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Welcome to the Department of Physics and Astronomy sub-community.

Research outputs are organized into collections by specific research type.

PLEASE NOTE: During the first phase of the UWSpace expansion project this community will be limited to two collections:

1. Physics and Astronomy Articles (Peer-Reviewed): Publications that have been peer-reviewed.
2. Physics and Astronomy Theses & Dissertations: Graduate student research required for degree completion.

### Recent Submissions

• #### Ultrafast manipulation of single photons using dispersion and sum-frequency generation ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-12-01)
Single photons provide a natural platform for quantum communication and quantum networking, as they can be entangled in many degrees of freedom and maintain coherence over long-distance links. However, while their minimal ...
• #### Collective Dynamics in NMR and Quantum Noise ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-10-17)
We introduced an open quantum system model to describe the statistical fluctuations of a spin ensemble in NMR. The model considers an ensemble measurement where the detection coil does not distinguish spins, and accounts ...
• #### Symmetric Extendability of Quantum States and the Extreme Limits of Quantum Key Distribution ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-10-13)
We investigate QKD protocols with two-way classical post-processing that are based on the well-known six-state and BB84 signal states. In these QKD protocols, the source (Alice) sends quantum signals to the receiver (Bob), ...
• #### The computational power of many-body systems ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-09-28)
Many-body systems are well known throughout physics to be hard problems to exactly solve, but much of this is folklore resulting from the lack of an analytic solution to these systems. This thesis attempts to classify the ...
• #### In vitro test of a potential hypoxic radiosensitizer ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-09-28)
Oxygen has long been known as a potent radiosensitizer that can enhance the cell killing effects in aerobic cells, while pruned vasculatures and lack of oxygen in the microenvironment of tumor can cause resistance to ...
• #### The Compilation of Reversible Circuits and a New Optimization Game ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-09-28)
The focus of this thesis is reversible circuit compilation. We will explore the use of pebble games for circuit analysis. The usefulness of this technique is demonstrated by finding a new space bound for the Karatsuba ...
• #### Exploring the foundation of quantum information in quantum optics ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-09-21)
Quantum information is promising in solving certain computational problems and information security. The power of its speed up and privacy is based on one of the most tested physical theory: quantum mechanics. Many of ...
• #### Exact results in QFT: Minimal Areas and Maximal Couplings ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-09-14)
This thesis is devoted to a two-pronged study of non-perturbative quantum field theory. In Part I we focus on the four-dimensional super conformal $\mathcal{N}=4$ Yang Mills theory. We compute smooth Wilson loops and ...
• #### Magnetic Ordering of Dipolar Spin Ice in Moderate [111] Field ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-09-08)
This thesis explores the low temperature physics of the macroscopically degenerate system of dipolar spin ice in moderate fields applied along the [111] cubic axis. While most applications of field generically lift the ...
• #### Charged Black Hole Solutions in Alternative Theories of Gravity ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-09-06)
In my thesis, I examine charged black holes in two contexts. The first part covers the formation of something analogous to event horizons for a class of Lorentz-Violating theories which allow for signals to travel faster ...
• #### Wavefront assessment and correction of the rat eye for two photon excitation therapies ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-08-31)
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment in which light excites a photosensitive drug to produce oxygen radicals that kills nearby cells. Today, PDT’s is most commonly used application is for the destruction of cancerous ...
• #### Quantum key distribution devices: How to make them and how to break them ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-08-30)
As more aspects of modern society depend on digital communication, we increasingly rely on infrastructure that ensures the privacy and security of this communication. Classically, this has been provided by cryptographic ...
• #### Exact Results in Supersymmetric Gauge Theory ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-08-30)
Exact results are a key component for understanding any physical theory. Unfortunately in the context of quantum field theory (QFT) they are in general impossible to obtain, and we need some sort of approximations. However ...
• #### Surface Dynamics, Glass Transition, and Crystallization of Atactic Polystyrene ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-08-29)
How polymers behave near the glass transition is one of the deepest questions in condensed matter physics. In the past two decades, the surface dynamics, glass transition, and crystallization of polymer thin films have ...
• #### Three-Photon Excitation of Rubidium Atoms to Rydberg States in a Room Temperature Vapor Cell ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-08-29)
This thesis presents a method for calculating the absorption of diode lasers in one-photon, two-photon and (Doppler-free) three-photon excitation configurations. The specific three-photon system studied is atomic Rb, 5s1/2 ...
• #### Novel Methods in Quantum Error Correction ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-08-24)
Quantum error correction is the backbone of fault-tolerant quantum computation, a necessary requirement for any large scale quantum computer. The fault-tolerance threshold theorem has long been a target for experimental ...
• #### Photons & Phonons: A room-temperature diamond quantum memory ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-08-19)
This thesis presents demonstrations of the storage and manipulation of single photons in a room-temperature diamond quantum memory using a Raman memory protocol. We report on results from four experiments. In the first ...
• #### In Vitro NMR Study of Magnetization Exchange at Low Field and Proteoglycan-Depletion at High Field in Articular Cartilage ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-06-30)
Magnetization exchange between different spin reservoirs, or spin groups, in cartilage tissue is an important aspect of the use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in the early detection of osteoarthritis (OA). A low field ...
• #### Thermodynamics and Universality in Anisotropic Higher Curvature Spacetimes ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-06-16)
In my thesis, I describe new results in the thermodynamics of black holes in two gravitational scenarios: spacetime anisotropy and higher curvature gravity. I focus on classifying the critical point of "Large Black Hole / ...
• #### Causal Models for a Quantum World ﻿

(University of Waterloo, 2016-05-18)
Quantum mechanics has achieved unparalleled success as an operational theory, describing a wide range of experiments to remarkable accuracy. However, the physical foundations on which it rests remain as puzzling as they ...

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