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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 OSTI2024

Search for pair-produced higgsinos decaying via Higgs or Z bosons to final states containing a pair of photons and a pair of b -jets with the ATLAS detector

A search is presented for the pair production of higgsinos $\tilde{X}$ in gauge-mediated supersymmetry models, where the lightest neutralinos $\tilde{X}^{0}_{1}$ decay into a light gravitino $\tilde{G}$ in association with either a Higgs h or a Z boson. The search is performed with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider using 139 fb -1 of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13TeV. It targets final states in which a Higgs boson decays into a photon pair, while the other Higgs or Z boson decays into a $b\overline{b}$ pair, with missing transverse momentum associated with the two gravitinos. Search regions dependent on the amount of missing transverse momentum are defined by the requirements that the diphoton mass should be consistent with the mass of the Higgs boson, and the $b\overline{b}$ mass with the mass of the Higgs or Z boson. The main backgrounds are estimated with data-driven methods using the sidebands of the diphoton mass distribution. No excesses beyond Standard Model expectations are observed and higgsinos with masses up to 320 GeV are excluded, assuming a branching fraction of 100% for $\tilde{X}^{0}_{1}$ → h$\tilde{G}$. This analysis excludes higgsinos with masses of 130GeV for branching fractions to h$\tilde{G}$ as low as 36%, thus providing complementarity to previous ATLAS searches in final states with multiple leptons or multiple b-jets, targeting different decays of the electroweak bosons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Neutron-proton pairing correction in the extended isovector and isoscalar pairing model

An extended O ST (8) model with multi j-orbits is constructed based on the angular momentum decomposition with “pseudo”-spin S for valence nucleons in a j-orbit. It is shown that the isovector S = 0 and T=1 pairs are exactly the J=0 and T=1 pairs in a given j-orbit, while the isoscalar S = 1 pairs are linear combinations of J=odd pairs, with which the pairing Hamiltonian can be used to estimate isovector and isoscalar pairing interactions. As an example of the model application, some low-lying J = 0 + level energies of even-even and odd-odd A=18 – 28 nuclei up to the half-filling in the ds-shell above the 16 O core are fit by the model and compared with the fitting results of the same Hamiltonian in the O LST (8) form. It has been verified from the fitting of both the models that the isoscalar pairing interaction can be neglected in the lower energy part of the spectra of these ds-shell nuclei as far as binding energies and a few J=0 + excited levels of these nuclei are concerned. With the mean-field plus isovector pairing interaction only, neutron-neutron, proton-proton, and neutron-proton pairing contributions at the ground or the lowest J=0 + state of these nuclei are estimated. It is shown that the isovector np-pairing contribution to the binding in the odd-odd N=Z nuclei is systematically larger than that in the even-even nuclei. Furthermore, the isoscalar np-pair content at the lowest J=0+ state of these nuclei is also estimated. In both the O ST (8) and O LST (8) models, it is clearly shown that the isoscalar-pair content in the lowest J=0 + state of the N=Z and N=Z±2 nuclei increases with increasing of the valence nucleons, especially in those even-even nuclei, which indicates the isoscalar pairing correlation to be of importance at low-lying states of N=Z and N=Z±2 nuclei, especially in those even-even nuclei with more valence nucleons up to the half-filling, even though the isoscalar pairing interaction is negligible.

20 ≤ A ≤ 38↗
NASA NTRS1986

Base pairing and base mis-pairing in nucleic acids

In recent years we have learned that DNA is conformationally active. It can exist in a number of different stable conformations including both right-handed and left-handed forms. Using single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis we are able to discover not only additional conformations of the nucleic acids but also different types of hydrogen bonded base-base interactions. Although Watson-Crick base pairings are the predominant type of interaction in double helical DNA, they are not the only types. Recently, we have been able to examine mismatching of guanine-thymine base pairs in left-handed Z-DNA at atomic resolution (1A). A minimum amount of distortion of the sugar phosphate backbone is found in the G x T pairing in which the bases are held together by two hydrogen bonds in the wobble pairing interaction. Because of the high resolution of the analysis we can visualize water molecules which fill in to accommodate the other hydrogen bonding positions in the bases which are not used in the base-base interactions. Studies on other DNA oligomers have revealed that other types of non-Watson-Crick hydrogen bonding interactions can occur. In the structure of a DNA octamer with the sequence d(GCGTACGC) complexed to an antibiotic triostin A, it was found that the two central AT base pairs are held together by Hoogsteen rather than Watson-Crick base pairs. Similarly, the G x C base pairs at the ends are also Hoogsteen rather than Watson-Crick pairing. Hoogsteen base pairs make a modified helix which is distinct from the Watson-Crick double helix.

Wang, A. H. J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

A constraint on the pair-density ratio (Z+) in an electron-positron pair wind

We derive a constraint on the pair density ratio, z(sub +) = n(sub +)/n(sub p), in an electron-positron pair wind flowing away from the central region of an accretion disk around a compact object under the assumption of a coupling between electrons, positrons, and protons. The minimum rate at which positrons are injected into the annihilation volume is given by the observed annihilation flux per unit volume. This rate is then used to determine a minimum mass loss rate per unit area, M(dot)(sub *) for a given pair density ratio at the base of the streamline. The requirement that M(dot)(sub *) less than M(dot)(sub *)(sub Edd) (the mean Eddington mass loss rate per unit area) then places a lower limit on the pair density ratio, z(sub +,)(sub min). A positron annihilation line was observed in Nova Muscae 1991 by GRANAT/SIGMA. The narrow width and redshift of the line suggest that the pair production and annihilation regions are physically distinct. We hypothesize that an electron-positron pair wind transports the pairs from the production to the annihilation region and calculate z(sub +),(sub min). We then determine constraints on the physical parameters on the pair production region by comparing z(sub +),(sub min) with previous studies of two-temperature and one-temperature accretion disks with electron-positron pairs.

Moscoso, M. D.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Ion-Pair Reorganization Regulates Reactivity in Photoredox Catalysts

Cyclometalated and polypyridyl complexes of d6 metals are promising photoredox catalysts, using light to drive reactions with high kinetic or thermodynamic barriers via the generation of reactive radical intermediates. However, while tuning of their redox potentials, absorption energy, excited-state lifetime and quantum yield are well-known criteria for modifying activity, other factors could be important. Here we show that dynamic ion-pair reorganization controls the reactivity of a photoredox catalyst, [Ir[dF(CF3)ppy]2(dtbpy)]X. Time-resolved dielectric-loss experiments show how counter-ion identity influences excited-state charge distribution, evincing large differences in both the ground- and excited-state dipole moment depending on whether X is a small associating anion (PF6-) that forms a contact-ion pair versus a large one that either dissociates or forms a solvent-separated pair (BArF4-). These differences correlate with the reactivity of the photocatalyst toward both reductive and oxidative electron transfer, amounting to a 4-fold change in selectivity toward oxidation versus reduction. These results suggest that ion pairing could be an underappreciated factor that modulates reactivity in ionic photoredox catalysts.

catalysis↗
DOE OSTI2023

Picosecond Synchronization System for the Distribution of Photon Pairs Through a Fiber Link Between Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratories

Here we demonstrate a three-node quantum network for C-band photon pairs using 2 pairs of 59 km of deployed fiber between Fermi and Argonne National Laboratories. The C-band pairs are directed to nodes using a standard telecommunication switch and the detection system is synchronized to picosecond scale timing resolution using a coexisting O-or L-band optical clock distribution system. We measure a reduction of coincidence to-accidental ratio (CAR) of the C-band pairs from 51 ± 2 to 5.3 ± 0.4 due to Raman scattering of the O-band clock pulses. Despite this reduction, the CAR is nevertheless suitable for quantum networks.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Superconductivity in multiorbital systems with repulsive interactions: Hund's pairing versus spin-fluctuation pairing

Hund's pairing refers to Cooper pairing generated by onsite interactions that become attractive due to large Hund's exchange J. This is possible in multiorbital systems even when all local bare interactions are repulsive, since attractions in specific channels are given by certain linear combinations of interaction parameters. On the other hand, pairing processes such as the exchange of spin fluctuations are also present. We compare mean-field Hund's pairing and spin-fluctuation-mediated pairing using electronic bands appropriate for different classes of multiorbital systems over a wide range of interaction parameters. We find that, for systems without clear nesting features, the superconducting state generated by the Hund's mechanism agrees well with that from the full fluctuation exchange vertex when Hund's exchange and spin-orbit coupling are sufficiently large. On the other hand, for systems characterized by a peaked finite-momentum particle-hole susceptibility, spin-fluctuation pairing generally dominates over Hund's pairing. From this perspective Hund's pairing states appear unlikely to be realized in systems like Sr 2 RuO 4 and generic iron-based superconductors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

On the importance of np-pairs in the isovector pairing model

Abstract It is shown that the isovector np-pair number operator can be realized in the O (5) quasi-spin basis. The computation of the isovector np-pair number is demonstrated for even-even and odd-odd ds -shell nuclei described by the charge-independent mean field plus isovector pairing model restricted within the O (5) seniority-zero subspace, thereby binding energies and low-lying excited states of these ds -shell nuclei are fit, along with estimates for the isovector neutron-proton pairing contributions. For reasonable neutron-proton pairing strengths the isovector np-pairing energy contribution to the total binding energy in odd-odd N = Z nuclei is systematically larger than that in the even-even nuclei. In sum, the results suggest that the isovector np-pairing mode is favored in odd-odd N = Z nuclei; and additionally, a decrease in the double binding-energy difference for odd-odd nuclei is primarily due to the symmetry and Wigner energy contributions to the binding energy.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Suppression of pair beam instabilities in a laboratory analogue of blazar pair cascades

The generation of dense electron–positron pair beams in the laboratory can enable direct tests of theoretical models of γ-ray bursts and active galactic nuclei. We have successfully achieved this using ultrarelativistic protons accelerated by the Super Proton Synchrotron at (CERN). In the first application of this experimental platform, the stability of the pair beam is studied as it propagates through a meter-length plasma, analogous to TeV γ-ray-induced pair cascades in the intergalactic medium. It has been argued that pair beam instabilities disrupt the cascade, thus accounting for the observed lack of reprocessed GeV emission from TeV blazars. If true, this would remove the need for a moderate strength intergalactic magnetic field to explain the observations. We find that the pair beam instability is suppressed if the beam is not perfectly collimated or monochromatic, hence the lower limit to the intergalactic magnetic field inferred from γ-ray observations of blazars is robust.

blazar jets↗
DOE OSTI2021

An economic assessment of behind-the-meter photovoltaics paired with batteries on the Hawaiian Islands.

Due to natural variability and uncertainty, the ever-increasing penetration of solar generation in Hawaii presents challenges to power grid operators to maintain reliable system operation. Demand response (DR) has the potential to be a cost-effective tool for Hawaii to reach its aggressive renewable energy goals while maintaining the reliability of power grids. The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission has approved the Hawaiian Electric Company's revised portfolio of DR programs. The companies have released a grid services purchase agreement and subscribed an initial tranche of load into their DR programs. This paper presents innovative analytical methods and comprehensive economic assessment for distributed photovoltaics (PV) paired with battery energy storage systems (BESSs) for two new DR programs, including fast frequency response and capacity grid service. Optimal dispatch and sizing methods are proposed for the paired system considering different tariff schedules and PV compensation programs across five islands. It was found that while the best resource configuration and potential economic benefits vary with tariff structure, a BESS paired with PV can be optimally dispatched to generate multiple value streams simultaneously. Compensation from DR programs is an important value stream to help increase the cost-effectiveness of the integrated system.

Battery energy storage system↗
DOE OSTI2022

Solution-Grown Ternary Semiconductors: Nanostructuring and Stereoelectronic Lone Pair Distortions in I–V–VI 2 Materials

Alkali pnictogen dichalcogenides–I–V–VI 2 or APnCh 2 –have been identified as promising semiconducting materials for energy conversion devices. However, the controlled nanoscale synthesis and our understanding of the effects of cation ordering and stereochemically active lone pairs on the structures of these ternary compounds remain underdeveloped. Here, we use solution-phase chemistry to synthesize a family of APnCh 2 materials, including LiSbSe 2 , NaSbS 2 , NaSbSe 2 , NaBiS 2 , and NaBiSe 2 . Our approach utilizes alkali metal hydrides (AH) or carboxylates, A(O 2 CR), PnPh 3 , and elemental chalcogens as synthetic precursors and oleylamine or 1-octadecene as solvents. Synthetic manipulation via fine-tuning of reaction temperature enables control over the degree of ordering caused by the Sb 5s 2 lone pair-induced distortions in NaSbS 2 . Pair distribution function analysis demonstrates that the structure of the Sb-containing phases deviates much more from a disordered rock salt structure than that of the Bi-containing phases. This local distortion, induced by the Sb lone pair, leads to a previously unreported noncentrosymmetric NaSbS 2 crystal structure, which is additionally supported by second-harmonic generation measurements. Infrared and multinuclear solid-state NMR spectroscopies show that oleylamine or chelating carboxylates and, in some cases, unreacted precursors (LiH and PnPh 3 ) remain bound to the nanocrystalline surfaces. Further, a deeper understanding of the local atomic environment, long-range ordering, surface chemistry, and optoelectronic properties of these materials may speed up their fundamental study and application.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Pairing and Pair Breaking by Gauge Fluctuations in Bilayer Composite Fermion Metals

We study interlayer pairing of composite fermions in the total $\nu=1/2+1/2$ quantum Hall bilayer as a possible framework for understanding the experimentally observed transition from a compressible state at large layer spacing to a bilayer quantum Hall state at small layer spacing. We consider a model in which the effective interlayer composite fermion pairing interaction mediated by the Chern-Simons gauge fields in the two layers is singular with both attractive (out-of-phase) and repulsive (in-phase) components diverging at low frequency. If only the more singular attractive interaction is included the pairing gap obtained by solving the gap equation is proportional to the inverse of the layer spacing squared. In the so-called local approximation, we find that when the less singular repulsive interactions are also included the pairing gap still falls off as inverse layer spacing squared, consistent with recent analyses, but is strongly suppressed to a degree that may account for the fact that this predicted inverse square dependence is not observed experimentally. The analytically obtained local approximation solutions are then used as a starting point to numerically iterate the full gap equation to assess the validity of the approximation in this limit.

Deng, Haoyun↗
DOE OSTI2026

MOSAIC-CONUS: A Multimodal, Multi-Temporally Paired Dataset for Earth Sciences

Earth embeddings—vector representations of geographic locations indexed in space and time—are emerging as a unifying interface for geospatial AI. However, their quality depends not only on model design, but on how multimodal Earth observation (EO) data are spatially indexed, temporally aligned, and cross-modally associated during pretraining. We introduce MOSAIC-CONUS (Multimodal Observations with Spatially Aligned Imagery, Urban Points of Interest, In-Situ Measurements and Text Captions), a large-scale EO dataset over the contiguous United States, organized around 250,000 stratified point indices that serve as stable spatial keys across seven modalities: active radar, passive optical imagery, lidar-derived elevation, land cover, functional context, hydrometeorological measurements, and textual summaries. Unlike existing EO datasets, MOSAIC-CONUS introduces four contributions not jointly addressed in prior work: 1. an open-source, large-scale multimodal EO corpus structured around point-indexed data designed to support Earth embedding learning; 2. explicit radar-optical pairing tables spanning twelve temporal alignment regimes, formalizing cross-sensor alignment as a controllable variable for analyzing how temporal mismatch across modalities influences learned embeddings quality; 3. a benchmark suite spanning cross-modal retrieval, annual nightlights regression, and basin-held-out streamflow prediction, positioning MOSAIC-CONUS as a benchmark-ready resource for multimodal AI systems; and 4. a language-based embedding layer through co-registered textual summaries, enabling Earth embeddings to function as a queryable interface for agentic AI systems. The dataset and pairing protocols are publicly released.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Solvable 3D Kondo Lattice Exhibiting Pair Density Wave, Odd-Frequency Pairing, and Order Fractionalization

The Kondo lattice model plays a key role in our understanding of quantum materials, but a lack of small parameters has posed a long-standing problem. We present a 3 dimensional S= 1 2 Kondo lattice model describing a spin liquid within an electron sea. Strong correlations in the spin liquid are treated exactly, enabling a controlled analytical approach. Like a Peierls or BCS phase, a logarithmically divergent susceptibility leads to an instability into a new phase at arbitrarily small Kondo coupling. Our solution captures a plethora of emergent phenomena, including odd-frequency pairing, pair density wave formation and order fractionalization. The ground-state state is a pair density wave with a fractionalized charge e, S = 1/2 order parameter, formed between electrons and Majorana fermions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Potential Skyrmion Host Fe(IO3)3: Connecting Stereoactive Lone-Pair Electron Effects to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction

Magnetic skyrmions, which are topologically distinct magnetic spin textures, are gaining increased attention for their unique physical properties and potential applications in spintronic devices. Here we present a design strategy for skyrmion host candidates based on combinations of magnetic spin, asymmetric building units having stereoactive lone-pair electrons, and polar lattice symmetry. To demonstrate the viability of the proposed rational design principles, we successfully synthesized a Fe(IO 3 ) 3 polycrystalline sample and single crystals by using a new simplified low-temperature pathway, which is experimentally feasible for extending materials growth of transition metal iodates. Single crystal X-ray and powder synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements demonstrated that Fe(IO 3 ) 3 crystallizes in the polar chiral hexagonal lattice with space group P63. The combined structural features of the macroscopic electric polarization along the c-axis stemming from the coalignment of the stereoactive lone-pairs of the IO 3 – trigonal pyramid and the magnetic Fe 3+ cation residing on the 3-fold rotation axis were selected to promote asymmetric exchange coupling. We find evidence of a predicted skyrmion phase at 14 K ≤ T ≤ 16 K and 2.5 T ≤ μ 0 H ≤ 3.2 T driven by a Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya (DM) interaction, a conclusion supported by the appreciable DM exchange and the zero-field spiral antiferromagnetic ground state of Fe(IO 3 ) 3 deduced from neutron diffraction experiments. The associated magnetic modulation wavelength of the putative skyrmions is expected to be short ~18 nm, comparable to the period of the DM-driven incommensurate order. This work links stereoactive lone-pair electron effects to enhanced DM interaction, demonstrating a new approach for chemical guidelines in the search for skyrmionic states of matter.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗