Physics and Astronomy
Radiations

March 2-8, 1998

* MARK YOUR CALENDAR *

Monday, March 2

Tuesday, March 3

Wednesday, March 4

Thursday, March 5

* FYI *

Abstract of Quantum Cryptography Talk: In April of 1997, Lo and Chau (Phys.Rev.Letters 78, 3410 (1997)) and Mayers (Phys.Rev.Letters 78, 3414 (1997)) independently showed that all proposed quantum bit commitment protocols are in principle insecure. The possibility of cheating by exploiting quantum 'entanglement' (a feature of 'Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen states') cannot be excluded, if the cheater has available the resources of a quantum computer. Subsequently this claim was broadened to include all possible quantum bit commitment schemes. Since bit commitment can be used as a primitive to build up more sophisticated cryptographic protocols, this result is commonly taken as a major setback to 'post-cold-war' applications of quantum cryptography. Is quantum bit commitment really impossible? Or is there a loophole in the proofs? Come hear Prof. Jeff Bub's talk on Thursday from 12:30-1:30 in CMC 206. For those interested in some background information, here's a link to a review by Bas van Fraassen (Princeton) of Prof. Bub's new book: http://webware.princeton.edu/vanfraas/mss/bubrev-w

This summer, the Department has 5-7 summer research internships available for students interested in participating in hands-on research activities. These positions will provide you with the opportunity to explore physics and astronomy in a research setting and learn new techniques in instrumentation and data acquisition and analysis. Plus, you will have the opportunity to become more familiar with the department, enjoy Carleton in a summer setting and check out the sights in Northfield and beyond. The positions are summarized below. If you are interested in applying, talk with the particular research supervisor and submit a paragraph or two describing your qualifications and explaining why you would like the position. Give your written application to Rebecca Tollefson in the department office. Interested students must apply by 15 April 1998.

Cindy Blaha is looking for two students to participate in summer research in astrophysics. The research will concentrate on a spectroscopic analysis of stars and galaxies. The primary focus will be an ongoing study of a group of galaxies that display "hot spots" or bursts of star formation in their nuclear regions. Radio and optical images of these galaxies and long-slit optical spectra will be analyzed using various image processing packages on our SUN Sparxstations. The results of these studies will be combined in order to gain better insights into the physical properties of these starburst regions. This summer we will also focus on the use of our new CCD-based spectrograph here on campus to obtain and analyze stellar spectra. Students will also be involved in imaging with the new CCD cameras on the 16" and 8" telescopes, developing data reduction programs, assisting with public observing sessions and giving observatory tours to visiting groups. A strong interest in astronomy is required and some previous astronomy and computer programming experience is recommended. Sophomores and juniors are encouraged to apply. See Cindy if you are interested.

Rich Noer and Doug Foxgrover are looking for a student willing to divide time between two projects this summer. Rich is looking for a student to work with him on our ultrahigh vacuum system, continuing previous testing and evaluation of a new x-ray spectroscopy facility. (The idea is to aim an electron beam at a sample and analyze the energies of the emitted x-ray.) If time permits, there are other related projects to pursue--in particular, adapting a rapid-entry sample changing facility to our particular purposes. Doug is looking for someone to help analyze and organize the department's equipment storage system, and update our computerized inventory database to reflect our new storage facilities.

Kevin Pettit is looking for a bright, motivated student to work with him in studying magnetic tunnel junctions. Magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) are formed by sandwiching ultrathin (1 nm) insulating layers between layers of magnetic metals. MTJ's can be used in various devices like disk drive read heads and non-volatile random access memory. The research will involve using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) as well as an atomic force microscope (AFM) to analyze the structure, electric and magnetic characteristics of magnetic tunnel junctions. Kevin is looking for someone who is interested in operating the microscopes and analyzing the data. We will also try to set up a new measurement system that will allow us to measure the local resistance of the tunnel junction. This will require some knowledge of resistance measurements and some electronics and as such is ideally suited for graduates of P342, though other applicants will be considered as well. Students who would be interested in continuing with the research as part of a special project in the fall are especially encouraged to apply. If all goes well, you could present some of the results at next year's annual meeting of the American Physical Society in March. If this sounds interesting to you, please see Kevin ASAP.

Bill Titus is looking for a student to begin work on a computational project modeling the collision of a bowling ball with a fixed arrangement of bowling bins. This project would involve background research in what has been done in the past and some simple, idealized modeling of the physical situation. Reality checks will be provided by Warren Ringlien, our instrument maker, an expert bowler, and the person who first suggested this project. Anyone with a good background in classical mechanics and an interest in computational physics can apply. Experience with Mathematica and C programming is a plus, but on-the-job-training can be provided. See Bill if you're interested or would like more details.

Bruce Thomas would like one student to work with him on research in lasers, optics, and spectroscopy. We have a few diode lasers that can be tuned over a small range of wavelengths. The main thrust of the work is to improve our control of the tuning and to develop a "wavemeter" to measure the wavelengths more accurately. That will involve some machining and some electronics. Juniors who have had Contemporary Experimental Physics and Electronics will be best prepared for this project, but Bruce would consider other interested students as well.