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DOE OSTI2025

Graph reinforcement learning for exploring model spaces beyond the standard model

We present a methodology for performing scans of beyond the standard model (BSM) parameter spaces with reinforcement learning. We identify a novel procedure using graph neural networks that is capable of exploring spaces of models without the user specifying a fixed particle content, allowing broad classes of BSM models to be explored—in theory, the technique is applicable to nearly any model space with a prespecified gauge group. We provide a generic procedure by which a suitable graph grammar can be developed for any BSM model that features user-specified symmetry groups and a finite number of different possible particle species, the use of which is applicable to a variety of machine learning tasks over the actions of BSM theories beyond our particular reinforcement learning use case. As a proof of concept, we construct the graph grammar for theories with vectorlike leptons that may or may not be charged under a dark U ( 1 ) group, inspired by portal matter extensions of the sub-GeV vector portal/kinetic mixing simplified dark matter models. We then use this graph grammar to create a reinforcement learning environment tasked with creating models with these vectorlike leptons that are consistent with a list of a variety of precision observables. The reinforcement learning agent succeeds in developing models that can address the observed muon anomalous magnetic moment discrepancy while remaining consistent with flavor violation and electroweak precision observables, including both constructions that have previously been studied as well as new models that have not, to our knowledge, previously been identified. By inspecting the resulting ensembles of models that the agent produces and experimenting with different configurations for our reinforcement learning environment and graph grammar, we also infer various lessons about the development of these environments that can be transferable to reinforcement learning scans of more complicated model spaces and comment on future directions for the development of this technique into a more mature tool. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Wojcik, George N.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Neutrino-nucleus cross section impacts on neutrino oscillation measurements

The challenges in neutrino-nucleus cross section modeling and its impact on neutrino oscillation experiments are widely recognized. However, a comprehensive and theoretically robust estimation of cross section uncertainties has been lacking, and few studies have quantitatively examined their impact on oscillation measurements. In this work, we evaluate the effect of cross section uncertainties on oscillation parameters using setups inspired by NOvA and DUNE. To characterize these uncertainties, we adopt multiple neutrino-nucleus event generators and simulate a realistic experimental procedure that incorporates near-detector data and near-to-far-detector extrapolation. Our results confirm that cross section uncertainties cannot significantly bias oscillation results in current statistics-dominated experiments like NOvA. However, they could lead to substantial bias for future systematics-dominated experiments like DUNE, even when near-detector data are employed to mitigate uncertainties. These findings underscore the need for further studies on the quantitative impacts of cross section modeling, improved strategies to utilize near-detector data and the PRISM concept, and more robust cross section models to optimize the success of future experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Observation of the singly Cabibbo-suppressed decay Λ c + → p π 0

Utilizing 4.5 fb − 1 of e + e − annihilation data collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider at center-of-mass energies between 4.600 and 4.699 GeV, the first observation of the singly Cabibbo-suppressed decay Λ c + → p π 0 is presented, with a statistical significance of 5.4 σ . The ratio of the branching fractions of Λ c + → p π 0 and Λ c + → p η is measured as B ( Λ c + → p π 0 ) / B ( Λ c + → p η ) = ( 0.120 ± 0.02 6 stat ± 0.00 7 syst ) . This result resolves the longstanding discrepancy between earlier experimental searches, providing both a decisive conclusion and valuable input for QCD-inspired theoretical models. A sophisticated deep learning approach using a Transformer-based architecture is employed to distinguish the signal from the prevalent hadronic backgrounds, complemented by thorough validation and systematic uncertainty quantification. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Ablikim, M.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Probabilistic measures for biological adaptation and resilience

This paper introduces an approach to quantifying ecological resilience in biological systems, particularly focusing on noisy systems responding to episodic disturbances with sudden adaptations. Incorporating concepts from nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, we propose a measure termed “ecological resilience through adaptation,” specifically tailored to noisy, forced systems that undergo physiological adaptation in the face of stressful environmental changes. Randomness plays a key role, accounting for model uncertainty and the inherent variability in the dynamical response among components of biological systems. Our measure of resilience is rooted in the probabilistic description of states within these systems and is defined in terms of the dynamics of the ensemble average of a model-specific observable quantifying success or well-being. Our approach utilizes stochastic linear response theory to compute how the expected success of a system, originally in statistical equilibrium, dynamically changes in response to a environmental perturbation and a subsequent adaptation. Importantly, the resulting mathematical derivations allow for the estimation of resilience in terms of ensemble averages of simulated or experimental data. Finally, through a simple but clear conceptual example, we illustrate how our resilience measure can be interpreted and compared to other existing frameworks in the literature. The methodology is general but inspired by applications in plant systems, with the potential for broader application to complex biological processes.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Machine learning for the identification of phase transitions in interacting agent-based systems: A Desai-Zwanzig example

Deriving closed-form analytical expressions for reduced-order models, and judiciously choosing the closures leading to them, has long been the strategy of choice for studying phase- and noise-induced transitions for agent-based models (ABMs). In this paper, we propose a data-driven framework that pinpoints phase transitions for an ABM—the Desai-Zwanzig model—in its mean-field limit, using a smaller number of variables than traditional closed-form models. To this end, we use the manifold learning algorithm Diffusion Maps to identify a parsimonious set of data-driven latent variables, and we show that they are in one-to-one correspondence with the expected theoretical order parameter of the ABM. We then utilize a deep learning framework to obtain a conformal reparametrization of the data-driven coordinates that facilitates, in our example, the identification of a single parameter-dependent ordinary differential equation (ODE) in these coordinates. Additionally, we identify this ODE through a residual neural network inspired by a numerical integration scheme (forward Euler). We then use the identified ODE—enabled through an odd symmetry transformation—to construct the bifurcation diagram exhibiting the phase transition.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2020

Spontaneous Creation of Circularly Polarized Photons in Chiral Astrophysical Systems

This work establishes a relation between chiral anomalies in curved spacetimes and the radiative content of the gravitational field. In particular, we show that a flux of circularly polarized gravitational waves triggers the spontaneous creation of photons with net circular polarization from the quantum vacuum. Using waveform catalogs, we identify precessing binary black holes as astrophysical configurations that emit such gravitational radiation and then solve the fully nonlinear Einstein’s equations with numerical relativity to evaluate the net effect. The quantum amplitude for a merger is comparable to the Hawking emission rate of the final black hole and small to be directly observed. However, the implications for the inspiral of binary neutron stars could be more prominent, as argued on symmetry grounds.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

GW190521: A Binary Black Hole Merger with a Total Mass of 150 M ⊙

On May 21, 2019 at 03:02:29 UTC Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo observed a short duration gravitational-wave signal, GW190521, with a three-detector network signal-to-noise ratio of 14.7, and an estimated false-alarm rate of 1 in 4900 yr using a search sensitive to generic transients. If GW190521 is from a quasicircular binary inspiral, then the detected signal is consistent with the merger of two black holes with masses of 8 5 - 14 + 21 M ⊙ and 6 6 - 18 + 17 M ⊙ (90% credible intervals). We infer that the primary black hole mass lies within the gap produced by (pulsational) pair-instability supernova processes, with only a 0.32% probability of being below 65 M ⊙ . We calculate the mass of the remnant to be 14 2 - 16 + 28 M ⊙ , which can be considered an intermediate mass black hole (IMBH). The luminosity distance of the source is 5.3 - 2.6 + 2.4 Gpc , corresponding to a redshift of 0.82 - 0.34 + 0.28 . The inferred rate of mergers similar to GW190521 is 0.13 - 0.11 + 0.30 Gpc - 3 yr - 1 .

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Strong Superexchange in a $d^{9–δ}$ Nickelate Revealed by Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering

The discovery of superconductivity in a $d^{9–δ}$ nickelate has inspired disparate theoretical perspectives regarding the essential physics of this class of materials. A key issue is the magnitude of the magnetic superexchange, which relates to whether cuprate-like high-temperature nickelate superconductivity could be realized. In this work, we address this question using Ni L-edge and O K-edge spectroscopy of the reduced $d^{9–1/3}$ trilayer nickelates R 4 Ni 3 O 8 (where R = La, Pr) and associated theoretical modeling. A magnon energy scale of ~80 meV resulting from a nearest-neighbor magnetic exchange of J = 69 (4) meV is observed, proving that $d^{9–δ}$ nickelates can host a large superexchange. This value, along with that of the Ni-O hybridization estimated from our O K-edge data, implies that trilayer nickelates represent an intermediate case between the infinite-layer nickelates and the cuprates. Layered nickelates thus provide a route to testing the relevance of superexchange to nickelate superconductivity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2021

High-Pressure Synthesis of Dirac Materials: Layered van der Waals Bonded BeN 4 Polymorph

High-pressure chemistry is known to inspire the creation of unexpected new classes of compounds with exceptional properties. In this paper, we employ the laser-heated diamond anvil cell technique for synthesis of a Dirac material BeN 4 . A triclinic phase of beryllium tetranitride tr-BeN 4 was synthesized from elements at similar to 85 GPa. Upon decompression to ambient conditions, it transforms into a compound with atomic-thick BeN 4 layers interconnected via weak van der Waals bonds and consisting of polyacetylene-like nitrogen chains with conjugated pi systems and Be atoms in square-planar coordination. Theoretical calculations for a single BeN 4 layer show that its electronic lattice is described by a slightly distorted honeycomb structure reminiscent of the graphene lattice and the presence of Dirac points in the electronic band structure at the Fermi level. The BeN 4 layer, i.e., beryllonitrene, represents a qualitatively new class of 2D materials that can be built of a metal atom and polymeric nitrogen chains and host anisotropic Dirac fermions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2021

Flat Bands in Magic-Angle Bilayer Photonic Crystals at Small Twists

The new physics of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) motivated extensive studies of flat bands hosted by moiré superlattices in van der Waals structures, inspiring the investigations into their photonic counterparts with potential applications including Bose-Einstein condensation. However, correlation between photonic flat bands and bilayer photonic moiré systems remains unexplored, impeding further development of moiré photonics. In this work, we formulate a coupled-mode theory for low-angle twisted bilayer honeycomb photonic crystals as a close analogy of TBG, discovering magic-angle photonic flat bands with a non-Anderson-type localization. Moreover, the interlayer separation constitutes a convenient degree of freedom in tuning photonic moiré bands without high pressure. Furthermore, a phase diagram is constructed to correlate the twist angle and separation dependencies to the photonic magic angles. Our findings reveal a salient correspondence between fermionic and bosonic moiré systems and pave the avenue toward novel applications through advanced photonic band or state engineering.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2021

Identification of Non-Fermi Liquid Physics in a Quantum Critical Metal via Quantum Loop Topography

Non-Fermi liquid physics is ubiquitous in strongly correlated metals, manifesting itself in anomalous transport properties, such as a $\textit{T}$-linear resistivity in experiments. However, its theoretical understanding in terms of microscopic models is lacking, despite decades of conceptual work and attempted numerical simulations. In this work, we demonstrate that a combination of sign-problem-free quantum Monte Carlo sampling and quantum loop topography, a physics-inspired machine-learning approach, can map out the emergence of non-Fermi liquid physics in the vicinity of a quantum critical point (QCP) with little prior knowledge. Using only three parameter points for training the underlying neural network, we are able to robustly identify a stable non-Fermi liquid regime tracing the fans of metallic QCPs at the onset of both spin-density wave and nematic order. In particular, we establish for the first time that a spin-density wave QCP commands a wide fan of non-Fermi liquid region that funnels into the quantum critical point. Our study thereby provides an important proof-of-principle example that new physics can be detected via unbiased machine-learning approaches.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2021

Phenomenology of Spectral Functions in Disordered Spin Chains at Infinite Temperature

Studies of disordered spin chains have recently experienced a renewed interest, inspired by the question to which extent the exact numerical calculations comply with the existence of a many-body localization phase transition. For the paradigmatic random field Heisenberg spin chains, many intriguing features were observed when the disorder is considerable compared to the spin interaction strength. Here, we introduce a phenomenological theory that may explain some of those features. The theory is based on the proximity to the noninteracting limit, in which the system is an Anderson insulator. Taking the spin imbalance as an exemplary observable, we demonstrate that the proximity to the local integrals of motion of the Anderson insulator determines the dynamics of the observable at infinite temperature. In finite interacting systems our theory quantitatively describes its integrated spectral function for a wide range of disorders.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2022

Giant Isotope Effect of Thermal Conductivity in Silicon Nanowires

Isotopically purified semiconductors potentially dissipate heat better than their natural, isotopically mixed counterparts as they have higher thermal conductivity (κ). But the benefit is low for Si at room temperature, amounting to only ~10% higher κ for bulk 28 Si than for bulk natural Si ( nat Si). Here we show that in stark contrast to this bulk behavior, 28 Si (99.92% enriched) nanowires have up to 150% higher κ than nat Si nanowires with similar diameters and surface morphology. Using a first-principles phonon dispersion model, this giant isotope effect is attributed to a mutual enhancement of isotope scattering and surface scattering of phonons in nat Si nanowires, correlated via transmission of phonons to the native amorphous SiO 2 shell. The Letter discovers the strongest isotope effect of κ at room temperature among all materials reported to date and inspires potential applications of isotopically enriched semiconductors in microelectronics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2022

Quantum Phases of Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Moiré Systems

Moiré systems provide a rich platform for studies of strong correlation physics. Recent experiments on heterobilayer transition metal dichalcogenide Moiré systems are exciting in that they manifest a relatively simple model system of an extended Hubbard model on a triangular lattice. Inspired by the prospect of the hetero-transition metal dichalcogenide Moiré system’s potential as a solid-state-based quantum simulator, we explore the extended Hubbard model on the triangular lattice using the density matrix renormalization group. Specifically, we explore the two-dimensional phase space spanned by the key tuning parameters in the extended Hubbard model, namely, the kinetic energy strength and the further-range Coulomb interaction strengths. We find competition between Fermi fluid, chiral spin liquid, spin density wave, and charge order. In particular, our finding of the optimal further-range interaction for the chiral correlation presents a tantalizing possibility.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2022

Constraints on the Maximum Densities of Neutron Stars from Postmerger Gravitational Waves with Third-Generation Observations

Using data from 289 numerical relativity simulations of binary neutron star mergers, we identify, for the first time, a robust quasiuniversal relation connecting the postmerger peak gravitational-wave frequency and the value of the density at the center of the maximum mass nonrotating neutron star. This relation offers a new possibility for precision equation-of-state constraints with next-generation ground-based gravitational-wave interferometers. Mock Einstein Telescope observations of fiducial events indicate that Bayesian inferences can constrain the maximum density to ~15% (90% credibility level) for a single signal at the minimum sensitivity threshold for a detection. If the postmerger signal is included in a full-spectrum (inspiral-merger-postmerger) analysis of such a signal, the pressure-density function can be tightly constrained up to the maximum density, and the maximum neutron star mass can be measured with an accuracy better than 12% (90% credibility level).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Universal Kardar-Parisi-Zhang Dynamics in Integrable Quantum Systems

Although the Bethe ansatz solution of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg model dates back nearly a century, the anomalous nature of its high-temperature transport dynamics has only recently been uncovered. Indeed, numerical and experimental observations have demonstrated that spin transport in this paradigmatic model falls into the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) universality class. This has inspired the significantly stronger conjecture that KPZ dynamics, in fact, occur in all integrable spin chains with non-Abelian symmetry. Here, in this letter, we provide extensive numerical evidence affirming this conjecture. Moreover, we observe that KPZ transport is even more generic, arising in both supersymmetric and periodically driven models. Motivated by recent advances in the realization of SU(N)-symmetric spin models in alkaline-earth-based optical lattice experiments, we propose and analyze a protocol to directly investigate the KPZ scaling function in such systems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2023

Experimental Limit on Nonlinear State-Dependent Terms in Quantum Theory

Linear time evolution is one of the fundamental postulates of quantum theory. Past theoretical attempts to introduce nonlinearity into quantum evolution have violated causality. However, a recent theory has introduced nonlinear state-dependent terms in quantum field theory, preserving causality [D. E. Kaplan and S. Rajendran, Phys. Rev. D 105, 055002 (2022)]. We report the results of an experiment that searches for such terms. Our approach, inspired by the Everett many-worlds interpretation of quantum theory, correlates a binary macroscopic classical voltage with the outcome of a projective measurement of a quantum bit, prepared in a coherent superposition state. Measurement results are recorded in a bit string, which is used to control a voltage switch. Presence of a nonzero voltage reading in cases of no applied voltage is the experimental signature of a nonlinear state-dependent shift of the electromagnetic field operator. We implement blinded measurement and data analysis with three control bit strings. Control of systematic effects is realized by producing one of the control bit strings with a classical random-bit generator. The other two bit strings are generated by measurements performed on a superconducting qubit in an IBM Quantum processor and on a N 15 nuclear spin in a nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond. Our measurements find no evidence for electromagnetic quantum state-dependent nonlinearity. We set a bound on the parameter that quantifies this nonlinearity | ε γ | < 4.7 × 10 - 11 , at 90% confidence level.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2024

Using Pulsar Parameter Drifts to Detect Subnanohertz Gravitational Waves

Gravitational waves with frequencies below 1 nHz are notoriously difficult to detect. With periods exceeding current experimental lifetimes, they induce slow drifts in observables rather than periodic correlations. Observables with well-known intrinsic contributions provide a means to probe this regime. In this Letter, we demonstrate the viability of using observed pulsar timing parameters to discover such “ultralow” frequency gravitational waves, presenting two complementary observables for which the systematic shift induced by ultralow-frequency gravitational waves can be extracted. Using existing data for these parameters, we search the ultralow-frequency regime for continuous-wave signals, finding a sensitivity near the expected prediction from inspirals of supermassive black holes. We do not see an excess in the data, setting a limit on the strain of 1.3 × 10 –12 at 450 pHz with a sensitivity dropping approximately quadratically with frequency until 10 pHz. Finally, our search method opens a new frequency range for gravitational wave detection and has profound implications for astrophysics, cosmology, and particle physics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗