Moffett Field

Nov 15, 2024 | academic.oup.com | Moffett Field

Strong anharmonic coupling between vibrational states in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) produces highly mixed vibrational transitions that challenge the current understanding of the nature of the astronomical mid-infrared PAH emission bands. Traditionally, PAH emission bands have been characterized as either aromatic or aliphatic, and this assignment is used to determine the fraction of aliphatic carbon in astronomical sources.

Aug 23, 2024 | link.aps.org | Erik Gustafson |Moffett Field |Yao Ji |Technische Universität München

We construct the primitive gate set for the digital quantum simulation of the 108-element Σ(36×3) group. This is the first time a non-Abelian crystal-like subgroup of SU(3) has been constructed for quantum simulation. The gauge link registers and necessary primitives—the inversion gate, the group multiplication gate, the trace gate, and the Σ(36×3) Fourier transform—are presented for both an eight-qubit encoding and a heterogeneous three-qutrit plus two-qubit register.

May 6, 2024 | academic.oup.com | Moffett Field

The recent detection of cyanobenzene (C H CN) (McGuire et al. 2018; Agúndez et al. 2023) and cyanonaphthalene (C H CN) (McGuire et al. 2021) in cold molecular clouds confirmed what has been postulated for a long time: cyano-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (CN-PAHs) exist in space (Bernstein, Sandford & Allamandola 1997).

Jan 19, 2024 | academic.oup.com | Abu Dhabi |Moffett Field

We report elastic and inelastic cross sections for fast superthermal 12C(3P) and 13C(3P) atoms scattering on 12CO . The cross sections were computed using quantum-mechanical rotationally close-coupling formalism with the electronic interaction described by a newly constructed potential energy surface correlating to the lowest energy asymptote of the complex.

Jan 9, 2024 | academic.oup.com | Space Exploration |Mary Beth |Space science |Moffett Field

Dry permafrost is a challenging environment for microbial life due to the cold, dry, and often oligotrophic conditions. In 2016, Elephant Head, Antarctica was confirmed as the second site on Earth to contain dry permafrost. It is geographically distinct from the McMurdo Dry Valleys where dry permafrost has been studied previously. Here we present the first study of the microbial activity, diversity, and functional potential of Elephant Head dry permafrost.