Charmonium in Medium: From Correlators to Experiment

We set up a framework in which in-medium charmonium properties are constrained by thermal lattice QCD and subsequently implemented into a thermal rate equation enabling the comparison with experimental data in heavy-ion collisions. Specifically, we evaluate phenomenological consequences for charmonium production originating from two different scenarios in which either the free or the internal energy are identified with the in-medium 2-body potential between charm and anti-charm quarks. These two scenarios represent $J/\psi$ "melting temperatures" of approximately 1.25\,$T_c$ ("weak binding") and 2\,$T_c$ ("strong binding"), respectively. Within current uncertainties in dissociation rates and charm-quark momentum spectra, both scenarios can reproduce the centrality dependence of inclusive $J/\psi$ yields in nuclear collisions at SPS and RHIC reasonably well. However, the "strong-binding" scenario associated the the internal energy as the potential tends to better reproduce current data on transverse momentum spectra at both SPS and RHIC.Comment: 18 pages, 30 figure

The Environment of Interprofessional Education in Graduate Education: Exploring Professional Programs of Occupational Therapy, Physician Assistant, and Physical Therapy

Interprofessional education (IPE) is an educational approach of increasing popularity in professional schools for the preparation of a collaborative ready healthcare workforce. The accrediting bodies of professional education programs in occupational therapy (OT), physician assistant (PA), and physical therapy (PT) have incorporated standards for outcomes addressing IPE. Although they have endorsed the Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative (HPAC) consensus document on quality IPE, we do not have a contemporary snapshot of the IPE environments in the curriculum of their accredited programs. This dissertation, a collection of three distinct inquiries, has two aims: first, to provide a description of IPE as it currently exists in the curricular environments of all accredited entry-level programs of study leading to professional degrees in OT, PA, and PT; and second, to identify similarities and differences in the IPE environments among the three programs of study. This fills a knowledge gap for each profession on the contemporary IPE environments in the curriculum of their accredited programs and provides a baseline for planning quality IPE as defined by the HPAC consensus document endorsed by OT, PA, and PT accreditors. Chapter two explored the current IPE environment in entry-level doctoral-degree and master’s-degree occupational therapy programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) in the United States. Chapter three surveyed all entry-level master’s programs accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) on the current environment of IPE within the curriculum. Chapter four investigated the current environments in all entry-level physical therapist programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) in the United States. In chapter five the data sets were combined and analyzed for similarities and differences among the three professions. Although no statistically significant differences existed in our findings, our data suggests that the practice of IPE varies. Results tended to vary by institution more than profession. This data did demonstrate a strong presence of IPE in the curriculum and helped to highlight areas for improvement. Faculty workload, course schedules, and funding continue to be a hinderance in the development and sustainability for IPE. Future research should include examination of the relationship between program leadership and institutional leadership in developing, implementing, and sustaining an IPE plan; faculty/preceptor development and assessment in delivering IPE; mapping learning outcomes and learner assessment; and tracking student acquisition of IPE competencies

Atom chips with two-dimensional electron gases: theory of near surface trapping and ultracold-atom microscopy of quantum electronic systems

We show that current in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) can trap ultracold atoms $<1 \mu$m away with orders of magnitude less spatial noise than a metal trapping wire. This enables the creation of hybrid systems, which integrate ultracold atoms with quantum electronic devices to give extreme sensitivity and control: for example, activating a single quantized conductance channel in the 2DEG can split a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) for atom interferometry. In turn, the BEC offers unique structural and functional imaging of quantum devices and transport in heterostructures and graphene.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, minor change

Quarkonia and Heavy-Quark Relaxation Times in the Quark-Gluon Plasma

A thermodynamic T-matrix approach for elastic 2-body interactions is employed to calculate spectral functions of open and hidden heavy-quark systems in the Quark-Gluon Plasma. This enables the evaluation of quarkonium bound-state properties and heavy-quark diffusion on a common basis and thus to obtain mutual constraints. The two-body interaction kernel is approximated within a potential picture for spacelike momentum transfers. An effective field-theoretical model combining color-Coulomb and confining terms is implemented with relativistic corrections and for different color channels. Four pertinent model parameters, characterizing the coupling strengths and screening, are adjusted to reproduce the color-average heavy-quark free energy as computed in thermal lattice QCD. The approach is tested against vacuum spectroscopy in the open (D, B) and hidden (Psi and Upsilon) flavor sectors, as well as in the high-energy limit of elastic perturbative QCD scattering. Theoretical uncertainties in the static reduction scheme of the 4-dimensional Bethe-Salpeter equation are elucidated. The quarkonium spectral functions are used to calculate Euclidean correlators which are discussed in light of lattice QCD results, while heavy-quark relaxation rates and diffusion coefficients are extracted utilizing a Fokker-Planck equation.Comment: 33 pages, 28 figure