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Results for “FERMI INTERACTIONS”

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 361 records · Page 20
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Charge transfer excitations, pair density waves, and superconductivity in moiré materials

Transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) bilayers are a new class of tunable moiré systems attracting interest as quantum simulators of strongly interacting electrons in two dimensions. In particular, recent theory predicts that the correlated insulator observed in WSe 2 /WS 2 at half filling is a charge-transfer insulator similar to cuprates and, upon further hole doping, exhibits a transfer of charge from anionlike to cationlike orbitals at different locations in the moiré unit cell. In this work, we demonstrate that in this doped charge-transfer insulator, tightly bound charge-2$\textit{e}$ excitations can form to lower the total electrostatic repulsion. This composite excitation, which we dub a trimer, consists of a pair of holes bound to a charge-transfer exciton. When the bandwidth of doped holes is small, trimers crystallize into insulating pair density waves at a sequence of commensurate doping levels. Further, when the bandwidth becomes comparable to the pair binding energy, itinerant holes and charge-2$\textit{e}$ trimers interact resonantly, leading to unconventional superconductivity similar to superfluidity in an ultracold Fermi gas near Feshbach resonance. Our theory is broadly applicable to strongly interacting charge-transfer insulators, such as WSe 2 /WS 2 or TMD homobilayers under an applied electric field.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Minimal one-dimensional model of bad metal behavior from fast particle-hole scattering

A strongly interacting plasma of linearly dispersing electron and hole excitations in two spatial dimensions (2D), also known as a Dirac fluid, can be captured by relativistic hydrodynamics and shares many universal features with other quantum critical systems. Here, we propose a one-dimensional (1D) model to capture key aspects of the 2D Dirac fluid while including lattice effects and being amenable to nonperturbative computation. When interactions are added to the Dirac-like 1D dispersion without opening a gap, we show that this kind of irrelevant interaction is able to preserve Fermi-liquid-like quasiparticle features while relaxing a zero-momentum charge current via collisions between particle-hole excitations, leading to resistivity that is linear in temperature via a mechanism previously discussed for large-diameter metallic carbon nanotubes. We further provide a microscopic lattice model and obtain numerical results via density-matrix renormalization group simulations, which support the above physical picture. The limits on such fast relaxation at strong coupling are of considerable interest because of the ubiquity of bad metals in experiments.

1-dimensional systems↗
DOE OSTI2011

Warm {alpha}-nucleon matter

The properties of warm dilute {alpha}-nucleon matter are studied in a variational approach in the Thomas-Fermi approximation starting from an effective two-body nucleon-nucleon interaction. The equation of state, symmetry energy, incompressibility of the said matter, and {alpha} fraction are in consonance with those evaluated from the virial approach, which sets the benchmark for such calculations at low densities.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Evidence of Incoherent Carriers Associated with Resonant Impurity Levels and Their Influence on Superconductivity in the Anomalous Superconductor Pb 1 - x Tl x Te

We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the evolution of the Fermi surface of the anomalous superconductor Pb 1-x Tl x Te as a function of thallium concentration, drawing on a combination of magnetotransport measurements (Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations and the Hall coefficient), angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations of the electronic structure. Our results indicate that for Tl concentrations beyond a critical value, the Fermi energy coincides with resonant impurity states in Pb 1-x Tl x Te , and we rule out the presence of an additional valence band maximum at the Fermi energy. Finally, a comparison to nonsuperconducting Pb 1-x Na x Te implies that the presence of these impurity states at the Fermi energy provides the enhanced pairing interaction and thus also the anomalously high temperature superconductivity in this material.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Triplet p + ip pairing correlations in the doped Kane-Mele-Hubbard model: A quantum Monte Carlo study

By using the constrained-phase quantum Monte Carlo method, we performed a systematic study of the pairing correlations in the ground state of the doped Kane-Mele-Hubbard model on a honeycomb lattice. We find that pairing correlations with d + id symmetry dominate close to half filling, but pairing correlations with p+ip symmetry dominate as hole doping moves the system below three-quarters filling. We correlate these behaviors of the pairing correlations with the topology of the Fermi surfaces of the non-interacting problem. We also find that the effective pairing correlation is enhanced greatly as the interaction increases, and these superconducting correlations are robust against varying the spin-orbit coupling strength. Finally, our numerical results suggest a possible way to realize spin triplet superconductivity in doped honeycomb-like materials or ultracold atoms in optical traps.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Study of antineutrino oscillations using accelerator and atmospheric data in MINOS

The Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) is a long baseline experiment that was built for studying the neutrino oscillation phenomena. The MINOS experiment uses high intensity muon neutrino and antineutrino beams created by Neutrinos at the Main Injector facility (NuMI) at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). Neutrino interactions are recorded by two sampling steel-scintillator tracking calorimeters: 0.98\,kton Near Detector at Fermilab, IL and 5.4\,kton Far Detector at the Soudan Underground Laboratory, MN. These two detectors are functionally identical, which helps to reduce the systematic uncertainties in the muon neutrino and antineutrino disappearance measurements. The Near Detector, located 1.04\,km from the neutrino production target, is used to measure the initial beam composition and neutrino energy proximal to the neutrino source. The collected data at the Near Detector is then used to predict energy spectrum in the Far Detector. By comparing this prediction to collected data at the Far Detector, which is 735\,km away from the target, it enables a measurement of a set of parameters that govern the neutrino oscillation phenomenon. \\ \indent The flexibility of the NuMI beam configuration and the magnetization of the MINOS detectors facilitate the identification of $\nu_{\mu}$ and $\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ charged-current interactions on an event-by-event basis. This enables one to measure neutrino and antineutrino oscillation parameters independently and therefore allows us to test the CPT symmetry in the lepton sector. To enhance the sensitivity of the oscillation parameters measurement, a number of techniques have been implemented. Event classification, shower energy estimation and energy resolution bin fitting, which are described in this dissertation, are three of these techniques. Moreover, the most stringent constraints on oscillation parameters can be achieved by combining multiple data sets. \\ \indent This dissertation reports the measurement of antineutrino oscill! ation parameters using the complete MINOS accelerator and atmospheric data set of charged-current $\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ events. This set comprises exposures of (i) 3.36\times 10^{20} proton-on-target (POT) in the \bar{\nu}_{\mu}-beam mode, (ii) 10.71\times 10^{20} POT in the \nu_{\mu}-beam mode, and (iii) 37.88 kton yr of atmospheric antineutrinos. The data analysis provides the world's most precise measurement to date on the antineutrino oscillation parameters: $|\Delta \overline{m}^2|=\left( 2.50^{+0.23}_{-0.29}\right) \times 10^{-3} \,eV^2$ and $\sin^2(2\bar{\theta})=0.97^{+0.03}_{-0.08}$. This result is consistent with neutrino oscillation parameters independently measured by MINOS and by others. The difference between antineutrino and neutrino mass-squared splittings is computed to be $|\Delta \overline{m}^2|-|\Delta m^2|=\left(0.13^{+0.23}_{-0.25}\right) \times 10^{-3} \, eV^2$.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Nuclear Effects in Neutrino Interactions at Low Momentum Transfer

This is a study to identify predicted effects of the carbon nucleus environment on neutrino - nucleus interactions with low momentum transfer. A large sample of neutrino interaction data collected by the MINERvA experiment is analyzed to show the distribution of charged hadron energy in a region with low momentum transfer. These distributions reveal a major discrepancy between the data and a popular interaction model with only the simplest Fermi gas nuclear effects. Detailed analysis of systematic uncertainties due to energy scale and resolution can account for only a little of the discrepancy. Two additional nuclear model effects, a suppression/screening effect (RPA), and the addition of a meson exchange current process (MEC), are shown to improve the description of the data.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS1975

Aluminum under high pressure: 1 equation of state

A curve of applied pressure P versus lattice constant a is calculated for single crystal aluminum. It results from an application of the method of structural expansions for deriving the energies of simple metals, a method known to give reasonable results for the elastic constants even at second order in the effective electron-ion interaction. The method is taken from Fermi surface analysis . This essentially experimental information is used to verify that the extant face-centered cubic structure remains the preferred crystalline phase up to the highest pressures considered. Arguments are given to suggest that the P versus a curve should have reasonable a priori accuracy, which may be improved if experimental data in the intermediate pressure region can be provided to refine the energy dependent pseudo-potential. At 3 megabars the lattice constant is reduced by only 22%; the ion cores at this pressure are still very well separated.

Friedli, C.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Modeling of Optoelectronic Devices

Ultrafast modulation of semiconductor quantum well (QW) laser is of technological importance for information technology. Improvement by order(s) of magnitude in data transfer rate is possible as terahertz (THz) radiation is available for heating the laser at picosecond time scale. Optical gain modulation in the QW is achieved via temperature modulation of electron-hole plasma (EHP). Applications include free-space THz communication, optical switching, and pulse generation. The EHP in the semiconductor QW is described with a two-band model. Semiconductor Bloch equations with many-body effects are used to derive a hydrodynamical model for the active QW region. Because of ultrafast carrier-carrier scatterings in the order of 50 fs, EHP follows quasiequilibrium Fermi-Dirac distributions and THz field interacts incoherently with it. Carrier-longitudinal optical (LO) phonon scatterings and coherent laser-EHP interaction are treated microscopically in our physical model. A set of hydrodynamical equations for plasma density, temperature, and laser envelop amplitude are derived and Runge-Kutta method is adopted for numerical simulation. A typical 8 nm GaAs/Al(0.3)Ga(0.7) As single QW at 300 K is used. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Li, Jian-Zhong↗
NASA NTRS2010

K-shell Photoionization of Na-like to Cl-like Ions of Mg, Si, S, Ar, and Ca

We present R-matrix calculations of photoabsorption and photoionization cross sections across the K edge of Mg, Si, S, Ar, and Ca ions with more than 10 electrons. The calculations include the effects of radiative and Auger damping by means of an optical potential. The wave functions are constructed from single-electron. orbital bases obtained using a Thomas-Fermi-Dirac statistical model potential. Configuration interaction is considered among all states up to n = 3. The damping processes affect the resonances converging to the K-thresholds causing them to display symmetric profiles of constant width that smear the otherwise sharp edge at the photoionization threshold. These data are important for the modeling of features found in photoionized plasmas.

Witthoeft, M. C.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Asymmetric Electron Transport at Monolayer-Bilayer Heterojunctions of Epitaxial Graphene

The symmetry of the graphene honeycomb lattice is a key element determining many of graphene s unique electronic properties, such as the linear energy-momentum dispersion and the suppressed backscattering 1,2. However, line defects in large-scale epitaxial graphene films, such as grain boundaries, edges, surface steps, and changes in layer thickness, often break the sublatttice symmetry and can impact transport properties of graphene profoundly 3-6. Here we report asymmetric electron transport upon polarity reversal at individual monolayer-bilayer (ML-BL) boundaries in epitaxial graphene on SiC (0001), revealed by scanning tunneling potentiometry. A greater voltage drop is observed when the current flows from BL to ML graphene than in the reverse direction, and the difference remains nearly unchanged with increasing current. This is not a typical nonlinear conductance due to electron transmission through an asymmetric potential. Rather, it indicates the opening of a dynamic energy gap at the Fermi energy due to the Coulomb interaction between the injected nonequilibrium electron density and the pseudospin polarized Friedel oscillation charge density at the boundary. This intriguing heterojunction transport behavior opens a new avenue towards novel quantum functions such as quantum switching.

Li, An-Ping↗
DOE OSTI2016

Transition from Sign-Reversed to Sign-Preserved Cooper-Pairing Symmetry in Sulfur-Doped Iron Selenide Superconductors

Here, an essential step toward elucidating the mechanism of superconductivity is to determine the sign or phase of the superconducting order parameter, as it is closely related to the pairing interaction. In conventional superconductors, the electron-phonon interaction induces attraction between electrons near the Fermi energy and results in a sign-preserved s-wave pairing. For high-temperature superconductors, including cuprates and iron-based superconductors, prevalent weak coupling theories suggest that the electron pairing is mediated by spin fluctuations which lead to repulsive interactions, and therefore that a sign-reversed pairing with an s± or d-wave symmetry is favored. Here, by using magnetic neutron scattering, a phase sensitive probe of the superconducting gap, we report the observation of a transition from the sign-reversed to sign-preserved Cooper-pairing symmetry with insignificant changes in T c in the S-doped iron selenide superconductors K x Fe 2-y (Se 1-z S z ) 2 . We show that a rather sharp magnetic resonant mode well below the superconducting gap (2Δ) in the undoped sample (z=0) is replaced by a broad hump structure above 2Δ under 50% S doping. These results cannot be readily explained by simple spin fluctuation-exchange pairing theories and, therefore, multiple pairing channels are required to describe superconductivity in this system. Our findings may also yield a simple explanation for the sometimes contradictory data on the sign of the superconducting order parameter in iron-based materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Current algebra approach to two-dimensional interacting chiral metals

In this study, we reinterpret the chiral U(N) Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) model at level k>1 in (1+1) dimensions as an interacting chiral metal in two space dimensions. In this reinterpretation, spatial translations along one of the spatial dimensions in the two-dimensional chiral metal arise from a generator of the U(N) symmetry of the WZW model. The WZW model at k=1 is equivalent to Balents and Fisher's free chiral metal. Here, the U(N) symmetry corresponds to the IR symmetry of a chiral Fermi gas with (half of a) Fermi surface, with N equal to the number of points on the Fermi surface. We argue that exactly solvable interacting generalizations occur for levels k>1. Importantly, these interacting chiral metals maintain the U(N) symmetry of the free system. We calculate two-point correlation functions of the single-particle fermion operator, the U⁡(1) number density, and current operators in these theories for general k. We find that interactions (k>1) produce 1/N corrections to scaling of the single-particle fermion operator as N→∞ and renormalize the amplitudes of the density and current two-point functions. This construction illustrates the ersatz Fermi liquid proposal of Else et al.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Dark matter subhalos and unidentified sources in the Fermi 3FGL source catalog

If dark matter consists of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), dark matter subhalos in the Milky Way could be detectable as gamma-ray point sources due to WIMP annihilation. In this work, we perform an updated study of the detectability of dark matter subhalos as gamma-ray sources with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi LAT). We use the results of the Via Lactea II simulation, scaled to the Planck 2015 cosmological parameters, to predict the local dark matter subhalo distribution. Under optimistic assumptions for the WIMP parameters—a 40 GeV particle annihilating to b b-bar with a thermal cross-section, as required to explain the Galactic center GeV excess—we predict that at most ∼ 10 subhalos might be present in the third Fermi LAT source catalog (3FGL). This is a smaller number than has been predicted by prior studies, and we discuss the origin of this difference. We also compare our predictions for the detectability of subhalos with the number of subhalo candidate sources in 3FGL, and derive upper limits on the WIMP annihilation cross-section as a function of the particle mass. If a dark matter interpretation could be excluded for all 3FGL sources, our constraints would be competitive with those found by indirect searches using other targets, such as known Milky Way satellite galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

The influence of pairing correlations on the isospin symmetry breaking corrections of superallowed Fermi beta decays

Within the framework of quasi-particle random phase approximation, the isospin breaking correction of superallowed 0{sup +} {yields} 0{sup +} beta decay and unitarity of Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa mixing matrix have been investigated. The broken isotopic symmetry of nuclear part of Hamiltonian has been restored by Pyatov's method. The isospin symmetry breaking correction with pairing correlations has been compared with the previous results without pairing. The effect of pairing interactions has been examined for nine superallowed Fermi beta decays; their parent nuclei are {sup 26}Al, {sup 34}Cl, {sup 38}K, {sup 42}Sc, {sup 46}V, {sup 50}Mn, {sup 54}Co, {sup 62}Ga, {sup 74}Rb.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2010

Highlights of GeV Gamma-Ray Astronomy

Because high-energy gamma rays are primarily produced by high-energy particle interactions, the gamma-ray survey of the sky by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope offers a view of sites of cosmic ray production and interactions. Gamma-ray bursts, pulsars, pulsar wind nebulae, binary sources, and Active Galactic Nuclei are all phenomena that reveal particle acceleration through their gamma-ray emission. Diffuse Galactic gamma radiation, Solar System gamma-ray sources, and energetic radiation from supernova remnants are likely tracers of high-energy particle interactions with matter and photon fields. This paper will present a broad overview of the constantly changing sky seen with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi spacecraft.

Thompson, David J.↗