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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 1,045 records · Page 58
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Experimental characterization of fragile topology in an acoustic metamaterial

Symmetries crucially underlie the classification of topological phases of matter. Most materials, both natural as well as architectured, possess crystalline symmetries. Recent theoretical works unveiled that these crystalline symmetries can stabilize fragile Bloch bands that challenge our very notion of topology: Although answering to the most basic definition of topology, one can trivialize these bands through the addition of trivial Bloch bands. Here, we fully characterize the symmetry properties of the response of an acoustic metamaterial to establish the fragile nature of the low-lying Bloch bands. Additionally, we present a spectral signature in the form of spectral flow under twisted boundary conditions.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2021

Nematicity and competing orders in superconducting magic-angle graphene

Strongly interacting electrons in solid-state systems often display multiple broken symmetries in the ground state. The interplay between different order parameters can give rise to a rich phase diagram. We report on the identification of intertwined phases with broken rotational symmetry in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (TBG). Using transverse resistance measurements, we find a strongly anisotropic phase located in a “wedge” above the underdoped region of the superconducting dome. Upon its crossing with the superconducting dome, a reduction of the critical temperature is observed. Furthermore, the superconducting state exhibits an anisotropic response to a direction-dependent in-plane magnetic field, revealing nematic ordering across the entire superconducting dome. These results indicate that nematic fluctuations might play an important role in the low-temperature phases of magic-angle TBG.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Stacking-engineered ferroelectricity in bilayer boron nitride

Stacking a ferroelectric Properties of layered van der Waals structures can depend sensitively on the stacking arrangement of constituent layers. This phenomenon has been exploited to engineer superconducting, correlated insulator, and magnetic states. Two groups now show that ferroelectricity can also be engineered through stacking: Parallel-stacked bilayers of hexagonal boron nitride exhibit ferroelectric switching even though the bulk material is not ferroelectric (see the Perspective by Tsymbal). To explore these phenomena, Yasuda et al. used transport measurements, whereas Vizner Stern et al. focused on atomic force microscopy. Science , abd3230 and abe8177, this issue p. 1458 and p. 1462 ; see also abi7296, p. 1389

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2022

Optical absorption of interlayer excitons in transition-metal dichalcogenide heterostructures

Interlayer excitons, electron-hole pairs bound across two monolayer van der Waals semiconductors, offer promising electrical tunability and localizability. Because such excitons display weak electron-hole overlap, most studies have examined only the lowest-energy excitons through photoluminescence. Here, we directly measured the dielectric response of interlayer excitons, which we accessed using their static electric dipole moment. We thereby determined an intrinsic radiative lifetime of 0.40 nanoseconds for the lowest direct-gap interlayer exciton in a tungsten diselenide/molybdenum diselenide heterostructure. We found that differences in electric field and twist angle induced trends in exciton transition strengths and energies, which could be related to wave function overlap, moiré confinement, and atomic reconstruction. Through comparison with photoluminescence spectra, this study identifies a momentum-indirect emission mechanism. Characterization of the absorption is key for applications relying on light-matter interactions.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Promotion of superconductivity in magic-angle graphene multilayers

Graphene moiré superlattices show an abundance of correlated insulating, topological, and superconducting phases. Whereas the origins of strong correlations and nontrivial topology can be directly linked to flat bands, the nature of superconductivity remains enigmatic. We demonstrate that magic-angle devices made of twisted tri-, quadri-, and pentalayer graphene placed on monolayer tungsten diselenide exhibit flavor polarization and superconductivity. We also observe insulating states in the tril- and quadrilayer arising at finite electric displacement fields. As the number of layers increases, superconductivity emerges over an enhanced filling-factor range, and in the pentalayer it extends well beyond the filling of four electrons per moiré unit cell. Our results highlight the role of the interplay between flat and more dispersive bands in extending superconducting regions in graphene moiré superlattices.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Achieving sub-0.5-angstrom–resolution ptychography in an uncorrected electron microscope

Subangstrom resolution has long been limited to aberration-corrected electron microscopy, where it is a powerful tool for understanding the atomic structure and properties of matter. Here, we demonstrate electron ptychography in an uncorrected scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) with deep subangstrom spatial resolution down to 0.44 angstroms, exceeding the conventional resolution of aberration-corrected tools and rivaling their highest ptychographic resolutions​. Our approach, which we demonstrate on twisted two-dimensional materials in a widely available commercial microscope, far surpasses prior ptychographic resolutions (1 to 5 angstroms) of uncorrected STEMs. We further show how geometric aberrations can create optimized, structured beams for dose-efficient electron ptychography. Our results demonstrate that expensive aberration correctors are no longer required for deep subangstrom resolution.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Programming liquid crystal elastomers for multistep ambidirectional deformability

Ambidirectionality, which is the ability of structural elements to move beyond a reference state in two opposite directions, is common in nature. However, conventional soft materials are typically limited to a single, unidirectional deformation unless complex hybrid constructs are used. We exploited the combination of mesogen self-assembly, polymer chain elasticity, and polymerization-induced stress to design liquid crystalline elastomers that exhibit two mesophases: chevron smectic C (cSmC) and smectic A (SmA). Inducing the cSmC-SmA–isotropic phase transition led to an unusual inversion of the strain field in the microstructure, resulting in opposite deformation modes (e.g., consecutive shrinkage or expansion and right-handed or left-handed twisting and tilting in opposite directions) and high-frequency nonmonotonic oscillations. Further, this ambidirectional movement is scalable and can be used to generate Gaussian transformations at the macroscale.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Beam charge asymmetries for deeply virtual Compton scattering off the proton

The unpolarized and polarized Beam Char\-ge Asymmetries (BCAs) of the $\overrightarrow{e}^{\pm}p \to e^{\pm}p \gamma$ process off unpolarized hydrogen are discussed. The measurement of BCAs with the CLAS12 spectrometer at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, using polarized positron and electron beams at 10.6 GeV is investigated. This experimental configuration allows to measure azimuthal and $t$-dependences of the unpolarized and polarized BCAs over a large $(x_B,Q^2)$ phase space, providing a direct access to the real part of the Compton Form Factor (CFF) ${\mathcal H}$. Additionally, these measurements confront the Bethe-Heitler dominance hypothesis and eventual effects beyond leading twist. The impact of potential positron beam data on the determination of CFFs is also investigated within a local fitting approach of experimental observables. Finally, positron data are shown to strongly reduce correlations between CFFs and consequently improve significantly the determination of $\Re {\rm e} [\mathcal{H}]$.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Double deeply virtual Compton scattering with positron beams at SoLID

Double Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DDVCS) is the only experimental channel for the determination of the dependence of the Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) on both the average and the transferred momentum independently. The physics observables of the electron induced di-muon production reaction $\vv{e}^{\pm}p \to e^{\pm}p\mu^+\mu^-$ off unpolarized hydrogen are discussed. Their measurement with the high luminosity and large acceptance SoLID spectrometer at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, using polarized and unpolarized positron and electron beams at 11 GeV is investigated. This experimental configuration is shown to provide unprecedented access to the GPDs with the determination of the real and imaginary parts of the Compton Form Factor H in an unexplored phase space, and to enable an exploratory investigation of higher twist effects.

Zhao, S.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Low-energy probes of no-scale SU(5) super-GUTs

We explore the possible values of the μ → eγ branching ratio, BR(μ → eγ), and the electron dipole moment (eEDM), d e , in no-scale SU(5) super-GUT models with the boundary conditions that soft supersymmetry-breaking matter scalar masses vanish at some high input scale, M in , above the GUT scale, M GUT . We take into account the constraints from the cosmological cold dark matter density, Ω CDM h 2 , the Higgs mass, M h , and the experimental lower limit on the lifetime for p → K + ν¯, the dominant proton decay mode in these super-GUT models. Reconciling this limit with Ω CDM h 2 and M h requires the Higgs field responsible for the charge-2/3 quark masses to be twisted, and possibly also that responsible for the charge-1/3 and charged-lepton masses, with model-dependent soft supersymmetry-breaking masses. We consider six possible models for the super-GUT initial conditions, and two possible choices for quark flavor mixing, contrasting their predictions for proton decay with versions of the models in which mixing effects are neglected. We find that τ(p → K + ν¯) may be accessible to the upcoming Hyper-Kamiokande experiment, whereas all the models predict BR(μ → eγ) and d e below the current and prospective future experimental sensitivities or both flavor choices, when the dark matter density, Higgs mass and current proton decay constraints are taken into account. However, there are limited regions with one of the flavor choices in two of the models where μ → e conversion on a heavy nucleus may be observable in the future. Our results indicate that there is no supersymmetric flavor problem in the class of no-scale models we consider.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Probing gluon saturation via diffractive jets in ultra-peripheral nucleus-nucleus collisions

Abstract We argue that semi-inclusive photo-production of a pair of hard jets via coherent diffraction in nucleus-nucleus ultra-peripheral collisions at high energy is a golden channel to study gluon saturation. The dominant contribution is the diffractive production of three jets in an asymmetric configuration. Two of the jets are hard and propagate at nearly central pseudo-rapidities. The third jet is semi-hard, with transverse momentum comparable to the nuclear saturation momentum, and is well separated in pseudo-rapidity from the hard dijets. The emission of the semi-hard jet allows for strong scattering, thus avoiding the “higher-twist” suppression of the exclusive dijet production due to colour transparency. We compute the trijet cross-section using the diffractive TMD factorisation which emerges from the CGC effective theory at high energy. The cross-section is controlled by gluon saturation, which leaves its imprints on the structure of the final state, notably on the rapidity distribution.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2020

Exploring Hadron Structure with GPDs at EIC: New Topics in Theory, Experiment, Interpretation

Exploring hadron structure with generalized parton distributions (GPDs) and related concepts is an essential part of the physics program of the planned Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). Here, we discuss new topics in GPD physics (theory, experiment, interpretation) that have emerged in the last years and could be included in the EIC program. This includes: (a) D-term and QCD forces in the nucleon; (b) Transversity GPDs in pseudoscalar meson production and high-mass pair production; (c) Pion and kaon form factors and GPDs; (d) Transition distribution amplitudes and backward meson production; (e) Neutron GPDs and nuclear modifications; (f) Nuclear GPDs and quark/gluon imaging of nuclei; (g) Twist-3 GPDs and quark-gluon correlations; (h) Wigner functions and potential observables. We also comment on future theoretical developments needed for the GPD program at EIC and emerging connections with other areas of nuclear physics.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

BPS spectra and 3-manifold invariants

We provide a physical definition of new homological invariants H a (M 3 ) of 3-manifolds (possibly, with knots) labeled by abelian flat connections. The physical system in question involves a 6d fivebrane theory on M 3 times a 2-disk, D 2 , whose Hilbert space of BPS states plays the role of a basic building block in categorification of various partition functions of 3d N = 2 theory T[M 3 ]: D 2 × S 1 half-index, S 2 × S 1 superconformal index, and S 2 × S 1 topologically twisted index. The first partition function is labeled by a choice of boundary condition and provides a refinement of Chern–Simons (WRT) invariant. A linear combination of them in the unrefined limit gives the analytically continued WRT invariant of M 3 . The last two can be factorized into the product of half-indices. Here, we show how this works explicitly for many examples, including Lens spaces, circle fibrations over Riemann surfaces, and plumbed 3-manifolds.

3-manifold↗
DOE OSTI2025

Wide bandgap photoconductor (SiC:V)-based optically addressed light valve for high fluence operation

Optically addressable light valves based on wide bandgap 4H- and 6H-SiC as photoconductors were designed to withstand higher operational laser fluences than the state of-the-art bismuth silicon oxide (BSO; Bi 12 SiO 20 ) based devices. Vanadium-doped SiC was selected as the photoconductors due to their reasonable photoresponsivity while many fold improvement in laser induced damage threshold as compared to BSO. The laser induced damage threshold values of the materials were measured after exposing ~ 200 sites on the samples to increasing levels of fluence of a gaussian pulsed Nd: YAG laser system (1064 nm) with a 5 Hz repetition rate. The measured damage threshold values for BSO, 4H- and 6H-SiC were 0.4 J/cm 2 , 1.75 J/cm 2 and 1.8 J/cm 2 , respectively. Photoconductive switches based on 4H and 6H-SiC samples were characterized at wavelengths of 380 nm, 405 nm, and 447 nm. The peak photoresponsivity values of the 4H- and 6H-SiC materials were measured to be under 380 nm and 405 nm, respectively. The photoconductor was bonded to a BK7 optical window with 5 μm diameter microspheres as spacers. A twisted nematic type E7 liquid crystal (LC) was filled in the 5 μm gap in a vacuum chamber. The desired alignment of the liquid crystal was achieved by mutually orthogonal orientation of LC alignment layers on the two mating faces (SiC and BK7). The fabricated devices were modulated using address beams of wavelengths 380 nm, 405 nm, and 447 nm. In conclusion, required transmission levels of > 90% was achieved for the fabricated OALVs for a sinusoidal voltage waveform that meets the lifetime requirement of the device.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Vector meson production in ultraperipheral heavy ion collisions

We review model calculations of exclusive vector meson production in ultraperipheral heavy ion collisions. We highlight differences and similarities between different dipole models and leading twist shadowing calculations. Recent color glass condensate calculations are presented with focus on effects from nuclear structure and azimuthal anisotropies driven by interference effects.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

SRF Cavity Tuners for 3.9 GHz Cryomodules for LCLS-II Project

Fermilab conducted testing of three 3.9 GHz cryomodules for the LCLS-II project that will operate in continuous wave mode. A fast/fine tuning component was added to the LCLS-II 3.9 GHz tuner design due to the cavity bandwidth of 130 Hz which consists of two encapsulated piezos. Several cavities faced problems with fast-tuner operations after cooldown to 2 K and tuning the cavities to 3.9 GHz in cryomodule 2. All the piezo actuators were in working conditions but the slow tuner ranges required to stretch some of the cavities to the operational 3.9 GHz frequency were too small to deliver the required preload on the piezos. This behavior can be attributed to several factors: setting the initial warm cavity frequency during production too high, pressure tests of the warm cryomodule could have changed cavity frequency; and the small bending and twisting of the cavity-tuner system during the cooldown and warmup of the cavities. A decision was made to inelastically retune the warm cavities to decrease the unrestrained frequency by 200-300 kHz, this was done via the slow tuner. The results for this retuning method of three 3.9GHz cryomodules will be discussed.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Maturing Rational Design Methodologies and Industry Consensus Engineering Standards: Critical Fastened Joints - Solar PV Industry

Critical structural joints can be seen throughout a solar array and are called upon to secure modules and keep racking assembled and able to resist large demands from winds and snow loads. In the relatively new and fast-growing solar PV industry, the important role these hardware assemblies (e.g. clips, clamps, bolts, nuts, washers) play is not well understood by product designers. Failures with critical structural joints are surprisingly common and point to the need for maturing the engineering and assembly of these joints. The wide variety of design concepts (Figure 2&2) demonstrate interesting and innovative ideas but are lacking the basics of fastener engineering seen in matured industries (e.g. transportation, buildings). Complicating the maturing process for critical structural joints is that they are one component in rack supporting structures that exhibits a systems behavior; each component will affect the other and play a key role in maintaining structural integrity. When wind loads the surface of a module, the underlying racking members deflect and twist which in turn imparts forces back into the joints and into the mounted modules. Often, these supporting rack structures exhibit high deflections and low natural frequencies which amplify the demands placed into the joints even in moderate winds. Current engineering practices and associated structural conventions view solar racking support structures as they would a high mass building that exhibit more static behaviors in wind events. Solar structures are unique from high mass buildings and require the development of solar specific industry engineering consensus standards.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

G2Aero: A Python package for separable shape tensors

G2Aero is a Python package for the design and deformation of discrete planar curves and tubular surfaces using a geometric data-driven approach. G2Aero utilizes a topology of product manifolds: the Grassmannian, $\mathcal{G}$($\mathcal{n}$, 2) - the set of 2-dimensional subspaces in $\mathbb{R}$ $\mathcal{n}$ - and the symmetric positive-definite (SPD) manifold, $\mathcal{S}^{2}_{++}$ - the set of 2x2 SPD matrices. The package provides a novel framework for representing separable deformations to shapes, which consist of stretching, scaling, rotating, and translating - also known as affine deformations - and a set of complementary deformations - which we refer to as undulation-type deformations. We focus on airfoil and blade design applications to emphasize the utility of the methods in an environment where the separation of affine and undulation-type deformations is critical. Notable functionalities of the framework for blade design include: 1) generating novel 2D (airfoil) shapes informed by a database of physically relevant airfoils, 2) building 3D blades by interpolating sequences of 2D airfoil cross-sections, and 3) generating blades with consistent perturbations along the blade span. We discuss the framework and provide examples in the context of wind energy applications, specifically wind turbine blade design. Figure 1 shows the wire frame obtained by interpolating airfoils defining the IEA 15-MW wind turbine blade and applying affine transformations corresponding to twist, chordal scaling, and bending. This, and all other figures in the paper, can be reproduced following examples and referencing supporting documentation provided in the G2Aero package.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗