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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Electronic Structure of Compressively Strained Bilayer Nickelate Thin Film

The discovery of superconductivity in bulk bilayer nickelates under high pressure, and its subsequent stabilization in compressively strained thin films at ambient pressure, has established a new platform for exploring high-𝑇 c superconductivity beyond the cuprates. Central to this development is the prominent role of the 3⁢𝑑$^2_𝑧$ orbital in shaping the low-energy electronic structure, imposing constraints on microscopic theories and fueling debate over the superconducting mechanism. Here we report a systematic in situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of compressively strained bilayer nickelate thin films spanning Ca doping, oxygen stoichiometry and film thickness. Despite variations in oxygen-vacancy disorder and surface termination, the electronic structure remains robust and exhibits a systematic strain-driven evolution consistent with an intermediate-correlation regime. In particular, we demonstrate a Ca-doping-induced electronic structure evolution that is consistent with Fermi-level crossing of the 𝛾 band and is decoupled from the presence of superconductivity, suggesting that, while important for the 𝛾 band to be near the Fermi level, the debated 𝛾 crossing and the resulting Fermi pocket may not be a prerequisite for superconductivity. Together, our results establish key spectroscopic constraints on the minimal fermiology and correlation strength relevant to superconductivity in bilayer nickelates, providing an experimental foundation for microscopic theories of their pairing mechanism.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Measuring signatures in photon angular spectra to distinguish nonlinear Compton scattering models

The collision of a high-energy electron beam with a laser pulse may be used to study radiation reaction and nonlinear Compton scattering among many other processes in strong-field quantum electrodynamics. Predictions from simulation and theory for these interactions rely on a number of approximations and assumptions that have not been experimentally tested. Here, experimentally measurable signatures are identified that might be able to distinguish between radiation reaction models, i.e., classical or quantum, or between the local constant field and local monochromatic approximations used to calculate the properties of the nonlinear Compton process. These signatures are considered through Monte Carlo simulations of various experimental conditions that are relevant to today's laser facilities. Potential detection schemes for measuring the signatures are proposed. We find that single-photon counting of keV photons to resolve harmonics and scintillator-based detection of MeV photons may allow us to validate nonlinear Compton scattering models and radiation reaction models respectively. This will require electron beams with divergence angles less than 2 mrad and less than 20% energy spread.

Russell, Brandon K↗
DOE OSTI2023

Role of three-body dynamics in nucleon-deuteron correlation functions

Correlation functions of hadrons can be accessed in high-energy collisions of atomic nuclei, revealing information about the underlying interaction. This work complements experimental efforts to study nucleon-deuteron Nd—with N=p (proton) or N=n (neutron)—correlations with theory evaluations using different techniques. The correlation functions C nd and C pd are calculated based on a scattering wave function, extending previous benchmarks for the Nd scattering matrix to this new observable. We use hyperspherical harmonics and Faddeev techniques with one of the widely used nucleon-nucleon (NN) interactions, the Argonne v18 potential. Moreover, in the low-energy region we perform additional calculations in the framework of pionless effective field theory. The pd correlation function is computed in the large-energy region to make contact with a recent measurement by the ALICE Collaboration. We show that the scattering wave function has the proper dynamical input to describe an initial rise and subsequent oscillations of C pd as a function of the energy. Effects on the observables using different NN and three-nucleon potentials are evaluated with the conclusion that variations of around 2% are observed. Although these effects are small, future measurements can go beyond this accuracy, allowing for new detailed studies of strong interaction in light nuclear systems. Furthermore, the present study supports the current efforts devoted to the measurement of correlation functions in systems dominated by the strong interactions, such as pd, ppp, Λd, and ppΛ.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Hadronic vacuum polarization for the muon 𝑔 − 2 from lattice QCD: Complete short and intermediate windows

We present complete results for the hadronic vacuum polarization (HVP) contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment 𝑎 𝜇 in the short- and intermediate-distance window regions, which account for roughly 10% and 35% of the total HVP contribution to 𝑎 𝜇 , respectively. In particular, we perform lattice-QCD calculations for the isospin-symmetric connected and disconnected contributions, as well as corrections due to strong-isospin breaking. For the short-distance window observables, we investigate the so-called log-enhancement effects as well as the significant oscillations associated with staggered quarks in this region. For the dominant, isospin-symmetric light-quark-connected contribution, we obtain 𝑎$^{𝑙⁢𝑙,SD}_{𝜇⁡}$(conn) = 48.139⁢(11) stat ⁢(91) syst ⁢[92] total × 10 −10 and 𝑎$^{𝑙⁢𝑙,W}_{𝜇}$⁡(conn) = 206.90⁢(14) stat ⁢(61) syst ⁢[63] total × 10 −10 . We use Bayesian model averaging to fully estimate the covariance matrix between the individual contributions. Our determinations of the complete window contributions are 𝑎$^{SD}_{𝜇}$ = 69.05⁢(1) stat⁢ (21) syst ⁢[21] total × 10 −10 and 𝑎$^{W}_{𝜇}$ = 236.45⁢(17) stat⁢ (83) syst ⁢[85] total × 10 −10 . This work is part of our ongoing effort to compute all contributions to HVP with an overall uncertainty at the few-permille level.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Bounds on Lorentz Invariance Violation from Muon Fluctuations at the Pierre Auger Observatory

Quantum gravity theories often modify spacetime symmetries. In particular, Lorentz invariance may be violated when approaching the Planck scale. Although the scales at which interactions occur in extensive air showers induced by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays in the atmosphere are many orders of magnitude below the Planck scale, these violations might still be observable. In this Letter, the fluctuations in the number of muons in the extensive air showers measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory are exploited, for the first time, to constrain Lorentz invariance violations. The bounds derived in the hadronic sector are the strongest ever obtained, and do not rely on assumptions about the mass composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. The fluctuations in the number of muons constitute a new and powerful observable to further explore Lorentz invariance in a region of the parameter space not accessible to other observables.

Abdul Halim, A. [Adelaide U.] (ORCID:0000000312181↗
DOE OSTI2026

Few is different: deciphering many-body dynamics in mesoscopic quantum gases

Emergent macroscopic descriptions of matter, such as hydrodynamics, are central to our description of complex physical systems across a wide spectrum of energy scales. The conventional understanding of these many-body phenomena has recently been shaken by a number of experimental findings. Collective behavior of matter has been observed in mesoscopic systems, such as high-energy hadron–hadron collisions, or ultracold gases with only a few strongly interacting fermions. In such systems, the separation of scales between macroscopic and microscopic dynamics (at the heart of any effective theory) is inapplicable. To address the conceptual challenges that arise from these observations and explore the universality of emergent descriptions of matter, the EMMI Rapid Reaction Task Force was assembled. This document summarizes the RRTF discussions on recent theoretical and experimental advances in this rapidly developing field. Leveraging technological breakthroughs in the control of quantum systems, we can now quantitatively explore what it means for a system to exhibit behavior beyond the sum of its individual parts. In particular, the report highlights how the (in)applicability of hydrodynamics and other effective theories can be probed across three principal frontiers: the size frontier, the equilibrium frontier, and the interaction frontier.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Evaluating one-loop string amplitudes

We evaluate one-loop open-string amplitudes at finite \alpha' α ′ for the first time. Our method involves a deformation of the integration contour over the modular parameter \tau τ to a fractal contour introduced by Rademacher in the context of analytic number theory. This procedure leads to explicit and practical formulas for the one-loop four-point amplitudes in type-I superstring theory, amenable to numerical evaluation. We plot the amplitudes as a function of the Mandelstam invariants s s and t t and directly verify long-standing conjectures about their behaviour at high energies.

Eberhardt, Lorenz↗
NASA NTRS1991

Cellular track model of biological damage to mammalian cell cultures from galactic cosmic rays

The assessment of biological damage from the galactic cosmic rays (GCR) is a current interest for exploratory class space missions where the highly ionizing, high-energy, high-charge ions (HZE) particles are the major concern. The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) values determined by ground-based experiments with HZE particles are well described by a parametric track theory of cell inactivation. Using the track model and a deterministic GCR transport code, the biological damage to mammalian cell cultures is considered for 1 year in free space at solar minimum for typical spacecraft shielding. Included are the effects of projectile and target fragmentation. The RBE values for the GCR spectrum which are fluence-dependent in the track model are found to be more severe than the quality factors identified by the International Commission on Radiological Protection publication 26 and seem to obey a simple scaling law with the duration period in free space.

Cucinotta, Francis A.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Spectra of Baroclinic Inertia-Gravity Wave Turbulence

Baroclinic inertia-gravity (IG) waves form a persistent background of thermocline depth and sea surface height oscillations. They also contribute to the kinetic energy of horizontal motions in the subsurface layer. Measured by the ratio of water particle velocity to wave phase speed, the wave nonlinearity may be rather high. Given a continuous supply of energy from external sources, nonlinear wave-wave interactions among IG waves would result in inertial cascades of energy, momentum, and wave action. Based on a recently developed theory of wave turbulence in scale-dependent systems, these cascades are investigated and IG wave spectra are derived for an arbitrary degree of wave nonlinearity. Comparisons with satellite-altimetry-based spectra of surface height variations and with energy spectra of horizontal velocity fluctuations show good agreement. The well-known spectral peak at the inertial frequency is thus explained as a result of the inverse cascade. Finally, we discuss a possibility of inferring the internal Rossby radius of deformation and other dynamical properties of the upper thermocline from the spectra of SSH (sea surface height) variations based on altimeter measurements.

Glazman, Roman E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Surface gravity waves at equilibrium with a steady wind

Observations of wave fields' spatial evolution and of gravity wave spectra S(sub omega) are analyzed on the basis of the data reported by several research groups as well as on a 2-year data set of wind and wave measurements by stationary National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration buoys near the Hawaiian Islands. We seek to clarify the role of the wave energy advection (with the wave group velocity) in the overall energy balance. This advective transfer appears to be no less important than the local (breaking wave induced) dissipation as a factor of wind-wave equilibrium. The advection is found to manifest itself in the shape of wave spectra by reducing the rate at which the spectra density of the wave energy, S(sub omega approximately omega (exp -p), falls off as the frequency increases away from the spectra peak. This and other conclusions are derived by comparing the field observations with theoretical predictions of the weak turbulence theory for a spatially inhomogeneous, statistically stationary, wave field. The observations also indicate that the typical wave age xi = C(sub 0)/U in the open ocean is much greater than the limiting value 1.2 attributed to the 'fully developed sea.' Although the observed spectra can be approximated by a power law with a single 'effective' exponent, this apparent exponent, p, is found to depend on the wave age. At high xi and at frequencies below the generation range, -p tends to -3 rather than the value of -11/3 predicted by the Zakharov-Zaslavskii theory. This deviation is interpreted as pointing to a nonconservative nature of the inverse cascade, the latter including a leakage of energy to low-wavenumber modes. Dependence of the overall effective exponent on xi is shown to be responsible for variation in the coefficients b, B, c, C appearing in empirical fetch laws, such as xi = C bar-x (exp c) and e = B bar-x (exp B), where bar-x and e are the dimensionless fetch and wave energy, respectively.

Glazman, Roman E.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Double-Atom Catalysts Featuring Inverse Sandwich Structure for CO 2 Reduction Reaction: A Synergetic First-Principles and Machine Learning Investigation

Electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction reactions (CO 2 RR) based on scalable and highly efficient catalysis provide an attractive strategy for reducing CO 2 emissions. Here in this work, we combined first-principles density functional theory (DFT) and machine learning (ML) to comprehensively explore the potential of double-atom catalysts (DACs) featuring an inverse sandwich structure anchored on defective graphene (gra) to catalyze CO 2 RR to generate C 1 products. We started with five homonuclear M 2 ⊥gra (M = Co, Ni, Rh, Ir, and Pt), followed by 127 heteronuclear MM'⊥gra (M = Co, Ni, Rh, Ir, and Pt, M' = Sc–Au). Stable DACs were screened by evaluating their binding energy, formation energy, and dissolution potential of metal atoms, as well as conducting first-principles molecular dynamics simulations with and without solvent water molecules. Based on DFT calculations, Rh 2 ⊥gra DAC was found to outperform the other four homonuclear DACs and the Rh-based single- and double-atom catalysts of noninverse sandwich structures. Out of the 127 heteronuclear DACs, 14 were found to be stable and have good catalytic performance. An ML approach was adopted to correlate key factors with the activity and stability of the DACs, including the sum of radii of metal and ligand atoms (d M–M' , d M–C , and d M'–C ), the sum and difference of electronegativity of two metal atoms (P M + P M' , P M – P M '), the sum and difference of first ionization energy of two metal atoms (I M + I M' , I M – I M '), the sum and difference of electron affinity of two metal atoms (A M + A M' , A M – A M '), and the number of d-electrons of the two metal atoms (Nd). The obtained ML models were further used to predict 154 potential electrocatalysts out of 784 possible DACs featuring the same inverse sandwich configuration. Overall, this work not only identified promising CO 2 RR DACs featuring the reported inverse sandwich structure but also provided insights into key atomic characteristics associated with high CO 2 RR activity.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Identifying native point defect configurations in α-alumina

Intimately intertwined atomic and electronic structures of point defects govern diffusion-limited corrosion and underpin the operation of optoelectronic devices. For some materials, complex energy landscapes containing metastable defect configurations challenge first-principles modeling efforts. Here, we thoroughly reevaluate native point defect geometries for the illustrative case of α-Al 2 O 3 by comparing three methods for sampling candidate geometries in density functional theory calculations: displacing atoms near a naively placed defect, initializing interstitials at high-symmetry points of a Voronoi decomposition, and Bayesian optimization. We find symmetry-breaking distortions for oxygen vacancies in some charge states, and we identify several distinct oxygen split-interstitial geometries that help explain literature discrepancies involving this defect. We also report a surprising and, to our knowledge, previously unknown trigonal geometry favored by aluminum interstitials in some charge states. Importantly, these new configurations may have transformative impacts on our understanding of defect migration pathways in aluminum-oxide scales protecting metal alloys from corrosion. Overall, the Voronoi scheme appears most effective for sampling candidate interstitial sites because it always succeeded in finding the lowest-energy geometry identified in this study, although no approach found every metastable configuration. Finally, we show that the position of defect levels within the band gap can depend strongly on the defect geometry, underscoring the need to conduct careful searches for ground-state geometries in defect calculations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

High-pressure characterization of Ag 3 AuTe 2 : Implications for strain-induced band tuning

Recent band structure calculations have suggested the potential for band tuning in the chiral semiconductor Ag 3 AuTe 2 to zero upon application of negative strain. In this study, we report on the synthesis of polycrystalline Ag 3 AuTe 2 and investigate its transport and optical properties and mechanical compressibility. Transport measurements reveal the semiconducting behavior of Ag 3 AuTe 2 with high resistivity and an activation energy E a of 0.2 eV. The optical bandgap determined by diffuse reflectance measurements is about three times wider than the experimental E a ⁠. Despite the difference, both experimental gaps fall within the range of predicted bandgaps by our first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations employing the Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof and modified Becke–Johnson methods. Furthermore, our DFT simulations predict a progressive narrowing of the bandgap under compressive strain, with a full closure expected at a strain of –4% relative to the lattice parameter. To evaluate the feasibility of gap tunability at such substantial strain, the high-pressure behavior of Ag 3 AuTe 2 was investigated by in situ high-pressure x-ray diffraction up to 47 GPa. Mechanical compression beyond 4% resulted in a pressure-induced structural transformation, indicating the possibility of substantial gap modulation under extreme compression conditions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

140,142 Ce Neutron Cross Section Resolved Resonance Region Evaluation

A resolved resonance region evaluation of 140,142 Ce was conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Requested by the US Nuclear Criticality Safety Program, this evaluation is based on recent high-resolution transmission and capture high-resolution measurements of nat Ce and 142 Ce conducted at JRC-Geel at the Geel Linear Accelerator facility. It is also based on recently measured thermal constants available from the EX FOR database. Starting from the resonance parameters from the ENDF/B-VIII.0 library and following a preliminary R-matrix analysis, an updated set of resonance parameters and corresponding covariance in formation was derived by the fit of these experimental datasets using the Reich–Moore approximation of the R-matrix theory, as implemented in the SAMMY code system. The resolved resonance region upper energy limit for 140 Ce was kept at 200 keV, whereas the 142 Ce resonance region was extended from 13 to 26 keV. This new evaluation was found to be in good agreement not only with several integral quantities of interest to the reactor physics community, but also with the stellar Maxwellian-averaged cross section.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

Simulations of Laser Experiments to Study the Origin of Cosmic Magnetic Fields

Magnetic fields are ubiquitous in the universe; however, their origin is not fully understood. Cosmologists and astrophysicists have proposed a variety of ways in which small seed magnetic fields could be created. It is widely thought that the much larger values of the cosmic magnetic fields that we observe are a result of the amplification of these seed fields by the nonlinear turbulent dynamo mechanism. Such a mechanism had not yet been demonstrated in a controlled laboratory environment. We conceived experiments designed to demonstrate and study the nonlinear turbulent dynamo mechanism in the laboratory. These experiments characterize the distribution of turbulent energy among the velocity, magnetic field, and density fluctuations, providing a comprehensive picture of the energy cascade in a magnetized, turbulent plasma. The experiments build on the pathfinder experiments we have conducted on the Vulcan laser at the Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory in the UK and the OMEGA laser at Laboratory for Laser Energetics at Rochester. They utilize the high-intensity lasers at the Omega Laser Facility, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at LLNL and the Laser Megajoule (LMJ) Facility in France – the largest laser facilities in the world. The goal of this project was to design and model the highly demanding experiments through simulation campaigns using FLASH, a highly capable radiation-MHD code we have developed, and large-scale 3D simulations on the Mira supercomputer at ANL. The simulations were vital to ensuring the experiments achieve the strong turbulence and large magnetic Reynolds numbers required for the nonlinear turbulent dynamo mechanism to operate. The simulations were also critical to determining when to fire the diagnostics, since the experiments last tens of nanoseconds but the signals of the strongly amplified magnetic fields last only a few nanoseconds. Finally, high-fidelity, validated FLASH simulations were crucial to interpreting the results of the experiments. By combining theory, experiments, and simulations, we were able to succeed in demonstrating and characterizing the nonlinear turbulent dynamo mechanism. The effort leveraged (1) the emergence of the Flash Center for Computational Science as a leader in numerical modeling of academic High Energy Density Physics (HEDP) experiments; (2) the FLASH code, which has been developed by the Flash Center and is a leadership-class, multi- physics, publicly available community code that has been applied successfully in many laser-driven experiments; (3) the expertise acquired through pathfinder experiments we performed on the Vulcan laser at the Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory in the UK and on the Omega laser facility; (4) the experience we have gained in designing and interpreting these experiments using validated simulations done with FLASH; and (5) the close collaborations we have established with outstanding experimental groups in the US and abroad. The broader impacts of the project are two-fold: (1) the work furthered the transformation of the academic community’s ability to design and analyze HEDP experiments at large laser facilities that is happening through the availability of FLASH and its widespread adoption by the academic community – a community that previously had had limited access to open and validated hydro/MHD simulation tools for HEDP experiments; and (2) the work trained young scientists to design and interpret HEDP experiments using validated simulations – a critical national need.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1993

An investigation of small scales of turbulence in a boundary layer at high Reynolds numbers

The assumption that turbulence at large wave-numbers is isotropic and has universal spectral characteristics which are independent of the flow geometry, at least for high Reynolds numbers, has been a cornerstone of closure theories as well as of the most promising recent development in the effort to predict turbulent flows, viz. large eddy simulations. This hypothesis was first advanced by Kolmogorov based on the supposition that turbulent kinetic energy cascades down the scales (up the wave-numbers) of turbulence and that, if the number of these cascade steps is sufficiently large (i.e. the wave-number range is large), then the effects of anisotropies at the large scales are lost in the energy transfer process. Experimental attempts were repeatedly made to verify this fundamental assumption. However, Van Atta has recently suggested that an examination of the scalar and velocity gradient fields is necessary to definitively verify this hypothesis or prove it to be unfounded. Of course, this must be carried out in a flow with a sufficiently high Reynolds number to provide the necessary separation of scales in order unambiguously to provide the possibility of local isotropy at large wave-numbers. An opportunity to use our 12-sensor hot-wire probe to address this issue directly was made available at the 80'x120' wind tunnel at the NASA Ames Research Center, which is normally used for full-scale aircraft tests. An initial report on this high Reynolds number experiment and progress toward its evaluation is presented.

Wallace, James M.↗