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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.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Asymmetry of the Ferroelectric Phase Transition in BaTiO 3

Symmetry changes during phase transformations fundamentally determine the behavior of thermodynamic systems, governing phenomena as diverse as water evaporation, fermion condensation, and epidemic spreading. Phase transitions are conventionally divided into two classes, and this classification is typically assumed to remain invariant upon reversing the transition. Here, an asymmetric phase transformation is uncovered in the ferroelectric–paraelectric transition of single-crystal BaTiO 3 , a model system for first-order transitions. Under slow temperature variation (≤0.1 °C min −1 ), thermodynamic, dielectric, and domain-structure measurements reveal that the ferroelectric-to-paraelectric transition exhibits latent heat, phase coexistence, and a discontinuous order parameter, while these signatures are absent upon cooling. Complementary phase-field simulations demonstrate similar behavior, attributing it to distinct elastic strain energy accumulation and release during heating and cooling. These findings reveal a first-order character upon heating but a second-order-like behavior upon cooling, challenging the conventional paradigm of symmetric phase-transition classification and suggesting new possibilities for ferroelectric-based energy storage.

Hershkovitz, Asaf [Technion-Israel Institute of Te↗
DOE OSTI2025

Tunable pairing with local spin-dependent Rydberg molecule potentials in an atomic Fermi superfluid

We explore the energy spectrum and eigenstates of two-component atomic Fermi superfluids with tunable pairing interactions in the presence of spin-dependent ultralong-range Rydberg molecule (ULRM) potentials, within the Bogoliubov–de Gennes formalism. The attractive ULRM potentials lead to local-density accumulation, while their difference results in a local polarization potential and induces the in-gap Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states whose energies lie below the bulk energy gap. A transition from equal population to population imbalance occurs as the pairing strength falls below a critical value, accompanied by the emergence of local Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO)–like states characterized by out-of-phase wave functions and lower energies compared to the YSR states. The negative contribution emanating from the FFLO-like states also causes a sign change in the gap function within the ULRM potentials. Depending on the Rydberg excitation, the transition towards population imbalance can be on either the BCS or the Bose-Einstein condensation side of the Fermi superfluid. Additionally, spin-polarized bound states arise along with oscillatory “clumpy states” to compensate for the local-density difference. Here, we discuss possible experimental realizations of the composite Rydberg-atom–Fermi-superfluid system.

Cold and ultracold molecules↗
DOE OSTI2025

Two-component atomic Fermi superfluid with spin-orbital coupling in thin-spherical-shell geometry

We present a theory of two-component atomic Fermi superfluid with tunable pairing interaction in a thin spherical shell subject to spin-orbit coupling (SOC). By incorporating SOC into the Fermi superfluid in the BCS-Bose Einstein condensation (BEC) crossover, we obtain the energy spectrum and equations of state. While the order parameter and chemical potential are suppressed by SOC on the BCS side, the former remains positive but the latter may be pushed to negative values by SOC.Meanwhile, the compressibility exhibits kinks as the pairing interaction or SOC varies, indicating singular behavior of higher derivatives of the free energy despite the presence of the superfluid order parameter. The minimum of the energy dispersion indicates a decoupling of the energy gap from the order parameter, and the compressibility kinks occur when the energy gap approaches 0. We found the particle-hole mixing in the Fermi superfluid essential for the compressibility kinks since a Fermi gas with the same SOC but no pairing interaction only exhibits complicated dispersions but no singular behavior. Therefore, our results show that a combination of superfluid, SOC, and geometry can lead to interesting phenomena. Here, we also discuss possible experimental realizations and implications.

Fermi gases↗
DOE OSTI2025

More about the lattice Hamiltonian for Adjoint QCD 2

In our earlier work [1], we introduced a lattice Hamiltonian for Adjoint QCD 2 using staggered Majorana fermions. We found the gauge invariant space of states explicitly for the gauge group SU(2) and used them for numerical calculations of observables, such as the spectrum and the expectation value of the fermion bilinear. In this paper, we carry out a more in-depth study of our lattice model, extending it to any compact and simply-connected gauge group G. We show how to find the gauge invariant space of states and use it to study various observables. We also use the lattice model to calculate the mixed ’t Hooft anomalies of Adjoint QCD 2 for arbitrary G. We show that the matrix elements of the lattice Hamiltonian can be expressed in terms of the Wigner 6j-symbols of G. For G = SU(3), we perform exact diagonalization for lattices of up to six sites and study the low-lying spectrum, the fermion bilinear condensate, and the string tension. We also show how to write the lattice strong coupling expansion for ground state energies and operator expectation values in terms of the Wigner 6j-symbols. For SU(3) we carry this out explicitly and find good agreement with the exact diagonalizations, and for SU(4) we give expansions that can be compared with future numerical studies.

confinement↗
DOE OSTI2025

Spin Squeezing with Itinerant Magnetic Dipoles

Entanglement can improve the measurement precision of quantum sensors beyond the shot noise limit. Neutral atoms, the basis of some of the most precise and accurate optical clocks and interferometers, do not naturally exhibit the all-to-all interactions traditionally used to generate such entangled states. On the other hand, these systems exhibit exceedingly high degrees of experimental control over parameters such as temperature, spatial entropy, and itinerancy. In this work, we investigate spin squeezing in a highly coherent itinerant system of neutral atoms with magnetic dipole-dipole interactions. We achieve 7.1 dB of metrologically useful squeezing using finite-range spin-exchange interactions in an erbium quantum gas microscope, and we demonstrate that introducing atomic motion, realizing a dipolar 𝑡−𝐽 model, protects the spin sector coherence at low fillings, significantly improving the achievable spin squeezing in a 2D dipolar system. This work’s protocol can be implemented with most neutral atoms, opening the door to quantum-enhanced metrology in other itinerant dipolar systems, such as molecules or optical lattice clocks, and serves as a novel method for studying itinerant quantum magnetism with long-range interactions.

Atomic, optical & lattice clocks↗
NASA NTRS1990

Extended inflation from higher dimensional theories

The possibility is considered that higher dimensional theories may, upon reduction to four dimensions, allow extended inflation to occur. Two separate models are analayzed. One is a very simple toy model consisting of higher dimensional gravity coupled to a scalar field whose potential allows for a first-order phase transition. The other is a more sophisticated model incorporating the effects of non-trivial field configurations (monopole, Casimir, and fermion bilinear condensate effects) that yield a non-trivial potential for the radius of the internal space. It was found that extended inflation does not occur in these models. It was also found that the bubble nucleation rate in these theories is time dependent unlike the case in the original version of extended inflation.

Holman, Richard↗
DOE OSTI2025

Cascading from $\mathscr{N}$ = 2 supersymmetric Yang–Mills theory to confinement and chiral symmetry breaking in adjoint QCD

We argue that adjoint QCD in 3 + 1 dimensions, with any SU(N) gauge group and two Weyl fermion flavors (i.e. one adjoint Dirac fermion), confines and spontaneously breaks its chiral symmetries via the condensation of a fermion bilinear. We flow to this theory from pure $\mathscr{N}$ = 2 SUSY Yang–Mills theory with the same gauge group, by giving a SUSY-breaking mass M to the scalars in the $\mathscr{N}$ = 2 vector multiplet. This flow can be analyzed rigorously at small M, where it leads to a deconfined vacuum at the origin of the $\mathscr{N}$ = 2 Coulomb branch. The analysis can be extended to all M using an Abelian dual description that arises from the N multi-monopole points of the $\mathscr{N}$ = 2 theory. At each such point, there are N −1 hypermultiplet Higgs fields h$^{i=1,2}_m$, which are SU(2) R doublets. We provide a detailed study of the phase diagram as a function of M, by analyzing the semi-classical phases of the dual using a combination of analytic and numerical techniques. The result is a cascade of first-order phase transitions, along which the Higgs fields h i m successively turn on, and which interpolates between the Coulomb branch at small M, where all h$^{i}_m$ = 0, and a maximal Higgs branch, where all h$^{i}_m$ ≠ 0, at sufficiently large M. We show that this maximal Higgs branch precisely matches the confining and chiral symmetry breaking phase of two-flavor adjoint QCD, including its broken and unbroken symmetries, its massless spectrum, and the expected large-N scaling of various observables. The spontaneous breaking pattern SU(2) R → U(1) R , consistent with the Vafa–Witten theorem, is ensured by an intricate alignment mechanism for the h$^{i}_m$ in the dual, and leads to a CP 1 sigma model of increasing radius along the cascade.

D’Hoker, Eric [Univ. of California, Los Angeles, C↗
NASA NTRS1984

Matter antimatter domains: A possible solution to the CP domain wall problem in the early universe

An SU(5) grand unified theory model is used to show how the degeneracy between vacua with different spontaneously broken charge parity can be dynamically lifted by a condensate of heavy fermion pairs. This drives a phase transition to a unique vacuum state with definite charge parity. The transition eliminates the domain walls in a matter antimatter symmetric domain cosmology.

Mohanty, A. K.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Investigating two-dimensional adjoint QCD on the lattice

We present our investigations of SU(N) adjoint QCD in two dimensions with one Majorana fermion on the lattice. We determine the relevant parameter range for the simulations with Wilson fermions and present results for Polyakov loop, chiral condensate, and string tension. In the theory with massive fermions, all observables we checked show qualitative agreement between numerical lattice data and theory, while the massless limit is more subtle since chiral and non-invertible symmetry of the continuum theory are explicitly broken by lattice regularization. In thermal compactification, we observe N perturbative vacua for the holonomy potential at high-T with instanton events connecting them, and a unique vacuum at low-T. At finite-N, this is a cross-over and it turns to a phase transition at large-N thermodynamic limit. In circle compactification with periodic boundary conditions, we observe a unique center-symmetric minimum at any radius. In continuum, the instantons in the thermal case carry zero modes (for even N) and indeed, in the lattice simulations, we observe that chiral condensate is dominated by instanton centers, where zero modes are localized. We present lattice results on the issue of confinement vs. screening in the theory and comment on the roles of chiral symmetry and non-invertible symmetry.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Symmetric Mass Generation

In recent years tantalizing signs for a novel phase have been reported that is chirally symmetric but nevertheless exhibits massive bound states. The necessary condition for such a phase, referred to as Symmetric Mass Generation (SMG), is the cancellation of all (continuous and discrete) 't~Hooft anomalies. In 3+1 dimensions this occurs in systems containing a multiple of 16 massless Weyl fermions. SMG was originally discovered in lower dimensional condensed matter systems. We present results investigating four dimensional field theories with gauge group SU(3). Our findings suggest that SU(3) with $N_f=8$ fundamental fermions exhibits an SMG phase not only on the lattice but also in the infinite cutoff continuum limit. If confirmed, SMG could provide a new UV completion of the standard model and give rise to new scenarios for beyond standard model physics.

Hasenfratz, Anna [U. Colorado, Boulder] (ORCID:000↗
DOE OSTI2025

Diagrammatic Monte Carlo Approach to Real‐frequency Response Functions and the Spin‐Fermion Model of Hot Spots (Final Report)

This three‐year research project was focused on two outstanding condensed matter problems (i) Real‐frequency response functions in Coulomb systems at finite temperature, and Fermi surface (FS) reconstruction in the Spin-Fermion (SF) model. The uniform electron gas (jellium) model, describing electrons interacting via long‐range Coulomb forces on positive neutralizing background, is fundamentally important both for understanding the physics of correlated electrons and for formulation of the time‐dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The spin-fermion model has found a wide range of applications in the physics of cuprates and iron‐based superconductors to explain the “strange metal" behavior and to suggest a possible pairing mechanism for high‐temperature superconductivity. The project’s goals were development and application of the Diagrammatic Monte Carlo (DiagMC) techniques for solving the above problems.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cosmic stability of dark matter from Pauli blocking

Why does dark matter (DM) live longer than the age of the Universe? Here we study a novel sub-eV scalar DM candidate whose stability is due to the Pauli exclusion of its fermionic decay products. We analyze the stability of the DM condensate against decays, scatterings (i.e., evaporation), and parametric resonance, delineating the viable parameter regions in which DM is cosmologically stable. In a minimal scenario in which the scalar DM decays to a pair of new exotic fermions, we find that scattering can populate an interacting thermal dark sector component to energies far above the DM mass. This self-interacting dark radiation may potentially alleviate the Hubble tensions. Furthermore, our scenario can be probed through precise measurements of the halo-mass function or the masses of dwarf spheroidal galaxies since scattering prevents the DM from becoming too dense. On the other hand, if the lightest neutrino stabilizes the DM, the cosmic neutrino background ( C ν B ) can be significantly altered from the Lambda cold dark matter prediction and thus be probed in the future by C ν B detection experiments. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Batell, Brian↗
DOE OSTI2025

Natural top quark condensation (a redux)

The Nambu--Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model involves a pointlike 4-fermion interaction. While it gives a useful description of chiral dynamics (mainly in QCD), it nonetheless omits the crucially important internal wave-function of a two-body bound state, $\phi(r)$. This becomes significant near critical coupling where $\phi(r)$ extends to large distance, leading to dilution and suppression of induced couplings $\propto \phi(0)$, such as the Yukawa and quartic couplings, as well as reduced fine-tuning of a hierarchy. In top quark condensation, where the BEH boson is a $\bar{t}t$ bound state and we have a UV completion such as topcolor, we must go beyond the NJL model and include effects of $\phi(r)$. We provide a formulation of this for the Brout-Englert-Higgs boson, and find that it leads to an extended $\phi(r)$, a significantly reduced and natural composite scale of $M_0 \sim 6$ TeV, a successful prediction for the quartic coupling, $\lambda$, and fine tuning that is reduced to a few percent, providing a compelling candidate solution to the naturalness problem of the BEH boson. The theory is testable and new physics should begin to emerge on the multi-TeV mass scales and possibly accessible to the LHC.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS2003

Experiments with Ultracold Quantum-degenerate Fermionic Lithium Atoms

Experimental methods of laser and evaporative cooling, used in the production of atomic Bose-Einstein condensates have recently been extended to realize quantum degeneracy in trapped Fermi gases. Fermi gases are a new rich system to explore the implications of Pauli exclusion on scattering properties of the system, and ultimately fermionic superfluidity. We have produced a new macroscopic quantum system, in which a degenerate Li-6 Fermi gas coexists with a large and stable Na-23 BEC. This was accomplished using inter-species sympathetic cooling of fermionic 6Li in a thermal bath of bosonic Na-23. We have achieved high numbers of both fermions (less than 10(exp 5) and bosons (less than 10(exp 6), and Li-6 quantum degeneracy corresponding to one half of the Fermi temperature. This is the first time that a Fermi sea was produced with a condensate as a "refrigerator".

Ketterle, Wolfgang↗
DOE OSTI2026

Realization of fermionic Laughlin state on a quantum processor

Strongly correlated topological phases of matter are central to modern condensed matter physics and quantum information technology but often challenging to probe and control in material systems. The experimental difficulty of accessing these phases has motivated the use of engineered quantum platforms for simulation and manipulation of exotic topological states. Among these, the Laughlin state stands as a cornerstone for topological matter, embodying fractionalization, anyonic excitations, and incompressibility. Although its bosonic analogs have been realized on programmable quantum simulators, a genuine fermionic Laughlin state has yet to be demonstrated on a quantum processor. Here, we realize the ν = 1/3 fermionic Laughlin state on IonQ’s trapped-ion quantum computer using an efficient and scalable Hamiltonian variational ansatz with 369 two-qubit gates on a 16-qubit circuit. Employing symmetry-verification error mitigation, we extract key observables that characterize the Laughlin state, including correlation hole, bulk-edge correspondence, and topological entanglement entropy, with strong agreement to exact diagonalization benchmarks. This work demonstrates an end-to-end workflow to simulate material-intrinsic topological orders and provides a starting point to explore its dynamics and excitations on digital quantum processors.

Shen, Lingnan [Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (U↗
DOE OSTI2025

Probing chiral Kitaev spin liquids via dangling boundary fermions

Identifying experimental probes capable of diagnosing extreme quantum behavior is widely regarded as one of the foremost challenges in modern condensed matter physics. Here, we propose a novel approach for detecting chiral Kitaev spin-liquid states through measurements of the local dynamical spin structure factor on the boundary using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). We specifically focus on unpaired (“dangling”) Majorana fermions, which naturally emerge along boundaries of Kitaev spin liquids, and can serve as indicators of chiral boundary modes under broad conditions, thereby offering a clear signature of these exotic quantum states.

Zhang, Shang-Shun [University of Tennessee, Knoxvi↗
DOE OSTI2025

Superradiant Neutrino Lasers from Radioactive Condensates

Superradiance emerges from collective spontaneous emission in optically pumped gases, and is characterized by photon emission enhancements of up to $\frac{1}{4}$⁢𝑁 2 in an 𝑁 atom system. The gain mechanism derives from correlations developed within the decay medium rather than from stimulated emission as in lasing, so an analog of this process should be possible for fermionic final states. We introduce here the concept of superradiant neutrino emission from a radioactive Bose Einstein condensate, which can form the basis for a superradiant neutrino laser. A plausible experimental realization based on a condensate of electron-capture isotope 83 Rb could exhibit effective radioactive decay rates accelerated from 86.2 days to minutes in viably sized rubidium condensates of 10 6 atoms.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Selective enhancement of Coulomb interactions in planar Weyl fermions

We report on our study of the electron interaction effects in topological two-dimensional (2D) materials placed in a quantizing magnetic field. Taking our cue from a recent experimental report, we consider a particular case of bismuthene monolayer with a strong spin-orbit interaction which can be a Weyl semimetal when placed on a specially tuned substrate. Interestingly, we observe that in some Landau levels of this material, the interaction effects are enhanced compared to those for a conventional 2D system and graphene monolayer. Such an enhancement of electron-electron interactions in these materials is largely due to an anisotropy present in the materials. Additionally, the interaction effects can be tuned by changing the coupling to the substrate and the strongest inter-electron interactions are observed when the system is a Weyl semimetal. Furthermore, the observed enhancement of the interaction effects can therefore be an important signature of the 2D Weyl fermions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗