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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 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

A global model of the self-pulsing regime of micro-hollow cathode discharges

A global (volume-averaged) model of the self-pulsing regime of micro-hollow cathode discharges working in argon gas is proposed. The power balance is done using an equivalent circuit model of the discharge that allows the current and voltage dynamics to be calculated. The fraction of the total power dissipated in the discharge that contributes to electron heating is deduced from a sheath model previously described. The particle balance is first done in a very simplified reaction scheme involving only electrons, argon atomic ions, and argon molecular ions. In a second step, the excited states (the metastable state Ar*({sup 3}P{sub 2}) and the resonant state Ar*({sup 3}P{sub 1})) are included in the particle balance equations. The models are compared to experiments and several conclusions are drawn. The model without excited states underestimates the electron density and does not capture well the trends in pressure. The model with the excited states is in better agreement which shows that multi-step ionization plays a significant role. The time-evolution of the electron density follows closely that of the discharge current but the excited states density presents two peaks: (i) the first at the early stage of the current peak due to direct excitation with high electron temperature, (ii) the second at the end of the current (and electron density) peak due to large production of excited states by electron-ion recombination at very low electron temperature.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Size Effect in the Phase Separation of Cr–W Solid Solutions

Size effects in phase transformations of nanoscale systems show up as significant changes in their phase diagram. Here, using a thermodynamic approach we demonstrate how the immiscibility region of Cr–W solid solutions is influenced by their particle size. For 40- and 70-nm-diameter particles, we consider two thermodynamically stable states with a core–shell configuration, differing in the composition of the core phase. It is shown that, in the nanometer range, one of these states becomes metastable and that the phase diagrams of the stable and metastable states differ significantly. Reducing the particle size leads to a decrease in the upper critical dissolution temperature (UCDP) by 300–400 K and marked changes in the mutual solubility of the components at temperatures comparable to the UCDP.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Activated vortex lattice transition in a superconductor with combined sixfold and twelvefold anisotropic interactions

Abstract Numerical simulations are used to examine the transition dynamics between metastable and ground state vortex lattice phases in a system with combined sixfold and twelvefold contributions to the vortex–vortex interactions. The system is initially annealed using a twelvefold anisotropy, yielding domains of two different orientations and separated by grain boundaries. The vortex–vortex interaction is then suddenly changed to a sixfold anisotropy, rendering the twelvefold state metastable. Applying a drive that mimics an oscillating magnetic field causes the metastable state to decay, indicated by the structure factor that evolves from twelve to six peaks. The results fit the behavior seen in recent small-angle neutron scattering studies of the vortex lattice in MgB 2 . At higher drive amplitudes, the decay exhibits a two step process in which the initial fast decrease is followed by a slower regime where avalanches or bursts are correlated with dislocation annihilation events. The results are compared to other types of metastable systems with quenched disorder that decay under a periodic external drive.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Anomalously slow relaxation of a nonwetting liquid in the disordered confinement of a nanoporous medium

The time evolution of the water–disordered nanoporous medium Libersorb 23 (L23) system has been studied after complete filling at elevated pressure followed by full release of overpressure. It is established that relaxation of the L23 rapidly flows out during the overpressure relief time, following the variation in pressure. At a temperature below that of the dispersion transition (T < T{sub d} = 284 K), e.g., at T = 277 K, the degree of filling θ decreases from 1 to 0.8 within 10 s. The degree of filling varies with time according to the power law θ ∼ t{sup –α} with the exponent α < 0.1 over a period of t ∼ 10{sup 5} s. This process corresponds to slow relaxation of a metastable state of a nonwetting liquid in a porous medium. At times t > 10{sup 5} s, the metastable state exhibits decay, manifested as the transition to a power dependence of θ(t) with a larger exponent. The relaxation of the metastable state of nonwetting liquid in a disordered porous medium is described in the mean field approximation as a continuous sequence of metastable states with a barrier decreasing upon a decrease in the degree of filling. Using this approach, it is possible to qualitatively explain the observed relaxation process and crossover transition to the stage described by θ(t) with a larger exponent.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Computing the optimal path in stochastic dynamical systems

In stochastic systems, one is often interested in finding the optimal path that maximizes the probability of escape from a metastable state or of switching between metastable states. Even for simple systems, it may be impossible to find an analytic form of the optimal path, and in high-dimensional systems, this is almost always the case. In this article, we formulate a constructive methodology that is used to compute the optimal path numerically. The method utilizes finite-time Lyapunov exponents, statistical selection criteria, and a Newton-based iterative minimizing scheme. The method is applied to four examples. The first example is a two-dimensional system that describes a single population with internal noise. This model has an analytical solution for the optimal path. The numerical solution found using our computational method agrees well with the analytical result. The second example is a more complicated four-dimensional system where our numerical method must be used to find the optimal path. The third example, although a seemingly simple two-dimensional system, demonstrates the success of our method in finding the optimal path where other numerical methods are known to fail. In the fourth example, the optimal path lies in six-dimensional space and demonstrates the power of our method in computing paths in higher-dimensional spaces.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Developments in time-resolved high pressure x-ray diffraction using rapid compression and decompression

Complementary advances in high pressure research apparatus and techniques make it possible to carry out time-resolved high pressure research using what would customarily be considered static high pressure apparatus. This work specifically explores time-resolved high pressure x-ray diffraction with rapid compression and/or decompression of a sample in a diamond anvil cell. Key aspects of the synchrotron beamline and ancillary equipment are presented here, including source considerations, rapid (de)compression apparatus, high frequency imaging detectors, and software suitable for processing large volumes of data. A number of examples are presented, including fast equation of state measurements, compression rate dependent synthesis of metastable states in silicon and germanium, and ultrahigh compression rates using a piezoelectric driven diamond anvil cell.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
NASA NTRS1975

Resonance line transfer with partial redistribution. IV - A generalized formulation for lines with common upper states. V - The solar Ca II lines

A generalized formulation is given for treating partial redistribution effects in transfer problems in resonance lines with common upper states. The formulation allows explicitly for the possibility that several spectral lines may arise in transitions from a given upper level to several sharp lower levels, including, for example, the ground state and metastable states. Line profiles for the Ca II H and K lines have been calculated, accounting for the partial frequency coherence of scattered photons. These profiles are compared with calculations made with identical atomic and atmospheric models but assuming complete redistribution. Very significant differences between the profiles obtained using these two different physical descriptions of the scattering process are found, and it is now apparent that the assumption of complete redistribution is a serious oversimplification of the actual physical situation. The results question the validity of equating brightness temperatures observed at K(sub 1) in stellar spectra with minimum temperatures in stellar chromospheres; it appears likely that such a procedure will systematically underestimate the value of T-min.

Milkey, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Can a man-made universe be achieved by quantum tunneling without an initial singularity?

Essentially all modern particle theories suggest the possible existence of a false vacuum state; a metastable state with an energy density that cannot be lowered except by means of a very slow phase transition. Inflationary cosmology makes use of such a state to drive the expansion of the big bang, allowing the entire observed universe to evolve from a very small initial mass. A sphere of false vacuum in the present universe, if larger than a certain critical mass, could inflate to form a new universe which would rapidly detach from its parent. A false vacuum bubble of this size, however, cannot be produced classically unless an initial singularity is present from the outset. The possibility is explored that a bubble of subcritical size, which classically would evolve to a maximum size and collapse, might instead tunnel through a barrier to produce a new universe. The tunneling rate using semiclassical quantum gravity is estimated, and some interesting ambiguities in the formulas are discovered.

Guth, Alan H.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Metastable Bound States of the Two-Dimensional Bimagnetoexcitons in the Lowest Landau Levels Approximation

The possible existence of the bound states of the interacting two-dimensional (2D) magnetoexcitons in the lowest Landau levels (LLLs) approximation was investigated using the Landau gauge description. The magnetoexcitons taking part in the formation of the bound state with resultant wave vector k=0 have opposite in-plane wave vectors k and −k and look as two electric dipoles with the arms oriented in-plane perpendicularly to the corresponding wave vectors. The bound state of two antiparallel dipoles moving with equal probability in any direction of the plane with equal but antiparallel wave vectors is characterized by the variational wave function of the relative motion φ{sub n}(k) depending on the modulus |k|. The spins of two electrons and the effective spins of two holes forming the bound states were combined separately in the symmetric or in the antisymmetric forms (↑↓ +η ↓↑) with the same parameter η=±1 for electrons and holes. In the case of the variational wave function φ{sub 2}(k)=(8α{sup 3}){sup 1/2}k{sup 2}l{sub 0}{sup 2}exp [−αk{sup 2}l{sub 0}{sup 2}] the maximum density of the magnetoexcitons in the momentum space representation is concentrated on the in-plane ring with the radius k{sub r}=1/(√αl{sub 0}). The stable bound states of the bimagnetoexciton molecule do not exist for both spin orientations. Instead of them, a deep metastable bound state with the activation barrier comparable with the ionization potential I{sub l} of the magnetoexciton with k=0 was revealed in the case η=1 and α=0.5. In the case η=−1 and α=3.4 only a shallow metastable bound state can appear.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Oxygen–Isotope Exchange and Metastable Dissociation in Oxides

To understand the corrosion of bulk oxide materials at the molecular scale, oxygen-isotope exchanges were examined in two classes of nanometer-sized ions, one cation and one anion, and subsets that differ by targeted single-atom substitutions. In niobate anions, the different oxygen sites within each molecule differ by ~10 3 -10 4 in overall rates of isotopic exchange, yet all structural oxygens exhibit similar pH dependencies that relate to the dissociation pathways. In aluminate cations of the ε-Keggin structure, single-atom substitutions cause a 10 7 -10 10 variation of rates of oxygen-isotopic exchange into two sets of μ 2 -OH. Molecular-dynamic simulations indicate that metastable forms of these structures exist as loose, long-lived intermediates. A series of common steps is observed to access the intermediate structures, and these are best resolved in the symmetric ε-Keggin aluminate ions. In the first step, solvation forces, or a nucleophile, causes a near-surface metal to partly detach from a deeper overbonded oxygen via concerted motions of many atoms. Isotopically distinct oxygens then add to the newly undercoordinated metal in the partly detached metastable state. Protons transfer to more basic oxygens and oxygens shuffle. Finally, the metastable structure collapses and dehydrates. The number of such metastable states depends on the symmetry and composition of the starting structure and access to the metastable state controls the overall rates. Surprisingly, polyoxometalate ions with only 40-100 atoms already seem to capture much of the macroscopic chemistry observed for dissolving minerals and glasses.

17O-NMR↗
DOE OSTI2018

Metastable electronic states in uranium tetrafluoride

Here, the DFT+ U approach, where U is the Hubbard-like on-site Coulomb interaction, has successfully been used to improve the description of transition metal oxides and other highly correlated systems, including actinides. The secret of the DFT+ U approach is the breaking of d or f shell orbital degeneracy and adding an additional energetic penalty to non-integer occupation of orbitals. A prototypical test case, UO 2 , benefits from the + U approach whereby the bare LDA method predicts UO 2 to be a ferromagnetic metal, whereas LDA+ U correctly predicts UO 2 to be insulating. However, the concavity of the energetic penalty in the DFT+ U approach can lead to a number of convergent “metastable” electronic configurations residing above the ground state. Uranium tetrafluoride (UF 4 ) represents a more complex analogy to UO 2 in that the crystal field has lower symmetry and the unit cell contains two symmetrically distinct U atoms. We explore the metastable states in UF 4 using several different methods of selecting initial orbital occupations. Two methods, a “pre-relaxation” method wherein an initial set of orbital eigenvectors is selected via the self-consistency procedure and a crystal rotation method wherein the x, y, z axes are brought into alignment with the crystal field, are explored. We show that in the case of UF 4 , which has non-collinearity between its crystal axes and the U atoms' crystal field potentials, the orbital occupation matrices are much more complex and should be analyzed using a novel approach. In addition to demonstrating a complex landscape of metastable electronic states, UF 4 also shows significant hybridization in U–F bonding, which involves non-trivial contributions from s, p, d, and f orbitals.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1987

Undercoolability and the exposure of metastable structures

The thermodynamic conditions for exposing metastable states are established by deenergizing a material, as in melt quenching, condensation, etc. When these conditions are met, metastable states may appear because they are kinetically preferred. The understanding of these kinetic preferences is reviewed. Formation of metastable structures by melt quenching requires high resistance to crystal nucleation to deep undercooling through the labile regime between the liquidus and configurational freezing temperature, Tg. Further, the growth of the most stable phase must be thermally activated (and therefore quench-suppressible) if the metastable state is to persist at T less than Tg. In metal systems, selective alloying is often crucial to the provision of the nucleation and/or growth resistance requisite to forming various metastable structures. These alloying effects are surveyed and interpreted.

Turnbull, David↗
DOE OSTI2025

Electromagnon Signatures of a Metastable Multiferroic State

Magnetoelectric multiferroic materials, particularly type-II multiferroics where ferroelectric polarizations arise from magnetic order, offer significant potential for the simultaneous control of magnetic and electric properties. However, it remains an open question as to how the multiferroic ground states are stabilized on the free-energy landscape in the presence of intricate competition between the magnetoelectric coupling and thermal fluctuations. Here, in this work, by using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy in combination with an applied magnetic field, photoexcitation, and single-shot detection, we reveal the spectroscopic signatures of a magnetic-field-induced metastable multiferroic state in a hexaferrite. This state remains robust until thermal influences cause the sample to revert to the original paraelectric state. Our findings shed light on the emergence of metastable multiferroicity and its interplay with thermal dynamics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Normal and abnormal evolution of argon metastable density in high-density plasmas

A controversial problem on the evolution of Ar metastable density as a function of electron density (increasing trend versus decreasing trend) was resolved by discovering the anomalous evolution of the argon metastable density with increasing electron density (discharge power), including both trends of the metastable density [Daltrini et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 061504 (2008)]. Later, by virtue of an adequate physical explanation based on a simple global model, both evolutions of the metastable density were comprehensively understood as part of the abnormal evolution occurring at low- and high-density regimes, respectively, and thus the physics behind the metastable evolution has seemed to be clearly disclosed. In this study, however, a remarkable result for the metastable density behavior with increasing electron density was observed: even in the same electron density regime, there are both normal and abnormal evolutions of metastable-state density with electron density depending on the measurement position: The metastable density increases with increasing electron density at a position far from the inductively coupled plasma antenna but decreases at a position close to the antenna. The effect of electron temperature, which is spatially nonuniform in the plasma, on the electron population and depopulation processes of Argon metastable atoms with increasing electron density is a clue to understanding the results. The calculated results of the global model, including multistep ionization for the argon metastable state and measured electron temperature, are in a good agreement with the experimental results.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Low power adaptive synchronizer

A circuit adapts to the occurrence of metastable states. The circuit inhibits passing of the metastable state to circuits that follow, by clock gating the output stage. In order to determine whether or not to gate the clock of the output stage, two detect circuits may be used. One circuit detects metastability and another circuit detects metastability resolved to a wrong logic level. The results from one or both detector circuits are used to gate the next clock cycle if needed, waiting for the metastable situation to be resolved.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2014

Investigation of deep-level defects in Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} thin films by a steady-state photocapacitance method

The properties of defect levels located 0.8 eV above the valence band in Cu(In{sub 1−x},Ga{sub x})Se{sub 2} thin films were investigated by a steady-state photocapacitance method. When illuminated by light with a photon energy of 0.8 eV at 60 K, a fast increase, followed by a slow increase, was observed in the photocapacitance transients of all samples. Upon being re-exposed, samples with a low bandgap energy showed a slow decrease in photocapacitance transients. These observations were interpreted using a configuration coordinate model assuming two states for the 0.8 eV defect: a stable state D and its metastable state D* with a large lattice relaxation. The difference in the evolution mechanisms of the photocapacitance transients was attributed to the difference in the optical transition of carriers between the two states of the 0.8 eV defect and the valence and conduction bands.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗