Events

Amorphous solids are a diverse class of materials that have significant interest owing to their ubiquity in industry, yet a unifying theory to describe their mechanical response to load under temperature is lacking.  Using a combination of highly parallelized numerical routines to simulate an elastoplastic model (EPM) of amorphous solids, as well the corresponding mean-field theory, I develop a scaling theory for the yielding of amorphous solids for non-zero temperature and driving rates.

[Abstract]

To understand astronomical objects and their environments, it is essential to study their behavior across time, energy and space. For compact objects, these analyses provide a unique window into physics in extreme environments, probing transient behavior, accretion processes, and tests of spacetime and gravity in the high field regime. In this thesis, I present novel approaches to revolutionize timing and spectral analysis and imaging with polarimetry in astronomy.

In this thesis, we study a class of non-topological solitons known as "Q-balls" which arise in complex scalar field theories with U(1) symmetry. We focus on the case where the U(1) symmetry is gauged and the theory admits a coupling to electromagnetism; the corresponding solitons are known as "gauged Q-balls". Using numerical simulations, we examine the dynamical behaviour of these objects in various scenarios. First, we investigate the classical stability of gauged Q-balls under assumptions of axial symmetry.

Abstract: The objective of this thesis was to establish techniques for predicting and modelling moist desquamation (MD). The work in this thesis is based on the clinical studies of the novel Carbon Fibre Adjustable Reusable Accessory (CARA) breast support device. The epidermal dose measurements, treatment plans, and skin assessments from clinical studies of the CARA device were used to develop models to be applied during treatment planning to reduce the occurrence of MD in breast radiotherapy.