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At least 1,477 records · Page 82
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Nitrogen Vacancy Centers in Diamond for Stress Sensing Applications: Theory and Experiments

Sensing of stress under high elevated environmental conditions with high resolution has critical importance for range of applications including earth’s subsurface scanning and geological CO2 storage monitoring. Using first principles density functional theory (DFT) approach combined with the theoretical modelling of low energy Hamiltonian, here we investigate a novel approach to detect unprecedented level of pressure by taking advantage of solid-state electron’s spin of Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in nanodiamond. We computationally explore the effect of strain on the defect band edges and band gaps by varying the lattice parameters of diamond supercell hosting a single NV center. A low energy Hamiltonian is developed that includes effect of stress on the energy level of ±1 spin manifold at the ground state. By quantifying the energy level shift and split, we predict the pressure sensing of up to 0.3 MPa/√Hz. We show superiority of the quantum sensing over traditional optical sensing techniques by discussing our results from DFT and theoretical modelling for the frequency shift per unit pressure. The proposed quantum stress sensing could be useful to measure earth’s subsurface vibrations. Our results open avenues for development of sensing technology with a high sensitivity and resolution under extreme pressure conditions that potentially has a wider applicability than existing pressure sensing technologies.

Paudel, Hari P.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Data Summarization and Inference at Scale

This is the final report for the DOE ASCR grant SC-0022260, Data Summarization and Inference at Scale, PI: Alex Pothen, Purdue University. The goal of the project was to solve data-intensive and compute-intensive problems in the physical sciences, engineering, information science, data science, etc. by designing and implementing new algorithms that could work with a subset of the data. The four subgoals were: (a) The solution of problems where the data is too large to be stored in the memory of a computer. In this streaming model of computation, the data arrives as a stream of elements to the computer, each element is processed as it arrives, and a decision is made to discard the data or to store it; only a small subset of the data proportional to the size of the output solution is stored, and when all the data has been streamed, a solution to the problem is computed from the stored subset. (b) The use of machine learning methods to compute solutions to data-intensive problems. The use of GPUs is critical to obtain high performance on machine learning tasks, but their memory sizes are smaller relative to that of CPUs. For large-scale problems, the data is sampled many times, and small samples are used with repetition, for robustness, to compute solutions to inference tasks. This sampling reduces the memory required to solve the problem, but attention is needed to avoid slow convergence to the solutions, and reduced accuracy of inference. We propose submodular optimization, Large Language Models, and physics-informed neural networks to enable GPU computations here. (c) Modeling and visualization of high-dimensional data using interpretable features. Clinical proteomic data sets from immunology for the detection of cancer and other diseases are temporal and high-dimensional, and algorithms for visualizing these data sets using clinically interpretable features are lacking. We propose methods that compute distances based on the optimal transportation problem and graph edit distances to address this problem. We also propose the use of optimal transport-based distances, spatial statistics, and network structure to classify image data sets, We apply these algorithms to electron micrographs of the peripheral nervous system in the digestive tract. (d) The design of data-intensive algorithms on emerging architectures, specifically, noisy, intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices. Quantum computers offer the possibility of exploring large solution spaces due to the principle of superposition, but current quantum computers are limited by few qubits, short coherence times due to noise, poor interconections among the qubits, etc. We propose the use of the divide and conquer paradigm to solve large-scale problems, wherein collections of small subproblems are solved on the quantum devices, and the solutions to the subproblems are integrated into a solution for the original problem on a classical computer.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Vector boson dark matter from trinification

We show how trinification models based on the gauge group SU(3) C x SU(3) L x SU(3) R realized near the TeV scale can provide naturally a variety of dark matter (DM) candidates. These models contain a discrete T parity which may remain unbroken even after spontaneous symmetry breaking. The lightest T-odd particle, which could be a fermion, a scalar, or a gauge boson, can constitute the dark matter of the universe. This framework naturally admits a doublet-singlet fermionic DM, a singlet scalar DM, or a vector boson DM. Here we develop the vector boson DM scenario wherein the DM couples off-diagonally with the usual fermions and vector-like fermions present in the theory. We show consistency of this framework with dark matter relic abundance and direct detection limits as well as LHC constraints. We derive upper limits of 900 GeV on the vector gauge boson DM mass and 4.5 TeV on the vector-like quark masses. We also show the consistency of spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking down to Standard Model times an extra U(1) while preserving the T-parity.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Photon-Sparse, Poisson Light-Sheet Microscopy

Light-sheet microscopy has revolutionized bioimaging by enabling approximately an order of magnitude reduction in specimen irradiance compared to confocal imaging. Here, we introduce a light-sheet imaging system that enables an additional order of magnitude reduction in specimen irradiance by operating at the Poisson limit. To operate at this limit, we integrated classical illumination with single-photon detection and wavelet-based image reconstruction. This integration enabled brightness quantification and object recognition from fewer than one detected photon per image pixel, corresponding to more than 10-fold lower irradiance levels than modern systems. We demonstrate how such photon-sparse imaging can eradicate photobleaching and enable both dim and bright object imaging, thus, further enhancing the related gains of light-sheet microscopy.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Spin squeezing of macroscopic nuclear spin ensembles

Spin squeezing has been explored in atomic systems as a tool for quantum sensing, improving experimental sensitivity beyond the spin standard quantum limit for certain measurements. To optimize absolute metrological sensitivity, it is beneficial to consider macroscopic spin ensembles, such as nuclear spins in solids and liquids. Coupling a macroscopic spin ensemble to a parametrically-modulated resonant circuit can create collective spin squeezing by generating spin correlations mediated by the circuit. We analyze the squeezing dynamics in the presence of decoherence and finite spin polarization, showing that achieving 7 dB spin squeezing is feasible in several nuclear spin systems. The metrological benefit of squeezing a macroscopic spin ensemble lies in the suppression of technical noise sources in the spin detection system relative to the spin projection noise. This expands the experimental sensitivity bandwidth when searching for signals of unknown frequency and can improve the resonant signal-to-noise ratio. Squeezing macroscopic spin ensembles may prove to be a useful technique for fundamental physics experiments aimed at detecting spin interactions with oscillating background fields, such as ultralight dark matter. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Boyers, Eric↗
NASA NTRS1992

Receiver performance of laser ranging measurements between the Lunar Observer and a subsatellite for lunar gravity studies

The optimal receiver for a direct detection laser ranging system for slow Doppler frequency shift measurement is shown to consist of a phase tracking loop which can be implemented approximately as a phase lock loop with a 2nd or 3rd order loop filter. The laser transmitter consists of an AlGaAs laser diode at a wavelength of about 800 nm and is intensity modulated by a sinewave. The receiver performance is shown to be limited mainly by the preamplifier thermal noise when a silicon avalanche photodiode is used. A high speed microchannel plate photomultiplier tube is shown to outperform a silicon APD despite its relatively low quantum efficiency at wavelengths near 800 nm. The maximum range between the Lunar Observer and the subsatellite for lunar gravity studies is shown to be about 620 km when using a state-of-the-art silicon APD and about 1000 km when using a microchannel plate photomultiplier tube in order to achieve a relative velocity measurement accuracy of 1 millimeter per second. Other parameters such as the receiver time base jitter and drift also limit performance and have to be considered in the design of an actual system.

Davidson, Frederic M.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Benchmarking Information Scrambling

Information scrambling refers to the rapid spreading of initially localized information over an entire system, via the generation of global entanglement. This effect is usually detected by measuring a temporal decay of the out-of-time order correlators. However, in experiments, decays of these correlators suffer from fake positive signals from various sources, e.g., decoherence due to inevitable couplings to the environment, or errors that cause mismatches between the purported forward and backward evolutions. Here, in this Letter, we provide a simple and robust approach to single out the effect of genuine scrambling. This allows us to benchmark the scrambling process by quantifying the degree of the scrambling from the noisy backgrounds. We also demonstrate our protocol with simulations on IBM cloud-based quantum computers.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Microwave Microscopy and Its Applications

Understanding the nanoscale electrodynamic properties of a material at microwave frequencies is of great interest for materials science, condensed matter physics, device engineering, and biology. With specialized probes, sensitive detection electronics, and improved scanning platforms, microwave microscopy has become an important tool for cutting-edge materials research in the past decade. In this article, we review the basic components and data interpretation of microwave imaging and its broad range of applications. In addition to the general-purpose mapping of permittivity and conductivity, microwave microscopy is now exploited to perform quantitative measurements on semiconductor devices, photosensitive materials, ferroelectric domains and domain walls, and acoustic-wave systems. Implementation of the technique in low-temperature and high-magnetic-field chambers has also led to major discoveries in quantum materials with strong correlation and topological order. We conclude the review with an outlook of the ultimate resolution, operation frequency, and future industrial and academic applications of near-field microwave microscopy.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

An Electrical Resistance Diagnostic for Conductivity Monitoring in Laser Powder Bed Fusion

With the growing interest in metal additive manufacturing using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), there is a need for advanced in-situ nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods that can dynamically monitor manufacturing process-related variations, that can be used as a feedback mechanism to further improve the manufacturing process, leading to parts with improved microstructural properties and mechanical properties. Current NDE techniques either lack sensitivity beyond build layer, are costly or time-consuming, or are not compatible for in-situ integration. In this research, we develop an electrical resistance diagnostic for in-situ monitoring of powder fused regions during laser powder bed fusion printing. The technique relies on injecting current into the build plate and detecting voltage differences from conductive variations during printing using a simple, cheap four-point electrode array directly connected to the build plate. A computational model will be utilized to determine sensitivities of the approach, and preliminary experiments will be performed during the printing process to test the overall approach.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Precision tests of fundamental physics with η and η ' mesons

Decays of the neutral and long-lived $\eta$ and $\eta'$ mesons provide a unique, flavor-conserving laboratory to test low-energy Quantum Chromodynamics and search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. They have drawn world-wide attention in recent years and have inspired broad experimental programs in different high-intensity-frontier centers. Additionally, new experimental data will offer critical inputs to precisely determine the light quark mass ratios, $\eta$-$\eta'$ mixing parameters, and hadronic contributions to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. At the same time, it will provide a sensitive probe to test potential new physics. This includes searches for hidden photons, light Higgs scalars, and axion-like particles that are complementary to worldwide efforts to detect new light particles below the GeV mass scale, as well as tests of discrete symmetry violation. In this review, we give an update on theoretical developments, discuss the experimental opportunities, and identify future research needed in this field.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Orbital-Selective Instabilities and Spin Fluctuations at the Verge of Superconductivity in Interlayer-Expanded Iron Selenide

Understanding electron correlation-driven instabilities and their coupling to structural phases is essential for deciphering multiorbital pairing in unconventional superconductors. We investigate Li x (C 5 H 5 N) y Fe 2 Se 2 (x ∼ 0.6; y ∼ 0.7−0.9), a tetragonal β-FeSe intercalate with a superconducting transition temperature (T c = 39 K) closely tied to an expanded Fe-layer spacing (∼11.4 Å). High-resolution synchrotron Xray diffraction and core-level absorption spectroscopy reveal subtle lattice distortions on cooling without a symmetry-breaking transition. Instead, the material exhibits negative thermal expansion (NTE) in the two-dimensional Fe network below T S ∼ 70 K, and stiffening of local Se−Fe−Se bond dynamics near T c . The spatially incoherent rearrangement of FeSe 4 tetrahedra and the site-local fluctuations, signal reduced electron correlations compared to those of parent β-FeSe (T c = 8 K). Complementary X-ray emission spectroscopy, a fast local probe of Fe 3d valence states, detects persistent local Fe spin moments below T S , unlike quenching in related systems. These findings indicate that decoupling of Fe planes leads to an electronically driven lattice instability. The latter emerges as NTE induced from weak, orbital-selective localization of in-plane Fe 3d states rather than conventional transverse vibrations. Governed by Hund’s coupling, this selectivity permits coexistence of local spin fluctuations with itinerant d-electrons critical for enhancing T c . These results suggest that intercalation-driven d-orbital differentiation moderates electron correlations, providing a pathway to optimize the superconductivity in low-dimensional quantum materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Visualizing the atomic-scale origin of metallic behavior in Kondo insulators

A Kondo lattice is often electrically insulating at low temperatures. However, several recent experiments have detected signatures of bulk metallicity within this Kondo insulating phase. In this study, we visualized the real-space charge landscape within a Kondo lattice with atomic resolution using a scanning tunneling microscope. We discovered nanometer-scale puddles of metallic conduction electrons centered around uranium-site substitutions in the heavy-fermion compound uranium ruthenium silicide (URu 2 Si 2 ) and around samarium-site defects in the topological Kondo insulator samarium hexaboride (SmB 6 ). These defects disturbed the Kondo screening cloud, leaving behind a fingerprint of the metallic parent state. Our results suggest that the three-dimensional quantum oscillations measured in SmB 6 arise from Kondo-lattice defects, although we cannot exclude other explanations. Finally, our imaging technique could enable the development of atomic-scale charge sensors using heavy-fermion probes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Quasiprobabilistic Readout Correction of Midcircuit Measurements for Adaptive Feedback via Measurement Randomized Compiling

Quantum measurements are a fundamental component of quantum computing. However, on present-day quantum computers, measurements can be more error prone than quantum gates and are susceptible to nonunital errors as well as nonlocal correlations due to measurement crosstalk. While readout errors can be mitigated in postprocessing, this is inefficient in the number of qubits due to a combinatorially large number of possible states that need to be characterized. In this work, we show that measurement errors can be tailored into a simple stochastic error model using randomized compiling, enabling the efficient mitigation of readout errors via quasiprobability distributions reconstructed from the measurement of a single preparation state in an exponentially large confusion matrix. We demonstrate the scalability and power of this approach by correcting readout errors without matrix inversion on a large number of different preparation states applied to a register of eight superconducting transmon qubits. Moreover, we show that this method can be extended to midcircuit measurements used for active feedback via quasiprobabilistic error cancellation, and we demonstrate the correction of measurement errors on an ancilla qubit used to detect and actively correct bit-flip errors on an entangled memory qubit. Our approach enables the correction of readout errors on large numbers of qubits and offers a strategy for correcting readout errors in adaptive circuits in which the results of midcircuit measurements are used to perform conditional operations on nonlocal qubits in real time.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Revealing conductivity of p-type delta layer systems for novel computing applications

This project uses a quantum simulation technique to reveal the true conducting properties of novel atomic precision advanced manufacturing materials. With Moore's law approaching the limit of scaling for the CMOS technology, it is crucial to provide the best computing power and resources to National Security missions. Atomic precision advanced manufacturing-based computing systems can become the key to the design, use, and security of modern weapon systems, critical infrastructure, and communications. We will utilize the state-of-the-art computational methodology to create a predictive simulator for p-type atomic precision advanced manufacturing systems, which may also find applications in counterfeit detection and anti-tamper.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

SERAPH: Wavelike Dark Matter Searches with SRF Cavities

Haloscopes consisting of a microwave cavity with a high quality factor (Q) connected to low-noise electronics have been deployed to detect wavelike axions and dark photons. But the dark matter mass is unknown, so haloscopes must be tunable to search through the photon coupling vs. mass parameter space. Therefore, the scan rate for haloscope experiments is a crucial figure of merit and is proportional to the cavity’s quality factor. State-of-the-art experiments like ADMX currently use copper cavities with 𝑄∼80000. However, implementing superconducting cavities with 𝑄∼1010 can increase the instantaneous scan rate by possibly a factor of 105.This presentation will report progress on the SERAPH experiment, a family of superconducting haloscopes being developed by the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems (SQMS) Center. In this presentation, I will first discuss the principles behind operating a haloscope whose bandwidth is much narrower than the dark matter halo energy distribution. I will then describe the first SERAPH experiments implementing a 1.3 GHz Niobium cavity with an ultra-high quality factor (Q~1010) that has achieved the best sensitivity and deepest exclusion to wavelike dark photon dark matter by almost an order of magnitude. Next, I will discuss progress on the next phase of SERAPH, which will search dark photon dark matter using a widely-tunable SRF cavity (4-7 GHz). I will finally describe plans for subsequent SERAPH experiments to search for dark photons and axions with tunable SRF cavities tolerant to multi-Tesla magnetic fields and quantum sensors that subvert the Standard Quantum Limit.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Field-resolved space–time characterization of few-cycle structured light pulses

Accompanied by the rapid development of ultrafast laser platforms in recent decades, the spatiotemporal manipulation of ultrashort laser pulses has attracted much attention due to the potential for cutting-edge applications of structured light, including optical tweezers, optical communications, super-resolution imaging, time-resolved spectroscopy in molecules and quantum materials, and strong-field physics. Today, techniques capable of characterizing the full spatial, temporal, and polarization state properties of structured light are strongly desired. Here, we demonstrate a technique, termed 3D TIPTOE, for characterizing structured mid-infrared waveforms, which uses only a two-dimensional silicon-based image sensor as both the detector and the nonlinear medium. By combining the advantages of the sub-cycle time resolution afforded by nonlinear excitation and the spatial resolution inherent to the two-dimensional sensor, the 3D TIPTOE technique allows full characterization of structured electric fields, significantly reducing the complexity of detection compared to other techniques. The validity of the technique is established by measuring both few-cycle Bessel–Gaussian pulses and radially polarized femtosecond vector beams.

Liu, Yangyang (ORCID:0000000335205332)↗
DOE OSTI2023

SERAPH: Wavelike Dark Matter Searches with SRF Cavities

Haloscopes consisting of a microwave cavity with a high quality factor (Q) connected to low-noise electronics have been deployed to detect wavelike axions and dark photons. But the dark matter mass is unknown, so haloscopes must be tunable to search through the photon coupling vs. mass parameter space. Therefore, the scan rate for haloscope experiments is a crucial figure of merit and is proportional to the cavity’s quality factor. State-of-the-art experiments like ADMX currently use copper cavities with 𝑄∼80000. However, implementing superconducting cavities with 𝑄∼1010 can increase the instantaneous scan rate by possibly a factor of 105. This presentation will report progress on the SERAPH experiment, a family of superconducting haloscopes being developed by the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems (SQMS) Center. In this presentation, I will first discuss the principles behind operating a haloscope whose bandwidth is much narrower than the dark matter halo energy distribution. I will then describe the first SERAPH experiments implementing a 1.3 GHz Niobium cavity with an ultra-high quality factor (Q~1010) that has achieved the best sensitivity and deepest exclusion to wavelike dark photon dark matter by almost an order of magnitude. Next, I will discuss progress on the next phase of SERAPH, which will search dark photon dark matter using a widely-tunable SRF cavity (4-7 GHz). I will finally describe plans for subsequent SERAPH experiments to search for dark photons and axions with tunable SRF cavities tolerant to multi-Tesla magnetic fields and quantum sensors that subvert the Standard Quantum Limit.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Toward the Observation of Dimagnesocene

We have examined the electronic structure of C 5 H 5 MgMgC 5 H 5 , or dimagnesocene, using high-level coupled-cluster techniques. This research is suitable in light of the remarkable synthesis of the valence-isoelectronic diberyllocene by Boronski, Crumpton, Wales, and Aldridge. The Mg–Mg bond distance is predicted to be 2.758 Å, and the Mg–Mg bond dissociation energy is predicted to be 51.8 kcal/mol. Unique aspects to the present research is our characterization of the ionization energy and the electron affinity of this molecule, the energy of dissociation into two neutral cyclopentadienyl magnesium radicals, the determination of the neutral structure at the CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ level, and the computation of the Raman intensities at the MP2/cc-pVDZ level. Apart from mass spectroscopy, the simplest means of experimental detection is gas-phase or matrix-isolated infrared spectroscopy, in which the A 2 ″ peak at 801 cm –1 should be the most prominent, with an intensity of 581 km/mol.

bond cleavage↗