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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 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Observation of Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect and Exchange Interaction in Topological Insulator/Antiferromagnet Heterostructure

Integration of a quantum anomalous Hall insulator with a magnetically ordered material provides an additional degree of freedom through which the resulting exotic quantum states can be controlled. Here, an experimental observation is reported of the quantum anomalous Hall e?ect in a magnet-ically-doped topological insulator grown on the antiferromagnetic insulator Cr?O?. The exchange coupling between the two materials is investigated using ?eld-cooling-dependent magnetometry and polarized neutron re?ec-tometry. Both techniques reveal strong interfacial interaction between the antiferromagnetic order of the Cr?O? and the magnetic topological insulator, manifested as an exchange bias when the sample is ?eld-cooled under an out-of-plane magnetic ?eld, and an exchange spring-like magnetic depth pro?le when the system is magnetized within the ?lm plane. These results identify antiferromagnetic insulators as suitable candidates for the manipula-tion of magnetic and topological order in topological insulator ?lms.

Pan, Lei↗
DOE OSTI2021

Magnetic Topological Semimetal Phase with Electronic Correlation Enhancement in SmSbTe

The ZrSiS family of compounds hosts various exotic quantum phenomena due to the presence of both topological nonsymmorphic Dirac fermions and nodal-line fermions. In this material family, the LnSbTe (Ln = lanthanide) compounds are particularly interesting owing to the intrinsic magnetism from magnetic Ln which leads to new properties and quantum states. Here in this work, the authors focus on the previously unexplored compound SmSbTe. The studies reveal a rare combination of a few functional properties in this material, including antiferromagnetism with possible magnetic frustration, electron correlation enhancement, and Dirac nodal-line fermions. These properties enable SmSbTe as a unique platform to explore exotic quantum phenomena and advanced functionalities arising from the interplay between magnetism, topology, and electronic correlations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Di-Higgs Signatures in Neutral Naturalness

The Higgs boson was the last fundamental piece of the Standard Model to be experimentally confirmed. LHC is embarked in a quest to probe the possibility that this particle provides a portal to new physics. One front of this quest consists in measuring the interactions of the Higgs with itself and with other SM particles to a high precision. In a more exotic front, the LHC is searching for the possibility that a pair of Higgses (HH) is the evidence of a new resonance. Such resonances are predicted in models with extended Higgs sectors, extra dimensions, and in models with exotic bound states. In this paper we show how scalar quirks in Folded Supersymmetry can give rise to HH resonances. We point out a viable sector of the parameter space in which HH is the dominant decay channel for these {\it squirkonium} bound states. We found that future runs of the LHC could discover HH resonances in the range of 0.5 - 1.6 TeV under reasonable assumptions. Furthermore, for a given mass and width of the HH signal, the model predicts the branching ratio of the subsequent decay modes of the heavy resonance. Finding the extra decay modes in the predicted pattern can serve as a smoking gun to confirm the model.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Domain patterns and super-elasticity of freestanding BiFeO 3 membranes via phase-field simulations

Super-elasticity of functional ferroelectric oxides offers promises for integrating ferroelectric films into flexible electronics. However, super-elastic deformation is a complex phenomenon related to possibly multiple concurrent mechanisms. Fundamentally understanding how multiple mechanisms contribute to the super-elasticity of ferroelectric oxides is crucial to realizing their potential flexible electronic applications. In this study, we employ phase-field simulations to model the dynamics of ferroelectric domain patterns of freestanding BiFeO 3 membranes to understand the origin of their super-elasticity under substantial bending deformation (5% strain). It is demonstrated that both a reversible Rhombohedral-Tetragonal (R-T) phase transition and a nearly reversible domain evolution of BiFeO 3 membranes contribute to accommodating the large deformation and thus their super-elasticity. The dynamics of domain evolution also reveal the formation of an exotic ferroelectric vortex and polarization rotation before the phase transition. We constructed a diagram of phases and domain patterns as a function of the membrane thickness and bending angle, which allows one to readily predict the emergence of T phase and ferroelectric vortex in bent BFO membranes. These results not only provide fundamental understanding of mesoscale super-elastic mechanisms but also reveal exotic domain states of ferroelectric membranes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

A method for estimating light quenching in inorganic scintillator detectors for radioactive ion beam experiments

In recent experiments, inorganic scintillators have been used to study the decays of exotic nuclei, providing an alternative to silicon detectors and enabling measurements that were previously impossible. However, proper use of these materials requires us to understand and quantify the scintillation process, specifically in response to very heavy nuclei. Here, in this work, we show a simplified method based on the models of Birks (1951) and Meyer and Murray (1962) to parametrize the light output of inorganic scintillators in response to beams of energetic heavy ions over a broad range of energies. We test the accuracy of our parametrization approach by calculating light output and quenching factors for various ions and comparing them with experimental data from Lutetium Yttrium Orthosilicate (LYSO:Ce), a common inorganic scintillator. The Meyer–Murray model suggests that, for sufficiently heavy ions at high energies, the majority of the light output is associated with the creation of delta electrons, which are induced by the passage of the beam through the material. These delta electrons dramatically impact the response of detection systems when subject to ions with velocities typical of beams in modern fragmentation facilities. To illustrate this, we also present a qualitative estimate of the effects of delta rays on overall light output using the Birks–Meyer–Murray parametrization. The approach presented herein will serve as a basic framework for further, more rigorous studies of scintillator response to heavy ions. This work is a crucial first step in planning future experiments where energetic exotic nuclei are interacting with scintillator detectors.

Heavy ion↗
DOE OSTI2021

Kaon–proton strong interaction at low relative momentum via femtoscopy in Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC

In quantum scattering processes between two particles, aspects characterizing the strong and Coulomb forces can be observed in kinematic distributions of the particle pairs. The sensitivity to the interaction potential reaches a maximum at low relative momentum and vanishing distance between the two particles. Ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions at the LHC provide an abundant source of many hadron species and can be employed as a measurement method of scattering parameters that is complementary to scattering experiments. This study confirms that momentum correlations of particles produced in Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC provide an accurate measurement of kaon–proton scattering parameters at low relative momentum, allowing precise access to the K – p $\rightarrow$ K – p process. This work also validates the femtoscopic measurement in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions as an alternative to scattering experiments and a complementary tool to the study of exotic atoms with comparable precision. In this work, the first femtoscopic measurement of momentum correlations of K – p (K + $\bar{p}$) and K + p (K – $\bar{p}$) pairs in Pb–Pb collisions at centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ =5.02 TeV registered by the ALICE experiment is reported. The components of the K – p complex scattering length are extracted and found to be $\mathfrak{R}$f 0 = -0.91±0.03(stat)$^{+0.17}_{-0.03}$(syst) and $\mathfrak{T}$f 0 =0.92±0.05(stat)$^{+0.12}_{-0.33}$(syst). The results are compared with chiral effective field theory predictions as well as with existing data from dedicated scattering and exotic kaonic atom experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Coalescence formation of muonic atoms at RHIC

The discovery of exotic muonic atoms, including antimatter hydrogen muonic atoms and kaon muonic atoms, constitutes a milestone in our ability to make and study new forms of matter. Relativistic heavy-ion collisions provide the only likely condition for production and detection of these exotic atoms. Taking Coulomb correlations into account from the time of the fireball freeze-out, which refers to the cessation of hadronic interactions in the high-temperature, high-density region formed after the collision, until the formation of a stable atom has dramatic consequences on the expected yields of these atoms. When the coalescence model with the assumption of quantum wave function localization is applied to the formation of muonic atoms, we find that the atom yields are about two orders of magnitude higher than previously predicted.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Quantum Effect on the Ground State of the Triple-Perovskite Ba 3 MNb 2 O 9 (M = Co, Ni, and Mn) with Triangular-Lattice

As the simplest example of geometrical frustration, the two-dimensional triangular lattice antiferromagnet exhibits the mismatch between the lattice geometry and spin-exchange interaction, which has been the subject of intensive studies due to its exotic quantum phenomena. In this work, we performed detailed studies of the magnetic structures and spin wave excitations by neutron powder diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering measurements on the triple-perovskite oxides Ba 3 MNb 2 O 9 (M = Co, Ni, and Mn) with triangular-lattice geometry. The interplay between the frustrated interaction and easy-plane/axis anisotropy gives rise to two magnetic phase transition temperatures for Ba 3 CoNb 2 O 9 (Ba 3 MnNb 2 O 9 ) and only one for Ba 3 NiNb 2 O 9 . The linear spin-wave theory +1/S calculations indicate that both spatial dimensionality and the spin size have a significant impact on the strength of quantum fluctuations, which lead to their different magnetic ground states and exotic physical properties. Moreover, the effects of the thermal fluctuations are presented for Ba 3 NiNb 2 O 9 .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Predicting Quantum Criticality in Single-Crystalline Ce 2 Ru 3 Ge 5

Strongly correlated f-electron systems are known to host exotic quantum states, such as quantum criticality, complex order parameters, and unconventional superconductivity. However, the appearance of these exotic states is difficult to predict, making the study of quantum critical behavior challenging, especially in ferromagnetic materials. Herein, we report a structure–property map for Ce 2 M 3 X 5 (M = transition metal; X = main group element) that aids in the targeted design of materials likely to exhibit quantum criticality. Guided by this map, we report on the synthesis of single-crystalline Ce 2 Ru 3 Ge 5 and provide, for the first time, magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, resistivity, and magnetoresistance measurements on single crystals. Here, we observe a weak ferromagnetic-like response at 7.5 K, which is contrasted with the bulk ferromagnetic ordering that appears in polycrystalline samples. Non-Fermi liquid behavior is seen in the temperature dependent electrical resistivity and heat capacity of the single crystals, suggesting proximity to a ferromagnetic quantum critical point without chemical or physical pressure. Given the contrast with previous reports of polycrystals, these results lead us to propose that single crystalline Ce 2 Ru 3 Ge 5 is intrinsically tuned into the vicinity of a ferromagnetic quantum critical point.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Polynitrogen High Energy Density Materials Synthesized by Nonequilibrium Plasma

Metal pentazolate compounds that contain 5-nitrogen singly charged anion rings are an interesting class of materials from a thermodynamics perspective. These compounds are believed to be equilibrium phases only at extremely high pressures, and thus, they constitute exotic states of matter at ambient pressure and temperature. Moreover, the energy released by these pentazolate compounds upon relaxation to the equilibrium state at ambient conditions is in the range 1 to 10 MJ per kg, rivaling that of combustion reactions. The synthesis of pentazolates is not an easy task, and there are only two known methods, each of which has significant challenges. Here, the development of new scalable synthesis routes could enable the production of these exotic materials in sufficient quantity to explore their properties more widely beyond the context of explosives and propellants. In this Perspective, it is argued that nonequilibrium plasma is a promising reaction medium for the synthesis of metal pentazolate compounds, for example from the corresponding metal azide and N 2 gas activated by the discharge at low background temperature.

Chemical reactions↗
DOE OSTI2021

Strong Correlation Between Superconductivity and Ferromagnetism in an Fe-Chalcogenide Superconductor

The interplay among topology, superconductivity, and magnetism promises to bring a plethora of exotic and unintuitive behaviors in emergent quantum materials. The family of Fe-chalcogenide superconductors FeTe x Se 1–x are directly relevant in this context due to their intrinsic topological band structure, high-temperature superconductivity, and unconventional pairing symmetry. Despite enormous promise and expectation, the local magnetic properties of FeTe x Se 1–x remain largely unexplored, which prevents a comprehensive understanding of their underlying material properties. Exploiting nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond, here we report nanoscale quantum sensing and imaging of magnetic flux generated by exfoliated FeTe x Se 1–x flakes, demonstrating strong correlation between superconductivity and ferromagnetism in FeTe x Se 1–x . The coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in an established topological superconductor opens up new opportunities for exploring exotic spin and charge transport phenomena in quantum materials. The demonstrated coupling between NV centers and FeTe x Se 1–x may also find applications in developing hybrid architectures for next-generation, solid-state-based quantum information technologies.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Orbital Engineering Band Degeneracy in a Dual-Square Carbon-Oxide Framework

Electron band degeneracies in momentum space give rise to exotic quantum phenomena that have sparked intense interest in condensed matter physics and materials science. Nodal-lines─isolines in k-space formed by the incidental touching of two bands that share the same energy but belong to discrete eigenstates─arise in the presence of symmetries that preclude effective hybridization. Despite recent advances in the design, bottom-up assembly, and engineering of exotic electronic states in graphene nanomaterials, the extension of this approach to access synthetic two-dimensional (2D) quantum materials derived from metal- or covalent-organic frameworks (COFs) has lagged behind. Here we present a molecular orbital engineering approach for designing and fabricating an edge-centered dual square lattice within a π-conjugated 2D-tetraoxa[8]circulene (2D-TOC) COF. First-principles calculations and scanning tunnelling spectroscopy reveal the emergence of Frontier states at the center of a 3 × 3 lattice that give rise to Dirac nodal-lines in 2D-TOC. Our findings not only provide a general guide for the design of conjugated COFs with custom tailored electronic properties from molecular fragments but enable the exploration of emergent topological phenomena in synthetic 2D materials with potential application for high-speed, low-power data processing, transmission, and storage.

Dirac nodal line semimetal↗
DOE OSTI2021

Interaction-induced topological phase transition and Majorana edge states in low-dimensional orbital-selective Mott insulators

Topological phases of matter are among the most intriguing research directions in Condensed Matter Physics. It is known that superconductivity induced on a topological insulator’s surface can lead to exotic Majorana modes, the main ingredient of many proposed quantum computation schemes. In this context, the iron-based high critical temperature superconductors are a promising platform to host such an exotic phenomenon in real condensed-matter compounds. The Coulomb interaction is commonly believed to be vital for the magnetic and superconducting properties of these systems. This work bridges these two perspectives and shows that the Coulomb interaction can also drive a canonical superconductor with orbital degrees of freedom into the topological state. Namely, we show that above a critical value of the Hubbard interaction the system simultaneously develops spiral spin order, a highly unusual triplet amplitude in superconductivity, and, remarkably, Majorana fermions at the edges of the system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Study of the doubly charmed tetraquark $\mathrm{T}$ $^+_{cc}$

Quantum chromodynamics, the theory of the strong force, describes interactions of coloured quarks and gluons and the formation of hadronic matter. Conventional hadronic matter consists of baryons and mesons made of three quarks and quark-antiquark pairs, respectively. Particles with an alternative quark content are known as exotic states. Here a study is reported of an exotic narrow state in the D 0 D 0 π + mass spectrum just below the D *+ D 0 mass threshold produced in proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The state is consistent with the ground isoscalar T$^{+}_{cc}$ tetraquark with a quark content of cc$\bar{u}\bar{d}$ and spin-parity quantum numbers J P = 1 + . Study of the DD mass spectra disfavours interpretation of the resonance as the isovector state. The decay structure via intermediate off-shell D *+ mesons is consistent with the observed D 0 π+ mass distribution. To analyse the mass of the resonance and its coupling to the D*D system, a dedicated model is developed under the assumption of an isoscalar axial-vector T$^{+}_{cc}$ state decaying to the D*D channel. Using this model, resonance parameters including the pole position, scattering length, effective range and compositeness are determined to reveal important information about the nature of the T$^{+}_{cc}$ state. In addition, an unexpected dependence of the production rate on track multiplicity is observed.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Emergence of electric-field-tunable interfacial ferromagnetism in 2D antiferromagnet heterostructures

Van der Waals (vdW) magnet heterostructures have emerged as new platforms to explore exotic magnetic orders and quantum phenomena. Here, we study heterostructures of layered antiferromagnets, CrI 3 and CrCl 3 , with perpendicular and in-plane magnetic anisotropy, respectively. Using magneto-optical Kerr effect microscopy, we demonstrate out-of-plane magnetic order in the CrCl 3 layer proximal to CrI 3 , with ferromagnetic interfacial coupling between the two. Such an interlayer exchange field leads to higher critical temperature than that of either CrI 3 or CrCl 3 alone. We further demonstrate significant electric-field control of the coercivity, attributed to the naturally broken structural inversion symmetry of the heterostructure allowing unprecedented direct coupling between electric field and interfacial magnetism. These findings illustrate the opportunity to explore exotic magnetic phases and engineer spintronic devices in vdW heterostructures.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Anomalous magnetoresistance by breaking ice rule in Bi2Ir2O7/Dy2Ti2O7 heterostructure

Abstract While geometrically frustrated quantum magnets host rich exotic spin states with potentials for revolutionary quantum technologies, most of them are necessarily good insulators which are difficult to be integrated with modern electrical circuit. The grand challenge is to electrically detect the emergent fluctuations and excitations by introducing charge carriers that interact with the localized spins without destroying their collective spin states. Here, we show that, by designing a Bi 2 Ir 2 O 7 /Dy 2 Ti 2 O 7 heterostructure, the breaking of the spin-ice rule in insulating Dy 2 Ti 2 O 7 leads to a charge response in the conducting Bi 2 Ir 2 O 7 measured as anomalous magnetoresistance during the field-induced Kagome ice-to-saturated ice transition. The magnetoresistive anomaly also captures the characteristic angular and temperature dependence of this ice-rule-breaking transition, which has been understood as magnetic monopole condensation. These results demonstrate a novel heteroepitaxial approach for electronically probing the transition between exotic insulating spin states, laying out a blueprint for the metallization of frustrated quantum magnets.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Long-lived topological time-crystalline order on a quantum processor

Abstract Topologically ordered phases of matter elude Landau’s symmetry-breaking theory, featuring a variety of intriguing properties such as long-range entanglement and intrinsic robustness against local perturbations. Their extension to periodically driven systems gives rise to exotic new phenomena that are forbidden in thermal equilibrium. Here, we report the observation of signatures of such a phenomenon—a prethermal topologically ordered time crystal—with programmable superconducting qubits arranged on a square lattice. By periodically driving the superconducting qubits with a surface code Hamiltonian, we observe discrete time-translation symmetry breaking dynamics that is only manifested in the subharmonic temporal response of nonlocal logical operators. We further connect the observed dynamics to the underlying topological order by measuring a nonzero topological entanglement entropy and studying its subsequent dynamics. Our results demonstrate the potential to explore exotic topologically ordered nonequilibrium phases of matter with noisy intermediate-scale quantum processors.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Elliptic anisotropy measurement of the f 0 (980) hadron in proton-lead collisions and evidence for its quark-antiquark composition

Despite the f 0 (980) hadron having been discovered half a century ago, the question about its quark content has not been settled: it might be an ordinary quark-antiquark ($q\bar{q}$) meson, a tetraquark ($q\bar{q}$$q\bar{q}$) exotic state, a kaon-antikaon ($K\bar{K}$) molecule, or a quark-antiquark-gluon ($q\bar{q}$g) hybrid. This paper reports strong evidence that the f 0 (980) state is an ordinary $q\bar{q}$ meson, inferred from the scaling of elliptic anisotropies (v 2 ) with the number of constituent quarks (n q ), as empirically established using conventional hadrons in relativistic heavy ion collisions. The f 0 (980) state is reconstructed via its dominant decay channel f 0 (980) → π + π − , in proton-lead collisions recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC, and its v 2 is measured as a function of transverse momentum (p T ). It is found that the n q = 2 ($q\bar{q}$ state) hypothesis is favored over n q = 4 ($q\bar{q}$$q\bar{q}$ or $K\bar{K}$ states) by 7.7, 6.3, or 3.1 standard deviations in the p T < 10, 8, or 6 GeV/c ranges, respectively, and over n q = 3 ($q\bar{q}$g hybrid state) by 3.5 standard deviations in the p T < 8 GeV/c range. This result represents the first determination of the quark content of the f 0 (980) state, made possible by using a novel approach, and paves the way for similar studies of other exotic hadron candidates.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗