Elements: Scalable and Automated Atomic Portal - Bridging the Gap Between Research Codes and User Community

University Of Delaware, Newark DE

Investigators

Abstract

In a number of present applications, ranging from studies of fundamental interactions to the development of future technologies, accurate atomic theory is indispensable to the design and interpretation of experiments, with direct experimental measurement of relevant parameters being impossible or infeasible. These data are also in high demand by broader atomic, plasma, astrophysics, and nuclear physics communities. The need for high-precision atomic modeling has increased significantly in recent years with the development of atomic-base quantum technologies for a wide range of fundamental and practical applications. Starting from the prototype codes developed by our group, we will develop open-access atomic software with a user-friendly interface capable of calculating a large volume of high-quality atomic data for various atoms and ions. We will develop a scalable and automated data portal with a convenient interface that will allow for easy addition of data for new elements and updates of data already provided by the portal. Beyond the immediate research and cyberinfrastructure aims of the proposed effort, this project will impact student learning, the broader knowledge base of atomic physicists, the productivity of the larger science community, and the competitiveness of the private sector in atomic physics engineering. This project aims to bridge the gap between the development of atomic physics research codes and the need for data and software by the user community. Further rapid advances in applications involving complex atoms will require accurate knowledge of basic atomic properties, most of which remain highly uncertain and difficult to measure experimentally. Moreover, the lack of a reliable theoretical framework hinders the search for further applications of rich, complex atomic structures. This project provides high-quality atomic data and software in several scientific communities. To meet the needs of the community, we will (1) develop a scalable and sustainable online data portal with an automated interface for easy update and addition of new data, (2) continue the development of open-access atomic software based on our research codes that allow generating large volumes of data with automated accuracy assessments. The portal will provide energies, wavelengths, transition matrix elements, and rates for various transition types, branching ratios, lifetimes, polarizabilities, hyperfine constants, and other data. We plan to make data for over 100 atoms and ions, including high-charged ions, available for the user community by the end of this project. Significant scaling of the portal will require a new level of both atomic code and portal automatization. The new interface will allow easy addition of data for new elements and updates of data already provided by the portal by the physics team of the PI and collaborators to ensure that the portal is sustainable beyond the funding period. This award by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure is jointly supported by the Physics at the Information Frontier in the Division of Physics within the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.