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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1980

Measurement of the specific refractivities of CF4 and C2F6

In order to relate the measured fringe shift of an interferometer to the density of a medium, the relation between density and refractive index, which is expressed by the specific refractivity, must be known. In the present paper, the specific refractivities of the wind tunnel test gases CF4 and C2F6 are determined in order to verify estimations based on the atomic refractivities of carbon and fluorine. A Twyman-Green two-beam interferometer with a 633-nm He-Ne laser light source was used to measure the specific refractivity as a function of fringe shift as the density of the gas was changed. Values of 0.122 and 0.131 cu cm/g were obtained for CF4 and C2F6 respectively at a temperature of 300 K, which are within 1% of the values computed from the atomic refractivities.

Burner, A. W.↗
DOE OSTI2014

DARPA looks beyond GPS for positioning, navigating, and timing

Cold-atom interferometry, microelectromechanical systems, signals of opportunity, and atomic clocks are some of the technologies the defense agency is pursuing to provide precise navigation when GPS is unavailable.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Accelerating the Deployment of Space-Based Quantum Sensors

Quantum sensors rely on quantum mechanical properties, such as wave-particle duality, atomic energy levels, or entanglement, to measure physical, optical, or electromagnetic information from a target. Examples include Rydberg sensors, nitrogen-vacancy magnetometers, HOM (Hong-Ou-Mandel) interferometers, and SQUIDs (Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices). In general, as quantum sensors rely on interrogation at the atomic and photonic level rather than on classical mechanical measurements, these technologies promise advantages over their traditional counterparts in sensitivity, accuracy, and SWaP (Size, Weight, and Power). Conceptually, the use of quantum sensors unlocks the new phenomenology of sensor entanglement. While an ultra-low TRL (Technology Readiness Level) prospect for most sensor types, multi-sensor entanglement is a high risk, high reward strategy with a potential for exquisite sensitivity and SWaP improvements entirely inaccessible to classical sensors.

Grace Caroline Wusk↗
DOE OSTI2025

Spin Squeezing with Itinerant Magnetic Dipoles

Entanglement can improve the measurement precision of quantum sensors beyond the shot noise limit. Neutral atoms, the basis of some of the most precise and accurate optical clocks and interferometers, do not naturally exhibit the all-to-all interactions traditionally used to generate such entangled states. On the other hand, these systems exhibit exceedingly high degrees of experimental control over parameters such as temperature, spatial entropy, and itinerancy. In this work, we investigate spin squeezing in a highly coherent itinerant system of neutral atoms with magnetic dipole-dipole interactions. We achieve 7.1 dB of metrologically useful squeezing using finite-range spin-exchange interactions in an erbium quantum gas microscope, and we demonstrate that introducing atomic motion, realizing a dipolar 𝑡−𝐽 model, protects the spin sector coherence at low fillings, significantly improving the achievable spin squeezing in a 2D dipolar system. This work’s protocol can be implemented with most neutral atoms, opening the door to quantum-enhanced metrology in other itinerant dipolar systems, such as molecules or optical lattice clocks, and serves as a novel method for studying itinerant quantum magnetism with long-range interactions.

Atomic, optical & lattice clocks↗
DOE OSTI2017

Quantitative Defect Analysis of Ablator Capsule Surfaces Using a Leica Confocal Microscope and a High-Density Atomic Force Microscope

High-density carbon (HDC) is being evaluated as an alternative to the current National Ignition Facility (NIF) point-design ablator material (glow discharge plasma, or GDP, plastic) due to its high density and optimal opacity, which leads to a higher implosion velocity. Chemical-vapor-deposition-coated HDC capsules have a near perfect surface figure but a microscopically rough surface. After polishing, the surface becomes smooth at nanometer scales but has numerous micron-sized surface pits, whose volumes, morphology, and distribution must be quantified to guide NIF target selection. Traditional metrology tools for GDP surface defects, such as the atomic force microscope (AFM) based Spheremapper and a phase-shifting differential interferometer, lack the resolution to characterize these localized features. In this paper, we describe how this metrology challenge is met by developing automated surface metrology solutions based on a high-density (HD) AFM and a Leica confocal microscope. Furthermore, these tools are complementary in nature. HD-AFM has a 0.1-μm spatial resolution and determines the overall shape distortion and pit statistics by tracing great circles on a capsule with high throughput.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Control of atomic Bose – Einstein condensate with interferometric feedback probing

We consider the problem of decoherence in a Bose – Einstein condensate (BEC) of noninteracting atoms during interferometric probing with a classical monochromatic external field. The condensate is located in one of the arms of the Mach – Zehnder interferometer, while part of the radiation from the interferometer output is fed back to the input, thereby closing the coherent feedback loop. A more general setting of the problem is also considered, in which the condensate is located in a system of interferometers ‘nested’ into each other, while part of the output radiation of each of them is also fed back to its input, closing the so-called multiloop feedback. The possibility of effective control of decoherence rates of various matrix elements is shown. The application of feedback of the proposed type to BEC in a double-well potential is investigated. It is found that this feedback allows efficient control of the distribution of atoms between the wells. (paper)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Set-up of a high-resolution 300 mK atomic force microscope in an ultra-high vacuum compatible {sup 3}He/10 T cryostat

The design of an atomic force microscope with an all-fiber interferometric detection scheme capable of atomic resolution at about 500 mK is presented. The microscope body is connected to a small pumped {sup 3}He reservoir with a base temperature of about 300 mK. The bakeable insert with the cooling stage can be moved from its measurement position inside the bore of a superconducting 10 T magnet into an ultra-high vacuum chamber, where the tip and sample can be exchanged in situ. Moreover, single atoms or molecules can be evaporated onto a cold substrate located inside the microscope. Two side chambers are equipped with standard surface preparation and surface analysis tools. The performance of the microscope at low temperatures is demonstrated by resolving single Co atoms on Mn/W(110) and by showing atomic resolution on NaCl(001).

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

Simultaneous translational temperature measurements of different atomic species in plasma flows using scanning Fabry-Perot interferometry

A revised scientific instrument to measure simultaneously kinetic temperatures of different atoms from their optical emission profile is reported. Emission lines are simultaneously detected using one single scanning Fabry-Perot-interferometer (FPI) for a combined spectroscopic setup to acquire different emission lines simultaneously. The setup consists in a commercial Czerny-Turner spectrometer configuration which is combined with a scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer. The fast image acquisition mode of an intensified charge coupled device camera allows the detection of a wavelength interval of interest continuously while acquiring the highly resolved line during the scan of the FPI ramp. Results using this new setup are presented for the simultaneous detection of atomic nitrogen and oxygen in a high enthalpy air plasma flow as used for atmospheric re-entry research and their respective kinetic temperatures derived from the measured line profiles. The paper presents the experimental setup, the calibration procedure, and an exemplary result. The determined temperatures are different, a finding that has been published so far as due to a drawback of the experimental setup of sequential measurements, and which has now to be investigated in more detail.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Spatially extended and high-velocity dispersion molecular component in spiral galaxies: Single-dish versus interferometric observations

Recent studies of the molecular medium in nearby galaxies have provided mounting evidence that the molecular gas can exist in two phases: one that is clumpy and organized as molecular clouds and another one that is more diffuse. This last component has a higher velocity dispersion than the clumpy one. In order to investigate these two molecular components further, we compare the fluxes and line widths of CO in NGC 4736 and NGC 5055, two nearby spiral galaxies for which high-quality interferometric as well as single-dish data sets are available. Our analysis leads to two main results: (1) employing three different methods, we determine the flux recovery of the interferometer as compared to the single-dish to be within a range of 35%–74% for NGC 4736 and 81%–92% for NGC 5055, and (2) when focusing on high (S/N ≥ 5) lines of sight (LOSs), the single-dish line widths are larger by ∼(40 ± 20)% than the ones derived from interferometric data, which is in agreement with stacking all LOSs. These results point to a molecular gas component that is distributed over spatial scales larger than 30″(∼1 kpc), and is therefore filtered out by the interferometer. The available observations do not allow us to distinguish between a truly diffuse gas morphology and a uniform distribution of small clouds that are separated by less than the synthesized beam size (∼3″ or ∼100 pc), as they would both be invisible for the interferometer. This high velocity dispersion component has a dispersion similar to what is found in the atomic medium, as traced through observations of the H i line.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1992

LDEF results for polymer matrix composite experiment AO 180

This report represents a summary of the results obtained to-date on a polymer matrix composite experiment (AO 180) located at station D-12, about 82 deg off the 'ram' direction. Different material systems comprised of graphite, boron, and aramid (Kevlar) fiber reinforcements were studied. Although previous results were presented on in-situ thermal-vacuum cycling effects, particularly dimensional changes associated with outgassing, additional comparative data will be shown from ground-based tests on control and flight samples. The system employed was fully automated for thermal-vacuum cycling using a laser interferometer for monitoring displacements. Erosion of all three classes of materials due to atomic oxygen (AO) will also be discussed, including angle of incidence effects. Data from this experiment will be compared to published results for similar materials in other LDEF experiments. Composite materials' erosion yields will be presented on an AO design nomogram useful for estimating total material loss for given exposure conditions in low Earth orbit (LEO). Optical properties of these materials will also be compared with control samples. A survey of the damage caused by micrometeoroids/debris impacts will be addressed as they relate to polymer matrix composites. Correlations between hole size and damage pattern will be given. Reference to a new nomogram for estimating the number distribution of micrometeoroid/debris impacts for a given space structure as a function of time in LEO will be addressed based on LDEF data.

Tennyson, R. C.↗
DOE OSTI2011

Limits on amplification by Aharonov-Albert-Vaidman weak measurement

We analyze the amplification by the Aharonov-Albert-Vaidman weak quantum measurement on a Sagnac interferometer [Dixon et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 173601 (2009)] up to all orders of the coupling strength between the measured system and the measuring device. The amplifier transforms a small tilt of a mirror into a large transverse displacement of the laser beam. The conventional analysis has shown that the measured value is proportional to the weak value, so that the amplification can be made arbitrarily large in the cost of decreasing output laser intensity. It is shown that the measured displacement and the amplification factor are in fact not proportional to the weak value and rather vanish in the limit of infinitesimal output intensity. We derive the optimal overlap of the pre- and postselected states with which the amplification become maximum. We also show that the nonlinear effects begin to arise in the performed experiments so that any improvements in the experiment, typically with an amplification greater than 100, should require the nonlinear theory in translating the observed value to the original displacement.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2015

Frequency control of tunable lasers using a frequency-calibrated λ-meter in an experiment on preparation of Rydberg atoms in a magneto-optical trap

A new technique is proposed and applied to study the frequency drift of an external-cavity semiconductor laser, locked to the transmission resonances of a thermally stabilised Fabry–Perot interferometer. The interferometer frequency drift is measured to be less than 2 MHz h{sup -1}. The laser frequency is measured using an Angstrom wavemeter, calibrated using an additional stabilised laser. It is shown that this system of laser frequency control can be used to identify Rydberg transitions in ultracold {sup 7}Li atoms. (control of laser radiation parameters)

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1977

Measurement of the Specific Refractivities of CF4 and C2F6

In order to relate the measured fringe shift of an interferometer to density, the relation between density rho and refractive index n must be known. For gases where the refractive index is close to unity, this relation between density and refractive index is very closely approximated by (n - 1) = K rho where K is the specific refractivity, or the Gladstone-Dale constant. The specific refractivity, which is weakly dependent on wavelength and temperature, is readily available for a number of common test gases such as N2 and air. For more unique test gases such as CF4 and C2F6 for which refractive index data at optical wavelengths is not readily available, the constants can be estimated from the atomic refractivities of carbon and fluorine. In order to verify this estimation, a two-beam interferometer was used to experimentally determine the specific refractivities of CF4 and C2F6. This data was required for holographic interferometric measurements made at the Langley Hypersonic CF4 Tunnel. A Twyman-Green interferometer with a He-Ne laser light source of vacuum wavelength lambda equal to 633 nm was used to measure the constants. One beam of the two-beam interferometer passed through an optical cell of known inside length l which could be evacuated and slowly filled with the test gas to a density of 7.2 kg/cu m for CF4 or 5.7 kg/cu m for C2F6. If the refractive index (and hence density) is constant along the optical path through the cell, the fringe shift M and density change Delta rho are related M = 2Kl Delta rho/lambda for the double pass interferometer. Thus K can be determined by measuring the fringe shift as the density is changed. The output of a photodiode used to detect the fringe shift was recorded on a strip chart recorder. The rate of pressure increase of the test gas in the cell was controlled such that the fringes shifted at a rate of 0.5 to 1 fringe per sec. The pressure in the test cell was measured with a high accuracy quartz crystal pressure transducer and recorded approximately every 20 fringe peaks. The temperature of the cell was measured with a thermocouple and recorded at the start, midpoint, and end of each test.

Burner, A. W.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Integrated optics for coupled-cavity QED

We present an array of Fabry-Pérot free space microcavities, intended to contain atoms or other quantum emitters, coupled to each other by waveguides resonators on a chip. The concept is highly scalable and offers a unique degree of control, making it a promising platform for quantum simulations. We demonstrate experimentally the basic units of the device.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

Steady-state entanglement and normal-mode splitting in an atom-assisted optomechanical system with intensity-dependent coupling

In this paper, we study theoretically bipartite and tripartite continuous variable entanglement as well as normal-mode splitting in a single-atom cavity optomechanical system with intensity-dependent coupling. The system under consideration is formed by a Fabry-Perot cavity with a thin vibrating end mirror and a two-level atom in the Gaussian standing wave of the cavity mode. We first derive the general form of the Hamiltonian describing the tripartite intensity-dependent atom-field-mirror coupling due to the presence of the cavity mode structure. We then restrict our treatment to the first vibrational sideband of the mechanical resonator and derive a tripartite atom-field-mirror Hamiltonian. We show that when the optical cavity is intensely driven, one can generate bipartite entanglement between any pair in the tripartite system and that, due to entanglement sharing, atom-mirror entanglement is efficiently generated at the expense of optical-mechanical and optical-atom entanglement. We also find that in such a system, when the Lamb-Dicke parameter is large enough, one can simultaneously observe the normal mode splitting into three modes.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1977

Investigation of possible lower hybrid emission from the NASA Lewis Bumpy Torus plasma

Radio frequency emission detected near the lower hybrid frequency of the NASA Lewis Bumpy Torus plasma is studied, using a simple detection system that consists of a spectrum analyzer and a 50-ohm miniature co-axial antenna concentrically located in a re-entrant quartz tube. The frequency shift of a broad emission peak is monitored as a function of the background pressure, electrode voltage, and the strength of the dc magnetic field. Simultaneous measurements of the average plasma density are made with a polarization diplexing microwave interferometer. Information from the experiment is discussed with particular reference to the role of atomic or molecular species of deuterium in the emissions, the strength of the dc magnetic field in the emitting region, the geometric location of the emitting region of the plasma, the lower hybrid plasma density as compared with the average plasma density, and the relation of the ion spoke geometry to the lower hybrid emission.

Mallavarpu, R.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Atomic Interferometry with Detuned Counter-Propagating Electromagnetic Pulses

Atomic fountain interferometry uses atoms cooled with optical molasses to 1 μK, which are then launched in a fountain mode. The interferometer relies on the nonlinear Raman interaction of counter-propagating visible light pulses. We present models of these key transitions through a series of Hamiltonians. Our models, which have been verified against special cases with known solutions, allow us to incorporate the effects of non-ideal pulse shapes and realistic laser frequency or wavevector jitter.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Temperature and non-linear response of cantilever-type mechanical oscillators used in atomic force microscopes with interferometric detection

The sensitivity of atomic force microscopes is fundamentally limited by the cantilever temperature, which can be, in principle, determined by measuring its thermal spectrum and applying the equipartition theorem. However, the mechanical response can be affected by the light field inside the cavity of a Fabry-Perot interferometer due to light absorption, radiation pressure, photothermal forces, and laser noise. By evaluating the optomechanical Hamiltonian, we are able to explain the peculiar distance dependence of the mechanical quality factor as well as the appearance of thermal spectra with symmetrical Lorentzian as well as asymmetrical Fano line shapes. Our results can be applied to any type of mechanical oscillator in an interferometer-based detection system.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗