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Refractory High-Entropy Alloys (RHEAs) hold promising potential to be used as structural materials in future nuclear fusion reactors, where W and its alloys are currently leading candidates. Fusion materials must be able to withstand extreme conditions, such as (i) severe radiation-damage arising from highly-energetic neutrons, (ii) embrittlement caused by implantation of H and He ions, and (iii) exposure to extreme high-temperatures and thermal gradients. Recent research demonstrated that two RHEAs - the WTaCrV and WTaCrVHf - can outperform both coarse-grained and nanocrystalline W in terms of its radiation response and microstructural stability. Chemical complexity and nanocrystallinity enhance the radiation tolerance of these new RHEAs, but their multi-element nature, including low-melting Cr, complicates bulk fabrication and limits practical applications. We demonstrate that reducing the number of alloying elements and yet retain high-radiation tolerance is possible within the ternary system W-Ta-V via synthesis of two novel nanocrystalline refractory medium-entropy alloys (RMEAs): the W$_{53}$Ta$_{44}$V$_{3}$ and W$_{53}$Ta$_{42}$V$_{5}$ (in at.\%). We experimentally show that the radiation response of the W-Ta-V system can be tailored by small additions of V, and such experimental result was validated with theoretical analysis of chemical short-range orders (CSRO) from combined ab-initio atomistic Monte-Carlo modeling. It is predicted from computational analysis that a small change in V concentration has a significant effect on the Ta-V CRSO between W$_{53}$Ta$_{44}$V$_{3}$ and W$_{53}$Ta$_{42}$V$_{5}$ leading to radiation-resistant microstructures in these RMEAs from chemistry stand-point of views. We deviate from the original high-entropy alloy concept to show that high radiation resistance can be achieved in systems with simplified chemical complexity.

We have developed a two-dimensional neutron imager based on a semiconductor pixelated sensor, especially designed for experiments measuring of a spatial and a temporal behavior of quantum bound states of ultra-cold neutrons. Through these measurements, we expect to measure the ratio between the inertial and gravitational masses of neutrons and to test the equivalence principle in the quantum regime. As one of the principal neutron imagers, we fabricated a sensor with a sandwich configuration, named 10B-INTPIX4-sw, and tested its response to ultra-cold neutrons at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). We observed simultaneous events on both sandwiching sensors without significant loss of detection efficiency. The efficiency was evaluated to be about 16%, relative to the 10B/ZnS reference detector. The coincidence condition reduces its efficiency by a factor of about 3.

High spatial resolution of ultracold neutron (UCN) measurement is of growing interest to UCN experiments such as UCN spectrometers, UCN polarimeters, quantum physics of UCNs, and quantum gravity. Here we utilize physics-informed deep learning to enhance the experimental position resolution and to demonstrate sub-micron spatial resolutions for UCN position measurements obtained using a room-temperature CMOS sensor, extending our previous work [1, 2] that demonstrated a position uncertainty of 1.5 microns. We explore the use of the open-source software Allpix Squared to generate experiment-like synthetic hit images with ground-truth position labels. We use physics-informed deep learning by training a fully-connected neural network (FCNN) to learn a mapping from input hit images to output hit position. The automated analysis for sub-micron position resolution in UCN detection combined with the fast data rates of current and next generation UCN sources will enable improved precision for future UCN research and applications.

In the quest of new materials that can withstand severe irradiation and mechanical extremes for advanced applications (e.g. fission reactors, fusion devices, space applications, etc), design, prediction and control of advanced materials beyond current material designs become a paramount goal. Here, though a combined experimental and simulation methodology, the design of a new nanocrystalline refractory high entropy alloy (RHEA) system is established. Compositions of this alloy, assessed under extreme environments and in situ electron-microscopy, revealed both high mechanical strength and thermal stability, grain refinement under heavy ion irradiation and outstanding irradiation resistance to dual-beam irradiation and helium implantation, marked by remarkable resistance to defect generation, growth and coalescence. The experimental and modeling results, which demonstrated notable agreement, can be applied to design and rapidly assess other alloys subjected to extreme environmental conditions.

Molecular emission was imaged with ALMA from numerous components near and within bright H2-emitting knots and absorbing dust globules in the Crab Nebula. These observations provide a critical test of how energetic photons and particles produced in a young supernova remnant interact with gas, cleanly differentiating between competing models. The four fields targeted show contrasting properties but within them, seventeen distinct molecular clouds are identified with CO emission; a few also show emission from HCO+, SiO and/or SO. These observations are compared with Cloudy models of these knots. It has been suggested that the Crab filaments present an exotic environment in which H2 emission comes from a mostly-neutral zone probably heated by cosmic rays produced in the supernova surrounding a cool core of molecular gas. Our model is consistent with the observed CO J=3-2 line strength. These molecular line emitting knots in the Crab present a novel phase of the ISM representative of many important astrophysical environments., Comment: ApJ in press, comments welcome

Measurement modalities in Bragg coherent diffraction imaging (BCDI) rely on finding signal from a single nanoscale crystal object, which satisfies the Bragg condition among a large number of arbitrarily oriented nanocrystals. However, even when the signal from a single Bragg reflection with (hkl) Miller indices is found, the crystallographic axes on the retrieved three-dimensional (3D) image of the crystal remain unknown, and thus, localizing in reciprocal space other Bragg reflections becomes in reality impossible or requires good knowledge of the orientation of the crystal. We report the commissioning of a movable double-bounce Si (111) monochromator at the 34-ID-C end station of the Advanced Photon Source, which aims at delivering multi-reflection BCDI as a standard tool in a single beamline instrument. The new instrument enables this through rapid switching from monochromatic to broadband (pink) beam permitting the use of Laue diffraction to determine crystal orientation. With a proper orientation matrix determined for the lattice, one can measure coherent diffraction near multiple Bragg peaks, thus providing sufficient information to image the full strain tensor in 3D. We discuss the design, concept of operation, the developed procedures for indexing Laue patterns, and automated measuring of Bragg coherent diffraction data from multiple reflections of the same nanocrystal.

The apex region of a capped (5,5) carbon nanotube (CNT) has been modelled with the DFT package ONETEP, using boundary conditions provided by a classical calculation with a conducting surface in place of the CNT. Results from the DFT solution include the Fermi level and the physical distribution and energies of individual Kohn-Sham orbitals for the CNT tip. Application of an external electric field changes the orbital number of the highest occupied molecular orbital (the HOMO) and consequently changes the distribution of the HOMO on the CNT., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures Corresponding author: C. J. Edgcombe (cje1@cam.ac.uk). Version 2 of the paper contains Errata and mark-ups. Version 3 deletes errors. Version 5 adds orbitals and comparison of Exc and image potentials. Version 9-1 gives more theory and adds an author. The different behaviour of potentials found here by DFT and by the classical image is due to the use of the LD approximation

We present a range of steady-state photoionization simulations, corresponding to different assumed shell geometries and compositions, of the unseen postulated rapidly expanding outer shell to the Crab Nebula. The properties of the shell are constrained by the mass that must lie within it, and by limits to the intensities of hydrogen recombination lines. In all cases the photoionization models predict very strong emission from high ionization lines that will not be emitted by the Crab's filaments, alleviating problems with detecting these lines in the presence of light scattered from brighter parts of the Crab. The NIR [Ne VI] $\lambda$7.652 $\mu$m line is a particularly good case; it should be dramatically brighter than the optical lines commonly used in searches. The C IV $\lambda1549\AA$ doublet is predicted to be the strongest absorption line from the shell, which is in agreement with HST observations. We show that the cooling timescale for the outer shell is much longer than the age of the Crab, due to the low density. This means that the temperature of the shell will actually "remember" its initial conditions. However, the recombination time is much shorter than the age of the Crab, so the predicted level of ionization should approximate the real ionization. In any case, it is clear that IR observations present the best opportunity to detect the outer shell and so guide future models that will constrain early events in the original explosion., Comment: Accepted by ApJ

Understanding how molecules and dust might have formed within a rapidly expanding young supernova remnant is important because of the obvious application to vigorous supernova activity at very high redshift. In previous papers, we found that the H2 emission is often quite strong, correlates with optical low-ionization emission lines, and has a surprisingly high excitation temperature. Here we study Knot 51, a representative, bright example, for which we have available long slit optical and NIR spectra covering emission lines from ionized, neutral, and molecular gas, as well as HST visible and SOAR Telescope NIR narrow-band images. We present a series of CLOUDY simulations to probe the excitation mechanisms, formation processes and dust content in environments that can produce the observed H2 emission. We do not try for an exact match between model and observations given Knot 51's ambiguous geometry. Rather, we aim to explain how the bright H2 emission lines can be formed from within the volume of Knot 51 that also produces the observed optical emission from ionized and neutral gas. Our models that are powered only by the Crab's synchrotron radiation are ruled out because they cannot reproduce the strong, thermal H2 emission. The simulations that come closest to fitting the observations have the core of Knot 51 almost entirely atomic with the H2 emission coming from just a trace molecular component, and in which there is extra heating. In this unusual environment, H2 forms primarily by associative detachment rather than grain catalysis. In this picture, the 55 H2-emitting cores that we have previously catalogued in the Crab have a total mass of about 0.1 M_sun, which is about 5% of the total mass of the system of filaments. We also explore the effect of varying the dust abundance. We discuss possible future observations that could further elucidate the nature of these H2 knots., Comment: 51 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS, revised Figure 12 results unchanged

We first present a theory of the smallest diameter and then use the theory to guide the experimental realization of Cu nanorods of ~20 nm in diameter and Au nanorods of ~10 nm in diameter, the smallest well-separated metallic nanorods ever reported using PVD.

(abridged) We study the consequence of star formation (SF) in an self-gravity dominated accretion disk in quasars. The warm skins of the SF disk are governed by the radiation from the inner part of the accretion disk to form Compton atmosphere (CAS). The CAS are undergoing four phases to form broad line regions. Phase I is the duration of pure accumulation supplied by the SF disk. During phase II clouds begin to form due to line cooling and sink to the SF disk. Phase III is a period of preventing clouds from sinking to the SF disk through dynamic interaction between clouds and the CAS. Finally, phase IV is an inevitable collapse of the entire CAS through line cooling. This CAS evolution drives the episodic appearance of BLRs. Geometry and dynamics of BLRs can be self-consistently derived from the thermal instability of the CAS during phases II and III by linear analysis. The metallicity gradient of SF disk gives rise to different properties of clouds from outer to inner part of BLRs. We find that clouds have column density N_H < 10^22cm^{-2} in the metal-rich regions whereas they have N_H > 10^22 cm^{-2} in the metal-poor regions. The metal-rich clouds compose the high ionization line (HIL) regions whereas the metal-poor clouds are in low ionization line (LIL) regions. Metal-rich clouds in HIL regions will be blown away by radiation pressure, forming the observed outflows. The LIL regions are episodic due to the mass cycle of clouds with the CAS in response to continuous injection by the SF disk, giving rise to different types of AGNs. Based on SDSS quasar spectra, we identify a spectral sequence in light of emission line equivalent width from Phase I to IV. A key phase in the episodic appearance of the BLRs is bright type II AGNs with no or only weak BLRs. We discuss observational implications and tests of the theoretical predictions of this model., Comment: 27 pages in emulateapj style, 10 figures, Accepted by ApJ 2012

This Letter reports an anomaly of film porosity dependence on deposition rate during physical vapor deposition - the porosity increases as deposition rate decreases. Using glancing angle deposition of Cu on SiO2 substrate, the authors show that the Cu film consists of well separated nanorods when the deposition rate is 1 nm/second, and that the Cu films consists of a more uniform (or lower porosity) film when the deposition rate is 6 nm/second; all other deposition conditions remain the same. This anomaly is the result of interplay among substrate non-wetting, density of Cu nuclei on the substrate, and the minimum diameter of nanorods.

We used K-band spectra to measure the H2 excitation temperatures in six molecular knots associated with the filaments in the Crab Nebula. The temperatures are quite high - in the range T ~ 2000-3000K, just below the H2 dissociation temperature. This is the temperature range over which the H2 1-0 S(1) line at 2.121\mum has its maximum emissivity per unit mass, so there may be many additional H2 cores with lower temperatures that are too faint to detect. We also measured the electron density in adjacent ionized gas, which on the assumption of gas pressure balance indicates densities in the molecular region n_mol ~ 20,000 H baryons cm-3, although this really is just a lower limit since the H2 gas may be confined by other means. The excited region may be just a thin skin on a much more extensive blob of molecular gas that does not have the correct temperature and density to be as easily detectable. At the opposite extreme, the observed knots could consist of a fine mist of molecular gas in which we are detecting essentially all of the H2. Future CO observations could distinguish between these two cases. The Crab filaments serve as the nearby laboratories for understanding the very much larger filamentary structures that have formed in the intracluster medium of cool-core galaxy clusters., Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures

It has been suggested that the high metallicity generally observed in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and quasars originates from ongoing star formation in the self-gravitating part of accretion disks around the supermassive black holes. We designate this region as the star forming (SF) disk, in which metals are produced from supernova explosions (SNexp) while at the same time inflows are driven by SNexp-excited turbulent viscosity to accrete onto the SMBHs. In this paper, an equation of metallicity governed by SNexp and radial advection is established to describe the metal distribution and evolution in the SF disk. We find that the metal abundance is enriched at different rates at different positions in the disk, and that a metallicity gradient is set up that evolves for steady-state AGNs. Metallicity as an integrated physical parameter can be used as a probe of the SF disk age during one episode of SMBH activity. In the SF disk, evaporation of molecular clouds heated by SNexp blast waves unavoidably forms hot gas. This heating is eventually balanced by the cooling of the hot gas, but we show that the hot gas will escape from the SF disk before being cooled, and diffuse into the BLRs forming with a typical rate of $\sim 1\sunmyr$. The diffusion of hot gas from a SF disk depends on ongoing star formation, leading to the metallicity gradients in BLR observed in AGNs. We discuss this and other observable consequences of this scenario., Comment: 11 pages, 5 Figures, ApJ, Vol. 737, in press

We have carried out a near-infrared, narrow-band imaging survey of the Crab Nebula, in the H2 2.12 micron and Br-gamma 2.17 micron lines, using the Spartan Infrared camera on the SOAR Telescope. Over a 2.8' x 5.1' area that encompasses about 2/3 of the full visible extent of the Crab, we detect 55 knots that emit strongly in the H2 line. We catalog the observed properties of these knots. We show that they are in or next to the filaments that are seen in optical-passband emission lines. Comparison to HST [S II] and [O III] images shows that the H2 knots are strongly associated with compact regions of low-ionization gas. We also find evidence of many additional, fainter H2 features, both discrete knots and long streamers following gas that emits strongly in [S II]. A pixel-by-pixel analysis shows that about 6 percent of the Crab's projected surface area has significant H2 emission that correlates with [S II] emission. We measured radial velocities of the [S II] lambda6716 emission lines from 47 of the cataloged knots and find that most are on the far (receding) side of the nebula. We also detect Br-gamma emission. It is right at the limit of our survey, and our Br-gamma filter cuts off part of the expected velocity range. But clearly the Br-gamma emission has a quite different morphology than the H2 knots, following the long linear filaments that are seen in H-alpha and in [O III] optical emission lines., Comment: Accepted for publication in the ApJS

In a sub-arcsec near-infrared survey of the Crab Nebula using the new Spartan Infrared Camera, we have found several knots with high surface brightness in the H_2 2.12 micron line and a very large H_2 2.12 micron to Br-gamma ratio. The brightest of these knots has an intensity ratio I(H_2 2.12 micron)/I(Br-gamma) = 18+/-9, which we show sets a lower limit on the ratio of masses in the molecular and recombination (i.e. ionized) zones M_mol / M_rec >/- 0.9, and a total molecular mass within this single knot M_mol >/- 5E-5 M_sun. We argue that the knot discussed here probably is able to emit so strongly in the 2.12 micron line because its physical conditions are better tuned for such emission than is the case in other filaments. It is unclear whether this knot has an unusually large M_mol / M_rec ratio, or if many other Crab filaments also have similar amounts of molecular gas which is not emitting because the physical conditions are not so well tuned., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

The major contribution to decoherence of a double quantum dot or a Josephson junction charge qubit comes from the electrostatic coupling to fluctuating background charges hybridized with the conduction electrons in the reservoir. However, estimations according to previously developed theories show that finding a sufficient number of effective fluctuators in a realistic experimental layout is quite improbable. We show that this paradox is resolved by allowing for a short-range Coulomb interaction of the fluctuators with the electrons in the reservoir. This dramatically enhances both the number of effective fluctuators and their contribution to decoherence, resulting in the most dangerous decoherence mechanism for charge qubits., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure

The Orion Bar is one of the nearest and best-studied photodissociation or photon-dominated regions (PDRs). Observations reveal the presence of H2 lines from vibrationally or rotationally excited upper levels that suggest warm gas temperatures (400 to 700 K). However, standard models of PDRs are unable to reproduce such warm rotational temperatures. In this paper we attempt to explain these observations with new comprehensive models which extend from the H+ region through the Bar and include the magnetic field in the equation of state. We adopt the model parameters from our previous paper which successfully reproduced a wide variety of spectral observations across the Bar. In this model the local cosmic-ray density is enhanced above the galactic background, as is the magnetic field, and which increases the cosmic-ray heating elevating the temperature in the molecular region. The pressure is further enhanced above the gas pressure in the H+ region by the momentum transferred from the absorbed starlight. Here we investigate whether the observed H2 lines can be reproduced with standard assumptions concerning the grain photoelectric emission. We also explore the effects due to the inclusion of recently computed H2 + H2, H2 + H and H2 + He collisional rate coefficients., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ (34 pages, including 16 figures)

Previous work has shown the Orion Bar to be an interface between ionized and molecular gas, viewed roughly edge on, which is excited by the light from the Trapezium cluster. Much of the emission from any star-forming region will originate from such interfaces, so the Bar serves as a foundation test of any emission model. Here we combine X-ray, optical, IR and radio data sets to derive emission spectra along the transition from H+ to H0 to H2 regions. We then reproduce the spectra of these layers with a simulation that simultaneously accounts for the detailed microphysics of the gas, the grains, and molecules, especially H2 and CO. The magnetic field, observed to be the dominant pressure in another region of the Orion Nebula, is treated as a free parameter, along with the density of cosmic rays. Our model successfully accounts for the optical, IR and radio observations across the Bar by including a significant magnetic pressure and also heating by an excess density of cosmic rays, which we suggest is due to cosmic rays being trapped in the compressed magnetic field. In the Orion Bar, as we had previously found in M17, momentum carried by radiation and winds from the newly formed stars pushes back and compresses the surrounding gas. There is a rough balance between outward momentum in starlight and the total pressure in atomic and molecular gas surrounding the H+ region. If the gas starts out with a weak magnetic field, the starlight from a newly formed cluster will push back the gas and compress the gas, magnetic field, and cosmic rays until magnetic pressure becomes an important factor., Comment: 32 pages, including 10 figures. ApJ (in press). Revised to correct 2 spelling errors