Adsorption of Quantum Fluids inside Carbon Nanotubes

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This award supports theoretical and computational research and education on quantum fluids. Accurate numerical simulations, based on quantum Monte Carlo methods, will be performed to study the adsorption of Helium on a variety of substrates with the aim of investigating novel physical phenomena involving superfluidity and Bose condensation in confined systems. The PI will study physisorption of quantum fluids inside carbon nanotubes, in zeolites, and on alkali metal substrates to include helium mixtures and molecular hydrogen. His earlier exploration of helium confined in bundles of nanotubes suggested the possibility of a low temperature transition to a novel anisotropic superfluid phase and a possible commensurate to incommensurate transition. In this award, a theoretical investigation of the phase diagram of helium and molecular hydrogen inside carbon nanotubes will be carried out. It is thought that the confinement of molecular hydrogen will prevent crystallization at low temperatures enabling the observation of a superfluid state. Simulations will be performed using realistic interactions of helium atoms and hydrogen molecules with the confining system. %%%This award supports theoretical and computational research and education on quantum fluids. The PI will use quantum Monte Carlo methods to study helium trapped inside of bundles of carbon nanotubes. The confinement of the helium atoms inside the carbon nanotube structures alters the properties of the helium quantum liquid leading to possible novel physical properties. The system is at sufficiently low temperature that quantum mechanical effects become important. The PI will also study molecular hydrogen in carbon nanotubes and the interaction of both liquids with zeolites and alkali metal surfaces that confine or reduce the dimensionality of the liquid. This research contributes to the fundamental knowledge of nanostructures and the study of materials on the nanoscale. ***