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Results for “chiral photonics”

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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114 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Coupled order parameters and photoinduced domain walls in the charge density wave of (TaSe 4 ) 2 I

The charge density wave in (TaSe 4 ) 2 I has drawn much attention recently as a controversial candidate for an axion insulator where the CDW breaks the chiral symmetry of the Weyl semimetal. Here we use ultrafast x-ray scattering to study the collective modes of this CDW. By measuring several diffraction peaks we find that the order parameter involves coupled optical and acoustic modes. For strong near-infrared excitation, the dynamics of the x-ray diffraction show evidence of photoinduced inversion of both components of the CDW order parameter, and associated domain walls. These results demonstrate the potential of ultrafast methods to induce topological defects through highly nonequilibrium dynamics. In (TaSe 4 ) 2 I these defects should lead to exotic electronic states due to the nontrivial topology of the band structure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Incommensurate Transverse Peierls Transition and Signature of Chiral Charge Density Wave in EuAl 4

In one-dimensional quantum materials, electrons and lattices can undergo a Peierls transition, a translational symmetry-breaking instability traditionally understood through electron coupling to longitudinal acoustic phonons. Recently, this paradigm has been revised in topological semimetals, where transverse acoustic phonons couple to p-orbital electrons, giving rise to a transverse Peierls transition. Importantly, transverse Peierls transition-induced distortions can further break mirror or inversion symmetries, producing nematic or chiral charge density waves. Here, we report the experimental identification of an incommensurate transverse Peierls transition in EuAl 4 . Using meV-resolution inelastic x-ray scattering, we observe complete softening of a transverse acoustic phonon upon cooling, while the longitudinal acoustic mode remains unaffected. First-principles calculations reveal that the transverse Peierls transition wavevector coincides with a charge susceptibility peak connecting nested Dirac bands. Second harmonic generation confirms mirror symmetry breaking, supporting a chiral charge density wave stabilized by the transverse Peierls transition.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Spin-selective photocatalysis and quantum transport using ab initio density-matrix dynamics

The overarching goal of this research program is to quantitatively predict out-of-equilibrium quantum dynamics and transport with electrons and spin degrees of freedom coupled to phonons, photons, defects and liquid environments, specifically targeting spin-selective chemistry. Spin polarized carriers, which can be generated at room temperature by circularly-polarized light, provide unique opportunities for creating new reaction pathways and increasing selectivity towards specific pathways. If realized, this can substantially increase the level of reaction control possible in the field of heterogeneous catalysis. Spin, a quantum mechanical entity without a classical counterpart, requires quantum dynamics. Capturing both coherent and incoherent dynamics and accurate correlation of spins, electrons and phonon environments are essential to quantitative description of generation, relaxation and transport, as well as chemical reaction of spin-polarized carriers in molecules and materials promising for spin-photocatalysis.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Charge density waves in the 2.5-dimensional quantum heterostructure

Charge density wave (CDW) and their interplay with correlated and topological quantum states are at the forefront of condensed matter research. The 4H b -TaS 2 is a CDW ordered quantum heterostructure that is formed by alternative stacking of Mott insulating 1T-TaS 2 and Ising superconducting 1H-TaS 2 . While the $\sqrt{13}$ ×$\sqrt{13}$ and 3 × 3 CDWs have been respectively observed in the bulk 1T-TaS 2 and 2H-TaS 2 , the CDWs and their pivotal role for unconventional superconductivity in the 4⁢Hb-TaS 2 remain unsolved. In this Letter, we reveal the two-dimensional (2D) $\sqrt{13}$ ×$\sqrt{13}$ chiral CDW in the 1T layers and intraunit cell coupled 2D 2 × 2 CDW in the 1H and 1H' layers of 4⁢H b -TaS 2 . Here, our results establish 4⁢H b -TaS 2 a 2.5D quantum heterostructure, where 2D quantum states emerge from 3D crystalline structure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Measurement of the Eta Meson Radiative Decay Width via the Primakoff Effect

The ? meson is an interesting tool to study fundamental symmetries in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). In particular, its radiative decay width, ? p? Ñ ??q, is an important quantity that can be predicted in the framework of Chiral Perturbation Theory. A precision measurement of this quantity would provide critical inputs to understanding the mixing of the ? and ?1 mesons and extracting constants with wide-ranging applications in low-energy QCD. This decay width has been measured in the past using two different experimental techniques. The more popular technique utilized e`e´ collisions to produce ? mesons through electromagnetic interactions. Today, the Particle Data Group (PDG) averages the results of five such experiments to obtain their currently-accepted value of the decay width as: 0.515?0.018 keV. However the first measurement of this quantity was obtained from a fixed-target experiment that measured the cross section for photoproduction of ? mesons on a nuclear target via the Primakoff effect. Their result of 0.324?0.046 keV shows strong tension with the average of the collider measurements, motivating a new, high precision measurement using the Primakoff method. For this purpose, the PrimEx-eta experiment was conducted in Hall D of the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab or JLab). The data is currently being analyzed to measure the differential cross section for the photoproduction of ? mesons on a liquid, 4He target. Preliminary results obtained from the analysis of the first phase of the PrimEx-eta experiment show reasonable agreement with the currently-accepted PDG value of the radiative decay width. However, as will be discussed, there are many challenges to this precision measurement which must be studied before any results can be finalized and compared with previous measurements. In parallel to the ? decay width measurement, the PrimEx-eta experiment measured the total cross section for the fundamental, Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) process of Compton scattering from the atomic electrons inside the target. The results obtained from this measurement are in strong agreement with the next-to-leading order QED calculations, and the total combined uncertainties are below 3% for incident photon energies between 7-10 GeV. In addition to providing the first precision measurement of the total Compton scattering cross section within this beam energy range, this measurement verifies the capability of the PrimEx-eta experimental setup to perform absolute cross section measurements at forward angles, and serves as a reference process for the calibration of systematic uncertainties.

Smith, Andrew↗
DOE OSTI2021

Control of monodomain polymer-stabilized cuboidal nanocrystals of chiral nematics by confinement.

Liquid crystals are important components of optical technologies. Cuboidal crystals consisting of chiral liquid crystals-the so-called blue phases (BPs), are of particular interest due to their crystalline structures and fast response times, but it is critical that control be gained over their phase behavior as well as the underlying dislocations and grain boundaries that arise in such systems. Blue phases exhibit cubic crystalline symmetries with lattice parameters in the 100 nm range and a network of disclination lines that can be polymerized to widen the range of temperatures over which they occur. Here, we introduce the concept of strain-controlled polymerization of BPs under confinement, which enables formation of strain-correlated stabilized morphologies that, under some circumstances, can adopt perfect single-crystal monodomain structures and undergo reversible crystal-to-crystal transformations, even if their disclination lines are polymerized. We have used super-resolution laser confocal microscopy to reveal the periodic structure and the lattice planes of the strain and polymerization stabilized BPs in 3D real space. Our experimental observations are supported and interpreted by relying on theory and computational simulations in terms of a free energy functional for a tensorial order parameter. Simulations are used to determine the orientation of the lattice planes unambiguously. The findings presented here offer opportunities for engineering optical devices based on single-crystal, polymer-stabilized BPs whose inherent liquid nature, fast dynamics, and long-range crystalline order can be fully exploited.

confinement↗