Laboratory-directed research and development: FY 1996 progress report

This report summarizes the FY 1996 goals and accomplishments of Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) projects. It gives an overview of the LDRD program, summarizes work done on individual research projects, and provides an index to the projects` principal investigators. Projects are grouped by their LDRD component: Individual Projects, Competency Development, and Program Development. Within each component, they are further divided into nine technical disciplines: (1) materials science, (2) engineering and base technologies, (3) plasmas, fluids, and particle beams, (4) chemistry, (5) mathematics and computational sciences, (6) atomic and molecular physics, (7) geoscience, space science, and astrophysics, (8) nuclear and particle physics, and (9) biosciences

Theory for Molecular Tests of Fundamental Physics

Even today, fundamental difficulties remain in the understanding of our universe. Among those are inexplicable phenomena like the enormous excess of matter over anti-matter (baryon asymmetry) — connected to the question why is there matter at all — or dark matter (DM) and dark energy which are invoked to explain the structure and evolution of our universe, and problems like the unification of quantum theory with gravity. In order to take a step closer to resolving such issues, it is important to test the known laws of physics, summarized in the standard models of particle physics (SM) and cosmology (ΛCDM model), as accurately as possible. Direct experimental tests of the SM can be carried out with high energies at large colliders like the LHC at CERN, and direct tests of the ΛCDM model are usually performed at large observatories like LIGO. In contrast, the theoretical foundations of chemistry are mostly well understood. Hence, molecules are theoretically and experimentally well controllable. Thus, measurements in standard-sized laboratories with ultra-high precision are possible, so that the less well understood laws of physics can be tested. Such low-energy experiments provide indirect tests of the standard models in the realm of chemistry by probing the fundamental symmetries of nature. Therewith, these tests are complementary to direct tests of the laws of physics in cosmology or high-energy physics. In this cumulative thesis quantum chemical methods are developed and applied to design new experiments and improve existing experiments that employ molecules for tests of fundamental symmetries and, therewith, search for new physics beyond the standard models (BSM). A simultaneous violation of parity and time-reversal symmetry (P,T) is closely connected to baryon asymmetry. P,T-violation appears in a larger amount in unifying BSM theories than in the SM itself. P,T-violation on the elementary particle level is relativistically enhanced in heavy atoms and heavy-elemental molecules and results in permanent electric dipole moments (EDMs) of atoms and molecules which are non-vanishing in the limit of vanishing electric fields. In the first part of this thesis, P,T-violations in diatomic and small polyatomic molecules are studied in order to find well-suited candidates for a first measurement of a permanent EDM. Within this study relativistic effects as well as effects due to the chemical environment of the heavy atom are systematically analyzed. Furthermore, the effects of various fundamental sources of P,T-violation that contribute to the P,T-odd EDM of a molecule are studied. It is discussed, how these sources can be disentangled from experiments that aim to measure the permanent EDMs of different molecules. Among this research one of the first calculations of P,T-odd effects in polyatomic molecules is presented. In the second part of this thesis, the applicability of chiral molecules as sensitive probes for P-violating cosmic fields is demonstrated. P-violating cosmic fields are predicted in several cold DM (CDM) models as well as in the standard model extension (SME) that allows for local Lorentz invariance violation (LLIV). LLIV appears in several theories that aim to unify quantum theory and gravity. It is shown that well-chosen chiral molecules containing heavy elements can improve present limits on P-odd interactions of electrons with cosmic fields by at least two orders of magnitude. This renders chiral molecules particularly interesting for searches for BSM physics. In order to guide future searches for candidate molecules, challenges that may appear in the theoretical description or the design of experiments are discussed. In the last part of this thesis, the possibilities to use a clock transition in the iodine molecule to limit LLIV are explored in cooperation with the BOOST collaboration. Quantum chemical studies of such effects in iodine are presented. These calculations are essential for an estimate of the expected sensitivity of the BOOST satellite mission, which employs the iodine molecular clock as probe for LLIV

Laboratory directed research and development. FY 1995 progress report

This document presents an overview of Laboratory Directed Research and Development Programs at Los Alamos. The nine technical disciplines in which research is described include materials, engineering and base technologies, plasma, fluids, and particle beams, chemistry, mathematics and computational science, atmic and molecular physics, geoscience, space science, and astrophysics, nuclear and particle physics, and biosciences. Brief descriptions are provided in the above programs

Quantum gravity phenomenology at the dawn of the multi-messenger era—A review

The exploration of the universe has recently entered a new era thanks to the multi-messenger paradigm, characterized by a continuous increase in the quantity and quality of experimental data that is obtained by the detection of the various cosmic messengers (photons, neutrinos, cosmic rays and gravitational waves) from numerous origins. They give us information about their sources in the universe and the properties of the intergalactic medium. Moreover, multi-messenger astronomy opens up the possibility to search for phenomenological signatures of quantum gravity. On the one hand, the most energetic events allow us to test our physical theories at energy regimes which are not directly accessible in accelerators; on the other hand, tiny effects in the propagation of very high energy particles could be amplified by cosmological distances. After decades of merely theoretical investigations, the possibility of obtaining phenomenological indications of Planck-scale effects is a revolutionary step in the quest for a quantum theory of gravity, but it requires cooperation between different communities of physicists (both theoretical and experimental). This review, prepared within the COST Action CA18108 “Quantum gravity phenomenology in the multi-messenger approach”, is aimed at promoting this cooperation by giving a state-of-the art account of the interdisciplinary expertise that is needed in the effective search of quantum gravity footprints in the production, propagation and detection of cosmic messengers

Quantum gravity phenomenology at the dawn of the multi-messenger era-A review

The exploration of the universe has recently entered a new era thanks to the multi-messenger paradigm, characterized by a continuous increase in the quantity and quality of experimental data that is obtained by the detection of the various cosmic messengers (photons, neutrinos, cosmic rays and gravitational waves) from numerous origins. They give us information about their sources in the universe and the properties of the intergalactic medium. Moreover, multi-messenger astronomy opens up the possibility to search for phenomenological signatures of quantum gravity. On the one hand, the most energetic events allow us to test our physical theories at energy regimes which are not directly accessible in accelerators; on the other hand, tiny effects in the propagation of very high energy particles could be amplified by cosmological distances. After decades of merely theoretical investigations, the possibility of obtaining phenomenological indications of Planck-scale effects is a revolutionary step in the quest for a quantum theory of gravity, but it requires cooperation between different communities of physicists (both theoretical and experimental). This review, prepared within the COST Action CA18108 "Quantum gravity phenomenology in the multi-messenger approach", is aimed at promoting this cooperation by giving a state-of-the art account of the interdisciplinary expertise that is needed in the effective search of quantum gravity footprints in the production, propagation and detection of cosmic messengers. (C) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Quantum gravity phenomenology at the dawn of the multi-messenger era : a review

The exploration of the universe has recently entered a new era thanks to the multi-messenger paradigm, characterized by a continuous increase in the quantity and quality of experimental data that is obtained by the detection of the various cosmic messengers (photons, neutrinos, cosmic rays and gravitational waves) from numerous origins. They give us information about their sources in the universe and the properties of the intergalactic medium. Moreover, multi-messenger astronomy opens up the possibility to search for phenomenological signatures of quantum gravity. On the one hand, the most energetic events allow us to test our physical theories at energy regimes which are not directly accessible in accelerators; on the other hand, tiny effects in the propagation of very high energy particles could be amplified by cosmological distances. After decades of merely theoretical investigations, the possibility of obtaining phenomenological indications of Planck-scale effects is a revolutionary step in the quest for a quantum theory of gravity, but it requires cooperation between different communities of physicists (both theoretical and experimental). This review, prepared within the COST Action CA18108 "Quantum gravity phenomenology in the multi-messenger approach", is aimed at promoting this cooperation by giving a state-of-the art account of the interdisciplinary expertise that is needed in the effective search of quantum gravity footprints in the production, propagation and detection of cosmic messengers

Quantum gravity phenomenology at the dawn of the multi-messenger era—A review

The exploration of the universe has recently entered a new era thanks to the multimessenger paradigm, characterized by a continuous increase in the quantity and quality of experimental data that is obtained by the detection of the various cosmic messengers (photons, neutrinos, cosmic rays and gravitational waves) from numerous origins. They give us information about their sources in the universe and the properties of the intergalactic medium. Moreover, multi-messenger astronomy opens up the possibility to search for phenomenological signatures of quantum gravity. On the one hand, the most energetic events allow us to test our physical theories at energy regimes which are not directly accessible in accelerators; on the other hand, tiny effects in the propagation of very high energy particles could be amplified by cosmological distances. After decades of merely theoretical investigations, the possibility of obtaining phenomenological indications of Planck-scale effects is a revolutionary step in the quest for a quantum theory of gravity, but it requires cooperation between different communities of physicists (both theoretical and experimental). This review, prepared within the COST Action CA18108 ‘‘Quantum gravity phenomenology in the multi-messenger approach", is aimed at promoting this cooperation by giving a state-of-the art account of the interdisciplinary expertise that is needed in the effective search of quantum gravity footprints in the production, propagation and detection of cosmic messengers.Talent Scientific Research Program of College of Physics, Sichuan University 1082204112427Fostering Program in Disciplines Possessing Novel Features for Natural Science of Sichuan University 2020SCUNL2091000 Talent program of Sichuan province 2021Xunta de GaliciaEuropean Commission European Union ERDF, "Maria de Maeztu'' Units of Excellence program MDM-2016-0692Red Tematica Nacional de Astroparticulas RED2018-102661-TLa Caixa Foundation 100010434European Commission 847648 LCF/BQ/PI21/11830030 754510Ministry of Education, Science & Technological Development, Serbia 451-03-9/2021-14/200124FSR Incoming Postdoctoral Fellowship Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Serbia 451-03-9/2021-14/200124University of Rijeka grant uniri-prirod-18-48Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ) IP-2016-06-9782Villum Fonden 29405 DGA-FSE 2020-E2117REuropean Regional Development Fund through the Center of Excellence (TK133) "The Dark Side of the Universe'' European Regional Development Fund (ESIF/ERDF)Ministry of Education, Youth & Sports - Czech Republic CoGraDS-CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15 003/0000437Blavatnik grantBasque Government IT-97916 Basque Foundation for Science (IKERBASQUE)European Space Agency C4000120711 4000132310FNRS (Belgian Fund for Research)Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos de Investigacion e Innovacion Tecnologica (PAPIIT)Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico TA100122National University of La Plata X909 DICYT 042131GRNational Research, Development & Innovation Office (NRDIO) - Hungary 123996FQXiSwiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)European Commission 181461 199307Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) 680-91-119 15MV71Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT) Japan Society for the Promotion of ScienceGrants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) 20H01899 20H05853 JP21F21789Estonian Research Council PRG356Julian Schwinger FoundationGeneralitat Valenciana Excellence PROMETEO-II/2017/033 PROMETEO/2018/165Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)European ITN project HIDDeN H2020-MSCA-ITN-2019//860881-HIDDeNSwedish Research CouncilEuropean Commission 2016-05996 European Research Council (ERC) European Commission 668679Advanced ERC grant TReXMinistry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR) 2017X7X85KFonds de la Recherche Scientifique - FNRS 4.4501.18Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization - Romania PN19-030102-INCDFM PN-III-P4ID-PCE-2020-2374United States Department of Energy (DOE) DE-SC0020262Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning, Republic of Korea 075-15-2020-778German Academic Scholarship Foundation German Research Foundation (DFG) 408049454 420243324 425333893 445990517 Germany's Excellence Strategy (EXC 2121 "Quantum Universe'') 390833306 390837967 Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF) 05 A20GU2 05 A20PX1Centro de Excelencia "Severo Ochoa'' SEV-2016-0588CERCA program of the Generalitat de CatalunyaAgencia de Gestio D'Ajuts Universitaris de Recerca Agaur (AGAUR) Generalitat de Catalunya 2017-SGR-1469 2017-SGR-929 ICCUB CEX2019-000918-MNational Science Centre, Poland 2019/33/B/ST2/00050 2017/27/B/ST2/01902Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPQ) 306414/2020-1Dicyt-USACH 041931MFNational Science Fund of Bulgaria KP-06-N 38/11 RCN ROMFORSK 302640Comunidad de Madrid 2018-T1/TIC-10431 2019-T1/TIC-13177 S2018/NMT-4291UK Research & Innovation (UKRI)Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) ST/T000759/1 ST/P000258/1 ST/T000732/1 ST/V005596/1Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology UIDB/00618/2020 UIDB/00777/2020 UIDP/00777/2020 CERN/FIS-PAR/0004/2019 PTDC/FIS-PAR/29436/2017 PTDC/FISPAR/31938/2017 PTDC/FIS-OUT/29048/2017 SFRH/BD/137127/2018Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), LabEx UnivEarthS ANR-10-LABX-0023 ANR18-IDEX-0001Junta de Andalucia European Commission A-FQM-053-UGR18Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) RGPIN-2021-03644National Science Centre Poland Sonata Bis 2019/33/B/ST2/00050 DEC-2017/26/E/ST2/00763Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) DGIID-DGA 2015-E24/2Spanish Research State Agency and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion MCIN/AEI PID2019-104114RB-C32 PID2019-105544GB-I00 PID2019-105614GB-C21 PID2019106515GB-I00 PID2019-106802GB-I00 PID2019-107394GB-I00 PID2019-107844GB-C21 PID2019-107847RB-C41 MCIN/AEI PGC2018-095328-B-I00 PGC2018-094856-B-I00 PGC2018-096663-B-C41 PGC2018-096663-B-C44 PGC2018-094626-BC21 PGC2018-101858-B-I00 FPA2017-84543-P FPA2016-76005-C2-1-PSpanish 'Ministerio de Universidades' BG20/00228 Spanish Government PID2020-115845GBI00 Generalitat de Catalunya Comunidad de Madrid S2018/NMT-4291 Spanish Government PID2019-105544GB-I00Perimeter Institute for Theoretical PhysicsGovernment of Canada through the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic DevelopmentProvince of Ontario through the Ministry of Colleges and UniversitiesIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO)Fundamental Questions Institute (FQXi)European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) CA18108Research Council of University of GuilanIniziativa Specifica TEONGRAV Iniziativa Specifica QGSKY Iniziativa Specifica QUAGRAP Iniziativa Specifica GeoSymQFTthe Spanish Research State Agency and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion MCIN/AEI PID2020-115845GBI00 PID2019-108485GB-I00 PID2020-113334GB-I00 PID2020-113701GB-I00 PID2020-113775GB-I00 PID2020-118159GB-C41 PID2020-118159GA-C42 PRE2019-089024Rothchild grant UID/MAT/00212/2020 FPU18/0457