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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 631 records · Page 35
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DOE OSTI2022

Degeneracy engineering for classical and quantum annealing: A case study of sparse linear regression in collider physics

Classical and quantum annealing are computing paradigms that have been proposed to solve a wide range of optimization problems. In this paper, we aim to enhance the performance of annealing algorithms by introducing the technique of degeneracy engineering, through which the relative degeneracy of the ground state is increased by modifying a subset of terms in the objective Hamiltonian. We illustrate this novel approach by applying it to the example of ℓ 0 -norm regularization for sparse linear regression, which is, in general, an NP-hard optimization problem. Specifically, we show how to cast ℓ 0 -norm regularization as a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) problem, suitable for implementation on annealing platforms. As a case study, we apply this QUBO formulation to energy flow polynomials in high-energy collider physics, finding that degeneracy engineering substantially improves the annealing performance. Furthermore, our results motivate the application of degeneracy engineering to a variety of regularized optimization problems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Generalized Ginsparg-Wilson relations

We give a general derivation of Ginsparg-Wilson relations for both Dirac and Majorana fermions in any dimension. These relations encode continuous and discrete chiral, parity and time-reversal anomalies and will apply to the various classes of free-fermion topological insulators and superconductors (in the framework of a relativistic quantum field theory in Euclidean spacetime). We show how to formulate the exact symmetries of the lattice action and the relevant index theorems for the anomalies. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

What is the geometry of effective field theories?

We elaborate on a recently proposed geometric framework for scalar effective field theories. Starting from the action, a metric can be identified that enables the construction of geometric quantities on the associated functional manifold. These objects transform covariantly under general field redefinitions that relate different operator bases, including those involving derivatives. We present a novel geometric formula for the amplitudes of the theory, where the vertices in Feynman diagrams are replaced by their geometrized counterparts. This makes the on-shell covariance of amplitudes manifest, providing the link between functional geometry and effective field theories.

effective field theory↗
DOE OSTI2020

Weak scaling of the contact distance between two fluctuating interfaces with system size

A pair of flat parallel surfaces, each freely diffusing along the direction of their separation, will eventually come into contact. If the shapes of these surfaces also fluctuate, then contact will occur when their centers-of-mass remain separated by a nonzero distance ℓ. An example of such a situation is the motion of interfaces between two phases at conditions of thermodynamic coexistence, and in particular the annihilation of domain wall pairs under periodic boundary conditions. Here we present a general approach to calculate the probability distribution of the contact distance ℓ and determine how its most likely value ℓ* depends on the surfaces' lateral size L. Using the Edward-Wilkinson equation as a model for interfaces, we demonstrate that ℓ* scales weakly with system size, i.e., the dependence of ℓ* on L for both (1+1)- and (2+1)-dimensional interfaces is such that lim L→∞ (ℓ*/L) = 0. In particular, for (2+1)-dimensional interfaces ℓ* is an algebraic function of logL, a result that is confirmed by computer simulations of slab-shaped domains formed under periodic boundary conditions. Overall, this weak scaling implies that such domains remain topologically intact until ℓ becomes very small compared to the lateral size of the interface, contradicting expectations from equilibrium thermodynamics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Quantum thermodynamics from the nonequilibrium dynamics of open systems: Energy, heat capacity, and the third law

In a series of papers, we intend to take the perspective of open quantum systems and examine from their nonequilibrium dynamics the conditions when the physical quantities, their relations, and the laws of thermodynamics become well defined and viable for quantum many-body systems. We first describe how an open-system nonequilibrium dynamics (ONEq) approach is different from the closed combined system + environment in a global thermal state (CGTs) setup. Only after the open system equilibrates will it be amenable to conventional thermodynamics descriptions, thus quantum thermodynamics (QTD) comes at the end rather than assumed in the beginning. The linkage between the two comes from the reduced density matrix of ONEq in that stage having the same form as that of the system in the CGTs. We see the open-system approach having the advantage of dealing with nonequilibrium processes as many experiments in the near future will call for. Because it spells out the conditions of QTD's existence, it can also aid us in addressing the basic issues in quantum thermodynamics from first principles in a systematic way. We then study one broad class of open quantum systems where the full nonequilibrium dynamics can be solved exactly, that of the quantum Brownian motion of N strongly coupled harmonic oscillators, interacting strongly with a scalar-field environment. In this paper, we focus on the internal energy, heat capacity, and the third law. We show for this class of physical models, amongst other findings, the extensive property of the internal energy, the positivity of the heat capacity, and the validity of the third law from the perspective of the behavior of the heat capacity toward zero temperature. These conclusions obtained from exact solutions and quantitative analysis clearly disprove claims of negative specific heat in such systems and dispel allegations that in such systems the validity of the third law of thermodynamics relies on quantum entanglement. They are conceptually and factually unrelated issues. As a result, entropy and entanglement will be the main theme of our second paper on this subject matter.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗