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Kenneth M. Nollett
Biographical sketch
- 1995 S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- 2000 Ph.D., The University of Chicago
- 2000-02 Postdoctoral Scholar, California Institute of Technology
- 2002-03 Research Associate, Institute for Nuclear Theory, University of Washington
- 2003-08 Assistant Physicist, Argonne National Laboratory
- 2008-12 Physicist, Argonne National Laboratory
- 2012-14 Visiting Assistant Professor, Ohio University
- 2014-15 Research Assistant Professor, University of South Carolina
- 2014-15 Adjunct Professor, San Diego State University
- 2015- Assistant Professor, San Diego State University
Before all that, I grew up at the edge of the Nebraska Sandhills, shown below in a photo that I took on the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge.
Research
I am a theorist, and my research is in interconnected areas of
astrophysics and nuclear physics. I have most recently been working
on the physics of the early universe and on ab initio
calculations of nuclear reaction properties. I have also been known
to pursue research on the compositions of presolar grains recovered
from meteorites, stellar nucleosynthesis, galactic chemical evolution,
and numerical methods.
In fall 2014, I helped write a white paper on efforts to measure the decay
lifetime of free neutrons, which is used to calibrate weak-interaction
rates in the big bang:
Determination of the Free Neutron Lifetime
J. D. Bowman et al., arXiv:1410.5311 [nucl-ex]
Publications
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Nuclear reaction rates and primordial 6Li
Kenneth M. Nollett, Martin Lemoine, and David N. Schramm
Phys. Rev. C 56,
1144 (1997)
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Sharpening the predictions of big-bang nucleosynthesis
Scott Burles, Kenneth M. Nollett, James W. Truran, and Michael S. Turner
Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 4176 (1999)
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Estimating reaction rates and uncertainties for primordial nucleosynthesis
Kenneth M. Nollett and Scott Burles
Phys. Rev. D 61,123505 (2000)
-
Six-body calculation of the alpha-deuteron radiative capture cross
section
K. M. Nollett, R. B. Wiringa, and R. Schiavilla
Phys. Rev. C 63, 024003 (2001)
-
What is the BBN prediction for the baryon density and how reliable is it?
Scott Burles, Kenneth M. Nollett, and Michael S. Turner
Phys. Rev. D 63, 063512 (2001)
-
Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis Predictions for Precision Cosmology
Scott Burles, Kenneth M. Nollett, and Michael S. Turner
Astrophys. J.
552, L1 (2001)
-
Radiative
alpha-capture cross sections from realistic nucleon-nucleon
interactions and variational Monte Carlo wave functions
Kenneth M. Nollett
Phys. Rev. C 63, 054002 (2001)
-
Did Very Massive Stars Pre-enrich and Reionize the Universe?
S. Peng Oh, Kenneth M. Nollett, Piero Madau, and G. J. Wasserburg
Astrophys. J. 562,
L1 (2001)
-
Primordial nucleosynthesis with a varying fine structure
constant: An improved estimate
Kenneth M. Nollett and Robert E. Lopez
Phys. Rev. D
66, 063507 (2002)
-
Cool bottom processes on the thermally-pulsing AGB and
the isotopic composition of circumstellar dust grains
Kenneth M. Nollett, M. Busso, and G. J. Wasserburg
Astrophys. J. 582, 1036 (2003)
-
The Piecewise Moments Method: A Generalized Lanczos Technique for Nuclear
Response Surfaces
Wick C. Haxton, Kenneth M. Nollett, and Kathryn M. Zurek
Phys. Rev. C 72,
065501 (2005)
-
Modern theories of low-energy astrophysical reactions
L. E. Marcucci, Kenneth M. Nollett, R. Schiavilla, and R. B. Wiringa
Nucl. Phys. A 777, 111 (2006)
-
Short-lived nuclei in the early solar system: possible AGB sources
G. J. Wasserburg, M. Busso, R. Gallino, and K. M. Nollett
Nucl. Phys. A 777, 5 (2006)
-
Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of neutron-alpha scattering
Kenneth M. Nollett, Steven C. Pieper, R. B. Wiringa, J. Carlson, and G. M. Hale
Phys. Rev. Lett.
99, 022502 (2007)
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Can Extra Mixing in RGB and AGB Stars Be Attributed to Magnetic Mechanisms?
M. Busso, G. J. Wasserburg, Kenneth M. Nollett, and Andrea Calandra
Astrophys. J. 671, 802
(2007)
-
Testing the Elements of the Big Bang (Popular-level article)
Kenneth Nollett
Physics World 20(8), 20 (August 2007)
-
On Possible Variation in the Cosmological Baryon Fraction
Gilbert P. Holder, Kenneth M. Nollett, and Alexander van Engelen
Astrophys. J. 716,
907 (2010)
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Solar fusion cross sections II: The pp chain and CNO cycles
E. G. Adelberger et al.
Rev. Mod. Phys. 83, 195 (2011)
(Contributions mainly to the sections on the reactions
3He(α,γ)7Be and
7Be(p,γ)8B.)
-
Asymptotic normalization coefficients from ab initio calculations
Kenneth M. Nollett and R. B. Wiringa
Phys. Rev. C 83, 041001(R) (2011)
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An analysis of constraints on relativistic species from primordial nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background
Kenneth M. Nollett and Gilbert P. Holder
arXiv:1112.2683 [astro-ph.CO]
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Ab initio calculations of nuclear widths via an integral relation
Kenneth M. Nollett
Phys. Rev. C 86, 044330 (2012)
-
Combining ab initio calculations and low-energy effective field theory for halo nuclear
systems: The case of 7Li +n → 8Li + γ
Xilin Zhang, Kenneth M. Nollett, and D. R. Phillips
Phys. Rev. C 89, 024613 (2014)
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BBN And The CMB Constrain Light, Electromagnetically Coupled WIMPs
Kenneth M. Nollett and Gary Steigman
Phys. Rev. D 89, 083508 (2014)
-
Combining ab initio calculations and low-energy effective field theory for halo nuclear
systems: The case of
7Be +n →
8B + γ
Xilin Zhang, Kenneth M. Nollett, and D. R. Phillips
Phys. Rev. C 86, 051602(R) (2014)
-
BBN And The CMB Constrain Neutrino Coupled Light WIMPs
Kenneth M. Nollett and Gary Steigman
Phys. Rev. D 91, 083505 (2015)
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Halo effective field theory constrains the solar 7Be + p -> 8B + γ rate
Xilin Zhang, Kenneth M. Nollett, and D. R. Phillips
arXiv:1507.07239 [nucl-th]
Teaching (at Ohio University)
Spring 2014:
Astro 1000: Survey of Astronomy
Fall 2013:
Physics 2001: Intro to Physics; One lecture section
Spring 2013:
Astro 1000: Survey of Astronomy
Physics 2052: General Physics
Fall 2012:
Physics 2001: Intro to Physics; One lecture section and three lab sections