Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are some of the most extreme objects in the universe. They output copious amounts of energy spanning the entire electromagnetic spectrum. There are many different subclasses of AGN depending on your viewing angle. Blazars, viewing down the relativistic jet, are the most variable class of AGN known. They exhibit extreme variability in all wavelengths on timescales as short as minutes. In this thesis I will consider the extreme faintness of 3C279 with respect to the long-term light curve as well as recent observations of microvariability. I am able to confirm small amplitude events using simultaneous observations from two telescopes and cross correlation analysis. Transitory quasi-periodic oscillations are observed during two of the nights with confirmed microvariability.

Previous studies have shown that many students have misconceptions about basic concepts in physics which persist after instruction. It has been concluded that one of the challenges lies in the teaching methodology. To address this, Georgia State University (GSU) has begun teaching studio algebra-based physics. Although many institutions have implemented studio physics, most have done so in calculus-based sequences. Additionally, the unique environment of GSU’s population as a diverse, urban research institution is considered. The effectiveness of the studio approach for this demographic in an algebra-based introductory physics course was assessed. This five-semester pilot study presents demographic survey results and compares the results of student pre- and post-tests using the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). FCI results show that 1) the studio approach yields higher learning gains than the conventional course, 2) there are significant performance differences among ethnic groups, and 3) a gender gaps exists regardless of instructional method.

This study uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative enquiry to focus on determining the most salient factors that affect international students’ learning of introductory physics in Georgia State University. For purposes of the study, “international students” were defined as those who attended high school in a country other than the US. These students comprise a significant portion of the physics courses at Georgia State, and this study was motivated by the desire to support their success. The study involved a collaboration with the newly emerging Physics and Astronomy Education Research Group who has recently begun the routine collection of student learning data in all of its introductory physics courses. The factors considered in the research design were informed by the literature on student learning for all students while including the possibility of new factors emerging in interviews with international students. Factors probed included students’ previous study of mathematics, previous study of physics, language issues, pedagogical differences (i.e., style of teaching, classroom culture & environment) between GSU and the student’s country of origin. For international students who are proficient in English, classroom environment and culture (pedagogy) emerged as the most important factor. For International students who are not very proficient in English, language remains the most important factor. The effect of language issues on international students’ learning of physics turned out to be more complex than originally considered. Some students understood instructors differently depending on what country the students come from and on what country the instructor comes from. Instructor office hours and general accessibility for addressing questions emerged as especially important options for international students who felt uncomfortable asking questions in front of the whole class. An unanticipated outcome of the study was to discover how the vast differences in the structure of high school mathematics education in non-US countries has serious implications for the way we advise and query international students in physics vis-à-vis their academic background before entering Georgia State. Moreover, the study revealed that students who had taken a high school physics course generally scored no better than those who had not taken a high school course on a pre-test of conceptual knowledge in physics. However, students who had taken a physics class in high school had dramatically higher learning gains when given a post-test near the end of the Georgia State physics course. This phenomenon suggests that more consideration should be given to prior course-work in combination with a diagnostic pre-test to advise students about which math and physics courses to take when they arrive at Georgia State.

I present a study done to determine the characteristics of the LHIRES III spectrograph on the 20 inch RC Optics telescope at Hard Labor Creek Observatory. I describe the settings of three different diffraction gratings, collimation and focus issues, and practical aspects of use. The spectrograph was used with a SBIG ST-8XME camera for all studies. Data collection was accomplished with the Maxim DL software package and analysis was completed with IRAF. Solutions for the dispersion relation with all three diffraction gratings were found. Several projects are underway with this instrument. I present time series spectra of α Vir to demonstrate the practical applications of the spectrograph. This non-radially pulsating star shows Doppler shifts that were recorded in the Si III 4552, 4568, 4574 Å triplet over the course of a night. The observed profile variations showed the spectrograph capable of exacting scientific work.

Massive stars are rare, but emit most of the light we observe in the Universe and create many of the heavy elements. New observational approaches and long time-series are utilized in order to examine the basic observable properties of the stars and the mass lost during their lifetimes. In order to study the winds and the long-term changes of the stars, hot stars with some of the strongest winds (the luminous blue variables) were studied in detail with optical spectroscopy and photometry. A 25-year survey on the prototype P Cygni is presented, where the long-term changes are documented for many parameters that have not been examined before. In addition, we present a detailed study of the H-band emitting region through interferometric imaging with the CHARA Array as well as spectrophotometry. A detailed study of the Hα line variability of the LBV η Carinae near its recent periastron is presented. The LBV candidate HDE 326823 is found to be a binary system with variability driven by the close binary companion and Roche lobe overflow. Finally, I present a three-year study of many LBVs in the Milky Way Galaxy and Magellanic Clouds for a statistically significant survey of the long-term variability properties of these rare stars as a population. Future studies of LBV winds are outlined, as well as a short discussion of Georgia State University’s Hard Labor Creek Observatory for these types of studies.

Regional tissue temperature dynamics in the brain are determined by the balance of the metabolic heat production rate and heat exchange with blood flowing through capillaries embedded in the brain tissue, the surrounding tissues and the environment. Local changes in blood flow and metabolism during functional activity can upset this balance and induce transient temperature changes. Invasive experimental studies in animal models have estab- lished that the brain temperature changes during functional activity are observable and a definitive relationship exists between temperature and brain activity. We present a theoreti- cal framework that links tissue temperature dynamics with hemodynamic activity allowing us to non-invasively estimate brain temperature changes from experimentally measured blood- oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signals. With this unified approach, we are able to pinpoint the mechanisms for hemodynamic activity-related temperature increases and decreases. In addition to these results, the potential uses and limitations of optical measurements are dis- cussed.

In this work, multi-band (multi-color) detector structures considering different semiconductor device concepts and architectures are presented. Results on detectors operating in ultraviolet-to-infrared regions (UV-to-IR) are discussed. Multi-band detectors are based on quantum dot (QD) structures; which include quantum-dots-in-a-well (DWELL), tunneling quantum dot infrared photodetectors (T-QDIPs), and bi-layer quantum dot infrared photodetectors (Bi-QDIPs); and homo-/heterojunction interfacial workfunction internal photoemission (HIWIP/HEIWIP) structures. QD-based detectors show multi-color characteristics in mid- and far-infrared (MIR/FIR) regions, where as HIWIP/HEIWIP detectors show responses in UV or near-infrared (NIR) regions, and MIR-to-FIR regions. In DWELL structures, InAs QDs are placed in an InGaAs/GaAs quantum well (QW) to introduce photon induced electronic transitions from energy states in the QD to that in QW, leading to multi-color response peaks. One of the DWELL detectors shows response peaks at ∼ 6.25, ∼ 10.5 and ∼ 23.3 µm. In T-QDIP structures, photoexcited carriers are selectively collected from InGaAs QDs through resonant tunneling, while the dark current is blocked using AlGaAs/InGaAsAlGaAs/ blocking barriers placed in the structure. A two-color T-QDIP with photoresponse peaks at 6 and 17 µm operating at room temperature and a 6 THz detector operating at 150 K are presented. Bi-QDIPs consist of two layers of InAs QDs with different QD sizes. The detector exhibits three distinct peaks at 5.6, 8.0, and 23.0 µm. A typical HIWIP/HEIWIP detector structure consists of a single (or series of) doped emitter(s) and undoped barrier(s), which are placed between two highly doped contact layers. The dual-band response arises from interband transitions of carriers in the undoped barrier and intraband transitions in the doped emitter. Two HIWIP detectors, p-GaAs/GaAs and p-Si/Si, showing interband responses with wavelength thresholds at 0.82 and 1.05 µm, and intraband responses with zero response thresholds at 70 and 32 µm, respectively, are presented. HEIWIP detectors based on n-GaN/AlGaN show an interband response in the UV region and intraband response in the 2-14 µm region. A GaN/AlGaN detector structure consisting of three electrical contacts for separate UV and IR active regions is proposed for simultaneous measurements of the two components of the photocurrent generated by UV and IR radiation.

The co-existence of bursting activity and silence is a common property of various neuronal models. We describe a novel mechanism explaining the co-existence of and the transition between these two regimes. It is based on the specific homoclinic and Andronov-Hopf bifurcations of the hyper- and depolarized steady states that determine the co-existence domain in the parameter space of the leech heart interneuron models: canonical and simplified. We found that a sub-critical Andronov-Hopf bifurcation of the hyperpolarized steady state gives rise to small amplitude sub-threshold oscillations terminating through the secondary homoclinic bifurcation. Near the corresponding boundary the system can exhibit long transition from bursting oscillations into silence, as well as the bi-stability where the observed regime is determined by the initial state of the neuron. The mechanism found is shown to be generic for the simplified 4D and the original 14D leech heart interneuron models.

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are axisymmetric systems to first order; their observed properties are likely strong functions of inclination with respect to our line of sight. However, except for a few special cases, the specific inclinations of individual AGN are unknown. We have developed a promising technique for determining the inclinations of nearby AGN by mapping the kinematics of their narrow-line regions (NLRs), which are easily resolved with Hubble Space Telescope (HST) [O III] imaging and long-slit spectra from the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). Our studies indicate that NLR kinematics dominated by radial outflow can be fit with simple biconical outflow models that can be used to determine the inclination of the bicone axis, and hence the obscuring torus, with respect to our line of sight. We present NLR analysis of 52 Seyfert galaxies and resultant inclinations from models of 17 individual AGN with clear signatures of biconical outflow. From these AGN, we can for the first time assess the effect of inclination on other observable properties in radio-quiet AGN, including the discovery of a distinct correlation between AGN inclination and X-ray column density.

This thesis consists of two parts. The first part considers the effect of microwave radiation on magnetotransport in high quality GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure two dimensional electron systems. The effect of microwave (MW) radiation on electron temperature was studied by investigating the amplitude of the Shubnikov de Haas (SdH) oscillations in a regime where the cyclotron frequency $\omega_{c}$ and the MW angular frequency $\omega$ satisfy $2\omega \leq \omega_{c} \leq 3.5\omega$. The results indicate negligible electron heating under modest MW photoexcitation, in agreement with theoretical predictions. Next, the effect of the polarization direction of the linearly polarized MWs on the MW induced magnetoresistance oscillation amplitude was investigated. The results demonstrate the first indications of polarization dependence of MW induced magnetoresistance oscillations. In the second part, experiments on the magnetotransport of three dimensional highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) reveal a non-zero Berry phase for HOPG. Furthermore, a novel phase relation between oscillatory magneto- and Hall- resistances was discovered from the studies of the HOPG specimen.