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At least 163 records · Page 9

Three-cluster dynamics within the ab initio no-core shell model with continuum: How many-body correlations and α clustering shape He 6 [Three-Cluster Dynamics Within The Ab Initio No-Core Shell Model With Continuum: How Many-Body Correlations And Alpha-Clustering Shape 6He]

We realize the treatment of bound and continuum nuclear systems in the proximity of a three-body breakup threshold within the ab initio framework of the no-core shell model with continuum. Many-body eigenstates obtained from the diagonalization of the Hamiltonian within the harmonic-oscillator expansion of the no-core shell model are coupled with continuous microscopic three-cluster states to correctly describe the nuclear wave function both in the interior and asymptotic regions. We discuss the formalism in detail and give algebraic expressions for the case of core + n + n systems. Using similarity-renormalization-group evolved nucleon-nucleon interactions, we analyze the role of 4 He + n + n clustering and many-body correlations in the ground and low-lying continuum states of the Borromean 6 He nucleus, and study the dependence of the energy spectrum on the resolution scale of the interaction. We show that 6 He small binding energy and extended radii compatible with experiment can be obtained simultaneously, without resorting to extrapolations. Here, we also find that a significant portion of the ground-state energy and the narrow width of the first 2 + resonance stem from many-body correlations that can be interpreted as core-excitation effects.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Ab Initio Description of Open-Shell Nuclei: Merging No-Core Shell Model and In-Medium Similarity Renormalization Group

We merge two successful ab initio nuclear-structure methods, the no-core shell model (NCSM) and the multireference in-medium similarity renormalization group (IM-SRG) to define a new many-body approach for the comprehensive description of ground and excited states of closed and open-shell nuclei. Building on the key advantages of the two methods—the decoupling of excitations at the many-body level in the IM-SRG and the access to arbitrary nuclei, eigenstates, and observables in the NCSM—their combination enables fully converged no-core calculations for an unprecedented range of nuclei and observables at moderate computational cost. We present applications in the carbon and oxygen isotopic chains, where conventional NCSM calculations are still feasible and provide an important benchmark. In conclusion, the effciency and rapid convergence of the new approach make it ideally suited for ab initio studies of the complete spectroscopy of nuclei up into the medium-mass regime.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Double-shell FY2022, Q4 L2 milestone on low-to-mid mode inner shell shape (MRT 7472)

This report summarizes an extensive series of numerical simulations, which have been performed to assess the performance sensitivity of double shell implosions to low (1-4) and midmode (16-200) perturbations on all interfaces of the double shell capsule. This work was performed to satisfy the L2 milestone, the text and completion criteria of which are summarized in Sections 2 and 3 of this report.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

Xenon, osmium, and lead formed in O-shells and C-shells of massive stars

In this paper it is shown that the explosive products from O-shells of massive stars which contain Xe-124 with large overproduction factors do not contain any of the naturally occurring isotopes of Os and Pb. Further, it is shown that the explosive products from C-shells (explosive carbon burning) do contain Os and Pb along with Xe which is strongly enriched in r-Xe of anomalous isotopic composition. The composition of Os in this matter is probably s-like rather than r-like. Pb in this matter is enriched in Pb-208. The results and arguments of this paper have implications for studies of isotopic compositions of Xe, Os, and Pb in residues of the Allende and other carbonaceous chondrites.

Heymann, D.↗

The hydrogen shell game - Pulsational instabilities in hydrogen shell-burning planetary nebula nuclei

Fully nonadiabatic g-mode pulsation calculations have been obtained for evolutionary models of planetary nebula nuclei (PNN) with active hydrogen-burning shells. Expressions have been developed for the phase delays which can develop between the temperature variations and the abundance variations of agents in the CN cycle. G-mode instabilities are noted that are driven by the epsilon mechanism at the position of the nuclear burning shells in standard PNN models. The results indicate that the central stars do not retain sufficient hydrogen to support nuclear burning following ejection of the planetary nebula.

Kawaler, Steven D.↗

A numerical approach for simulating fluid structure interaction of flexible thin shells undergoing arbitrarily large deformations in complex domains

We present a new numerical methodology for simulating fluid–structure interaction (FSI) problems involving thin flexible bodies in an incompressible fluid. The FSI algorithm uses the Dirichlet–Neumann partitioning technique. The curvilinear immersed boundary method (CURVIB) is coupled with a rotation-free finite element (FE) model for thin shells enabling the efficient simulation of FSI problems with arbitrarily large deformation. Turbulent flow problems are handled using large-eddy simulation with the dynamic Smagorinsky model in conjunction with a wall model to reconstruct boundary conditions near immersed boundaries. The CURVIB and FE solvers are coupled together on the flexible solid–fluid interfaces where the structural nodal positions, displacements, velocities and loads are calculated and exchanged between the two solvers. Loose and strong coupling FSI schemes are employed enhanced by the Aitken acceleration technique to ensure robust coupling and fast convergence especially for low mass ratio problems. The coupled CURVIB-FE-FSI method is validated by applying it to simulate two FSI problems involving thin flexible structures: 1) vortex-induced vibrations of a cantilever mounted in the wake of a square cylinder at different mass ratios and at low Reynolds number; and 2) the more challenging high Reynolds number problem involving the oscillation of an inverted elastic flag. For both cases the computed results are in excellent agreement with previous numerical simulations and/or experiential measurements. Grid convergence tests/studies are carried out for both the cantilever and inverted flag problems, which show that the CURVIB-FE-FSI method provides their convergence. Finally, the capability of the new methodology in simulations of complex cardiovascular flows is demonstrated by applying it to simulate the FSI of a tri-leaflet, prosthetic heart valve in an anatomic aorta and under physiologic pulsatile conditions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Hyper Open-Shell Excited Spin States of Transition-Metal Compounds: FeF 2 , FeF 2 ···Ethane, and FeF 2 ···Ethylene

Spin-state energetics are important for understanding properties that involve more than one spin state, for example, catalysis occurring on two or more potential energy surfaces corresponding to different electronic spins. Very often, multiple-spin processes involve transition-metal compounds, and therefore, it is important to understand the electronic structure and energetics of such compounds in different spin states. In this work, we benchmark relative spin-state energies of FeF 2 with respect to the quintet ground spin state using both singleconfigurational and multi-configurational methods, and we examine how they are affected by the binding of ethane and ethylene to the iron center. We also benchmark the binding energies of the complexes. The single-configurational methods used in this work are the Hartree–Fock method, 32 exchange–correlation functionals, and the CCSD(T) coupled-cluster method in both restricted and unrestricted formalisms. The multi-configurational methods that have been used are CASSCF, CASPT2, CASPT3, MRCI, MRCI+Q, and MR-ACPF. The spin-state splitting energies depend on the functional chosen and of the 32 exchange-correlation functionals investigated here we find that for the septet and spin-projected triplet states of FeF 2 , the M06 functional is the best when compared to our best estimates from multi-reference calculations. If all the nine excitation energies are considered, where there are three excited spin states (singlet, triplet, and septet) for each of the three systems (FeF 2 , FeF 2 ···ethane, and FeF 2 ···ethylene), the three best performing functionals are HLE16, SOGGA11-X, and M06-2X. We find that the binding of ethane perturbs the relative spin-state energy of FeF 2 by only a small amount, but the stronger binding of ethylene has a larger effect. For the spin-state splitting energies of FeF 2 using single-reference CCSD(T), we found the predicted results depend very strongly on precisely how the calculations are done, in particular, on the spin-restricted or spin-unrestricted character of the SCF reference state, which can differ even by around 50 kcal/mol for the SCF reference state and the subsequent CCSD(T) calculations. Furthermore, on analyzing the wave functions of both the spinrestricted or spin-unrestricted formalisms, we find that the lowest-energy singlet and triplet states of the complexes, just like FeF 2 in isolation, can have more unpaired electrons than they are usually assumed to have, i.e. they can be hyper open-shell electronic configurations, and that this can significantly lower the energy.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Atomic Number Dependent “Structural Transitions” in Ordered Lanthanide Monolayers: Role of the Hydration Shell

When lanthanide ions are present in the aqueous subphase of a floating monolayer (Langmuir film), the ions attracted to the interface will in many cases form commensurate and/or incommensurate two-dimensional structures. These lattices depend not only on the molecules forming the monolayer, but also on the atomic number of the lanthanide, with a sudden change between the lattice formed by lighter ions and that formed by heavier ions under a given monolayer. Since there are few other relevant differences between the lanthanides, we attribute the Z-dependent “transition” to the number of water molecules associated with each ion. Finally, the first hydration shell is thought to vary continuously from ~9 in lighter lanthanides to ~8 in heavier lanthanides.

Miller, Mitchell↗

Tuning the Catalytic Activity of Ru@Pt Core-Shell Nanoparticles for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction by Varying the Shell Thickness

The kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was investigated in acid solutions on Pt monolayers that were deposited on carbon-supported Ru nanoparticles using the rotating disk electrode technique. The Pt mass and specific ORR activities greatly depend on the number of Pt monolayers, and the optimum activity occurs with two Pt monolayers. Density functional theory calculations showed that Pt overlayers destabilize O* and OH* with respect to pure Pt, leading to more favorable hydrogenation kinetics. However, with only a single Pt overlayer, the destabilization is too much, and O–O bond breaking becomes rate limiting. Two to three Pt monolayers supported on the Ru core of our nanoparticles lead to increased activity. This work demonstrates that one can modulate the ORR activity of Pt monolayers supported on other metals by eliminating a part of the ligand effect by increasing the thickness of the Pt shell on top of the supporting metal surface.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗

Balancing activity, stability and conductivity of nanoporous core-shell iridium/iridium oxide oxygen evolution catalysts [Balancing activity, stability and conductivity of nanoporous core-shell Ir/IrO 2 oxygen evolution catalysts]

The selection of oxide materials for catalyzing the Oxygen Evolution Reaction in acid-based electrolyzers must be guided by the proper balance between activity, stability and conductivity – a challenging mission of great importance for delivering affordable and environmentally friendly hydrogen. Here we report that the highly conductive nanoporous architecture of an iridium oxide shell on a metallic iridium core, formed through the fast dealloying of osmium from an Ir 25 Os 75 alloy, exhibits an exceptional balance between oxygen evolution activity and stability as quantified by the Activity-Stability FactorASF. Based on this metric, the nanoporous Ir/IrO 2 morphology of dealloyed Ir 25 Os 75 shows a factor of ~30 improvement ASFrelative to conventional Ir-based oxide materials and a ~8 times improvement over dealloyed Ir 25 Os 75 nanoparticles due to optimized stability and conductivity, respectively. Here, we propose that the Activity-Stability FactorASF is the key “metric” for determining the technological relevance of oxide-based anodic water electrolyzer catalysts.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Tuning structure and mobility of solvation shells surrounding tracer additives

Molecular dynamics simulations and a stochastic Fokker-Planck equation based approach are used to illuminate how position-dependent solvent mobility near one or more tracer particle(s) is affected when tracer-solvent interactions are rationally modified to affect corresponding solvation structure. For tracers in a dense hard-sphere fluid, we compare two types of tracer-solvent interactions: (1) a hard-sphere-like interaction, and (2) a soft repulsion extending beyond the hard core designed via statistical mechanical theory to enhance tracer mobility at infinite dilution by suppressing coordination-shell structure [Carmer et al., Soft Matter 8, 4083–4089 (2012)]. For the latter case, we show that the mobility of surrounding solvent particles is also increased by addition of the soft repulsive interaction, which helps to rationalize the mechanism underlying the tracer’s enhanced diffusivity. However, if multiple tracer surfaces are in closer proximity (as at higher tracer concentrations), similar interactions that disrupt local solvation structure instead suppress the position-dependent solvent dynamics.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗