Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “circularity”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,369 records · Page 76

Sulfurospirillum diekertiae sp. nov., a tetrachloroethene-respiring bacterium isolated from contaminated soil

Two anaerobic, tetrachloroethene- (PCE-) respiring bacterial isolates, designated strain ACS DCE T and strain ACS TCE , were characterized using a polyphasic approach. Cells were Gram-stain-negative, motile, non-spore-forming and shared a vibrioid- to spirillum-shaped morphology. Optimum growth occurred at 30°C and 0.1–0.4% salinity. The pH range for growth was pH 5.5–7.5, with an optimum at pH 7.2. Hydrogen, formate, pyruvate and lactate as electron donors supported respiratory reductive dechlorination of PCE to cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cDCE) in strain ACS DCE T and of PCE to trichloroethene (TCE) in strain ACS TCE . Both strains were able to grow with pyruvate under microaerobic conditions. Nitrate, elemental sulphur, and thiosulphate were alternative electron acceptors. Autotrophic growth was not observed and acetate served as carbon source for both strains. The major cellular fatty acids were C 16:1 ω7c, C 16:0 , C 14:0 and C 18:1 ω7c. Both genomes feature a circular plasmid. Strains ACS DCE T and ACS TCE were previously assigned to the candidate species 'Sulfurospirillum acididehalogenans'. Here, based on key genomic features and pairwise comparisons of whole-genome sequences, including average nucleotide identity, digital DNA–DNA hybridization and average amino acid identity, strains ACS DCE T and ACS TCE , 'Ca. Sulfurospirillum diekertiae' strains SL2-1 and SL2-2, and the unclassified Sulfurospirillum sp. strain SPD-1 are grouped into one distinct species separate from previously described Sulfurospirillum species. Compared to Sulfurospirillum multivorans and Sulfurospirillum halorespirans, which dechlorinate PCE to cDCE without substantial TCE accumulation, these five strains produce TCE or cDCE as the end product. In addition, some cellular fatty acids (e.g., C 16:0 3OH, C 17:0 iso 3OH, C 17:0 2OH) were detected in strains ACS DCE T and ACS TCE but not in other Sulfurospirillum species. On the basis of phylogenetic, physiological and phenotypic characteristics, 'Ca. Sulfurospirillum acididehalogenans' and 'Ca. Sulfurospirillum diekertiae' are proposed to be merged into one novel species within the genus Sulfurospirillum, for which the name Sulfurospirillum diekertiae sp. nov. is proposed. Finally, the type strain is ACS DCE T (=JCM 33349 T = KCTC 15819 T =CGMCC 1.5292 T ).

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Accurate and complete genomes from metagenomes

Genomes are an integral component of the biological information about an organism; thus, the more complete the genome, the more informative it is. Historically, bacterial and archaeal genomes were reconstructed from pure (monoclonal) cultures, and the first reported sequences were manually curated to completion. However, the bottleneck imposed by the requirement for isolates precluded genomic insights for the vast majority of microbial life. Shotgun sequencing of microbial communities, referred to initially as community genomics and subsequently as genome-resolved metagenomics, can circumvent this limitation by obtaining metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs); but gaps, local assembly errors, chimeras, and contamination by fragments from other genomes limit the value of these genomes. Here, we discuss genome curation to improve and, in some cases, achieve complete (circularized, no gaps) MAGs (CMAGs). To date, few CMAGs have been generated, although notably some are from very complex systems such as soil and sediment. Through analysis of about 7000 published complete bacterial isolate genomes, we verify the value of cumulative GC skew in combination with other metrics to establish bacterial genome sequence accuracy. The analysis of cumulative GC skew identified potential misassemblies in some reference genomes of isolated bacteria and the repeat sequences that likely gave rise to them. We discuss methods that could be implemented in bioinformatic approaches for curation to ensure that metabolic and evolutionary analyses can be based on very high-quality genomes.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Complete genomes of Asgard archaea reveal diverse integrated and mobile genetic elements

Asgard archaea are of great interest as the progenitors of Eukaryotes, but little is known about the mobile genetic elements (MGEs) that may shape their ongoing evolution. Here, we describe MGEs that replicate in Atabeyarchaeia, a wetland Asgard archaea lineage represented by two complete genomes. We used soil depth–resolved population metagenomic data sets to track 18 MGEs for which genome structures were defined and precise chromosome integration sites could be identified for confident host linkage. Additionally, we identified a complete 20.67 kbp circular plasmid and two family-level groups of viruses linked to Atabeyarchaeia, via CRISPR spacer targeting. Closely related 40 kbp viruses possess a hypervariable genomic region encoding combinations of specific genes for small cysteine-rich proteins structurally similar to restriction-homing endonucleases. One 10.9 kbp integrative conjugative element (ICE) integrates genomically into theAtabeyarchaeum deiterrae-1chromosome and has a 2.5 kbp circularizable element integrated within it. The 10.9 kbp ICE encodes an expressed Type IIG restriction-modification system with a sequence specificity matching an active methylation motif identified by Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) high-accuracy long-read (HiFi) metagenomic sequencing. Restriction-modification of Atabeyarchaeia differs from that of another coexisting Asgard archaea, Freyarchaeia, which has few identified MGEs but possesses diverse defense mechanisms, including DISARM and Hachiman, not found in Atabeyarchaeia. Overall, defense systems and methylation mechanisms of Asgard archaea likely modulate their interactions with MGEs, and integration/excision and copy number variation of MGEs in turn enable host genetic versatility.

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology↗

Using convolutional neural networks to accelerate three-dimensional coherent synchrotron radiation computations

Calculating the effects of coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) is one of the most computationally expensive tasks in accelerator physics. Here, we use convolutional neural networks (CNNs), along with a latent conditional diffusion (LCD) model, trained on physics-based simulations to speed up calculations. Specifically, we produce the 3D CSR wakefields generated by electron bunches in circular orbit in the steady-state condition. Two datasets are used for training and testing the models: wakefields generated by three-dimensional Gaussian electron distributions and wakefields from a sum of up to 25 three-dimensional Gaussian distributions. The CNNs are able to accurately produce the 3D wakefields ∼250–1000 times faster than the numerical calculations, while the LCD achieves a gain of a factor of ∼34. We also test the extrapolation and out-of-distribution generalization ability of the models. They generalize well on distributions with larger spreads than what they were trained on but struggle with smaller spreads.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Spin-Forbidden Excitations in the Magneto-optical Spectra of CrI 3 Tuned by Covalency

Spin-forbidden (Δ⁢𝑆 ≠0) multiplet excitations and their coupling to magnetic properties are of increasing importance for magneto-optical studies of correlated materials. Nonetheless, the mechanisms for optically brightening these transitions and their generality remain poorly understood. Here, we report magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy on the van der Waals ferromagnet (FM) CrI 3 . Previously unreported spin-forbidden (Δ⁢𝑆 =1) 4 𝐴 2⁢g → 2 𝐸 g / 2 𝑇 1⁢g Cr 3+ 𝑑⁢𝑑 excitations are observed near the ligand-to-metal charge-transfer excitation threshold. The assignment of these excitations and their Cr 3+ multiplet character is established through complementary Cr 𝐿 3 -edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering measurements along with charge-transfer multiplet calculations and chemical trends in the chromium trihalide series (Cr⁢𝑋 3 , 𝑋 = Cl, Br, I). We utilize the high sensitivity of MCD spectroscopy to study the thickness-dependent optical response. The spin-forbidden excitations remain robust down to the monolayer limit, and we observe a significant magnetic-field dependence of the MCD spectrum across the antiferromagnetic-to-FM transition in few-layer samples. We preliminarily attribute this behavior to changes in the metal-ligand covalency with magnetic state. Our results clarify the magneto-optical response of CrI 3 and identify covalency as a central mechanism for the brightening and field tunability of spin-forbidden multiplet excitations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Electronic structure of the kagome compound CaTi 3⁢ Bi 4 using high-field torque magnetometry and density functional theory

Here, we report systematic torque magnetometry measurements to investigate the electronic properties of the newly discovered kagome compound CaTi 3 ⁢Bi 4 . Electrical transport, magnetic susceptibility, and thermal measurements reveal no evidence of a magnetic ground state in this material. Torque data obtained in magnetic fields up to 41.5 T exhibit clear de Haas–van Alphen (dHvA) oscillations, with nine distinct frequencies ranging from 13 to 6164 T. Angular-dependent dHvA measurements show that, with the exception of the lowest frequency (13 T), all observed frequencies nearly follow a 1/cos ⁡𝜃 dependence, where 𝜃 is the angle between the crystallographic 𝑐 axis and the magnetic field direction. This behavior is characteristic of quasi-two-dimensional Fermi-surface sheets with nearly circular cross sections. To further elucidate the electronic structure, we performed density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the band structure and Fermi surface. The calculated bands reveal the presence of multiple Dirac points (DP), flat bands (FB), and van Hove singularities (VHS) near the Fermi level. The resulting Fermi surface consists of several quasi-two-dimensional cylindrical sheets, consistent with the experimentally observed 1/cos⁡ 𝜃 dependence. Notably, the theoretical dHvA frequencies, derived from extremal Fermi-surface cross-sectional areas, agree well with the experimental values and reproduce their angular dependence. Remarkably, all experimentally observed frequencies are captured by the DFT predictions. Pressure-dependent calculations up to 10 GPa show that the electronic features—DP, FB, and VHS—evolve systematically with pressure. In particular, the VHS shifts closer to the Fermi level, demonstrating that pressure acts as an effective tuning parameter in this material. These combined experimental and theoretical results provide a comprehensive understanding of the electronic structure of CaTi 3 ⁢Bi 4 and demonstrate how pressure can be used to tune its key electronic features, offering valuable guidance for exploring related kagome materials.

Shtefiienko, Kyryl [West Texas A & M University, C↗

Interfacial alloying contributions to the magnetic proximity effect in Pt/dysprosium iron garnet

The magnetic proximity effect (MPE), a magnetic response from a heavy metal layer induced by an adjacent magnetic layer, plays an important role in the behavior of heavy-metal/ferro- or ferrimagnet thin film heterostructures. However, in the case of heavy-metal/rare earth iron garnet bilayers the presence and magnitude of the MPE has been debated. We previously reported an MPE in a Pt/dysprosium iron garnet (DyIG) heterostructure where the two layers were grown without breaking vacuum, finding that the magnetic moment present in the Pt layer scales with the magnitude of the DyIG moment and varies nonmonotonically through the DyIG compensation temperature. However, the origin of the magnetic signal from the Pt layer was not identified. In contrast, Pt/DyIG grown with a vacuum break did not exhibit an MPE. Here we investigate the origin of the magnetic moment in the Pt layer using x-ray absorption spectroscopy, x-ray circular dichroism, composition mapping and simulations of ion bombardment. In conclusion, the results are consistent with the presence of an intermixed Fe-Dy-Pt interfacial alloy layer formed during the growth of the Pt on the DyIG and resulting in a measurable MPE.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Theory of terahertz pulse transmission through ferroelectric nanomembranes

An analytical model is developed to predict the temporal evolution of the lattice polarization in ferroelectric nanomembranes upon the excitation by a terahertz (THz) electromagnetic pulse of an arbitrary waveform and the concurrent transmission of the THz pulse in both linear and nonlinear regimes. It involves the use of the perturbation method to solve the equation of motion for the lattice polarization in both unclamped and strained ferroelectric nanomembranes within the framework of Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire theory. The model is applicable to perovskite oxides such as BaTiO 3 and SrTiO 3 , wurtzite Al 1−𝑥 ⁢Sc 𝑥 ⁢N, and trigonal LiNbO 3 . Our analytical model provides a theoretical basis for determining the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of ferroelectric materials through a THz transmission experiment. The calculation results also suggest an approach to reversing the chirality of a circularly polarized THz pulse by harnessing the resonant polarization-photon coupling in ferroelectrics. This capability of chirality reversal, along with the high tunability from a strain applied along any arbitrarily oriented in-plane axis, provides new opportunities for THz wave modulation without relying on complex metasurface designs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Propagation of partially spatially coherent laser beams in instantaneous Kerr media

The propagation of intense, partially spatially coherent laser beams in a medium with instantaneous third-order susceptibility is studied analytically and numerically. For sufficiently high power relative to that required for nonlinear self-focusing, the propagation initially proceeds in two stages. In the first stage, spatial coherence builds up, and in the second stage, the number of speckles reduces. Once the degree of coherence is sufficiently high, whole-beam self-focusing occurs. The beam power is mostly confined within the initial spot radius. Two analytical approaches for describing the evolution of the beam are presented. The method of moments leads to an analytical solution for the rms spot radius that is in excellent agreement with simulations. This method does not require any knowledge of the field statistics beyond the initial conditions and provides no information about the evolution of the individual speckles. The other approach employs a self-similar solution for the second-order coherence function of the field and assumes that the fourth-order coherence function is factorizable and obeys complex circular Gaussian random statistics. The latter method also leads to an analytical expression for the spot radius, but its predictions for the qualitative evolution of the speckles disagree with wave-optics simulations.

lasers↗

Demonstration of a Novel Phase-Space Painting Method in a Coupled Lattice to Mitigate Space Charge in High-Intensity Hadron Beams

Multiturn charge-exchange injection is the primary method of creating high-intensity hadron beams in circular accelerators, and phase space painting during injection enables tailoring of the accumulated phase space distribution. A technique we call eigenpainting allows injection of particles into a single mode of a coupled ring, providing full four-dimensional control of the phase space distribution. Under ideal conditions, uniform eigenpainting generates a linear-force equilibrium distribution in the transverse plane, with zero volume in four-dimensional transverse phase space, even including space charge. Here, we have implemented eigenpainting for the first time in the spallation neutron source accumulator ring. Injecting 8.8 μ⁢C of an 800 MeV beam, we obtain a final ratio of intrinsic transverse emittances of ≈2.4. We analyze the effect of space charge on the final distribution through comparison of the reconstructed phase space to particle-in-cell simulations.

Evans, Nicholas J. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory ↗

Intrinsic nonlocality of spin- and polarization-resolved probabilities in strong-field quantum electrodynamics

Spin and polarization are central to precision tests of fundamental physics and for interpreting radiation from astrophysical sources and ultraintense laser-matter experiments. Here, focusing on the fundamental process of nonlinear Compton scattering, we demonstrate that a key assumption underlying current strong-field quantum electrodynamics models, i.e., that emission can be treated as an instantaneous random event sampled from a local differential rate, is inconsistent once emission angles, electron spin, and/or photon polarization are resolved. Namely, even in strictly constant and uniform fields , the resulting fully differential distribution is sign indefinite, yielding negative inferred probabilities. The physical reason is that the photon emission probability builds up over a finite length of the electron trajectory, the formation region, during which the electron direction changes by roughly the same small angle that defines the radiation cone. Therefore, we put forward a new method where we integrate over this formation region analytically to obtain a physically consistent electron spin and photon polarization model. We show that the implementation of our model is compatible with existing Monte Carlo and particle-in-cell workflows. Simulations of a GeV-class electron-laser collision accessible at current petawatt facilities and of emission in a pulsarlike magnetic field are shown to reveal spin and polarization patterns that differ even qualitatively from state-of-the-art local models. In particular, our new model predicts substantial angle-dependent circular photon polarization where the well-known collinear-emission approach yields none, and a pronounced helicity bias in the recoiling electrons absent from current predictions. These findings have direct implications for upcoming strong-field QED experiments and for interpreting polarized radiation from extreme astrophysical environments.

astrophysical electromagnetic fields↗

Anisotropic light-tailored RKKY interaction in two-dimensional 𝑑-wave altermagnets

Altermagnets are known in spintronics for their intrinsic spin-splitting and unconventional magnetic responses, particularly to magnetic impurities. However, effectively controlling the magnetic exchange interactions in altermagnets is challenging for practical applications. Here, in this work, we propose using circularly polarized light to tune the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction in two-dimensional 𝑑-wave altermagnets. Using the real-space retarded Green's functions approach, our results show that while the Heisenberg and Ising exchanges dominate, a notable Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya (DM) interaction also plays a key role. Furthermore, the inherent strength of altermagnetism imprints chirp-like signatures into the magnetic responses, which can be dynamically tuned via light. We mainly demonstrate that gate-induced Rashba spin-orbit coupling is essential in response to light—light selectively and anisotropically adjusts the DM interaction without affecting the other exchanges. Our findings further indicate that rotating the altermagnet by 45° relative to the light's polarization direction generates a Dirac-like dispersion and different DM interactions. We finally extract critical thresholds where light reverses DM interactions along one axis or balances both in-plane components. The anisotropic light-driven control of RKKY interactions in altermagnets not only highlights their unique properties but also opens new avenues for engineering tailored magnetic characteristics in spintronic applications.

altermagnetism↗

FCC feasibility studies: Impact of tracker- and calorimeter-detector performance on jet flavor identification and Higgs physics analyses

The ambitious physics program planned for the Future Circular Collider electron-positron phase imposes stringent constraints on detector performance. This study systematically investigates how different detector configurations impact jet flavor identification and their effects on high-profile physics analyses. Using Higgs boson coupling measurements and searches for invisible Higgs decays as benchmarks, we evaluate the sensitivity of these analyses to variations in tracker and calorimeter detector properties. We examine modifications to single-point resolution, material budget, silicon layer placement, and particle identification capabilities, quantifying their effects on flavor-tagging performance. Additionally, we present the first comprehensive study of Higgs-to-invisible decay detection using full detector simulation, providing insights for optimizing detector designs at lepton colliders.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Polarization observables 𝑇 and 𝐹 in the 𝛾⁢𝑝→𝜋 0 ⁢𝑝 reaction at CLAS

Pion photoproduction in the $\vec{γ}$$\vec{p}$ → π 0 p reaction has been measured in the FROzen Spin Target (FROST) experiment at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. In this experiment, circularly polarized photons with energies up to 3.082 GeV impinged on a transversely polarized frozen-spin target. Final-state protons were detected in the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) Large Acceptance Spectrometer. The polarization observables T and F have been extracted for W from 1445 to 2525 MeV, of which the energy range is much broader, and the precision is better than the existing measurements in higher W ranges. The data generally agree with predictions of present partial-wave analyses but also show marked differences for higher W ranges. By incorporating the present data into the databases, the Scattering Analysis Interactive Data (SAID) fits have been improved with relatively small χ 2 and significant changes in the parameters of the (1910)1/2 + and N(2190)7/2 − have been found with the JüBo model.

particle production↗

Analytical expression of a finite, long, conical canted-cosine-theta coil for particle collider interaction regions

Magnets in the accelerator interaction region (IR) present significant challenges because of high field requirements and limited available space. Conical-shaped magnets offer advantages in these environments by allowing closer placement to the interaction point while maintaining clearance from synchrotron radiation. Interestingly, numerical studies have shown that conical canted-cosine-theta (CCT) designs produce a constant field distribution along the axial direction in the IR quadrupoles for the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. However, the field harmonics generated by conical CCT windings are not yet fully understood. This paper presents an analytical approach to describe the magnetic field produced by a conical surface current and proposes a method for designing conical CCT magnets for accelerator applications. First, we begin with a surface current sheet having a general cosine-theta distribution in spherical coordinates and solve the vector potential using the Green’s function. The magnetic fields generated by the conical current sheet are expressed using associated Legendre polynomials. These results are then related to circular field harmonics and integral field harmonics for designing a coil that produces a pure multipole field. Next, a single layer of the conical CCT winding path is produced based on the cosine-theta current distribution. Finally, the magnetic field quality of dipole and quadrupole conical CCT coils with multiple layers is verified using the Biot-Savart law.

Yang, Ye↗

Ferroaxial phonons in chiral and polar Ni⁢Co 2 ⁢Te⁢O 6

Perfect circular dichroism has been observed in Raman scattering by optical phonons in single chiral domain NiCo 2 TeO 6 crystals. The selection rules for optical phonons are determined by the combination of the chiral structure C and electric polarization P along the c axis. These two symmetry operations are equivalent to the ferroaxial order (C·P) = A, so the observed optical phonons are referred to as ferroaxial. For a given Raman scattering geometry, the observed effect may also be described as a perfect nonreciprocal propagation of the ferroaxial optical phonons, whose preferable q-vector direction is determined by the sign of A. Here, the combination of Raman scattering and polarization plane rotation of the transmitted white light allows for identification of the direction of electric polarization P in monodomain chiral crystals. In addition to the ferroaxial selection rules for optical phonons, a weaker ferroaxial dichroism was observed for the magnon peak at 18 cm −1 .

Altermagnets↗

Pathways to excitation of atoms with bicircular laser pulses

We study the excitation of the hydrogen atom by bichromatic circularly polarized laser pulses using numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. The results are in agreement with the selection rules for multiphoton processes in such fields, namely, excited states are populated in which orbital angular momentum and magnetic quantum numbers are either both odd or both even, independent of the relative helicity, peak intensity, and pulse duration of the pulses. For co-rotating pulses the results show that excitation predominantly proceeds to states with magnetic quantum number of the same helicity as the laser pulses. Besides pathways via direct photon absorption from the ground state our results indicate that a transfer of population among the Rydberg states occurs via Λ-type transitions. In the case of counter-rotating pulses the largest excitation probability is found for Rydberg states that differ in magnetic quantum number by Δm=±3. This pattern allows us to estimate how many photons from each of the two bichromatic fields have been absorbed. Finally, we confirm that a population in Rydberg states beyond a maximum orbital angular quantum number is unlikely.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Phase-matching analysis in high-order harmonic generation with nonzero orbital angular momentum Laguerre-Gaussian beams

Through high-order harmonic generation driven by intense ultrashort vortex infrared or midinfrared lasers, a nonzero orbital angular momentum can be imprinted onto extreme ultraviolet (XUV) or soft-x-ray (SXR) light pulses. Here we simulate the generation of vortex XUV harmonics in the gas medium as well as their propagation in vacuum till reaching the far field. In this work, we find that the intensity and phase of generated high harmonics are very sensitive to the position of gas jet with respect to the laser focus. The topological charge of the $\textit{q}$th harmonic is found to be $\textit{q}$ times that of the driving Laguerre-Gaussian beam. Each harmonic in the far field appears as a single ring in the transverse plane with an invariant diameter which is scalable with the fundamental topological charge only when the gas jet is placed after the laser focus. The underlying phase-matching mechanism is analyzed by examining the spatial map of the coherence length and by calculating the evolution of harmonic emission in the medium. We anticipate this work to stimulate interest in generating intense vortex XUV or SXR attosecond pulses for probing dynamics of molecules where special molecular features are difficult to be detected with linear or circular XUV or SXR pulses.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗