College of Science

Paul F. Muzikar

Professor of Physics
contact me
Office: Physics 272
Telephone: (765) 494-3046
Fax: (765) 494-0706

B.S., Physics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1974
Ph.D., Physics, Cornell University, 1980

Research Interests

Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, geochronology

Research Activities

Research activity has covered work in superconductivity, and work with the PRIME Lab. At present, all my efforts are directed towards the PRIME Lab, and work on superconductivity has ceased. Recent work includes:

A key application of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is in surface exposure dating fro geology. One can date how long a particular geological feature has been exposed to cosmic rays by using AMS to count the number of cosmogenic nuclei produced in nuclear reactions. In many cases, however, the sample to be dated is shielded by rocks or soil. A. Dunne D. Elmore, and I discuss the theory of such shielding effects in our paper.

One very important dating technique which has emerged is the Thermoluminescence (TL) method.

This method is finding wide areas of application in both archaeology and in geology. Our goal is to develop a project in which we compare the results of TL dating and the results of AMS isotope dating. Such comparisons will help identify the strengths and weaknesses of each method, and help to identify contexts in which erroneous dates may be given. Besides this methodological aspect, we intend our project to be produce substantive results on samples which are archaeologically or geologically interesting.

We have started on this long term project by collaborating with Professor Steve Forman, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, who is an expert on TL dating. He has furnished us with samples he has already dating using TL. These samples come from a very interesting archaelogical site in Siberia. So far, we have dated two of Professor Forman's samples.

I have published a paper which proposes a new method for calibrating the radiocarbon time scale. When one computers a so-called conventional age, by using the amount of 14 C in a sample, it may not be equal to the true age. This discrepancy can arise, for example, because the amount of 14C in the earth's atmosphere has not been constant in time over the past fifty thousand years. So, a calibration is needed to turn conventional years into true years.

Teaching Interests

· Spring 2004 - Physics 460 - Quantum Mechanics I
· Fall 2004 -- Physics 461 - Quantum Mechanics II

Professional Experience

· Professor of Physics, Purdue University, 1995-present
· Associate Professor of Physics, Purdue University, 1989-95
· Assistant Professor of Physics, Purdue University, 1983-89
· Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Illinois, 1980-82

Professional and Scholarly Activities

· Chairman, Physics Library Committee.
· Member, Physics Qualifying Exam Committee

Selected Publications

  1. Superconducting impurity terms in the Ginzburg-Landau equations and supercurrent: a microscopic theory, M. Friesen, P. Muzikar Physical Review B v. 55 (1997) p. 509 - 514.
  2. Unconventional superconductivity, P. Muzikar Journal of Physics Condensed Matter v. 9 (1997) p. 1159 - 1179.
  3. Radiocarbon calibration by the date distribution method, P. Muzikar Radiocarbon v. 41 (1999) p. 215 - 220.
  4. Scaling factors for the rates of production of cosmogenic nuclides for geometric shielding and attenuation at depth on sloped surfaces, J. Dunne, D. Elmore, P. Muzikar Geomorphology v. 27 (1999) p. 3 -11.
  5. Dating sediment burial with in-situ produced cosmogenic nuclides: theory, techniques, and limitations, D. Granger, P. Muzikar Earth and Planetary Science Letters v. 188 (2001) p. 269 -281.
  6. Quantitative study of contamination effects in AMS 14C sample processing, K. Mueller, P. Muzikar Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B v.197 (2002) p. 128 - 133.
  7. Correcting for contamination in AMS 14C dating, K. Mueller, P. Muzikar Radiocarbon v. 44 (2002) p. 591 - 595.
  8. Accelerator mass spectrometry in geologic research, P. Muzikar, D. Elmore, D. Granger Geological Society of America Bulletin v. 115 (2003) p. 643 - 654.
  9. Cosmogenic nuclide concentrations in episodically eroding surfaces: theoretical results, P. Muzikar submitted to Geomorphology.
  10. Geomagnetic field variations and the accumulation of in-situ cosmogenic nuclides in an eroding landform, P. Muzikar submitted to Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.