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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 649 records · Page 36
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Topological photonics

Topological photonics is a rapidly emerging field of research in which geometrical and topological ideas are exploited to design and control the behavior of light. Drawing inspiration from the discovery of the quantum Hall effects and topological insulators in condensed matter, recent advances have shown how to engineer analogous effects also for photons, leading to remarkable phenomena such as the robust unidirectional propagation of light, which hold great promise for applications. Here, thanks to the flexibility and diversity of photonics systems, this field is also opening up new opportunities to realize exotic topological models and to probe and exploit topological effects in new ways. This article reviews experimental and theoretical developments in topological photonics across a wide range of experimental platforms, including photonic crystals, waveguides, metamaterials, cavities, optomechanics, silicon photonics, and circuit QED. A discussion of how changing the dimensionality and symmetries of photonics systems has allowed for the realization of different topological phases is offered, and progress in understanding the interplay of topology with non-Hermitian effects, such as dissipation, is reviewed. As an exciting perspective, topological photonics can be combined with optical nonlinearities, leading toward new collective phenomena and novel strongly correlated states of light, such as an analog of the fractional quantum Hall effect.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

High-order sampling schemes for path integrals and Gaussian chain simulations of polymers

In this work, we demonstrate that path-integral schemes, derived in the context of many-body quantum systems, benefit the simulation of Gaussian chains representing polymers. Specifically, we show how to decrease discretization corrections with little extra computation from the usual O(1/P{sup 2}) to O(1/P{sup 4}), where P is the number of beads representing the chains. As a consequence, high-order integrators necessitate much smaller P than those commonly used. Particular emphasis is placed on the questions of how to maintain this rate of convergence for open polymers and for polymers confined by a hard wall as well as how to ensure efficient sampling. The advantages of the high-order sampling schemes are illustrated by studying the surface tension of a polymer melt and the interface tension in a binary homopolymers blend.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Mixed quantum/classical theory for rotationally and vibrationally inelastic scattering of open-shell molecules and its application to the NH(X 3 Σ – ) + He collisional system

We developed the mixed quantum/classical theory (MQCT) for rotationally and vibrationally inelastic scattering of a diatomic molecule in a 2S+1 Σ electronic state with a closed-shell atom. In this approach, the rotational (and vibrational) fine-structure states of the molecule are treated quantum-mechanically, whereas the relative motion of collisional partners is treated classically. This theory is benchmarked against full quantum (close-coupling) calculations for the NH(X 3 Σ – ) + He system. Good agreement is found in all cases, and MQCT reproduces all main features of energy dependence of the cross section, except narrow scattering resonances at very low energies. Our method recovers propensity rules that govern values of close-coupling cross sections. Particularly, MQCT correctly predicts that the magnitudes of F -conserving transitions are significantly larger than those of F -changing ones. Furthermore, this new development makes MQCT a viable candidate for obtaining fine-structure resolved rotational rate coefficients at higher temperatures and for complex polyatomic systems where the standard full quantum treatment is computationally infeasible.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Simulating Dynamical Phases of Chiral p + i p Superconductors with a Trapped ion Magnet

Two-dimensional p + ip superconductors and superfluids are systems that feature chiral behavior emerging from the Cooper pairing of electrons or neutral fermionic atoms with nonzero angular momentum. Their realization has been a longstanding goal because they offer great potential utility for quantum computation and memory. However, they have so far eluded experimental observation both in solid-state systems as well as in ultracold quantum gases. Here, we propose to leverage the tremendous control offered by rotating two-dimensional trapped-ion crystals in a Penning trap to simulate the dynamical phases of two-dimensional p + ip superfluids. This is accomplished by mapping the presence or absence of a Cooper pair into an effective spin-1/2 system encoded in the ions’ electronic levels. We show how to infer the topological properties of the dynamical phases, and discuss the role of beyond mean-field corrections. More broadly, our work opens the door to use trapped-ion systems to explore exotic models of topological superconductivity and also paves the way to generate and manipulate skyrmionic spin textures in these platforms.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Ab-initio nucleon-nucleon correlations and their impact on high energy 16 O+ 16 O collisions

Investigating nucleon-nucleon correlations inherent to the strong nuclear force is one of the core goals in nuclear physics research. We showcase the unique opportunities offered by collisions of 16 O nuclei at high-energy facilities to reveal detailed many-body properties of the nuclear ground state. We interface existing knowledge about the geometry of 16 O coming from ab-initio calculations of nuclear structure with transport simulations of high-energy 16 O+ 16 O collisions. Bulk observables in these processes, such as the elliptic flow or the fluctuations of the mean transverse momentum, are found to depend significantly on the input nuclear model and to be sensitive to realistic clustering and short-range repulsive correlations, effectively opening a new avenue to probe these features experimentally. This finding demonstrates collisions of oxygen nuclei as a tool to elucidate initial conditions of small collision systems while fostering connections with effective field theories of nuclei rooted in quantum chromodynamics (QCD).

Zhang, Chunjian [Fudan University, Shanghai (China↗
DOE OSTI2022

Finite-Size Scaling on a Digital Quantum Simulator Using Quantum Restricted Boltzmann Machine

The critical point and the critical exponents for a phase transition can be determined using the Finite-Size Scaling (FSS) analysis. This method assumes that the phase transition occurs only in the infinite size limit. However, there has been a lot of interest recently in quantum phase transitions occurring in finite size systems such as a single two-level system interacting with a single bosonic mode e.g., in the Quantum Rabi Model (QRM). Since these phase transitions occur at a finite system size, the traditional FSS method is rendered inapplicable for these cases. For cases like this, we propose an alternative FSS method in which the truncation of the system is done in the Hilbert space instead of the physical space. This approach has previously been used to calculate the critical parameters for stability and symmetry breaking of electronic structure configurations of atomic and molecular systems. We calculate the critical point for the quantum phase transition of the QRM using this approach. We also provide a protocol to implement this method on a digital quantum simulator using the Quantum Restricted Boltzmann Machine algorithm. Our work opens up a new direction in the study of quantum phase transitions on quantum devices.

Khalid, Bilal↗
DOE OSTI2025

Tunable phononic quantum interference induced by two-dimensional metals

Harnessing quantum interference among bosons provides opportunities due to their longer coherence time than fermions. Fano resonance, an example of quantum interference between discrete and continuous states, is marked by an asymmetric lineshape. While photon-based Fano resonance has enabled high-sensitivity molecule sensing, phonon-based Fano resonance remains underexplored because of ineffective interference between discrete phonons and electronic continuum. In this work, we report phonon-based Fano resonance in a graphene/2D Ag/SiC heterostructure, arising from frequency and lifetime matching between discrete and continuous phonons of SiC. The observed Fano asymmetry is tunable over two orders of magnitude, surpassing previously reported phonon-based systems. The 2D Ag layer restructures the interfacial SiC and facilitates resonant scattering to enhance Fano asymmetry, which is unattainable in conventional Ag. We further demonstrated that this Fano resonance allows ultrasensitive molecule detection at the single-molecule level. Our work highlights phonon-based Fano resonance, opening avenues for engineering quantum interference with phonons.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2014

GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells with indirect-gap AlGaAs barriers for solar cell applications

We have fabricated GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well (QW) solar cells in which 3 nm-thick QWs and indirect-gap Al{sub 0.78}Ga{sub 0.22}As barriers are embedded, and we studied extraction processes of photogenerated carriers in this QW system. The photocurrent under 700 nm light illumination at voltages close to the open-circuit voltage shows only a small reduction, indicating that the carrier recombination inside QWs is largely suppressed. We attribute this result to an efficient extraction of electrons from the QWs through the X-valley of AlGaAs. The insertion of QWs is shown to be effective in extending the absorption wavelengths and in enhancing the photocurrent. The use of indirect-gap materials as barriers is found to enhance carrier extraction processes, and result in an improved performance of QW solar cells.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Photochromic Properties and Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering Spectra of Indoline Spiropyran in Silver-Based Nanocomposite Films

The structure and photochromic transformations of composite organometallic nanosystems composed of Ag nanoparticles covered with a layer of indoline-spiropyran (ISP) molecules from solutions were studied by spectrophotometry, surface Raman scattering spectroscopy (SERS) and quantum chemistry. Analysis of experimental data showed that studied nanostructured systems have photochromic properties, manifested in the reversible photo-induced changes both of the electronic-absorption spectra and of the relative intensity of the SERS bands. The open form of ISP, formed in the organometallic nanostructured film as a result of photochromic transformations, has an adsorption geometry, and, possibly, a conformation different from that formed as a result of chemisorption of ISP molecules on silver colloids.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Dirty-boson physics with magnetic insulators

We report on recent theoretical and experimental efforts aimed at the investigation of the physics of interacting disordered bosons (so-called dirty bosons) in the context of quantum magnetism. The physics of dirty bosons is relevant to a wide variety of condensed matter systems, encompassing helium in porous media, granular superconductors, and ultracold atoms in disordered optical potentials, to cite a few. Nevertheless, the understanding of the transition from a localized, Bose-glass phase to an ordered, superfluid condensate phase still represents a fundamentally open problem. Still to be constructed is also a quantitative description of the highly inhomogeneous and strongly correlated phases connected by the transition. We observe how disordered magnetic insulators in a strong magnetic field can provide a well-controlled realization of the above transition. Combining numerical simulations with experiments on real materials can demonstrate some fundamental properties of the critical behavior, such as the scaling of the critical temperature to condensation close to the quantum critical point.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Reactive optical matter: light-induced motility in electrodynamically asymmetric nanoscale scatterers

From Newton’s third law, which is known as the principle of actio et reactio, we expect the forces between interacting particles to be equal and opposite for closed systems. Otherwise, “nonreciprocal” forces can arise. This has been shown theoretically in the interaction between dissimilar optically trapped particles that are mediated by an external field. As a result, despite the incident external field not having a transverse component of momentum, the particle pair experiences a force in a direction that is transverse to the light propagation direction. In this letter, we directly measure the net nonreciprocal forces in electrodynamically interacting asymmetric nanoparticle dimers and nanoparticle structures that are illuminated by plane waves and confined to pseudo one-dimensional geometries. We show via electrodynamic theory and simulations that interparticle interactions cause asymmetric scattering from heterodimers. Therefore, the nonreciprocal forces are a consequence of momentum conservation. Our study demonstrates that asymmetric scatterers exhibit directed motion due to the breakdown of mirror symmetry in open systems that involve incident external fields.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Development of a novel miniature detonation-driven shock tube assembly that uses in situ generated oxyhydrogen mixture

A novel concept to generate miniature shockwaves in a safe, repeatable, and controllable manner in laboratory confinements using an in situ oxyhydrogen generator has been proposed and demonstrated. This method proves to be more advantageous than existing methods because there is flexibility to vary strength of the shockwave, there is no need for storage of high pressure gases, and there is minimal waste disposal. The required amount of oxyhydrogen mixture is generated using alkaline electrolysis that produces hydrogen and oxygen gases in stoichiometric quantity. The rate of oxyhydrogen mixture production for the newly designed oxyhydrogen generator is found to be around 8 ml/s experimentally. The oxyhydrogen generator is connected to the driver section of a specially designed 10 mm square miniature shock tube assembly. A numerical code that uses CANTERA software package is used to predict the properties of the driver gas in the miniature shock tube. This prediction along with the 1-D shock tube theory is used to calculate the properties of the generated shockwave and matches reasonably well with the experimentally obtained values for oxyhydrogen mixture fill pressures less than 2.5 bars. The miniature shock tube employs a modified tri-clover clamp assembly to facilitate quick changing of diaphragm and replaces the more cumbersome nut and bolt system of fastening components. The versatile nature of oxyhydrogen detonation-driven miniature shock tube opens up new horizons for shockwave-assisted interdisciplinary applications.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Logical error rates for the surface code under a mixed coherent and stochastic circuit-level noise model inspired by trapped ions

With fault-tolerant quantum computing (FTQC) on the horizon, it is critical to understand sources of logical errors in plausible hardware implementations of quantum error-correcting codes. Detailed error modeling of computational instructions on particular FTQC architectures will enable the better prediction of error propagation in FT-encoded quantum circuits while revealing where greater attention is needed in hardware design. In this work, we consider logical error rates for the surface code implemented on a hypothetical grid-based trapped-ion quantum charge-coupled device architecture. Specifically, we construct logical channels for the idling surface code and examine its diamond error under a mixed coherent and stochastic circuit-level noise model inspired by trapped ions. We include the coherent dephasing noise that is known to accumulate during physical qubit idling and transport in these systems, determining idling and transport durations using the time-resolved output of an open-source trapped-ion surface code compiler. To estimate expectation values of logical Pauli observables following hardware circuits containing non-Clifford sources of noise, we utilize a Monte Carlo technique to sample from an underlying quasiprobability distribution of Clifford circuits that we independently simulate in a phase-sensitive fashion. We verify error suppression up to code distance 𝑑 = 11 at coherent dephasing rates near and below those of current-generation trapped-ion quantum computers and find that logical error rates align with those of analogous fully stochastic simulations in this regime. Exploring higher dephasing rates at 𝑑 = 3−5, we find evidence for growing coherent rotations about all three logical Pauli axes, increased diagonal logical error process matrix elements relative to those of stochastic simulations, and a reduced dephasing rate threshold. Overall, our work paves a way toward realistic hardware emulation of small fault-tolerant quantum processes, e.g., members of an FTQC instruction set.

Quantum benchmarking↗
DOE OSTI2020

Effective entropy of quantum fields coupled with gravity

Entanglement entropy, or von Neumann entropy, quantifies the amount of uncertainty of a quantum state. For quantum fields in curved space, entanglement entropy of the quantum field theory degrees of freedom is well-defined for a fixed background geometry. In this paper, we propose a generalization of the quantum field theory entanglement entropy by including dynamical gravity. The generalized quantity named effective entropy, and its Renyi entropy generalizations, are defined by analytic continuation of a replica calculation. The replicated theory is defined as a gravitational path integral with multiple copies of the original boundary conditions, with a co-dimension-2 brane at the boundary of region we are studying. We discuss different approaches to define the region in a gauge invariant way, and show that the effective entropy satisfies the quantum extremal surface formula. When the quantum fields carry a significant amount of entanglement, the quantum extremal surface can have a topology transition, after which an entanglement island region appears. Our result generalizes the Hubeny-Rangamani-Takayanagi formula of holographic entropy (with quantum corrections) to general geometries without asymptotic AdS boundary, and provides a more solid framework for addressing problems such as the Page curve of evaporating black holes in asymptotic flat spacetime. We apply the formula to two example systems, a closed two-dimensional universe and a four-dimensional maximally extended Schwarzchild black hole. We discuss the analog of the effective entropy in random tensor network models, which provides more concrete understanding of quantum information properties in general dynamical geometries. We show that, in absence of a large boundary like in AdS space case, it is essential to introduce ancilla that couples to the original system, in order for correctly characterizing quantum states and correlation functions in the random tensor network. Using the superdensity operator formalism, we study the system with ancilla and show how quantum information in the entanglement island can be reconstructed in a state-dependent and observer-dependent map. We study the closed universe (without spatial boundary) case and discuss how it is related to open universe.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Signatures of a Majorana-Fermi surface in the Kitaev magnet Ag 3 LiIr 2 O 6

Detecting Majorana fermions in experimental realizations of the Kitaev honeycomb model is often complicated by non-trivial interactions inherent to potential spin liquid candidates. In this work, we identify several distinct thermodynamic signatures of massive, itinerant Majorana fermions within the well-established analytical paradigm of Landau-Fermi liquid theory. We find a qualitative and quantitative agreement between the salient features of our Landau-Majorana liquid theory and the Kitaev spin liquid candidate Ag 3 LiIr 2 O 6 . Our study presents strong evidence for a Fermi liquid-like ground state in the fundamental excitations of a honeycomb iridate, and opens new experimental avenues to detect itinerant Majorana fermions in condensed matter systems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Towards achieving strong coupling in three-dimensional-cavity with solid state spin resonance

We investigate the microwave magnetic field confinement in several microwave three-dimensional (3D)-cavities, using a 3D finite-element analysis to determine the best design and achieve a strong coupling between microwave resonant cavity photons and solid state spins. Specifically, we design cavities for achieving strong coupling of electromagnetic modes with an ensemble of nitrogen vacancy (NV) defects in diamond. We report here a novel and practical cavity design with a magnetic filling factor of up to 4 times (2 times higher collective coupling) than previously achieved using one-dimensional superconducting cavities with a small mode volume. In addition, we show that by using a double-split resonator cavity, it is possible to achieve up to 200 times better cooperative factor than the currently demonstrated with NV in diamond. These designs open up further opportunities for studying strong and ultra-strong coupling effects on spins in solids using alternative systems with a wider range of design parameters. The strong coupling of paramagnetic spin defects with a photonic cavity is used in quantum computer architecture, to interface electrons spins with photons, facilitating their read-out and processing of quantum information. To achieve this, the combination of collective coupling of spins and cavity mode is more feasible and offers a promising method. This is a relevant milestone to develop advanced quantum technology and to test fundamental physics principles.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2013

Statistical physics of black holes as quantum-mechanical systems

Some basic features of black-hole statistical mechanics are investigated, assuming that black holes respect the principles of quantum mechanics. Care is needed in defining an entropy S bh corresponding to the number of microstates of a black hole, given that the black hole interacts with its surroundings. An open question is then the relationship between this entropy and the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy S BH . For a wide class of models with interactions needed to ensure unitary quantum evolution, these interactions produce extra energy flux beyond that predicted by Hawking. Arguments are then presented that this results in an entropy S bh that is smaller than S BH . Correspondingly, in such scenarios equilibrium properties of black holes are modified. In this work, we examine questions of consistency of such an inequality; if it is not consistent, that provides significant constraints on models for quantum-mechanical black hole evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗