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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 613 records · Page 34
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Electronic structure calculations of twisted multi-layer graphene superlattices

Quantum confinement endows two-dimensional (2D) layered materials with exceptional physics and novel properties compared to their bulk counterparts. Although certain two- and few-layer configurations of graphene have been realized and studied, a systematic investigation of the properties of arbitrarily layered graphene assemblies is still lacking. We introduce theoretical concepts and methods for the processing of materials information, and as a case study, apply them to investigate the electronic structure of multi-layer graphene-based assemblies in a high-throughput fashion. We provide a critical discussion of patterns and trends in tight binding band structures and we identify specific layered assemblies using low-dispersion electronic bands as indicators of potentially interesting physics like strongly correlated behavior. A combination of data-driven models for visualization and prediction is used to intelligently explore the materials space. This work more generally aims to increase confidence in the combined use of physics-based and data-driven modeling for the systematic refinement of knowledge about 2D layered materials, with implications for the development of novel quantum devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Novel Signatures Beyond the Standard Model: From Extreme Environments to Precision Measurements

Most of our universe is dark. It is dark literally—visible matter makes up only 5% of the energy density—and conceptually, as many outstanding questions remain unsolved. The discovery of particle dark matter would shed light on our dark universe and throw open a window on the highest energy scales. This research made progress toward dark matter and new particle searches in three ways. Extreme compact objects, such as black holes, neutron stars, and stellar cores, can parametrically increase the production rates of feebly interacting particles and yield observable signatures. Specifically, a process known as superradiance leads to exponential growth of the number of ultralight particles gravitationally bound to rotating black holes, and turns astrophysical black holes into particle detectors. This research broadened the scope of applicability of superradiance studies to particles with a wide range of interactions and masses, predicting multi messenger signals. When ultralight particles are produced as dark matter in the early universe, they can be detected directly in laboratory experiments. However, these feebly interacting particles lead to small signals that are inevitably difficult to tease out from backgrounds; their detection requires the theoretical development of unique signatures that can be searched for in low-noise experiments. Some dark matter particles could be detectable with thin film metamaterials combined with low noise single-photon detectors. This research develop the theoretical framework and supported experimental efforts for ambitious searches for a wider class of ultralight particles. Overall, the outcome of this theoretical particle physics program developed novel signatures of new dark matter particles, and thereby expanded the particle parameter space which can be explored with astrophysical observations and precision experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Using Artificial Neural Networks to Predict Physical Properties of Membrane Polymers

Membrane polymers are a promising technology for use in many challenging gas separation applications. Here, the techniques of computer-aided molecular design can be used to search through the massive molecular space of heteropolymers and develop a set of likely candidate repeat units matching specific physical property targets. However, reasonably accurate property prediction algorithms are needed, but these algorithms must be very fast in order to be combined with an optimization framework. Artificial neural networks (ANNs), a branch of machine learning, are applied in this work to predict the physical properties of polymers. All of the physical properties investigated were found to be predicted by ANNs with R 2 scores exceeding 0.82.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Precision string phenomenology

Calabi-Yau compactifications of the E 8 × E 8 heterotic string provide a promising route to recovering the four-dimensional particle physics described by the Standard Model. While the topology of the Calabi-Yau space determines the overall matter content in the low-energy effective field theory, further details of the compactification geometry are needed to calculate the normalized physical couplings and masses of elementary particles. In this work, we present numerical computations of physical Yukawa couplings in a number of heterotic models in the standard embedding and demonstrate the existence of natural hierarchies, a coveted feature in string model building. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Berglund, Per (ORCID:0000000316754133)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Coherent spin states and emergent de Sitter quasinormal modes

As a toy model for the microscopic description of matter in de Sitter space, we consider a Hamiltonian acting on the spin-j representation of SU(2). This is a model with a finite-dimensional Hilbert space, from which quasinormal modes emerge in the large-spin limit. The path integral over coherent spin states can be evaluated at the semiclassical level and from it we find the single-particle de Sitter density of states, including 1/j corrections. Along the way, we discuss the use of quasinormal modes in quantum mechanics, starting from the paradigmatic upside-down harmonic oscillator.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Deep learning-based predictive models for laser direct drive at the Omega Laser Facility

The rich and complex physics of inertial confinement fusion provides a unique and challenging space for high-fidelity first-principles modeling. Consequently, simulation codes that are used to design experiments are computationally expensive and lack the predictive capability required for extensive parameter exploration in search of a high-performing design for laser direct drive. In this article, we present two deep-learning-based predictive models intended to address these difficulties. The first model (TL DNN) acts as a fast emulator of simulations as well as experiments at the Omega Laser Facility. This model is trained on a simulation database and subsequently calibrated on experimental data using transfer learning. To facilitate the development of this model, an autoencoder is developed to reduce the dimensionality of the input space by compressing the laser pulse input. The model predicts key experimental scalar observables of Omega experiments with high accuracy and minimal computational cost. This deep neural net enables rapid exploration of a high-dimensional input parameter space for an optimal implosion design. The second model (DNN SM+) aims to extend the statistical modeling work of Lees et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 105001 (2021)], by increasing the complexity of the model space and allowing for coupling between degradation terms. Since the model capacity of DNN SM+ is higher than the model of Lees et al., DNN SM+ can potentially provide an improvement in predictive capability, and we use this model to provide insight into complicated degradation dependencies.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

OpenUniverse2024: a shared, simulated view of the sky for the next generation of cosmological surveys

The OpenUniverse2024 simulation suite is a cross-collaboration effort to produce matched simulated imaging for multiple surveys as they would observe a common simulated sky. Both the simulated data and associated tools used to produce it are intended to uniquely enable a wide range of studies to maximize the science potential of the next generation of cosmological surveys. We have produced simulated imaging for approximately 70 deg 2 of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) Wide-Fast-Deep survey and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope High-Latitude Wide-Area Survey, as well as overlapping versions of the ELAIS-S1 Deep-Drilling Field for LSST and the High-Latitude Time-Domain Survey for Roman. OpenUniverse2024 includes (i) an early version of the updated extragalactic model called Diffsky, which substantially improves the realism of optical and infrared photometry of objects, compared to previous versions of these models; (ii) updated transient models that extend through the wavelength range probed by Roman and Rubin; and (iii) improved survey, telescope, and instrument realism based on up-to-date survey plans and known properties of the instruments. It is built on a new and updated suite of simulation tools that improves the ease of consistently simulating multiple observatories viewing the same sky. The approximately 400 TB of synthetic survey imaging and simulated universe catalogs are publicly available, and we preview some scientific uses of the simulations.

large-scale structure of Universe↗
DOE OSTI2020

Space charge fields in azimuthally symmetric beams: Integrated Green's function approach

Electromagnetic fields induced by the space charge in relativistic beams play an important role in Accelerator Physics. They lead to emittance growth, slice energy change, and the microbunching instability. Typically, these effects are modeled numerically since simple description exists only inthe limits of large- or small-scale current variations. In this paper we consider an axially symmetric charged beam inside a round pipe and find the solution of the space charge problem that is valid in the full range of current variations. We express the solution for the field components in terms of Green’s functions, which are fully determined by just a single function. We then find that this function is an on-axis potential from a charged disk in a round pipe, with transverse charge density ρ⊥(r), and it has a compact analythical expression. We finally provide an integrated Green’s function based approach for efficient numerical evaluation in the case when the transverse charge density stays the same along the beam

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Dark baryon black holes

We explore a novel mechanism for dark matter production through the formation of light black holes from the collapse of dark baryons in confining SU(N) gauge theories in the large- N limit. While glueballs and mesons cannot form black holes under physically reasonable conditions, we prove that for appropriate ranges of the confinement scale, quark masses, number of colors N , and dark sector temperature, dark baryons can produce Planck-scale black hole relics in the early Universe. Assuming the relics are stable, the abundance of both the dark baryon black hole population directly arising at confinement and that frozen in from dark glueball and meson pair annihilation are exponentially suppressed in N , leading to an upper limit N ≲ 100 and of a few hundred Planck units in mass for models where the black hole relics are the entirety of the dark matter. We present a detailed numerical study of the parameter space where this scenario is realized. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Profumo, Stefano (ORCID:0000000291597556)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Dynamics-based halo model for large scale structure

Accurate modeling of the one-to-two halo transition has long been difficult to achieve. Here, we demonstrate that physically motivated halo definitions that respect the bimodal phase-space distribution of dark matter particles near halos resolves this difficulty. Specifically, the two phase-space components are overlapping and correspond to (1) particles orbiting the halo and (2) particles infalling into the halo for the first time. Motivated by this decomposition, García et al. [Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 521, 2464 (2023)] advocated for defining halos as the collection of particles orbiting their self-generated potential. This definition identifies the traditional one-halo term of the halo-mass correlation function with the distribution of orbiting particles around a halo, while the two-halo term governs the distribution of infalling particles. We use dark matter simulations to demonstrate that the distribution of orbiting particles is finite and can be characterized by a single physical scale 𝑟 h , which we refer to as the halo radius. The two-halo term is described using a simple yet accurate empirical model based on the Zel’dovich correlation function. We further demonstrate that the halo radius imprints itself on the distribution of infalling particles at small scales. Our final model for the halo-mass correlation function is accurate at the ≈ 2% level for 𝑟∈ [0.1, 50] ℎ −1 Mpc. The Fourier transform of our best-fit model describes the halo-mass power spectrum with comparable accuracy for 𝑘 ∈ [0.06, 6.0] ℎ Mpc −1 .

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Towards satellite tests combining general relativity and quantum mechanics through quantum optical interferometry: progress on the deep space quantum link

The Deep Space Quantum Link (DSQL) is a space-mission concept that aims to explore the interplay between general relativity and quantum mechanics using quantum optical interferometry. This mission concept was formally presented to the United States National Academy of Science Decadal Survey as a research campaign for Fundamental Physics in 2022. Since then, advances have been made in the space-based quantum optical technologies required to conduct a DSQL-type mission. In addition, other research efforts have defined alternative measurement concepts to explore the same scientific questions motivating the DSQL mission. This paper serves as an update to the community on the status of the DSQL mission concept and related research and technology development efforts.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Magnetic Ordering in a High‐Spin Donor–Acceptor Conjugated Polymer

Abstract The development of open‐shell organic molecules that magnetically order at room temperature,which can be practically applied, remains a grand challenge in chemistry, physics, and materials science. Despite the exploration of vast chemical space, design paradigms for organic paramagnetic centers generally result in unpaired electron spins that are unstable or isotropic. Here, a high‐spin conjugated polymer is demonstrated, which is composed of alternating cyclopentadithiophene and benzo[1,2‐ c ;4,5‐ c ′]bis[1,2,5]thiadiazole heterocycles, in which macromolecular structure and topology coalesce to promote the spin center generation and intermolecular exchange coupling. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy is consistent with spatially localized spins, while magnetic susceptibility measurements show clear anisotropic spin ordering and exchange interactions that persist at room temperature. The application of long‐range π‐correlations for spin center generation promotes remarkable stability. This work offers a fundamentally new approach to the implementation of this long‐sought‐after physical phenomenon within organic materials and the integration of manifold properties within emerging technologies.

Steelman, Michael E.↗
DOE OSTI2023

A state-of-the-art review of experimental and computational studies of granular materials: Properties, advances, challenges, and future directions

Modeling of heterogeneous materials and media is a problem of fundamental importance to a wide class of phenomena and systems, ranging from condensed matter physics, soft materials, and composite media to porous media, biological systems, geosystems, ceramic engineering, pharmaceutical science and even in space discoveries. Among the most important materials are granular systems, which have received intense interest from the engineering, physics, and mathematics communities. In this review paper, the recent developments and new advances in experimental, and computational methods on a variety of scales and physics that extend understanding to a wide range of materials and phenomena are reviewed. Experimental advances include computed neutron and nanometer-scale tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, refractive index matching, digital image correlation, acoustic emission analysis, and the most recent 4D techniques. Furthermore, a tremendous shift has occurred from the continuum scale to micro-scale and developing multiscale approaches. As such, various computational methods, including, constitutive modeling, discrete modeling, and multiscale approaches, have been developed. In conclusion, aside from all these evolutions, more complicated modeling called coupled, or multiphysics, systems representing a simultaneous presence of heat, fluid, chemical variation, and mechanical effect are also explored.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Local Poincaré algebra from quantum chaos

The local two-dimensional Poincaré algebra near the horizon of an eternal AdS black hole, or in proximity to any bifurcate Killing horizon, is generated by the Killing flow and outward null translations on the horizon. In holography, this local Poincaré algebra is reflected as a pair of unitary flows in the boundary Hilbert space whose generators under modular flow grow and decay exponentially with a maximal Lyapunov exponent. This is a universal feature of many geometric vacua of quantum gravity. To explain this universality, we show that a two-dimensional Poincaré algebra emerges in any quantum system that has von Neumann subalgebras associated with half-infinite modular time intervals (modular future and past subalgebras) in a limit analogous to the near-horizon limit. In ergodic theory, quantum dynamical systems with future or past algebras are called quantum K-systems. The surprising statement is that modular K-systems are always maximally chaotic. Interacting quantum systems in the thermodynamic limit and large N theories above the Hawking-Page phase transition are examples of physical theories with future/past subalgebras. We prove that the existence of (modular) future/past von Neumann subalgebras also implies a second law of (modular) thermodynamics and the exponential decay of (modular) correlators. We generalize our results from the modular flow to any dynamical flow with a positive generator and interpret the positivity condition as quantum detailed balance.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Space Mission Options for Reconnaissance and Mitigation of Asteroid 2024 YR4

Near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR 4 was discovered on 2024-12-27 and its probability of Earth impact in December 2032 peaked at ~3% on 2025-02-18. Additional observations ruled out Earth impact by 2025-02-23. However, the probability of lunar impact in December 2032 then rose, reaching ~4% by the end of the apparition in May 2025. James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations on 2025-03-26 estimated the asteroid’s diameter at 60 ± 7 m. Studies of 2024 YR 4 ’s potential lunar impact effects suggest lunar ejecta could increase micrometeoroid debris flux in low Earth orbit up to 1000 times above background levels over just a few days, possibly threatening astronauts and spacecraft. In this work, we present options for space missions to 2024 YR 4 that could be utilized if lunar impact is confirmed. Here, we cover flyby & rendezvous reconnaissance, deflection, and robust disruption of the asteroid. We examine both rapid-response and delayed launch options through 2032. We evaluate chemical and solar electric propulsion, various launch vehicles, optimized deep space maneuvers, and gravity assists. Re-tasking extant spacecraft and using built spacecraft not yet launched are also considered. The best reconnaissance mission options launch in late 2028, leaving only approximately three years for development at the time of this writing in August 2025. Deflection missions were assessed and appear impractical. However, kinetic robust disruption missions are available with launches between April 2030 and April 2032. Nuclear robust disruption missions are also available with launches between late 2029 and late 2031. Finally, even if lunar impact is ruled out there is significant potential utility in deploying a reconnaissance mission to characterize the asteroid.

Asteroid deflection↗
DOE OSTI2022

Voronoi cell analysis: The shapes of particle systems

Many physical systems can be studied as collections of particles embedded in space, often evolving in time. Natural questions arise concerning how to characterize these arrangements—are they ordered or disordered? If they are ordered, how are they ordered and what kinds of defects do they possess? Voronoi tessellations, originally introduced to study problems in pure mathematics, have become a powerful and versatile tool for analyzing countless problems in pure and applied physics. Here we explain the basics of Voronoi tessellations and the shapes that they produce and describe how they can be used to characterize many physical systems.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Plasma Assisted Combustion and Chemical Processing: Chapter 9 - Plasma Diagnostics

Plasma dynamics and chemistry have a broad range of timescales from picoseconds to milliseconds. In addition, it involves nonequilibrium energy transfer between electrons, ions, electronically and vibrationally excited states, radicals, intermediate species, and reactants and products as well as surface charges and chemistry. To understand plasma physics and chemistry, it is essential to conduct time and space resolved, quantitative detection of nonequilibrium temperature distributions, electron energy and number density, electric field, and species concentrations. There are enormous publications and review articles on this subject. The focus of this chapter is to be placed on the most recent progress in gas phase plasma properties and chemistry, especially on optical emission spectroscopy, laser absorption spectroscopy, Faraday rotational spectroscopy, Raman and Thompson scattering, femtosecond and picosecond (fs/ps) coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectroscopy, and electric field-induced second harmonic generation methods.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Exploratory calculation of 𝐾 L → 𝜇 + ⁢𝜇 − decay from lattice QCD at physical pion mass

We compute the complex, long-distance two-photon-exchange amplitude which contributes to the rare 𝐾 L → 𝜇 + ⁢𝜇 − decay from lattice QCD. We use a 24 3 × 64 physical-pion-mass gauge field ensemble at an inverse lattice spacing of 1.023 GeV and a QED ∞ -based formalism. Our implementation strategies for all five non-SU(3)-flavor-suppressed diagram topologies are given in detail. We achieve a 25% statistical precision on the dispersive part of this long-distance amplitude. This calculation is carried out with 2+1 quark flavors and therefore requires the addition of counterterms to compensate for the absence of the Glashow-Iliopoulos-Maiani mechanism. These counterterms are not included in the current calculation and will be the subject of a second paper. Although a direct comparison to experiment cannot yet be made because of those omitted counterterms, the present exploratory calculation allows one to identify principal sources of statistical uncertainty in this calculation. The precision of our results is limited by the reconstruction of the physical contribution of the 𝜂 intermediate state, for which various strategies are tested and compared.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗