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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 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

The SAGEX review on scattering amplitudes Chapter 7: Positive geometry of scattering amplitudes

Abstract Scattering amplitudes are both a wonderful playground to discover novel ideas in quantum field theory and simultaneously of immense phenomenological importance to make precision predictions for e.g. particle collider observables and more recently also for gravitational wave signals. In this review chapter, we give an overview of some of the exciting recent progress on reformulating QFT in terms of mathematical, geometric quantities, such as polytopes, associahedra, Grassmanians, and the amplituhedron. In this novel approach, standard notions of locality and unitarity are derived concepts rather than fundamental ingredients in the construction which might give us a handle on a number of open questions in QFT that have evaded an answer for decades. We first give a basic summary of positive geometry before discussing the associahedron—one of the simplest physically relevant geometric examples—and its relation to tree-level scattering amplitudes in bi-adjoint ϕ 3 theory. Our second example is the amplituhedron construction for scattering amplitudes in planar maximally supersymmetric Yang–Mills theory.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2026

IR side of bounds on theories with spontaneously broken Lorentz symmetry

In nature, some UV features of dynamics are reflected in IR quantities. In fully relativistic theories, this connection can be probed through the analyticity properties of scattering amplitudes, allowing one to understand which IR theories respect the UV assumptions of quantum field theory. The ensuing analyticity bounds can usually be rephrased as the absence of faster-than-light propagation for low-energy excitations. While it is interesting to understand these relations and their IR characterization for theories that have less idealized properties, it is also more difficult to derive analyticity bounds in these cases. For theories that spontaneously break Lorentz symmetry, recent progress was made by considering correlators of conserved currents and their analyticity properties. In this work, we focus on such theories and work to close the gap from the IR side, finding a natural way to express the known analyticity bounds purely in terms of low-energy kinematical quantities. Our analysis shows that the bounds require gapped excitations to have a slower speed than the gapless ones, at least for momenta that are low with respect to the mass gap. These results suggest a way to interpret the UV/IR connection in more complex theories.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Violation of energy conditions and the gravitational radius of the proton

The energy-momentum tensor (EMT) of the proton encodes fundamental information about its mass, pressure, and shear distributions. Using recent lattice QCD data for the gravitational form factors, we show that the Breit-frame Wigner EMT may be of Hawking-Ellis type IV in the proton’s core. Such EMT violates all pointwise energy conditions and lacks a causal rest frame so that the usual mechanical picture fails at short distances. We define the —a new hadronic observable—marking the scale where the EMT becomes ordinary (type I) and the classical interpretation is restored. We also derive from the averaged null energy condition nonperturbative, model-independent quantum field theory constraints on gravitational form factors.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Cosmological perturbations from a new approach to inflation

In a previous paper, we proposed a new approach to the beginning of inflation—a lingering universe [Melcher et al. Phys. Rev. D 110, 063517 (2024).]—that is a quasistatic phase prior to inflation. The Universe begins in a lingering state with a nearly vanishing Hubble parameter. This calls into question the absolute age of the Universe, as the Hubble time can be nearly infinite. It also provides promise for addressing the initial singularity of inflation and issues with quantum field theory in de Sitter spacetime. Such models arise in classical cosmologies with nonvanishing spatial curvature (inspired by PLANCK 2018 data) and independently by models that arise in string cosmology. Here, in this paper, we consider the importance of cosmological perturbations for the stability of the lingering phase and how this influences cosmological observations. Our goal is to establish observables in this new paradigm for the origin of inflation, which is in contrast to eternal inflation and cyclic cosmologies. We also address questions of stability and the transition to inflation.

cosmology↗
DOE OSTI2020

Loschmidt-amplitude wave function spectroscopy and the physics of dynamically driven phase transitions

In this work, we introduce the Loschmidt amplitude as a powerful tool to perform spectroscopy of generic many-body wave functions and use it to interrogate the wave function obtained after ramping the transverse field quantum Ising model through its quantum critical point. Previous results are confirmed and a more complete understanding of the population of defects and of the effects of magnon-magnon interaction or finite-size corrections is obtained. The influence of quantum coherence is clarified.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Emergence of p+ip superconductivity in two-dimensional doped Dirac systems

Searching for the $p + ip$ superconducting (SC) state has become a fascinating subject in condensed matter physics recently, as a dream application awaiting in topological quantum computation. Unfortunately, so far there is no universal principle for realizing $p + ip$ in generic solid-state systems. Here we report a theoretical discovery of a $p + ip$ SC ground state (coexisting with ferromagnetic order) in the honeycomb lattice Hubbard model in the extremely strong-coupling limit (e.g., infinite U) at low doping $(δ < 0.2)$, by using both the state-of-art Grassmann tensor product state approach and a continuum quantum field theory approach. Our discovery suggests a mechanism for the $p + ip$ SC state in generic strongly correlated systems based on spin-charge separation and the charge current–current coupling scenario, which opens a door towards experimental realization. The $p + ip$ SC state has an instability towards a potential non-Fermi liquid with a large but finite U . Nevertheless, by applying an in-plane Zeeman field, such a $p + ip$ SC state can be stabilized with finite U in a very wide range of doping. Relevant realistic materials are also proposed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Analytical continuation of matrix-valued functions: Carathéodory formalism

Finite-temperature quantum field theories are formulated in terms of Green's functions and self-energies on the Matsubara axis. In multiorbital systems, these quantities are related to positive semidefinite matrix-valued functions of the Carathéodory and Schur class. Analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of derived quantities such as real-frequency response functions requires analytic continuation of the off-diagonal elements to the real axis. Here we derive the criteria under which such functions exist for given Matsubara data and present an interpolation algorithm that intrinsically respects their mathematical properties. For small systems with precise Matsubara data, we find that the continuation exactly recovers all off-diagonal and diagonal elements. In real-materials systems, we show that the precision of the continuation is sufficient for the analytic continuation to commute with the Dyson equation, and we show that the truncation of the off-diagonal self-energy elements leads to considerable approximation artifacts.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Nonperturbative constraints from symmetry and chirality on Majorana zero modes and defect quantum numbers in (2+1) dimensions

In (1+1)D topological phases, unpaired Majorana zero modes (MZMs) can arise only if the internal symmetry group G f of the ground state splits as G f = G b × $Z^f_2$, where $Z^f_2$ is generated by fermion parity, (–1) F . In contrast, (2+1)-dimensional [(2+1)D] topological superconductors (TSC) can host unpaired MZMs at defects even when G f is not of the form G b × $Z^f_2$. In this paper we study how G f together with the chiral central charge c – strongly constrain the existence of unpaired MZMs and the quantum numbers of symmetry defects. Our results utilize a recent algebraic characterization of (2+1)D invertible fermionic topological states, which provides a non-perturbative approach based on topological quantum field theory, beyond free fermions. We study physically relevant groups such as U(1) f $\rtimes$ H, SU (2) f × H, U(2) f $\rtimes$ H, generic Abelian groups, as well as more general compact Lie groups, antiunitary symmetries and crystalline symmetries. Further, we present an algebraic formula for the fermionic crystalline equivalence principle, which gives an equivalence between states with crystalline and internal symmetries. In light of our theory, we discuss several previously proposed realizations of unpaired MZMs in TSC materials such as Sr 2 RuO 4 , transition metal dichalcogenides and iron superconductors, in which crystalline symmetries are often important; in some cases we present additional predictions for the properties of these models.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Accurate Kohn-Sham auxiliary system from the ground-state density of solids

The Kohn-Sham (KS) system is an auxiliary system whose effective potential is unknown in most cases. It is in principle determined by the ground-state density and it has been found numerically for some low-dimensional systems by inverting the KS equations starting from a given accurate density. For solids, only approximate results are available. In this work, we determine accurate exchange-correlation (xc) potentials for Si and NaCl using the ground-state densities obtained from auxiliary field quantum Monte Carlo calculations. We show that these xc potentials can be rationalized as an ensemble of a few local functions of the density, whose form depends on the specific environment and can be well characterized by the gradient of the density and the local kinetic energy density. Further, the KS band structure can be obtained with high accuracy. The true KS band gap turns out to be larger than the prediction of the local density approximation, but significantly smaller than the measurable photoemission gap, which confirms previous estimates. Finally, our findings show that the conjecture that very different xc potentials can lead to very similar densities and other KS observables is true also in solids, which questions the meaning of details of the potentials and, at the same time, confirms the stability of the KS system.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Toward an accurate equation of state and B1-B2 phase boundary for magnesium oxide up to terapascal pressures and electron-volt temperatures

By applying auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo, we calculate the equation of state (EOS) and B1-B2 phase transition of magnesium oxide (MgO) up to 1 TPa. Here, the results agree with available experimental data at low pressures and are used to benchmark the performance of various exchange-correlation functionals in density functional theory calculations. We determine PBEsol is an optimal choice for the exchange-correlation functional and perform extensive phonon and quantum molecular-dynamics calculations to obtain the thermal EOS. Our results provide a preliminary reference for the EOS and B1-B2 phase boundary of MgO from zero up to 10,500 K.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Magnetic and singlet phases in the three-dimensional periodic Anderson Model

Heavy-fermion materials are compounds in which localized f orbitals hybridize with delocalized d ones, leading to quasiparticles with large renormalized masses. The presence of strongly correlated f electrons at the Fermi level may also lead to long-range order, such as magnetism, or unconventional superconductivity. From a theoretical point of view, the “standard model” for heavy-fermion compounds is the periodic Anderson model (PAM). Despite being extensively scrutinized, its thermodynamic properties in three-dimensional (3D) lattices have not been carefully addressed by unbiased methodologies. Here we investigate the 3D PAM employing state-of-the-art finite-temperature auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo simulations. Furthermore, we present the behavior of the kinetic energy, the entropy, the specific heat, and the double occupancy as functions of the temperature and the hybridization strength. From these quantities, and by the analysis of the spin-spin correlation functions, we investigate the occurrence of magnetic phase transitions at finite temperatures, and we determine the phase diagram of the model, including the behavior of the Néel temperature as a function of the external parameters.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Mitigating Green's function Monte Carlo signal-to-noise problems using contour deformations

The Green's function Monte Carlo (GFMC) method provides accurate solutions to the nuclear many-body problem and predicts properties of light nuclei starting from realistic two- and three-body interactions. Controlling the GFMC fermion sign problem is crucial, as the signal-to-noise ratio decreases exponentially with imaginary time, requiring significant computing resources. Inspired by similar scenarios in lattice quantum field theory and spin systems, in this work, we employ integration contour deformations to improve the GFMC signal-to-noise ratio. Machine learning techniques are used to select optimal contours with minimal variance from parametrized families of deformations. As a proof of principle, we consider the deuteron binding energies and Euclidean density response functions. Here, we only observe mild signal-to-noise improvement for the binding energy case. On the other hand, we achieve an order of magnitude reduction of the variance for Euclidean density response functions, paving the way for computing electron- and neutrino-nucleus cross sections of larger nuclei.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Including contributions from entanglement islands to the reflected entropy

Recent work has demonstrated the need to include contributions from entanglement islands when computing the entanglement entropy in quantum field theory states coupled to regions of semiclassical gravity. We propose a new formula for the reflected entropy that includes additional contributions from such islands. We derive this formula from the gravitational path integral by finding additional saddles that include generalized replica wormholes. We also demonstrate that our covariant formula satisfies all the inequalities required of the reflected entropy. We use this formula in various examples that demonstrate its relevance in illustrating the structure of multipartite entanglement that are invisible to the entropies.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Thermal false vacuum decay around black holes

In flat space and at finite temperature, there are two regimes of false vacuum decay in quantum field theory. At low temperature, the decay proceeds through thermally-assisted tunneling described by periodic Euclidean solutions—bounces—with nontrivial time dependence. On the other hand, at high temperatures the bounces are time independent and describe thermal jumps of the field over the potential barrier. Here, we argue that only solutions of the second type are relevant for false vacuum decay catalyzed by a black hole in equilibrium with thermal bath. The argument applies to a wide class of spherical black holes, including d-dimensional anti–de Sitter/de Sitter Schwarzschild black holes and Reissner-Nordström black holes sufficiently far from criticality. It does not rely on the thin-wall approximation and applies to multifield scalar theories.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗