivotal role in the Mo-99 supply with a capacity of producing 80% of the world's demand with the NRU nuclear reactor but due to its planned shutdown in 2016 an alternative production method is needed. TRIUMF in collaboration with other Canadian institutions is leading the effort to produce Tc-99m directly on a small cyclotron via the Mo-100(p,2n) reaction. Recent successes have seen 10 Ci (370 GBq) of Tc-99m produced, enough to supply the Greater Vancouver area. Proton-induced cyclotron production of radiometallic isotopes requires the irradiation of solid material, mandating non-trivial upgrades to most medical cyclotrons. We are investigating the use of liquid targets to produce radiometals in order to increase their availability to the medical community. With this new approach, we hope to open the door for the development of novel PET. To date, Ga-68, Zr-89, Sc-44, Y-86, and Cu-61 have been demonstrated. Finally, a brief discussion will ensue on TRIUMF's efforts to apply our ISOL technique for the isolation of radiotherapeutic isotopes at the ISAC facility at TRIUMF. Progress on the isolation of At-211 (via Rn-211 decay) and At-209 (via Fr-213) will be presented. At-211 is an alpha emitting isotope with the potential to treat malignancies such as leukemia. At-209, a gamma-ray emitter, can be used together with At-211 to follow its progression through and accumulation in the body. At-209 was produced and separated to perform the first successful phantom images on a SPECT camera, demonstrating it to be a new promising asset for cancer therapy research.
        Speaker: Cornelia Hoehr (TRIUMF)
        Slides
      • 09:45
        Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) microscopy of articular cartilage to image collagen modifications caused by osteoarthritis. 15m
        Osteoarthritis is a debilitating and painful disease involving the dysfunction and degradation of joint tissue. It affects mainly the knees and the hips and the most widely recognised change in the cartilage is the loss of the proteoglycans and the degradation of the articular cartilage. The irreversible stage of this degeneration is thought to be damage to the collagen type II meshwork, which leads to a cascade of degradation. No cure has been found yet to treat osteoarthritis and when the degradation is too advanced, the only solution is the replacement of the joint. The collagen type II is a protein that has a noncentrosymmetric structure that allows the generation of second harmonic signal. Therefore, second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy is an ideal technique for high spatial resolution imaging of cartilage. Here, we use SHG microscopy to image the modification of the collagen structure on the surface of articular cartilage and in the deep cartilage matrix. Thick slices of cartilage taken from bovine knee have been used to image the surface of cartilage. In samples taken from diseased knee near localised eroded regions, many structures associated with osteoarthritis has been found. Among them, we found progression of degradation front, entanglement of the collagen matrix and formation of collagen bundles. Using thin sections of human tissue with early stage disease, we have measured the SHG intensity and the polarisation dependence of the signal in deep cartilage matrix in the forward and in the backward direction. Forward refers to the direction of laser propagation while backward is at 180 degrees. By imaging these tissues, we found regions of high forward SHG signal in which the polarization angle at maximum amplitude sometimes differs from elsewhere in the tissue. While the signal in the diseased regions in the forward direction significantly increases, the signal in the backward direction only slightly decreases. Also, the modification of the angle of the polarisation in which the signal is maximum in the backward direction remain the same as elsewhere in the collagen meshwork, unlike what has been observed in the forward direction. Our studies reveal that SHG microscopy is a powerful technique to image the collagen structure in articular cartilage and allows probing the early stages of osteoarthritis.
        Speaker: Marie-Andrée Houle (INRS)
        Slides
      • 10:00
        A Method for Coincidence-Compensation for an MCNP Simulation of a Co-60 Volume Source and Detector 15m
        A Monte-Carlo simulation via the MCNP computer program is a convenient method of indirect detector calibration when a direct calibration is not feasible. This is the case when very-short-lived gaseous radioactive sources are involved. Before being relied on, the MCNP model is normally validated with commercially available calibrated radioactive sources. This presentation will discuss the steps to compare an MCNP output with a real energy spectrum acquired with a Multi-Channel Analyzer (MCA). The detector in this case is a 1.5”x1” NaI scintillator. The source used for the validation test is Co-60. A large discrepancy between the MCNP-predicted output and the MCA measurement was noticed during the validation. There is no data from MCNP above the 1.33 MeV photo-peak from Co-60. Analysis indicates that the discrepancy is caused by the coincidence summing effect which becomes significant when the detector has a large solid angle for the source. After assuming homogeneous spatial distribution of the gamma photons, a method is developed to simulate the coincidence summing effect. Starting with a point source case, a volume source compensation method is developed. The compensated MCNP output is compared with the real measurement. The MCNP output range is extended to 2.51 MeV in good agreement with the MCA spectrum. The result confirmed the correctness of the geometry and material configuration of the MCNP model.
        Speaker: Bryan van der Ende (Atomic Energy Canada Ltd.)
        Slides
      • 10:15
        Inferring sub-micron sizes using oscillating gradient diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging 30m
        We have developed a new method for distinguishing the size of submicron structures using diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This method relies on MRI signal changes because water in samples undergoes diffusion. The mean-square displacement of the water molecules depends on the diffusion time. Molecules diffusing in a uniform medium with no barriers experience unrestricted diffusion. In non-uniform media (e.g. porous samples and cellular tissues) barriers hinder or restrict molecular displacements so that the diffusion depends on the time scale of the study, on the size of pores, and on the permeability of the barriers. The method relies on probing the shortest possible diffusion time scales so that the transition from restricted to hindered diffusion within the smallest structures can be detected. Current state-of-the-art methods cannot distinguish these small structures because current methods use pulse sequences which limit the ability to probe the shortest diffusion times. Our method circumvents those limitations by using oscillating gradients in place of pulsed gradients. The new method has important biological and neuroscience applications; one example is probing axon diameter distributions. In this talk I will summarize the method and our improvements to other methods for determining axon sizes. I will discuss our Monte Carlo simulations using cosine gradient spin echo sequences and the ability of our method to infer submicron sizes. Improvements to the speed of the simulations were made using GPUs instead of CPUs. I will also show our MRI data collected from micron-sized polystyrene beads on our Bruker 7 T 21 cm scanner using three of the OGSE sequences (sine, double sine, and apodised cosine). This method has opened a new era of MRI with sensitivity of submicron scale structures. The method can be adapted to other systems, biological or otherwise. Combining our method with other methods sensitive to large scales will allow us to distinguish a large range of restriction sizes from very small to fairly large and give a more complete understanding of the geometry of the sample. Funding NSERC, MHRC, CFI, CIHR and MRIF.
        Speaker: Melanie Martin (University of Winnipeg (Physics) and Manitoba (Radiology, Physics & Astronomy))
        Slides
    • 08:45 17:15
      CAP Teachers Workshop (Day I) / Atelier des enseignants (Jour 1) F-536

      F-536

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 09:00 10:30
      CAP Foundation Board Meeting / Réunion du c.a. de la Fondation de l'ACP F-335

      F-335

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 10:45 11:15
      Health Break (with exhibitors) / Pause santé (avec exposants) Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 11:15 11:45
      (T-MEDAL1) CAP Medal Talk - Ian Affleck, UBC (Brockhouse Medal Recipient/Récipiendaire de la médaille Brockhouse) FA-054

      FA-054

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 11:15
        From String Theory to Quantum Dot Experiments 30m
        The string theory revolution of the 1980’s led to remarkable developments in quantum field theory in one space and one time dimension. With my collaborators we developed this theory to predict exact results on the low energy behaviour of various quantum impurity models in condensed matter physics. Some of these predictions were verified recently in experiments on gated semi-conductor quantum dots.
        Speaker: Ian Affleck (University of British Columbia)
    • 11:45 12:15
      (T-MEDAL2) CAP Medal Talk - Melanie Campbell, U. Waterloo (CAP-INO Medal Recipient for Outstanding Achievement in Applied Photonics / Récipiendaire de la médaille de l'ACP-INO pour réalisations exceptionelles en photonique appliquée) FA-056

      FA-056

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 11:45
        Through the optics of the eye to a window on the brain 30m
        Measurements of the optical quality of the eye have increased in precision and repeatability as a result of adaptive optics techniques adapted from astronomy. We have used these techniques to identify signals to the direction of eye growth which are up regulated in the presence of myopia (short-sightednesss), induced by defocussing lenses. These and other optical changes measured in myopia have led to a greater interest in the role of the optics of the eye in understanding and treating myopia. As well as measuring the optical quality more precisely, we can correct optical blur and acquire high resolution in vivo images of individual retinal cells. We are using this instrumentation to explore the earliest ocular changes in Type I diabetes and changes in degenerative diseases affecting the photoreceptors of the human eye. This may lead to earlier and improved interventions in these diseases. I will also briefly discuss the potential use of precisely focussed light in the treatment of ocular disease. Currently, definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease only occurs after death. Amyloid beta, a protein marker which produces plaques is found in the brains of those with the disease. Recently we have confirmed the presence of amyloid beta in the ex vivo neural retina of those with the disease and not in age matched normal subjects without the disease. We are developing an in vivo polarization imaging technique which we hope will become a more accessible, less invasive and less expensive technique than others under development for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
    • 11:45 12:15
      (T-MEDAL3) CAP Medal Talk - Mark van Raamsdonk, UBC (CAP-CRM Prize in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics Recipient / Récipiendaire Prix ACP-CRM en physique théorique et mathématique) FA-054

      FA-054

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 11:45
        Gravity and Entanglement 30m
        The AdS/CFT correspondence from string theory provides a quantum theory of gravity in which spacetime and gravitational physics emerges from an ordinary non-gravitational system with many degrees of freedom. In this talk, I will explain how quantum entanglement between these degrees of freedom is crucial for the emergence of a classical spacetime, and how Einstein's equations can be derived at the linearized level from the dynamics of quantum entanglement.
        Speaker: Mark Van Raamsdonk (University of British Columbia)
    • 12:15 13:45
      CAP Past Presidents' Lunch / Dîner des anciens présidents de l'ACP Time and L-303 (Faculty Lounge)

      L-303 (Faculty Lounge)

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 12:15 13:45
      DAMOPC Annual Meeting / Assemblée annuelle DPAMC F-336

      F-336

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Francois Legare (INRS-EMT)
    • 12:15 13:45
      DMBP Annual Meeting / Assemblée annuelle DPMB F-335

      F-335

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 12:15 13:45
      DNP Annual Meeting / Assemblée annuelle DPN F-337

      F-337

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Zisis Papandreou (University of Regina)
    • 12:15 13:45
      DPP Annual Meeting / Assemblée annuelle DPP F-443

      F-443

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Chijin Xiao (Univ. of Saskatchewan)
    • 12:15 13:45
      Lunch / Dîner
    • 13:45 15:15
      (T2-1) Theoretical Astrophysics - DTP / Astrophysique théorique - DPT C-309

      C-309

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Robert Mann (University of Waterloo)
      • 13:45
        Non-linear Cosmological Structure Formation: Outstanding Questions and Future Prospects 30m
        While the fundamental parameters of cosmology, such as the energy density of dark energy, dark matter, and baryons are now known to considerable precision, the precise interplay between these sectors in the "late" Universe is still the subject of extensive research. Nowhere is this more intense than in the study of non-linear structures, such as galaxies, clusters of galaxies and even the first stars. The absence of analytical solutions, and the need for detailed predictions to compare with observations, has precipitated almost an exponential increase in the use of simulation methods in research on cosmological structure formation. Much of the focus of these explorations is on understanding how luminous matter, most often stars although radiative processes in gas are also considered, evolves within this coupled gravito-radiation-hydrodynamics problem. To make matters more complex, in last ten years it has also become clear that "supermassive" black holes have a significant role to play in the evolution of the largest galaxies. I will present a non-specialist overview of the current state of the field and highlight some of the truly challenging research questions currently being tackled, as well as the prospects for solving them.
        Speaker: Robert Thacker (S)
      • 14:15
        Testiing Black Hole Physics with the Event Horizon Telescope 30m
        The Event Horizon Telescope, a millimetre-wave Earth-sized interferometer, provides unprecedented access to the physics and astrophysics of supermassive black holes. Already observed, the black holes at the centres of the Milky Way and the giant elliptical galaxy M87 provide a glimpse into the mechanisms of accretion, relativistic jet formation, and even the nature of black holes themselves. I will discuss how interpreting these observations within a highly successful theoretical framework and broader observational context has allowed us to begin to answer some of the fundamental questions in black hole science, including the nature of low-luminosity accretion flows, the role of spin in powering relativistic outflows, and structure of spacetimes around astrophysical black holes.
        Speaker: Prof. Avery Broderick (University of Waterloo, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics)
      • 15:00
        Analytic derivation of the substellar mass limit for a non-zero degeneracy parameter 15m
        We develop an analytic formulation to find the internal structure of sub-stellar objects. This yields a value for a minimum stellar mass that denotes the boundary between brown dwarfs and stars. Our method employs an exact expression for the pressure of an ideal non-relativistic Fermi gas at finite temperature, meaning that the parameter $\psi$ is non zero. Our model gives a more accurate pressure than using the purely degenerate ($\psi =0$ ) limit. Integration of the Fermi distribution to yield an equation of state can be accomplished using the polylogrithm functions. This equation of state is used to solve the Lane-Emden equation to obtain the surface luminosity of a brown dwarf. On equating it with the luminosity for nuclear burning we find the maximum mass for a brown dwarf, $0.07M_o$. This result is in agreement with the results of the numerical models, but it is simple and provides maximum insight into the physics.
        Speaker: Mr Sayantan Auddy (Student)
        Slides
    • 13:45 15:15
      (T2-10) Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay - DNP-PPD / Double dégénérescence beta sans neutrino - DPN-PPD FA-054

      FA-054

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Shelley Page (University of Manitoba)
      • 13:45
        Search for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay with EXO 30m
        The EXO collaboration continues to search for the neutrinoless double beta decay of 136Xe. Discovery of this process would lead to a new understanding of neutrino properties and provide a first measurement of the neutrino mass scale. The collaboration is currently operating a 200 kg liquid xenon time projection chamber, EXO-200, at WIPP in New Mexico. A detailed description of the experiment will be provided along with the latest results from EXO-200. Efforts are also underway to develop a 5-tonne scale detector. Details of this project will be presented in the context of the longer-term efforts to understand and measure properties of the neutrinos.
        Speaker: Caio Licciardi (Carleton University)
      • 14:15
        Neutrinos at SNOLAB: SNO+ and HALO 30m
        SNOLAB is the facility of choice for the next generation of underground particle astrophysics experiments. The scientific programme of SNOLAB encompasses the search for neutrino-less double beta decay; low energy solar neutrino studies; the neutrino signal from the next galactic supernova; and the quest for the direct observation of dark matter. This talk leaves aside the several SNOLAB experiments focussed on dark matter and describes the elements of SNOLAB’s neutrino programme by presenting the physics potential and the status of the SNO+ and HALO experiments. SNO+ is the successor experiment to the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) that re-uses much of the SNO infrastructure to create a multi-purpose kilotonne liquid scintillator detector. By replacing SNO’s heavy water target with liquid scintillator SNO+ can substantially lower its energy threshold and improve its energy resolution which opens several possibilities to contribute to neutrino physics. The highest scientific priority is placed on the search for neutrino-less double beta decay in Te-130. An unambiguous observation of which would establish the Majorana nature of the neutrino and indirectly constrain the absolute neutrino mass. This phase of SNO+ operation will initially involve the loading of the liquid scintillator 0.3% by weight of natural Tellurium. In other operational phases, without Te loading, SNO+ would be able to measure the low energy part of the solar spectrum; measure the flux of anti-neutrinos associated with the radioactivity in the earth’s crust; measure neutrino oscillation parameters by detecting the anti-neutrinos from Ontario’s reactors. In all phases of operation SNO+ will be sensitive to a burst of neutrinos from a galactic supernova and by participating in the Supernova Early Warning System (SNEWS), along with HALO, help to ensure that astronomers also derive maximum benefit from such a rare opportunity. Unlike SNO+, the Helium and Lead Observatory (HALO) is dedicated to a single objective, that of recording data from the next galactic supernova. HALO employs 80 tonnes of lead as its neutrino target and Pauli blocking in the lead nucleus makes HALO dominantly sensitive to electron neutrinos in contrast to anti-electron neutrinos, which is the case with both Cerenkov and liquid scintillator based detectors, positioning HALO to make a unique contribution.
        Speaker: Clarence Virtue (Laurentian University)
        Slides
      • 14:45
        Tellurium Preparation for the SNO+ Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay Search 15m
        SNO+ is a kilotonne-scale liquid scintillator neutrino experiment that is currently being constructed at SNOLAB. One of the primary physics goals of SNO+ will be a search for neutrinoless double beta decay, which will be carried out by loading tellurium metal into the liquid scintillator. This talk will describe the techniques that have been developed to prepare tellurium for use in SNO+, most notably techniques to reduce radioactive impurities in the tellurium to extremely low levels.
        Speaker: Alex Wright (Q)
        Slides
      • 15:00
        Measurement of the Pion Absorption and Charge Exchange Cross Sections for the T2K Experiment 15m
        In T2K, neutrinos are observed via charged current quasi-elastic scattering (CCQE) interactions (\nu_{\mu}+n->\nu^{-}+p), as well as charged current single pion production (CC1\pi) (\nu_{\mu}+p->\mu^{-}+p+\pi^{+}). The \pi^{+} is free to interact inside and outside the nucleus via absorption (ABS) and charge exchange (CX: \pi^{+}->\pi^{0}) processes. If there is an unobserved pion, then the reconstructed neutrino energy is incorrect. Reducing the uncertainties on these cross-sections reduces the systematic uncertainties for neutrino oscillation measurements. The DUET Experiment was conducted in the M11 \pi^{+} beam line at TRIUMF to address this issue. Both combined ABS+CX and separate CX cross section measurements for \pi^{+} with initial momentum in the range of 200~350 MeV/c will be presented. The impact of this measurement for oscillation analyses on T2K and future experiments will be discussed.
        Speaker: Elder Pinzon (Y)
        Slides
    • 13:45 15:15
      (T2-2) Nuclear Physics, Heavy Ions, Extreme Matter - DNP / Physique nucléaire, ions lourds et matière extrême - DPN C-203

      C-203

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Michael Gericke (University of Manitoba)
      • 13:45
        Experimental Update of the TIGRESS HPGe Clover Array 30m
        Philip J. Voss* on behalf of the TIGRESS Collaboration *Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6 Radioactive isotopes far from the valley of beta stability exhibit a variety of interesting properties. Quantifying the evolution of nuclear structure with increasing proton-neutron asymmetry is a major focus of current experimental efforts. High precision gamma-ray spectroscopy plays an important role in this pursuit and provides fundamental probes of nuclear structure and stringent tests for theoretical models important to our understanding of these many-bodied systems. As such, the high-efficiency and Compton-suppressed segmented germanium clover detector array TIGRESS is the key driver for the in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy program at TRIUMF, where accelerated radioactive beams from the ISAC-II facility permit access to nuclear structure information for a wide range of exotic isotopes. Several sophisticated ancillary detector systems enhance the sensitivity of gamma-ray spectroscopy and provide additional experimental observables. These devices couple to the TIGRESS experimental infrastructure, resulting in a highly specialized and quickly reconfigurable experimental facility for nuclear structure studies. In particular, two highly-segmented, double-sided silicon detector arrays have been used for transition rate studies of 11Be using low-energy Coulomb excitation (BAMBINO) and single-particle structure measurements using (d,p) transfer reactions with 94Sr as the first accelerated high-mass radioactive ion beam delivered by ISAC-II (SHARC). In addition, recent Doppler-shift lifetime studies have used CsI(Tl) scintillator and silicon PIN diode arrays for fusion evaporation exit channel and inelastic scattering selectivity, respectively (TIP). Finally, the first test of in-beam internal conversion electron spectroscopy took place in December (SPICE), extending current transition rate measurement capabilities. This presentation will provide an overview of these systems and discuss recent experimental results of the TIGRESS nuclear structure program.
        Speaker: Philip J. Voss (Simon Fraser University)
        Slides
      • 14:15
        Doppler shift lifetime measurements using the TIGRESS Integrated Plunger device 15m
        Electromagnetic transition rate measurements serve as a fundamental probe of nuclear structure and provide a stringent test for theoretical models. Doppler shift lifetime measurements offer an opportunity to directly access information about electromagnetic transition rates and discriminate between model calculations. To take advantage of this opportunity, the TIGRESS Integrated Plunger device (TIP) has been constructed at Simon Fraser University. The current TIP infrastructure supports lifetime measurements via the Doppler Shift Attenuation Method (DSAM) with charged particle identification provided by a modular silicon PIN diode wall and 24-element CsI(Tl) scintillator wall. One advantage of Doppler shift lifetime measurements is that lifetimes can be extracted independent of the reaction mechanism. TIP has been coupled to the TIGRESS segmented germanium array at TRIUMF as part of the experimental program at the ISAC-II facility at TRIUMF. The initial studies using TIP employ fusion-evaporation reactions. Here, reaction channel selectivity can greatly enhance the sensitivity of the measurement. To enable channel selection, the TIP CsI(Tl) wall has been coupled to TIP for evaporated light charged-particle identification. Reaction channel selectivity has been demonstrated using the TIP infrastructure following the successful identification of the $^{28}$Mg two proton evaporation channel from the $^{18}$O$~+^{12}$C reaction at the $^{18}$O beam energies of 56 and 48 MeV. DSAM lineshapes for the 1.2(1)ps $2^{+}\rightarrow 0^{+}$ transition and 105(35)fs $4^{+}\rightarrow 2^{+}$ transition in $^{28}$Mg have been observed. Geant4-based analysis code for TIP and TIGRESS is being developed to extract lifetimes from these experimental spectra and aid in the optimization of future experiments using this setup. The device, experimental approach, analysis, and preliminary results will be presented and discussed.
        Speaker: Mr Aaron Chester (Simon Fraser University Department of Chemistry)
        Slides
      • 14:30
        First in-beam test of SPICE 15m
        A new ancillary detector, SPICE (SPectrometer for Internal Conversion Electrons) has been constructed and tested for the first time at the ISAC-II facility of TRIUMF. SPICE is designed to be coupled with the TIGRESS HPGe array to enable simultaneous in-beam gamma-ray and conversion-electron spectroscopy in both stable and radioactive ion beam experiments. The TIGRESS+SPICE setup will combine with other downstream detectors/arrays to provide the possibility for a broad range of reaction mechanisms, such as Coulomb-excitation or fusion evaporation, to be used to populate states of interest. The main focus of the SPICE design is the reduction of background due to low-energy particles and beam scattering, a high detection efficiency for electrons and a large energy-acceptance range between ~100 and 3500$\,$keV. This is achieved using a magnetic lens formed of permanent NdFeB magnets positioned upstream of the target and surrounding a truncated-conical-shaped high-Z-material photon shield. The internal conversion electrons emitted from the target are guided around the photon shield and detected by a large-area annular lithium-drifted silicon detector which is segmented into 120 individual segments. Reactions induced by a stable 12C beam at 67$\,$MeV impinging on a 3$\,$mg/cm$^2$ $^{196}$Pt target was studied with SPICE to demonstrate its capacity of detecting internal-conversion electrons in coincidence with gamma rays in TIGRESS. The residual $^{12}$C particles were detected with a double-sided annular silicon detector positioned at forward angles. A selective recoil-electron-gamma-type triggering for enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio of measurements was made possible by integrating the SPICE detector signals into the TIGRESS data-acquisition system. In the future, SPICE will be a powerful tool to measure conversion coefficients and $E0$ transitions in atomic nuclei thus providing a useful probe to study shape coexistence and quantum state mixing. An overview of the main features of the design and results from the test beam-time of SPICE will be presented as well as a look at future opportunities.
        Speaker: Dr Mohamad Moukaddam (TRIUMF)
        Slides
      • 14:45
        Exploiting the 8π spectrometer to probe nuclear matter and drive innovative applications at SFU and TRIUMF 15m
        The 8π spectrometer was funded in 1984 by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and comprised of 20 High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors, their BGO Compton suppressors with phototubes, and a 72 element inner BGO ball. After its use at the TASCC facility in Chalk River, it was moved to the Lawerence Berkeley Laboratory and then to the ISAC-I facility at TRIUMF. In early 2014 it was relocated to the Nuclear Science Laboratories at the Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University where it will be used for fission studies in its original configuration as a high-multiplicity spectrometer. Spare 8π HpGe detectors and electronics will be available as needed for trap-assisted decay spectroscopy at TITAN at TRIUMF. In addition, the 8π will become the detection system for neutron-activation analysis of interest to basic and applied research following installation of a neutron generator at SFU. The current status of the 8π spectrometer and its application will be presented and discussed.
        Speaker: Krzysztof Starosta (Simon Fraser University)
        Slides
      • 15:00
        20Ne and 22Ne fragmentation on 12C at 11.7 MeV per nucleon at TRIUMF 15m
        The multidetector HERACLES studies heavy-ion collisions at TRIUMF, with ion beams with an energy range between 8 to 15 MeV per nucleon [1,2]. Seventy-eight detectors are axially distributed around the beam axis in 6 rings allowing detection of multiple charged fragments from nuclear reactions. Experimental data was collected by HERACLES from a 20Ne and 22Ne beam at 11.7 MeV per nucleon on a carbon target. For analysis, we compare experimental data with a hybrid code. Antisymmetrized Molecular Dynamics (AMD) treats the dynamics of colliding systems and GEMINI for the statistical deexcitation of fragments [3,4]. [1] M. Marchetto, ISAC-II Operations and Future Plans, LINAC’08 (2008)
 [2] J. Gauthier, et al., Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 715, 18-27 (2013) [3] A. Ono, et al., Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 53, 501 (2004) 
[4] R.J. Charity, et al., Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 483, 371 (1988)
        Speaker: Mr Patrick St-Onge (Université Laval)
        Slides
    • 13:45 15:15
      (T2-3) Energy Frontier: Supersymmetry - PPD-DTP / Frontière d'énergie: supersymétrie - PPD-DPT C-112

      C-112

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Anadi Canepa (TRIUMF (CA))
      • 13:45
        Search for Supersymmetry at ATLAS 30m
        The search for Supersymmetry in LHC proton-proton collisions with the ATLAS detector will be summarized. In particular, recent searches for gluinos, squarks (including top and bottom squarks), weakly-produced superpartners, R-parity violating SUSY and long-lived signatures will be presented.
        Speaker: Jean-Francois Arguin (Universite de Montreal (CA))
        Slides
      • 14:15
        Supersymmetry after the LHC data 30m
        I discuss the theoretical motivations for weak-scale supersymmetry, including the gauge hierarchy problem, grand unification, and WIMP dark matter, and their implications for superpartner masses. These are re-assessed against the leading constraints on supersymmetry from collider searches, the Higgs boson mass, and low-energy constraints on flavor and CP violation. I also summarize attempts to quantify naturalness in supersymmetry, and implications for future experiments.
        Speaker: Prof. Mariana Frank (Concordia University)
        Slides
      • 14:45
        ATLAS Run1 Constraints on the Electroweak Sector of SUSY 15m
        We present searches targeting electroweak production of supersymmetric particles in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider with the Run1 data collected by the ATLAS detector. We review the limits on the masses of these supersymmetric particles and their production cross-section in the context of simplified models and the phenomenological Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.
        Speaker: Zoltan Gecse (University of British Columbia (CA))
        Slides
      • 15:00
        Search for Chargino and Neutralino Production in Final States with Three Leptons and Missing Transverse Momentum with the ATLAS detector in 20.3 fb^{-1} of sqrt{s}= 8 TeV pp collisions 15m
        The Standard Model (SM) of particle physics provides a theoretical framework to understand fundamental particle interactions. Despite its extraordinary success, the SM leaves a number of open questions: What is the nature of Dark Matter? Why is the SM Higgs boson so light? Supersymmetry (SUSY) is an extension of the SM of particle physics which predicts a super-partner for each of the SM particles which differs by one-half unit of spin. In R-parity conserving SUSY models, the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) is stable, neutral and weakly interacting, providing a promising candidate to explain Dark Matter. In addition, SUSY provides a solution to the Hierarchy problem of the SM and allows for the unification of forces at the GUT scale. This talk focuses on a search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three leptons and missing transverse momentum. No excess above SM predictions was observed. Limits are set in the context of simplified models and R-parity conserving phenomenological Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Models.
        Speaker: Matthew Gignac (University of British Columbia (CA))
        Slides
    • 13:45 15:15
      (T2-4) Gender and Arts in Physics Teaching - CEWIP-DPE / Genre et arts dans l'enseignement de la physique - CEFEP-DEP C-114

      C-114

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Li-Hong Xu (University of New Brunswick)
      • 13:45
        The high cost of science disengagement of Canadian Youth: Reimagining Physics Teacher Education for 21st Century 45m
        Last year, Let’s Talk Science released a report on the cost of high school students’ dropping science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. The disengagement of Canadian students with STEM has dire economic and political consequences for the country: less than 50% of our secondary students take advanced STEM courses and even fewer decide to pursue science-heavy degrees. Thus, it is not surprising that for the past decade, Canada has been also falling behind on the innovation index. This talk will attempt to reimagine physics teacher education for the 21st century that will help engage Canadian youth in meaningful physics learning. In order to succeed in this process, teacher education should be grounded in physics education research. Moreover, it will require a long-term collaboration between physics faculty members, teacher educators, university administrators, and school districts. An example of the beginning of such collaboration will be discussed in this talk.
        Speaker: Dr Marina Milner-Bolotin (The University of British Columbia)
        Slides
        Web site
      • 14:30
        Report on a Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CCUWiP) held at McGill University in January 2014 15m
        McGill University hosted on 10-12 January 2014 a first Canadian-version of a Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CCUWiP). This conference was modeled after the successful CUWiP conference series centrally organized by the American Physical Society. We will describe the goals of this kind of conference, organizational details, and report on the event held at McGill. Thoughts about the future of these kind of events in Canada will also be discussed.
        Speaker: Prof. Brigitte Vachon (McGill University (CA))
        Slides
      • 14:45
        Stellar Physics 15m
        Women in Physics
        Speaker: Mrs Rumila Narraidoo Ramiah (Research in Public Health)
    • 13:45 15:15
      (T2-5) Biophotonics I - DAMOPC-DIAP / Biophotonique I - DPAMPC-DPIA C-206

      C-206

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Francois Legare (INRS-EMT)
      • 13:45
        Correlative SHG/TEM imaging of collagen fibrils 30m
        Type I collagen is a major structural protein in mammals and shows highly structured macromolecular organizations specific to each tissue. This biopolymer is synthesized by cells as triple helices, which self-assemble outside the cells into fibrils (10-300 nm) that further form fibers, lamellae or other 3D networks. This assembly mechanism depends critically on the collagen concentration, as well as on the temperature, pH and ionic strength of the solution in vitro. Thorough characterization of collagen fibrillogenesis is crucial to understand the biological mechanisms of tissue formation and remodeling and to design new collagen-based biomaterials. In this work, we continuously monitored the formation of collagen fibrils using time-lapse *in situ* Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) microscopy. Fibrillogenesis was triggered by increasing the pH in a dilute solution of collagen I and the increase of the fibril density was quantified in the SHG image stacks acquired sequentially overnight. Our results showed reproducible dynamics of fibrillogenesis that could be changed by tuning the pH. In addition we investigated surface-mediated fibrillogenesis by adding silica nanoparticles to the solution. We used Two-Photon excited fluorescence microscopy to visualize the stained nanoparticles and quantify the self-assembly of collagen around these nanoparticles to study the influence of inorganic materials on collagen matrices structuration. This study shows that SHG microscopy is a valuable technique for in situ 3D imaging of fibrillar collagen with sub-micrometer resolution. However, this optical technique cannot resolve most of the fibrils, which impedes quantitative measurements of the fibril diameter. Moreover, SHG is a coherent multiphoton signal, which scales in a complex way with the total collagen density. Hence, we correlated SHG microscopy to TEM to determine the sensitivity of SHG microscopy and to calibrate SHG signals as a function of the fibril diameter. To that end, we synthetized isolated fibrils with various diameters and successfully imaged the same fibrils with both techniques, down to 30 nm. The SHG signal scaled as the fourth power of the fibril diameter, as expected from analytical and numerical calculations. These results represent a major step towards quantitative SHG imaging of nm-sized collagen fibrils.
        Speaker: Dr Stéphane Bancelin (Laboratory for Optics and Biosciences)
      • 14:15
        Single mode fibre transmission apparatus, measuring light where it counts 15m
        Measuring fine loss in transmission of single mode fiber when coupled with 405nm laser light requires a sensitive apparatus as closed loop feedback systems are not commercially available. A stable laser and detector system are described which measure changes in transmission to within 0.02% change per hour over a 17-hour period. This measurement apparatus has proved useful in both pre-screening fibre systems for manufacturing, but also for determining the root cause of failure in the fibre. The transmission loss may be monitored with the detector positioned directly at the fibre, or at the focus of a relay optic placed after the fibre. Alternatively, the beam at the focus of the relay optic may be profiled on a CCD camera over time. The various measurement techniques are presented, and their use in determining the root cause of failure in transmission of the fiber. Some of various causes of failure include solarization of the fibre, contamination of the endface of the fibre, laser–induced periodic surface structure (LIPSS). Directly measuring for these requires destructive tests using for example atomic force microscopy or electron microscopy, whereas our measurement apparatus potentially provides for an indirect non-destructive means of determining the root cause of failure.
        Speaker: Mr Chris F. Dimas (Spectral Applied Research)
        Slides
      • 14:30
        Near-Infrared Excited Nanoparticles: Towards a Multimodal Platform 30m
        Near-infrared (NIR) excited nanomaterials are emerging as useful tools in diagnostic medicine and therapeutics. Excitation with NIR light mitigates some of the drawbacks associated with the use of UV as the excitation source. NIR light is silent to tissues thus minimizing autofluorescence, possesses greater tissue penetration capabilities and does not incur damage to the sample. In this regard there has been an ever-increasing interest in lanthanide (Ln3+)-doped upconverting nanoparticles. With upconverting nanoparticles, it is possible to obtain UV/visible/NIR emissions using a single NIR excitation source (typically 980 nm) via a process known as upconversion. This multiphoton excitation process differs from what occurs in conventional multiphoton excited materials where the absorption of photons is simultaneous. In the case of Ln3+-doped materials, the multitude of long-lived “real” electronic energy states of the Ln3+ ions (from the partially filled 4f shell) allow for sequential absorption of multiple NIR photons eliminating the need for complex and expensive optical excitation. Thus, upconverted luminescence can be observed using an inexpensive commercial continuous wave diode laser. Here, we present the synthesis and surface functionalization of Ln3+-doped upconverting nanoparticles and demonstrate how they can be used in biological applications due to their interesting optical properties. Furthermore, we will show how these upconverting nanoparticles can be used as building blocks towards developing a multifunctional nanoplatform for the potential diagnostics and therapeutics of diseases such as cancer.
        Speaker: Prof. Fiorenzo Vetrone (INRS-EMT, Université du Québec)
      • 15:00
        Interferometric Second Harmonic Generation imaging of biological tissues 15m
        Second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy is used to image structures lacking a center of inversion (non-centrosymmetric). Some biological tissues, particularly those made of collagen, possess this property. Because SHG microscopy is a coherent technique, the structure of the studied sample influences greatly the generated signal strength. By varying the polarization of the fundamental beam, the different $\chi^{(2)}$ elements of the sample can be measured and related to this structure. Hence, general alignment and organization of a tissue can be evaluated. However, the phase of the signal is lost in the measurement. In interferometric SHG (I-SHG) imaging, second harmonic is generated a first time out of the microscope. This signal is then directed towards the imaging setup where it interferes with the second harmonic generated in the tissue. By varying the relative phase between the two second harmonic signals that are interfering, the relative phase of the $\chi^{(2)}$ in the tissue can be retrieved pixel by pixel. We have used this technique to image myosin filaments in muscles, tendon, fascia and cartilage. This technique can help to understand the structure of these tissues at the $100~\mathrm{\mu m}$ level and relate it to its function in the human body and its evolution relative to disease and aging.
        Speaker: Charles-Andre Couture (INRS)
    • 13:45 15:15
      (T2-6) Biophysics/Soft Condensed Matter I: Polymers - DCMMP-DMBP / Biophysique et matière condensée molle 1: polymères - DPMCM-DPMB A-226

      A-226

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Anand Yethiraj (Memorial University)
      • 13:45
        Mechanisms Affecting Glassy Dynamics in Thin Polymer Films 30m
        Numerous studies have documented changes in the glass transition temperature (Tg) with decreasing thickness for thin polymer films less than ~100 nm in thickness. However, understanding of the fundamental mechanisms causing this phenomenon are still unknown. We have demonstrated that two separate mechanisms can act simultaneously to propagate enhanced mobility from the free surface deeper into the interior of the film resulting in two distinct reduced Tgs within single high molecular weight (MW) free-standing polystyrene films [1]. These two transitions, which can be separated by up to 60 K, show qualitatively different behaviors. The lower transition is MW dependent and appears to be unique to high MW chains, while the upper transition is MW independent and appears to be common across multiple glass forming systems such as polymers, small molecules, and colloids. We believe this more universal mechanism induces a gradient in dynamics near the free surface that propagates in via a mechanism related to cooperative motion [2]. Physical aging studies on polymer films are also underway to elucidate the stability and glassy dynamics of these thin films. For thick films (220-1800 nm) in which there are no Tg reductions, we find that the physical aging rate depends strongly on stress caused by thermal expansion mismatch between film and support. This stress, applied to the films as they are quenched into the glassy state, can nearly double the physical aging rate when changing the frame material from polycarbonate to silicon [3]. How stress and mechanical deformation impart mobility to polymer glasses has been studied primarily for materials where the glassy state was formed stress free. In contrast, we investigate the stability of polymer glasses after stress is applied during the formation of the glassy state (vitrification). Using a unique jig, constructed to apply a known stress to free-standing films during the thermal quench, we find that stress values above a threshold result in less stable polymer glasses with faster physical aging rates [4]. [1] J.E. Pye, C.B. Roth, Phys. Rev. Lett. (2011), 107, 235701. [2] J.E. Pye, K.A. Rohald, E.A. Baker, C.B. Roth, Macromolecules (2010), 43, 8296-8303. [3] J.E. Pye, C.B. Roth, Macromolecules (2013), 46, 9455-9463. [4] L.A.G. Gray, C.B. Roth, Soft Matter (2014), DOI:10.1039/c3sm52113c.
        Speaker: Prof. Connie Roth (Emory University)
      • 14:15
        Diblock copolymer bridges: the break-up dynamics and enhanced stability of structured liquids 15m
        Liquid bridges form when a liquid is stretched between two boundaries, creating a freestanding fiber. The break-up of simple Newtonian liquid bridges has been studied both theoretically and experimentally for a wide variety of different initial conditions since Plateau and Rayleigh considered the instability of a liquid jet. Though the break-up of liquid bridges composed of linear polymer melts and polymer solutions have been well studied, very little focus has been placed on the dynamics of diblock copolymer bridges. When annealed above the glass transition temperature and below the order-disorder transition temperature (ODT), diblock copolymers can organize into well-defined structures determined by the weight fraction of each polymer block. Conversely, as the temperature is increased above the ODT, the diblock will disorder and have properties more similar to a linear polymer melt. In this work, we monitor the evolution of diblock copolymer bridges to study the effect that diblock order has on dynamics and stability.
        Speaker: Robert Peters (McMaster University)
        Slides
      • 14:30
        Phase Behaviour of Polyelectrolyte/Homopolymer Blends 15m
        The phase behaviour of polyelectrolyte/homopolymer blends is studied using self-consistent field theory. The blends are composed of charged and neutral homopolymers plus counter ions dissociated from the polyelectrolytes. We explore the phase behaviour of the system as a function of blend composition, charge density and interaction parameter. Besides the usual macrophase separation behaviour, the SCFT predicts that under appropriate conditions the system undergoes microphase separation, forming various ordered phases similar to diblock copolymers. We found that the formation of ordered structures is the result of the balance between the interactions and the mixing entropy of the ions. In particular, the domain size of the ordered phases is determined by the competition between the polymer-polymer interaction and counter ion entropy, thus it is not limited by polymer size. Increase in the repulsive interaction between the chains results in an increase in the domain spacing.
        Speaker: Mr Ashkan Dehghan (McMaster University)
        Slides
      • 14:45
        **WITHDRAWN** Monte Carlo Field-Theoretic Simulations for Melts of Diblock Copolymer 30m
        Monte Carlo field-theoretic simulations (MC-FTS) are performed on melts of symmetric diblock copolymer for polymerization indices extending down to experimentally relevant values. The simulations are performed with a fluctuating composition field and a pressure field that follows the saddle-point approximation. Our study focuses on the disordered-state structure function, S(k), and the order-disorder transition (ODT). Although short-wavelength fluctuations cause an ultraviolet (UV) divergence in three dimensions, this is readily compensated for with the use of an effective Flory-Huggins interaction parameter. The resulting S(k) matches the predictions of renormalized one-loop (ROL) calculations over the full range of parameters examined in our study, and agrees well with Fredrickson-Helfand (F-H) theory near the ODT. Consistent with the F-H theory, the ODT is discontinuous and the shift in the ODT follows the predicted scaling.
        Speaker: Prof. Mark Matsen (University of Waterloo)
    • 13:45 15:15
      (T2-7) Superconducting Materials - DCMMP / Matériaux supraconducteurs - DPMCM C-204

      C-204

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Michel Gingras (University of Waterloo)
      • 13:45
        Local moments in iron-based superconductors 30m
        Understanding magnetism in iron-based superconductors presents a difficult challenge facing researchers in this field. While a local spin model seems to describe a large subset of experimental data, these compounds are distinctly metallic and the itinerancy of electrons must be crucial for magnetism. Recent studies have suggested that both local and itinerant nature could be in play, since there are multiple orbitals involved in the electronic structure of iron pnictides and chalcogenides. This viewpoint is supported by our recent x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) studies, in which local magnetic moments are found in all samples studied. The Fe Kbeta XES is a fast, local probe that is bulk-sensitive and couples directly to the d-electron moment. In our survey of various materials in their paramagnetic phases [1], we found local magnetic moments in all samples studied. The moment size shows very little dependence on temperature or carrier concentration, but varies significantly across different families. Specifically, all iron pnictide samples have local moments of about 1.5-2 Bohr magneton per Fe atom, while FeTe and K2Fe4Se5 families have much larger local moments. The extracted moment sizes agree well with energy and momentum integrated inelastic neutron scattering results. In addition, XES was used to study the spin-state transition in rare-earths doped CaFe2As2 [2]. When about 10-20% of Ca is replaced with Pr or Nd ions, this material goes through the so-called collapsed tetragonal transition below 70 K, in which the c-lattice constant shrinks by almost 10% [3]. The XES data show that the local magnetic moment is quenched in this collapsed tetragonal phase. Our experimental results illustrate the importance of multiorbital physics in describing magnetism of iron-based superconductors. [1] H. Gretarsson et al., Phys. Rev. B 84, 100509(R) (2011). [2] H. Gretarsson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 047003 (2013). [3] S. R. Saha et al., Phys. Rev. B 85, 024525 (2012).
        Speaker: Young-June Kim (U)
      • 14:15
        Sudden reversal in the pressure dependence of Tc in the iron-based superconductor CsFe2As2: A possible link between inelastic scattering and pairing symmetry 15m
        We report a sudden reversal in the pressure dependence of Tc in the iron-based superconductor CsFe2As2, similar to that discovered recently in KFe2As2. As in KFe2As2, we observe no change in the Hall coefficient at T=0, again ruling out a Lifshitz transition across the critical pressure Pc. We interpret the Tc reversal in the two materials as a phase transition from one pairing state to another, tuned by pressure, and investigate what parameters control this transition. Comparing samples of different residual resistivity $\rho_0$, we find that a modest increase in impurity scattering does not shift Pc. From a study of X-ray diffraction on KFe2As2 under pressure, we report the pressure dependence of lattice constants and As-Fe-As bond angle. The pressure dependence of various lattice parameters suggest that Pc should be significantly higher in CsFe2As2 than in KFe2As2, but we find on the contrary that Pc is lower in CsFe2As2. Our resistivity measurements under pressure reveal an intimate connection between the magnitude of inelastic scattering processes that contribute to resitivity and the critical pressure Pc.
        Speaker: Fazel Fallah Tafti (U)
      • 14:30
        Shedding new light on the phase diagram of cuprate superconductors 30m
        In 1986, condensed-matter physics was profoundly shaken by the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in materials known as cuprates. With a transition temperature *Tc* above liquid nitrogen temperature, these materials quickly proved to be promising for technological applications. However, the major motivation for the scientific community has been to understand the fundamental mechanisms of superconductivity in those materials, in order to eventually push *Tc* even higher, hopefully up to room temperature. The phase diagram of cuprates as a function of temperature, chemical doping, magnetic field and pressure is challenging, as many different phases (insulating, metallic, magnetic, superconducting, etc.) intertwine and give spectacular and unexpected results. Despite attempts by many eminent theorists, a fully successful theory has not yet emerged. Recently, some experimental discoveries have shed new light on the mysterious phase diagram of cuprates. In this talk, I will review these discoveries and propose a scenario that could elucidate the phase diagram.
        Speaker: Dr Olivier Cyr-Choinière (Université de Sherbrooke)
    • 13:45 15:15
      (T2-8) Plasma Physics and Applications - DPP / Physique et applications des plasmas - DPP C-301

      C-301

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Chijin Xiao (Univ. of Saskatchewan)
      • 13:45
        Femtosecond few-hundreds-of-keV electron pulses from direct laser acceleration in a low-density gas 30m
        Subrelativistic electrons are a valuable tool for high-resolution atomic and molecular imaging. In particular, electron pulses with energies ranging from 50 to 300 keV have been successfully used in time-resolved ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) experiments to probe physical phenomena on a subpicosecond time scale. Laser-driven electron acceleration has been proposed as an alternative to the static accelerator technology currently in use. In principle, it has several advantages : (i) the short wavelength of the accelerating field may lead to electron bunches with duration of the order of 10 fs or less; (ii) there is an intrinsic synchronization between the electron probe and the laser pump; and (iii) using a gas medium, the electron source is self-regenerating and could be used for UED experiments at high repetition rates. Recently, using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we showed that 240-keV electron pulses with 1-fs initial duration and 5% energy spread could be produced by radially polarized laser pulses focused in a low-density hydrogen gas [Marceau, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 224801 (2013)]. The latest results suggest that 100-500 keV energy with similar duration is within reach of the actual laser technology.
        Speaker: Dr Charles Varin (Université d'Ottawa)
      • 14:30
        Dense Plasma Focus for Isotopes Activation 15m
        Dense Plasma Focus for Isotopes Activation, C. Xiao, R.A. Behbahani, Sean Wolfe (Plasmionique Inc.), A. Hirose, University of Saskatchewan -- A dense plasma focus (DPF) device (DPF-UofS) has been designed and is being fabricated and assembled at the University of Saskatchewan for production of short-lived radioisotopes utilizing the energetic ion beam emitted from DPF. Since the short-lived isotopes must be produced in proximity of treatment or diagnostic facilities such as PET (Positron Emission Tomography), DPF is a promising cost-effective and more portable alternative to cyclotron facilities. DPF-UofS will be formed by discharging a capacitor bank (30 kV, 4.5 μF) through a pair of coaxial electrodes. The Lee Model has been used to optimize the design of DPF-UofS. A maximum ion beam fluence of about 10^15 ions per shot, beam energy of 20 J has been predicted. For the 12C(d,n)13N reactions, the estimated radioactivity of 13N (half lifetime is about 10 minutes) is about 1 kBq per shot. To achieve the desired radioactivity, high capacitor bank energy and high repetition rate is required. The research is supported by CCNI, NSERC and CRC.
        Speaker: Prof. Chijin Xiao (University of Saskatchewan)
      • 14:45
        Measurements of the Temporal Evolution of Ionization States of Warm Dense Aluminum with Betatron Radiation Produced from Laser Wakefield Acceleration 15m
        Ultrashort duration Betatron X-ray Radiation results from the acceleration of relativistic electrons inside high intensity laser wakefield cavities. The femtosecond pulse duration and the synchronization properties make Betatron Radiation an ideal probe for investigating the dynamic properties of laser produced warm dense matter. Study of the ionization state of material in the non-equilibrium warm dense regime is a significant challenge at present. However, time-dependant x-ray measurements of K-shell absorption lines allows the ionization states of warm dense matter to be measured. In this paper, we report the results of employing ultrashort Betatron Radiation as a spectroscopic probe to temporally resolve the ionization states of warm dense aluminum. A Kirkpatrick-Baez Microscope was used to focus the radiation around the 1.5 keV photon energy range onto a 50-nm free-standing aluminum foil that was heated by a synchronized 800 nm laser pump pulse. By dispersing the K-shell absorption spectra in this range using a flat Potassium Acid Phthalate (KAP) Bragg crystal spectrometer, we observed the ionization states of warm dense aluminum as a function of time and heating pulse fluence. The details of experimental setup and initial measurement results will be presented. *Work supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada
        Speaker: Prof. Robert Fedosejevs (University of Alberta)
    • 13:45 15:15
      (T2-9) Instrumentation - DIMP / Instrumentation - DPIM C-205

      C-205

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Kirk Michaelian (Natural Resources Canada)
      • 13:45
        The André E. Lalonde AMS Laboratory – the new accelerator mass spectrometry facility at the University of Ottawa 15m
        The University of Ottawa, Canada, has installed a multi-element, 3 MV tandem AMS system as the cornerstone of the André E. Lalonde Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, located in their new Advanced Research Complex (ARC). Manufactured by High Voltage Engineering Europa BV, the Netherlands, it is equipped with a 200 sample ion source, a high resolution, 120° injection magnet (mass-energy product 12 MeV-AMU), a 90° high energy analysis magnet (mass-energy product 350 MeV-AMU), a 65°, 1.7m radius electric analyzer and a 2 channel gas ionization detector. It is designed to analyze isotopes ranging from tritium to the actinides and to include the use of fluoride target materials. A research injection line, consisting of selected components from the IsoTrace Laboratory, Toronto is being added and will contain an upgraded demonstration version of the Isobar Separator for Anions, manufactured in collaboration with Isobarex Corp., Bolton, Ontario, Canada. This instrument uses selective ion–gas reactions in a radio-frequency quadrupole cell to attenuate both atomic and molecular isobars. Four new preparation laboratories are located in the ARC building for radiocarbon, radio-halide, tritium and actinide samples. Radiocarbon labs at Université Laval, Québec and Université de Québec à Montréal and a cosmogenic radioisotope lab at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia will also provide samples. This presentation will focus on the details of the new AMS equipment.
        Speaker: Prof. William E. Kieser (Physics, University of Ottawa)
        Slides
      • 14:00
        DETERMINING 210Pb BY ACCELERATOR MASS SPECTROMETERY 15m
        Beams of PbF3- ions were produced initially using the 834 ion source at IsoTrace with targets of PbF2. Since a large count rate of common Pb could interfere with measurement of the rare 210Pb isotope we examined alternative target preparation chemistry to produce 210PbF3- beams. Beams of 150 to 175 nA of 208PbF3- were measured in targets prepared by adding the Pb to HF(aq) and equal parts of CsF and AgF2 and dried in a clean Savillex container. Although, this ion beam produces the highest counts of 210Pb, the factors controlling the beam stability require further study. 210Pb was detected in the +3 charge state using a conventional gas ionization detector at the IsoTrace Facility. Interference from the sum peak of 70Zn and 140Ce was measured in some targets. An anion exchange column separation was developed to separate 210Pb from 70Zn and 140Ce. Using this technique the sum peak of 70Zn and 140Ce was almost completely eliminated. We tested two different approaches to quantify the 210Pb concentration: (1) Measuring the 210Pb:205Pb ratio after adding 7.2pg of 205Pb, and (2) Measuring the 210Pb:208Pb ratio after adding 100µg of 208Pb and using a calibration curve coupled with the measurement of the concentration of 208Pb by ICPMS. The measurement of 205Pb was difficult because of 205Tl interference and molecular interferences at mass 205. Using the second technique, initial measurements of 210Pb in the CLV1 standard reference material agreed with the certified value of 660mBq g-1. Further work, using the high resolution injection magnet at the A. E. Lalonde AMS Laboratory at the University of Ottawa will improve the precision of these measurements.
        Speaker: Mr Adam Sookdeo (University of Ottawa)
        Slides
      • 14:15
        The Measurement of Cs isotopes by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry 15m
        During nuclear weapons testing several caesium isotopes were released into the environment. Caesium 137 has been used in many studies. However this isotope has a relatively short half-life (30a) and it has already undergone ~50 years of decay. Caesium 135, another fissile isotope, has a much longer half-life ( about 2Ma) and could be used to replace 137Cs and the ratio between the two isotopes of Cs could be used to identify the source of Cs and to calculate the age of the source material.

        However Cs-135 can be very difficult to measure. It cannot be gamma counted, as it is a pure beta emitter and beta counting is an impractical approach due to low decay rate. This leaves mass spectrometry as a viable option. While analyses using TIMS and ICPMS have been established, an analytical technique for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) still requires development.

        The development of an AMS technique for 135Cs requires the development of (1) a beam of Cs anions, (2) a method to separate 135Cs from 135Ba and other ions with the same mass to charge ratio and (3) production of standards and yield tracers to measure the efficiency of the analytical process.

        We have used the IsoTrace AMS facility and: (1) Tested a number of different Cs compounds to identify methods to produce Cs beams, (2) Successfully separated 135Cs from 135Ba using an Isobar Separator for Anions (ISA). This reaction chamber selectively reacts 135Ba with oxygen while allowing 135Cs to pass into the accelerator and (3) Used 134Cs as an internal standard and yield tracer.

        Currently, the limitations in the analysis of 135Cs are the beam current and cross contamination during sputtering. An array of different Cs molecules are being tested and optimized for greater and more stable beam currents.
        Speaker: Mr Cole MacDonald (University of Ottawa)
        Slides
      • 14:30
        The VERITAS Observatory Upgrade: Performance and Status 15m
        The VERITAS experiment measures Cherenkov light from air showers to study gamma rays of energies between 50 GeV and 50 TeV. During the summer of 2012, the VERITAS Collaboration completed an upgrade of the four VERITAS telescopes. The upgrade began in 2009 with the relocation of one of the telescopes to create a more symmetrical array configuration which resulted in a substantial increase in sensitivity. In 2011, the Level 2 (pattern) telescope trigger was replaced with a high speed, FPGA-based trigger, resulting in improved trigger efficiency and better background reduction. In summer 2012, the telescopes' photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) were replaced with high quantum efficiency PMTs which increased the telescope photon detection efficiency by approximately 50%. Furthermore, since fall 2012, observations have been carried out with VERITAS under bright moonlight, thanks to a combination of reduced high voltage and UV bandpass filters, which result in 15% more observing time over the course of the year. These improvements, coupled with refinements in the calibration and data analysis, have continued to improve the sensitivity of to the VERITAS experiment since its first light in April 2007. In this presentation I will provide an overview of the upgrade as well as details of the bright moonlight observing modes.
        Speaker: Mr Sean Griffin (McGill University)
        Slides
      • 15:00
        Investigations of Background and Compton Suppression Shields for GRIFFIN 15m
        GRIFFIN (Gamma-Ray Infrastructure For Fundamental Investigations of Nuclei) will replace the 8pi spectrometer at the TRIUMF ISAC facility by the end of 2014 with an array of 16 large-volume hyper-pure germanium (HPGe) clover detectors and instrument them with a state-of-the-art digital data acquisition system. The facility will be used to investigate a variety of aspects in nuclear structure, nuclear astrophysics and fundamental symmetries using stopped radioactive beams from ISAC. The most exotic nuclei are generally produced with the lowest intensity so in order to perform spectroscopy with these beams the greatest possible sensitivity is required. In addition, in the decay of intense beams it is often the weakest decay branches which are of the greatest interest. It is well established that active Compton-suppression shields comprised of bismuth germanate (BGO) can be an effective tool to increase the peak-to-total ratio of gamma-ray spectra collected with HPGe detectors. These active shields will also suppress background radiations originating from the experimental hall, which will further improve spectral quality. A series of measurements have been performed at ISAC using a GRIFFIN HPGe clover to characterize the spectrum of background events. The detector was then coupled with a TIGRESS BGO Suppression shield to investigate the effectiveness of such active shielding on the final gamma-ray spectrum. These measurements support the funding application for instrumenting the entire GRIFFIN array with suppression shields. A detailed description of the investigations and results will be presented. This work is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
        Speaker: Nikita Bernier (TRIUMF)
        Slides
    • 15:15 15:45
      Health Break (with exhibitors) / Pause santé (avec exposants) Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 15:45 17:15
      (T3-1) Atmospheric and Space Physics - DASP / Physique atmosphérique et de l'espace - DPAE C-205

      C-205

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Richard Marchand (University of Alberta)
      • 16:00
        Ionospheric electron number density volumetric reconstruction with ADS-B: a new method to image the ionosphere. 15m
        The proposed launch of CanX-7, carrying a space-borne ADS-B receiver developed by the Royal Military College of Canada will create a unique opportunity to study the modification of the 1090 MHz radio waves following propagation through the ionosphere from the transmitting aircraft to the passive satellite receiver. Our previous work has successfully demonstrated that ADS-B data is feasible as input to reconstruct two dimensional electron density maps of the ionosphere using techniques from computerized tomography. The goal of this work is to extend the model and reconstruct three dimensional (3D) electron density distributions to evaluate the feasibility of CT reconstruction in 3D with temporal variation. The data used as input for reconstruction was modelled using ray-tracing techniques for aircraft distributions from actual worldwide ground-based ADS-B data to a satellite orbit simulated in Satellite Tool Kit, and repeated for multiple satellites forming an arbitrary constellation with global coverage. Ray-tracing determined the characteristics of individual waves, including the wave path and the state of polarization at the satellite receiver. The modelled Faraday rotation was determined and converted to total electron content along each ray-path. The resulting total electron content was used as input for computerized ionospheric tomography using the algebraic reconstruction technique. This study concentrated on meso-scale structures 100–1000 km in horizontal extent. The primary scientific interest of this work is to show the feasibility of a new method to image the ionosphere and obtain a better understanding of magneto-ionic wave propagation.
        Speaker: Alex Cushley
        Slides
      • 16:15
        Wake modes in a supersonic flow 15m
        When an object moves at supersonic speed, it creates a wake in the downstream region in the medium in which it propagates. In addition to the wake, that is, a region of depleted density, the supersonic flow also excites waves or normal modes, both downstream and upstream of the object. These modes can correspond to “surface modes” and, when the medium is a plasma, “cavity modes” can also be excited in the wake region. Results from a theoretical and computational study of these modes, associated with the wake region of a satellite in low Earth orbit (LEO) are presented. The study makes use of a decomposition of plasma fluctuations near a spacecraft, using the method of empirical eigen functions. Both the spatial and temporal structures of the perturbations are analyzed. The effects of photoemission and of the angle between the local geomagnetic field and the direction of the plasma flow velocity are also considered.
        Speaker: Prof. Richard Marchand (University of Alberta)
    • 15:45 17:15
      (T3-2) Panel Discussion: Gender Equality - CEWIP / Table ronde : égalité des genres - CEFEP C-114

      C-114

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Li-Hong Xu (University of New Brunswick)
      • 15:45
        Being Alert: Identifying and Resolving Discrimination in a Physicist’s Workplace 1h 30m
        Moderator: Janis McKenna, University of British Columbia Panellists: Gabriela Gonzalez, Louisiana State University Melanie Campbell, University of Waterloo; Anadi Canepa, TRIUMF; Marina Milner-Bolotin, University of British Columbia; Michael Steinitz, St. Francis Xavier University; Li-Hong Xu, University of New Brunswick
    • 15:45 17:15
      (T3-3) Cavity QED and Optomechanics - DAMOPC-DCMMP / ÉDQ en cavité et optomécanique - DPAMPC-DPMCM C-206

      C-206

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Alex Brown (University of Alberta)
      • 15:45
        Nanoscale cavity optomechanics for quantum optics and sensing: diamond, Si and more 30m
        By confining light to sub-wavelength volumes, nanophotonic devices enhance light matter interactions and enable a wide range of fundamental and applied studies. Nanophotonic optomechanics experiments probe optical coupling between nanomechanical resonators and photons. Using nanophotonic devices such as microdisk and photonic crystal nanocavities, it is possible to routinely measure thermal motion of nanoscale mechanical resonances. By harnessing the strong photon-phonon interactions within these structures, it is possible to optically manipulate – e.g., heat or cool – nanomechanical resonances. This talk will focus on recent progress in developing nanophotonic optomechanical devices for sensing and quantum optics applications. We have developed a silicon split-beam photonic crystal nanocavity with record torque sensitivity, gallium phosphide microdisks which support phonon-photon cooperativity exceeding unity, and single crystal diamond nanomechanical resonantors whose thermal motion can drive self-oscillations in the presence of an optical field. This talk will discuss prospects for using these devices for sensing and quantum optics applications.
        Speaker: Paul Barclay (University of Calgary)
      • 16:15
        Optical trapping of the anisotropic crystal nanoparticle 15m
        For modeling optical trapping of an anisotropic nano-particle we first used the point matching method to compute the T-matrix coefficients based on the boundary condition for the normal componants of D-fields. In the anisotropic media, where the divergence of E-field is nonzero, the Maxwell wave equations was sloved in the Fourier space. Thus, the plan waves with angular spectrum amplitude distributions can be expanded into the orthogonal and complete set of the Vector Spherical Wave Functions. The E-field eigenvectors can be obtained by the characteristic equation. In the point-matching mthod however we do not need to solve the entire internal field in the anisotropic particle, but an expression of the unknown internal field at the boundaries. We computed the stress distribution on the interfaces of an anisotropic nanocylinder and the related total lateral torque, spin torque and total force in the optical tweezers in order to put in evidence for mecanism of the optical trap of the anisotropic particle. The trapping beam was modeled as the vector Gaussian beam with high order corrections. After solving the scattered field the radiation stress was computed through the Maxwell stress tensor for anisotropic media by Robinson. Our calculation showed that optical stress can be not normal to the interface of anisotropic media. Our calculation predicted that when the optical axes of the anisotropic nanocylinder are not aligned with the cylinder axis, the nanocylinder can be trapped inclined with respect to the beam axis at an equilibrium position. Preliminary experimental observations came to support this prediction. Abstract (100 words) T-matrix
        Speaker: Prof. Yunlong Sheng (Université Laval)
      • 16:30
        **WITHDRAWN** Laser-Enhanced Micromechanical Sensors 30m
        In the field of optomechanics we have learned to use the forces exerted by laser light to gain a new level of control over a wide variety of mechanical systems. These systems range in size from kilogram-scale mirrors in gravitational wave detectors to nanomechanical elements in cryogenic environments. In this talk I will discuss how a very modest source of laser light (i.e. a few microwatts) can profoundly affect the motion of a micromechanical "trampoline" resonator. We are able to laser cool its mechanical motion to a very low temperature, and we can generate a nonlinear optomechanical coupling that could be used for quantum nondemolition (QND) readout of the trampoline's phonon number state or as a strong optical trap. Our group is currently most excited about using such optomechanical effects to replace traditional elastic materials in mechanical force sensing elements. Since the behavior of light in a cavity is fundamentally different from that of atoms in a flexible material, such devices should circumvent the limitations of the best existing materials and achieve an unprecedented level of precision. In the ultimate limit, we hope to use light-assisted mechanical devices to sense quantum superpositions from a variety of qubit technologies and faithfully imprint this information upon photons traveling down a standard telecom fiber.
        Speaker: Jack Sankey (McGill University)
        Slides
      • 17:00
        Adiabatic transfer of light in a double cavity 15m
        We consider the controlled transfer of light between the two sides of an optical cavity containing a moveable membrane in the middle. The transfer process is analogous to STIRAP in atomic/laser physics. The system also presents some fundamental issues in cavity-QED and optomechanics because of the time-dependent boundary conditions. In particular, we compare and contrast Maxwell dynamics (2nd order in time) with Schrodinger dynamics (1st order in time).
        Speaker: Duncan O'Dell (M)
        Slides
    • 15:45 17:15
      (T3-4) Novel Light and Particle Sources - DAMOPC-PPD / Nouvelles sources de lumière et de particules - DPAMPC-PPD C-301

      C-301

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Francois Legare (INRS-EMT)
      • 15:45
        Laser-driven particle beamlines, challenges and bottlenecks 30m
        Laser –generated particles are more and more considered to become a competitor to particle beams generated by traditional accelerator facilities such as Linac or synchrotrons. In particular, the high accelerating gradient that can be reached with laser-acceleration mechanisms, almost 1000 times stronger than for conventional accelerators, makes them an attractive alternative. A stronger accelerating gradient would reduce potentially the size and hence the costs of big accelerator facilities (e.g the LHC accelerator ring at CERN-Geneva, where the electron storage ring is around 27 km long). Unfortunately, the quality of the laser-generated beam parameters is currently not sufficient for replacing traditional facilities based on radiofrequency technology. In this paper we present the key issues and bottlenecks that we have identified in order to make laser-generated beams competitive to traditional accelerators. Results have been obtained using different particle-tracking codes commonly in use in the conventional accelerator community and coupling laser-generated beams to conventional accelerator devices in order to generate a traditional beam line. The particle tracking codes allow studying the relevant parameters needed for an efficient capture, transport and control of those beams. This would then generate reliable and controllable particles sources based on higher power laser systems, such as foreseen e.g. by the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI).
        Speaker: Patrizio Antici (INRS)
      • 16:15
        High-Flux Table-Top Ultrafast Water Window X-Ray Source Driven By Mid-IR Laser Pulses 15m
        Until very recently, Free Electron Lasers (FEL) and synchrotrons offering femtosecond (10$^{-15}$s) slicing technology have been the only facilities able to generate femtosecond X-Ray pulses in the water window (280-530 eV) spectral range. Bringing ultrafast science to the soft-X-Ray offer a wide range of application like studying multielectron dynamics in gas phase atoms/molecules, spectroscopy and imaging of biostructures in solution and time-resolved L-edge absorption spectroscopy to study ultrafast dynamics in magnetic materials. However, these facilities are associated with a huge initial investment and offer only limited access to a broad user community. An alternative technology is therefore necessary to make those ultrafast water window X-Ray pulses widely available. To generate those pulses, we realized a totally different approach, based on a taple-top extreme frequency upconversion mechanism called High Harmonic Generation (HHG). To do so, we use a customised high-energy optical parametric amplifier (OPA), delivering up to 10mJ of few-cycles pulses centered around 1.8 μm. We focus these pulses into a home-build gas-cell containing few tens of bars of helium, coupled to a flat-field X-Ray spectrometer. Through this highly nonlinear laser-atom interaction (HHG), high-flux ultrafast X-ray pulse trains, spanning almost the entire water window spectral range are than generated [1]. Single laser shot measurement of carbon K-edge (280eV) will be presented. [1] Légaré et al. (Manuscript in preparation)
        Speaker: Mr Samuel Beaulieu (INRS-EMT)
      • 16:30
        Extreme light in nanostructured targets: shaping fields and managing particle flows 30m
        The more intense that laser pulses can be made, the more surprising and extreme are the interaction effects researchers are seeing -- effects that are sometimes hard to control. One way to guide or redirect the physics relationships is to manipulate the composition or shape of targets. Nickel nanowires present >95% optical absorption into an effective skin-depth that is very long, greater than 1 μm. Partly this is due to the strong optical anisotropy of these oriented nanostructures: a dielectric in the transverse direction and a conductor along the optical axis. Under intense irradiation, and especially at relativisitic optical intensities, this can lead to transition from dielectric to conductor, strong JxB effects, nonlinear acceleration of electrons and the generation of high harmonic radiation. One remarkable recent result is that we see energy densities as high as 2GJ/cm^2, otherwise only available in NIF-compressed cores, and opening new possibilities for radiation and particle generation from modest-size intense ultrafast lasers. I'll outline our new theoretical and experimental results for intensities from small-signal up to very clean relativistic pulses.
        Speaker: Robin Marjoribanks (U)
      • 17:00
        Diode Pumped Yb:YAG Ceramic Laser Amplifier Modules for a TW Laser System 15m
        New ceramic laser materials allow the development of scalable, high efficiency and high repetition rate direct diode pumped laser modules. We are developing a diode pumped multipass amplifier as part of a new terawatt laser system being developed at the University of Alberta. Currently measurements are being carried out of the gain and extracted energy from a Yb:YAG ceramic disk amplifier stage pumped by 3 to 6 kW of pulsed diode pump power. These measurements are being carried out both at room temperature and at cryogenic temperatures where the potential efficiency and gain of the amplifier stage is improved. The results are then compared to rate equation modeling of the pulse amplification in the amplifier stage as a function of temperature and input pulse fluence. In these calculations we have included both the effect of temperature on the cross-section values (linewidth narrowing) and also the reduced lower laser level population due to the temperature dependent Boltzmann factor. We are currently establishing the best parameters for an overall model of the amplifier stage which will allow us to predict and design the optimum pump conditions and operating temperature for a given amplifier stage. The limitations in operating conditions due to transverse ASE are also being considered in these designs. The experimental measurements and modeling calculations will be presented.
        Speaker: Mr Muhammad Raj Masud (University of Alberta)
    • 15:45 17:15
      (T3-5) Biophysics/Soft Condensed Matter II: Soft Interfaces - DCMMP-DMBP / Biophysique et matière condensée molle II : Interfaces molles - DPMCM-DPMB A-226

      A-226

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: John Dutcher (University of Guelph)
      • 15:45
        Bacteria on surfaces – engineering surface microstructures to control bacterial adhesion and biofilm growth 30m
        Bacteria are highly effective at populating living or inanimate surfaces, which causes significant problems in the healthcare industry, such as nosocomial infections, and the infection of medical devices. There is much to learn on the roles of surface topology at nano and micro scales, wettability and local adhesion forces on bacterial attachment and growth. This talk will present recent results on materials engineered to prevent bacterial attachment, and surface microtopologies to control and direct biofilm growth. Herein we demonstrate the role for superhydrophobic non-wetting surfaces to control (short-term) cell attachment, and we have modelled bacterial cell attachment as particles acting under a balance of local surface tension forces [1]. Further, we have designed a novel class of ultra low-adhesion surfaces (known as SLIPS) that incorporate a micron-scale thick lubricant layer immobilized at a surface [2,3]. These surfaces are highly effective to prevent the wetting of a wide range of contacting liquids, hydrophobic and charged particles, and bacterial cell adhesion. Importantly, many such designs that work by such physical mechanisms can be effective for a broad range of cell types, and are not biologically-specific and susceptible to resistance. [1] Hatton BD & Aizenberg J Nano Letters (2012)12(9):4551-4557; [2] Wong TS, et al. Nature (2011) 477(7365):443-447; [3] Vogel N, Belisle R, Hatton BD, Wong TS, & Aizenberg J Nature Communications (2013) 4(2167).
        Speaker: Benjamin Hatton (U Toronto)
      • 16:30
        Surface tension effects in soft composites 30m
        Solid surface tension is typically ignored, but can be very important in soft solids. It acts to minimise surface area, and can significantly change how the solids behave. I will talk about its role in determining the mechanical properties of soft composites. We make soft composites by embedding small inclusions in soft gels - with the aim of understanding how the composite microstructure controls is mechanical properties. Classical theory for composite behaviour works when the inclusions are sufficiently large, but below a critical lengthscale, it breaks down: surprisingly, making small holes in a soft material can actually stiffen, rather than soften the material. I will demonstrate how these strange effects are caused by solid surface tension.
        Speaker: Dr Robert Style (Yale University)
        Slides
    • 15:45 17:15
      (T3-6) Control of dynamical properties- DCMMP / Contrôle de propriétés dynamiques - DPMCM C-204

      C-204

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Kimberley Hall (Dalhousie University)
      • 15:45
        Electrical Detection of Dynamically Generated DC and AC Spin Currents 30m
        Developing new methods for generating and detecting spin currents has been the central task of spintronics. In the pioneering work of Johnson and Silsbee, the generation and detection of spin-polarized currents were both achieved through the use of ferromagnetic metals (FM). Recent breakthroughs reveal ferromagnetic insulators (FI) to be promising spin current sources, in which spin currents can be generated without the presence of any charge current. So far, electrical detection of the spin current generated in FI was achieved by utilizing the spin-orbit coupling in heavy normal metal (NM) platinum (Pt). Given the fact that FM are broadly used as spin detectors in both semiconductor and metallic spintronics devices, it is of particular interest to develop new methods for detecting spin currents generated from an insulator using FM electrodes, which will make insulator spintronics devices compatible with both semiconductor and metallic spintronics devices. In this talk, we report dual spin pumping in magnetic bilayers made of a ferromagnetic insulator yttrium iron garnet (YIG) and a ferromagnetic metal Permalloy (Py). At the YIG ferromagnetic resonance (FMR), we detect a charge voltage in Py caused by YIG spin pumping. At the Py FMR, we measure the charge voltage generated by Py spin rectification. A striking simultaneous enhancement of both voltages is found at the equal resonance condition of both FMRs, which we attribute to dynamic coupling of the dual spin pumping. Our results demonstrate that Py enables electrical detection of both dc and ac spin currents in the spin pumping from YIG, which reveals a new path for developing insulator spintronics.
        Speaker: Prof. Can-Ming Hu (University of Manitoba)
      • 16:30
        Ultrafast relaxation of exciton-polaritons in organic microcavities 15m
        Exciton-polaritons are half-light, half-matter quasi-particles formed by excitons strongly coupled to the confined electromagnetic field of a microcavity. Their very low effective mass ($< 10^{-4} m_e$) and their bosonic character allows a phase transition to a Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) at relatively high temperature. Quantum effects such as spontaneous macroscopic coherence and superfluidity can then be observed. The proprieties of a BEC in inorganic quantum-well microcavities are well understood, but this effect in organic materials has not been clearly demonstrated. However, the large oscillator strength and the high exciton binding energy in such materials should allow formation of polariton condensates at higher temperature than achieved in inorganic microcavities and even to reach room temperature. In this presentation, I will describe our recent experimental efforts to reveal dynamics of polariton-polariton coupling in organic-semiconductor microcavities, which leads to the formation of quantum condensates. We employ two-dimensional electronic coherence spectroscopy (2D-ECS), an ultrashort technique belonging to the family of 2D Fourier spectroscopy. This technique uses a sequence of four ultrafast pulses with controlled spectral phase and delay to excite coherently a material system. Each pulse modifies the quantum states of the system in a known way. The signal emitted after the pulse sequence permit to build a correlation map revealing the nature of the coupling between different energy level. In our microcavities, it allows to probe polariton-polariton interactions along the dispersion curve, which ultimately leads to the formation of a BEC.
        Speaker: Pascal Grégoire (Université de Montréal)
      • 16:45
        Phase transition of the escape rate in dimer model 15m
        We study the phase transition of the escape rate of exchange-coupled dimer of single-molecule magnets which are coupled either ferromagnetically or antiferromagnetically in a staggered magnetic field and an easy $z$-axis anisotropy. The Hamiltonian for this system has been used to study dimeric molecular nanomagnet [Mn$_4$]$_2$ which is comprised of two single molecule magnets coupled antiferromagnetically. We generalize the method of mapping a single-molecule magnetic spin problem onto a quantum-mechanical particle to dimeric molecular nanomagnets. The problem is mapped to a single particle quantum-mechanical Hamiltonian in terms of the relative coordinate and a coordinate dependent reduced mass. It is shown that the presence of the external staggered magnetic field creates a phase boundary separating the first- from the second-order transition. With the set of parameters used by R. Tiron, $\textit{et al}$ , \prl {\bf 91}, 227203 (2003), and S. Hill, $\textit{et al}$ science {\bf 302}, 1015 (2003) to fit experimental data for [Mn$_{4}$]$_2$ dimer we find that the critical temperature at the phase boundary is $T^{(c)}_0 =0.29K$. Therefore, thermally activated transitions should occur for temperatures greater than $T^{(c)}_0$.
        Speaker: Mr Solomon Akaraka Owerre (University of Montreal)
        Slides
      • 17:00
        The Enhancement of the Figure of Merit for Thermoelectric Materials 15m
        There is substantial interest in enhancing the Figure of Merit of thermoelectric materials in their applications to diverse fields such as energy and environmental studies [1,2]. The relationship between thermal and electrical conductivities is often described by the empirical Wiedemann-Franz law. Improvisations beyond this law have been found to be necessary to extend its scope to broader regimes. In the present work, we examine the roots of the extremization equations in thermoelectrics that result from optimization of the figure of merit using the polylogarithm functions of a complex variable [3]. Specifically, we study the roots of the Polylogarithms Lir(z)=0 for arbitrary index r, which can be both real or complex. The solutions can be exploited to improve the Figure of Merit of thermoelectric materials, and also to propose a modification of the Wiedemann-Franz law based on our findings. The use of the polylogarithm functions for maximizing the Figure of Merit will provide a valuable approach that complements numerical solutions in the literature. [1] Thermoelectric and thermomagnetic methods of energy conversion. Professor A.G. Samoylovich course of lectures - Chemivtsi: Ruta, 228 (2006). [2] A.A. Snarskii, M.I. Zheinirovskii, and I.V. Bezsudnov http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1109/1109.1585.pdf [3] Muralikrishna Molli, K. Venkataramaniah, and S.R. Valluri, Can. J. Phys. 89: 1171-1178 (2011).
        Speaker: Prof. Sree Ram Valluri (University of Western Ontario)
        Slides
    • 15:45 17:15
      (T3-7) Cosmology - DTP / Cosmologie - DPT C-309

      C-309

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Arundhati Dasgupta (University of Lethbridge)
      • 15:45
        Early Universe Cosmology 30m
        What did the Universe look like near the time of the Big Bang? What is the origin of structure in our Universe? Was there a time before the Big Bang? Precision cosmological measurements, such as those performed by the Planck satellite, have allowed us to confront some possible answers to these questions with data. In this talk, I will describe some of the current theories of the early universe, and how these ideas are being tested.
        Speaker: Matthew Johnson (Y)
        Slides
      • 16:15
        Clusters for Cosmology 30m
        Over the past 30 years, cosmologists have made dramatic advances in establishing the fundamental parameters that govern the large-scale evolution of cosmic space-time. This progress is largely the result of experiments designed to measure the properties of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) to exquisite precision. CMB measurements, however, provide information about the state of the Universe when it was ~370,000 years old. The growth of cosmic structure - such as "clusters of galaxies", the most massive of the gravitationally bound objects in the universe - provides an alternate probe of the universe, albeit at the more recent epoch. According to the minimal standard model, the two sets of measurements ought to be give consistent results. However, recently released results from the Planck mission indicate that the two are in tension. Several resolutions have been proposed, of which the most exciting is that these results indicate the need for new physics. Another possibility is systematics in the "clusters for cosmology" program. Here I will provide a non-specialist overview of what this program entails, and provide recent results from the Canadian Clusters Comparison Project (CCCP).
        Speaker: Arif Babul
        Slides
      • 16:45
        Cosmological Perturbations in Antigravity 15m
        We compute the evolution of cosmological perturbations in a recently proposed Weyl-symmetric theory of two scalar fields with oppositely-signed kinetic terms and conformal couplings (in lieu of minimal coupling) to Einstein gravity. At the background level, the theory admits novel geodesically-complete cyclic cosmological solutions characterized by a brief period of repulsive gravity, or “antigravity,” during each successive transition from a Big Crunch to a Big Bang. We show that despite the wrong-signed kinetic term in the full action, these solutions are well-behaved (i.e. ghost-free) at the perturbative level.
        Speaker: Mr Marius Oltean (McGill University)
      • 17:00
        The Echo of the Early Universe 15m
        By applying quantum informational and optical tools to quantum gravity theories in the very early universe, we show that the fluctuations of quantum fields as seen by late comoving observers are significantly influenced by the history of the early universe, transmitting information about the nature of the universe in timescales when quantum gravitational effects where non-negligible. This might be observable even nowadays thus used to build falsifiability tests of quantum gravity theories.
        Speaker: Dr Eduardo Martin-Martinez (Institute for Quantum Computing and Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics)
        Slides
    • 15:45 17:15
      (T3-8) Searches for Higgs in the Standard Model and beyond - PPD / Recherches pour Higgs dans le modèle standard et au-delà - PPD C-112

      C-112

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Dr Wojtek Fedorko (University of British Columbia)
      • 15:45
        Search for resonant $VH$ production with a $W$ or $Z$ boson decaying leptonically 15m
        The search for $pp \rightarrow Vjj$ with a dijet resonance is motivated by a number of theories going beyond the Standard Model. The Higgs boson discovery by ATLAS and CMS imposes strong constraints on theories beyond the Standard Model. Minimal Walking Technicolor (MWT) proposes a dynamical approach to explain the electroweak symmetry breaking and is of interest as it includes a light composite Higgs-like scalar particle. It also predicts resonant $VH$ associated production coming from a mixture of vector and axial-vector mesons. This presentation will focus on the latest results in the search for such resonances in the 3 leptonic channels of $Vbb$ using the data collected from 8 TeV $pp$ collisions with the ATLAS detector with interpretation in terms of the MWT model.
        Speaker: Frederick Dallaire (Universite de Montreal (CA))
        Slides
      • 16:00
        Search for Associated Higgs Boson Production in the WH→ WWW(∗)→ lνlνqq Decay Mode Using 20.3 fb−1of Data Collected with the ATLAS Detector at √s = 8 TeV 15m
        A search for the Higgs boson in the associated production mode WH → WWW(∗) → lνlνqq (l = e, μ) performed combining the 20.3 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV collected in 2012 and the 4.7 fb-1 of proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV collected in 2011 with the ATLAS detector. Assuming a Higgs mass of 125 GeV, a 95% CL limit of approximately 6.8 times the Standard Model is set. Major backgrounds and techniques for suppressing them will be discussed. Backgrounds which are not well modelled by Monte Carlo simulation are estimated with data driven methods, or have additional systematic uncertainties estimated with data driven methods assigned to them.
        Speaker: Joseph Peter Kinghorn-Taenzer (University of Toronto (CA))
        Slides
      • 16:15
        Cut-based analysis of the Z-associated Higgs-strahlung process Z(H->WW) using data from the ATLAS experiment and Monte Carlo simulations 15m
        In the Standard Model of particle physics, there exist several modes by which a Higgs boson may be produced, and several modes by which it may decay. In order to accurately characterize it via measurement of its couplings to other particles, the statistically significant combinations of these production and decay modes must be studied. An analysis of one such combination is presented here, using data from the ATLAS experiment at CERN and Monte Carlo simulated (MC) samples: the Z-associated Higgs-strahlung process, $f\bar{f}\rightarrow Z(H\rightarrow WW^*)$. A set of selection criteria (cuts) for events is optimized to maximize signal-to-background; this optimization is done against MC samples of the relevant background and signal processes in order to avoid bias from the data. Additionally, subsets of the data and MC samples orthogonal to the signal region are studied to determine *scale factors*, which are applied to the normalization of the MC samples to correct for mismodelling. Both the cuts and scale factors are frozen before unblinding the data. Finally, the results obtained from applying the cuts to the data and MC samples are used to set a limit on the ZH production cross-section (statistics are not sufficient for a direct calculation of the value), which will eventually be used in a fit to determine the aforementioned coupling strengths.
        Speaker: Aaron Arthur Liblong (University of Toronto (CA))
        Slides
    • 15:45 16:45
      (T3-9) Neutrinos: Underground and Future - DTP -PPD-DNP / Neutrinos: sous terre et avenir - DPT-PPD-DPN FA-054

      FA-054

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Andrei Semenov
      • 15:45
        Neutrino Theory Impacts 30m
        Whereas great strides have been made in the experimental measurements of neutrino properties, a definitive theory of neutrinos is yet to emerge. I will discuss some selected theoretical ideas, including the possible link between neutrinos and other phenomena such as dark matter and astrophysics.
        Speaker: Prof. Ernest Ma (University of California, Riverside)
        Slides
      • 16:15
        Calibrating the SNO+ Detector 15m
        SNO+ is a scintillator experiment at SNOLAB searching for neutrino-less double-beta decay in Tellurium-130, as well as detecting low energy solar neutrinos, and reactor- and geo-antineutrinos. Good understanding of our energy response is crucial, especially in making the double beta decay measurement. SNO+ will deploy radioactive calibration sources to study the detector’s response to different particle types, position and energy reconstruction, and energy resolution at the double-beta endpoint. I will focus on the development and simulation of a new AmBe source and upgrading the existing SNO calibration hardware to a closed, airtight system, both of which are needed to for compatibility with our new LAB-based scintillator.
        Speaker: Erica Caden (L)
        Slides
      • 16:30
        Water Assay Using Hydrous Titanium Oxide Technique for the SNO+ Experiment 15m
        SNO+ is a multipurpose neutrino physics detector, located 2 km deep underground at SNOLAB in Sudbury, Canada. The SNO+ Acrylic Vessel (AV) will be filled with 780 tons of liquid scintillator, Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB). The AV is surrounded by about 7000 tonnes of ultrapure light water, which shields the detector from naturally occurring radioactivity in the surrounding rock, PMTs etc. To achieve the radiopurity requirements for physics data, the water must be very clean on the level of 238-U: 2.06 X 10^-13 gU/g water and 232Th: 5.20 X 10^-14 gTh/g water. The existing water assay technique, Hydrous Titanium Oxide (HTiO), is used for assaying the radioactive backgrounds in the water from different regions of the SNO+ detector. Several steps are involved: deposition, extraction, elution, and secondary concentration. The amount of Ra in the sample is then determined by Bi-Po coincidence counting and the amount of 232Th and 238U present in the water is determined as well. All steps involved in the HTiO assay technique are presented as well as a sample analysis.
        Speaker: Ms Dimpal Chauhan (Queen's University)
        Slides
    • 15:45 17:45
      Heads/Chairs Business Meeting / Réunion des directeurs de départements L-507

      L-507

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 17:00 19:00
      Professional Development: Professional Affairs - Affaires professionnelles W-130

      W-130

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      slides
      • 17:00
        Elements of Professional Practice for Physicists 30m
        Elements of Professional Practice for Physicists Prepared by: M.K. O'Neill , M.Sc. (Physics), P.Eng, P.Phys and Dr. Stephen Pistorius M.Sc. (Med) Ph.D. (Physics), P.Phys., FCOMP for the CAP Professional Affairs Committee The Canadian Association of Physicists has established a professional designation: Professional Physicist (P.Phys). Although qualifying criteria are in place for P.Phys applications, other aspects of professional practice have not been fully developed. The purpose of this talk and workshop is to explore elements of professional practice through a review of practices found in other professions, as well as legal obligations, such as expanded duty of care, which are inherent to professional practice . We will cover topics such as the general nature of professional practice, the common elements of professional practice, and the application of these to P.Phys professional practice.
        Speaker: Mr Michael O'Neill (CAP - PAC)
        Slides
    • 17:15 18:45
      CEWIP Annual Meeting & Reception / Assemblée annuelle CEFEP et réception C-114

      C-114

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Li-Hong Xu (University of New Brunswick)
    • 19:00 21:00
      Progressive Dinner at Science North Museum Science North

      Science North

      includes open access

    • 07:30 08:30
      CNILC Breakfast Meeting / Réunion du comité de liaison national canadien de l'UIPPA C-201

      C-201

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 08:30 10:00
      (W1-1) Experimental Advances and Acccelerators - DNP-PPD-DIMP / Progrès expérimentaux et accélérateurs - DPN-PPD-DPIM C-304

      C-304

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: René Roy (Université Laval)
      • 08:30
        The International Linear Collider - a precision probe for physics at the TeV scale 30m
        The Standard Model is the most comprehensive present day precision theory of particle interactions. Nonetheless, many key questions in subatomic physics and cosmology remain unanswered. The recent discovery of a Higgs-like particle at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has raised new questions. The International electron-positron Linear Collider (ILC) is being planned as the next high-energy world facility for particle physics. Precision experiments at the ILC will be essential in unambiguously interpreting LHC physics discoveries. ILC physics demands much better performance than previous or current collider detectors have achieved. The project status, in the context of Japan as a potential ILC host, will be summarized. The collider and detector challenges will be described with focus on specific tracking, calorimetry and accelerator ILC R&D activities in Canada.
        Speaker: Alain Bellerive (Carleton University (CA))
        Slides
      • 09:00
        The Advanced Rare IsotopE Laboratory (ARIEL) at TRIUMF 30m
        TRIUMF, Canada’s national laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics, has made substantial progress towards the construction of the Advanced Rare IsotopE Laboratory (ARIEL), which is its flagship project towards advancing isotopes for science and medicine. ARIEL will ultimately triple the current rare isotope beam capability, facilitating many more experiments in material science, nuclear physics, nuclear astrophysics, and fundamental symmetry tests as well as enable development of new isotopes for nuclear medicine. Rare isotope beams from the photo-production with the new electron linear accelerator (e-linac) and from the proton induced spallation and fission employing a new proton beam line from TRIUMF's 500 MeV cyclotron will make use of the existing world-class experiments of TRIUMF's ISAC facility. This talk will give an overview on the progress of the ARIEL project and describe the plans for completing the project in five phases, each enabling new science capabilities.
        Speaker: Prof. Reiner Kruecken (TRIUMF)
        Slides
      • 09:30
        Development and Licensing of SFU Neutron Generator Facility 15m
        Subcritical Intense Multiplier Of Neutrons (SIMON) is a proposed neutron generator facility in the Department of Chemistry at Simon Fraser University. The facility aims to support a research program including production and separation of radioisotopes for medical applications, as well as studies of nuclear structure, neutron induced fission, neutron activation for non-destructive elemental analysis of materials, and to study the feasibility of subcritical accelerator-driven multiplication of neutrons. As part of the SIMON facility licensing process with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, dose rate predictions were computed via Monte-Carlo methods using the GEANT4 (GEometry ANd Tracking 4) simulation framework. Annual dose rate contributions to personnel-occupied work areas surrounding the neutron generator vault are predicted to be less than half of the Health Canada limit of 1 mSv/yr for members of the public. Recent and upcoming developments, including receipt of the license to construct the facility, ongoing construction of the facility, and independent verification of the dose rate predictions, will be discussed.
        Speaker: Mr Jonathan Williams (Simon Fraser University)
        Slides
      • 09:45
        Study of a Large Prototype TPC using Micro-Pattern Gas Detector Readouts 15m
        During the last decade, detector R&D for the future International Linear Collider (ILC) has been performed by the community. The International Large Detector (ILD) is one detector concept at the ILC where calorimetry and tracking systems are combined. The tracking system consists of a Si vertex detector and forward tracking disks, as well as a large volume Time Projection Chamber (TPC). Within the framework of the LCTPC collaboration, a Large Prototype (LP) TPC has been built as a demonstrator. Its endplate is able to contain up to seven identical modules of Micro-Pattern Gas Detectors (MPGD). Recently, the LP has been equipped with resistive anode Micromegas (MM). A team from Canada participates in the deployment and study of the MM technology with a 5 GeV electron beam in a 1 Tesla magnet at DESY. After introducing the LP, the current status, recent results (drift velocity, field distortions and spatial resolution measurements) as well as future plans of the MM readout will be presented.
        Speaker: Mr Peter Hayman (Carleton University)
        Slides
    • 08:30 10:00
      (W1-2) 100 Years of X-ray Diffraction - DHP-DCMMP / 100 ans de diffraction des rayons X - DHP-DPMCM C-309

      C-309

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Sjoerd Roorda (Université de Montréal)
      • 08:30
        History of X-ray Diffraction in Canada 45m
        This talk will discuss the history of x-ray diffraction, with an emphasis on a Canadian perspective. It will discuss important milestones of x-ray diffraction, the history of x-ray sources and discuss diffraction research with an emphasis on Canadian Research.
        Speaker: Mark Sutton
      • 09:15
        Biomedical Imaging Applications of X-Ray Diffraction 45m
        The use of x-ray diffraction optics for biomedical imaging has provided a very fruitful area of instrumentation development, especially at synchrotron sources. Such optics have driven a number of biomedical imaging applications such as K-edge subtraction imaging (a form of element specific imaging), analyzer based imaging or diffraction enhanced imaging, Talbot or interferometry based imaging and in-line phase contrast imaging. The biomedical beamline at the Canadian Light Source provides an ideal environment to develop and test new optical systems with the motivation to provide new tools for the biomedical community. Our group is actively involved in all aspects of optical system development and application. Recently, we have developed a new “spectral” approach to K-edge imaging that may soon lead to rapid 3D imaging of a contrast element including the potential for speciation imaging. We have developed x-ray optics that angularly disperse a wide range of continuous imaging energies for multi-elemental analysis (~12keV range centered at 35keV) and imaging at several specific energies simultaneously (multiple energy imaging). Most recently, we have explored ways to very efficiently expand our imaging beam vertically to better match the size of the subjects. An interesting aspect of the optic is that provided a vertical beam size that would have been possible with a beamline 12 times longer than the actual length of 25m. This allows us to much better utilize the intensity of the synchrotron beam and will lead to a unique capability for dynamic imaging. Examples of all of these developments and their application will be presented along with a future perspective will be given.
        Speaker: Dean Chapman (University of Saskatchewan)
    • 08:30 10:00
      (W1-3) Condensed Matter Theory - DTP-DCMMP / Théorie de la matière condensée -DPT-DPMCM C-204

      C-204

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Louis Marchildon (Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres)
      • 08:30
        Correlated electron physics in quantum materials 30m
        In this talk, I will review recent developments of strongly correlated electron systems in transition metal materials. In particular, transition metal oxides exhibit novel quantum phases including unconventional superconductivity, electronic nematic phases, topological Mott insulators, and quantum spin liquids. This rich variety of phenomena stems from the interplay among charge, spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom. After a general review, I will focus on Iridium-based oxides which display exotic magnetic phases and quantum spin liquids. Combined effects of spin-orbit coupling and electronic correlation will be also presented.
        Speaker: Jeffrey Rau (University of Toronto)
      • 09:00
        The Haldane-like spin chain in the large anisotropy limit 30m
        We consider the one dimensional spin chain similar to the one studied by Haldane, however in the opposite limit, of very large anisotropy and small nearest neighbour, anti-ferromagnetic exchange coupling between the spins. The zero order theory has a ground state that is 2^N degenerate, corresponding to each spin in its highest or lowest weight state. For a periodic chain with an even number of sites we show that the ground state is a superposition of the two possible Néel states. We explicitly find the instanton that mediates the tunnelling, within the spin coherent state formalism. With an odd number of spins, the Néel state must necessarily contain a defect. The position of the defect is arbitrary and the set of ground states reorganize into a band, with the ground state given by the linear superposition of the localized defect states. We show that at order 2s in perturbation theory, the localized states mix. In both cases, the ground state does not admit long range order, confirming the result that symmetry break down does not occur in one dimensional systems.
        Speaker: Prof. Manu Paranjape (Université de Montréal)
        Slides
      • 09:30
        Perturbative non-Fermi liquids from dimensional regularization 15m
        A dimensional regularization scheme for quantum field theories with Fermi surface is proposed to study scaling behaviour of non-Fermi liquid states in a controlled approximation. Starting from a Fermi surface in two space dimensions, the co-dimension of Fermi surface is extended to a general value while the dimension of Fermi surface is fixed. When Fermi surface is coupled with a critical boson centred at zero momentum, the interaction becomes marginal at a critical space dimension $d_c=5/2$. A deviation from the critical dimension is used as a small parameter for a systematic expansion. This method is applied to the theory where two patches of Fermi surface are coupled with a critical boson, and it is shown that the Ising-nematic critical point is described by a stable non-Fermi liquid state slightly below the critical dimension. Critical exponents are computed up to the two-loop order.
        Speaker: Denis Dalidovich (P)
        Slides
      • 09:45
        Thermodynamic Induction 15m
        A nonequilibrium thermodynamic theory demonstrating an induction effect of a statistical nature will be presented. We have shown that this thermodynamic induction can arise in a class of systems that have variable kinetic coefficients (VKC). In particular if a kinetic coefficient associated with a given thermodynamic variable depends on another, faster, thermodynamic variable then we have derived an expression that can predict the extent of the induction. The amount of induction is shown to be proportional to the square of the generalized driving force. This result constitutes an extension of the Onsager symmetry relations to the nonlinear realm. We note an important sign difference. While the entire system approaches thermodynamic equilibrium, some variables may be induced to leave thermodynamic equilibrium. Some subsystems may move to lower entropy configurations, for sustained periods of time, without violating the second law of thermodynamics. Also, induction allows the entire system to approach equilibrium faster than expected. Thus we present a nonequilibrium version of Le Chatelier's principle. We have also developed a variational approach, based on optimizing entropy production, in a certain sense. On the question of resolving whether entropy production is minimized or maximized, we conclude neither, but we produce a function that is maximized. The maximization occurs while the fast variables are quasistationary. Thus, the stationary states of Prigogine, introduced in the context of the minimum entropy production principle, are still very useful. Finally, we will discuss possible schemes directed towards discovering experimental evidence for thermodynamic induction, including manipulation of individual atoms using a scanning tunnelling microscope.
        Speaker: Steve Patitsas (U)
        Slides
    • 08:30 10:00
      (W1-4) Fields and Strings - DTP / Champs et cordes - DPT C-114

      C-114

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Arundhati Dasgupta (University of Lethbridge)
      • 08:30
        Quantum gravity on a quantum computer? 30m
        Quantum information theoretic tools could be used to study the most basic physical phenomena. For example, measurements of quantum entanglement allow one, in principle, to detect curvature. I am proposing that curvature may be expressible entirely in terms of entanglement. This would open up the prospect that quantum gravity could be simulated on a quantum computer. Mathematical results that arise in these studies yield surprising answers to questions of the type famously described by Kac's as "Can one hear the shape of a drum?"
        Speaker: Prof. Achim Kempf (University of Waterloo)
      • 09:00
        Unruh-Dewitt detectors and AdS Black Holes 15m
        It is well-known that black holes emit Hawking radiation, which has a characteristic temperature; observers outside the black hole observe the emission of particles. We consider a conformally coupled scalar field around a black hole in an asymptotically AdS spacetime. By using a simple model of a particle detector, we can probe the spectral features of this radiation. We calculate the response of the detector with respect to its energy gap. Numerical simulations show that the radiation, while thermal, is not featureless; there are characteristic peaks at certain frequencies. We then provide evidence that these peaks are due to quasinormal resonances.
        Speaker: Keith Ng (University of Waterloo)
        Slides
      • 09:15
        Particle Detectors as Topological Probes 15m
        The apparent triviality of the topology of our universe stands in stark contrast to the properties of general relativity, which admits all possible topologies. The topological censorship theorem resolves this conundrum insofar as it relegates all isolated topological structures (such as wormholes) inaccessible to observers by any classical experimental means. I will show here that an Unruh-DeWitt detector can indeed probe the global topology of a spacetime by making local measurements of a quantum field. Specifically, I will consider a massless scalar field on the BTZ spacetime — the 2+1 dimensional analog of a Schwarzschild spacetime — coupled in the canonical way to a particle detector. I will examine several trajectories of the detector, illustrating how the detector is sensitive to the topology that is partially hidden behind horizons. Implications for the topological censorship theorem will be discussed.
        Speaker: Alexander Smith (U)
        Slides
      • 09:30
        The Continuum Limit of the Unruh Effect in a Cavity 15m
        Building on previous numerical non-perturbative studies of the Unruh effect on a harmonic-oscillator-detector in a cavity, we seek to explain the nuances involved in taking the continuum limit of an Unruh-DeWitt detector as the cavity becomes large. While we have previously replicated the linear dependence of temperature on acceleration, here we will discuss how in the continuum limit the slope of this dependence will converge to $1/2\pi$, with vanishing constant term. Our ability to directly examine the detector's thermality will guide us towards a resolution.
        Speaker: Wilson Brenna (University of Waterloo)
        Slides
      • 09:45
        Tunneling and domain walls 15m
        We consider a field theory model in 1+1 dimensions with a discrete internal symmetry. The model is such that the true vacuum respects this symmetry but it is broken in a pair of false vacua. Solitons interpolating between the false vacua necessarily pass through the true vacuum and are unstable. Adding a second scalar field, it is possible to stabilize the soliton against small fluctuations. Nonetheless, such a soliton will necessarily decay via quantum tunneling, just as the false vacuum itself is unstable. We analyse this phenomenon, and study whether the presence of solitons has a significant effect on the stability of a false vacuum.
        Speaker: Richard MacKenzie (U)
        Slides
    • 08:30 10:00
      (W1-5) Biophysics/Soft Condensed Matter III: Phase Behaviour and Kinetics - DCMMP-DMBP / Biophysique et matière condensée molle III: Comportement et cinétique de phase - DPMCM-DPMB A-226

      A-226

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Sheldon Opps (U)
      • 08:30
        Pressure-induced interdigitation in bicellar mixtures containing anionic lipid 30m
        Phospholipid bilayer interdigitation can be induced by the application of hydrostatic pressure. Bilayers of anionic lipid are known to interdigitate at lower pressures than bilayers of corresponding lipids with zwitterionic headgroups. Dispersions of lipid mixtures with long and short chains, known as bicellar mixtures, can exist as small bilayered micelle disks at temperatures below the gel-to-liquid crystal transition temperature of the long chain component, magnetically orientable extended micelles at intermediate temperature, and lamellar phases at higher temperature. For mixtures of dimyristoyl phosphaticylcholine (DMPC) and dihexanoyl phosphatidylcholine (DHPC), interdigitation has been reported at pressures above 400 MPa [Jeworrek, Uelner, Winter, 2011, Soft Matter 7, 2709]. In the current work, dispersions DMPC-d54, the anionic phospholipid dimyristoyl phosphatidylglycerol (DMPG), and DHPC, with molar ratios 3:1:1, have been studied using variable-pressure 2H NMR at temperatures up to 60oC and pressures up to 140 MPa. The resulting pressure-temperature phase diagram displays a region of interdigitation that extends down 120 MPa at 56oC. However, by cooling this mixture from about 50oC at pressures above 83 MPa, it is also possible to induce metastable interdigitation that can persist to lower pressures and temperatures. This may reflect kinetic trapping of a non-equilibrium lateral distribution of the short-chain DHPC component. These observations provide new insights into how lipid assembly morphology is determined by the balance between component interactions in the bilayer interfacial and hydrophobic regions. Supported by NSERC.
        Speaker: Michael Morrow (Memorial University of Newfoundland)
        Slides
      • 09:00
        Study of chiral molecular diffusion in anisotropic liquids 15m
        Very often the cholesteric liquid crystals are obtained by mixing a small quantity of chiral molecules in a nematic liquid crystal host. The homogeneous mixture is obtained by molecular diffusion, which takes place due to chaotic (thermal) motion of individual molecules. This process is temperature dependent. However, the breakdown of physical symmetry also affects dramatically the diffusion process. In the present work, we study this diffusion for different boundary conditions from orientational point of view. We compare the same diffusion process with the case of non-chiral molecules. Some theoretical estimations are made to try to model the experimentally observed phenomenon.
        Speaker: Karen Allahverdyan (Laval University)
        Slides
      • 09:15
        Competition Between Phase Separation and Crystallization in Attractive Colloids 30m
        This presentation will focus on results from recent experiments on earth and on the International Space Station investigating the interplay between phase separation and crystallization in samples prepared in the three-phase region (gas-liquid-crystal) of the phase diagram of a colloid-polymer mixture. On earth, our samples first separate into a colloid-rich phase and a colloid-poor phase, with crystals forming in the colloid-rich phase. The denser phases sediment as expected. In microgravity, photographic images obtained in the BCAT-5 experiment reveal phase separation with crystal formation in the denser phase, where the phase separation continues normally until the dominant length scale is about 25% of the cell thickness, at which point both phase separation and crystal growth are arrested before macroscopic phase separation can occur. We propose that this arrest occurs because the surface tension is not sufficient to overcome the stiffness of the crystalline network that forms in the liquid phase. Supported by the Canadian Space Agency and NSERC.
        Speaker: Barbara Frisken (S)
      • 09:45
        Inverse melting and phase behaviour of core-softened attractive disks 15m
        We use several computer simulation techniques to study the phase behaviour of a simple, two dimensional model that was originally devised to understand the anomalous properties of liquid water and their connection to a hypothesized liquid-liquid critical point. The interaction potential of this one-component system comprises a repulsive shoulder and an attractive square well. In our phase diagram of the model we find that the system exhibits inverse melting, for which the system crystallizes upon isobaric heating, over a small range of pressure [1]. We find that the range of pressures over which inverse melting occurs can be enlarged by increasing the extent of the repulsive shoulder [2]. Although our study is in 2D, we find that the transition is first order and to a liquid, rather than to a hexatic or quasicrystal phase. The increase in the range of inverse melting results in a change in the topology of the phase diagram, leading to further interesting behaviour. [1] A. M. Almudallal, S. V. Buldyrev, and I. Saika-Voivod, J. Chem. Phys. 137, 034507 (2012). [2] A. M. Almudallal, S. V. Buldyrev, and I. Saika-Voivod, arXiv:1401.0679 (2014).
        Speaker: Ahmad Almudallal (Memorial University of Newfoundland)
        Slides
    • 08:30 10:00
      (W1-6) Cold Atoms and Molecules - DAMOPC-DCMMP / Atomes froids et molécules - DPAMPC-DPMCM FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Frank Hegmann (U)
      • 08:30
        Spin transport in a unitary Fermi gas 30m
        The thermodynamic properties of unitary Fermi gases are called universal, since they do not depend on the strength or physical origin of their interactions. For the same reason, one might expect dynamics to be universal. We report on the growth of interactions and the loss of magnetization in a gas initialized with full transverse magnetization. Such a gas has no interaction energy, since each atom is in the same superposition of magnetic eigenstates. However, in the presence of a magnetic field gradient, this is a non-equilibrium state, and relaxes to an unmagnetized, fully interacting state, at higher temperature. We present our measurements of these dynamics, and discuss implications for our understanding of the unitary Fermi gas.
        Speaker: Prof. Joseph Thywissen (University of Toronto)
      • 09:00
        5s-6s two-photon and Stark-induced one photon spectroscopy in rubidium 15m
        The ns → (n+1)s transition in alkali atoms is of interest due to its sensitivity to relativistic effects, and it has been the basis for the most stringent atomic parity non-conservation measurement by the Boulder group. We have carried out 5s→6s two-photon spectroscopy on rubidium kept in a vapor cell, with the aim of determining 6s hyperfine splittings and 5s→6s isotope shifts between isotopes 85 and 87 at the 100 kHz level, using RF sideband modulation techniques. In a next step, we will observe the Stark-induced one-photon 5s→6s transition in a vapor cell with internal field plates. The goal will be to determine the 5s→6s scalar and tensor transition polarizabilities. These measurements are precursors to equivalent measurements in laser-trapped francium atoms at TRIUMF. Supported by NSERC and the University of Manitoba.
        Speaker: Kyle Shiells (U)
        Slides
      • 09:15
        Ultracold Rydberg atoms and hybrid quantum systems 30m
        Rydberg atoms --- large atoms with a highly excited, loosely bound electron --- may enable hybrid quantum systems, combining the long coherence times of atomic systems with the strong interactions of solid-state devices. However, this will require atoms to be located near a heterogeneous surface with exposed metal electrodes and dielectric insulators, which are sources of uncontrollable and unwanted electric fields. With this motivation, we have measured both the static [1] and time-varying [2] electric fields near the heterogeneous metal-dielectric surface of an atom chip using cold Rydberg atoms. We have also developed a technique for reducing the influence of dc and low-frequency electric fields on Rydberg atom transitions, while retaining their sensitivity to high-frequency resonant fields [3]. [1] J. D. Carter, O. Cherry, and J. D. D. Martin, Phys. Rev. A, v. 86, 053401 (2012) [2] J. D. Carter and J. D. D. Martin, Phys. Rev. A, v. 88, 043429 (2013). [3] L. A. Jones, J. D. Carter, J. D. D. Martin, Phys. Rev. A, v. 87, 023423 (2013).
        Speaker: Prof. James Martin (University of Waterloo)
      • 09:45
        Isotope shifts in 206-213Fr and 221Fr from the Francium Trapping Facility 15m
        The Francium Trapping Facility at TRIUMF has successfully commissioned a capture chamber and is in the process of completing a science chamber for weak interaction studies. We present recent isotope shift measurements of the 7S1/2 to 7P1/2 (D1) transition taken in the capture chamber by radiofrequency sideband spectroscopy. While isotope shifts in heavy elements are dominated by the field shift, caused by a change in nuclear charge radius, our new measurements are aimed at the extraction of another important and non-trivial contribution, the specific mass shift, which is sensitive to electron correlations. Thus we can benchmark predictions made from the atomic wavefunctions required for the interpretation of future francium parity non-conservation measurements. Taking our data along with literature 7S1/2 to 7P3/2 (D2) shifts in a King plot allows an extraction of the field shift constants ratio FD2/FD1 = 1.0520(10), comparing P3/2 and P1/2 electronic overlap with the nucleus. It also tells us the specific mass shift constants difference between these two transitions, SD2 - SD1(FD2/FD1) = 170(100) GHz amu.
        Speaker: Mr Robert Collister (University of Manitoba / TRIUMF)
        Slides
    • 08:30 10:00
      (W1-7) Cosmic Frontier: Dark Matter - PPD / Frontière cosmique: matière sombre - PPD C-112

      C-112

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Matthias Danninger (University of British Columbia (CA))
      • 08:30
        Searching for Dark Matter with PICASSO 15m
        The Project In CAnada Searching for Supersymmetric Objects (PICASSO) at SNOlab searches for Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) interactions with 19-F. It is particularly sensitive to spin-dependent particle interactions. It uses a droplet technique, based on the principle of a bubble chamber, in which phase transitions in superheated liquids can be triggered by WIMP induced nuclear recoils. The detection process allows a highly efficient suppression of backgrounds from cosmic muons, gamma rays and beta particles. In this talk recent progress and results will be presented, with particular focus on the 10 GeV low mass region, for both spin dependent and independent interactions.
        Speaker: Dr Christopher Jackson (Université de Montréal)
        Slides
      • 08:45
        Dark Matter Search with SuperCDMS 15m
        It is well established by now that about 80% of the mass in the Universe exists in a form other than the baryonic matter that makes up all object we know. However, we do not know yet what this "Dark Matter" consists of. The most discussed solution to this problem is a Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP). SuperCDMS is an upgrade of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search experiment using cryogenic detectors based on larger germanium single crystals (~0.6 kg per detector) with a new sensor layout which greatly improves the detector performance. This talk will introduce the new SuperCDMS detectors, discuss status and future of the experiment, and highlight the first results which break new ground in the low WIMP mass range.
        Speaker: Wolfgang Rau (for the SuperCDMS Collaboration)
        Slides
      • 09:00
        Data Acquisition for SuperCDMS-SNOLAB 15m
        The Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SCDMS) experiment uses solid state germanium and silicon detectors to search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), a leading candidate to explain dark matter. WIMPs are thought to be streaming through the earth, and CDMS seeks to measure the energy deposited by a WIMP-nucleon collision in sensitive calorimeters. Background particles dominate the potential WIMP signal, where a background rate of $\sim$0.2Hz due to $\alpha, \beta, \gamma,$ and neutrons is observed in each detector. This rate is 4 orders of magnitude greater than the WIMP event rate predicted by optimistic WIMP models. High statistics calibration runs with different radioactive sources are crucial to understanding the energy signature of background particles and to ensure that a background event will never be mistaken for a WIMP. Calibration runs involve higher event rates ($\sim$7Hz per detector) than WIMP search runs. We present a zero-dead-time Data Acquisition (DAQ) System that uses Detector Control and Readout Cards (DCRCs). These cards read in waveforms of an event from the detector's 12 phonon and 4 ionization energy channels and write the waveforms to a 3.3 second circular memory buffer. We design a DAQ system to decide, within this 3.3s window, which of the $\sim$140kB events to write to disk in order to keep data throughput under a limit and keep total data volume manageable for the later analysis. In this effort we use different readout methods for the different calibration runs and WIMP search runs. We discuss these methods and also discuss our pileup rejection cuts, which are designed to reject events with overlapping pulses that cannot be easily analyzed.
        Speaker: Mr William Page (University of British Columbia)
        Slides
      • 09:30
        State of the Art of Searches for Dark Matter 30m
        Astronomical observations of galaxies, clusters of galaxies and studies of the large scale structure of the Universe show convincing evidence of the existence of dark matter (DM). However our understanding of its nature and its non-gravitational properties is still lacking. We will review the basic properties of dark matter, discuss the strategies employed for its observation and give an overview of the state of the art of ongoing direct and indirect dark matter experiments. Particular emphasis will be given to the discussion of recent intriguing results in this vibrant field of research.
        Speaker: Prof. Viktor Zacek (Université de Montréal)
        Slides
    • 08:30 10:00
      (W1-8) Energy Frontier: Exotics - PPD-DTP / Frontières d'énergie: exotiques - PPD-DPT C-203

      C-203

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Svetlana Barkanova (Acadia University)
      • 08:30
        No Stone Left Unturned? Searches for New Physics with ATLAS 30m
        One of the key missions of the LHC is to search for the unknown and unexpected. The 2012 LHC run at centre of mass energy of 8 TeV has delivered a wealth of data for the ATLAS experiment to analyse. This talk will give a flavour of the variety and breath of searches for physics beyond the Standard Model at ATLAS, ranging from those using relatively clean signatures through to more complicated searches in final states containing top quark pairs, tau leptons and long-lived particles. A variety of different models are covered, from extensions to the SM that include new forces or new dimensions, to searches looking for tiny deviations from known processes.
        Speaker: Dr Wojtek Fedorko (University of British Columbia)
        Slides
      • 09:00
        How hard is it to get a de Sitter solution in String Theory? 30m
        In this talk I will argue that a de Sitter solution in string theory is hard to get, although not impossible. I'll show a possible way to realize KKLT type solution using string theory fluxes and discuss the status of other possible ways to achieve de Sitter vacua.
        Speaker: Prof. Keshav Dasgupta (McGill University)
      • 09:30
        The Search for a Heavy Higgs-like Boson in the WW(lvjj) Decay Channel with the ATLAS Detector 15m
        The search for search for a heavy Higgs boson decaying into the semi-leptonic WW final state is presented in the high mass range (300 GeV - 1000 GeV) using the ATLAS detector. These results are based on the 2012 proton-proton dataset provided by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $21\ fb^{-1}$ at center of mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 8\ TeV$. The search covers both Standard Model interpretations and theories beyond the Standard Model which predict a second Higgs in addition to the already discovered resonance at 125 GeV.
        Speaker: Hass Abouzeid (University of Toronto (CA))
        Slides
      • 09:45
        Search for new physics in the same-sign dilepton final states with the ATLAS detector at the LHC 15m
        Many new physics models beyond the Standard Model produce same-sign dilepton pairs. Supersymmetry, universal etra dimentions, left-right symmetry, Higgs triplets and Little Higgs are examples of such new models. Same-sign dilepton pairs are clean signature in the collisions of two protons because not many Standard Model process to produce such final states exist. This makes it an ideal place to look for new physics. Using 20 fb-1 of 8 TeV data, we set limits on new physics cross sections, especially on doubly-charged Higgs production.
        Speaker: Dr Kenji Hamano (University of Victoria)
        Slides
    • 08:30 17:15
      CAP Teachers Workshop (Day 2) with SNOLAB Tour / Atelier des enseignants (Jour 2) avec visite guidée du SNOLAB F-536

      F-536

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 08:30 17:30
      Exhibit booths open 08:30-17:30 / Salle d'exposition ouverte de 08h30 à 17h30 Fraser Foyer

      Fraser Foyer

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 09:15 13:30
      (W-Pub) CAP Commercial Publishers’ Session / Session des éditeurs commerciaux C-206-07

      C-206-07

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 09:15
        CAP Commercial Publishers' Session 45m
        Join Dr. Marina Milner-Bolotin, to discuss how Physics Education Research and Modern Education Technologies can help you engage your undergraduate students in meaningful physics learning inside and outside of classroom. Presentation by Nelson Education followed by product demo and light refreshments in room C-207.
    • 10:00 10:30
      Health Break (with exhibitors) / Pause santé (avec exposants) Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 10:30 11:15
      (W-PLEN1) Plenary Session - Gabriela Gonzalez, Louisiana State U. - Session plénière FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 10:30
        Opening the gravitational wave window 45m
        Gravitational waves are "ripples in space time'' produced by violent astrophysical events such as core-collapse supernova and collisions of neutron stars and black holes, as well as by other continuous phenomena as rotating stars and the early Universe. These waves have never been directly detected on Earth yet, but a network of LIGO and Virgo ground-based interferometric detectors is expected to do this very soon. These detectors have operated with record sensitivity in the recent past, and they are being upgraded to begin operating with good prospects of observations, to start operations in a few years. I will present a brief introduction to the nature and detection of gravitational waves, and present the current status of the international network of detectors, which will include new detectors in India and Japan.
        Speaker: Gabriela González (Louisiana State University)
    • 11:15 11:45
      NSERC Presentation by Elizabeth Boston / Présentation du CRSNG par Elizabeth Boston FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 11:45 12:15
      NSERC EG Chair Report (L.-H. Xu) / Rapport de la présidente du GE (L.-H. Xu) FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 12:15 12:30
      CAP-NSERC Liaison Committee Report (J. Dutcher) / Rapport du Comité de liaison ACP-CRSNG (J. Dutcher) FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 12:30 13:45
      DCMMP Annual Meeting / Assemblée annuelle DPMCM F-336

      F-336

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Anand Yethiraj (Memorial University)
    • 12:30 13:45
      DPE Annual Meetings / Assemblée annuelle DEP F-337

      F-337

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Calvin Kalman (Concordia University)
    • 12:30 13:45
      Lunch / Dîner
    • 12:30 13:45
      New Faculty Lunch Meeting with NSERC / Dîner-rencontre des nouveaux professeurs avec le CRSNG F-335

      F-335

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 13:45 15:15
      (W2-1) Low Dimensional Systems - DCMMP / Systèmes de basse dimension - DPMCM C-204

      C-204

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Manu Paranjape (Université de Montréal)
      • 13:45
        Andreev quantum dots in graphene/superconductor hybrid devices 30m
        Although graphene is not intrinsically superconducting, Cooper pairs from a superconducting contact can diffuse through it. The superconducting proximity effect was observed experimentally in graphene Josephson junctions with contacts made of various superconducting materials like Al, Pb, Nb and even layered materials like NbSe$_2$ [1,2]. When the energy of the electrons in the graphene layer is below the superconducting gap of the contacts, they will be bound in the normal region. These are the well known Andreev bound states. We consider a graphene layer deposited on top of a superconducting surface such that the graphene layer can be considered to be partially freestanding and/or strained. It was recently shown that strain has a peculiar effect on the electronic properties in graphene, namely that it will coupled exactly like a gauge field [3,4]. Under certain conditions it is thus possible to have strong pseudo-magnetic fields and even pseudo-Landau levels coexisting with superconducting correlations [5]. By using an efficient numerical method [6] we solve the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations for a tight binding model of the graphene layer. We show that in the regions where the sheet is freestanding, bound states due to Andreev reflections appear, thus forming Andreev quantum dots. We provide various ways to manipulate the energy states inside the dots, and further more devise inter-dot coupling. [1] H. B. Heersche, P. Jarillo-Herrero, J. B. Oostinga, L. M. K. Vandersypen, and A. F. Morpurgo, Nature (London) 446, 56 (2007). [2] A. Kanda, T. Sato, H. Goto, H. Tomori, S. Takana, Y. Ootuka, and K. Tsukagoshi, Physica C 470, 1477 (2010). [3] F. Guinea, M. I. Katsnelson, and A. K. Geim, Nat. Phys. 6, 30 (2009). [4] N. Levy, S. A. Burke, K. L. Meaker, M. Panlasigui, A. Zettl, F. Guinea, A. H. C. Neto, and M. F. Crommie, Science 29, 544 (2010). [5] L. Covaci and F. M. Peeters, Phys. Rev. B 84, 241401(R) (2011). [6] L. Covaci, F. M. Peeters, and M. Berciu, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 167006 (2010).
        Speaker: Dr Lucian Covaci (University of Antwerp, Belgium)
        Slides
      • 14:15
        Muon Spin Rotation Investigation of Doped IrTe_2 15m
        Materials with strong spin orbit coupling such as IrTe2 frequently exhibit interesting magnetic and electronic properties. In particular, this material exhibits a structural phase transition at 270 K into a charge density wave state, which is suppressed when the parent compound is doped with metals such as Pd, Fe, Pt, Ni, Mn, Cu, or Co. As this transition is suppressed, superconductivity or magnetic order appears at low temperatures, depending on the metal dopant. These low temperature properties are of interest as the high spin-orbit coupling raises the possibility of topological superconducting states or exotic magnetic order. However, despite significant interest in recent years, the relationship between magnetism and superconductivity in this material system has not yet been well established. In this talk, we present an investigation of the properties of doped IrTe2 by muon spin rotation which confirms a spin glass state below 10K for iron doping and demonstrates that the low temperature state of platinum doped IrTe2 is a conventional BCS fully-gapped superconductor.
        Speaker: Mr Murray Wilson (McMaster University)
        Slides
      • 14:30
        Two-dimensional conductivity at $\mathrm{LaAlO_3/SrTiO_3}$ interfaces 15m
        Experiments have observed a two-dimensional electron gas at the interface of two insulating oxides: strontium titanate ($\mathrm{SrTiO_3}$) and lanthanum aluminate ($\mathrm{LaAlO_3}$). These interfaces exhibit metallic, superconducting, and magnetic behaviours, which are strongly affected by impurities. We introduce a simple model to study the two-dimensional conductivity at $\mathrm{LaAlO_{3}/SrTiO_{3}}$ interfaces. Motivated by experiments, we assume that impurities lie at the interface and their density is low. In our model, we treat the $\mathrm{LaAlO_3}$ as an insulator and model the $\mathrm{SrTiO_3}$ film. By solving a set of self-consistent Hartree equations for the charge density, we obtain the band structure of the $\mathrm{SrTiO_3}$ film. We then study the relative contributions made by the occupied bands to the two-dimensional conductivity of the $\mathrm{LaAlO_3/SrTiO_3}$ interface. We find that the fractional conductivity of each band depends on several parameters: the mass anisotropy, the filling, and the impurity potential.
        Speaker: Mrs Amany Raslan (Department of Physics and Astronomy, Trent University, Peterborough Ontario, Canada, K9J 7B8)
        Slides
    • 13:45 15:15
      (W2-2) Photovoltaic and optical materials - DCMMP / - Matériaux phovoltaïques et optiques - DPMCM C-309

      C-309

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Jolanta Lagowski (Memorial University of Newfoundland)
      • 13:45
        The influence of molecular interface modification on the charge dynamics of polymeric semiconductor / ZnO heterostructure 15m
        Due to the large band gap, large electron mobility and the high dielectric constant of zinc oxide (ZnO), it promises potential in organic-inorganic hybrid solar cells. However, such devices display lower efficiency compared to fully organic devices. Upon photoexcitation, excitons dissociate at the organic-inorganic interface, with the positive charge located on the organic material and the electron on the inorganic semiconductor. These are highly bound due to their mutual Coulomb interaction, and recombination of bound pairs at the interface is considered to be a significant reason for the low efficiency. One possible way to optimize the performance of the hybrid devices and limit this loss mechanism is to modify the interface of organic-inorganic materials . We report the influence of cis-bis(4,4-dicarboxy-2,2bipyridine) dithiocyanato ruthenium (II) (N3-dye) and -hexylthiophene-2- phosphonic acid (6TP) as interface modifiers on P3HT:ZnO (P3HT: Poly 3-Hexylthiophene) interfaces by studying charge dynamics in P3HT:ZnO, P3HT:ZnO-N3, P3HT:ZnO-6TP. We demonstrate an enhancement of photocurrent of P3HT:ZnO through molecular interface modification. Moreover, we identify the formation of long-lived polarons at P3HT:ZnO interface with and without interface modifiers via quasi-steady-state photo-induced absorption (PIA) spectroscopy. Furthermore, by probing the pump modulation frequency dependent PIA signal we find that P3HT:ZnO-N3 and P3HT:ZnO-6TP exhibit lower steady-state density with increasing frequency compared to P3HT:ZnO, while the significant difference lies in an effective polarons lifetime which highlights the importance of the molecular interface modification. To estimate an average lifetime for long-lived polarons, we performed the pump intensity dependence of the PIA signal as well. The experimental results together with a theoretical model reveal that the average lifetime becomes longer after interface modification by over a factor of two. In other words, the interface modification causes the polarons' average lifetime to be slower, that is the significance of a slowing recombination and a more stable charge separation and transfer.
        Speaker: Ms ELHAM REZASOLTANI (Montreal University)
      • 14:00
        Controlling Photoluminescence from Lightly Doped Polymer Films by Surface Structure Modification 15m
        Optimization of light extraction efficiency (LEE), is of crucial importance for applications ranging from LEDs to weakly emitting fluorescence based thin film chemical sensors. Refractive index differences result in a large proportion of the internal luminescence, whether electrically or optically generated, being trapped and subsequently reabsorbed within the device. As a result, considerable effort has been expended both experimentally and in simulation to increase LEE by breaking the two dimensional symmetry of devices through surface modification. Due to the commercial importance of solid-state lighting, the majority of the work has concentrated on highly emissive devices (i.e. GaN) where the light propagation is limited and trapping results in an up to 96% reduction in luminescence. In contrast, this paper focuses on the effects of breaking two-dimensional symmetry in weakly absorbing thin films where trapped light can propagate hundreds of microns before absorption. (Such films may find usage in thin film chemical sensors – when a change in photoluminescence (PL) intensity signifies the presence of a chemical – or in luminescent solar collectors where one seeks absorb and then propagate light to strategically placed high-efficiency photovoltaic detectors.) Monte Carlo based ray tracing was used to quantify the effects of a one-dimensional perturbation of film thickness on PL of a weakly absorbing fluorescent film (polystyrene doped with 1% MEH-PPV). The addition of narrow (width=2500nm) grooves at 0.03 mm periodicity, resulted in the LEE increasing from 27% to 44%, a ~60% increase relative to the flat film. The additional emission occurred primarily in the vicinity of the groove edges. The extracted light's angular dependence was highly non-Lambertian and could be tuned by changing the angle of the grooves. This suggests that by PL emission can be concentrated in one area of the film or optimized in the direction of a farfield detector.
        Speaker: Po-Jui Chen (Y)
      • 14:15
        XPS measurements of sodium in Bridgman-grown CuInSe2+x ingots 15m
        The addition of sodium compounds in the fabrication of thin film CuInSe2-based solar cells has substantially increased their photovoltaic solar conversion efficiencies. However, how this improvement comes about, is still not completely understood. To help find the mechanism involved, experiments have been made in this laboratory to grow Bridgman bulk monocrystalline CuInSe2+x ingots, with various amounts of elemental sodium in the melt for study . Bulk solid material is more convenient to work with than thin films for measurements, has better quantitative control for additions and is free of microscopic grain boundaries. As a result of previous work, it was found that the conductivity type was changed from p- to n-type with the addition of a critical amount of Na added to the melt, [Nacrit], given by 2x+ δ, where x is the stoichiometric excess of Se in the formula CuInSe2+x and δ is the residual amount of Na needed for the conversion of stoichiometric material (i.e. x=0). These results were obtained previously with transport, EDX/SEM and XRD studies. The present work, however, was carried out with XPS measurements. It was confirmed that Na was detected by XPS in the exterior surface and in the last-zone-to-freeze of the ingot but not detectable in its interior. The chemical form of the Na, such as Na2Se and Na2SeO3, is being investigated. As a result of argon ion surface etch-profiling, the ternary composition at the surface of the ingot appears to be similar to the β-phase (CuIn3Se5) with a low relative concentration of Cu, while the structure in the deep interior corresponds only to the α-phase (chalcopyrite CuInSe2), as indicated by XRD.
        Speaker: Prof. Clifford Champness (Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept., McGill University)
        Slides
      • 14:30
        Direct transfer of triplet excitons generated by singlet fission to colloidal quantum dots: A route to sensitize silicon solar cells 15m
        Singlet exciton fission is the process in organic semiconductors by which one Coulombically-bound electron-hole pair (exciton) with net singlet spin evolves into a pair of spin-triplet excitons. Although the phenomenon has long been a curiosity in organic crystals[1], we recently demonstrated that singlet fission proceeds rapidly (80fs-400ps)[2-4] and efficiently (approaching quantitative (`200%') yield)[4-5] in thin films made from a range of organic molecules that satisfy the energetic criteria: $E_{sing} \geq 2\cdot E_{trip}$[4]. Critically, singlet fission is now attracting wider interest[6] because it could boost the power conversion efficiency of photovoltaic devices. Specifically, as first envisioned by Dexter[7], a blue-absorbing singlet fission material could sensitize a red-absorbing solar cell, enabling the generation of additional photocurrent from high-energy photons. However, though we have recently reported fission-based photovoltaic devices where the peak photon-to-electron conversion efficiency is greater than unity [8-9], their overall power conversion performance remains unremarkable, as they rely on immature solar technologies (e.g. organic semiconductors) for the red-absorbing cell. Here, by detecting a characteristic magnetic field dependence using steady-state and transient spectroscopies, we demonstrate that fission-generated triplet excitons readily undergo exchange-mediated (Dexter) transfer to PbS colloidal quantum dots. Because the spin-states of the quantum dots are mixed at room temperature, this renders the fission-generated excitons emissive. Thus, we consider that longer-range Förster energy transfer may permit the direct sensitization of a conventional back-contacted silicon solar cell with an organic singlet fission material. [1] Swenberg, C.E., & Geacintov, N.E. **Org. Mol. Photophys.** (1973) [2] Wilson, M.W.B., *et al.* **J. Am. Chem. Soc.** (2011) [3] Wilson, M.W.B., *et al.* **J. Am. Chem. Soc.** (2013) [4] Yost, S.R., Lee, J., Wilson, M.W.B., *et al.*, **Nat. Chem.** (In Press) [5] Thompson, N.J., *et al.* **Adv. Mater.** (2013) [6] Smith, M.B., & Michl, J. **Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem.** (2013) [7] Dexter, D.L. **J. Lumin.** (1979) [8] Congreve, D.N., Lee, J., Thompson, N.J., *et al.* **Science** (2013) [9] Thompson, N.J. *et al.* **Appl. Phys. Lett.** (2013)
        Speaker: Mark W.B. Wilson (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
      • 14:45
        Ultimate efficiency nonlinear-optical solar cells 15m
        Nonlinear absorption was investigated in a poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) PCBM fullerene blend, one of the most popular organic solar cell’s materials. We observed three-photon absorption in the bulk hetero junction photodiode configuration. The output photocurrent of the photodiode was interpreted in terms of the three-photon absorption properties of the P3HT:PCBM blend at 1550 nm. Can the concept be extrapolated to high efficiency solar cells? We propose an optical antenna technology revisited with plasmonics and organic rectifiers that will permit the development of an ultra-high efficiency PV technology that is compatible with large-area fabrication (self assembling) and low-cost (plastic) technologies.
        Speaker: Dr Jean-Michel Nunzi (Queen's University)
    • 13:45 15:15
      (W2-3) THz science and applications DAMOPC / Science et applications des THz - DPAMPC: DAMOPC/DPAMC C-203

      C-203

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: John Sipe (U)
      • 13:45
        Terahertz spectroscopy of wood and combustion gas 30m
        Applications development using terahertz technology has seen exponential growth in recent years, thanks in part to the availability of inexpensive, tabletop systems. One of the unique aspects of THz technology is that it exploits coherent detection to map the electric field directly in time, allowing researchers to probe dynamics on the picosecond time-scale, referred to as THz Time-Domain Spectroscopy (TDS). This contribution will compare experiments to model calculations for the time-domain THz response of gas and solid phase mixtures used for applications in emissions monitoring from combustion systems and probing wood properties. The entire rotational manifold of thermally populated rotational states in many molecular systems can be completely covered by a single THz pulse with a bandwidth of 3 THz. Many gases produced in combustion, such as CO and NO, are linear molecules with roughly even frequency spacing of the absorption peaks in the THz range. This leads to interesting relaxation time dynamics (commensurate echoes), which can be used to probe and quantify gases (THz-TDS). In this contribution, a model for the time-domain response will be presented for Nitric Oxide (NO) and compared to experiments, and the implications for emissions monitoring discussed. The time-domain response of transmitted THz signals through solid composite materials such as wood is more complicated due to a macroscopic physical structure, which requires an effective medium approach. Using such a model, it is possible to predict density, thickness and moisture content of wood samples using THz measurements. Recent work towards simultaneous prediction of moisture content and density will be presented, and applications in the forest products industry highlighted.
        Speaker: Dr Matthew Reid (University of Northern BC)
      • 14:15
        High energy OPA and few-cycle IR pulses 15m
        Using the 100Hz line of the ALLS laboratory (Varennes, QC) we achieved 1.8$\mu$m central wavelength two-cycle pulses with an energy per pulse of more than 4mJ. High energy amplification of a white light OPA output and propagation through a noble gas filled 2m hollow core fiber were needed to obtained this high gain in output energy compared to what was previously achieved for ultrashort 1.8$\mu$m pulses. We expect this beam to be an ideal seed for a high harmonic generation (HHG) table-top x-ray source since the scaling law for the cut-off of HHG is linear with the laser intensity and the second power of the laser wavelength ($E_{CO}\propto I\lambda^2$). Using ALLS HHG chamber seeded with 1.8$\mu$m pulses, soft x-rays of 500eV were already obtained using 30fs pulses with an energy per pulse of 7mJ while a cut-off of 160eV was obtained with 11fs (1.8 cycle) pulses with an energy per pulse of 0.35mJ. This presentation will discuss the process behind the few-cycle IR pulses generation, its characteristics and its potential as a high cut-off, high flux, ultrafast, table-top soft x-ray source through HHG. Uses for such a x-rays source will also be discussed.
        Speaker: Vincent Cardin (Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique)
      • 14:30
        Exploring nanoscale ultrafast dynamics in semiconductors with terahertz-STM 30m
        The ability to spatially resolve ultrafast phenomena over nanometer length scales is essential for understanding nanoscale excitation dynamics in materials as well as for measuring switching speeds of nanodevices. The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) uses quantum tunneling of electrons between a scanning tip and a sample to achieve nanoscale imaging of surfaces with atomic resolution. However, the time resolution of an STM is typically limited by the bandwidth of the amplifier electronics used to measure the small tunnel currents. This has spurred the development of various ultrafast STM techniques that combine STMs with femtosecond laser sources. We present a new technique that couples terahertz (THz) pulses to the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope (THz-STM) that allows for direct imaging of sub-picosecond dynamics on surfaces with nanometer spatial resolution [1]. The THz pulses act like fast voltage transients across the tunnel junction, resulting in a rectified tunnel current signal. THz pulse autocorrelations performed on gold-on-graphite samples show THz-STM response times of less than 400 fs with simultaneous 2 nm spatial resolution under ambient conditions. Imaging of sub-picosecond carrier capture dynamics into a single InAs nanodot is also demonstrated. The THz-STM accesses an ultrafast tunneling field emission regime that we are currently exploring. The potential of THz-STM for imaging ultrafast phenomena with atomic resolution is discussed. [1] T. L. Cocker, et al., “An ultrafast terahertz scanning tunnelling microscope,” Nature Photonics 7, 620 (2013).
        Speaker: Prof. Frank Hegmann (University of Alberta)
      • 15:00
        Parallel MicPIC for first-principle analysis of light-matter interactions in solids 15m
        One of the main challenges in modeling laser-driven plasma physics is to properly resolve microscopic and macroscopic phenomena at the same time. For example, to resolve the propagation of a near-infrared pulse in a solid-density plasma, it is necessary to cover about four to five orders of magnitude in space---from angstrom to micron---to resolve both the atomic collision processes and light propagation. Here, traditional tools like molecular dynamics (MD) and particle-in-cell (PIC) fall short. With MD, light propagation is neglected. With PIC, microscopic interactions are limited to small-angle binary collisions, which restricts its use to the weakly coupled (low density) regime. To overcome the limitations of MD and PIC, we developed the MicPIC approach. It is actually being optimized for large-scale computations to effectively allow tracking $10^{10}$ particles with atomic-scale resolution, along with light propagation. Moreover, advanced models are being integrated into MicPIC to include on the atomic level the different ionization channels (single and multiphoton ionization, tunnel ionization, and electron impact ionization) and the atomic polarization due to bound electrons. This promises new insight into the physics of strong-field light-matter interactions in solids.
        Speaker: Dr Charles Varin (Université d'Ottawa)
    • 13:45 15:15
      (W2-4) Biophysics/Soft Condensed Matter IV: Microfluidics & Driven Motion - DCMMP-DMBP / Biophysique et matière condensée molle 4: microfluidique et mouvement mené- DPMCM-DPMnB A-226

      A-226

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Michael Morrow (Memorial University of Newfoundland)
      • 13:45
        Tracking the growth of cells using microfluidic sensors 30m
        Monitoring the growth of cells is of fundamental interest in biology and biomedicine. Over the decades, various approaches have been developed to infer growth patterns, but different studies often reach irreconcilable conclusions due to a lack of resolution or to population averaging. In recent years, the integration of biosensors within microfluidic environments has yielded improved sensitivity and access to single cell growth kinetics. In monitoring cellular growth, it is important to track volume, mass and mass density, as these three quantities can change at different rates during the growth cycle. In this presentation, the design of a mass sensor and of a volume sensor, both integrated within a microfluidic architecture, will be discussed in the context of tracking cellular growth.
        Speaker: Michel Godin
      • 14:15
        Shear-induced enhancement of solute mass transport in flows of concentrated suspensions through microchannels 30m
        The transport of a solute carried in the suspending fluid of a particulate suspension flowing in sub-millimeter-sized conduits is an important problem that has relevance in several different fields: metabolite exchange between blood and tissues, design of dialysis machines, drilling mud selection, organic and nutrient transport in microbial suspensions in anaerobic reactors, etc. A mechanism of enhancement of the mass transfer rate of solutes in flowing, concentrated suspensions that is commonly considered in the literature is the self-diffusion of particles arising from shear-induced interparticle interactions. But recently, it was demonstrated by Zrehen and Ramachandran [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 018306 (2013)] that the pressure-driven flow of suspensions through non-axisymmetric geometries is not unidirectional; the main flow is accompanied by secondary currents within the cross-section of the conduit, driven by second normal stress differences. This secondary convection, which is more likely to be manifested in microchannels, represents a new advective mechanism for mass transfer of solutes normal to the primary streamlines in flowing suspensions. For small particle sizes, the enhancement of solute diffusivity by shear-induced self-diffusion is weak. However, the magnitude of the secondary currents is unaffected by particle size. Thus, for suspensions with particles much smaller than the conduit size, secondary convection, and not shear-induced self-diffusion, can be the dominant mechanism for shear-induced enhancement of mass transfer. In the limit where shear-induced self-diffusion is the dominant diffusive mode of mass transfer, secondary convection can provide additional enhancement of mass transfer over that due to self-diffusion, doubling the augmentation in some geometries. The relevance of this new mechanism of mass transfer is in the improved modeling of the transport of solutes for situations where the dominant mass transfer resistance is in the suspension phase. This mechanism also suggests the possibility of exploiting conduit geometry to improve the mass transfer rate of solutes.
        Speaker: Dr Arun Ramachandran (University of Toronto)
      • 14:45
        Active and passive properties of the microswimmer C. elegans 15m
        Undulatory motion is utilized by crawlers and swimmers, such as snakes and sperm, at length scales ranging more than seven orders of magnitude. The understanding of this highly efficient form of locomotion requires an experimental characterization of the passive material properties of the crawler, as well as of its active force output on the surrounding medium. Here we present a novel experimental technique used to study the properties of the millmeter-sized worm *Caenorhabditis elegans*. By using the deflection of a force-calibrated micropipette, the viscoelastic material properties of the model organism were directly probed and characterised (Backholm, *et al.*, PNAS, 110 (2013)). The excellent force (pN) and time (ms) resolution provided by the micropipette deflection technique also enables measurements of the forces experienced by the worm as it swims through a liquid. This direct experimental characterization of *C. elegans* will provide guidance for theoretical treatments of undulatory motility in general.
        Speaker: Ms Matilda Backholm (McMaster University)
      • 15:00
        Dynamics of field-driven colloids 15m
        External electric fields modify inter-particle colloidal interactions and the resulting ´´electrorheological´´ structures are well documented [1]. However, the dynamics of colloids in the presence of these external fields is less studied [2]. In this work, the dynamics of colloids is reported in three regimes. At high frequencies, inter-particle dipolar interactions dominate. At intermediate frequencies, polarization charge effects are dominant. Finally, at very low frequencies, the primary interactions are electrophoretic. Regimes of both normal and anomalous diffusion are observed. A direct correlation can be made between the dynamics and the nature of the structures formed. [1] R. Tao, J. M. Sun, Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 398-401 (1991); J. E. Martin, J. Odinek, T. C. Halsey, Phys. Rev. Lett. 1524-1527 (1992); A. Yethiraj, A. van Blaaderen, Nature 421, 513-517 (2003); A.K. Agarwal, A. Yethiraj, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 198301 (2009). [2] J. Dobnikar, A. Snezhko, A. Yethiraj, Soft Matter, 9, 3693-3704 (2013).
        Speaker: Anand Yethiraj (Memorial University)
    • 13:45 15:00
      (W2-5) Heavy Mesons and QCD - DTP-DNP / Mésons lourds et CDQ - DPT-DPN C-301

      C-301

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Juris Svenne (University of Manitoba)
      • 13:45
        Heavy-light diquark masses from QCD sum rules and constituent diquark models of charmonium-like tetraquark states 30m
        The X(3872) was discovered in 2003 by the Belle collaboration, and was subsequently confirmed by the CDF, D0, Babar and LHCb collaborations. This hadron lies within the mass range of the well-established charmonium mesons, but it is difficult to interpret as a charmonium state. In addition to the X(3872), several other hadrons have been discovered that are difficult to interpret as charmonium states. These hadrons are collectively referred to as charmonium-like or XYZ states. There has been much speculation that at least some of the XYZ states could be exotic hadrons, such as four-quark states, which can be realized in two distinct ways: loosely bound mesonic molecules and tetraquarks, which are tightly bound diquark anti-diquark bound states. Diquarks are two-quark clusters that are thought to exist within hadrons. Many XYZ states have been interpreted as tetraquarks using the constituent diquark model, where the constituent diquark mass is an input parameter extracted from fits to tetraquark candidates. QCD sum rules is an analytical method that can be used to calculate hadronic parameters, such as the constituent diquark mass, and thus can be used to provide a QCD-based test of the constituent diquark model of tetraquark candidates among the XYZ states. In this talk I will provide a brief overview of the XYZ states, exotic hadrons and QCD sum rules. I will also discuss some of our recent work using QCD sum rules to test the constituent diquark model of XYZ states. This work could help to discern between the mesonic molecule and tetraquark scenarios of four-quark states, contributing to efforts to understand the enigmatic XYZ states.
        Speaker: Dr Robin Kleiv (University of the Fraser Valley)
        Slides
      • 14:15
        B to \rho transition form factors in AdS/QCD model. 15m
        AdS/QCD is successful in predicting the diffractive $\rho$-meson production. It is then natural to investigate the prediction of this model for $B\to\rho$ transition form factors. This talk describes the derivation of the three form factors relevant for the semileptonic $B\to\rho\ell\nu$ decay along with the tensor form factor which enters $B\to\rho\gamma$ transition within light cone sum rules method.
        Speaker: Dr Mohammad Ahmady (Mount Allison University)
        Slides
      • 14:30
        Predicting the rare decay B → K∗μ+μ− in light-front QCD 15m
        We use QCD light-cone sum rules with holographic anti de Sit- ter/Chromodynamics (AdS/QCD) Distribution Amplitudes (DAs) for the K∗ meson in order to predict the full set of seven B → K∗ transition form factors for intermediate-to-high recoil of the vector meson. We use our form factors to predict the differential and total branching fraction of the rare dileptonic decay B → K∗μ+μ− which we compare to the recent LHCb data.
        Speaker: Ruben Sandapen (Université de Moncton)
        Slides
      • 14:45
        The Generalized Gell-Mann--Okubo Formalism 15m
        The original Gell-Mann–Okubo (GMO) formalism treats the light baryons as objects to be seen in light of the broken SU(3) symmetries of the three light quarks, and lead to the development of the famous Eightfold Way diagrams. In particular, each baryon mass group (N, $\Delta$, $\Sigma$, $\Sigma^*$, $\Xi$, $\Xi^*$, $\Omega$) form isospin multiplets who differ in strangeness values. With the advent of the quark model, baryons are now treated as objects to be seen in light of very badly broken SU(6) symmetries of the six quarks. This requires visualizing baryons in a six-dimensional flavour space. While this is not a mathematical impediment in itself, the intuitiveness and the visual appeal of the GMO approach is lost. However, the GMO formalism can be extended with the introduction of the concepts of generalized isospin and generalized mass groups. This allows to view any baryon in light of a broken SU(3) symmetry of its constituant quarks. Eightfold Way diagrams can be obtain for these baryons, and a modified Gell-Mann–Okubo mass formula will reproduce (and predict) the mass of nearly all observed (and yet-to-be-observed) baryons within 50 MeV, on mass scales that span anywhere from 1000 MeV to 15000 MeV.
        Speaker: Gaëtan Landry (Dalhousie University)
        Slides
    • 13:45 15:15
      (W2-6) Gravitational Waves and Gravitational Experiments - DTP / Ondes gravitationnelles et expériences gravitationnelles - DPT C-304

      C-304

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Harald Pfeiffer (CITA)
      • 13:45
        The Exploding Sky: Prospects for Transient Gravitational-Wave Astronomy 30m
        In 2015 the first Advanced LIGO gravitational-wave antennas will begin observing the sky, followed shortly by Advanced VIRGO, and in the years thereafter by KAGRA and LIGO-India. What might this international network see? To be detectable, gravitational-wave sources must radiate enormous amounts of power, and the most promising are short lived, cataclysmic, events: the collisions of neutron stars and black holes. When matter-bearing neutron stars are involved, electromagnetic radiation from the collision should also be detectable across a wide range of energy bands and over many different time scales. To capture the information carried by this wave of radiation and increase our physical understanding of the sources, a network of electromagnetic transient observers are partnering with LIGO and Virgo. I will review some of the emission mechanisms that are anticipated and what we might learn from joint GW-EM observations.
        Speaker: Dr Kipp Cannon (Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics)
      • 14:15
        Some experimental aspects in support of gravitational wave detection 30m
        With the second generation of gravitational wave detectors being built, many researchers within the gravitational wave community are now considering the technological advances needed to build the next generation of detectors. The advances necessary to make even more sensitive detectors cover such diverse fields as materials science, optics, seismology, metrology, and much more. This talk covers some interesting experiments and ideas currently being explored within the LIGO Science Collaboration in pursuit of ever more sensitive gravitational wave detectors.
        Speaker: Dr Riccardo Bassiri (E. L. Ginzton Laboratory, Stanford University)
      • 14:45
        Gravity Studies with the ALPHA Antihydrogen Trapping Experiment 15m
        The first stage of the ALPHA experiment succeeded in producing and trapping antihydrogen for long periods of time (minutes) as well as making the first (albeit low accuracy) microwave spectroscopy measurements. During the present LHC shutdown the apparatus was upgraded (so-called ALPHA-2) to allow precision spectroscopy to test CPT. We are now looking beyond that to look at another fundamental question - whether the gravitational interaction between matter and antimatter is identical to that between matter and matter. Specifically we are designing an apparatus (ALPHA-g) to probe this question by seeing how antihydrogen acts in the gravitational field of the Earth. I will describe the present status and future plans of ALPHA-g.
        Speaker: Prof. Scott Menary (York University)
    • 13:45 15:15
      (W2-7) Future of Cosmic Frontier: Dark Matter I - PPD-DNP-DTP / Avenir de la frontière cosmique: matière sombre I - PPD-DPN-DPT C-112

      C-112

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Matt Dobbs (Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (US))
      • 13:45
        The DEAP 3600 Dark Matter Detector 15m
        The DEAP-3600 dark matter detector consists of 3,600kg of liquid argon in an ultra-pure acrylic cryogenic vessel and is in the final stages of construction, with commissioning beginning at SNOLAB. The experiment observes scintillation light with 255 high-efficiency room temperature PMTs. Most backgrounds are mitigated by ensuring excellent radiopurity and with a high efficiency neutron shield. Electromagnetic backgrounds, including those from argon-39, are rejected using pulse shape discrimination. The DEAP-3600 background budget is 0.2 events per year allowing a cross-section sensitivity of 10^-46 cm^2 for scattering of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles with a 100-GeV mass. In this talk, we will describe the status and physics reach, highlighting that it is expected to reach competitive sensitivity within months of the start of data collection.
        Speaker: Aksel Hallin (University of Alberta)
      • 14:00
        Organic Thin Film Deposition System for DEAP-3600 15m
        DEAP-3600 is a single phase liquid argon dark matter detector. Particle interactions in liquid argon produce light at a peak wavelength of 128nm, which is below the wavelength range of efficient detection with photomultiplier tubes. To shift the light to the region of peak PMT efficiency, the inner surface of the acrylic vessel is coated with tetraphenyl butadiene, an organic wavelength shifter, which re-emits the absorbed 128nm gamma at a new peak value of 430nm. The coating is applied through vacuum deposition using a spherical evaporation source lowered into the detector prior to filling with liquid argon. Deployment and evaporation systems, in-situ thickness measurements of the applied coating, and simulated coating uniformity will be discussed in this talk.
        Speaker: Benjamin Broerman (Queen's University)
        Slides
      • 14:15
        PICO - Bubble Chambers for Dark Matter 15m
        Bubble chambers are a compelling technology to use in the search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter. They can be operated in a regime that is sensitive to the nuclear recoils produced by dark matter interactions, but insensitive to the typically-dominant background of electron recoils. Using fluorinated targets, they provide data that is complementarity to other searches for dark matter and the ability to change target nuclei in the same experiment to confirm the properties of dark matter. The PICASSO and COUPP collaborations have recently merged into PICO with the goal of constructing PICO-250L, a ton scale bubble chamber. This detector will have world leading sensitivity to spin-dependent WIMP interactions nearly four orders of magnitude better than existing limits. The challenges and considerations facing the development and construction of PICO-250L will be discussed. An overview of our efforts to face these challenges with ongoing calibrations and the currently operating COUPP-60 and PICO-2L dark matter search bubble chambers will be presented.
        Speaker: Alan Robinson (University of Chicago)
        Slides
      • 14:30
        The Future of the Cosmic Frontier: Dark Matter 30m
        The nature of the non-baryonic dark matter that is believed to dominate the matter budget of the universe is still obscure, in spite of decades of searches using increasingly sophisticated detectors. Although it might seem that every few years will yield another order of magnitude improvement in limits on dark matter interactions with ordinary matter, to be continued ad infinitum, in fact the next decade may well be the "make-or-break" time for direct searches for particulate dark matter, as proposed new experiments will begin to bump up against irreducible backgrounds from such processes as neutrino-nucleus scattering. The dark matter community is entering a critical phase in which dark matter will either be seen, or it may prove impractical to improve the limits from direct detection further. I will review the leading technologies and experimental approaches that are expected to feature prominently in this race to the finish line, and examine what hope there may be for future improvements beyond the next generation of experiments.
        Speaker: Prof. Scott Oser (University of British Columbia)
        Slides
    • 13:45 15:15
      (W2-8) Energy Frontier: ATLAS at ~14 TeV - PPD-DIMP / Frontière d'énergie: ATLAS à ~14 TeV - PPD-DPIM C-114

      C-114

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Steven Robertson (McGill)
      • 13:45
        The Canadian contribution to the upgrades to the ATLAS experiment 30m
        The discovery of the Higgs boson has provided the missing link in understanding one of the most profound mysteries of particle physics, namely how particles acquire mass. To deepen our understanding of this newly discovered particle and to extend our searches for new physics, analysis of very large data samples will be required. To enable this program, the instantaneous luminosity of the Large Hadron Collider will be increased over the next decade, reaching up to 5 to 7 times higher than the original design luminosity. To extract the maximum benefit from data collected at these high rates, the experiments at the LHC will require significant upgrades. This talk will focus on the contributions of the Canadian groups to the ATLAS upgrade program, in particular the hardware that will be required to maintain the trigger capability of ATLAS for muons and electrons at the upgraded LHC.
        Speaker: Gerald Oakham (Carleton University (CA))
        Slides
      • 14:15
        Beam test of new ATLAS muon detectors at Fermilab 15m
        One of the ATLAS experiment's upgrade to take place in 2018 consists in the construction of new muon chambers. A third of these gaseous detectors (so-called "thin gap chambers") will be built and tested in Canada. The performance of the first prototype chamber was investigated in a test beam at Fermilab in May 2014. A description of the test setup at Fermilab as well as preliminary results will be presented.
        Speaker: Simon Viel (University of British Columbia (CA))
        Transparents
      • 14:30
        Track-based alignment of the ATLAS Inner Detector: New extensions and expected performance for the next physics data run 15m
        The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is the world's largest particle accelerator, colliding proton beams at unprecedented centre-of-mass energies. ATLAS is a multipurpose experiment that records the products of LHC collisions. In order to reconstruct the trajectories of particles produced in these collisions, ATLAS is equipped with a precision tracking system, the Inner Detector (ID). The ID alignment procedure ensures an accurate determination of the position and orientation of the detector's components, such that detector mis-alignments do not degrade the physics performance. During the current shutdown, the ATLAS experiment will upgrade its ID with the installation of a new, additional pixel layer, named Insertable B-Layer (IBL). It will be installed between the existing pixel detector and a new smaller diameter beam-pipe. The IBL will ensure excellent tracking, vertexing and b-tagging performance during the LHC run II phase, but also imposes new challenges to the ID alignment. We report on the track-based alignment approaches, their new extensions, and the expected performance for the next physics data run.
        Speaker: Matthias Danninger (University of British Columbia (CA))
        Slides
      • 14:45
        Implementing Tracking with the ATLAS Diamond Beam Monitor 15m
        The Diamond Beam Monitor (DBM) recently installed in ATLAS is the largest diamond pixel tracking detector ever deployed in the realm of high-energy particle physics. The DBM is designed for three main purposes: making high-precision luminosity measurements that will be essential for obtaining precision cross-section results, providing spatial information about background sources to help characterize beam backgrounds, and providing bunch-by-bunch beam spot monitoring. The highly spatially-segmented structure of the DBM will ensure it never saturates, even when the upgraded LHC achieves more interactions per bunch crossing than ever before, and the material properties of the chemical vapour deposition diamond will allow it to perform in the demanding radiation environment near the interaction point. In order for the DBM to fulfill its full potential as a tracking device, distinguishing particle trajectories from beam halo and reliably monitoring backgrounds, specially-designed tracking algorithms are required. This DBM tracking will have to run “standalone”, based only on DBM hits, separately from the standard track reconstructions performed in the rest of ATLAS. The architecture and positioning of the DBM -- namely, four 3-module telescopes on each side of the interaction point, outside the η acceptance of the main ATLAS tracker -- pose several particular challenges for tracking algorithms. The small magnetic field integral over each telescope, which entails poor pT resolution, argues for a “straight-line-based” tracking framework, rather than the usual paradigm for constructing helical tracks. I will present preliminary results, including impact parameter resolution and ability to resolve multiple tracks in a single event, from the DBM tracking endeavour.
        Speaker: Miriam Deborah Joy Diamond (University of Toronto (CA))
        Slides
    • 13:45 15:15
      (W2-9) Molecular Biophysics - DMBP / Biophysique moléculaire - DPMB FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Dr Giulian Maximiliano (University of Guelph)
      • 13:45
        A structural basis for cholesterol inhibition of outer mitochondria membrane permeabilization 15m
        The permeabilization of the mitochondrial outer membrane is an important and irreversible step in apoptosis. The point of no return occurs when Bcl-2 family proteins interact with the membrane to form pores and release toxic molecules into the cytosol of the cell. Addition of cholesterol to mitochondrial-like membranes has been shown to inhibit the pore formation process. The fact that the enantiomer of cholesterol also has this inhibitory effect provides support for an inhibition mechanism based on structural changes in the membrane as opposed to one based on direct interaction between the proteins and cholesterol. Structural investigations of phospholipid membranes consistently show that cholesterol increases both the thickness and rigidity of lipid bilayer. However, available studies were done for membranes containing, at most, three lipid components. We thus asked the question of whether cholesterol affects more complex membranes, such as the outer mitochondrial membrane, in the same way. We used both x-ray and neutron diffraction to probe the structure of a complex five component mitochondria-like membrane as a function of cholesterol content. X-ray diffraction was used to investigate the lamellar and in plane structure of the membrane, providing membrane thickness and average area per lipid as a function of cholesterol content. Neutron reflectivity was used to probe the position of cholesterol within the membrane. We find that, as for less complex membranes, cholesterol increases the head-to-head thickness of the membrane, the area per lipid, and the order parameter associated with lipid tail orientation.
        Speaker: Kelly Cathcart (M)
      • 14:00
        Modelling the spatial spread of hepatitis C virus infection in vitro 15m
        There currently exists only one mathematical model describing the course of a hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in vitro: a non-spatial ODE model. However, experiments have shown that the spread of HCV infection has an important spatial component: infection disseminates both distally via release and diffusion of virus through the medium, and locally via direct, cell-to-cell infection. Both infection modes appear to play an important role, yet could be differentially affected by antiviral therapy. Therefore, characterizing their relative contribution to infection kinetics has important implications for the control of HCV infections. We have developed an agent-based computer model which explicitly incorporates both distal and local modes of infection. The model consists of a two-dimensional, hexagonal grid in which each site corresponds to one, non-motile, hepatocyte (liver cell). Since experimental measures taken over the course of infection typically report both the concentration of extracellular infectious virus, as well as the count of intracellular viral RNA segments, our model also tracks both of these quantities. Within each cell, the concentration of HCV RNA is tracked and updated via an ODE model for intracellular viral replication. The intracellular concentration within each cell is, in turn, linked to the rates of extracellular release and cell-to-cell infection. In this presentation, I will showcase the range of kinetics exhibited by our model and its performance in reproducing data from experimental HCV infections in vitro.
        Speaker: Kenneth Blahut (Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada)
      • 14:15
        Evolution of the Min Protein Oscillation in *E. coli* Bacteria During Cell Growth and Division 15m
        Cell division is a key step in the life of a bacterium. This process is carefully controlled and regulated so that the cellular machinery is equally partitioned into two daughter cells of equal size. In *E. coli*, this is accomplished, in part, by the Min protein system, in which Min proteins oscillate along the long axis of the rod-shaped cells. We have used high magnification, time-resolved fluorescence microscopy to characterize in detail the oscillation in *E. coli* cells in which the MinD proteins are tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP). We have used a microfluidic device to confine the bacteria into microchannels that allows us to track the evolution of the oscillation in cells as they grow and divide in LB growth media. In particular, we have tracked the loss of synchrony between the oscillations in the daughter cells following cell division.
        Speaker: Dr Giuliani Maximiliano (University of Guelph)
      • 14:30
        Quantifying the Dynamics of Bacterial Colony Expansion: From Individual Cells to Collective Behavior 15m
        Type IV pili (T4P) are very thin (5-8 nm in diameter) protein filaments that can be extended and retracted by certain classes of Gram-negative bacteria including *P. aeruginosa* [1]. These bacteria use T4P to move across viscous interfaces, referred to twitching motility. Twitching can occur for isolated cells or in a collective manner [2]. We have developed experimental and data analysis techniques to quantify the expansion of the bacterial colony. Using a custom-built, temperature and humidity controlled environmental chamber, we have studied the transition from individual to collective motion. We have used optical flow analysis to characterize the evolution of the expanding colonies. We have also incorporated fluorescently tagged, non-motile cells, obtained by knocking out proteins essential for twitching motility, into the colonies to observe their transport as cargo by the motile cells. By measuring the flow of the motile cells while also tracking the motion of the non-motile cargo cells, we have obtained a direct measure of the efficiency of the transport of the cargo cells. [1] Burrows, L.L. (2012) Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 66: 493–520. [2] Semmler, A.B. et al. (1999) Microbiology 145: 2863-2873.
        Speaker: Ms Erin Shelton (University of Guelph)
      • 14:45
        Counting defective interfering particles:Easy as 1, 2, 3 ... ? 15m
        Defective interfering particles (DIPs) are imperfect virus which get spontaneously generated and amplified over the course of a viral infection. DIPs interfere with virus replication and suppress production of virus. Effective management of DIPs would be a boon to health technologies, such as vaccine production, where high viral yields are desirable. Furthermore, if their kinetics was better understood, DIPs could be exploited as an antiviral measure to suppress infection. Unfortunately, the quantification of DIPs -- which is necessary to their study -- is difficult since they are indistinguishable from standard virus. Using a mathematical model, we investigate a conventional method for counting DIPs. Under various assumptions regarding the mechanisms of co-infection of cells by DIPs and standard virus, we show that accurate quantification of DIPs is sensitive to changes in experimental procedure, and we suggest improvements to the current method.
        Speaker: Laura Liao (Ryerson University)
        Slides
      • 15:00
        DSCG liquid crystal’s viscosity: Insight into the motility of bacteria in an anisotropic liquid environment 15m
        *Ismaël Duchesne, Tigran Galstian, Simon Rainville* *Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Optics and Centre of Optics, Photonics and Lasers, Laval University, Québec, Québec, Canada* The water solubility of lyotropic liquid crystals (LC) enables a variety of applications combining the physical symmetry breakdown with the aqueous host environment. More specifically, although knowledge of this type of LC is limited and their manipulation is rather delicate, their use for the study of biological phenomena is growing rapidly thanks to their biocompatibility. For example, they are used in the detection of biological molecules, viruses and in the study of the motility of bacteria in anisotropic liquid media. Several recent studies have shown a dramatic change in the behavior of E. coli bacteria when swimming in the lyotropic LC disodium cromolyn glycated (DSCG). To improve our understanding of this phenomenon, we observed the movements of E. coli bacteria in DSCG-water solutions of different concentrations. In addition, we measured the effective one-dimensional viscosity along the axes parallel and perpendicular to the director by tracking the diffusion of microparticles in DSCG solutions with concentration between 0% and 13% (by weight). The results of our study shed light on the behavior of motile microorganisms in anisotropic media and show interesting characteristics of the biocompatible DSCG LC.
        Speaker: Ismaël Duchesne (Laval University)
        Slides
    • 15:15 15:45
      Health Break (with exhibitors) / Pause santé (avec exposants) Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 15:45 16:15
      (W-MEDAL1) CAP Medal Talk - Matt Dobbs, McGill U. (CAP Herzberg Medal Recipient/Récipiendaire de la médaille Herzberg de l'ACP) FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 15:45
        Exploring the cosmos with a new paradigm digital telescope 30m
        The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) will produce the largest volume astronomical survey to date, potentially unlocking the mysteries the dark-energy driven expansion history of the Universe and providing a revolutionary view of the transient radio sky at unprecedented cadence. The CHIME telescope, currently being designed, commissioned and built in Penticton, BC, is unlike existing radio telescopes. It forms an image of the entire over-head sky each night by digitally processing the information received on a compact array of 2500 radio receivers collecting light from an array of half-pipe shaped cylindrical dishes. Unlike traditional telescopes that mechanically point and observe a small region of the sky, CHIME is able to observes without any moving parts by decoding the information received by the stationary radio receiver array in a powerful digital processing system. I will describe CHIME, its science goals, and theq new era of radio observations that is upon us.
        Speaker: Matt Dobbs (Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (US))
    • 16:15 16:45
      (W-MEDAL2) CAP Medal Talk - André-Marie Tremblay, U. de Sherbrooke (Achievement Medal Recipient / Récipiendaire de la médaille pour contributions exceptionnelles) FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 16:15
        Life of a theorist without a small parameter 30m
        Materials with interesting properties, like high-temperature superconductors, happen to often appear in regimes where their quantum mechanical state is far from any state that can serve as a starting point for perturbation theory. These materials have challenged, in particular, two of the best established theories of condensed matter: band theory and the BCS theory of superconductivity. In this talk, I will discuss a few of the new conceptual frameworks that have been developed to take up the challenge and what we have learned from them. Algorithms and supercomputers play an important role in implementing these ideas. There is perhaps a future for designing new classes of materials in silico.
        Speaker: André-Marie Tremblay (Université de Sherbrooke)
    • 16:45 17:15
      CAP President's report / Rapport du président de l'ACP FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 17:15 18:45
      CAP Annual General Meeting / Assemblée générale annuelle de l'ACP FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 19:00 21:00
      "Friends of CAP" Dinner and Meeting / Souper et réunion des "Ami(e)s de l'ACP" F-336

      F-336

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 19:00 20:30
      CAP-NSERC Liaison Committee Meeting / Réunion du comité de liaison ACP-CRSNG F-335

      F-335

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 19:00 21:30
      CJP Editorial Board Meeting / Réunion du comité de rédaction de la RCP F-337

      F-337

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 19:00 22:00
      DAMOPC Poster Session with beer (6) / Session d'affiches DPAMPC, avec bière (6) W-132

      W-132

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 19:02
        Critical Nuclear Charge of the Quantum Mechanical Three-Body Problem 2m
        The critical nuclear charge ($Z_c$) for a three-body quantum mechanical system consisting of positive and negative charges is the minimum nuclear charge that can keep the system in a bound state. Here we present a study of the critical nuclear charge for two-electron (heliumlike) systems with infinite nuclear mass, and also a range of reduced mass ratio ($\mu/m$) up to 0.5. The results help to resolve a discrepancy in the literature for the infinite mass case, and they are the first to study the dependence on reduced mass ratio. It was found that $Z_c$ has a local maximum with $\mu/m=0.352\:5$. The critical charge for the infinite mass case is found to be $Z_c = 0.911\:028\:224\:076\:8(1\:0)$. This value is more accurate than any previous value in the literature [1, 2, 3, 4], and agrees with the upper bound $Z_c=0.911\:03$ reported by Baker et al. [1]. The critical nuclear charge outside this range [0.5 $-$ 1.0] still needs to be investigated in future works. [1] J. D. Baker et al. Phys. Rev. A **41**, 1247 (1990). [2] N. L. Guevara and A. V. Turbiner. Phys. Rev. A **84**, 064501 (2011). [3] F. H. Stillinger Jr. J. Chem. Phys. **45**, 3623 (1966). [4] G. A. Arteca et al. J. Chem. Phys. **84**, 1624–1628 (1986).
        Speakers: Mr Amirreza Moini (University of Windsor), Mr Michael Busuttil (University of Windsor)
      • 19:08
        p-Silicon /ZnO nanowire photodiodes with transparent silver nanowire network top electrodes 2m
        Highly conductive and transparent silver nanowire networks have been applied as top electrode for p-Si/ZnO nanowire heterojunction photodiodes. Faster transient response and higher responsivity than the reference sample without deposition of silver nanowires has been obtained, which is attributed to improved carrier collection and transport efficiency through the silver nanowires network. The observed voltage polarity dependence of spectral response was due to the high valance band offset in the interfacial region of ZnO and p-Si substrate.
        Speaker: Ms Pantea Aurang (Department of Micro and Nanotechnology, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey and Center for Solar Energy Research and Applications, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey)
      • 19:10
        Periodic Self-Accelerating Beams along Convex Trajectories 2m
        Curved or self-bending light has become a hot topic recently. It’s triggered by a newly self-accelerating non-diffractive beam, named Airy beam that propagates along a parabolic trajectory. This peculiar beam has led to many potential applications such as for example optical trapping and manipulation, plasma guidance, generation of light bullets, and routing of electrons and surface plasmons. The state-of-the-art self-accelerating beams can be designed along any convex trajectory by engineering the phase of a light, in either real or Fourier space under both the paraxial and non-paraxial conditions. To the best of our knowledge, these beams generally propagate along smooth convex trajectories. Very recently, periodically oscillating or zigzag accelerating beams has been newly obtained by means of superposition of Bessel-like beams in the non-paraxial condition. Here, we propose another method to generate self-accelerating zigzag beams in free space in both paraxial/non-paraxial conditions through engineering both spectral phase and amplitude of a monochromatic coherent light source. We have demonstrated theatrically and experimentally that, in absence of either zero values or sharp variations in the spectral amplitude, the self-accelerating beam still propagates along a smooth convex trajectory while otherwise the convex trajectory tends to be modulated. To clarify the influence of the spectral amplitude on the beam evolution, we employed a simple “well”-shaped spectral amplitude, a distribution having a hole in a uniform spectrum for the first case. Under these conditions, the beam path can be approximately described by a curved and two straight lines joined together. Such a path structure is an elementary unit for building a zigzag beam along a convex trajectory. Using an array of these spectral “wells”, we realized several typical kinds of zigzag beams and analyzed their self-healing properties. Furthermore, the analysis in the paraxial condition can be readily extended to the non-paraxial regime, where we produced the zigzag beams along circular, elliptical and parabolic trajectories by carefully engineering the spectral amplitudes, respectively. Our findings may find applications in particle manipulation, laser-writing, electron acceleration as well as plasma generation.
        Speaker: domenico bongiovanni (I)
        Poster
      • 19:12
        Trajectory management of self-accelerating beams through Fourier-space phase engineering 2m
        Borrowing the concept from time domain, non-stationary beams can be defined as a monochromatic coherent light whose intensity shapes vary during propagation. Therefore, the concept for non-stationary signal processing can be employed in analogy to study the linear dynamics of these beams. Typical examples of non-stationary beams are the self-accelerating beams featured by a transversely moving main hump. To date, such beam trajectories are either engineered by solving wave equations in separable coordinate systems or synthesized in real space by employing the stationary phase or catastrophe theory. In this paper, we study non-stationary beams in a frequency-like manner and demonstrate the prediction/engineering of their trajectories. While in time domain the spectral phase gradient is related to the group delay, in the spatial domain the same quantity is associated with the local position of a light beam. In this framework, we found that the single beam trajectory of self-accelerating light at different propagation distances is managed by different key spatial frequencies. The properties of self-accelerating beams, including self-bending and self-healing are re-examined in the language of frequency. In addition, multiple trajectories of non-stationary beams are managed by different parts of the spectrum and each one of them is a convex curve. Through this new scheme, we can not only trace the beam path of the maximum intensity for a known spectral phase, but also construct a phase structure in the Fourier space for desired beam trajectories. This method can also be readily used for studying vector non-stationary beams. Furthermore, our analysis can be straightforward applied to non-stationary waves/fields in other systems.
        Speaker: domenico bongiovanni (I)
        Poster
      • 19:18
        Variational Calculation of Hydrogen Molecular Ion 2m
        We have performed a benchmark calculation of non-relativistic energy level of $\mbox{H}_2^+$, using Hylleraas coordinates containing three non-linear parameters so that three inter-particle radial coordinates $r_{1}$, $r_2$ and $r_{12}$ can be described independently. Rayleigh-Ritz variational principle is used to find out minimum of the expectation value of Hamiltonian of this system. Configuration of base varies according to the total angular momenta $J$ of the system, the bigger $J$ is, the more blocks are needed. To solve the matrix equation, the Power Method is used to identify the ground state as well as some other excited states. The non-relativistic ground state energy of $\mbox{H}_2^+$ has been calculated to a few parts in $10^{34}$, which represents the best energy level reported so far.`enter code here`
        Speaker: Mr Ye Ning (University of New Brunswick, Physics Department)
      • 19:20
        An energy-partition diagnostic and a hydrogel tissue proxy for characterizing dynamics and effects of 133 Mhz burst-mode ultrafast laser ablation 2m
        Plasma-mediated ablation by ultrafast lasers has been widely investigated for its application in material processing, bio-medical surgery and scientific research. High repetition rate burst-mode ultrafast lasers that output pulsetrains of >1MHz repetition rate have shown advantages including higher material removal rate, and extra degrees of control. Ablation by such lasers is a highly dynamic process due to pulses interacting with the plasma created by previous pulses, and development of the ablation crater. For capturing the dynamics of burst-mode ultrafast laser ablation, we have built an energy-partition diagnostics based on integrating spheres. The device time-resolves specular reflection, diffuse reflection, and transmission of each pulse. Distinct dynamic absorption of glass, metal, and biotissues during ablations by a 133 MHz burst-mode ultrafast lasers are shown using this device. For studying ablation effects of burst-mode ultrafast-laser on bio-tissues in particular, we have also developed a 3d-living cell tissue proxy that mimics low-tensile strength tissue. The tissue-proxy is optically transparent, and allows diffusion of various fluorescent markers. Such feature allows examining of cell mortality (necrosis & apoptosis) and sub-cellular damage (DNA double strand breaks) post laser irradiation using confocal laser-scanning microscopy.
        Speaker: Robin Marjoribanks (U)
      • 19:22
        Adaptive Optics for Quantum Key Distribution between a Ground Station and a Satellite 2m
        Global-scale distances for Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) can be achieved by utilizing an orbiting satellite acting as an intermediate node between two or more ground stations. With QKD states encoded in photon polarization, the total number of photons collected (or equivalently, the total received optical power) is the limiting factor to the secure key generation rate. In this study we analyze the scenario of an optical uplink, ground to satellite, and how atmospheric turbulence affects the signal strength. Atmospheric turbulence mixes air of different temperatures and, hence, possessing different refractive indices along the beam path, inducing phase errors in the propagating beam. These phase errors have negligible impact on the beam in the near field, but their evolution creates temporal intensity fluctuations (scintillation), beam wander, and beam broadening along the path to the satellite. Here we investigate the use of adaptive optics to mitigate the effects of the atmosphere on the collected power of an uplink to a satellite-based receiver for QKD. We model four representative scenarios of atmospheric conditions which relate to ground station locations, and determine the impact of using an adaptive optics system to improve optical signal collection by a satellite receiver of various sizes.
        Speaker: Christopher Pugh (Institute for Quantum Computing)
      • 19:24
        Spectral and spatial properties of the noncollinear emission from Type-0 spontaneous parametric downconversion in periodically-poled lithium niobate 2m
        In recent years, two-photon coincidence experiments have advanced both the understanding and subsequent applications of entangled photons. In particular, for femtosecond-timescale coincidence measurements, such as two-photon absorption or sum-frequency generation, special, spectrally-broadband (or temporally ultrashort) sources of entangled photons are required [1,2]. Periodically-poled lithium niobate (PPLN) is an important medium in many frequency conversion applications. It can also be used for the process of spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC) to create photon pairs, entangled in both energy and time. Here, we design an entangled photon source which utilizes a 5 mm bulk PPLN:MgO crystal (with Λ=6.97µm), pumped with a 532 nm laser, to produce photon pairs centred around 1064 nm with a FWHM spectral bandwidth of 60 nm. Although this crystal is designed for collinear downconversion, we also observe a strong noncollinear emission at a relatively large opening angle. Here, the spectral and spatial properties of Type-0 SPDC for PPLN were mathematically modelled. These results are in good agreement with the parametric emission experimentally imaged on a CCD beam profiler. Thus, by an advantageous choice in collimating lenses capable of fully collecting the conical emission, greater frequency conversion efficiencies can be achieved. This is especially relevant in such cases as entangled two-photon absorption or sum frequency generation of entangled photon pairs, where the collection and subsequent focusing of maximal downconversion emission is paramount. [1] Barak Dayan. “Theory of two-photon interactions with broadband down-converted light and entangled photons” Physical Review A 76, 043813 (2007). [2] Kevin A. O’Donnell, Alfred B. U’ren., “Time-resolved up-conversion of entangled photon pairs” Physical Review Letters 103, 123602 (2009).
        Speaker: Mrs Aimee K. Gunther (University of Waterloo)
    • 19:00 22:00
      DASP Poster Session, with beer (1) / Session d'affiches DPAE, avec bière (1) W-132

      W-132

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 19:00
        Ionospheric electron number density volumetric reconstruction with ADS-B: a new method to image the ionosphere. 2m
        The proposed launch of CanX-7, carrying a space-borne ADS-B receiver developed by the Royal Military College of Canada will create a unique opportunity to study the modification of the 1090 MHz radio waves following propagation through the ionosphere from the transmitting aircraft to the passive satellite receiver. Our previous work has successfully demonstrated that ADS-B data is feasible as input to reconstruct two dimensional electron density maps of the ionosphere using techniques from computerized tomography. The goal of this work is to extend the model and reconstruct three dimensional (3D) electron density distributions to evaluate the feasibility of CT reconstruction in 3D with temporal variation. The data used as input for reconstruction was modelled using ray-tracing techniques for aircraft distributions from actual worldwide ground-based ADS-B data to a satellite orbit simulated in Satellite Tool Kit, and repeated for multiple satellites forming an arbitrary constellation with global coverage. Ray-tracing determined the characteristics of individual waves, including the wave path and the state of polarization at the satellite receiver. The modelled Faraday rotation was determined and converted to total electron content along each ray-path. The resulting total electron content was used as input for computerized ionospheric tomography using the algebraic reconstruction technique. This study concentrated on meso-scale structures 100–1000 km in horizontal extent. The primary scientific interest of this work is to show the feasibility of a new method to image the ionosphere and obtain a better understanding of magneto-ionic wave propagation.
        Speaker: Alex Cushley
        Poster
    • 19:00 22:00
      DCMMP Poster Session, with beer (4) / Session d'affiches DPMCM, avec bière (4) W-132

      W-132

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 19:00
        Magnetic Properties of GeFe2O4 Spinel 2m
        Geometrically frustrated magnetic materials have attracted scientific interest due to exotic low temperature states such as the spin ice compound Ho$_{2}$Ti$_{2}$O$_{7}$. In this material, spin disorder mimics the proton disorder found in water ice, which exhibits magnetic monopole-like excitations.$^{1}$ Frustration occurs when magnetic ions are arranged in geometries where exchange interactions can not be satisfied by all nearest neighbours. Typical structures that yield frustration are triangular in nature. Spinels (AB$_{2}$O$_{4}$) exhibit frustration when magnetic ions occupy the B sites.$^{2}$ This work seeks to determine and understand how magnetic dilution and applied pressure affect the magnetic ground state of GeFe$_{2}$O$_{4}$. [1]Harris et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 2554 (1997). [2]] J. Greedan, J. Mater. Chem.,11, 37-53 (2001).
        Speaker: Jory Korobanik (Brock University)
      • 19:04
        Vectorization of molecular-dynamics simulations with short-ranged forces 2m
        Molecular-dynamics simulations is a particle-based simulation method that is widely used in computational physics and materials science. The strong increase of available computational power makes it possible to perform materials simulations with many millions of atoms. In order to harness the full power of modern CPUs, it is necessary to make use of the available SIMD instruction sets (e.g. SSE or AVX). Unfortunately, molecular-dynamics simulations with short-ranged forces are not very well suited to take advantage of these vector capabilities. The reason for this is that each particle interacts only with a subset of the total system and the interaction partners are not stored consecutively. In this presentation we present a blocking algorithms that attempts to overcome this problem. The results of our benchmark calculations show that substantial speedups of 2 and above can be obtained for architectures like SSE, AVX and MIC.
        Speaker: Mr Chris M. Mangiardi (Laurentian University)
      • 19:06
        Synthesis, Characterization and Applications of Barium Titanate Nanomaterial in Light Emitting Devices 2m
        BaTiO3 nanoparticles of a controlled size and structure are synthesised for an electroluminescent device application developed by a collaborator. This device requires BaTiO3 nanoparticles, a narrow size distribution and improved dielectric constant. An experimental study of the material’s dielectric constant reports an increase when the particle size approaches 70 nm [1]. This property will be characterized and approached theoretically. Modelling will be performed to understand this phenomenon and verifying its reproducibility. [1] Wada S., Yasuno H. and Hoshina T., J. Appl. Phys. Vol. 42 (2003) pp.6188
        Speaker: Antoine Dumont (York University)
      • 19:08
        Effects of Topological Insulation on Phonon properties 2m
        Nearing a decade of rapid progress, research on Dirac materials and topological insulators remains exceptionally active and broad, with ongoing work ranging from exotic field theory to applied physics. At the interface between theory and experiment, there is an intense interest to understand the effect of non-electronic environments on the band topology of Dirac materials. Recent research [1, 2] has shown that, in a Dirac insulator, long-wavelength phonons can induce and stabilize topological insulation as a function of temperature. In other words, a narrow-gap semiconductor with an intrinsically trivial band topology may turn into a topological insulator in presence of electron-phonon coupling. In this project, we study the converse effect, namely the influence of band topology on phonon properties. Using a model Hamiltonian, we calculate how electron-phonon interactions change the phonon dispersion and find that a topological insulator is more prone to lattice instabilities than a trivial insulator. This phenomenon is due to the change in the momentum-space texture of the band eigenstates across a topological phase transition. We evaluate the critical temperature for the lattice instability as a function of the bandgap, carrier concentration and transport electric fields. [1] I. Garate, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 046402 (2013). [2] K. Saha and I. Garate, arXiv (2014).
        Speaker: Ms Katherine Légaré (Université de Sherbrooke)
      • 19:10
        String order parameters and topological indices in the dimerized XY chain 2m
        We study the exactly solvable dimerized antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 XY chain which exhibits quantum phase transitions. We analyze the phase diagram of the model and order parameters in various regions of the parametric space. We utilize the spin duality transformations and standard results of exactly solvable spin chains to analytically calculate the conventional Landau long-range order parameters and non-local topological string order parameters. These order parameters are used to classify different gapped phases. The local and nonlocal order parameters are mutually exclusive in two phases and coexisting in other two phases. The gapped phases can also be characterized by their topological winding number (Pontyagin index). The topological numbers change their integer values while crossing the phase boundaries. We find different topological indices in the two regions of the same gapped phase where the topological numbers change without gap closing. We show that the different topological indices in this phase are associated with level crossing. Thus the change of topological numbers does not always indicate gap closing or quantum phase transition.
        Speaker: Mr Toplal Pandey (Department of Physics, Laurentian University)
      • 19:12
        Long-time scale study of thermally activated grain reversal in dual-layer Exchange Coupled Composite recording media. 2m
        The dynamic response of magnetic media on long time scales is governed by the thermally activated reversal of uniformly magnetized nano-meter grains. Such processes are controlled by ‘rare events.’ Accurately modelling rare event presents a challenge as conventional micromagnetic techniques are limited to time scales on the order of micro-seconds. One approach that can be applied to simulate such rare-event processes is the Kinetic Monte Carlo method (KMC) [1]. The KMC method computes the time between successive grain reversals induced by an external magnetic field based on an Arrhenius-Neel approximation for thermally activated processes. The method has recently been applied to successfully model single-grain media and shows good agreement with both micromagnetics [2] and experimental MH-loops [3]. More recently we have extended the algorithm to study dual-layer Exchange Coupled Composition (ECC) media used in current generations of disc drives. The generalization of the KMC method to ECC media is complicated by the complex reversal process of coupled grains. We present recent results for ECC media reversal calculated using the KMC method where the energy barrier separating the metastable states is obtained from the minimum energy path (MEP) using a variant of the nudged elastic band method [4] and the attempt frequency is calculated based on the Langer formalism [5]. This extends previous work on weakly coupled ECC media [6]. 1. A. Lybertos, R.W. Chantrell, and A. Hoare, IEEE Trans. Magn. 26, 222 (1990); Y. Kanai and S.H. Charap, IEEE Trans. Magn. 27, 4972 (1991); P-L Lu and S.H. Charap, J. Appl. Phys. 75, 5768 (1994); O. Hokorka, J. Pressesky, G. Ju, A. Berger, and R.W. Chantrell, Appl. Phys. Lett 101, 182405 (2012). 2. T. J. Fal, J. I. Mercer, M. D. Leblanc, J. P. Whitehead, M. L. Plumer, and J. van Ek, Phys. Rev. B 87, 064405 (2013). 3. M. L. Plumer, T. J. Fal, J. I. Mercer, J. P. Whitehead, J. van Ek, and A. Ajan, IEEE Trans. Mag, 50, 3100805 (2014). 4. See for example: R. Dittrich, T. Schrefl, D. Suess, W. Scholz, H. Forster and J. Fidler, R. J.M.M.M. 250, L12–L19 (2002). 5. J. S. Langer, Ann. Phys. 54 258, N.Y. (1969). 6. T.J. Fal, M.L. Plumer, J.I. Mercer, J.P. Whitehead, J. van Ek, and K. Srinivasan, Appl. Phys. Letts. 102, 202404 (2013).
        Speaker: Ahmad Almudallal (Memorial University of Newfoundland)
      • 19:14
        Ge:Mn Dilute Magnetic Semiconductor 2m
        The synthesis of Dilute magnetic semiconductors (DMS) has attracted great interest because of the potential application of these materials in spintronics. DMS can be fabricated by alloying semiconductors with magnetic transition metal elements (TM), such as Mn. However, the concentration of TM needed to realize the ferromagnetic order in a semiconductor is still hard to achieve because of the low solid solubility of TM in semiconductors. Non-equilibrium methods, such as low temperature Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) and ion implantation, have been suggested to increase the solubility of TM in a semiconductor host . The aim of this work is the synthesis of Ge:Mn DMS and study the fundamental origin of ferromagnetism in this system. Using ion implantation, a single crystal Ge wafer was doped with magnetic Mn2+ ions at 77 K. A superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) was used to investigate the magnetic properties of three samples. Pure Ge exhibited diamagnetic behaviour. The magnetic measurements of the amorphous implanted sample showed a Curie paramagnetic behaviour at low temperature which can be explained by the localized magnetic moments. However, The eld-dependent magnetization of the implanted and annealed sample exhibits magnetic Hysteresis at 5K and 200 K indicating the existence of some FM phases in the sample after annealing.
        Speaker: Mrs LAILA OBIED (brock university-physics department)
      • 19:16
        The CDW modulated structure of NbSe3 2m
        NbSe3 undergoes two charge-density wave (CDW) transitions with incommensurate (IC) modes q1 = (0,0.241,0) (at T1=144K) and q2 = (0.5,0.260,0.5) (at T2=59K). There is sufficient experimental evidence [1,2] that the two modes appear pair-wise along one (at T1) or along two (at T2) symmetry-related pairs of trigonal prismatic (TP) columns, which form together with the third, unmodulated pair, the basic structure of the compound. The apparent sliding of the two modes in the presence of an electric field is a result of an easy switching between the two modes and consequently of the dynamics of the unstable layered domains. The relatively rare property of CDW sliding is thus a direct consequence of the specific basic structure of NbSe3 and the related compounds. Since the thickness of these domains is extremely small, of the order of the Se-Nb-Se sandwiches, any structural information, obtained by classical diffraction methods, should be confirmed by an alternative method, such as scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), having both resolution and sensitivity on an atomic scale. This new explanation of the modulated ground state of NbSe3 appears to be in good accord with a series of experiments performed on this compound. In addition, ab-initio (DFT/VASP) calculations are under way to confirm the model. The two IC modes can formally be replaced by a single, highly anharmonic modulation, obtained by “beating” between the two, which replaces both individual modes along all modulated columns. References [1] A. Prodan et al., Sol. State Comm. 150, 2134 (2010). [2] A. Prodan et al., Mater. Sci. and Eng. Forum, Solid State Phenomena, Appl. Cryst. XXII, 203-204, 42-47 (2013).
        Speaker: Craig Bennett (Dept. of Physics, Acadia University)
    • 19:00 22:00
      DTP Poster Session, with beer (2) / Session d'affiches DPT, avec bière (2) W-132

      W-132

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 19:00
        Energy of vortices in an Abelian Higgs model (in 2+1 dimensions) with sixth-order potential 2m
        I will consider a generalization of the Abelian Higgs model in 2+1 dimensions. The model describes a scalar field interacting with a U(1) gauge field and gives rise to vortex solutions carrying magnetic flux. In 3+1 dimensions, the vortex becomes a one-dimensional topological defect which appears in condensed matter physics as a vortex line in type-II superconductors. For a strong magnetic flux (large winding number), the vortex presents a thin-wall profile, which gives rise to certain simplifications in the analysis. I will present how the energy of the static configuration depends on the parameters of the model and in particular on the winding number of the vortex. For the usual choice of potential (quartic), variation of one parameter leads to a type-I and type-II vortex, as the energy dependence on the winding number show that vortices attract or repel each other respectively. The potential chosen here is a sixth-order polynomial such that the core of the vortex is the true vacuum (absolute minimum) while the field at infinity goes to the false (local minimum of the potential) vacuum. Their decay rate into an instable classical configuration with growing radius had already been estimated by a semi-classical approximation to show their impact on the stability of the false vacuum. The classical existence of vortex solutions will be shown numerically, and a scan of the parameters of the model reveals an interesting energetic behavior.
        Speaker: Marie-Lou Gendron Marsolais (Université de Montréal)
      • 19:02
        A nonlocal kinetic energy functional for an inhomogeneous two-dimensional Fermi gas 2m
        The average-density approximation (ADA) is used to construct a nonlocal kinetic energy functional for an inhomogeneous two-dimensional Fermi gas. This functional is then used to formulate a Thomas- Fermi von Weizsa ¨cker-like theory for the description of the ground state properties of the system. The quality of the kinetic energy functional is tested by performing a fully self-consistent calculation for an ideal, harmonically confined, two-dimensional system. Good agreement with exact results are found, with the number and kinetic energy densities exhibiting oscillatory structure associated with the nonlocality of the energy functional. Most importantly, this functional shows a marked improvement over the two-dimensional Thomas-Fermi von Weizs ¨acker theory, particularly in the vicinity of the classically forbidden region. We also present semi-analytic results for the exact effective potential, and compare it with the ADA effective potential.
        Speaker: Wyatt Kirkby (St. Francis Xavier University)
    • 19:00 22:00
      PPD Poster Session, with beer (7) / Session d'affiches PPD, avec bière (7) W-132

      W-132

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 19:00
        Modelling the Leaching Rate for 222Rn daughters in the SNO+ Detector 2m
        SNO+ is a scintillator based neutrino experiment located 2 km deep underground at SNOLAB in Sudbury, Ontario. Looking for rare events requires very stringent background limits and one of the sources originates form 222Rn daughters implanted into the inner surface of the acrylic vessel, holding first ultra-pure water and then organic liquid scintillator - LAB (Linear Alkyl Benzene). 210Pb, 210Bi, and 210Po can leach into the detector volume, therefore it is important to study the leaching rate mechanism and its dependence on factors such as temperature, medium and initial contamination. Several benchtop measurements were performed at Laurentian University. This poster will discuss a model based on the diffusion physics that can be used to fit the data and estimate expected background rates from this source for the SNO+ experiment.
        Speaker: Pouya Khaghani
      • 19:02
        Search for Dark Matter with Superheated Liquids: Calibration and Geant4 Monte Carlo Simulations in PICO 2m
        One of the most important unsolved mysteries in physics is the possible existence of dark matter, which could account for 85% of the total mass in the universe. PICO experiment intends to detect a specific type of dark matter particle, the weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), via scattering on 19F nuclei from C4F10 liquid in superheated droplet detectors and from C3F8 liquid in bubble chamber detectors. I will present the physics of superheated liquid detectors, as well as calibrations with alpha particles, neutrons and gamma rays. I will discuss in particular the test beam calibrations with mono-energetic neutrons at the UdeM 6 MegaVolts Tandem accelerator. These measurements could be extended to sub-keV recoil energies and are in excellent agreement with Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations. References [1]- S. Archambeault & al., Constraints on Low-Mass WIMP Interactions on 19F from PICASSO, Volume 711, Issue 2, 3 May 2012, Pages 153–161; http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269312003760
        Speaker: Mr Matthieu Lafrenière Poisson (Laboratoire René J.A. Lévesque, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada)
      • 19:04
        LAB Radon Assay Board for the SNO+ Experiment 2m
        The SNO+ experiment is located 6800 feet below the surface of the earth at SNOLAB, deep within VALE's Creighton Mine. It requires such a depth in order to be shielded from the various surface backgrounds. However, emanation of radioisotopes in the U-238 and Th-232 chains from the rock surrounding the lab can lead to other unwanted backgrounds. One such isotope, Rn-222, has a halflife of around 3.8 days, and the characteristic decay of it and its subsequent daughter isotopes allows for a specific technique for counting the amount of Rn-222 atoms collected. There are different traps employed within SNO+ to collect the Rn-222 isotope from various positions and materials. In this poster I will discuss how to build the board for the trap which will collect Rn from the linear alkylbenzene (LAB), which is the organic liquid scintillator used to detect interactions within SNO+.
        Speaker: Ms Janet Rumleskie (Laurentian University)
      • 19:06
        DEAP-3600 Argon Process Systems 2m
        DEAP-3600 is a liquid argon dark matter experiment at SNOLAB. Meeting the physics goals and background levels required for this rare event search the detector target must be cleaned both chemically and radiologically. The system for handling all argon gas must also not impart any more than 5 $\mu Bq$ Radon emanation into the target. I will present achieving our goals and the technology of the DEAP process systems
        Speaker: Mark Ward (Q)
      • 19:08
        Testing of new ATLAS muon detectors at Fermilab's Test Beam Facility 2m
        One of the ATLAS experiment's upgrade to take place in 2018 consists in the construction of new muon chambers. A third of these gaseous detectors (so-called "thin gap chambers") will be built and tested in Canada. The performance of the first prototype chamber built in Canada was measured in a beam test at Fermilab in May 2014. A description of the test setup at Fermilab as well as preliminary results will be presented.
        Speaker: Stephen Albert Weber (Carleton University (CA))
      • 19:10
        PMT Repairs for the SNO+ Experiment 2m
        SNO+ is a multipurpose neutrino detector located at SNOLAB in Sudbury, Ontario. As the successor to the SNO experiment, SNO+ inherited the detector hardware, including about 10000 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). Over the lifetime of SNO approximately 8% of the PMTs experienced a failure in the base electronics. Because these PMTs represent a non-trivial gain in light collection, a repair procedure was developed at Queen's University. The repair work is now continuing at Laurentian University. This poster will describe the motivation and repair process in detail.
        Speaker: Mr David Braid (Laurentian University)
        Poster
      • 19:12
        DEAP-3600 Optical Calibration Systems. 2m
        The DEAP-3600 dark matter detector uses 255 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) to detect scintillation light induced in liquid argon by nuclear recoils caused by hypothetical WIMPs. We present here two systems that are used to calibrate and monitor the properties of the PMTs and the overall detector response. The fi rst calibration method utilizes an LED optical flasher source, deployed directly inside DEAP-3600 and extracted before the detector is filled with liquid argon. In the second calibration system, which is installed permanently in the detector, light reaches the PMTs through a fi bre optic cables connected to injection points located in their vicinity. Details of both systems and their installation will be presented, together with the simulated performance.
        Speakers: Mr Broerman Benjamin (Queen's University), Mr Giampa Pietro (Queen's University)
        Poster
      • 19:14
        Acoustic discrimination in superheated liquids 2m
        Particle traversing superheated liquids can trigger phase transition accompanied with acoustic emission which can be capture with piezo electric sensors. Energy above threshold has to be deposited within a critical length for such process to happen for a given set of operating temperature and pressure which can be calculated with Seitz theory. Knowing those informations, particle discrimination can be made. Knowledge of cross section of elements present in liquid allows understanding of detectors count rate behaviour as a function of threshold energy.
        Speaker: Mr Arthur Plante (Université de Montréal)
      • 19:16
        DEAP-3600 Light Guide Bonding 2m
        DEAP-3600, comprised of a 1 ton fiducial mass of ultra-pure liquid argon, is designed to achieve world-leading sensitivity for spin-independent dark matter (interactions). In addition to rejection of backgrounds through event-wise pulse shape discrimination, the detector must be constructed with materials that have low natural U and Th concentrations to realize the three years of background-free operation design goal. Acrylic represents an ideal material for fabricating the crucial dark matter detector vessels given its ability to be produced with very low levels of U and Th, its excellent optical properties for transmission of the argon generated scintillation light, and the effective shielding it provides for externally produced neutrons that could mimic the dark matter signal. Discussed here is an overview of creating the full-scale DEAP-3600 cryogenic acrylic vessel. Included in the discussion is primary the bonding process developed to attach optically perfect light guides for the project’s photodetectors.
        Speaker: Mr Thomas McElroy (University of Alberta)
      • 19:18
        ATLAS Muon Chamber Ageing Studie 2m
        The search for hisgh-energy particles continues at CERN, in the ATLAS detector. Due to the rarity of events such as the production of the Higgs, it is necessary to increase the luminosity of the LHC. In preparation for this increase, there are several upgrades which must be made to the ATLAS detector to take advantage of the increased event rate, and not be swamped by data. One of these upgrades is to the forward muon detectors in the small wheels, referred to as the New Small Wheels (NSW). These small wheels contain small Thin Gap Chambers (sTGC) which will contribute to the trigger system and give resolution data for muons. This will assist in the discrimination of signal from noise, and allow to trace particle trajectories. To establish the stability of these detectors, ageing studies were performed at TRIUMF in Vancouver, Canada. These studies simulated 150 years of operation of the LHC (8 Coulombs of accumulated charge/cm2), and are presented here. A test stand apparatus was used to simulate the conditions of the chamber in the LHC. The test stand included a gas mixing system, humidity control, and monitored atmospheric pressure and temperature to control variables. Data was also collected from a control chamber not exposed to a weak radiations source to eliminate environmental fluctuations. Both chambers were exposed to Strontium 90 sources over a period of one month. The study reveals that there is no strong evidence of ageing in the studied sTGCs.
        Speaker: Elise Gaia Devoie (TRIUMF (CA))
      • 19:20
        In Situ Optical Calibration of MiniCLEAN 2m
        The MiniCLEAN dark matter experiment will exploit a single-phase liquid-argon detector instrumented with 92 photomultiplier tubes placed in the cryogen temperature with 4-$\pi$ coverage of a 500 kg (150 kg) target (fiducial) mass. The detector design strategy emphasizes scalability to target masses of order 10 tons or more. The detector is designed also for a liquid-neon target that allows for an independent verification of signal and background and a test of the expected dependence of the WIMP-nucleus interaction rate. For MiniCLEAN, PMT stability and calibration are essential. The optical calibration will be able monitor the PMT stability and maintain the calibration. In MiniCLEAN, we use a Light-Emitting Diode(LED)-based light injection system to provide single photons for calibration, the calibration can be performed in near real-time, providing a continuous monitor at the condition of the detector.
        Speaker: Mr Wang Jui-Jen (University of New Mexico)
    • 07:30 08:30
      Science Policy Committee Breakfast Meeting / Réunion-déjeuner du Comité de politique scientifique C-201

      C-201

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 08:30 15:15
      Exhibit booths open 08:30-15:15 / Salle d'exposition ouverte de 08h30 à 15h15 Fraser Foyer

      Fraser Foyer

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 08:45 10:45
      (R1-1) Interactive Teaching/Teaching with Technology - DPE / Enseignement interactif et à l'aide de la technologie - DEP FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Daria Ahrensmeier (Simon Fraser University)
      • 08:45
        Using Conceptual Multiple Choice Questions 30m
        High-quality conceptual multiple choice questions are the key ingredient to the effective use of personal response systems within lectures and to many diagnostic instruments such as the Force Concept Inventory. In addition, they can easily be incorporated into examinations as a complementary way to probe topic mastery, particularly for ideas that don't lend themselves well to traditional numerical problems. Perhaps the biggest drawback to using conceptual multiple choice questions is the effort needed to create them, particularly at an appropriate level of difficulty and in sufficient numbers to distribute over several iterations of a course. With this in mind, I have expanded and organized my collection of such questions, spanning topics across most typical first- and second-year university physics curricula. This talk will introduce the collection and provide suggestions for its most effective use. Most importantly, I will freely provide access to this collection to other instructors.
        Speaker: Ian Blokland (University of Alberta, Augustana Campus)
        Slides
      • 09:15
        A series of fun and engaging first year physics videos: youtube.com/McMasterBiophysics 30m
        We tackled the problem of engaging first year physics students with basic concepts by producing videos to summarize lecture content. The “McMaster Biophysics Video Lecture Series” is a series of unique, fun and short videos, which could be incorporated into a blended learning style course. This talk covers the highlights and method of production of the videos. Free, open source video software and an inexpensive, common digital camera were used to produce the videos. Features such as stop-motion animation, sound effects and subtle pop-culture references are included. At this point, the series covers part of first year physics. However, it will be expanded to include more content, such as interactive videos, for instance. The videos are delivered through a dedicated YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/McMasterBiophysics, to ensure platform independent easy access to videos on all desktop and mobile devices. By combining the video lectures with traditional lecture material, the students have access to the relevant educational content on their own schedule and learning pace.
        Speaker: Ms Alina Jade Barnett (McMaster University)
      • 09:45
        PEARL at the University of Windsor 15m
        Promotion of Experiential and Active, Research-based, Learning (PEARLS) is a new initiative at the University of Windsor spearheaded by the Teaching Leadership Chair in Science, Dr. Chitra Rangan. In this presentation, Dr. Rangan will discuss the development of a community of practice, a network of educators who are engaged in experiential, active and research-based learning pedagogies. Some ideas that will be explored are: - The need for a champion for evidence-based and scholarly approach to teaching and learning within Faculties of Science. - Providing experiential learning in the context of diminishing research dollars. - Ideas to transform and enhance graduate education in Physics.
        Speaker: Chitra Rangan (U)
      • 10:00
        Round Table: Are our students less well prepared 30m
    • 08:45 10:45
      (R1-10) Cosmic Frontier: Cosmology - PPD-DTP / Frontière cosmique: cosmologie - PPD-DPT C-301

      C-301

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Viktor Zacek (Université de Montreal)
      • 08:45
        The Universe as a Physics Lab: Recent results in Cosmology and Survey of Near-term Canadian Projects 30m
        In this talk I will survey recent results in cosmology, with a focus on Canadian contributions. This will include results derived from observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation, galaxy clusters, galaxies, and 21cm diffuse emission. In many cases, the results have deep overlap with particle physics such as probes of inflation, measurements of neutrino mass, and observations of dark matter. As an instrument-builder, I will also introduce the technology that has led to recent break-throughs, and what can be expected in the near-term.
        Speaker: Prof. Matt Dobbs (McGill U.)
      • 09:15
        Dark Matter: What Do We Know From Cosmology? 30m
        The dark matter problem exists at the junction of three fields, observational cosmology, high-energy theory, and experimental physics. The first two motivate us to seek a new particle, in addition to those in the Standard Model; the last is our best hope for pinning down its true nature. In this talk I will review what we know about dark matter from astrophysical observations of the cosmic microwave background, clusters of galaxies, individual giant or dwarf galaxies, and other systems, and what we may hope to learn in the future. I will also mention briefly some of the classes of dark matter candidates, and experimental tests specific to each of them.
        Speaker: Dr James E. Taylor (University of Waterloo)
        PDF
      • 09:45
        IceCube Detector Efficiency with Muons 15m
        The IceCube neutrino observatory is the world’s largest neutrino detector. Designed to measure the highest energy neutrinos produced in astrophysical events, IceCube has recently reported the first observed flux of extragalactic very high energy neutrinos. One of the primary challenges of operating the detector is providing robust calibrations for energies ranging from ~10 GeV to a few PeV. In addition to in situ calibrations with embedded LEDs in the detector, a novel analysis using minimum ionizing atmospheric muons has been developed to provide an absolute measurement of the digital optical module in-ice efficiency. Presented will be the status of this calibration analysis for the IceCube detector.
        Speaker: Tania Wood (University of Alberta)
        Slides
      • 10:00
        Improved IceCube event reconstructions using direct-tracking photon tables 15m
        The IceCube detector is designed to detect very high energy neutrino events (100 TeV+) from astrophysical sources. A low energy array, DeepCore, was designed to extend the reach of IceCube down to ~10 GeV. At these low energies there are unique challenges in the analyses, including angular and energy reconstruction of the events. One way to improve the reconstructions is by improving the tools, such as the photon look-up tables used to calculate the most likely properties of the event. Increasing the accuracy of the photon tables, by directly tracking the source leptons and photons in the ice, may create a closer representation of the physical reality of the underlying events. Presented will be the status of the improved reconstructions from the advanced table generation with an expectation of the impact on DeepCore analyses.
        Speaker: Sarah Nowicki (University of Alberta)
        Slides
      • 10:15
        An Analytic Mathematical Model to Explain the Spiral Structure and Rotation Curve of NGC 3198. 15m
        PACS:98.62.-g An analytical model of galactic morphology is presented. This model presents resolutions to two inter-related parameters of spiral galaxies: one being the flat velocity rotation profile and the other being the spiral morphology of such galaxies. This model is a mathematical transformation dictated by the general theory of relativity applied to rotating polar coordinate systems that conserve the metric. The model shows that the flat velocity rotation profile and spiral shape of certain galaxies are both products of the general theory. Validation of the model is presented by application to 878 rotation curves provided by Salucci, and by comparing the results of a derived distance modulus to those using Cepheid variables, water masers and Tully-Fisher calculations. The model suggests means of determining galactic linear density, mass and angular momentum. We also show that the morphology of NGC 3198 is congruent to the geodesic of a rotating reference frame and is therefore gravitationally viscous and self bound.
        Speaker: Bruce Rout (Astronomical Teacher Training Institute)
      • 10:30
        ALTAIR:precision photometric calibration via low cost artificial light sources above the atmosphere 15m
    • 08:45 10:45
      (R1-11) Biomolecules, Cells, and Beyond - DMBP / Biomolécules, cellules et au-delà - DPMB C-207

      C-207

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Dr Maikel Rheinstadter (McMaster University)
      • 08:45
        Slow to hear: Traveling waves on the eardrum 30m
        The purpose of the ear is to convey incoming acoustic energy from the world around us into the central nervous system. This process however can introduce (appreciable) delay, given the cascade of transduction processes that occur. From sound to synapse, much of this lag can be attributed to filtering by the frequency-selective elements in the ear. That is, resonance takes time: the sharper the tuning, the longer the delay. However, one vertebrate group has proved to be an outlier: Anuran (frogs and toads) ears exhibit comparably long delays (several milliseconds), yet relatively broad tuning. These delays have been partially attributed to the middle ear (ME), though the biomechanical origin remains uncertain. The present study sought to determine the genesis of this additional group delay by using scanning laser doppler vibrometery to map surface velocity over the tympanic membrane (TyM) of anesthetized bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana). Our main finding is the general observation of a circularly-symmetric inward-traveling wave on the TyM surface, starting at the outer edges of the TyM and propagating inward with decreasing amplitude towards the center (the site of the ossicular attachment). Presumably these TyM waves stem from mechanical constraints associated with being a semi-aquatic species with a relatively large tympanum. We investigated some of these constraints by measuring the pressure ratio across the TyM, the effects of ossicular interruption, the changes due to physiological state of TyM ('dry-out'), and by calculating the middle-ear input impedance. In summary, the present study demonstrates the existence of a slow, mechanical inward-traveling wave on the TyM surface that generates and can account for a substantial fraction of the relatively long delays previously observed in the anuran inner ear.
        Speaker: Prof. Christopher Bergevin (York University)
      • 09:15
        Hierarchical, Self-Similar Structure in Native Squid Pen 15m
        Proteins, chitin and keratin form the elementary building blocks of many biomaterials. How these molecules assemble into larger, macroscopic structures with very different properties is the fundamental question we are trying to answer [1]. Squid pen is a transparent backbone inside the squid, which supports the mantle of the squid. The pens show a hierarchical, self-similar structure under the microscope and the AFM with fibers from 500μm to 0.2μm in diameter. The chitin molecules form nano-crystallites of monoclinic lattice symmetry surrounded by a protein layer, resulting in β-chitin nano-fibrils. Signals corresponding to the α-coil protein phase and β-chitin were observed in X-ray experiments in-situ. The molecular structure is highly anisotropic with 90% of the α-coils and β-chitin crystallites oriented along the fiber-axis indicating a strong correlation between the structures on millimeters down to the molecular scale [2]. [1] “Self-assembly enhances the strength of fibres made from vimentin intermediate filament proteins”, N. Pinto, **FC. Yang**, et al., published by *Biomacromolecules*. DOI: 10.1021/bm401600a [2] “Hierarchical, Self-Similar Structure in Native Squid Pen”, **FC. Yang**, et al., submitted to *Soft Matter*.
        Speaker: Fei-Chi Yang (McMaster University)
        Slides
      • 09:30
        Inferring Axon Diameter Sizes using Monte Carlo Simulations of Magnetic Resonance Oscillating Gradient Spin Echo Sequences 15m
        Magnetic resonance (MR) is capable of measuring diffusion coefficients of water in tissue. MR oscillating gradient spin echo (OGSE) sequences are used to make measurements at the shortest possible diffusion times so that the transition from restricted to hindered diffusion within the smallest structures can be detected. Here we simulate a cylindrical geometry using OGSE sequences and AxCaliber to determine the ability of the OGSE sequences to distinguish cylinder diameter distributions for small diameters and to better understand the physical factors affecting ADC measurements. We vary the frequency of the gradient from very small to very large to approach free diffusion in the larger simulated axons. Monte Carlo computer simulations were conducted using a gamma distribution of non-overlapping parallel cylinders surrounded by extracellular water with lattice periodicity. This geometry aims to model the axon environment in healthy white matter regions. A cosine gradient spin echo sequence was used to generate 400 signals with different cosine frequencies (from .05 to 10 kHz) and gradient strengths (from 0 to 72580 mT/m). Simulations were run with 114688 particles and 42000 time steps. Gaussian noise was added to both components of the transverse magnetization. The cylinders were impermeable and water diffused within and outside the cylinders. The simulations were programmed in CUDA C/C++ and run on a HP Z240 workstation containing an Intel® Xeon® Processor E5-1650 6-core 3.20GHz CPU. The HP Z240 workstation contained two graphics cards, a Tesla C2075 (Fermi 2.0) graphics card for dedicated CUDA computation and a Quadro 600 (Fermi 2.1) graphics card handling the display. The mean signal was fit to the AxCaliber analytical model using $\chi^{2}$ minimization. The fitted data agree fairly well with the input model indicating our method can be used to infer axon diameter distributions from 0.5 μm to 4.5 μm. Previous small deviations between the fit data and simulated system are corrected using volume fractions rather than number fractions. This work is the first step toward combining OGSE measurements with axon diameter distribution models to infer distributions of small axon diameters in tissues. Distributions of non-parallel axons and more diffusion gradient directions will be needed to make a more complete model. Funding NSERC, MHRC, CFI, and MRIF
        Speaker: Morgan E Mercredi (University of Manitoba)
        Slides
      • 09:45
        Targeting Gold Nanoparticles (GNPs) into the Nucleus of Cells 15m
        The interactions of synthetically produced gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with living organisms are getting attention in the biomedical sciences. GNPs have been extensively used due to their ability to act as both an anticancer drug carrier in chemotherapy and as a dose enhancer in radiotherapy. Most GNPs research involved GNPs in the cytoplasm of the cell. However, is predicted that therapy response can be further enhanced in NPs can be effectively targeted into the nucleus of a cell. An effective strategy for designing a GNP-peptide complex for targeting the nucleus will be presented. Two peptides were conjugated onto GNPs. The role of one peptide enhanced the uptake into the cell while the other one enhanced nuclear delivery. With nuclear targeting, there is a possibility in the production of additional low-energy secondary electrons in response to irradiation within the nucleus causing more damage to DNA. This research will establish a more successful NP-based platform for combining more than one treatment modality, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy which can lead to a more aggressive approach in treatment of cancer.
        Speaker: Celina Yang
        Slides
    • 08:45 10:45
      (R1-2) Plasmonics - DAMOPC-DCMMP / Plasmonique - DPAMPC-DPMCM C-206

      C-206

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Matt Reid (University of northern british columbia)
      • 08:45
        Amplification and Lasing with Surface Plasmons 30m
        Optical processes such as spontaneous/stimulated emission and absorption may occur with surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) as they interact with an optical gain medium, ultimately leading to SPP amplification and oscillation (lasing) under the right circumstances. Although SPP amplifiers and lasers have been topics of investigation for about three decades, demonstrations of both have only recently been reported. In particular, the amplification of long-range (low-loss) SPPs on metal slabs and stripes has been demonstrated experimentally using a reasonable pump power and optical dipole concentration in solution, and as such is among the more practical SPP amplification systems proposed to date. Long-range SPP amplifiers also produce compelling noise characteristics due to lower spontaneous emission into the mode being amplified. Their integration with Bragg gratings leads to a single-mode laser producing a narrow emission linewidth - much narrower than that of more confined surface plasmon lasers. These topics are reviewed and discussed, their status is assessed, and directions for future research are suggested.
        Speaker: Pierre Berini (U)
      • 09:15
        Surface-Enhanced Quantum Control 15m
        Quantum control of molecular states is important in that it can be used to manipulate the behaviour of quantum systems. In particular, noble-metal nanoparticles can be used to enhance state decay rates in proximate quantum systems and modify local electromagnetic fields. This enhancement allows us to achieve a high level of control over the quantum dynamics of an atomic system. We use the Lindblad Master equation to model the interaction between a quantum system, an incident electromagnetic wave and proximate nanoparticles in order to predict how the system will respond to being driven by the incident electromagnetic wave. This allows us to predict how particular state densities can be prepared and how various system configurations can affect processes such as fluorescence.
        Speaker: Christopher DiLoreto (University of Windsor)
        Slides
      • 09:30
        Resonant Nanoantennas for Long-Wavelength Spectroscopy 30m
        Optical nanoantennas are nano-fabricated devices able to convert free-space optical radiation into localized energy. Due to this, they can be used to enhance the electromagnetic field and to localize it on a scale well beyond the diffraction limit. Nanoantennas have thus become key elements for single-molecule spectroscopy, nano-imaging and extreme nonlinear optics [1-3]. Our aim is to exploit these concepts in the long-wavelength region (mid-infrared – MIR, and terahertz – THz) of the electromagnetic spectrum. I will present a summary of the results we have recently obtained [4-6] regarding arrays of planar THz nanoantennas as well as gold MIR nanocones. In particular, the resonance tunability of these structures, their near- and far-field response, and their field enhancement capabilities will be shown. Finally, a practical demonstration of the use of these nanoplasmonic structures for enhanced spectroscopy of nano-objects will be given. References [1] P. Bharadwaj et al., Chem. Sci. 2, 136-140 (2011); [2] F. De Angelis et al., Nature Nanotech. 5, 67-72 (2010); [3] S. Kim et al., Nature 453, 757-760 (2008); [4] L. Razzari et al., Opt Express 19, 26088-26094 (2011); [5] L. Razzari et al., Plasmonics 8, 133 (2013); [6] S. Tuccio et al., Opt. Lett. 39, 571 (2014).
        Speaker: Prof. Luca Razzari (INRS-EMT)
      • 10:00
        Toward universal relativistic quantum computing 15m
        We harness general relativistic effects to gain quantum control on a stationary qubit in an optical cavity by controlling the non-inertial motion of a different probe atom. Furthermore, we show that by considering relativistic trajectories of the probe, we enhance the fidelity of the quantum control.
        Speaker: Christopher Sutherland (U)
    • 08:45 10:30
      (R1-3) Ion Beam Analysis and Modification - DCMMP / Analyse et modification de faisceaux d'ions - DPMCM C-304

      C-304

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: François Schiettekatte (Université de Montréal)
      • 08:45
        High Resolution Depth Profiling for Studying Titanium Oxidation 15m
        High Resolution Depth Profiling for Studying Titanium Oxidation M. Brocklebank1, J.J. Noel2, L.V. Goncharova1 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, 2Department of Chemistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 3K7 Titanium has many important applications in both scientific research and industry. Our aim is an understanding of the mechanism of electrochemical oxidation of Ti, especially in the ultra-thin film limit. This is crucial if Ti is to be properly incorporated into technological devices. A thin film of Ti was deposited by magnetron sputtering, onto a Si (001) substrate followed by exposure to isotopic O18 water to form a TiO2 ultra-thin layer. Next, TiO2/Ti/Si(001) samples were electrochemically oxidized in H216O water. By observing the relative concentration of the oxygen isotopes as a function of depth, it allows us for a determination of potential oxygen exchange reactions and insight into general oxide growth from diffusion (metal or oxidant species). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and medium energy ion scattering (MEIS) were used to determine the chemical environment of the sample’s surfaces and film stoichiometry as a function of depth respectively. The oxidation states of Ti are consistent with MEIS depth profiles. The depth profiles suggest that O18 appears in much greater concentrations near the surface, of Ti oxide while O16 appears in greater concentrations at TiO2/Ti interface. This is suggestive of a mechanism of diffusion for O16 that results without strong interaction within the Ti oxide layer. The kinematics of the oxidation process are contingent on whether the process is limited by diffusion through the oxide or by the exchange reactions themselves. Although typically oxidation is seen as diffusion controlled. Further details of the mechanism will be discussed.
        Speaker: Mr Mitchell Brocklebank (UWO)
        Slides
      • 09:00
        Characterization of PICASSO/PICO detectors using University of Montreal Tandem Van de Graaff accelerator 15m
        Low energetic, elastic neutron scattering is an ideal tool to characterize dark matter detectors. At University of Montreal, we use our Tandem Van de Graaff accelerator to calibrate superheated liquid detectors of the PICASSO/PICO dark matter search experiment. Mono-energetic neutrons are produced via the 51V(p,n)51Cr nuclear reaction at well-defined resonance energies in the range of 4 to 120 keV. We discuss the accelerator operation and how neutrons are used to investigate our superheated liquid detectors.
        Speaker: Mathieu Laurin (Université de Montréal)
        Slides
      • 09:15
        Measurement of hyperuniformity in pure amorphous silicon 15m
        Hyperuniform point patterns are characterized by a local variance that grows only as the surface area (rather than the volume) as the system gets larger and therefore do not possess infinite-wavelength fluctuations [F. Torquato & F.H. Stillinger, Phys. Rev. E **68**, 041113 (2003)]. Equivalently, it can be stated that for hyperuniform materials, the structure factor tends to zero for very small scattering vectors : S(q→0) = 0. It has been conjectured that pure amorphous silicon, a fully disordered and nearly-four fold coordinated solid, is nearly fully hyperuniform [M. Florescu *et al*., PNAS **106**, 20658 (2009)]. However this suggestion has been contested, based on a large structure factor at small scattering vectors deduced from a computer model of amorphous silicon [A.M.R. de Graff & M.F. Thorpe, Acta Crystallogr. A **66**, 22–31 (2010)]. We have undertaken measurements of the structure factor of pure amorphous silicon, made by ion implantation, at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source. The experimentally determined structure factor is much smaller than the value deduced from the model, and thus we conclude that pure amorphous silicon is nearly hyperuniform [R. Xie *et al.*, PNAS **110**, 13250 (2013)].
        Speaker: Sjoerd Roorda (Université de Montréal)
      • 09:30
        Defect complex evolution in semiconductors: long-range elastic interactions matter 15m
        Current models of implantation damage annealing consider either point defect diffusion or damage complexes that anneal by processes internal to the complexes. However, neither of these models explains the broad shape or the heat release observed by nanocalorimetry. Here, we compare the heat release of 10 or 80 keV Si ions implanted at low-fluence (0.02-0.1 Si/nm2) in monocrystalline Si at 110 K or 300 K, to a newly proposed atomistic simulation method that runs over time scales reaching seconds. [1] The kinetic Activation-Relaxation Technique (k-ART), an off-lattice kinetic Monte-Carlo method with on-the-fly catalogue construction. This method takes fully into account all elastic effects both for energy minima and barriers. Here, k-ART is applied to a 27 000-atom cell of Stillinger-Weber silicon self-implanted with a single ion at a 3-keV. The simulation results reveal a logarithmic time dependence of defect annealing and closely reproduce the heat-release experiments. It is found that the process occurs in a process where the system needs to unlock metastable states, a process that requires crossing ever-higher barriers with time. These unlocking steps do not generally decrease the potential energy; they only allow relaxation to eventually take place. Interestingly, relaxation does not affect significantly the energy landscape, the system still seeing evolving through a similar, uniform distribution of barrier. The picture that emerges is that self-implantation or keV-recoil-induced damage in c-Si consists of a collection of relatively simple structures that, rather than only relaxing by interacting with the crystal surrounding them, overcome reconfiguration barriers in order to interact with each other and undergo relaxation, resulting in a logarithmic time-dependent evolution. Given that long-range elastic effects are a general feature found in most materials, we estimate that these conclusions apply at least to many covalently bond crystals, but probably also to many other materials. [1] L.K. Béland, Y. Anahory, D. Smeets, M. Guihard, P. Brommer, J.-F. Joly, J.-C. Pothier, L.J. Lewis, N. Mousseau, F. Schiettekatte, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111 (2013) 105502
        Speaker: François Schiettekatte (Université de Montréal)
      • 09:45
        Medium energy ions for thin films and monolayers 15m
        Modern synthetic approaches and nanofabrication are providing us the means of creating material structures controlled at the atomic scale. Familiar examples include the formation of hetero-structures grown with atomic precision, nanoparticles with designed electronic properties, and new carbon-based devices. One of the challenges here is that electron transport properties of these diverse materials are closely linked to the basic interactions at the interface. Ion scattering has been very successfully applied in our group to study interfaces of devices based on silicon and higher-mobility semiconductors. We use medium energy ion scattering (MEIS), a powerful tool for depth profiling, with depth resolution of 5-10Å in the near surface region with electrostatic energy analyzer (ESA). It was applied successfully in the past to analyze for elements heavier than carbon, typically on light substrates. It is potentially interesting to extend this technique to perform elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA) of light elements, such as H, D, or Li. We were also able to detect residual hydrogen presence in Hf silicate thin films grown by atomic layer deposition. The width of the H- ion peak can be correlated well with the film thicknesses in the 3.6-16 nm range, while conventional ERDA does not differentiate them. We observe some dependence of the H- fraction on recoil angle, H- ions are not observed at any emerging angles above 80degrees, while the data reported by Marion-Young predicts H- fraction of 3-5% in this energy range. The H- fraction is expected to increase with decreasing energy of the recoils (incident energy). We comment on the limitations of medium energy elastic recoil detection analysis.
        Speaker: Lyudmila Goncharova (T)
        Slides
      • 10:00
        Toward pump-probe experiments of defect dynamics with pulsed ion beams 30m
        A novel linear induction accelerator, the Neutralized Drift Compression eXperiment-II (NDCX-II), is currently being used at Berkeley Lab to explore intense beam physics and intense-beam material interactions. For the latter topic, fluences range from overlapping cascades of lattice disorder to eventually heating solids to ~1 eV on a timescale similar to the hydrodynamic expansion. This accelerator is designed to deliver intense (up to 3x10^11 ions/pulse), 1 to ~600 ns duration pulses of 0.13 to 1.2 MeV lithium ions at a rate of about 2 pulses per minute onto 1 to 10 mm scale target areas. At lower beam power densities, the short excitation pulse with tunable intensity and time profile enables pump-probe type studies of defect dynamics in a broad range of materials. We briefly describe the accelerator concept and design, present results from beam pulse shaping experiments and discuss examples of pump-probe type studies of defect dynamics using Li+ ions.
        Speaker: Peter Seidl (LBNL)
        Slides
    • 08:45 10:45
      (R1-4) Biophysics/Soft Condensed Matter V - DMBP-DCMMP / Biophysique et matière condensée molle V - DPMB-DPMCM A-226

      A-226

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Paul Francois (M)
      • 08:45
        The structure of cholesterol in lipid rafts 15m
        Transient nano- or mesoscopic structures in the plasma membrane, termed rafts or functional domains, are thought to be essential for many cellular processes such as signal transduction, cell adhesion, signalling, cell trafficking and lipid/protein sorting. Experimental observations of these membrane heterogeneities have proven challenging, as they are thought to be both small and short-lived. First evidence of highly ordered lipid domains in the liquid-ordered (lo) phase of cholesterol-rich DPPC membranes has recently been reported from molecular dynamics simulations [1] and neutron diffraction [2]. With a combination of neutron scattering using deuterium labeled cholesterol molecules and molecular dynamic simulations we are able to determine the cholesterol structure within these rafts. We studied the structure of the cholesterol molecules in the liquid ordered phase of DPPC membranes containing 32.5 mol% cholesterol using neutron diffraction. By changing the experimental setup in situ, the spatial resolution could be drastically increased, as compared to a typical setup. Bragg peaks corresponding to ordering of the cholesterol molecules were observed. The peaks can be indexed by two different structures: cholesterol ordered in agreement with the umbrella model in equilibrium with immiscible cholesterol patches. From coarse grained computer simulations these structures could be characterized as small ordered ‘domains’ of a highly dynamic nature. For the first time we determine the structure of cholesterol molecules in rafts in binary cholesterol lipid membranes. These small-scale domains can be speculated to be the nuclei that may lead to ‘rafts’ in biological membranes [3]. References -[1] S. Meinhardt, R.C.L.Vink, F. Schmid, Monolayer curvature stabilizes nanoscale raft domains in mixed lipid bilayers, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110, 4476-4481 (2013). -[2] C.L. Armstrong D. Marquardt, H. Dies, N. Kučerka, Z. Yamani, T.A. Harroun, J. Katsaras, A.C. Shi, M.C. Rheinstädter, The Observation of Highly Ordered Domains in Membranes with Cholesterol, PLoS ONE, 8 (2013). -[3] M. C. Rheinstädter, O.G. Mouritsen, Small-scale structure in fluid cholesterol-lipid bilayers, Current Opinion in Colloid and Interface Science, 18, 440-447 (2013).
        Speaker: laura toppozini (McMaster University)
        Slides
      • 09:30
        Collective Motion of Magnetotactic Bacteria 15m
        Magnetotactic bacteria synthesize magnetic crystals in specialized organelles. This causes the cells to align with external magnetic fields. The movement of magnetotactic bacteria in applied magnetic fields has been studied previously, but only in the dilute limit in which cells do not interact. At much higher concentrations, hydrodynamic interactions and collisions can significantly alter the motion of individual cells as compared to their behaviour in isolation. These collective effects have not been previously studied in the case of magnetotactic bacteria. By tuning cell density and magnetic field, changes to cellular organization and movement are observed, as measured through microrheological and image analysis approaches.
        Speaker: Solomon Barkley (M)
      • 09:45
        Effect of pegylated gold nanoparticle core size on cancer cell uptake 15m
        The development of polymer functionalized gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have promoted prospective applications in cancer diagnostics and therapeutics, such as drug delivery, photodynamic therapy and radiation therapy. The use of polyethylene glycol (PEG) functionalized GNP conjugates (PEG-GNP) have gained much attention due to promising biodistribution and stealth properties *in vivo*. Conjugates have decreased cellular uptake *in vitro*, suggesting localization in interstitial space rather than intercellularly in tumor regions *in vivo*. The dependence of PEG-GNP uptake on GNP size was studied *in vitro* in HeLa cells for a PEG molecular weight of 2000 to determine a preferred core size between 20 nm and 50 nm spherical GNPs. Cellular uptake was observed quantitatively by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy and qualitatively by hyperspectral imaging. PEG-GNP uptake was found independent of core size. Core size may be changed should particular PEG-GNP applications require specific GNP diameters without affecting uptake.
        Speaker: Charmainne Cruje (R)
        Slides
      • 10:00
        Adaptive sorting: a new mechanism for ligand recognition 30m
        Many biological networks have to filter out useful information from a vast excess of spurious interactions. We use computational evolution to predict design features of networks processing ligand categorization. The important problem of early immune response is considered as a case-study. Rounds of evolution with different constraints uncover elaborations of the same network motif that we name "adaptive sorting". An instance of this module is present in mammalian T-cell biochemical networks. Analytical study of this motif unifies several puzzling properties of immune recognition, such as ligand antagonism and non-monotonic response time of immune response as a function of ligand concentration. It also predicts counter-intuitive loss of response at high ligand concentrations of foreign ligands for some parameter regime, which is checked experimentally.
        Speaker: Prof. Paul Francois (McGill University)
    • 08:45 10:45
      (R1-5) Computational Materials Mini-symposium I - DCMMP-DMBP / Mini-symposium sur les matériaux numériques I - DPMCM-DPMB C-204

      C-204

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Ralf Meyer (Laurentian University)
      • 08:45
        Many-body effects on the zero-point renormalization of the diamond band structure 30m
        The coupling of electrons to a bosonic field generally causes a renormalization of the energy levels. Whereas in vacuum, the electromagnetic fluctuations lead to the Lamb shift observed in the hydrogen atom levels, in condensed matter, the phonon field renormalizes the band structure, even at zero temperature. Being as large as several hundreds of meV, this renormalization is critical to the predictive power of *ab initio* calculations when it comes to absorption spectra, photovoltaic materials, or topological insulators. Following the early work of Fan and others in the 1950s, the problem was addressed by Allen, Heine and Cardona, whose theory provides perturbative expressions in terms of the electron-phonon coupling. Using semi-empirical methods, and later on, density functional theory (DFT), the temperature dependence of the band gap could be obtained for several semiconductors. Among those, diamond has become a case study where the zero-point renormalization is as much as half an election volt. The reliability of DFT for the electron-phonon coupling has however been challenged in recent years. Since the scattering of an electron by a phonon probes the excited states of a system, a theory describing this process should rely on an accurate unrenormalized band structure, unlike the one of DFT. A truly *ab initio* scheme however would rely on many-body perturbation theory. As such, we have demonstrated previously that such many-body treatment resulted in a significant increase of the electron-phonon coupling in C60 fullerene. In this presentation, I will report on how a careful treatment using many-body perturbation theory as implemented by the GW approach result in an enhancement of the electron-electron interaction causing a 40% enhancement in the zero-point renormalization (ZPR) in diamond with respect to the usual DFT treatment.
        Speaker: Michel Côté (Université de Montréal)
      • 09:15
        **WITHDRAWN** Spin-orbit coupled double perovskite bilayers: Magnetism, Chern bands, and quantum anomalous Hall insulators on the honeycomb lattice 15m
        Spectacular experiments have demonstrated the controlled layer-by-layer growth of oxide heterostructures. This leads to the exciting prospect of tuning magnetism and topological states of correlated electrons in low dimensions. Here, we model $\{111\}$-grown bilayers of spin-orbit coupled double perovskites such as Sr$_2$FeMoO$_6$, showing that these buckled honeycomb materials act as half-metallic ferrimagnetic films. The combination of inter-orbital hybridization and symmetry-allowed trigonal distortion leads to a rich phase diagram with tunable magnetization directions, topological $C\!=\! \pm 1, \pm 2$ Chern bands, and a $C=\pm 2$ quantum anomalous Hall insulator regime. An effective two-band model of Zeeman-split $j\!=\! 3/2$ states captures this emergence of $C=\pm 2$ band topology.
        Speaker: Ms Ashley Cook (University of Toronto)
      • 09:30
        Biexciton-exciton cascades in graphene quantum dots 15m
        Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) with engineered lateral size, shape, and edge allow for the modification of the electronic, optical and magnetic properties of graphene [1-5]. Here we present a theory of optical properties of GQDs [2-5]. Building on our previous work [1-4] we expand the single-particle wave functions in Pz carbon orbitals and compute energy spectra using the tight-binding model. The two-body Coulomb matrix elements are computed using Slater Pz orbitals, and screening is included through effective dielectric constant. The tight-binding calculation of single-particle states is followed by a fully self-consistent Hartree-Fock treatment of electron-electron interactions. We find a semiconducting state originating from the semi-metallic ground state of bulk graphene, followed by a Mott-insulating state with decreased screening. The semiconducting ground and excited state HF wave functions and energies are improved by inclusion of a limited number of multi-pair excitations using tb+HF+CI technique. We compute the evolution of the singlet and triplet exciton spectrum (G0W0-BSE) with size for different shape and edge type of quantum dots and compare with predictions based on confined Dirac Fermions[2]. The single exciton spectrum is compared with spectrum of exciton interacting with additional electron-hole pair excitations potentially leading to excitonic instability. We next move to exploit valley degeneracy and effects of additional layers. We focus on triangular colloidal graphene quantum dots [4,5] with the degenerate CB and VB band-edge and explore the possibility of creating coherent photon pairs in biexciton-exciton cascades. The spin-resolved bi-exciton spectrum, its Auger coupling and bi-exciton-exciton recombination spectrum are predicted and compared with measured optical properties of colloidal graphene quantum dots [4,5]. The theory of optical properties is extended to bi-layer graphene quantum dots. [1]Guclu et. al., 2009 Phys. Rev. Lett. 103 246805 [2]Guclu et. al., 2010 Phys. Rev. B 82 155445 [3]Guclu et. al., 2013 Phys. Rev. B 87 035425 [4]Ozfidan et. al., 2014 Phys. Rev. B 89 085310 [5]Mueller et. al., 2010 Nano Letters 10 2679; Yan et. al., 2012 Acct. Chem. Research, DOI : 10.1021/ar300137p
        Speaker: isil ozfidan (U)
        Slides
      • 09:45
        Modelling Materials Microstructure Across Scales using Phase Field Methods 30m
        Phase field crystal models and their recent extension to periodic order parameters will be summarized. Their application to new results in non-equilibrium kinetics and phase transformations in materials science will be reviewed. In particular, we review new results from applications of this modeling paradigm to solute trapping during rapid solidification of alloys, defect-mediated solid-state precipitation, and magneto-crystalline interactions. We close with a discussion of new complex amplitude representations of PFC models and how these can be used for multi-scale simulations using adaptive mesh refinement methods.
        Speaker: Nikolas Provatas (McGill University)
      • 10:15
        Self consistent field theory for smectic ordering of semiflexible homo-polymers. 15m
        We develop a model of liquid crystalline homopolymers using self-consistent field theory (SCFT) for semiflexible spherocylinder-shaped particles that can form the isotropic (I) phase, the nematic (N) phase and the smectic-A phase (SmA). As in previous work by Chen [Macromolecules 26, 3419 (1993)] and Duchs and Sullivan [J. Phys. Cond. Mat. 14 12189 (2002)] we employ the excluded volume interaction based on a second virial approximation (SVA) due to Onsager, which is able to stabilize the N phase for wormlike chains. To stabilize the SmA phase, we also include the excluded volume interaction between cylindrical segments and the terminal end segments as in Hidalgo *et al.* [PRE 71, 041804 (2005)]. However, the work by Hidalgo contains two limitations, which we address in this study: Their numerical algorithm cannot obtain solutions for strongly ordered states, which occur for molecular length to diameter ratio, $L/D > 10$. Also, the phase boundaries occur for packing fractions that are unphysically too high, due to their use of SVA. We develop a Crank-Nicolson type method applied to the orientations having better convergence for strongly ordered states which obtains solutions for $L/D$ as high as $\sim55$ for the N-SmA transition. We also implement a technique based on the method of Parsons and Lee which goes beyond the SVA, successfully predicting the N-SmA boundary very close to Monte Carlo simulations. N ordering and SmA ordering is looked at some detail and comparison to Monte Carlo simulations and measurements on virus particles are made. We predict that the stability of rigid rods in the SmA phase increases with increasing $L/D$, however the stability is lost for only a small amount of flexibility.
        Speaker: Mr Ian MacKay (University of Guelph)
      • 10:30
        Dynamical self-consistent field theory of phase transition kinetics in AB diblock copolymer melts 15m
        We examine the kinetics of phase transitions in AB diblock copolymer melts using a dynamical self-consistent field theory that we recently developed. By applying the variational priniciple to an appropriate dynamical functional integral, which is based on the exact microscopic polymer dynamics, we obtain the self-consistent equations. These equations are then solved through an ensemble of Brownian dynamics simulations of a single chain in a self-consistently determined, dynamical, mean field. We examine the kinetics of transitions between the disordered, lamellar, and cylindrical phases in the diblock copolymer melt. We also test our theory by examining early-stage spinodal decomposition in a binary (A/B) homopolymer blend, and comparing to existing results from the dynamical random-phase approximation, and from single-chain in mean-field simulation. Since our theory is directly connected to the microscopic dynamics, our time scale is directly relatable to the microscopic Rouse time for the chains, and we can follow the dynamics of individual chain conformations as the diblock copolymer microdomains re-arrange during the transition.
        Speaker: Douglas Grzetic (University of Guelph)
        Slides
    • 08:45 10:45
      (R1-6) Quantum Information Theory - DTP-DAMOPC-DCMMP / Théorie de l'information quantique - DPT-DPAMPC-DPMCM C-309

      C-309

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Achim Kempf (U)
      • 08:45
        A fresh look at fundamental properties of quantum information 30m
        We revisit fundamental properties of quantum information in light of a notion in one-shot information theory, namely smooth max-relative entropy. We show how these properties, in particular Strong Subadditivity of von Neumann entropy, follow from intuitive and easy to establish properties of the new notion.
        Speaker: Prof. Ashwin Nayak (University of Waterloo)
      • 09:15
        Quantum Resource Theories 30m
        Quantum information theory can be viewed as a theory of inter-conversions among different resources. These resources can be classical or quantum, static (like entanglement) or dynamic (like a quantum channel), noisy or noiseless, and therefore give rise to a plethora of quantum information processing tasks. In this talk, I will give an overview on the structure of quantum resource theories and discuss their applications to entanglement theory, thermodynamics, uncertainty relations, and the generalizations of Noether's theorem. This talk is based on joint works with Shmuel Friedland, Vlad Gheorghiu, Iman Marvian, Robert Spekkens, and Nolan Wallach
        Speaker: Gilad Gour (U)
      • 09:45
        A cavity-enhanced waveguide quantum memory 15m
        Communication of quantum information, like its classical counterpart, requires data synchronization. In other words, one must be able to store the information and retrieve it when needed. An optical quantum memory is an interface that stores the information encoded in a photon and recalls it on demand. A promising protocol to implement a practical optical quantum memory is the Atomic Frequency Comb (AFC). A major advantage of the AFC protocol is its high multimode storage capacity. This is important for quantum communication purposes because it increases the success rate of distributing entanglement between two distant parties by means of a quantum repeater. The efficiency of a memory is defined as the probability of successful storage and subsequent retrieval of the information. Achieving high efficiency has been an ongoing challenge in experimental implementations of optical quantum memories. According to a theoretical proposal, by embedding the AFC memory crystal in an impedance matched cavity, the efficiency can approach 100%. This proposal has been executed experimentally and an efficiency of 58% was reported. Despite this relatively high efficiency, cavity misalignment and line-width narrowing due to the slow light effect were in the way of further enhancement of the efficiency. Here I report our experimental work to implement the theoretical proposal in a wave-guiding rare earth ion doped crystal (Ti:Tm:LiNbO3), cooled down to cryogenic temperatures. The wide acceptance bandwidth of the storage medium (~100 GHz) leaves the cavity enhanced memory unaffected by cavity line-width narrowing. Furthermore, the cavity is formed in a waveguide, and as a consequence, the cavity response is relatively immune to misalignment. This experiment is a step toward realizing long distance quantum communication relying on entanglement distribution.
        Speaker: Mr Hassan Mallahzadeh (University of Calgary)
        Slides
      • 10:00
        Weak measurements with an ensemble quantum processor. 15m
        NMR ensemble quantum processors can be used for implementing a universal quantum circuit with a limited number of qubits using current technologies. The computation is carried out with high fidelity over a large number of processors (individual molecules) in parallel and the readout corresponds to ensemble averages of single-qubit observables. This type of readout poses a obstacle when the algorithm requires post-processing on individual outcomes, for example in the case of weak measurements with post-selection. We present a method for overcoming the challenge of post-selection in an ensemble processor and show experimental results of the first weak measurement in NMR. The experiment involves 3 qubits but can be extended to larger systems of up to 12 qubits using conventional methods. These extensions may be useful for carrying out weak measurements experiments that cannot be done with the more common optical setup. * arXiv:1311.5890
        Speaker: Aharon Brodutch (Univesity of Waterloo)
        Slides
      • 10:15
        Relativistic enhancement of quantum optical metrology 15m
        In this talk, I will explore the applications of relativistic quantum information theory to metrology. By considering the relativistic effects on the transition probability of atoms moving through the optical cavities, we will characterize the perturbations of the general trajectories of an atom. Moreover, since the atom’s transition rate depends on how the detector enters the cavity, we will show how this feature can be used as a test to measure the alignment of a cavity.
        Speaker: Aida Ahmadzadegan (University of Waterloo)
    • 08:45 10:45
      (R1-7) Hadronic Structure - DNP / Structure hadronique - DPN C-114

      C-114

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Prof. Garth Huber (University of Regina)
      • 08:45
        Studying the Proton Spin at RHIC 30m
        The historical picture of proton spin which emerged from Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS) experiments is now being complemented and expanded by data from RHIC. The experiments STAR, PHENIX, BRAHMS and AnDY can be provided independently with both transversely and longitudinally polarized proton collisions, and examine such probes as jets, neutral pions, charged hadrons, and Z/Ws. By combining these results with previous DIS data, we can address the separate contributions of quarks, gluons, transversity, and orbital angular momentum to the spin of the proton. This talk will present an overview of the present results from RHIC and prospects in the near future.
        Speaker: Dr Stephen Trentalange (University of California at Los Angeles)
      • 09:15
        Recent Results from the BESIII Experiment 30m
        The BESIII Experiment is dedicated to studying electron-positron collisions in the charmonium region. In recent years, the BESIII Collaboration has used the accelerator and detector to explore the spectrum of excited charmonium states, often dubbed *XYZ* states. Large samples of data have been collected with e+e- collision energies at or near the masses of the *Y*(4260) and *Y*(4360) states. These data have produced several exciting results including the observation of two charged charmonium-like states with masses near 4 GeV. Due to the fact that these states have electric charge, they cannot be simple charm anti-charm quark mesons. A discussion of these results and other recent, related results from the BESIII Experiment will be presented.
        Speaker: Matthew Shepherd (Indiana University)
        Slides
      • 09:45
        The GlueX Experiment: Commissioning is underway 15m
        The main goal of the GlueX experiment is to search for exotic hybrid mesons as evidence of gluonic excitations, in an effort to understand the phenomenon of confinement in Quantum Chromo Dynamics. The experiment will be housed in the new Hall-D facility at Jefferson Lab as part of its accelerator upgrade to 12 GeV. The key features of this compelling physics program will be presented together with an overview of the detector. The experiment is now in its commissioning phase with data taking expected in 2015.
        Speaker: Zisis Papandreou (University of Regina)
        Slides
      • 10:00
        Photodisintegration of the Deuteron at 18 MeV using Linearly Polarized Photons 15m
        We report the cross section, $\sigma$, parameterized differential cross section, $\frac{d\sigma}{d\Omega}$, and analyzing power, $\Sigma(\theta)$, for neutron production via the photodisintegration of the unpolarized deuteron at 18 MeV using linearly polarized photons: $^2$H($\vec{\gamma}$,n)$^1$H. The data were taken in October 2010 using the free-electron laser at the High Intensity Gamma Source (HI$\vec{\gamma}$S) at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The ejectile neutrons from the photodisintegration reaction were measured using the Blowfish detector array: a spherical array of radius 40.64$\:\pm\:$0.3 cm composed of 88 BC-505 liquid organic scintillator cells which cover $\approx\pi\:$ steradians. The initial goal of our experiment was to test a few potential sources of error, and so clean experimental runs were only taken with the remaining beam-time. Our data are therefore not optimized for precision, and so presented a number of data analysis challenges: which were overcome. Contrary to earlier results near deuteron binding energy threshold (Stephenson et al 1987; Birenbaum et al 1988; Sawatzky 2005), we see reasonable agreement with a theoretical calculation performed by Schwamb and Arenhovel (2001) based on retarded one meson exchange with empirical cutoffs in the propagators. Our results show similar agreement to Schwamb and Arenhovel's calculation as Blackston's (2007) results: which were for the same reaction at 14 and 16 MeV, and under the same experimental conditions as our current results.
        Speaker: Glen Pridham (U)
        Slides
    • 08:45 10:45
      (R1-8) Mathematical Physics - DTP / Physique mathématique - DPT C-203

      C-203

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Richard MacKenzie (U. Montréal)
      • 08:45
        The evolution of APEs and the Hawking-Page transition 30m
        APEs are Asymptotically Poincar\'e-Einstein manifolds. I will first review the zoology of APEs and their relatives, which are various classes of Conformally Compactifiable manifolds. I will show that APEs have nice properties under the Ricci flow. Namely, if a manifold is initially APE, it remains APE under the flow, and if the mass is defined then it is monotonic. The conformal anomaly, by contrast, is constant. If the Ricci curvature of an APE obeys the natural lower bound Ric \ge -(n-1) initially, then this bound is preserved under the flow and the renormalized volume becomes monotonic. This has a nice interpretation for the Hawking-Page phase transition in black hole physics. This is based on joint work with Eric Bahuaud and Rafe Mazzeo, and joint work with Tracey Balehowsky.
        Speaker: Dr Eric Woolgar (University of Alberta)
      • 09:15
        Squeezed coherent states and a measure of entanglement 30m
        Squeezed coherent quantum states are defined as eigenstates of a linear combination of ladder operators associated to a given system. They depend on the coherence and squeezing parameters. We present different types of states which generalize the usual coherent states of the harmonic oscillator. We describe some of their properties linked with quasi classicality and we compute the entanglement created by those states. Such quantum entanglement is generated using a beam splitter and the linear entropy is used as a measure of it. We thus show how the variation of coherence and squeezing parameters affects the measure of entanglement.
        Speaker: Véronique Hussin (U)
        Slides
      • 09:45
        Towards Simulating Relativistic Quantum Field Theory in Circuit QED 15m
        The recent observation of the Dynamical Casimir Effect (DCE) was possible due to the fast modulation of the boundary using circuit QED. In this work, I investigate the DCE where the boundary follows different relativistic oscillatory motions. I obtain the relation between the effective temperature of the radiation and the acceleration of the boundary, showing that it yields an effective Unruh type of temperature. This offers the prospect of using the DCE to simulate effects from relativistic quantum field theory.
        Speaker: Ms Paulina Corona Ugalde (University of Waterloo-IQC)
    • 08:45 10:45
      (R1-9) Future of Cosmic Frontier: Dark Matter II - PPD-DNP-DTP / Avenir de la frontière cosmique: matière sombre II - PPD-DPN-DPT C-112

      C-112

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Matthew Scott Rudolph (University of Toronto (CA))
      • 09:15
        Surface Alpha Background Mitigation in DEAP-3600 15m
        Radon and its decay daughters are a well known source of background in direct WIMP detection experiments, as either a radon decay daughter or an alpha particle emitted from a thin inner surface layer could produce a WIMP-like signal. The acrylic vessel, which is the central part of the DEAP-3600 detector, is susceptible to surface diffusion of radon, when exposed to natural air. To remove diffused isotopes from the inner acrylic vessel, a sanding robot (called the Resurfacer) was designed to remove approximately 1 mm from the interior surface. Commissioning and testing has been carried out at Queen's University. Surface Polonium-210 alpha events have also been simulated with GEANT4 to study the signature of these backgrounds in the detector. Details of the Resurfacer, along with the results of tests and simulations will be presented.
        Speaker: Mr Joshua Bonatt (Queen's University)
        Slides
      • 09:30
        Characterization of DEAP-3600 PMTs 15m
        The DEAP (Dark Matter Experiment with Argon and Pulse-shapeDiscrimination) collaboration is currently building a 3600 kg detector that is planned for completion by summer of 2014. The detector will utilize 3600 kg of argon as target volume. Any event occuring inside the detector will be monitored by measuring the wavelength-shifted light with 255 Hamamatsu high quantum efficiency R5912 PMTs. Certain parameters of these PMTs can effect the ability of our pulse-shape discrimination method to distinguish backgrounds and signals; these essential parameters such as timing, relative efficiency, afterpulsing and dark rate were measured and characterized, and will be presented.
        Speaker: Paradorn Pasuthip (Q)
      • 10:00
        PICO-2L analysis and background discrimination techniques. 15m
        The PICO collaboration has recently commissioned a superheated liquid dark matter detector with 2 liters of perfluoropropane (C3F8) as a target material at the SNOLAB underground laboratory. Although PICO-2L is a pilot experiment for the larger mass PICO-250L detector, it provides an excellent sensitivity to low-mass (~10 GeV) WIMP due to the powerful background rejection at nuclear recoil thresholds of as low as 3 keV. The status of the analysis and the performance of the detector will be discussed, and an overview of the various techniques used in data analysis will be provided.
        Speaker: Chanpreet Amole (Q)
        Slides
      • 10:15
        ACOUSTIC SIGNAL CONDITIONING AND NOISE REDUCTION IN PICO SUPERHEATED LIQUID DETECTOR 15m
        The PICO direct Cold Dark Matter search experiment is installed at SNOLAB, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The detection principle is based on the superheated liquid technique. PICO-2L is the first PICO collaboration bubble chamber detector to use C3F8 as the superheated liquid. The detector is mostly sensitive to spin-dependent and low mass spin-independent WIMP interactions. The active mass of the detector is 2.9 kg and it is presently taking data underground. Some of the data analysis methods and tools being applied to understand the detector’s performance will be discussed.
        Speaker: Dr Ruslan Podviyanuk (Laurentian University)
      • 10:30
        Development of a low dead time dark matter detector using a superheated liquid 15m
        The PICO dark matter search is an experiment which is based on superheated perfluorocarbons such as C4F10, C3F8 and CF3I. The PICO detectors are are used for spin-dependant dark matter searches using C4F10 and C3F8 and spin-independent dark matter searches using CF3I in the mass range from 10-10,000 GeV. A prototype of a low dead time particle detector, using a condensation chamber or "geyser" has been constructed and operated. The geyser technology is a variant of the bubble chamber using superheated liquid with a very simple design and no moving parts. The design of geyser chambers, experience with the operation, and the results of the data taken with the prototype will be presented. The data analysis focuses on the acoustic discrimination of alpha or background events from neutron events in the geyser.
        Speaker: Mr Pitam Mitra (University of Alberta)
        Slides
    • 10:45 11:15
      Health Break (with exhibitors) / Pause santé (avec exposants) Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 11:15 11:45
      (R-MEDAL) CAP Medal Talk - David London, U. de Montréal (CAP-TRIUMF Vogt Medal Recipient/Récipiendaire de la médaille Vogt de l'ACP-TRIUMF) FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 11:15
        CP Violation in the B System: the Early Years 30m
        In this talk I review my most important contributions to the study of CP violation in B decays. They are all related to measurements of the weak phases , and . The proposed methods have been implemented in all B-physics experiments."
        Speaker: David London (Universite de Montreal)
    • 11:45 12:30
      (R-PLEN) Plenary Session - Jim Chelikowsky, U. of Texas at Austin - Session plénière FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 11:45
        Addressing Dirac's Challenge: Developing Practical Quantum Mechanics to Predict Properties of Materials 45m
        Over eight decades ago, after the invention of quantum mechanics, P. A. M. Dirac made the following observation: "The underlying physical laws necessary for the mathematical theory of a large part of physics and the whole of chemistry are thus completely known, and the difficulty is only that the exact application of these laws leads to equations much too complicated to be soluble. It therefore becomes desirable that approximate practical methods of applying quantum mechanics should be developed, which can lead to an explanation of the main features of complex atomic systems…" The creation of "approximate practical methods" in response to Dirac's challenge has included the one electron picture, density functional theory and the pseudopotential concept. The combination of such methods in conjunction with contemporary computational platforms and new algorithms offer the possibility of predicting properties of materials solely on the basis of the atomic species present. I will give an overview of progress in this field with an emphasis on materials at the nanoscale.
        Speaker: James R. Chelikowsky (University of Texas at Austin)
    • 11:45 13:45
      Outreach "Tête-à-tête Liaisons externes F-536

      F-536

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 12:30 13:45
      DHP Annual Meeting / Assemblée annuelle DHP F-337

      F-337

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Jean Barrette (McGill University)
    • 12:30 13:45
      DIAP Annual Meeting / Assemblée annuelle DPIA F-336

      F-336

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: René Roy (Université Laval)
    • 12:30 13:45
      DIMP Annual Meeting / Assemblée annuelle DPIM F-335

      F-335

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 12:30 13:45
      DTP Annual Meeting / Assemblée annuelle DPT F-441

      F-441

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Arundhati Dasgupta (University of Lethbridge)
    • 12:30 13:45
      Lunch / Dîner
    • 12:30 13:45
      PPD Annual Meeting / Assemblée annuelle PPD F-443

      F-443

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Anadi Canepa (TRIUMF (CA))
      • 12:30
        Presentation 20m
        Speaker: Anadi Canepa (TRIUMF (CA))
        Slides
    • 13:45 15:15
      (R2-1) Erich Vogt Memorial Session I - DNP-PPD-DTP / Session à la mémoire d'Erich Vogt I - DPN-PPD-DPT FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Zisis Papandreou (University of Regina)
      • 13:45
        Remembering a Canadian giant, Erich W. Vogt (1929-2014) 30m
        I will retrace Erich Vogt`s career as a science leader in Canada. As one of the influential physicists of his generation and a devoted member of the CAP, he contributed in many ways, always seeking to move Canada at the forefront. I will introduce the many facets of his involvement, but will focus on the nuclear physics aspects leaving the following speakers to fill in on the other achievements.
        Speaker: Dr Jean-Michel POUTISSOU (TRIUMF)
        Slides
      • 14:15
        Erich Vogt – a Champion for Physics 15m
        Erich Vogt made two major contributions to science in Canada: one, through more than 40 years of teaching, was to inspire generations of students to take up physics; the other was the creation of TRIUMF, where he led the initial funding campaign and later guided its development from a regional to a fully national laboratory with an international reputation. In both cases it was his ability at championing a cause that was crucial to success. This talk will focus on TRIUMF, particularly the early years and his later efforts on behalf of KAON.
        Speaker: Prof. Michael Craddock (University of British Columbia & TRIUMF)
        Slides
      • 14:30
        Erich Vogt - Putting TRIUMF on the world map 15m
        Erich Vogt had a profound influence on the development of the TRIUMF laboratory and its staff from the time he joined the UBC physics department in 1965 until his last few months. I will describe some of the technical developments that he championed that led to the diverse scientific and technology transfer activities of the laboratory and the support of international subatomic physics.
        Speaker: Dr Ewart Blackmore (TRIUMF)
        Slides
    • 13:45 15:15
      (R2-2) Curriculum Development and Revitalization - DPE / Développement et revitalisation des programmes - DEP C-112

      C-112

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Adam J. Sarty (St. Mary's University)
      • 13:45
        Recent Developments in Physics Education in Canada. 30m
        A clear and growing interest in physics education among Canadian physicists has prompted the editor of Physics in Canada (PiC) and its education corner to suggest a special issue of PiC. The plans for a special issue were finalized during CAP 2013 Congress in Montreal and a team of three guest co-editors was formed. The call for papers was sent out in July 2013. A total of 25 proposals were received. Each paper was revised by at least two referees. Ultimately, 20 papers were selected to be published. The resulting issue represents a snapshot of recent developments rather than a complete picture of Canadian physics education. In this talk the special issue’s guest editors will present an overview of physics education in Canada over the past five years based on their findings in the process of preparation of the edition. The findings will cover three major areas including Physics Education Research (PER), best teaching practices and teacher preparation.
        Speakers: Dr Nathaniel Lasry (John Abbott College, Montreal), Dr Tetyana Antimirova (Ryerson University, Toronto)
      • 14:15
        Changing students' approach to learning physics in undergraduate gateway courses 30m
        This study investigated if and how a combined set of specially developed activities; reflective writing, critique-writing activities, & reflective write-pair-share combined with the collaborative conceptual-conflict group exercises can help students change their approach to learning physics and their actual learning. The study was conducted over a three year period and supported by SSHRC. Each of these activities was previously successfully tested as a stand-alone activity. We also developed new rubrics for evaluation of the impact of the activities. Data were collected at two different institutions. At each institution the same instructor taught students in two sections. At the first, a comprehensive university, classes were relatively large sections in a typical calculus-based course in mechanics. At the second, a community college, there were relatively small classes of a typical algebra-based introductory course in mechanics, electricity, and magnetism. The two institutions used different textbooks and had different formats. Measured outcome variables included student interviews and writing products. Students identified key concepts, related concepts to their own prior understanding of the same and other concepts, and used a paradigm- rather than template-based approach to solving new problems. These differences were more clearly apparent than in stand-alone studies of the learning activities
        Speakers: Prof. Calvin Kalman (Concordia University), Dr Marina Milner-Bolotin (University of British Columbia), Dr Tetanya Antimirova (Ryerson University)
        Slides
      • 14:45
        Round Table: Discrepancy between student experience and student learning in (inter)active formats (i.e. students resisting change). 30m
    • 13:45 15:15
      (R2-3) Biophysics/Soft Condensed Matter VI - DMBP-DCMMP / Biophysique et matière condensée molle VI - DPMB-DPMCM A-226

      A-226

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Catherine Beauchemin (R)
      • 13:45
        Resistance is futile... Wait! Maybe it’s not. 15m
        Back in 2007, resistance of influenza virus strains against the most used and stockpiled antiviral drug, oseltamivir, was of no concern. The main mutation which led to resistance also led to a significant decrease in the fitness of flu virus strains which carried it. But in the 2007-2008 season, a drug-resistant variant of the circulating flu H1N1 strain that year (A/Brisbane/59/2007) carried the mutation successfully and spread effectively, even in the absence of favourable drug pressure: the mutation was no longer a liability and resistance disseminated quickly. Then came the 2009 influenza pandemic... could oseltamivir resistance establish itself in that strain too? Our work is in the field of virophysics, utilizing physical models to resolve the temporal (and sometimes spatial) dynamics of viral infection spread within a cell culture (in vitro) or a host (in vivo). These physical models allow us to extract the key viral replication parameters (e.g., viral production rate, infectious cell lifespan) from experimental flu infections. This information enabled us to determine whether resistance could establish itself in the 2009 flu H1N1 pandemic strain. But the accurate nature of our method has also allowed us to identify problems with experimental protocols used to evaluate the efficacy of antivirals or the virulence of certain influenza strains. In this talk, I will review what we learned about the physics of flu and the challenges the field of virology faces which physicists are uniquely positioned to take on.
        Speaker: Prof. Catherine Beauchemin (Ryerson University)
      • 14:00
        Can bacterial filaments regrow ? 15m
        Many bacteria swim in their environment by rotating a number of rigid helical filaments each anchored to their bodies by a rotary nano-engine. This fascinating system has been the subject of numerous biophysical studies in the past decades that have provided great insight into the world of biological nanomachines and intracellular signalling. The subject of this particular study was the assembly of the flagellar filament. Each individual filament extends many body lengths (10-15µm) outside of the cell and is constructed of as many as 20000-30000 protein subunits (called flagellin). These flagellin are all synthesized inside of the cell (in the cytoplasm) and need to be exported through the filament to be assembled at its distal end with the help of a small structure called the “cap”. From cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography, we know that the filament has a diameter of about 23 nm with a central channel of about 2 nm. Using femtosecond laser ablation, we cut individual bacterial filaments and watched whether they could regrow with fluorescence microscopy. We did not observe any regrowth, contradicting the results of Berg et al. from Harvard who recently reported that mechanically broken (sheared) filaments do grow back. We also investigated the rate at which filaments grow as a function of their length to shed light on the mechanism by which flagellin is transported. The prediction of the recently proposed chain mechanism is a length-independent rate (also observed by the Berg group), but this model is controversial and needs independent verification.
        Speaker: Mr Guillaume Paradis (Universite Laval)
        Slides
      • 14:15
        Biomaterials Surface and Interface Engineering by Plasma Assisted Processes 15m
        Materials and devices used as medical implants or tools used for clinical applications, in addition to having antibacterial or bio- and hemocompatible characteristics, must also possess specific mechanical, electrical or tribological properties in order to provide useful functionalities. The interaction of biological cells with a foreign material initially takes place at their interface. The cell response is determined by chemical and morphological properties of the surface. As a result, the advanced surface engineering techniques become one of the most important means for designing high quality medical implants, devices or tools. Among various surface engineering technologies, plasma-based techniques offer the most versatile approach, since they allow surface modifications with a level of precision that approaches a monoatomic layer. Plasma techniques in general, could significantly reduce the required heat load for deposition or modification of the surfaces; therefore, allowing independent control of thermal effects. An important group of biomaterials are polymers, which have low tolerance to heat load. Pulsed plasma approach furthermore reduces the required heat load on the surface. The main advantage of pulsed plasma is that it produces significant quantities of ions, electrons and radicals, which are required for the process of deposition or surface modification, at low average energy cost. In this presentation we will give a brief highlight of the technologies that are readily available for application to surface engineering of medical and devices and tools. We will present some examples of their applications to design of antibacterial, hemocompatible and osseointegrable surfaces.
        Speaker: Andranik Sarkissian (P)
    • 13:45 15:15
      (R2-4) Computational Materials Mini-symposium II - DCMMP-DMBP / Mini-symposium sur les matériaux numériques II - DPMCM-DPMB C-204

      C-204

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Michel Côté (Université de Montréal)
      • 13:45
        Modeling the structure, optoelectronic properties and charge transport of organic semiconducting conjugated polymers with DFT 30m
        Conjugated organic polymers exhibit high electronic conductivity when doped and other optoectronic properties such as electroluminescence, electrochromism, and large non-linear optical responses. Many applications have been proposed for conjugated polymers and oligomers and some have already been commercially implemented. The most important applications involve the devices such as the organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic photovoltaic cells. Better performance of these devices is continually being sought. This effort requires better knowledge of their optoelectronic and transport properties. In addition, our computational investigations indicate that the structure plays a critical role in determining the charge transport in organic macromolecular systems such as those used, for example, in the bulk heterojunction solar cells. Our main theoretical/computational tool is the density functional theory (DFT). DFT based methods that we employ in our computations are: molecular DFT to obtain ground state structures of monomers and oligomers, time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) to study the excited states and 1D and 3D solid-state DFT to determine the polymer crystalline structures. In recent years, the DFT approaches have been extended to include the long-range electron correlations (the dispersion forces) which allow scientists to more accurately describe the molecular configurations where the bindings are dominated by the dispersion forces. In this talk, I will give examples of using primarily DFT and DFT-based methods to investigate the optoelectronic properties, charge transport and the structure of fluorene and carbazole based organic conjugated polymers. I will discuss the effect of intermolecular distance and molecular orientation on optimizing the charge transfer rates in conjugated polymers used in bulk heterojuction solar cells. I will show how results of 1D band structure and molecular cluster calculations of conjugated polymers employed in hole- and electron-transport layers in a multilayered OLEDs can be used to generate a more balanced charge transport in these devices. Finally, I will discuss the effect of side-chain length on the solid-state structure and optolelectronic properties of fluorene-alt-benzothiadiazole based conjugated copolymers.
        Speaker: Prof. Jolanta B. Lagowski (Memorial University of Newfoundland)
      • 14:15
        Tailoring the magnetic properties of paramagnetic molecules on metal substrates by adlayers and ligands 30m
        The ongoing miniaturization of magnetic and electronic devices requires the search for new materials to avoid the size limits of conventional technology. Hybrid systems consisting of paramagnetic molecules and metallic substrates are promising candidates. Especially porphyrin and phthalocyanine molecules with transition metal center have attracted interest because of their tunable magnetic properties. We have performed density functional theory (DFT) calculations for Fe centered macrocycles on different substrates to model these systems and to understand the underlying mechanisms on the atomic scale. In agreement with recent x-ray absorption measurements we observe that the magnetic coupling between FePc molecules and a ferromagnetic (FM) Co(001) substrate can be switched from FM to antiferromagnetic by adding an oxygen adlayer to the substrate. Our ab initio investigations have shown that this is accompanied by a strong reduction of the coupling strength and a change in the coupling mechanism from a direct coupling to a 180º super-exchange between Fe and Co [1,2]. The magnetic moment and the spin-state could be tailored using ligands. In our case Cl and O ligands have been attached to Fe porphyrin (FeP) adsorbed on a nonmagnetic substrate. Both types of ligands lead to a weakening of the molecule substrate hybridization and an increase of the Fe spin moment [3]. The change of the magnetic moment is directly related to an increase of the Fe-N bond length. An even more efficient manipulation of the spin state has been predicted for FeP adsorbed on a graphene sheet with a divacancy[4]. In all DFT calculations an effective Hubbard term has been included for the 3d-orbitals of the Fe center to open the gap between the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital in the minority spin channel. In order to incorporate the long-ranged dispersion forces in the molecular system, Grimme's 2nd method has been used. It turned out that van der Waals interactions not only influence the adsorption distance but play an important role in view of the orientation of the molecule on the substrate [2]. [1] D. Klar et al., Phys. Rev. B 88, 224424 (2013) [2] H. C. Herper et al., accepted for publ. in Phys. Rev. B 89 (2014) [3] H. C. Herper et al. , Phys. Rev. B 87, 174425 (2013) [4] S. Bhandary et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 257202 (2011)
        Speaker: Dr Heike Herper (Uppsala university, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy)
      • 14:45
        Effective Spin-1/2 Model in Frustrated Magnetic Rare-Earth Pyrochlore Insulators 30m
        Effective spin-1/2 degrees of freedom coupled by exchange-like interactions commonly arise in theoretical modeling of magnetic systems. A textbook example is the Mott-Hubbard model at half-filling which one can recast as a spin-1/2 model with exchange interactions supplemented by multiple-spin (ring-exchange) couplings. In this talk, I will discuss how in the past few years the description of frustrated magnetic rare-earth pyrochlores in terms of spin-1/2 degrees have allowed one to make steadfast progress in understanding the fascinating collective phenomena displayed by these materials.
        Speaker: Prof. Michel Gingras (University of Waterloo)
    • 13:45 15:15
      (R2-5) Industrial and Applied Physics - DIAP / Physique industrielle et appliquée - DPIA: DIAP/ DPIA C-114

      C-114

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: René Roy (Université Laval)
      • 13:45
        EFFECT OF HOME GRINDING ON BREWED COFFEE PROPERTIES 15m
        We have explored the degree to which the qualities of brewed coffee may be affected by changing the time spent grinding beans using a blade-type grinder. We present measurements of particle size distribution, density, loss of coffee on brewing and caffeine content in brewed coffee (as measured using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) as a function of grinding time using a blade-type grinder. In general, there is not a strong dependence of coffee properties on grinding for grinding times in excess of 42 s, but mass loss on brewing and caffeine content are both dramatically increased with grinding times between 0 and 42 s. We present a general recommendation for determining equivalency between small amounts of finely ground coffee and larger amounts of coarser-ground coffee, determined based on the increasing amount of caffeine extractable from finer particles. We also examine the extent to which the increase in caffeine can be attributed to increased surface area of finer coffee particles and increased amounts of coffee passing through the filter.
        Speaker: Christopher Murray (L)
        Slides
      • 14:00
        On the stability of Cassie-Baxter type super-hydrophobic condition and degradation mechanism. 15m
        The phenomenon of super-hydrophobicity and related mechanisms are attractive not only scientifically, but also from the industrial point of view, because extreme water repellency is desired in several applications. Superhydrophobicity can potentially be exploited for example in non-wetting, non-fogging, non-icing, and self-cleaning surfaces, in droplet transportation and in nano- and microfluidic devices. [1] Nature has guided us to understand the mechanisms of superhydrophobicity by introducing a wide range of topography variations that exist on superhydrophobic surfaces of plants and insects. It is very important to fully understand the mechanism responsible for the degradation of the state of heterogeneous wetting (Cassie-Baxter type of superhydrophobicity). This information is critical in designing superhydrophobic surface for applications require water repellency. There is agreement among various investigators that the transition from the Cassie-Baxter to Wenzel state is the mechanism responsible for degradation. However the origin of such transition is still under debate by various investigators [2, 3]. Her a mechanism is proposed for such a transition. [1] Carré, A., Mittal, K. L., Eds.; Superhydrophobic Surfaces; Brill: Leiden, The Netherlands, 2009; 495 pp. [2] Jung, C.J. and Bhushan, B. Surface Science 57, 1057 (2007). [3] Reyssat, M., Yeomans, J.M., and Quere D. Europ. Physics Letter, 81, 26006 (2008). .
        Speaker: Dr Mahmoud Reda (CanadElectrochim)
      • 14:15
        A numerical investigation using Large scale eddy simulation of the burning characteristics of ultralow methane concentration flows. 15m
        Methane is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential that varies over the atmospheric residency time. According to the IPCC, upon release to the atmosphere and using a reference value of unity for carbon dioxide, the GWP is initially 56 over the first 20 years, 21 over 100 years and 6.5 over a 500 year timeframe. It is evident that any reduction in the atmospherically dispersed methane would beneficially contribute to reducing the increase of the global atmospheric temperature; especially in the Arctic, which increases at a substantially faster rate than the global average. A brief review of the existing methane mitigation technology is provided to compare to the VamTurBurner© a new technology. A numerical computation study of the combustion dynamics, using Large-eddy simulation, of the reacting co-flow field is presented. The study of a combustion-based greenhouse gas mitigation system to reduce the emissions of methane contained in ventilation air methane is presented. The numerical modeling demonstrates that, due to the ultralow methane concentrations in the ventilation airflow, preheating of the flow is critical to the combustion of methane in the ventilation air. The effects of preheating and methane concentration are examined in six computational cases of varying methane concentration from 0.5% to 3%. The results indicate that the oxidation and ignition of the ventilation air methane can take place in a co-annular jet configuration provided the preheating temperature is as high as 500 K for mixtures containing 0.5% methane concentration and as low as 400 K for methane concentrations up to 3%. It is concluded that ignition and combustion of ultralow methane flows can be controlled by providing the appropriate level of preheating. A computational flow dynamics study of the design is presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the VamTurBurner© operating at a typical flow rate of 100 m3/s.
        Speaker: Dr Daniel Cluff (University of Exeter, College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Science)
        Slides
      • 14:30
        Low-temperature primary thermometry development at NRC 15m
        Experimental evidence suggests that the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (used for commercial and academic thermometer calibrations) deviates from thermodynamic temperature over a broad temperature range below the triple point of water. However, unexplained inconsistencies between data sets limit the usefulness of this data as a basis for a new temperature scale. In order to resolve these inconsistencies, more experimental data is needed, particularly that collected using other methods of primary thermometry. One such technique that has not previously seen much use at low temperatures is Refractive Index Gas Thermometry (RIGT). Preliminary work on a low-temperature microwave RIGT implementation for primary thermometry at the National Research Council Canada (NRC) and the next steps to complete the development of this technology will be reported. A prototype quasi-spherical copper resonator has been integrated into a cryogenic system with a 5 K base temperature, and microwave measurements in vacuum have been completed to characterize the resonator between 5 K and 297 K. The dependence of experimental results on spectral fitting background terms, first- and second-order shape corrections, and waveguide corrections has also been explored. The current NRC results agree with previous room-temperature measurements on the same resonator at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and indicate no significant change in resonator shape between room temperature and low temperature. The temperature dependences of the resonator electrical conductivity and linear thermal expansion coefficient, as obtained from the microwave resonances, agree with published literature values for oxygen-free high-conductivity (OFHC) copper measured using other techniques.
        Speaker: Dr Patrick Rourke (National Research Council Canada)
        Slides
    • 13:45 15:15
      (R2-6) Quantum Entanglement and Computational Physics - DTP-DCMMP / Intrication quantique et physique numérique - DPT-DPMCM C-309

      C-309

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Véronique Hussin (U)
      • 13:45
        The little we know about quantum nonlocality 30m
        Consider the subset of multipartite quantum operations that can be implemented when the parties are restricted to using local quantum operations and classical communication (LOCC). Besides technological motivations, questions concerning LOCC have inspired results including teleportation, entanglement distillation, and error correcting codes. We summarize recent results concerning LOCC -- in particular, what extra information processing tasks can be implemented (or not) if unlimited rounds of communication and vanishing error is allowed. We discuss extensions to the nonlocality without entanglement phenomenon. Joint works with Andrew Childs, Eric Chitambar, Honghao Fu, Laura Mancinska, Maris Ozols, Andreas Winter
        Speaker: Ms Debbie Leung (University of Waterloo)
        Slides
      • 14:15
        Quantum computing 30m
        It is often said that quantum computers can achieve exponential speed-ups over classical computers and that quantum computers render RSA and other cryptographic protocols insecure. But how do quantum computers actually achieve this? I will describe the main ingredients that make these improvements possible and I will discuss the physical resources that are required to do so. I will also explain what we know quantum computers can not do.
        Speaker: Peter Hoyer (University of Calgary)
        Slides
      • 14:45
        Why I am not a QBist 15m
        The epistemic view of the quantum state vector, according to which the state vector or wave function represents knowledge about a quantum system, rather than the true state of the system, goes back at least to Heisenberg. It has been revived and further developed in the past two decades, in the wake of the emergence of quantum information theory. Its sharpest formulation is Quantum Bayesianism, or QBism. For QBists, "quantum mechanics is a tool anyone can use to evaluate, on the basis of one’s past experience, one’s probabilistic expectations for one’s subsequent experience" [arXiv:1311.5253]. QBism explicitly adopts the subjective view of probability, wherein probability assignments express an agent’s personal degrees of belief about an event. QBists claim that most if not all conceptual problems of quantum mechanics vanish if we simply take a proper epistemic and probabilistic perspective. Although this judgement is largely subjective and logically consistent, I give a number of reasons why I do not share it and, more generally, why I believe that the epistemic view of quantum states is unsatisfactory.
        Speaker: Prof. Louis Marchildon (Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres)
        Slides
      • 15:00
        Quantum chaotic behaviour of dynamical discord 15m
        Chaos in classical systems is characterized by extreme sensitivity of the dynamics to small perturbations. A corresponding characterization at the quantum level is challenging due to the uncertainty principle and the unitarity of quantum evolution. Here we explore how chaos can manifest itself in the quantum correlations between a collection of spin-1/2 systems or qubits. We present the first evidence of signatures of chaos in the dynamics of quantum discord in the multiqubit system, which is collectively modelled as a kicked top. The evolution of discord between any two qubits is quasiperiodic in regular regions, while in chaotic regions, the quasiperiodicity is lost. As the initial wave function is varied from the regular regions to the chaotic sea, a contour plot of the time averaged-discord clearly reproduces the structures of the classical stroboscopic map. We also find surprisingly opposite behaviour of two-qubit discord versus two-qubit entanglement. Our calculations show that unlike two-qubit entanglement, two-qubit discord is robust in the presence of a chaotic environment. Our results provide new insight into the effect of chaos on quantum correlations and are of relevance for the design of protocols involving multiqubit systems in noisy environments.
        Speaker: Prof. Shohini Ghose (Wilfrid Laurier University)
    • 15:15 15:45
      Health Break / Pause santé Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 15:45 17:15
      (R3-1) Erich Vogt Memorial Session II - DNP-PPD-DTP / Session à la mémoire d'Erich Vogt II - DPN-PPD-DPT FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Anadi Canepa (TRIUMF (CA))
      slides
      • 15:45
        Erich Vogt – memories and anecdotes of a remarkable Canadian physicist 15m
        Erich Vogt began his academic career at the University of Manitoba; he built a strong national community in support of TRIUMF; he was proud to be a Canadian physicist and a CAP member, serving a term as President in 1970-71. I will share some career highlights, memories and anecdotes of Erich from each of these perspectives.
        Speaker: Shelley Page (U)
        Slides
      • 16:00
        Message on behalf of the Institute of Particle Physics 15m
        On behalf of the Institute of Particle Physics I would like to express our members’ appreciation for the dedication and service Erich Vogt has provided the particle physics community, as well as broader physics, and general community during his life. I had the opportunity to attend the Celebration of Erich’s life in Vancouver earlier this year. When we have a celebration of life of a friend and colleague it really is bitter-­‐sweet as we recall accomplishments and are sadden by his passing. In the case of a giant like Erich, it also brings a sense of awe when look over a life of accomplishments of such breadth and depth, and, as we have heard over and over today, such enthusiasm and sense of wonder. He is truly missed. Michael Roney Director of the Institute of Particle Physics CAP Congress 2014 Laurentian University, Sudbury
        Speaker: Michael Roney (University of Victoria)
      • 16:15
        Erich Vogt – An Inspirational Physics Professor 15m
        Erich Vogt's passion for teaching is well known; he taught first-year physics for decades at UBC. He made learning physics fun and entertaining. Although he is a giant in the Canadian physics community, young students knew him as an approachable and caring professor. More importantly, he inspired his students to become infatuated with physics. In this talk, I will describe experiences from those who interacted with him in first-year physics classes.
        Speaker: Alan Poon (Berkeley Lab)
        notes
        Slides
      • 16:30
        Reading of memorial messages by Arundhati Dasgupta 15m
      • 16:45
        Peter Vogt 30m
    • 15:45 17:15
      (R3-2) Biophotonics II - DAMOPC-DIAP / Biophotonique II - DPAMPC-DPIA: DAMOPC-DIAP/DPAMC-DPIA A-226

      A-226

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Alex Brown (University of Alberta)
      • 15:45
        Controlled laser processing: from kW continuous-wave to ultrafast 15m
        Laser materials processing can differ by orders of magnitude in terms of both the light-matter interaction times and the spatial dimensions of the interaction regions. This multiplicity has stymied efforts to develop a universal tool for on-line laser process monitoring and control. Previously, we developed a diagnostic called inline coherent imaging (ICI) for real-time, in-situ measurements of laser-induced sample morphology changes [1]. ICI is similar to optical coherence tomography (a medical imaging technique), and provides micron-scale axial resolution. Now with a dynamic range exceeding 60 dB and line rates above 300 kHz, we show that ICI allows us to monitor and study the volcanic stochasticity of kW-class laser welding, and to control this highly dynamic process on the fly. More recently, we have implemented fully automatic laser micro-milling with an ICI-enabled feedback system, reproducing complicated 3D shapes in heterogeneous materials as distinct as wood and bovine cortical bone. In effect, we have a non-contact CNC capable of replicating features down to micron resolution in arbitrary materials. ICI provides highly adaptable process control as well as a window into previously concealed dynamics at the tip of a high-power laser beam. [1]. Webster, P.J.L. *et al.* In situ 24 kHz coherent imaging of morphology change in laser percussion drilling. Opt. Lett. **35**, 646-648 (2010).
        Speaker: Prof. James Fraser (Queen's University)
        Slides
      • 16:00
        Imaging live cells using highly multiplexed nanomarkers. 30m
        Current cellular imaging technology often rely on marking specific cellular components with fluorescent dyes. The broad emission spectrum of these fluorophores limits however the number of markers which can be used simultaneously in a single image. To overcome this limitation, several researchers have developed nanomarkers with narrow emission bands. When used in combination with hyperspectral fluorescence microscopes, one can distinguish and analyse tens of different cellular components, opening the door to new research, and above all, to faster medical diagnostics. Several imaging modalities, with their corresponding nanomarkers, are presented with an overview of the early results.
        Speaker: Dr Sébastien Blais-OUellette (Photon etc.)
        Transparents
      • 16:30
        **WITHDRAWN** Application of swept fiber-laser based imaging and spectroscopy systems in security, industrial and medical markets 30m
        Genia Photonics has developed a robust, easy-to-use, fiber-based source for multimodal imaging and spectroscopic solutions directed at in-vivo imaging. Optical Coherence Tomography, Second Harmonic Generation, Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS) and Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) have already been demonstrated with the system on in-vitro and ex-vivo samples. Other techniques such third harmonic generation, or time-resolved fluorescence could also be performed with the same system. The system is based on the electronic tuning and synchronization of two fiber lasers, and includes data acquisition cards developed for Genia as well as detectors (from photomultiplier tubes to balanced detectors). The system includes a fully programmable laser control software and the complete data acquisition and analysis software. We will present results on gas analysis, multimodal imaging of cryosections as well as ex-vivo tissue analysis. One of the potential applications being tumor-resection margins but other applications are also of interest. This system was built from the ground up for harsh industrial environments and for the high reliability requirements for clinical use. We are seeking partners interested in multimodal imaging and spectroscopy-based diagnostics particularly for in-vivo hyperspectral imaging and diagnostics. Furthermore, the same system was also used to produce a widely tunable infrared sources (WTIRS) by Difference Frequency Generation (DFG) techniques without the need for angle or temperature tuning. The WTIRS potential was demonstrated by measuring different gases or simply atmospheric transmission at high speed, high resolution, and high sensitivity. We are also seeking partners for IR spectroscopy-based applications in industrial or clinical settings. In conclusion, Genia is offering a vibrational spectroscopy system tailored for near-IR nonlinear spectroscopy such as CARS or SRS with all the advantages of near-IR light: high resolution, long penetration depth, low noise detection, and/or IR linear spectroscopy with all the advantages of high sensitivity due to the strong absorption in the IR. Genia offers systems for both regions of importance for molecular vibrational spectroscopy, the high wavenumber (2700-3400 cm-1, 2.9-3.7µm) and the so-called fingerprint region (1000-1530 cm-1, 6.5-10 µm systems and targeting up to 12 µm).
        Speaker: Alain Villeneuve (Genia Photonics)
    • 15:45 17:15
      (R3-3) Computational Materials Mini-symposium III - DCMMP-DMBP / Mini-symposium sur les matériaux numériques III - DPMCM-DPMB C-204

      C-204

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Heike Herper (Uppsala University)
      • 15:45
        The hydrophobic effect at supercooled temperatures: Ab initio study 30m
        The structural and dynamic properties of solvation water of an amphiphilic molecule, tetramethylurea (TMU), is studied using an ab initio molecular dynamic approach over the wide range of temperature (220 K - 370 K) [1,2]. Unprecedented data collection times ranging from 100 to 450 ps are performed. Comparison with the corresponding properties of bulk water exposes important insights into the hydrophobic/hydrophilic effects. In bulk water, we find a fragile to strong cross-over in the dynamics behaviour of supercooled water at a temperature of about 245 K. This crossover is accompanied by the passage from relatively weaker hydrogen bonds in the predominantly high density liquid (HDL) at high temperatures to stronger hydrogen bonds (HBs), low density liquid (LDL) at low temperatures, lending support to the possibility of the existence of a liquid-liquid critical point (LLCP) in supercooled water as was predicted by Peter Poole and collaborators using ST2 water model [3]. Computed rotational relaxation times, diffusivity, hydrogen-bond life-span and the dynamics of the local tetrahedral order of the solvation water of TMU also reveal a cross-over at 256$\pm$4 K from high activation energy dynamics at higher temperatures to weakly thermally activated dynamics at lower temperatures, which compares very well with nuclear magnetic resonance study that reveals a similar cross-over for the solvation water of this molecule and other similar amphiphilic molecules at 255$\pm$2 K [4]. We also locate a temperature of 265 $\pm$5 K above which the water-carbonyl hydrogen bonds are less stable than water-water HBs. Below this temperature the water-carbonyl HBs become more stable than water-water HBs. The findings of this work may help shed more light on the mechanism of cold denaturation of proteins. [1] J. T. Titantah and M. Karttunen, Long-Time Correlations and Hydrophobe-Modified Hydrogen-Bonding Dynamics in Hydrophobic Hydration. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134, 9362 (2012) [2] J. T. Titantah and M. Karttunen, Water dynamics: Relation between hydrogen bond bifurcations, molecular jumps, local density & hydrophobicity. Sci. Rep. 3, 2991 (2013) [3] P. H. Poole et al., Phase behaviour of metastable water. Nature 360, 324–328 (1992) [4] J. Qvist and B. Halle, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130, 10345 (2008).
        Speaker: John Tatini Titantah (University of Western Ontario)
        Slides
      • 16:15
        Task-based parallelization of molecular-dynamics simulations with short-ranged forces 30m
        Molecular-dynamics has become one of the most important tools in computational materials science. When combined with short-ranged force models, molecular-dynamics simulations of large systems containing several million particles can be performed on parallel computers. In this presentation a novel algorithm for the parallelization of molecular-dynamics simulations is discussed [1]. The proposed *cell task* method uses task programmign techniques to avoid inefficiencies of the spatial decomposition method in the case of complex or inhomogeneous systems. Benchmark calculations are shown that compare the efficiency of the cell task method and spatial decomposition. The cell task method is designed to be efficient on many-core processors that integrate hundredth of processors on a single chip. This is demonstrated by showing speedups obtained on an Intel Xeon Phi co-processor. [1] R. Meyer, Phys. Rev. E **88**, 053309 (2013).
        Speaker: Dr Ralf Meyer (Laurentian University)
    • 18:30 19:00
      Banquet Reception / Réception du banquet Solarium (Holiday Inn)

      Solarium

      Holiday Inn

    • 19:00 22:00
      Banquet and after dinner speaker (David Pearson "A Little Physics Goes a Long Way") / Banquet et conférencier Georgian D & E (Holiday Inn)

      Georgian D & E

      Holiday Inn

      • 20:00
        A Little Physics Goes a Long Way 20m
        The spirit of Ernest Rutherford is in the human architecture of Science North. The snowflake slowly settling on the black rock is physics too, and maybe the rubber shock absorbers the structural engineers said we’d need if the Creighton Fault ever moved. Certainly Scotch and heavy water would have pleased Rutherford. Nobody expected Sudbury would ever have Canada’s second largest science centre – and its eighth – and its first and only graduate program in Science Communication. How did it happen? …. And yes, we think Ernest Rutherford would be proud!
        Speaker: David Pearson (Laurentian University)
    • 07:15 08:45
      CAP Executive (New and Old) Breakfast Meeting / Réunion-déjeuner de l'exécutif (nouveau et ancien) de l'ACP C-201

      C-201

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 08:45 10:15
      (F1-1) Pattern Formation and Statistical Mechanics - DCMMP-DTP / Formation de structures et physique statistique - DPMCM-DPT A-226

      A-226

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Barbara Frisken (Simon Fraser University)
      • 08:45
        Confinement effects on movement and predator-prey dynamics: where does the fox stay? 30m
        Issues relating to the environment have received growing attention over the last number of years and are emerging as a top priority for Canadians. The impact on the environment from both natural processes and human activities has manifested in a variety of ecological and health issues with both short and long-term ramifications. One important area of research is the study of animal movement in complex landscapes, which encompasses a broad array of research disciplines and can provide us with a worth of information on habitats and resources. Despite the importance of studying animal movement, it has only recently attracted considerable attention due to the introduction of a variety of technological advancements (e.g. tracking devices, landscape mapping) that have helped to alleviate many of the technical challenges experienced in the field. The study of animal movement (dispersal, migration) has also drawn considerable attention due to a variety of pressing ecological and health issues, such as: worldwide spread of non-indigenous species, changes in species distributions as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation, and the role of animals as vectors of diseases, among others. In this talk, I will discuss our recent studies on the effects of confinement and landscape fragmentation on predator-prey dynamics through the use of a robust individual-based movement model (IBMM). The relative foraging efficiency for different predator (and prey) search models is examined, including the area-restrictive search, Lévy walk, and a composite correlated random walk (CCRW) model, under different confinement and fragmentation conditions. In addition, a number of movement metrics are calculated, including the move-length distribution, the net squared displacement, the radius of gyration, and the turning-angle correlation function, to examine the effects of confinement on scaling behaviour. The simulation results will be compared with recent field studies that we have conducted on the red fox of Prince Edward Island and the wild dog of South Africa.
        Speaker: Dr Sheldon Opps (Associate Professor in Physics at UPEI)
      • 09:15
        Spin glass theory and message-passing algorithms for the feedback vertex set problem 30m
        A feedback vertex set (FVS) of an undirected or directed graph is a set of vertices that contains at least one vertex of each (directed) cycle of the graph. The feedback vertex set problem consists of constructing a FVS of size less than a certain given value. This combinatorial optimization problem is one of the basic global-constraint optimization problems, and it has many practical applications. But this problem is in the non-deterministic polynomial-complete class of worst-case computational complexity, and therefore could be extremely difficult to solve. In this presentation I introduce a spin glass model for the FVS problem and then study this model on the ensemble of finite-connectivity random graphs. In our model the global cycle constraints are represented through the local constraints on all the edges of the graph, and they are then treated by distributed message-passing procedures such as belief propagation. Our belief propagation-guided decimation algorithm can construct nearly optimal feedback vertex sets for single random graph instances and regular lattices. We also find the solution space of random FVS problem has very rich structures. The system may have two spin glass transitions: a dynamical spin glass transition (the clustering transition) and a separated static spin glass transition (the condensation transition).
        Speaker: Prof. Hai-Jun Zhou (Institute of Theoretical Physics, the Chinese Academy of Sciences)
        Slides
      • 09:45
        Dynamical Equations Of Periodic Systems Under Constant External Stress 15m
        Periodic boundary conditions are widely used in the simulation of systems with an extremely large number of particles, and the period vectors become a degree of freedom. In this work, dynamical equations for the periods are generated by applying Newtonian Dynamics onto halves of the system while considering constant external stress explicitly. Then statistics over system translations and directions of particle movements are applied to the dynamical equations. This leads to the full interaction and kinetic-energy terms in the internal stress. In the resulting expressions, the periods are driven by the imbalance between the internal and external stresses. (The manuscript has been published as http://arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0209372v10.pdf, and submitted to the Canadian Journal of Physics for formal publication on Jan. 08, 2014.)
        Speaker: Dr Gang Liu (HPCVL, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada)
        Slides
    • 08:45 10:15
      (F1-2) History of Physics - DHP / Histoire de la physique - DHP: DHP FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Jean Barrette (McGill University)
      • 08:45
        The Key Contribution of Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736-1813) to the Theory of Partial Differential Equations 30m
        The theory of partial differential equations (PDEs) is a powerful mathematical tool used to describe as well as to solve a huge number of physical problems (e.g., the shape of the Earth or the hypothetical interstellar diffusion of a civilization in our Galaxy). From an historical point of view, however, the subject of PDEs was not consciously created by mathematicians as in the case, for instance, of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The first PDE studies in the Eighteenth century were mainly devoted to second order equations because the physical problems led directly to them (e.g., the wave equation). The main challenge, however, was to consider a new class of equations where both spatial and temporal coordinates were often linked due to the intrinsic nature of the physical problem. Moreover, the boundary value problems, that had only a marginal importance in ODEs had to be emphasized when operating with multidimensional spaces. Accordingly, new mathematical approaches were necessary to develop. In this talk I outline the historical evolution of the theory concerning the PDEs during the Eighteenth century as well as the key role of some European mathematicians, notably, Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736-1813) in solving first-order PDEs is reconstructed.
        Speaker: Dr Francesco Barletta (CMÉC)
      • 09:15
        The Mysterious Role of Alkaloids in Plants Revealed by a Multidisciplinary Approach 15m
        Alkaloids are nitrogenous compounds (heterocyclic amines) characterised by pronounced physiological activity mostly occurring in plants. Today, more than 12,000 alkaloids have been isolated since the discovery of morphine (1805). Systematic use of medicinal plant extracts containing alkaloids were made since antiquity with the aim of treating some ailments or as prescription drugs. Despite these interesting medical applications, the role of alkaloids in plants has been a longstanding question. Since the second-half of the 19th century, organic chemists proposed several theories to explain how plants are able to synthesise these highly-complex nitrogenous compounds whereas others, manly botanists and organic chemists from Europe, suggested some theories about their possible role in the kingdom of plants. Three theories were suggested: the “defense theory” (e.g., Pfeffer, 1897), the “waste theory” (Pictet, 1905), and the “hormone theory” (Ciamician and Ravenna, 1921). These theories reflected, at that time, the state of the art, in organic chemistry. However, only with the contributions of physics-based methods (X-ray crystallography, mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy), the development of molecular biology as well as plant cell culture technologies have the ecochemical role of these compounds been elucidated. Here we discuss and analyse both European and Canadian scientific contributions to the field of naturally-occurring products in plants.
        Speaker: Dr Francesco Barletta (CMÉC-SEREX)
    • 08:45 10:15
      (F1-3) Future of Cosmic Frontier: Cosmolgy - PPD-DTP-DPIM / Avenir de la frontière cosmique: cosmologie - PPD-DPT-DPIM C-309

      C-309

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Svetlana Barkanova (Acadia University)
      • 08:45
        Recent developments in astroparticle physics 30m
        An overview of some recent developments in astroparticle physics, from a theoretical perspective. The talk will focus on searches for non-gravitational interactions of dark matter.
        Speaker: Adam Ritz (University of Victoria)
        Slides
      • 09:15
        Future Directions in Cosmology 30m
        The coming years promise a deluge of data concerning the properties and evolution of the universe. These data will include large galaxy surveys, providing 3D maps of the universe extending well past halfway to the horizon, and precise measurements of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background, providing both a search for gravitational waves from the early universe and a precise map of the gravitational potential through its characteristic deflection of photon trajectories. Through these studies, the next few years should see precise measurements of the properties of dark energy, new probes of the nature of dark matter, and measurements of neutrino masses at a precision comparable to the minimum mass inferred from neutrino oscillation experiments.
        Speaker: Gil Holder
      • 09:45
        Shedding New Light on Sterile Neutrinos 15m
        Theories with sterile neutrinos are well-motivated extensions to the Standard Model that can account for the observed dark matter abundance, the baryon asymmetry and neutrino masses. The recent astrophysical detection of a possible "smoking gun" signature of sterile neutrino dark matter decay gives further impetus to the study of sterile neutrino models. I give a comprehensive overview of the physical mechanisms responsible for dark matter production and the baryon asymmetry, showing that substantial tuning of model parameters is necessary for the minimal model to correctly account for either baryogenesis or dark matter. Motivated by this observation, I show how new forces and/or extended Higgs sectors can substantially enhance the production of the baryon asymmetry and dark matter, obviating the need for any tuning among model parameters, and providing new experimental probes of sterile neutrino cosmology.
        Speaker: Dr Brian Shuve (Perimeter Institute & McMaster University)
        Slides
      • 10:00
        Neutrinos at the South Pole with the PINGU detector 15m
        IceCube and its low energy extension DeepCore have been deployed at the South Pole and taking data since early 2010. With a neutrino energy threshold of about 10 GeV, DeepCore allows IceCube to access a rich variety of physics including searching indirectly for WIMP dark matter and studying atmospheric neutrinos. A proposed new in-fill array, named PINGU, would continue to lower the threshold for neutrino detection. This would in turn provide the potential to study a great deal of new physics, including the determination of the neutrino mass hierarchy. This talk will discuss the PINGU detector and the new physics it makes available with a focus on the neutrino mass hierarchy.
        Speaker: Ken Clark (University of Toronto)
        Slides
    • 08:45 10:15
      (F1-4) Nuclear Safety -DNP-DIAP / Sureté nucléaire - DPN-DPIA C-204

      C-204

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Cornelia Hoehr (TRIUMF)
      • 08:45
        **WITHDRAWN** Defence in Depth and the Source Terms in Nuclear Reactor Safety 30m
        'Source term' is an estimate of a particular type of radioactivity release following complete nuclear-reactor core meltdown. It is utilized to devise remedial actions to protect the public during such extreme emergency conditions. The source terms are classified by the time of release of radioactivity to the atmosphere due to reactor-containment failure after an accident. Specifically, S1 refers to release within hours, S2 corresponds to release within days, and S3 defines delayed (indirect) release. Minimization of the magnitude of these source terms are of paramount concern to reactor designers, operators, accident-scenario modellers and experimentalists, and emergency planners and responders. The designer starts with the concept of defence-in-depth, which aims at establishing cascading barriers against the release of radioactivity. The operator ensures that the reactor functions within bounds that do not jeopardize the integrity of the defence barriers, and continually inspects and maintains the reactor functions, components and structures. Accident analysts, via modelling and experimentation, investigate potential accident scenarios, which can influence the operation and refurbishment of current reactors and the design of future units. Accident planners predict the behaviour and transport of radioactive material once released from a reactor following an accident, and devise corrective actions to protect the public. Emergency responders also take into account the source terms, when dealing with such extreme accident conditions. This presentation will explore these aspects in the context of CANDU reactors; from conservative (bounding), probabilistic and best-knowledge perspectives. It will be shown that improvement of our knowledge and understanding of the physics behind the associated phenomena will ultimately lead to more realistic estimates of the source terms for operating reactors, and optimized designs for future systems with enhanced protection against release of radioactivity to the atmosphere.
        Speaker: Dr Hussein Esam (University of Regina)
      • 09:15
        Evaluation of SiPMs for PET Imaging and Personal Radiation Detection 15m
        Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are novel photo detectors that have great potential as an alternative to classical photomultipliers for many applications of nuclear physics as well as health and safety sectors. Our group has recently embarked into the development of modular and flexible detector solutions for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) detection arising from radioisotope uptake in plants, as well as development of compact, inexpensive personal radiation detectors for first responders. In this work, we evaluate gain and noise characteristics of SiPM detectors at different temperatures that is essential for low-background measurements as well as for detectors operation in outdoor conditions. Our special attention is focused on the evaluation techniques that are suitable for the arrays of SiPMs in the situation when photopeak-based methods are not available.
        Speaker: Andrei Semenov
        Slides
      • 09:30
        Efficacy of Boron-Coated Straws for replacing 3He-based Neutron Detectors 15m
        Boron-coated straw detectors have been proposed for detection of contraband nuclear material, via neutron detection, at border crossings and ports of entry. Gas proportional counters filled with He-3 are the “gold standard” for detection of thermal neutrons. He-3 has a large cross-section (5330 barns) for the capture of thermal neutrons, while remaining insensitive to the detection of gamma rays. He-3 detectors are typically simple and robust in design, and they are useful for a wide range of applications, including border security technology for monitoring of special nuclear materials. Due to an increased demand for He-3 for security applications, and a very limited supply of He-3, it has become imperative to develop alternative technology for the detection of neutrons. A commercially available technology that can serve as a viable replacement for He-3 detectors are boron-lined proportional counters. This presentation will examine measurements conducted in controlled environments at Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., to quantify the neutron detection efficiency, as well as the gamma insensitivity, of a boron-lined neutron detector. The gamma insensitivity measures the ratio of the detector count rate to the incident gamma photon rate. These measurements are compared against those for a He-3 proportional counter in identical environments. The boron-lined detector consists of 1 m long 1” diameter bundles of 7 boron-lined straws. Each 1” diameter bundle provides count rates just over 5 times less than that for a 1 m long 2” diameter He-3 tube pressurized at 40 psi. At 10 mR/hr gamma exposure, the measured gamma insensitivity of the boron – lined detector, at 1.2 × 10^-8, is superior to that of the He-3 detector, at 1.4 × 10^-7.
        Speaker: Bryan van der Ende (A)
        Slides
      • 09:45
        Thermal Neutron Scattering Cross Section Measurements of Light and Heavy Water 15m
        Thermal neutron scattering cross section measurements on water are of great interest in both nuclear engineering and physics of liquid matter. In fission reactor design, high accuracy nuclear cross section data for moderator and coolant materials are essential to perform neutronic transport calculations. While in the physics of liquids, the motions of the liquid molecule can be deduced from the scattering cross section. The future Generation IV reactor designs drive new demands of experimental data under extended conditions (i.e. water in thermal dynamically supercritical states), where the cross section data have not been measured, and the water motion are not well known. As the first step towards the cross section measurements of light and heavy water in the supercritical states, we have performed measurements under the ambient condition. The total cross-section, as well as single and double differential scattering cross sections, have been measured with a triple-axis spectrometer at NRU reactor. The experimental techniques and the data analysis method to obtain the absolute cross sections will be discussed and the resulting cross sections compared with the Evaluated Nuclear Data File.
        Speaker: Dr Gang Li (Atomic Energy of Canada Limited)
        Slides
      • 10:00
        Neutron Tomography of Sealed Radioactive Materials 15m
        Neutron imaging is a non-destructive method for investigating objects in science, engineering and archaeological study. Tomography is an imaging technique which reconstructs the three-dimensional structure of the object. Because of the interaction properties of neutron with materials, neutron imaging often provides complementary information in related to X-ray imaging. For safety, radioactive materials are usually shielded by high atomic number materials (e.g. a gamma source in a lead container), and non-destructive inspection are greatly preferred. The high penetration in most materials makes neutron a unique tool to inspect shielded radioactive material, and particularly neutrons have good penetration in lead and bismuth, while both are good shielding materials for ionizing radiation. The neutron image facility at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited will be outlined, and a representative application of the tomography technology to inspect an encapsulated radioactive sample will be discussed.
        Speaker: Dr Gang Li (Atomic Energy of Canada Limited)
        Slides
    • 08:45 10:15
      (F1-5) Future of Cosmic Frontier: Dark Matter III and Dark Energy - PPD-DTP / Avenir de la frontière cosmique: matière sombre III et énergie sombre - PPD-DTP C-112

      C-112

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Matthias Danninger (University of British Columbia (CA))
      • 08:45
        Characterization of PICASSO/PICO superheated liquid detectors 15m
        Low energetic, elastic neutron scattering is an ideal tool to characterize dark matter detectors. At University of Montreal, we use our Tandem Van de Graaff accelerator to calibrate superheated liquid detectors of the PICASSO/PICO dark matter search experiment. Mono-energetic neutrons are produced via the 51V(p,n)51Cr nuclear reaction at well-defined resonance energies in the range of 4 to 120 keV. Different superheated liquids, such as C3F8 and C4F10 were investigated with superheated droplet detectors and bubble chambers. We discuss recent results which show good agreement among different targets and model predictions.
        Speaker: Mr Mathieu Laurin (PICO / Université de Montréal)
        Slides
      • 09:00
        Sensitivity of Alkali Halide Cryogenic Scintillation-Phonon Detectors to Dark Matter Signals 15m
        Searches for particle dark matter are one of the most active fields in physics, with many experiments using different methods to search for possible dark matter candidates. Direct-detection experiments look for rare interactions between some detector mass and these dark matter particles. Cryogenic scintillator detectors have the advantage that there are many possible scintillator materials that can be used to optimize the experiment, and the low temperatures allow excellent background discrimination using phonon detectors. Our group at Queen's University has developed an optical cryostat to measure the properties of scintillators at low temperatures for possible use in cryogenic scintillator detectors. Alkali halide crystals show promise in this field because of their high light yield and fast scintillation time. The DAMA/LIBRA experiment utilizes Thallium-doped NaI (NaI(Tl)) crystals at room temperature to search for dark matter direct-detection, and have claimed a modulation signal for dark matter. We propose a cryogenic scintillator detector based on alkali halide crystals, to test this hypothesis with a similar target material as DAMA but with added background discrimination. We present the results of our experiments with alkali halide crystals at low temperatures, and apply them to determine the sensitivity of alkali halide cryogenic scintillation-phonon detectors to dark matter.
        Speaker: Mr Michael Clark (Queen's University)
        Slides
      • 09:15
        DEAP-3600 Resurfacer Underground Deployment and Testing. 15m
        Background reduction is an key aspect of all Dark Matter experiments, including DEAP-3600. With this goal in mind we built the resurfacer, a machine aimed to reduce the amount of radon decay daughters present inside the detector by sanding of 100 microns of acrylic from the inner vessel. In this talk we discuss the deployment of the resurfacer in the DEAP-3600 detector, located 2 km underground at SNOLAB. The principle of the resurfacer and the results of on-site tests will be presented. We will also introduce in details a purge system, used in combination with the resurfacer, that utilizes ultra-pure Nitrogen to further eliminate Rn daughter deposition on the already sanded inner surface of the detector.
        Speaker: Mr Giampa Pietro (Queen's University)
        Slides
      • 09:30
        Cryogenic liquid safety for the DEAP-3600 experiment 15m
        The DEAP-3600 experiment is a dark matter direct detection search using a large liquid argon scintillation detector located 2 km underground in SNOLAB. It uses 3.6 tonnes of liquid argon as a target and another 4 tonnes of liquid nitrogen as a cooling reservoir. If these cryogens were to quickly evaporate in an accident, they could pose a significant oxygen deficiency hazard to personnel. I will present the techniques the DEAP collaboration has developed to assess and mitigate this hazard in an underground environment.
        Speaker: Thomas Sonley (Q)
        Slides
      • 09:45
        Controlling Rn-222 ingress in the SNO+ detector 15m
        SNO+ is a multi-tonne scale experiment situated at SNOLAB. The primary goal of SNO+ is to search for neutrinoless double beta decay. Another physics goal of SNO+ is to probe low energy solar neutrinos. Rn-222 daughters are problematic backgrounds to physics reach of SNO+. The SNO+ cover gas system is designed in order to prevent Rn-222 ingress in the detector. In this talk, I will present design, development and installation of this system.
        Speaker: nasim fatemighomi (Queen's University)
        Slides
      • 10:00
        ALTAIR: Precision Calibration via Artificial Light Sources Above the Atmosphere 15m
        Understanding the properties of dark energy via supernova surveys (and to a large extent other methods as well) requires unprecedented photometric precision. Laboratory and solar photometry and radiometry regularly achieve precisions on the order of parts in ten thousand, but photometric calibration for non-solar astronomical imaging presently remains stuck at the percent or greater level. We present our CSA and NSERC (+ U.S.) sponsored project, ALTAIR, to erase this discrepancy, and current steps toward achieving laboratory-level photometric precision for major sky surveys late this decade. In particular, we show far- and near-field imaging of the balloon-borne light source we presently launch to altitudes of approximately 20 km, and our initial calibration results (in addition to prior work with a present calibrated source in low-Earth orbit). Our technique is additionally applicable to microwave astronomy. Observation of gravitational waves in the polarized CMB will similarly require unprecedented polarimetric and radiometric precision, and we briefly present our plans for a calibrated microwave source above the atmosphere as well.
        Speakers: Ms Divya Bhatnagar (University of Victoria), Justin Albert (University of Victoria (CA))
        Slides
    • 08:45 10:15
      (F1-6) Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics - DAMOPC / Physique atomique, moléculaire et photonique - DPAMPC C-304

      C-304

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      Convener: Stéphane Bancelin (INRS)
      • 08:45
        Spectral Line Shapes: a Paradigm Shift 30m
        As in Can. J. Phys. vol. 91, 879-895 (2013), the impact theory of spectral line shapes is summarized and a problem identified if one wishes to compare theory with experimental results. The theory predicts only spectral profiles, i.e. the width and shift of lines cannot be calculated directly. The problem is, there are no known analytical solutions to the theory. While the way out of this difficulty is evident, viz. numerical calculations, such an approach would, nevertheless, represent a significant paradigm shift for the field. It could also open up new avenues of research in spectral line shapes.
        Speaker: Dr A. D. May (University of Toronto)
      • 09:15
        FIR Spectroscopy at the Canadian Light Source: High Torsional Levels of CD3OH and their Coupling to the Methyl Rocking Modes 15m
        High-resolution Fourier transform far-infrared spectra of the CD3OH isotopologue of methanol, a well-known interstellar molecule, have been recorded at the Far-Infrared beamline of the Canadian Light Source synchrotron in Saskatoon, supplementing earlier Bomem FTIR spectra from the National Research Council in Ottawa at lower frequency. The primary motivation was to extend our mapping of high torsion-rotation levels of the ground vibrational state in order to explore more systematically the previously identified coupling with the in-plane CD3-rocking vibrational mode centred around 859 cm-1. The coupling involves principally the third excited torsional state, and vt = 3 sub-state assignments are now complete for all three torsional species up to rotational levels K = 9 plus a further number up to K = 16 with some torsional components still missing. Unexpectedly, we found that sub-bands involving the vt = 3 levels of torsional indextau = 1 at low K and tau = 3 at high K are significantly shifted from their predicted positions by up to 2.2 cm-1, accounting for earlier difficulty in locating these sub-bands in the spectrum. The pattern of the shifts indicates a perturbing state lying at approximately 895 cm-1, which must be the out-of-plane CD3 rock. The gas-phase spectrum of this “dark state” has not yet been identified; hence new insights into its location and the interactions with the torsional modes are of interest. Another unexpected observation in the spectrum was a band with a relatively strong Q branch at around 775 cm-1. This cannot be a fundamental of CD3OH, yet its structure is clearly methanol-like. From earlier literature results, we can identify it as the OD-bending band of the fully deuterated CD3OD species. This has not previously been reported at high resolution so represents an extra bonus, albeit a significant complication in the spectrum, that we hope to be able to analyze in detail.
        Speaker: Dr Li-Hong Xu (University of New Brunswick)
      • 09:30
        **WITHDRAWN** Identification of L-Shell Transitions in M-shell Iron Ions in the Spectra of Capella and Procyon 15m
        We studied High Energy Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) observations of Capella and Low Energy Grating Spectrometer (LETGS) observations of Procyon observed by the *Chandra X-ray Observatory* in order to identify L-shell transitions of M-shell ions of iron, many of which also play an important role in the absorption features associated with spectra from active galactic nuclei. We previously identified several Fe XVI L-shell transitions in spectra of Capella between 15 and 18 Å. With the help of laboratory measurements from the Livermore EBIT-I electron beam ion trap and very accurate calculations using the multi-reference Møller-Plesset perturbation method, we have also identified Fe XV lines in the High Energy Grating and Medium Energy Grating (both on HETGS) spectra of Capella. Our analyses of the LETGS spectra of Procyon show that it provides an even better opportunity for studying such iron lines since Procyon is much cooler than Capella and the abundance of lower charge states of iron, i.e., of M-shell iron ions, is much higher. However, the LETGS has much lower resolving power than the HETGS, making line identification more difficult. Nevertheless, we have identified lines from Fe XVII, Fe XVI, Fe XV, Fe XIV, and, possibly, Fe XIII in the 15--18 Å region of the LETGS spectrum of Procyon. We have been awarded observation time of Procyon using the *Chandra* HETGS, which is scheduled to be performed in time to present the results. This work was supported by Chandra Cycle 15. Work by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was performed under the auspices of the Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA-27344.
        Speaker: Jaan Lepson (University of California, Berkeley)
      • 09:45
        Coronal Temperature Determinations Using the Dielectronic Satellite Lines of Fe XVII and Fe XVIII 15m
        We have been developing spectroscopic approaches to use the strength of dielectronic recombination (DR) satellite lines in the L-shell spectra of iron to infer the electron temperature of stellar coronae. In this approach, the strength of DR satellite lines relative to the associated parent line p, $I_{DR}/I_p$, is used to determine the temperature. The advantage of this method is that it does not require knowledge of ionization equilibria because both $I_{DR}$ and $I_p$ start from the same target ion. Moreover, this ratio varies steeply with temperature and, thus, in principle provides a very accurate measure of the temperature. However, the DR satellite lines are weak in L-shell iron spectra, and in the past appropriate lines had not been identified. We show that useful DR satellite features can found in the spectrum of the star Capella. These features are satellite lines to collisional parent lines in Fe XVII and Fe XVIII. The atomic data (radiative rates, autoionization rates, and energy levels) needed to apply this method are supplied by the Flexible Atomic Code, a multi-reference Møller-Plesset code, and laboratory measurements using the Livermore electron beam ion trap. We have derived several temperatures from this method, which are in general agreement with those derived from the standard ionization balance method. Work by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was performed under the auspices of the Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA-27344. This work was supported by NASA Astrophysics Research and Analysis program award NNX12AH84G.
        Speaker: Dr Peter Beiersdorfer (LLNL)
      • 10:00
        Sustainable entanglement farming in quantum optics and beyond 15m
        We discuss how it is possible to build low-maintenance, sustainable entanglement sources taking advantage of the build-up of relativistic effects even in non-relativistic settings in a reliable and experimentally low-demanding way. We will discuss that in certain generic circumstances the state of light of an optical cavity traversed by beams of atoms is naturally driven towards a non-thermal metastable state. This state can be such that successive pairs of unentangled particles sent through the cavity will reliably emerge significantly entangled thus providing a renewable source if quantum entanglement. This entangling fixed point state of the cavity can be reached largely independently of the initial state in which the cavity was prepared, suggesting that reliable entanglement farming on the basis of such a fixed point state should be possible also in various other experimental settings, namely with the to-be-entangled particles replaced by arbitrary qudits and with the cavity replaced by a suitable reservoir system.
        Speaker: Dr Eduardo Martin-Martinez (Institute for Quantum Computing and Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics)
    • 10:15 10:45
      Health Break / Pause santé Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Alumni Hall + Foyer

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 10:45 12:45
      (F-PLEN1) - CAP Best Student Presentations Final Competition / Session plénière - Compétition finale de l'ACP pour les meilleures communications étudiantes FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 10:45
        Recent Advances in the Measurement of Rare-Earth Metal Oscillator Strengths Using Laser-Induced Plasmas 15m
        Laser-induced plasmas offer a quick and convenient way to produce high-temperature (~50,000 K) plasmas to serve as a source of highly excited ions. Emission from the plasma, when dispersed in a high-resolution Échelle spectrometer, can be used to measure the relative intensity of all the emission lines from an excited energy level. This allows the determination of the level’s branching ratios (branching fractions). The branching ratios of hundreds of thermally-populated energy levels can thus be measured simultaneously. Our recent work has focused on measuring the relative intensities of emission lines from neutral and doubly ionized species of rare-earth metals. As well, we are improving on current measurements in singly-ionized species. Rare-earth metals are of significant importance to astronomers and astrophysicists for their appearance in chemically peculiar and galactic halo stars. Experimental parameters have been extensively studied to characterize plasma emission for these species at various observation times after the laser pulse, at various background pressures, and various laser pulse energies. I will also discuss recent experimental design advances to improve light collection efficiency from the plasma yielding increased signal to noise, more accurate oscillator strengths, and the possibility of measuring previously unobservable emission lines. We are also investigating the use of new ablation target materials to alter plasma density. Our future work will consist of incorporating an optical parametric oscillator to resonantly excite specific energy levels within the plasma. This should increase emission line intensity and reduce line blending.
        Speaker: Mr Russell Putnam (University of Windsor)
      • 11:00
        Aspirin Reorganizes the Lipid Membrane 15m
        The lipid membrane is the most important biological interface, and the fluidity of the membrane is a key property. Cholesterol is a well-known mediator of membrane fluidity. Using X-ray and neutron diffraction we have recently shown that cholesterol at physiological concentrations induces lateral membrane organization. Incorporation of cholesterol into the membrane leads to immiscible cholesterol crystals at high concentration (>37.5mol%), and also creates transient ordered structures, known a rafts, at physiological concentrations of ~30mol% [1,2]. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Aspirin or Ibuprofen are amphiphilic molecules, which may interact with the lipid membrane. However, a direct interplay between Aspirin and cholesterol has never been investigated. We present direct experimental evidence for an interaction between Aspirin and cholesterol on the level of the cell membrane. We show that Aspirin partitions in lipid bilayers and increases bilayer fluidity [3]. Most importantly Aspirin was found to dissolve cholesterol plaques [4]. From coherence length dependent neutron diffraction we present evidence that Aspirin changes the molecular structure of lipid rafts induced by physiological concentrations of cholesterol. [1] MA Barrett, S Zheng, LA Toppozini, RJ Alsop, et al. Soft Matter 9, 9342-9351, 2013. [2] CL Armstrong et al. PLoS ONE 8, e66162, 2013. [3] MA Barrett, S Zheng, G Roshankar, RJ Alsop, et al. PLoS ONE 7, e34357, 2012. [4] RJ Alsop, et al. submitted
        Speaker: Richard Alsop (M)
        Slides
      • 11:15
        In-situ Measurements of the Reflectivity of VERITAS Telescopes 15m
        VERITAS is an array of four imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACT) sensitive to gamma rays at energies between 100 GeV and 10 TeV. Each telescope is based on a tessellated mirror, 12 metres in diameter, which reflects light from a gamma-ray-induced air shower to form an image on a pixellated `camera' comprising 499 photomultiplier tubes. The image brightness is the primary measure of the gamma ray energy so a knowledge of the mirror reflectivity is important. We describe here a method, pioneered by members of the MAGIC collaboration, to measure the whole-dish reflectivity, quickly and regularly, so that effects of aging can be monitored. A CCD camera attached near the centre of the dish simultaneously acquires an image of both a target star and its reflection on a target of Spectralon, a highly reflective material, placed at the focus of the telescope. The ratio of the brightnesses of the reflected and direct images of the star, as recorded by the CCD, along with geometric factors, provides an estimate of the dish reflectivity with few systematic errors. Since the mirrors reflect different wavelengths, a filter wheel is placed in front of the CCD camera, allowing a measurement of the reflectivity as a function of wavelength. We present results obtained with the VERITAS telescopes during the past year.
        Speaker: Simon Archambault (M)
        Slides
      • 11:30
        Angular Momentum Conservation in the Earth-Moon System: A Quasilocal Approach 15m
        The nature of Earth-Moon interactions results in a complex astrophysical system. Due to subtle effects from the tidal gravitational field of the moon, the Earth's spin angular momentum is actually decreasing over time. But conservation of angular momentum requires that this be compensated for by altering the moon's orbit. I present a novel method of analyzing this interaction using a quasilocal approach that produces a highly general conservation law. Through the use of Rigid Quasilocal Frames (RQFs), we take a more natural approach to analyzing systems of interacting bodies that, unlike traditional methods, does not require a local defintion of gravitational energy or spacetime symmetries. We demonstrate this by considering the example of the Earth-Moon system and calculating the recession of the moon to be 3.8 cm/year - exactly the experimental result.
        Speaker: Ms Melanie Chanona (University of Waterloo)
      • 11:45
        Single particle structure and shapes of exotic Sr isotopes 15m
        Content is attached as a file.
        Speaker: Mr Steffen Cruz (University of British Columbia)
        Slides
      • 12:00
        Critical Binding Conditions for Two-electron Atoms 15m
        There has been a recent revival of interest in the critical nuclear charge Z_c that is just sufficient to bind a nucleus of charge Z and two electrons in the 1s^2 ^1S ground state [1--3]. It is conjectured that the inverse of critical charge is related to the radius of convergence 1/Z* for a 1/Z expansion of the energy of the form E(Z) = Z^2(E_0 + E_1/Z + E_2/Z^2 + ...). We have performed high precision variational calculations in Hylleraas coordinates, using the double basis set method [4], for values of Z very close to Z_c, with basis sets containing up to 2809 terms (\Omega = 24). Our current result is Z_c = 0.911 028 224 077 255 73(4), corresponding to 1/Z_c = 1.097 660 833 738 559 80(5). This result agrees with the older result Z_c = 0.911 028 [1], but disagrees with a more recent result Z_c = 0.910 850 [2]. Well-defined eigenvalues continue to appear for Z < Z_c, possibly corresponding to quasibound states in the scattering continuum due to a shape resonance induced by the polarization potential of the core. Research supported by NSERC and SHARCNET. [1] J.D. Baker et al., Phys. Rev. A 41, 1247 (1990). [2] N.L. Guevara and A.V. Turbiner, Phys. Rev. A 84, 064501 (2011). [3] J. Katriel et al. Phys. Rev. A 86, 042508 (2012). [4] G.W.F. Drake and Z.-C. Yan, Phys. Rev. A 46, 2378 (1992).
        Speaker: Ms Camille Estienne (Max-Planck-Institut fuer Quantenoptik)
      • 12:15
        A single liquid on a homogeneous substrate can lead to quantized contact angles and running droplets 15m
        We have observed for the first time a quantized spectrum of contact angles in the dewetting of a liquid from a homogeneous solid substrate. Using structured liquids of a lamellar diblock copolymer above the order-disorder transition temperature, we observe that predominantily disordered droplets coexist with different discrete thicknesses of wetting layer. At a fixed temperature, the measured contact angle of a droplet depends only on the number of monolayers in the wetting layer, resulting in a temperature dependent spectrum of contact angles. To describe the behavior of this system, a self-consistent field theory calculation was performed to calculate the effective interface potential of a lamellar diblock copolymer in its disordered state. The calculation shows excellent qualitative agreement with experiment. Further experiments were performed examining droplets which coexist with two different thicknesses of wetting layer. These droplets experience an unbalanced force which leads to 'running droplets’ — droplets that move and whose dynamics can be understood from the effective interface potential.
        Speaker: Mark Ilton (McMaster University)
      • 12:30
        A search at Super-Kamiokande for low mass dark matter candidates in the T2K neutrino beam 15m
        The T2K neutrino beam is produced by colliding 30 GeV protons with a graphite target, and some dark sector models predict that a dark matter candidate could be created in the collision. This massive and neutral particle could scatter off a nucleon in Super-Kamiokande, a 50 kilotonne water Cherenkov detector. Similar to the neutral current quasi-elastic neutrino-oxygen interaction, the dark matter candidate could interact with the oxygen nucleus. As the nucleus de-excites, 6 MeV gamma-rays are emitted which can be efficiently detected by Super-Kamiokande. The longer time of flight for a dark matter candidate, compared to a neutrino, allows separation between the dark matter induced signal and the neutrino induced background. In the intense global effort to measure dark matter, this complementary search investigates the sub-GeV mass range where other experiments have reduced sensitivity.
        Speaker: Corina Nantais (U)
        Slides
    • 12:45 13:00
      Health Break / Pause santé Alumni Hall

      Alumni Hall

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 13:00 13:30
      (F-PLEN2) Plenary Session - Jack Cunningham, retired, adj. Prof. U. of Alberta / Session plénière FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
      • 13:00
        Evolution of a Good Application of Physics (The Treatment of Cancer by Radiation) 30m
        The use of ionizing radiation for the treatment of Cancer is an example of an appropriate application of Physics to the field of Medicine. Something like three quarters of a million people die of this terrible disease in Canada every year. The use of radiation to eradicate a tumour has about the same success rate as does surgery, and each have their specific advantages. Biologists, Chemists and Physicists have determined that radiotherapy has a sound scientific basis. A physical quantity, Radiation Absorbed Dose, which is the energy absorbed per unit mass of tissue, is quantitatively relatable to biological effect. Careful clinical trials have indicated that an accuracy of about ±5% in the delivery of the planned dose to the patient is required. Since this includes the repeated positioning of the patient for treatment, the accuracy requirement on dose prediction is tighter and quite difficult to achieve. Prediction of the pattern of dose involves the repeated application of a non-linear superposition integral, which even with the assumption of tissue homogeneity, has no solution in closed form. Approximate solutions must be accepted, and part of the “evolution” has been the search for ever better approximations. Early approximations were remarkably crude, but with development of computer methods they have become quite sophisticated. Nevertheless, they are still approximations. With the availability of Monte Carlo methods, the problem has been substantially solved, though not for routine use. The evolution will not be finished however until biological response can be related to the radiation dose.
        Speaker: J.R. Cunningham (Ret. Adjunct Professor, University of Alberta)
    • 13:30 14:00
      (F-PLEN3) Announcement of Winner, CAP Best Student Presentation and Close of Conference / L'annonce du gagnant(e) compétition meilleure communication étudiante de l'ACP, Clôture du Congrès FA-054+5+6

      FA-054+5+6

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 14:00 15:30
      CAP Council Meeting (New and Old) / Réunion du conseil (nouveau et ancien) de l'ACP F-337

      F-337

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario
    • 15:30 17:00
      CAP/LOC co-chairs meeting / Réunion ACP/co-directeurs COL F-337

      F-337

      Laurentian University / Université Laurentienne

      Sudbury, Ontario