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DOE OSTI2022

Self-similarity of scalar isosurface area density in a temporal mixing layer

Understanding the behaviour of scalar isosurfaces in a turbulent flow is of particular interest for many problems in turbulent mixing that contain sharp interfaces between regions of the flow. Common examples include combustion, where the chemical reactions occur in thin regions within the flow, and the turbulent/non-turbulent interface in shear flows, where a thin region separates the rotational, turbulent motions from the irrotational, non-turbulent background. Recent advances in computing technology allow for in-depth analysis of these interface problems that are difficult to quantify in a laboratory setting. In this paper, the results of a direct numerical simulation of a passive scalar $\varPhi$ evolving on a turbulent, temporally developing mixing layer are described. A novel approach has been taken to calculate the surface area of individual scalar isosurfaces, $A_{iso}$ , throughout the simulation, as well as the mean isosurface area density, $\varSigma$ , as a function of the cross-stream direction and time. A notable finding is that the profiles of $\varSigma$ develop in a self-similar manner when scaled by the Taylor scale of the scalar field, $\lambda _\phi$ . Remarkably, the scaling appears to hold for a wide range of isovalues. A rough scaling argument based on the formal definition of $\varSigma$ and properties of a temporal mixing layer is presented which also exposes a dependence on $\lambda _\phi$ . Based on these results, a possible scaling for the isosurface area is presented as $A_{iso}/A_0 \sim (Re \, Sc)^{1/2}$ , where $Re$ and $Sc$ are local Reynolds and Schmidt numbers, respectively.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2025

Carrier Localization and Spontaneous Formation of Two-Dimensional Polarization Domain in Halide Perovskites

Halide perovskites are known for their rich phase diagram and superior performance in diverse optoelectronics applications. The latter property is often attributed to the long electron-hole recombination time, whose underlying physical mechanism has been a long-standing controversy. In this Letter, we investigate the transport and localization properties of electron and hole carriers in a prototypical halide perovskite (CsPbBr 3 ), through ab initio tight-binding nonadiabatic dynamics approach for large-scale (tens of nm size) supercell calculations, to simulate electron and ion dynamics on the same footing. Here, we found distinct structural, lattice polarization, and electron-phonon coupling properties at low (below 100 K) and high temperatures, consistent with experimental observations. In particular, at low temperature we find spontaneous formation of polar grain boundaries in the nonpolar bulk systems, which result in two-dimensional polarization patterns that serve to localize and separate electrons and holes. We reveal phonon-assisted variable-range hopping mostly responsible for low-temperature transport, and their characteristic frequency correlates with temperature-dependent phonon power spectrum and energy oscillation frequency in nonadiabatic dynamics. We answer the critical questions of long electron-hole recombination lifetime at low temperature and offer the correlation among polarization domains, electron-phonon couplings, and photocarrier dynamics.

Carrier generation & recombination↗

DOE OSTI2023

Weak Gravitational Lensing of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies in the Dark Energy Year 3 Catalog

We present galaxy-galaxy lensing measurements of a sample of low surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs) drawn from the Dark Energy Survey Year 3 (Y3) data. LSBGs are diffuse galaxies with a surface brightness dimmer than the ambient night sky. Given their faintness, the use of standard observational techniques proves challenging. Weak gravitational lensing probes both the baryonic and dark matter content of galaxies, rendering it a powerful technique to estimate LSBG masses. The LSBG lens sample consists of 23, 790 total extended galaxies separated into red and blue color types at $g-i\ge 0.60$ and $g-i\le 0.60$, respectively. We use the Y3 \sc{metacalibration} shape catalog as the source sample, with a number density of $5.59 \mathrm{gal}/\mathrm{arcmin}^2$. We measure the tangential shear around the lens galaxies across angular scales of $0.25-400$ arcmin and find a signal-to-noise of 6.67 for red galaxies, 2.17 for blue galaxies, and 5.30 for the total sample. We fit a model built from two NFW profiles corresponding to the LSBG dark matter subhalo and host halo to the red LSBG shear measurements with an MCMC. We estimate the host halo mass at $7.3 ^{+2.0}_{-1.6}\times 10^{12} M_\mathrm{\odot}$. We place a 95\% upper bound on the subhalo mass at $3\times 10^{11} M_\mathrm{\odot}$. We utilize the lens sample photometry to obtain an estimate of the red LSBG stellar mass distribution. We compare the ratio between the stellar mass and the subhalo mass to the parameterized, satellite-specific SHMR. This work represents the first example of an attempted constraint on the masses of LSBGs using weak gravitational lensing.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Bridging the length scales in ionic separations via data-driving machine learning

We pursued a data science driven machine learning (ML) approach that blended molecular scale attributes informed from molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and materials properties to the selectivity and energy efficiency in targeted ionic separations using electric fields. The model mixtures investigated for ionic separations are pH sensitive and include organic acids, silica and boron, transition metals, such as copper and chromium. There were two major research thrusts of this project. Firstly, we investigated surrogate models and deep learning that relate material chemistries and structures to selective transport of ionic species under applied electric fields. Secondly we investigated how the bipolar junction interfacial design and water dissociation catalyst in bipolar membranes affect reverse bias polarization behavior and pH modulation in deionization platforms as a function of the platform operating parameters (e.g., cell voltage, residence time, and salt feed concentration). As a result of this work, we also were able to start a new direction, namely ML models for molecular design of surfactants.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2024

A Reduced-Order Model of a Nuclear Power Plant with Thermal Power Dispatch

This paper presents reduced-order modeling of thermal power dispatch (TPD) from a pressurized water reactor (PWR) for providing heat to nearby heat consuming industrial processes that seek to take advantage of nuclear heat to reduce carbon emissions. The reactor model includes the neutronics of the reactor core, thermal–hydraulics of the primary coolant cycle, and a three-lump model of the steam generator (SG). The secondary coolant cycle is represented with quasi-steady state mass and energy balance equations. The secondary cycle consists of a steam extraction system, high-pressure and low-pressure turbines, moisture separator and reheater, high-pressure and low-pressure feedwater heaters, deaerator, feedwater and condensate pumps, and a condenser. The steam produced by the SG is distributed between the turbines and the extraction steam line (XSL) that delivers steam to nearby industrial processes, such as production of clean hydrogen. The reduced-order simulator is verified by comparing predictions with results from separate validated steady-state and transient full-scope PWR simulators for TPD levels between 0% and 70% of the rated reactor power. All simulators indicate that the flow rate of steam in the main steam line and turbine systems decrease with increasing TPD, which causes a reduction in PWR electric power generation. The results are analyzed to assess the impact of TPD on system efficiency and feedwater flow control. Due to the simplicity of the proposed reduced-order model, it can be scaled to represent a PWR of any size with a few parametric changes. In the future, the proposed reduced-order model will be integrated into a power system model in a digital real-time simulator (DRTS) and physical hardware-in-the-loop simulations.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2023

Weak Gravitational Lensing of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies in the DES Year 3 Catalog

We present galaxy-galaxy lensing measurements of a sample of low surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs) drawn from the Dark Energy Survey Year 3 (Y3) data. LSBGs are diffuse galaxies with a surface brightness dimmer than the ambient night sky. Given their faintness, the use of standard observational techniques proves challenging. Weak gravitational lensing probes both the baryonic and dark matter content of galaxies, rendering it a powerful technique to estimate LSBG masses. The LSBG lens sample consists of 23, 790 total extended galaxies separated into red and blue color types at $g-i\ge 0.60$ and $g-i\le 0.60$, respectively. We use the Y3 \metacal\ shape catalog as the source sample, with a number density of {\color{red}$5.59 \mathrm{gal}/\mathrm{arcmin}^2$}. We measure the tangential shear around the lens galaxies across angular scales of $0.25-400$ arcmin and find a signal-to-noise of 6.67 for red galaxies, 2.17 for blue galaxies, and 5.30 for the total sample. W e fit a model built from two NFW profiles corresponding to the LSBG dark matter subhalo and host halo to the red LSBG shear measurements with an MCMC. We estimate the host halo mass at $7.3 ^{+2.0}_{-1.6}\times 10^{12} M_\mathrm{\odot}$. We place a 95\% upper bound on the subhalo mass at $2.8\times 10^{11} M_\mathrm{\odot}$. We utilize the lens sample photometry to obtain an estimate of the red LSBG stellar mass distribution. We compare the ratio between the stellar mass and the subhalo mass to the parameterized, satellite-specific SHMR \citep{Moster2010}. This work represents the first example of an attempted constraint on the masses of LSBGs using weak gravitational lensing.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2026

A new water-based scintillator for efficient Cherenkov and scintillation separation

Neutrinos offer a unique window into the world around us, allowing us to probe otherwise unreachable regions like the interior of stars and the depths of the earth, as well as potentially offering a mechanism for monitoring nuclear activity. Both pure-water and organic liquid scintillators have been used as the detection medium of large-scale neutrino detectors. Organic liquid scintillators offer higher sensitivity at lower energies, which is desirable for many applications, but detection of the Cherenkov radiation required for directional sensitivity is very difficult. A possible solution is to use water-based liquid scintillators (WbLSs), where some fraction of the water is replaced with a micellar solution of the liquid scintillator. This can enhance the detection sensitivity beyond that of pure water, without significantly affecting the ability to leverage the topological Cherenkov signature. Very specific scintillation properties are required to achieve this goal: the scintillation decay time should be significantly slower than that of the Cherenkov emission, so timing-based discrimination of Cherenkov light from scintillation can be applied. At the same time, the light yield should be high enough to enhance the overall sensitivity of the detector, but without losing too much of the Cherenkov light. In this study, we report a new water-based liquid scintillation cocktail based on a 9-methylcarbazole fluorescent dye and a linear alkylbenzene solvent. Here, the proposed composition offers 13.8 ns scintillation decay time and 368 nm emission that matches the desired properties.

Wolszczak, Weronika W. [Lawrence Berkeley National↗

DOE OSTI2024

Lead tungstate calorimeters at Jefferson Lab and perspectives for the Electron–Ion Collider

Electromagnetic calorimeters based on PbWO4 scintillating crystals have a widespread applica- tion in experiments at different accelerator facilities such as CERN, FNAL, GSI, and Jefferson Lab. The unique properties of PbWO4 crystals, including a small radiation length and Molire radius, make them ideal for building high-granularity, radiation-hard detectors. This enables excellent spa- tial separation and energy resolution of reconstructed electromagnetic showers, making PbWO4 crystals the material of choice for numerous experiments. Lead tungstate calorimeters have been successfully used in several experiments at Jefferson Lab. Two large-scale detectors have been re- cently fabricated for future experiments : the Neutral Particle Spectrometer and the lead tungstate calorimeter of the GlueX detector. The future application of PbWO4 crystals in the ElectronIon Collider further highlights their ongoing importance in advancing experimental capabilities. In planning new experiments, the development of calorimeter instrumentation technologies becomes paramount. The integration of modern photodetectors, such as Silicon photomultipliers that are capable of operating in strong magnetic fields, and the implementation of streaming readout data acquisition systems, sophisticated shower reconstruction algorithms, and real-time data analysis are some examples of the continuously growing requirements of experimental setups. I will give an overview of the lead tungstate scintillating calorimeters and discuss some recent advancement in the calorimeter instrumentation.

Somov, Alexander↗

DOE OSTI2025

A novel ignition model for low velocity impact of heterogeneous explosives based on interacting hot spots

While numerous studies have focused on the ignition of explosives occurring in high velocity impact and the associated shock-to-detonation transition, there has been growing interest in developing computational models focused on low-velocity impact regimes. A predictive low-velocity impact ignition model will be important for analyzing high explosive safety and potential accident scenarios. This work introduces a novel ignition model based on the concept of thermally interacting hot spots to simulate low velocity impacted heterogeneous explosives where observed ignition times are on the order of milliseconds. The model asserts that relevant hot spots are micron-sized, the typical separation between neighboring hot spots is on the order of a hundred microns, and that neighbors interact thermally through heat conduction across the interstitial region between them. To achieve tractable numerical solutions, hot spots are assumed to form a periodic array as opposed to the highly irregular positioning in an actual explosive. This idealization allows a single two hotspot system to characterize the ignition process. Consequently, the model is referred to as the two hot spot Frank-Kamenetskii ignition model. In the present study, hot spots are modeled as constant heat sources terms, but this can be extended to include grain-scale phenomena like frictional heating of micron-sized growing cracks that are confined under high pressure. Because the micron-sized features are below the scale that can be efficiently resolved at a systems level, an efficient subscale scheme based on the Method of Weighted Residuals (MWR) is used to efficiently solve the equations. In conclusion, we carry out numerical examples and analytic predictions illustrating the accuracy and the functioning of the model.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2023

The birth and evolution of solvated electrons in the water

The photo-induced radiolysis of water is an elementary reaction in biology and chemistry, forming solvated electrons, OH radicals, and hydronium cations on fast time scales. Here, we use an optical-pump terahertz-probe spectroscopy setup to trigger the photoionization of water molecules with optical laser pulses at ~400 nm and then time-resolve the transient solvent response with broadband terahertz (THz) fields with a ~90 fs time resolution. We observe three distinct spectral responses. The first is a positive broadband mode that can be attributed to an initial diffuse, delocalized electron with a radius of (22 ± 1) Å, which is short lived (<200 fs) because the absorption is blue-shifting outside of the THz range. The second emerging spectroscopic signature with a lifetime of about 150 ps is attributed to an intermolecular mode associated with a mass rearrangement of solvent molecules due to charge separation of radicals and hydronium cations. After 0.2 ps, we observe a long-lasting THz signature with depleted intensity at 110 cm -1 that is well reproduced by ab initio molecular dynamics. We interpret this negative band at 110 cm -1 as the solvent cage characterized by a weakening of the hydrogen bond network in the first and second hydration shells of the cavity occupied by the localized electron.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2026

Probing primordial power spectrum and non-Gaussianities with fast radio bursts

We use the precision measurements of the arrivaltime differences of the same fast radio burst (FRB) source along multiple sightlines to measure the primordial power spectrum and Non-Gaussianities. The anticipated experiment requires a sightline separation of 100 AU, achieved by sending three or more radio telescopes to the outer solar system.The Shapiro time delays, measured relatively between different telescopes, are sensitive to the gradient field of the gravitational potential between different sightlines. Since the arrival time difference is independent of when the transient signal is emitted from the source, every measurement of the detected FRB source can be correlated. With enough FRB sources discovered, we can map the gravitational potential across the sky. We further calculate the two-point and three-point correlation function of the arrival time difference between telescopes for different FRB sources in the sky. If 10$^{4}$ FRBs were to be detected, our results suggest that this technique can test the inflationary scale-invariant power spectrum down to ∼ 10$^{3}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ and primordial Non-Gaussianities at a level of f$_{NL}$ ∼ 1.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Electrochemical Characterization of Photo-Driven Hole-Scavenging by Cadmium Sulfide Quantum Dot-Nitrogenase Biohybrid Complexes

Light-driven biohybrid systems that couple semiconductor nanocrystals with enzymes offer a promising strategy for solar-to-chemical energy-conserving reduction reactions, yet are often limited by inefficient hole scavenging. Hole scavenging is critical for maintaining charge separation in the light-absorbing electron donor molecule and, thus, for sustaining catalytic turnover, making quantification essential to improving system efficiency. Here, we introduce a photoelectrochemical approach for real-time monitoring of hole scavenging in cadmium sulfide (CdS) quantum dot (QD)-nitrogenase MoFe protein biohybrids that catalyze the reduction of H+ and N2. Using hydroquinone (HQ) as the sacrificial electron donor (SED), oxidation of HQ to benzoquinone (BQ) by photogenerated valence-band holes is coupled to the electrochemical reduction of BQ at an electrode, enabling quantification of the hole-scavenging reaction via chronoamperometry. This approach provides a continuous, real-time readout of charge-transfer dynamics under illumination. Systematic variation of light intensity and donor concentration reveals that hole scavenging scales with photon flux and exhibits a non-linear dependence on SED concentration, with an optimum at intermediate HQ concentrations. These results establish chronoamperometry as a powerful tool for probing photoinduced charge transfer, advancing the quantitative understanding of hole-scavenging in biohybrid systems, and offering a generalizable framework for optimizing solar-driven biocatalysis.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2024

First-Principles Simulation of Beam-Induced Processes Underlying Atomic Manipulation in Electron Microscopes

The development of experimental methods and apparatuses capable of promoting atomically precise material manipulations holds great promise for realizing the ultimate limit of feature miniaturization in materials and devices. The ability to modify materials atom by atom is anticipated to usher in new technologies in areas as diverse as separation science, medicine, and quantum information science. Historically, scanning probe-based techniques have been the most prominent approaches in this space. However, these methods are best suited for the manipulation of surface-exposed regions of materials, as the strong perturbations required for bond scission are delivered most effectively to atoms in the near-proximity to the scanning probe. In contrast, convergent electron beams with energies tuned slightly below the threshold for inducing irreversible knock-on damage have recently been employed (within scanning transmission electron microscopy) to promote atomic-scale bond rearrangements in various beam-stable solids. Currently, however, the efficiency and selectivity of beam-induced atomic manipulation processes with focused electron beams are such that long irradiation times are required to induce a desired atomic rearrangement. With a better understanding of the underlying physics dictating the outcome of a given irradiation event, methods can be devised to improve the efficiency of these techniques so that their promise can be fully realized through widespread adoption.To this end, this Account details our recent efforts to develop and apply tractable first-principles simulation approaches for studying the response of materials to electric beam-like external electric potentials applied in real space. We briefly review the concepts and capabilities in the area of atomically precise materials manipulation and review the early demonstrations of accomplishments in this area, focusing on studies using scanned convergent electron beam probes in particular. We expound upon the depth of the challenge and identify critical shortcomings of theoretical methods that have previously been employed in the simulation of beam-induced processes. We then describe the computational methods that we have generalized from the concepts and tools most commonly applied to the study of molecular photochemistry and how our adaptations of these methods can be employed to capture the relevant dynamical phenomena for beam-induced processes ranging from the initial electron scattering to the ensuing multistate reactions. Here, we contextualize these methods within the current state of the art in this area, which has historically focused primarily on the simulation of inelastic image formation in the electron microscope for the purpose of interpreting the results of quantitative electron microscopy experiments. We demonstrate that the spatial distribution of state-specific excitation rates due to the presence of an external (probe) electric charge is inhomogeneous, such that irradiation at particular locations in materials can favor specific electronic transitions (and disallow others). In addition to the potential for excited-state reaction pathways to be accessed through the initial inelastic scattering of the tightly focused electron beam from the targeted atoms, we also identify favorable conditions for the electronically nonadiabatic evolution of the highly vibrationally excited system to open complex multistate reaction pathways. Implications of the early results for understanding the mechanisms and potential routes to improved efficiency and selectivity in beam-induced reactions are discussed. We conclude with a summary of the current state of theory and modeling capabilities in this area and provide our perspective on future directions for theoretical and experimental developments that we view as crucial to advancing the use of convergent electron beams in mode-specific, atomically precise platforms for direct-write materials modifications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2026

Pore-Selective Fullerene Loading in a Porphyrin-Based Metal–Organic Framework Controls Photoinduced Charge-Transfer Dynamics

Building porous donor−acceptor networks based on host−guest interactions in metal organic frameworks (MOFs) provides unique opportunities for tuning charge separation in highly tailorable materials. Here we focus on installing electron-rich porphyrins and electron-deficient fullerene derivatives in the PCN-222 MOF using a solvent assisted ligand insertion (SALI) method. The fullerene is primarily bound in the large pore, where it is subject to distinct dielectric environments through dimethylformamide (DMF) and 1,4-dioxane solvent exchange. Following photoexcitation, sub-picosecond charge transfer involving initial exciplex population is observed, with different charge recombination pathways and lifetimes depending on solvent polarity through modulation of charge-transfer state energies. While the 1,4-dioxane environment yields charge recombination within 1 ns via local fullerene and porphyrin triplet state population, DMF results in charge recombination directly to the ground state on much longer time scales, including some lifetime components in the microsecond range. Fullerene loading influences these kinetics, and the potential for charge delocalization due to fullerene aggregation within the pores is evaluated by using molecular dynamics simulations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2025

AI Applications to Physics Experiments at Jefferson Lab

We survey how AI/ML is being deployed across Jefferson Lab's experimental and accelerator programs. In EPSCI, Hydra applies computer vision to automate real-time data-quality monitoring across all four experimental halls, replacing manual inspection of hundreds to thousands of histograms per shift. AIEC (AI Experiment Controls) uses ML to stabilize drift chamber gains and is now part of standard CEBAF production running, while AI Optimized Polarization (AIOP) targets autonomous control of polarized targets and photon beam angular alignment. In CASA, cavity fault classification models identify faulted cavities and trip types from waveform data with ~85% and ~78% agreement to labeled data, respectively, and are deployed in production; a separate effort applies LLMs and hybrid search to make the CEBAF operations logbook AI-ready. QCD-focused work includes transformer- and GAN-based generative models for particle-level event simulation, with distributed GAN training scaling studies on Polaris. Additional efforts span ML-on-FPGA for the EIC and a new Data Science Department coordinating anomaly detection, uncertainty quantification, and HPC-scalable ML lab-wide. Collectively, these projects illustrate AI's growing role in improving efficiency across JLab's nuclear physics mission.

Mei, Xinxin [Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator↗

DOE OSTI2020

Planck 2018 results - IV. Diffuse component separation

We present full-sky maps of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and polarized synchrotron and thermal dust emission, derived from the third set of Planck frequency maps. These products have significantly lower contamination from instrumental systematic effects than previous versions. The methodologies used to derive these maps follow closely those described in earlier papers, adopting four methods (Commander, NILC, SEVEM, and SMICA) to extract the CMB component, as well as three methods (Commander, GNILC, and SMICA) to extract astrophysical components. Our revised CMB temperature maps agree with corresponding products in the Planck 2015 delivery, whereas the polarization maps exhibit significantly lower large-scale power, reflecting the improved data processing described in companion papers; however, the noise properties of the resulting data products are complicated, and the best available end-to-end simulations exhibit relative biases with respect to the data at the few percent level. Using these maps, we are for the first time able to fit the spectral index of thermal dust independently over 3° regions. We derive a conservative estimate of the mean spectral index of polarized thermal dust emission of β d = 1.55 ± 0.05, where the uncertainty marginalizes both over all known systematic uncertainties and different estimation techniques. For polarized synchrotron emission, we find a mean spectral index of β s = -3.1 ± 0.1, consistent with previously reported measurements. We note that the current data processing does not allow for construction of unbiased single-bolometer maps, and this limits our ability to extract CO emission and correlated components. The foreground results for intensity derived in this paper therefore do not supersede corresponding Planck 2015 products. For polarization the new results supersede the corresponding 2015 products in all respects.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Geometric decoherence time in Lindbladian dynamics

The onset of decoherence in open many-body systems lacks a dynamical timescale grounded in the loss of bipartite entanglement. Here, we introduce the geometric decoherence time, defined as the earliest moment the monotone relation between logarithmic negativity and Rényi-$\frac{1}{2}$ entropy—exactly equal across any bipartition for pure states—breaks down under open-system evolution, signaling entropy growth without accompanying entanglement growth. We establish this criterion in both single-particle Gaussian dynamics and many-body Lindbladian evolution. We show that quantum mutual information provides a complementary long-time diagnostic: Its asymptotic vanishing is equivalent to factorization of the steady state across the bipartition, a condition strictly stronger than separability, and whenever a product steady state is approached exponentially in trace norm, negativity and mutual information share the same decay rate. In the presence of a strong symmetry, this tracking can fail—residual classical correlations can survive after entanglement has vanished. In the Kitaev chain with balanced gain and loss, we derive a closed-form solution and show that the topological phase sustains longer coherence times than the trivial phase at identical dissipation, with a local minimum at the chiral-symmetric point. In the interacting XXZ chain, exact many-body evolution shows that local 𝑍 dephasing preserves residual classical correlations, whereas gain and loss restore the mutual-information tracking of negativity. Furthermore, our results establish the geometric decoherence time as a dynamical scale tracking the onset of decoherence.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Total Recycling of Copper Cable Scrap and Production of Carbon Using Fast Microwave Technology

The recycling of cable scrap, particularly from discarded electrical wiring, is gaining significant attention due to the rising demand for copper and the need for sustainable management of electronic waste. Traditionally, mechanical and thermal processings have been used to recover copper and plastic from cables. However, these approaches are often energy-intensive, time-consuming, and costly in terms of equipment and labor. In this study, we present a simple and effective method for recovering materials from cable scrap using a domestic microwave oven. Cable pieces (2–2.5 cm long) were exposed to 700 W of microwave irradiation under rotation for 30 s, enabling the rapid and efficient separation of high-quality copper metal from the core wire, and activated carbon from the carbonized plastic sheath. Microwaves facilitate this process through Ohmic heating, which induces electrical resistance in the metal, generating heat that mechanically loosens the metal and carbonized plastic components. The process demonstrates high efficiency, achieving an 80% reduction in energy consumption compared to conventional processings. This fast and energy-efficient method shows strong potential for scaling up to industrial recycling, offering a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to recover high-quality materials for further use or repurposing.

Bourlinos, Athanasios B. (ORCID:0000000256165993)↗