Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “wave physics”

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.

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

At least 433 records · Page 24
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Listening for new physics with quantum acoustics

We present a novel application of a qubit-coupled phonon detector to search for new physics, e.g., ultralight dark matter (DM) and high-frequency gravitational waves. The detector, motivated by recent advances in quantum acoustics, is composed of superconducting transmon qubits coupled to high-overtone bulk acoustic resonators (ℎ⁡BARs) and operates in the GHz−10 GHz frequency range. New physics can excite 𝒪⁡(10 μ⁢eV) phonons within the ℎ⁡BAR, which are then converted to qubit excitations via a transducer. We detail the design, operation, backgrounds, and expected sensitivity of a prototype detector, as well as a next-generation detector optimized for new physics signals. We find that a future detector can complement current haloscope experiments in the search for both dark photon DM and high-frequency gravitational waves. Lastly, we comment on such a detector’s ability to operate as a 𝒪⁡(10 μ⁢eV) athermal phonon sensor for sub-GeV DM detection.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Quantum description of wave dark matter

We outline a fundamentally quantum description of bosonic dark matter (DM) from which the conventional classical-wave picture emerges in the limit 𝑚 ≪10 eV. As appropriate for a quantum system, we start from the density matrix, which encodes the full information regarding the possible measurements we could make of DM and their fluctuations. Following fundamental results in quantum optics, we argue that for DM it is most likely that the density matrix takes the explicitly mixed form of a Gaussian over the basis of coherent states. Deviations from this would generate non-Gaussian fluctuations in DM observables, allowing a direct probe of the quantum state of DM. Our quantum optics–inspired approach allows us to rigorously define and interpret various quantities that are often only described heuristically, such as the coherence time or length. The formalism further provides a continuous description of DM through the wave-particle transition, which we exploit to study how density fluctuations over various physical scales evolve between the two limits and to reveal the unique behavior of DM near the boundary of the wave and particle descriptions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hybrid simulation of Alfvén wave parametric decay instability in a laboratory relevant plasma

Large-amplitude Alfvén waves are subject to parametric decays, which can have important consequences in space, astrophysical, and fusion plasmas. Although the Alfvén wave parametric decay instability (PDI) was predicted decades ago, observational evidence is limited, stimulating considerable interest in laboratory demonstration of the instability and associated numerical modeling. Here, we report an important step toward direct hybrid simulation of the Alfvén wave PDI in a laboratory plasma, using antenna-like wave injection of a circularly polarized wave and realistic wave-plasma parameters. Considering collisionless damping, we identify the threshold Alfvén wave amplitudes and frequencies required for triggering the instability. These threshold behaviors are corroborated by simple theoretical analysis, considering the balance between PDI growth and ion Landau damping and PDI development in a bounded plasma. Other effects not included in the present model such as finite transverse wave scale and ion–neutral collisions are briefly discussed. These hybrid simulations promise to be a useful tool for investigating laboratory Alfvén wave dynamics and may provide guidance for future laboratory demonstration of the PDI process.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Quantifying the Role of EMIC Wave Scattering During the 27 February 2014 Storm by RAM–SCB Simulations

Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) wave scattering has been proved to be responsible for the fast loss of both radiation belt (RB) electrons and ring current (RC) protons. However, its role in the concurrent dropout of these two co–located populations remains to be quantified. In this work, we study the effect of EMIC wave scattering on both populations during the 27 February 2014 storm by employing the global physics–based RAM–SCB model. Throughout this storm event, MeV RB electrons and 100s keV RC protons experienced simultaneous dropout following the occurrence of intense EMIC waves. By implementing data–driven initial and boundary conditions, we perform simulations for both populations through the interplay with EMIC waves and compare them against Van Allen Probes observations. Notably, the results indicate that by including EMIC wave scattering loss, especially by the He–band EMIC waves, the model aligns closely with data for both populations. Additionally, we investigate the simulated pitch angle distributions (PADs) for both populations. Including EMIC wave scattering in our model predicts a 90° peaked PAD for electrons with stronger losses at lower pitch angles, while protons exhibit an isotropic PAD with enhanced losses at pitch angles above 40°. Furthermore, our model predicts considerable precipitation of both particle populations, predominantly confined to the afternoon to midnight sector (12 hr < MLT < 24 hr) during the storm's main phase, corresponding closely with the presence of EMIC waves.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Some aspects of the five-dimensional Lovelock black hole spacetime: Strong homotopy retract, perihelion precession and quasistationary levels

Highlights: • Some topological aspects are explored. • The perihelion precession is calculated. • The general Heun functions are applied to obtain analytical solutions. • The quasibound states and the radial wave eigenfunctions are obtained. In this work we explore some mathematical physics aspects of the spherically symmetric Lovelock black hole in high dimensions. Intended for this aim, we thoroughly consider the metric corresponding to the five-dimensional Lovelock black hole spacetime. We construct the strong retractions by the geodesic equations on the background under consideration. As a result, from the topological point of view, we construct the theory of strong homotopy retract, which will allow us, in principle, to better understand some of its suitable applications on astrophysics and cosmology, in particular, in the analysis of the spacetime singularities. We find the solutions of the equation of motion for both radial and angular coordinates, and then we describe the outer (“exterior”) and lower (“interior”) apparent horizons. Indeed, the outer apparent horizon is the last surface from which the light waves could still escape from the black hole. Thus, it is meaningful to analyze some physical phenomena related to quantum particles propagating outside the exterior apparent horizon, in particular, we discuss the quasistationary levels of scalar fields and their radial wave functions, which are given in terms of the general Heun functions. We also calculate the perihelion precession in this background.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Thermal Modulation of Gigahertz Surface Acoustic Waves on Lithium Niobate

Surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) devices have a wide range of applications in microwave signal processing. Microwave SAW components benefit from higher quality factors and much smaller crosstalk when compared to their electromagnetic counterparts. Efficient routing and modulation of SAWs are essential for building large-scale and versatile acoustic wave circuits. Here, we demonstrate integrated thermoacoustic modulators using two SAW platforms: bulk lithium niobate and thin-film lithium niobate on sapphire. In both approaches, the gigahertz-frequency SAWs are routed by integrated acoustic waveguides, while on-chip microheaters are used to locally change the temperature, and thus, control the phase of the SAW. Using this approach, we achieve phase changes of over 720° with the responsibility of 2.6°/mW for bulk lithium niobate and 0.52°/mW for lithium niobate on sapphire. Furthermore, we demonstrate amplitude modulation of SAWs using acoustic Mach-Zehnder interferometers. Our thermoacoustic modulators can enable reconfigurable acoustic signal processing for next-generation wireless communications and microwave systems.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evidence for a thermally driven charge-density-wave transition in 1T-TaS 2 thin-film devices: Prospects for GHz switching speed

We report on the room-temperature switching of 1T-TaS 2 thin-film charge-density-wave devices, using nanosecond-duration electrical pulsing to construct their time-resolved current–voltage characteristics. The switching action is based upon the nearly commensurate to incommensurate charge-density-wave phase transition in this material, which has a characteristic temperature of 350 K at thermal equilibrium. For sufficiently short pulses, with rise times in the nanosecond range, self-heating of the devices is suppressed, and their current–voltage characteristics are weakly nonlinear and free of hysteresis. This changes as the pulse duration is increased to ~200 ns, where the current develops pronounced hysteresis that evolves nonmonotonically with the pulse duration. By combining the results of our experiments with a numerical analysis of transient heat diffusion in these devices, we clearly reveal the thermal origins of their switching. In spite of this thermal character, our modeling suggests that suitable reduction of the size of these devices should allow their operation at GHz frequencies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Electron Modulational Instability in the Strong Turbulent Regime for an Electron Beam Propagating in a Background Plasma

We study collective processes for an electron beam propagating through a background plasma using simulations and analytical theory. A new regime where the instability of a Langmuir wave packet can grow locally much faster than ion frequency is clearly identified. The key feature of this new regime is an electron modulational instability that rapidly creates a local Langmuir wave packet, which in its turn produces local charge separation and strong ion density perturbations because of the action of the ponderomotive force, such that the beam-plasma wave interaction stops being resonant. Three evolution stages of the process and observed periodic burst features are discussed. In conclusion, different physical regimes in the plasma and beam parameter space are demonstrated for the first time.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Charge density wave and superconductivity in the disordered Holstein model

The interplay between electron-electron correlations and disorder has been a central theme of condensed matter physics over the past several decades, with particular interest in the possibility that interactions might cause delocalization of an Anderson insulator into a metallic state, and the disrupting effects of randomness on magnetic order and the Mott phase. In this work, we extend this physics to explore electron-phonon interactions and show, via exact quantum Monte Carlo simulations, that the suppression of the charge density wave correlations in the half-filled Holstein model by disorder can stabilize a superconducting phase. Our simulations thus capture qualitatively the suppression of charge ordered phases and emergent superconductivity recently seen experimentally.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Matter waves and clocks do not observe uniform gravitational fields

Abstract In a uniform gravitational field, classical test objects fall universally. Any reference object or observer will fall in the same universal manner. Therefore, a uniform gravitational field cannot create dynamics between observers and classical test objects. The influence of a uniform gravitational field on matter waves and clocks, however, is described inconsistently throughout research and education. To illustrate, we discuss the behavior of a matter-wave interferometer and a clock redshift experiment in a uniform gravitational field. As a consistent formulation of the equivalence principle implies, a uniform gravitational field has no observable influence on these systems and is physically equivalent to the absence of gravity.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Kinetic theory of particle-in-cell simulation plasma and the ensemble averaging technique

Abstract We derive the kinetic theory of fluctuations in physically and numerically stable particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of electrostatic plasmas. The starting point is the single-time correlation at the start of the simulation between the statistical fluctuations of the weighted densities of macroparticle centers in the plasma particle phase-space. The fluctuations are associated with different initial conditions, typically due to the random initial conditions (in velocity space) of the macroparticles/simulation plasma, assigned according to their initial distribution of probability. The single-time correlations at all time steps and in each spatial grid cell are then determined from the Laplace–Fourier transforms of the discretized Klimontovich-like equation for the macroparticles and Maxwell’s equations for the fields, as computed by modern PIC codes. We recover the expressions for the electrostatic field and the plasma particle density fluctuation autocorrelation spectra as well as the kinetic equations describing the average evolution of PIC-simulated plasma particles, first derived by Langdon (1970b Proc. 4th Conf. Numerical Simulation of Plasmas ) using a test macroparticle approach perturbing a discretized Vlasovian plasma and then averaging the obtained physical quantity over the initial macroparticle velocity distribution. We generalize and extend these results to the modern algorithms in PIC codes using arbitrary macroparticle weights. Analytical estimates of statistical fluctuation amplitudes are derived as a function of the plasma simulation parameters, using the central limit theorem in the limit of a large number of macroparticles per cell. The theory is then used to analyze the ensemble averaging technique of PIC simulations where statistical averages are performed over ensembles of PIC simulations, modeling the same plasma physics problem but using different statistical realizations of the initial distribution functions of the macroparticles. This method is illustrated by linear Landau damping uncovering (from noise, which is usually considered numerical) the physical fluctuations driven by a single small amplitude electrostatic wave perturbing a PIC simulation plasma in equilibrium.

fluctuations correlations↗
DOE OSTI2022

Faraday-effect polarimetry for current profile measurement in the tokamak plasma edge

Toroidal current profile measurements in the tokamak plasma edge are critical for fusion plasma physics research and model validation. A three-wave Faraday-effect polarimeter-interferometer with a sub-centimeter spatial resolution is proposed on the DIII-D tokamak to determine the edge current profile via Abel inversion. By using probe beams with 316 µm wavelength, a low-field-side, vertical-view, single-pass optical layout covering the plasma edge region (R = 2.15–2.27 m) is assessed. Measurements with no greater than 0.1° polarimetric systematic uncertainty, no greater than 0.01° polarimetric root-mean-square noise (1 kHz bandwidth), and a 0.8 cm radial chord spacing are considered feasible based on the achieved performance of existing systems using similar wavelengths on fusion devices. Furthermore, synthetic diagnostic calculations taking various factors into account, such as diagnostic uncertainty and quality of magnetic flux surfaces, find that the edge current profile can be determined with up to 0.12 MA/m 2 uncertainty, or about 10% of the peak current density in the pedestal of an investigated high-confinement plasma.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Shock initiation and hot spots in plastic-bonded 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB)

TATB (1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene) is a powerful explosive whose dynamical behavior is difficult to study because TATB is so insensitive to initiation by shock waves. We used a tabletop microscope equipped with 0–4.5 km/s laser-launched flyer plates to study shock initiation of TATB, which was fabricated in the form of an array of hundreds of plastic-bonded explosive minicharges (X-TATB = 80% TATB + 20% Sylgard 182 polymer). The 4 ns shocks from the flyer plates were not effective in initiating TATB, but we also developed a two-layer array where flyers first initiated a plastic-bonded PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate) charge (X-PETN = 80% PETN + 20% Sylgard), which drove an initiating 25 ns shock into the X-TATB. Thermal emission from shocked X-TATB was used to measure time-dependent temperature profiles with a resolution of 2 ns and to produce high-speed (5 ns) videos. In X-TATB, flyer plates produced 2500–3500 K hot spots and combustion at 2500 K. With X-PETN initiators, X-TATB had 3500–4000 K hot spots and a powerful volume explosion lasting a few nanoseconds. Prospects for producing TATB detonations on a tabletop are discussed.

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

Measuring neutron star radius with second and third generation gravitational wave detector networks

The next generation of ground-based interferometric gravitational wave detectors will observe mergers of black holes and neutron stars throughout cosmic time. A large number of the binary neutron star merger events will be observed with extreme high fidelity, and will provide stringent constraints on the equation of state of nuclear matter. In this paper, we investigate the systematic improvement in the measurability of the equation of state with increase in detector sensitivity by combining constraints obtained on the radius of a 1.4 M ⊙ neutron star from a simulated source population. Since the measurability of the equation of state depends on its stiffness, we consider a range of realistic equations of state that span the current observational constraints. We show that a single 40 km Cosmic Explorer detector can pin down the neutron star radius for a soft, medium and stiff equation of state with a precision of 10 m within a decade, whereas the current generation of ground-based detectors like the Advanced LIGO-Virgo network would take $\mathcal{O}(10_5)$ years to do so for a soft equation of state.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Drop Interactions with the Conical Shock Structure Generated by a Mach 4.5 Projectile

This work presents measurements of liquid drop deformation and breakup time behind approximately conical shock waves and evaluates the predictive capabilities of low-order models and correlations developed using planar shock experiments. A conical shock was approximated by firing a bullet at Mach 4.5 past a vertical column of water drops with a mean initial diameter of $192$ $\mu$m. The time-resolved drop position and maximum transverse dimension were characterized using backlit stereo images taken at 500 kHz. The gas density and velocity fields experienced by the drops were estimated using a Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulation of the bullet. Classical correlations predict drop breakup times and deformation in error by a factor of 3 or more. The Taylor analogy breakup (TAB) model predicts deformed drop diameters that agree within the confidence bounds of the ensemble-averaged experimental values using a dimensionless constant $C$ 2 = $2$ compared to the accepted value $C$ 2 = $2/3$. In conclusion, results demonstrate existing correlations are inadequate for predicting the drop response to the three-dimensional relaxation of the flowfield downstream of a conical-like shock and suggest the TAB model results represent a path toward improved predictions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Ti-6Al-4V to over 1.2 TPa: Shock Hugoniot experiments, ab initio calculations, and a broad-range multiphase equation of state

Titanium alloys are used in a large array of applications. In this work we focus our attention on the most used alloy, Ti-6Al-4V (Ti64), which has excellent mechanical and biocompatibility properties with applications in aerospace, defense, biomedical, and other fields. Here we present high-fidelity experimental shock compression data measured on Sandia’s Z machine. We extend the principal shock Hugoniot for Ti64 to more than threefold compression, up to over 1.2 TPa. We use the data to validate our ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and to develop a highly reliable, multiphase equation of state (EOS) for Ti64, spanning a broad range of temperature and pressures. The first-principles simulations show very good agreement with Z data and with previous three-stage gas gun data from Sandia’s STAR facility. The resulting principal Hugoniot and the broad-range EOS and phase diagram up to 10 TPa and 10 5 K are suitable for use in shock experiments and in hydrodynamic simulations. The high-precision experimental results and high-fidelity simulations demonstrate that the Hugoniot of the Ti64 alloy is stiffer than that of pure Ti and reveal that Ti64 melts on the Hugoniot at a significantly lower pressure and temperature than previously modeled.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Quantum three-wave instability

For the three-wave interaction, the lowest-order nonlinear interaction in plasma dynamics, we describe how the quantum system, which is time-independent, nonchaotic, finite-dimensional, and Hermitian, can give rise to a linear instability corresponding to that in the classical system. Furthermore, we show that the instability is realized in the quantum regime as a cascade of the wave function in the space of occupation number states, and the unstable quantum system has a richer spectrum and a much longer recurrence time than the stable quantum system. The conditions for instability of the quantum three-wave interaction are described.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modulation-slippage trade-off in resonant four-wave upconversion

Following up on a proposal to use four-wave mixing in an underdense plasma at mildly relativistic laser intensities to produce vastly more energetic x-ray pulses [V. M. Malkin and N. J. Fisch, Phys. Rev. E, 101, 023211 (2020)], we perform the first numerical simulations in one dimension to illustrate amplification of a short high frequency seed through four-wave mixing. Here, we illustrate how parasitic processes including phase modulation and spatial pulse slippage limit the amplification efficiency. Although the regimes studied were not where the optimal efficiencies were expected, these regimes do expose the basic physical processes at play, while still yielding not insignificant spectral power upshift.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗