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At least 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Quantum Phases of Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Moiré Systems

Moiré systems provide a rich platform for studies of strong correlation physics. Recent experiments on heterobilayer transition metal dichalcogenide Moiré systems are exciting in that they manifest a relatively simple model system of an extended Hubbard model on a triangular lattice. Inspired by the prospect of the hetero-transition metal dichalcogenide Moiré system’s potential as a solid-state-based quantum simulator, we explore the extended Hubbard model on the triangular lattice using the density matrix renormalization group. Specifically, we explore the two-dimensional phase space spanned by the key tuning parameters in the extended Hubbard model, namely, the kinetic energy strength and the further-range Coulomb interaction strengths. We find competition between Fermi fluid, chiral spin liquid, spin density wave, and charge order. In particular, our finding of the optimal further-range interaction for the chiral correlation presents a tantalizing possibility.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

MXenoids: Generalization of MXene-Inspired Covalent Surface Modifications Across Two-Dimensional Materials

The ability to perform versatile covalent surface modifications in two-dimensional (2D) inorganic materials marks a significant advance in the functionalization of this broad family of materials. One particularly successful example of 2D materials with chemically modifiable surfaces are 2D transition metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes). MXenes' strong in-plane metal-carbon bonds and labile surface metal-halide bonds create altogether unprecedented opportunities for versatile postsynthetic modifications and assembling complex materials, including various organic-inorganic hybrids. Here, we demonstrate the general applicability of this surface modification strategy to non-MXene halide-terminated 2D materials, termed MXenoids. These surface modifications enable compositional and electronic structure engineering, introduce chiral hybrid organic-inorganic structures, and photoluminescence ranging from near-IR to blue. This study highlights the avenue of surface chemistry-driven materials design, enhancing the functional capabilities of 2D materials.

Zhou, Chenkun [University of Chicago, IL (United S↗
DOE OSTI2025

Power counting of the pion-dilaton effective field theory

Confining QCD-like theories close to the conformal window have a “walking” coupling. This is believed to lead to a light singlet scalar meson in the low-energy spectrum, a dilaton, which is the pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson for the approximate scale symmetry. Extending chiral perturbation theory to include the dilaton requires a new small parameter to control the dilaton mass and its interactions. In our previous work we derived a systematic power counting for the dilaton couplings by matching the effective low-energy theory to the underlying theory using mild assumptions. In this paper we examine two alternative power countings which were proposed in the literature based on a phenomenological picture for the conformal transition. We find that one of these power countings fails, in fact, to generate a systematic expansion; the other coincides with the power counting we derived. We also point out that the so-called Δ -potential coincides with the tree-level potential of the former, invalid, power counting. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Golterman, Maarten (ORCID:0000000319830672)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Astrophysical Equation-of-State Constraints on the Color-Superconducting Gap

We demonstrate that astrophysical constraints on the dense-matter equation of state place an upper bound on the color-superconducting gap in dense matter above the transition from nuclear matter to quark matter. Pairing effects in the color-flavor locked quark matter phase increase the pressure at high density, and if this effect is sufficiently large then the requirements of causality and mechanical stability make it impossible to reach such a pressure in a way that is consistent with what is known at lower densities. The intermediate-density equation of state is inferred by considering extensions of chiral effective field theory to neutron star densities, and conditioning these using current astrophysical observations of neutron star radius, maximum mass, and tidal deformability (PSR J⁢0348+0432, PSR J1624-2230, PSR J⁢0740+6620, GW170817). At baryon number chemical potential μ = 2.6 GeV we find a 95% upper limit on the color-flavor locked pairing gap Δ of 457 MeV using overly conservative assumptions and 216 MeV with more reasonable assumptions. Furthermore, this constraint may be strengthened by future astrophysical measurements as well as by future advances in high-density QCD calculations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

IrGe 4 : A Predicted Weyl-Metal with a Chiral Crystal Structure

Polycrystalline IrGe4 was synthesized by annealing elements at 800 °C for 240 h, and the composition was confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. IrGe 4 adopts a chiral crystal structure (space group P3 1 21) instead of a polar crystal structure (P3 1 ), which was corroborated by the convergent-beam electron diffraction and Rietveld refinements using synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction data. The crystal structure features layers of IrGe 8 polyhedra along the b axis, and the layers are connected by edge- and corner-sharing. Each layer consists of corner-shared [Ir 3 Ge 20 ] trimers, which are formed by three IrGe 8 polyhedra connected by edge-sharing. Temperature-dependent resistivity indicates metallic behavior. The magnetoresistance increases with increasing applied magnetic field, and the nonsaturating magnetoresistance reaches 11.5% at 9 T and 10 K. The Hall resistivity suggests that holes are the majority carrier type, with a carrier concentration of 4.02 × 10 21 cm –3 at 300 K. In conclusion, electronic band structures calculated by density functional theory reveal a Weyl point with a chiral charge of +3 above the Fermi level.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Heat transport with a twist

Despite the desirability of polymers for use in many products due to their flexibility, light weight, and durability, their status as thermal insulators has precluded their use in applications where thermal conductors are required. However, recent results suggest that the thermal conductance of polymers can be enhanced and that their heat transport behaviors may be highly sensitive to nanoscale control. Here we use non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to study the effect of mechanical twist on the steady-state thermal conductance across multi-stranded polyethylene wires. We find that a highly twisted double-helical polyethylene wire can display a thermal conductance up to three times that of its untwisted form, an effect which can be attributed to a structural transition in the strands of the double helix. We also find that in thicker wires composed of many parallel strands, adding just one twist can increase its thermal conductance by over 30%. However, we find that unlike stretching a polymer wire, which causes a monotonic increase in thermal conductance, the effect of twist is highly non-monotonic, and certain amounts of twist can actually decrease the thermal conductance. Finally, we apply the Continuous Chirality Measure (CCM) in an attempt to explore the correlation between heat conductance and chirality. The CCM is found to correlate with twist as expected, but we attribute the observed heat transport behaviors to structural factors other than chirality.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS2011

Comets as Parent Bodies of CI1 Carbonaceous Meteorites and Possible Habitats of Ice-Microbiota

Recent studies of comets and cometary dust have confirmed the presence of biologically relevant organic molecules along with clay minerals and water ice. It is also now well established by deuterium/hydrogen ratios that the CI1 carbonaceous meteorites contain indigenous extraterrestrial water. The evidence of extensive aqueous alteration of the minerals in these meteorites led to the hypothesis that water-bearing asteroids or comets represent the parent bodies of the CI1 (and perhaps CM2) carbonaceous meteorites. These meteorites have also been shown to possess a diverse array of complex organics and chiral and morphological biomarkers. Stable isotope studies by numerous independent investigators have conclusively established that the complex organics found in these meteorites are both indigenous and extraterrestrial in nature. Although the origin of these organics is still unknown, some researchers have suggested that they originated by unknown abiotic mechanisms and may have played a role in the delivery of chiral biomolecules and the origin of life on Early Earth. In this paper we review these results and investigate the thermal history of comets. We show that permanent as well as transient domains of liquid water can be maintained on a comet under a plausible set of assumptions. With each perihelion passage of a comet volatiles are preferentially released, and during millions of such passages the comet could shed crustal debris that may survive transit through the Earth s atmosphere as a carbonaceous meteorite. We review the current state of knowledge of comets and carbonaceous meteorites. We also present the results of recent studies on the long-term viability of terrestrial ice-microbiota encased in ancient glacial ice and permafrost. We suggest that the conditions which have been observed to prevail on many comets do not preclude either survivability (or even the active metabolism and growth) of many types of eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbial extremophiles-including algae, cyanobacteria, bacteria and archaea. It is argued that the chemical and morphological biomarkers detected on comets and carbonaceous meteorites can be explained by ancient microbial activity without the need to invoke unknown abiotic production mechanisms.

Wickramasinghe, N. Chandra↗
DOE OSTI2026

The X17 with Chiral Couplings

In recent years, the ATOMKI collaboration has performed a series of measurements of excited nuclei, observing a resonant excess of electron-positron pairs at large opening angles compared to the Standard Model prediction. The excess has been hypothesized to be due to the production of a new spin-1 or spin-0 particle, X17, with a mass of about 17 MeV. Recently, the PADME experiment has reported an excess in the $e^+e^-$ cross section at center-of-mass energies near 17 MeV, perhaps further hinting at the existence of a new state. Studies of the spin-1 case have hitherto focused on either vector {\em or} axial-vector couplings to quarks and leptons, whereas UV theories more naturally produce {\em both} vector and axial-vector (\textit{i.e.} chiral) couplings, analogous to the Standard Model weak interactions. We consider the ATOMKI anomalies in the context of an $X$ with chiral couplings to quarks and explore the parameter space that can explain the ATOMKI anomalies, contrasting them with experimental constraints. We find that it is possible to accommodate the reported ATOMKI signals. However, the $99\%$ CL region is in tension with null results from searches for atomic parity violation and direct searches for new low mass physics coupled to electrons. This tension is found to be driven by the magnitude of the reported excess in the transition of $^{12}{\rm C}(17.23)$, which drives the best-fit region towards excluded couplings.

Fieg, Max H. [UC, Irvine; UC, Irvine (main); Fermi↗
DOE OSTI2026

New physics in multi-lepton tau decays

Dark particles with lepton-flavor-violating couplings to the tau lepton can induce rare neutrinoless $τ$ decays with large final state multiplicities. We study models where transitions of the type $τ^\pm\to \ell^\pm\,ϕ$, with $ϕ$ a light new particle, initiate a chain of decays in the dark sector that terminate with decays into electrons, muons, or pions. These decay cascades appear as rare five or even seven-body $τ$ decays with multiple reconstructable resonances. We survey several representative models: kinetically mixed dark photon, gauged $L_i-L_j$ models, and other more exotic charge assignments such as chiral $U(1)'$ extensions of the Standard Model. The main new ingredient is the possibility of flavor violation at very high scales. In these models, a number of channels that have not yet been searched for experimentally, such as $τ\to 5μ$, $τ\to 3μ\,2e$, $τ\to μ\,4e$, and hadronic channels like $τ\to μ\,4π$, typically dominate over the previously-considered signatures such as $τ\to 3μ$. While some of the models, such as the gauged $L_i-L_j$ ones, also contain more challenging channels with missing energy due to decays to neutrinos, they can still be searched for via fully visible channels.

Ema, Yohei [Florida U.]↗
DOE OSTI2021

The interplay between spatial and heliconical orientational order in twist-bend nematic materials

The helical pitch formed by organic molecules, such as the α-helix of proteins, usually requires hydrogen bonding between chiral units and long-range positional order. It was recently found that certain liquid crystal oligomers can have a twist-bend nematic (NTB) phase with nanoscale heliconical structure without hydrogen bonding, molecular chirality or positional order. To understand the nature of this unique structure, here we present hard and resonant tender X-ray scattering studies of two novel sulfur containing dimer materials. We simultaneously measure the temperature dependences of the helical pitch and the correlation length of both the helical and positional order. In addition to an unexpected strong variation of the pitch with the length of the spacer connecting the monomer units, we find that at the transition to the NTB phase the positional correlation length drops. Additionally, the helical structure was found not only in the NTB phase but observed even in the upper range of a smectic phase that forms just below the NTB state. The coexistence of smectic layering and the heliconical order indicates a layered (SmATB) phase wherein the rigid units of the dimers are tilted with respect to the smectic layer normal in order to accommodate the bent conformation of the dimers and the tilt direction rotates along the heliconical axis.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Time-reversal invariant topological moiré flat band: A platform for the fractional quantum spin Hall effect

Motivated by recent observation of the quantum spin Hall effect in monolayer germanene and twisted bilayer transition-metal-dichalcogenides (TMDs), we study the topological phases of moir twisted bilayers with time-reversal symmetry and spin sz conservation. By using a continuum model description which can be applied to both germanene and TMD bilayers, we show that at small twist angles the emergent moir flat bands can be topologically nontrivial due to inversion symmetry breaking. Each of these flat bands admits a lowest-Landau-level description for each spin projection in the chiral limit and at magic twist angle. Furthermore, this allows for the construction of a many-body Laughlin state with time-reversal symmetry which can be stabilized by a short-range pseudopotential, and therefore serves as an ideal platform for realizing the so-far elusive fractional quantum spin Hall effect with emergent spin-1/2 U(1) symmetry.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Quantum real-time evolution of entanglement and hadronization in jet production: Lessons from the massive Schwinger model

The possible link between entanglement and thermalization, and the dynamics of hadronization are addressed by studying the real-time response of the massive Schwinger model coupled to external sources. This setup mimics the production and fragmentation of quark jets, as the Schwinger model and quantum chromodynamics (QCD) share the properties of confinement and chiral symmetry breaking. By using simulations of quantum dynamics on classical hardware, we study the entanglement between the produced jets, and observe the growth of the corresponding entanglement entropy in time. This growth arises from the increased number of contributing eigenstates of the reduced density matrix with sufficiently large and close eigenvalues. We also investigate the physical nature of these eigenstates, and find that at early times they correspond to fermionic Fock states. We then observe the transition from these fermionic Fock states to mesonlike bound states as a function of time. In other words, we observe how hadronization develops in real time. At late times, the local observables at midrapidity (such as the fermion density and the electric field) approach approximately constant values, suggesting the onset of equilibrium and approach to thermalization. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Intercalated chalcogenides Fe 1/4 TaS 2 and Fe 1/3 TaS 2 under extreme pressure—temperature conditions

Intercalation is an important strategy for enhancing functionality in complex chalcogenides. This is because layered materials can be endowed with intriguing properties by filling the van der Waals gap with various ions and molecules, which, in addition to their unique chemistry, break symmetry in new ways. In order to explore the properties of intercalated metal dichalcogenides under extreme pressure-temperature conditions, we combine diamond anvil cell techniques, Raman scattering spectroscopy, magnetic susceptibility, and first-principles calculations to reveal the pressure–temperature phase diagram of Fe 1/3 TaS 2 . This system hosts a compression-driven structural phase transition to a polar state as well as remnant charge density wave signatures deriving from the host lamella of the 2H-parent compound. We also explore the role of different A-site patterns and determine that, by comparison, Fe 1/4 TaS 2 is soft and flexible due to the lower metal density inside the van der Waals gap. These findings open the door to entirely new states of matter with exciting property combinations, including metallicity, polarity, chirality, and altermagnetism – depending upon the conditions – that can support a wide range of spintronics and phononics applications.

Materials science↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evidence of a coupled electron-phonon liquid in NbGe 2

Whereas electron-phonon scattering relaxes the electron’s momentum in metals, a perpetual exchange of momentum between phonons and electrons may conserve total momentum and lead to a coupled electron-phonon liquid. Such a phase of matter could be a platform for observing electron hydrodynamics. Here we present evidence of an electron-phonon liquid in the transition metal ditetrelide, NbGe 2 , from three different experiments. First, quantum oscillations reveal an enhanced quasiparticle mass, which is unexpected in NbGe 2 with weak electron-electron correlations, hence pointing at electron-phonon interactions. Second, resistivity measurements exhibit a discrepancy between the experimental data and standard Fermi liquid calculations. Third, Raman scattering shows anomalous temperature dependences of the phonon linewidths that fit an empirical model based on phonon-electron coupling. We discuss structural factors, such as chiral symmetry, short metallic bonds, and a low-symmetry coordination environment as potential design principles for materials with coupled electron-phonon liquid.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

A topological superconductor tuned by electronic correlations

A topological superconductor, characterized by either a chiral order parameter or a topological surface state in proximity to bulk superconductivity, is foundational to topological quantum computing. A key open challenge is whether electron-electron interactions can tune such topological superconducting phases. Here, we provide experimental signatures of a unique topological superconducting phase in competition with electronic correlations in 10-unit-cell thick FeTe x Se 1-x films grown on SrTiO 3 substrates. When the Te content x exceeds 0.7, we observe a topological transition marked by the emergence of a superconducting surface state. Near the FeTe limit, the system undergoes another transition where the surface state disappears, and superconductivity is suppressed. Theory suggests that electron-electron interactions in the odd-parity xy− band drives this second topological transition. The flattening and eventual decoherence of d xy -derived bands track the superconducting dome, linking correlation effects directly to superconducting coherent transport. Our work establishes many-body electronic correlations as a sensitive knob for tuning topology and superconductivity, offering a pathway to engineer new topological phases in correlated materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Control of chiral orbital currents in a colossal magnetoresistance material

Colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) is an extraordinary enhancement of the electrical conductivity in the presence of a magnetic field. It is conventionally associated with a field-induced spin polarization that drastically reduces spin scattering and electric resistance. Ferrimagnetic Mn 3 Si 2 Te 6 is an intriguing exception to this rule: it exhibits a seven-order-of-magnitude reduction in ab plane resistivity that occurs only when a magnetic polarization is avoided 1,2 . Here, we report an exotic quantum state that is driven by ab plane chiral orbital currents (COC) flowing along edges of MnTe 6 octahedra. The c axis orbital moments of ab plane COC couple to the ferrimagnetic Mn spins to drastically increase the ab plane conductivity (CMR) when an external magnetic field is aligned along the magnetic hard c axis. Consequently, COC-driven CMR is highly susceptible to small direct currents exceeding a critical threshold, and can induce a time-dependent, bistable switching that mimics a first-order ‘melting transition’ that is a hallmark of the COC state. Further, the demonstrated current-control of COC-enabled CMR offers a new paradigm for quantum technologies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Decay of skeins of dislocations in cholesterics: rewiring Conway's tangles into necklaces of bangles

Knotted and linked skeins of vortices and disclinations generated, respectively, by symmetry-breaking normal → superfluid and isotropic → nematic phase transitions are known to untie, by rewiring of their crossings, into independent unknots that finally shrink and collapse until the defect-free ground state is reached. We demonstrate that the decay of skeins of dislocations, generated by the isotropic → cholesteric phase transition within a cylinder/cylinder gap, leads to stable necklace-like states made of numerous minimal loops, called bangles, tethered to kinks of much larger loops called cargo. We analyze the topological decay of skeins of dislocations in terms of the Conway–Kauffman theory of knots, showing that the necklace state results from rewiring of crossings triggered by collisions of tangles with their numerator closure. We point out that, in general, for symmetry reasons, kinks on edge dislocations are chiral. Their handedness, right or left, directly depends on the sign of kinks on which they are localized. In cholesterics with intrinsic chirality, the energy of kinks bearing bangles depends on their handedness. For this reason, within necklaces, all bangles are tethered to kinks of the same sign.

Lee, Jun-Yong [International Institute for Sustain↗