X-ray imaging and 3D reconstruction of in-flight exploding foil initiator flyers
Abstract not provided
Willey, T. M.↗
SEARCH · Engineering Papers
Results for “General Physics”
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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Stabilized FE simulation of prototype thermal-hydraulics problems with integrated adjoint-based capabilities
A critical aspect of applying modern computational solution methods to complex multiphysics systems of relevance to nuclear reactor modeling, is the assessment of the predictive capability of specific proposed mathematical models. In this respect the understanding of numerical error, the sensitivity of the solution to parameters associated with input data, boundary condition uncertainty, and mathematical models is critical. Additionally, the ability to evaluate and or approximate the model efficiently, to allow development of a reasonable level of statistical diagnostics of the mathematical model and the physical system, is of central importance. In this study we report on initial efforts to apply integrated adjoint-based computational analysis and automatic differentiation tools to begin to address these issues. The study is carried out in the context of a Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes approximation to turbulent fluid flow and heat transfer using a particular spatial discretization based on implicit fully-coupled stabilized FE methods. Initial results are presented that show the promise of these computational techniques in the context of nuclear reactor relevant prototype thermal-hydraulics problems.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Effect of intermixing at CdS/CdTe interface on defect properties
We investigated the stability and electronic properties of defects in CdTe{sub 1−x}S{sub x} that can be formed at the CdS/CdTe interface. As the anions mix at the interface, the defect properties are significantly affected, especially those defects centered at cation sites like Cd vacancy, V{sub Cd}, and Te on Cd antisite, Te{sub Cd}, because the environment surrounding the defect sites can have different configurations. We show that at a given composition, the transition energy levels of V{sub Cd} and Te{sub Cd} become close to the valence band maximum when the defect has more S atoms in their local environment, thus improving the device performance. Such beneficial role is also found at the grain boundaries when the Te atom is replaced by S in the Te-Te wrong bonds, reducing the energy of the grain boundary level. On the other hand, the transition levels with respect to the valence band edge of CdTe{sub 1−x}S{sub x} increases with the S concentration as the valence band edge decreases with the S concentration, resulting in the reduced p-type doping efficiency.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Concerning Mössbauer experiments in a rotating system and their physical interpretation
We shortly review different attempts to interpret the results of Mössbauer rotor experiments in a rotating system and particularly we show that the latest work on this subject by J. Iovane and E. Benedetto (2019), which claims that the outcomes of these experiments can supposedly be explained via “desynchronization of clocks” in the rotating frame and in the laboratory frame, is inapplicable to all of the Mössbauer rotor experiments performed up to date and thus does not have any significance.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Intrinsic space charge layers and field enhancement in ferroelectric nanojunctions
Conducting characteristics of topological defects in ferroelectric materials, such as charged domain walls, engendered a broad interest on their scientific merit and the possibility of novel applications utilizing domain engineering. At the same time, the problem of electron transport in ferroelectrics still remains full of unanswered questions and becomes yet more relevant over the growing interest in ferroelectric semiconductors and new improper ferroelectric materials. We have employed self-consistent phase-field modeling to investigate the physical properties of a local metal-ferroelectric (Pb(Zr{sub 0.2}Ti{sub 0.8})O{sub 3}) junction in applied electric field. We revealed an up to 10-fold local enhancement of electric field realized by large polarization gradient and over-polarization effects due to inherent non-linear dielectric properties of Pb(Zr{sub 0.2}Ti{sub 0.8})O{sub 3}. The effect is independent of bias polarity and maintains its strength prior, during and after ferroelectric switching. The observed field enhancement can be considered on similar grounds as increased doping level, giving rise to reduced switching bias and threshold voltages for charge injection, electrochemical and photoelectrochemical processes.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
CONSTRAINTS ON THE ORIGIN OF COSMIC RAYS ABOVE 10{sup 18} eV FROM LARGE-SCALE ANISOTROPY SEARCHES IN DATA OF THE PIERRE AUGER OBSERVATORY
A thorough search for large-scale anisotropies in the distribution of arrival directions of cosmic rays detected above 10{sup 18} eV at the Pierre Auger Observatory is reported. For the first time, these large-scale anisotropy searches are performed as a function of both the right ascension and the declination and expressed in terms of dipole and quadrupole moments. Within the systematic uncertainties, no significant deviation from isotropy is revealed. Upper limits on dipole and quadrupole amplitudes are derived under the hypothesis that any cosmic ray anisotropy is dominated by such moments in this energy range. These upper limits provide constraints on the production of cosmic rays above 10{sup 18} eV, since they allow us to challenge an origin from stationary galactic sources densely distributed in the galactic disk and emitting predominantly light particles in all directions.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Spatially adaptive stochastic methods for fluid–structure interactions subject to thermal fluctuations in domains with complex geometries
We develop stochastic mixed finite element methods for spatially adaptive simulations of fluid–structure interactions when subject to thermal fluctuations. To account for thermal fluctuations, we introduce a discrete fluctuation–dissipation balance condition to develop compatible stochastic driving fields for our discretization. We perform analysis that shows our condition is sufficient to ensure results consistent with statistical mechanics. We show the Gibbs–Boltzmann distribution is invariant under the stochastic dynamics of the semi-discretization. To generate efficiently the required stochastic driving fields, we develop a Gibbs sampler based on iterative methods and multigrid to generate fields with O(N) computational complexity. Our stochastic methods provide an alternative to uniform discretizations on periodic domains that rely on Fast Fourier Transforms. To demonstrate in practice our stochastic computational methods, we investigate within channel geometries having internal obstacles and no-slip walls how the mobility/diffusivity of particles depends on location. Our methods extend the applicability of fluctuating hydrodynamic approaches by allowing for spatially adaptive resolution of the mechanics and for domains that have complex geometries relevant in many applications.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Semiclassical wave-packets emerging from interaction with an environment
We study the quantum evolution in dimension three of a system composed by a test particle interacting with an environment made of N harmonic oscillators. At time zero the test particle is described by a spherical wave, i.e., a highly correlated continuous superposition of states with well localized position and momentum, and the oscillators are in the ground state. Furthermore, we assume that the positions of the oscillators are not collinear with the center of the spherical wave. Under suitable assumptions on the physical parameters characterizing the model, we give an asymptotic expression of the solution of the Schrödinger equation of the system with an explicit control of the error. The result shows that the approximate expression of the wave function is the sum of two terms, orthogonal in L{sup 2}(R{sup 3(N+1)}) and describing rather different situations. In the first one, all the oscillators remain in their ground state and the test particle is described by the free evolution of a slightly deformed spherical wave. The second one consists of a sum of N terms where in each term there is only one excited oscillator and the test particle is correspondingly described by the free evolution of a wave packet, well concentrated in position and momentum. Moreover, the wave packet emerges from the excited oscillator with an average momentum parallel to the line joining the oscillator with the center of the initial spherical wave. Such wave packet represents a semiclassical state for the test particle, propagating along the corresponding classical trajectory. The main result of our analysis is to show how such a semiclassical state can be produced, starting from the original spherical wave, as a result of the interaction with the environment.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Cation Off-Stoichiometry Leads to High p-Type Conductivity and Enhanced Transparency in Co2ZnO4 and Co2NiO4 Thin Films
We explore the effects of cation off-stoichiometry on structural, electrical, optical, and electronic properties of Co{sub 2}ZnO{sub 4} normal spinel and Co{sub 2}NiO{sub 4} inverse spinel using theoretic and experimental (combinatorial and conventional) techniques, both at thermodynamic equilibrium and in the metastable regime. Theory predicts that nonequilibrium substitution of divalent Zn on nominally trivalent octahedral sites increases net hole density in Co{sub 2}ZnO{sub 4}. Experiment confirms high conductivity and high work function in Co{sub 2}NiO{sub 4} and Zn-rich Co{sub 2}ZnO{sub 4} thin films grown by nonequilibrium physical vapor deposition techniques. High p-type conductivities of Co{sub 2}ZnO{sub 4} (up to 5 S/cm) and Co{sub 2}NiO{sub 4} (up to 204 S/cm) are found over a broad compositional range, they are only weakly sensitive to oxygen partial pressure and quite tolerant to a wide range of processing temperatures. In addition, off-stoichiometry caused by nonequilibrium growth decreases the optical absorption of Co{sub 2}ZnO{sub 4} and Co{sub 2}NiO{sub 4} thin films, although the 500-nm thin films still have rather limited transparency. All these properties as well as high work functions make Co{sub 2}ZnO{sub 4} and Co{sub 2}NiO{sub 4} thin films attractive for technological applications, such as hole transport layers in organic photovoltaic devices or p-type buffer layers in inorganic solar cells.
14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
Extended magnetic exchange interactions in the high-temperature ferromagnet MnBi
The high-temperature ferromagnet MnBi continues to receive attention as a candidate to replace rare-earth-containing permanent magnets in applications above room temperature. This is due to a high Curie temperature, large magnetic moments, and a coercivity that increases with temperature. The synthesis of MnBi also allows for crystals that are free of interstitial Mn, enabling more direct access to the key interactions underlying the physical properties of binary Mn-based ferromagnets. In this work, we use inelastic neutron scattering to measure the spin waves of MnBi in order to characterize the magnetic exchange at low temperature. Consistent with the spin reorientation that occurs below 140 K, we do not observe a spin gap in this system above our experimental resolution. A Heisenberg model was fit to the spin wave data in order to characterize the long-range nature of the exchange. It was found that interactions up to sixth nearest neighbor are required to fully parametrize the spin waves. Surprisingly, the nearest-neighbor term is antiferromagnetic, and the realization of a ferromagnetic ground state relies on the more numerous ferromagnetic terms beyond nearest neighbor, suggesting that the ferromagnetic ground state arises as a consequence of the long-ranged interactions in the system.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Fast wave direct electron heating in advanced inductive and ITER baseline scenario discharges in DIII-D
Fast Wave (FW) heating and electron cyclotron heating (ECH) are used in the DIII-D tokamak to study plasmas with low applied torque and dominant electron heating characteristic of burning plasmas. FW heating via direct electron damping has reached the 2.5 MW level in high performance ELMy H-mode plasmas. In Advanced Inductive (AI) plasmas, core FW heating was found to be comparable to that of ECH, consistent with the excellent first-pass absorption of FWs predicted by ray-tracing models at high electron beta. FW heating at the ∼2 MW level to ELMy H-mode discharges in the ITER Baseline Scenario (IBS) showed unexpectedly strong absorption of FW power by injected neutral beam (NB) ions, indicated by significant enhancement of the D-D neutron rate, while the intended absorption on core electrons appeared rather weak. The AI and IBS discharges are compared in an effort to identify the causes of the different response to FWs.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Science & Technology Review: March 2026 - The Future of Lasers
At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, we focus on science and technology research to ensure our nation’s security. We also apply that expertise to solve other important national problems in energy, bioscience, and the environment. Science & Technology Review is published eight times a year to communicate, to a broad audience, the Laboratory’s scientific and technological accomplishments in fulfilling its primary missions. The publication’s goal is to help readers understand these accomplishments and appreciate their value to the individual citizen, the nation, and the world.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
The Generality of the GUGA MRCI Approach in COLUMBUS for Treating Complex Quantum Chemistry
The core part of the program system COLUMBUS allows highly efficient calculations using variational multireference (MR) methods in the framework of configuration interaction with single and double excitations (MR-CISD) and averaged quadratic coupled-cluster calculations (MR-AQCC), based on uncontracted sets of configurations and the graphical unitary group approach (GUGA). The availability of analytic MR-CISD and MR-AQCC energy gradients and analytic nonadiabatic couplings for MR-CISD enables exciting applications including, e.g., investigations of π-conjugated biradicaloid compounds, calculations of multitudes of excited states, development of diabatization procedures, and furnishing the electronic structure information for on-the-fly surface nonadiabatic dynamics. With fully variational uncontracted spin-orbit MRCI, COLUMBUS provides a unique possibility of performing high-level calculations on compounds containing heavy atoms up to lanthanides and actinides. Crucial for carrying out all of these calculations effectively is the availability of an efficient parallel code for the CI step. Configuration spaces of several billion in size now can be treated quite routinely on standard parallel computer clusters. Emerging developments in COLUMBUS, including the all configuration mean energy multiconfiguration self-consistent field method and the graphically contracted function method, promise to allow practically unlimited configuration space dimensions. Spin density based on the GUGA approach, analytic spin-orbit energy gradients, possibilities for local electron correlation MR calculations, development of general interfaces for nonadiabatic dynamics, and MRCI linear vibronic coupling models conclude this overview.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Two-photon absorption of soft X-ray free electron laser radiation by graphite near the carbon K-absorption edge
We have examined the transmission of soft X-ray pulses from the FERMI free electron laser through carbon films of varying thickness, quantifying nonlinear effects of pulses above and below the carbon K-edge. At typical of soft X-ray free electron laser intensities, pulses exhibit linear absorption at photon energies above and below the K-edge, ~308 and ~260 eV, respectively; whereas two-photon absorption becomes significant slightly below the K-edge, ~284.2 eV. The measured two-photon absorption cross section at 284.18 eV (~6 x 10-48 cm4 s) is 7 orders of magnitude above what is expected from a simple theory based on hydrogen-like atoms - a result of resonance effects.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Long-range, non-local switching of spin textures in a frustrated antiferromagnet
Abstract Antiferromagnetic spintronics is an emerging area of quantum technologies that leverage the coupling between spin and orbital degrees of freedom in exotic materials. Spin-orbit interactions allow spin or angular momentum to be injected via electrical stimuli to manipulate the spin texture of a material, enabling the storage of information and energy. In general, the physical process is intrinsically local: spin is carried by an electrical current, imparted into the magnetic system, and the spin texture will then rotate in the region of current flow. In this study, we show that spin information can be transported and stored “non-locally" in the material Fe x NbS 2 . We propose that collective modes can manipulate the spin texture away from the flowing current, an effect amplified by strong magnetoelastic coupling of the ordered state. This suggests a novel way to store and transport spin information in strongly spin-orbit coupled magnetic systems.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Application of the variational autoencoder to detect the critical points of the anisotropic Ising model
We generalize the previous study on the application of variational autoencoders to the two-dimensional Ising model to a system with anisotropy. Due to the self-duality property of the system, the critical points can be located exactly for the entire range of anisotropic coupling. This presents an excellent test bed for the validity of using a variational autoencoder to characterize an anisotropic classical model. Furthermore, we reproduce the phase diagram for a wide range of anisotropic couplings and temperatures via a variational autoencoder without the explicit construction of an order parameter. Considering that the partition function of ($d$ + 1)-dimensional anisotropic models can be mapped to that of the $d$-dimensional quantum spin models, the present study provides numerical evidence that a variational autoencoder can be applied to analyze quantum systems via the quantum Monte Carlo method.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
Measurements of the electron and muon inclusive cross-sections in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector
This Letter presents measurements of the differential cross-sections for inclusive electron and muon production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of {radical}s = 7 TeV, using data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The muon cross-section is measured as a function of pT in the range 4 < pT < 100 GeV and within pseudorapidity |{eta}| < 2.5. In addition the electron and muon cross-sections are measured in the range 7 < pT < 26 GeV and within |{eta}| < 2.0, excluding 1.37 < |{eta}| < 1.52. Integrated luminosities of 1.3 pb{sup -1} and 1.4 pb{sup -1} are used for the electron and muon measurements, respectively. After subtraction of the W/Z/{gamma}{sm_bullet} contribution, the differential cross-sections are found to be in good agreement with theoretical predictions for heavy-flavour production obtained from Fixed Order NLO calculations with NLL high-pT resummation, and to be sensitive to the effects of NLL resummation.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗