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To mitigate the vulnerability of distribution grids to severe weather events, some electric utilities use preemptive de-energization as the primary line of defense, causing significant power outages. In such instances, networked microgrids could improve resiliency and maximize load delivery, though the modeling of three-phase unbalanced network physics and computational complexity pose challenges. These challenges are further exacerbated by an increased penetration of uncertain loads. In this paper, we present a two-stage mixed-integer robust optimization problem that configures and operates networked microgrids, and is guaranteed to be robust and feasible to all realizations of loads within a specified uncertainty set, while maximizing load delivery. To solve this problem, we propose a cutting-plane algorithm, with convergence guarantees, which approximates a convex recourse function with sub-gradient cuts. Finally, we provide a detailed case study on the IEEE 37-bus test system to demonstrate the economic benefits of networking microgrids to maximize uncertain-load delivery.

Conventional electric power systems are composed of different unidirectional power flow stages of generation, transmission, and distribution, managed independently by transmission system and distribution system operators. However, as distribution systems increase in complexity due to the integration of distributed energy resources, coordination between transmission and distribution networks will be imperative for the optimal operation of the power grid. However, coupling models and formulations between transmission and distribution is non-trivial, in particular due to the common practice of modeling transmission systems as single-phase, and distribution systems as multi-conductor phase-unbalanced. To enable the rapid prototyping of power flow formulations, in particular in the modeling of the boundary conditions between these two seemingly incompatible data models, we introduce PowerModelsITD.jl, a free, open-source toolkit written in Julia for integrated transmission-distribution (ITD) optimization that leverages mature optimization libraries from the InfrastructureModels.jl-ecosystem. The primary objective of the proposed framework is to provide baseline implementations of steady-state ITD optimization problems, while providing a common platform for the evaluation of emerging formulations and optimization problems. In this work, we introduce the nonlinear formulations currently supported in PowerModelsITD.jl, which include AC-polar, AC-rectangular, current-voltage, and a linear network transportation model. Results are validated using combinations of IEEE transmission and distribution networks.

The idea of employing non-Abelian statistics for error-free quantum computing ignited interest in recent reports of topological surface superconductivity and Majorana zero modes (MZMs) in FeTe$_{0.55}$Se$_{0.45}$. An associated puzzle is that the topological features and superconducting properties are not observed uniformly across the sample surface. Understanding and practical control of these electronic inhomogeneities present a prominent challenge for potential applications. Here, we combine neutron scattering, scanning angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and microprobe composition and resistivity measurements to characterize the electronic state of Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_{x}$. We establish a phase diagram in which the superconductivity is observed only at sufficiently low Fe concentration, in association with distinct antiferromagnetic correlations, while the coexisting topological surface state occurs only at sufficiently high Te concentration. We find that FeTe$_{0.55}$Se$_{0.45}$ is located very close to both phase boundaries, which explains the inhomogeneity of superconducting and topological states. Our results demonstrate the compositional control required for use of topological MZMs in practical applications., Comment: Main text (18 pages, 5 figures, 50 references) combined with Supplementary (18 pages, 12 figures). Nat. Mater. (2021)

This paper proposes a simple and flexible storage model for use in a variety of multi-period optimal power flow problems. The proposed model is designed for research use in a broad assortment of contexts enabled by the following key features: (i) the model can represent the dynamics of an energy buffer at a wide range of scales, from residential battery storage to grid-scale pumped hydro; (ii) it is compatible with both balanced and unbalanced formulations of the power flow equations; (iii) convex relaxations and linear approximations to allow seamless integration of the proposed model into applications where convexity or linearity is required are developed; (iv) a minimalist and standardized data model is presented, to facilitate easy of use by the research community. The proposed model is validated using a proof-of-concept twenty-four hour storage scheduling task that demonstrates the value of the model's key features. An open-source implementation of the model is provided as part of the PowerModels and PowerModelsDistribution optimization toolboxes.

With the escalating frequency of extreme grid disturbances, such as natural disasters, comes an increasing need for efficient recovery plans. Algorithms for optimal power restoration play an important role in developing such plans, but also give rise to challenging mixed-integer nonlinear optimization problems, where tractable solution methods are not yet available. To assist in research on such solution methods, this work proposes PowerModelsRestoration, a flexible, open-source software framework for rapidly designing and testing power restoration algorithms. PowerModelsRestoration constructs a mathematical modeling layer for formalizing core restoration tasks that can be combined to develop complex workflows and high performance heuristics. The efficacy of the proposed framework is demonstrated by proof-of-concept studies on three established cases from the literature, focusing on single-phase positive sequence network models. The results demonstrate that PowerModelsRestoration reproduces the established literature, and for the first time provide an analysis of restoration with nonlinear power flow models, which have not been previously considered., Comment: LA-UR-19-29732

In this work we introduce PowerModelsDistribution, a free, open-source toolkit for distribution power network optimization, whose primary focus is establishing a baseline implementation of steady-state multi-conductor unbalanced distribution network optimization problems, which includes implementations of Power Flow and Optimal Power Flow problem types. Currently implemented power flow formulations for these problem types include AC (polar and rectangular), a second-order conic relaxation of the Branch Flow Model (BFM) and Bus Injection Model (BIM), a semi-definite relaxation of BFM, and several linear approximations, such as the simplified unbalanced BFM. The results of AC power flow have been validated against OpenDSS, an open-source "electric power distribution system simulator", using IEEE distribution test feeders (13, 34, 123 bus and LVTestCase), all parsed using a built-in OpenDSS parser. This includes support for standard distribution system components as well as novel resource models such as generic energy storage (multi-period) and photovoltaic systems, with the intention to add support for additional components in the future.

This report describes eighteen projects that explored how commercial cloud computing services can be utilized for scientific computation at national laboratories. These demonstrations ranged from deploying proprietary software in a cloud environment to leveraging established cloud-based analytics workflows for processing scientific datasets. By and large, the projects were successful and collectively they suggest that cloud computing can be a valuable computational resource for scientific computation at national laboratories.

Although perovskite oxides hold promise in applications ranging from solid oxide fuel cells to catalysts, their surface chemistry is poorly understood at the molecular level. Here we follow the formation of the first monolayer of water at the (001) surfaces of Sr$_{n+1}$Ru$_n$O$_{3n+1}$ ($n$ = 1, 2) using low-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and density functional theory. These layered perovskites cleave between neighbouring SrO planes, yielding almost ideal, rocksalt-like surfaces. An adsorbed monomer dissociates and forms a pair of hydroxide ions. The OH stemming from the original molecule stays trapped at Sr-Sr bridge positions, circling the surface OH with a measured activation energy of 187 $\pm$ 10 meV. At higher coverage, dimers of dissociated water assemble into one-dimensional chains and form a percolating network where water adsorbs molecularly in the gaps. Our work shows the limitations of applying surface chemistry concepts derived for binary rocksalt oxides to perovskites.

Adsorption of CO at the Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$(001) surface was studied with low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory. In situ cleaved single crystals terminate in an almost perfect SrO surface. At 78 K, CO first populates impurities and then adsorbs above the apical surface O with a binding energy E$_\mathrm{ads}$=-0.7 eV. Above 100 K, this physisorbed CO replaces the surface O, forming a bent CO2 with the C end bound to the Ru underneath. The resulting metal carboxylate (Ru-COO) can be desorbed by STM manipulation. A low activation (0.2 eV) and high binding (-2.2 eV) energy confirm a strong reaction between CO and regular surface sites of Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$; likely, this reaction causes the "UHV aging effect" reported for this and other perovskite oxides.

The (001) surfaces of cleaved Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ and Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ samples were investigated using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory calculations. Intrinsic defects are not created during cleaving. This experimental observation is consistent with calculations, where the formation energy for a Sr and O vacancy, 4.19 eV and 3.81 eV, respectively, is significantly larger than that required to cleave the crystal, 1.11 eV/(1 $\times$ 1) unit cell. Surface oxygen vacancies can be created through electron bombardment, however, and their appearance is shown to vary strongly with the imaging conditions. Point defects observed on as-cleaved surfaces result from bulk impurities and adsorption from the residual gas.

At the interface between two distinct materials desirable properties, such as superconductivity, can be greatly enhanced, or entirely new functionalities may emerge. Similar to in artificially engineered heterostructures, clean functional interfaces alternatively exist in electronically textured bulk materials. Electronic textures emerge spontaneously due to competing atomic-scale interactions, the control of which, would enable a top-down approach for designing tunable intrinsic heterostructures. This is particularly attractive for correlated electron materials, where spontaneous heterostructures strongly affect the interplay between charge and spin degrees of freedom. Here we report high-resolution neutron spectroscopy on the prototypical strongly-correlated metal CeRhIn5, revealing competition between magnetic frustration and easy-axis anisotropy -- a well-established mechanism for generating spontaneous superstructures. Because the observed easy-axis anisotropy is field-induced and anomalously large, it can be controlled efficiently with small magnetic fields. The resulting field-controlled magnetic superstructure is closely tied to the formation of superconducting and electronic nematic textures in CeRhIn5, suggesting that in-situ tunable heterostructures can be realized in correlated electron materials.

Here we report small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements and theoretical modeling of U$_3$Al$_2$Ge$_3$. Analysis of the SANS data reveals a phase transition to sinusoidally modulated magnetic order, at $T_{\mathrm{N}}=63$~K to be second order, and a first order phase transition to ferromagnetic order at $T_{\mathrm{c}}=48$~K. Within the sinusoidally modulated magnetic phase ($T_{\mathrm{c}} < T < T_{\mathrm{N}}$), we uncover a dramatic change, by a factor of three, in the ordering wave-vector as a function of temperature. These observations all indicate that U$_3$Al$_2$Ge$_3$ is a close realization of the three-dimensional Axial Next-Nearest-Neighbor Ising model, a prototypical framework for describing commensurate to incommensurate phase transitions in frustrated magnets.

We report a detailed small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) study of the skyrmion lattice phase of MnSi under compressive and tensile strain. In particular, we demonstrate that tensile strain applied in the skyrmion lattice plane, perpendicular to the magnetic field, acts to destabilize the skyrmion lattice phase. This experiment was enabled by our development of a versatile strain cell, unique in its ability to select the application of either tensile or compressive strain in-situ by using two independent helium-actuated copper pressure transducers, whose design has been optimized for magnetic SANS on modulated long-period magnetic structures and vortex lattices, and is compact enough to fit in common sample environments, such as cryostats and superconducting magnets., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

Investigation of the inelastic neutron scattering spectra in Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_{x}$ near a signature wave vector $\mathbf{Q} = (1,0,0)$ for the bond-order wave (BOW) formation of parent compound Fe$_{1+y}$Te [Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 187202 (2014)] reveals an acoustic-phonon-like dispersion present in all structural phases. While a structural Bragg peak accompanies the mode in the low-temperature phase of Fe$_{1+y}$Te, it is absent in the high-temperature tetragonal phase, where Bragg scattering at this $\mathbf{Q}$ is forbidden by symmetry. Notably, this mode is also observed in superconducting FeTe$_{0.55}$Se$_{0.45}$, where structural and magnetic transitions are suppressed, and no BOW has been observed. The presence of this "forbidden" phonon indicates that the lattice symmetry is dynamically or locally broken by magneto-orbital BOW fluctuations, which are strongly coupled to lattice in these materials., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; supplement: 8 pages, 9 figures

Strong spin-orbital coupling (SOC) was found previously to lead to dramatic effects in quantum materials, such as those found in topological insulators. It was shown theoretically that local noncentrosymmetricity resulting from the rotation of RuO$_6$ octahedral in Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ will also give rise to an effective SOC\cite{SocSr327,MicroscopicnematicSr327}. In the presence of a magnetic field applied along a specific in-plane direction, the Fermi surface was predicted to undergo a reconstruction. Here we report results of our in-plane magnetoresistivity and magnetothermopower measurements on single crystals of Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ with an electrical or a thermal current applied along specific crystalline directions and a magnetic field rotating in the $ab$ plane (Fig. 1a), showing a minimal value for field directions predicted by the local noncentrosymmetricity theory. Furthermore, the thermopower, and therefore, the electron entropy, were found to be suppressed as the field was applied perpendicular to the thermal current, which suggests that the spin and the momentum in Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ are locked over substantial parts of the Fermi surface, likely originating from local noncentrosymmetricity as well.

Fe$_{1+y}$Te with $y \lesssim 0.05$ exhibits a first-order phase transition on cooling to a state with a lowered structural symmetry, bicollinear antiferromagnetic order, and metallic conductivity, $d\rho/dT > 0$. Here, we study samples with $y = 0.09(1)$, where the frustration effects of the interstitial Fe decouple different orders, leading to a sequence of transitions. While the lattice distortion is closely followed by \emph{incommensurate} magnetic order, the development of \emph{bicollinear} order and metallic electronic coherence is uniquely associated with a separate hysteretic first-order transition, at a markedly lower temperature, to a phase with dramatically enhanced bond-order wave (BOW) order. The BOW state suggests ferro-orbital ordering, where electronic delocalization in ferromagnetic zigzag chains decreases local spin and results in metallic transport., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

(Sr1-xCax)3Ru2O7 is characterized by complex magnetic states, spanning from a long-range antiferromagnetically ordered state over an unusual heavy-mass nearly ferromagnetic (NFM) state to an itinerant metamagnetic (IMM) state. The NFM state, which occurs in the 0.4 > x > 0.08 composition range, freezes into a cluster-spin-glass (CSG) phase at low temperatures [Z. Qu et al., Phys. Rev. B 78, 180407(R) (2008)]. In this article, we present the scaling analyses of magnetization and the specific heat for (Sr1-xCax)3Ru2O7 in the 0.4 > x > 0.08 composition range. We find that in a temperature region immediately above the spin freezing temperature T$_f$, the isothermal magnetization M(H) and the temperature dependence of electronic specific heat C_e(T) exhibit anomalous power-law singularities; both quantities are controlled by a single exponent. The temperature dependence of magnetization M(T) also displays a power-law behavior, but its exponent differs remarkably from that derived from M(H) and C_e(T). Our analyses further reveal that the magnetization data M(H,T) obey a phenomenological scaling law of M(H,T) \propto H^\alpha f(H/T^\delta) in a temperature region between the spin freezing temperature T_f and the scaling temperature T_scaling. T_scaling systematically decreases with the decease of Ca content. This scaling law breaks down near the critical concentration x = 0.1 where a CSG-to-IMM phase transition occurs. We discussed these behaviors in term of the effect of disorder on the quantum phase transition., Comment: To be published in Phys. Rev. B

Core-level spectra of the Mn-doped Sr3Ru2O7 and Srn+1RunO3n+1 (n = 1, 2 and 3) crystals are investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Doping of Mn to Sr3Ru2O7 considerably affects the distribution of core-level spectral weight. The satellite of Ru 3d core levels exhibits a substantial change with doping, indicating an enhanced electron localization across the doping- induced metal-insulator transition. However, the Ru 3p core levels remain identical with Mn-doping, thus showing no sign of doping-induced multiple Ru valences. In the Srn+1RunO3n+1 (n = 1, 2 and 3), the Ru 3d core-level spectra are similar, indicating that the chemical bonding environment around Ru ions remains the same for different layered compounds. Meanwhile the Sr 3d shallow core levels shift to higher binding energy with increasing n, suggesting their participation in Sr-O bonding with structural evolution., Comment: 6 pages with 6 figures, to be published in PRB

The magnetic ground state of (Sr$_{1-x}$Ca$_x$)$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ (0 $\leq x \leq$ 1) is complex, ranging from an itinerant metamagnetic state (0 $\leq x <$ 0.08), to an unusual heavy-mass, nearly ferromagnetic (FM) state (0.08 $< x <$ 0.4), and finally to an antiferromagnetic (AFM) state (0.4 $\leq x \leq$ 1). In this report we elucidate the electronic properties for these magnetic states, and show that the electronic and magnetic properties are strongly coupled in this system. The electronic ground state evolves from an AFM quasi-two-dimensional metal for $x =$ 1.0, to an Anderson localized state for $0.4 \leq x < 1.0$ (the AFM region). When the magnetic state undergoes a transition from the AFM to the nearly FM state, the electronic ground state switches to a weakly localized state induced by magnetic scattering for $0.25 \leq x < 0.4$, and then to a magnetic metallic state with the in-plane resistivity $\rho_{ab} \propto T^\alpha$ ($\alpha >$ 2) for $0.08 < x < 0.25$. The system eventually transforms into a Fermi liquid ground state when the magnetic ground state enters the itinerant metamagnetic state for $x < 0.08$. When $x$ approaches the critical composition ($x \sim$ 0.08), the Fermi liquid temperature is suppressed to zero Kelvin, and non-Fermi liquid behavior is observed. These results demonstrate the strong interplay between charge and spin degrees of freedom in the double layered ruthenates., Comment: 10 figures. To be published in Phys. Rev. B

We report an unusual nearly ferromagnetic, heavy-mass state with a surprisingly large Wilson ratio $R_{\textrm{w}}$ (e.g., $R_{\textrm{w}}\sim$ 700 for $x =$ 0.2) in double layered ruthenates (Sr$_{1-x}$Ca$_{x}$)$_{3}$Ru$_{2}$O$_{7}$ with 0.08 $< x <$ 0.4. This state does not evolve into a long-range ferromagnetically ordered state despite considerably strong ferromagnetic correlations, but freezes into a cluster-spin-glass at low temperatures. In addition, evidence of non-Fermi liquid behavior is observed as the spin freezing temperature of the cluster-spin-glass approaches zero near $x \approx$ 0.1. We discuss the origin of this unique magnetic state from the Fermi surface information probed by Hall effect measurements., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; to be published in Physical Review B Rapid Communication; solve the problem with Fig.1

We report measurements on in-plane resistivity, thermopower, and magnetization as a function of temperature and magnetic fields on single crystalline Sr4Ru3O10 grown by the floating zone method. As the temperature was lowered to below around 30 K, the in-plane and c-axis resistivities and the thermopower were found to exhibit a step feature accompanied by hysteresis behavior when the in-plane field was swept up and down from below 10 kOe to above 20 kOe. The sharp increase in the thermopower with increasing in-plane magnetic field at low temperatures has not been observed previously in layered transition metal oxides. Comparing with magnetization data, we propose that the step feature marks the transition between the two different electronic states in Sr4Ru3O10. We propose that the alignment of domains by the in-plane magnetic field is responsible to the emergence of the new electronic states in high applied in-plane magnetic field., Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures