SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “transform limit”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2026

Exploring high-intensity laser-driven secondary sources via high-order spectral pulse shaping for high-energy-density experiments

We present here the results of an investigation that aims to explore the impact of spectral pulse shaping on the generation of high-energy electrons (>1 MeV) and x rays (∼5–9 keV) using a high-intensity (I∼10 21 W/cm 2 ) laser system. The study involved a systematic scan of a broad parameter space in group delay dispersion and third-order dispersion, with variations up to 4 × 10 3 fs −2 and 6 × 10 4 fs −3 , respectively, to identify optimal conditions for enhancing secondary source yields. Several spectral phase conditions were found to significantly enhance the generation of hot electrons and x rays by amounts reaching up to 50% relative to the transform-limited pulse. The experiment, conducted at the Scarlet laser facility (800 nm, 5 J, 30 fs) at the Ohio State University, highlights the potential of spectral pulse shaping as a powerful tool for tuning secondary laser-driven sources. These findings are particularly relevant for advancing brighter x-ray and electron probes for high-energy-density science.

Physics - Plasma physics↗

DOE OSTI2020

Accuracy of the duration estimates of ultrashort laser pulses using a single-shot second-order intensity autocorrelator

The accuracy of estimating the duration of single-cycle laser pulses with centre wavelengths of 910 and 780 nm is analysed using a single-shot second-order intensity autocorrelator. It is shown that estimates of the single-cycle pulse duration with an error of less than 5 % require the use of KDP crystals with a thickness of no more than 10 μm for the second harmonic generation. At the same time, to estimate the duration of a transform-limited pulse containing ten optical cycles, the crystal thickness can be up to 1 mm. In this case, at an optimum angle of convergence of the first-harmonic beams, the duration estimation error is less than 2 %. (paper)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2024

Generating and processing optical waveforms using spectral singularities

Here, we show that a laser at threshold can be utilized to generate the class of coherent and transform-limited waveforms (vt — z) m e i(kz—ωt) at optical frequencies. We derive these properties analytically and demonstrate them in semiclassical time-domain laser simulations. We then utilize these waveforms to expand other waveforms with high modulation frequencies and demonstrate theoretically the feasibility of complex-frequency coherent absorption at optical frequencies, with efficient energy transduction and cavity loading. This approach has potential applications in quantum computing, photonic circuits, and biomedicine.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2022

Femtosecond-Terawatt Hard X-Ray Pulse Generation with Chirped Pulse Amplification on a Free Electron Laser

Advances of high intensity lasers have opened up the field of strong field physics and led to a broad range of technological applications. Recent x ray laser sources and optics development makes it possible to obtain extremely high intensity and brightness at x ray wavelengths. In this paper, we present a system design that implements chirped pulse amplification for hard x ray free electron lasers. Numerical modeling with realistic experimental parameters show that near-transform-limit single-femtosecond hard x ray laser pulses with peak power exceeding 1 TW and brightness exceeding 4×10 35 s -1 mm -2 mrad -2 0.1\%bandwdith -1 can be consistently generated. In conclusion, realization of such beam qualities is essential for establishing systematic and quantitative understanding of strong field x-ray physics and nonlinear x ray optics phenomena.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2025

An alternative method of changing the pulse duration in a stretcher-compressor pair by changing the gas pressure in the compressor

The relatively narrow bandwidth of neodymium glass requires a much larger stretch ratio of chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) systems. This factor, together with a large incident angle on the gratings, makes glass CPA systems extremely sensitive to the refractive index of the medium in the stretcher-compressor. High sensitivity of the stretcher-compressor pair for hybrid optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification and an Nd:glass laser to the refractive index was demonstrated in air, vacuum, and carbon dioxide, and a pulse duration close to the transform limit was reached. An alternative way to change the pulse duration was proposed. The pulse duration from the best compression of 500 fs to 30 ps was smoothly varied by changing the air pressure from 10 -6 Torr to 1 atm in the compressor and up to 52 ps in carbon dioxide, while the stretcher and compressor remained untouched. Finally, excellent agreement of the measured pulse duration with theoretical calculations was demonstrated.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2022

Impact of the optical parametric amplification phase on laser pulse compression

Optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) is an effective way to generate ultrashort pulses that has been used extensively for a variety of applications requiring high peak intensities. Precise control and measurement of a system’s spectral and spatial phases are required for Fourier transform–limited pulse compression and diffraction-limited focusing. Phase accumulated during optical parametric amplification (OPA) can degrade the compressibility and focusability of the pulse, reducing peak intensity. We used analytic and numerical analysis of OPA to study the influence of crystal parameters, wavefront of the pump and signal, and their relative optical alignment on the accumulated phase. Here, we show that the accumulated signal phase is largely independent of amplifier saturation and, with significant local wavefront gradients in the signal or pump beam, the quality of the compressed pulses can be degraded. We use first-order expressions for the pump- and signal-angle sensitivity to evaluate an OPCPA system consisting of a highly deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate (DKDP) amplifier designed to support bandwidth for 15 fs pulses centered at 920 nm.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2021

Ultranarrow bandwidth pulses from a regeneratively mode-locked fiber laser

We report on the generation of transform-limited nanosecond pulse with an ultranarrow bandwidth from a regeneratively mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser. A narrow bandwidth fiber Bragg grating is combined with a bulk amplitude electro-optic modulator to shape pulse evolution inside a ring cavity, and regenerative mode locking is applied to produce a stationary shape of pulses in the nanosecond regime (2.05 ns in duration). Spectral characterization via high bandwidth optoelectronic devices shows that optical pulses have an ultranarrow bandwidth of 220 MHz. Numerical simulation reveals that the shape of the narrow spectral filter has a strong effect on the duration and bandwidth of output pulses.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Single-shot measurements of shaped XUV FEL pulses with frequency-resolved optical gating

The ability to control the amplitude and phase of extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and X-ray free-electron laser (FEL) pulses can allow for the extension of optical techniques, such as multidimensional spectroscopy or coherent control, to higher photon energies, for probing and controlling core electronic transitions. However, this requires the ability to make single-shot, and complete, electric field measurements of potentially complex FEL pulses, in order to develop, and verify, pulse shaping strategies. Here, we present direct, single-shot measurements of XUV pulses generated under special operating configurations for producing specific pulse shapes from a laser-seeded XUV FEL. To do this, we built upon our past work using transient grating (TG) cross correlation frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG), where an optical reference pulse is diffracted from an XUV TG produced by a pair of interfering FEL pulses. The resulting nonlinear signal versus frequency and delay, i.e., the FROG trace, contains the electric field of the FEL pulse. The FEL pulse electric field is reconstructed from the FROG trace using a phase retrieval algorithm. Here we confirmed three different pulse shaping strategies for generating chirped, double and multiple FEL pulses by tuning the seed laser and FEL parameters and measuring the resulting shaped FEL pulses with TG XFROG. This work paves the way for generating on-demand pulse shapes with a seeded FEL by improving the characterization of FEL pulses, for transform-limited to more complex shapes.

Elverson, Francesca↗

DOE OSTI2026

Spectral broadening and compression of picosecond pulses in air using a multi-pass cell

We report the spectral broadening and post-compression of picosecond pulses using a multi-pass cell (MPC) operating in air. A 2 m-long bi-concave cavity with 41 reflections and 96.4% transmission was designed and implemented, optimized for the compression of 5.5 ps, 4.5 mJ pulses from a Yb:YAG laser operating at 1030 nm. A 19.3-fold spectral broadening was obtained, increasing the bandwidth from 0.3 nm to 5.8 nm, which enabled pulse compression down to 547 fs with a symmetric temporal profile close to the transform limit. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using open-air MPCs for high-energy picosecond pulse post-compression, without the need for sealed chambers, while preserving high mode quality and transmission. Scaling to pulse higher energy is discussed.

Zaldivar Escola, F. [Univ. of Buenos Aires (Argent↗

DOE OSTI2022

Efficient generation of the 7th harmonic of Ti:sapphire (114.6 nm) vacuum ultraviolet pulses with 60 fs duration by non-collinear four-wave mixing in argon

The recent advances in femtosecond vacuum UV (VUV) pulse generation, pioneered by the work of Noack et al., has enabled new experiments in ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy. Expanding on this work, we report the generation of 60 fs VUV pulses at the 7th harmonic of Ti:sapphire with more than 50 nJ of pulse energy at a repetition rate of 1 kHz. Additionally, the 114.6 nm pulses are produced using non-collinear four-wave difference-frequency mixing in argon. The non-collinear geometry increases the phase-matching pressure, and results in a conversion efficiency of ~10-3 from the 200 nm pump beam. The VUV pulses are pre-chirp-compensated for material dispersion with xenon, which has negative dispersion in this wavelength range, thus allowing almost transform-limited pulses to be delivered to the experimental chamber.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2025

Few-cycle self-compression of GW mid-IR pulses in an anti-resonant fiber in ambient air

We report self-compression of mid-IR optical pulses to the few-cycle regime in an anti-resonant hollow core fiber filled with ambient air. Transform-limited 120-fs duration input optical pulses with 160 μJ energy are compressed to 29.8 fs (< 3 cycles) with a compression efficiency of 75%, resulting in 2.6 GW peak power few-cycle pulses. In addition, we show that nonlinear compression is maintained when the fiber is coiled, allowing for a compact setup. Lastly, we elucidate the dynamics involved in this self-compression setup via numerical simulations and identify the critical role played by Raman shifting in molecular gases and ionization limitations.

Hettel, Will [University of Colorado & NIST, Bould↗

DOE OSTI2021

The controlling role of atmosphere in dawsonite versus gibbsite precipitation from tetrahedral aluminate species

In highly alkaline solution, aluminum speciates as the tetrahedrally coordinated aluminate monomer, Al(OH)4- and/or dimer Al2O(OH)62-, yet precipitates as octahedrally coordinated gibbsite (Al(OH)3). This tetrahedral to octahedral transformation governs Al precipitation, which is crucial to worldwide Al production, and to the processing of caustic high-level radioactive wastes. Despite its significance, the transformation pathway remains unknown. Here we explore the roles of atmospheric water and carbon dioxide in mediating the transformation of the tetrahedrally coordinated potassium aluminate dimer salt (K2Al2O(OH)6) to gibbsite versus potassium dawsonite (KAl(CO3)(OH)2). A combination of in-situ attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy, ex-situ micro X-ray diffraction, and multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares chemometrics analysis reveals that humidity plays a key role in the transformation by limiting the amount of alkalinity neutralization by dissolved CO2. Lower humidity favors higher alkalinity and incorporation of carbonate species in the final Al product to form KAl(CO3)(OH)2. Higher humidity enables more acid generation that destabilizes dawsonite and favors gibbsite as the solubility limiting phase. Because the transformation was restricted to occur in thin water films, the results suggest that transition from tetra- to octahedrally coordinated Al does not have to occur in bulk solution, as has often been hypothesized, but may instead appear on the source mineral surface.

Dembowski, Mateusz↗

DOE OSTI2024

Improved limits on n → n ' transformation from the Spallation Neutron Source

Conversions between neutrons n and dark matter candidate sterile neutrons n' have been proposed as a mechanism for baryon number $\mathscr{B}$ violation. In the case that there is a small mass difference Δ⁢m between the n and the n' states, oscillations can be induced by compensating for Δ⁢m with a magnetic field. A search for such neutron oscillations was performed at the Spallation Neutron Source by looking for anomalous neutron transmission through a strongly absorbing cadmium wafer inside of a 6.6 T magnet. The approach described here saw no regenerated neutrons above background, which provides an improved limit for neutron–sterile neutron transformations for a range of Δ⁢m between 0.1 and 1000 neV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Historical Bolide Infrasound Dataset (1960–1972)

We present the first fully curated, publicly accessible archive of infrasonic records from ten large bolide events documented by the U.S. Air Force Technical Applications Center’s global microbarometer network between 1960 and 1972. Captured on analog strip-chart paper, these waveforms predate modern digital arrays and space-based sensors, making them a unique window on meteoroid activity in the mid-twentieth century. Prior studies drew important scientific conclusions from the records but released only limited artifacts, chiefly period–amplitude tables and unprocessed scans, leaving the underlying data inaccessible for independent study. The present release transforms those limited excerpts into a research-ready resource. By capturing ten large events in the mid-20th century, the dataset constitutes a critical reference point for assessing bolide activity before the advent of modern space-based and digital ground-based monitoring. The multi-year coverage and worldwide distribution of events provide a valuable reference for comparing past and more recent detections, facilitating assessments of long-term flux and the dynamics of acoustic wave propagation in Earth’s atmosphere. The dataset’s availability in a consolidated format ensures straightforward access to waveforms and derived measurements, supporting a wide range of scientific inquiries into bolide physics and infrasound monitoring. By preserving these historical acoustic observations, the collection maintains a significant record of mid-20th-century meteoroid entries. It thereby establishes a basis for further refinement of impact hazard evaluations, contributes to historical continuity in atmospheric observation, and enriches the study of meteoroid-generated infrasound signals on a global scale.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

A Machine Learning-Based Method to Estimate Transformer Primary-Side Voltages with Limited Customer-Side AMI Measurements

Distribution control applications such as volt/var optimization, network reconfiguration, and distribution automation require accurate knowledge of the distribution system state. The lack of sufficient sensors on the primary side of distribution networks often limits the accuracy of the control decisions by these applications. The deployment of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) provides utilities an opportunity to translate the AMI data on the secondary onto the primary so that it can be used as pseudo-measurements to augment the limited existing measurements on the primary. This paper develops an approach for estimating service transformer primary-side voltages by using limited secondary-side AMI measurements. The estimated primary-side voltages can be used by utilities as pseudo-measurements for distribution control applications. The detailed secondary model topology, which is an essential input data for many existing algorithms, is not required for the proposed method. The performance of the proposed method is validated by using AMI measurements from the field and an actual distribution feeder model of San Diego Gas & Electric Company.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

A Machine Learning-Based Method to Estimate Transformer Primary-Side Voltages with Limited Customer-Side AMI Measurements: Preprint

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Dual phase patterning during a congruent grain boundary phase transition in elemental copper

The phase behavior of grain boundaries can have a strong influence on interfacial properties. Little is known about the emergence of grain boundary phases in elemental metal systems and how they transform. Here, we observe the nanoscale patterning of a grain boundary by two alternating grain boundary phases with distinct atomic structures in elemental copper by atomic resolution imaging. The same grain boundary phases are found by computational grain boundary structure search indicating a first-order transformation. Finite temperature atomistic simulations reveal a congruent, diffusionless transition between these phases under ambient pressure. The patterning of the grain boundary at room temperature is dominated by the grain boundary phase junctions separating the phase segments. Our analysis suggests that the reduced mobility of the phase junctions at low temperatures kinetically limits the transformation, but repulsive elastic interactions between them and disconnections could additionally stabilize the pattern formation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2023

Rapidly Changing Range Limits in a Warming World: Critical Data Limitations and Knowledge Gaps for Advancing Understanding of Mangrove Range Dynamics in the Southeastern USA

Climate change is altering species’ range limits and transforming ecosystems. For example, warming temperatures are leading to the range expansion of tropical, cold-sensitive species at the expense of their cold-tolerant counterparts. In some temperate and subtropical coastal wetlands, warming winters are enabling mangrove forest encroachment into salt marsh, which is a major regime shift that has significant ecological and societal ramifications. Here, we synthesized existing data and expert knowledge to assess the distribution of mangroves near rapidly changing range limits in the southeastern USA. We used expert elicitation to identify data limitations and highlight knowledge gaps for advancing understanding of past, current, and future range dynamics. Mangroves near poleward range limits are often shorter, wider, and more shrublike compared to their tropical counterparts that grow as tall forests in freeze-free, resource-rich environments. The northern range limits of mangroves in the southeastern USA are particularly dynamic and climate sensitive due to abundance of suitable coastal wetland habitat and the exposure of mangroves to winter temperature extremes that are much colder than comparable range limits on other continents. Thus, there is need for methodological refinements and improved spatiotemporal data regarding changes in mangrove structure and abundance near northern range limits in the southeastern USA. Advancing understanding of rapidly changing range limits is critical for foundation plant species such as mangroves, as it provides a basis for anticipating and preparing for the cascading effects of climate-induced species redistribution on ecosystems and the human communities that depend on their ecosystem services.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗