Office of Research and Creative Activity

Starting in 2021, a team of three members of Western Kentucky University’s Department of Physics & Astronomy faculty, including Dr. Gordon Emslie, Dr. Ali Er, and Dr. Ivan Novikov, have been working on a NASA KY EPSCoR Research Award of $900,000 entitled “Solar Activity and Space Weather.”

Dr. Er calls it: “Hotter Than the Sun, More Powerful Than a Nuclear Plant, and Emptier Than Space: Inside Our Groundbreaking PLD Research.”

The team’s research uses pulsed laser deposition to create optical components for spacecraft observatories that observe the Sun in Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) light. By stacking thin layers of two different types of metal, in this case, aluminum and zirconium, the mirror can have a high reflectivity for light of certain wavelengths.

“Observing at these wavelengths is important because the light is produced by high temperature (million degree) material in the Sun during solar flares so that imaging the Sun at these wavelengths — or “colors” — helps us understand how solar flares happen and evolve,” Dr. Gordon Emslie, Professor of Physics, said. “Each laser pulse delivers power comparable to that of an entire nuclear power plant but for an incredibly brief moment, lasting only a few billionths of a second. This intense energy creates a plasma plume with temperatures exceeding 10,000°C, which is hotter than the surface of the Sun. This extreme heat is necessary for vaporizing the target material and depositing it onto the substrate with atomic-scale accuracy.”

The grant has allowed for the purchase of a critical tool for advancing the team’s research, a high-power krypton-fluorine laser. This state-of-the-art laser provides the precision and power to create high-quality, thin films with atomic-level accuracy. With this advanced equipment, the team can explore new material properties, improve the efficiency of the deposition processes, and expand the scope of the research to include more complex materials and multilayer systems otherwise impossible.

Students from a wide range of majors — physics, chemistry, and engineering — are given unique opportunities to conduct hands-on research experience with state-of-the-art equipment. Because they are involved in every stage of the research process — sample preparation, microscopy, analyzing data, and presenting research at conferences — they are developing skills that will give them a competitive edge when seeking careers in research, industry, or advanced academic study.

“Working on this project has been life-changing,” Berdimyrat Annamuradov, a graduate student studying Homeland Security Services and Physics and Astronomy said. “I never imagined I would be collaborating on research with direct applications in space science and technology. I could not believe my project would be a part of solar flare detection. The mentorship and skills I have gained here will have a lasting impact on my future career.”

The research is being done in collaboration with scientists at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, making WKU and Kentucky key players in the study of solar flares. These explosions in the Sun’s atmosphere can send a billion tons of material toward Earth at over a million miles an hour. If this material impacts the Earth’s environment, it can damage satellites and change their orbits, which would increase the chance of collisions and disrupt communications networks.

“Our research not only elevates WKU’s role in the field of space weather research but also raises awareness about the potential impacts of solar activity on modern technology and infrastructure.” Dr. Emslie said. “We are pleased to be supporting NASA in its goal to understand and hopefully predict hazardous space weather events.”

The team recently had the opportunity to attend two reputable international conferences — the SPIE Photonics West and the APS Global Physics Summit — where students presented their research, networked with experts in the field, and broadened their professional horizons.

This project has also significantly improved the infrastructure of the WKU Laser Research Lab, enhancing its capacity to conduct high-level research and providing better resources for both current and future students. These advancements have strengthened the lab’s role as a hub for innovation and scientific discovery within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Ultimately, the team hopes to demonstrate that the laser deposition technique can make mirrors of the desired quality that can be scaled to larger mirrors and flown on future satellite missions.