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At least 1,117 records · Page 62
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2011

Precision measurements of K{sup {+-}} {yields} {pi}{sup {+-}}{pi}{sup 0}{gamma} decay at NA48/2 and search for CP violation

The direct emission (DE) and interference (INT) terms of the radiative decay K{sup {+-}} {yields} {pi}{sup {+-}}{pi}{sup 0}{gamma} have been measured by the NA48/2 experiment at CERN SPS. About 6 10{sup 5} K{sup {+-}} {yields} {pi}{sup {+-}}{pi}{sup 0}{gamma} decays have been selected from data collected during 2003 and 2004. The relative amounts of DE and INT with respect to the dominant Inner Bremsstrahlung (IB) contribution have been measured in the range 0<T{sub {pi}}{sup *}<80 MeV, where T{sub {pi}}{sup *} is the kinetic energy of the charged pion in the kaon rest frame, obtaining: Frac(DE) = (3.32 {+-}0.15{sub stat}{+-}0.14{sub syst})10{sup -2}, Frac(INT) = (-2.35 {+-}0.35{sub stat}{+-}0.39{sub syst}) 10{sup -2}. This is the first observation of an interference term in K{sup {+-}} {yields} {pi}{sup {+-}}{pi}{sup 0}{gamma} decays. From this measurement the DE normalized electric and magnetic amplitudes are derived: X{sub E} = (-24 {+-}6) GeV{sup -4}, X{sub M} = (254 {+-} 9) GeV{sup -4}.In addition, the CP violating asymmetry in the K{sup +} and K- branching ratios for this channel has been determined to be less than 1.5 10{sup -3} at 90% confidence level.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

Computational fluid dynamics and frequency-dependent finite-difference time-domain method coupling for the interaction between microwaves and plasma in rocket plumes

Under certain conditions during rocket flights, ionized exhaust plumes from solid rocket motors may interfere with radio frequency transmissions. To understand the relevant physical processes involved in this phenomenon and establish a prediction process for in-flight attenuation levels, we attempted to measure microwave attenuation caused by rocket exhaust plumes in a sea-level static firing test for a full-scale solid propellant rocket motor. The microwave attenuation level was calculated by a coupling simulation of the inviscid-frozen-flow computational fluid dynamics of an exhaust plume and detailed analysis of microwave transmissions by applying a frequency-dependent finite-difference time-domain method with the Drude dispersion model. The calculated microwave attenuation level agreed well with the experimental results, except in the case of interference downstream the Mach disk in the exhaust plume. It was concluded that the coupling estimation method based on the physics of the frozen plasma flow with Drude dispersion would be suitable for actual flight conditions, although the mixing and afterburning in the plume should be considered depending on the flow condition.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2012

Hot-electron generation by “cavitating” Langmuir turbulence in the nonlinear stage of the two-plasmon–decay instability

The kinetic reduced-description particle-in-cell simulation technique has been applied to study the nonlinear stage of two-plasmon–decay (TPD) instability in an inhomogeneous plasma driven by crossed laser beams. The TPD instability is found to be a prolific generator of “cavitating” Langmuir turbulence. Langmuir “cavitons”—localized longitudinal electric fields, oscillating near the local electron plasma frequency, trapped in ponderomotive density depressions—collapse to dimensions of a few electron Debye lengths, where the electric field energy is collisionlessly transferred to electron kinetic energy. The resulting hot electrons can attain instantaneous temperatures up to 100 keV with net suprathermal heat flux out of the system of up to a few percent of the input laser energy. Scaling laws for this hot-electron generation by TPD, in regimes motivated by recent experiments on the Omega laser, were presented recently by Vu et al. (H. X. Vu, D. F. DuBois, D. A. Russell, and J. F. Myatt, Phys. Plasmas 19, 102703 (2012)). This paper concentrates on the microscopic mechanisms for hot-electron generation. The spatial distribution of the maxima of the electric field envelope modulus is found to be very spiky, with the distribution of electric field envelope maxima obeying Gaussian statistics. The cavitons are produced in density-depletion trenches produced by the combined ponderomotive interference of the crossed laser beams and the ponderomotive beats of the primary backward-going TPD Langmuir waves (LWs) resulting from the crossed beams. The Langmuir turbulence is strongest in the electron-density region near 0.241× the laser's critical density, where the forward LWs from the crossed-beam TPD are degenerate. Nucleation of cavitons is assisted by the modulation of the electron density in the trenches, which in turn is caused by the beating of the common forward-going LW and the pair of backward-going LWs. The autocorrelation function of the LW envelope field provides a near-universal shape for intense cavitons—in the neighborhood of the local field maxima. The hot-electron temperature is found to be approximately a linear function of the “caviton temperature” determined from the Gaussian distribution of caviton maxima. These diagnostics provide strong evidence for the importance of Langmuir caviton collapse in the generation of hot electrons by TPD. Extended Zakharov model predictions for TPD exhibit the same qualitative phenomena.

Vu, H. X.↗
DOE OSTI2013

Transport properties of individual C{sub 60}-molecules

Electrical and thermal transport properties of C{sub 60} molecules are investigated with density-functional-theory based calculations. These calculations suggest that the optimum contact geometry for an electrode terminated with a single-Au atom is through binding to one or two C-atoms of C{sub 60} with a tendency to promote the sp{sup 2}-hybridization into an sp{sup 3}-type one. Transport in these junctions is primarily through an unoccupied molecular orbital that is partly hybridized with the Au, which results in splitting the degeneracy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital triplet. The transmission through these junctions, however, cannot be modeled by a single Lorentzian resonance, as our results show evidence of quantum interference between an occupied and an unoccupied orbital. The interference results in a suppression of conductance around the Fermi energy. Our numerical findings are readily analyzed analytically within a simple two-level model.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Studies on optoelectronic properties of DC reactive magnetron sputtered CdTe thin films

Cadmium telluride continues to be a leading candidate for the development of cost effective photovoltaics for terrestrial applications. In the present work two individual metallic targets of Cd and Te were used for the deposition of CdTe thin films on mica substrates from room temperature to 300 °C by DC reactive magnetron sputtering method. XRD patterns of CdTe thin films deposited on mica substrates exhibit peaks at 2θ = 27.7°, 46.1° and 54.6°, which corresponds to reflection on (1 1 1), (2 2 0) and (3 1 1) planes of CdTe cubic structure. The intensities of XRD patterns increases with the increase of substrate temperature upto 150 °C and then it decreases at higher substrate temperatures. The conductivity of CdTe thin films measured from four probe method increases with the increase of substrate temperature. The activation energies (ΔE) are found to be decrease with the increase of substrate temperature. The optical transmittance spectra of CdTe thin films deposited on mica have a clear interference pattern in the longer wavelength region. The films have good transparency (T > 85 %) exhibiting interference pattern in the spectral region between 1200 – 2500 nm. The optical band gap of CdTe thin films are found to be in the range of 1.48 – 1.57. The refractive index, n decreases with the increase of wavelength, λ. The value of n and k increases with the increase of substrate temperature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Stokes' theorem, gauge symmetry and the time-dependent Aharonov-Bohm effect

Stokes' theorem is investigated in the context of the time-dependent Aharonov-Bohm effect—the two-slit quantum interference experiment with a time varying solenoid between the slits. The time varying solenoid produces an electric field which leads to an additional phase shift which is found to exactly cancel the time-dependent part of the usual magnetic Aharonov-Bohm phase shift. This electric field arises from a combination of a non-single valued scalar potential and/or a 3-vector potential. The gauge transformation which leads to the scalar and 3-vector potentials for the electric field is non-single valued. This feature is connected with the non-simply connected topology of the Aharonov-Bohm set-up. The non-single valued nature of the gauge transformation function has interesting consequences for the 4-dimensional Stokes' theorem for the time-dependent Aharonov-Bohm effect. An experimental test of these conclusions is proposed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

A portable time-domain LED fluorimeter for nanosecond fluorescence lifetime measurements

Fluorescence lifetime measurements are becoming increasingly important in chemical and biological research. Time-domain lifetime measurements offer fluorescence multiplexing and improved handling of interferers compared with the frequency-domain technique. In this paper, an all solid-state, filterless, and highly portable light-emitting-diode based time-domain fluorimeter (LED TDF) is reported for the measurement of nanosecond fluorescence lifetimes. LED based excitation provides more wavelengths options compared to laser diode based excitation, but the excitation is less effective due to the uncollimated beam, less optical power, and longer latency in state transition. Pulse triggering and pre-bias techniques were implemented in our LED TDF to improve the peak optical power to over 100 mW. The proposed pulsing circuit achieved an excitation light fall time of less than 2 ns. Electrical resetting technique realized a time-gated photo-detector to remove the interference of the excitation light with fluorescence. These techniques allow the LED fluorimeter to accurately measure the fluorescence lifetime of fluorescein down to concentration of 0.5 μM. In addition, all filters required in traditional instruments are eliminated for the non-attenuated excitation/emission light power. These achievements make the reported device attractive to biochemical laboratories seeking for highly portable lifetime detection devices for developing sensors based on fluorescence lifetime changes. The device was initially validated by measuring the lifetimes of three commercial fluorophores and comparing them with reported lifetime data. It was subsequently used to characterize a ZnSe quantum dot based DNA sensor.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Coherently driven, ultrafast electron-phonon dynamics in transport junctions

Although the vast majority of studies of transport via molecular-scale heterojunctions have been conducted in the (static) energy domain, experiments are currently beginning to apply time domain approaches to the nanoscale transport problem, combining spatial with temporal resolution. It is thus an opportune time for theory to develop models to explore both new phenomena in, and new potential applications of, time-domain, coherently driven molecular electronics. In this work, we study the interaction of a molecular phonon with an electronic wavepacket transmitted via a conductance junction within a time-domain model that treats the electron and phonon on equal footing and spans the weak to strong electron-phonon coupling strengths. We explore interference between two coherent energy pathways in the electronic subspace, thus complementing previous studies of coherent phenomena in conduction junctions, where the stationary framework was used to study interference between spatial pathways. Our model provides new insights into phase decoherence and population relaxation within the electronic subspace, which have been conventionally treated by density matrix approaches that often rely on phenomenological parameters. Although the specific case of a transport junction is explored, our results are general, applying also to other instances of coupled electron-phonon systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Phase-coherent electron transport in (Zn, Al)O{sub x} thin films grown by atomic layer deposition

A clear signature of disorder induced quantum-interference phenomena leading to phase-coherent electron transport was observed in (Zn, Al)O{sub x} thin films grown by atomic layer deposition. The degree of static-disorder was tuned by varying the Al concentration through periodic incorporation of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} sub-monolayer in ZnO. All the films showed small negative magnetoresistance due to magnetic field suppressed weak-localization effect. The temperature dependence of phase-coherence length (l{sub φ}∝T{sup −3/4}), as extracted from the magnetoresistance measurements, indicated electron-electron scattering as the dominant dephasing mechanism. The persistence of quantum-interference at relatively higher temperatures up to 200 K is promising for the realization of ZnO based phase-coherent electron transport devices.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Structural, morphological and magnetic study of (Bi{sub 0.1}Fe{sub 0.1}O{sub 3}) - (Ni{sub 0.1}Fe{sub 2(0.1)}O{sub 4}) nanocomposite

Multiferroic nanocomposite of (Bi{sub 0.1}Fe{sub 0.1}O{sub 3}) - (Ni{sub 0.1}Fe{sub 2(0.1)}O{sub 4}) was prepared by sol gel technique and characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, superconducting quantum interference device. X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of desired crystallographic phase of the composite. The average particle size found to be 13.97nm. The transmission electron microscopy depicts the presence of the polycrystalline nanoparticles. In order to investigate the magnetic behavior superconducting quantum interference device was used. The sample was analyzed by increasing the magnetic field up to 25kOe and magnetization was found to be 16.8emu/g, which is optimum for the technological applications. The magnetic properties in such composite result as determined both by the ferrite concentration and properties and by the degree of connectivity of the two phases. The appropriate combination of two phases gives rise to higher magnetization.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Resonance Raman spectra of organic molecules absorbed on inorganic semiconducting surfaces: Contribution from both localized intramolecular excitation and intermolecular charge transfer excitation

The time-dependent correlation function approach for the calculations of absorption and resonance Raman spectra (RRS) of organic molecules absorbed on semiconductor surfaces [Y. Zhao and W. Z. Liang, J. Chem. Phys. 135, 044108 (2011)] is extended to include the contribution of the intermolecular charge transfer (CT) excitation from the absorbers to the semiconducting nanoparticles. The results demonstrate that the bidirectionally interfacial CT significantly modifies the spectral line shapes. Although the intermolecular CT excitation makes the absorption spectra red shift slightly, it essentially changes the relative intensities of mode-specific RRS and causes the oscillation behavior of surface enhanced Raman spectra with respect to interfacial electronic couplings. Furthermore, the constructive and destructive interferences of RRS from the localized molecular excitation and CT excitation are observed with respect to the electronic coupling and the bottom position of conductor band. The interferences are determined by both excitation pathways and bidirectionally interfacial CT.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Alternate current magnetic property characterization of nonstoichiometric zinc ferrite nanocrystals for inductor fabrication via a solution based process

We investigate the ac magnetic behavior of solution processable, non-stoichiometric zinc ferrite nanocrystals with a series of sizes and zinc concentrations. Nearly monodisperse Zn{sub x}Fe{sub 3−x}O{sub 4} nanocrystals (x = 0–0.25) with an average size ranging from 7.4 nm to 13.8 nm are synthesized by using a solvothermal method. All the nanocrystals are in a superparamagnetic state at 300 K, which is confirmed by Superconductive Quantum Interference Device magnetometry. Due to the doping of non-magnetic Zn{sup 2+} into A site of ferrite, the saturation magnetization of nanocrystals increases as the size and Zn concentration increases. The ac magnetic permeability measurements at radio frequencies reveal that the real part of the magnetic permeability of similarly sized ferrite nanocrystals can be enhanced by almost twofold as the Zn{sup 2+} doping level increases from 0 to 0.25. The integration of 12.3 nm Zn{sub 0.25}Fe{sub 2.75}O{sub 4} nanocrystals into a toroidal inductor and a solenoid inductor prepared via a simple solution cast process yields a higher quality factors than air core inductors with the same geometries up to 5 MHz and 9 MHz, respectively, which is in the regime of the switching frequencies for the advanced integrated power converters.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Cr/B{sub 4}C multilayer mirrors: Study of interfaces and X-ray reflectance

We present an experimental study of the effect of layer interfaces on the x-ray reflectance in Cr/B{sub 4}C multilayer interference coatings with layer thicknesses ranging from 0.7 nm to 5.4 nm. The multilayers were deposited by magnetron sputtering and by ion beam sputtering. Grazing incidence x-ray reflectometry, soft x-ray reflectometry, and transmission electron microscopy reveal asymmetric multilayer structures with a larger B{sub 4}C-on-Cr interface, which we modeled with a 1–1.5 nm thick interfacial layer. Reflectance measurements in the vicinity of the Cr L{sub 2,3} absorption edge demonstrate fine structure that is not predicted by simulations using the currently tabulated refractive index (optical constants) values for Cr.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Stereodynamics in NO(X) + Ar inelastic collisions

The effect of orientation of the NO(X) bond axis prior to rotationally inelastic collisions with Ar has been investigated experimentally and theoretically. A modification to conventional velocity-map imaging ion optics is described, which allows the orientation of hexapole state-selected NO(X) using a static electric field, followed by velocity map imaging of the resonantly ionized scattered products. Bond orientation resolved differential cross sections are measured experimentally for a series of spin-orbit conserving transitions and compared with quantum mechanical calculations. The agreement between experimental results and those from quantum mechanical calculations is generally good. Parity pairs, which have previously been observed in collisions of unpolarized NO with various rare gases, are not observed due to the coherent superposition of the two j = 1/2, Ω = 1/2 Λ-doublet levels in the orienting field. The normalized difference differential cross sections are found to depend predominantly on the final rotational state, and are not very sensitive to the final Λ-doublet level. The differential steric effect has also been investigated theoretically, by means of quantum mechanical and classical calculations. Classically, the differential steric effect can be understood by considering the steric requirement for different types of trajectories that contribute to different regions of the differential cross section. However, classical effects cannot account quantitatively for the differential steric asymmetry observed in NO(X) + Ar collisions, which reflects quantum interference from scattering at either end of the molecule. This quantum interference effect is dominated by the repulsive region of the potential.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Low-noise heterodyne receiver for electron cyclotron emission imaging and microwave imaging reflectometry

The critical component enabling electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI) and microwave imaging reflectometry (MIR) to resolve 2D and 3D electron temperature and density perturbations is the heterodyne imaging array that collects and downconverts radiated emission and/or reflected signals (50–150 GHz) to an intermediate frequency (IF) band (e.g. 0.1–18 GHz) that can be transmitted by a shielded coaxial cable for further filtering and detection. New circuitry has been developed for this task, integrating gallium arsenide (GaAs) monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) mounted on a liquid crystal polymer (LCP) substrate. The improved topology significantly increases electromagnetic shielding from out-of-band interference, leads to 10× improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio, and dramatic cost savings through integration. The current design, optimized for reflectometry and edge radiometry on mid-sized tokamaks, has demonstrated >20 dB conversion gain in upper V-band (60-75 GHz). Implementation of the circuit in a multi-channel electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI) array will improve the diagnosis of edge-localized modes and fluctuations of the high-confinement, or H-mode, pedestal.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Spectroscopic imaging of limiter heat and particle fluxes and the resulting impurity sources during Wendelstein 7-X startup plasmas

A combined IR and visible camera system [G. A. Wurden et al., “A high resolution IR/visible imaging system for the W7-X limiter,” Rev. Sci. Instrum. (these proceedings)] and a filterscope system [R. J. Colchin et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 74, 2068 (2003)] were implemented together to obtain spectroscopic data of limiter and first wall recycling and impurity sources during Wendelstein 7-X startup plasmas. Both systems together provided excellent temporal and spatial spectroscopic resolution of limiter 3. Narrowband interference filters in front of the camera yielded C-III and H{sub α} photon flux, and the filterscope system provided H{sub α}, H{sub β}, He-I, He-II, C-II, and visible bremsstrahlung data. The filterscopes made additional measurements of several points on the W7-X vacuum vessel to yield wall recycling fluxes. The resulting photon flux from both the visible camera and filterscopes can then be compared to an EMC3-EIRENE synthetic diagnostic [H. Frerichs et al., “Synthetic plasma edge diagnostics for EMC3-EIRENE, highlighted for Wendelstein 7-X,” Rev. Sci. Instrum. (these proceedings)] to infer both a limiter particle flux and wall particle flux, both of which will ultimately be used to infer the complete particle balance and particle confinement time τ{sub P}.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Prime factorization using magnonic holographic devices

Determining the prime factors of a given number $N$ is a problem that requires super-polynomial time for conventional digital computers. A polynomial-time algorithm was invented by Shor for quantum computers. In this paper, we present experimental data that demonstrate prime factorization using spin-wave interference but without quantum entanglement. Prime factorization includes three major steps. First, a general-type computer calculates the sequence of numbers m k mod($N$), where $N$ is the number to be factorized, m is a randomly chosen positive integer, and k = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…. Next, the period of the calculated sequence $r$ is determined by exploiting spin-wave interference. Finally, the general-type computer determines the primes based on the obtained $r$. The experiment for period finding was conducted on a six-terminal Y 3 Fe 2 (FeO 4 ) 3 device. We chose number 15 for testing and determined its primes using a sequence of measurements. The obtained experimental data for a micrometer-sized prototype aimed to demonstrate the benefits of using spin-wave devices to solve complex computational problems. Scalability is one of the major strengths inherent in this type of wave-based device, which may provide a route to nanometer-sized logic circuits. We discuss the physical and technological limitations of this approach, which define the maximum size of N and the computational speed. Although this classical approach cannot compete with the quantum algorithm in terms of efficiency, magnonic holographic devices can potentially be used as complementary logic units aimed at speeding up prime factorization for classical computers.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Magnonic interferometric switch for multi-valued logic circuits

We investigated a possible use of the magnonic interferometric switches in multi-valued logic circuits. The switch is a three-terminal device consisting of two spin channels where input, control, and output signals are spin waves. Signal modulation is achieved via the interference between the source and gate spin waves. We report experimental data on a micrometer scale prototype based on the Y 3 Fe 2 (FeO 4 ) 3 structure. The output characteristics are measured at different angles of the bias magnetic field. The On/Off ratio of the prototype exceeds 13 dB at room temperature. Experimental data are complemented by the theoretical analysis and the results of micro magnetic simulations showing spin wave propagation in a micrometer size magnetic junction. Here, we also present the results of numerical modeling illustrating the operation of a nanometer-size switch consisting of just 20 spins in the source-drain channel. The utilization of spin wave interference as a switching mechanism makes it possible to build nanometer-scale logic gates, and minimize energy per operation, which is limited only by the noise margin. The utilization of phase in addition to amplitude for information encoding offers an innovative route towards multi-state logic circuits. We describe possible implementation of the three-value logic circuits based on the magnonic interferometric switches. The advantages and shortcomings inherent in interferometric switches are also discussed.

42 ENGINEERING↗