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At least 595 records · Page 33

Short-Range Nematic Fluctuations in Sr 1-x Na x Fe 2 As 2 Superconductors

Interactions between nematic fluctuations, magnetic order and superconductivity are central to the physics of iron-based superconductors. Here we report on in-plane transverse acoustic phonons in hole-doped Sr 1-x Na x Fe 2 As 2 measured via inelastic x-ray scattering, and extract both the nematic susceptibility and the nematic correlation length. By a self-contained method of analysis, for the underdoped (x = 0.36) sample, which harbors a magnetically ordered tetragonal phase, we find it hosts a short nematic correlation length ξ ~ 10Å and a large nematic susceptibility Χ nem . The optimal-doped (x = 0.55) sample exhibits weaker phonon softening effects, indicative of both reduced xi and Χ nem . Overall, our results suggest short-range nematic fluctuations may favor superconductivity, placing emphasis on the nematic correlation length for understanding the iron-based superconductors.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Correlation of Injury Simulation with Clinical Assessment of Traumatic Brain Injury

This report contains a summary of our efforts to correlate head injury simulations predicting intracranial fluid cavitation with clinical assessments of brain injury from blunt impact to the head. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, collected on traumatic brain injury (TBI) subjects by researchers at the MIND Institute of New Mexico, was acquired for the current work. Specific blunt impact TBI case histories were selected from the TBI data for further study and possible correlation with simulation. Both group and single-subject case histories were examined. We found one single-subject case that was particularly suited for correlation with simulation. Diffusion tensor image (DTI) analysis of the TBI subject identified white matter regions within the brain displaying reductions in fractional anisotropy (FA), an indicator of local damage to the white matter axonal structures. Analysis of functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) data collected on this individual identified localized regions of the brain displaying hypoactivity, another indicator of brain injury. We conducted high fidelity simulations of head impact experienced by the TBI subject using the Sandia head-neck-torso model and the shock physics computer code CTH. Intracranial fluid cavitation predictions were compared with maps of DTI fractional anisotropy and fMRI hypoactivity to assess whether a possible correlation exists. The ultimate goal of this work is to assess whether one can correlate simulation predictions of intracranial fluid cavitation with the brain injured sites identified by the fMRI and DTI analyses. The outcome of this effort is described in this report.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Improved quality metrics for association and reproducibility in chromatin accessibility data using mutual information

Correlation metrics are widely utilized in genomics analysis and often implemented with little regard to assumptions of normality, homoscedasticity, and independence of values. This is especially true when comparing values between replicated sequencing experiments that probe chromatin accessibility, such as assays for transposase-accessible chromatin via sequencing (ATAC-seq). Such data can possess several regions across the human genome with little to no sequencing depth and are thus non-normal with a large portion of zero values. Despite distributed use in the epigenomics field, few studies have evaluated and benchmarked how correlation and association statistics behave across ATAC-seq experiments with known differences or the effects of removing specific outliers from the data. Here, we developed a computational simulation of ATAC-seq data to elucidate the behavior of correlation statistics and to compare their accuracy under set conditions of reproducibility. Using these simulations, we monitored the behavior of several correlation statistics, including the Pearson’s R and Spearman’s ρ coefficients as well as Kendall’s τ and Top–Down correlation. We also test the behavior of association measures, including the coefficient of determination R 2 , Kendall’s W, and normalized mutual information. Our experiments reveal an insensitivity of most statistics, including Spear man’s ρ, Kendall’s τ, and Kendall’s W, to increasing differences between simulated ATAC-seq replicates. The removal of co-zeros (regions lacking mapped sequenced reads) between simulated experiments greatly improves the estimates of correlation and association. After removing co-zeros, the R 2 coefficient and normalized mutual information display the best performance, having a closer one-to-one relationship with the known portion of shared, enhanced loci between simulated replicates. When comparing values between experimental ATAC-seq data using a random forest model, mutual information best predicts ATAC-seq replicate relationships. Collectively, this study demonstrates how measures of correlation and association can behave in epigenomics experiments. We provide improved strategies for quantifying relationships in these increasingly prevalent and important chromatin accessibility assays.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

TOFHunter—unlocking rapid untargeted screening of inductively coupled plasma–time-of-flight–mass spectrometry data

This study provides an overview of a newly developed open source program written in Python, TOFHunter, which permits the rapid and untargeted screening of inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-time-of-flight (TOF)-mass spectrometry (MS) datasets. ICP-TOF-MS is an analytical tool capable of providing quasi simultaneous detection of all nuclides from Li to Pu. This capability has triggered an increase in studies investigating single-particle analysis in which the TOF-MS provides correlated elemental/isotopic signatures on a particle basis in time. Similarly, laser ablation mapping has seen rapid growth owing to ICP-TOF-MS's capacity to handle fast washout times (<10 ms) while providing a broad nuclide coverage. The caveat to this broad mass coverage and high time resolution comes in the form of large, overwhelming datasets. With datasets typically on the scale of gigabytes, it is easy for a user to only focus on very targeted analytes; however, this focus diminishes the opportunity offered by the TOF-MS detector. TOFHunter applies chemometric methods, principal component analysis (PCA), and interesting features finder (IFF) on ICP-TOF-MS data, allowing for investigation of correlations, major and minor variance sources, and sample screening. The unique spectra identified by the (IFF) are used to generate a list of mass peaks, which are then matched with both nuclides and potential interferences before being exported for the user to investigate. Several case studies are discussed herein, demonstrating TOFHunter's ability to screen aqueous injections, single-particle/single-cell analysis, and probe laser ablation mapping files for unique regions of interest.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Finite-size effects in lead scandium tantalate relaxor thin films

Large electromechanical effects in relaxor ferroelectrics are generally attributed to the collective response of an ensemble of correlated, nanometer-sized polar structures induced by chemical and charge disorder. Here, we study finite-size effects on such polar order (i.e., how it evolves when sample dimensions approach the polarization correlation length) in 7–70-nm-thick films of the relaxor ferroelectric PbSc 0.5 Ta 0.5 O 3 . Temperature-dependent polarization studies reveal a linear suppression of the polarization and nonlinearity associated with relaxor order as the film thickness decreases to ≈ 30 nm. Below this thickness, however, the suppression rapidly accelerates, and polarization is completely absent by film thicknesses of ≈ 7 nm, despite the continued observation of a broad peak in dielectric permittivity and frequency dispersion. Diffuse-scattering measurements reveal the diffuse-scattering symmetry, and analysis suggests the films have a polarization correlation length of ≈ 23 nm. Finally, taken together, it is apparent that reduction of sample size and the resulting distribution of polar structures drive suppression and eventual quenching of the electrical response of relaxors, which may be attributed to increasing dipole-dipole and dipole-interface interactions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Analysis of spin frustration in an Fe III 7 cluster using a combination of computational, experimental, and magnetostructural correlation methods

The synthesis, structure, and magnetic properties are reported for [Fe 7 O 3 (O 2 C t Bu) 9 (mda) 3 (H 2 O) 3 ] ( 1 ), where mdaH 2 is N -methyldiethanolamine. 1 was prepared from the reaction of [Fe 3 O(O 2 C t Bu) 6 (H 2 O) 3 ](NO 3 ) with mdaH 2 in a 1:~3 ratio in MeCN. The core of 1 consists of a central octahedral Fe III ion held within a non-planar Fe 6 loop by three μ 3 -O 2- and three μ 2 -RO - arms from the three mda 2- chelates. Variable-temperature dc and ac magnetic susceptibility studies revealed dominant antiferromagnetic coupling, leading to a ground state spin of S = 5 / 2 . The ground state was confirmed by a fit of magnetization data collected in the 0.1–7.0 T and 1.8–10.0 K ranges. The four Fe 2 pairwise exchange parameters ( J 1 - J 4 ) were estimated by independent methods: theoretical calculations using either broken symmetry energy differences (-46.3, -16.2, -3.9, and - 28.1 cm -1 , respectively) or Green’s function approximation methods (-41.4, -14.8, -13.2, and - 24.7 cm -1 ), and a magnetostructural correlation (MSC) previously developed for high nuclearity Fe III /O complexes (-39.5, -13.8, -6.7, and - 23.5 cm -1 ). Additionally, the J 1 - J 4 obtained from the MSC and theoretical methods were used with the program PHI to both simulate χ M T vs T as well as to serve as reasonable input values to fit the experimental data (-41.0, -11.4, -5.0, and - 27.3 cm -1 ). Analysis of the J ij led to identification of the spin frustration effects operative and the resultant spin vector alignments at each Fe III ion, thus allowing for the rationalization of the experimental ground state.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Automated Coupling of Nanodroplet Sample Preparation with Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry for High-Throughput Single-Cell Proteomics

Single-cell proteomics can provide critical biological insight into the cellular heterogeneity that is masked by bulk-scale analysis. Here, we have developed a nanoPOTS (nanodroplet processing in one pot for trace samples) platform and demonstrated its broad applicability for single-cell proteomics. However, because of nanoliter-scale sample volumes, the nanoPOTS platform is not compatible with automated LC-MS systems, which significantly limits sample throughput and robustness. To address this challenge, we have developed a nanoPOTS autosampler allowing fully automated sample injection from nanowells to LC-MS systems. We also developed a sample drying, extraction, and loading workflow to enable reproducible and reliable sample injection. The sequential analysis of 20 samples containing 10 ng tryptic peptides demonstrated high reproducibility with correlation coefficients of >0.995 between any two samples. The nanoPOTS autosampler can provide analysis throughput of 9.6, 16, and 24 single cells per day using 120, 60, and 30 min LC gradients, respectively. As a demonstration for single-cell proteomics, the autosampler was first applied to profiling protein expression in single MCF10A cells using a label-free approach. At a throughput of 24 single cells per day, an average of 256 proteins was identified from each cell and the number was increased to 731 when the Match Between Runs algorithm of MaxQuant was used. Using a multiplexed isobaric labeling approach (TMT-11plex), ~77 single cells could be analyzed per day. We analyzed 152 cells from three acute myeloid leukemia cell lines, resulting in a total of 2558 identified proteins with 1465 proteins quantifiable (70% valid values) across the 152 cells. These data showed quantitative single-cell proteomics can cluster cells to distinct groups and reveal functionally distinct differences.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

2022 Los Alamos National Laboratory Test and Analysis Abstracts

The abstracts included in this document are: Responsiveness, Modernization, and Radiography Test at the Centrifuge Test Facility; LANL Hostile Blast Testing Capability Development; Digital Image Correlation Measurement of B61 Center Case Fragmentation Test; and Collaborative Analysis Testing Techniques (CATT) Phase 1.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

Local spin structure in the layered van der Waals materials MnPS 𝑥 ⁢Se 3−𝑥

Two-dimensional (2D) layered materials, whether in bulk form or reduced to just a single layer, have potential applications in spintronics and capacity for advanced quantum phenomena. A prerequisite for harnessing these opportunities lies in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the spin behavior in 2D materials. The low dimensionality motivates an understanding of the spin correlations over a wide length scale, from local to long-range order. In this context, we focus on the magnetism in bulk MnPSe 3 and MnPS 3 , 2D layered van der Waals antiferromagnetic semiconductors. These materials have similar honeycomb Mn layers and magnetic ordering temperatures, but distinct spin orientations and exchange interactions. Here, we utilize neutron scattering to gain deeper insights into the local magnetic structures and spin correlations in the paramagnetic and ordered phases by systematically investigating a MnPS 𝑥 ⁢Se 3−𝑥 (𝑥 = 0, 1, 1.5, 2, 3) series of powder samples using total neutron scattering measurements. By employing magnetic pair distribution function analysis, we unraveled the short-range magnetic correlations in these materials and explored how the nonmagnetic anion S/Se mixing impacts the magnetic correlations. The results reveal that the magnetism can be gradually tuned through alteration of the nonmagnetic S/Se content, which tunes the atomic structure. The change in magnetic structure is also accompanied by a control of the magnetic correlation length within the 2D honeycomb layers. Complimentary inelastic neutron scattering measurements allowed a quantification of the change in the magnetic exchange interactions for the series and further highlighted the gradual evolution of spin interactions in the series MnPS 𝑥 ⁢Se 3−𝑥 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Argon Milling of Bulk and Post-FIB Specimens for Multi-Length Scale Analyses by EBSD, TEM, and APT under Controlled Environments

Correlative investigations involve structural characterization by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with compositional analysis by atom probe tomography (APT) using the same specimen. A critical component of successful correlative analyses is specimen preparation; probing individual atoms requires a surface and subsurface with minimal defects, beginning with the bulk material through to the prepared specimen for TEM or APT analysis. Our previous work showed that low-energy concentrated ion beam Ar ion milling improves TEM [1] and APT [2,3] specimen quality by removing surface oxides and Ga damage caused by focused ion beam (FIB) preparation. Further enhancement in specimen quality of APT specimens is achieved in the established workflow under controlled environments, as shown in [4]. In this work, we present specimen preparation using Ar ion milling techniques not only for the APT specimen, but also the bulk sample for subsequent multi-length scale analyses by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), TEM, and APT under controlled environments. The removal of surface damage and oxidation, which is crucial for probing atomic layer specimens by broad and concentrated Ar ion beam milling techniques under controlled environments, is highlighted.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Updated ASME design correlations and qualification plan for powder bed fusion 316H stainless steel

This report provides an update on the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies (AMMT) program effort to qualify Laser-Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) 316H stainless steel for use with the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code Section III, Division 5 rules. The report summarizes progress in testing and characterizing L-PBF material at elevated temperatures by providing preliminary design data for L-PBF 316H and by comparing the elevated temperature performance of the L-PBF material to wrought and conventional fusion welded 316H. The report then updates the initial AMMT qualification plan for L-PBF 316H, originally developed in 2023, to update the accelerated qualification strategy adopted in that plan to account for the new high temperature test data. The report also explores a few methods for further accelerating the qualification process using machine learning techniques to supplement the more conventional, empirical analysis methods typically used by ASME to correlate and extrapolate time-dependent material test data.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Constraining high-energy neutrinos from tidal disruption events with IceCube high-energy starting events

Tidal disruption events (TDEs) have been proposed as candidate sources of high-energy neutrinos. Successful and choked jets, as well as the accretion disk, corona, wind, and outflow regions in a TDE have been examined and shown to produce TeV - PeV neutrinos. In this work, we use the IceCube 12.5 year high energy starting events (HESE) dataset and perform a maximum likelihood analysis to investigate the spatial and temporal correlations between HESE dataset and a selected sample of 89 TDEs. Our results indicate that the currently observed data do not show any significant correlation and hence is consistent with the background only hypothesis. Using this result, we place constraints on the fraction of TDEs harboring intrinsic jets ($f_{\rm jet}$) and the corresponding isotropic-equivalent cosmic ray (CR) energy ($\mathcal{E}_{\rm CR}$). We note that even with limited statistics, we can constrain the parameter space as $\mathcal{E}_{\rm CR} \lesssim 3 \times 10^{53}$ erg for $f_{\rm jet} \gtrsim 0.6$ at more than 90% C.L. Finally, we discuss the theoretical implications of our results and the limits on the all-sky diffuse neutrino flux from TDEs. With more observational data in the electromagnetic band for TDEs and neutrino observations from IceCube and KM3NeT, our analysis can be used to place stringent constraints on physical parameters associated with TDEs.

Mukhopadhyay, Mainak [Fermilab; Chicago U., KICP; ↗

Adjusting solar-induced fluorescence to nadir-viewing provides a better proxy for GPP

Solar-induced fluorescence (SIF) provides key information for inferring terrestrial gross primary productivity (GPP). However, there is little research on analyzing the performance of nadir-adjusted SIF (SIF nadir ) on GPP, compared to total SIF emitted by all leaves (SIF total ) for reducing the viewing angle effects and estimating GPP. Besides, there have been controversial opinions on whether SIF total is better correlated to GPP than raw SIF observations (SIF obs ). Here we systematically analyzed the relationship between raw/nadir/total SIF (i.e., SIF obs , SIF nadir and SIF total ) and GPP and investigated the underlying mechanism, using multi-angular field measurements and eddy covariance data in wheat and corn crops at sub-daily scale. We further compared the performance of SIF obs , SIF nadir and SIF total in estimating GPP using the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) SIF and concurrent AmeriFlux measurements at daily scale. Furthermore, the results indicate that diurnal SIF nadir has stronger correlations to GPP than SIF obs for field measurements, with the increase of mean coefficient of determination (R 2 ) by 0.05–0.07 for far-red band and 0.11–0.20 for red band. SIF nadir shows comparable performance with SIF total for both far-red and red bands. Although the viewing angle effects dominate the difference in estimating GPP between SIF nadir and SIF obs , the correlation between light use efficiency (LUE) and fesc further determines the different performance of SIF nadir and SIF total in estimating GPP. TROPOMI-based analysis further confirms that SIF nadir overall has higher correlations to AmeriFlux GPP than SIF obs for different plant functional types and shows similar performance with SIF total . Compared to SIF total , the estimation of SIF nadir independent of viewing angle effects does not require any canopy structure parameters, and thus offers promising potential for reliably estimating regional and global GPP.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Structural Characterization of a Toppling Rock Slab From Array-Based Ambient Vibration Measurements and Numerical Modal Analysis

Accurate assessments of the internal structure and boundary conditions of unstable rock slopes are imperative for evaluating landslide hazard scenarios. However, instability characterization at depth remains challenging and is often limited by costly or invasive subsurface investigations. Here, we develop a new approach coupling array-based ambient vibration modal analysis and numerical modeling to improve structural characterization of rock slope instabilities at depth. We used ambient noise cross-correlation on 4 hr of seismic data recorded by an array of 30 nodal geophones at a 500-m-long toppling rock slab in Utah, USA to identify modal frequencies between 0.8 and 3.5 Hz and derive modal displacements. We show that transverse and longitudinal bending modes span the length of the instability, indicating an interconnected slab. Further, statistical comparison of field results with outputs from >1,000 finite element models with varying boundary conditions showed that the instability depth varies between 40–70 and 10–20 m in the middle and lateral regions, respectively. Our approach yields new information on the structural conditions of rock cliff and column instabilities at depth, which is not easily obtained by other means but is imperative for change detection monitoring and improved hazard assessments.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DESI DR1 Ly$α$ forest: 3D full-shape analysis and cosmological constraints

We perform an analysis of the full shapes of Lyman-$α$ (Ly$α$) forest correlation functions measured from the first data release (DR1) of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). Our analysis focuses on measuring the Alcock-Paczynski (AP) effect and the cosmic growth rate times the amplitude of matter fluctuations in spheres of $8$$h^{-1}\text{Mpc}$, $fσ_8$. We validate our measurements using two different sets of mocks, a series of data splits, and a large set of analysis variations, which were first performed blinded. Our analysis constrains the ratio $D_M/D_H(z_\mathrm{eff})=4.525\pm0.071$, where $D_H=c/H(z)$ is the Hubble distance, $D_M$ is the transverse comoving distance, and the effective redshift is $z_\mathrm{eff}=2.33$. This is a factor of $2.4$ tighter than the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) constraint from the same data. When combining with Ly$α$ BAO constraints from DESI DR2, we obtain the ratios $D_H(z_\mathrm{eff})/r_d=8.646\pm0.077$ and $D_M(z_\mathrm{eff})/r_d=38.90\pm0.38$, where $r_d$ is the sound horizon at the drag epoch. We also measure $fσ_8(z_\mathrm{eff}) = 0.37\; ^{+0.055}_{-0.065} \,(\mathrm{stat})\, \pm 0.033 \,(\mathrm{sys})$, but we do not use it for cosmological inference due to difficulties in its validation with mocks. In $Λ$CDM, our measurements are consistent with both cosmic microwave background (CMB) and galaxy clustering constraints. Using a nucleosynthesis prior but no CMB anisotropy information, we measure the Hubble constant to be $H_0 = 68.3\pm 1.6\;\,{\rm km\,s^{-1}\,Mpc^{-1}}$ within $Λ$CDM. Finally, we show that Ly$α$ forest AP measurements can help improve constraints on the dark energy equation of state, and are expected to play an important role in upcoming DESI analyses.

Cuceu, Andrei [LBL, Berkeley; Chicago U., KICP] (O↗

Testing dark matter halo properties using self-similarity

ABSTRACT We use self-similarity in N-body simulations of scale-free models to test for resolution dependence in the mass function and two-point correlation functions of dark matter haloes. We use 10243 particle simulations performed with abacus , and compare results obtained with two halo finders: friends-of-friends (fof ), and rockstar . The fof mass functions show a systematic deviation from self-similarity which is explained by resolution dependence of the fof mass assignment previously reported in the literature. Weak evidence for convergence is observed only starting from haloes of several thousand particles, and mass functions are overestimated by at least as much as $20-25{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ for haloes of 50 particles. The mass function of the default rockstar halo catalogue (with bound virial spherical overdensity mass), on the other hand, shows good convergence of the order of 50 to 100 particles per halo, with no detectable evidence at the few percent level of any systematic dependence for larger particle number. Tests show that the mass unbinding procedure in rockstar is the key factor in obtaining this much improved resolution. Applying the same analysis to the halo–halo two point correlation function, we find again strong evidence for convergence only for rockstar haloes, at separations sufficiently large so that haloes do not overlap. At these separations, we can exclude dependence on resolution at the $5-10{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ level once haloes have of the order of 50 to 100 particles. At smaller separations results are not converged even at significantly larger particle number, and bigger simulations would be required to establish the resolution required for convergence.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A Near-infrared Chemical Inventory of the Atmosphere of 55 Cancri e

We present high-resolution near-infrared spectra taken during eight transits of 55 Cancri e, a nearby low-density super-Earth with a short orbital period (<18 hr). While this exoplanet’s bulk density indicates a possible atmosphere, one has not been detected definitively. Our analysis relies on the Doppler cross-correlation technique, which takes advantage of the high spectral resolution and broad wavelength coverage of our data, to search for the thousands of absorption features from hydrogen-, carbon-, and nitrogen-rich molecular species in the planetary atmosphere. Although we are unable to detect an atmosphere around 55 Cancri e, we do place strong constraints on the levels of HCN, NH{sub 3}, and C{sub 2}H{sub 2} that may be present. In particular, at a mean molecular weight of 5 amu, we can rule out the presence of HCN in the atmosphere down to a volume mixing ratio (VMR) of 0.02%, NH{sub 3} down to a VMR of 0.08%, and C{sub 2}H{sub 2} down to a VMR of 1.0%. If the mean molecular weight is relaxed to 2 amu, we can rule out the presence of HCN, NH{sub 3}, and C{sub 2}H{sub 2} down to VMRs of 0.001%, 0.0025%, and 0.08%, respectively. Our results reduce the parameter space of possible atmospheres consistent with the analysis of Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3 observations by Tsiaras et al. and indicate that if 55 Cancri e harbors an atmosphere, it must have a high mean molecular weight or clouds.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Shape-induced superstructure formation in concentrated ferrofluids under applied magnetic fields

The field-induced ordering of concentrated ferrofluids based on spherical and cuboidal maghemite nanoparticles is studied using small-angle neutron scattering, revealing a qualitative effect of the faceted shape on the interparticle interactions as shown in the structure factor and correlation lengths. Whereas a spatially disordered hard-sphere interaction potential with a short correlation length is found for ~9 nm spherical nanoparticles, nanocubes of a comparable particle size exhibit a more pronounced interparticle interaction and the formation of linear arrangements. Analysis of the anisotropic two-dimensional pair distance correlation function gives insight into the real-space arrangement of the nanoparticles. On the basis of the short interparticle distances found here, oriented attachment, i.e. a face-to-face arrangement of the nanocubes, is likely. The unusual field dependence of the interparticle correlations suggests a field-induced structural rearrangement.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗