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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 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

High-energy neutrino constraints on primordial black holes as dark matter

Primordial black holes (PBHs) are one of the most appealing dark matter candidates over a wide range of masses and abundances. This broad parameter space has been constrained by a variety of observational probes. In this work, for the first time, we use data from high-energy neutrino telescopes, like IceCube and ANTARES, to constrain sub-asteroid mass ($\lesssim 10^{18}\,\mathrm{g}$) Schwarzschild PBHs with extended mass functions. We derive limits from the diffuse high-energy neutrino flux produced by the direct evaporation of PBHs, as well as from the transient signatures associated with PBHs passing in the vicinity of the Earth. While our bounds are slightly weaker than existing constraints from gamma-ray observations, they provide an independent and complementary probe based on observational high-energy neutrino data. We further show that future detectors such as IceCube-Gen2 and KM3NeT can significantly improve these constraints, potentially excluding PBHs with masses up to $\sim \mathrm{few} \times 10^{18}\,\mathrm{g}$ composing the entirety of dark matter.

Mukhopadhyay, Mainak [Fermilab; Chicago U., KICP] ↗
DOE OSTI2021

Neutrino interactions in the late universe

The cosmic neutrino background is both a dramatic prediction of the hot Big Bang and a compelling target for current and future observations. The impact of relativistic neutrinos in the early universe has been observed at high significance in a number of cosmological probes. In addition, the non-zero mass of neutrinos alters the growth of structure at late times, and this signature is a target for a number of upcoming surveys. These measurements are sensitive to the physics of the neutrino and could be used to probe physics beyond the standard model in the neutrino sector. We explore an intriguing possibility where light right-handed neutrinos are coupled to all, or a fraction of, the dark matter through a mediator. In a wide range of parameter space, this interaction only becomes important at late times and is uniquely probed by late-time cosmological observables. Due to this coupling, the dark matter and neutrinos behave as a single fluid with a non-trivial sound speed, leading to a suppression of power on small scales. In current and near-term cosmological surveys, this signature is equivalent to an increase in the sum of the neutrino masses. Given current limits, we show that at most 0.5% of the dark matter could be coupled to neutrinos in this way.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Revealing latent pole and zone line information in atom probe detector maps using crystallographically correlated metrics

Poles and zone lines observed within atom probe field evaporation images are useful for a range of atom probe crystallography studies, including calibration of the reconstruction and crystallographic characterisation of microstructural features such as grain boundaries. However, this information is not always readily apparent. Techniques for plotting crystallographically correlated metrics contained within atom probe data to enhance pole and zone line contrast across the detector space are developed. This includes consideration of the electric field, molecular ions, lattice structure retained within the reconstruction, specific elemental species, the number of pulses between detection events, and the lateral distance between sequential detection events. These approaches are then applied to experimental atom probe tomography datasets on technically pure Al, nanocrystalline Al, highly doped Si, and additively manufactured Inconel 738, Haynes 282, and Ti–6Al–4V. The results facilitate the extension of atom probe crystallography studies to a broader range of crystalline datasets where crystallographic information is not readily apparent from existing methods, as well as a deeper understanding of field evaporation behaviour during an atom probe experiment.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Elastocaloric signatures of symmetric and antisymmetric strain-tuning of quadrupolar and magnetic phases in DyB 2 C 2

The adiabatic elastocaloric effect measures the temperature change of a given system with strain and provides a thermodynamic probe of the entropic landscape in the temperature-strain space. Here, we demonstrate that the DC bias strain-dependence of AC elastocaloric effect allows decomposition of the latter into symmetric (rotation-symmetry-preserving) and antisymmetric (rotation-symmetry-breaking) strain channels, using a tetragonal f -electron intermetallic DyB 2 C 2 —whose antiferroquadrupolar order breaks local fourfold rotational symmetries while globally remaining tetragonal—as a showcase example. We capture the strain evolution of its quadrupolar and magnetic phase transitions using both singularities in the elastocaloric coefficient and its jumps at the transitions, and the latter we show follows a modified Ehrenfest relation. We find that antisymmetric strain couples to the underlying order parameter in a biquadratic (linear-quadratic) manner in the antiferroquadrupolar (canted antiferromagnetic) phase, which are attributed to a preserved (broken) global tetragonal symmetry, respectively. The broken tetragonal symmetry in the magnetic phase is further evidenced by elastocaloric strain-hysteresis and optical birefringence. Additionally, within the staggered quadrupolar order, the observed elastocaloric response reflects a quadratic increase of entropy with antisymmetric strain, analogous to the role magnetic field plays for Ising antiferromagnetic orders by promoting pseudospin flips. Our results demonstrate AC elastocaloric effect as a compact and incisive thermodynamic probe into the coupling between electronic degrees of freedom and strain in free energy, which holds the potential for investigating and understanding the symmetry of a wide variety of ordered phases in broader classes of quantum materials.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Standardizing Platinum Dainotti-correlated gamma-ray bursts, and using them with standardized Amati-correlated gamma-ray bursts to constrain cosmological model parameters

ABSTRACT We show that the Platinum gamma-ray burst (GRB) data compilation, probing the redshift range 0.553 ≤ z ≤ 5.0, obeys a cosmological-model-independent three-parameter Fundamental Plane (Dainotti) correlation and so is standardizable. While they probe the largely unexplored z ∼ 2.3–5 part of cosmological redshift space, the GRB cosmological parameter constraints are consistent with, but less precise than, those from a combination of baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) and Hubble parameter [H(z)] data. In order to increase the precision of GRB-only cosmological constraints, we exclude common GRBs from the larger Amati-correlated A118 data set composed of 118 GRBs and jointly analyse the remaining 101 Amati-correlated GRBs with the 50 Platinum GRBs. This joint 151 GRB data set probes the largely unexplored z ∼ 2.3–8.2 region; the resulting GRB-only cosmological constraints are more restrictive, and consistent with, but less precise than, those from H(z) + BAO data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

The phase-space structure of dark matter haloes

ABSTRACT The phase space structure of dark matter haloes can be used to measure the mass of the halo, infer mass accretion rates, and probe the effects of modified gravity. Previous studies showed that the splashback radius can be measured in position space using a sharp drop in the density profile. Using N-body simulations, we model the distribution of the kinematically distinct infalling and orbiting populations of subhaloes and haloes. We show that the two are mixed spatially all the way to redge, which extends past the splashback radius defined by the drop in the spherically averaged density profile. This edge radius can be interpreted as a radius that contains a fixed fraction of the apocentres of dark matter particles. Our results highlight the possibility of measuring the outer boundary of a dark matter halo using its phase space structure and provide a firm theoretical foundation to the satellite galaxy model adopted in the companion paper, where we analysed the phase space distribution of Sloan Digital Sky Survey redMaPPer clusters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Creating and studying a scaled interplanetary coronal mass ejection

The Sun, being an active star, undergoes eruptions of magnetized plasma that reach the Earth and cause the aurorae near the poles. These eruptions, called coronal mass ejections (CMEs), send plasma and magnetic fields out into space. CMEs that reach planetary orbits are called interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) and are a source of geomagnetic storms, which can cause major damage to our modern electrical systems with limited warning. To study ICME propagation, we devised a scaled experiment using the Big Red Ball (BRB) plasma containment device at the Wisconsin Plasma Physics Laboratory. These experiments inject a compact torus of plasma as an ICME through an ambient plasma inside the BRB, which acts as the interplanetary medium. Magnetic and temperature probes provide three-dimensional magnetic field information in time and space, as well as temperature and density as a function of time. Using this information, we can identify features in the compact torus that are consistent with those in real ICMEs. We also identify the shock, sheath, and ejecta similar to the structure of an ICME event. This experiment acts as a first step to providing information that can inform predictive models, which can give us time to shield our satellites and large electrical systems in the event that a powerful ICME were to strike.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Phase-Space Geometry and Optimal State Preparation in Quantum Metrology with Collective Spins

We revisit well-known protocols in quantum metrology using collective spins and propose a unifying picture for optimal state preparation based on a semiclassical description in phase space. We show how this framework allows for quantitative predictions of the timescales required to prepare various metrologically useful states, and that these predictions remain accurate even for moderate system sizes, surprisingly far from the classical limit. Furthermore, this framework allows us to build a geometric picture that relates optimal (exponentially fast) entangled probe preparation to the existence of separatrices connecting saddle points in phase space. We illustrate our results with the paradigmatic examples of the two-axis countertwisting and twisting-and-turning Hamiltonians, where we provide analytical expressions for all the relevant optimal timescales. Finally, we propose a generalization of these models to include p-body collective interaction (or p-order twisting), beyond the usual case of p = 2. Using our geometric framework, we prove a no-go theorem for the local optimality of these models for p > 2.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Leptonic probes of alternative left-right symmetric models

We explore constraints on the parameter space of the alternative left-right model originating from the leptonic sector. Our analyses focuses on both lepton-flavor-conserving observables, particularly the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, and lepton-flavor-violating processes like μ → e γ decay and μ − e conversions in nuclei. While contributions to the anomalous magnetic moment fall below the measured values at 2 σ , current and future experimental sensitivities to flavor-violating branching rations of the Standard Model leptons are expected to impose lower bounds on the mass of the peculiar S U ( 2 ) R gauge boson of the model. This provides complementary constraints relative to existing limits, which are indirect and derived from collider bounds on the mass of the associated neutral gauge boson Z ′ . Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Frank, Mariana (ORCID:0000000322684821)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Operando XPS for Plasma Process Monitoring: A Case Study on the Hydrogenation of Copper Oxide Confined under h-BN

Here, we demonstrate that ambient pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS) can be used for in situ studies of dynamic changes in surface chemistry in a plasma environment. This opens a new and vast application space for XPS and greatly complements modern spectroscopy techniques to probe plasma-solid/liquid interactions relevant to process monitoring in the semiconductor industry, bio-medical plasma applications and plasma remediation technologies. Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) grown on Cu was used in this study as a well-defined model system for plasma process monitoring and because of its unique chemical, optical and electrical properties that make it a prospective material for advanced electronics. To better understand the stability and surface chemistry of h-BN during plasma assisted processing, we track in real time the plasma-induced chemical state changes of B, N and the underlying Cu substrate using APXPS equipped with an AC discharge plasma source operating at 13 Pa. Residual gas analysis (RGA) mass-spectra were concurrently collected during plasma-XPS to track reaction products formed during plasma exposure. A clear reduction of Cu x O is seen, while an h-BN layer remains intact, suggesting hydrogen radical (H • ) species can attack the exposed and h-BN covered Cu oxide patches and partially reduce the underlying substrate without significantly damaging the overlaying h-BN, which is of practical importance for development of h-BN encapsulated devices and interfaces. In addition to demonstration of plasma-XPS capabilities we discuss the observed challenges (e.g., parasitic plasma-chamber walls reactions and charging effects) and propose potential solutions.

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

Density Functional Tight-Binding Enables Tractable Studies of Quantum Plasmonics

Routine investigations of plasmonic phenomena at the quantum level present a formidable computational challenge due to the large system sizes and ultrafast time scales involved. This Feature Article highlights the use of density functional tight-binding (DFTB), particularly its real-time time-dependent formulation (RT-TDDFTB), as a tractable approach to study plasmonic nanostructures from a quantum mechanical purview. We begin by outlining the theoretical framework and limitations of DFTB, emphasizing its efficiency in modeling systems with thousands of atoms over picosecond time scales. Applications of RT-TDDFTB are then explored in the context of optical absorption, nonlinear harmonic generation, and plasmon-mediated photocatalysis. We demonstrate how DFTB can reconcile classical and quantum descriptions of plasmonic behavior, capturing key phenomena such as size-dependent plasmon shifts and plasmon coupling in nanoparticle assemblies. Lastly, we showcase DFTB’s ability to model hot carrier generation and reaction dynamics in plasmon-driven H2 dissociation, underscoring its potential to model photocatalytic processes. Collectively, these studies establish DFTB as a powerful, yet computationally efficient tool to probe the emergent physics of materials at the limits of space and time.

Electrical energy↗
DOE OSTI2022

XRF-ROI Finder: Machine Learning to Guide Region-of-Interest Scanning for X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy

The ROI-finder software is being developed for use by several Microscopy Group beamlines at Argonne National Laboratory, including 2-ID microprobes and 9-ID-B Bionanoprobe which use multi-scale scanning fluorescence microscopy to acquire elemental maps (multi-modal image data). Microscopy experiments require scan of samples at a coarse resolution followed by ROI identification using feature detection based on domain expertise. Finer resolution scans are then conducted based on identified ROI. The decision-making process based on domain expertise will be difficult to perform for faster data rates and much larger sampling volumes anticipated after APS-U necessitating the need for the ROI-finder software. The ROI- finder detects regions of interest through a continuous learning process, starting with a unsupervised representation learning and improving its recommendations through supervised learning and an interactive tool for user annotation. The scope of ongoing development efforts includes the integration of image registration module to correlate optical and X-ray images, extraction of feature morphology as well as elemental signatures in the image space and incorporation of beamtime streaming data by the scanning probe via EPICS.

CHOWDHURY, M. ARSHAD ZAHANGIR↗
DOE OSTI2021

Sampling probe

A system for sampling a surface includes a sampling probe including a housing with a probe end having a sampling fluid opening, a sampling fluid supply conduit and a sampling fluid exhaust conduit. The sampling fluid supply conduit supplies sampling fluid to the sampling fluid opening. The sampling fluid exhaust conduit includes a wall, a sampling fluid exhaust conduit inlet opening for removing sampling fluid from the sampling fluid opening, and a sampling fluid exhaust conduit outlet opening for removing fluid from the sampling fluid exhaust conduit. A sampling fluid analytic conduit is also provided in the sampling probe and has a sampling fluid analytic conduit inlet opening spaced upstream from the sampling fluid exhaust conduit outlet opening, downstream from the sampling fluid exhaust conduit inlet opening, and from the wall of the sampling fluid exhaust conduit. A wash conduit can also be provided. Methods for sampling are also disclosed.

Van Berkel, Gary↗
DOE OSTI2023

Lighting up the LHC with Dark Matter

We show that simultaneously explaining dark matter and the observed value of the muon’s magnetic dipole moment may lead to yet unexplored photon signals at the LHC. We consider the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with electroweakino masses in the few-to-several hundred GeV range, and opposite sign of the Bino mass parameter with respect to both the Higgsino and Wino mass parameters. In such region of parameter space, the spin-independent elastic scattering cross section of a Bino-like dark matter candidate in direct detection experiment is suppressed by cancellations between different amplitudes, and the observed dark matter relic density can be realized via Bino-Wino co-annihilation. Moreover, the observed value of the muon’s magnetic dipole moment can be explained by Bino and Wino loop contributions. Interestingly, “radiative” decays of Wino-like neutralinos into the lightest neutralino and a photon are enhanced, whereas decays into leptons are suppressed. While these decay patterns weaken the reach of multi-lepton searches at the LHC, the radiative decay opens a new window for probing dark matter at the LHC through the exploration of parameter space regions beyond those currently accessible. To complement the current electroweakino searches, we propose searching for a single (soft) photon plus missing transverse energy, accompanied by a hard initial state radiation jet.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Flexible Field Mapping System for Accelerator Magnets

Magnetic field mapping is a fundamental magnetic measurement method that typically uses Hall and NMR sensors. In magnet measurement facilities, such systems are likely used in various configurations suitable for a specific task at hand. To address this diversity, the authors developed a flexible field mapping system capable of being configured and tailored to each particular measurement case. Further, the system needs to address the variability introduced by differences in sensors and their readout systems, probe positioning systems, power supply systems, and required mapping geometry (mapping space and grid, measurement steps and sequences). Although the discussed field mapping systems range from a self-propelled multi-sensor mapper of a large detector magnet to a single 3D Hall sensor system to scan a small permanent magnet, they were all built with the same core mapping system. The variability present in field mapping systems, the measurement system architecture addressing this variability, as well as examples of several field mapping systems built in this architecture are presented.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Detecting dark matter substructures on small scales with fast radio bursts

The matter power spectrum is only weakly constrained on subgalactic scales, while physics beyond the Standard Model can leave unique imprints, especially on sub-parsec scales. We propose measuring the arrival-time difference of fast radio bursts (FRBs) along two adjacent sightlines as a new probe to dark matter substructures on scales down to ∼ 1 AU . We discuss two observational scenarios in which it may be possible to place interesting constraints on such models through the monitoring of repeating FRB sources: (i) By sending radio receivers to space to form a baseline of tens of AU or more and measuring the temporal variation of the arrival-time difference between receivers. (ii) By measuring the temporal variation of the arrival-time difference between two lensed images of one strongly lensed repeater. In both scenarios, obtaining interesting constraints requires correlating the voltage time series to measure the radio signal arrival time to sub-nanosecond precision. We find that two radio dishes separated by 20 AU may be sensitive to the enhancement of small-scale structures at ∼ 10 - 8 M ⊙ masses in the QCD axion dark matter scenario, or from an early epoch of matter domination with a reheating temperature up to 60 MeV. Other dark matter models, such as those composed of ∼ 10 - 13 M ⊙ primordial black holes produced during inflation, would also be probed by this method. We further show that a strong lensing situation of multiple images provides an equivalent ∼ 2000 AU ( σ v / 10 3 km s - 1 ) ( δ t / 10 yr ) baseline, for a typical velocity of dark matter substructures σ v and an observational time span δ . This is much more sensitive, but with the uncertainty that intervening decoherence from the interstellar medium may degrade the timing precision, and that spatial variation in the FRB emission spot may result in confounding signals. We show that the lensing magnifications of Type Ia supernovae constrain a similar quantity to such FRB timing, with present limits being equivalent to ruling out the same parameter space that would be probed by a 0.14 AU baseline.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Ultrafast x-ray imaging of coherently controlled molecular dynamics in real space and time

Coherent control aims to manipulate chemical processes on the latent length and timescales of atoms and bonds, scales that are intrinsic to molecular dynamics but not directly resolved by most experimental probes. As a result, existing coherent-control experiments, which overwhelmingly rely on spectroscopic observables, leave a crucial blind spot: the direct, real-space recovery of all atomic and molecular rearrangements in response to coherently controlled excitations. Here, we overcome this limitation by integrating a Tannor-Kosloff-Rice pump-control-probe scheme with ultrafast X-ray scattering to capture snapshots of the wavepacket motion in a benchmark molecular system. We demonstrate this by photoexciting diatomic iodine vapor with a visible pump pulse, selectively steering the wavepacket toward ground-state recombination or dissociative pathways with a time-delayed near-IR control pulse, and recording the dynamics with angstrom and femtosecond precision with an ultrashort hard X-ray probe pulse. By comparing these structural observations with numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, we reveal how coherent control actively reshapes the molecular charge density distribution. Our results pave the way for leveraging structural feedback as a control handle and provide a fundamental microscopic visualization of quantum decoherence and energy redistribution at the atomic level.

Hopper, Thomas R. [SLAC National Accelerator Labor↗
DOE OSTI2022

Deciphering the Distribution and Crystal-Chemical Environment of Arsenic, Lead, Silica, Phosphorus, Tin, and Zinc in a Porous Ferrihydrite Grain Using Transmission Electron Microscopy and Atom Probe Tomography

Here the interaction of contaminants and nutrients with soil constituents is controlled by processes in intergranular and intragranular pore spaces of organic matter or/and common secondary minerals such as ferrihydrite, ~Fe 3+ 10 O 14 (OH) 2 . This contribution shows that distribution and clustering of the contaminants As, P, Pb, Si, Sn, and Zn in a porous ferrihydrite grain is greatly affected by the heterogeneous size distribution and chemical composition of the pores as well as the ability of their polyhedra to polymerize with the same type of polyhedron. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atom probe tomography (APT) studies are conducted on focused ion beam (FIB) sections extracted from a porous ferrihydrite grain from the smelter-impacted topsoil in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The ferrihydrite grain has pore spaces ranging in diameter from tens to hundreds of nanometers. TEM and scanning-TEM studies indicate that the surfaces of the pore walls are enriched in Si. APT data in conjunction with First Near Neighbor (1NN) analyses indicate different degrees of clustering of Pb, As, Sn, Zn, Si, and P within the sample and selected domains. Careful evaluations of 3D atomic plots and 1NN distances indicates the occurrence of polymerized arsenite-, silica-, Sn-, and Zn-polyhedra within pore spaces of the ferrihydrite. Deciphering adsorption, polymerization, and nucleation processes in porous Fe-(hydr)oxides and other soil constituents requires multianalytical approaches and, in this regard, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the combination of TEM and APT for characterizing complex environmental samples at the atomic to nanometer scale.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗