Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “nonequilibrium fluctuations”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Magnetic hysteresis experiments performed on quantum annealers

While quantum annealers have emerged as versatile and controllable platforms for experimenting on correlated spin systems, the important phenomenology of magnetic memory and hysteresis remain unexplored on hardware designed to escape metastable states via quantum tunneling. Here, we present the first general protocol to experiment on magnetic hysteresis on programmable quantum annealers and implement it on three D-Wave superconducting qubit quantum annealers, using up to thousands of spins, for both ferromagnetic and disordered Ising models, and across different graph topologies. We observe hysteresis loops whose area depends nonmonotonically on quantum fluctuations, exhibiting both expected and unexpected features, such as disorder-induced steps and nonmonotonicities. Our work establishes quantum annealers as a platform for probing nonequilibrium emergent magnetic phenomena, thereby broadening the role of analog quantum computers into foundational questions in condensed matter physics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1974

Strongly magnetized classical plasma models

Discrete particle processes in the presence of a strong external magnetic field were investigated. These processes include equations of state and other equilibrium thermodynamic relations, thermal relaxation phenomena, transport properties, and microscopic statistical fluctuations in such quantities as the electric field and the charge density. Results from the equilibrium statistical mechanics of two-dimensional plasmas are discussed, along with nonequilibrium statistical mechanics of the electrostatic guiding-center plasma (a two-dimensional plasma model).

Montgomery, D.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Coronal Holes

This paper reviews measurements of the plasma properties in coronal holes and how these measurements are used to reveal details about the physical processes that heat the solar corona and accelerate the solar wind. Evidence is presented for both heating and acceleration of the solar wind by open flux tubes energized by footpoint-driven wave-like fluctuations, and for intermittent energy deposition from closed loops into the open-field regions. Special emphasis is given to spectroscopic and coronagraphic measurements that allow the highly dynamic nonequilibrium evolution of the plasma to be followed as the asymptotic conditions in interplanetary space are established in the extended corona. For example, the importance of kinetic plasma physics and turbulence in coronal holes has been affirmed by surprising measurements from the UVCS instrument on SOHO that heavy ions are heated to hundreds of times the temperatures of protons and electrons. These observations point to specific kinds of collisionless Alfven wave damping (i.e., ion cyclotron resonance). Despite our incomplete knowledge of the complex multi-scale plasma physics, much progress has been made toward the goal of understanding the physical processes ultimately responsible for producing the observed properties of coronal holes.

Cranmer, Steven R.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Casimir interactions between two parallel graphene sheets carrying steady-state drift currents

Here, we investigate the fluctuation-induced Casimir interactions between two parallel graphene sheets carrying steady-state drift currents. The graphene properties are modeled based on the shifted Fermi disk model to capture the nonequilibrium optical response of the system. We find that the drift current introduces a repulsive correction to the perpendicular to the layers Casimir interaction, thereby reducing the overall attractive force. Although the correction is repulsive, it does not overcome the underlying attraction between the layers. It also generates a lateral force that opposes the carrier flow direction. Both contributions are studied in terms of distance and drift velocity functionalities showing pathways for Casimir force control.

Ke, Modi [University of South Florida, Tampa, FL (↗
DOE OSTI2023

Spontaneous Symmetry–Breaking of Nonequilibrium Steady–States Caused by Nonlinear Electrical Transport

Negative differential resistance (NDR) in certain materials has been attributed to spontaneous emergence of symmetry-breaking electrical current density localization from a previously homogeneous distribution, which is postulated to occur due to the nonequilibrium thermodynamic force of minimization of entropy production. However, this phenomenon has not been quantitatively predicted based on intrinsic material properties and an applied electrical stimulus. Herein an instability criterion is derived for localization of current density and temperature from a thermal fluctuation in a parallel conductor model of a thin film that is subject to Newton's law of cooling. The conditions for steady–state electro-thermal localization is predicted, verifying a decrease in entropy production upon localization. Electro-thermal localization accompanied by a decrease of entropy production is confirmed in a multiphysics simulation of current flow in a thin film. The instability criterion predicts conditions for spontaneous current density localization, relating symmetry breaking fundamentally to dynamical instability via Local Activity theory.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Nonequilibrium dynamics of spontaneous symmetry breaking into a hidden state of charge-density wave

Abstract Nonequilibrium phase transitions play a pivotal role in broad physical contexts, from condensed matter to cosmology. Tracking the formation of nonequilibrium phases in condensed matter requires a resolution of the long-range cooperativity on ultra-short timescales. Here, we study the spontaneous transformation of a charge-density wave in CeTe 3 from a stripe order into a bi-directional state inaccessible thermodynamically but is induced by intense laser pulses. With ≈100 fs resolution coherent electron diffraction, we capture the entire course of this transformation and show self-organization that defines a nonthermal critical point, unveiling the nonequilibrium energy landscape. We discuss the generation of instabilities by a swift interaction quench that changes the system symmetry preference, and the phase ordering dynamics orchestrated over a nonadiabatic timescale to allow new order parameter fluctuations to gain long-range correlations. Remarkably, the subsequent thermalization locks the remnants of the transient order into longer-lived topological defects for more than 2 ns.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1997

Turbulent Distortion of Condensate Accretion

When a simple model for the relationship between the density-temperature fluctuation correlation and mean values is used, we determine that the rate of change of turbulent intensity can influence directly the accretion rate of droplets. Considerable interest exists in the accretion rate for condensates in nonequilibrium flow with icing and the potential role which reactant accretion can play in nonequilibrium exothermic reactant processes. Turbulence is thought to play an important role in such flows. It has already been experimentally determined that turbulence influences the sizes of droplets in the heterogeneous nucleation of supersaturated vapors. This paper addresses the issue of the possible influence of turbulence on the accretion rate of droplets.

Hazoume, R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

A hydrodynamic approach to cosmology: The mixed dark matter cosmological scenario

We compute the evolution of spatially flat, mixed cold and hot dark matter models containing both baryonic matter and two kinds of dark matter. Hydrodynamics is treated with a highly developed Eulerian hydrodynamic code (see Cen 1992). A standard particle-mesh (PM) code is also used in parallel to calculate the motion of the dark matter components. We adopt the following parameters: h equivalent to (sub 0)/100 km/s Mpc(exp -1) = 0.5, OMEGA(sub C) = 0.3, and OMEGA(sub B) = 0.06, with amplitude of the perturbation spectrum fixed by the Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE) Dark Matter Radiation (DMR) measurements (Smoot et al. 1992) being sigma (sub 8) = 0.67. Four different boxes are simulated with box sizes of L = (64, 16, 4, 1) h(exp -1) Mpc, respectively, the two small boxes providing good resolution but little valid information due to absence of large-scale power. We use 128(exp 3) approximate 10(exp 6.3) baryonic cells, 128(exp .3) cold dark matter particles, and 2 x 128(exp 3) hot dark matter particles. In addition to the dark matter we follow separately six baryonic species (H, H(+), He, He(+), He(++), e(-)) with allowance for both (nonequilibrium) collisional and radiative ionization in every cell. The background radiation field is also followed in detail with allowance made for both continuum and line processes, to allow nonequilibrium heating and cooling processes to be followed in detail. The mean final Zeldovich-Sunyaev y parameter is estimated to be y Bar = (5.4 + or - 2.7) x 10(exp -7) below currently attainable observations, with a rms fluctuation of approximately delta bar y = (0.6 + or - 3.0) x 10(exp -7) on arcminute scales. The rate of galaxy formation peaks at an even later epoch (z approximate 0.3) than in the standard (OMEGA = 1, sigma sub 8 = 0.67) cold dark matter (CDM) model (z approximate 0.5) and, at a redshift of z = 4, is nearly a factor of 100 lower than for the CDM model with the same value of sigma sub 8. With regard to mass function, the smallest objects are stabilized against collapse by thermal energy: the mass-weighted mass spectrum has a broad peak in the vicinity of M(sub B) = 10(exp 9.5) solar mass with a reasonable fit to the Schechter luminosity function if the ratio of baryon mass to blue light is approximately 4. In addition, one very large PM simulation was made in a box with size (320 h(exp - 1) Mpc) containing 3 x 200(exp 3) = 10(exp 7.4) particles. Utilizing this simulation we find that the model yields a cluster mass function which is about a factor of 4 higher than observed, but a cluster-cluster correlation length marginally lower than observed, but that both are closer to observations than in the (COBE) normalized CDM model. The one-dimensional pairwise velocity dispersion is 605 + or - 8 km/s at 1/h separation, lower than that of the DCM model normalized to COBE, but still significant higher than observations (Davis & Peebles 1983). A plausible velocity bias b(sub v) = 0.8 + or - 0.1 on this scale will reduce but not remove the discrepancy. The velocity auto-correlat ion function has a coherence length of 40/h Mpc, which is somewhat lower than the observed counterpart. In all these respects the model would be improved by decreasing the cold fraction of the dark OMEGA(sub CDM)/ (OMEGA(sub CDM) + OMEGA(sub HDB). But formation of galaxies and clusters of galaxies is much later in this model than in COBE-normalized CDM, perhaps too late. To improve on these constraints a larger ratio of OMEGA(sub CDM)/ (OMEGA(sub CDM) + OMEGA(sub HDM)) is required than the value of 0.67 adopted here. It does not seem possible to find a value for this ratio which would satisfy all tests. Overall, the model is similar both on large and intermediate scales to the standard CDM model normalized to the same value of sigma(sub B), but the problem with regard to late formation of galaxies is more severe in this model than in that CDM model. Adding hot dark matter, significantly improves the ability of the COBE-normalized CDM scenario to fit existing observations, but the model is in fact not as good as the CDM model with the same sigma(sub 8) and is still probably unsatisfactory with regard to several critical tests.

Cen, Renyue↗
DOE OSTI2022

Dynamics of active liquid interfaces

Controlling interfaces of phase-separating fluid mixtures is key to the creation of diverse functional soft materials. Traditionally, this is accomplished with surface-modifying chemical agents. Using experiment and theory, we studied how mechanical activity shapes soft interfaces that separate an active and a passive fluid. Chaotic flows in the active fluid give rise to giant interfacial fluctuations and noninertial propagating active waves. At high activities, stresses disrupt interface continuity and drive droplet generation, producing an emulsion-like active state composed of finite-sized droplets. When in contact with a solid boundary, active interfaces exhibit nonequilibrium wetting transitions, in which the fluid climbs the wall against gravity. These results demonstrate the promise of mechanically driven interfaces for creating a new class of soft active matter.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
NASA NTRS1994

Proposed law of nature linking impacts, plume volcanism, and Milankovitch cycles to terrestrial vertebrate mass extinctions via greenhouse-embryo death coupling

A greenhouse-physiological coupling killing mechanism active among mammals, birds, and reptiles has been identified. Operating via environmental thermal effects upon the maternal core-skin blood flow critical to the survival and development of embryos, it reduces the flow of blood to the uterine tract. Today, during hot summers, this phenomena kills embryos on a vast, global scale. Because of sensitivity of many mammals to modern heat, a major modern greenhouse could reduce population numbers on a global scale, and potentially trigger population collapses in the more vulnerable parts of the world. In the geological past, the killing mechanism has likely been triggered into action by greenhouse warming via impact events, plume volcanism, and Earth orbital variations (Milankovitch cycles). Earth's biosphere is maintained and molded by the flow of energy from the solar energy source to Earth and on to the space energy sink (SES). This SES energy flow maintains Earth's biosphere and its living components, as open, intermediate, dissipative, nonequilibrium systems whose states are dependent upon the rate of energy flowing through them. Greenhouse gases such as CO2 in the atmosphere influence the SES energy flow rate. Steady-state flow is necessary for global ecological stability (autopoiesis). Natural fluctuations of the C cycle such as rapid releases of CO2 from the mantle, or oceans, disrupt steady-state SES flow. These fluctuations constantly challenge the biosphere; slowdown of SES energy flow drives it toward thermodynamical equilibrium and stagnation. Fluctuations induced by impact event, mantle plume volcanism, and Milankovitch cycles can grow into structure-breaking waves triggering major perturbations of Earth's C cycle and mass extinctions. A major C cycle perturbation involves readjustment of the outer physiochemical spheres of the Earth: the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere; and by necessity, the biosphere. A greenhouse, one manifestation of a major C cycle perturbation, is the most dangerous natural phenomenon that life on Earth can experience. Greenhouse conditions existed during the KT mass extinctions of 65 m.y. ago, and the Pleistocene-Holocene (P-H) mammalian extinctions of 10,000-12,000 yr ago. Coupling climatology to reproductive physiology via effects of ambient air temperature upon uterine blood flow to developing embryos accounts for the extinctions via established physiological principles.

Mclean, D. M.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Fluctuation dynamics near the QCD critical point

The evolution of nonhydrodynamic slow processes near the QCD critical point is explored with the novel hydro+ framework, which extends the conventional hydrodynamic description by coupling it to additional explicitly evolving slow modes describing long wavelength fluctuations. Here, their slow relaxation is controlled by critical behavior of the correlation length and is independent from gradients of matter density and pressure that control the evolution of the hydrodynamic quantities. In this exploratory study, we follow the evolution of the slow modes on top of a simplified QCD matter background, allowing us to clearly distinguish and study, both separately and in combination, the main effects controlling the dynamics of critical slow modes. In particular, we show how the evolution of the slow modes depends on their wave number, the expansion of and advection by the fluid background, and the behavior of the correlation length. Nonequilibrium contributions from the slow modes to bulk matter properties that affect the bulk dynamics (entropy, pressure, temperature, and chemical potential) are discussed and found to be small.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Phase Separation, Capillarity, and Odd-Surface Flows in Chiral Active Matter

Active phase separations evade canonical thermodynamic descriptions and have thus challenged our understanding of coexistence and interfacial phenomena. Considerable progress has been made towards a nonequilibrium theoretical description of these traditionally thermodynamic concepts. Spatial parity symmetry is conspicuously assumed in much of this progress, despite the ubiquity of chirality in experimentally realized systems. Here, in this Letter, we derive a theory for the phase coexistence and interfacial fluctuations of a system that microscopically violates spatial parity. We find suppression of the phase separation as chirality is increased as well as the development of steady-state currents tangential to the interface dividing the phases. These odd flows are irrelevant to stationary interfacial properties, with stability, capillary fluctuations, and surface area minimization determined entirely by the capillary surface tension. Using large-scale Brownian dynamics simulations, we find excellent agreement with our theoretical scaling predictions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Mapping Local Dissipation and Entropy Production in Complex and Active Fluids

While global entropy production provides a measure of irreversibility, its partitioning into contributions from local regions is key to understanding the mechanisms underlying time-reversal symmetry breaking in complex systems and active matter. Here, by analyzing local heat flows and fluxes, we propose a framework that enables the mapping of local dissipation and entropy production in a nonequilibrium system. We test this approach in simulations of fluids driven through complex environments and active systems. We connect the results across the local and global scales by showing that local dissipation and entropy production satisfy a local version of the usual (global) fluctuation theorem, which accounts for the correlations between the local region and its surroundings. Interestingly, in the case of the active fluid, our analysis reveals that these correlations are of opposite signs for the active (stochastic) and passive (deterministic) contributions to local dissipation.

Entropy↗
DOE OSTI2020

Investigation of flow regimes in arc plasma–gas interactions using a two-temperature arc in crossflow model

The perpendicular impingement of a gas stream on an electric arc, a configuration known as the arc in crossflow, is of primary relevance in the study of plasma-gas interactions, as well as in industrial applications such as circuit breakers and wire-arc spraying. The flow dynamics in the arc in crossflow are the result of coupled fluid-thermal-electromagnetic phenomena accompanied by large property gradients, which can produce significant deviations from Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE) among electrons and gas species. These characteristics can lead to the establishment of distinct flow regimes depending on the relative values of the controlling parameters of the system, such as inflow velocity, arc current, and inter-electrode spacing. A two-temperature non-LTE (NLTE) model is used to investigate the arc dynamics and the establishment of flow regimes in the arc in crossflow. The plasma flow model is implemented within a nonlinear Variational Multiscale (VMS) numerical discretization approach that is less dissipative, and hence better suited to capture unstable behavior, than traditional VMS methods commonly used in computational fluid dynamics simulations. The Reynolds and the Enthalpy dimensionless numbers, characterizing the relative flow strength and arc strength, respectively, are chosen as the controlling parameters of the system. Simulation results reveal the onset of dynamic behavior and the establishment of steady, periodic, quasi-periodic, and chaotic or potentially turbulent, regimes, as identified by distinct spatiotemporal fluctuations. The computational findings reveal the role of increasing the relative arc strength on enhancing flow stability by delaying the growth of fluctuating and unstable flow behavior.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1991

Numerical simulations of a nonequilibrium argon plasma in a shock-tube experiment

A code developed for the numerical modeling of nonequilibrium radiative plasmas is applied to the simulation of the propagation of strong ionizing shock waves in argon gas. The simulations attempt to reproduce a series of shock-tube experiments which will be used to validate the numerical models and procedures. The ability to perform unsteady simulations makes it possible to observe some fluctuations in the shock propagation, coupled to the kinetic processes. A coupling mechanism by pressure waves, reminiscent of oscillation mechanisms observed in detonation waves, is described. The effect of upper atomic levels is also briefly discussed.

Cambier, Jean-Luc↗
DOE OSTI2021

Phase Diagram of Active Brownian Spheres: Crystallization and the Metastability of Motility-Induced Phase Separation

Motility-induced phase separation (MIPS), the phenomenon in which purely repulsive active particles undergo a liquid-gas phase separation, is among the simplest and most widely studied examples of a nonequilibrium phase transition. Here, we show that states of MIPS coexistence are in fact only metastable for three-dimensional active Brownian particles over a very broad range of conditions, decaying at long times through an ordering transition we call active crystallization. At an activity just above the MIPS critical point, the liquid-gas binodal is superseded by the crystal-fluid coexistence curve, with solid, liquid, and gas all coexisting at the triple point where the two curves intersect. Nucleating an active crystal from a disordered fluid, however, requires a rare fluctuation that exhibits the nearly close-packed density of the solid phase. The corresponding barrier to crystallization is surmountable on a feasible timescale only at high activity, and only at fluid densities near maximal packing. The glassiness expected for such dense liquids at equilibrium is strongly mitigated by active forces, so that the lifetime of liquid-gas coexistence declines steadily with increasing activity, manifesting in simulations as a facile spontaneous crystallization at incredibly high activity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Magnetoelectronic phenomena due to quantum magnetization fluctuations

The goal of the project was to identify techniques to study magnetoelectronic phenomena such as spin transfer (ST) that stem from the quantum-mechanical nature of magnetization, and utilize them to characterize these quantum phenomena. The first such technique, electronic measurements based on the dependence of resistance on the population of spin-wave quanta (magnons) in a magnetic nanostructure, was shown by detailed measurements to be significantly influenced by the current-driven generation of a highly nonequilibrium phonon distribution by electrical current. This previously unrecognized phenomenon adds to the understanding of current-induced heating phenomena, qualitatively changes the methodology of analysis of current-induced heating common in scientific studies and engineering of current-carrying nanostructures. It benefits the public by providing a new direction for mitigation of Joule heating effects in electronic devices. The project also included quantum simulations of current-induced effects in magnetic nanostructures, which revealed that linear momentum and energy conservation are important for ST. Only angular momentum conservation was previously believed to be important. This finding is important for the fundamental understanding of ST, and for the design of efficient magnetoelectronic devices taking advantage of these conservation laws. Simulations also showed that non-classical ST is dominant in antiferromagnets, which will transform the understanding of ST in these systems. Finally, experimental studies of spin-transfer in ultrathin transition metal films revealed very large non-classical effects which were traced to the quantum origins of magnetism associated in the studied systems with the formation of an orbital liquid state. These findings i) transform the understanding of "conventional" transition-metal magnetism, ii) open a new field of studies in magnetism and a new method for the electronic control of magnetic properties and magnetism itself, and iii) provide a new approach to the development of efficient magnetoelectronic devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Langevin dynamics of generalized spins as SU( N ) coherent states

Classical models of spin systems traditionally retain only the dipole moments, but a quantum spin state will frequently have additional structure. Spins of magnitude S have N = 2⁢S + 1 levels. Alternatively, the spin state is fully characterized by a set of N 2 - 1 local physical observables, which we interpret as generalized spin components. For example, a spin with S = 1 has three dipole components and five quadrupole components. Further, these components evolve under a generalization of the classical Landau-Lifshitz dynamics, which can be extended with noise and damping terms. In this paper, we reformulate the dynamical equations of motion as a Langevin dynamics of SU(N) coherent states in the Schrödinger picture. This viewpoint is especially useful as the basis for an efficient numerical method to sample spin configurations in thermal equilibrium and to simulate the relaxation and driven motion of topological solitons. To illustrate the approach, we simulate a nonequilibrium relaxation process that creates CP 2 skyrmions, which are topological defects with both dipole and quadrupole character.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗