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DOE OSTI2024

S -matrix positivity without Lorentz invariance: a case study

We investigate the analytic structure of scattering amplitudes in theories in which Lorentz invariance is spontaneously broken. We do so by computing and studying the S-matrix for a simple example: a superfluid described by a complex scalar with quartic interactions. The computation is confined to tree-level, for there are no absolutely stable single-particle states, though the lifetime can be made long by lowering the chemical potential. For the 2 → 2 amplitude in center-of-mass configurations, not only is crossing symmetry violated, there appears a tree level branch cut for unphysical kinematics. Its appearance is a consequence of non-analyticity in the dispersion relation. The branch point defines a new scale in the problem, which scales inversely with the chemical potential. In this example, even derivatives of the forward amplitude are positive while odd derivatives are negative. This pattern can be understood in a general way in the limit of a small chemical potential, or weak Lorentz breaking.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Search for heavy long-lived charged particles with large ionization energy loss in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

A search for heavy, long-lived, charged particles with large ionization energy loss within the silicon tracker of the CMS experiment is presented. A data set of proton-proton collisions at a center of mass energy at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV, collected in 2017 and 2018 at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb −1 , is used in this analysis. Two different approaches for the search are taken. A new method exploits the independence of the silicon pixel and strips measurements, while the second method improves on previous techniques using ionization to determine a mass selection. No significant excess of events above the background expectation is observed. The results are interpreted in the context of the pair production of supersymmetric particles, namely gluinos, top squarks, and tau sleptons, and of the Drell-Yan pair production of fourth generation (τ′) leptons with an electric charge equal to or twice the absolute value of the electron charge (e). An interpretation of a Z’ boson decaying to two τ′ leptons with an electric charge equal to 2e is presented for the first time. The 95% confidence upper limits on the production cross section are extracted for each of these hypothetical particles.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Measurements of the Higgs boson production cross section in the four-lepton final state in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13.6 TeV

The measurements of the Higgs boson (H) production cross sections performed by the CMS Collaboration in the four-lepton (4ℓ, ℓ = e, μ) final state at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}$ = 13.6 TeV are presented. These measurements are based on data collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC in 2022, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34.7 fb −1 . Cross sections are measured in a fiducial region closely matching the experimental acceptance, both inclusively and differentially, as a function of the transverse momentum and the absolute value of the rapidity of the four-lepton system. The H → ZZ → 4ℓ inclusive fiducial cross section is measured to be ${2.89}_{-0.49}^{+0.53}{\left({\text{stat}}\right)}_{-0.21}^{+0.29}\left({\text{syst}}\right)$ fb, in agreement with the standard model expectation of ${2.89}_{-0.49}^{+0.53}{\left({\text{stat}}\right)}_{-0.21}^{+0.29}\left({\text{syst}}\right)$ fb.

Higgs physics↗

DOE OSTI2024

Inclusive and differential cross-section measurements of $ t\overline{t}Z$ production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector, including EFT and spin-correlation interpretations

Measurements of both the inclusive and differential production cross sections of a top-quark-top-antiquark pair in association with a Z boson ($t\overline{t}Z$) are presented. Final states with two, three or four isolated leptons (electrons or muons) are targeted. The measurements use the data recorded by the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider during the years 2015–2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb -1 . The inclusive cross section is measured to be ${\sigma}_{t\overline{t}Z}$ = 0.86 ± 0.04 (stat.) ± 0.04 (syst.) pb and found to be in agreement with the most advanced Standard Model predictions. The differential measurements are presented as a function of a number of observables that probe the kinematics of the $t\overline{t}Z$ system. Both the absolute and normalised differential cross-section measurements are performed at particle level and parton level for specific fiducial volumes, and are compared with NLO+NNLL theoretical predictions. The results are interpreted in the framework of Standard Model effective field theory and used to set limits on a large number of dimension-6 operators involving the top quark. The first measurement of spin correlations in $t\overline{t}Z$ events is presented: the results are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations, and the null hypothesis of no spin correlations is disfavoured with a significance of 1.8 standard deviations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Measurement of double-differential charged-current Drell-Yan cross-sections at high transverse masses in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a first measurement of the cross-section for the charged-current Drell-Yan process pp → W ± → ℓ ± ν above the resonance region, where ℓ is an electron or muon. The measurement is performed for transverse masses, $m$$^{W}_{T}$, between 200 GeV and 5000 GeV, using a sample of 140 fb −1 of pp collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2015–2018. The data are presented single differentially in transverse mass and double differentially in transverse mass and absolute lepton pseudorapidity. A test of lepton flavour universality shows no significant deviations from the Standard Model. The electron and muon channel measurements are combined to achieve a total experimental precision of 3% at low $m$$^{W}_{T}$. The single- and double differential W-boson charge asymmetries are evaluated from the measurements. A comparison to next-to-next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD predictions using several recent parton distribution functions and including next-to-leading-order electroweak effects indicates the potential of the data to constrain parton distribution functions. The data are also used to constrain four fermion operators in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory formalism, in particular the lepton-quark operator Wilson coefficient $c$$^{(c)}_{ℓq}$.

Hadron-Hadron Scattering↗

DOE OSTI2025

Measurements of the branching fractions of ${\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Sigma }^{+}{K}_{S}^{0}$, ${\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{0}{\pi }^{+}$, and ${\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{0}{K}+$ at Belle and Belle II

Using 983.0 fb −1 and 427.9 fb −1 data samples collected with the Belle and Belle II detectors at the KEKB and SuperKEKB asymmetric energy e + e − colliders, respectively, we present studies of the Cabibbo-favored ${\Xi }_{c}^{+}$ decays ${\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Sigma }^{+}{K}_{S}^{0}$ and ${\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{0}{\pi }^{+}$, and the singly Cabibbo-suppressed decay ${\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{0}{K}^{+}$. The ratios of branching fractions of ${\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Sigma }^{+}{K}_{S}^{0}$ and ${\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{0}{K}^{+}$ relative to that of ${\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{-}{\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{+}$ are measured for the first time, while the ratio $\mathcal{B}({\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{0}{\pi }^{+})/\mathcal{B}({\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{-}{\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{+})$ is also determined and improved by an order of magnitude in precision. The measured branching fraction ratios are $\begin{array}{c}\frac{\mathcal{B}\left({\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Sigma }^{+}{K}_{S}^{0}\right)}{\mathcal{B}\left({\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{-}{\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{+}\right)}=0.067\pm 0.007\pm 0.003,\\ \frac{\mathcal{B}\left({\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{0}{\pi }^{+}\right)}{\mathcal{B}\left({\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{-}{\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{+}\right)}=0.251\pm 0.005\pm 0.010,\\ \frac{\mathcal{B}\left({\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{0}{K}^{+}\right)}{\mathcal{B}\left({\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{-}{\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{+}\right)}=0.017\pm 0.003\pm 0.001.\end{array}$ Additionally, the ratio $\mathcal{B}({\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{0}{K}^{+})/\mathcal{B}({\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{0}{\pi }^{+})$ is measured to be 0.068 ± 0.010 ± 0.004. Here, the first and second uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. Multiplying the ratios by the branching fraction of the normalization mode, $\mathcal{B}({\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{-}{\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{+})=(2.9\pm 1.3)%$, we obtain the following absolute branching fractions $\begin{array}{c}\mathcal{B}({\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Sigma }^{+}{K}_{S}^{0})=(0.194\pm 0.021\pm 0.009\pm 0.087)\text{%},\\ \mathcal{B}({\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{0}{\pi }^{+})=(0.728\pm 0.014\pm 0.027\pm 0.326)\text{%},\\ \mathcal{B}({\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{0}{K}^{+})=(0.049\pm 0.007\pm 0.003\pm 0.022)\text{%},\end{array}$ where the third uncertainties are from $\mathcal{B}({\Xi }_{c}^{+}\to {\Xi }^{-}{\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{+})$.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Measurement of the t-channel single top quark cross section in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=5.02$ TeV

The single top quark t-channel production cross section is measured in proton-proton collisions at the CERN LHC at $\sqrt{s}=5.02$ TeV, using data recorded with the CMS detector in 2017, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 302 pb −1 , and resulting in the first CMS measurement of the process at that energy. Events with one electron or muon and two or more jets, among which at least one is identified as originating from a b quark fragmentation, are analyzed. The combined cross section of single top quark (tq) and single top antiquark ($\overline{\mathrm{t}}\mathrm{q}$) production is $\sigma \left(\mathrm{tq}+\overline{\mathrm{t}}\mathrm{q}\right)={25.5}_{-3.5}^{+3.6}{\left(\mathrm{stat}\right)}_{-3.9}^{+4.2}\left(\mathrm{syst}\right)\pm 0.5\left(\mathrm{lumi}\right)$ pb. The individual cross sections are measured to be $\sigma \left(\mathrm{tq}\right)={17.7}_{-2.7}^{+2.9}{\left(\mathrm{stat}\right)}_{-2.4}^{+2.6}\left(\mathrm{syst}\right)\pm 0.3\left(\mathrm{lumi}\right)$ pb and $\sigma \left(\overline{\mathrm{t}}\mathrm{q}\right)={6.7}_{-1.6}^{+2.4}{\left(\mathrm{stat}\right)}_{-2.5}^{+2.1}\left(\mathrm{syst}\right)\pm 0.1\left(\mathrm{lumi}\right)$ pb. Their ratio is measured to be ${\mathcal{R}}_{\mathrm{t}-\mathrm{ch}}={2.7}_{-0.8}^{+1.5}{\left(\mathrm{stat}\right)}_{-0.3}^{+1.2}\left(\mathrm{syst}\right)$. The absolute value of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element is found to be |f LV V tb | = 0.92 ± 0.09(exp) ± 0.01(theo). The measurements are in good agreement with the standard model predictions at next-to-next-to-leading order accuracy in quantum chromodynamics.

Hadron-Hadron Scattering↗

DOE OSTI2024

Measurements of $$ {K}_S^0 $$-$$ {K}_L^0 $$ asymmetries in the decays $$ {\Lambda}_c^{+}\to p{K}_{L,S}^0 $$, $$ p{K}_{L,S}^0{\pi}^{+}{\pi}^{-} $$ and $$ p{K}_{L,S}^0{\pi}^0 $$

Abstract Usinge + e − annihilation data sets corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.5 fb −1 , collected with the BESIII detector at center-of-mass energies between 4.600 and 4.699 GeV, we report the first measurements of the absolute branching fractions$$ \mathcal{B}\left({\Lambda}_c^{+}\to p{K}_L^0\right) $$ B Λ c + → p K L 0 = (1.67±0.06±0.04)%,$$ \mathcal{B}\left({\Lambda}_c^{+}\to p{K}_L^0{\pi}^{+}{\pi}^{-}\right) $$ B Λ c + → p K L 0 π + π − = (1.69±0.10±0.05)%, and$$ \mathcal{B}\left({\Lambda}_c^{+}\to p{K}_L^0{\pi}^0\right) $$ B Λ c + → p K L 0 π 0 = (2.02±0.13±0.05)%, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. Combining with the known branching fractions of$$ {\Lambda}_c^{+}\to p{K}_S^0 $$ Λ c + → p K S 0 ,$$ {\Lambda}_c^{+}\to p{K}_S^0{\pi}^{+}{\pi}^{-} $$ Λ c + → p K S 0 π + π − , and$$ {\Lambda}_c^{+}\to p{K}_S^0{\pi}^0 $$ Λ c + → p K S 0 π 0 , we present the first measurements of the$$ {K}_S^0 $$ K S 0 -$$ {K}_L^0 $$ K L 0 asymmetries$$ R\left({\Lambda}_c^{+},{K}_{S,L}^0X\right)=\frac{\mathcal{B}\left({\Lambda}_c^{+}\to {K}_S^0X\right)-\mathcal{B}\left({\Lambda}_c^{+}\to {K}_L^0X\right)}{\mathcal{B}\left({\Lambda}_c^{+}\to {K}_S^0X\right)+\mathcal{B}\left({\Lambda}_c^{+}\to {K}_L^0X\right)} $$ R Λ c + K S , L 0 X = B Λ c + → K S 0 X − B Λ c + → K L 0 X B Λ c + → K S 0 X + B Λ c + → K L 0 X in charmed baryon decays:$$ R\left({\Lambda}_c^{+},p{K}_{S,L}^0\right)=-0.025\pm 0.031 $$ R Λ c + p K S , L 0 = − 0.025 ± 0.031 ,$$ R\left({\Lambda}_c^{+},p{K}_{S,L}^0{\pi}^{+}{\pi}^{-}\right)=-0.027\pm 0.048 $$ R Λ c + p K S , L 0 π + π − = − 0.027 ± 0.048 and$$ R\left({\Lambda}_c^{+},p{K}_{S,L}^0{\pi}^0\right)=-0.015\pm 0.046 $$ R Λ c + p K S , L 0 π 0 = − 0.015 ± 0.046 . No significant asymmetries with statistical significance are observed.

Physics↗

DOE OSTI2024

Observation of the semileptonic decays $$ {\textrm{D}}^0\to {\textrm{K}}_{\textrm{S}}^0{\pi}^{-}{\pi}^0{\textrm{e}}^{+}{\nu}_{\textrm{e}} $$ and $$ {\textrm{D}}^{+}\to {\textrm{K}}_{\textrm{S}}^0{\pi}^{+}{\pi}^{-}{\textrm{e}}^{+}{\nu}_{\textrm{e}} $$

Abstract By analyzinge + e − annihilation data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.93 fb −1 collected at a center-of-mass energy of 3.773 GeV with the BESIII detector, the first observation of the semileptonic decays$$ {D}^0\to {K}_S^0{\pi}^{-}{\pi}^0{e}^{+}{\nu}_e $$ D 0 → K S 0 π − π 0 e + ν e and$$ {D}^{+}\to {K}_S^0{\pi}^{+}{\pi}^{-}{e}^{+}{\nu}_e $$ D + → K S 0 π + π − e + ν e is reported. In the hypothesis that all events correspond toK 1 (1270) decays, the branching fractions are measured to be$$ \mathcal{B}\left({D}^0\to {K}_1{(1270)}^{-}\left(\to {K}_S^0{\pi}^{-}{\pi}^0\right){e}^{+}{\nu}_e\right)=\left({1.69}_{-0.46}^{+0.53}\pm 0.15\right)\times {10}^{-4} $$ B D 0 → K 1 1270 − → K S 0 π − π 0 e + ν e = 1.69 − 0.46 + 0.53 ± 0.15 × 10 − 4 and$$ \mathcal{B}\left({D}^{+}\to {\overline{K}}_1{(1270)}^0\left(\to {K}_S^0{\pi}^{+}{\pi}^{-}\right){e}^{+}{\nu}^e\right)=\left({1.47}_{-0.40}^{+0.45}\pm 0.14\right)\times {10}^{-4} $$ B D + → K ¯ 1 1270 0 → K S 0 π + π − e + ν e = 1.47 − 0.40 + 0.45 ± 0.14 × 10 − 4 with statistical significance of 5.4σand 5.6σ, respectively. When combined with measurements of theK 1 (1270)→ K + π − πdecays, the absolute branching fractions are determined to be$$ \mathcal{B}\left({D}^0\to {K}_1{(1270)}^{-}{e}^{+}{\nu}_e\right)=\left({1.08}_{-0.13-0.10}^{+0.14+0.08}\pm 0.21\right)\times {10}^{-3} $$ B D 0 → K 1 1270 − e + ν e = 1.08 − 0.13 − 0.10 + 0.14 + 0.08 ± 0.21 × 10 − 3 and$$ \mathcal{B}\left({D}^{+}\to {\overline{K}}_1{(1270)}^0{e}^{+}{\nu}_e\right)=\left({1.70}_{-0.23}^{+0.26}\pm 0.13\pm 0.35\right)\times {10}^{-3} $$ B D + → K ¯ 1 1270 0 e + ν e = 1.70 − 0.23 + 0.26 ± 0.13 ± 0.35 × 10 − 3 . The first and second uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively, and the third uncertainties originate from the assumed branching fractions of theK 1 (1270)→ Kππdecays.

Physics↗

DOE OSTI2024

Measurements of inclusive and differential cross-sections of $t\overline{t}\gamma$ production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Inclusive and differential cross-sections are measured at particle level for the associated production of a top quark pair and a photon ($t\overline{t}\gamma$). The analysis is performed using an integrated luminosity of 140 fb -1 of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector. The measurements are performed in the single-lepton and dilepton top quark pair decay channels focusing on ($t\overline{t}\gamma$) topologies where the photon is radiated from an initial-state parton or one of the top quarks. The absolute and normalised differential cross-sections are measured for several variables characterising the photon, lepton and jet kinematics as well as the angular separation between those objects. The observables are found to be in good agreement with the Monte Carlo predictions. The photon transverse momentum differential distribution is used to set limits on effective field theory parameters related to the electroweak dipole moments of the top quark. The combined limits using the photon and the Z boson transverse momentum measured in $t\overline{t}$ production in associations with a Z boson are also set.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Benchmarking Cylindrical Blast Wave Theory Against the OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule Reentry

Weak shock theory based on cylindrical blast waves has been used to interpret meteor infrasound, but it has not been systematically benchmarked against a non-ablating hypersonic source with independently known parameters. The objective of this study is not to propose a new theoretical framework, but to evaluate the operational validity of the existing suite of blast radius formulations against a high-fidelity ground truth dataset. The OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule reentry on 24 September 2023 provides such a benchmark because the capsule geometry, trajectory, and infrasound emission points are constrained from mission data and ray tracing, reducing source-side uncertainty associated with ablation. Using observations from 39 infrasound stations, this benchmarking study evaluates six published blast radius (${R}_{0}$ ) formulations and three weak-shock transition coefficients ( C ) within a stratified atmospheric propagation model to predict signal period and peak overpressure. The benchmarking identifies the Sakurai formulation as the best-performing formulation for non-ablating bodies, with the Jones/Plooster formulation performing comparably when a physically appropriate C is adopted. Sakurai and Jones/Plooster yield linear-period median absolute percentage residuals of 9% and 11%, respectively. The period predictions show only weak sensitivity to C at these propagation distances. The Mach-diameter approximation commonly used in meteor studies overestimates ${R}_{0}$ by more than a factor of 3 in the absence of ablation. Finally, these results establish a performance baseline for applying cylindrical blast wave theory to effectively non-ablating hypersonic bodies and demonstrate that the signal period is a robust observable for constraining ${R}_{0}$.

atmospheric entry↗

DOE OSTI2026

Computationally inexpensive part-scale thermal history of additive friction-stir deposition

This study presents an analytical model for steady-state power generation and tool heat loss in additive friction-stir deposition (AFSD), developed to enable part-scale thermal simulation while remaining computationally inexpensive. The model predicts total generated power, yielding 3.7–4.7 kW across deposition temperature setpoints of 400–460 °C for the deposition of AA6061 with a Be-Cu tool. This corresponds to 90–95% of the reported spindle power. Tool heat loss is experimentally determined by calibrating a steady-state energy balance between the generated power, the substrate-deposition thermal gradient, and a temperature dependent tool heat loss term: q tool (T) = a + b (T - 400°C) with a = 2.7 x 10 6 Wm -2 and b = 9.5 x 10 3 Wm -2 K -1 . The calibration indicates that about 69% of the generated heat is conducted into the tool for this configuration, which is much higher than previously reported. The calibrated heat-source is implemented in finite element software (Adamantine) to simulate the transient thermal history of a 100 cm 3 representative build in 8 min on a standard desktop (at 0.635 mm build-height resolution). For the first three layers, the substrate temperatures between simulation and experiment are within 10% mean absolute percentage error. Sensitivity analysis indicates that uncertainties in average deposition temperature and deformation localization (stir-zone geometry, depth, and spatial dependance of strain-rate and flow stress) dominate model variance, motivating additional experimental verification.

Additive Friction-Stir Deposition↗

DOE OSTI2026

Attention-based 3D – convolutional neural network model for mechanical property predictions using visible light images in metal additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing (AM), while commonly used for rapid prototyping and creating components with complex geometries, has not been widely adopted for critical applications across the aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, and medical industries. This is, in part, due to the challenges of controlling flaws and uncertainty in the mechanical behavior of additively manufactured components. In recent years, there has been an increase in research aimed at predicting the final mechanical properties of additively manufactured components during the printing process. To address these issues, a 3D-CNN model was trained using low-cost in situ visible-light camera data, anomaly classifications, and the chosen process parameters to predict the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), yield strength (YS), total elongation (TE), and uniform elongation (UE). The 3D-CNN layers of the model employed attention mechanisms to prioritize features in the data, thereby improving prediction accuracy. Furthermore, the effect of each process parameter and anomaly class is investigated using attention-based dynamic sigmoid weighted gates to interpret the influence each class has on the final prediction. Different combinations of the in situ data were fed into the 3D-CNN, with varying amounts of image layers, to determine the ideal combination for predicting mechanical properties in situ. Here, the 3D-CNN model achieved mean absolute percentage errors (MAPE) below 5% for both UTS and YS while using only a single camera input and under half of the available image layers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2025

Machine learning for fundamental spectroscopic and thermodynamic data of actinides and lanthanides

Accurately modeling optical spectra with absolute radiometric intensities is vital for nuclear forensics applications that depend on characterizing optical emissions from energetic nuclear phenomena. This requires precise knowledge of the individual atomic transition probabilities, known as Einstein A-coefficients, for each emission line. Obtaining these values theoretically or experimentally is often impractical due to the complex electronic structures and the number of transitions involved in atoms relevant to nuclear applications. In this study, we explore the use of machine learning to predict the Einstein A coefficients for atomic transitions. Seven models were evaluated that ranged from deep learning to decision tree algorithms, and found that gradient boosting performed best, specifically the Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) architecture, achieving a precision of 86% across transitions of 36 elements. Furthermore, the model was cross-validated using published transition probabilities reported in the literature and applied to estimate Pu plasma temperatures from a previous experiment conducted at Savannah River National Laboratory.

Atomic spectroscopy↗

DOE OSTI2026

Radioisotope dating of nuclear materials using cryogenic decay energy spectrometry

Cryogenic decay energy spectrometry provides high energy resolution and enables absolute decay counting, offering an alternative measurement technique for radiochronometry. A cryogenic decay energy spectrometry experiment was conducted using a magnetic microcalorimeter to determine the age of a plutonium sample. The energy resolution was measured at 0.05% from 5 to 6 MeV. The time since sample purification was determined using the measured concentration ratio of the 241 Am/ 241 Pu radiochronometer. Sample age estimates based on 241 Pu alpha-decay and beta-decay counts, along with 241 Am decay counts, align with the expected sample age within expanded uncertainty (k = 2), supporting the accuracy of cryogenic decay energy spectrometry as a radiochronometric method.

and nuclear chemistry↗

DOE OSTI2025

The Surface-Topography Challenge: A Multi-Laboratory Benchmark Study to Advance the Characterization of Topography

Surface performance is critically influenced by topography in virtually all real-world applications. The current standard practice is to describe topography using one of a few industry-standard parameters. The most commonly reported number is Ra, the average absolute deviation of the height from the mean line (at some, not necessarily known or specified, lateral length scale). However, other parameters, particularly those that are scale-dependent, influence surface and interfacial properties; for example the local surface slope is critical for visual appearance, friction, and wear. The present Surface-Topography Challenge was launched to raise awareness for the need of a multi-scale description, but also to assess the reliability of different metrology techniques. In the resulting international collaborative effort, 153 scientists and engineers from 64 research groups and companies across 20 countries characterized statistically equivalent samples from two different surfaces: a “rough” and a “smooth” surface. The results of the 2088 measurements constitute the most comprehensive surface description ever compiled. We find wide disagreement across measurements and techniques when the lateral scale of the measurement is ignored. Consensus is established through scale-dependent parameters while removing data that violates an established resolution criterion and deviates from the majority measurements at each length scale. Our findings suggest best practices for characterizing and specifying topography. The public release of the accumulated data and presented analyses enables global reuse for further scientific investigation and benchmarking.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2026

Prediction of Creep-Induced Strain Using a Symbolic Regression-Based Model

Material creep under high-temperature conditions limits the lifetime and safety of structural systems such as advanced nuclear reactors. Conventional creep testing is slow and often produces inconsistent results across nominally identical experiments, making lifetime prediction uncertain. Here, to address these challenges, this work develops a data-driven symbolic regression (SR) model that consolidates results from duplicate creep tests and predicts the remaining strain-time curve of an ongoing experiment. The method uses piece-wise multi-objective SR with physical constraints to generate analytic, interpretable functions describing transient creep strain. Applied to Inconel Alloy 617 data, the approach achieved relative mean absolute errors of 1.0–9.5%, providing closed-form predictions of strain evolution. These results demonstrate a first step toward reducing the duration and cost of long-term creep testing while retaining physically interpretable model forms.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Part-scale microstructure prediction for laser powder bed fusion Ti-6Al-4V using a hybrid mechanistic and machine learning model

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) Ti-6Al-4V is widely studied for use in structural applications in aerospace and medical industries, but mechanical anisotropy and microstructural inhomogeneity prohibits its wider adoption. Although successful microstructure prediction models have been developed, a remaining challenge is their limited integration across length/time scales and validation by experimental studies. Here, this work proposes a physics-augmented machine learning surrogate model to unite predictions of LPBF temperature, β phase morphology and texture, and α/α’ formation into a single framework that is calibrated and validated with experiments. First, a phase field (PF) model of the martensitic β→α’ transformation is developed and calibrated using data from in-situ synchrotron cyclic heating/cooling studies quantifying the variation of α phase fraction with time. In parallel, an established finite difference-Monte Carlo (FDMC) model predicts the part-scale temperature profile and β grain formation during solidification. A dataset is developed using LPBF cyclic temperature descriptors from the FDMC model as inputs and corresponding α/α’ phase fraction and width from the PF model as outputs. Five machine learning (ML) regression models are tested and optimized, having mean absolute error in testing ≤ 4 %, and the k-nearest neighbors (KNN) model is selected as the best performing. The KNN model is called at the nodal level during post-processing of the FDMC model to replace and downscale the response of the PF model. The combined agility and accuracy of the hybrid FDMC-ML model enables part-scale microstructure predictions that can be further used for property predictions to accelerate AM process optimization.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗