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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 199 records · Page 11

Radiation Hard CMOS Sensors for Detector at High Energy Colliders

In this project we developed a radiation hard CMOS sensor architecture for High Energy Colliders. The key accomplishments were: 1. Developed a sensor architecture to support very high occupancy rate and hit rates 2. Developed, simulated (TCAD), and fabricated 20 different types of pixelated test structures for the quadruple well high resistivity substrate process. Measured performance of these pixel test structures; Dark currents were found to be close to physical limits; and Quantum efficiency were found to be close to ideal as well 3. Defined the scope for the PDK for the quadruple well process on high resistivity silicon Highlights of the new architecture are: Readout of pixel arrays with reconstruction efficiency >99% at hit rates of 500 MHits/cm 2 and array occupancy of 0.2%; Minimization of in-pixel signal storage requirement (data will be read out at frame rates of 1MHz); Low power dissipation through integration of fragmented projection architecture (Minimum analog power dissipation); Pixel array level data reduction (Hit location is encoded through shape of sub-block projections); Programmable resolution and frame rate (Pixels can be binned to increase frame rate); Minimum data overhead, encoded projection results for all sub-blocks are read out without location information

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Effective-medium model of wire metamaterials in the problems of radiative heat transfer

In the present work, we check the applicability of the effective medium model (EMM) to the problems of radiative heat transfer (RHT) through so-called wire metamaterials (WMMs)—composites comprising parallel arrays of metal nanowires. It is explained why this problem is so important for the development of prospective thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems. Previous studies of the applicability of EMM for WMMs were targeted by the imaging applications of WMMs. The analogous study referring to the transfer of radiative heat is a separate problem that deserves extended investigations. We show that WMMs with practically realizable design parameters transmit the radiative heat as effectively homogeneous media. Existing EMM is an adequate tool for qualitative prediction of the magnitude of transferred radiative heat and of its effective frequency band.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Zero and Finite Temperature Quantum Simulations Powered by Quantum Magic

We introduce a quantum information theory-inspired method to improve the characterization of many-body Hamiltonians on near-term quantum devices. We design a new class of similarity transformations that, when applied as a preprocessing step, can substantially simplify a Hamiltonian for subsequent analysis on quantum hardware. By design, these transformations can be identified and applied efficiently using purely classical resources. In practice, these transformations allow us to shorten requisite physical circuit-depths, overcoming constraints imposed by imperfect near-term hardware. Importantly, the quality of our transformations is t u n a b l e : we define a 'ladder' of transformations that yields increasingly simple Hamiltonians at the cost of more classical computation. Using quantum chemistry as a benchmark application, we demonstrate that our protocol leads to significant performance improvements for zero and finite temperature free energy calculations on both digital and analog quantum hardware. Specifically, our energy estimates not only outperform traditional Hartree-Fock solutions, but this performance gap also consistently widens as we tune up the quality of our transformations. In short, our quantum information-based approach opens promising new pathways to realizing useful and feasible quantum chemistry algorithms on near-term hardware.

Physics↗

Progress in quantitative GPR development at CNDE

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) uses electromagnetic (EM) radiation pulses to locate and map embedded objects. Commercial GPR instruments are generally geared toward producing images showing the location and extent of buried objects, and often do not make full use of available absolute amplitude information. At the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation (CNDE) at Iowa State University efforts are underway to develop a more quantitative approach to GPR inspections in which absolute amplitudes and spectra of measured signals play a key role. Guided by analogous work in ultrasonic inspection, there are three main thrusts to the effort. These focus, respectively, on the development of tools for: (1) analyzing raw GPR data; (2) measuring the EM properties of soils and other embedding media; and (3) simulating GPR inspections. This paper reviews progress in each category. The ultimate goal of the work is to develop model-based simulation tools that can be used assess the usefulness of GPR for a given inspection scenario, to optimize inspection choices, and to determine inspection reliability.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A Survey on the Expanding Scope and Interdisciplinary Opportunities for Processing-in-Memory Techniques

Processing-in-Memory (PIM) is emerging as a practical path to overcome the limitations of traditional von Neumann architectures. At its core, PIM systems implement computing primitives such as logic operations and multiply-accumulate acceleration through compute-in-memory, near-memory processing, or hybrid designs. The role of memory cells varies widely across technologies, acting as inputs, outputs, or analog accumulators through bit-lines and sense amplifiers. This diversity creates trade-offs in precision, bandwidth, latency, and programmability, making it difficult to build a unified understanding on the progress of the field. In this survey, we organize recent advances of PIM into three areas. First, we discuss the progress on the architectural optimizations of PIM and its integration with both DRAM and emerging non-volatile memories. Second, we examine how PIM is being used to accelerate key computing domains, including generative AI workloads and high-performance kernels, along with new approaches. Third, we highlight the growing adoption of PIM in computational sciences, where it is being applied to solve interdisciplinary problems such as genome analysis, mRNA quantification, mass spectrometry, quantum circuit simulation, wave modeling, and secure computation. Finally, we synthesize the major challenges that continue to slow PIM adoption, including manufacturing constraints, power delivery, thermal reliability, data consistency, runtime and memory-management coordination, and the difficulty of building portable software abstractions without sacrificing commercial viability. This work provides an updated, structured perspective on PIM’s potential across computing and computational sciences and the barriers that must be solved for it to reach its full impact.

Asifuzzaman, Kazi [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (↗

3D RISM theory with fast reciprocal-space electrostatics

The calculation of electrostatic solute-solvent interactions in 3D RISM (“three-dimensional reference interaction site model”) integral equation theory is recast in a form that allows for a computational treatment analogous to the “particle-mesh Ewald” formalism as used for molecular simulations. In addition, relations that connect 3D RISM correlation functions and interaction potentials with thermodynamic quantities such as the chemical potential and average solute-solvent interaction energy are reformulated in a way that calculations of expensive real-space electrostatic terms on the 3D grid are completely avoided. These methodical enhancements allow for both, a significant speedup particularly for large solute systems and a smoother convergence of predicted thermodynamic quantities with respect to box size, as illustrated for several benchmark systems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Logic operations with active topological defects

Logic operations performed by semiconductor-based transistors are the basis of modern computing. There is considerable interest in creating autonomous materials systems endowed with the capability to make decisions. In this work, we introduce the concept of using topological defects in active matter to perform logic operations. When an extensile active stress in a nematic liquid crystal is turned on, +1/2 defects can self-propel, in analogy to electron transport under a voltage gradient. By relying on hydrodynamic simulations of active nematics, we demonstrate that patterns of activity, when combined with surfaces imparting certain orientations, can be used to control the formation and transport of +1/2 defects. We further show that asymmetric high- and low-activity patterns can be used to create effective defect gates, tunnels, and amplifiers. The proposed active systems offer the potential to perform computations and transmit information in active soft materials, including actin-, tubulin-, and cell-based systems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Interacting dark resonances with plasmonic meta-molecules

Dark state physics has led to a variety of remarkable phenomena in atomic physics, quantum optics, and information theory. Here, we investigate interacting dark resonance type physics in multi-layered plasmonic meta-molecules. We theoretically demonstrate that these plasmonic meta-molecules exhibit sub-natural spectral response, analogous to conventional atomic four-level configuration, by manipulating the evanescent coupling between the bright and dark elements (plasmonic atoms). Using cascaded coupling, we show nearly 4-fold reduction in linewidth of the hybridized resonance compared to a resonantly excited single bright plasmonic atom with same absorbance. In addition, we engineered the geometry of the meta-molecules to realize efficient intramolecular excitation transfer with nearly 80%, on resonant excitation, of the total absorption being localized at the second dark plasmonic atom. An analytical description of the spectral response of the structure is presented with full electrodynamics simulations to corroborate our results. Such multilayered meta-molecules can bring a new dimension to higher quality factor plasmonic resonance, efficient excitation transfer, wavelength demultiplexing, and enhanced non-linearity at nanoscale.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

A general CFD framework for fault-resilient simulations based on multi-resolution information fusion

We develop a general CFD framework for multi-resolution simulations to target multiscale problems but also resilience in exascale simulations, where faulty processors may lead to gappy, in space-time, simulated fields. We combine approximation theory and domain decomposition together with statistical learning techniques, e.g. coKriging, to estimate boundary conditions and minimize communications by performing independent parallel runs. To demonstrate this new simulation approach, we consider two benchmark problems. First, we solve the heat equation (a) on a small number of spatial “patches” distributed across the domain, simulated by finite differences at fine resolution and (b) on the entire domain simulated at very low resolution, thus fusing multi-resolution models to obtain the final answer. Second, we simulate the flow in a lid-driven cavity in an analogous fashion, by fusing finite difference solutions obtained with fine and low resolution assuming gappy data sets. We investigate the influence of various parameters for this framework, including the correlation kernel, the size of a buffer employed in estimating boundary conditions, the coarseness of the resolution of auxiliary data, and the communication frequency across different patches in fusing the information at different resolution levels. In addition to its robustness and resilience, the new framework can be employed to generalize previous multiscale approaches involving heterogeneous discretizations or even fundamentally different flow descriptions, e.g. in continuum-atomistic simulations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A hybrid coupler for directing quantum light emission with high radiative Purcell enhancement to a dielectric metasurface lens

Quantum photonic technologies such as quantum sensing, metrology, and simulation could be transformatively enabled by the availability of integrated single photon sources with high radiative rates and photon collection efficiencies. We address these challenges for quantum emitters formed from color center defect sites such as those in hexagonal boron nitride, which are promising candidates as single photon sources due to their bright, stable, polarized, and room temperature emission. We report design of a nanophotonic coupler from color center quantum emitters to a dielectric metasurface lens. The coupler is comprised of a hybrid plasmonic–dielectric resonator that achieves a large radiative Purcell enhancement and partial control of far-field radiation. We report radiative Purcell factors up to 285 and photon collection efficiencies up to 89% for a lossless metasurface, applying a continuous hyperboloidal phase-front. Our hybrid plasmonic–dielectric coupler interfacing two nanophotonic elements is a compound optical element, analogous to those found in microscope objective lenses, which combine multiple optical functions into a single component for improved performance.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Phase shift multiplication effect of all-optical analog to electromagnetically induced transparency in two micro-cavities side coupled to a waveguide system

We propose phase shift multiplication effect of all-optical analog to electromagnetically induced transparency in two photonic crystal micro-cavities side coupled to a waveguide system through external optical pump beams. With dynamically tuning the propagation phase of the line waveguide, the phase shift of the transmission spectrum in two micro-cavities side coupled to a waveguide system is doubled along with the phase shift of the line waveguide. π-phase shift and 2π-phase shift of the transmission spectrum are obtained when the propagation phase of the line waveguide is tuned to 0.5π-phase shift and π-phase shift, respectively. All observed schemes are analyzed rigorously through finite-difference time-domain simulations and the coupled-mode formalism. These results show a new direction to the miniaturization and the low power consumption of microstructure integration photonic devices in optical communication and quantum information processing.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Thermal transport in dimerized harmonic lattices: Exact solution, crossover behavior, and extended reservoirs

In this paper, we present a method for calculating analytically the thermal conductance of a classical harmonic lattice with both alternating masses and nearest-neighbor couplings when placed between individual Langevin reservoirs at different temperatures. The method utilizes recent advances in analytic diagonalization techniques for certain classes of tridiagonal matrices. It recovers the results from a previous method that was applicable for alternating on-site parameters only, and extends the applicability to realistic systems in which masses and couplings alternate simultaneously. With this analytic result in hand, we show that the thermal conductance is highly sensitive to the modulation of the couplings. This is due to the existence of topologically induced edge modes at the lattice-reservoir interface and is also a reflection of the symmetries of the lattice. We make a connection to a recent work that demonstrates thermal transport is analogous to chemical reaction rates in solution given by Kramers' theory [Velizhanin et al., Sci. Rep. 5, 17506 (2015)]. In particular, we show that the turnover behavior in the presence of edge modes prevents calculations based on single-site reservoirs from coming close to the natural—or intrinsic—conductance of the lattice. Obtaining the correct value of the intrinsic conductance through simulation of even a small lattice where ballistic effects are important requires quite large extended reservoir regions. Finally, our results thus offer a route for both the design and proper simulation of thermal conductance of nanoscale devices.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Dynamic earthquake rupture simulations on nonplanar faults embedded in 3D geometrically complex, heterogeneous elastic solids

Dynamic propagation of shear ruptures on a frictional interface in an elastic solid is a useful idealization of natural earthquakes. The conditions relating discontinuities in particle velocities across fault zones and tractions acting on the fault are often expressed as nonlinear friction laws. The corresponding initial boundary value problems are both numerically and computationally challenging. In addition, seismic waves generated by earthquake ruptures must be propagated for many wavelengths away from the fault. Therefore, reliable and efficient numerical simulations require both provably stable and high order accurate numerical methods. We present a high order accurate finite difference method for: a) enforcing nonlinear friction laws, in a consistent and provably stable manner, suitable for efficient explicit time integration; b) dynamic propagation of earthquake ruptures along nonplanar faults; and c) accurate propagation of seismic waves in heterogeneous media with free surface topography. We solve the first order form of the 3D elastic wave equation on a boundary-conforming curvilinear mesh, in terms of particle velocities and stresses that are collocated in space and time, using summation-by-parts (SBP) finite difference operators in space. Boundary and interface conditions are imposed weakly using penalties. By deriving semi-discrete energy estimates analogous to the continuous energy estimates we prove numerical stability. The finite difference stencils used in this paper are sixth order accurate in the interior and third order accurate close to the boundaries. However, the method is applicable to any spatial operator with a diagonal norm satisfying the SBP property. Time stepping is performed with a 4th order accurate explicit low storage Runge–Kutta scheme, thus yielding a globally fourth order accurate method in both space and time. We show numerical simulations on band limited self-similar fractal faults revealing the complexity of rupture dynamics on rough faults.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

A practical discrete-adjoint method for high-fidelity compressible turbulence simulations

Methods and computing hardware advances have enabled accurate predictions of complex compressible turbulence phenomena, such as the generation of jet noise that motivates the present effort. However, limited understanding of underlying physical mechanisms restricts the utility of such predictions since they do not, by themselves, indicate a route to design improvements. Gradient-based optimization using adjoints can circumvent the flow complexity to guide designs, though this is predicated on the availability of a sufficiently accurate solution of the forward and adjoint systems. These are challenging to obtain, since both the chaotic character of the turbulence and the typical use of discretizations near their resolution limits in order to efficiently represent its smaller scales will amplify any approximation errors made in the adjoint formulation. Formulating a practical exact adjoint that avoids such errors is especially challenging if it is to be compatible with state-of-the-art simulation methods used for the turbulent flow itself. Automatic differentiation (AD) can provide code to calculate a nominally exact adjoint, but existing general-purpose AD codes are inefficient to the point of being prohibitive for large-scale turbulence simulations. Here, we analyze the compressible flow equations as discretized using the same high-order workhorse methods used for many high-fidelity compressible turbulence simulations, and formulate a practical space–time discrete-adjoint method without changing the basic discretization. A key step is the definition of a particular discrete analog of the continuous norm that defines our cost functional; our selection leads directly to an efficient Runge–Kutta-like scheme, though it would be just first-order accurate if used outside the adjoint formulation for time integration, with finite-difference spatial operators for the adjoint system. Its computational cost only modestly exceeds that of the flow equations. We confirm that its accuracy is limited by computing precision, and we demonstrate it on the aeroacoustic control of a mixing layer with a challengingly broad range of turbulence scales. For comparison, the error from a corresponding discretization of the continuous-adjoint equations is quantified to potentially explain its limited success in past efforts to control jet noise. The differences are illuminating: the continuous-adjoint is shown to suffer from exponential error growth in (reverse) time even for the best-resolved largest turbulence scales. Implications for jet noise reduction and turbulence control in general are discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Nonequilibrium molecular dynamics study of ring polymer melts under shear and elongation flows: A comparison with their linear analogs

We present detailed results for the structural and rheological properties of unknotted and unconcatenated ring polyethylene (PE) melts under shear and elongation flows via direct atomistic nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. Short (C{sub 78}H{sub 156}) and long (C{sub 400}H{sub 800}) ring PE melts were subjected to planar Couette flow (PCF) and planar elongational flow (PEF) across a wide range of strain rates from linear to highly nonlinear flow regimes. The results are analyzed in detail through a direct comparison with those of the corresponding linear polymers. We found that, in comparison to their linear analogs, ring melts possess rather compact chain structures at or near the equilibrium state and exhibit a considerably lesser degree of structural deformation with respect to the applied flow strength under both PCF and PEF. The large structural resistance of ring polymers against an external flow field is attributed to the intrinsic closed-loop configuration of the ring and the topological constraint of nonconcatenation between ring chains in the melt. As a result, there appears to be a substantial discrepancy between ring and linear systems in terms of their structural and rheological properties such as chain orientation, the distribution of chain dimensions, viscosity, flow birefringence, hydrostatic pressure, the pair correlation function, and potential interaction energies. The findings and conclusions drawn in this work would be a useful guide in future exploration of the characteristic dynamical and relaxation mechanisms of ring polymers in bulk or confined systems under flowing conditions.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Tailoring coherent charge transport in graphene by deterministic defect generation

Harnessing the wave-nature of charge carriers in solid state devices, electron optics investigates and exploits coherent phenomena, in analogy with optics and photonics. Typically, this requires complex electronic devices leveraging macroscopically coherent charge transport in two-dimensional electron gases and superconductors. Here, collective coherent effects are induced in a simple counterintuitive architecture by defect engineering. Deterministically introduced lattice defects in graphene enable the phase coherent charge transport by playing the role of potential barriers, instead of scattering centres as conventionally considered. Thus, graphene preserves its quasi-ballistic quantum transport and can support phase-matched charge carrier waves. Based on this approach, multiple electronic Fabry-Pèrot cavities are formed by creating periodically alternating defective and pristine nano-stripes through low energy electron-beam irradiation. Indeed, defective stripes behave as partially reflecting mirrors and resonantly confine the charge carrier waves within the pristine areas, giving rise to Fabry-Pèrot resonant modes. These modes experimentally manifest as sheet resistance oscillations, as also confirmed by Landauer-Büttiker simulations. Moreover, these coherent phenomena survive up to 30 K for both polarities of charge carriers, contrarily to traditional monopolar electrostatically created Fabry-Pèrot interferometers. Our study positions defective graphene as an innovative platform for coherent electronic devices, with potential applications in nano and quantum technologies.

Melchioni, Nicola↗

Inner Phases of Colloidal Hexagonal Spin Ice

Using numerical simulations that mimic recent experiments on hexagonal colloidal ice, here we show that colloidal hexagonal artificial spin ice exhibits an inner phase within its ice state that has not been observed previously. Under increasing colloid-colloid repulsion, the initially paramagnetic system crosses into a disordered ice regime, then forms a topologically charge ordered state with disordered colloids, and finally reaches a threefold degenerate, ordered ferromagnetic state. This is reminiscent of, yet distinct from, the inner phases of the magnetic kagome spin ice analog. Finally, the difference in the inner phases of the two systems is explained by their difference in energetics and frustration.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Quantum criticality using a superconducting quantum processor

Quantum criticality emerges from the collective behavior of many interacting quantum particles, often at the transition between different phases of matter. It is one of the cornerstones of condensed matter physics, which we access on noisy intermediate-scale (NISQ) quantum devices by leveraging a dynamically driven phenomenon. Here we probe the critical properties of the one-dimensional quantum Ising model on a programmable superconducting quantum chip via a Kibble-Zurek process, obtain scaling laws, and estimate critical exponents despite inherent sources of errors on the hardware. In addition, we investigate how the improvement of NISQ computers (more qubits, less noise) will consolidate the computation of those universal physical properties. A one-parameter noise model captures the effect of imperfections and reproduces the experimental data. Its systematic study reveals that the noise, analogously to temperature, induces a new length scale in the system. We introduce and successfully verify modified scaling laws, directly accounting for the noise without any prior knowledge. It makes data analyses for extracting physical properties transparent to noise. By understanding how imperfect quantum hardware modifies the genuine properties of quantum states of matter, we enhance the power of NISQ processors considerably for addressing quantum criticality and potentially other phenomena and algorithms.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗