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At least 199 records · Page 11

Visualizing superconductivity in a doped Weyl semimetal with broken inversion symmetry

The Weyl semimetal Mo Te 2 offers a rare opportunity to study the interplay between Weyl physics and superconductivity. Recent studies have found that Se substitution can boost the superconductivity up to 1.5 K, but suppresses the T d structure phase that is essential for the emergence of the Weyl state. A microscopic understanding of the possible coexistence of enhanced superconductivity and the T d phase has not been established so far. Here, we use scanning tunneling microscopy to study an optimally doped superconductor Mo Te 1.85 Se 0.15 with bulk T c ~ 1.5 K . By means of quasiparticle interference imaging, we identify the existence of a low-temperature T d phase with broken inversion symmetry where superconductivity globally coexists. Furthermore, we find that the superconducting coherence length, extracted from both the upper critical field and the decay of density of states near a vortex, is much larger than the characteristic length scale of the existing chemical disorder. Overall, our findings of robust superconductivity arising from a Weyl semimetal normal phase in Mo Te 1.85 Se 0.15 make it a promising candidate for realizing topological superconductivity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

X-ray Studies of the CDW Ground State and Excitations in High- T C Cuprates

We report charge density wave (CDW) in high-T C cuprates has drawn a lot of attention in the field. In this article, we review some of our recent x-ray studies about the ground state and the excitation spectrum of the CDW. Using high magnetic field to suppress the superconductivity, a three-dimensionally-ordered charge stripe state emerges in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6+x at low temperatures, which arguably bears the characteristics of the CDW ground state. Regarding excitation spectrum, we utilized the state-of-the-art soft x-ray resonant inelastic scattering (RIXS) and found signatures of dispersive CDW excitations which manifest as some form of interference with the RIXS phonon excitations. This observation provides a new perspective to study the relationship between the CDW, the superconductivity and the putative quantum criticality inside the superconducting dome of the cuprate phase diagram. Within this context, relevant recent experimental studies are also briefly discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Acousto-optic filtering of lidar signals

The predominant part of the noise in lidar receivers is created by the background radiation; therefore, one of the most important elements of the receiving optics is a spectrally selecting filter placed in front of the photodetector. Interference filters are usually used to transmit a given wavelength. Specific properties of the interference filters, such as simple design, reliability, small size, and large aperture, combined with high transmission coefficient and narrow spectral band, make them the preferred spectral device in many cases. However, problems arise in applications such as the Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) technique, where fast tuning within a wide spectral region is necessary. Tunable acousto-optical filters (TAOF), used recently in astrophysical observations to suppress the background radiation, can be employed with success in lidar sounding. They are attractive due to the possibility for fast spectral scanning with a narrow transmission band. The TAOF's advantages are fully evident in DIAL lidars where one must simultaneously receive signals at two laser frequencies.

Kolarov, G.↗

A first-in-human phase 0 clinical study of RNA interference–based spherical nucleic acids in patients with recurrent glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most difficult cancers to effectively treat, in part because of the lack of precision therapies and limited therapeutic access to intracranial tumor sites due to the presence of the blood-brain and blood-tumor barriers. We have developed a precision medicine approach for GBM treatment that involves the use of brain-penetrant RNA interference–based spherical nucleic acids (SNAs), which consist of gold nanoparticle cores covalently conjugated with radially oriented and densely packed small interfering RNA (siRNA) oligonucleotides. On the basis of previous preclinical evaluation, we conducted toxicology and toxicokinetic studies in nonhuman primates and a single-arm, open-label phase 0 first-in-human trial ( NCT03020017 ) to determine safety, pharmacokinetics, intratumoral accumulation and gene-suppressive activity of systemically administered SNAs carrying siRNA specific for the GBM oncogene Bcl2Like12 (Bcl2L12). Patients with recurrent GBM were treated with intravenous administration of siBcl2L12-SNAs (drug moniker: NU-0129), at a dose corresponding to 1/50th of the no-observed-adverse-event level, followed by tumor resection. Safety assessment revealed no grade 4 or 5 treatment–related toxicities. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, x-ray fluorescence microscopy, and silver staining of resected GBM tissue demonstrated that intravenously administered SNAs reached patient tumors, with gold enrichment observed in the tumor-associated endothelium, macrophages, and tumor cells. NU-0129 uptake into glioma cells correlated with a reduction in tumor-associated Bcl2L12 protein expression, as indicated by comparison of matched primary tumor and NU-0129–treated recurrent tumor. Our results establish SNA nanoconjugates as a potential brain-penetrant precision medicine approach for the systemic treatment of GBM.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

SMI adaptive antenna arrays for weak interfering signals

The performance of adaptive antenna arrays is studied when a sample matrix inversion (SMI) algorithm is used to control array weights. It is shown that conventional SMI adaptive antennas, like other adaptive antennas, are unable to suppress weak interfering signals (below thermal noise) encountered in broadcasting satellite communication systems. To overcome this problem, the SMI algorithm is modified. In the modified algorithm, the covariance matrix is modified such that the effect of thermal noise on the weights of the adaptive array is reduced. Thus, the weights are dictated by relatively weak coherent signals. It is shown that the modified algorithm provides the desired interference protection. The use of defocused feeds as auxiliary elements of an SMI adaptive array is also discussed.

Gupta, I. J.↗

Interference with gravitational instability: Hot and fuzzy dark matter

Wave or fuzzy dark matter produced with high momenta behaves in many ways like hot particle dark matter while also possessing seemingly different phenomenology due to wave interference. We develop wave perturbation theory to show that white noise density fluctuations generated by the interference of high-momenta waves are gravitationally unstable in the usual way during matter domination above the free-streaming scale and stabilize below the free-streaming scale, much like the analogous effects for massive neutrinos in hot dark matter. We verify and illustrate these effects in the density power spectra of Newtonian Schrödinger-Poisson simulations. In the cosmological context, this would cause a gradual suppression of the initial white noise isocurvature perturbations below the free-streaming scale at matter radiation equality, unlike cold dark matter isocurvature fluctuations, and virial stability of dark matter halos.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Evolution of charge correlations in the hole-doped kagome superconductor CsV 3−𝑥⁢ Ti 𝑥 ⁢Sb 5

The interplay between superconductivity and charge correlations in the kagome metal CsV 3⁢ Sb 5 can be tuned by external perturbations such as doping or pressure. Here we present a study of charge correlations and superconductivity upon hole doping via Ti substitution on the V kagome sites in CsV 3−𝑥 ⁢Ti 𝑥 ⁢Sb 5 via synchrotron x-ray diffraction and scanning superconducting quantum interference device measurements. While the superconducting phase, as viewed via the vortex structure, remains conventional and unchanged across the phase diagram, the nature of charge correlations evolves as a function of hole doping from the first superconducting dome into the second superconducting dome. For Ti doping in the first superconducting dome, competing 2×2×2 and 2×2×4 supercells form within the charge density wave state and are suppressed rapidly with carrier substitution. In the second superconducting dome, no charge correlations are detected. Here, comparing these results to those observed for CsV 3 ⁢Sb 5−𝑥 ⁢Sn 𝑥 suggests important differences between hole doping via chemical substitution on the V and Sb sites, particularly in the disorder potential associated with each dopant.

Charge density waves↗

The Bactrian effect: multiple resonances and light Dirac dark matter

The possibility of light dark matter (DM) annihilating through a dark photon (DP) which kinetically mixes (KM) with the Standard Model (SM) hypercharge field is a very attractive scenario. For DM in the interesting mass range below ~1 GeV, it is well known that bounds from the CMB provide a very strong model building constraint forcing the DM annihilation cross section to be roughly 3 orders of magnitude below that needed to reproduce the observed relic density. Under most circumstances this removes the possibility of an s-wave annihilation process for DM in this mass range as would be the case, e.g., if the DM were a Dirac fermion. In an extra-dimensional setup explored previously, it was found that the s-channel exchange of multiple gauge bosons could simultaneously encompass a suppressed annihilation cross section during the CMB era while also producing a sufficiently large annihilation rate during freeze-out to recover the DM relic density. In this paper, we analyze more globally the necessary requirements for this mechanism to work successfully and then realize them within the context of a simple model with two ‘dark’ gauge bosons having masses of a similar magnitude and whose contributions to the annihilation amplitude destructively interfere. We show that if the DM mass threshold lies appropriately in the saddle region of this destructive interference between the two resonance humps it then becomes possible to satisfy these requirements simultaneously provided several ancillary conditions are met. The multiple constraints on the parameter space of this setup are then explored in detail to identify the phenomenologically successful regions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

[Low-Frequency Flow Oscillation

The results of the research conducted under this grant are presented in detail in three Master theses, by Heinrich, Balow, and Broeren. Additional analysis of the experimental data can be found in two AIAA Journal articles and two conference papers. Citations for all of the studies' publications can be found in the bibliography which is attached. The objective of Heinrich's study was to document the low-frequency flow oscillation on the LRN-1007 airfoil, which had been previously observed at low Reynolds number, to determine its origin, and explore the phenomenon at higher Reynolds number. Heinrich performed detailed flow visualization on the airfoil using surface fluorescent oil and laser-sheet off-body visualization. A large leading-edge separation bubble and trailing-edge separation was identified on the airfoil just prior to the onset of the unsteady stall flow oscillation. From the laser-sheet data, the unsteady flow appeared as a massive boundary-layer separation followed by flow reattachment. Hot-wire data were taken in the wake to identify the presence of the flow oscillation and the dominant frequency. The oscillation was found in the flow from a Reynolds number of 0.3 to 1.3 x 10 exp 6. The Strouhal number based on airfoil projected height was nominally 0.02 and increased slightly with increasing Reynolds number and significantly with increasing airfoil angle of attack. Balow focused his research on the leading-edge separation bubble which was hypothesized to be the origin of the low-frequency oscillation. Initially, experimental measurements in the bubble at the onset of the low-frequency oscillation were attempted to study the characteristics of the bubble and explain possible relationships to the shear-layer-flapping phenomena. Unfortunately, the bubble proved to be extremely sensitive to the probe interference and it drastically reduced the size of the bubble. These detailed measurements were then abandoned by Balow. However, this led to a series of tests where the leading-edge bubble and trailing-edge separation were altered and the affect on the flow-oscillation studied. Balow found that by tripping the airfoil boundary-layer with "zigzag" tape ahead of bubble separation, the bubble was effectively eliminated mid the oscillation suppressed. Wake survey drag measurements showed a drastic reduction in airfoil drag when the bubble and oscillation were eliminated. Using the "zigzag" tape, the trailing-edge separation was moved downstream approximately 5 percent chord. This was found to reduce the amplitude of the oscillation, particularly in the onset stage at low angle of attack (around 14 degrees). Through detailed analysis of the wake behind the airfoil during the unsteady flow oscillation, Balow provided a better understanding of the wake flowfield. Broeren studied the oscillating flowfield in detail at Reynolds number equal 3 x 10 exp 5 and an angle of attack of 15 degrees using laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV). Two-dimensional LDV data were acquired at 687 grid points above the model upper surface while hot-wire data were taken simultaneously in the wake. Using the hot-wire signal, the LDV data were phase averaged into 24 bins to represent a single ensemble average of one oscillation cycle. The velocity data showed a flowfield oscillation that could be divided into three flow regimes. In the first regime, the flow over the airfoil was completely separated initially, the flowfield reattached from the leading edge and the reattachment point moved downstream with increasing time or phase. Broeren referred to this as the reattachment regime. The bubble development regime followed, where a leading-edge separation bubble formed at the leading edge and grew with increasing time. During the initial part of this regime the trailing-edge separation continued to move downstream. However, during the last 30 degrees of phase the trailing-edge separation moved rapidly forward and appeared to merge with the leading-edge bubble. During the third regime, the separation regime, the flow was segmented from the airfoil leading edge and did not reattach to the airfoil surface. The reverse flow was seen to grow in vertical extent up from the model surface as the phase increased. Next reattachment began again at the leading edge signaling the start of the reattachment regime, and so the cycle continued. From Broeren's work, the details of the unsteady flowfield over the airfoil were seen for the first time. From this research a great deal has been learned about the low-frequency flow oscillation which naturally occurs on the LRN-1007 airfoil near stall. The oscillation was seen to persist at higher Reynolds number, the dependence of the Strouhal number on angle of attack and Reynolds number were discovered, the critical role played by the laminar bubble was shown and the entire upper surface flowfield during a flow oscillation cycle was measured and analyzed. What still eludes understanding is the scaling of the flow oscillation and why certain airfoils, such as the LRN, have a very strong low-frequency mode and other airfoils exhibit no organized low-frequency oscillation at all.

Bragg, Michael B.↗

Single spin asymmetry in forward p A collisions from the Pomeron-odderon interference

Working in the hybrid framework of the high energy p A collisions we identify a new contribution to transverse single spin asymmetry (SSA). The phase necessary for the SSA is provided by the Pomeron-odderon interference in the dense nuclear target. The complete formula for the p A → h X polarized cross section also contains the transversity distribution for the polarized projectile as well as the real part of the twist-three fragmentation function. We numerically estimate the asymmetry A N and its nuclear dependence. Based on a model computation we find that A N can be a percent level in the forward and low- P h ⊥ region. For large nuclei we find significant suppression, with A N ∝ A − 7 / 6 parametrically. As a notable feature we find a node of A N as a function of the P h ⊥ around the values of the initial saturation scale that could be used to test this mechanism experimentally. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Benić, Sanjin↗

High resolution frequency to time domain transformations applied to the stepped carrier MRIS measurements

Two narrow-band radar systems are developed for high resolution target range estimation in inhomogeneous media. They are reformulations of two presently existing systems such that high resolution target range estimates may be achieved despite the use of narrow bandwidth radar pulses. A double sideband suppressed carrier radar technique originally derived in 1962, and later abandoned due to its inability to accurately measure target range in the presence of an interfering reflection, is rederived to incorporate the presence of an interfering reflection. The new derivation shows that the interfering reflection causes a period perturbation in the measured phase response. A high resolution spectral estimation technique is used to extract the period of this perturbation leading to accurate target range estimates independent of the signal-to-interference ratio. A non-linear optimal signal processing algorithm is derived for a frequency-stepped continuous wave radar system. The resolution enhancement offered by optimal signal processing of the data over the conventional Fourier Transform technique is clearly demonstrated using measured radar data. A method for modeling plane wave propagation in inhomogeneous media based on transmission line theory is derived and studied. Several simulation results including measurement of non-uniform electron plasma densities that develop near the heat tiles of a space re-entry vehicle are presented which verify the validity of the model.

Ardalan, Sasan H.↗

Dynamic Nuclear Spin Polarization Induced by the Edelstein Effect at Bi(111) Surfaces

Nuclear spin polarization induced by hyperfine interaction and mainly the Edelstein effect due to strong spin-orbit interaction, is investigated by quantum transport in Bi(111) thin film samples. The Bi(111) films are deposited on mica by van der Waals epitaxial growth. The Bi(111) films show micrometer-sized triangular islands with 0.39 nm step height, corresponding to the Bi(111) bilayer height. At low temperatures a high current density is applied to generate a nonequilibrium carrier spin polarization by mainly the Edelstein effect at the Bi(111) surface, which then induces dynamic nuclear polarization by hyperfine interaction. Here, comparative quantum magnetotransport antilocalization measurements indicate a suppression of antilocalization by the in-plane Overhauser field from the nuclear polarization and allow a quantification of the Overhauser field. Hence nuclear polarization was both achieved and quantified by a purely electronic transport-based approach.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Laser Light Scattering with Multiple Scattering Suppression Used to Measure Particle Sizes

Laser light scattering is the technique of choice for noninvasively sizing particles in a fluid. The members of the Advanced Technology Development (ATD) project in laser light scattering at the NASA Lewis Research Center have invented, tested, and recently enhanced a simple and elegant way to extend the concentration range of this standard laboratory particle-sizing technique by several orders of magnitude. With this technique, particles from 3 nm to 3 mm can be measured in a solution. Recently, laser light scattering evolved to successfully size particles in both clear solutions and concentrated milky-white solutions. The enhanced technique uses the property of light that causes it to form tall interference patterns at right angles to the scattering plane (perpendicular to the laser beam) when it is scattered from a narrow laser beam. Such multiple-scattered light forms a broad fuzzy halo around the focused beam, which, in turn, forms short interference patterns. By placing two fiber optics on top of each other and perpendicular to the laser beam (see the drawing), and then cross-correlating the signals they produce, only the tall interference patterns formed by singly scattered light are detected. To restate this, unless the two fiber optics see the same interference pattern, the scattered light is not incorporated into the signal. With this technique, only singly scattered light is seen (multiple-scattered light is rejected) because only singly scattered light has an interference pattern tall enough to span both of the fiber-optic pickups. This technique is simple to use, easy to align, and works at any angle. Placing a vertical slit in front of the signal collection fibers enhanced this approach. The slit serves as an optical mask, and it significantly shortens the time needed to collect good data by selectively masking out much of the unwanted light before cross-correlation is applied.

Meyer, William V.↗

Digital Beamforming Based RFI Mitigation for Synthetic Aperture Radar

An increasing challenge for P-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). RFI results in image distortions and degrades the derived science products. This makes it critical to apply RFI removal techniques to restore the image quality. New advanced techniques can be achieved with Digital Beamforming (DBF) radars such as EcoSAR. In this paper, we present a Range-Dependent Time Minimum Variance Distortionless Response (RDTMVDR) Beamformer and apply it to EcoSAR flight data during post-processing. The antenna pattern (AP) is adaptively changed for each range line which increases the RFI suppression compared to a fixed AP for each pulse. The interferometric image quality is assessed before and after RFI suppression.

Bollian, Tobias↗

Electro-Optical Modulator Bias Control Using Bipolar Pulses

An improved method has been devised for controlling the DC bias applied to an electro-optical crystal that is part of a Mach-Zehnder modulator that generates low-duty-cycle optical pulses for a pulse-position modulation (PPM) optical data-communication system. In such a system, it is desirable to minimize the transmission of light during the intervals between pulses, and for this purpose, it is necessary to maximize the extinction ratio of the modulator (the ratio between the power transmitted during an "on" period and the power transmitted during an "off" period). The present method is related to prior dither error feedback methods, but unlike in those methods, there is no need for an auxiliary modulation subsystem to generate a dithering signal. Instead, as described below, dither is effected through alternation of the polarity of the modulation signal. The upper part of Figure 1 schematically depicts a Mach-Zehnder modulator. The signal applied to the electro-optical crystal consists of a radio-frequency modulating pulse signal, VRF, superimposed on a DC bias Vbias. Maximum extinction occurs during the off (VRF = 0) period if Vbias is set at a value that makes the two optical paths differ by an odd integer multiple of a half wavelength so that the beams traveling along the two paths interfere destructively at the output beam splitter. Assuming that the modulating pulse signal VRF has a rectangular waveform, maximum transmission occurs during the "on" period if the amplitude of VRF is set to a value, V , that shifts the length of the affected optical path by a half wavelength so that now the two beams interfere constructively at the output beam splitter. The modulating pulse signal is AC-coupled from an amplifier to the electro-optical crystal. Sometimes, two successive pulses occur so close in time that the operating point of the amplifier drifts, one result being that there is not enough time for the signal level to return to ground between pulses. Also, the difference between the optical-path lengths can drift with changes in temperature and other spurious effects. The effects of both types of drift are suppressed in the present method, in which one takes advantage of the fact that when Vbias is set at the value for maximum extinction, equal-magnitude positive and negative pulses applied to the electro-optical crystal produce equal output light pulses.

Farr, William↗

Inhibition of USP7 activity selectively eliminates senescent cells in part via restoration of p53 activity

The accumulation of senescent cells (SnCs) is a causal factor of various age-related diseases as well as some of the side effects of chemotherapy. Pharmacological elimination of SnCs (senolysis) has the potential to be developed into novel therapeutic strategies to treat these diseases and pathological conditions. Here we show that ubiquitin-specific peptidase 7 (USP7) is a novel target for senolysis because inhibition of USP7 with an inhibitor or genetic depletion of USP7 by RNA interference induces apoptosis selectively in SnCs. The senolytic activity of USP7 inhibitors is likely attributable in part to the promotion of the human homolog of mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) ubiquitination and degradation by the ubiquitin–proteasome system. This degradation increases the levels of p53, which in turn induces the pro-apoptotic proteins PUMA, NOXA, and FAS and inhibits the interaction of BCL-XL and BAK to selectively induce apoptosis in SnCs. Further, we show that treatment with a USP7 inhibitor can effectively eliminate SnCs and suppress the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) induced by doxorubicin in mice. These findings suggest that small molecule USP7 inhibitors are novel senolytics that can be exploited to reduce chemotherapy-induced toxicities and treat age-related diseases.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Opportunistic CP violation

In the electroweak sector of the Standard Model, CP violation arises through a very particular interplay between the three quark generations, as described by the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) mechanism and the single Jarlskog invariant J 4 . Once generalized to the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT), this peculiar pattern gets modified by higher-dimensional operators, whose associated Wilson coefficients are usually split into CP-even and odd parts. However, CP violation at dimension four, i.e., at the lowest order in the EFT expansion, blurs this distinction: any Wilson coefficient can interfere with J 4 and mediate CP violation. In this paper, we study such interferences at first order in the SMEFT expansion, $\mathcal{O}(1/Λ^2)$, and we capture their associated parameter space via a set of 1551 linear CP-odd flavor invariants. This construction describes both new, genuinely CP-violating quantities as well as the interference between J 4 and CP-conserving ones. We call this latter possibility opportunistic CP violation. Relying on an appropriate extension of the matrix rank to Taylor expansions, which we dub Taylor rank, we define a procedure to organize the invariants in terms of their magnitude, so as to retain only the relevant ones at a given precision. We explore how this characterization changes when different assumptions are made on the flavor structure of the SMEFT coefficients. Interestingly, some of the CP-odd invariants turn out to be less suppressed than J 4 , even when they capture opportunistic CPV, demonstrating that CP-violation in the SM, at dimension 4, is accidentally small.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗