David Tanner
PhD Cornell University (1972)
uftanner@ufl.edu
Office: 2372 NPB
352.392.4718
Lab: 1126 NPB
352.392.4715
Research Group: Axion search (ADMX and ALPS) / Gravitational waves (LIGO) / Condensed Matter Experiment / Institute for High Energy Physics and Astrophysics
Condensed Matter Sciences
Research Focus
Axion search: The axion is a hypothetical elementary particle which is a candidate for the “dark matter” of the universe. With Pierre Sikivie and Neil Sullivan, Dr. Tanner contributed to the design and construction of a pilot axion detector, which operated at UF for two years. Many of its features are incorporated into a full-scale experiment, the Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX), at the University of Washington The Florida group contributes to the high-resolution spectral analysis, to cavity resonators for higher frequency searches, to LC resonators for lower frequencies, and to support of the dilution refrigerator used to cool the cavity and SQUID amplifier to millikelvin temperatures.
LIGO: The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) project operates 4-km-arm Michelson interferometers at sites in Washington state and Louisiana for detecting gravitational waves from astronomical sources. Dr. Tanner is part of a group at the University of Florida which participates in the LIGO project. UF is responsible for the input optics, one of the most complex parts of the detector, being all the components between the laser source and the main interferometer. UF bult the input optics of both the original detectors and the Advanced LIGO upgrade, the detector which first detected gravitational waves. The UF group also works on advanced configurations, devices, and materials for a third-generation gravitational-wave detector.
Optical properties of solids: Optical effects in solids occur in the wavelength range from the far infrared through the near ultraviolet. Dr. Tanner’s group studies materials by optical reflectance or transmittance over this entire range. Considerable time and effort have been spent to achieve coverage over a very broad spectral range (more than a factor of 104). The emphasis is on obtaining accurate reflectance values on small, often anisotropic, crystals, with analysis via Kramers-Kronig techniques to estimate the optical conductivity and dielectric function. The materials may be studied at temperatures down to that of liquid helium. Among the topics being studied are high-temperature superconductors, conducting polymers, and low-dimensional organic systems.
Selected Publications
Optical Effects in Solids, David B. Tanner (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2019).
“Search for invisible axion dark matter with the axion dark matter experiment,” N. Du, N. Force, R. Khatiwada, E. Lentz, R. Ottens, L.J Rosenberg, G. Rybka, G. Carosi, N. Woollett, D. Bowring, A.S. Chou, A. Sonnenschein, W. Wester, C. Boutan, N.S. Oblath, R. Bradley, E.J. Daw, A.V. Dixit, J. Clarke, S.R. O’Kelley, N. Crisosto, J.R. Gleason, S. Jois, P. Sikivie, I. Stern, N.S. Sullivan, D.B. Tanner, and G.C. Hilton, Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 151301 (2018).
“GW170817: Observation of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star inspiral,” B.P. Abbott et al. (the LIGO Scientific Collaboration & the Virgo Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 161101 (2017).
“Observation of gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger,” B.P. Abbott et al. (the LIGO Scientific Collaboration & the Virgo Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 061102 (2016).
“Near-field radiative heat transfer between macroscopic planar surfaces,” Richard Ottens, V. Quetschke, Stacy Wise, Alex Alemi, G. Mueller, D.H. Reitze, D.B. Tanner, and B.F. Whiting, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 014301 (2011).
“SQUID-based microwave cavity search for dark-matter axions,” S.J. Asztalos, G. Carosi, C. Hagmann, D. Kinion, K. van Bibber, M. Hotz, L.J Rosenberg, G. Rybka, J. Hoskins, J. Hwang, P. Sikivie, D.B. Tanner, R. Bradley, and J. Clarke, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 041301 (2010).
“LIGO: The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory,” B.P. Abbott et al. (LIGO Scientific Collaboration), Rep. Prog. Phys. 72, 076901 (2009).
“Resonantly enhanced photon regeneration,” P. Sikivie, D.B. Tanner, and Karl van Bibber, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 172002 (2007).
“Transparent, conductive nanotube films,” Z. Wu, Z. Chen, X. Du, J.M. Logan, J. Sippel, M. Nikolou, K. Kamara´s, J.R. Reynolds, D.B. Tanner, A.F. Hebard, and A.G. Rinzler, Science 305, 1273 (2004).
“Results from a search for cosmic axions,” C. Hagmann, P. Sikivie, N.S. Sullivan, and D.B. Tanner, Phys. Rev. D 42, 1297 (1990).
“In a clean high-Tc superconductor you do not see the gap,” K. Kamarás, S.L. Herr, C.D. Porter, N. Tache, D.B. Tanner, S. Etemad, T. Venkatesan, E. Chase, A. Inam, X.D. Wu, M.S. Hegde, and B. Dutta, Phys. Rev. Lett. 64, 84 (1990).
“Far-infrared study of the charge density wave in tetrathiafulvalene tetracyanoquinodimethane (TTF-TCNQ),” D.B. Tanner, K.D. Cummings, and C.S. Jacobsen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 47, 597 (1981).
“Far-infrared absorption in small metallic particles,” D.B. Tanner, A.J. Sievers, and R.A. Buhrman, Phys. Rev. B 11, 1330 (1975).
“Electrical resistivity of silver films,” D.B. Tanner and D.C. Larson, Phys. Rev. 166, 652 (1968).