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Science Campaign-1 Pulsed Power Efforts [Slides]
The PHELIX portable pulsed-power driver is discussed. It is composed of two air-insulated, single Marx modules capable of storing 300 kJ of electrical energy. The Marx are cable coupled to a toroidal transformer with a 4:1 winding ratio. The experimental load is located at the center of the transformer. The components are mounted in a 8’x10’x18’ boxcar which can be moved in and out of the beam line at the LANL proton radiography facility and prevents EMI within the facility. PHELIX has successfully completed two liner implosion experiments with full diagnostic return from flash X-ray imaging, optical Faraday load current, and multi-channel PDV. Computational modeling with both the legacy 1D MHD code RAVEN and the LANL ASC-LAP FLAG code show good agreement with data.
High Energy-Density Materials with Fast Energy Release: Molecular scale shock response of explosives (DTRA Basic Research Final Report 2012)
The principle goal of this $\$$150K/yr, 3-yr. project was to experimentally measure the time evolution of shock induced chemistry in the explosive RDX. Since direct measurements of shock induced chemistry in RDX, or any other explosive, have eluded researchers for several decades, new techniques had to be developed. Transient absorption was coupled to laser shock loading to probe the possible role of electronic excitations in the chemistry of RDX. Transient absorption signatures turned out to be a good indication of the relative degree of chemical reaction versus time, but were not conclusive regarding whether electronic excitation was an important factor in shock initiation. Preliminary efforts to sensitize shock induced chemistry with ultraviolet pulsed excitation were performed, but are not yet conclusive. The bulk of the effort of the project was directed at development of femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) as a diagnostic of temperature in the presence of chemistry. This effort was significantly more difficult than initially anticipated. While we had planned to apply the method to single shot laser experiments, the sensitivity achieved during the project duration was insufficient to measure the sub-nanogram amounts of material shocked. Despite the difficulties applying this measurement to our current small scale laser shock experiments, it shows significant promise for measurements where there is more volume of material shocked. We have established the theoretical framework and experimentally validated FSRS as a sub-picosecond molecular vibrational temperature measurement diagnostic. We have also followed the shock induced chemistry of RDX through transient absorption spectroscopy and established the shock stresses required to achieve sub-nanosecond reaction rates. The project led to 3 peer reviewed journal articles, 4 conference proceedings, 3 invited talks at conferences, 2 contributed talks at conferences, and a number of other presentations.
Zone Refining for Low Loss Plutonium Purification
In an effort to enhance plutonium purification capabilities at Los Alamos National Laboratory, further develop of the currently existing zone refining capabilities is needed to create a functional low loss processing option in support of programmatic and materials science research activities. Currently, the most effective process for converting impure plutonium dioxide (~96% pure) to high-purity plutonium metal (>99.9%), consists of the following steps: (1) reducing the dioxide to an impure Plutonium metal with calcium metal in molten calcium chloride, (2) casting the impure metal into an anode and (3) electrorefining the impure metal to produce high-purity plutonium metal. The final step in this method is only 83% efficient as compared to the >95% efficiency of the other processing steps. Other more efficient processing methods are desirable to enhance current purification activities, thereby, reducing waste generation and conserving precious materials in need of purification. Although zone refining has been used extensively to purify many lanthanides and actinides, its usefulness in purifying plutonium has yet to be fully realized.
Sesame Equation of State Number 2100 for Scandium
An equation of state (EOS) for scandium has been constructed using the OpenSesame code and was placed in the SESAME library as material number 2100. The cold curve was constructed with a Mie-Grüneisen model fitted to the high pressure Hugoniot data and to the zero pressure bulk sound speed, the nuclear contribution was calculated from JD Johnson nuclear model and the electronic thermal contribution from the Thomas-Fermi-Dirac statistical model. The EOS behaves reasonably well over a wide range of densities, pressures and temperatures, and compares fairly with the available experimental data. Of the 5 solid phases present in scandium at room temperature, however, only the first one, the hcp phase, is assumed to occur. Also the transition to bcc at room pressure just before melting is ignored. We plan to construct a multiphase EOS as the next step. The purpose of the present calculation was mostly for learning purposes, as is reflected by the way the report is written.
Dynamical crossover between the infinite-volume and empty-lattice limits of ultra-cold fermions in 1D optical lattices
Unlike typical condensed-matter systems, ultra-cold atoms loaded into optical lattices allow separate control of both the particle number and system size. As a consequence, there are two distinct "thermodynamic” limits that can be defined for these systems: i) ’’infinite-volume limit” at constant finite density, and ii) "empty-lattice limit” at constant particle number. To probe the difference between these two limits and their crossover, we consider a partially occupied lattice and study the transport into the unoccupied region of non-interacting fermions and fermions interacting at the mean-field level. In the infinite-volume limit, a finite steady-state current emerges. On the other hand, in the empty-lattice limit there is no finite steady-state current. By changing the initial filling, we find a smooth crossover between the two limits. Our predictions may be verified using available experimental tools and demonstrate a fundamental difference between isolated small systems such as ultra-cold atoms and conventional condensed-matter systems.
Electron Microscopy Laboratory MST-6: Instruments and Capabilities [Slides]
The Electron Microscopy Laboratory (EML) is a lab-wide facility, overseen by MST-6, that is available for use by qualified users. In FY12 the EML service contract costs were covered by funds from LDRD, BES, NE and other programs. Users can be trained to use the equipment independently or work collaboratively with other trained users or EML staff. Users are charged for the labor portion of their training. Most electron microscopy is done by staff or post-docs but some students are performing microscopy, particularly SEM. In the Materials Science Complex (MSC), there are two optical microscopes, two scanning electron microscopes (SEM’s), a SEM/ FIB (a SEM with a focused ion beam (FIB) column added), three transmission electron microscopes (TEM’s) and sample preparation equipment.
Universality in strongly correlated quantum systems [Slides]
Abstract not provided.
Bounding the Pseudogap in Cuprate High-T C Superconductors [Poster]
Abstract not provided.
Final Report, DOE grant DE-FG02-99ER45780, "Indirect Excitons in Coupled Quantum Wells"
The is the final technical report for this project, which was funded by the DOE from 1999 to 2012. The project focused on experimental studies of spatially indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells, with the aim of understanding the quantum physics of these particles, including such effects as pattern formation due to electron-hole charge separation, the Mott plasma-insulator transition, luminescence up-conversion through field-assisted tunneling, luminescence line shifts due to many-body renormalization and magnetic field effects on tunneling, and proposed effects such as Bose-Einstein condensation of indirect excitons and phase separation of bright and dark indirect excitons. Significant results are summarized here and the relation to other work is discussed.
Neutron Scattering Studies of Classical and Quantum Fluids in Porous Media
This is an annual and the final report on DE-FG02-03ER46038 (ER46680) following a no cost extension of DE-FG02-03ER46038 from February 16, 2016 to November 15, 2016. The report period is February 16, 2016 to November 15, 2016. The contract DE-FG02-03ER46038 (ER46680) was closed on November 15, 2016. The contract institution is the University of Delaware, address: Room 210, Hullihen %%@ Hall, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716. The Principal Investigator is Henry R. Glyde, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 (email: glyde@udel.edu). The Administrative Point of Contact is Dale S. Weiss Tel: 302 831 3634 dsweiss@udel.edu. The DOE Program is the Office of Basic Energy %%@ Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy, Germantown Building, 1000 Independence Ave., SW Washington, DC 20585. The program manager is Dr. P. Thiyagarajan, Neutron Scattering SC-22.2/ Germantown Bldg., Tel: 301-903-9706, email: P. Thiyagarajan@Science.DOE.GOV.
Collective Energy Transport of Excitons in Two-dimensional Materials
Electronic thermal transport and thermoelectric measurements are pursued in this project to obtain unique insights into the unusual collective energy transport behaviors in two-dimensional (2D) heterostructures. Electronic thermal transport and thermoelectric measurements are essential techniques for characterizing bulk superconductors by probing the heat-carrying quasi-particles. Thermoelectric and electronic thermal transport measurements are expanded in this work beyond bulk systems to probe interactions among electrons, holes, and phonons in 2D heterostructures. In one experiment, a microbridge platform is advanced to demonstrate field-effect resistive-thermometry measurements of the electronic thermal conductivity of graphene heterostructures. Together with first principles theoretical calculations and analytical models, the experimental results suggest that tunable electron coupling with flexural phonons provides a knob to control quantum matters in graphene heterostructures with broken reflection symmetry. In another experiment, the Seebeck coefficient (S) is measured to probe interlayer interactions in electron-hole bilayers that are predicted to give rise to the emergence of a variety of correlated states. As a measure of the entropy, the measured S reveals the signature of electric injection of interlayer excitons in transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) structures.
Four-dimensional electrical conductivity monitoring of stage-driven river water intrusion: Accounting for water table effects using a transient mesh boundary and conditional inversion constraints
Our paper describes and demonstrates two methods of providing a priori information to the surface-based time-lapse three-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) problem for monitoring stage-driven or tide-driven surface water intrusion into aquifers. First, a mesh boundary is implemented that conforms to the known location of the water table through time, thereby enabling the inversion to place a sharp bulk conductivity contrast at that boundary without penalty. Moreover, a nonlinear inequality constraint is used to allow only positive or negative transient changes in EC to occur within the saturated zone, dependent on the relative contrast in fluid electrical conductivity between surface water and groundwater. A 3-D field experiment demonstrates that time-lapse imaging results using traditional smoothness constraints are unable to delineate river water intrusion. The water table and inequality constraints provide the inversion with the additional information necessary to resolve the spatial extent of river water intrusion through time.
Electrical properties of methane hydrate + sediment mixtures: The σ of CH 4 Hydrate + Sediment
Knowledge of the electrical properties of multicomponent systems with gas hydrate, sediments, and pore water is needed to help relate electromagnetic (EM) measurements to specific gas hydrate concentration and distribution patterns in nature. We built a pressure cell capable of measuring in situ electrical properties of multicomponent systems such that the effects of individual components and mixing relations can be assessed. We first established the temperature-dependent electrical conductivity (σ) of pure, single-phase methane hydrate to be ~5 orders of magnitude lower than seawater, a substantial contrast that can help differentiate hydrate deposits from significantly more conductive water-saturated sediments in EM field surveys. We report σ measurements of two-component systems in which methane hydrate is mixed with variable amounts of quartz sand or glass beads. Sand by itself has low σ but is found to increase the overall σ of mixtures with well-connected methane hydrate. Alternatively, the overall σ decreases when sand concentrations are high enough to cause gas hydrate to be poorly connected, indicating that hydrate grains provide the primary conduction path. Our measurements suggest that impurities from sand induce chemical interactions and/or doping effects that result in higher electrical conductivity with lower temperature dependence. Finally, these results can be used in the modeling of massive or two-phase gas-hydrate-bearing systems devoid of conductive pore water. Further experiments that include a free water phase are the necessary next steps toward developing complex models relevant to most natural systems.
Interactions among hydraulic conductivity distributions, subsurface topography, and transport thresholds revealed by a multitracer hillslope irrigation experiment
Interactions among hydraulic conductivity distributions, subsurface topography, and lateral flow are poorly understood. We applied 407 mm of water and a suite of tracers over 51 h to a 12 by 16.5 m forested hillslope segment to determine interflow thresholds, preferential pathway pore velocities, large-scale conductivities, the time series of event water fractions, and the fate of dissolved nutrients. The 12% hillslope featured loamy sand A and E horizons overlying a sandy clay loam Bt at 1.25 m average depth. Interflow measured from two drains within an interception trench commenced after 131 and 208 mm of irrigation. Cumulative interflow equaled 49% of applied water. Conservative tracer differences between the collection drains indicated differences in flow paths and storages within the plot. Event water fractions rose steadily throughout irrigation, peaking at 50% sixteen h after irrigation ceased. Data implied that tightly held water exchanged with event water throughout the experiment and a substantial portion of preevent water was released from the argillic layer. Surface-applied dye tracers bypassed the matrix, with peak concentrations measured shortly after flow commencement, indicating preferential network conductivities of 864–2240 mm/h, yet no macropore flow was observed. Near steady-state flow conditions indicated average conductivities of 460 mm/h and 2.5 mm/h for topsoils and the Bt horizon, respectively. Low ammonium and phosphorus concentrations in the interflow suggested rapid uptake or sorption, while higher nitrate concentrations suggested more conservative transport. Lastly, these results reveal how hydraulic conductivity variation and subsurface topographic complexity explain otherwise paradoxical solute and flow behaviors.
Direct evidence for EMIC wave scattering of relativistic electrons in space: EMIC-Driven Electron Losses in Space
Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves have been proposed to cause efficient losses of highly relativistic (>1 MeV) electrons via gyroresonant interactions. Simultaneous observations of EMIC waves and equatorial electron pitch angle distributions, which can be used to directly quantify the EMIC wave scattering effect, are still very limited, however. In the present study, we evaluate the effect of EMIC waves on pitch angle scattering of ultrarelativistic (>1 MeV) electrons during the main phase of a geomagnetic storm, when intense EMIC wave activity was observed in situ (in the plasma plume region with high plasma density) on both Van Allen Probes. EMIC waves captured by Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) probes and on the ground across the Canadian Array for Real-time Investigations of Magnetic Activity (CARISMA) are also used to infer their magnetic local time (MLT) coverage. From the observed EMIC wave spectra and local plasma parameters, we compute wave diffusion rates and model the evolution of electron pitch angle distributions. In conclusion, by comparing model results with local observations of pitch angle distributions, we show direct, quantitative evidence of EMIC wave-driven relativistic electron losses in the Earth’s outer radiation belt.
Electrodeposited Ag-Stabilization Layer for High Temperature Superconducting Coated Conductors: Preprint
We developed a non-aqueous based electrodepostion process of Ag-stabilization layer on YBCO superconductor tapes. The non-aqueous electroplating solution is non-reactive to the HTS layer thus does not detoriate the critical current capability of the superconductor layer when plated directly on the HTS tape. The superconducting current capabilities of these tapes were measured by non-contactmagnetic measurements.