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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 775 records · Page 43
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Toward a Theory of the Evolution of Perturbations of the Dark Matter Density in the Very Early Universe

We investigate the influence of primordial baryonic matter in the form of cosmic plasma on the evolution of perturbations in dark matter considered as a gas of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). Nonstationary equations of state of the WIMP gas for both its ideal model and its real model are proposed along with the state parameter of the gas in the form of a power-law dependence on time. A description of the appearance in the WIMP gas of seed perturbations is given which takes account of the influence of the primordial cosmic plasma and the variability of the state parameter of dark matter. Regimes of the evolution of perturbations of non-baryonic matter are found, describing their growth for various characteristics of the internal energy of the WIMP gas. The size and mass of the seed perturbations in the WIMP gas are estimated.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2019

STROBE-X: X-ray Timing & Spectroscopy on Dynamical Timescales from Milliseconds to Years

We describe a probe-class mission concept that provides an unprecedented view of the X-ray sky, performing timing and 0.2-30 keV spectroscopy over timescales from microseconds to years. The Spectroscopic Time-Resolving Observatory for Broadband Energy X-rays (STROBE-X) has three key science drivers: (1) measuring the spin distribution of accreting black holes, (2) understanding the equation of state of dense matter, and (3) exploring the properties of the precursors and electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave sources. To perform these science investigations, STROBE-X comprises three primary instruments. The first uses an array of lightweight optics (3-m focal length) that concentrate incident photons onto solid state detectors with CCD-level (85-130 eV) energy resolution, 100 ns time resolution, and low background rates to cover the 0.2-12 keV band. This technology is scaled up from NICER, with enhanced optics to take advantage of the longer focal length of STROBE-X. The second uses large-area collimated silicon drift detectors, developed for ESA's LOFT, to cover the 2-30 keV band. These two instruments each provide an order of magnitude improvement in effective area compared with its predecessor (NICER and RXTE, respectively). Finally, a sensitive sky monitor triggers pointed observations, provides high duty cycle, high time resolution, high spectral resolution monitoring of the X-ray sky with ~20 times the sensitivity of the RXTE ASM, and enables multi-wavelength and multi-messenger studies on a continuous, rather than scanning basis. The STROBE-X mission concept is a rapidly repointable observatory in low-Earth orbit, similar to RXTE or Swift, and will be presented to the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey for consideration as a probe-class mission.

STROBE-X: X-ray↗
DOE OSTI2024

Random insights into the complexity of two-dimensional tensor network calculations

Projected entangled pair states (PEPS) offer memory-efficient representations of some quantum many-body states that obey an entanglement area law and are the basis for classical simulations of ground states in two-dimensional (2d) condensed matter systems. However, rigorous results show that exactly computing observables from a 2d PEPS state is generically a computationally hard problem. Yet approximation schemes for computing properties of 2d PEPS are regularly used, and empirically seen to succeed, for a large subclass of (“not too entangled”) condensed matter ground states. Adopting the philosophy of random matrix theory, in this work, we analyze the complexity of approximately contracting a 2d random PEPS by exploiting an analytic mapping to an effective replicated statistical mechanics model that permits a controlled analysis at a large bond dimension. Through this statistical-mechanics lens, we argue that (i) although approximately sampling wave-function amplitudes of random PEPS faces a computational-complexity phase transition above a critical bond dimension, and (ii) one can generically efficiently estimate the norm and correlation functions for any finite bond dimension. Furthermore, these results are supported numerically for various bond-dimension regimes. It is an important open question whether the above results for random PEPS apply more generally also to PEPS representing physically relevant ground states.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Constraining neutron star matter with quantum chromodynamics

In recent years, there have been several successful attempts to constrain the equation of state of neutron star matter using input from low-energy nuclear physics and observational data. We demonstrate that significant further restrictions can be placed by additionally requiring the pressure to approach that of deconfined quark matter at high densities. Remarkably, the new constraints turn out to be highly insensitive to the amount—or even presence—of quark matter inside the stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Bayesian Inference of High-density Nuclear Symmetry Energy from Radii of Canonical Neutron Stars

The radius R 1.4 of neutron stars (NSs) with a mass of 1.4 M ⊙ has been extracted consistently in many recent studies in the literature. Using representative R 1.4 data, we infer high-density nuclear symmetry energy E sym (ρ) and the associated nucleon specific energy E 0 (ρ) in symmetric nuclear matter (SNM) within a Bayesian statistical approach using an explicitly isospin-dependent parametric equation of state (EOS) for nucleonic matter. We found the following. (1) The available astrophysical data can already significantly improve our current knowledge about the EOS in the density range of ρ 0 - 2.5ρ 0 . In particular, the symmetry energy at twice the saturation density ρ 0 of nuclear matter is determined to be E sym (2ρ 0 )=${39.2}_{-8.2}^{+12.1}$ MeV at a 68% confidence level. (2) A precise measurement of R 1.4 alone with a 4% 1σ statistical error but no systematic error will not greatly improve the constraints on the EOS of dense neutron-rich nucleonic matter compared to what we extracted from using the available radius data. (3) The R 1.4 radius data and other general conditions, such as the observed NS maximum mass and causality condition, introduce strong correlations for the high-order EOS parameters. Consequently, the high-density behavior of E sym (ρ) inferred depends strongly on how the high-density SNM EOS E 0 (ρ) is parameterized, and vice versa. (4) Finally, the value of the observed maximum NS mass and whether it is used as a sharp cutoff for the minimum maximum mass or through a Gaussian distribution significantly affects the lower boundaries of both E 0 (ρ) and E sym (ρ) only at densities higher than about 2.5ρ 0 .

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Observation of Low-Lying Isomeric States in 136 Cs: A New Avenue for Dark Matter and Solar Neutrino Detection in Xenon Detectors

We report on new measurements establishing the existence of low-lying isomeric states in 136 Cs using γ rays produced in 136 Xe(p,n) 136 Cs reactions. Here, two states with O(100) ns lifetimes are placed in the decay sequence of the 136 Cs levels that are populated in charged-current interactions of solar neutrinos and fermionic dark matter with 136 Xe. Xenon-based experiments can therefore exploit a delayed-coincidence tag of these interactions, greatly suppressing backgrounds to enable spectroscopic studies of solar neutrinos and dark matter.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Confronting various dark matter scenarios with dwarf spheroidal gamma-ray observations

Dwarf spheroidal galaxies are promising targets for the indirect detection of dark matter through gamma-ray emission due to their proximity, lack of astrophysical backgrounds and high dark matter density. They are often used to place restrictive bounds on the dark matter annihilation cross section. In this report, we analyze six years of Fermi-LAT gamma-ray data from Dwarf Spheroidal galaxies that are satellites of the Milky Way, and constrain the parameter space that explain the Fermi-LAT Galactic center gamma-ray emission in 4 body final states, neutralino dark matter annihilation cross-section, and decaying dark matter lifetime for several decay channels.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Noise robust detection of quantum phase transitions

Quantum computing allows for the manipulation of highly correlated states whose properties quickly go beyond the capacity of any classical method to calculate. Thus one natural problem which could lend itself to quantum advantage is the study of ground-states of condensed matter models, and the transitions between them. However, current levels of hardware noise can require extensive application of error-mitigation techniques to achieve reliable computations. In this work, we use several IBM devices to explore a finite-size spin model with multiple “phaselike” regions characterized by distinct ground-state configurations. Using preoptimized Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) solutions, we demonstrate that in contrast to calculating the energy, where zero-noise extrapolation is required in order to obtain qualitatively accurate yet still unreliable results, calculations of the energy derivative, two-site spin correlation functions, and the fidelity susceptibility yield accurate behavior across multiple regions, even with minimal or no application of error-mitigation approaches. Taken together, these sets of observables could be used to identify level crossings in a simple, noise-robust manner which is agnostic to the method of ground state preparation. This work shows promising potential for near-term application to identifying quantum phase transitions, including avoided crossings and nonadiabatic conical intersections in electronic structure calculations. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Lively, Kevin (ORCID:0000000320981494)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Optically controlled single-valley exciton doublet states with tunable internal spin structures and spin magnetization generation

Manipulating quantum states through light–matter interactions has been actively pursued in two-dimensional materials research. Significant progress has been made toward the optical control of the valley degrees of freedom in semiconducting monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides, based on doubly degenerate excitons from their two distinct valleys in reciprocal space. Here, we introduce a type of optically controllable doubly degenerate exciton states that come from a single valley, dubbed as single-valley exciton doublet (SVXD) states. They are unique in that their constituent holes originate from the same valence band, making possible the direct optical control of the spin structure of the excited constituent electrons. Combining ab initio GW plus Bethe–Salpeter equation ( GW -BSE) calculations and a theoretical analysis method, we demonstrate such SVXD in substrate-supported monolayer bismuthene—which has been successfully grown using molecular beam epitaxy. In each of the two distinct valleys in the Brillouin zone, strong spin–orbit coupling and C 3 v symmetry lead to a pair of degenerate 1s exciton states (the SVXD states) with opposite spin configurations. Any coherent linear combinations of the SVXD in a single valley can be excited by light with a specific polarization, enabling full manipulation of their internal spin configurations. In particular, a controllable net spin magnetization can be generated through light excitation. Our findings open routes to control quantum degrees of freedom, paving the way for applications in spintronics and quantum information science.

2D materials↗
DOE OSTI2014

RAON experimental facilities for nuclear science

The Rare Isotope Science Project (RISP) was established in December 2011 and has put quite an effort to carry out the design and construction of the accelerator complex facility named “RAON”. RAON is a rare isotope (RI) beam facility that aims to provide various RI beams of proton-and neutron-rich nuclei as well as variety of stable ion beams of wide ranges of energies up to a few hundreds MeV/nucleon for the researches in basic science and application. Proposed research programs for nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics at RAON include studies of the properties of exotic nuclei, the equation of state of nuclear matter, the origin of the universe, process of nucleosynthesis, super heavy elements, etc. Various high performance magnetic spectrometers for nuclear science have been designed, which are KOBRA (KOrea Broad acceptance Recoil spectrometer and Apparatus), LAMPS (Large Acceptance Multi-Purpose Spectrometer), and ZDS (Zero Degree Spectrometer). The status of those spectrometers for nuclear science will be presented with a brief report on the RAON.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Path integral approach to quantum anomalies in interacting models

The prediction and subsequent discovery of topological semimetal phases of matter in solid state systems has instigated a surge of activity investigating the exotic properties of these unusual materials. Among these are transport signatures which can be attributed to the chiral anomaly; the breaking of classical chiral symmetry in a quantum theory. This remarkable quantum phenomenon, first discovered in the context of particle physics has now found new life in condensed-matter physics, connecting topological quantum matter and band theory with effective field theoretic models. In this paper we investigate the interplay between interactions and the chiral anomaly in field theories inspired by semimetals using Fujikawa's path integral method. Starting from models in one spatial dimension we discuss how the presence of interactions can affect the consequences of the chiral anomaly leading to renormalization of excitations and their transport properties. This is then generalized to the three-dimensional case where we show that the anomalous response of the system, namely, the chiral magnetic and quantum Hall effects, are modified by the presence of interactions. These properties are investigated further through the identification of anomalous modes which exist within interacting Weyl semimetals. These massive excitations are nonperturbative in nature and are a direct consequence of the chiral anomaly. The effects of interactions on mixed axial-gravitational anomalies are then investigated and the conditions required for interaction effects to be observed are discussed.

Anomalies↗
DOE OSTI2012

Dark matter assimilation into the baryon asymmetry

Pure singlets are typically disfavored as dark matter candidates, since they generically have a thermal relic abundance larger than the observed value. In this paper, we propose a new dark matter mechanism called {sup a}ssimilation{sup ,} which takes advantage of the baryon asymmetry of the universe to generate the correct relic abundance of singlet dark matter. Through assimilation, dark matter itself is efficiently destroyed, but dark matter number is stored in new quasi-stable heavy states which carry the baryon asymmetry. The subsequent annihilation and late-time decay of these heavy states yields (symmetric) dark matter as well as (asymmetric) standard model baryons. We study in detail the case of pure bino dark matter by augmenting the minimal supersymmetric standard model with vector-like chiral multiplets. In the parameter range where this mechanism is effective, the LHC can discover long-lived charged particles which were responsible for assimilating dark matter.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

A Guide to Designing Future Ground-based CMB Experiments

In this follow-up work to the High Energy Physics Community Summer Study 2013 (HEP CSS 2013, a.k.a. Snowmass), we explore the scientific capabilities of a future Stage-IV Cosmic Microwave Background polarization experiment (CMB-S4) under various assumptions on detector count, resolution, and sky coverage. We use the Fisher matrix technique to calculate the expected uncertainties in cosmological parameters in vΛCDM that are especially relevant to the physics of fundamental interactions, including neutrino masses, effective number of relativistic species, dark-energy equation of state, dark-matter annihilation, and inflationary parameters. To further chart the landscape of future cosmology probes, we include forecasted results from the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) signal as measured by DESI to constrain parameters that would benefit from low redshift information. We find the following best 1-σ constraints: σ(M v ) = 15 meV, σ(N eff ) = 0.0156, Dark energy Figure of Merit = 303, σ(p ann ) = 0.00588 x 3 x 10 -26 cm 3 /s/GeV, σ( Ω K ) = 0.00074, σ(n s ) = 0.00110, σ( α s ) = 0.00145, and σ(r) = 0.00009. We also detail the dependences of the parameter constraints on detector count, resolution, and sky coverage.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1974

On the charge state of low energy Fe nuclei accelerated by solar flares

Using sounding rockets, the differential energy spectra of Fe in three solar flares between 0.3 and 50 MeV/nuc were measured. In one of these flares, the geomagnetic field was undisturbed, and the Fe spectrum showed a peak at approximately 2 MeV/nuc. Interpreting this observation with the established quiet time geomagnetic cutoffs, it was calculated that the charge of 2 MeV/nuc Fe is 22 plus or minus 1 instead of the equilibrium value of about 16 for Fe in neutral matter. This nonequilibrium state of ionization imposes a constraint on the flare mechanism and suggests the importance of the flash-phase flare plasma for ionizing heavy nuclei prior to acceleration.

Sullivan, J. D.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Condensation of galactic cold dark matter

We consider the steady-state regime describing the density profile of a dark matter halo, if dark matter is treated as a Bose-Einstein condensate. We first solve the fluid equation for “canonical” cold dark matter, obtaining a class of density profiles which includes the Navarro-Frenk-White profile, and which diverge at the halo core. We then solve numerically the equation obtained when an additional “quantum pressure” term is included in the computation of the density profile. The solution to this latter case is finite at the halo core, possibly avoiding the “cuspy halo problem” present in some cold dark matter theories. Within the model proposed, we predict the mass of the cold dark matter particle to be of the order of M{sub χ}c{sup 2}≈10{sup −24} eV, which is of the same order of magnitude as that predicted in ultra-light scalar cold dark matter models. Finally, we derive the differential equation describing perturbations in the density and the pressure of the dark matter fluid.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Astrophysical and Theoretical Physics Implications from Multimessenger Neutron Star Observations

Here, the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) recently measured the mass and equatorial radius of the isolated neutron star PSR J0030+0451. We use these measurements to infer the moment of inertia, the quadrupole moment, and the surface eccentricity of an isolated neutron star for the first time, using relations between these quantities that are insensitive to the unknown equation of state of supranuclear matter. We also use these results to forecast the moment of inertia of neutron star A in the double pulsar binary J0737-3039, a quantity anticipated to be directly measured in the coming decade with radio observations. Combining this information with the measurement of the tidal Love number with LIGO/Virgo observations, we propose and implement the first theory-agnostic and equation-of-state-insensitive test of general relativity. Specializing these constraints to a particular modified theory, we find that consistency with general relativity places the most stringent constraint on gravitational parity violation to date, surpassing all other previously reported bounds by 7 orders of magnitude and opens the path for a future test of general relativity with multimessenger neutron star observations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Discovery of topological Weyl fermion lines and drumhead surface states in a room temperature magnet

Topological matter is known to exhibit unconventional surface states and anomalous transport owing to unusual bulk electronic topology. In this study, we use photoemission spectroscopy and quantum transport to elucidate the topology of the room temperature magnet Co 2 MnGa. We observe sharp bulk Weyl fermion line dispersions indicative of nontrivial topological invariants present in the magnetic phase. On the surface of the magnet, we observe electronic wave functions that take the form of drumheads, enabling us to directly visualize the crucial components of the bulk-boundary topological correspondence. By considering the Berry curvature field associated with the observed topological Weyl fermion lines, we quantitatively account for the giant anomalous Hall response observed in this magnet. Our experimental results suggest a rich interplay of strongly interacting electrons and topology in quantum matter.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Disordered hyperuniform solid state materials

Disordered hyperuniform (DHU) states are recently discovered exotic states of condensed matter. DHU systems are similar to liquids or glasses in that they are statistically isotropic and lack conventional long-range translational and orientational order. On the other hand, they completely suppress normalized infinite-wavelength density fluctuations like crystals and, in this sense, possess a hidden long-range correlation. Very recently, there have been several exciting discoveries of disordered hyperuniformity in solid-state materials, including amorphous carbon nanotubes, amorphous 2D silica, amorphous graphene, defected transition metal dichalcogenides, defected pentagonal 2D materials, and medium/high-entropy alloys. It has been found that the DHU states of these materials often possess a significantly lower energy than other disorder models and can lead to unique electronic and thermal transport properties, which results from mechanisms distinct from those identified for their crystalline counterparts. For example, DHU states can enhance electronic transport in 2D amorphous silica; DHU medium/high-entropy alloys realize the Vegard's law and possess enhanced electronic bandgaps and thermal transport at low temperatures. These unique properties open up many promising potential device applications in optoelectronics and thermoelectrics. Here, we provide a focused review on these important new developments of hyperuniformity in solid-state materials, taking an applied and “materials” perspective, which complements the existing reviews on hyperuniformity in physical systems and photonic materials. As a result, future directions and outlook are also provided, with a focus on the design and discovery of DHU quantum materials for quantum information science and engineering.

2D materials↗