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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 793 records · Page 44
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

An experimental study on the characterization of electric charge in electrostatic dust removal

Automatic dust removal using the electrostatic forces of electrodynamic screen (EDS) is an emerging method for mitigation of energy yield losses caused by dust accumulation on solar collectors. Both electric field distribution and dust particles' charge acquired during the removal process play pivotal roles in thorough evaluation of EDS performance. Previous studies have comprehensively analyzed the electric field distribution in EDS. In this paper we have conducted a number of experiments to examine how two EDS design parameters, electrode width and inter-electrode spacing, and two operational parameters, applied voltage and relative humidity, affect dust particles' charge. Sixteen EDS prototypes in two sets were developed and tested in a laboratory environment to study the acquired charge by dust particles via charge-to-mass ratio measurements. It has been shown that the charge-to-mass ratio is directly affected by the electric field intensity on an EDS surface. Furthermore, we have shown the detrimental impact of relative humidity on EDS performance. Here, the results are advantageous in the evaluation of EDS design and its optimization to attain maximum dust removal efficiency.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Basis light-front quantization approach to photon

We solve for the light-front wave functions (LFWFs) of the physical photon from the eigenvectors of the light-front quantum electrodynamics (QED) Hamiltonian with the aim to determine its bare photon and electron-positron Fock components. We then employ the resulting LFWFs to compute the transverse momentum dependent parton distributions (TMDs) and the generalized parton distributions (GPDs) at zero skewness of the photon. The TMDs are found to be in excellent agreement with the lowest-order perturbative results calculated using the electron-positron quantum fluctuation of the photon. The GPDs are also consistent with the perturbative calculations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Pushing the limits of the periodic table — A review on atomic relativistic electronic structure theory and calculations for the superheavy elements

We review the progress in atomic structure theory with a focus on superheavy elements and their predicted ground state configurations important for an element’s placement in the periodic table. To understand the electronic structure and correlations in the regime of large atomic numbers, it is essential to correctly solve the Dirac equation in strong Coulomb fields, and to take into account quantum electrodynamic effects. We specifically focus on the fundamental difficulties encountered when dealing with the many-particle Dirac equation. We further discuss the possibility for future many-electron atomic structure calculations going beyond the critical nuclear charge $Z_{crit}≈170$, where levels such as the $1s$ shell dive into the negative energy continuum ($E_{nκ} < –m_{e}c^2$). The nature of the resulting Gamow states within a rigged Hilbert space formalism is highlighted.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Bayesian framework to investigate radiation reaction in strong fields

Recent experiments aiming to measure phenomena predicted by strong-field quantum electrodynamics (SFQED) have done so by colliding relativistic electron beams and high-power lasers. In such experiments, measurements of collision parameters are not always feasible. However, precise knowledge of these parameters is required to accurately test SFQED. Here, we present a novel Bayesian inference procedure that infers collision parameters that could not be measured on-shot. This procedure is applicable to all-optical non-linear Compton scattering experiments investigating radiation reaction. The framework allows multiple diagnostics to be combined self-consistently and facilitates the inclusion of known information pertaining to the collision parameters. Using this Bayesian analysis, the relative validity of the classical, quantum-continuous and quantum-stochastic models of radiation reaction was compared for several test cases, which demonstrates the accuracy and model selection capability of the framework and highlight its robustness if the experimental values of fixed parameters differ from their values in the models.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Microscopic Theory of Plasmons in Substrate-Supported Borophene

Here, we compute the dielectric properties of freestanding and metal-supported borophene from first-principles time-dependent density functional theory. We find that both the low- and high-energy plasmons of borophene are fully quenched by the presence of a metallic substrate at borophene–metal distances smaller than ≃9 Å. Based on these findings, we derive an electrodynamic model of the interacting, momentum-dependent polarizability for a two-dimensional metal on a model metallic substrate, which quantitatively captures the evolution of the dielectric properties of borophene as a function of metal–borophene distance. Applying this model to a series of metallic substrates, we show that maximizing the plasmon energy detuning between borophene and substrate is the key material descriptor for plasmonic performance.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Accuracy of relativistic energy-consistent pseudopotentials for superheavy elements 111-118: Molecular calibration calculations

Relativistic energy-consistent pseudopotentials modelling the Dirac-Coulomb-Breit Hamiltonian with a finite nucleus model for the superheavy elements with nuclear charges 111-118 were calibrated in atomic and molecular calculations against fully relativistic all-electron reference data. Various choices for the adjustment of the f-potentials were investigated and an improved parametrization is recommended. Using the resulting pseudopotentials relativistic all-electron reference data can be reproduced at the self-consistent field level with average absolute (relative) errors of 0.0030 A (0.15%) for bond lengths and 2.79 N m{sup -1} (1.26%) for force constants for 24 diatomic test molecules, i.e., neutral or singly charged monohydrides, monofluorides, and monochlorides with closed-shell electronic structure. At the second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation theory level the corresponding average deviations are 0.0033 A (0.15%) for bond lengths and 2.86 N m{sup -1} (1.40%) for force constants. Corresponding improved f-potentials were also derived for the pseudopotentials modelling in addition the leading contributions from quantum electrodynamics.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2013

Photoproduction of lepton pairs in proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions at RHIC and LHC energies

In this contribution we study coherent interactions as a probe of the nonlinear effects in the Quantum Electrodynamics (QED). In particular, we study the multiphoton effects in the production of leptons pairs for proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions for heavy nuclei. In the proton-nucleus we assume the ultrarelativistic proton as a source of photons and estimate the photoproduction of lepton pairs on nuclei at RHIC and LHC energies considering the multiphoton effects associated to multiple rescattering of the projectile photon on the proton of the nucleus. In nucleus - nucleus colllisions we consider the two nuclei as a source of photons. As each scattering contributes with a factor {alpha}Z to the cross section, this contribution must be taken into account for heavy nuclei. We consider the Coulomb corrections to calculate themultiple scatterings and estimate the total cross section for muon and tau pair production in proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions at RHIC and LHC energies.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Role of electron-electron interference in ultrafast time-resolved imaging of electronic wavepackets

Ultrafast time-resolved x-ray scattering is an emerging approach to image the dynamical evolution of the electronic charge distribution during complex chemical and biological processes in real-space and real-time. Recently, the differences between semiclassical and quantum-electrodynamical (QED) theory of light-matter interaction for scattering of ultrashort x-ray pulses from the electronic wavepacket were formally demonstrated and visually illustrated by scattering patterns calculated for an electronic wavepacket in atomic hydrogen [G. Dixit, O. Vendrell, and R. Santra, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 109, 11636 (2012)]. In this work, we present a detailed analysis of time-resolved x-ray scattering from a sample containing a mixture of non-stationary and stationary electrons within both the theories. In a many-electron system, the role of scattering interference between a non-stationary and several stationary electrons to the total scattering signal is investigated. In general, QED and semiclassical theory provide different results for the contribution from the scattering interference, which depends on the energy resolution of the detector and the x-ray pulse duration. The present findings are demonstrated by means of a numerical example of x-ray time-resolved imaging for an electronic wavepacket in helium. It is shown that the time-dependent scattering interference vanishes within semiclassical theory and the corresponding patterns are dominated by the scattering contribution from the time-independent interference, whereas the time-dependent scattering interference contribution do not vanish in the QED theory and the patterns are dominated by the scattering contribution from the non-stationary electron scattering.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2013

A quantum description of radiation damping and the free induction signal in magnetic resonance

We apply the methods of cavity quantum electrodynamics (CQED), to obtain a microscopic and fully quantum-mechanical picture of radiation damping in magnetic resonance, and the nascent formation of the free induction signal. Numerical solution of the Tavis-Cummings model - i.e., multiple spins 1/2 coupled to a lossless single-mode cavity - shows in fine detail the transfer of Zeeman energy, via spin coherence, to excite the cavity - represented here by a quantized LC resonator. The case of a single spin is also solved analytically. Although the motion of the Bloch vector is non-classical, we nonetheless show that the quantum mechanical Rabi nutation frequency (as enhanced by cavity coupling and stimulated emission) gives realistic estimates of macroscopic signal strength and the radiation damping constant in nuclear magnetic resonance. We also show how to introduce dissipation: cavity losses by means of a master equation, and relaxation by the phenomenological method of Bloch. The failure to obtain the full Bloch equations (unless semi-classical conditions are imposed on the cavity) is discussed in light of similar issues arising in CQED (and in earlier work in magnetic resonance as well), as are certain problems relative to quantization of the electromagnetic near-field.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2013

Time evolution analysis of the electron distribution in Thomson/Compton back-scattering

We present the time evolution of the energy distribution of a relativistic electron beam after the Compton back-scattering with a counter-propagating laser field, performed in the framework of the Quantum Electrodynamics, by means of the code CAIN. As the correct angular distribution of the spontaneous emission is accounted, the main effect is the formation of few stripes, followed by the diffusion of the more energetic particles toward lower values in the longitudinal phase space. The Chapman-Kolmogorov master equation gives results in striking agreement with the numerical ones. An experiment on the Thomson source at SPARC-LAB is proposed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2013

Nonlinear theory of intense laser-plasma interactions modified by vacuum polarization effects

The classical nonlinear theory of laser-plasma interactions is corrected by taking account of the vacuum polarization effects. A set of wave equations are obtained by using the Heisenberg-Euler Lagrangian density and the derivative correction with the first-order quantum electrodynamic effects. A model more suitable to formulate the interactions of ultra-strong lasers and high-energy-density plasmas is developed. In the result, some environments in which the effects of vacuum polarization will be enhanced are discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Electric force microscopy of semiconductors: Theory of cantilever frequency fluctuations and noncontact friction

An electric force microscope employs a charged atomic force microscope probe in vacuum to measure fluctuating electric forces above the sample surface generated by dynamics of molecules and charge carriers. We present a theoretical description of two observables in electric force microscopy of a semiconductor: the spectral density of cantilever frequency fluctuations (jitter), which are associated with low-frequency dynamics in the sample, and the coefficient of noncontact friction, induced by higher-frequency motions. The treatment is classical-mechanical, based on linear response theory and classical electrodynamics of diffusing charges in a dielectric continuum. Calculations of frequency jitter explain the absence of contributions from carrier dynamics to previous measurements of an organic field effect transistor. Calculations of noncontact friction predict decreasing friction with increasing carrier density through the suppression of carrier density fluctuations by intercarrier Coulomb interactions. The predicted carrier density dependence of the friction coefficient is consistent with measurements of the dopant density dependence of noncontact friction over Si. Our calculations predict that in contrast to the measurement of cantilever frequency jitter, a noncontact friction measurement over an organic semiconductor could show appreciable contributions from charge carriers.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Effect of plasmonic losses on light emission enhancement in quantum-wells coupled to metallic gratings

Recent experimental work has shown significant luminescence enhancement from near-surface quantum-well (QW) structures using metallic grating to convert surface plasmon (SP) modes into radiative modes. This work introduces a detailed theoretical study of plasmonic losses and the role of SPs in improving light extraction from grated light-emitting QW structures, using the fluctuational electrodynamics method. The method explains experimental results demonstrating emission enhancement, light scattering, and plasmonic coupling in the structures. We study these effects in angle-resolved reflectometry and luminescence setups in InGaN QW structures with silver grating. In contrast to experiments, our model allows direct calculation of the optical losses. The model predicts that the plasmonic coupling and scattering increases light emission by a factor of up to three compared to a flat semiconductor structure. This corresponds to reducing the absorption losses from approximately 93% in the ungrated metallic structure to 75% in the grated structure. Lower losses are associated with a significant emission enhancement enabled by the SPs of silver/GaN interfaces, which are present in the blue/green wavelength range, and can be optimized by carefully nanostructuring the metal layer and by the positioning of the QW. In general, the enhancement results from the interplay of mode scattering, conversion of SP energy directly into light, and losses in the metallic grating. The reported losses are very high when compared to the losses present in modern light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Albeit, our work provides tools needed for further optimization of plasmonic light extraction, eventually leading to highly efficient LEDs.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Higher-order electric multipole contributions to retarded non-additive three-body dispersion interaction energies between atoms: Equilateral triangle and collinear configurations

The theory of molecular quantum electrodynamics (QED) is used to calculate higher electric multipole contributions to the dispersion energy shift between three atoms or molecules arranged in a straight line or in an equilateral triangle configuration. As in two-body potentials, three-body dispersion interactions are viewed in the QED formalism to arise from exchange of virtual photons between coupled pairs of particles. By employing an interaction Hamiltonian that is quadratic in the electric displacement field means that third-order perturbation theory can be used to yield the energy shift for a particular combination of electric multipole polarizable species, with only six time-ordered diagrams needing to be summed over. Specific potentials evaluated include dipole-dipole-quadrupole (DDQ), dipole-quadrupole-quadrupole (DQQ), and dipole-dipole-octupole (DDO) terms. For the geometries of interest, near-zone limiting forms are found to exhibit an R{sup −11} dependence on separation distance for the DDQ interaction, and an R{sup −13} behaviour for DQQ and DDO shifts, agreeing with an earlier semi-classical computation. Retardation weakens the potential in each case by R{sup −1} in the far-zone. It is found that by decomposing the octupole moment into its irreducible components of weights-1 and -3 that the former contribution to the DDO potential may be taken to be a higher-order correction to the leading triple dipole energy shift.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2013

Creation of quantum entanglement with two separate diamond nitrogen vacancy centers coupled to a photonic molecule

We explore the entanglement generation and the corresponding dynamics between two separate nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond nanocrystal coupled to a photonic molecule consisting of a pair of coupled photonic crystal (PC) cavities. By calculating the entanglement concurrence with readily available experimental parameters, it is found that the entanglement degree strongly depends on the cavity-cavity hopping strength and the NV-center-cavity detuning. High concurrence peak and long-lived entanglement plateau can be achieved by properly adjusting practical system parameters. Meanwhile, we also discuss the influence of the coupling strength between the NV centers and the cavity modes on the behavior of the concurrence. Such a PC-NV system can be employed for quantum entanglement generation and represents a building block for an integrated nanophotonic network in a solid-state cavity quantum electrodynamics platform. In addition, the present theory can also be applied to other similar systems, such as two single quantum emitters positioned close to a microtoroidal resonator with the whispering-gallery-mode fields propagating inside the resonator.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Far-field Fano resonance in nanoring lattices modeled from extracted, point dipole polarizability

Coupling and extinction of light among particles representable as point dipoles can be characterized using the coupled dipole approximation (CDA). The analytic form for dipole polarizability of spheroidal particles supports rapid electrodynamic analysis of nanoparticle lattices using CDA. However, computational expense increases for complex shapes with non-analytical polarizabilities which require discrete dipole (DDA) or higher order approximations. This work shows fast CDA analysis of assembled nanorings is possible using a single dipole nanoring polarizability extrapolated from a DDA calculation by summing contributions from individual polarizable volume elements. Plasmon resonance wavelengths of nanorings obtained using extracted polarizabilities blueshift as wall dimensions-to-inner radius aspect ratio increases, consistent with published theory and experiment. Calculated far-field Fano resonance energy maximum and minimum wavelengths were within 1% of full volume element results. Considering polarizability allows a more complete physical picture of predicting plasmon resonance location than metal dielectric alone. This method reduces time required for calculation of diffractive coupling more than 40 000-fold in ordered nanoring systems for 400–1400 nm incident wavelengths. Extension of this technique beyond nanorings is possible for more complex shapes that exhibit dipolar or quadrupole radiation patterns.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

On the nature of long range electronic coupling in a medium: Distance and orientational dependence for chromophores in molecular aggregates

The electronic coupling that mediates energy transfer in molecular aggregates is theoretically investigated using the principles of quantum electrodynamics (QED). In this context, both the electromagnetic tensor and rate equation relating to these couplings are re-examined with a focus on the role of the relative distance and orientation of transition dipole moment pairs, considering near-, intermediate-, and far-zone contributions to the coupling. The QED based coupling terms are investigated both analytically and numerically, and they are physically interpreted in terms of the character of the mediating (virtual) photons. The spatial dependence of the couplings for a two-dimensional molecular aggregate of ordered and isotropic transition dipole moments is numerically calculated. Further, Pauli Master Equations are employed for a one-dimensional chain of molecules and donor-acceptor pairs, to investigate the importance of intermediate- and far-zone contributions to the electronic coupling on electronic energy transfer dynamics. The results indicate that although Förster theory is often qualitatively and quantitatively correct for describing electronic energy transfer (EET) processes, intermediate- and far-zone coupling terms could sometimes be non-negligible for correctly describing EET in natural and artificial, mesoscopic, solar energy harvesting systems. In particular, the results indicate that these terms are non-negligible when using Förster resonance energy transfer spectroscopic ruler techniques for distances >10 nm.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Dispersion potential between three-bodies with arbitrary electric multipole polarizabilities: Molecular QED theory

Molecular quantum electrodynamics is used to obtain an expression for the retarded dispersion energy shift between three arbitrarily electrically polarizable atoms or molecules. A generalized Craig-Power Hamiltonian that depends quadratically on the electric displacement field is employed together with third-order diagrammatic perturbation theory. This approach simplifies the calculation relative to the use of the usual multipolar coupling Hamiltonian that is linear in the displacement field. Specific higher multipole non-additive contributions are then extracted. These include dipole-dipole-quadrupole, dipole-quadrupole-quadrupole, and dipole-dipole-octupole potentials valid for oriented and isotropic species with arbitrary separation distances between particles, extending recent work in which these energy shifts were given for equilateral triangle and collinear geometries. Near-zone limiting forms are found to agree with earlier works in which static inter-particle couplings were used.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗