New Mexico Tech Physics Department

09/08/2023

Hello Physics Alumni!

You are invited to the
Physics Alumni Reception
Thursday, October 12th, 2023
4:00PM - 8:00PM
Bodega Burger Co. & Lounge
606 N California St. Socorro NM 87801
Taco Bar & Cash Bar
RSVP : [email protected] / 575-835-5328
RSVP by October 5th, 2023
or Register using the QR code

https://forms.gle/ikNarn3quRwYtXWCA

Donate now - https://advancement.nmt.edu/donate
The designation in the drop down menu would be Physics Department Gifts.

08/01/2023

07/27/2023

04/06/2023

Brazilian researchers captured on camera the brief moment when lightning rods on buildings released an upward discharge to attract incoming lightning.

10/04/2022

49ers Physics Alumni Reception
Bodega Lounge
Thursday, October 13th, 2022
4pm-7pm
Taco Bar

05/20/2022

It’s the end of the academic year and I wanted to take this opportunity to express deep gratitude. Despite the many challenges that all of us faced in the past year, it helpful to reflect on things that make us grateful. Practicing gratitude has been scientifically proven to boost the immune syste...

07/06/2021

New Mexico Tech physics faculty member Caitano L. da Silva published a ground-breaking article in the journal Scientific Reports, a journal of the Nature Publishing Group. da Silva’s team worked with data collected by the Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR) at the Arecibo Observatory, satellites, and l...

05/21/2021

New Mexico Tech student Savannah Bradley was recently featured on the syndicated TV show “The Tamron Hall Show,” to talk about ballooning in the state and the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.

03/11/2021

Our very own! Congratulations

Dr. Caitano L. da Silva of the Physics Department and Dr. Chelsey Hargather of the Materials Engineering Department have received the highly competitive NSF CAREER award.

02/02/2021

------------------------
Speaker: Rob Zellem, PhD
Affiliation: NASA - JPL

Title:Exoplanets: Finding Life in the Galaxy
Abstract:To date, we have discovered over 4000 exoplanets, planets outside of our Solar System, and estimate that there are as many, if not more, exoplanets than stars in our Galaxy. But how do we find exoplanets? How do we characterize them? How can we determine if they host life? I will answers these questions in the context of current and future missions and tells how you can help monitor exoplanets with your own telescope.

time: 4:00pm Mountain Time, Thursday 2/4
venue: Zoom
-----------------
Topic: Spring 2021 - PHYS-579-01D-Colloquium Link
Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/91090276373?pwd=MHk4em1ISDJSZ0RTNElkVGltajNKZz09

Meeting ID: 910 9027 6373
Passcode: 437401
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,91090276373 # US (Chicago)
+16468769923,,91090276373 # US (New York)

Dial by your location
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 910 9027 6373
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/ayOiLDDLU

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, confer...

11/30/2020

The Lines They Are A-Changin’:
A Study of Mid-Infrared Spectral Lines in

Mira Variable Atmospheres
Dana K. Baylis Aguirre
December 9, 2020
9:30am
ZOOM LINK TO BE ANNOUNCED

Abstract

One of the fundamental topics in astrophysics is how stars enrich their environments
as they reach the end of their lives. This enrichment is vital for new star and planet
formation, but our understanding of molecule and dust production in circumstellar
environments is still rudimentary. Mira variables are highly evolved cool stars with
regular pulsations that loft enriched material into their surroundings, making them
perfect laboratories for studying molecules and dust in stellar environments. I will
present time-dependent analysis of mid-infrared spectra of Mira variable atmospheres
taken with the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) in the high-resolution mode. Each

star has multiple spectra obtained over a one-year period (from 2008-09) which al-
lows us to analyze how pulsations affect the stellar atmospheres. I have identified

several CO2 lines in oxygen rich Miras, and HCN and C2H2 lines in carbon rich Miras.
The spectra also show a previously un-observed feature at 17.62 μm which we have
tentatively identified as Fe I; this line has a completely different character than the
molecular features, which could be the result of fluorescence. The CO2 lines exhibit

unique, fluctuating behavior possibly tied to the pulsational phase of the star; to ana-
lyze this behavior I created a file of ro-vibrational data that was used to model the CO2

lines with the radiative transfer code RADEX. The results from the models indicate
that CO2 is highly extended in Mira atmospheres. The models also show the kinetic
temperature of the CO2 layers is cool enough for dust condensation to occur within a
few stellar radii; this is observational evidence of “refrigeration zones” that have been
theorized as part of the dust condensation process. The new feature at 17.62 μm show
remarkable variability in strength. The analysis from both the CO2 features and the
17.62 μm feature indicate that Miras with longer periods (over 300 days) have different
atmospheric behavior than those with shorter periods.