Browsing Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Physics) by Title
Now showing items 27-46 of 62
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Neutral hydrogen in galaxies, its content and the effect of environment on its evolution
(University of the Western Cape, 2018)Using two hydrodynamic galaxy formation simulations from the Mufasa project that I helped develop, we aim to better understand the relationship between galaxy evolution and its cold gas content commonly known as the ... -
New Collective structures in the Z=76 stable odd neutron nucleus, 187Os
(University of the Western Cape, 2021)Low- and medium-spin bands of 187Os have been studied using the AFRODITE array, following the 186W(4He,3n)187Os reaction at a beam energy of 37 MeV. The measurements of γ − γ coincidences, angular distribution ratios (RAD), ... -
New collective structures in the Z=76 stable odd neutron nucleus, 187Os
(University of Western Cape, 2021)Low- and medium-spin bands of 187Os have been studied using the AFRODITE array, following the 186W(4He,3n)187Os reaction at a beam energy of 37 MeV. The measurements of coincidences, angular distribution ratios ... -
Nial and steel as matrices and tic and oxynitrides as reinforcements in metal-matrix composite fabrication
(University of Western Cape, 2021)Metal matrix composites harness the superior attributes of their individual constituents to form high performance materials that would rather be impossible from monolithic substances. Owing to many possible combinations, ... -
Nonlinear low frequency wave phenomena in space plasmas
(University of the Western Cape, 2013)In this thesis, using multispecies fluid plasma models, nonlinear electrostatic solitary wave fluctuations will be investigated in magnetized plasmas. The different models used for the investigation will be guided by the ... -
Nuclear structure studies in the A=136 region using transfer reactions
(University of the Western Cape, 2018)This thesis describes research work undertaken to study neutron pairing correlations in 136Ba via the 138Ba(p, t) pair transfer reaction and to perform high-precision spectroscopy of low-lying states in 136Cs using the ... -
The observed bispectrum for SKA and other galaxy surveys
(University of the Western Cape, 2019)Next-generation galaxy surveys will usher in a new era of high precision cosmology. They will increasingly rely on the galaxy bispectrum to provide improved constraints on the key parameters of a cosmological model to ... -
Optical modeling of amorphous and metal induced crystallized silicon with an effective medium approximation
(University of the Western Cape, 2009)In this thesis we report on the metal-mediated-thermally induced changes of the structural and optical properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon deposited by hot-wire CVD, where aluminium and nickel were used to induce ... -
Perturbations of dark energy models
(University of Western Cape, 2012)The growth of structure in the Universe proceeds via the collapse of dark matter and baryons. This process is retarded by dark energy which drives an accelerated expansion of the late Universe. In this thesis we use ... -
Physical properties of vanadium dioxide nanoparticles: application as 1-d nanobelts room temperature for hydrogen gas sensing
(University of the Western Cape, 2013)Transition metal oxides magneli phases present crystallographic shear structure which is of great interest in multiple applications because of their wide range of valence, which is exhibited by the transition metals. The ... -
Physics graduate preparedness for work and society
(University of the Western Cape, 2023)Both internationally and in South Africa, there have been renewed debates about the purposes of higher education and the attributes that should be developed in graduates. In the field of physics, many studies have reported ... -
Probing galaxy evolution below the noise threshold with radio observations
(University of the Western Cape, 2020)The faint radio population consisting of star forming galaxies (SFG) and radio-quiet active galactic nuclei (AGN) is important in the study of galaxy evolution. However, the bulk of the faint population is below the ... -
Probing large-scale structure with the SKAO and other cosmological surveys
(University of the Western Cape, 2022)In recent history there have been several advances in cosmology, which has significantly shaped our understanding of the Universe. The current leading theory is called ΛCDM, which can successfully model the expansion of ... -
Probing the expansion history of the universe using upernovae and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations
(University of the Western Cape, 2016)The standard model of cosmology (the ɅCDM model) has been very successful and is compatible with all observational data up to now. However, it remains an important task to develop and apply null tests of this model. These ... -
Proton conductivity stability studies by modelling
(University of the Western Cape, 2016)In this thesis, some of the challenges experienced by high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are explored through material modelling techniques. A very important aspect for a fuel cell is that it should ... -
Radiometric characterisation of vineyard soils, Western Cape, South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2010)This study is aimed at investigating the feasibility of using the radiometric technique as an alternative to traditional methods for determining soil physico-chemical parameters which are important for terroir characterization. ... -
Radiometric investigation of soil and beach sand in Zanzibar
(University of the Western Cape, 2020)This study presents the results of radiometric investigation of soil and beach sand in Zanzibar. The activity concentration of natural radionuclides (40K, and 232Th and 238U decay products) in beach sand and soil samples ... -
Relativistic corrections to the power spectrum
(University of the Western Cape, 2015)The matter power spectrum is key to understanding the growth of large-scale structure in the Universe. Upcoming surveys of galaxies in the optical and HI will probe increasingly large scales, approaching and even exceeding ... -
Silicon nanowires by metal-assisted chemical etching and its incorporation into hybrid solar cells
(University of Western Cape, 2021)The rapid increase in global energy demand in recent decades coupled with the adverse environmental impact of conventional fuels has led to a high demand for alternative energy sources that are sustainable and efficient. ... -
Simulating the neutral hydrogen distribution during cosmic reionization
(University of the Western Cape, 2018)We improve on the physical treatment of ionising source and sink populations in the large scale semi-numerical simulations by implementing new physically motivated parametrizations taken from high-resolution radiative ...