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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 865 records · Page 48
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Superconducting microwave cavities and qubits for quantum information systems

Superconducting microwave cavities featuring ultrahigh Q-factors, which measure the efficiency of energy storage in relation to energy loss in a system, are revolutionizing quantum computing by providing long coherence times exceeding 1 ms, crucial for the development of scalable multi-qubit quantum systems with low error rates. Here, in this work, we provide an in-depth analysis of recent advances in ultrahigh Q-factor cavities, integration of Josephson junction-based qubits, and bosonic-encoded qubits in 3D cavities. We examine the sources of quantum state dephasing caused by damping and noise mechanisms in cavities and qubits, highlighting the critical challenges that need to be addressed to achieve even higher coherence times. We critically survey the latest progress made in implementing single 3D qubits using superconducting materials, normal metals, and multi-qubit and multi-state quantum systems. Our work sheds light on the promising future of this research area, including novel materials for cavities and qubits, modes with nontrivial topological properties, error correction techniques for bosonic qubits, and new light–matter interaction effects.

3D printing↗
DOE OSTI2023

Fluctuating intertwined stripes in the strange metal regime of the Hubbard model

Strongly correlated electron systems host a variety of poorly understood correlations in their high-temperature normal state. Unlike ordered phases defined by order parameters, regions of the normal state are often defined through unconventional properties such as strange metallic transport or spectroscopic pseudogaps. Characterizing the microscopic correlations in the normal state is necessary to elucidate mechanisms that lead to these properties and their connection to ground-state orders. Here, in this paper, we establish the presence of intertwined charge and spin stripes in the strange metal normal state of the Hubbard model using determinant quantum Monte Carlo calculations. The charge and spin density waves constituting the stripes are fluctuating and short ranged; yet they obey a mutual commensurability relation and remain microscopically interlocked, as evidenced through measurements of three-point spin-spin-hole correlation functions. Our findings demonstrate the ability of many-body numerical simulations to unravel the microscopic correlations that define quantum states of matter.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Emergence of a Pseudogap in the BCS-BEC Crossover

Strongly correlated Fermi systems with pairing interactions become superfluid below a critical temperature $T_c$. The extent to which such pairing correlations alter the behavior of the liquid at temperatures $T > T_c$ is a subtle issue that remains an area of debate, in particular regarding the appearance of the so-called pseudogap in the BCS-BEC crossover of unpolarized spin-1/2 nonrelativistic matter. To shed light on this, in this work we extract several quantities of crucial importance at and around the unitary limit, namely, the odd-even staggering of the total energy, the spin susceptibility, the pairing correlation function, the condensate fraction, and the critical temperature $T_c$, using a nonperturbative, constrained-ensemble quantum Monte Carlo algorithm.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Distinguishing localization from chaos: Challenges in finite-size systems

Highlights: • Provides an overview of the current understanding of the many-body localization phase transition. • Discusses the subtleties of finite-size scaling near this transition • Assesses the implications of these subtleties for numerical studies of spin chains. • Explores scaling of diagnostics in models with known localization transitions. • Presents suggestions for future numerical work. We re-examine attempts to study the many-body localization transition using measures that are physically natural on the ergodic/quantum chaotic regime of the phase diagram. Using simple scaling arguments and an analysis of various models for which rigorous results are available, we find that these measures can be particularly adversely affected by the strong finite-size effects observed in nearly all numerical studies of many-body localization. This severely impacts their utility in probing the transition and the localized phase. In light of this analysis, we discuss a recent study (Šuntajs et al., 2020) of the behaviour of the Thouless energy and level repulsion in disordered spin chains, and its implications for the question of whether MBL is a true phase of matter.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Light by design: emerging frontiers in ultrafast photon sciences and light–matter interactions

Photon sciences and technologies establish the building blocks for myriad scientific and engineering frontiers in life and energy sciences. Because of their overarching functionality, the developmental roadmap and opportunities underpinned by photonics are often semiotically mediated by the delineation of subject areas of application. In this perspective article, we map current and emerging linkages between three intersecting areas of research stewarded by advanced photonics technologies, namely light by design, outlined as (a) quantum and structured photonics, (b) light–matter interactions in accelerators and accelerator-based light sources, and (c) ultrafast sciences and quantum molecular dynamics. In each section, we will concentrate on state-of-the-art achievements and present prospective applications in life sciences, biochemistry, quantum optics and information sciences, and environmental and chemical engineering, all founded on a broad range of photon sources and methodologies. We hope that this interconnected mapping of challenges and opportunities seeds new concepts, theory, and experiments in the advancement of ultrafast photon sciences and light–matter interactions. Additionally, through this mapping, we hope to inspire a critically interdisciplinary approach to the science and applications of light by design.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Accuracy of ghost rotationally invariant slave-boson and dynamical mean field theory as a function of the impurity-model bath size

Here, we compare the accuracy of the ghost rotationally invariant slave-boson (g-RISB) theory and dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) on the single-band Hubbard model, as a function of the number of bath sites in the embedding impurity Hamiltonian. Our benchmark calculations confirm that the accuracy of g-RISB can be systematically improved by increasing the number of bath sites, similar to DMFT. With a few bath sites, we observe that g-RISB is systematically more accurate than DMFT for the ground-state observables. On the other hand, the relative accuracy of these methods is generally comparable for the quasiparticle weight and the spectral function. As expected, we observe that g-RISB satisfies the variational principle in infinite dimensions, as the total energy decreases monotonically towards the exact value as a function of the number of bath sites, suggesting that the g-RISB wave function may approach the exact ground state in infinite dimensions. Our results suggest that the g-RISB is a promising method for first-principles simulations of strongly correlated matter, which can capture the behavior of both static and dynamical observables, at a relatively low computational cost.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Snapshots of a light-induced metastable hidden phase driven by the collapse of charge order

Nonequilibrium hidden states provide a unique window into thermally inaccessible regimes of strong coupling between microscopic degrees of freedom in quantum materials. Understanding the origin of these states allows the exploration of far-from-equilibrium thermodynamics and the development of optoelectronic devices with on-demand photoresponses. However, mapping the ultrafast formation of a long-lived hidden phase remains a longstanding challenge since the initial state is not recovered rapidly. Here, using state-of-the-art single-shot spectroscopy techniques, we present a direct ultrafast visualization of the photoinduced phase transition to both transient and long-lived hidden states in an electronic crystal, 1T-TaS 2 , and demonstrate a commonality in their microscopic pathways, driven by the collapse of charge order. We present a theory of fluctuation-dominated process that helps explain the nature of the metastable state. Our results shed light on the origin of this elusive state and pave the way for the discovery of other exotic phases of matter.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Effect of focused nanosecond laser pulse irradiation on microtribological properties of diamond-like films

We have examined the effect of focused nanosecond laser pulses on the formation and tribological properties of microstructures in the form of a matrix of craters produced in a – C : H : Si : O diamond-like films (DLFs), both undoped and doped with tungsten. The studies are performed by scanning probe microscopy (SPM) using SPM probes of standard design with a tip and probes without a tip (tipless-type probes). A special procedure is developed for assessing the wettability (contact angle) of individual sections of the laser-induced microstructure by the local adhesion force. According to estimates, the material inside the crater becomes softer and more hydrophobic as a result of laser irradiation. This is manifested to the greatest extent in tungsten-doped DLFs, where the crater walls are arranged like terraces formed by ‘nanoflakes’, i.e. grains of the substance. Scanning of microstructures with a tipless probe in the regime of lateral force microscopy demonstrates a decrease in friction in the crater area. (interaction of laser radiation with matter. laser plasma)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Large-misalignment mechanism for the formation of compact axion structures: Signatures from the QCD axion to fuzzy dark matter

Axions are some of the best motivated particles beyond the Standard Model. We show how the attractive self-interactions of dark matter (DM) axions over a broad range of masses, from 10 –22 eV to 10 7 GeV, can lead to nongravitational growth of density fluctuations and the formation of bound objects. This structure formation enhancement is driven by parametric resonance when the initial field misalignment is large, and it affects axion density perturbations on length scales of order the Hubble horizon when the axion field starts oscillating, deep inside the radiation-dominated era. This effect can turn an otherwise nearly scale-invariant spectrum of adiabatic perturbations into one that has a spike at the aforementioned scales, producing objects ranging from dense DM halos to scalar-field configurations such as solitons and oscillons. We call this class of cosmological scenarios for axion DM production “the large-misalignment mechanism.” In this work, we explore observational consequences of this mechanism for axions with masses up to 10 eV. For axions heavier than 10 –5 eV, the compact axion halos are numerous enough to significantly impact Earth-bound direct detection experiments, yielding intermittent but coherent signals with repetition rates exceeding one per decade and crossing times less than a day. These episodic increases in the axion density and kinematic coherence suggest new approaches for axion DM searches, including for the QCD axion. Dense structures made up of axions from 10 –22 eV to 10 –5 eV are detectable through gravitational lensing searches, and their gravitational interactions can also perturb baryonic structures and alter star formation. At very high misalignment amplitudes, the axion field can undergo self-interaction-induced implosions long before matter-radiation equality, producing potentially-detectable low-frequency stochastic gravitational waves.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Measurements of DC SQUID Damping Effects on Superconducting Resonant Circuits

Here, we present experimental measurements of SQUID-induced damping effects on strongly coupled, lumped-element resonators in the 500kHz–1 MHz frequency range. While dc SQUIDs are commonly used for sensitive readout of electromagnetic signals such as in lumped-element axion dark matter searches, coupling a dc SQUID to a resonant circuit modifies the circuit's resonance frequency, quality factor, noise, and impedance. These parameters have a direct impact on the science reach of axion dark matter detectors, making it important to understand SQUID damping contributions. We describe a helium dip probe and two-stage SQUID readout scheme used to probe SQUID damping effects. Measurements from this setup inform the design and operation of both future test platforms as well as next-generation dark-matter experiments.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2026

Purcell enhancement of directional edge photocurrent in a van der Waals self-cavity

Cavities provide a means to manipulate the optical and electronic responses of quantum materials by selectively enhancing light-matter interaction at specific frequencies and momenta. While cavities typically involve external structures, exfoliated flakes of van der Waals (vdW) materials can form intrinsic self-cavities due to their small finite dimensions, confining electromagnetic fields into plasmonic cavity modes, characterized by standing-wave current distributions. While cavity-enhanced phenomena are well-studied at optical frequencies, the impact of self-cavities on nonlinear electronic responses—such as directional photocurrent—remains largely unexplored, particularly in the terahertz regime, critical for emerging ultrafast optoelectronic technologies. Here, we report a self-cavity-induced Purcell enhancement of directional photocurrents in the vdW semimetal WTe 2 . Using ultrafast optoelectronic circuitry, we measured coherent near-field THz emission resulting from nonlinear photocurrents excited at the sample edges. We observed enhanced emission at finite frequencies, tunable via excitation fluence and sample geometry, which we attribute to plasmonic interference effects controlled by the cavity boundaries. We developed an analytical theory that captures the cavity resonance conditions and spectral response across multiple devices. Our findings establish WTe 2 as a bias-free, geometry-tunable THz emitter and demonstrate the potential of self-cavity engineering for controlling nonlinear, nonequilibrium dynamics in quantum materials.

condensed-matter physics↗
DOE OSTI2021

Second-Order Josephson Effect in Excitonic Insulators

We show that in electron-hole bilayers with excitonic orders arising from conduction and valence bands formed by atomic orbitals that have different parities, nonzero interlayer tunneling leads to a second-order Josephson effect. This means the interlayer electrical current is related to the phase of the excitonic order parameter as J = J c sin 2θ instead of J = J c sin θ and that the system has two degenerate ground states at θ = 0, π that can be switched by an interlayer voltage pulse. When generalized to a three dimensional stack of alternating electron-hole planes or a two dimensional stack of chains, the ac Josephson effect implies that electric field pulses perpendicular to the layers and chains can steer the order parameter phase between the two degenerate ground states, making these devices ultrafast memories. Here, the order parameter steering also applies to the excitonic insulator candidate Ta 2 NiSe 5 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Phase transformation in boron under shock compression

Using first-principles molecular dynamics, we calculated the equation of state and shock Hugoniot of various boron phases. Here, we find a large mismatch between Hugoniots based on existing knowledge of the equilibrium phase diagram and those measured by shock experiments, which could be reconciled if the α-B 12 /β phases are significantly over-pressurized in boron under shock compression. Our results also indicate that there exist an anomaly and negative Clapeyron slope along the melting curve of boron at 100 GPa and 1500–3000 K. These results enable an in-depth understanding of matter under shock compression, in particular the significance of compression-rate dependence of phase transitions and kinetic effects in experimental measurements.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Controlling electric and magnetic Purcell effects in phosphorene via strain engineering

Here, we investigate the spontaneous emission lifetime of a quantum emitter near a substrate coated with phosphorene under the influence of uniaxial strain. We consider both electric dipole and magnetic dipole-mediated spontaneous transitions from the excited to the ground state. The modeling of phosphorene is performed by employing a tight-binding model that goes beyond the usual low energy description. We demonstrate that both electric and magnetic decay rates can be strongly tuned by the application of uniform strain, ranging from a near-total suppression of the Purcell effect to a remarkable enhancement of more than 1300% due to the high flexibility associated with the puckered lattice structure of phosphorene. We also unveil the use of strain as a mechanism to tailor the most probable decay pathways of the emitted quanta. Our results show that uniaxially strained phosphorene is an efficient and versatile material platform for the active control of light-matter interactions thanks to its extraordinary optomechanical properties.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Dynamic Observation of Dendritic Quasicrystal Growth upon Laser-Induced Solid-State Transformation

In this paper, we report the laser-induced solid-state transformation between a periodic “approximant” and quasicrystal in the Al-Cr system during rapid quenching. Dynamic transmission electron microscopy allows us to capture in situ the dendritic growth of the metastable quasicrystals. The formation of dendrites during solid-state transformation is a rare phenomenon, which we attribute to the structural similarity between the two intermetallics. Through ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, we identify the dominant structural motif to be a 13-atom icosahedral cluster transcending the phases of matter.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Photoinduced band renormalization effects in the topological nodal-line semimetal ZrSiS

Out-of-equilibrium effects provide an elegant pathway for probing and understanding the underlying physics of topological materials. In particular, controlling electronic band structure properties using ultrafast optical pulses has shown promise for creating exotic states of matter. Of recent interest is band renormalization in Dirac and Weyl semimetals as it leads to direct physical observables through the enhancement of the effective mass or in the shift of resonant energies. Here, in this work, we provide experimental and theoretical signatures of photoinduced renormalization of the electronic band structure in the topological nodal-line semimetal ZrSiS. Specifically, we show how the change in the transient reflectivity spectra under femtosecond optical excitations is induced by out-of-equilibrium effects that renormalize the kinetic energy of electrons. We associate the observed spectral features with an enhancement of the effective mass and to a redshift of the resonant frequency as a function of pump field strength. Finally, we show that the transient relaxation dynamics of the reflectivity is primarily an electronic effect with a negligible phononic contribution. Our study presents conclusive modifications of electronic properties in ZrSiS using ultrashort pulses and demonstrates the potential of this approach in creating photoinduced phases in topological quantum matter through an all-optical route.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Quantum coherence tomography of light-controlled superconductivity

The coupling between superconductors and oscillation cycles of light pulses, i.e., lightwave engineering, is an emerging control concept for superconducting quantum electronics. Although progress has been made towards terahertz-driven superconductivity and supercurrents, the interactions able to drive non-equilibrium pairing are still poorly understood, partially due to the lack of measurements of high-order correlation functions. In particular, the sensing of exotic collective modes that would uniquely characterize light-driven superconducting coherence, in a way analogous to the Meissner effect, is very challenging but much needed. Here we report the discovery of parametrically driven superconductivity by light-induced order-parameter collective oscillations in iron-based superconductors. The time-periodic relative phase dynamics between the coupled electron and hole bands drives the transition to a distinct parametric superconducting state out-of-equalibrium. This light-induced emergent coherence is characterized by a unique phase–amplitude collective mode with Floquet-like sidebands at twice the Higgs frequency. We measure non-perturbative, high-order correlations of this parametrically driven superconductivity by separating the terahertz-frequency multidimensional coherent spectra into pump–probe, Higgs mode and bi-Higgs frequency sideband peaks. We find that the higher-order bi-Higgs sidebands dominate above the critical field, which indicates the breakdown of susceptibility perturbative expansion in this parametric quantum matter.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Berni Julian Alder, theoretical physicist and inventor of molecular dynamics, 1925–2020

Berni Julian Alder, one of the leading figures in the invention of molecular dynamics simulations used for a wide array of problems in physics and chemistry, died on September 7th, 2020. His career, spanning more than 65 years, transformed statistical mechanics, many body physics, the study of chemistry and the microscopic dynamics of fluids, by making atomistic computational simulation (in parallel with traditional theory and experiment) a new pathway to unexpected discoveries. Among his many honors, the CECAM prize, recognizing exceptional contributions to the simulation of the microscopic properties of matter is named for him. He was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Obama in 2008.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗