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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 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Deviations from the Porter-Thomas Distribution due to Nonstatistical 𝛾 Decay below the 150 Nd Neutron Separation Threshold

We introduce a new method for the study of fluctuations of partial transition widths based on nuclear resonance fluorescence experiments with quasimonochromatic linearly polarized photon beams below particle separation thresholds. It is based on the average branching of decays of 𝐽=1 states of an even-even nucleus to the 2$^{+}_{1}$ state in comparison to the ground state. Between 5 and 7 MeV, a constant average branching ratio for 𝛾 decays from 1 − states of 0.490(16) is observed for the nuclide 150 Nd. Assuming 𝜒 2 -distributed partial transition widths, this average branching ratio is related to a degree of freedom of 𝜈 = 1.93⁢(12), rejecting the validity of the Porter-Thomas distribution, requiring 𝜈 = 1. The observed deviation can be explained by nonstatistical effects in the 𝛾-decay behavior with contributions in the range of 9.4(10)% up to 94(10)%.

150 ≤ A ≤ 189↗
DOE OSTI2024

Slow thermalization and subdiffusion in $U$(1) conserving Floquet random circuits

Random quantum circuits are paradigmatic models of minimally structured and analytically tractable chaotic dynamics. We study a family of Floquet unitary circuits with Haar random U(1) charge conserving dynamics; the minimal such model has nearest-neighbor gates acting on spin-1/2 qubits, and a single layer of even/odd gates repeated periodically in time. We find that this minimal model is not robustly thermalizing at numerically accessible system sizes, and displays slow subdiffusive dynamics for long times. We map out the thermalization dynamics in a broader parameter space of charge conserving circuits, and understand the origin of the slow dynamics in terms of proximate localized and integrable regimes in parameter space. In contrast, we find that small extensions to the minimal model are sufficient to achieve robust thermalization; these include (i) increasing the interaction range to three-site gates, (ii) increasing the local Hilbert space dimension by appending an additional unconstrained qubit to the conserved charge on each site, or (iii) using a larger Floquet period comprised of two independent layers of gates. Furthermore, our results should inform future studies of charge conserving circuits, which are relevant for a wide range of topical theoretical questions.

1-dimensional spin chains↗
DOE OSTI2019

Universality of the critical point mapping between Ising model and QCD at small quark mass

The universality of the QCD equation of state near the critical point is expressed by mapping pressure as a function of temperature $T$ and baryon chemical potential $μ$ in QCD to Gibbs free energy as a function of reduced temperature $r$ and magnetic field $h$ in the Ising model. The mapping parameters are, in general, not universal, i.e., determined by details of the microscopic dynamics rather than by symmetries and long-distance dynamics. In this paper we point out that in the limit of small quark masses, when the critical point is close to the tricritical point, the mapping parameters show universal dependence on the quark mass $m_ q$. In particular, the angle between the $r = 0$ and $h = 0$ lines in the $(μ, T)$ plane vanishes as $m^{2/5}_q$. We discuss possible phenomenological consequences of these findings.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Nonlinear dynamics and quantum chaos of a family of kicked p -spin models

Herein we introduce kicked p-spin models describing a family of transverse Ising-like models for an ensemble of spin-1/2 particles with all-to-all p-body interaction terms occurring periodically in time as delta-kicks. This is the natural generalization of the well-studied quantum kicked top (p = 2) [Haake, Kus', and Scharf, Z. Phys. B 65, 381 (1987)]. We fully characterize the classical nonlinear dynamics of these models, including the transition to global Hamiltonian chaos. The classical analysis allows us to build a classification for this family of models, distinguishing between p = 2 and p > 2, and between models with odd and even p's. Quantum chaos in these models is characterized in both kinematic and dynamic signatures. For the latter, we show numerically that the growth rate of the out-of-time-order correlator is dictated by the classical Lyapunov exponent. Finally, we argue that the classification of these models constructed in the classical system applies to the quantum system as well.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Spectral Filtering Induced by Non-Hermitian Evolution with Balanced Gain and Loss: Enhancing Quantum Chaos

Here, the dynamical signatures of quantum chaos in an isolated system are captured by the spectral form factor, which exhibits as a function of time a dip, a ramp, and a plateau, with the ramp being governed by the correlations in the level spacing distribution. While decoherence generally suppresses these dynamical signatures, the nonlinear non-Hermitian evolution with balanced gain and loss (BGL) in an energy-dephasing scenario can enhance manifestations of quantum chaos. In the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model and random matrix Hamiltonians, BGL increases the span of the ramp, lowering the dip as well as the value of the plateau, providing an experimentally realizable physical mechanism for spectral filtering. The chaos enhancement due to BGL is optimal over a family of filter functions that can be engineered with fluctuating Hamiltonians.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Scattering neutrinos, spin models, and permutations

We consider a class of Heisenberg all-to-all coupled spin models inspired by neutrino interactions in a supernova with N degrees of freedom. These models are characterized by a coupling matrix that is relatively simple in the sense that there are only a few, relative to N , nontrivial eigenvalues, in distinction to the classic Heisenberg spin-glass models, leading to distinct behavior in both the high-temperature and low-temperature regimes. When the momenta of the neutrinos are uniform and random in directions, we can calculate the large- N partition function for the quantum Heisenberg model. In particular, the high-temperature partition function predicts a non-Gaussian density of states, providing interesting counterexamples showing the limits of general theorems on the density of states for quantum spin models. We can repeat the same argument for classical Heisenberg models, also known as rotor models, and we find the high-temperature expansion is completely controlled by the eigenvalues of the coupling matrix, and again predicts non-Gaussian behavior for the density of states as long as the number of eigenvalues does not scale linearly with N . Indeed, we derive the amusing fact that these partition functions are essentially the generating function for counting permutations in the high-temperature regime. Finally, for the case relevant to neutrinos in a supernova, we identify the low-temperature phase as a unique state with the direction of the momenta of the neutrino dictating its coherent state in flavor-space, a state we dub the “flavor-momentum-locked” state. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Network succession reveals the importance of competition in response to emulsified vegetable oil amendment for uranium bioremediation: Competition in bioremediation system

When trying to discern network interactions among different species/populations in microbial communities interests have been evoked in recent years, but little information is available about temporal dynamics of microbial network interactions in response to environmental perturbations. We modified the random matrix theory-based network approach to discern network succession in groundwater microbial communities in response to emulsified vegetable oil (EVO) amendment for uranium bioremediation. Groundwater microbial communities from one control and seven monitor wells were analysed with a functional gene array (GeoChip 3.0), and functional molecular ecological networks (fMENs) at different time points were reconstructed. Our results showed that the network interactions were dramatically altered by EVO amendment. Dynamic and resilient succession was evident: fairly simple at the initial stage (Day 0), increasingly complex at the middle period (Days 4, 17, 31), most complex at Day 80, and then decreasingly complex at a later stage (140–269 days). Unlike previous studies in other habitats, negative interactions predominated in a time-series fMEN, suggesting strong competition among different microbial species in the groundwater systems after EVO injection. In particular, several keystone sulfate-reducing bacteria showed strong negative interactions with their network neighbours. These results provide mechanistic understanding of the decreased phylogenetic diversity during environmental perturbations.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Quantum chaos on edge

Recently, the physics of many-body quantum chaotic systems close to their ground states has come under intensified scrutiny. Such studies are motivated by the emergence of model systems exhibiting chaotic fluctuations throughout the entire spectrum [the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model being a renowned representative] as well as by the physics of holographic principles, which likewise unfold close to ground states. Interpreting the edge of the spectrum as a quantum critical point, here we combine a wide range of analytical and numerical methods to the identification and comprehensive description of two different universality classes: the near edge physics of “sparse” and the near edge of “dense” chaotic systems. The distinction lies in the ratio between the number of a system's random parameters and its Hilbert space dimension, which is exponentially small or algebraically small in the sparse and dense case, respectively. Notable representatives of the two classes are generic chaotic many-body models (sparse) and invariant random matrix ensembles or chaotic gravitational systems (dense). While the two families share identical spectral correlations at energy scales comparable to the level spacing, the density of states and its fluctuations near the edge are different. Considering the SYK model as a representative of the sparse class, we apply a combination of field theory and exact diagonalization to a detailed discussion of its edge spectrum. Conversely, Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity is our reference model for the dense class, where an analysis of the gravitational path integral and random matrix theory reveal universal differences to the sparse class, whose implications for the construction of holographic principles we discuss. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Altland, Alexander (ORCID:0000000229914805)↗
DOE OSTI2026

Extended JT supergravity and random matrix models: The power of the string equation

A number of supersymmetric Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity theories are known to be described (in the Euclidean path integral formulation) by double-scaled random matrix models. Such matrix models can be characterized using a certain “string equation”. It was shown recently that in extended supergravity, when the number of BPS states scales as e$^{S_0}$, where $S_0$ is the extremal entropy, a special ansatz for the leading order solution of the string equation yields the supergravity spectrum. Somewhat miraculously, the construction showed that the functional form of the non-BPS (continuum) sector predicts the precise form of the BPS sector, showing the robustness of the supergravity/matrix-model correspondence. In this paper, we refine the analysis and show that the string equation, combined with some simple requirements on solutions, are powerful tools for constraining the spectrum of extended JT supergravity theories. We re-explore the cases of $\mathcal{N} = 2$ and (small) $\mathcal{N} = 4$ JT supergravity, and then explore the new cases of spectra from $\mathcal{N} = 3$ and $\mathcal{N} = 4$ large JT supergravity (recently derived by Heydeman, Shi, and Turiaci) showing that our approach also works naturally for (nearly) all the models. Based on this success, we conjecture that these new supergravity models also have matrix model descriptions.

Extended Supersymmetry↗
DOE OSTI2022

Emergence of many-body quantum chaos via spontaneous breaking of unitarity

It is suggested that many-body quantum chaos appears as the spontaneous symmetry breaking of unitarity in interacting quantum many-body systems. It has been shown that many-body level statistics, probed by the spectral form factor (SFF) defined as K(η,t)=$\langle$|Tr exp(-ηH+itH)| 2 $\rangle$, is dominated by a diffuson-type mode in a field theory analysis. The key finding of this Letter is that the “unitary” η = 0 case is different from the η → 0 ± limit, with the latter leading to a finite mass of these modes due to interactions. This mass suppresses a rapid exponential ramp in the SFF, which is responsible for the fast emergence of Poisson statistics in the noninteracting case, and gives rise to a nontrivial random matrix structure of many-body levels. The interaction-induced mass in the SFF shares similarities with the dephasing rate in the theory of weak localization and the Lyapunov exponent of the out-of-time-ordered correlators.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Parafermionic excitations and critical exponents of random cluster and O(n) models

We introduce the notion of parafermionic fields as the chiral fields which describe particle excitations in two-dimensional conformal field theory, and argue that the parafermionic conformal dimensions can be determined using scale invariant scattering theory. Together with operator product arguments this may provide new information, in particular for non-rational conformal theories. We obtain in this way the field theoretical derivation of the critical exponents of the random cluster and O(n) models, which in the limit of vanishing central charge yield percolation and self-avoiding walks. A simple derivation of the relation between S-matrix and Lagrangian couplings of sine–Gordon model is also given. -- Highlights: •Two-dimensional scale invariant scattering theory is characterized. •Exponents of random cluster and O(n) models are obtained from field theory. •Universal role of parafermions is explained in the continuum.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Neutrino mass priors for cosmology from random matrices

Cosmological measurements of structure are placing increasingly strong constraints on the sum of the neutrino masses, Σm ν , through Bayesian inference. Because these constraints depend on the choice for the prior probability π(Σm ν ), we argue that this prior should be motivated by fundamental physical principles rather than the ad hoc choices that are common in the literature. The first step in this direction is to specify the prior directly at the level of the neutrino mass matrix M ν , since this is the parameter appearing in the Lagrangian of the particle physics theory. Thus by specifying a probability distribution over M ν , and by including the known squared mass splittings, we predict a theoretical probability distribution over Σm ν that we interpret as a Bayesian prior probability π(Σm ν ). Assuming a basis-invariant probability distribution on M ν , also known as the anarchy hypothesis, we find that π(Σm ν ) peaks close to the smallest Σm ν allowed by the measured mass splittings, roughly 0.06 eV (0.1 eV) for normal (inverted) ordering, due to the phenomenon of eigenvalue repulsion in random matrices. We consider three models for neutrino mass generation: Dirac, Majorana, and Majorana via the seesaw mechanism; differences in the predicted priors π(Σm ν ) allow for the possibility of having indications about the physical origin of neutrino masses once sufficient experimental sensitivity is achieved. In conclusion, we present fitting functions for π(Σm ν ), which provide a simple means for applying these priors to cosmological constraints on the neutrino masses or marginalizing over their impact on other cosmological parameters.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗