Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “correlation”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 217 records · Page 12

A Comparison of Exact and Model Exchange–Correlation Potentials for Molecules

Accurate exchange–correlation (XC) potentials for three-dimensional systems–via solution of the inverse density functional theory (DFT) problem–are now available to test the quality of DFT approximations. Herein, the exact XC potential for seven molecules–dihydrogen at four different bond-lengths, lithium hydride, water, and ortho-benzyne–are computed from full configuration interaction reference densities. These are compared to model XC potentials from nonlocal (B3LYP, HSE06, SCAN0, and M08-HX) and semilocal/local (SCAN, PBE, and PW92) XC functionals. Whereas for most systems, relative errors in the ground-state densities are O(10 –3 –10 –2 ) , the model XC potentials have much higher errors of O(10 –1 –10 0 ) . Among the model XC functionals, SCAN0 offers the best agreement with the exact XC potential, underlining the significance of satisfying exact conditions as well as including nonlocal effects in XC functionals. This work indicates that tests against the exact XC potential will provide a promising new direction for building more accurate XC functionals for DFT.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Understanding the Correlation between Ga Speciation and Propane Dehydrogenation Activity on Ga/H-ZSM-5 Catalysts

H-ZSM-5 zeolite-supported Ga (Ga/H-ZSM-5) has been considered as a selective catalyst for nonoxidative propane dehydrogenation (PDH) for decades; however, the reaction mechanism remains a topic of considerable discussion. In particular, the correlation between various Ga species present on the catalyst at the reaction conditions and the PDH activity has yet to be established. In this work, intrinsic PDH rates and activation energies were determined on Ga + –H + pair sites and isolated Ga + sites on Ga/H-ZSM-5 samples with a wide range of Si/Al and Ga/Al ratios. Here, the turnover frequency on Ga + –H + pair sites in the PDH is higher than that of isolated Ga + sites by a factor of ~15. Experimental measurements combined with a dual-site model show the activation energy in the PDH on the Ga + –H + pair sites and isolated Ga + sites to be 90.8 ± 1.5 and 117 ± 4.7 kJ·mol –1 , respectively. These results demonstrate that Ga+–H+ pair sites are much more active in the PDH than isolated Ga + sites. The activation energy of GaH x decomposition to form H 2 was determined to be 40–60 kJ·mol –1 higher than that of the PDH on Ga species, suggesting that the GaH x decomposition is unlikely to be part of the PDH mechanism. Although both Brønsted acid and Ga sites interact with propane, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results provide strong evidence suggesting that the alkyl mechanism is more likely in the PDH on Ga/H-ZSM-5 catalysts.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Quantum Sensing of Electric Fields Using Spin-Correlated Radical Ion Pairs

Quantum sensing affords the possibility of using quantum entanglement to probe electromagnetic fields with exquisite sensitivity. In this work, we show that a photogenerated spin-correlated radical ion pair (SCRP) can be used to sense an electric field change created at one radical ion of the pair using molecular recognition. The SCRP is generated within a covalent donor–chromophore–acceptor system PXX–PMI–NDI, 1, where PXX = peri-xanthenoxanthene, PMI = 1,6-bis(p-t-butylphenoxy)perylene-3,4-dicarboximide, and NDI = naphthalene-1,8:4,5-bis(dicarboximide). The electron-rich PXX donor in 1 acts as a guest molecule that can be encapsulated selectively by a tetracationic cyclophane ExBox4+ host to give a supramolecular complex 1 ⊂ ExBox 4+ . Selective photoexcitation of the PMI chromophore results in ultrafast generation of the PXX •+ –PMI–NDI •– SCRP. When PXX is encapsulated by ExBox 4+ , the cyclophane generates an electric field that repels the positive charge on PXX •+ within PXX •+ –PMI–NDI •– , reducing the SCRP distance, i.e., the distance between the centers-of-charge on the donor and acceptor. Pulse-EPR measurements are used to measure the coherent oscillations created primarily by the electron–electron dipolar coupling in the SCRP, which yields the distance between the two charges (spins) of PXX •+ –PMI–NDI •– . Here, the experimental results show that the distance between PXX •+ and NDI •– decreases when ExBox 4+ encapsulates PXX •+ , which demonstrates that the SCRP can function as a quantum sensor to detect electric field changes in the vicinity of the radical ions.

Anions↗

Modified structure of protons and neutrons in correlated pairs

The atomic nucleus is made of protons and neutrons (nucleons), which are themselves composed of quarks and gluons. Understanding how the quark-gluon structure of a nucleon bound in an atomic nucleus is modified by the surrounding nucleons is an outstanding challenge. Although evidence for such modification-known as the EMC effect-was first observed over 35 years ago, there is still no generally accepted explanation for its cause. Recent observations suggest that the EMC effect is related to close-proximity short-range correlated (SRC) nucleon pairs in nuclei. Here we report simultaneous, high-precision measurements of the EMC effect and SRC abundances. We show that EMC data can be explained by a universal modification of the structure of nucleons in neutron-proton SRC pairs and present a data-driven extraction of the corresponding universal modification function. This implies that in heavier nuclei with many more neutrons than protons, each proton is more likely than each neutron to belong to an SRC pair and hence to have distorted quark structure. This universal modification function will be useful for determining the structure of the free neutron and thereby testing quantum chromodynamics symmetry-breaking mechanisms and may help to discriminate between nuclear physics effects and beyond-the-standard-model effects in neutrino experiments.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Efficient and accurate treatment of electron correlations with correlation matrix renormalization theory

We present an efficient method for calculating the electronic structure and total energy of strongly correlated electron systems. The method extends the traditional Gutzwiller approximation for one-particle operators to the evaluation of the expectation values of two particle operators in the many-electron Hamiltonian. The method is free of adjustable Coulomb parameters, and has no double counting issues in the calculation of total energy, and has the correct atomic limit. We demonstrate that the method describes well the bonding and dissociation behaviors of the hydrogen and nitrogen clusters, as well as the ammonia composed of hydrogen and nitrogen atoms. We also show that the method can satisfactorily tackle great challenging problems faced by the density functional theory recently discussed in the literature. The computational workload of our method is similar to the Hartree-Fock approach while the results are comparable to high-level quantum chemistry calculations.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Unusual spin correlations in a nanomagnet

We show how atomic-scale exchange phenomena can be controlled and exploited in nanoscale itinerant magnets to substantially improve magnetic properties. Cluster-deposition experiments, first-principle simulations, and analytical calculations are used to demonstrate the effect in Co{sub 2}Si nanoclusters, which have average sizes varying from about 0.6 to 29.5 nm. The cluster-deposited nanoparticles exhibit average magnetic moments of up to 0.70 μ{sub B}/Co at 10 K and 0.49 μ{sub B}/Co at 300 K with appreciable magnetocrystalline anisotropies, in sharp contrast to the nearly vanishing bulk magnetization. The underlying spin correlations and associated cluster-size dependence of the magnetization are explained by a surface induced ferromagnetic spin polarization with a decay length of the order of 1 nm, much larger than the nearest-neighbor interatomic distance in the alloy.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Correlated high-resolution x-ray diffraction photoluminescence and atom probe tomography analysis of continuous and discontinuous In x Ga 1-x N quantum wells

In this study, atom probe tomography (APT) is used to characterize the influence of hydrogen dosing duringGaN barrier growth on the indium distribution of In x Ga 1-x N quantum wells, and correlatedmicro-photoluminescence is used to measure changes in the emission spectrum and efficiency. We found that relative to the control growth, hydrogen dosing leads to a 50% increase in emission intensity arising from discontinuous quantum wells that are narrower, of lower indium content, and with more abrupt interfaces. Additionally, simulations of carrier distributions based on APT composition profiles indicate that the greater carrier confinement leads to an increased radiative recombination rate. Furthermore, APT analysis of quantum well profiles enables refinement of x-ray diffractionanalysis for more accurate nondestructive measurements of composition.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The role of high-order electron correlation effects in a model system for non-valence correlation-bound anions

The diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC), auxiliary field quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC), and equation-of-motion coupled cluster (EOM-CC) methods are used to calculate the electron binding energy (EBE) of the non-valence anion state of a model (H2O)4 cluster. Two geometries are considered, one at which the anion is unbound and the other at which it is bound in the Hartree–Fock (HF) approximation. It is demonstrated that DMC calculations can recover from the use of a HF trial wave function that has collapsed onto a discretized continuum solution, although larger EBEs are obtained when using a trial wave function for the anion that provides a more realistic description of the charge distribution and, hence, of the nodal surface. For the geometry at which the cluster has a non-valence correlation-bound anion, both the inclusion of triples in the EOM-CC method and the inclusion of supplemental diffuse d functions in the basis set are important. DMC calculations with suitable trial wave functions give EBE values in good agreement with our best estimate EOM-CC result. AFQMC using a trial wave function for the anion with a realistic electron density gives a value of the EBE nearly identical to the EOM-CC result when using the same basis set. For the geometry at which the anion is bound in the HF approximation, the inclusion of triple excitations in the EOM-CC calculations is much less important. The best estimate EOM-CC EBE value is in good agreement with the results of DMC calculations with appropriate trial wave functions.

Upadhyay, Shiv (ORCID:0000000285010501)↗

Soft phonons reveal the nematic correlation length in Ba(Fe 0.94 Co 0.06 ) 2 As 2

Nematicity is ubiquitous in electronic phases of high-T c superconductors, particularly in the Fe-based systems. While several experiments have probed nematic fluctuations, they have been restricted to uniform or momentum-averaged fluctuations. Here, we investigate the behavior of finite-momentum nematic fluctuations by utilizing the anomalous softening of acoustic phonon modes in optimally doped Ba(Fe 0.94 Co 0.06 ) 2 As 2 . Here, we determine the nematic correlation length and find that it sharply changes its T dependence at T c , revealing a strong connection between nematicity and superconductivity.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

New correlator to detect and characterize the chiral magnetic effect

In this work, a charge-sensitive in-event correlator is proposed and tested for its efficacy to detect and characterize charge separation associated with the chiral magnetic effect (CME) in heavy ion collisions. Tests, performed with the aid of two reaction models, indicate discernible responses for background- and CME-driven charge separation, relative to the second- ( Ψ 2 ) and third-order ( Ψ 3 ) event planes, which could serve to identify the CME. Furthermore, the tests indicate a degree of sensitivity which would enable robust characterization of the CME via anomalous viscous fluid dynamics (AVFD) model comparisons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Gluon amplitudes as 2 d conformal correlators

Recently, spin-one wave functions in four dimensions that are conformal primaries of the Lorentz group S L ( 2 , C ) were constructed. Herein, we compute low-point, tree-level gluon scattering amplitudes in the space of these conformal primary wave functions. The answers show the same conformal covariance as correlators of spin-one primaries in a 2 d CFT. The Britto–Cachazo–Feng–Witten (BCFW) recursion relation between three- and four-point gluon amplitudes is recast into this conformal basis.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Revealing the Nature of the Ultrafast Magnetic Phase Transition in Ni by Correlating Extreme Ultraviolet Magneto-Optic and Photoemission Spectroscopies

By correlating time- and angle-resolved photoemission and time-resolved transverse- magnetooptical Kerr effect measurements, both at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths, we uncover the universal nature of the ultrafast photoinduced magnetic phase transition in Ni. This allows us to explain the ultrafast magnetic response of Ni at all laser fluences - from a small reduction of the magnetization at low laser fluences, to complete quenching at high laser fluences. In this work, both probe methods exhibit the same demagnetization and recovery timescales. The spin system absorbs the energy required to proceed through a magnetic phase transition within 20 fs after the peak of the pump pulse. However, the spectroscopic signatures of demagnetization of the material appear only after ≈ 200 fs, and subsequent recovery of the magnetization on timescales ranging from 500 fs to >70 ps. We also provide evidence of two competing channels with two distinct timescales in the recovery process, that suggest the presence of coexisting phases in the material.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Correlating dynamic microstructure to observed color in electrophoretic displays via in situ small-angle x-ray scattering

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is an industrially relevant and scalable technique used to form particle deposits from colloidal suspensions. Highly concentrated particle suspensions generally prevent real-time in situ microscopy observations which limit the characterization of EPD films to ex situ, or postprocessed, laboratory techniques. For dynamic systems, such as tunable amorphous photonic crystals (APCs), only reversible deposits are formed during the EPD process. Since reversible deposits cannot be characterized with standard ex situ methods, the particle-particle and particle-field interactions that govern the displayed color and crystallinity of these systems are not well understood. In this paper, we present in situ small-angle x-ray scattering and UV-Vis techniques for measuring both the structural and optical response of an APC under applied electric fields. Furthermore, we also develop a computational model based on colloidal interactions to explain the observed change in the interparticle spacing of APCs due to the applied electric field which correlates to displayed color. Ultimately, this work provides a new in situ characterization method that could be expanded for other dynamic, tunable colloidal systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Correlation of a Bipolar-Transistor-Based Neutron Displacement Damage Sensor Methodology with Proton Irradiations

For this research, a bipolar-transistor-based sensor technique has been used to compare silicon displacement damage from known and unknown neutron energy spectra generated in nuclear reactor and high-energy-density physics environments. The technique has been shown to yield 1-MeV(Si) equivalent neutron fluence measurements comparable to traditional neutron activation dosimetry. This study significantly extends previous results by evaluating three types of bipolar devices utilized as displacement damage sensors at a nuclear research reactor and at a Pelletron particle accelerator. Ionizing dose effects are compensated for via comparisons with 10-keV x-ray and/or cobalt-60 gamma ray irradiations. Non-ionizing energy loss calculations adequately approximate the correlations between particle-device responses and provide evidence for the use of one particle type to screen the sensitivity of the other.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Galactos: computing the anisotropic 3-point correlation function for 2 billion galaxies

The nature of dark energy and the complete theory of gravity are two central questions currently facing cosmology. A vital tool for addressing them is the 3-point correlation function (3PCF), which probes deviations from a spatially random distribution of galaxies. However, the 3PCF's formidable computational expense has prevented its application to astronomical surveys comprising millions to billions of galaxies. We present Galactos, a high-performance implementation of a novel, O( N 2 ) algorithm that uses a load-balanced k-d tree and spherical harmonic expansions to compute the anisotropic 3PCF. Our implementation is optimized for the Intel Xeon Phi architecture, exploiting SIMD parallelism, instruction and thread concurrency, and significant L1 and L2 cache reuse, reaching 39% of peak performance on a single node. Galactos scales to the full Cori system, achieving 9.8 PF (peak) and 5.06 PF (sustained) across 9636 nodes, making the 3PCF easily computable for all galaxies in the observable universe.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗