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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

A real-time search for Type Ia Supernovae with late-time interactions with circumstellar material in ZTF data

While it is generally accepted that Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are the terminal explosions of white dwarfs (WDs), the nature of their progenitor systems and the mechanisms that lead up to these explosions remain widely debated. In rare cases, the SN ejecta interact with circumstellar material (CSM) that had previously been ejected from the progenitor system. The longer the delay between the creation of the CSM and the SN explosion, the greater the distance between the SN explosion site and the CSM and the later the onset of the interaction. The unknown distance between the CSM and SN explosion site makes it impossible to predict when the interaction will start. If the time between the SN explosion and the onset of the CSM interaction is of the order of several months to years, the SN has generally faded and it is no longer actively followed up on. This makes it even more difficult to detect the interaction while it is happening. In this work, we report on a real-time monitoring programme running between 13 November 2023 and 9 July 2024. It monitored 6914 SNe Ia for signs of late-time rebrightening using the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). Flagged candidates were rapidly followed up on with photometry and spectroscopy to confirm the late-time excess and its position. We report the discovery of a ∼50 day rebrightening event in SN 2020qxz around 1200 rest-frame days after the peak of its light curve. SN 2020qxz exhibited signs of an early CSM interaction, but had faded from view over two years before its reappearance. Initial follow-up spectroscopy revealed the presence of four emission lines, while later follow-up spectroscopy showed that these had faded shortly after the end of the ZTF-detected rebrightening event. Our best match for these emission lines are H β (blueshifted by ∼5900 km s −1 ) and Ca II λ8542 , N I λ8567 , and K I λλ8763, 8767 (all blueshifted by 5100 km s −1 ; although we note that the line identifications are uncertain). This shows that catching and following up on late-time interactions as they occur can offer new clues on the nature of the progenitor systems that produce these SNe by putting constraints on the possible type of donor star. The only way to do this systematically is to use large sky surveys such as ZTF and the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) to monitor a large sample of objects for the rare events that reappear long after the object has faded from view.

circumstellar matter↗
DOE OSTI2024

Constraints on initial baryon stopping and equation of state from directed flow

Our investigation focuses on the rapidity-dependent directed flow, v 1 (y), of identified hadrons in Au+Au collisions across a broad range of √S NN from 7.7 to 200 GeV. Employing a (3+1)-dimensional hybrid framework, our study successfully reproduces the characteristic features of the measured v 1 (y) for both mesons and baryons across the considered beam energies. Notably, our analysis reveals the constraining power of baryonic v 1 (y) on the initial baryon stopping mechanism. Together with mesonic v 1 (y), the directed flow serves as a crucial tool for probing the equation of state governing dense nuclear matter at finite chemical potentials.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Strong Electromagnetic Fields in Heavy Ion Collisions

Photons play a pivotal role in both theoretical and applied physics, ranging from elementary particle studies to practical technologies. This article explores how ultra-peripheral collisions of heavy ions act as sources of nearly real photons, enabling the investigation of a wide range of photon-induced processes. By applying the equivalent photon approximation, one can study nuclear structure, QED phenomena, and potential new physics, all in a backgroundsuppressed environment.

Bertulani, C. A. [East Texas A & M Univ., Commerce↗
DOE OSTI2016

Nanostructured silicon nitride from wheat and rice husks

Nanoparticles, submicron-diameter tubes, and rods of Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} were synthesized from the thermal treatment of wheat and rice husks at temperatures at and above 1300 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere. The whole pattern Rietveld analysis of the observed diffraction data from treatments at 1300 °C showed the formation of only hexagonal α-phase of Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} with an R-factor of 1%, whereas samples treated at 1400 °C and above showed both α- and β-phases with an R-factor of 2%. Transmission electron microscopy showed the presence of tubes, rods, and nanoparticles of Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}. In a two-step process, where pure SiC was produced first from rice or wheat husk in an argon atmosphere and subsequently treated in a nitrogen atmosphere at 1450 °C, a nanostructured composite material having α- and β-phases of Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} combined with cubic phase of SiC was formed. The thermodynamics of the formation of silicon nitride is discussed in terms of the solid state reaction between organic matter (silica content), which is inherently present in the wheat and rice husks, with the nitrogen from the furnace atmosphere. Nanostructures of silicon nitride formed by a single direct reaction or their composites with SiC formed in a two-step process of agricultural byproducts provide an uncomplicated sustainable synthesis route for silicon nitride used in mechanical, biotechnology, and electro-optic nanotechnology applications.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Majorana bound states with chiral magnetic textures

The aim of this Tutorial is to give a pedagogical introduction into realizations of Majorana fermions, usually termed as Majorana bound states (MBSs), in condensed matter systems with magnetic textures. We begin by considering the Kitaev chain model of “spinless” fermions and show how two “half” fermions can appear at chain ends due to interactions. By considering this model and its two-dimensional generalization, we emphasize intricate relation between topological superconductivity and possible realizations of MBS. We further discuss how “spinless” fermions can be realized in more physical systems, e.g., by employing the spin-momentum locking. Next, we demonstrate how magnetic textures can be used to induce synthetic or fictitious spin–orbit interactions, and, thus, stabilize MBS. We describe a general approach that works for arbitrary textures and apply it to skyrmions. We show how MBS can be stabilized by elongated skyrmions, certain higher order skyrmions, and chains of skyrmions. We also discuss how braiding operations can be performed with MBS stabilized on magnetic skyrmions. Furthermore, this Tutorial is aimed at students at the graduate level.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Cosmological parameter uncertainties from SALT-II type Ia supernova light curve models

We use simulated type Ia supernova (SN Ia) samples, including both photometry and spectra, to perform the first direct validation of cosmology analysis using the SALT-II light curve model. This validation includes residuals from the light curve training process, systematic biases in SN Ia distance measurements, and a bias on the dark energy equation of state parameter w. Using the SN-analysis package SNANA, we simulate and analyze realistic samples corresponding to the data samples used in the SNLS3 analysis: ∼120 low-redshift (z < 0.1) SNe Ia, ∼255 Sloan Digital Sky Survey SNe Ia (z < 0.4), and ∼290 SNLS SNe Ia (z ≤ 1). To probe systematic uncertainties in detail, we vary the input spectral model, the model of intrinsic scatter, and the smoothing (i.e., regularization) parameters used during the SALT-II model training. Using realistic intrinsic scatter models results in a slight bias in the ultraviolet portion of the trained SALT-II model, and w biases (w {sub input} – w {sub recovered}) ranging from –0.005 ± 0.012 to –0.024 ± 0.010. These biases are indistinguishable from each other within the uncertainty; the average bias on w is –0.014 ± 0.007.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Probing cosmic acceleration by using the SNLS3 SNIa dataset

We probe the cosmic acceleration by using the recently released SNLS3 sample of 472 type Ia supernovae. Combining this type Ia supernovae dataset with the cosmic microwave background anisotropy data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 7-yr observations, the baryon acoustic oscillation results from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data release 7, and the Hubble constant measurement from the Wide Field Camera 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope, we measure the dark energy equation of state w and the deceleration parameter q as functions of redshift by using the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder parametrization. Our result is consistent with a cosmological constant at 1σ confidence level, without evidence for the recent slowing down of the cosmic acceleration. Furthermore, we consider three binned parametrizations (w is piecewise constant in redshift z) based on different binning methods. The similar results are obtained, i.e., the ΛCDM model is still nicely compatible with current observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Tension between SNeIa and BAO: current status and future forecasts

Using real and synthetic Type Ia SNe (SNeIa) and baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) data representing current observations forecasts, this paper investigates the tension between those probes in the dark energy equation of state (EoS) reconstruction considering the well known CPL model and Wang's low correlation reformulation. In particular, here we present simulations of BAO data from both the the radial and transverse directions. We also explore the influence of priors on Ω{sub m} and Ω{sub b} on the tension issue, by considering 1σ deviations in either one or both of them. Our results indicate that for some priors there is no tension between a single dataset (either SNeIa or BAO) and their combination (SNeIa+BAO). Our criterion to discern the existence of tension (σ-distance) is also useful to establish which is the dataset with most constraining power; in this respect SNeIa and BAO data switch roles when current and future data are considered, as forecasts predict and spectacular quality improvement on BAO data. We also find that the results on the tension are blind to the way the CPL model is addressed: there is a perfect match between the original formulation and that by the correlation optimized proposed in Wang (2008), but the errors on the parameters are much narrower in all cases of our exhaustive exploration, thus serving the purpose of stressing the convenience of this reparametrization.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Exact spherically-symmetric inhomogeneous model with n perfect fluids

We present the exact equations governing the dynamics of a spherically-symmetric inhomogeneous model with n decoupled and non-comoving perfect fluids. Thanks to the use of physically meaningful quantities we write the set of 3+2n equations in a concise and transparent way. The n perfect fluids can have general equations of state, thus making the model extremely flexible to study a large variety of cosmological and astrophysical problems. As applications we consider a model sourced by two non-comoving dust components and a cosmological constant, and a model featuring dust and a dark energy component with negligible speed of sound.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Phantom behavior bounce with tachyon and non-minimal derivative coupling

The bouncing cosmology provides a successful solution of the cosmological singularity problem. In this paper, we study the bouncing behavior of a single scalar field model with tachyon field non-minimally coupled to itself, its derivative and to the curvature. By utilizing the numerical calculations we will show that the bouncing solution can appear in the universe dominated by such a quintom matter with equation of state crossing the phantom divide line. We also investigate the classical stability of our model using the phase velocity of the homogeneous perturbations of the tachyon scalar field.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Probing the time dependence of dark energy

A new method to investigate a possible time-dependence of the dark energy equation of state w is proposed. We apply this methodology to a combination of data involving one of the most recent type Ia supernova sample (SNLS3) along with the current baryon acoustic oscillation and H(z) measurements. We show that current observations cannot rule out a non-evolving dark energy component (dw/dz = 0). The approach developed here reduces considerably the so-called smearing effect on w determinations and may be useful to probe a possible evolving dark energy component when applied to upcoming observational data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Crossing statistic: Bayesian interpretation, model selection and resolving dark energy parametrization problem

By introducing Crossing functions and hyper-parameters I show that the Bayesian interpretation of the Crossing Statistics [1] can be used trivially for the purpose of model selection among cosmological models. In this approach to falsify a cosmological model there is no need to compare it with other models or assume any particular form of parametrization for the cosmological quantities like luminosity distance, Hubble parameter or equation of state of dark energy. Instead, hyper-parameters of Crossing functions perform as discriminators between correct and wrong models. Using this approach one can falsify any assumed cosmological model without putting priors on the underlying actual model of the universe and its parameters, hence the issue of dark energy parametrization is resolved. It will be also shown that the sensitivity of the method to the intrinsic dispersion of the data is small that is another important characteristic of the method in testing cosmological models dealing with data with high uncertainties.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Impact of the local void on the cosmological parameters

In this paper, I discuss the effects of a local void on the cosmological parameters. It is found that, if the supernova distance is absolutely calibrated, then the bias of all the cosmological parameters is always important, while if the supernova distance is relatively calibrated, the largest effects will appear in the dark energy equation of state. For a local void of size ∼ 100 Mpc, the bias effects mainly manifest in the low redshift range. Therefore, the piecewise dark energy equation of state, especially the one in the range of lowest redshift, will be more strongly affected than the constant equation of state. In order to reduce this bias in constraining the cosmological parameters, one could require the distance of all the adopted supernovas be greater than 1.2 ∼ 1.5 times of the radius of the local void. In this case, the residual bias can be safely ignored.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Constraints on dark energy from new observations including Pan-STARRS

In this paper, we set the new limits on the equation of state parameter (EoS) of dark energy with the observations of cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) from Planck satellite, the type Ia supernovae from Pan-STARRS and the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO). We consider two parametrization forms of EoS: a constant w and time evolving w(a)=w{sub 0}+w{sub a}(1-a). The results show that with a constant EoS, w=-1.141±0.075 68% C.L.), which is consistent with ΛCDM at about 2σ confidence level. For a time evolving w(a) model, we get w{sub 0}=-1.09{sup +0.16}{sub -0.18} 1σ C.L.), w{sub a}=-0.34{sup +0.87}{sub -0.51} 1σ C.L.), and in this case ΛCDM can be comparable with our observational data at 1σ confidence level. In order to do the parametrization independent analysis, additionally we adopt the so called principal component analysis (PCA) method, in which we divide redshift range into several bins and assume w as a constant in each redshift bin (bin-w). In such bin-w scenario, we find that for most of the bins cosmological constant can be comparable with the data, however, there exists few bins which give w deviating from ΛCDM at more than 2σ confidence level, which shows a weak hint for the time evolving behavior of dark energy. To further confirm this hint, we need more data with higher precision.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Cosmic slowing down of acceleration for several dark energy parametrizations

We further investigate slowing down of acceleration of the universe scenario for five parametrizations of the equation of state of dark energy using four sets of Type Ia supernovae data. In a maximal probability analysis we also use the baryon acoustic oscillation and cosmic microwave background observations. We found the low redshift transition of the deceleration parameter appears, independently of the parametrization, using supernovae data alone except for the Union 2.1 sample. This feature disappears once we combine the Type Ia supernovae data with high redshift data. We conclude that the rapid variation of the deceleration parameter is independent of the parametrization. We also found more evidence for a tension among the supernovae samples, as well as for the low and high redshift data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

A flexible test facility for liquid xenon detector development

As liquid xenon time projection chambers scale to ever-larger sizes, so too do the engineering challenges they pose. Here, we describe a large, flexible, multipurpose test facility capable of supporting the development of a number of key aspects of liquid xenon detector systems. Example applications of this facility include characterization of large-area light and charge sensor arrays, tests of xenon purification techniques and materials compatibility, and investigations into high-voltage phenomena. This facility uses an automated and remotely monitored cryo-cooling system based on immersion of the test chamber in a liquid bath rather than conductive coupling, leading to advantages in temperature and pressure stability, as well as increasing required response times in the case of cooling-power loss. Design advantages, operational procedures, and performance of the facility are described, as well as five examples of liquid xenon test chambers that use the facility.

Dark Matter detectors↗
DOE OSTI2012

NEW LIMITS ON EARLY DARK ENERGY FROM THE SOUTH POLE TELESCOPE

We present new limits on early dark energy (EDE) from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) using data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellite on large angular scales and South Pole Telescope on small angular scales. We find a strong upper limit on the EDE density of {Omega}{sub e} < 0.018 at 95% confidence, a factor of three improvement over WMAP data alone. We show that adding lower-redshift probes of the expansion rate to the CMB data improves constraints on the dark energy equation of state, but not the EDE density. We also explain how small-scale CMB temperature anisotropy constrains EDE.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Energy density driven ultrafast electronic excitations in a cuprate superconductor

Controlling nonequilibrium dynamics in quantum materials requires ultrafast probes with spectral selectivity. We report femtosecond reflectivity measurements on the cuprate superconductor Bi 2⁢ Sr 2⁢ CaCu 2 ⁢O 8+𝛿 using free-electron laser extreme-ultraviolet (23.5–177 eV) and near-infrared (1.5 eV) pump pulses. EUV pulses access deep electronic states, while NIR light excites valence-band transitions. Despite these distinct channels, both schemes produce nearly identical dynamics: above 𝑇 𝑐 , excitations relax through fast (100–300 fs) and slower (1–5 ps) channels; below 𝑇 𝑐 , a delayed component signals quasiparticle recombination and condensate recovery. We find that when electronic excitations are involved, the ultrafast response is governed mainly by absorbed energy rather than by the microscopic nature of the excitation. In contrast, bosonic driving in the THz or midinfrared produces qualitatively different dynamics. By demonstrating that EUV excitation of a correlated superconductor yields macroscopic dynamics converging with those from optical pumping, this work defines a new experimental paradigm: FEL pulses at core-level energies provide a powerful means to probe and control nonequilibrium electronic states in quantum materials on their intrinsic femtosecond timescales. This establishes FEL-based EUV pumping as a new capability for ultrafast materials science, opening routes toward soft x-ray and attosecond studies of correlated dynamics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗