Additional Degrees Of Freedom Research Articles

Defect Self-Elimination in Nanocube Superlattices Through the Interplay of Brownian, van der Waals, and Ligand-Based Forces and Torques.

Understanding defect healing is necessary to control the electronic and optoelectronic performance of devices based on nanoparticle (NP) superlattices. However, a key challenge remains to understand how NP interactions and the resulting dynamics are coupled to defect self-elimination during assembly processes. Additional degrees of freedom that account for the anisotropic nature of NPs associated with rotational dynamics and torques further complicate the challenge. Here, we investigate nanocube (NC) superlattices by employing liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy, continuum theory, and molecular dynamics simulations. Our detailed analyses reveal that interparticle forces and torques due to ligand interactions dominate those from Brownian motions and van der Waals interactions. More importantly, NC translations and rotations induced by unbalanced forces and torques are transmitted to neighboring NCs, prompting "chain interactions" in a two-dimensional (2D) network and expediting self-elimination. The mechanistic understanding will further enable the design and fabrication of defect-free superlattices as well as those with tailored defects via assembly of anisotropic particles.

An objective isogeometric mixed finite element formulation for nonlinear elastodynamic beams with incompatible warping strains

AbstractWe present a stable mixed isogeometric finite element formulation for geometrically and materially nonlinear beams in transient elastodynamics, where a Cosserat beam formulation with extensible directors is used. The extensible directors yield a linear configuration space incorporating constant in-plane cross-sectional strains. Higher-order (incompatible) strains are introduced to correct stiffness, whose additional degrees of freedom are eliminated by an element-wise condensation. Further, the present discretization of the initial director field leads to the objectivity of approximated strain measures, regardless of the degree of basis functions. For physical stress resultants and strains, we employ a global patch-wise approximation using B-spline basis functions, whose higher-order continuity enables using much fewer degrees of freedom than an element-wise approximation. For time-stepping, we employ implicit energy–momentum consistent scheme, which exhibits superior numerical stability in comparison to standard trapezoidal and mid-point rules. Several numerical examples are presented to verify the present method.

Numerical research of functionally graded magneto-electro-elastic structures under thermal environment via the thermo-mechanical-electro-magnetic enriched finite element method

Abstract In this work, the functionally graded magneto-electro-elastic (FG-MEE) structures were used to study mechanical performance under a thermal environment using the thermo-mechanical-electro-magnetic enriched finite element method (TMEM-EFEM). Through enhancing the traditional solution space of the finite element method (FEM), additional degrees of freedom are introduced without modifying the mesh structure. Therefore, as a class of higher-order finite element methods, field variables with high gradients can be captured without a relatively finer mesh. The accuracy of TMEM-EFEM is improved by using interpolation covers. The feasibility of TMEM-EFEM is proven by numerical examples. The proposed TMEM-EFEM is proven to be accurate under the relatively coarse mesh. Through numerical examples, the high accuracy of TMEM-EFEM is demonstrated. Therefore, TMEM-EFEM can be a good alternative for the statics study of FG-MEE structures.

Hybrid Testing System Development for Single Point Mooring Lines FOWT’s

Abstract To advance the development of various concepts for floating offshore wind turbines, it is imperative to have access to experimental data. These data are used in the validation of the tools for the simulation of floating turbines and also for the tuning of the models. CENER has developed a hybrid testing methodology that enhances the performance of wave basin tests for scaled models of Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWTs). This approach allows us to apply forces and moments from the wind turbine to the floating platform without needing to replicate wind within the testing facility or create a complex model of the wind turbine rotor. However, when it comes to testing single point moored (SPM) platforms, a unique challenge arises. These platforms have an additional degree of freedom as they can freely rotate around the vertical axis of their mooring attachment (yaw degree of freedom). These type of platforms can present important misalignments with respect to the wind depending on the combination of wind, wave and current directions. Consequently, accurately capturing the impact of misalignment on platform dynamics, especially in yaw, is essential to assess the platform’s ability to self-align with the wind direction, a key factor known as weathervaning capacity. The X1Wind platform is an innovative floating wind system, based on a single point mooring solution with a downwind wind turbine configuration that allows it to be passively self-orientated. The concept has been extensively tested on prototypes at real sea conditions as well as on scaled models at wave basins. For the last wave basin testing campaign, X1Wind has entrusted CENER with the development of the hybrid testing methodology adapted to the requirements of SPM platforms. The testing campaign has covered different wave and wind conditions, including misalignment scenarios and has shown a good dynamic behavior of the platform on yaw. This study outlines the advancements made in the CENER Software-in-the-Loop (SiL) hybrid testing system for wave basin tests of SPM platforms. In order to correctly introduce the direction of the aerodynamic forces on the wind turbine under misaligned conditions, improvements on the software and hardware (loads actuator) of the SiL system were developed and tested. An actuator system consisting of 6 propellers was used. The numerical model that calculates the rotor aerodynamic loading were expanded to take into consideration the direction of the aerodynamic loads with respect to the platform. Additionally, the drag of the wind over the tower and other platform elements must be considered, as they can play a relevant role in the generation of the weathervaning moment. The study concludes that the use of the upgraded SiL hybrid testing system is an effective and afordable solution for the testing of scaled SPM platforms at wave basin facilities. It also summarizes the different considerations that the system has to overcome for the particularity of this type of testing application.

GS‐Octree: Octree‐based 3D Gaussian Splatting for Robust Object‐level 3D Reconstruction Under Strong Lighting

AbstractThe 3D Gaussian Splatting technique has significantly advanced the construction of radiance fields from multi‐view images, enabling real‐time rendering. While point‐based rasterization effectively reduces computational demands for rendering, it often struggles to accurately reconstruct the geometry of the target object, especially under strong lighting conditions. Strong lighting can cause significant color variations on the object's surface when viewed from different directions, complicating the reconstruction process. To address this challenge, we introduce an approach that combines octree‐based implicit surface representations with Gaussian Splatting. Initially, it reconstructs a signed distance field (SDF) and a radiance field through volume rendering, encoding them in a low‐resolution octree. This initial SDF represents the coarse geometry of the target object. Subsequently, it introduces 3D Gaussians as additional degrees of freedom, which are guided by the initial SDF. In the third stage, the optimized Gaussians enhance the accuracy of the SDF, enabling the recovery of finer geometric details compared to the initial SDF. Finally, the refined SDF is used to further optimize the 3D Gaussians via splatting, eliminating those that contribute little to the visual appearance. Experimental results show that our method, which leverages the distribution of 3D Gaussians with SDFs, reconstructs more accurate geometry, particularly in images with specular highlights caused by strong lighting. The source code can be downloaded from https://github.com/LaoChui999/GS-Octree.

Modeling magnetically levitated superconducting ellipsoids, cylinders, and cuboids for quantum magnetomechanics

We theoretically investigate the properties of magnetically levitated superconducting elements confined in anti-Helmholtz traps, for application in magnetomechanical experiments. We study both the translational modes and the librational mode. The librational mode gives an additional degree of freedom that levitated spheres do not have access to. We compare levitated particles of different shapes: ellipsoids (with analytical and numerical treatment), cylinders, and rectangular cuboids (numerical treatment). We find that the stable orientations of the particles depend on their aspect ratios. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Femtosecond optical vortex-induced flower-shaped surface relief structures in an azo-polymer film

We study the formation of surface relief structures in azo-polymers generated via two-photon induced photoisomerization using a femtosecond near-infrared optical vortex laser beam. These structures exhibit exotic flower-like shapes with petals along the azimuthal direction, and they are formed from spatial mode instability, which is associated with third-order nonlinear effects in the azo-polymer. This process is a unique and exotic interaction between light and matter, which may be applied to the development of advanced optical data storage technologies. Here, an additional degree of freedom is offered by the number of formed petals, which themselves are a function of the topological charge of the optical vortex beam.

Indication of Sharp and Strong Phase Transitions from NICER Observations

In this Letter, we present a new, weakly model-dependent test for “standard” equation-of-state (EoS) models that disfavor sharp and strong phase transitions by using NS mass and radius observations. We show the radii of two NSs observed by NICER (PSR J0740+6620 and PSR 0030+0451) are correlated if these two NSs are built upon standard EoS models. The radii of NSs with different masses are sensitive to the pressures at different densities, and the pressures at different densities are strongly correlated in standard EoS models. We further show that the correlation of the NS radii can be significantly weakened when additional degrees of freedom concerning the first-order phase transitions are added into the EoSs. We propose a new quantity, D L, which measures the extent to which the linear correlation of the radii of two NSs is weakened. Our method gives a 48% identification probability (with a 5% false alarm rate) of finding beyond-standard EoS models in NICER observations. Future observations with higher measurement accuracy can confirm or rule out this identification. Our method is generalizable to any pair of NS masses and can be employed with other sets of observations in the future.

Interference between multipolar two-photon transitions in quantum emitters near plasmonic nanostructures

In the vicinity of plasmonic nanostructures that support highly confined light fields, spontaneous emission processes, such as two-photon spontaneous emission (TPSE), exhibit higher-order multipolar emission pathways beyond the dipolar one. These multipolar emission channels occur simultaneously and can interfere with each other. We develop a novel framework that computes these interference effects for TPSE of a quantum emitter close to an arbitrary nanostructure. The model is based on the computation of Purcell factors that can be calculated with conventional electromagnetic simulations, which avoids complex analytic calculations for the environment. For a transition of a hydrogen-like emitter close to a graphene nanotriangle, we demonstrate a breakdown of the dipolar selection rule in the TPSE process. This breakdown is due to a huge enhancement of the two-electric dipole (2ED) and of the two-electric quadrupole (2EQ) transitions. We observe an important interference between these multipolar transitions, as it increases the total rate by 67%\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$67 \\, \\%$$\\end{document}. In the end, our framework is a complete tool to design emitters and nanostructures for TPSE, where the exploitation of previously ignored interference effects provides an additional degree of freedom, for example to boost desired transitions and to supress undesirable ones.

Irreversible Boltzmann samplers in dense liquids: Weak-coupling approximation and mode-coupling theory.

Exerting a nonequilibrium drive on an otherwise equilibrium Langevin process brings the dynamics out of equilibrium but can also speed up the approach to the Boltzmann steady state. Transverse forces are a minimal framework to achieve dynamical acceleration of the Boltzmann sampling. We consider a simple liquid in three space dimensions subjected to additional transverse pairwise forces, and quantify the extent to which transverse forces accelerate the dynamics. We first explore the dynamics of a tracer in a weak coupling regime describing high temperatures. The resulting acceleration is correlated with a monotonous increase of the magnitude of odd transport coefficients (mobility and diffusivity) with the amplitude of the transverse drive. We then develop a nonequilibrium version of the mode-coupling theory able to capture the effect of transverse forces, and more generally of forces created by additional degrees of freedom. Based on an analysis of transport coefficients, both odd and longitudinal, both for the collective modes and for a tracer particle, we find a systematic acceleration of the dynamics. Quantitatively, the gain, which is guaranteed throughout the ergodic phase, turns out to be a decreasing function of temperature beyond a temperature crossover, in particular as the glass transition is approached. Our theoretical results are in good agreement with available numerical results.

Chemically and geometrically programmable photoreactive polymers for transformational humidity-sensitive full-color devices

Humidity-sensitive structural color has emerged as a promising technology due to its numerous advantages that include fast response, intuitiveness, stand-alone capability, non-toxicity, as well as resistance to thermal and chemical stresses. Despite immense technological advancements, these structural colors lack the ability to present independent multiple images through transformation. Herein, we present an approach to address this constraint by introducing a chemically and geometrically programmable photoreactive polymer which allows preparation of transformational humidity-sensitive full-color devices. Utilizing azido-grafted carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-N3) allows adjustments in swelling properties based on the grafting ratio (Γ) of azido groups upon UV-induced crosslinking. Also, the distinctive photo-curability of the polymer enables precise geometric control to achieve vivid colors in combination with disordered plasmonic cavities. Our work culminates in the development of an advanced anti-counterfeiting multiplexer capable of displaying different full-color images with variation in humidity levels. The showcased color displays signify pivotal breakthroughs in tunable optical technologies, illustrating how chemical modifications in hydrogels provides additional degrees of freedom in the design of advanced optical devices.

Energies and spectra of solids from the algorithmic inversion of dynamical Hubbard functionals

Energy functionals of the Green's function can simultaneously provide spectral and thermodynamic properties of interacting electrons' systems. Although powerful in principle, these formulations need to deal with dynamical (frequency-dependent) quantities, increasing the algorithmic and numerical complexity and limiting applications. We first show that, when representing all frequency-dependent propagators as sums over poles—a truncated Lehmann representation—, the typical operations of dynamical formulations become closed (i.e., all quantities are expressed as sums over poles) and analytical. In the framework, the Dyson equation is mapped into a nonlinear eigenvalue problem that can be solved exactly; this is achieved by introducing a fictitious noninteracting system with additional degrees of freedom, which shares, upon projection, the same Green's function of the real system. In addition, we introduce an approximation to the exchange-correlation part of the Klein functional adopting a localized GW approach; this is a generalization of the static Hubbard extension of density-functional theory with a dynamical screened potential U(ω). We showcase the algorithmic efficiency of the method, and the physical accuracy of the functional, by computing the spectral, thermodynamic, and vibrational properties of SrVO3, finding results in close agreement with experiments and state-of-the-art methods, at highly reduced computational costs and with a transparent physical interpretation. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Passively Broadband Tunable Dual Circular Dichroism via Bound States in the Continuum in Topological Chiral Metasurface.

Dynamic control for a strong circular dichroism (CD) response is essential in engineering applications such as polarization manipulation, sensing, and imaging. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a broadband tunable dual CD response via bound states in the continuum (BICs) in two-dimensional topologically protected metasurfaces composed of all-dielectric Si chiral grating structures that generate a pair of mixed and degenerated BIC mode and circular dichroic mode (CDM) as an additional degree of freedom in CD manipulation. It is found that a singular CD peak of nearly 100% at 1.6 μm can be achieved by CDM when BIC is hidden under normal incidence, while the CD peak can be split into two in which peak wavelengths can be precisely and linearly tuned over a bandwidth of 180 nm by the incident angle when the BIC mode is excited under oblique incidence. Additionally, dynamic modulation of output polarization states from linear to circular can be arbitrarily achieved at the split CD peaks by controlling the incident angle when asymmetry perturbations on chiral gratings are introduced due to the decoupling of various polarization states at Γ point by BIC to different positions in K space. The proposed chiral grating metasurface exhibits unique angle-sensitive tunable CD spectral characteristics, making it ideal for hyperspectral and spin-selective wavefront shaping, and holds significant promise in various applications such as optical security, angle sensors, chiral lasers, nonlinear filters, and other active chiral optical devices.

Thermally coupled distillation columns without vapor transfer – Current state and further needs

Reducing the energy requirements is one essential pillar in the effort to reduce the carbon footprint of the energy intensive chemical industry. Thermal coupling of distillation columns and the equipment-integrated implementation in dividing wall columns can be considered a mature and established technology to reduce the energy demand of distillation sequences. Despite the widespread investigations and applications, the vaporous transfer stream between thermally linked columns or vapor split in the dividing wall column is associated with certain limitations. Some of these can effectively be overcome by adding an additional column section with reboiler or condenser to the thermally linked column, converting the bidirectional transfer of liquid and vapor to a unidirectional liquid transfer, which mandates additional investment, but provides an additional degree of freedom and retains the energy saving potential of the thermally coupled sequence. Although these so-called Liquid-Only-Transfer (LOT) sequences have been introduced almost 25 years ago, the process concept is receiving an increasing interest in recent years, with specific focus on conceptual design and control studies. The current review provides a methodological overview on synthesis, design and control studies for LOT-sequences, considering zeotropic and azeotropic distillation processes. It analyzes the advantages and challenges of this interesting process concept and highlights research areas and questions that still require additional attention.

Peridynamics contact model: Application to healing using phase field theory

This paper presents a contact algorithm in non-ordinary state-based peridynamics (NOSB-PD) framework and its application in healing phase field (HPF) theory. The idea here is to exploit the nonlocality in PD to model the contact between two deformable bodies. The proposed method does not require artificial short-range force or additional degrees of freedom, e.g., Lagrange multiplier, which are often used in the conventional classical and PD contact models. In the regions where contact is likely to take place, neighbor search is performed at every time step and extra particles entering the horizon are identified. These extra particles form artificial bonds which transfer forces only in compression. This feature is essential for rebound simulation. Envisioning surface-to-surface bonding as the opposite process of cracking, we propose an HPF theory to model high velocity impact induced bonding between two material bodies. Here an HPF based bonding criterion is postulated and integrated with the proposed contact algorithm. The solution of the governing equations is obtained using the fourth order Runge-Kutta method. The efficacy of the proposed contact algorithm is demonstrated by simulations of impact and rebound of two plates, two cylinders, and cylinder with rectangular prism and comparing the energy time histories with finite element solutions obtained using ANSYS®. The potential of the proposed HPF theory is demonstrated through simulation of impact of two plates where the plates rebound when the impact velocity is below a critical value, and above that velocity, the plates join with each other.

Light induced self-assembly of one-dimensional PT-symmetric optical system exhibiting pulling force.

Light induced self-assembly's non-contact and non-invasive nature, along with its versatility and dynamic assembly capabilities, make it particularly well-suited for the self-organization of particles. Previous self-assembly configurations are either in a static equilibrium state or in a dynamic equilibrium state driven by a pushing force. In this study, we introduce a one-dimensional parity-time symmetric (PT-symmetric) multilayer optical system consisting of balanced gain and loss, enabling the generation of a total pulling force on the structure. By conducting molecular dynamics simulations, we achieve the self-organized structure exhibiting pulling force. Furthermore, by reversing the direction of the incident light, we realized pushing force induced binding. The stability of the bound structure is also analyzed using linear stability analysis. Additionally, the light induced self-assembly exhibiting pulling and pushing force is achieved in the one-dimensional multilayer system with unbalanced gain and loss. This work provides an additional degree of freedom in the self-organization of particles.

Allometry and ecology shape eye size evolution in spiders

Eye size affects many aspects of visual function, but eyes are costly to grow and maintain. The allometry of eyes can provide insight into this trade-off, but this has mainly been explored in species that have two eyes of equal size. By contrast, animals possessing larger visual systems can exhibit variable eye sizes within individuals. Spiders have up to four pairs of eyes whose sizes vary dramatically, but their ontogenetic, static, and evolutionary allometry has not yet been studied in a comparative context. We report variable dynamics in eye size across 1,098 individuals in 39 species and 8 families, indicating selective pressures and constraints driving the evolution of different eye pairs and lineages. Supplementing our sampling with a recently published phylogenetically comprehensive dataset, we confirmed these findings across more than 400 species; found that ecological factors such as visual hunting, web building, and circadian activity correlate with eye diameter; and identified significant allometric shifts across spider phylogeny using an unbiased approach, many of which coincide with visual hunting strategies. The modular nature of the spider visual system provides additional degrees of freedom and is apparent in the strong correlations between maximum/minimum investment and interocular variance and three key ecological factors. Our analyses suggest an antagonistic relationship between the anterior and posterior eye pairs. These findings shed light on the relationship between spider visual systems and their diverse ecologies and how spiders exploit their modular visual systems to balance selective pressures and optical and energetic constraints.

Topological valley-locked waveguides with C4 impurity

Abstract Heterostructures play a pivotal role in the design of valley-locked waveguides, facilitating the manipulation of width as an additional degree of freedom. Through this design, we demonstrate the extension of the topological guided modes from the domain wall of topologically nontrivial valley photonic crystals (VPCs) into the trivial VPCs. We propose a C4 impurity to control the states of the light wave transmission in topological valley-locked waveguides through the intervalley scattering of defects in Quantum Valley Spin Hall topological insulators. By rotating the C4 structure, the ON/OFF (0°/45°) state of the valley-locked waveguides can be controlled, effectively serving as a switch component. Furthermore, many unique applications could be devised based on the introduced impurity. Examples include the development of coding channels with arbitrary output ports and energy concentrators with enhanced secondary concentration. The proposed topological valley-locked waveguides with C4 impurity will be beneficial for on-chip integrated photonic networks.

Numerical modeling of systems based on SMA wires and pulleys: A finite element formulation within the Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian framework

Thanks to their properties of superelasticity and shape memory effects, SMA wires are often considered for the design of damping devices or actuators coupled to pulleys. In order to dimension such devices for commercialization, it is necessary to develop reliable, robust and fast numerical tools. To this end, simplifying the management of the wire/pulley contact using an Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) formulation is an original and effective solution. In this work, the wires are modeled by three-dimensional truss thermo-mechanical finite elements associated with a superelastic law. For each node, the curvilinear abscissa is used as an additional degree of freedom in order to deal with material flow from one element to another. After presenting the ALE formalism and the necessary precautions (advection of variables), as well as the material behavior and thermo-mechanical contact laws at the pulleys, elementary validation tests are studied. Finally, two devices taken from the literature are modeled using the ALE formalism. The results obtained demonstrate the relevance and effectiveness of the approach adopted, as well as the importance of not neglecting friction at the pulleys and thermal effects on the material mechanical response.

Quantum diffusion induced by small quantum chaos.

It is demonstrated that quantum systems classically exhibiting strong and homogeneous chaos in a bounded region of the phase space can induce a global quantum diffusion. As an ideal model system, a small quantum chaos with finite Hilbert space dimension N weakly coupled with M additional degrees of freedom which is approximated by linear systems is proposed. By twinning the system the diffusion process in the additional modes can be numerically investigated without taking the unbounded diffusion space into account explicitly. Even though N is not very large, diffusion occurs in the additional modes as the coupling strength increases if M≥3. If N is large enough, a definite quantum transition to diffusion takes place through a critical subdiffusion characterized by an anomalous diffusion exponent.