Simulações acopladas do escoamento reativo e dos processos de transferência de calor para o estudo de chamas são problemas dispendiosos computacionalmente. A transferência de calor por radiação em processos de combustão, devido às elevadas temperaturas, é o processo de troca energética dominante. Ainda, o comportamento altamente irregular do coeficiente de absorção com o comprimento de onda se constitui em uma dificuldade adicional na modelagem da transferência radiativa em meios participantes. Para contornar essa dificuldade modelos espectrais foram desenvolvidos com o objetivo de simular o comportamento de um gás real. Dentre esses modelos destacam-se o gás cinza (GG: Gray Gas), o mais simples, que negligencia o comportamento espectral do coeficiente de absorção, e o modelo da soma-ponderada-de-gases-cinza (WSGG: Weighted-Sum-of-Gray-Gases) onde a integração sobre todo o espectro é substituída por um número finito de gases cinza. Com o avanço de ferramentas computacionais, principalmente códigos CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), abordagens computacionais se tornaram atrativas frente ou em complemento às abordagens experimentais. Desse modo, o presente trabalho tem por objetivo a aplicação dos modelos WSGG e GG com novas correlações na simulação detalhada de chamas difusivas laminares de metano diluído com dióxido de carbono e nitrogênio com o código CFD comercial ANSYS/Fluent. Foram desenvolvidas rotinas de usuário (UDF: User-Defined Functions) para o acoplamento dos modelos espectrais ao código CFD. A verificação das rotinas de usuário foi realizada comparando os resultados obtidos via simulação Fluent com dados obtidos pelo modelo WSGG com um código FORTRAN próprio desenvolvido pelo grupo de pesquisa do Laboratório de Radiação Térmica (LRT/UFRGS) para o problema unidimensional de superfícies negras e infinitas preenchidas por um meio não-isotérmico e não-homogêneo. Os erros encontrados para o fluxo de calor radiativo nas superfícies e para o termo fonte radiativo ao longo do meio foram da ordem de 1% indicando o funcionamento correto das rotinas UDF acopladas ao Fluent. Por fim, as rotinas foram aplicadas na simulação numérica para chamas de potência constante com diluição dos reagentes e os dados obtidos com a solução numérica foram comparados com dados experimentais para a fração radiante e fluxo de calor radiativo. Os desvios médios encontrados para o fluxo de calor radiativo ficaram em torno de 10% para todas as chamas, excetuando as chamas com diluição de CO2 de 30%, 40% e 50%, em volume, para as quais os desvios médios ficaram em torno de 15%. O termo fonte para as chamas apontou para a predominância da emissão do meio em relação à absorção. Todas as chamas estudadas se encontram no regime opticamente fino (optically thin) para o qual, segundo apontam estudos da literatura, a escolha do modelo espectral possui impacto pequeno em resultados globais da chama como a temperatura e a concentração das espécies na mistura. Nesse aspecto os resultados encontrados concordaram com a previsão da literatura, entretanto para a transferência radiativa, o modelo GG se mostrou sensivelmente menos preciso em comparação ao modelo WSGG, principalmente para a fração radiante e para o fluxo radiativo na região da pluma aquecida, indicando a dependência do modelo espectral adotado. / Coupled simulations of the reactive flow with the heat transfer processes for flame studying are computationally demanding problems. The radiative transfer in combustion processes is the main heat transfer mechanism due to the high temperatures involved. However, the highly irregular behavior o f the absorption coefficient with the wavenumber composes in an additional difficulty on modeling the radiative transfer in participating media. In order to overcome this issue, spectral models were developed with the objective of simulate the behavior of real gases. Some of the most known models are the gray gas (GG) for which the spectral behavior of the radiative properties of the medium is neglected and the weighted-sum-of-gray-gases (WSGG) for which the integration over the entire spectrum is replaced by a summation over a finite number of gray gases with constant absorption coefficients. With the development of computational tools, mainly Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes, numerical approaches became attractive instead or in complement of experimental set ups. In this way, the present work aims to couple the WSGG and the GG models with new correlations in a detailed simulation of diffusive laminar flames of methane diluted with carbon dioxide and nitrogen with the commercial CFD code ANSYS/Fluent. User-defined functions (UDF) were developed to the coupling of the spectral models. The verification was carried out through the WSGG model by comparing the Fluent solution with a solution obtained with a FORTRAN code developed by the Thermal Radiation Laboratory (LRT/UFRGS) research group for the one-dimensional system of black surfaces filled with a non-homogeneous and non-isothermal medium. The deviations for the radiative heat flux for the walls and the radiative heat source along the domain were of 1% or less, indicating the correct coupling between the UDF routines and the CFD code. Finally, the UDF were applied in the solution of constant power flames with fuel diluted with carbon dioxide and nitrogen. The obtained data was then compared with experimental measurements for the radiant fraction and the radiative heat flux along the flame axis. The average deviations found were in order of 10% for all flames, except for the flames with 30%, 40% and 50% of CO2 dilution, in volume, for which the deviatioms found were in order of 15%. The radiative heat source was plotted and indicated for the medium emission predominance in comparison with the medium absorption. All flames studied were optically thin flames for which, studies pointed, the spectral model have minor impact over global results as flame temperature and mixture concentration. For this aspect the results found showed agreement with the literature studies predictions, however the GG model showed itself less accurate in comparison with the WSGG model for the radiant fraction and the radiative heat flux computations. So the spectral models have influence on the radiative transfer even if its effect on flame structure can be negligible.

La formation et l'activité des objets compacts, tels que Trous Noirs ou étoiles à Neutrons, s'accompagne couramment d'éjection de matière ionisée sous forme de jets à la vitesse proche de celle de la lumière (vitesses relativistes). Se propageant dans le milieu environnant, par exemple Milieu Interstellaire, ces jets conduisent inéluctablement à la formation d'ondes de choc relativistes. Une forte turbulence magnétique et une population d'électrons accélérés sont requises afin de tenir compte de l'émission radiative non-thermique de ces chocs. L'approche naturelle de ce problème, décrivant de manière auto-consistante la structure du choc non-collisionnel, est celle de la physique cinétique des plasmas en régime relativiste. L'aspect essentiel de cette approche est l'étude du précurseur du choc, sous forme d'un faisceau de protons très énergétiques. Un ensemble d'instabilites plasma y prend lieu et dissipe l'energie du choc sous forme de micro-turbulence électromagnétique, électrons chauffés et particules accélérées. Ce cadre conceptuel emmène à reconsidérer le processus de transport de particules charges autour du choc. Deux études indépendantes, effectuées pendant la thèse, montrent que les lois de diffusion en aval et amont du choc se mettent sous une forme concise, en loi de puissance en fonction de l'énergie des particules et de l'intensité de la micro-turbulence magnétique. Les lois de diffusion, dérivées à l'aide des simulations Monte-Carlo et analytiquement, chiffrent l'énergie maximale des protons accélérés au choc à 10^15 eV, si le facteur de Lorentz du choc est très grand devant 1. Cette limite se situe loin de l'énergie maximale des Rayons Cosmique et rend les chocs relativistes comme accélérateurs de particules inefficaces aux énergies les plus extrêmes. Le rayonnement, issu de l'accélération des électrons, atteint plusieurs GeV et corrobore l'idée que les chocs externes des Sursauts Gamma peuvent émettre à de telles énergies. L'approche alternative de l'étude des chocs, simulations Particle-In-Cell, m'as permis d'étudier la formation, structuration et évolution des chocs modérément relativistes dans une géométrie spatiale 1D. L'auto-reformation du front d'un choc perpendiculaire, connue dans le régime non-relativiste, persiste dans le régime moyennement relativiste et exhibe un front de choc non-stationnaire. A magnétisation basse, les électrons sont préchauffés dans le pied du choc par l'instabilité de Buneman entre protons réfléchis et électrons incidents, mais leur température en aval du choc reste plus faible que celle des protons. A magnétisation croissante, l'instabilité Maser Synchrotron devient essentielle dans la structuration du front de choc, avec émission d'un fort précurseur électromagnétique a partir du front de choc. Dans ce cas les électrons se mettent en équipartition avec les protons. Ces simulations 1D ne montrent pas d'évidence d'accélération des particules et des simulations 2D (3D) sont nécessaires. / The formation and activity of compact objects such as Black Holes and Neutron Stars results in the ejection of ionized matter in the form of jets with velocities close to $c$ (relativistic). The interaction of such powerful jets with the external medium forms shocks, eventually relativistic.A strong self-g???enerated magnetic micto-turbulence and a population of accelerated electron are required to explain the observed non-thermal radiation of these shocks. A natural approach to the study of the structure of a non-collisionnal shock involves kinetic treatement of plasma processes in the relativistic limit. This approach is adopted in the present thesis.Consequently, charged particle transport laws need to be studied carefully taking to acount self-consistent magnetic micro-turbulence at the shock. Two different studies of particle transport at each side of the shock (downstream and upstream) show that the diffusion laws take a concise form as a power law in energy ($D \propto E^2$) and the micro-turbulence strength. Both Monte-Carlo simulations and analytic studies are in agreement and, if the shock Lorentz factor is much greater than 1, it is found that the maximum energy of accelerated protons is $10^{15}$eV. A physical mechanism is also provided to explain how electrons attain the equipartition with protons at the shock. Finally, the radiation from accelerated electrons at the shock can reach several GeV in a synchrotron-like spectrum.In the second part of the thesis, I used 1D3V PIC simulations to study mildly relativistic shocks structure and their time evolution. The prependicular shock front self-reformation, well-known in non-relativistic limit, persists at mildly relativistic speeds. At low magnetization ($\sigma \ll 10^{-2}$), electrons are pre-heated in the shock precursor by the Buneman instability between reflected ions and incident electrons. At higher magnetizations ions form a coherent cyclotron loop at the front and the Maser Synchrotron Instability is essential for the shock structure by emitting a strong electromagnetic precursor, responsible for electrons heating up to equipartition with protons. No particle acceleration is seen in these 1D3V simulations.

Submitted by Lucienne Costa (lucienneferreira@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-04-12T17:33:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PAULO VICTOR DA SILVA OLINDA – DISSERTAÇÃO (PPGEM) 2018.pdf: 4406932 bytes, checksum: 3015875e87b33898358c6dc22f3c9e3a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-12T17:33:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PAULO VICTOR DA SILVA OLINDA – DISSERTAÇÃO (PPGEM) 2018.pdf: 4406932 bytes, checksum: 3015875e87b33898358c6dc22f3c9e3a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-21 / Capes / O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar um estudo termográfico visando constatar falha de montagem por desalinhamento em acoplamento flexível do tipo garra, modelo GR 50. A metodologia da pesquisa pode ser caracterizada como do tipo aplicada, quantitativa, explicativa, bibliográfica e experimental. Para tanto, montou-se uma bancada experimental contendo um motor trifásico, eixos, rolamentos e o acoplamento flexível, sem a presença de cargas, destinado a solidarizar dois eixos contendo desalinhamentos entre eles de 0,5; 0,74 e 1,18 mm. Como resultado dos testes efetuados, foi possível perceber que a temperatura do acoplamento aumenta à mesma proporção dos desalinhamentos inseridos, ou seja, quanto maior o desalinhamento, maior a temperatura registrada. Este fato é melhor observado nos primeiros 20 minutos dos testes. Diante destes resultados é possível afirmar que a Termografia pode ser utilizada como técnica de detecção de falhas de montagem por desalinhamento nos primeiros minutos de funcionamento do sistema. / The aim of this work is to perform a thermographic study aiming to verify assembly failure by mounting in flexible claw type coupling, model GR 50. A research methodology can be characterized as applied, quantitative, explanatory, bibliographic and experimental type. For this, an experimental bench was built, containing a three-phase motor, shafts, bearings and the flexible coupling, without a load presence, to join two shafts with misalignments between them; 0.5, 0.74 and 1.18 mm. As a result of the tests performed, it was possible to notice that the temperature of the coupling increases the same proportion of the misalignments inserted, that is, the greater the misalignment, the higher the temperature recorded. This fact is best observed in the first 20 minutes of the tests. In view of these results, it is possible to affirm that the thermography can be used as a technique for detecting mounting faults by misalignment in the first minutes of the system operation.

Simulações acopladas do escoamento reativo e dos processos de transferência de calor para o estudo de chamas são problemas dispendiosos computacionalmente. A transferência de calor por radiação em processos de combustão, devido às elevadas temperaturas, é o processo de troca energética dominante. Ainda, o comportamento altamente irregular do coeficiente de absorção com o comprimento de onda se constitui em uma dificuldade adicional na modelagem da transferência radiativa em meios participantes. Para contornar essa dificuldade modelos espectrais foram desenvolvidos com o objetivo de simular o comportamento de um gás real. Dentre esses modelos destacam-se o gás cinza (GG: Gray Gas), o mais simples, que negligencia o comportamento espectral do coeficiente de absorção, e o modelo da soma-ponderada-de-gases-cinza (WSGG: Weighted-Sum-of-Gray-Gases) onde a integração sobre todo o espectro é substituída por um número finito de gases cinza. Com o avanço de ferramentas computacionais, principalmente códigos CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), abordagens computacionais se tornaram atrativas frente ou em complemento às abordagens experimentais. Desse modo, o presente trabalho tem por objetivo a aplicação dos modelos WSGG e GG com novas correlações na simulação detalhada de chamas difusivas laminares de metano diluído com dióxido de carbono e nitrogênio com o código CFD comercial ANSYS/Fluent. Foram desenvolvidas rotinas de usuário (UDF: User-Defined Functions) para o acoplamento dos modelos espectrais ao código CFD. A verificação das rotinas de usuário foi realizada comparando os resultados obtidos via simulação Fluent com dados obtidos pelo modelo WSGG com um código FORTRAN próprio desenvolvido pelo grupo de pesquisa do Laboratório de Radiação Térmica (LRT/UFRGS) para o problema unidimensional de superfícies negras e infinitas preenchidas por um meio não-isotérmico e não-homogêneo. Os erros encontrados para o fluxo de calor radiativo nas superfícies e para o termo fonte radiativo ao longo do meio foram da ordem de 1% indicando o funcionamento correto das rotinas UDF acopladas ao Fluent. Por fim, as rotinas foram aplicadas na simulação numérica para chamas de potência constante com diluição dos reagentes e os dados obtidos com a solução numérica foram comparados com dados experimentais para a fração radiante e fluxo de calor radiativo. Os desvios médios encontrados para o fluxo de calor radiativo ficaram em torno de 10% para todas as chamas, excetuando as chamas com diluição de CO2 de 30%, 40% e 50%, em volume, para as quais os desvios médios ficaram em torno de 15%. O termo fonte para as chamas apontou para a predominância da emissão do meio em relação à absorção. Todas as chamas estudadas se encontram no regime opticamente fino (optically thin) para o qual, segundo apontam estudos da literatura, a escolha do modelo espectral possui impacto pequeno em resultados globais da chama como a temperatura e a concentração das espécies na mistura. Nesse aspecto os resultados encontrados concordaram com a previsão da literatura, entretanto para a transferência radiativa, o modelo GG se mostrou sensivelmente menos preciso em comparação ao modelo WSGG, principalmente para a fração radiante e para o fluxo radiativo na região da pluma aquecida, indicando a dependência do modelo espectral adotado. / Coupled simulations of the reactive flow with the heat transfer processes for flame studying are computationally demanding problems. The radiative transfer in combustion processes is the main heat transfer mechanism due to the high temperatures involved. However, the highly irregular behavior o f the absorption coefficient with the wavenumber composes in an additional difficulty on modeling the radiative transfer in participating media. In order to overcome this issue, spectral models were developed with the objective of simulate the behavior of real gases. Some of the most known models are the gray gas (GG) for which the spectral behavior of the radiative properties of the medium is neglected and the weighted-sum-of-gray-gases (WSGG) for which the integration over the entire spectrum is replaced by a summation over a finite number of gray gases with constant absorption coefficients. With the development of computational tools, mainly Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes, numerical approaches became attractive instead or in complement of experimental set ups. In this way, the present work aims to couple the WSGG and the GG models with new correlations in a detailed simulation of diffusive laminar flames of methane diluted with carbon dioxide and nitrogen with the commercial CFD code ANSYS/Fluent. User-defined functions (UDF) were developed to the coupling of the spectral models. The verification was carried out through the WSGG model by comparing the Fluent solution with a solution obtained with a FORTRAN code developed by the Thermal Radiation Laboratory (LRT/UFRGS) research group for the one-dimensional system of black surfaces filled with a non-homogeneous and non-isothermal medium. The deviations for the radiative heat flux for the walls and the radiative heat source along the domain were of 1% or less, indicating the correct coupling between the UDF routines and the CFD code. Finally, the UDF were applied in the solution of constant power flames with fuel diluted with carbon dioxide and nitrogen. The obtained data was then compared with experimental measurements for the radiant fraction and the radiative heat flux along the flame axis. The average deviations found were in order of 10% for all flames, except for the flames with 30%, 40% and 50% of CO2 dilution, in volume, for which the deviatioms found were in order of 15%. The radiative heat source was plotted and indicated for the medium emission predominance in comparison with the medium absorption. All flames studied were optically thin flames for which, studies pointed, the spectral model have minor impact over global results as flame temperature and mixture concentration. For this aspect the results found showed agreement with the literature studies predictions, however the GG model showed itself less accurate in comparison with the WSGG model for the radiant fraction and the radiative heat flux computations. So the spectral models have influence on the radiative transfer even if its effect on flame structure can be negligible.

Os contêineres metálicos foram desenvolvidos para a utilização no setor de logística e transporte, mas por sua escala adaptável à das edificações e pela mobilidade e praticidade de instalação, tiveram sua utilização apropriada também pelo setor da construção civil. Essas instalações possuem diversas qualidades ambientalmente amigáveis, mas seu aspecto térmico é extremamente insuficiente: sem isolamento térmico, demandam alta carga térmica de refrigeração e aquecimento, no verão e inverno, respectivamente e, consequentemente, um alto consumo energético. Tal característica foi crucial para que se determinassem como objetivos da presente pesquisa investigar o comportamento térmico dessas construções metálicas, avaliar seus parâmetros de desempenho, conforto e estresse térmicos, por meio de uma ampla coleta de dados experimentais. O experimento com duração de um ano - contou com três tipologias de contêiner em escala real, sendo o primeiro em aço Tipo X sem isolamento térmico, o segundo com um isolamento térmico para o fenômeno da condução e o terceiro com isolamento térmico para o fenômeno da radiação. Os diferentes tipos de tratamentos térmicos proporcionaram melhorias à envoltória dos contêineres, chegando a uma diferença nas temperaturas internas de até 9 °C. Constatou-se a extrema necessidade de adequação do tipo de isolamento térmico dos contêineres ao uso a que tais instalações se destinam escritório ou alojamento, no caso dos canteiros de obras para que as características da envoltória minimizem de fato a demanda ou mesmo atinjam a eliminação da necessidade de condicionamento artificial. / Metal containers were developed to logistics and transportation sector, but as a result of their suitable scale to human occupation, and their mobility and installation convenience, their use was adopted by the construction sector. These installations have many environmentally friendly characteristics, but their thermal performance is extremely unsuitable for habitation: without thermal insulation, the containers have high cooling and heating thermal load, in summer and winter, respectively, and consequently, to achieve thermal comfort, a substantial amount of energy is consumed. This feature was important to determine that the researchs objectives were to investigate metallic constructions thermal performance, calculate their thermal performance parameters, thermal comfort and thermal stress through a wide collection of experimental data. The experiment with duration of one year was conducted in three real scale containers: all of them made of steel (called steel Type X): the first one had no thermal insulation, the second one had insulation for thermal conduction, and the third had a thermal barrier for radiation. This different types of thermal treatment provided improvement to the containers envelopes, achieving a difference in internal temperatures about 9 °C. The findings reveal that thermal insulation needs to correctly respond to the containers intended use office or accommodation, in the case of construction sites so that the envelopes characteristics can have an impact on minimizing energy demand or even eliminate the containers need for artificial heating and cooling.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In this thesis, we consider some nonlinear di erential models that govern unsteady magneto-hydrodynamic convective ow and mass transfer of viscous, incompressible, electrically conducting uid past a porous plate with/without heat sources. The study focusses on the e ect of a combination of a number of physical parameters (e.g., chem- ical reaction, suction, radiation, soret e ect, thermophoresis and radiation absorption) which play vital role in these models. Non-dimensionalization of these models gives us sets of di erential equations. Reliable solutions of such di erential equations can- not be obtained by standard numerical techniques. We therefore resorted to the use of the singular perturbation approaches. To proceed, each of these model problems is discretized in time by using a suitable time-stepping method and then by using a tted operator nite di erence method in spatial direction. The combined methods are then analyzed for stability and convergence. Aiming to study the robustness of the proposed numerical schemes with respect to change in the values of the key parame-ters, we present extensive numerical simulations for each of these models. Finally, we con rm theoretical results through a set of speci c numerical experiments.

La majorité des produits verriers du marché sont issus d’une opération de mise en forme à hautes températures, suivie d’une phase de refroidissement contrôlé afin d’éliminer (verre recuit) ou générer (verre trempé) des contraintes résiduelles. Le comportement mécanique du verre étant fortement thermo-dépendant, le contrôle des températures est un élément déterminant pour le succès du procédé de fabrication. Lors de la simulation numérique, pour ce milieu semi-transparent, les échanges thermiques par conduction et par rayonnement sont à considérer. La résolution de l’ETR (Equation de Transfert Radiatif) est menée dans cette thèse par le biais de la « Méthode P1 » et le « Back Ray Tracing » (BRT). Les deux codes développés ont été validés par l’étude comparative avec les données en températures et en contraintes résiduelles issues de la littérature sur le refroidissement dans l’épaisseur du verre soumis à des conditions variées en convection naturelle et forcée. Une expérimentation qui consiste à refroidir un disque de verre sur un support métallique a été développée dans le but de comparer les températures et contraintes générées par l’expérimentation et par la modélisation issue du couplage thermomécanique avec les deux codes P1 et BRT. De manière plus originale, la méthode BRT a été étendue à des géométries de révolution. Une première approche a consisté à étudier le fluage d’une goutte de verre et à analyser l’influence du choix du modèle de résolution de l’ETR sur les températures et les géométries au cours de la mise en forme. / Most of glass products on the market come from a high-temperature forming operation, followed by a controlled cooling phase to remove (annealed glass) or generate (tempered glass) residual stresses. Since the mechanical behaviour of the glass is highly thermo-dependent, temperature control is a determining factor for the success of the manufacturing process. During numerical simulations, for this semi-transparent medium, heat exchanges by conduction and radiation have to be considered. In this work, the resolution of the ETR (radiative transfer Equation) is carried out using the "P1 method" and the "Back Ray tracing" (BRT). The two developed codes were validated by the comparative study with the temperature and residual stresses data from the literature on cooling in the thickness of the glass subject to various conditions in natural and forced convection. An experimentation which consists in cooling a glass disk on a metal support was developed in order to compare the temperatures and stresses generated by the testing and by the modelling resulting from the thermomechanical coupling with the two codes P1 and BRT. In a more original way, the BRT method was extended to revolving geometries. A first approach was to study the creep of a glass gob and to analyze the influence of the choice of the ETR's resolution model on the temperatures and geometries during the forming.

MSc (Mathematics) / Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics / The unsteady hydromagnetic chemically reacting mixed convection MHD ow over a permeable stretching sheet embedded in a porous medium with thermal radiation and heat source/sink is investigated numerically. The original partial di erential equations are converted into ordinary di erential equations by using similarity transformation. The governing non-linear partial di erential equations of Momentum, Energy, and Concentration are considered in this study. The e ects of various physical parameters on the velocity, temperature, and species concentration have been discussed. The parameters include the Prandtl number (Pr), Magnetic parameter (M), the Schmidt number (Sc), Unsteady parameter (A), buoyancy forces ratio parameter (N), Chemical reaction (K), Radiation parameter (Nr), Eckert number (Ec), local heat source/sink parameter (Q) and buoyancy parameter due to temperature ( ). The coe cient of Skin friction and Heat transfer are investigated. The coupled non-linear partial di erential equations governing the ow eld have been solved numerically using the Spectral Relaxation Method (SRM). The results that are obtained in this study are then presented in tabular forms and on graphs and the observations are discussed. / NRF

Dunkle Materie bindet etwa 24 % der gesamten Energie im Universum. Bis heute ist jedoch dessen Ursprung nicht bekannt. Untersuchungen von Galaxien und kosmologischen Messungen deuten auf Dunkle Materie hin. Ein Kandidat für Dunkle Materie ist das sogenannte Weakly Interactive Massive Particle (WIMP), welches nur der Schwerkraft und der schwachen Wechselwirkung unterliegt. Eines dieser supersymmetrischen Teilchen ist das Neutralino. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, nach Dunkler Materie in dieser Form zu suchen. Aufgrund seiner Nähe sowie der hohen Dichte an Dunkler Materie bietet das Zentrum unserer Galaxie besondere Möglichkeiten zur Suche nach diesen Teilchen. Es wird vermutet, dass Neutralinos miteinander wechselwirken, dabei in Teilchen des Standard Modells zerfallen und so Photonen mit hohen Energien entstehen. Die Suche nach hochenergetischen Gammastrahlen in der Nähe des Galaktischen Zentrums kann folglich das Rätsel der Dunklen Materie lösen. Das Gammastrahlenobservatorium VERITAS hat das Galaktische Zentrum für etwa 108 Stunden beobachtet. Diese Daten wurden mittels einer unbinned Likelihood-Analyse auf die Existenz von Dunkler Materie untersucht. Da VERITAS das Galaktische Zentrum bei geringer Elevation beobachtet, können nur Gammastrahlen in einem Energiebereich zwischen 4 und 70 TeV detektiert werden. Die Analysemethode modelliert sowohl die räumliche Verteilung der Dunklen Materie als auch das Gammastrahlenspektrum. Der Beitrag der Gammastrahlen, welcher nicht von Dunkler Materie erzeugt wird, ist mittels einer punktförmigen Quelle modelliert. Zum Schluss wird der Untergrund mit realen Daten außerhalb des Galaktischen Zentrums abgeschätzt. Im Energiebereich zwischen 4 und 100 TeV wurden keine Signale der Dunklen Materie gefunden. Obere Grenzwerte für den Wechselwirkungsquerschnitt der WIMPs ergeben ⟨σv⟩ < (6.6 − 7.6) × 10−25 cm^3 oberhalb von 70 TeV in einem 95-prozentigen Erwartungsintervall. / Dark matter accounts for 24% of the universe’s energy, but the form in which it is stored is currently unknown. Understanding what form this matter takes is one of the major unsolved mysteries of modern physics. Much evidence exists for dark matter in the measurements of galaxies, dwarf galaxies, galaxy clusters, and cosmological measurements. One theory posits dark matter is a new undiscovered particle that only interacts via gravity and the weak force, called a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP). One WIMP candidate is a supersymmetric particle called a neutralino. The objective of this thesis is to search for these dark matter particles, and attempt to measure their mass and cross section. Dark matter particles appear to concentrate in most galaxy-scale gravitational wells. One region of space that is both nearby and assumed to have a high density of dark matter is the center of our own galaxy. The neutralino is expected to annihilate into Standard Model particles, which may decay into photons. Therefore, a search for gamma rays near the Galactic Center may uncover the presence of dark matter. 108 hours of VERITAS gamma-ray observations of the Galactic Center are used in an unbinned likelihood analysis to search for dark matter. The Galactic Center’s low elevation results in VERITAS observing gamma rays in the 4–70 TeV energy range. The analysis used in this thesis consists of modeling the halo of dark matter at the Galactic Center, as well as the spectrum of gamma rays produced when two WIMPs annihilate. A point source is added to model the non-dark-matter gamma-ray emission detected from the Galactic Center. Background models are constructed from data of separate off-Galactic-Center observations. No dark matter signal is found in the 4–100 TeV mass range. Upper limits on the WIMP’s velocity-averaged cross section have been calculated, which above 70 TeV result in new limits of ⟨σv⟩ < (6.6 − 7.6) × 10−25 cm3 at the 95% confidence level.

<p>Similar to thermodynamic phase transitions in matter, readily apparent changes in optical response arise in the transition from isotropic to anisotropic optical phases. Treating the anisotropy of the dielectric permittivity as a control parameter, which changes continuously from zero to a nonzero finite value at the transition, in this work we describe the resulting effect on light propagation. </p> <p><br></p> <p>We begin by investigating a simple case of the manifestations of such optical transition in lossy media. In the presence of loss, isotropic materials do not support Brewster phenomenon, however, if one changes the anisotropy continuously, the exact zero in the reflection at the Brewster incidence angle is recovered. Next, in the case of uniaxial anisotropy, we uncover dramatic changes in far-field thermal radiation induced by the transitions between metal, dielectric, and hyperbolic optical regimes that can be observed in the same material. We demonstrate that continuous evolution between different ''phases'' in the electromagnetic response imprints a characteristic signature in the far-field thermal emission. Finally, we show that the evolution of the optical anisotropy from uniaxial to biaxial symmetry brings qualitatively new optical modes which are different from the conventional propagating and evanescent fields. These emergent ''ghost'' waves offer a unique way to control mode interactions in optical systems. Our work uncovers the connection between the macroscopic properties of the optical materials and the transitions between different regimes of the electromagnetic response in these media. At last, we propose a range of potential applications of the resulting phenomena, from perfect absorption in lossy media to thermal radiation and optical sensing.</p>