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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 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Time-domain study of coupled collective excitations in quantum materials

Quantum materials hold immense promises for future applications due to their intriguing electronic, magnetic, thermal, and mechanical properties that often arise from a complex interplay between microscopic degrees of freedom. Important insights of such interactions come from studying the collective excitations of electrons, spins, orbitals, and lattice, whose cooperative motions play a crucial role in determining the novel behavior of these systems and offer us a key tuning knob to modify material properties on-demand through external perturbations. In this regard, ultrafast light-matter interaction has shown great potential in controlling the couplings of collective excitations, and rapid progress in a plethora of time-resolved techniques down to the attosecond regime has significantly advanced our understanding of the coupling mechanisms and guided us in manipulating the dynamical properties of quantum materials. This review aims to highlight recent experiments on visualizing collective excitations in the time domain, focusing on the coupling mechanisms between different collective modes such as phonon-phonon, phonon-magnon, phonon-exciton, magnon-magnon, magnon-exciton, and various polaritons. We introduce how these collective modes are excited by an ultrashort laser pulse and probed by different ultrafast techniques, and we explain how the coupling between collective excitations governs the ensuing nonequilibrium dynamics. We also provide some perspectives on future studies that can lead to discoveries of the emergent properties of quantum materials both in and out of equilibrium.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

First Soft X-ray Quantum Efficiency Measurements on Microwave Annealed Thin-Entrance Window Sensors

Free electron lasers, such as SLAC’s LCLS-II, will provide unique scientific imaging opportunities. In order to fully utilize these facilities, we need to develop detectors with shallow entrance windows that will enable detection of soft x-rays from 250eV-1.5KeV. In addition, there are other light sources such as the FERMI, EuXFEL, and FLASH XFELs, as well as numerous synchrotrons such as the ALS, where soft x-ray science would benefit from detectors with higher quantum efficiency in the 20 eV to 1.5KeV range.A new microwave annealing technology provides an efficient way to achieve shallow entrance windows in fully depleted high-resistivity silicon sensors. Previously, SRP and SIMS measurements were used to characterize the shallow dopant profile, and sensors with the new entrance window process were deployed successfully to measure an Fe-55 x-ray spectrum. For the first time, we present quantum efficiency measurement for soft x-rays. Furthermore, the resulting estimate of the entrance window is 20nm for an arsenic implanted entrance window and 55nm for a boron implanted entrance window.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Quantum computing universal thermalization dynamics in a (2 + 1)D Lattice Gauge Theory

Simulating non-equilibrium phenomena in strongly-interacting quantum many-body systems, including thermalization, is a promising application of near-term and future quantum computation. By performing experiments on a digital quantum computer consisting of fully-connected optically-controlled trapped ions, we study the role of entanglement in the thermalization dynamics of a Z 2 lattice gauge theory in 2+1 spacetime dimensions. Using randomized-measurement protocols, we efficiently learn a classical approximation of non-equilibrium states that yields the gap-ratio distribution and the spectral form factor of the entanglement Hamiltonian. These observables exhibit universal early-time signals for quantum chaos, a prerequisite for thermalization. Our work, therefore, establishes quantum computers as robust tools for studying universal features of thermalization in complex many-body systems, including in gauge theories.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Inclusive reactions from finite Minkowski spacetime correlation functions

The need to determine scattering amplitudes of few-hadron systems for arbitrary kinematics expands a broad set of subfields of modern-day nuclear and hadronic physics. In this work, we expand upon previous explorations on the use of real-time methods, like quantum computing or tensor networks, to determine few-body scattering amplitudes. Such calculations must be performed in a finite Minkowski spacetime, where scattering amplitudes are not well defined. Our previous work presented a conjecture of a systematically improvable estimator for scattering amplitudes constructed from finite-volume correlation functions. Here we provide further evidence that the prescription works for larger kinematic regions than previously explored as well as a broader class of scattering amplitudes. Finally, we devise a new method for estimating the order of magnitude of the error associated with finite time separations needed for such calculations. In units of the lightest mass of the theory, we find that to constrain amplitudes using real-time methods within O ( 10 % ) , the spacetime volumes must satisfy m L ∼ O ( 10 – 10 2 ) ) and m T ∼ O ( 10 2 – 10 4 ) . Published by the American Physical Society 2024

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Enhancing quantum clocks and sensors with randomization and decoherence

This letter shows how incoherent dynamics can lead to metrological advantages in quantum sensing. The results rely on the fact that incoherent dynamics lead to an additive contribution to the quantum Fisher information about time. Such an additive contribution can reduce the error of optimal estimation protocols, as implied by the quantum Cramér–Rao bound. I characterize regimes in which the estimation of a time interval or a frequency is enhanced by decoherence, thereby identifying cases in which incoherent dynamics serve as a metrological resource. The decoherence processes that yield enhanced precision of quantum sensors can be engineered by randomized Hamiltonian dynamics. I illustrate the results with protocols that display improved sensing of time intervals or global fields by qubit and photonic sensors. Enhanced precision of time intervals is achieved with Hamiltonians that include randomized global parameters. Enhanced precision in field estimation is obtained by randomized sensing times.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1976

Time-dependent perturbation of a two-state quantum system by a sinusoidal field

Different methods for solving the 'two-level problem' are discussed, namely, the problem of what happens to a material system having only two nondegenerate energy levels when it is perturbed by an electromagnetic field that varies with time in a monochromatic sinusoidal fashion. The various methods discussed include: (1) the Sen Gupta technique using nondegenerate Rayleigh-Schroedinger perturbation theory, (2) the Salwen-Winter-Shirley partitioning perturbation technique, (3) the Shirley and series degenerate Rayleigh-Schroedinger expansion, (4) the degenerate Rayleigh-Schroedinger technique for considering high frequency fields, and (5) the singular perturbation expansion technique.

Dion, D. R.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Performance Analysis of an Optimization Algorithm for Metamaterial Design on the Integrated High-Performance Computing and Quantum Systems

Optimizing metamaterials with complex geometries is a big challenge. Although an active learning algorithm, combining machine learning (ML), quantum computing, and optical simulation, has emerged as an efficient optimization tool, it still faces difficulties in optimizing complex structures that have potentially high performance. In this work, we comprehensively analyze the performance of an optimization algorithm for metamaterial design on the integrated HPC and quantum systems. We demonstrate significant time advantages through message-passing interface (MPI) parallelization on the high-performance computing (HPC) system showing approximately 54% faster ML tasks and 67 times faster optical simulation against serial workloads. Furthermore, we analyze the performance of a quantum algorithm designed for optimization, which runs with various quantum simulators on a local computer or HPC-quantum system. Results showcase ~24 times speedup when executing the optimization algorithm on the HPC-quantum hybrid system. This study paves a way to optimize complex metamaterials using the integrated HPC-quantum system.

Kim, Seongmin↗
DOE OSTI2024

Detailed Structural and Chemical Analysis of Amorphous Compounds in Superconducting Qubit Systems

With massive improvements in device coherence times and gate fidelity over the past two decades, superconducting quantum devices have emerged as a leading technology platform for next generation quantum computing. While many of these improvements have been driven through optimized device designs and geometries, the presence of defects, impurities, interfaces, and surfaces in the constituent materials continue to limit performance and present a critical barrier in achieving scalable quantum systems with long coherence times. As part of the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems (SQMS) center, we have applied state-of-the-art materials characterization techniques, such as scanning/transmission electron microscopy, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and atom probe tomography, to identify structural defects and chemical inhomogeneities in superconducting qubits. In this review, we discuss the findings of these efforts as they relate to the inherent surfaces, interfaces, impurities, and defects in superconducting qubits. Through this comprehensive investigation, we provide insight into possible sources of dissipation in these systems. Further, we supplement these findings with potential strategies for mitigating these undesired features in an effort to systematically and intelligently improve the coherence times of superconducting qubits.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Quantum computation of silicon electronic band structure

Development of quantum architectures during the last decade has inspired hybrid classical–quantum algorithms in physics and quantum chemistry that promise simulations of fermionic systems beyond the capability of modern classical computers, even before the era of quantum computing fully arrives. Strong research efforts have been recently made to obtain minimal depth quantum circuits which could accurately represent chemical systems. Here, we show that unprecedented methods used in quantum chemistry, designed to simulate molecules on quantum processors, can be extended to calculate properties of periodic solids. In particular, we present minimal depth circuits implementing the variational quantum eigensolver algorithm and successfully use it to compute the band structure of silicon on a quantum machine for the first time. We are convinced that the presented quantum experiments performed on cloud-based platforms will stimulate more intense studies towards scalable electronic structure computation of advanced quantum materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Piezoelectricity and topological quantum phase transitions in two-dimensional spin-orbit coupled crystals with time-reversal symmetry

Abstract Finding new physical responses that signal topological quantum phase transitions is of both theoretical and experimental importance. Here, we demonstrate that the piezoelectric response can change discontinuously across a topological quantum phase transition in two-dimensional time-reversal invariant systems with spin-orbit coupling, thus serving as a direct probe of the transition. We study all gap closing cases for all 7 plane groups that allow non-vanishing piezoelectricity, and find that any gap closing with 1 fine-tuning parameter between two gapped states changes either the Z 2 invariant or the locally stable valley Chern number. The jump of the piezoelectric response is found to exist for all these transitions, and we propose the HgTe/CdTe quantum well and BaMnSb 2 as two potential experimental platforms. Our work provides a general theoretical framework to classify topological quantum phase transitions, and reveals their ubiquitous relation to the piezoelectric response.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Problem-tailored Simulation of Energy Transport on Noisy Quantum Computers

The transport of conserved quantities like spin and charge is fundamental to characterizing the behavior of quantum many-body systems. Numerically simulating such dynamics is generically challenging, which motivates the consideration of quantum computing strategies. However, the relatively high gate errors and limited coherence times of today's quantum computers pose their own challenge, highlighting the need to be frugal with quantum resources. In this work we report simulations on quantum hardware of infinite-temperature energy transport in the mixed-field Ising chain, a paradigmatic many-body system that can exhibit a range of transport behaviors at intermediate times. We consider a chain with L = 12 sites and find results broadly consistent with those from ideal circuit simulators over 90 Trotter steps, containing up to 990 entangling gates. To obtain these results, we use two key problem-tailored insights. First, we identify a convenient basis – the Pauli Y basis – in which to sample the infinite-temperature trace and provide theoretical and numerical justifications for its efficiency relative to, e.g., the computational basis. Second, in addition to a variety of problem-agnostic error mitigation strategies, we employ a renormalization strategy that compensates for global nonconservation of energy due to device noise. We discuss the applicability of the proposed sampling approach beyond the mixed-field Ising chain and formulate a variational method to search for a sampling basis with small sample-to-sample fluctuations for an arbitrary Hamiltonian. This opens the door to applying these techniques in more general models.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Field test of continuous-variable quantum key distribution with a true local oscillator

A continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV QKD) using a true local (located at the receiver) oscillator (LO) has been proposed to remove any possibility of side-channel attacks associated with transmission of the LO as well as reduce the cross-pulse contamination. Here we report an implementation of true LO-CV QKD using “off-the-shelf” components and conduct QKD experiments using the fiber optical network at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. A phase reference and quantum signal are time multiplexed and then wavelength division multiplexed with the classical communications that “coexist” with each other on a single optical network fiber. Importantly, this is the first demonstration of CV QKD with a receiver-based true LO over a deployed fiber network, a crucial step for its application in real-world situations.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Efficient truncations of SU( N c ) lattice gauge theory for quantum simulation

Quantum simulations of lattice gauge theories offer the potential to directly study the nonperturbative dynamics of quantum chromodynamics, but naive analyses suggest that they require large computational resources. Large 𝑁 𝑐 expansions are performed to order 1/𝑁 𝑐 to simplify the Hamiltonian of pure SU⁡(𝑁𝑐) lattice gauge theories. A reformulation of the electric basis is introduced with a truncation strategy based on the construction of local Krylov subspaces with plaquette operators. Numerical simulations show that these truncated Hamiltonians are consistent with traditional lattice calculations at relatively small couplings. It is shown that the computational resources required for quantum simulation of time evolution generated by these Hamiltonians is 17–19 orders of magnitude smaller than previous approaches, provided that the truncations in this work can reach lattice spacings in three-dimensional simulations comparable to the two-dimensional simulations performed.

Lattice QCD↗
DOE OSTI2024

Formation and Microwave Losses of Hydrides in Superconducting Niobium Thin Films Resulting from Fluoride Chemical Processing

Abstract Superconducting niobium (Nb) thin films have recently attracted significant attention due to their utility for quantum information technologies. In the processing of Nb thin films, fluoride‐based chemical etchants are commonly used to remove surface oxides that are known to affect superconducting quantum devices adversely. However, these same etchants can also introduce hydrogen to form Nb hydrides, potentially negatively impacting microwave loss performance. Here, comprehensive materials characterization of Nb hydrides formed in Nb thin films as a function of fluoride chemical treatments is presented. In particular, secondary‐ion mass spectrometry, X‐ray scattering, and transmission electron microscopy reveal the spatial distribution and phase transformation of Nb hydrides. The rate of hydride formation is determined by the fluoride solution acidity and the etch rate of Nb 2 O 5, which acts as a diffusion barrier for hydrogen into Nb. The resulting Nb hydrides are detrimental to Nb superconducting properties and lead to increased power‐independent microwave loss in coplanar waveguide resonators. However, Nb hydrides do not correlate with two‐level system loss or device aging mechanisms. Overall, this work provides insight into the formation of Nb hydrides and their role in microwave loss, thus guiding ongoing efforts to maximize coherence time in superconducting quantum devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Collective neutrino oscillations on a quantum computer with hybrid quantum-classical algorithm

We simulate the time evolution of collective neutrino oscillations in two-flavor settings on a quantum computer. We explore the generalization of Trotter-Suzuki approximation to time-dependent Hamiltonian dynamics. The trotterization steps are further optimized using the Cartan decomposition of two-qubit unitary gates U ϵ SU(4) in the minimum number of controlled-NOT (CNOT) gates making the algorithm more resilient to the hardware noise. As a result, a more efficient hybrid quantum-classical algorithm is also explored to solve the problem on noisy intermediate-scale quantum devices.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Single-hole couplings in GaAs/AlGaAs double dots probed with transport and EDSR spectroscopy

Here, we report a detailed study of the tunnel barriers within a single-hole GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum dot device (DQD). For quantum information applications as well as fundamental studies, careful tuning and reliable measurements of the barriers are important requirements. In order to tune a DQD device adequately into the single-hole electric dipole spin resonance regime, one has to employ a variety of techniques to cover the extended range of tunnel couplings. In this work, we demonstrate four separate techniques, based upon charge sensing, quantum transport, time-resolved pulsing, and electron dipole spin resonance spectroscopy to determine the couplings as a function of relevant gate voltages and magnetic field. Measurements were performed under conditions of both symmetric and asymmetric tunnel couplings to the leads. Good agreement was observed between different techniques when measured under the same conditions. The results indicate that even in this relatively simple circuit, the requirement to tune multiple gates and the consequences of real potential profiles result in non-intuitive dependencies of the couplings as a function of the plunger gate voltage and the magnetic field.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1990

Time-dependent treatment of scattering. II - Novel integral equation approach to quantum wave packets

The novel wave-packet propagation scheme presented is based on the time-dependent form of the Lippman-Schwinger integral equation and does not require extensive matrix inversions, thereby facilitating application to systems in which some degrees of freedom express the potential in a basis expansion. The matrix to be inverted is a function of the kinetic energy operator, and is accordingly diagonal in a Bessel function basis set. Transition amplitudes for various orbital angular momentum quantum numbers are obtainable via either Fourier transform of the amplitude density from the time to the energy domain, or the direct analysis of the scattered wave packet.

Sharafeddin, Omar A.↗