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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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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Constraints on quasinormal modes and bounds for critical points from pole-skipping

We consider a holographic thermal state and perturb it by a scalar operator whose associated real-time Green’s function has only gapped poles. These gapped poles correspond to the non-hydrodynamic quasinormal modes of a massive scalar perturbation around a Schwarzschild black brane. Relations between pole-skipping points, critical points and quasinormal modes in general emerge when the mass of the scalar and hence the dual operator dimension is varied. First, this novel analysis reveals a relation between the location of a mode in the infinite tower of quasinormal modes and the number of pole-skipping points constraining its dispersion relation at imaginary momenta. Second, for the first time, we consider the radii of convergence of the derivative expansions about the gapped quasinormal modes. These convergence radii turn out to be bounded from above by the set of all pole-skipping points. Furthermore, a transition between two distinct classes of critical points occurs at a particular value for the conformal dimension, implying close relations between critical points and pole-skipping points in one of those two classes. We show numerically that all of our results are also true for gapped modes of vector and tensor operators.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Dynamics of the O ( 4 ) critical point in QCD: Critical pions and diffusion in model G

We present a detailed study of the finite momentum dynamics of the O ( 4 ) critical point of QCD, which lies in the dynamic universality class of “model G.” The critical scaling of the model is analyzed in multiple dynamical channels. For instance, the finite momentum analysis allows us to precisely extract the pion dispersion curve below the critical point. The pion velocity is in striking agreement with the predictions relation and static universality. The pion damping rate and velocity are both consistent with the dynamical critical exponent ζ = 3 / 2 of model G. Similarly, although the critical amplitude for the diffusion coefficient of the conserved O ( 4 ) charges is small, it is clearly visible both in the restored phase and with finite explicit symmetry breaking, and its dynamical scaling is again consistent with ζ = 3 / 2 . We determine a new set of universal dynamical critical amplitude ratios relating the diffusion coefficient to a suitably defined order parameter relaxation time. We also show that in a finite volume simulation, the chiral condensate diffuses on the coset manifold in a manner consistent with dynamical scaling, and with a diffusion coefficient that is determined by the transport coefficients of hydrodynamic pions. Finally, the amplitude ratios (together with other nonuniversal amplitudes also reported here) compile all relevant information for further studies of model G both in and out of equilibrium. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Characteristic momentum of Hydro + and a bound on the enhancement of the speed of sound near the QCD critical point

Near the critical point in the QCD phase diagram, hydrodynamics breaks down at a momentum where the frequency of the fastest hydrodynamic mode becomes comparable with the decay rate of the slowest nonhydrodynamic mode. Hydro+ was developed as a framework which extends the range of validity of hydrodynamics beyond that momentum value. This was achieved through coupling the hydrodynamic modes to the slowest nonhydrodynamic mode. In this work, analyzing the spectrum of linear perturbations in Hydro+, we find that a slow mode falls out of equilibrium if its momentum is greater than a characteristic momentum value. That characteristic momentum turns out to be set by the branch points of the dispersion relations. These branch points occur at the critical momenta of so-called spectral curves and are related to the radius of convergence of the derivative expansion. The existence of such a characteristic momentum scale suggests that a particular class of slow modes has no remarkable effect on the flow of the plasma. Based on these results, we show that there is an enhancement of the speed of sound due to the Hydro+ corrections compared to the known thermodynamic corrections near the critical point. This enhancement can not exceed a temperature-dependent upper bound which we derive near the critical point in the QCD phase diagram.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS1992

The Critical Point Facility (CPF)

The Critical Point Facility (CPF) is an ESA multiuser facility designed for microgravity research onboard Spacelab. It has been conceived and built to offer investigators opportunities to conduct research on critical point phenomena in microgravity. This facility provides the high precision and stability temperature standards required in this field of research. It has been primarily designed for the purpose of optical investigations of transparent fluids. During a Spacelab mission, the CPF automatically processes several thermostats sequentially, each thermostat corresponding to an experiment. The CPF is now integrated in Spacelab at Kennedy Space Center, in preparation for the International Microgravity Lab. mission. The CPF was designed to submit transparent fluids to an adequate, user defined thermal scenario, and to monitor their behavior by using thermal and optical means. Because they are strongly affected by gravity, a good understanding of critical phenomena in fluids can only be gained in low gravity conditions. Fluids at the critical point become compressed under their own weight. The role played by gravity in the formation of interfaces between distinct phases is not clearly understood.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2022

Searching for the QCD Critical Point Along the Pseudo-critical/Freeze-out Line Using Padé-resummed Taylor Expansions of Cumulants of Conserved Charge Fluctuations

Using high-statistics datasets generated in (2+1)-flavor QCD calculations at finite temperature we construct estimators for the radius of convergence from an eighth order series expansion of the pressure as well as the number density. We show that the estimator for pressure and number density will be identical in the asymptotic limit. In the vicinity of the pseudo-critical temperature, T pc ≃ 156.5 MeV, we find the estimator of the radius of convergence to be µ B /T ≳ 3 for strangeness-neutral matter. We also present results for the pole structure of the Pad´e approximants for the pressure at non-zero values of the baryon chemical potential and show that the pole structure of the [4,4] Pad´e is consistent with not having a critical point at temperatures larger than 135 MeV and a baryon chemical potential smaller than µ B /T ~ 2.5.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Nonadiabatic transitions during a passage near a critical point

The passage through a critical point of a many-body quantum system leads to abundant nonadiabatic excitations. Here, we explore a regime, in which the critical point is not crossed although the system is passing slowly very close to it. Here, we show that the leading exponent for the excitation probability can then be obtained by standard arguments of the Dykhne formula, but the exponential prefactor is no longer simple and behaves as a power law on the characteristic transition rate. We derive this prefactor for the nonlinear Landau–Zener model by adjusting Dykhne’s approach. Then, we introduce an exactly solvable model of the transition near a critical point in the Stark ladder. We derive the number of excitations for it without approximations and find qualitatively similar results for the excitation scaling.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Non-analyticity in holographic complexity near critical points

Abstract The region near a critical point is studied using holographic models of second-order phase transitions. In a previous paper, we argued that the quantum circuit complexity of the vacuum ( C 0 ) is the largest at the critical point. When deforming away from the critical point by a term the complexity C ( τ ) has a piece non-analytic in τ , namely C 0 − C ( τ ) ∼ | τ − τ c | ν ( d − 1 ) + a n a l y t i c . Here, as usual, ν = 1 d − Δ and ξ is the correlation length ξ ∼ | τ − τ c | − ν and there are possible logarithmic corrections to this expression. That was derived using numerical results for the Bose–Hubbard model and general scaling considerations. In this paper, we show that the same is valid in the case of holographic complexity providing evidence that the results are universal, and at the same time providing evidence for holographic computations of complexity.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quartic cumulant of baryon number in the presence of a QCD critical point

In the context of the ongoing search for the QCD critical point at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider, we study the equation of state near the critical point in the temperature and baryon chemical potential plane. We use the parametric representation introduced in earlier literature, which maps the universal three-dimensional Ising equation of state onto the QCD phase diagram using several non-universal parameters. We focus on the quartic cumulant of the baryon number, or baryon number susceptibility χ$^ B_4$, which can be accessed experimentally via net-proton fluctuation kurtosis measurements. It was originally predicted, through universality arguments based on the leading singular contribution, that χ$^ B_4$ and net-proton kurtosis should show a specific nonmonotonic behavior due to the critical point. In particular, when following the freeze-out curve on the phase diagram by decreasing beam energy, the kurtosis is expected to dip, and then peak, when the beam energy scan passes close to the critical point. We study the effects of the nonuniversal and thus far unknown parameters of the Ising-to-QCD mapping on the behavior of χ$^ B_4$. We find that, while the peak remains a solid feature, the presence of the critical point does not necessarily cause a dip in χ$^ B_4$ on the freeze-out line below the transition temperature. The critical point contribution to the dip appears only for a narrow set of mapping parameters, when subleading singular terms are sufficiently suppressed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1978

Viscosity of nitrogen near the critical point

The formulation of a quantitative description of the critical enhancement in the shear viscosity of fluids near the gas-liquid critical point is considered. The critical point is a point of marginal thermodynamic stability. In the vicinity of the critical point, large-scale density fluctuations are present in the fluid. The critical enhancement of the transport properties is related to the correlation length. The correlation length is related to the compressibility, thus providing consistency between the equations for the transport properties and the equation of state in the critical region. The critical region parameters for nitrogen are presented in a table. It is found that the critical viscosity enhancement observed by Zozulya and Blagoi (1974) for nitrogen is consistent with current theoretical predictions

Basu, R. S.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Melting curves of ice polymorphs in the vicinity of the liquid–liquid critical point

The possible existence of a liquid–liquid critical point in deeply supercooled water has been a subject of debate due to the challenges associated with providing definitive experimental evidence. The pioneering work by Mishima and Stanley [Nature 392, 164–168 (1998)] sought to shed light on this problem by studying the melting curves of different ice polymorphs and their metastable continuation in the vicinity of the expected liquid–liquid transition and its associated critical point. Based on the continuous or discontinuous changes in the slope of the melting curves, Mishima [Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 334 (2000)] suggested that the liquid–liquid critical point lies between the melting curves of ice III and ice V. Herein we explore this conjecture using molecular dynamics simulations with a machine learning model based on ab initio quantum-mechanical calculations. We study the melting curves of ices III, IV, V, VI, and XIII and find that all of them are supercritical and do not intersect the liquid–liquid transition locus. We also find a pronounced, yet continuous, change in the slope of the melting lines upon crossing of the liquid locus of maximum compressibility. Finally, we analyze the literature in light of our findings and conclude that the scenario in which the melting curves are supercritical is favored by the most recent computational and experimental evidence. Although the preponderance of evidence is consistent with the existence of a second critical point in water, the behavior of ice polymorph melting lines does not provide strong evidence in support of this viewpoint, according to our calculations.

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

Uncertainty Visualization of Critical Points of 2D Scalar Fields for Parametric and Nonparametric Probabilistic Models

This paper presents a novel end-to-end framework for closed-form computation and visualization of critical point uncertainty in 2D uncertain scalar fields. Critical points are fundamental topological descriptors used in the visualization and analysis of scalar fields. The uncertainty inherent in data (e.g., observational and experimental data, approximations in simulations, and compression), however, creates uncertainty regarding critical point positions. Uncertainty in critical point positions, therefore, cannot be ignored, given their impact on downstream data analysis tasks. Here, in this work, we study uncertainty in critical points as a function of uncertainty in data modeled with probability distributions. Although Monte Carlo (MC) sampling techniques have been used in prior studies to quantify critical point uncertainty, they are often expensive and are infrequently used in production-quality visualization software. We, therefore, propose a new end-to-end framework to address these challenges that comprises a threefold contribution. First, we derive the critical point uncertainty in closed form, which is more accurate and efficient than the conventional MC sampling methods. Specifically, we provide the closed-form and semianalytical (a mix of closed-form and MC methods) solutions for parametric (e.g., uniform, Epanechnikov) and nonparametric models (e.g., histograms) with finite support. Second, we accelerate critical point probability computations using a parallel implementation with the VTK-m library, which is platform portable. Finally, we demonstrate the integration of our implementation with the ParaView software system to demonstrate near-real-time results for real datasets.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Physically realistic, parametric model for excitonic critical point parabolic band oscillators

Critical point parabolic band (CPPB) oscillators are often useful to model the optical response of semiconductor materials, such as hybrid organic–inorganic lead halide-based perovskites, to incident photons in the form of the complex dielectric function (ε=ε1+iε2) spectra. Some models of ε using CPPB oscillators are not guaranteed Kramers–Kronig (KK) consistent (and therefore not physically realistic), may have excess or arbitrary parameter values, or may require prohibitively long computational time when used to fit ellipsometric spectra. For excitonic CPPBs, commonly used to describe the optical response of hybrid organic–inorganic lead halide-based perovskite materials, a physically realistic, parametric model of ε is developed from the KK relationship between ε1 and ε2 for a number of CPPB oscillators with an Urbach tail below the lowest direct transition. This parametric model is shown to produce the same line shape reported from previous works accurately and more quickly than other available KK-consistent CPPB models.

Physics↗
NASA NTRS2003

Theoretical Analysis of Thermodynamic Measurements near a Liquid-Gas Critical Point

Over the years, many ground-based studies have been performed near liquid-gas critical points to elucidate the expected divergences in thermodynamic quantities. The unambiguous interpretation of these studies very near the critical point is hindered by a gravity-induced density stratification. However, these ground-based measurements can give insight into the crossover behavior between the asymptotic critical region near the transition and the mean field region farther away. We have completed a detailed analysis of heat capacity, susceptibility and coexistence curve measurements near the He-3 liquid-gas critical point using the minimal-subtraction renormalization (MSR) scheme within the phi(exp 4) model. This MSR scheme, using only two adjustable parameters, provides a reasonable global fit to all of these experimental measurements in the gravity-free region out to a reduced temperature of |t| approx. 2x10(exp -2). Recently this approach has also been applied to the earlier microgravity measurements of Haupt and Straub in SF(sub 6) with surprising results. The conclusions drawn from the MSR analyses will be presented. Measurements in the gravity-affected region closer to the He-3 critical point have also been analyzed using the recent crossover parametric model (CPM) of the equation-of-state. The results of fitting heat capacity measurements to the CPM model along the He-3 critical isochore in the gravity-affected region will also be presented.

Barmatz, M.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Transport properties of gases and binary liquids near the critical point

A status report is presented on the anomalies observed in the behavior of transport properties near the critical point of gases and binary liquids. The shear viscosity exhibits a weak singularity near the critical point. An analysis is made of the experimental data for those transport properties, thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity near the gas-liquid critical point and binary diffusion coefficient near the critical mixing point, that determine the critical slowing down of the thermodynamic fluctuations in the order parameter. The asymptotic behavior of the thermal conductivity appears to be closely related to the asymptotic behavior of the correlation length. The experimental data for the thermal conductivity and diffusivity are shown to be in substantial agreement with current theoretical predictions.

Sengers, J. V.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Enhancement of the photon emission rate near the QCD critical point

We compute photon emission rate enhancement near the QCD critical point using an effective theory of dynamic critical phenomena and derive a universal photon spectrum. The emission rate scales similar to conductivity, increasing with the correlation length (𝜉), diverging at the critical point. The spectrum exhibits 𝜔⁢𝑑⁢𝑁 𝛾 /𝑑 3 ⁢𝑘 ∝ 𝜔 −1/2 in the scaling regime, with the transition occurring at a frequency comparable to shear damping rate 𝜔 ∼ 𝛾 𝜂 /𝜉 2 , reflecting the nonequilibrium properties of the near-critical liquid.

dynamic critical phenomena↗
DOE OSTI2023

Particle-number fluctuations near the critical point of nuclear matter

Equation of state with the quantum statistics corrections is used for particle-number fluctuations ω of the isotopically symmetric nuclear matter with interparticle van der Waals and Skyrme local density interactions. Here, the fluctuations, ω ∝ 1/K, are analytically derived through the isothermal incompressibility K at first order over a small quantum-statistics parameter. Our approximate analytical results appear to be in good agreement with the results of accurate numerical calculations. These results are also close to those obtained by using more accurate Tolman and Rowlinson expansions of the incompressibility K near the critical point. More general formula for fluctuations ω, improved at the critical point, was obtained for a finite particle-number average $\langle$N$\rangle$ by neglecting, for simplicity, small quantum statistics effects. It is shown that for a large dimensionless parameter, α ∝ K 2 $\langle$N$\rangle$/K", where K" is the second derivative of the incompressibility K as function of the average particle density n, far from the critical point (α >> 1), one finds the traditional asymptote, ω ∝ 1/K, for the fluctuations ω. For a small parameter, α << 1, near the critical point, where K = 0 and α = 0, one obtains another asymptote of ω. These fluctuations, having a maximum near the critical point as function of the average density n, for finite values of $\langle$N$\rangle$ are finite and relatively small, in contrast to the results of the traditional calculations.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2003

Measurements of the Coexistence Curve near the Liquid-Gas Critical Point

The shape of the liquid-gas coexistence curve of He-3 very near the critical point (-2x10(exp -6) < t < -5x10(exp -3) was measured using the quasi-static thermogram method. The study was performed in Earth s gravitational field using two different height calorimetry cells, both originally designed for simultaneous measurements of the isochoric heat capacity, isothermal compressibility, and PVT. The heights of two cells were 0.5 mm and 4.8 cm. The uncertainty in measuring the phase transition temperature was typically +/-2 micro-K. The measured coexistence curve near the critical point was strongly affected by the gravitational field. Away from the critical point, the coexistence curve obtained using this technique was also consistent with the earlier work using the local density measurements of Pittman et al. The recent crossover parametric model of the equation-of-state are used to analyze the height-dependent measured coexistence curves. Data analyses have indicated that microgravity will permit measurements within two additional decades in reduced temperatures beyond the best gravity-free data obtained in Earth-bound experiments.

Hahn, Inseob↗