ReportWire

Tag: DOE Science News Source

  • Jim Sebek wins 2023 Lytle Award for decades of synchrotron problem solving and dedication

    Jim Sebek wins 2023 Lytle Award for decades of synchrotron problem solving and dedication

    Newswise — Jim Sebek, an electrical engineer and physicist at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, will receive this year’s Farrel W. Lytle Award for countless contributions towards building, maintaining and operating the synchrotron for nearly four decades.

    The annual award recognizes staff members and SSRL users, and no one has done more to keep SSRL and its accelerator running over the years, SSRL senior scientist James Safranek said.

    “An attempt to describe the many times that Jim has led the effort to get SSRL accelerators back online would not take a book. It would require volumes,” Safranek said. “He takes an interest in solving any problem, whether it is with power supplies, beam diagnostics, computer controls or the HVAC system. If there is a problem, Jim is addressing it.”

    Over his 39 year career, Sebek has worked on almost all of the electrical systems at the Stanford Positron Electron Accelerating Ring (SPEAR), the particle accelerator at the heart of the synchrotron facility. His job description may be summarized as “fix whatever needs fixing,” Safranek said.

    Sebek credits his skills and knowledge to his mentors, who have been willing to spend time to teach their expertise, even during the busiest times at SSRL. Sebek actually started working at SLAC before he finished his undergraduate degree. He learned technical subjects related to the operation of an accelerator on his own, completing morning and evening classes at San Jose State University. He’d take classes that could help him solve immediate problems at SSRL and SPEAR – if a beam control system was acting oddly, for example, he’d take a course about feedback, he said.

    “I enjoy reading technical books and applying new ideas to SPEAR. In the past, I took math and science classes before or after work,” Sebek said. “This is what I like to do with my free time.”

    He went on to complete a PhD in accelerator physics at Stanford, after mentors at SSRL encouraged him to pursue his degree and publish papers based on his experience.

    Building a particle injector from scratch

    Sebek did not ease his way into working at SSRL: His initial job was to help build the dedicated electron injector for SPEAR that decoupled it from the SLAC linac. Until the 1980s, SPEAR was connected to SLAC’s linear accelerator and was used to study high-energy physics. In 1988, SPEAR transitioned into a stand-alone synchrotron radiation source that generates X-rays for SSRL. Sebek was hired as an electronics instrumentation engineer on the new injector project, which took about two years to finish. 

    The injector project offered opportunities to learn about all aspects of an accelerator.  During the project, Sebek learned another new subject: how to modify and repair large magnet power supply systems to help the synchrotron run reliably.

    “My career has been a progression along these lines: I find something that needs work, so I start working on it,” he said. “I migrate from one system to another and learn about them as I go.”

    He’s lost count of the total number of titles and roles he’s held. This broad experience is one of his favorite parts of his career.

    “In some positions at SLAC, you become highly specialized in one particular thing, but at SPEAR, things are different,” he said. “Our primary goal is to make sure the accelerator runs reliably, which means we have to know a lot about all of its parts. This helps us fix things outside of our immediate assignments.”

    His journey to SLAC started in 1979, when he left his hometown of Chicago for the San Francisco Bay Area. He did not know then that he would spend the better part of his life working as an engineer and physicist at SSRL. He liked to tinker with mechanical things and study math growing up, but he did not have a clear sense of what path he would travel on when he arrived in California.

    “SSRL and SLAC as a whole was a mystery to me before I started working here,” he said. “I’d heard about the lab and read a little about it, but until I started working here, I really did not know what went on inside.”

    The lab ended up being a “good working environment with good people who are a pleasure to work with,” he said. “I enjoyed it and stayed on.”

    His favorite project was researching, understanding, and ultimately curing beam instabilities that had caused operational issues in SPEAR2, the next generation of SPEAR.  He also enjoyed contributing to the design, construction, commissioning, and operation of SPEAR3.

    He remains fully engaged in keeping SSRL running. “But time goes on and nobody stays at SSRL forever,” Safranek said. “SSRL does have a succession issue – Jim is simply irreplaceable.”

    SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

    Source link

  • Scientists uncovered mystery of important material for semiconductors at the surface

    Scientists uncovered mystery of important material for semiconductors at the surface

    Newswise — A team of scientists with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has investigated the behavior of hafnium oxide, or hafnia, because of its potential for use in novel semiconductor applications.

    Materials such as hafnia exhibit ferroelectricity, which means that they are capable of extended data storage even when power is disconnected and that they might be used in the development of new, so-called nonvolatile memory technologies. Innovative nonvolatile memory applications will pave the way for the creation of bigger and faster computer systems by alleviating the heat generated from the continual transfer of data to short-term memory.

    The scientists explored whether the atmosphere plays a role in hafnia’s ability to change its internal electric charge arrangement when an external electric field is applied. The goal was to explain the range of unusual phenomena that have been obtained in hafnia research. The team’s findings were recently published in Nature Materials.

    “We have conclusively proven that the ferroelectric behavior in these systems is coupled to the surface and is tunable by changing the surrounding atmosphere. Previously, the workings of these systems were speculation, a hypothesis based on a large number of observations both by our group and by multiple groups worldwide,” said ORNL’s Kyle Kelley, a researcher with the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences. CNMS is a DOE Office of Science user facility.

    Kelley performed the experiments and envisioned the project in collaboration with Sergei Kalinin of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

    Materials commonly used for memory applications have a surface, or dead, layer that interferes with the material’s ability to store information. As materials are scaled down to only several nanometers thick, the effect of the dead layer becomes extreme enough to completely stop the functional properties. By changing the atmosphere, the scientists were able to tune the surface layer’s behavior, which, in hafnia, transitioned the material from the antiferroelectric to the ferroelectric state. 

    “Ultimately, these findings provide a pathway for predictive modeling and device engineering of hafnia, which is urgently needed, given the importance of this material in the semiconductor industry,” Kelley said.

    Predictive modeling enables scientists to use previous research to estimate the properties and behavior of an unknown system. The study that Kelley and Kalinin led focused on hafnia alloyed, or blended, with zirconia, a ceramic material. But future research could apply the findings to anticipate how hafnia may behave when alloyed with other elements.

    The research relied on atomic force microscopy both inside a glovebox and in ambient conditions, as well as ultrahigh-vacuum atomic force microscopy, methods available at the CNMS.

    “Leveraging the unique CNMS capabilities enabled us to do this type of work,” Kelley said. “We basically changed the environment all the way from ambient atmosphere to ultrahigh vacuum. In other words, we removed all gases in the atmosphere to negligible levels and measured these responses, which is extremely hard to do.”

    Team members from the Materials Characterization Facility at Carnegie Mellon University played a key role in the research by providing electron microscopy characterization, and collaborators from the University of Virginia led the materials development and optimization.

    ORNL’s Yongtao Liu, a researcher with CNMS, performed ambient piezoresponse force microscopy measurements.

    The model theory that underpinned this research project was the result of a long research partnership between Kalinin and Anna Morozovska at the Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

    “I have worked with my colleagues in Kiev on physics and chemistry of ferroelectrics for almost 20 years now,” Kalinin said. “They did a lot for this paper while almost on the front line of the war in that country. These people keep doing science in conditions that most of us cannot imagine.”

    The team hopes that what they have discovered will stimulate new research specific to exploring the role of controlled surface and interface electrochemistries — the relationship between electricity and chemical reactions — in a computing device’s performance.

    “Future studies can extend this knowledge to other systems to help us understand how the interface affects the device properties, which, hopefully, will be in a good way,” Kelley said. “Typically, the interface kills your ferroelectric properties when scaled to these thicknesses. In this case, it showed us a transition from one material state to another.”  

    Kalinin added: “Traditionally, we explored surfaces at the atomic level to understand phenomena such as chemical reactivity and catalysis, or the modification of the rate of a chemical reaction. Simultaneously, in traditional semiconductor technology, our goal was only to keep surfaces clean from contaminants. Our studies show that, in fact, these two areas — the surface and the electrochemistry — are connected. We can use surfaces of these materials to tune their bulk functional properties.”

    The title of the paper is “Ferroelectricity in hafnia controlled via surface electrochemical state.”

    This research was supported as part of the Center for 3D Ferroelectric Microelectronics, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by DOE’s Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences program, and was partially performed as a user proposal at the CNMS.

    UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory

    Source link

  • New Material Enables an Ultrafast Electron Diffraction Probe for Quantum Materials

    New Material Enables an Ultrafast Electron Diffraction Probe for Quantum Materials

    Newswise — The Science

    Quantum materials have a host of exotic electronic, magnetic, and optical properties that make them prime candidates for use in future computing and energy technologies. Their properties arise from a complex interaction of their electrons and atomic nuclei. Researchers can observe these interactions as they happen using short pulses of X-rays or electron beams. These pulses last less than a trillionth of a second. Using new materials that emits a narrow electron probe, researchers have developed an ultrafast electron beam technique to probe small, thin pieces of quantum materials with very high resolution.

    The Impact

    Scientists so far cannot create many newly emerging quantum materials as large crystals. Instead, these materials form crystals only one-tenth as wide as a human hair. This poses a challenge for researchers probing these materials using ultrafast electron beam accelerators, as electron beam quality often limits how small an area these beams can focus on. In this study, researchers used a specialized source of electrons to produce a substantial improvement in electron beam quality. This enables crisp images of samples only a few microns wide and of processes that take place in less than a trillionth of a second. This work could lead to a clearer image and understanding of how quantum materials function at atomic space and time scales.

    Summary

    These accelerators typically generate ultrafast electron pulses via a process called photoemission, wherein laser light knocks electrons out of a material, usually a simple metal like copper. If the laser pulse is short in duration, the emitted electron beam will also be short. One challenge with typical photoemission sources is that the electrons emitted do not all travel in the same direction. This spread in emission angle can ultimately limit researchers’ ability to focus the electron beam on a small spot.

    In this work, researchers developed a photoemission-based electron accelerator with an advanced, in-house grown photoemission material that produces many electrons with a much smaller spread in emission angle. Using this source in conjunction with precise electron focusing optics, the researchers performed proof-of-principle ultrafast electron diffraction experiments which showed the ability to resolve subtle atomic details in samples as small as just a few microns in size.

    Funding

    This research was supported by the Department of Energy Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences and by the National Science Foundation.


    Journal Link: Structural Dynamics, Mar-2022

    Department of Energy, Office of Science

    Source link

  • Greening cities cuts carbon

    Greening cities cuts carbon

    Newswise — Dozens of European cities could reach net zero carbon emissions over the next 10 years by incorporating nature into their infrastructure, according to a new study.

    Published recently in the journal, Nature Climate Change, the analysis shows the ways cities can orchestrate a wide range of green solutions like parks, streetscaping and roof gardens to not only capture carbon emissions, but help reduce them.

    The study was undertaken by researchers from Sweden, the U.S. and China. It recommends the most effective approaches for natural carbon sequestration in 54 cities in the EU. And it shows how blending these steps with other climate actions can enable cities to reach net-zero carbon and actually reduce emissions by an average of 17.4 percent.

    Zahra Kalantari, an associate professor in Water and Environmental Engineering at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, says the researchers focused on the indirect ways that so-called “nature-based solutions” can contribute to carbon neutrality.

    “Nature-based solutions not only offset a proportion of a city’s emissions, but can contribute to reduction in emissions and resource consumption too,” Kalantari says.

    The results are based on integrating data from previous studies on the effects of nature-based solutions. These include urban farming, permeable pavements which enable rainwater absorption into the ground, narrower roads with more greenery and trees, wildlife habitat preservation, and creating more agreeable environments for walking and bicycling.

    For example, urban parks, greenspace and trees promote more walking, bicycling and other environmentally positive habits that replace automobile driving. Combined with other solutions like green infrastructure, these measures can further improve urban microclimates by absorbing heat and cold, and as a result reduce energy use in buildings.

    It also provides guidance on which measures should be prioritized and where to locate them for the best effect, she says. For example, in Berlin the study recommends prioritizing green buildings and urban green spaces, which could result in an emissions reduction rate of 6 percent for residences, 13 percent in industry and 14 percent in transportation.

    “There are many studies that examine the effects of individual nature-based solutions, but this merges all of them and analyzes the potential systemic effect,” she says. “That’s new.”

    The study was a collaboration by researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, MIT, Stockholm University, University of Gävle, Linköping University, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

    Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan (KTH) [Royal Institute of Technology]

    Source link

  • PPPL wins three major DOE awards for supercomputing fusion projects

    PPPL wins three major DOE awards for supercomputing fusion projects

    Newswise — Funding for three major collaborations that aim to provide ground-breaking insights into the volatile behavior of plasma in fusion facilities has been won by PPPL. The projects represent three of the DOE’s 12 Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) awards with an overall value of $112 million. 

    These four-year collaborations unite fusion scientists and applied mathematicians into multi-institutional teams. The projects, cosponsored by the DOE’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program, aim to solve complex fusion problems through high-performance supercomputing. Collaborators will model state-of-the-art solutions on today’s top computers, including new exascale computers that can process data a thousand times faster than current machines.

    “This collaborative effort will advance our understanding of fusion as an energy source while utilizing the most powerful supercomputers in the world,” said Jean Paul Allain, who heads the DOE’s Fusion Energy Sciences Department. The partnerships will also guide the design of fusion pilot plants, he said.  

    Fusion combines light elements in the form of plasma — the hot, charged state of matter composed of free electrons and atomic nuclei, or ions, that makes up 99% of the visible universe — to release vast amounts of energy. The three PPPL-led collaborations bring together national laboratories, universities and private companies to advance fusion development. Two of the projects focus on doughnut-shaped tokamaks while the third involves twisted stellarator devices:

    Integrate superhot plasma core with cool edge in tokamak facilities

    The goal of this project, led by Felix Parra Diaz, head of the PPPL Theory Department, is to use advanced computation to study ways to reconcile conflicting tokamak requirements. These arise because fusion plasma must be tens of million degrees Centigrade at its core and cool enough at its edge to avoid damaging tokamak walls.

    The methods to be studied include altering the shape of the magnetic field that confines the plasma; injecting impurities into the plasma to affect its confinement and coating the walls of the tokamak with lithium to protect them from sudden bursts of heat. Parra Diaz said the findings and the advanced computer codes developed to produce them will enable the design of far larger, hotter and more powerful future tokamaks.

    Design a tokamak free of instabilities at the edge of the plasma

    This collaboration, led by principal research physicist Fatima Ebrahimi of PPPL, will develop computer simulations for tokamak plasmas free of instabilities called edge localized modes (ELMs). These frequent occurrences can produce detrimental heat loss and damage tokamak walls.

    The project will model the complete basis for ELMs-free regimes, Ebrahimi said. The resulting state-of-the-art, high-fidelity simulations using advanced computer architecture will create predictive capabilities for stabilizing the edge of magnetically shaped plasmas. Collaborators will put together a hybrid database by combining these simulations with existing experimental data on various worldwide tokamaks and will use the machine learning form of artificial intelligence to  project the findings to the design of a tokamak pilot plant..

    Explore stellarator power plants with high-fidelity simulations

    This project, led by Michael Churchill, head of digital engineering at PPPL, will create a high-fidelity digital prototype of a stellarator facility. The research will seek to verify a stellarator design under a variety of physics and engineering assumptions. Collaborators will use a hierarchy of current codes and incorporate high-fidelity simulation into the design optimization process. 

    The project will create a framework that public and private entities can use for stellarator design. The framework will combine state-of-the-art codes, artificial intelligence, advanced optimization techniques, and software developed under the DOE’s Exascale Computing Project. The overall goal, Churchill said, is to leverage more computing power into the design process to advance concepts for a stellarator pilot plant.
     

    Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

    Source link

  • Scientists Make the First Observation of a Nucleus Decaying into Four Particles After Beta Decay

    Scientists Make the First Observation of a Nucleus Decaying into Four Particles After Beta Decay

    The Science

    Not all of the material around us is stable. Some materials may undergo radioactive decay to form more stable isotopes. Scientists have now observed a new decay mode for the first time. In this decay, a lighter form of oxygen, oxygen-13 (with eight protons and five neutrons), decays by breaking into three helium nuclei (an atom without the surrounding electrons), a proton, and a positron (the antimatter version of an electron). Scientists observed this decay by watching a single nucleus break apart and measuring the breakup products.

    The Impact

    Scientists have previously observed interesting modes of radioactive decay following the process called beta-plus decay. This is where a proton turns into a neutron and emits some of the produced energy by emitting a positron and an antineutrino. After this initial beta-decay, the resulting nucleus can have enough energy to boil off extra particles and make itself more stable. This new decay mode is the first observation of three helium-nuclei (alpha particles) and a proton being emitted following beta-decay. The findings can inform scientists about decay processes and the properties of the nucleus before the decay.

    Summary

    In this experiment, researchers used a particle accelerator known as a cyclotron at the Cyclotron Institute at Texas A&M University to produce a beam of radioactive nuclei at high energies (approximately 10% the speed of light). They sent this beam of radioactive material, oxygen-13, into a piece of equipment known as the Texas Active Target Time Projection Chamber (TexAT TPC). The material stops inside this detector, which is filled with carbon dioxide gas, and decays after about ten milliseconds by emitting a positron and a neutrino (beta-plus decay). By implanting the oxygen-13 into the detector one nucleus at a time and waiting for it to decay, the researchers measured any particles that boil off following the beta-decay using the TexAT TPC. Next, they analyzed the data with a computer program to identify the tracks the particles leave in the gas. This allowed them to identify the rare events (occurring only once per 1,200 decays) as those where four of the particles are emitted following beta-decay.

     

    Funding

    This work was supported by the Department of Energy Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Science, and by the National Nuclear Security Administration through the Center for Excellence in Nuclear Training and University Based Research (CENTAUR). Several of the authors also acknowledge travel support from the IBS grant and the National Research Foundation of Korea grant, both funded by the government of the Republic of Korea.


    Journal Link: Physical Review Letters, Jun-2023

    Department of Energy, Office of Science

    Source link

  • Mukherjee elevated to senior member of IEEE

    Mukherjee elevated to senior member of IEEE

    Newswise — Subho Mukherjee, an R&D associate in the Vehicle Power Electronics Research group at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elevated to the grade of senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE. Senior IEEE members have made significant contributions to the profession and worked in the engineering field for 10 years or more.

    As an electrical engineer, Mukherjee focuses on wireless power charging and developing wide bandgap semiconductor-based power converters. His research supports the development of integrated onboard and wireless chargers for electric vehicles and fuel cell-based power trains for heavy duty vehicles. He first joined ORNL in 2019 as a postdoctoral research associate, where he spent a year in power electronics work, and returned in 2023 as R&D associate staff.

    Prior to his work with ORNL, Mukherjee was an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India. He also served as a senior engineer for Honeywell Technical Solutions and Infineon Technologies. He has two patents, has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed journal papers and serves as a reviewer for IEEE journals and conferences.

    Mukherjee has a doctorate in electrical engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

    UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.

     

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory

    Source link

  • Jefferson Lab Receives 2023 EPEAT Purchaser Award

    Jefferson Lab Receives 2023 EPEAT Purchaser Award

    Newswise — NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Staff and scientific users at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility need all kinds of electronics to do their jobs, including computers, smartphones, printers and more. But instead of buying just any laptop off the shelf, the lab takes care to buy devices that meet sustainability standards when possible.

    During a virtual ceremony on July 27, the Global Electronics Council presented Jefferson Lab with a 2023 EPEAT Purchaser Award for buying sustainable electronics in fiscal year 2022. 

    These devices meet Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool standards, also known as EPEAT. The devices that meet these standards are more energy efficient, less toxic, longer lasting and easier to recycle than typical electronics.

    Although EPEAT devices are more environmentally friendly, they sometimes come with higher price tags up front. 

    “By purchasing EPEAT devices, we’re signifying we will take that extra step to be sustainable,” said Aubrie Davie, energy and sustainability specialist at Jefferson Lab. “We show it’s not just the price tag that we care about, but making sure that these products we’re bringing onto our campus are also environmentally friendly.”

    However, these products often offer the best overall value, because they are more efficient and can help save money in the long run. The lab saved $15,532 in 2022 by using electronics that meet EPEAT criteria. The 645 purchased EPEAT devices also reduced the lab’s greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equal to removing 18 average U.S. passenger cars from the road for one year, and they conserved energy equivalent to the yearly electricity consumption of 31 average U.S. households.

    “That’s a huge part of why we do this,” Davie said.

    She also hopes the award will signal to the Newport News community that the lab is serious about sustainability. 

    “I think it’s important for us to show the community that we care about our impact in this area and that we’re not just going to purchase devices that are going to end up in our local landfills or things like that,” she said.

    A dedication to being green

    This commitment to the environment is nothing new. Jefferson Lab has earned an EPEAT award every year since 2016.

    “We are honored to be a 2023 EPEAT Purchase Award winner,” said Barbara Rice, procurement officer at Jefferson Lab. “This is the seventh time the Global Electronics Council has recognized our procurement intention to purchase more energy efficient, longer lasting, and easier-to-recycle equipment that empowers our employees to better serve customers.”

    Rice has been the one making sure the lab gets recognition for these accomplishments from the start.

    “Barbara has been a huge champion of making sure we apply for these awards and reporting that we have purchased sustainably throughout the year,” Davie said.

    Since Jefferson Lab received its first EPEAT Award, it has increased the number of EPEAT electronics it buys from different categories. Determining which EPEAT devices to procure has become a streamlined process for the Computational Science & Technology Division.

    “The amount of extra time that it takes to select and purchase EPEAT devices is minimal,” said Davis Wright, a Jefferson Lab computer user support technician.

    Wright helps check equipment for EPEAT compliance before purchase, and he maintains a stock of EPEAT devices available for staff and scientific users.

    “The award shows us that our system is working. It’s a great feeling to work for an organization that takes pride in sustainability and incorporates it in all facets,” Wright said. “By receiving this award, Jefferson Lab sets an example for other organizations and industries, showcasing that sustainability is not just a buzzword but a tangible goal.”

    In the meantime, Jefferson Lab continues to push its sustainability goals further, which will aid in the DOE’s goal of net zero emissions. For instance, fiscal year 2022 DOE sustainability goals include steps toward the transition to a zero-emission vehicle fleet and development of a strategy toward net-zero emissions for buildings, campuses and installations. The plan also includes sustainable procurement.

    “It’s great to be acknowledged, but I think it’s important to shoot higher,” Davie said. “We can continue to expand the categories we purchase in and find new ways to be sustainable and achieve emissions and energy-reduction goals. Net zero is a big task for such a large facility. I think building on successful programs like this will help us get there.”

    -end-

    Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, manages and operates the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, or Jefferson Lab, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. JSA is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Southeastern Universities Research Association, Inc. (SURA).

    DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.

    Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

    Source link

  • Calculations Predict Surprising Quark Diffusion in Hot Nuclear Matter

    Calculations Predict Surprising Quark Diffusion in Hot Nuclear Matter

    The Science

    Scientists can use powerful colliders to smash atomic nuclei together to create a quark-gluon plasma (QGP). This “soup” of quarks and gluons, some of the fundamental building blocks of matter, filled the early universe. Tracking how high energy jets of quarks travel through the QGP can reveal information about the QGP’s properties. Scientists’ simplest assumption is that local interactions with the quarks and gluons will deflect these energetic particles. But recent theoretical calculations that also include non-local quantum interactions—those interactions beyond a particle’s immediate surroundings—predict a super-diffusive process. This means that the complex  interactions in QGP deflect quarks faster and at wider angles than can be explained by local interactions alone.

    The Impact

    Testing these predictions at particle colliders will provide new insight into the interactions between quarks and gluons. These interactions are governed by the strong nuclear force, one of the four fundamental forces that govern the universe. The new theoretical explanation points to the importance of the non-local nature of these quantum interactions. The findings suggest that the description of the QGP as a collection of point-like particles may break down even at short distances. The discovery of the importance of longer-range quantum interactions might also offer a new perspective for understanding why the QGP flows like a nearly perfect fluid–a fluid with very low viscosity.

    Summary

    Scientists use particle colliders to recreate a form of early universe matter known as a QGP. Tracking how energetic jets of particles move through the QGP can reveal information about its properties. Early calculations based on the theory of strong interactions suggested that jets would undergo a diffusive process caused by random deflections as the energetic particles interacted with the quarks and gluons that make up the plasma—similar to the way pollen particles on the surface of a pond get “kicked” around by water molecules.

    Counter to these early calculations, nuclear theorists at Brookhaven National Laboratory recently discovered that including non-local quantum effects—which arise from long-lived gluon fluctuations—predicts significant deviations from the expected diffusion pattern in QGP. Including these non-local effects predicts that energetic jets will undergo a super-diffusive process, broadening the angle of the jet faster than local interactions alone can explain. The predictions can be tested by tracking energetic jets in the QGP created in high-energy heavy ion collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (a Department of Energy user facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory) and the Large Hadron Collider in Europe.

     

    Funding

    This research was funded by the Department of Energy Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics and by the National Science Foundation.


    Journal Link: Journal of High Energy Physics, Sep-2022
    Journal Link: Physical Review D, Sep-2022

    Department of Energy, Office of Science

    Source link

  • Wind Forecast Improvement Project Saves Millions for Utilities

    Wind Forecast Improvement Project Saves Millions for Utilities

    Newswise — The wind doesn’t always blow where it’s needed–that’s the biggest hurdle in fitting wind energy to the nation’s portfolio of renewable energy. When the wind isn’t blowing, utility companies must turn to other electricity generators, such as solar or hydropower, or to fossil fuels, which the U.S. has goals to use less of.

    The key to clearing this hurdle is accurate weather forecasts, but weather forecasting isn’t a perfect science. To help make weather forecasting more accurate, scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have teamed up with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), along with universities and private industry to improve weather forecasts. Through their work on the Wind Forecast Improvement Project (WFIP), the multiagency research has already helped save utility companies millions of dollars.

    “Wind energy is clean and low cost, but its one drawback is that it’s dependent on the fuel, which in this case is wind. And wind is not constant,” said Raghavendra Krishnamurthy, an Earth scientist at PNNL and principal investigator for WFIP. “With more accurate wind forecasts at turbine heights, utility companies can more efficiently balance their power generation from various sources, like wind, hydropower, or fossil fuels, and save money.”

    Forecasting Complications

    Utility companies depend on weather forecasts to prepare for the next day’s electricity generation, and inaccuracies in weather forecasts can cost millions. If wind is overpredicted (i.e., there was less wind than forecast), utilities must quickly pivot to other types of energy, which is costly and inefficient. If wind is underpredicted (i.e., there was more wind than forecast), utility companies would have already paid unnecessarily for potentially more costly energy, such as that from natural gas.

    Forecasts come from the National Weather Service, which uses a model called the high-resolution rapid refresh model (HRRR). The model incorporates data from weather sensors all over the United States about variables like wind, humidity, air pressure, and air temperature, and uses them to predict the winds for the next 48 hours.

    But variables like wind, air temperature, pressure and humidity change based on where wind farms are in the United States, which affects what kinds of weather patterns a wind farm experiences day-to-day. Some areas are dry, flat, and hot, while some areas are cold, wet, and mountainous. Some wind farms are placed in the ocean, which comes with a completely different set of temperature and humidity variables from land-based wind farms.

    WFIP helps model builders incorporate these regional nuances.

    Wind Forecast Improvements

    The team realized they had to study the weather across different regions and incorporate those findings to improve the model. “If you think of the model as a fish net, and weather phenomena like clouds and storms as the fish, the only fish you don’t catch are the ones getting through the net. The finer the net, the more fish you catch,” said Larry Berg, division director for Atmospheric Sciences and Global Change Division at PNNL and former investigator on the WFIP team. Studying regional data helps us understand what is making it through the “net,” or an improved model, which creates more accurate forecasts.                       

    In the project’s first phase, PNNL scientists, along with other partners at other DOE national laboratories, NOAA, universities, and private industry, took data from wind farms in northern Texas and the Great Plains in 2011 – 2012. In the project’s second phase, the WFIP2 team collected data from 2015 to 2017 from the Pacific Northwest’s Columbia River Gorge and basin. Here, mountains tower over near-sea-level basins and the Columbia River has cut a canyon between rocky cliffs.

    Researchers at NOAA used these data to improve the HRRR model, releasing the first updated version (called HRRR2) in 2016, and another (HRRR3) in 2018. With WFIP’s contributions, HRRR’s updates have improved weather modeling and led to significant savings. According to 2022 a paper in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, utility companies likely saved more than $95 million per year after NOAA launched HRRR2 and $32 million after launching HRRR3.

    An additional paper published in 2022 in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy found that the improved models had the potential to save consumers across the U.S. more than $380 million.

    “The WFIP campaigns, and in particular WFIP2, provided a unique dataset that enabled us to improve our wind forecasts in the lower atmosphere markedly,” said David Turner, an atmospheric scientist at NOAA and manager of the agency’s Atmospheric Science for Renewable Energy program. “We have demonstrated that, if the energy community only used the HRRR for their day-ahead decisions on energy generation, then they would have saved hundreds of millions of dollars per year using more updated versions of HRRR.”

    The Future of WFIP

    The WFIP team is already planning for the future of the project, with WFIP3 starting this year gathering data from wind farms off the northeastern coast of the United States.

    “Offshore wind data is very sparse, and therefore we are not sure on the accuracy of the wind forecasts offshore.” Krishnamurthy said. “The next phase of WFIP will provide this necessary data, which will be made freely available to the research community and support the development of more accurate forecasts.”

    WFIP is supported by the Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office and NOAA’s Atmosphere Science for Renewable Energy Program.

     

     

    Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

    Source link

  • Making Big Leaps in Understanding Nanoscale Gaps

    Making Big Leaps in Understanding Nanoscale Gaps

    Newswise — Creating novel materials by combining layers with unique, beneficial properties seems like a fairly intuitive process—stack up the materials and stack up the benefits. This isn’t always the case, however. Not every material will allow energy to travel through it the same way, making the benefits of one material come at the cost of another.

    Using cutting-edge tools, scientists at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) User Facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the Institute of Experimental Physics at the University of Warsaw have created a new layered structure with 2D material that exhibits a unique transfer of energy and charge. Understanding its material properties may lead to advancements in technologies like solar cells and other optoelectronic devices. The results were published in the American Chemical Society’s Nano Letters.

    2D Materials – Tiny, but Mighty

    Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are a class of materials structured like sandwiches with atomically thin layers. The meat of a TMD is a transition metal, which can form chemical bonds with electrons on their outermost orbit or shell, like most elements, as well as the next shell. That metal is sandwiched between two layers of chalcogens, a category of elements that contains oxygen, sulfur, and selenium. Chalcogens all have six electrons in their outermost shell, which makes their chemical behavior similar. Each of these material layers is only one atom thick—one-millionth the thickness of a strand of human hair—leading them to be referred to as two-dimensional (2D) materials.

    “At the atomic level, you get to see these unique and tunable electronic properties,” said Abdullah Al-Mahboob, a Brookhaven staff scientist in the CFN Interface Science and Catalysis group. “TMDs are like a playground of physics. We’re moving energy around from one material to the other at an atomic level.”

    Some new properties start to emerge from materials at this scale. Graphene, for example, is the 2D version of graphite, the material that most pencils are made of. In a Nobel Prize-winning experiment, scientists used a piece of adhesive tape to pull flakes off of graphite to study a layer of graphene. The researchers found the graphene to be incredibly strong at the atomic level—200 times stronger than steel relative to its weight! In addition, graphene is a great thermal and electrical conductor and has a unique light absorption spectrum. This unlocked the door to studying the 2D forms of other materials and their properties.

    2D materials are interesting on their own, but when combined, surprising things start to happen. Each material has its own superpower—protecting materials from the environment, controlling the transfer of energy, absorbing light in different frequencies—and when scientists start to stack them together, they create what is known as a heterostructure. These heterostructures are capable of some extraordinary things and could one day be integrated into future technologies, like smaller electronic components and more advanced light detectors.

    QPress—A First-of-its-Kind Experimental Tool

    While the exploration of these materials may have started with something as simple as a piece of adhesive tape, the tools used to extract, isolate, catalog, and build 2D materials have become quite advanced. At CFN, an entire system has been dedicated to the study of these heterostructures and the techniques used to create them—the Quantum Material Press (QPress).

    “It’s hard to compare the QPress to anything,” said Suji Park, a Brookhaven staff scientist specializing in electronic materials. “It builds a structure layer by layer, like a 3D printer, but 2D heterostructures are built by an entirely different approach. The QPress creates material layers that are an atom or two thick, analyzes them, catalogs them, and finally assembles them. Robotics is used to systematically fabricate these ultrathin layers to create novel heterostructures.”

    The QPress has three custom built modules—the exfoliator, cataloger, and stacker. To create 2D layers, scientists use the exfoliator. Similar to the manual adhesive tape technique, the exfoliator has a mechanized roller assembly that exfoliates thin layers from larger source crystals with controls that provide the kind of precision that can’t be achieved by hand. Once collected and distributed, the source crystals are pressed onto a silicone oxide wafer and peeled off. They are then passed along to the cataloger, an automated microscope combing several optical characterization techniques. The cataloger uses machine learning (ML) to identify flakes of interest that are then cataloged into a database. Currently, ML is trained with only graphene data, but researchers will keep adding different kinds of 2D materials. Scientists can use this database to find the material flakes they need for their research.

    When the necessary materials are available, scientists can use the stacker to fabricate heterostructures from them. Using high-precision robotics, they take the sample flakes and arrange them in the order needed, at any necessary angle, and transfer substrates to create the final heterostructure, which can be stored long-term in a sample library for later use. The climate is controlled to ensure the quality of the samples and the fabrication process from exfoliation to building heterostructures is conducted in an inert gas environment in a glovebox. The exfoliated flakes and the stacked samples are stored in vacuum, in the sample libraries of the QPress cluster. Additionally, electron beam evaporation, annealing, and oxygen plasma tools are available in the vacuum side of the cluster. Robotics are used to pass samples from one area of the QPress to the next. Once these novel heterostructures are fabricated though, what do they actually do and how do they do it?

    After the team at CFN fabricated these fascinating new materials with the QPress, they integrated the materials with a suite of advanced microscopy and spectroscopy tools that enabled them to explore optoelectronic properties without exposing the samples to air, which would degrade material structures. Some of the delicate, exotic quantum properties on 2D materials need ultra-low cryo-temperatures to be detected, down to just a few kelvins. Otherwise, they get perturbed by the slightest amount of heat or any chemicals present in the air.

    Al-Mahboob’s work is funded by the DOE Quantum Materials: Integrated Multimodal Characterization and Processing (QM-IMCP) project that CFN has started to build. This platform will include advanced microscopes, x-ray spectrometers, and ultrafast lasers that are able to investigate the quantum world at cryo-temperatures.

    Building Better Structures

    Using the advanced capabilities of these resources, the team was able to get a more detailed picture of how long-distance energy transfer works in TMDs.

    Energy wants to move across materials, the way a person wants to climb a ladder, but it needs a place to hold on to. Bandgaps can be thought of as the space between the rungs of a ladder. The larger the gap, the harder and slower it is to climb. If the gap is too large, it might not even be possible to finish moving up. Using materials that already have great conducting properties, this specialized team of scientists was able to stack them in a way that leveraged their structure to create pathways that transfer the charge more efficiently.

    One of the TMDs the team created was molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), which was shown in previous studies to have strong photoluminescence. Photoluminescence is the phenomenon that makes certain materials glow in the dark after they are exposed to light. When a material absorbs light with more energy than that energy bandgap, it can emit light with photon energy equal to the bandgap energy. If a second material with an equal or lower energy bandgap gets closer to the first, as close as a sub-nanometer to few nanometers, energy can transfer nonradiatively from the first material to the second. The second material can then emit light with photon energy equal to its energy bandgap.

    With an insulating interlayer made of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), which prevents electronic conductivity, scientists observed an unusual kind of long-distance energy transfer between this TMD and one made of tungsten diselenide (WSe2), which conducts electricity very efficiently. The energy transfer process occurred from the lower-to-higher bandgap materials, which is not typical in TMD heterostructures, where the transfer usually occurs from the higher-to-lower bandgap 2D materials. The thickness of the interlayer played a big role, but also appeared to defy expectations. “We were surprised by the behavior of this material,” said Al-Mahboob. “The interaction between the two layers increases along with the increase in distance up to a certain degree, and then it begins to decrease. Variables like spacing, temperature, and angle played an important role.”

    By gaining a better understanding of how these materials absorb and emit energy at this scale, scientists can apply these properties to new types of technologies and improve current ones. These could include solar cells that absorb light more effectively and hold a better charge, photosensors with higher accuracy, and electronic components that can be scaled down to even smaller sizes for more compact devices.

    This study was supported by the DOE Office of Science.

    Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit science.energy.gov.

    Follow @BrookhavenLab on social media. Find us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

     

    Brookhaven National Laboratory

    Source link

  • In Preparation for DUNE, Scientists Examine Modern Nuclear Theory for Neutrino Oscillation Physics

    In Preparation for DUNE, Scientists Examine Modern Nuclear Theory for Neutrino Oscillation Physics

    The Science

    Newswise — The U.S. particle physics community is preparing for a major research program with the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). DUNE will study neutrino oscillations. These quantum mechanical oscillations are only possible because neutrinos have mass, albeit it very small masses. Research at DUNE will address key questions about neutrinos, such as whether they and their antineutrino counterparts behave differently. Answering these questions could help explain why the universe is composed of matter and not antimatter. These studies require a detailed understanding of how neutrinos interact with atomic nuclei and the nucleons (protons and neutrons) that make up nuclei. By providing new data, DUNE will help scientists advance beyond the current understanding of neutrino-nucleon interactions, which relies upon data from experiments in the 1970s and ‘80s.

    The Impact

    Scientists use the nuclear theory method called Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics (LQCD) to predict neutrino-nucleon interactions. The LQCD results predict a stronger neutrino-nucleon interaction than predictions determined from older, less precise, experimental data. This research demonstrated important implications of how scientists interpret neutrino oscillation signals from LQCD. It also identified the next results to tackle with LQCD. These findings, combined with modern many-body nuclear theory methods, will reduce the potential biases due to incorrect modeling. The findings will also improve scientists’ predictions of these interactions for DUNE and other neutrino experiments.

    Summary

    A recent project by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory demonstrated the importance of incorporating state-of-the-art theoretical predictions of the “nucleon axial form factor” into simulations of neutrino-nucleus reactions (a form factor is a measure of the “squishiness” of a particle — the smaller the value, the squishier). Scientists need these form factors to determine oscillation properties of the elusive neutrinos that will be explored by DUNE and other leading neutrino oscillation experiments. The most advanced LQCD predictions conflict with the older phenomenological models of the axial form-factor, leading to a 30% larger neutrino-nucleon cross-section. This has important implications for the interpretation of the oscillation experiments. These LQCD calculations are made possible by the Department of Energy’s Leadership Class Computing Facilities, which house the fastest supercomputers in the world.

    In the exascale computing era, scientists will further refine the LQCD results and tackle additional, more complicated processes. The results will be combined with modern many-body nuclear theory methods to provide more robust predictions of the neutrino-nucleus reactions. These predictions are essential ingredients for interpreting the next-generation neutrino oscillation experiments, such as DUNE, and inferring properties of neutrinos.

     

    Funding

    This work is supported in part by the Department of Energy Office of Science, High Energy Physics and Nuclear Physics programs.


    Journal Link: Annual Reviews in Nuclear and Particle Science, Sep-2022

    Department of Energy, Office of Science

    Source link

  • Department of Energy grant supports inclusive high energy physics research

    Department of Energy grant supports inclusive high energy physics research

    Newswise — The new project creates opportunities for researchers from historically underrepresented groups to develop technology that will help us understand the forces behind an expanding universe.

    The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) have been awarded funding for a program that aims to generate insights about the universe while expanding diversity in the high energy physics field.

    Through the $589,000, three-year grant from DOE’s Funding for Accelerated, Inclusive Research (FAIR) initiative, the research team will create a computer modeling framework to map a set of distant galaxies known as emission line galaxies. The grant also supports the participation of students from historically underrepresented groups.

    Shun Saito, assistant professor of physics at Missouri S&T, is leading the research project with Andrew Hearin, an Argonne physicist, as the DOE national laboratory partner. The goal is to unravel some of the mystery surrounding dark energy, the force thought to drive the universe’s accelerated expansion.

    “You really need supercomputing resources to be able to make predictions for galaxies in the large volumes we are simulating. Our modeling approach has been designed from the ground up to do exactly that.” — Andrew Hearin, Argonne physicist

    The project relates to the DOE-funded Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), which is measuring the trajectory of this expansion by mapping emission line galaxies. Emission lines are light signals emanating from galaxies across billions of years. These lines can be used in mapping the galaxies and determining their histories. Saito and team will build a simulation-based framework to predict a clustering pattern of faraway emission line galaxies that can then be used to understand the nature of dark energy.

    “In the last decade, we have seen a lot of progress in measuring the nearby universe,” Saito said. ​“Now we want to locate more distant galaxies to fully map out the evolution of cosmological expansion.”

    The research will take advantage of high performance computing at Argonne’s Laboratory Computing Resource Center.

    “You really need supercomputing resources to be able to make predictions for galaxies in the large volumes we are simulating,” Hearin said. ​“Our modeling approach has been designed from the ground up to do exactly that.”

    The project continues efforts by Saito and Hearin, who are longtime collaborators, to create a more inclusive community of high energy physics researchers. In 2019, they founded the Midwest Cosmology Network to provide a collaborative forum for researchers who belong to relatively small, isolated cosmology groups at colleges and universities.

    In addition to research positions for one undergraduate, doctorate and postdoctorate student each, the program will also enable the collaborative work at Argonne.

    The resulting framework and data will be available to other researchers who seek to analyze data from DESI and similar surveys. ​“People working on understanding galaxies can use the catalogs generated by this project,” Saito said.

    In total, the DOE Office of Science awarded $37 million in funding to 52 projects representing 44 institutions. Hearin’s and Saito’s project is one of 10 projects affiliated with Argonne to receive this funding. The FAIR initiative aims to build research capacity, infrastructure and expertise at institutions historically underrepresented in the Office of Science portfolio, including minority serving institutions and emerging research institutions.

    Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation’s first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America’s scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

    The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://​ener​gy​.gov/​s​c​ience.

    Argonne National Laboratory

    Source link

  • ORNL Buildings Researchers Earn Top ASHRAE Honors

    ORNL Buildings Researchers Earn Top ASHRAE Honors

    Newswise — Kashif Nawaz and Mahabir Bhandari, building technologies researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, were recognized for research achievements in support of ASHRAE during the 2023 annual conference of the national heating, refrigerating, and air-conditioning engineering society.

    Nawaz, a distinguished researcher and head of ORNL’s Buildings Technologies Research Section, received the Crosby Field Award, which honors the highest-rated paper presented before a technical session, a symposium or poster session or at a society meeting. He was recognized for the paper, “Impact and Value of ASHRAE’s Standards and Technology (RP-1848).”

    Nawaz has more than 15 years of research and development experience and is a recognized leader in different aspects of a building’s heating, cooling and dehumidification systems, including novel heat exchangers. He has pioneered the development of a new generation of high-temperature heat exchangers manufactured with ceramics and composites using additive manufacturing. His recent research has led to the development of unique concepts for direct air capture of carbon dioxide from buildings. Nawaz previously received ASHRAE’s Exceptional Service Award and the Distinguished Service Award.

    Bhandari, a researcher in the Building Envelope and Materials Research group, received the Distinguished Service Award, which salutes members who have served the society with distinction by giving their time and talent in chapter, regional and society activities. He has more than 20 years of experience in the field of building energy performance. Bhandari’s research focuses on whole-building energy simulation and the integration of energy-efficient technologies in buildings. He also leads the combined heat and power deployment support program for DOE’s Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office. He has served as a chair of ASHRAE’s fenestration technical committee.

    “We are proud of these distinguished researchers for all that they do, not only for ORNL but also for the larger professional community,” said Robert Wagner, director of ORNL’s Buildings and Transportation Science Division. “Both Mahabir and Kashif have made significant contributions to the advancement of building envelope and equipment research.”

    Founded in 1894, ASHRAE is a global professional society committed to serving humanity by advancing the arts and sciences of heating ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and allied fields.

    UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory

    Source link

  • Decarbonizing industry

    Decarbonizing industry

    Newswise — Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have developed a training camp to help manufacturing industries reduce energy-related carbon dioxide emissions and improve cost savings.

    As part of the Department of Energy’s Better Plants Program, the Oct. 16-19 Energy Bootcamp will provide hands-on training for energy and sustainability managers, analysts, plant engineers and facility supervisors with industrial plant oversight responsibilities.

    “Petroleum, chemical, iron and steel, cement, and food and beverage manufacturers contribute more than 50% of CO2 emissions in the U.S. industrial sector and 15% of U.S. economywide total emissions,” ORNL’s Thomas Wenning said. “This bootcamp gives plant managers a better understanding of the resources available and approaches for decarbonizing these facilities.”

    The bootcamp will offer training on two ORNL-developed free software tools for identifying and quantifying energy savings — MEASUR and VERIFI — and demonstrate diagnostic tools including infrared cameras, leak detectors and combustion analyzers.

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory

    Source link

  • Physicist Vinícius Duarte wins a $2.5 million Early Career Research Award

    Physicist Vinícius Duarte wins a $2.5 million Early Career Research Award

    Newswise — Vinícius Duarte, a research physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), has won a prestigious $2.5 million Early Career Research Program Award sponsored by the DOE’s Office of Science. Duarte will use the five-year funding to advance the understanding of processes that lead to the loss of high-energy particles in tokamak fusion facilities. The award is one of 93 totaling $135 million that the DOE has provided this year to recipients at universities and national laboratories. 

    “I feel honored and excited to receive this award,” said Duarte, who received his doctorate from the University of São Paulo in 2017 and was a postdoctoral fellow at PPPL before becoming a member of the research staff in 2020. “This will provide the resources for our team to address an important research gap for ITER and next-generation fusion devices.”

    Devices such as ITER, the international tokamak under construction in the south of France, combine light elements in the form of plasma — the hot, charged state of matter composed of free electrons and atomic nuclei — to generate massive amounts of energy. Scientists around the world are seeking to reproduce and control fusion for a virtually inexhaustible supply of safe and clean power to generate electricity.

    Energetic particles

    This Early Career Award, which will include support for two postdoctoral researchers, will enable the team to study the behavior of energetic particles in the presence of different types of external heating and different waves that can destabilize fusion plasmas. Efficiently confining such particles will be essential to the design of future fusion power plants, Duarte said. 

    His Early Career Award is the ninth won by a PPPL physicist since 2010 and the latest recognition for Duarte, who received the Brazilian Physical Society prize for his doctoral thesis. He began a three-year term on the editorial advisory board of Physics of Plasmas, a monthly peer-reviewed journal, in January of this year.

    Duarte grew interested in plasma physics as an undergraduate at the University of Campinas in Brazil. Two factors drew him into the field. First, plasmas combine several physics disciplines such as electrodynamics and statistical physics within it. Second, studying plasmas allowed Duarte to develop and use more physical intuition than the study of other topics such as quantum mechanics or particle physics. “I was very fortunate to be introduced to plasma physics as an undergraduate by a great teacher and mentor,” he recalled. Read more about the 2023 award program here.

    PPPL, on Princeton University’s Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro, N.J., is devoted to creating new knowledge about the physics of plasmas — ultra-hot, charged gases — and to developing practical solutions for the creation of fusion energy. The Laboratory is managed by the University for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science

    Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

    Source link

  • Four Brookhaven Scientists Receive Early Career Research Awards

    Four Brookhaven Scientists Receive Early Career Research Awards

    Newswise — UPTON, NY—Four scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have been selected by DOE’s Office of Science to receive significant funding through its Early Career Research Program. The program, which began in 2010, bolsters the nation’s scientific workforce by supporting exceptional researchers at the outset of their careers, when many scientists do their most formative work.

    The awards are a part of the DOE’s long-standing efforts to develop the next generation of STEM leaders to solidify America’s role as the driver of science and innovation around the world.

    “Supporting America’s scientists and researchers early in their careers will ensure the United States remains at the forefront of scientific discovery,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The funding announced today gives the recipients the resources to find the answers to some of the most complex questions as they establish themselves as experts in their fields.”

    DOE is recognizing a total of 93 awardees representing 47 universities and 12 DOE National Laboratories in 27 states. Awardees were selected based on peer review by outside scientific experts.

    The projects announced today are selections for negotiation of a financial award, and cover projects lasting up to five years in duration. The final details for each are subject to final grant and contract negotiations between DOE and the awardees. The Early Career Research Program is funded by DOE’s Office of Science.

    Information about the 93 awardees and their research projects is available on the Early Career Research Program webpage.

    This year’s Brookhaven Lab awardees are:

    Elizabeth (Liza) Brost, “Shining Light on the Higgs Self-Interaction”

    Elizabeth Brost, an associate scientist in Brookhaven Lab’s Physics Department, will receive funding through the DOE’s Office of High Energy Physics to study properties of the Higgs boson, including its self-interaction.

    Discovered in 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Switzerland, the Higgs boson is the fundamental particle associated with the Higgs field, which imparts mass to other fundamental particles. The Standard Model of particle physics, scientists’ best understanding of the particles and forces that make up our world, predicts that the Higgs field can interact with itself. This self-interaction should contribute to the production of pairs of Higgs bosons at the LHC. Brost’s studies of Higgs pair production will provide a path towards measuring the Higgs self-interaction—and ultimately a deeper understanding of the Higgs boson’s role in the Standard Model.

    One major challenge is that pair production of Higgs bosons is extraordinarily rare in proton-proton collisions at the LHC—more than 1000 times rarer than collisions producing single Higgs bosons! In this project, Brost will lead the development of novel techniques to select fruitful collision data in real time using machine learning algorithms. Using data from the LHC’s ATLAS detector, she and her collaborators will search for the direct and indirect effects of “new physics” beyond the Standard Model on Higgs pair production. These measurements may confirm that the Higgs behaves as expected in the Standard Model. Or they may point to the influences of new physics, which must then be incorporated into explanations of the Higgs mechanism and other areas of physics.

    “I am honored to receive this Early Career Award, which will enable me to pursue some of the most interesting open questions in high energy physics,” Brost said. “The analysis and data-collection techniques developed through this project will advance our understanding of the Higgs boson at unprecedented scales, not only at the LHC but also at proposed future colliders.”

    Brost earned her undergraduate degree in physics and French from Grinnell College in 2010 and her Ph.D. in physics from the University of Oregon in 2016. After serving as a postdoctoral research associate at Northern Illinois University from 2016 to 2019, she joined Brookhaven National Laboratory as an assistant physicist. She was promoted to associate physicist in 2021. Stationed at Europe’s CERN laboratory, home to the LHC, Brost has led groups of hundreds of ATLAS physicists on a range of analyses and detector upgrades, many associated with “di-Higgs” searches. She also has extensive experience mentoring students and postdocs, who will play important roles in executing the goals of this Early Career Award project.

    Esther Tsai, “Virtual Scientific Companion for Synchrotron Beamlines” 

    Esther Tsai, a scientist in the Electronic Nanomaterials Group of the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), aims to strengthen the interactions between human scientists and the artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) tools that can accelerate their research. With funding from the DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences, she is developing a revolutionary system that will allow scientists to launch experiments and analyze data using a conversational interface.

    She’s particularly interested in alleviating bottlenecks at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)—a source of extremely intense x-rays used by more than 1,700 researchers from universities, industry, and other national laboratories each year to study the properties of a wide range of materials. Currently, CFN and NSLS-II staff collaborate with these facility “users,” assisting in the setup, scientific planning/discussion, and analysis of data from experiments at several beamlines run in partnership by these two DOE Office of Science user facilities. Their research on complex materials has the potential to improve the performance of electronics, solar cells, batteries, and other applications. But the beamlines are often understaffed and oversubscribed.

    “Beamline scientists have the daunting mission of supporting various aspects of beamline operation and user science through tireless and sleepless efforts,” Tsai said.

    Her goal is to develop a virtual scientific companion, known as VISION, that will synergistically connect researchers with computational tools to speed up the experimentation so everyone can make more discoveries—and possibly get more sleep.

    The virtual assistant will leverage modern developments in natural language (NL) processing and language models—the technology underpinning the revolutionary capabilities of chatbots and AI assistants. Tsai will tailor these methods to scientific experiments, allowing researchers to input queries in ordinary language without the need for complex coding. VISION will transcribe NL voice to text, acquire and analyze data, visualize results, and provide advanced learning algorithms and physics modeling to suggest optimal experiment design or hypotheses for further exploration. This powerful, general approach can be extended to a host of scientific instruments to accelerate the pace of discovery across the DOE complex.

    “We’re not taking humans out of the picture; we’re actually making it easier for humans to use their natural form of expression, whether speaking or texting, to leverage the strengths of powerful AI/ML programming. We envision a new era where human NL-based communication will be the only needed interface for scientific experimentation and design,” said Tsai.

    “It is a great honor and responsibility to receive this Early Career Award. I am so very grateful for the support I’ve received from colleagues at Brookhaven and especially my group leader, Kevin Yager,” Tsai said. “I will continue to need their support to introduce this new paradigm of NL-controlled scientific expedition.”

    Tsai earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 2009 and a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering in 2014, both from Purdue University. Before joining Brookhaven Lab’s CFN as an assistant scientist in 2018, she conducted postdoctoral research and provided user support at the Swiss Light Source at the Paul Scherrer Institute from 2015 to 2018. She was promoted to associate scientist at Brookhaven in 2021, and to scientist in 2023.

    Derong Xu, “Luminosity Maximization with Flat Hadron Beams”

    Derong Xu, an assistant physicist working on the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) at Brookhaven Lab, is striving to maximize the collider’s most important figure of merit by maintaining the flatness of a beam of ions travelling at nearly the speed of light.

    The EIC will collide two beams—one containing electrons and the other containing protons or other atomic nuclei. The collisions between individual electrons and other ions will produce data that scientists will use to study the internal structure of protons and nuclei, including the arrangement of those particles’ quarks and gluons. If more particle collisions occur, scientists can produce and analyze more data that contribute to our understanding of how visible matter evolved from the quark-gluon plasma studied over the past two decades at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), an Office of Science user facility at Brookhaven.

    Physicists can increase the likelihood of these collisions occurring by reducing beam size—packing the same number of particles into a smaller space. This methodology, known as maximizing “luminosity,” is exactly what Xu will work on for the EIC with funding from DOE’s Office of Nuclear Physics. According to calculations by Xu and his colleagues, flattening the ion beam of the EIC will help attain the maximum luminosity. This approach has never been used in a hadron collider—a machine that collides composite particles made of quarks and gluons.

    Though scientists can generate flat ion beams, maintaining this flatness as trillions of charged particles whirl around a collider is a challenge. There are numerous potential interactions, such as those between beams and the superconducting accelerator magnets, that could compromise the quality of the beam and make it harder to focus it to a small, flat spot size at the collision point. Xu’s work will dissect the interactions that could alter beam flatness and investigate methods to reduce or eliminate these effects to maintain high luminosity.

    “Our efforts to improve the luminosity for the EIC will also benefit other future colliders,” said Xu. “I am excited to contribute to this important research endeavor.”

    “I am deeply honored to receive this award and express my heartfelt gratitude for this exceptional opportunity,” Xu added. “The challenge of using a flat beam in future colliders captivates me, and I am eager to explore this topic further.”

    Xu studied accelerator physics at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), receiving a bachelor’s degree in 2011 and a Ph.D. in 2016. Xu was a postdoctoral fellow from 2017 to 2018 and then a research fellow from 2018 to 2019 at the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory at USTC. Xu’s work on the EIC began at Michigan State University in 2019 and continued at Brookhaven when he joined the Lab in 2021 as an assistant physicist.

    Joanna M Zajac, “Interactions of QDs’ Fast Light in Rb Vapors for Hybrid Quantum Information Science and Technology” 

    Joanna M Zajac, a quantum scientist in the Instrumentation Division, is tackling one of the biggest challenges in quantum networking—developing a fundamental understanding of fast light-matter interconnects that could one day facilitate long distance quantum networks.

    With funding from the DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences, she will design and build systems that use quantum dots (QD) to generate identical single photons (the simplest fundamental portions of light) in the wavelengths used for optical telecommunication. Quantum dots are light-emitting semiconductor nanostructures whose emission can be tuned to different wavelengths. They could potentially generate photons suitable to work at telecommunication and atomic wavelengths. That would help to reduce the high losses currently experienced when quantum information travels through the telecommunication optical fibers network. 

    The goal is then to couple QD single photons with alkali vapors, such as rubidium (Rb), which can reliably store quantum information. These light-matter interconnects may one day operate as a basis for quantum repeaters that receive and then re-emit quantum information making up nodes of quantum network connected by optical links over long distances. This research could be applied to a range of areas in quantum information science and technology such as quantum computing, quantum communications, and quantum sensing.

    “Fast light-matter interconnects made of alkali atomic ensembles and photons from quantum dots (QDs) create a heterogenous system that combines the advantages of its homogenous components’, Zajac said. “Within this project we are going to develop fundamental understanding of interactions therein allowing us to develop components of long-distance quantum networks in the future. This DOE award gives me a fantastic opportunity to explore this important topic among the vibrant scientific community in Brookhaven Lab’s Instrumentation Division and beyond.”

    Zajac pursued her education in the United Kingdom, earning her master’s degree in physics from Southampton University in 2008 and her Ph.D. in physics from Cardiff University in 2013. She was a postdoctoral research associate at Heriot-Watt University from 2013 to 2016 and a research fellow at St. Andrews University in 2016. Before joining Brookhaven Lab’s Instrumentation Division as a quantum scientist in 2021, she was a senior researcher at Oxford University (2020-21), United Kingdom.

    Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit science.energy.gov.

    Follow @BrookhavenLab on social media. Find us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

    Denise Yazak and Danielle Roedel contributed to the writing of this news release.

     

    Brookhaven National Laboratory

    Source link

  • Five ORNL scientists to receive DOE Early Career Research awards

    Five ORNL scientists to receive DOE Early Career Research awards

    Newswise — The Department of Energy’s Office of Science has selected five Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists for Early Career Research Program awards. 

    Since its inception in 2010, the program bolsters national scientific discovery by supporting early career researchers in fields related to the Office of Science’s eight major program offices: Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Biological and Environmental Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Fusion Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, Accelerator R&D and Production and Isotope R&D and Production.

    The awards are typically restricted to scientists in the first 10 years of their careers, but eligibility this year was extended to 12 years in recognition of complications from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many researchers complete their most formative work in these early career years.

    “Supporting America’s scientists and researchers early in their careers will ensure the United States remains at the forefront of scientific discovery,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The funding announced today gives the recipients the resources to find the answers to some of the most complex questions as they establish themselves as experts in their fields.”

    A total of 93 scientists nationwide, employed across 12 DOE national laboratories and 47 universities, will receive funding through this year’s program.

    “Support for these talented researchers is vital to ORNL’s goal of furthering the nation’s scientific priorities,” ORNL Interim Director Jeff Smith said. “Their scientific contributions will help in addressing challenges in quantum materials and computing, environmental systems and fusion energy.”

    The ORNL researchers receiving awards include:

    Matthew Brahlek, an R&D staff scientist in the Materials Science and Technology Division, was selected by the Basic Energy Sciences program for his proposal, “Epitaxially Imposed Control of Chiral Transport Phenomena.”

    Due to their exotic states, materials with chiral symmetry, or a lack of mirror symmetry, offer key advantages in quantum-based technologies. To fully exploit their properties, however, scientists must simultaneously control a material’s underlying symmetry and dimensionality. In this project, Brahlek will create new chiral systems by combining dissimilar materials at the atomic level as atomically thin crystalline films. These new materials will allow for targeted control of symmetry and dimensionality to enable the discovery of new exotic superconductors and unusual low dimensional states. The resulting fundamental design principles established will drive the development of a new generation of quantum materials.

    Jack Cahill, an R&D associate scientist in the Biosciences Division, was selected by the Biological and Environmental Research Program for his proposal, “Elucidation and Validation of Genes Associated with Biological Nitrification Inhibition in Populus.”

    Nitrogen use efficiency, the amount of nitrogen used by a crop compared to the amount of nitrogen added, greatly impacts natural carbon sequestration. Bioenergy crops typically have low nitrogen use efficiency – as much as 70% of added nitrogen is lost as waste – which leads to poor carbon sequestration. Biological nitrification inhibitor molecules released from plants prevent such nitrogen loss by slowing nitrification processes. With this proposal, Cahill will conduct experiments to identify genes associated with such molecules in common bioenergy crop poplar, analyze nitrification in the soil surrounding poplar roots and ultimately improve crops’ efficiency and carbon sequestration.

    Eugene Dumitrescu, a staff research scientist in the Computational Science and Engineering Division, was selected by the Advanced Scientific Computing Research program for his proposal, “MLRep4QC3: Multi-Linear Representations for Quantum Characterization, Control, and Computation.”

    Quantum processes have greatly expanded the boundaries of modern science, but scientists lack high-level operational methods for controlling quantum states. Dumitrescu aims to accelerate computational science by identifying where quantum control is possible with classical computing resources. To overcome scalability problems with prior models, Dumitrescu will develop multi-linear representation, or MLRep, algorithms, powerful tools to represent quantum states and minimize computational requirements for quantum characterization. Dumitrescu will then assess the quality of quantum processes and demonstrate the feasibility of MLRep algorithms for controlling quantum states. Finally, the algorithms will be compiled into a linear algebra package evaluating classical computing’s potential in quantum control.

    Takaaki Koyanagi, an R&D staff scientist in the Materials Science and Technology Division, was selected by the Fusion Energy Sciences Program for his proposal, “Mechanistic framework for additive manufacturing of highly radiation-resistant SiC components.”

    Despite its potential as a carbon-free energy source, fusion power still faces several challenges, including a need for irradiation-resistant components. Koyanagi aims to develop these critical parts by combining the benefits of silicon carbide, a promising material for fusion energy system components, with the flexibilities of additive manufacturing. Specifically, Koyanagai will use binder jet 3D printing and chemical vapor infiltration of silicon carbide, a novel process developed at ORNL, to additively manufacture components. He will determine the products’ ideal microstructure for fusion through neutron irradiation experiments at ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor, high-throughput processing and machine learning data analysis.

    Dan Lu, a senior staff scientist in the Computational Sciences and Engineering Division, was selected by the Biological and Environmental Research program for her proposal, “Integrating Machine Learning Models into E3SM for Understanding Coastal Compound Flooding.”

    Coastal urban regions have a unique importance to economic and environmental health. Because of population increases and coastal development, these areas are acutely threatened by the risk of severe flooding. Further research is needed to understand backwater effects, which occur when downstream water levels are higher than river water levels and are often responsible for coastal flooding. To address this need, Lu will use DOE’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model, or E3SM, alongside machine learning methods to create a data- and physics-driven river model for evaluating backwater effects and modeling floods, with the goal of establishing reliable predictions to mitigate floods.

    Awardees will receive a combined $135 million across five years to cover salary and research expenses. The final details for each project award are subject to final grant and contract negotiations between DOE and the awardees. 

    UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory

    Source link

  • Department of Energy User Facility Launches Platform for Analyzing Biological and Environmental Research Data

    Department of Energy User Facility Launches Platform for Analyzing Biological and Environmental Research Data

    Newswise — The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) has launched the Data Transformations Integrated Research Platform (IRP) to help researchers from the world to  turn their research data into usable streams. 

    Through the new IRP, a range of innovative and standardized workflows are under development to help scientistis transform their scientific data into more manageable sets of information, make the data more accessible and analyses more reproducible, and facilitate the creation of models and visualization tools that help tell a larger story from the data. In addition to rigorous statistical methods, the IRP is applying machine learning, artificial intelligence, and a broad array of techniques to streamline computational processes for data transformation and make them more accessible. 

    “We are creating the Data Transformations IRP as a way to accelerate delivering the scientific value of data we gather here,” said Jay Bardhan, leader of EMSL’s Computation, Analytics, and Modeling science area. “The goal is to help everyone approach and access data pertaining to their experiments more easily.”

    As a Department of Energy (DOE) user facility, EMSL provides proposal call opportunities to researchers who, if awarded funding, have access to EMSL instrumentation and resources at no cost. EMSL is sponsored by DOE’s Biological and Environmental Research Program and is located on the campus of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash. 

    Learn more about this new IRP.

    Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory – EMSL

    Source link

  • Novel Metric Examines the Role of Organic Matter and Microbes in Ecological Communities

    Novel Metric Examines the Role of Organic Matter and Microbes in Ecological Communities

    The Science

    Ecological researchers study the relationships among different organisms and between organisms and their surroundings. This makes it critical to understand how individual features in a community, like microbes or types of chemicals, affect the overall community’s development. By examining individual features, researchers can begin to identify those community or assemblage members that drive similarities across communities. To assist in this goal, scientists developed a novel ecological metric, called βNTIfeat. Many microbes do not grow in laboratory conditions. The new metric found that these “unculturable” microbes shape the microbial communities in river corridors. The metric also revealed that organic matter is influenced by a variety of compounds that contain nitrogen and phosphorus.

    The Impact

    βNTIfeat will help researchers answer longstanding questions about ecosystems. For example, βNTIfeat can help uncover a common group of microbes that significantly affect various river corridors at different local or global scales. This will allow researchers to incorporate the dynamics of these microbes into models. In turn, these models will help scientists to generate predictions about how ecosystems may change due to climate change, wildfires, and other future disturbances.

    Summary

    Evaluating how ecological communities develop and change is one of the primary goals of ecology. By examining processes that give rise to specific community configurations across varied conditions, researchers will have a better understanding of the fundamental principles that govern community structure and will be able to improve predictions. Unfortunately, comparatively few studies examine the effects that individual features within a community or assemblage play on its overall structure. As part of this study, researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and California Lutheran University developed a new metric, called βNTIfeat, that investigates the contributions that these features make within a community.

    Researchers used βNTIfeat to evaluate feature-level ecological processes in a riverine ecosystem to reveal some key dynamics. First, the team observed that unclassified and unculturable microbial lineages often contribute to differences across the microbial communities; this observation suggests that these unclassified/uncultured lineages play an outsized role relative to their abundance. Secondly, the organic matter assemblages were often driven by nitrogen- and phosphorus-containing molecular formulas, indicating a potential connection to nitrogen/phosphorus-biogeochemical cycles. Finally, by relating the βNTIfeat values for microbes and molecular formulas using a network analysis, researchers determined that members of the microbial family Geobacteraceae often had coordinated contributions to ecological structure with both nitrogen- and phosphorous-containing molecular formulas. This observation suggests there is a complex network of ecological interactions across community types.

     

    Funding

    The initial experimental stages of this work were supported by the PREMIS Initiative at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with funding from the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program at PNNL. The later stages of this work (e.g., data analysis, conceptual interpretation manuscript development) were supported by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research program, as part of an Early Career Award to James C. Stegen at PNNL. A portion of the research was performed at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a DOE Office of Science user facility at PNNL.


    Journal Link: Frontiers in Microbiology, Feb-2022

    Department of Energy, Office of Science

    Source link