Searching for Extrasolar Planets in the Gravitational Microlensing Event MB10311

We analyze the microlensing event MOA-2010-BLG-311 that took place in June 2010. MOA-2010-BLG-311 has a high magnification (Amax ∼ 600) with complete data coverage over the peak, making it very sensitive to planetary signals. The lightcurve, composed of observations from twelve observatories, is fitted by a single-lens model with finite-source effect. By looking at the residuals from the fit, we find no obvious planetary signals. The result can be confirmed with additional data that is currently being processed. In general, the probability of detecting a planet strongly depends on the planet mass, the planet separation from its parent star, and the angle of the source trajectory with respect to the binary axis. By simulating lightcurves and fitting them with single lens models, we constrain the range of planets that should be detected, if present, in this event.OSU Summer Undergraduate Research Program in AstrophysicsArts and Sciences Honors Thesis FundingNASA μFUNgrant 1277721No embarg

Tensor network and (pp-adic) AdS/CFT

We use the tensor network living on the Bruhat-Tits tree to give a concrete realization of the recently proposed $p$-adic AdS/CFT correspondence (a holographic duality based on the $p$-adic number field $\mathbb{Q}_p$). Instead of assuming the $p$-adic AdS/CFT correspondence, we show how important features of AdS/CFT such as the bulk operator reconstruction and the holographic computation of boundary correlators are automatically implemented in this tensor network.Comment: 59 pages, 18 figures; v3: improved presentation, added figures and reference

Critical Stressors Affecting Work Exhaustion of IS Employees in SMEs

The symptoms of stress are becoming more diversified in the IT labor market. IS employees need help in learning how to manage stress so as to reduce the strain in their work-life. The stress issue is also crucial to organizations through controlling stressors to reduce the levels of stress for maintaining better job performance. The purpose of this research is to study the effects of stressors and situational moderators on IS employees’ work exhaustion in the context of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In line with the transaction-based model of stress, this research constructs a hypothesized model for testing and verification. Through the empirical survey on the IS employees in SMEs, the results are expected to fill the knowledge gap for IS workplace stress research and to provide references to the practice and the government for managing SMEs’ e-business implementation

Bubbles or cycles? Housing price dynamics in China’s major cities

Based on the monthly data of 35 cities during the period 2006−2017, this study adopts a recursive forward looking method to detect the presence of housing bubbles and investigate their potential cyclical patterns in China’s large and medium sized cities. Empirical results show that the number of cities reporting housing bubbles has been increasing since 2013, before it declined in 2017. Regarding regional disparities of housing bubbles, 1st-tier and 1.5-tier cities have higher probability than 2nd-tier cities for housing bubbles. In general, eastern region cities have more housing bubbles than central and western region cities, which may indicate the problem of shrinking cities China is facing nowadays. Bubble signals for market correction in major cities and municipalities seemed alarming in particular for the period 2013−2016, however it is difficult to conclude if the market adjustment in 2017 indicates a cyclical pattern. First published online 19 December 201

Controlled Heterogeneous Nucleation and Growth of Germanium Quantum Dots on Nanopatterned Silicon Dioxide and Silicon Nitride Substrates

Controlled heterogeneous nucleation and growth of Ge quantum dots (QDs) are demonstrated on SiO_2/Si_3N_4 substrates by means of a novel fabrication process of thermally oxidizing nanopatterned SiGe layers. The otherwise random self-assembly process for QDs is shown to be strongly influenced by the nanopatterning in determining both the location and size of the QDs. Ostwald ripening processes are observed under further annealing at the oxidation temperature. Both nanopattern oxidation and Ostwald ripening offer additional mechanisms for lithography for controlling the size and placement of the QDs