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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Polarized fusion and potential in situ tests of fuel polarization survival in a tokamak plasma

Abstract The use of spin-polarized fusion fuels would provide a significant boost towards the ignition of a burning plasma. The cross section for D + T → α + n, would be increased by 1.5 if the fuels were injected with parallel polarization. Furthermore, our simulations demonstrate additional non-linear power gains in large-scale machines such as ITER, due to increased alpha heating. Such benefits require the survival of spin polarizations for periods comparable to the particle confinement time. During the 1980s, calculations predicted that polarizations could survive a plasma environment, although concerns persisted regarding the cumulative impacts of wall recycling. In that era, technical challenges prevented direct tests and left the large scale fueling of a power reactor beyond reach. Over the last decades, this situation has changed dramatically. Detailed simulations of ITER have predicted negligible wall recycling in a high-power reactor, and recent advances in laser-driven sources project the capability of producing large quantities of ∼100% polarized D and T. The remaining crucial step is an in-situ demonstration of polarization survival in a plasma. For this, we outline a measurement strategy using the isospin-mirror reaction, D + 3 He → α + p. Polarized 3 He avoids the complexities of handling tritium, while encompassing the same spin-physics. We evaluate two methods of delivering deuterium, using dynamically polarized Lithium-Deuteride (with vector polarization P V D of 70%) or frozen-spin Hydrogen-Deuteride (with P V D of 40%), together with a method of injecting optically-pumped 3 He (with 65% polarization). Pellets of these materials all have long polarization decay times (∼6 min for LiD at 2 K, ∼2 months for HD at 2 K, and ∼3 d for 3 He at 77 K), all far greater than a plasma shot in a research tokamak such as DIII-D (∼20 s). Both species can be propelled from a single cryogenic injection gun. We review plasma requirements and strategies for detecting polarization survival. Polarization alters both fusion yields and the angular distribution of fusion products, and each of these provides a potential signal. In this paper we simulate a selection of shots with similar characteristics in a future high-T ion H plasma, and find ratios of yields from shots with fuel spins parallel and antiparallel reaching 1.3 (HD + 3 He) to 1.6 (LiD + 3 He) over a wide range of poloidal angles. (A companion paper finds sensitivity to fusion product angular distributions as reflected in the pitch angles of protons and alphas reaching the plasma facing wall.)

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Moderate positive spin Hall angle in uranium

We report measurements of spin pumping and the inverse spin Hall effect in Ni{sub 80}Fe{sub 20}/uranium bilayers designed to study the efficiency of spin-charge interconversion in a super-heavy element. We employ broad-band ferromagnetic resonance on extended films to inject a spin current from the Ni{sub 80}Fe{sub 20} (permalloy) into the uranium layer, which is then converted into an electric field by the inverse spin Hall effect. Surprisingly, our results suggest a spin mixing conductance of order 2 × 10{sup 19} m{sup −2} and a positive spin Hall angle of 0.004, which are both merely comparable with those of several transition metals. These results thus support the idea that the electronic configuration may be at least as important as the atomic number in governing spin pumping across interfaces and subsequent spin Hall effects. In fact, given that both the magnitude and the sign are unexpected based on trends in d-electron systems, materials with unfilled f-electron orbitals may hold additional exploration avenues for spin physics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov theory for number-parity-violating fermionic Hamiltonians

It is usually asserted that physical Hamiltonians for fermions must contain an even number of fermion operators. This is indeed true in electronic structure theory. However, when the Jordan–Wigner (JW) transformation is used to map physical spin Hamiltonians to Hamiltonians of spinless fermions, terms that contain an odd number of fermion operators may appear. The resulting fermionic Hamiltonian thus does not have number parity symmetry and requires wave functions that do not have this symmetry either. In this work, we discuss the extension of standard Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov (HFB) theory to the number-parity-nonconserving case. These ideas had appeared in the literature before but, perhaps for lack of practical applications, had, to the best of our knowledge, never been employed. We here present a useful application for this more general HFB theory based on coherent states of the SO(2M + 1) Lie group, where M is the number of orbitals. Here, we also show how using these unusual mean-field states can provide significant improvements when studying the JW transformation of chemically relevant spin Hamiltonians.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Polarization preservation of polarized deuteron beams in the electron ion collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory

The physics program at the future electron ion collider (EIC) calls for polarized neutron beams at high energies. The best neutron carriers are 3 He nuclei and deuterons. Both neutron carriers are expected to be utilized by the spin physics program in the EIC. Owing to the small magnetic moment anomaly of a deuteron particle, significantly higher magnetic fields are required for spin rotation, so that full Siberian snakes are not feasible. However, the resonance strengths are weak, and the number of resonances is small. It is possible to deal with individual resonances using conventional methods such as a betatron tune jump and vertical ac dipole for intrinsic depolarizing resonances, and a weak partial snake for imperfection resonances. This study employed a realistic magnet ramp rate and parameters (both transverse and longitudinal emittances, as well as realistic lattices) to show that it is possible to accelerate polarized deuterons beyond 100 GeV/n. This paper summarizes the details of the feasibility of a polarized deuteron beam for the future EIC at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Proceedings of RIKEN BNL Research Center Workshop: The Approach to Equilibrium in Strongly Interacting Matter. Volume 118

The RIKEN BNL Research Center (RBRC) was established in April 1997 at Brookhaven National Laboratory*. It is funded by the ''Rikagaku Kenkyusho'' (RIKEN, The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research) of Japan and the U. S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The RBRC is dedicated to the study of strong interactions, including spin physics, lattice QCD, and RHIC physics through the nurturing of a new generation of young physicists. The RBRC has theory, lattice gauge computing and experimental components. It is presently exploring the possibility of an astrophysics component being added to the program. The purpose of this Workshop is to critically review the recent progress on the theory and phenomenology of early time dynamics in relativistic heavy ion collisions from RHIC to LHC energies, to examine the various approaches on thermalization and existing issues, and to formulate new research efforts for the future. Topics slated to be covered include Experimental evidence for equilibration/isotropization, comparison of various approaches, dependence on the initial conditions and couplings, and turbulent cascades and Bose-Einstein condensation.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Proceedings of RIKEN BNL Research Center Workshop: Thermal Photons and Dileptons in Heavy-Ion Collisions. Volume 119

The RIKEN BNL Research Center (RBRC) was established in April 1997 at Brookhaven National Laboratory. It is funded by the ''Rikagaku Kenkyusho'' (RIKEN, The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research) of Japan and the U. S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The RBRC is dedicated to the study of strong interactions, including spin physics, lattice QCD, and RHIC physics through the nurturing of a new generation of young physicists. The RBRC has theory, lattice gauge computing and experimental components. It is presently exploring the possibility of an astrophysics component being added to the program. The primary theme for this workshop related to sharing the latest experimental and theoretical developments in area of low transverse momentum (p T ) dielectron and photons. All the presentations given at the workshop are included in this proceedings, primarily as PowerPoint presentations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2013

COMPASS-II (Physics of Particles and Nuclei, v. 44(6))

On December 1st 2010 the proposal of the COMPASS-II Experiment [1] has been approved by the CERN Research Board. After almost ten years of important results achieved by the COMPASS Collaboration in both nucleon spin physics, with the use of muon beam, and hadron spectroscopy, using hadron beams, this second phase offers now a unique chance to address in the very near future newly opened QCD-related challenges, at very moderate upgrade cost, thanks to the versatility of the COMPASS apparatus [2]. This implies mainly study of chiral perturbation theory (ChPT), by measuring the pion polarizability through Primakoff reaction; generalized parton distributions (GPDs), by measuring exclusive deeply virtual compton scattering (DVCS) and hard exclusive meson production (DVMP); transverse momentum dependent parton distributions (TMDs) in single-polarised pion-induced Drell-Yan muon production and in SIDIS on a liquid hydrogen target (in parallel to DVCS). An overview of the COMPASS-II proposal is presented here, with a main focus on the new upcoming investigation of the nucleon structure via the Drell-Yan and DVCS processes.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Polarized fusion, its Implications and plans for Direct Measurements in a Tokamak

Our energy-hungry world is burning. A long-term solution, possibly the only ultimate one, that is just approaching the horizon after decades of struggle, is fusion. Recent developments allow us to apply techniques from spin physics to advance the viability of this critical option. The cross section for the primary fusion fuel in a tokamak reactor, D+T /to sigma + n, would be increased by a factor of 1.5 if the fuels were spin polarized parallel to the local field. Simulations predict further non-linear power gains in large-scale machines such as ITER, due to increased alpha heating. These are significant enhancements that could lower the requirements needed to reach ignition and could be used to extend useful reactor life by compensating for neutron degradation of critical components. The potential realization of such benefits rests on the survival of spin polarization for periods comparable to the energy containment time. Interest in polarized fuel options had an initial peak of activity in the 1980s, where calculations predicted that polarizations could in fact survive a plasma environment. However, concerns were raised regarding the cumulative impacts of fuel recycling from the reactor walls. In addition, the technical challenges of preparing and handling polarized materials prevented any direct tests. Over the last several decades, this situation has changed dramatically. Detailed simulations of the ITER plasma have projected negligible wall recycling in a high power reactor. In addition, a combination of advances in three areas - polarized material technologies developed for nuclear and particle physics as well as for medical imaging, polymer pellets developed for Inertial Con nement, and cryogenic injection guns developed for delivering fuel into the core of tokamaks - have matured to the point where a direct in situ measurement is possible. A Jefferson Lab - DIII-D/General Atomics - University of Virginia collaboration is developing designs for a proof-of-principle polarization survival experiment using the isospin mirror reaction, D +3 He /to sigma + p, at the DIII-D tokamak in San Diego.

Sandorfi, Andrew↗
DOE OSTI2021

Spin Berry points as crucial for ultrafast demagnetization

Laser-induced ultrafast demagnetization has puzzled researchers around the world for over two decades. Intrinsic complexity in electronic, magnetic and phononic subsystems is difficult to understand microscopically. So far, it is not possible to explain demagnetization using a single mechanism, which suggests a crucial piece of information still missing. In this paper, we return to a fundamental aspect of physics: spin and its change within each band in the entire Brillouin zone. We employ face-centered cubic (fcc) Ni as an example and use an extremely dense k mesh to map out spin changes for every band close to the Fermi level along all the high symmetry lines. To our surprise, spin angular momentum at some special k points abruptly changes from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text] simply by moving from one crystal momentum point to the next. This explains why intraband transitions, which the spin superdiffusion model is based upon, can induce a sharp spin moment reduction, and why electric current can change spin orientation in spintronics. These special k points, which are called spin Berry points [M. V. Berry, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 393 (1984) 45], are not random and appear when several bands are close to each other, so the Berry potential of spin majority states is different from that of spin minority states. Although within a single band, spin Berry points jump, when we group several neighboring bands together, they form distinctive smooth spin Berry lines. It is the band structure that disrupts those lines. Spin Berry points are crucial to laser-induced ultrafast demagnetization and spintronics.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2017

Proceedings of RIKEN BNL Research Center Workshop: QCD in Finite Temperature and Heavy-Io Collisions [Slides]

The RIKEN BNL Research Center (RBRC) was established in April 1997 at Brookhaven National Laboratory. It is funded by the "Rikagaku Kenkyusho" (RIKEN, The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research) of Japan and the U. S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The Memorandum of Understanding between RIKEN and BNL, initiated in 1997, has been renewed in 2002, 2007 and 2012. The Center is dedicated to the study of strong interactions, including spin physics, lattice QCD, and RHIC physics through the nurturing of a new generation of young physicists.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1987

The role and behavior of spin in gravitational physics

A self-consistent method of introducing spin into any Lagrangian based theory of gravitation was developed. The metric variation of the Lagrangian in the theory leads to an improved energy-momentum tensor which represents the source term in the gravitational field equations. The goal of the research is the construction of a theory general enough to be used to investigate spin effects in astrophysical objects and cosmology, and also to serve as a basis for discussion of the theoretical ideas tested by the NASA Gyroscope Experiment (aboard Gravity Probe B). Specific accomplishments in the following areas are summarized: the inclusion of electromagnetism into the variational principle for spinning matter, formulation of a self-consistent theory for the case of a fluid in which particle production processes occur, and the derivation of the Raychaudhuri equation in the case of spinning matter.

Ray, John R.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Y{sub 3}Fe{sub 5}O{sub 12} spin pumping for quantitative understanding of pure spin transport and spin Hall effect in a broad range of materials (invited)

Using Y{sub 3}Fe{sub 5}O{sub 12} (YIG) thin films grown by our sputtering technique, we study dynamic spin transport in nonmagnetic, ferromagnetic, and antiferromagnetic (AF) materials by ferromagnetic resonance spin pumping. From both inverse spin Hall effect and damping enhancement, we determine the spin mixing conductance and spin Hall angle in many metals. Surprisingly, we observe robust spin conduction in AF insulators excited by an adjacent YIG at resonance. This demonstrates that YIG spin pumping is a powerful and versatile tool for understanding spin Hall physics, spin-orbit coupling, and magnetization dynamics in a broad range of materials.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

RHIC FY15 pp Run RHIC and AGS polarization analysis

The polarization information is important for the spin physics program in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). There are discrepancies between AGS and RHIC polarization measurements. First, the face value of AGS polarization is higher than RHIC ones in general. Second, the measured polarization profile (described by the profile ratio R) is stronger in AGS than in RHIC. This note analyzes the polarization data from FY15 pp run period. The results show that the differences between AGS and RHIC polarization measurements are reasonable, but the R value difference is puzzling. The difference between blue and yellow ring is worth of spin simulation to explain.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Scalar Atomic Defect-Based Solid-State Self-calibrating Magnetometer (3SM) for Space Plasma Analysis

The Earth’s magnetosphere is a system of multiple, co-located particle populations interacting via plasma waves. Things to understand are driving processes, radiation belt and ring current issues, auroral physics, internal plasma processes, and magnetosphere-ionosphere mapping issues. These plasma-physics processes enable the Earth’s magnetosphere to evolve in response to temporal changes in the solar wind and they underlie the phenomena of space weather, which impacts spacecraft systems, astronauts, radio communications, and ground based electric-power grids. The objective of 3SM is to measure magnetic field strength and to calibrate the Vector Magnetometer (VM) device to maintain absolute accuracy during a mission. The 3SM features make the instrument preferably suited not only for the traditional role of scalar magnetometers as absolute references for the calibration of the on-board vector instruments, but also for extended operational capacities, such as higher frequency scalar measurements (of potential interest for magnetosphere studies for the low frequency part of the spectrum) or autonomous scalar / vector operations. Diamond has been the solid-state platform of choice for quantum device technologies for some time, however, it suffers from difficulties such as scalability, integration, and cost. While the diamond platform is very useful for quantum technologies, further development is needed to make it viable. The material platform of choice for NASA Glenn’s Quantum Sensing And Spin Physics (Q-SASP) is silicon carbide (SiC). This is due to the much higher industry development of the SiC material platform for high-power and high-temperature electronics. It leverages both the decades-long SiC development expertise and infrastructure at NASA Glenn and its growing capabilities in quantum metrology. To make SiC devices usable for quantum technologies such as quantum sources, a much deeper understanding of defects is needed. Q-SASP is developing quantum metrology capabilities to evaluate the energy structure, defect formation energy, band structure augmentation, generation/recombination rates, and limits of dipole-dipole coupling in non-metal implanted SiC devices. This can be achieved by analysis of zero-field splitting, low-field resonance, and singlet-triplet mixing through various forms of Electrically Detectable Magnetic Resonance (EDMR) and Near-Zero Field Magnetic Resonance (NZFMR) spectroscopy. This work will discuss recent system developments, device developments, computational modeling, and spectroscopy results and analysis of defects created by non-metal implantations in SiC devices. The defect formation energies of V Si ,V C , V C V Si , N C V Si , N Si , N C in 4H-SiC are previously reported values in other research [2]-[3]. The defect formation energies of PSi and PC were calculated in GPAW [fig 1A]. The basic underlying mechanism of the zero-field phenomenon is the mixing of singlet and triplet states [4]-[5]. In most spin-dependent transport, two electron spins are involved, and thus one must consider each of their interactions with the field. We investigated the electronic and magnetic properties of 4H-SiC and 6H-SiC. The defect formation energy helps us determine what types of defects we are observing in the SiC EDMR experiment. They have very low formation energy (it is negative). The phosphorus substitution in 4H-SiC is a very stable defect. The band diagrams provide us with vital information about how the electronic properties of SiC (such as band gap) change as we add non-metal defects. The zero-field splitting parameters allow us to study the inflection point in the NZFMR [fig 1B]. We clearly observed zero-field splitting. We also noted that the zero-field splitting remained constant with changing bias. We aspect it zero-field splitting to remain constant while the hyperfine and exchange interaction perturbations shift under the influence of an external magnetic field. This is the essence of quantum magnetometry and self-calibration.

space plasma↗
DOE OSTI2015

Operation experience of p-Carbon polarimeter in RHIC

The spin physics program in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) requires fast polarimeter to monitor the polarization evolution on the ramp and during stores. Over past decade, the polarimeter has evolved greatly to improve its performance. These include dual chamber design, monitoring camera, Si detector selection (and orientation), target quality control, and target frame modification. The preamp boards have been modified to deal with the high rate problem, too. The ultra thin carbon target lifetime is a concern. Simulations have been carried out on the target interaction with beam. Modification has also been done on the frame design. Extra caution has been put on RF shielding to deal with the pickup noises from the nearby stochastic cooling kickers. This paper summarizes the recent operation performance of this delicate device.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Magnon-spinon dichotomy in the Kitaev hyperhoneycomb β-Li 2 IrO 3

The family of edge-sharing tricoordinated iridates and ruthenates has emerged in recent years as a major platform for Kitaev spin-liquid physics, where spins fractionalize into emergent magnetic fluxes and Majorana fermions with Dirac-like dispersions. While such exotic states are usually preempted by long-range magnetic order at low temperatures, signatures of Majorana fermions with long coherent times have been predicted to manifest at intermediate and higher energy scales, similar to the observation of spinons in quasi-one-dimensional spin chains. Here in this paper we present a resonant inelastic x-ray scattering study of the magnetic excitations of the hyperhoneycomb iridate β-Li 2 IrO 3 under a magnetic field with a record-high-resolution spectrometer. At low temperatures, dispersing spin waves can be resolved around the predicted intertwined incommensurate spiral and field-induced zigzag orders, whose excitation energy reaches a maximum of 16 meV. A 2 T magnetic field softens the dispersion around Q = 0. The behavior of the spin waves under magnetic field is consistent with our semiclassical calculations for the ground state and the dynamical spin structure factor, which further predicts that the ensued intertwined uniform states remain robust up to very high fields (100 T). Most saliently, the low-energy magnonlike mode is superimposed by a broad continuum of excitations, centered around 35 meV and extending up to 100 meV. This high-energy continuum survives up to at least 300 K—well above the ordering temperature of 38 K—and gives evidence for pairs of long-lived Majorana fermions of the proximate Kitaev spin liquid.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Through the Lens of a Momentum Microscope: Viewing Light-Induced Quantum Phenomena in 2D Materials

Van der Waals (vdW) materials at their 2D limit are diverse, flexible, and unique laboratories to study fundamental quantum phenomena and their future applications. Their novel properties rely on their pronounced Coulomb interactions, variety of crystal symmetries and spin-physics, and the ease of incorporation of different vdW materials to form sophisticated heterostructures. In particular, the excited state properties of many 2D semiconductors and semi-metals are relevant for their technological applications, particularly those that can be induced by light. In this paper, the recent advances made in studying out-of-equilibrium, light-induced, phenomena in these materials are reviewed using powerful, surface-sensitive, time-resolved photoemission-based techniques, with a particular emphasis on the emerging multi-dimensional photoemission spectroscopy technique of time-resolved momentum microscopy. The advances this technique has enabled in studying the nature and dynamics of occupied excited states in these materials are discussed. Then, the future research directions opened by these scientific and instrumental advancements are projected for studying the physics of 2D materials and the opportunities to engineer their band-structure and band-topology by laser fields.

2D materials↗
DOE OSTI2018

Topological band engineering of graphene nanoribbons

Topological insulators are an emerging class of materials that host highly robust in-gap surface or interface states while maintaining an insulating bulk1,2. Most advances in this field have focused on topological insulators and related topological crystalline insulators3 in two dimensions4,5,6 and three dimensions7,8,9,10, but more recent theoretical work has predicted the existence of one-dimensional symmetry-protected topological phases in graphene nanoribbons (GNRs)11. The topological phase of these laterally confined, semiconducting strips of graphene is determined by their width, edge shape and terminating crystallographic unit cell and is characterized by a Z2 invariant12 (that is, an index of either 0 or 1, indicating two topological classes—similar to quasi-one-dimensional solitonic systems13,14,15,16). Interfaces between topologically distinct GNRs characterized by different values of Z2 are predicted to support half-filled, in-gap localized electronic states that could, in principle, be used as a tool for material engineering11. Here we present the rational design and experimental realization of a topologically engineered GNR superlattice that hosts a one-dimensional array of such states, thus generating otherwise inaccessible electronic structures. This strategy also enables new end states to be engineered directly into the termini of the one-dimensional GNR superlattice. Atomically precise topological GNR superlattices were synthesized from molecular precursors on a gold surface, Au(111), under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions and characterized by low-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy. Our experimental results and first-principles calculations reveal that the frontier band structure (the bands bracketing filled and empty states) of these GNR superlattices is defined purely by the coupling between adjacent topological interface states. This manifestation of non-trivial one-dimensional topological phases presents a route to band engineering in one-dimensional materials based on precise control of their electronic topology, and is a promising platform for studies of one-dimensional quantum spin physics.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗