Current Events
Opportunities for Graduate Studies
Introduction
The MSc Program
The PhD Program
Funding for Graduate Students
Information for students requiring student visas:
How to apply for admission
Summary of Present Research Activities:
Graduate Calendar
Basic Guidelines (pdf download- updated Feb 2013)Introduction
This guide to Graduate Studies and Research in Physics at UNB is designed to provide as detailed information as possible about possible openings and funding for the coming academic year.
Any student with a good Physics degree from a recognized University is eligible to apply to join our Graduate Programme. We offer both M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees.
Detailed requirements are given in the School of Graduate Studies Calender and the main points are outlined on the following pages.
As a small Department, we cannot offer the range of research areas covered by the larger Universities, and have concentrated our efforts into a small number of areas in which we have developed excellent facilities and a very high level of expertise.
There is a friendly and stimulating atmosphere and our students can benefit from the close and informal personal contact between faculty and students that only a small department can offer.
Details of possible openings are available from individual faculty members or the Graduate Secretary. We will also be pleased to supply information concerning any other details of graduate work and research here.
The MSc Program
The MSc program consists of course work and research. Three courses are required together with a thesis on the results of the research work. The thesis must be defended at an oral examination.
The PhD Program
For the PhD, a more substantial research project and thesis is required. Course requirements are determined by the supervising committee. A comprehensive examination must be taken within six months of registering for the PhD.
Funding for Graduate Students
Funding for Graduate Students comes from three sources:
Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA) are awarded for demonstrating in laboratories and marking assignments.
Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA) are given by the Graduate School for research work.
Research Assistantships (RA) are paid from the supervisor's research grants.At present, our Graduate Students receive between $16,000 and $17,000.
For students requiring student visas
For students requiring student visas in order to study in Canada, there are a few points of considerable significance which should be mentioned.
The TOEFL test, including the Test of Written English, is a requirement of the School of Graduate Studies and Research and is strictly required.
The GRE is not required. However, applicants who have taken the GRE advanced test in Physics and have a good score will probably have an advantage.
Our funding is very limited and we therefore encourage visa students to try and obtain their own funding through Government Scholarships, personal loans, etc.
How to apply for Admission
Students who are interested in applying for admission should contact the Graduate Secretary to obtain details of procedures and possible openings. Be sure to include your address and some information about the areas of research that are most interesting to you.
Summary of Present Research Activities
The Department is active and productive in several research areas. A very brief outline of our present activities, grouped according to subject area, is given and more detailed information can be obtained by writing to individual faculty members or the Director of Graduate Studies.
In addition to the research work being done in the department, our faculty members are involved in collaborative research projects with scientists at:
Most of our students have travelled to various places to attend meetings and present papers and several have travelled to other laboratories in Canada and the USA for short periods of time to conduct experiments.
All our laboratories are well equipped with up-to-date equipment, many experiments are computer controlled and the University has excellent computer facilities.
Laser Spectroscopy (C. Linton, D. Tokaryk, A. G. Adam)
Multiphoton spectroscopy of atoms and molecules using one, two or three pulsed dye lasers. Stimulated Raman laser emission from atoms and molecules excited by pulsed lasers. Very high resolution spectroscopy of diatomic molecules using narrow line, single frequency, CW dye lasers. Emission and absorption studies of free radicals. Fourier transform studies of optical and near-infrared spectra of gas phase diatomic molecules (in collaboration with groups at Lyon and Orsay, France, and at the National Research Council in Ottawa, Canada). Our web site is: Laser Spectroscopy
Infrared and Microwave Spectroscopy (R.M. Lees, Li-Hong Xu)
High-resolution Fourier transform studies of infrared and far-infrared gas phase molecular spectra, with emphasis on large-amplitude motions, interactions between large amplitude motion and other small amplitude vibrational motions and the assignment of optically pumped far-infrared laser lines (in collaboration with groups at NRC and UBC in Canada, Giessen in Germany and Pisa in Italy). Eigenstate-resolved spectroscopy in a supersonic jet-cooled molecular beam to explore the role of large-amplitude motion in intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution (IVR), with application to understanding and controlling of IVR rates for mode-selective chemistry (in collaboration with groups at the Molecular Physics Division in NIST, Gaithersburg, USA). Microwave studies of rotational absorption spectra, notably for molecules of astrophysical interest, with potential opportunities for astronomical observations on the J.C. Maxwell millimeter telescope in Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Microwave-microwave and infrared-microwave double resonance studies of collisional energy transfer in gases and application to excitation calculations for interstellar molecules in protostars and large clouds. Construction and applications of far-infrared lasers optically pumped by CO2 lasers (in collaboration with groups at the Time and Frequency Division in NIST, Boulder, USA). Our web site is: Infrared Laser Spectroscopy
Magnetic Resonance and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (B. Balcom, B. Newling I. Mastikhin)
Basic and applied studies in magnetic resonance (MR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In particular, the MRI Centre is a leading laboratory in MRI of systems with short signal lifetimes, which include solids, semisolids and gases. MRI technique development is a strong theme in the research of the Centre, including improvements in spatial and temporal resolution (through advances in hardware & software) and quantitative motion sensitization. New methods lead to exciting opportunities for a huge variety of applied MRI research.
The Physics Department at UNB has developed a world-class MRI facility in recent years, which collaborates with research institutions and companies from around the world. A series of new MRI techniques were invented and have been developed at the UNB MRI Centre. These methods permit quantitative imaging of a wide variety of systems previously considered inaccessible to MRI. The ongoing development of these techniques, in terms of both software and hardware, is a key theme of the research activity in the MRI Centre.
The MRI Centre is distributed over six principal laboratories, including three MRI instrument labs, two sample preparation labs, and an image analysis lab. The MRI Centre features a broad range of low field and high field MRI instruments and is one of the best equipped MRI of materials labs world-wide. The director of the Centre is Professor Bruce Balcom, who holds a Canada Research Chair. Our web site is: MRI Centre
Theoretical Studies (S. Ross)
Application of Multichannel Quantum Defect Theory to diatomic molecules, large amplitude dynamics of molecular systems. Our web site is: MRI Centre
Theoretical Space Plasma Physics (A.M. Hamza)
Current research activities span the following areas: theoretical and numerical study of plasma turbulence in the ionosphere, particle acceleration in the magnetosphere, magnetic substorm intensification, structure and dynamics of the solar magnetic field, and heating of the solar corona.
Plasmas occurring naturally in space are rarely quiescent - they are, in fact, generally turbulent. Studies on nonlinear wave-like phenomena (from Korteweg-deVries and nonlinear Shrödinger solitons to modons and dipole vortices) as they occur in the ionosphere, magentosphere, and the sun are conducted. While theoretical and numerical studies are the backbone of this research, much emphasis will be placed on understanding experimental results from the different regions studied.
Space & Atmospheric Physics (W. Ward, P.T. Jayachandran)
Our research is directed toward the observation of and interpretation of dynamical features in planetary atmospheres with an emphasis on the terrestrial middle/upper atmosphere. Of particular interest is the identification of waves and mean flows in these atmospheres and the determination of how they affect the distribution of chemical species. Feedbacks between the dynamics and the heating/cooling distribution associated with constituents such as carbon dioxide, ozone and molecular and atomic oxygen are important for the investigation of global change in the earth's atmosphere.Work includes the development of optical instrumentation (in particular interferometers) capable of remotely and simultaneously observing wind, temperature and constituent signatures in these atmospheres, the interpretation of these signatures and the development of models for their simulation. Currently interferometers are being designed to measure Doppler shifts in airglow emissions in the terrestrial mesosphere (45-90 km) and mesopause region (~90 km) and the atmospheres of Mars, Venus and Jupiter. One such interferometer (termed WAMI, the Waves Michelson Interferometer) is being included in a proposal to NASA (the Waves Explorer G. Swenson P.I., University of Illinois) to build a satellite to measure small-scale waves (gravity waves) in the earth's middle atmosphere. If approved this satellite would be launched in the 2007/2008 time frame.
Data from satellites is being analysed to determine dynamical and constituent signatures in the terrestrial middle/upper atmosphere. One source of data is Canada's Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII, G.G. Shepherd, P.I., York University) which has measured wind, temperature and airglow radiance measurements in the mesopause region and up (~80 km altitude and above) from 1991 to the present. Another source of data is the CRISTA instrument which flew on the shuttle in 1994 and 1997 and provides high spatial resolution data of constituents and temperature from the tropopause to the thermosphere. Planetary wave and tidal features in both these data sets have been identified and analysis of their characteristics is continuing. Models being used to interpret this data range from simpler process models which are used to explain the physical mechanisms behind various features to complex general circulation models which include the full range of nonlinear interactions which influence the behaviour of the atmosphere as a whole. The process models are being used to simulate wave effects on constituents and airglow and aid in the interpretation of data. A linear dynamical model, the Global Scale Wave Model (M. Hagan, HAO, NCAR) is being used to simulate the advection of constituents by tides and planetary waves. General circulation models such as the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (T.G. Shepherd, P.I., University of Toronto) and the TIMEGCM (R. Roble, HAO, NCAR) are being used to examine the larger scale transport and the climatology of waves in the mesopause region for comparison with satellite data. These models are among the few in the world to encompass the atmosphere from the ground to the upper atmosphere and allow the effects of wave generation near the surface of the earth on the upper atmosphere to be examined.
Interaction of the solar wind with Earth's magnetosphere and upper atmosphere produces spectacular effects such aurora. Understanding of the interactions in the Sun-Earth system is fundamental in understanding the universe in general. Sun-Earth system is the only system in the universe where processes like 'magnetic reconnection', wave-particle interaction, cross-scale coupling can be studied in detail via experiments. Given the size of the Solar Wind - Magnetosphere - Ionosphere (SW-M-I) System and given the cost of in-situ measurements, one can only accumulate knowledge over time and try to put together a coherent physical picture. One way to address this problem is to use the ionospheric measurements as a "road map" to understand the SW-M-I interaction. This is possible because in the high- latitude regions, the terrestrial magnetic field lines that have a footprint in the high- latitude ionosphere form a closed electric circuit together with the conducting ionosphere. The current/voltage generated through the solar wind magnetosphere dynamo/generator is applied to the high-latitude ionosphere through this circuit. The focus is on the study process in the Sun-Earth system using ground and satellite based experiments. A number of ground based radio and optical instruments are run in the Canadian Arctic for this purpose.
High-Precision Theory for Few-Body Systems (Z-C. Yan)
Research interests cover a wide range of high-precision calculations. Topics include high-precision variational calculations of few-body atomic and molecular systems, such as helium, lithium, and PsH, relativistic and QED effects in these systems, high precision determination of the fine-structure constant, high-precision atomic resonance calculations, long-range intermolecular forces and the Casimir-Polder effects, the Zeeman effect in two- and three-electron atomic systems, photoionization of helium and lithium, and interface with nuclear physics.