A new, free, open-source software reliably predicts how damage from hurricanes, ice storms, earthquakes and other extreme events will restrict power delivery from utility grids. The Severe Contingency Solver for Electric Power Transmission is the only software available—commercially or open-source—that reliably supports analysis of extreme events that cause widespread damage. “The software was designed specifically to…
Isotopic Composition Carries Unforeseen Effects on Light Emission
Compared to bulk materials, atomically thin materials like transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) offer size and tunability advantages over traditional materials in developing miniature electronic and optical devices. The 2-dimensional TMDs are of particular interest because they have potential applications in energy conversion, electronics and quantum computing. The properties of these materials can be tuned by…
Scientific Computing in the Cloud Gets Down to Earth
Handling Trillions of Supercomputer Files Just Got Simpler
A new distributed file system for high-performance computing distributed March 14 via the software collaboration site GitHub provides unprecedented performance for creating, updating and managing extreme numbers of files. “We designed DeltaFS to enable the creation of trillions of files,” said Brad Settlemyer, a Los Alamos computer scientist and project leader. Los Alamos National Laboratory…
Los Alamos National Laboratory Issues RFP for Crossroads Supercomputer
The next big supercomputer is out for bid. A “request for proposal,” or RFP, for Crossroads, a high-performance computer that will support the nation’s Stockpile Stewardship Program, was released today. The RFP is a joint effort of the New Mexico Alliance for Computing at Extreme Scale (ACES), a collaboration between Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories.…
‘Realistic’ New Model Points the Way to More Efficient and Profitable Fracking
A new computational model could potentially boost efficiencies and profits in natural gas production by better predicting previously hidden fracture mechanics. It also accurately accounts for the known amounts of gas released during the process. “Our model is far more realistic than current models and software used in the industry,” said Zdeněk Bažant, McCormick Institute…
Carbon Nanotubes Hold Potential for Unique Applications
Researchers at Los Alamos and partners in France and Germany are exploring the enhanced potential of carbon nanotubes as single-photon emitters for quantum information processing. Their analysis of progress in the field is published in the journal Nature Materials. “We are particularly interested in advances in nanotube integration into photonic cavities for manipulating and optimizing…
Finding Order in Disorder Demonstrates a New State of Matter
Physicists have identified a new state of matter whose structural order operates by rules more aligned with quantum mechanics than standard thermodynamic theory. In a classical material called artificial spin ice, which in certain phases appears disordered, the material is actually ordered, but in a “topological” form. “Our research shows for the first time that…
Los Alamos Releases File Index Product to Software Community
Resolving the supercomputer challenge of searching and retrieving files could now be far simpler, with a tool developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory and released to the GitHub open-source software site. The Grand Unified File Index (GUFI) is designed using a new, heirarchical approach to storing file metada, allowing rapid parallel searches across many internal…
Unique Exciton Interactions Discovered in Carbon Nanotubes
Nanotechnology researchers studying small bundles of carbon nanotubes have discovered an optical signature showing excitons bound to a single nanotube are accompanied by excitons tunneling across closely interacting nanotubes. That quantum tunneling action could impact energy distribution in carbon nanotube networks, with implications for light-emitting films and light harvesting applications. “Observing this behavior in carbon…
Quantum Tweaks Bring Down Solar Electricity Costs
Using two types of “designer” quantum dots, researchers are creating double-pane solar windows that generate electricity with greater efficiency and create shading and insulation for good measure. It’s all made possible by a new window architecture which utilizes two different layers of low-cost quantum dots tuned to absorb different parts of the solar spectrum. “Because…
Computer Simulations Reveal Roots of Drug Resistance
New supercomputer simulations have revealed the role of transport proteins called efflux pumps in creating drug-resistance in bacteria, research that could lead to improving the drugs’ effectiveness against life-threatening diseases and restoring the efficacy of defunct antibiotics. “By understanding how the pump moves and dynamically behaves, we can potentially find a way to deactivate the…
Quantum Dots Amplify Light With Electrical Pumping
Genomic and Fluid-Flow Technologies Win Regional Tech-Transfer Awards
Two technologies developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory were recently recognized by the Federal Laboratory Consortium’s Mid-Continent Region for their contribution to both Los Alamos’ mission and the greater good. dfnWorks, a computational suite that simulates and predicts the flow and transport of fluids through underground fracture networks, and EDGE Bioinformatics, an easy-to use, web-based computer program…
Simulation Reveals Universal Signature of Chaos in Ultracold Reactions
Researchers have performed the first ever quantum-mechanical simulation of the benchmark ultracold chemical reaction between potassium-rubidium (KRb) and a potassium atom, opening the door to new controlled chemistry experiments and quantum control of chemical reactions that could spark advances in quantum computing and sensing technologies. The research by a multi-institutional team simulated the ultracold chemical…
Study Reveals Exactly How Low-Cost Fuel Cell Catalysts Work
In order to reduce the cost of next-generation polymer electrolyte fuel cells for vehicles, researchers have been developing alternatives to the prohibitively expensive platinum and platinum-group metal (PGM) catalysts currently used in fuel cell electrodes. New work at Los Alamos and Oak Ridge national laboratories is resolving difficult fuel-cell performance questions, both in determining efficient…
Single-Photon Emitter Has Promise for Quantum Info-Processing
Los Alamos National Laboratory has produced the first known material capable of single-photon emission at room temperature and at telecommunications wavelengths. These carbon nanotube quantum light emitters may be important for optically-based quantum information processing and information security, while also being of significant interest for ultrasensitive sensing, metrology and imaging needs, and as photon sources…
Rover Findings Indicate Stratified Lake on Ancient Mars
A long-lasting lake on ancient Mars provided stable environmental conditions that differed significantly from one part of the lake to another, according to a comprehensive look at findings from the first three-and-a-half years of NASA’s Curiosity rover mission. While previous work had revealed the presence of a lake more than three billion years ago in…
Data Analysis Could Trigger New Shale Gas Revolution
Extensive data mining and analysis of 20,000 shale gas wells has revealed how “refracturing” existing wells with new technology could transform them from diminished producers into high-performers long after their initial peak production period has ended. “Our analysis could potentially aid in reducing the number of new wells to be drilled,” said Richard Middleton, lead…
‘Flying Saucer’ Colloidal Quantum Dots Produce Brighter, Better Lasers
A multi-institutional team of researchers from Canada and the US has demonstrated steady state lasing with solution-processed nanoparticles called “colloidal quantum dots,” an important step on the path to improving laser tools for fiber optics, video projectors and more accurate medical testing technology. The work is reported today in a paper for the journal Nature.…
