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At least 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Evolution of light domain walls interacting with dark matter, part 1

The evolution of domain walls generated in the early Universe is discussed considering an interaction between the walls and a major gaseous component of the dark matter. The walls are supposed able to reflect the particles elastically and with a reflection coefficient of unity. A toy Lagrangian that could give rise to such a phenomenon is discussed. In the simple model studied, highly non-relativistic and slowly varying speeds are obtained for the domain walls (approximately 10 (exp -2)(1+z)(exp -1)) and negligible distortions of the microwave background. In addition, these topological defects may provide a mechanism of forming the large scale structure of the Universe, by creating fluctuations in the dark matter (delta rho/rho approximately O(1)) on a scale comparable with the distance the walls move from the formation (in the model d less than 20 h(exp -1) Mpc). The characteristic scale of the wall separation can be easily chosen to be of the order of 100 Mpc instead of being restricted to the horizon scale, as usually obtained.

Massarotti, Alessandro↗
DOE OSTI2022

Constraints on the electron-hole pair creation energy and Fano factor below 150 eV from Compton scattering in a Skipper-CCD

Fully-depleted thick silicon Skipper-charge-coupled devices (Skipper-CCDs) have achieved sub-electron read-out noise and are an important technology to probe neutrino and light dark matter interactions. However, the successful search for rare neutrino or dark-matter events requires the signal and all backgrounds to be fully characterized. In particular, a measurement of the electron-hole pair creation energy below 150 eV and the Fano factor are necessary for characterizing the dark matter and neutrino signals. Moreover, photons from background radiation may Compton scatter in the silicon bulk, producing events that can mimic a dark matter or neutrino signal. We present a measurement of the Compton spectrum using a Skipper-CCD and a $^{241}$Am source. With these data, we measure the electron-hole pair-creation energy to be $\left(3.71 \pm 0.08\right)$ eV at 130 K in the energy range between 99.3 eV and 150 eV. By measuring the widths of the steps at 99.3 eV and 150 eV in the Compton spectrum, we introduce a novel technique to measure the Fano factor, setting an upper limit of 0.31 at 90% C.L. These results prove the potential of Skipper-CCDs to characterize the Compton spectrum and to measure precisely the Fano factor and electron-hole pair creation energy below 150 eV.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Light Dark Matter Analysis Using NO$\nu$A Near Detector

Dark matter (DM) is believed to account for 85$\%$ of the matter content of the Universe. The leading dark matter candidate is the WIMP (weakly interacting massive particles). Light dark matter (LDM) refers to WIMP candidates with a mass of less than 1 GeV. The concept of LDM has been developed in order to explain the 511 keV $\gamma$-rays from the galactic bulge, as observed by the INTEGRAL satellite. There are a lot of candidates for light DM, and these candidates span a wide range of potential masses and couplings to the visible sector. Probing the vast parameter space of light-dark matter requires a correspondingly broad experimental program that can include neutrino fixed target experiments. NOvA is a high luminosity long-baseline fixed-target accelerator neutrino experiment at Fermilab that can provide a potentially interesting probe in searching for signatures of DM scattering with electrons in its near detectors. We aim to search for the MeV-scale dark matter particles that might be generated within the NuMI beam and produce detectable electron scattering signals in NOvA Near Detector. In this talk, we present our analysis of the single electron events using a simulated sample and show the sensitivity of the NOvA experiment.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Photon excess from dark matter and neutrino scattering at MiniBooNE and MicroBooNE

We propose new solutions to MiniBooNE electronlike excess and based on interactions involving light dark matter and/or neutrinos, that is also consistent with the photonlike excess at MicroBooNE. The novelty of our proposal lies in the utilization of a photon arising from 2-to-3 scattering processes between a nucleus/nucleon and a neutrino and/or dark matter via exchanges of light mediators. We find that viable regions exist in the coupling and mass parameter space of the mediators and light dark matter that can simultaneously explain the observed excesses and remain consistent with current experimental constraints. We further highlight that these scenarios can be tested with upcoming data from various ongoing experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Investigating Electro-Nuclear Interactions in a New Dark Matter Search

Electro-nuclear (EN) interactions are interactions in which an incident electron collides with a nucleus, scattering the electron and creating byproduct particles. Such interactions are of interest to neutrino physicists, who use EN interactions to inform model building of neutrino-nucleus interactions. The Light Dark Matter Experiment (LDMX) is a small-scale, fixed-target, electron beam experiment which seeks to probe for dark matter and mediator particle production in the sub-GeV mass region. The 8GeV LDMX electron beam will serve as an opportunity to study electro-nuclear interactions in their final states in the multi-GeV region. LDMX’s missing energy trigger however, will not be sufficient to efficiently capture EN interactions. An additional trigger needs to be created. Using simulated background events, including EN interactions, for the LDMX experiment, a trigger on momentum was developed.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Investigating Electro-Nuclear Interactions in a New Dark Matter Search

Electro-nuclear (EN) interactions are interactions in which an incident electron collides with a nucleus, scattering the electron and creating byproduct particles. Such interactions are of interest to neutrino physicists, who use EN interactions to inform model building of neutrino-nucleus interactions. The Light Dark Matter Experiment (LDMX) is a small-scale, fixed-target, electron beam experiment which seeks to probe for dark matter and mediator particle production in the sub-GeV mass region. The 8GeV LDMX electron beam will serve as an opportunity to study electro-nuclear interactions in final states in the multi-GeV region. LDMX s missing energy trigger for dark matter interactions however, will not be sufficient to efficiently capture EN interactions. An additional trigger is needed. Using simulated events, that included background and EN interactions, a trigger on momentum was developed.

Croteau, Beatrice↗
DOE OSTI2020

Laboratory Study of Nonlinear QED in Intense Laser-Matter Interactions

The goal of the project was to investigate the interaction of powerful laser light with matter, which is of fundamental interest to electrodynamics, thermonuclear fusion plasmas, and high-energy-density physics for DOE. Experiments on highly nonlinear relativistic interactions were performed using the state-of-the-art DIOCLES laser at the Extreme Light Laboratory of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL). We have demonstrated a novel testbed for laser-plasma interactions in which laser pulses collided in plasma with femtosecond and micron-scale accuracy under extreme experiment conditions. This capability is crucial for future radiation reaction experiments and nonlinear QED studies. Moreover, this is also a milestone towards the efficient generation of GeV electron beams via travelling wave laser wakefield accelerator. We proposed a novel idea for measuring the radiation reaction process using travelling wave Thomson scattering, which was studied in numerical simulations. This method allows unambiguous measurement of radiation reaction in a single shot, therefore, surpassing the conventional methods, which suffer severely from the shot-to-shot fluctuations, due to the instability of laser wavefield acceleration.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1993

Feasibility study: Monodisperse polymer particles containing laser-excitable dyes

The optical properties associated with small particles, which include aerosols, hydrosols and solid microspheres have an impact on several areas of science and engineering. Since the advent of high-speed computers and lasers, the interaction of light with matter in the form of small particles with a discontinuous optical boundary relative to the surroundings has been much better understood. Various nonlinear optical effects have been observed involving interaction of a laser beam with both solid microspheres and liquid microdroplets. These include observation of second and third harmonic generation, four wave mixing, optical visibility, two photon absorption, observation of stimulated emission and lasing, and Stimulated Raman Scattering. Many of these effects are observed with laser intensities which are orders of magnitude less than that required by threshold condition for interactions in macroscopic bulk medium. The primary reason for this is twofold. The front surface of the microsphere acts as a thick lens to enhance the internal intensity of the input laser radiation, and the spherical shape of the droplet acts as an optical cavity to provide feedback at specific wavelengths corresponding to the whispering gallery modes or the morphology dependent resonances (MDR's). The most interesting and significant recent finding in this field is undoubtedly the existence of resonance peaks in linear and nonlinear optical spectra. Such resonance peaks are only dependent on the particle morphology, which means the size, shape and refractive index of the particle. Because of the simultaneous presence of these resonances, they have been referred to by many names, including structural resonances, whispering modes or whispering gallery modes, creeping waves, circumferential waves, surfaces modes, and virtual modes. All of these names refer to the same phenomena, i.e. morphology dependent resonances (MDR's) which has already been described and predicted precisely by electromagnetic theory and Loentz-Mie theory since 1908. MDR's can become important when the particle size (radius a) approaches and exceeds the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave (lambda) and the refractive index of the particle is greater than that of the surrounding medium. Such resonances are easiest to observe from a single particle with high symmetry, such as a sphere, spheroid, or cylinder. MDR's correspond to solutions of the characteristic equations of the electromagnetic fields in the presence of a sphere.

Venkateswarlu, Putcha↗
DOE OSTI2023

Theory and Simulation of Ultrafast Multidimensional Nonlinear X-ray Spectroscopy of Molecules (Final Report)

Emerging X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) beam sources offer new types of probes of matter with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions. These experimental advances must be met by robust theoretical and computational tools that provide predictive modeling capacity of the underlining electronic and structural dynamics. The latter will be essential for the design of sophisticated multi-pulse experiments and for their interpretation. The proposed research effort will focus on developing cutting- edge simulation tools for nonlinear multidimensional X-ray/optical spectroscopies and aims to address key questions in Priority Research Opportunities 1 (Probing and controlling electron motion within a molecule) and 3 (Capturing rare events and intermediate states in the transformation of matter) as mentioned in the BES Roundtable Report “Opportunities for Basic Research at the Frontiers of XFEL Ultrafast Science”. XFEL multidimensional nonlinear techniques, which combine sequences of X-ray and possibly optical pulses, provide a unique experimental toolbox for probing the dynamics of core and valence electronic excitations, as well as material structure. Predictive modeling of these dynamical processes requires the combination of analytical theory for nonlinear interactions of light and matter, robust quantum-chemical methodologies for the accurate description of electronic structure of various materials, and multiscale ab initio electron and nuclear dynamics techniques operating beyond Born-Oppenheimer approximation. These challenges will be addressed with three research thrusts (i) Develop and implement theoretical apparatus for modeling a broad range of multidimensional spectroscopic techniques enabled by present and upcoming XFEL facilities. This thrust also includes the incorporation of a computational module in the DOE supported open-source NWChem computational chemistry package as well as the development of other open-source codes ready for dissemination across a broad user base; (ii) Propose and design new multi-pulse experiments that make use of the capabilities of the incoming LCLS-II facility; (iii) Perform selected applications to specific molecular systems that can be carried out at LCLS-II and demonstrate how these X-ray sources may be used to study nonadiabatic dynamics through conical interactions, electronic correlations in multi-core excitons, and charge transfer/energy transfer processes. The proposed research will be carried out by a multi-disciplinary four-institution research team which combines academia and national laboratories and spans the broad and necessary expertise in theoretical spectroscopy, nonlinear optics, quantum chemistry, molecular non-adiabatic dynamics and code development. The work will be performed in a highly interactive team environment with junior researchers shared between institutions thus cementing cross- disciplinary interactions. The developed simulation tools will be immediately deployed for XFEL facility users, both experimentalists and theorists, via freely distributed codes and databases. Altogether, this project will facilitate establishing XFEL-based multidimensional spectroscopies as a novel diagnostic tool for monitoring electronic and structural dynamics in molecular materials.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Optical-Frequency Magnetic Polarizability in a Layered Semiconductor

The optical response of crystals is most commonly attributed to electric dipole interactions between light and matter. Although metamaterials support “artificial” magnetic resonances supported by mesoscale structuring, there are no naturally occurring materials known to exhibit a nonzero optical-frequency magnetic polarizability. Here, we experimentally demonstrate and quantify a naturally occurring nonzero magnetic polarizability in a layered semiconductor system: two-dimensional (Ruddlesden-Popper phase) hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites. These results demonstrate the only known material with an optical-frequency permeability that differs appreciably from vacuum, informing future efforts to find, synthesize, or exploit atomic-scale optical magnetism for novel optical phenomena such as negative index of refraction and electromagnetic cloaking.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Super‐Resolution Lifetime Imaging of Single Molecules Near Gold Bowtie Nanoparticles

Interactions between light and matter serve as the basis of many technologies, but the quality of these devices is inherently limited by the optical properties of their constituents. Plasmonic nanoparticles are a highly versatile and tunable platform for the enhancement of such optical properties. However, the near-field nature of these effects has made thorough study and understanding of these mechanisms difficult. In this work, we introduce a fully confocal technique combining photoswitching super-resolution microscopy with fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy to study single-molecule decay rate enhancement. We demonstrate that the technique combines a spatial resolution better than 20 nm, and a 16 ps temporal resolution. Simultaneously, an autocorrelation measurement is also performed to confirm that the data indeed originates from single molecules. This work provides insight into the various mechanisms of plasmon-enhanced emission, and allows the study of the correlation between emission intensity and lifetime enhancement. This complicated relationship is shown to be dependent upon the relative influence of various radiative and nonradiative decay pathways. Here, we provide a platform for further study of emission mislocalization, the position-dependent prominence of different decay pathways, and the direct super-resolved measurement of the local density of states.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Altering apparent optical properties with an array of semitransparent mesoscale structures

The ability to control and optimize interactions between light and matter has much utility in engineering design. A well-researched way to achieve optical property modulation is via the use of optical metamaterials, which feature sub-wavelength scale surface structures. In this work, an alternative approach for modulating optical properties is presented using a composite surface modified with a periodic array of semitransparent hemispherical shell mesoscale structures which are larger than the incident light wavelength. A ray-tracing simulation approach is used to predict the optical behavior for an arrayed surface. At oblique angles of incidence, significant increases and decreases in apparent absorptance are achieved via the use of optically thick and thin shells, respectively. Additionally, a potential application to solar cells is described with optimal spectral behavior achieved via the use of semitransparent external structures.

Kucuktas, Onur A.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Tabletop soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy for molecular fingerprinting

For applications related to nuclear security, safeguards, and nonproliferation, it is often critical to know the molecular compositions of lanthanide- and actinide-containing samples. Spectroscopy is a widely used tool that looks at the interaction between light and matter: Different species absorb or emit light at unique wavelengths which act as signatures. However, there is a limited number of tools that can achieve high-sensitivity, accurate measurements of lanthanide and actinide molecular compositions. Candidate methods include mass spectrometry, which usually destroys at least part of the sample and requires complicated stoichiometry to guess the original sample’s molecular compositions; optical spectroscopies, which have great atomic but limited molecular sensitivities or other drawbacks which make sensing molecules difficult like limited light sources or strong absorption in the atmosphere; and nuclear spectroscopies (gamma, neutron) which also have limited sources and long (>minute) collection times. As such, the purpose of our research is to develop a new tool to better distinguish between subtle differences in molecules containing lanthanides and actinides. Soft x-ray spectroscopy is sensitive to molecular form and is minimally intrusive/nondestructive to the sample. However, soft x-ray light with sufficient brightness for spectroscopy is typically limited to user-facilities like synchrotrons or free electron lasers, where beamtimes are competitive, and work with radiological materials may be difficult or entirely prohibited. To overcome this issue, our Team has developed a custom tabletop laser-driven, soft x-ray light source which employs high harmonic generation (HHG). Soft x-ray spectroscopy can distinguish between subtly different molecules, in the spectral range which we need to study these heavy elements. A tabletop system provides an effective and affordable tool to find both the elemental and chemical specificity of lanthanide and samples. Creating a light source in the soft x-ray spectrum is difficult because these wavelengths in the range 5-20 nm (20-350 eV photon energies) only penetrate several 100s of nm in most solid materials and only reflect well in shallow, grazing incident angles. The results are applicable to nuclear forensics, because molecular fingerprinting of lanthanide and actinide samples can be used to back out the origin and processing method of nuclear materials (Skrodzki, et al.).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2011

Multi-Parameter Aerosol Scattering Sensor

This work relates to the development of sensors that measure specific aerosol properties. These properties are in the form of integrated moment distributions, i.e., total surface area, total mass, etc., or mathematical combinations of these moment distributions. Specifically, the innovation involves two fundamental features: a computational tool to design and optimize such sensors and the embodiment of these sensors in actual practice. The measurement of aerosol properties is a problem of general interest. Applications include, but are not limited to, environmental monitoring, assessment of human respiratory health, fire detection, emission characterization and control, and pollutant monitoring. The objectives for sensor development include increased accuracy and/or dynamic range, the inclusion in a single sensor of the ability to measure multiple aerosol properties, and developing an overall physical package that is rugged, compact, and low in power consumption, so as to enable deployment in harsh or confined field applications, and as distributed sensor networks. Existing instruments for this purpose include scattering photometers, direct-reading mass instruments, Beta absorption devices, differential mobility analyzers, and gravitational samplers. The family of sensors reported here is predicated on the interaction of light and matter; specifically, the scattering of light from distributions of aerosol particles. The particular arrangement of the sensor, e.g. the wavelength(s) of incident radiation, the number and location of optical detectors, etc., can be derived so as to optimize the sensor response to aerosol properties of practical interest. A key feature of the design is the potential embodiment as an extremely compact, integrated microsensor package. This is of fundamental importance, as it enables numerous previously inaccessible applications. The embodiment of these sensors is inherently low maintenance and high reliability by design. The novel and unique features include the underlying computational underpinning that allows the optimization for specific applications, and the physical embodiment that affords the construction of a compact, durable, and reliable integrated package. The advantage appears in the form of increased accuracy relative to existing instruments, and the applications enabled by the physical attributes of the resulting configuration

Greenberg, Paul S.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Measurement of anti- 3 He nuclei absorption in matter and impact on their propagation in the Galaxy

In our Galaxy, light antinuclei composed of antiprotons and antineutrons can be produced through high-energy cosmic-ray collisions with the interstellar medium or could also originate from the annihilation of dark-matter particles that have not yet been discovered. On Earth, the only way to produce and study antinuclei with high precision is to create them at high-energy particle accelerators. Although the properties of elementary antiparticles have been studied in detail, the knowledge of the interaction of light antinuclei with matter is limited. We determine the disappearance probability of 3 $\overline{He}$ when it encounters matter particles and annihilates or disintegrates within the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. We extract the inelastic interaction cross section, which is then used as an input to the calculations of the transparency of our Galaxy to the propagation of 3 $\overline{He}$ stemming from dark-matter annihilation and cosmic-ray interactions within the interstellar medium. For a specific dark-matter profile, we estimate a transparency of about 50%, whereas it varies with increasing 3 $\overline{He}$ momentum from 25% to 90% for cosmic-ray sources. The results indicate that 3 $\overline{He}$ nuclei can travel long distances in the Galaxy, and can be used to study cosmic-ray interactions and dark-matter annihilation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Multipolariton control in attosecond transient absorption of autoionizing states

Tunable attosecond transient absorption spectroscopy is an ideal tool for studying and manipulating autoionization dynamics in the continuum. We investigate near-resonant two-photon couplings between the bright 3s –1 4p and dark 3s –1 4f autoionizing states of argon that lead to Autler-Townes-like interactions, forming entangled light-matter states or polaritons. We observe that one-photon couplings with intermediate dark states play an important role in this interaction, leading to the formation of multiple polaritonic branches whose energies exhibit avoided crossings as a function of the dressing-laser frequency. Our experimental measurements and theoretical essential-state simulations show good agreement and reveal how the delay, frequency, and intensity of the dressing pulse govern the properties of autoionizing polariton multiplets. Furthermore, these results demonstrate new pathways for quantum control of autoionizing states with optical fields.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Landau-phonon polaritons in Dirac heterostructures

Polaritons are light-matter quasiparticles that govern the optical response of quantum materials at the nanoscale, enabling on-chip communication and local sensing. Here, we report Landau-phonon polaritons (LPPs) in magnetized charge-neutral graphene encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). These quasiparticles emerge from the interaction of Dirac magnetoexciton modes in graphene with the hyperbolic phonon polariton modes in hBN. Using infrared magneto-nanoscopy, we reveal the ability to completely halt the LPP propagation in real space at quantized magnetic fields, defying the conventional optical selection rules. The LPP-based nanoscopy also tells apart two fundamental many-body phenomena: the Fermi velocity renormalization and field-dependent magnetoexciton binding energies. Our results highlight the potential of magnetically tuned Dirac heterostructures for precise nanoscale control and sensing of light-matter interaction.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

The non-relativistic effective field theory of dark matter-electron interactions

Electronic excitations in atomic, molecular, and crystal targets are at the forefront of the ongoing search for light, sub-GeV dark matter (DM). In many light DM-electron interactions the energy and momentum deposited is much smaller than the electron mass, motivating a non-relativistic (NR) description of the electron. Thus, for any target, light DM-electron phenomenology relies on understanding the interactions between the DM and electron in the NR limit. In this work we derive the NR effective field theory (EFT) of general DM-electron interactions from a top-down perspective, starting from general high-energy DM-electron interaction Lagrangians. This provides an explicit connection between high-energy theories and their low-energy phenomenology in electron excitation based experiments. Furthermore, we derive Feynman rules for the DM-electron NR EFT, allowing observables to be computed diagrammatically, which can systematically explain the presence of in-medium screening effects in general DM models. We use these Feynman rules to compute absorption, scattering, and dark Thomson scattering rates for a wide variety of high-energy DM models.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗