Below are theses and dissertations completed by graduates of the UNLV Department of Physics and Astronomy. While our physics graduate program is well established, our astronomy program is relatively new and its reputation continues to grow as our first generation of graduates depart UNLV to contribute to astrophysics in different parts of the world.
For the entire collection of UNLV theses and dissertations, visit UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones
Theses/Dissertations from 2022
Polar Alignment of Massive Retrograde Circumbinary Discs, Charles Abod
Physics of Electromagnetic Counterparts of Binary-Neutron-Star Mergers, Shunke Ai
Dust-Gas Dynamics Driven By the Streaming Instability with Various Pressure Gradients, Stanley Antedio Baronett
Towards Highly Sensitive Capacitance Measurements of a Quantum Anomalous Hall Phase in Van Der Waal Heterostructures, Kayla Cerminara
Terrestrial Planet Formation in M-dwarf and Binary Star Systems, Anna C. Childs
Design and Fabrication of an Apparatus for Tao High-Resolution Laser Spectroscopy, Timothy Chung
The Effects of Winds on Accretion Disks and Spectra Of X-Ray Binaries and Active Galactic Nuclei, Shalini Ganguly
Theses/Dissertations from 2021
Orbital Dynamics and Stability of Circumbinary Planetary Systems and Small Bodies in The Solar System, Cheng Chen
Hyperpolarizability Dispersion Measured for Carbon Disulfide Vapor, Rodrigo N. Fernandez
Accretion and Debris Disc Dynamics Around Single and Higher-Order Star Systems, Jeremy L. Smallwood
On-Chip Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy, Randy Sterbentz
Ab-Initio and Empirical Simulations of Aluminum and Copper Metal, William Wolfs
Theses/Dissertations from 2020
Development of CO2 Laser-Heating for the Study of Wide Band Gap Oxide Materials, Christian Matthew Childs
Vibration Overtone Hyperpolarizability Measured for H2 Using Electric Field Induced Second Harmonic Generation, Rachel Ellis
Synthesis, X-Ray Absorption, and X-Ray Diffraction Spectroscopy Studies of Uranium Based Heavy Fermion Systems, Vahe Mkrtchyan
Constraining Viscous Protoplanetary Disk Models Using ALMA Kinematic Observations, Ian Rabago
High Pressure Synchrotron XRD, NFS, and NRIXS studies of FeSb2, Melanie Alden White
Developments of Machine Learning Potentials for Atomistic Simulations, Howard Yanxon
Theses/Dissertations from 2019
Applied Symmetry for Crystal Structure Prediction, Scott William Fredericks
Super Rapid Crystal Growth and Quench of Monoclinic Bi-II* During Dynamic Compression, Zachary Allen Fussell
Equation of State of H2O Ice Using Melt-Recrystallization, Zachary Michael Grande
High-Pressure High-Temperature Exploration of Phase Boundaries Using Raman Spectroscopy, Jasmine Kashmir Hinton
An Introduction to the Exposition on Soundness, Completeness, and Decidability in Quantum Logic and Quantum Computation, Pushkin Kachroo
Specific Heat, Magnetic Susceptibility, and the Effect of Pressure on Structural Properties and Valence Of EuMn2Si2, EuCo2Si2, and Eu5In2Sb6, Brian Edward Light
The Timing of Dynamical Interactions between Planets in Exoplanetary Systems, David Robert Rice
Pressure Driven Electronic Band Gap Engineering in Tin(IV)-O,N Compounds, Daniel Thomas Sneed
Theses/Dissertations from 2018
Bayesian Model Comparisons in Planetary Science, John Henry Boisvert
Force Multiplier Calculations for X-ray Binaries and Active Galactic Nuclei, Randall Cody Dannen
Optimization of Useful Hard X-ray Photochemistry, David Lewis Goldberger
Primordial Black Holes in the Cosmological Context and Transient Electromagnetic Signatures from Merging Black Hole Binaries, Jared Robert Rice
Studies of Inner-Shell Chemistry of Mercury Based Compounds at Extreme Conditions, Sarah Schyck
Theses/Dissertations from 2017
Exterior Giant Planet Effects on Terrestrial Architecture, Anna Corinne Childs
Understanding Progenitors of Gamma Ray Bursts with Multi-Wavelength Properties, Ye Li
Secular Resonances during Main-Sequence and Post-Main-Sequence Planetary System Dynamics, Jeremy L. Smallwood
The Formation and Dynamics of Clouds in the Environment of Active Galactic Nuclei, Timothy Waters
Probing Broad Line Regions of Active Galactic Nuclei, Champika Sandamali Weerasooriya
Theses/Dissertations from 2016
High-Pressure Properties of Several Narrow Bandgap Semiconductors from First-Principles Calculations, Andrew Michael Alvarado
Ab Initio Structure Determination and Property Characterization of High-Pressure Ca-O Compounds and Li2(OH)Br Crystals, Christopher Higgins
Structural Behavior of NbSexTe2-x Superconductors Under High Pressure, Vahe Mkrtchyan
Impedance Spectroscopy Studies of Yttria Stabilized Zirconia Under Extreme Conditions, Quinlan Blaine Smith
Forcing Cesium into Higher Oxidation States via Useful Hard X-ray Induced Chemistry at Extreme Conditions, Daniel Thomas Sneed
The Hopf Fibration and Encoding Torus Knots in Light Fields, John Vincent Waite
Theses/Dissertations from 2015
High Pressure X-~Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Studies of Heavy-~Fermion Cerium and Uranium Compounds, Daniel Antonio
Study the Mechanism of the Prompt Emission of Gamma-Ray Bursts, Wei Deng
Constraining the Progenitor and Central Engine of Gamma-ray Bursts with Observational Data, Lu Houjun
High Pressure Behavior of Mullite-Type Oxides: Phase Transitions, Amorphization, Negative Linear Compressibility and Microstructural Implications, Patricia Kalita
Theses/Dissertations from 2014
Physics of Gamma-ray Bursts and Multi-messenger Signals from Double Neutron Star Mergers, He Gao
Li+ Ion Transport in Select Lithium-Rich Antiperovskites, John William Howard
A Physically-Based Type II Supernova Feedback Model in SPH Simulations, Keita Todoroki