Research

Hamiltonian Monodromy

First Experimental Observation of Classical Dynamical Monodromy

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.134301

Constructed experimental apparatus and was the first group to observe Dynamical Hamiltonian Monodromy in a classical system. Hamiltonian Monodromy is the study of topological properties of systems with multivalued action-angle variables. Dynamical Monodromy exploits the multivalued canonical variables to observe topological changes in a system. The apparatus is a spherically symmetric physical pendulum with a permanent magnet on the end of the pendulum. Electronics circuits were created that generate bipolar currents in coils surrounding the pendulum, producing magnetic fields that control the energy and angular momentum of the pendulum. Image acquisition was used to record the pendulum's position and momentum.

Previous Research

Boron nitride nanotube fabrication

Production of Boron Nitride Nanotubes (BNNTs) through Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) was modified in order to advance theortical understanding of BNNT formation and increase the availability of BNNTs for future experiments and applications. Guided by classical nucleation theory, a series of CVD experiments was conducted which varied the vapor pressure in the growth chamber and concentrations of reactancts in the system. None of the variations displayed the desire increase production yields but revealed the significance of the reactanct vapor pressure. The local pressure inside the system is not uniform and shifting the position (inside the growth chamber) where the reactancts interact controls the growth density of BNNTs and transitions where the reactant vapor pressure allow other Boron nitride nanomaterials to develop instead of BNNTs.