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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

Implications of the fractional charge of hydroxide at the electrochemical interface

Rational design of materials that efficiently convert electrical energy into chemical bonds will ultimately depend on a thorough understanding of the electrochemical interface at the atomic level. Towards this goal, the use of density functional theory (DFT) at the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) level has been applied widely in the past 15 years. In the calculation of electrochemical reaction energetics using GGA-DFT, it is frequently implicitly assumed that ions in the Helmholtz plane have unit charge. However, the ion charge is observed to be fractional near the interface through both a capacitor model and through Bader charge partitioning. In this work, we show that this spurious charge transfer can be effectively mitigated by continuum charging of the electrolyte. Finally, we show that, similar to hydronium, the observed fractional charge of hydroxide is not due to a GGA level self-interaction error, as the partial charge is observed even when using hybrid level exchange–correlation functionals.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

A Model for Approximately Stretched-Exponential Relaxation with Continuously Varying Stretching Exponents

Relaxation in glasses is typically approximated by a stretched-exponential form: \(f(t) = A \exp [-(t/\tau )^{\beta }]\) . Here, we show that the relaxation in a model of sheared non-Brownian suspensions developed by Corté et al. (Nat Phys 4:420–424, 2008 ) can be well approximated by a stretched exponential with an exponent \(\beta \) that depends on the strain amplitude: \(0.25< \beta < 1\) . In a one-dimensional version of the model, we show how the relaxation originates from density fluctuations in the initial particle configurations. Our analysis is in good agreement with numerical simulations and reveals a functional form for the relaxation that is distinct from, but well approximated by, a stretched-exponential function.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Effects of interaction strength of associating groups on linear and star polymer dynamics

A small number of associating groups incorporated onto a polymer backbone have dramatic effects on the mobility and viscoelastic response of the macromolecules in melts. These associating groups assemble, driving the formation of clusters, whose lifetime affects the properties of the polymers. In this study, we probe the effects of the interaction strength on the structure and dynamics of two topologies, linear and star polymer melts, and further investigate blends of associative and non-associating polymers using molecular dynamics simulations. Polymer chains of approximately one entanglement length are described by a bead–spring model, and the associating groups are incorporated in the form of interacting beads with an interaction strength between them that is varied from 1 to 20 k B T. We find that, for all melts and blends, interaction of a few k B T between the associating groups drives cluster formation, where the size of the clusters increases with increasing interaction strength. These clusters act as physical crosslinkers, which slow the chain mobility. Blends of chains with and without associating groups macroscopically phase separate for interaction strength between the associating groups of a few k B T and above. For weakly interacting associating groups, the static structure function S(q) is well fit by functional form predicted by the random phase approximation where a clear deviation occurs as phase segregation takes place, providing a quantitative assessment of phase segregation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Nonlinear dimension reduction for surrogate modeling using gradient information

We introduce a method for the nonlinear dimension reduction of a high-dimensional function $u:{\mathbb{R}}^d\rightarrow{\mathbb{R}}$, $d\gg 1$. Our objective is to identify a nonlinear feature map $g:{\mathbb{R}}^d\rightarrow{\mathbb{R}}^m$, with a prescribed intermediate dimension $m\ll d$, so that $u$ can be well approximated by $f\circ g$ for some profile function $f:{\mathbb{R}}^m\rightarrow{\mathbb{R}}$. We propose to build the feature map by aligning the Jacobian $\nabla g$ with the gradient $\nabla u$, and we theoretically analyze the properties of the resulting $g$. Once $g$ is built, we construct $f$ by solving a gradient-enhanced least squares problem. Our practical algorithm uses a sample $\{{\textbf{x}}^{(i)},u({\textbf{x}}^{(i)}),\nabla u({\textbf{x}}^{(i)})\}_{i=1}^N$ and builds both $g$ and $f$ on adaptive downward-closed polynomial spaces, using cross validation to avoid overfitting. We numerically evaluate the performance of our algorithm across different benchmarks, and explore the impact of the intermediate dimension $m$. We show that building a nonlinear feature map $g$ can permit more accurate approximation of $u$ than a linear $g$, for the same input data set.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Improving Estimation of the Koopman Operator with Kolmogorov–Smirnov Indicator Functions

It has become common to perform kinetic analysis using approximate Koopman operators that transform high-dimensional timeseries of observables into ranked dynamical modes. The key to the practical success of the approach is the identification of a set of observables that form a good basis on which to expand the slow relaxation modes. Good observables are, however, difficult to identify a priori and suboptimal choices can lead to significant underestimations of characteristic time scales. Leveraging the representation of slow dynamics in terms of Hidden Markov Models (HMM), we propose a simple and computationally efficient clustering procedure to infer surrogate observables that form a good basis for slow modes. Here, we apply the approach to an analytically solvable model system as well as on three protein systems of different complexities. We consistently demonstrate that the inferred indicator functions can significantly improve the estimation of the leading eigenvalues of Koopman operators and correctly identify key states and transition time scales of stochastic systems, even when good observables are not known a priori.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Close-contact melting on an isothermal surface with the inclusion of non-Newtonian effects

The present study deals with a theoretical investigation of a close-contact melting (CCM) process involving a vertical cylinder on a horizontal isothermal surface, where the liquid phase is a non-Newtonian viscoplastic fluid that behaves according to the Bingham model. Accordingly, a new approach is formulated based on the thin layer approximation and different quasi-steady process assumptions. By analytical derivation, an algebraic equation that relates the molten layer thickness and the solid bulk height is developed. The problem is then solved numerically, coupled with another equation for the melting rate. The new model shows that as the yield stress increases the melting rate decreases and the molten layer thickness increases. It is found that under certain conditions, the model can be reduced to a form that allows an analytical solution. The approximate model predicts an exponential dependence of both the melt fraction and the molten layer thickness. Comparison between the numerical and analytical solutions shows that the analytical approximation provides an excellent estimation for sufficiently large values of the yield stress. Dimensional analysis, which is supported by the analytical model results, reveals the dimensionless groups that govern the problem. For the general case, the melt fraction is a function of two dimensionless groups. For the analytical approximation, it is shown that the melt fraction is governed by a single dimensionless group and that the molten layer thickness is governed by two dimensionless groups.

Mechanics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Weak decays in superheavy nuclei

Superheavy nuclei represent the extreme atoms and nuclides known at the limit of mass and charge. The observed superheavy nuclei are all proton-rich; they decay primarily by emitting 𝛼 particles and by fission with a possible small electron capture (EC) branch. Here, due to the huge atomic numbers and associated relativistic effects, EC decays of superheavy systems are expected to differ from what is known in lighter nuclei. In this letter, using the quantified relativistic nuclear density functional theory and the quasiparticle random-phase approximation with the interaction optimized to experimental EC/𝛽 ± -decay half-lives, and Gamow-Teller resonance energies, we study the EC/𝛽 ± -decays in 𝑍=101–118 nuclei. Both allowed (1 + ) and first-forbidden (0 − ,1 − and 2 − ) transitions are considered. We show that the first-forbidden 1 − transitions dominate the decay rates in almost all studied nuclei. For proton-rich nuclei, EC dominates over 𝛽 + decay. Based on calculations with two relativistic energy density functionals, we identify 45 candidate nuclei in which a competition between weak decays and 𝛼 decay and spontaneous fission is expected.

A ≥ 220↗
DOE OSTI2022

Data-Centric Approach to Capture Non-Polynomial Nonlinear Dynamics

We propose an analytical construction of observable functions in the extended dynamic mode decomposition (EDMD) algorithm. EDMD is a numerical method for approximating the spectral properties of the Koopman operator. The choice of observable functions is fundamental for applying EDMD to nonlinear problems arising in systems and control. Existing methods either start from a set of dictionary functions and look for the subset that best fits the underlying nonlinear dynamics or rely on machine learning algorithms to “learn” observable functions. Conversely, in this paper, we start from the dynamical system model and lift it through the Lie derivatives, rendering it into a polynomial form. This proposed transformation into a polynomial form is exact and provides an adequate set of observable functions. The strength of the proposed approach is its applicability to a broader class of nonlinear dynamical systems, particularly those with nonpolynomial functions and compositions thereof. Moreover, it retains the physical interpretability of the underlying dynamical system and can be readily integrated into existing numerical libraries. We demonstrate the proposed approach with an application to electric power systems. The modeled system consists of a single generator connected to an infinite bus, where nonlinear terms include sine and cosine functions. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed procedure in off-attractor nonlinear dynamics for estimation and prediction; the observable functions obtained from the proposed construction outperform methods that use dictionary functions comprising monomials or radial basis functions.

extended dynamic mode decomposition↗
DOE OSTI2022

Rotating quantum turbulence in the unitary Fermi gas

Quantized vortices carry the angular momentum in rotating superfluids, and are key to the phenomenon of quantum turbulence. Advances in ultracold-atom technology enable quantum turbulence to be studied in regimes with both experimental and theoretical control, unlike the original contexts of superfluid helium experiments. While much work has been performed with bosonic systems, detailed studies of fermionic quantum turbulence are nascent, despite wide applicability to other contexts such as rotating neutron stars. In this paper, we present a large-scale study of quantum turbulence in rotating fermionic superfluids using an accurate time-dependent density functional theory called the superfluid local density approximation. We identify two different modes of turbulent decay in the dynamical equilibration of a rotating fermionic superfluid, and contrast these results with a computationally simpler description provided by the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, which we find can qualitatively reproduce these decay mechanisms if dissipation is explicitly included. These results demonstrate that dissipation mechanisms intrinsic to fermionic superfluids play a key role in differentiating fermionic from bosonic turbulence, which manifests by enhanced damping of Kelvin waves.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Phonon and Thermodynamic Properties in YNi{sub 2}B{sub 2}C and LuNi{sub 2}B{sub 2}C from First-Principles Study

The thermodynamic properties of the tetragonal RNi{sub 2}B{sub 2}C (R=Y, Lu) are investigated by means of the density-functional theory (DFT) and density-functional perturbation theory (DFPT) within the quasiharmonic approximation (QHA). The phonon dispersion curves and phonon total and partial density of states are studied, and it is found that the phonon branches can be divided into three obvious regions: a low-frequency region (LFR), an intermediate-frequency region (IFR), and a high-frequency region (HFR). The temperature dependence of the various quantities including isothermal bulk modulus, thermal expansion coefficient, and heat capacity is obtained, and the variation features of these quantities with temperature are discussed in detail.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Photoionization and photofragmentation of singly charged positive and negative Sc 3 N @ C 80 endohedral fullerene ions

Photoprocesses of the endohedral fullerene ions $\mathrm{Sc_3N@C_{80}^{+}}$ and $\mathrm{Sc_3N@C_{80}-}$ in the gas phase have been investigated in the photon energy ranges 30-50 eV and 280-420 eV. Single and double ionization as well as single ionization accompanied by the release of a C 2 dimer were observed as a function of the photon energy for the positive parent ion and double detachment was measured for the negative parent ion. The emphasis of the experiments was on the specific effects of the encapsulated trimetallic nitride cluster Sc 3 N on the observed reactions. Clear evidence of photoexcitation near the Sc L edge is obtained with the dominating contributions visible in the one- and two-electron-removal channels. K-vacancy production in the encapsulated central nitrogen atom is seen in the single ionization of $\mathrm{Sc_3N@C_{80}^{+}}$ but is much less pronounced in the photoionization-with-fragmentation channel. Comparison of the cross sections near the carbon K edge with the corresponding channels measured previously in the photoionization of $\mathrm{Lu_3N@C_{80}^+}$ reveal strong similarities. Previously predicted sharp resonance features in the ionization of $\mathrm{Sc_3N@C_{80}^{+}}$ ions below the Sc M edge are not confirmed. Finally, the experiments are accompanied by quantum-chemistry calculations in the Hartree-Fock approximation and by model calculations employing density functional theory (DFT).

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Epitaxial Carbyne: Analytical Results

The Green’s function method in the tight-binding approximation is used to obtain analytical expressions for the electronic spectra and densities of states for two carbyne structural modifications (cumulene and polyyne). Metal and semiconductor substrates are considered and charge-transfer estimates are deduced. Criteria for the occurrence of a charge-density wave in free-standing and epitaxial carbynes are proposed taking into account the intra- and interatomic Coulomb repulsion. Analytical expressions for the phonon spectrum of free-standing carbyne are presented. The data obtained are compared with the results of numerical calculations performed by other researchers.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Modeling the physisorption of graphene on metals

Many processes of technological and fundamental importance occur on surfaces. Adsorption is one of these phenomena that has received the most attention. However, it presents a great challenge to conventional density functional theory. By starting with the Lifshitz-Zaremba-Kohn second-order perturbation theory, we develop a long-range van der Waals (vdW) correction for physisorption of graphene on metals. The model importantly includes quadrupole-surface interaction and screening effects. The results show that, when the vdW correction is combined with the Perdew-Burke-Enzerhof functional, it yields adsorption energies in good agreement with the random-phase approximation, significantly improving upon other vdW methods. We also find that, compared with the leading-order interaction, the higher-order quadrupole-surface correction accounts for about 25$\%$ of the total vdW correction, suggesting the importance of the higher-order term.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Two-color pyrometry based flame to fuel surface radiative heat flux diagnostic using flamelets

In this study, a non-intrusive two-color pyrometry based radiative heat flux diagnostic is presented that accounts for the self-absorption effects. This diagnostic relies on looking up the flame temperature and soot volume fraction using the ratio of color intensities obtained from digital cameras and numerical solutions of 1D steady-state diffusion flames. Virtual two color pyrometry of computed flame show a unique one-to-one mapping of strained flames with intensity ratio; thereby allowing flames to be indexed and creation of a two-color flamelet manifold (TCFM). The TCFM is a function of two variables; the ratio of red to green intensities (flame index) and physical distance to the stoichiometric surface defined using a level-set function. The developed diagnostic is used in upward flame spread experiments where an approximate flame hull reconstruction method is applied to provide the 3D level-set function and intensity ratio for use of TCFM to provide radiative absorption properties for 3D ray tracing. Accounting for self- absorption effects provide improved soot volume fraction estimates. In conclusion, the radiative heat flux estimates are found to be in very good agreement with literature and improved results are obtained near the flame base.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Effect of Functional and Electron Correlation on the Structure and Spectroscopy of the Al 2 O 3 (001)–H 2 O Interface

Oxide–water interfaces are ubiquitous, with many applications in industry and the environment, yet there is a great deal of controversy over their properties and microscopic structure. This controversy stems, in part, from the unique H-bond networks formed at different surface terminations and mineral compositions. Density functional theory simulations of these interfaces require an accurate description of both the oxide mineral and water in diverse H-bond environments. Thus, herein we simulate the Al 2 O 3 (001)–H 2 O interface using the PBE, PBE-TS, RPBE, SCAN, and HSE06-TS functionals to determine how calculated interfacial properties depend on the choice of functional. We find that the structure of the first few layers of water at the surface is determined by electron correlation in a way that cannot be approximated using semiemipirical van der Waals corrections. Of the functionals investigated, we find that SCAN yields the most accurate interfacial structure, dynamics, and sum frequency generation spectrum. Furthermore, SCAN leads to a reduction in the order of the 2D H-bond network of water at the alumina surface predicted by GGA functionals, leading to a significant decrease in the anisotropy of the diffusion coefficient at the surface. We emphasize the importance of using a functional which accurately describes electron correlation for more complex oxides, such as transition-metal oxides, where electron correlation may play an even greater role in determining the structure and dynamics of the oxide–water interface.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

The Effect of Core-Hole Shape on Attosecond Valence Electron Dynamics

Rapid X-ray ionization of a core electron is known to induce the attosecond motion of valence electrons; however, the effect of core-hole shape on the triggered dynamics remains relatively unknown. In this work, the sub-four fs response of prototypical functionalized/heterocyclic/polycyclic molecules was simulated using real-time time-dependent density functional theory (RT-TDDFT), a sudden approximation core-hole, and phenomenologically Auger–Meitner (AM) decay. These molecules included fluorobenzene, chlorobenzene, bromobenzene, phenol, thiophenol, pyridine, phosphorus, and azulene. It is observed that the valence electron dynamics are essentially independent of the core-hole created, provided that it is ionized from an inner-shell orbital and not an inner-valence orbital. This has broad implications for free-electron laser studies of X-ray pumped attosecond processes since the flexibility in edge allows for a wide range of experimental modalities, core-holes with longer AM lifetimes, and molecular targets.

aromatic compounds↗
DOE OSTI2018

Electronic and Magnetic Investigations of Rare-Earth Tm-doped AlGaN Ternary Alloy

Electronic structure and magnetic interaction of substitutional thulium rare earth-doped wurtzite Al{sub 0.5}Ga{sub 0.5}N ternary alloy have been performed using density-functional theory within local spin-density approximation with Hubbard-U corrections (LSDA+U) approach. The LSDA+U method is applied to the rare earth (RE) 4f states. The calculation of formation energy shows that it is more energetically favorable for a substitutional Tm atom to replace the Al atom than the Ga atom. For AlGaN:Tm, the lattices parameters are expanded due to larger ionic radius of Tm than that of Al atoms. The energy band gap of AlGaN:Tm has direct character and its width becomes small compared with that of AlGaN. The magnetic coupling between Tm ions in the nearest neighbor sites is ferromagnetic. Magnetic interaction of rare earth ion with the host states at the valence and conduction band edges has been investigated and compared to those of GaN:Mn and has been found to be relatively small.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

The interacting quasiparticle–phonon picture and odd–even nuclei. Overview and perspectives

The role of the nucleon correlations in the ground states of even–even nuclei on the properties of low-lying states in odd–even spherical and transitional nuclei is studied. We reason about this subject using the language of the quasiparticle–phonon model which we extend to take account of the existence of quasiparticle⊗phonon configurations in the wave functions of the ground states of the even–even cores. Of paramount importance to the structure of the low-lying states happens to be the quasiparticle–phonon interaction in the ground states which we evaluated using both the standard and the extended random phase approximations. Numerical calculations for nuclei in the barium and cadmium regions are performed using pairing and quadrupole–quadrupole interaction modes which have the dominant impact on the lowest-lying states’ structure. It is found that states with same angular momentum and parity become closer in energy as compared to the predictions of models disregarding the backward amplitudes, which turns out to be in accord with the experimental data. In addition we found that the interaction between the last quasiparticle and the ground-state phonon admixtures produces configurations which contribute significantly to the magnetic dipolemoment of odd-A nuclei. It also reveals a potential for reproducing their experimental values which proves impossible if this interaction is neglected.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗