Research

The physics program offers numerous research opportunities in theoretical and experimental physics for undergraduate students. Physics majors at Colorado Mesa University are required to take a total of four credit hours of senior research and senior seminar courses as well as possibilities for independent study and informal individual mentorship. This offers students opportunities for learning beyond the classroom, exposure to currently exciting developments in physics and development of research techniques and skills.

The CMU physics faculty are actively involved in research in a variety of fields and each has several publications in prominent journals and conference proceedings. Areas of current interest include:

Superconductivity and low temperature physics.
General relativity and gravitation.
Quantum computing and quantum information.
Computational Astrophysics.

Physics students at CMU frequently participate in summer research programs at other institutions, typically via the NSF REU program.

Recent Highlights

Recent highlights of research involving Colorado Mesa University physics undergraduate students include:

Ethan Stanley's results from his senior research project were published as part of the article, "Anisotropic evolution of 5D Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime," Phys. Rev. D, 84, 085013 (2011).
Peter Schluze won the 2011 award for Outstanding Performance in Physics at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Student Symposium. This was open to graduate and undergraduate students doing research at Los Alamos during the summer of 2011.
Casey Brown won the award for the best oral presentation at the 2011 Mesa State College Student Showcase. Casey presented results of his senior research project which investigated the dynamics of various football throwing motions.
Jacob Cady won the award for the best presentation by an undergraduate student at the annual APS 4Corners Section meeting held at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado in October 2009.
Jacob Cady published his analysis of the high road/low road classical dynamics problem in the Journal of Undergraduate Research in Physics. See: Jacob Cady and Chad A. Middleton, "The High/Low Road Demonstration, or Birds on a Wire," J. Undergraduate Research in Physics, 22, Dec 2009.
Dan Rottinghaus published his work on the tipping of a kayak in the Journal of Undergraduate Research in Physics. See: Daniel R. Rottinghaus and Chad A. Middleton, "Kayaking Physics: The Tipping Angle," J. Undergraduate Research in Physics, 22, Aug 2009.

Research Areas

Superconductivity and low temperature physics

Research in the areas of superconductivity and low temperature physics at CMU is conducted by Prof. Bill Tiernan.

General relativity and gravitation

Einstein’s theory of General Relativity (GR) describes gravitation as the curvature of space and time due to the presence of matter and energy. This theoretical construct has been heralded as one of the greatest achievements of the human mind whose validity has been confirmed through countless experiments and astronomical observations. In addition to predicting the now-measured bending of starlight by our Sun and to accurately accounting for the perihelion precession of Mercury, GR has given birth to several exotic creatures including black holes and neutron stars and to modern cosmology.

At CMU, research in GR has focused on gravitational scenarios involving spacetimes with more than four dimensions. Recent work has included a high-energy Gauss-Bonnet modification to standard Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology.

Research in the areas of general relativity and gravitation at CMU is conducted by Prof. Chad Middleton.

Quantum computing and quantum information

Information can be stored in the states of quantum mechanical systems and processed via a controlled evolution of such systems. Since the early 1980s there have emerged a variety of novel information processing protocols which use the characteristic quantum mechanical features of such systems to accomplish ordinary information tasks in ways far superior to those available to conventional computers. Examples include quantum algorithms for factorization and searching, quantum cryptographic schemes and quantum teleportation. Such quantum information processing tasks are generally related to aspects of quantum theory which are traditionally considered part of the foundations of quantum mechanics.

At CMU, research in this area is focuses on quantum algorithms. Recent work has involved methods for adapting and assessing quantum algorithms when applied to ensembles of quantum systems as well as considering algorithms from the perspective of unitary discrimination.

Research in these areas at CMU is conducted by Prof. David Collins.

Quantum Field Theory

Research in quantum field theory at CMU is conducted by Dr. Anwar Shiekh.

Astrophysics

Astrophysics is the study of the physical laws and processes governing stellar objects, such as stars, neutron stars, white dwarfs and black holes. Understanding these typically requires a synthesis of classical mechanics, electromagnetism, relativity, statistical mechanics, fluid dynamics and quantum mechanics.

Research efforts in this area at CMU are focused on developing numerical and computational techniques in order to elucidate the physical phenomena. Topics considered include:

current sheet dynamics, reconnection physics, collisionless shocks, and particle acceleration in solar flares and astrophysical shocks using fluid based magnetohydrodynamic and Particle in Cell codes,
the effects of magnetic fields and thermal physics on variability in accretion disks around Neutron Stars, Black Holes, and White Dwarfs,
the effect of hydrodynamic turbulence on disks undergoing the MRI (magnetorotational instability), and
simulating the spectrum of GRB afterglows (in their relativistically expanding phase) using an emission process which accounts for the randomly oriented magnetic field which are (likely) to be found in these regimes.

Research in the area of computational astrophysics at CMU is conducted by Prof. Jared Workman.