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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 55 records · Page 3

In situ amplification of spin echoes within a kinetic inductance parametric amplifier

The use of superconducting microresonators together with quantum-limited Josephson parametric amplifiers has enhanced the sensitivity of pulsed electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements by more than four orders of magnitude. So far, the microwave resonators and amplifiers have been designed as separate components due to the incompatibility of Josephson junction–based devices with magnetic fields. This has produced complex spectrometers and raised technical barriers toward adoption of the technique. Here, we circumvent this issue by coupling an ensemble of spins directly to a weakly nonlinear and magnetic field–resilient superconducting microwave resonator. We perform pulsed ESR measurements with a 1-pL mode volume containing 6 × 10 7 spins and amplify the resulting signals within the device. When considering only those spins that contribute to the detected signals, we find a sensitivity of 2.8 x 10 3 spins / $\sqrt{Hz}$ for a Hahn echo sequence at a temperature of 400 mK. In situ amplification is demonstrated at fields up to 254 mT, highlighting the technique’s potential for application under conventional ESR operating conditions.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Pyruvate, phosphate dikinase regulatory protein impacts light response of C4 photosynthesis in Setaria viridis

In C4 plants, the pyruvate (Pyr), phosphate dikinase regulatory protein (PDRP) regulates the activity of the C4 pathway enzyme Pyr, phosphate dikinase (PPDK) in a light-/dark-dependent manner. The importance of this regulatory action to C4 pathway function and overall C4 photosynthesis is unknown. To resolve this question, we assessed in vivo PPDK phospho-regulation and whole leaf photophysiology in a CRISPR–Cas9 PDRP knockout (KO) mutant of the NADP-ME C4 grass green millet (Setaria viridis). PDRP enzyme activity was undetectable in leaf extracts from PDRP KO lines. Likewise, PPDK phosphorylated at the PDRP-regulatory Thr residue was immunologically undetectable in leaf extracts. PPDK enzyme activity in rapid leaf extracts was constitutively high in the PDRP KO lines, irrespective of light or dark pretreatment of leaves. Gas exchange analysis of net CO2 assimilation revealed PDRP KO leaves had markedly slower light induction kinetics when leaves transition from dark to high-light or low-light to high-light. In the initial 30 min of the light induction phase, KO leaves had an ~15% lower net CO2 assimilation rate versus the wild-type (WT). Despite the impaired slower induction kinetics, we found growth and vigor of the KO lines to be visibly indistinguishable from the WT when grown in normal air and under standard growth chamber conditions. However, the PDRP KO plants grown under a fluctuating light regime exhibited a gradual multi-day decline in Fv/Fm, indicative of progressive photosystem II damage due to the absence of PDRP. Collectively, our results demonstrate that one of PDRP’s functions in C4 photosynthesis is to ensure optimal photosynthetic light induction kinetics during dynamic changes in incident light.

Plant Sciences↗

SCExAO/MEC and CHARIS Discovery of a Low-mass, 6 au Separation Companion to HIP 109427 Using Stochastic Speckle Discrimination and High-contrast Spectroscopy

We report the direct imaging discovery of a low-mass companion to the nearby accelerating A star, HIP 109427, with the Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) instrument coupled with the Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector Exoplanet Camera (MEC) and CHARIS integral field spectrograph. CHARIS data reduced with reference star point spread function (PSF) subtraction yield 1.1–2.4 μm spectra. MEC reveals the companion in Y and J band at a comparable signal-to-noise ratio using stochastic speckle discrimination, with no PSF subtraction techniques. Combined with complementary follow-up L {sub p} photometry from Keck/NIRC2, the SCExAO data favors a spectral type, effective temperature, and luminosity of M4–M5.5, 3000–3200 K, and log{sub 10}(L/L{sub ⊙})=−2.28{sub −0.04}{sup +0.04}, respectively. Relative astrometry of HIP 109427 B from SCExAO/CHARIS and Keck/NIRC2, and complementary Gaia–Hipparcos absolute astrometry of the primary favor a semimajor axis of 6.55{sup +3.0} {sub −0.48} au, an eccentricity of 0.54{sub −0.15}{sup +0.28}, an inclination of 66.7{sub −14}{sup +8.5} degrees, and a dynamical mass of 0.280{sub −0.059}{sup +0.18} M {sub ⊙}. This work shows the potential for extreme AO systems to utilize speckle statistics in addition to widely used postprocessing methods to directly image faint companions to nearby stars near the telescope diffraction limit.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Interplay between phonon downconversion efficiency, density of states at Fermi energy, and intrinsic energy resolution for microwave kinectic inductance detectors

Microwave Kinetic Inductance detectors (MKIDs) have been recognized as a powerful new tool for single photon detection. These highly multiplexed superconducting devices give timing and energy measurement for every detected photon. However, the full potential of MKID single photon spectroscopy has not been reached , the achieved energy resolution is lower than expected from first principles. Here, we study the efficiency in the phonon downconversion process following the absorption of energetic photons in MKIDs. Assuming previously published material properties, we measure an average downconversion efficiency for three TiN resonators is $\eta$=0.14. We discuss how this efficiency can impact the intrinsic energy resolution of MKID, and how any uncertainty in the unknown density of electron states at the Fermi energy directly affects the efficiency estimations.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Properties of Superconducting Mo, Mo2n and Trilayer Mo2n-Mo-Mo2n Thin Films

We present measurements of the properties of thin film superconducting Mo, Mo2N and Mo2N/Mo/Mo2N trilayers of interest for microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID) applications. Using microwave resonator devices, we investigate the transition temperature, energy gaps, kinetic inductance, and internal quality factors of these materials. We present an Usadel-based interpretation of the trilayer transition temperature as a function of trilayer thicknesses, and a 2-gap interpretation to understand the change in kinetic inductance and internal resonance quality factor (Q) as a function of temperature.

Superconducting↗

Simulating the Phonon Collection Efficiency in KIPMDs

Kinetic inductance phonon-mediated (KIPM) detectors use microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) to read out phonon signals in the substrate. They are a promising class of detectors to be used in light dark matter (DM) searches due to their potential eV-scale sensitivity and native frequency-domain multiplexability. In order to improve upon the design of these detectors, simulations are needed to understand the effects of detector design on measurable physical parameters including the phonon collection efficiency, $\eta_{ph}$, which is defined as the ratio of phonon energy detected by the sensitive target element to the incident energy deposited in the substrate. This work simulates the phonon collection efficiency for a KIPMD currently operated at the Northwestern EXperimental Underground Site (NEXUS).

Dang, Stella Q.↗