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At least 505 records · Page 28

Biophotonic rogue waves in red blood cell suspensions

Rogue waves are ubiquitous in nature, appearing in a variety of physical systems ranging from acoustics, microwave cavities, optical fibers, and resonators to plasmas, superfluids, and Bose–Einstein condensates. Unlike nonlinear solitary waves, rogue waves are extreme events that can occur even without nonlinearity by, for example, spontaneous synchronization of waves with different spatial frequencies in a linear system. Here, we report the observation of rogue-wave-like events in human red blood cell (RBC) suspensions under weak light illumination, characterized by an abnormal L-shaped probability distribution. Such biophotonic extreme events arise mostly due to the constructive interference of Mie-scattered waves from the suspended RBCs, whose biconcave shape and mutable orientation give rise to a time-dependent random phase modulation to an incident laser beam. We numerically simulate the beam propagation through the colloidal suspensions with added disorder in both spatial and temporal domains to mimic random scattering due to Brownian motion. In addition, at high power levels, nonlinear beam self-focusing is also observed, leading to a dual-exponential probability distribution associated with the formation of multiple soliton-like spots. Such rogue wave events should also exist in environments with cells of other species such as swimming bacteria, and understanding of their underlying physics may lead to unexpected biophotonic applications.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Effective radiative forcing of anthropogenic aerosols in E3SM version 1: historical changes, causality, decomposition, and parameterization sensitivities

Abstract. The effective radiative forcing of anthropogenic aerosols (ERFaer) is an important measure of the anthropogenic aerosol effects simulated by a global climate model. Here we analyze ERFaer simulated by the E3SM version 1 (E3SMv1) atmospheric model using both century-long free-running atmosphere–land simulations and short nudged simulations. We relate the simulated ERFaer to characteristics of the aerosol composition and optical properties, and we evaluate the relationships between key aerosol and cloud properties. In terms of historical changes from the year 1870 to 2014, our results show that the global mean anthropogenic aerosol burden and optical depth increase during the simulation period as expected, but the regional averages show large differences in the temporal evolution. The largest regional differences are found in the emission-induced evolution of the burden and optical depth of the sulfate aerosol: a strong decreasing trend is seen in the Northern Hemisphere high-latitude region after around 1970, while a continued increase is simulated in the tropics. The relationships between key aerosol and cloud properties (relative changes between pre-industrial and present-day conditions) also show evident changes after 1970, diverging from the linear relationships exhibited for the period of 1870–1969. In addition to the regional differences in the simulated relationships, a reduced sensitivity in cloud droplet number and other cloud properties to aerosol perturbations is seen when the aerosol perturbation is large. Consequently, the global annual mean ERFaer magnitude does not increase after around 1970. The ERFaer in E3SMv1 is relatively large compared to the recently published multi-model estimates; the primary reason is the large indirect aerosol effect (i.e., through aerosol–cloud interactions). Compared to other models, E3SMv1 features large relative changes in the cloud droplet effective radius in response to aerosol perturbations. Large sensitivity is also seen in the liquid cloud optical depth, which is determined by changes in both the effective radius and liquid water path. Aerosol-induced changes in liquid and ice cloud properties in E3SMv1 are found to have a strong correlation, as the evolution of anthropogenic sulfate aerosols affects both the liquid cloud formation and the homogeneous ice nucleation in cirrus clouds (that causes a large effect on longwave ERFaer). As suggested by a previous study, the large ERFaer appears to be one of the reasons why the model cannot reproduce the observed global mean temperature evolution in the second half of the 20th century. Sensitivity simulations are performed to understand which parameterization and/or parameter changes have a large impact on the simulated ERFaer. The ERFaer estimates in E3SMv1 for the shortwave and longwave components are sensitive to the parameterization changes in both liquid and ice cloud processes. When the parameterization of ice cloud processes is modified, the top-of-model forcing changes in the shortwave and longwave components largely offset each other, so the net effect is negligible. This suggests that, to reduce the magnitude of the net ERFaer, it would be more effective to reduce the anthropogenic aerosol effect through liquid or mixed-phase clouds.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Fine Structure Splitting of Phonon-Assisted Excitonic Transition in (PEA)2PbI4 Two-Dimensional Perovskites

Two-dimensional van der Waals materials exhibit particularly strong excitonic effects, which causes them to be an exceptionally interesting platform for the investigation of exciton physics. A notable example is the two-dimensional Ruddlesden–Popper perovskites, where quantum and dielectric confinement together with soft, polar, and low symmetry lattice create a unique background for electron and hole interaction. Here, with the use of polarization-resolved optical spectroscopy, we have demonstrated that the simultaneous presence of tightly bound excitons, together with strong exciton–phonon coupling, allows for observing the exciton fine structure splitting of the phonon-assisted transitions of two-dimensional perovskite (PEA)2PbI4, where PEA stands for phenylethylammonium. We demonstrate that the phonon-assisted sidebands characteristic for (PEA)2PbI4 are split and linearly polarized, mimicking the characteristics of the corresponding zero-phonon lines. Interestingly, the splitting of differently polarized phonon-assisted transitions can be different from that of the zero-phonon lines. We attribute this effect to the selective coupling of linearly polarized exciton states to non-degenerate phonon modes of different symmetries resulting from the low symmetry of (PEA)2PbI4 lattice.

(PEA)2PbI4↗

Glass Additive and Subtractive Manufacturing of a Fiber Optic Rotary Encoder for Downhole Pressure Sensing

This article presents a fiber optic rotary encoder-based pressure sensor for downhole applications. The rotary encoder, which is composed of an encoding pad and an all-glass optical fiber sensing head, converts the rotation angles of a pressure transducer to digital codes. The optical fiber only serves as the telemetry channel to directly transmit the data in digital format such that the environmental temperature influence and the long-time drift are minimized. The glass additive and subtractive manufacturing (ASM) techniques are used to embed the multichannel optical fibers into a bulk-fused silica glass substrate. Because the fused silica glass shares a similar material property to the optical fiber (e.g., thermal expansion coefficient), the optical fiber sensing head is well sealed and fixed even at an elevated temperature. The picosecond laser blackening technique is used to fabricate the high reflectivity contrast encoding pad with high accuracy. Here, the proposed pressure sensor was manufactured and experimentally verified to have a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 23 dB and a linear pressure response with a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.37. During the 400-h 250 °C long-term stability test, there was no digital code variation. In addition, a mathematical model to study the relationships between the sensor’s performances and design parameters was established. According to the model, a 12-bit encoder (0.02% pressure sensitivity) can be achieved with a radius of 20 mm.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Isothermal oxidation of zirconium using steam

Oxidation of zirconium and its alloys under any atmosphere is generally characterised by a protective and non-protective stage. During the protective stage, the kinetics of oxidation are quasi-parabolic, while the oxide scale formed on the surface of the metal is black, compact, and protective in nature. For the non-protective stage, the oxidation rate becomes linear, while the protective oxide film turns into a deteriorated white scale. Breakaway is known as the transition point from protective to non-protective stage. The actual mechanism leading to breakaway of zirconium is still a matter of controversy, however some of the most common factors affecting breakaway are the following: - Impurities on the metal (Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen); - Oxidizing atmosphere (Presence of H{sub 2}O (g) or N{sub 2} (g)); - Sample preparation (Chemically etched or polished); - Temperature (LWR, LOCA). This research investigates the effect of temperature on 'breakaway' when zirconium is oxidized isothermally in steam for 60 min at 800 and 900 deg. C using thermogravimetric and optical microscopic imaging techniques. 1. Steam isothermal oxidations were performed on zirconium at 800 and 900 deg. C using a Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA). 2. Log-log plots of mass gain vs time were obtained from thermogravimetric results to calculate the reaction orders (n) and reaction rate constants (K) during oxidation. 3. Results of the kinetics of reaction were correlated with optical microscopic images form Light Microscope (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Breakaway depends very strongly on temperature. At 800 deg. C, the weight gain followed a cubic-parabolic behaviour with evidence of a protective oxide film. On the other hand, oxidation at 900 deg. C showed signs of breakaway since the oxide film was cracked and oxidation rate was almost linear throughout the reaction.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Complex multicomponent spectrum analysis with Deep Neural Network

Here, in this paper, we present the use of deep neural networks to estimate physical parameters from complex optical emission spectra of the D β /H β transition. Specifically, we focus on estimating the radio frequency electric field vector of the lower hybrid wave and isotope ratio within the scrape-off-layer plasma of the WEST tokamak. Fitting the spectral data using a traditional non-linear least squares analysis requires many free parameters and is computationally expensive, rendering the data unusable for real-time control. By implementing relatively small neural networks, the physical parameters can be directly extracted from the spectral data with reasonable accuracy in a few milliseconds. The deep neural network prediction can serve as input for a reduced model using least-squares fitting or for real-time control. We show that deep neural networks can be an effective tool for analyzing complex multicomponent spectra, providing a speedup of more than 10 5 times compared to least residual analysis, with an accuracy of 0.5% for the isotope ratio, and 0.09 kV/cm and 0.38 kV/cm for the RF radial and poloidal electric field respectively.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Image processing methods for Rayleigh scattering measurements of diesel spray mixing at high repetition rate

This work describes the diagnostic implementation and image processing methods to quantitatively measure diesel spray mixing injected into a high-pressure, high-temperature environment. We used a high-repetition-rate pulse-burst laser developed in-house, a high-speed CMOS camera, and optimized the optical configuration to capture Rayleigh scattering images of the vaporized fuel jets inside a constant volume chamber. The experimental installation was modified to reduce reflections and flare levels to maximize the images’ signal-to-noise ratios by anti-reflection coatings on windows and surfaces, as well as series of optical baffles. Because of the specificities of the high-speed system, several image processing techniques had to be developed and implemented to provide quantitative fuel concentration measurements. We find that these methods involve various correction procedures such as camera linearity, laser intensity fluctuation, dynamic background flare, as well as beam-steering effects. Image inpainting was also applied to correct the Rayleigh scattering signal from large scatterers (e.g. particulates). The experiments demonstrate that applying planar laser Rayleigh scattering at high repetition rate to quantitatively resolve the mixing of fuel and ambient gases in diesel jets is challenging, but possible. The thorough analysis of the experimental uncertainty and comparisons to past data prove that such measurements can be accurate, whilst providing valuable information about the mixing processes of high-pressure diesel jets.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

SDSS-IV MaNGA: The incidence of major mergers in type I and II AGN host galaxies in the DR15 sample

We present a study on the incidence of major mergers and their impact on the triggering of nuclear activity in 47 type I and 236 type II optically selected AGN from the MaNGA DR15 sample. From an estimate of non-parametric image predictors (Gini, M_20, concentration (C), asymmetry (A), clumpiness (S), Sérsic index (n), and shape asymmetry ()) using the SDSS images, in combination with a Linear Discriminant Analysis Method, we identified major mergers and merger stages. We reinforced our results by looking for bright tidal features in our post-processed SDSS and DESI legacy images. We find a statistically significant higher incidence of major mergers of 29 per cent ± 3 per cent in our type I+II AGN sample compared to 22 per cent ± 0.8 per cent for a non-AGN sample matched in redshift, stellar mass, colour, and morphological type, finding also a prevalence of post-coalescence (51 per cent ± 5 per cent) over pre-coalescence (23 per cent ± 6 per cent) merger stages. The levels of AGN activity among our massive major mergers are similar to those reported in other works using [O iii] tracers. However, similar levels are produced by our AGN-galaxies hosting stellar bars, suggesting that major mergers are important promoters of nuclear activity but are not the main nor the only mechanism behind the AGN triggering. The tidal strength parameter Q was considered at various scales looking for environmental differences that could affect our results on the merger incidence, finding non-significant differences. Finally, the H-H β diagram could be used as an empirical predictor for the flux coming from an AGN source, useful to correct photometric quantities in large AGN samples emerging from surveys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Ultrafast dynamics in the high-symmetry and in the charge density wave phase of 2 H –NbSe 2

Here we investigate carrier and collective mode dynamics in 2H-NbSe 2 using time-resolved optical pump-probe spectroscopy and compare the results with first-principles calculations. Broadband ultrafast reflectivity studies of 2H-NbSe 2 in a wide temperature interval covering the normal, charge density wave (CDW) and superconducting phase were performed. Spectral features observed in the transient reflectivity experiment were associated with specific optical transitions obtained from band structure calculations. Displacive excitation of coherent phonons showed CDW-associated coherent oscillations of the soft phonon mode across the whole spectral range. Temperature evolution of this coherent phonon mode in the low-excitation linear regime shows softening of the mode down to the CDW transition temperature T CDW with subsequent hardening below T CDW . The global fit of the broadband probe data reveals four different relaxation times associated with characteristic electron-electron, electron-phonon, and phonon-phonon relaxation processes. From first-principles calculations of electron-phonon coupling we associate the few picosecond electron-phonon relaxation time $\tau_2$ with a specific group of phonons with frequencies around 20 meV. On the other hand, the anomalously long relaxation time of $\tau_3 \sim$ to 100 ps is associated with anharmonicity-driven phonon-phonon scattering. All relaxation processes result from anomalies near the second order CDW phase transition that are reflected in the temperature dependencies of the characteristic relaxation times and amplitudes of coherent oscillations. At the highest fluences we observe electronic melting of the CDW and disappearance of the mode hardening below T CDW .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Low-energy electrodynamics and a hidden Fermi liquid in the heavy-fermion compound CeCoIn 5

We present time-domain THz spectroscopy of thin films of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn 5 . Below the ≈40 K Kondo coherence temperature, a narrow Drude-like peak forms, as a result of the 𝑓-orbital–conduction-electron hybridization and the formation of the heavy-fermion state. The complex optical conductivity is analyzed through a Drude model and extended Drude model analysis. Via the extended Drude model analysis, we measure the frequency-dependent scattering rate (1/𝜏) and effective mass (𝑚*/𝑚 𝑏 ). This scattering rate shows a linear dependence on temperature, which matches the dependence of the resistivity as expected. Nevertheless, the width of the low-frequency Drude peak itself that is set by the renormalized quasiparticle scattering rate (1/𝜏*=𝑚 𝑏 /𝑚*⁢𝜏) shows a 𝑇 2 dependence. This is the scattering rate that characterizes the relaxation time of the renormalized quasiparticles. In conclusion, this gives evidence for a Fermi liquid state, which in conventional transport experiments is hidden by the strong temperature dependent mass.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Using Disorder to Identify Bogoliubov Fermi-Surface States

We argue that a superconducting state with a Fermi surface of Bogoliubov quasiparticles, a Bogoliubov Fermi surface (BG-FS), can be identified by the dependence of physical quantities on disorder. In particular, we show that a linear dependence of the residual density of states at weak disorder distinguishes a BG-FS state from other nodal superconducting states. We further demonstrate the stability of supercurrent against impurities and a characteristic Drude-like behavior of the optical conductivity. Our results can be directly applied to electron irradiation experiments on candidate materials of BG-FSs, including Sr 2 RuO 4 , FeSe 1-x S x , and UBe 13 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Information content of and the ability to reconstruct dichroic X-ray tomography and laminography

Dichroic tomography is a 3D imaging technique in which the polarization of the incident beam is used to induce contrast due to the magnetization or orientation of a sample. The aim is to reconstruct not only the optical density but the dichroism of the sample. The theory of dichroic tomographic and laminographic imaging in the parallel-beam case is discussed as well as the problem of reconstruction of the sample’s optical properties. The set of projections resulting from a single tomographic/laminographic measurement is not sufficient to reconstruct the magnetic moment for magnetic circular dichroism unless additional constraints are applied or data are taken at two or more tilt angles. For linear dichroism, three polarizations at a common tilt angle are insufficient for unconstrained reconstruction. However, if one of the measurements is done at a different tilt angle than the other, or the measurements are done at a common polarization but at three distinct tilt angles, then there is enough information to reconstruct without constraints. Possible means of applying constraints are discussed. Furthermore, it is shown that for linear dichroism, the basic assumption that the absorption through a ray path is the integral of the absorption coefficient, defined on the volume of the sample, along the ray path, is not correct when dichroism or birefringence is strong. This assumption is fundamental to tomographic methods. An iterative algorithm for reconstruction of linear dichroism is demonstrated on simulated data.

Marcus, Matthew A. (ORCID:0000000325277586)↗

High-efficiency, single-stage tunable optical parametric amplifier for visible photocathode applications

In this work we present a single-stage optical parametric amplifier (OPA) with an average conversion efficiency up to 38%, tunable between 1.01 and 1.18 µm. The OPA seed is produced by a gain-managed nonlinear fiber amplifier. Numerical modeling of the seed pulse generation shows a linear chirp, a smoothly broadened redshifted spectrum, and a high spectral energy density. When up-converted to the visible through second-harmonic generation, the signal pulses are suitable for visible photocathode excitation.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Tunable chiral and nematic states in the triple-Q antiferromagnet Co 1/3 TaS 2

Complex spin configurations in magnetic materials, ranging from collinear single-Q to non-coplanar multi-Q states, exhibit rich symmetry and chiral properties. However, their detailed characterization is often hindered by the limited spatial resolution of neutron diffraction techniques. Here we employ magnetic circular dichroism and magnetic linear dichroism to investigate the triangular lattice antiferromagnet Co 1/3 TaS 2 , revealing three-state (Z 3 ) nematicity and also spin chirality across its multi-Q magnetic phases. At intermediate temperatures, the presence of linear dichroism identifies nematicity arising from a single-Q stripe phase, while at high magnetic fields and low temperatures, a phase characterized solely by circular dichroism emerges, signifying a purely chiral non-coplanar triple-Q state. Notably, at low temperatures and small fields, we discover a unique phase where both chirality and nematicity coexist. A theoretical analysis based on a continuous multi-Q manifold captures the emergence of these distinct magnetic phases, as a result of the interplay between four-spin interactions and weak magnetic anisotropy. Additionally, both circular and linear dichroism microscopy spatially resolves the chiral and nematic domains. Our findings establish Co 1/3 TaS 2 as a rare platform hosting diverse multi-Q states with distinct combinations of spin chirality and nematicity while demonstrating the effectiveness of polarized optical techniques in characterizing complex magnetic textures.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Excitation spectra of quantum matter without quasiparticles. II. Random t - J models

Here, we present numerical solutions of the spectral functions of large dimension t -J models with random nearest neighbor exchange and global SU(M) spin rotation symmetry. The solutions are obtained from the saddle-point equations of the large dimension limit, followed by the large M limit. The same saddle point equations also apply to the model with all-to-all and random hopping and exchange. Such a t -J model realizes a deconfined critical state proposed as a model for the optimally doped cuprates. The large M theory involves Green’s functions for fractionalized spinons and holons carrying emergent U(1) gauge charges, obeying relations similar to those of the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) models. The low frequency spectral functions are compared with an analytic analysis of the operator scaling dimensions with good agreement. We also compute the low frequency and temperature behavior of experimentally observable gauge-invariant observables: the electron Green’s function, the local spin susceptibility and the optical conductivity, along with the temperature dependence of the d.c. resistivity. The time reparameterization soft mode (equivalent to the boundary graviton in holographically dual models of two-dimensional quantum gravity) makes important contributions to all observables and provides a linear-in-temperature contribution to the d.c. resistivity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Anisotropic spin-wave excitations in multiferroic BiFeO 3

Polarized inelastic neutron-scattering experiments have been performed to elucidate the anisotropic behavior of the low-energy spin-wave excitations in a multiferroic BiFeO 3 , which shows a cycloidal spin structure below 640 K. Using neutron polarization analysis for single magnetic domain crystals, magnetic excitation modes in and out of the cycloidal plane below 6 meV were separated successfully. The magnetic excitation spectra were analyzed using linear spin-wave theory. The low-energy magnon density of states consist of several magnon modes, including the two anisotropic modes, Φ and Ψ modes, distributed in and out of the cycloidal plane, respectively, which were previously observed using optical spectroscopies. Furthermore, there are other magnon modes that are not active in optical measurements. Additionally, a model spin Hamiltonian, which reproduces the spin-wave frequencies observed using optical spectroscopies, explains the overall spectra reasonably well.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Average nonlinear dynamics of particles in gravitational pulses: Effective Hamiltonian, secular acceleration, and gravitational susceptibility

Particles interacting with a prescribed quasimonochromatic gravitational wave (GW) exhibit secular (average) nonlinear dynamics that can be described by Hamilton’s equations. We derive the Hamiltonian of this “ponderomotive” dynamics to the second order in the GW amplitude for a general background metric. For the special case of vacuum GWs, we show that our Hamiltonian is equivalent to that of a free particle in an effective metric, which we calculate explicitly. We also show that already a linear GW pulse displaces a particle from its unperturbed trajectory by a finite distance that is independent of the GW phase and proportional to the integral of the pulse intensity.This effect is independent from the nonlinear memory effects that has been known. We calculate the particle displacement analytically and show that our result is in agreement with numerical simulations. We also show how the Hamiltonian of the nonlinear averaged dynamics naturally leads to the concept of the linear gravitational susceptibility of a particle gas with an arbitrary phase-space distribution. We calculate this susceptibility explicitly to apply it, in a follow-up paper, toward studying self-consistent GWs in inhomogeneous media within the geometrical-optics approximation

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Implementing a Laser Stabilization System for Trapping Ca+ Ions: an Internship Reflection

At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, I contributed to a project developing 3D printed micro ion traps for quantum computing. I designed, implemented, and assessed a laser stabilization system that locked lasers to the frequencies required for calibrating our High Finesse WS8-10 wavelength meter and for laser cooling and trapping of Ca+ ions. I also programmed a Python interface for hardware communication, data collection, and statistical analysis. Additionally, I optimized and aligned laser beam paths, and I implemented a closed digital feedback loop using Proportional, Integral, and Derivative (PID) control parameters. I analyzed both the long-term and short-term behavior of our locked lasers and adjusted PID parameters to enhance performance. Furthermore, I used COMSOL to simulate the capacitance of a linear Paul trap design and predict our trap’s performance. The procedures I developed for the interface, analysis, and simulations will continue to support the ion trapping experiment after my appointment. I strengthened my skills in data analysis, Python coding, and optical alignment for laser systems. My confidence as a researcher grew, particularly in communicating my research. This experience taught me the importance of careful planning and consideration in research and solidified my desire to continue exploring novel quantum technology as an undergraduate

42 ENGINEERING↗