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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Thickness dependence of electronic structure and optical properties of a correlated van der Waals antiferromagnetic NiPS 3 thin film

In this work, we study the thickness dependence of the electronic, magnetic, and optical properties of a NiPS 3 thin film, which is an antiferromagnetic charge-transfer insulator. Utilizing state-of-the-art advanced density functionals, we find the antiferromagnetic zigzag order, the band gap, and the main peaks in the dielectric tensor are all in good agreement with the corresponding experimental values. Upon thinning, the zigzag antiferromagnetic order becomes virtually degenerate with a competing Néel order, consistent with the suppression of long-range order observed by Raman spectroscopy due to strong magnetic fluctuations. Additionally, due to the robustness of the electronic band gap observed by spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements above T N , we suggest that the persistence of the band gap is driven by strong electronic correlations. Other systematic changes in electronic dispersion, effective mass, and Kerr angle with thickness are also discussed. Finally, an applied external electric field is found to suppress the band gap by up to 13%, until precipitating an insulator-metal transition at a critical field value of 0.7 eV/Å.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Super resolution for magneto-optical microscopy

Sub-diffraction limited magneto-optical microscopy, such as Kerr or Faraday effect microscopy, provide many advantages to fields of science and technology for measuring, or imaging, the magnetization structures and magnetization domains of materials. Disclosed is a method and system for performing sub-diffraction limited magneto-optic microscopy. The method includes positioning a microlens or microlens layer relative to a surface of a sample to image the surface of the sample, forming a photonic nanojet to probe the surface of the sample, and receiving light reflected by the surface of the sample or transmitted through the sample at an imaging sensor. The methods and associated systems and devices enable sub-diffraction limited imaging of magnetic domains at resolutions 2 to 8 times the classical diffraction limit.

te Velthuis, Suzanne Gabriëlle Everdine↗
DOE OSTI2024

A driven Kerr oscillator with two-fold degeneracies for qubit protection

We present the experimental finding of multiple simultaneous two-fold degeneracies in the spectrum of a Kerr oscillator subjected to a squeezing drive. This squeezing drive resulting from a three-wave mixing process, in combination with the Kerr interaction, creates an effective static two-well potential in the phase space rotating at half the frequency of the sinusoidal drive generating the squeezing. Remarkably, these degeneracies can be turned on-and-off on demand, as well as their number by simply adjusting the frequency of the squeezing drive. We find that when the detuning Δ between the frequency of the oscillator and the second subharmonic of the drive equals an even multiple of the Kerr coefficient K , Δ / K = 2 m , the oscillator displays m + 1 exact, parity-protected, spectral degeneracies, insensitive to the drive amplitude. These degeneracies can be explained by the unusual destructive interference of tunnel paths in the classically forbidden region of the double well static effective potential that models our experiment. Exploiting this interference, we measure a peaked enhancement of the incoherent well-switching lifetime, thus creating a protected cat qubit in the ground state manifold of our oscillator. Our results illustrate the relationship between degeneracies and noise protection in a driven quantum system.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Layer-dependent optically induced spin polarization in InSe

Optical control of spin in semiconductors has been pioneered using nanostructures of III-V and II-VI semi-conductors, but the emergence of two-dimensional van der Waals materials offers an alternative low-dimensional platform for spintronic phenomena. Indium selenide (InSe), a group-III monochalcogenide van der Waals material, has shown promise for optoelectronics due to its high electron mobility, tunable direct band gap, and quantum transport. In addition to these confirmed properties, there are predictions of spin-dependent optical selection rules, suggesting the potential for all-optical excitation and control of spin in a two-dimensional layered material. Despite these predictions, layer-dependent optical spin phenomena in InSe have yet to be explored. Here, we present measurements of layer-dependent optical spin dynamics in few-layer and bulk InSe. Polarized photoluminescence reveals layer-dependent optical orientation of spin, thereby demonstrating the optical selection rules in few-layer InSe. Spin dynamics are also studied in many-layer InSe using time-resolved Kerr rotation spectroscopy. By applying out-of-plane and in-plane static magnetic fields for polarized emission measurements and Kerr measurements, respectively, the g factor for InSe was extracted. Further investigations are done by calculating precession values using a k · p model, which is supported by ab initio density functional theory. Comparison of predicted precession rates with experimental measurements highlights the importance of excitonic effects in InSe for understanding spin dynamics. In conclusion, optical orientation of spin is an important prerequisite for optospintronic phenomena and devices, and these first demonstrations of layer-dependent optical excitation of spins in InSe lay the foundation for combining layer-dependent spin properties with advantageous electronic properties found in this material.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Scattering in black hole backgrounds and higher-spin amplitudes. Part I

The scattering of massless waves of helicity |$h$| = $0$, $\frac{1}{2}$, $1$ in Schwarzschild and Kerr backgrounds is revisited in the long-wavelength regime. Using a novel description of such backgrounds in terms of gravitating massive particles, we compute classical wave scattering in terms of 2 → 2 QFT amplitudes in flat space, to all orders in spin. The results are Newman-Penrose amplitudes which are in direct correspondence with solutions of the Regge-Wheeler/Teukolsky equation. By introducing a precise prescription for the point-particle limit, in Part I of this work we show how both agree for $h$ = 0 at finite values of the scattering angle and arbitrary spin orientation. Associated classical observables such as the scattering cross sections, wave polarizations and time delay are studied at all orders in spin. The effect of the spin of the black hole on the polarization and helicity of the waves is found in agreement with previous analysis at linear order in spin. In the particular limit of small scattering angle, we argue that wave scattering admits a universal, point-particle description determined by the eikonal approximation. We show how our results recover the scattering eikonal phase with spin up to second post-Minkowskian order, and match it to the effective action of null geodesics in a Kerr background. Using this correspondence we derive classical observables such as polar and equatorial scattering angles. This study serves as a preceding analysis to Part II, where the Gravitational Wave ($h$ = 2) case will be studied in detail.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

High-order ( N = 4–6) multiphoton absorption and mid-infrared Kerr nonlinearity in GaP, ZnSe, GaSe, and ZGP crystals

We report a study of high-order multiphoton absorption, nonlinear refraction, and their anisotropy in four notable mid-infrared χ (2) crystals: GaP, ZnSe, GaSe, and ZGP using femtosecond pulses at 2.35 μm with peak intensity in excess of 200 GW/cm 2 . We found that the nonlinear absorption obeys a perturbation model with multiphoton absorption (MPA) orders from N = 4–6, in agreement with the bandgaps of the crystals. A study of the role of free carrier absorption, performed by changing the pulse duration from 30 to 70 fs while maintaining a constant peak intensity, showed that, at our intensity levels, free carriers generated during the MPA process absorb much more strongly than would be expected from their known linear absorption cross section. Possible mechanisms for this anomalous behavior are high-field effects, such as intravalley scattering in the conduction band and absorption to higher lying bands. Nonlinear refractive indices were measured using (i) closed aperture Z-scan and (ii) spectral broadening due to self-phase modulation, both methods agreeing with each other.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Minimal two-body quantum absorption refrigerator

Here, we study the phenomenon of absorption refrigeration, where refrigeration is achieved by heating instead of work, in two different setups: a minimal set up based on coupled qubits and two nonlinearly coupled resonators. Considering ZZ interaction between the two qubits, we outline the basic ingredients required to achieve cooling. Using local as well as global master equations, we observe that inclusion of an XX type term in the qubit-qubit coupling is detrimental to cooling. We compare the cooling effect obtained in the qubit case with that of nonlinearly coupled resonators (multilevel system) where the ZZ interaction translates to a Kerr-type nonlinearity. For small to intermediate strengths of nonlinearity, we observe that multilevel quantum systems, for example qutrits, give better cooling effect compared to the qubits. Using Keldysh nonequilibrium Green's function formalism, we go beyond first order sequential tunneling processes and study the effect of higher order processes on refrigeration. We find a reduced cooling effect compared to the master equation calculations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Topology and spectral entanglement in cavity-mediated photon scattering

Here, we develop a microscopic diagrammatic theory for cavity-mediated photon scattering in a topological one-dimensional insulator described by the Su–Schrieffer–Heeger model. Within the velocity-gauge formulation, we derive the photon self-energy and vertex corrections arising from virtual electron–hole excitations coupled to a quantized cavity mode, and we evaluate the resulting polariton dispersion and two-photon correlation spectra. Our analysis shows that vacuum fluctuations of the cavity field induce a momentum-resolved self-energy that mixes conduction and valence bands through virtual photon exchange, producing interband hybridization and avoided crossings in the electronic dispersion. This “cavity dressing” is symmetry-dependent, vanishing at the Brillouin-zone edge where the dipole matrix element is zero, and its strength is controlled by the spatial coherence range ζ ≈ (l c /a) 2 of virtual excitations. We further examine how the cavity modifies nonlinear optical observables, including the Kerr nonlinearity and biphoton spectral entanglement, and identify the regimes where these effects become sensitive to the underlying topological phase. The theoretical framework established here provides a unified description of light–matter coupling in topological and polaritonic systems, bridging solid-state cavity QED with the emerging field of cavity-modified quantum materials. Our results suggest that engineered photonic environments can coherently reshape the electronic landscape of topological insulators, offering new routes to control collective electronic and optical phenomena through vacuum-field fluctuations.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Measurement of optically-pumped electron spin polarization in n-GaAs at high external electric fields

We use the technique of time-resolved Kerr rotation (TRKR) to measure the electron spin polarization generated by optical spin pumping in an n-type gallium arsenide (GaAs) epilayer when an external electric field is simultaneously applied on the sample. The drift of the electron spins under the influence of the external electric field is captured with spatial scans of the pump–probe separation. A significant decay in the magnitude of electron spin polarization with electric field is observed and is attributed to the increased inhomogeneous broadening caused by the field-induced drift and the hot electron effects. Here, we extend the electric field range to as high as the Gunn threshold field in the measurement and we do not observe a spin amplification effect due to the spin Gunn effect under our experimental scheme.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Neutron Transmission Imaging with a Portable D-T Neutron Generator

Fast-neutron transmission imaging provides complementary information to x-ray transmission imaging. While fast neutron imaging resolution is generally below x-ray imaging, 14-MeV neutrons have an advantage over portable x-ray systems. Neutrons have higher transmission through high-Z materials due to a more uniform attenuation as a function of material atomic number Z compared to X-rays, and can therefore image low-Z materials inside high-Z materials. As a result, portable neutron transmission imaging has many applications, including inspection of concrete and welds for corrosion in vehicles, bridges, and other infrastructure, measurement of material levels in containers, and inspection of suspicious packages. Fast-neutron imaging is also more practical for field use than thermal-neutron imaging due to the size and shielding requirements typical of thermal-imaging systems compared to the availability of small 14.1 MeV D-T neutron generators. However, there are limitations in portable fast-neutron imaging systems, including limited neutron output, limited light produced by neutron scintillators, and lower resolution due to neutron source spot size and 2-3 mm scintillator thickness. In addition, digital-panel dark-noise is roughly 100x higher than neutron scintillator light, and variations in noise across the panel and in time is comparable to the imaging signal. Here we discuss recent efforts in developing a portable fast-neutron radiography system, including an improved neutron scintillator, mitigation of panel noise, and new commercial portable D-T neutron generators. We also present MCNP efforts to model neutron imaging, including scintillator resolution and the effects of neutron scattering from the object and surrounding materials.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Leading-order gravitational radiation to all spin orders

Starting with on-shell amplitudes compatible with the scattering of Kerr black holes up to Compton-amplitude contact terms, we produce the gravitational waveform and memory effect including spin at their leading post-Minkowskian orders to all orders in the spins of both scattering objects. For the memory effect, we present results at next-to-leading order as well, finding a closed form for all spin orders when the spins are anti-aligned and equal in magnitude. Considering instead generically oriented spins, we produce the next-to-leading-order memory to sixth order in spin. Compton-amplitude contact terms up to sixth order in spin are included throughout our analysis.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Chirality-induced spin selectivity as a mechanism to control product selectivity during electrochemical CO 2 reduction

Electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction often suffers from competition with the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), which lowers efficiency and limits product selectivity. Recent studies suggest that electron spin, when controlled at an electrode surface, can influence reaction pathways, but direct evidence linking spin effects to suppressed HER has been limited. Here, in this work, we show that helical chiral copper (Cu) electrodes reduce competing HER during CO 2 reduction, consistent with spin polarization induced via the chiral-induced spin selectivity effect. The helically structured Cu electrodes are fabricated by electrodeposition with a chiral templating reagent. Time-resolved Kerr ellipticity measurements, which track spin-polarized carriers generated by an ultrafast Seebeck current, confirm spin accumulation at the chiral Cu surface. This spin polarization disfavours H—H bond formation, thereby suppressing HER and enabling formate production alongside CO. These findings demonstrate that chirality-based spin control offers a strategy for steering selectivity in CO 2 reduction and other reactions where HER is an undesired competitor.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Orbital Hall effect as an alternative to valley Hall effect in gapped graphene

Gapped graphene has been proposed to be a good platform to observe the valley Hall effect, a transport phenomenon involving the flow of electrons that are characterized by different valley indices. In the present work, we show that this phenomenon is better described as an instance of the orbital Hall effect (OHE), where the ambiguous “valley” indices are replaced by a physical quantity, the orbital magnetic moment, which can be defined uniformly over the entire Brillouin zone. This description removes the arbitrariness in the choice of arbitrary cutoff for the valley-restricted integrals in the valley Hall conductivity, as the conductivity in the OHE is now defined as the Brillouin zone integral of a new quantity, called the orbital Berry curvature. Finally, this reformulation in terms of OHE provides a direct explanation to the accumulated opposite orbital moments at the edges of the sample, observed in previous Kerr rotation measurements.

2-dimensional systems↗
DOE OSTI2021

Circumbinary Disk Accretion into Spinning Black Hole Binaries

Supermassive black hole binaries are likely to accrete interstellar gas through a circumbinary disk. Shortly before merger, the inner portions of this circumbinary disk are subject to general relativistic effects. To study this regime, we approximate the spacetime metric of close orbiting black holes by superimposing two boosted Kerr–Schild terms. After demonstrating the quality of this approximation, we carry out very long-term general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the circumbinary disk. We consider black holes with spin dimensionless parameters of magnitude 0.9, in one simulation parallel to the orbital angular momentum of the binary, but in another anti-parallel. These are contrasted with spinless simulations. We find that, for a fixed surface mass density in the inner circumbinary disk, aligned spins of this magnitude approximately reduce the mass accretion rate by 14% and counter-aligned spins increase it by 45%, leaving many other disk properties unchanged.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Conversion efficiency of soliton Kerr combs

We investigate the conversion efficiency (CE) of soliton modelocked Kerr frequency combs. Our analysis reveals three distinct scaling regimes of CE with the cavity free spectral range (FSR), which depends on the relative contributions of the coupling and propagation loss to the total cavity loss. Our measurements, for the case of critical coupling, verify our theoretical prediction over a range of FSRs and pump powers. Our numerical simulations also indicate that mode crossings have an adverse effect on the achievable CE. Our results indicate that microresonator combs operating with spacings in the electronically detectable regime are highly inefficient, which could have implications for integrated Kerr comb devices.

Jang, Jae K. (ORCID:0000000187786058)↗
DOE OSTI1988

Nuclear Safety [Vol. 29, No. 1, January-March 1988]

Nuclear Safety is a review journal that covers significant developments in the field of nuclear safety. Its scope includes the analysis and control of hazards associated with nuclear energy, operations involving fissionable materials, and the products of nuclear fission and their effects on the environment. Primary emphasis is on safety in reactor design, construction, and operation; however, the safety aspects of the entire fuel cycle, including fuel fabrication, spent-fuel processing, nuclear waste disposal, handling of radioisotopes, and environmental effects of these operations, are also treated. Table of Contents for this issue follows. THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT: 1 Core History and Nuclide Inventory of the Chernobyl Core at the Time of Accident by Gerald Kirchner and Cornelius C. Noack; GENERAL SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: 6 Nonprescriptive Nuclear Safety Regulation: The Example of Loss of Offsite Power by M. W. Golay, V. P. Manno, and C. Vlahoplus, Jr., 20 Nuclear Power Safety Goals in Light of the Chernobyl Accident by C. Whipple and C. Starr; ACCIDENT ANALYSIS: 29 Containment Loads from Severe Accidents—U.S. Program by W. Kerr and M. K. Dey; PLANT SAFETY FEATURES: 36 Safety Characteristics of Modern High-Temperature Reactors: Focus on German Designs by W. Kröger, H. Nickel, and R. Schulten; ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS: 49 Radiation Hormesis and Nuclear Safety by C. C. Congdon; OPERATING EXPERIENCES: 58 Evaluation of Nonradiological Water Chemistry at Power Reactors by Harvey Zibulsky, James J. Kottan, Walter J. Pasciak, Mary Ann Castrogivanni, and Sujit Banerjee, 64 Reactor Shutdown Experience Compiled by J. W. Cletcher, 67 Operating U.S. Power Reactors Compiled by E. G. Silver; RECENT DEVELOPMENTS: 85 General Administrative Activities Compiled by E. G. Silver, 94 Reports, Standards, and Safety Guides by D. S. Queener, 100 Status of Power-Reactor Projects Undergoing Licensing Review Compiled by E. G. Silver, 103 Proposed Rule Changes as of Sept. 30, 1987; ANNOUNCEMENTS: 5 Northwestern University Short Course on Radiation Safety, 28 International Approach to Nuclear Safety (After Three-Mile Island and Chernobyl), 57 RPI Short Course on Modern Developments in Boiling Heat Transfer and Two-Phase Flow, 107 20th DOE/NRC Nuclear Air Cleaning Conference, 110 Third International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Power Plant Thermal Hydraulics and Operations, 108 The Authors, 111 Indexes to Nuclear Safety, Volume 28.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI1988

Nuclear Safety [Vol. 29, No. 1, January-March 1988]

Nuclear Safety is a review journal that covers significant developments in the field of nuclear safety. Its scope includes the analysis and control of hazards associated with nuclear energy, operations involving fissionable materials, and the products of nuclear fission and their effects on the environment. Primary emphasis is on safety in reactor design, construction, and operation; however, the safety aspects of the entire fuel cycle, including fuel fabrication, spent-fuel processing, nuclear waste disposal, handling of radioisotopes, and environmental effects of these operations, are also treated. Table of Contents for this issue follows. THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT: 1 Core History and Nuclide Inventory of the Chernobyl Core at the Time of Accident by Gerald Kirchner and Cornelius C. Noack; GENERAL SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: 6 Nonprescriptive Nuclear Safety Regulation: The Example of Loss of Offsite Power by M. W. Golay, V. P. Manno, and C. Vlahoplus, Jr., 20 Nuclear Power Safety Goals in Light of the Chernobyl Accident by C. Whipple and C. Starr; ACCIDENT ANALYSIS: 29 Containment Loads from Severe Accidents—U.S. Program by W. Kerr and M. K. Dey; PLANT SAFETY FEATURES: 36 Safety Characteristics of Modern High-Temperature Reactors: Focus on German Designs by W. Kröger, H. Nickel, and R. Schulten; ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS: 49 Radiation Hormesis and Nuclear Safety by C. C. Congdon; OPERATING EXPERIENCES: 58 Evaluation of Nonradiological Water Chemistry at Power Reactors by Harvey Zibulsky, James J. Kottan, Walter J. Pasciak, Mary Ann Castrogivanni, and Sujit Banerjee, 64 Reactor Shutdown Experience Compiled by J. W. Cletcher, 67 Operating U.S. Power Reactors Compiled by E. G. Silver; RECENT DEVELOPMENTS: 85 General Administrative Activities Compiled by E. G. Silver, 94 Reports, Standards, and Safety Guides by D. S. Queener, 100 Status of Power-Reactor Projects Undergoing Licensing Review Compiled by E. G. Silver, 103 Proposed Rule Changes as of Sept. 30, 1987; ANNOUNCEMENTS: 5 Northwestern University Short Course on Radiation Safety, 28 International Approach to Nuclear Safety (After Three-Mile Island and Chernobyl), 57 RPI Short Course on Modern Developments in Boiling Heat Transfer and Two-Phase Flow, 107 20th DOE/NRC Nuclear Air Cleaning Conference, 110 Third International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Power Plant Thermal Hydraulics and Operations, 108 The Authors, 111 Indexes to Nuclear Safety, Volume 28.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗