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Exponential time differencing scheme for mass transport and depletion in molten salt reactors

This work extends the capability previously shown for addressing the problem of computing depletion and mass transport calculations in molten salt reactors (MSRs) by calculating matrix exponentials. Additional algorithms are implemented to compute the matrix exponential and the action of the matrix exponential on a matrix. These algorithms include two methods based on the Pade approximation, a Taylor series method, and three methods based on Cauchy's integral formula. In addition to the added matrix exponential solvers, a variable-order total variation diminishing scheme is applied to the convective flux approximation to provide enhanced accuracy. Finally, a simplified MSR problem is shown for each of the exponential time differencing solvers along with classical backwards differencing integrators. The results show excellent convergence for exponential time differencing methods. Computation time is a key element for selecting the optimal solver in these problems, and this work shows that Pade and Cauchy-based solvers may provided the fastest and most accurate solutions. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Tunable noninteracting free-energy density functionals for high-energy-density physics applications

In this work, we introduce the concept of a tunable noninteracting free-energy density functional and present two examples realized: (i) via a simple one-parameter convex combination of two existing functionals and (ii) via the construction of a generalized gradient approximation (GGA) enhancement factor that contains one free parameter and is designed to satisfy a set of incorporated constraints. Functional (i), constructed as a combination of the local Thomas–Fermi and a pseudopotential-adapted GGA for the noninteracting free-energy, has already demonstrated its practical usability for establishing the high temperature end of the equation of state of deuterium [Phys. Rev. B 104, 144104 (2021)] and CHON resin [Phys. Rev. E 106, 045207 (2022)] for inertial confinement fusion applications. Hugoniot calculations for liquid deuterium are given as another example of how the application of computationally efficient orbital-free density functional theory (OF-DFT) can be utilized with the employment of the developed functionals. Once the functionals have been tuned such that the OF-DFT Hugoniot calculation matches the Kohn–Sham solution at some low-temperature point, agreement with the reference Kohn–Sham results for the rest of the high temperature Hugoniot path is very good with relative errors for compression and pressure on the order of 2% or less.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Noise effects on Padé approximants and conformal maps

Here, we analyze the properties of Padé and conformal map approximants for functions with branch points, in the situation where the expansion coefficients are only known with finite precision or are subject to noise. We prove that there is a universal scaling relation between the strength of the noise and the expansion order at which Padé or the conformal map breaks down. We illustrate this behavior with some physically relevant model test functions and with two non-trivial physical examples where the relevant Riemann surface has complicated structure.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Comparison between explicit and implicit discretization strategies for a dissipative thermal environment

We investigate strategies for simulating open quantum systems coupled to dissipative baths by comparing explicit wave function-based discretization [via multi-layer multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree (ML-MCTDH)] and the implicit density matrix-based master equation method [via tree tensor network hierarchical equations of motion (TTN-HEOM)]. For dissipative baths characterized by exponentially decaying bath correlation functions, the implicit discretization approach of HEOM—rooted in bath correlation function decompositions—proves significantly more efficient than explicit discretization of the bath into discrete harmonic modes. Explicit methods, like ML-MCTDH, require extensive mode discretization to approximate continuum baths, leading to computational bottlenecks. Case studies for two-level systems and a Fenna–Matthews–Olson complex model highlight TTN-HEOM’s superiority in capturing dissipative dynamics with relaxations with a minimal number of auxiliary modes, while the explicit methods are as exact as the HEOM in pure dephasing regimes. This comparison is enabled by the TENSO package, which has both ML-MCTDH and TTN-HEOM implemented using the same computational structure and propagation strategy.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Metaplectic geometrical optics for ray-based modeling of caustics: Theory and algorithms

The optimization of radio frequency-wave (RF) systems for fusion experiments is often performed using ray-tracing codes, which rely on the geometrical-optics (GO) approximation. However, GO fails at caustics such as cutoffs and focal points, erroneously predicting the wave intensity to be infinite. This is a critical shortcoming of GO, since the caustic wave intensity is often the quantity of interest, e.g., RF heating. Full-wave modeling can be used instead, but the computational cost limits the speed at which such optimizations can be performed. Here, we have developed a less expensive alternative called metaplectic geometrical optics (MGO). Instead of evolving waves in the usual x (coordinate) or k (spectral) representation, MGO uses a mixed X$\equiv$Ax+Bk representation. By continuously adjusting the matrix coefficients A and B along the rays, one can ensure that GO remains valid in the X coordinates without caustic singularities. The caustic-free result is then mapped back onto the original x space using metaplectic transforms. Here, we overview the MGO theory and review algorithms that will aid the development of an MGO-based ray-tracing code. We show how using orthosymplectic transformations leads to considerable simplifications compared to previously published MGO formulas. We also prove explicitly that MGO exactly reproduces standard GO when evaluated far from caustics (an important property that until now has only been inferred from numerical simulations), and we relate MGO to other semiclassical caustic-removal schemes published in the literature. Finally this discussion is then augmented by an explicit comparison of the computed spectrum for a wave bounded between two cutoffs.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Jets from shocked metal surfaces with grooves: Missing experiments

Many studies have investigated the mass outflows generated when a planar shock transits an imperfect (“defected”) metal surface, where the defects are symmetric triangular or sinusoidal grooves. Yet a fundamental question remains unanswered: how does the quantity of outflow mass and its maximum velocity vary as a function of the groove cross-sectional aspect ratio? We identify two sets of missing experiments that must be addressed to answer the question. The aspect ratio (groove depth over width) is equivalently represented by θ, the cross-sectional half angle, or by η 0 k, the amplitude multiplied by an effective wavenumber. Low θ (high η 0 k) grooves comprise the first set of missing experiments, which are necessary to determine the validity of theoretical predictions of the nonlinear regime (η 0 k ≥ 1, θ < 57.5°). The second set of missing experiments are those in which the volume of the groove (or equivalently, the axial cross-sectional area) has been held constant as θ or η 0 k are varied. Such experiments are necessary to independently measure the effects of variations in groove volume and groove aspect ratio on the resulting jets.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Scale-fixed predictions for γ + η c production in electron-positron collisions at NNLO in perturbative QCD

In the paper, we present QCD predictions for γ + η c production at an electron-positron collider up to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) accuracy without renormalization scale ambiguities. The NNLO total cross-section for e + + e – → γ + η c using the conventional scale-setting approach has large renormalization scale ambiguities, usually estimated by choosing the renormalization scale to be the e + e – center-of-mass collision energy $\sqrt{s}$. The Principle of Maximum Conformality (PMC) provides a systematic way to eliminate such renormalization scale ambiguities by summing the nonconformal β contributions into the QCD coupling α s ( Q 2 ). The renormalization group equation then sets the value of α s for the process. The PMC renormalization scale reflects the virtuality of the underlying process, and the resulting predictions satisfy all of the requirements of renormalization group invariance, including renormalization scheme invariance. After applying the PMC, we obtain a renormalization scale-and-scheme independent prediction, σ | NNLO,PMC ≃ 41.18 fb for $\sqrt{s}$=10.6 GeV. The resulting pQCD series matches the series for conformal theory and thus has no divergent renormalon contributions. The large K factor which contributes to this process reinforces the importance of uncalculated NNNLO and higher-order terms. Using the PMC scale-and-scheme independent conformal series and the Padé approximation approach, we predict σ | NNNLO,PMC+Pade ≃ 18.99 fb, which is consistent with the recent BELLE measurement ${\sigma}^{\mathrm{obs}}={16.58}_{-9.93}^{+10.51}$ fb at $\sqrt{s}$ ≃ 10.6 GeV. This procedure also provides a first estimate of the NNNLO contribution.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗