UPDATE: New FLASH code expands possibilities for physics experiments (January 6, 2023)

The is the new home of a research center devoted to computer simulations used to advance the understanding of astrophysics, plasma science, high-energy-density physics, and fusion energy.

��moved from the University of Chicago to the at Rochester in October 2021. Located in the Bausch and Lomb building on the River Campus, the center encompasses numerous cross-disciplinary, computational physics research projects conducted using the FLASH code. The FLASH code is a publicly available multi-physics code that allows researchers to accurately simulate and model many scientific phenomena—including plasma physics, computational fluid dynamics, high-energy-density physics (HEDP), and fusion energy research—and inform the design and execution of experiments.

“We are thrilled to have the Flash Center and the FLASH code join the University of Rochester research enterprise and family, and we want to thank the University of Chicago for working hand-in-hand with us to facilitate this transfer,” says . Dewhurst, the vice dean for research at the School of Medicine and Dentistry and associate vice president for health sciences research for the University, is currently serving a one-year appointment as interim vice president for research.

The ‘premiere’ code used at the world’s top laser facilities

Development of the FLASH code began in 1997 when the Flash Center was founded at the University of Chicago. The code, which is continuously updated, is currently used by more than 3,500 scientists across the globe to simulate various physics processes.

The Flash Center fosters joint research projects between national laboratories, industry partners, and academic groups around the world. It also supports training in numerical modeling and code development for graduate students, undergraduate students, and postdoctoral research associates, while continuing to develop and steward the FLASH code itself.

“In the last five years FLASH has become the premiere academic code for designing and interpreting experiments at the world’s largest laser facilities, such the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the at the (LLE), here at the University of Rochester,” says , the director of the LLE. “Having the Flash Center and the FLASH code at Rochester significantly strengthens LLE’s position as a unique national resource for research and education in science and technology.”

, an associate professor of physics and astronomy and a senior scientist at the LLE, serves as the center’s director. Tzeferacos’s research combines theory, numerical modeling with the FLASH code, and laboratory experiments to study fundamental processes in plasma physics and astrophysics, high-energy-density laboratory astrophysics, and fusion energy. Tzeferacos became director of the Flash Center in 2018 after serving for five years as associate director and code group leader, when the center was still housed at the University of Chicago.

“The �����Թ� is a unique place where plasma physics, plasma astrophysics, and high-energy-density science are core research efforts,” Tzeferacos says. “We have in-house computational resources and leverage the high-power computing resources at LLE, the (CIRC), and national supercomputing facilities to perform our numerical studies. We also train the next generation of computational physics and astrophysics scientists in the use and development of simulation codes.”

Research at the Flash Center is funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the US DOE Office of Science Fusion Energy Sciences, the US DOE Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Science Foundation, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and the LLE.

“FLASH is a critically important simulation tool for academic groups engaging with NNSA’s academic programs and performing HEDP research on NNSA facilities,” says Ann J. Satsangi, federal program manager at the NNSA Office of Experimental Sciences. “The Flash Center joining forces with the LLE is a very positive development that promises to significantly contribute to advancing high-energy-density science and the NNSA mission.”

UPDATE: New FLASH code expands possibilities for physics experiments

The at the recently announced an exciting milestone: researchers have developed a new version of the FLASH code, the first official update of the code since the FLASH center moved to Rochester from the University of Chicago.

The new version of the code, FLASH v4.7, increases the accuracy of simulations of magnetized plasmas and drastically expands the range of laboratory experiments the code can model.

“This expansion fuels discovery science for thousands of researchers around the world, across application domains, while concurrently enabling the Flash Center to pursue a rich portfolio of research topics at the frontiers of plasma astrophysics, high-energy-density physics, and fusion,” says , an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Rochester and a senior scientist at the LLE, who serves as the center’s director.

FLASH v4.7 is the culmination of nearly two and a half years of code development, spearheaded by , the Flash Center code group leader in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and other .

According to Tzeferacos, the development of the FLASH code also draws heavily from the Flash Center’s robust education program that engages Rochester graduate and undergraduate students.

“A key aspect of what we do at the Flash Center is to train the next generation of computational physicists and astrophysicists to develop multi-physics codes like FLASH and perform validated simulations,” Tzeferacos says. “Several of the items in the new FLASH release were developed and verified by our graduate students, who may ultimately use the new capabilities in their graduate research.”

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Laser-driven experiments provide insights into the formation of the universe

Using the FLASH code, researchers at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics have captured for the first time in a laboratory setting the process thought to be responsible for generating and sustaining astrophysical magnetic fields.

Elusive ‘turbulent dynamo’ phenomenon observed at OMEGA laser
The universe is filled with magnetic fields, yet how it got that way has long been a mystery. To explain the universe’s magnetization, scientists proposed the existence of a “turbulent dynamo.” The phenomenon had never before been measured or observed directly—until recently.

Rochester scientists reveal the limits of machine learning for hydrogen models

Research from the Laboratory for Laser Energetics paves the way for more accurate computer models, which are needed to understand the interior of planets and the physical properties of nuclear fusion.

In an article published in The Atlantic, , the Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the , discusses what he calls this new era of astronomy. As he explains, a field called High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics (HEDLA) has emerged around lasers, which provide scientists an entirely new realm to better understand planetary conditions and other phenomena in the universe.

Large lasers, such as the at Rochester’s , have allowed researchers “to explode mini supernovas in their labs, reproduce environments around newborn stars, and even probe the hearts of massive and potentially habitable exoplanets,” Frank writes.

He attributes the emergence of large-scale, lab-based astrophysics to the decades-long quest for nuclear fusion. Last month, for instance, the Department of Energy announced that scientists had reached a fusion milestone when they achieved ignition—that is, more energy was released from the fusion reaction than was expended in generating it. To accomplish this feat, researchers used lasers to recreate conditions that exist at the core of the sun, where fusion reactions already occur.

“They focused the lasers on tiny pellets of hydrogen, mimicking the sun’s extraordinarily high temperatures and densities to squeeze the hydrogen nuclei into helium and kick off fusion reactions,” Frank writes. “The lasers used are factory-sized affairs that require enormous power to do their work. It was in the process of building these multistory light machines that scientists realized they were also incidentally building an unprecedented tool for studying the heavens.”

As for the future of HEDLA research, Frank says a “sweet spot” may be using laser-based experiments to assist in the search for distant worlds that could potentially harbor life.

“The universe is more in our hands than ever before,” he writes.

• Read the .

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Most people are familiar with solids, liquids, and gases as three states of matter. However, a fourth state of matter, called plasmas, is the most abundant form of matter in the universe, found throughout our solar system in the sun and other planetary bodies. Because dense plasma—a hot soup of atoms with free-moving electrons and ions—typically only forms under extreme pressure and temperatures, scientists are still working to comprehend the fundamentals of this state of matter. Understanding how atoms react under extreme pressure conditions—a field known as high-energy-density physics (HEDP)—gives scientists valuable insights into the fields of planetary science, astrophysics, and fusion energy.

One important question in the field of HEDP is how plasmas emit or absorb radiation. Current models depicting radiation transport in dense plasmas are heavily based on theory rather than experimental evidence.

In a published in Nature Communications, researchers at the �����Թ� (LLE) used LLE’s OMEGA laser to study how radiation travels through dense plasma. The research, led by , a distinguished scientist and group leader of the at the LLE and an associate professor of , and , a senior scientist in the LLE’s Laser-Plasma Interaction group, provides first-of-its-kind experimental data about the behavior of atoms at extreme conditions. The data will be used to improve plasma models, which allow scientists to better understand the evolution of stars and may aid in the realization of controlled nuclear fusion as an alternative energy source.

“Experiments using laser-driven implosions on OMEGA have created extreme matter at pressures several billion times the atmospheric pressure at Earth’s surface for us to probe how atoms and molecules behave at such extreme conditions,” Hu says. “These conditions correspond to the conditions inside the so-called envelope of white dwarf stars as well as inertial fusion targets.”

Using x-ray spectroscopy

The researchers used x-ray spectroscopy to measure how radiation is transported through plasmas. X-ray spectroscopy involves aiming a beam of radiation in the form of x-rays at a plasma made of atoms—in this case, copper atoms—under extreme pressure and heat. The researchers used the OMEGA laser both to create the plasma and to create the x-rays aimed at the plasma.

When the plasma is bombarded with x-rays, the electrons in the atoms “jump” from one energy level to another by either emitting or absorbing photons of light. A detector measures these changes, revealing the physical processes that are occurring inside the plasma, similar to taking an x-ray diagnostic of a broken bone.

A break from conventional theory

The researchers’ experimental measurements indicate that, when radiation travels through a dense plasma, the changes in atomic energy levels do not follow conventional quantum mechanics theories often used in plasma physics models—so-called “continuum-lowering” models. The researchers instead found that the measurements they observed in their experiments can be best explained using a self-consistent approach based on density-functional theory (DFT). DFT offers a quantum mechanical description of the bonds between atoms and molecules in complex systems. The DFT method was first described in the 1960s and was the subject of the .

“This work reveals fundamental steps for rewriting current textbook descriptions of how radiation generation and transport occurs in dense plasmas,” Hu says. “According to our experiments, using a self-consistent DFT approach more accurately describes the transport of radiation in a dense plasma.”
Says Nilson, “Our approach could provide a reliable way for simulating radiation generation and transport in dense plasmas encountered in stars and inertial fusion targets. The experimental scheme reported here, based on a laser-driven implosion, can be readily extended to a wide range of materials, opening the way for far-reaching investigations of extreme atomic physics at tremendous pressures.”

Researchers from Prism Computational Sciences and Sandia National Laboratories and additional researchers from the LLE, including physics graduate students David Bishel and Alex Chin, also contributed to this project.

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The summer outreach program, which is offered annually, was organized and led by graduate students Hannah Hasson and Imani West-Abdallah, who are part of the . The high school students spent time with Hasson and West-Abdallah in Gourdain’s lab as well as alongside PhD students Rayleigh Parker and Mihirangi Medahinne Gedar in��.

CMAP is a National Science Foundation Physics Frontier Center hosted at the University of Rochester in collaboration with researchers at MIT, Princeton University, the Universities of California at Berkeley and Davis, the University of Buffalo, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Research at the center focuses on understanding the physics and astrophysical implications of matter under pressures so high that the structure of individual atoms is disrupted.

From left to right:

High school students from Pittsford Mendon High School (l to r) Grace Wu, Vinay Pendri, and Jake Burdick fine-tune optics with an alignment laser and measure the beam height of the laser to make sure it stays consistent.

Rochester physics and astronomy PhD student Rayleigh Parker demonstrates how to make ice cream with liquid nitrogen.

Pittsford Mendon High School student Grace Wu uses an alignment laser to align optics in order to figure out where the lens will focus light into a spark.

Nearly 40 years ago, scientists predicted the existence of helium rain inside planets composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, such as Jupiter and Saturn. But achieving the experimental conditions necessary to test this hypothesis has not been possible. That is, until now.

In a paper , scientists at the �����Թ�, together with an international collaboration, reveal experimental evidence showing that helium rain—helium droplets falling through liquid metallic hydrogen, much like raindrops of water falling through the atmosphere on Earth—is possible over a range of pressure and temperature conditions that mirror those expected to occur inside planets such as Jupiter and Saturn. The discovery will help scientists determine how such planets form and will provide key insight into the evolution of Earth and the solar system.

What is helium rain?

“Our experiments suggest that deep inside Jupiter and Saturn, helium droplets are falling through a massive sea of liquid metallic hydrogen,” says��, the Tracy Hyde Harris Professor of Mechanical Engineering; associate director of science, technology, and academics at Rochester’s (LLE); and director of Rochester’s Center for Matter at Atomic Pressures. “That is a pretty amazing thing to think about next time you look up at Jupiter in the night sky. This work will help us better understand the nature and evolution of Jupiter, which is particularly important as Jupiter has long been thought to have been somewhat of a space trash collector—protecting our planet in the solar system.”

The international research team, which also included scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), and the University of California, Berkeley, conducted their experiments at the LLE’s Omega Laser Facility.

How high-powered lasers replicate the pressures inside planets

To achieve the pressure and temperature conditions that are expected inside planets like Saturn and Jupiter, the researchers precompressed helium and hydrogen mixtures in a diamond anvil cell to pressures approximately 40,000 times the pressure of Earth’s atmosphere. They then used the Omega Laser to launch strong shock waves into the samples to further compress them and heat them to several thousand degrees.

Using a series of ultrafast diagnostic tools, the team measured the shock velocity, the optical reflectivity of the shock-compressed sample, and its thermal emission, and found that the reflectivity of the sample did not increase smoothly with increasing shock pressure, as is the case in most samples the researchers studied with similar measurements.

Instead, they found discontinuities in the observed reflectivity signal, which indicate that the electrical conductivity of the sample was changing abruptly, a signature that the helium and hydrogen mixture was separating. When the helium separates from the hydrogen, it forms droplets—much like droplets of oil forming in a mixture of oil and water—and the helium has the potential to precipitate into helium rain.

Numerically simulating the demixing process is challenging because of subtle quantum effects, but the experiments conducted by the researchers will provide a critical benchmark for future theory and numerical simulations. The team will continue to refine their measurements in order to improve an understanding of materials at extreme conditions.

The work was funded by Lawrence Livermore’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development program, the National Science Foundation Physics Frontier Program, and the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

A new (NSF) Physics Frontier Center, hosted at the �����Թ�—in collaboration with researchers at MIT, Princeton, the Universities of California at Berkeley and Davis, the University at Buffalo, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory—will focus on understanding the physics and astrophysical implications of matter under pressures so high that the structure of individual atoms is disrupted.

The Center for Matter at Atomic Pressures (CMAP) will be funded with a five-year, $12.96 million from the NSF.

The Physics Frontiers Centers (PFC) bring together some of the nation’s most highly regarded university-based centers funded by the NSF to enable transformational advances in the most promising research areas.

“The Physics Frontiers Centers program supports creative and interdisciplinary work at the frontiers of physics,” says Jean Cottam Allen, the NSF program officer overseeing the centers. “Researchers at the Center for Matter at Atomic Pressures are investigating a new frontier of matter at extreme pressures.”

This is the first major initiative from NSF in the field of high-energy-density science and follows several recent smaller grants and awards, including a previous investment in establishing the for studies of matter under extreme pressures.

“This effort will help discover the nature of planets and stars throughout the universe, as well as the potential for new revolutionary states of matter here on Earth,” says principal investigator , the Tracy Hyde Harris Professor of Mechanical Engineering, a professor of physics and astronomy, and associate director of science, technology, and academics at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) at Rochester.

Leading a ‘paradigm shift’ in high-energy-density physics

Impetus for the project is two-fold, Collins says:

First is a recent “paradigm shift in how we think about extreme states of matter.” It was previously believed, for example, that materials subjected to very high, atomic-scale pressure, would transition to simple, densely packed metals. “However, recent theoretical and experimental results now suggest such extreme matter can become increasingly more complicated, with extraordinarily exotic properties,” Collins says. Aluminum, for example, may transform from a simple metal to a transparent insulator, hydrogen from a gas into a superconducting superfluid, and traditional hot conducting plasma to an insulating plasma.

Second is that thousands of planets, some of which may be platforms for life, have been discovered outside the solar system. To understand the nature of such massive bodies, researchers need to understand the planets’ deep interior states, which are under extreme pressures due to the crushing forces of gravity.

CMAP will lead discoveries at the confluence of two movements in science. Combining powerful lasers, pulsed-power, and X-ray beam technology with first-principles theory and astrophysical interpretation, the center will concentrate on four main areas of fundamental research:

• How hydrogen and helium behave at extraordinary densities in the so-called “gas giant” planets, including Jupiter and Saturn in our solar system. “This plays a key role in our understanding of how our solar system evolved,” Collins says.
• How other elements react at high densities, to understand the nature of terrestrial and water worlds in the universe, and how materials might be manipulated in laboratories on Earth to “harness revolutionary properties.”
• The pathways of energy transport that enable the dramatic change in properties and the energy balance of matter at extreme pressures. This will shed light on the evolution of planets and stars throughout the universe.
• The direct astrophysical implications of extreme matter properties—linking laboratory exploration of matter at atomic pressure with state-of-the-art models of astrophysical objects to better understand astronomical observations.

Project includes educational outreach in physics

The center also contains cutting-edge educational and outreach efforts.

“We’re going to bring our scientific results to people in a lot of innovative ways, including radio and web stories as well as video content,” says Adam Frank, a professor of physics and astronomy at Rochester who will lead outreach efforts. The educational outreach will focus on bringing high-energy-density science to students in a range of settings, from high schools to graduate schools.

“This effort will use modern computational and educational tools that teachers and student will also be able to leverage in other disciplines,” says , an associate professor of physics at Rochester, a recent winner of the CAREER award from NSF, and leader of CMAP’s educational efforts.

Co-principal investigators are Sara Seager at MIT, Adam Burrows at Princeton, Raymond Jeanloz at Berkeley, and Sarah Stewart at Davis. Senior investigators in addition to Frank and Gourdain include Eva Zurek from Buffalo, Burkhard Militzer from Berkeley, Tom Duffy from Princeton, Jon Eggert, Rick Kraus, and Peter Cellers at Livermore, and at Rochester, Eric Blackman and Ryan Rygg of the Department of Physics and Astronomy; Suxing Hu, Mohamed Zaghoo, and Philip Nilson of the Laboratory for Laser Energetics; Jessica Shang and Hussein Aluie of the Department of Mechanical Engineering; and Miki Nakajima of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Collins, Hu, Rygg, and Zaghoo are also affiliated with the University’s Materials Science Program.

The University’s Institute for Matter at Extreme Energy Density (IMAXED), home to the High-Energy-Density (HED) Physics program, launched in 2017, has quickly become a leader in the field.

“Rip has been a force on our campus in leading efforts in high-energy-density physics. He has worked as a bridge between the LLE, the rest of our campus, and other institutions, and has put tireless effort into bringing people together to do things previously not done,” says Rob Clark, provost and senior vice president for research at Rochester. The CMAP project is an example. “I congratulate him and the team that he assembled to successfully leverage resources to address this exciting area of fundamental science.”

Congressional congratulations for new center

Members of the University’s Congressional delegation extended their congratulations as well.

“The NSF funding for the University of Rochester’s Center for Matter at Atomic Pressures ensures Rochester will help lead the country in the field of high energy density science,” US Senator Charles Schumer says. “Establishing this new center in Rochester will support local jobs and enable UR researchers to make discoveries in cutting-edge physics while bolstering our nation’s scientific workforce to keep the US as a global leader in new scientific advances. I am proud to deliver this funding that will keep the University of Rochester at the forefront of cutting-edge scientific innovation. This is a great day for the University of Rochester and the scientific community.”

Congressman Joe Morelle says, “The �����Թ� continues to lead the way in groundbreaking scientific research. This major award from the National Science Foundation is further proof of their excellence in innovation and world-class efforts in the in the field of high-energy-density physics. Congratulations to the entire �����Թ� team on this exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of pursuing a new scientific frontier.”

“The world-class scientists at the University of Rochester produce ground-breaking discoveries that help advance our knowledge of the sciences, and this new federal funding will allow the university to continue that important work,” says Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “The Center for Matter at Atomic Pressures is a pioneer institution that will prepare university students for their future as leaders in the scientific workforce. I’m proud to announce this funding for the University of Rochester and I will always fight for the resources that New York State’s universities need to succeed.”

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New initiative turns laser focus on high-energy-density physics
The �����Թ� turns attention to the field of high-energy-density physics, an area the University is well poised to make major contributions.

Researchers turn liquid metal into a plasma
Researchers at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics are the first to turn a liquid metal into a plasma and to observe the temperature where a liquid under high-density conditions crosses over to a plasma state.

Rochester recognized as leader in high-energy-density physics
Of eight national projects in high-energy-density physics funded through the Department of Energy, three went to the University of Rochester.

One important question in the field of HED science is how matter under high-pressure conditions might emit or absorb radiation in ways that are different from our traditional understanding.

In a , , a distinguished scientist and at the University of Rochester’s (LLE), together with colleagues from the LLE and France, has applied theory and calculations to predict the presence of two new phenomena—interspecies radiative transition (IRT) and the breakdown of dipole selection rule—in the transport of radiation in atoms and molecules under HED conditions. The research enhances an understanding of HED science and could lead to more information about how stars and other astrophysical objects evolve in the universe.

What is interspecies radiative transition (IRT)?

Radiative transition is a physical process happening inside atoms and molecules, in which their electron or electrons can “jump” from different energy levels by either radiating (emitting) or absorbing a photon. Scientists find that, for matter in our everyday life, such radiative transitions mostly happen within each individual atom or molecule; the electron does its jumping between energy levels belonging to the single atom or molecule, and the jumping does not typically occur between different atoms and molecules. However, Hu and his colleagues predict that when atoms and molecules are placed under HED conditions, and are squeezed so tightly that they become very close to each other, radiative transitions can involve neighboring atoms and molecules.

“Namely, the electrons can now jump from one atom’s energy levels to those of other neighboring atoms,” Hu says.

What is the dipole selection rule?

Electrons inside an atom have specific symmetries. For example, “s-wave electrons” are always spherically symmetric, meaning they look like a ball, with the nucleus located in the atomic center; “p-wave electrons,” on the other hand, look like dumbbells. D-waves�� and other electron states have more complicated shapes. Radiative transitions will mostly occur when the electron jumping follows the so-called dipole selection rule, in which the jumping electron changes its shape from s-wave to p-wave, from p-wave to d-wave, and so forth.

Under normal, non-extreme conditions, Hu says, “one hardly sees electrons jumping among the same shapes, from s-wave to s-wave and from p-wave to p-wave, by emitting or absorbing photons.”

However, as Hu and his colleagues found, when materials are squeezed so tightly into the exotic HED state, the dipole selection rule is often broken down.

“Under such extreme conditions found in the center of stars and classes of laboratory fusion experiments, non-dipole x-ray emissions and absorptions can occur, which was never imagined before,” Hu says.

Using supercomputers to conduct calculations

The researchers used supercomputers at both the University of Rochester’s and at the LLE to conduct their calculations.

“Thanks to the tremendous advances in high-energy laser and pulsed-power technologies, ‘bringing stars to the earth’ has become reality for the past decade or two,” Hu says.

Hu and his colleagues performed their research using the density-functional theory (DFT) calculation, which offers a quantum mechanical description of the bonds between atoms and molecules in complex systems. The DFT method was first described in the 1960s, and was the subject of the . DFT calculations have been continually improved since. One such improvement to enable DFT calculations to involve core electrons was made by Valentin Karasev, a scientist at the LLE and a co-author of the paper.

The results indicate there are new emission/absorption lines appearing in the x-ray spectra of these extreme matter systems, which are from the previously unknown channels of IRT and the breakdown of dipole selection rule.

Hu and Philip Nilson, a senior scientist at the LLE and coauthor of the paper, are currently planning future experiments that will involve testing these new theoretical predictions at the OMEGA laser facility at the LLE. The facility lets users create exotic HED conditions in nanosecond timescales, allowing scientists to probe the unique behaviors of matter at extreme conditions.

“If proved to be true by experiments, these new discoveries will profoundly change how radiation transport is currently treated in exotic HED materials,” Hu says. “These DFT-predicted new emission and absorption channels have never been considered so far in textbooks.”

This research is based upon work supported by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The work is partially supported by the National Science Foundation.

The LLE was established at the University in 1970 and is the largest DOE university-based research program in the nation. As a nationally funded facility, supported by the National Nuclear Security Administration as part of its Stockpile Stewardship Program, the LLE conducts implosion and other experiments to explore fusion as a future source of energy, to develop new laser and materials technologies, and to conduct research and develop technology related to HED phenomena.

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Rochester recognized as leader in high-energy-density physics
Three of eight national research grants recently awarded by the Department of Energy were given to researchers at the University of Rochester, which is home to the largest university-based DOE research program in the nation.

Rochester leads multi-institutional effort to study ‘extreme matter’
Institutions including Cornell, Michigan, Princeton, and Stanford join Rochester in developing an instrument to produce and study matter that exists under pressures far higher than either on or inside Earth.

Laser lab ‘truly inspiring’ to federal government visitors
National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty said the University’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics plays a crucial role in advancing research vital to maintaining the safety of America’s nuclear security enterprise.

Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the DOE with core missions to maintain the nuclear stockpile, monitor and promote nonproliferation, power the nuclear Navy, and respond to nuclear and radiological emergencies. The LLE is the largest university-based US Department of Energy program in the nation and is home to the OMEGA laser, the most energetic laser system found at any academic institution. This past August, NNSA Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, along with US Representative Joseph Morelle, personally visited the LLE to meet with researchers and students and tour the OMEGA and OMEGA EP laser facilities—a visit Gordon-Hagerty called “truly inspiring.”

According to LLE Director Michael Campbell, the renewed NNSA agreement is a great expression of the agency’s long-term support for LLE and helps ensure that the lab’s leading role in fusion, high-energy-density science, and advanced high-intensity lasers and optics will continue in Rochester.

Said University President Sarah Mangelsdorf: “The University is extremely thankful to the National Nuclear Security Administration for this renewed commitment to the LLE, and very grateful to US Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and Representatives Morelle, Tom Reed, and John Katko for their dedication to this funding effort and tireless leadership and support to the University. I was honored to meet with NNSA Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty at our LLE in August and was extremely proud to showcase our talented students, scientists, faculty, and staff who make the facility a truly world-class destination for inertial-confinement fusion and high-energy-density physics research. The LLE’s contributions over the years have advanced the nation’s scientific leadership, strengthened our national and economic security, and fostered the development of new technologies and companies, and I look forward to LLE’s exciting future in Rochester.”

“I’m so glad that NNSA and DOE have heard my concerns and now recognize the need to enlist the Rochester Laser Lab’s cutting-edge capabilities through this brand-new, record-high five-year cooperative agreement,” said Schumer. “This agreement will enable the world-class lab to continue making vital contributions to national security and providing invaluable sources of scientific education and leadership that ultimately support DOE’s mission. I pushed for this new cooperative agreement to keep the lab up and running every chance I got because not only does it play a paramount role in our national security, but is also vital to our regional economy, employing hundreds of scientists and bringing millions of dollars into the region. The United States of America has always taken pride in our scientific achievements, and with the Laser Lab being responsible for so many of them, I’ll always fight relentlessly to ensure it has the necessary resources to keep innovating on behalf of the American people.”

“I’m very pleased that the Department of Energy has once again recognized the University of Rochester’s leadership and contributions to our nation’s energy and security fields, and that it will continue to operate the Laboratory for Laser Energetics in partnership with the University,” said Gillibrand. “The University’s Laser Lab conducts ground-breaking, globally recognized research, and is vital to keeping our nation at the forefront of the high-tech economy. That’s why I lead the fight every year to ensure it has the federal support it needs. The continued partnership between the University and the Department of Energy will help ensure that the lab will stay in Rochester, where it can keep building on its success.”

“Congratulations to the University of Rochester on the finalization of the new five-year cooperative agreement,” said Morelle. “This substantial authorization will leverage the unique assets of the��Laboratory for Laser Energetics facility to further grow their innovative and cutting-edge scientific research. We are blessed to have this world-class institution in our backyard that continues to cement its place as a global leader in innovative technologies. I am grateful to NNSA for their investment in the future of our community and look forward to the continued growth of the LLE.”

The LLE was established with funding from the University of Rochester, New York state, and private industry. With growing support from the Department of Energy beginning in 1975, the LLE operates the National Laser Users Facility and attracts as many as 500 additional scientists each year from national laboratories, universities, and companies from the United States and other nations. In addition to its vital roles in various areas of scientific research and its support of the local high-tech economy, the LLE also plays an important part in educating the next generation of scientists and engineers; because it is located on a university campus, undergraduates and even area high school students are able to benefit from its resources and programs.

Recognizing the importance of high-energy-density science, the recently in high-energy-density physics to be awarded a total of $3.5 million. Three of the eight awards were given to researchers at the University of Rochester.

“The recent notification of the awards in high-energy-density physics demonstrates the quality and impact of research at the University and the Laser Lab,” says Michael Campbell, director of Rochester’s (LLE). “HEDP is a growing and important field of research and the �����Թ� is a recognized world leader. We are grateful to the Department of Energy for selecting these outstanding proposals.”

The three projects were awarded to researchers at the LLE and the University of Rochester .

–, an assistant professor of physics, received $500,000 for his project, “How Do Magnetized HED Flows Transition to Collimated Plasma Jets?”

–, a professor of physics and astronomy, received $740,000 for his project, “The Radiative Magneto-Hydrodynamics of Colliding Flow: Instabilities, Reconnection and Exoplanet Atmosphere Connections.”

–, a scientist at the LLE, received $650,000 for his project, “High Energy Density Magnetized Shock Physics and Convergent Flows.”

The University is well poised to make major contributions to the field of HEDP. The LLE, for example, is the largest university-based DOE research program in the nation and is home to the OMEGA and OMEGA EP lasers, the most powerful laser systems found at any academic institution in the world. The LLE additionally operates the National Laser Users’ Facility, which allows researchers from all over the world to probe the extremes of temperature and pressure in laboratory-scale experiments.

Rochester also recently received��a $4 million grant from the Quantum Information Science Research for Fusion Energy Sciences (QIS) program within the The grant will be used to better understand and apply the quantum (subatomic) phenomena that cause materials to be transformed at pressures more than a million—even a billion—times the atmospheric pressure on Earth.

, professor of mechanical engineering in the and of physics in the , as well as associate director at the (LLE), will lead this research with Department of Mechanical Engineering faculty and ; , , and from the LLE; along with distinguished scientists from a number of other institutions across the globe.

“It has been about 100 years since scientists began to discover the exotic properties of quantum matter. Since then, scientists and engineers have exploited such properties by exploring matter at extremely low temperature, where thermal agitation, e.g. the great destroyer of subtle quantum correlations, hides such behavior,” said Collins. “Today we begin to explore a new realm of quantum matter, where atoms are squeezed to such close proximity that quantum properties are no longer subtle, and can persist to very high temperatures. Our team is diverse and contains top leaders in the fields of high-energy density science, emergent quantum materials, plasmas, condensed matter and computations. We will have extensive outreach, workshops and high profile publications, to engage a world-wide community in this extreme quantum revolution.”

“We are very pleased that the DOE has chosen to invest in Rochester’s high-energy density research programs and the groundbreaking fusion research conducted at our Laboratory for Laser Energetics,” said Rob Clark, University provost and senior vice president for research. “The leadership and expertise of our scientists and our state-of-the-art research tools make the University of Rochester an ideal environment to pursue advances in QIS.”

“The Laser Lab is a world-renowned center for groundbreaking research and scientific exploration, and the discoveries that will result from this new work at the lab are no exception,” said US Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer. “This new DOE investment affirms the LLE’s international reputation for scientific innovation and underscores my continued push to keep the lab and its more than 350 employees on the job.”

• LEARN MORE: A ‘new chapter’ in quest for quantum materials

US Representative Joe Morelle said: “The Laboratory for Laser Energetics continues to cement its place as a world-class institution and leader in cutting edge scientific research. This substantial award will allow the University of Rochester to leverage this unique facility to explore new realms of quantum matter and phenomena, making discoveries with fascinating potential future applications right here in Rochester. I am grateful to DOE for their investment in the future of our community and congratulate the University of Rochester on this exciting award.”

LLE Director Mike Campbell said: “We are very pleased that the DOE has recognized the quality and the potential for advancing our knowledge of the quantum behavior of matter at the extreme conditions that we can produce with these laser facilities. This also shows how the different offices in the DOE effectively work together. The facilities and capabilities provided by National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) at LLE will enable cutting edge science funded by the DOE Office of Fusion energy Sciences.”

This “Extreme Quantum Team” will focus their research on tuning the energy density of matter into a high-energy-density (HED) quantum regime to understand extremes of quantum matter behavior, properties and phenomena. Since the early days of quantum mechanics, the realm of quantum matter has been limited to low temperatures, restricting the breadth of quantum phenomena that could be exploited and explored. The project will take advantage of new developments in HED science that enable the controlled manipulation of pressure, temperature and composition, opening the way to revolutionary quantum states of matter. For example, this team will use compression experiments to tune the distance between atoms thereby unlocking a new quantum behavior at unprecedentedly high temperatures, transferring quantum phenomena to the macroscale, and opening the potential for hot superconductors, superconducting-superfluid plasma, transparent aluminum, insulating plasma and potentially more.

The call for applications for this QIS award asked for proposals that can have a transformative impact on the FES mission, which is to expand the fundamental understanding of matter at very high temperatures and densities and to build the scientific foundation needed to develop a fusion energy source. The FES pursues scientific opportunities and grand challenges in high energy density plasma science to better understand our universe and to enhance national security and economic competitiveness. FES is also focused on increasing the fundamental understanding of basic plasma science to create opportunities for a broader range of science-based applications.