# Presentation: 184927

## Part II:Emerging Themes in BES: Complexity and Control Specific Opportunities and Challenges 

***Co-Chairs***
- Bruce Harmon – Ames Lab and Iowa State University
- Kate Kirby – ITAMP, Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
- Bill McCurdy – University of California, Davis, and Berkeley Lab

## A Broad Palette of Candidate Scientific Areas

**The diversity of scientific areas within the BES portfolio is one of its greatest strengths.**
- The original working list of specific opportunities contained ~15 areas and outstanding problems, and was reduced to 8 in discussions and votes of the subcommittee.
- Several important areas of the BES portfolio were not  represented in the initial verbal testimony, but some of those are addressed by written testimony.
*This may not be the final list that appears in the full report.*

## The Themes of Complexity and Control

- “Complexity” and “Control” are already well-established themes of the BES portfolio
- We have tentatively divided the specific research  opportunities that were identified by the subcommittee into three categories – albeit with significant overlap:

**Complex Systems **
**Quantum Control of Physical Systems**
**Control of Complex Systems**

## Complex Systems

**Nanoscale materials and phenomena:**** ** providing early insight and guidance, and ultimately quantitative understanding, for the emerging new science and technology of materials designed, fabricated and operating at nano-meter length scales.
**Correlated electrons in solids:**  developing theories and new computational methods that will allow quantitative understanding of spectacular phenomena such as high Tc superconductivity, colossal magneto-resistance and exotic magnetic phases.

**Notes:**
Metal insulator transitions driven by magnetic fields

## Complex Systems (cont.)

**Excited electronic states:***  *improving and developing new computational approaches to understand the structure and dynamics of electronically excited states in molecules, liquids, and solids, and at interfaces, leading to better control of catalysis and radiation-induced processes.
**Defects in solids: ** developing computational methods for bridging the atomic and mesoscopic length scales to understand and control important physical properties of materials such as strength, transport, fatigue, and magnetic hysteresis.

## Quantum Control of Physical Systems

**Control of energy, matter, and information flow at the quantum level:**** **directing the outcome of chemically-reactive processes with shaped laser pulses, and tuning the interaction strengths of few-atom or many-body systems using external fields in quantum gases, are just two exciting examples that demand critical theoretical guidance.
**Ultrafast physics: ** optimizing new sources of attosecond light pulses and femtosecond electron pulses, and addressing the new physics accessed by those sources holds the promise of revolutionizing the study and control of electron dynamics.

## Quantum Control of Physical Systems (cont.)

**Magnetic spin systems and single electron devices:**  understanding the quantum level processes that govern spin and electron transport in new multilayer materials and ultra-small devices being investigated for the next paradigm in computer technology.

## Control of Complex Systems

**Biomimetic energy processes: ** understanding of photochemical and enzymatic processes leading to improved charge transport mechanisms and ultimately to engineering-level control of biomimetic energy production.
**Catalysis:  **designing and controlling catalytic systems,  especially involving multiple phases (e.g. molecules on surfaces).  *There is substantial overlap with the thrust in nanoscience, and only a small amount of input so far in this area*.

## WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE?

- Some important problems clearly with the range and mission of the BES portfolio were eliminated in the selection of this list:
*Heavy element chemistry, especially relativistic treatments,*
*Turbulent reacting flow in combustion, and granular flow,*
*Photonic materials and optical control at the micron scale.*
- There is strength in the diversity of the BES portfolio, BUT
- Too many “Opportunities” will weaken the impact of the report.
- Too few could distort reality and skew our recommendations to BES.
- Spurious “Opportunities” would damage BESAC’s credibility.