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At least 271 records · Page 15

Excellent Timing Cherenkov Light Detection for Dual-readout High-granularity Calorimetry

We are developing a Cherenkov detector aiming for applications in the next-generation calorimetry. It is a calorimetry that combines dual-readout and high-granularity with excellent timing capability. This work is to prove the concept of the Cherenkov detector utilizing a resistive plate chamber (RPC) with Diamond-Like Carbon as resistive electrode. The first prototype was tested with β-rays and cosmic-rays. This paper discusses the behavior of the charge spectrum and the time resolution of the first prototype.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Nondestructive microstructural investigation of defects in 4H-SiC epilayers using a multiscale luminescence analysis approach

The development of metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) utilizing epitaxially grown 4H-SiC has accelerated in recent years due to their favorable properties, including a high breakdown field, high saturated electron drift velocity, and good thermal conductivity. However, extended defects in epitaxial 4H-SiC can affect both device yields and operational lifetime. In this work, we demonstrate the importance of a multiscale luminescence characterization approach to studying nondestructively extended defects in epitaxial 4H-SiC semiconducting materials. Multiscale luminescence analysis reveals different aspects of excess charge carrier recombination behavior based on the scale of a particular measurement. Combining measurements of the same extended defect area at different scales tells us more about the essential nature of that defect and its microstructure. Here, we use photoluminescence imaging and cathodoluminescence spectrum imaging to investigate the recombination behavior of several different types of extended defects, including stacking faults, inclusions, and basal plane dislocations. A detailed understanding of the optoelectronic properties of extended defects in epitaxial SiC helps elucidate the microstructure of extended defects and can provide pathways to mitigate detrimental changes during device operation related to their evolution, such as the recombination enhanced dislocation glide effect that affects SiC-based MOSFETs.

3C-inclusion↗

Electronic and optical characterization of bulk single crystals of cubic boron nitride (cBN)

Cubic boron nitride (cBN) is a relatively less studied wide bandgap semiconductor despite its many promising mechanical, thermal, and electronic properties. We report on the electronic, structural, and optical characterization of commercial cBN crystal platelets. Temperature dependent transport measurements revealed the charge limited diode behavior of the cBN crystals. The equilibrium Fermi level was determined to be 0.47 eV below the conduction band, and the electron conduction was identified as n-type. Unirradiated dark and amber colored cBN crystals displayed broad photoluminescence emission peaks centered around different wavelengths. RC series zero phonon line defect emission peaks were observed at room temperature from the electron beam irradiated and oxygen ion implanted cBN crystals, making this material a promising candidate for high power microwave devices, next generation power electronics, and future quantum sensing applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Design, construction, and testing of no-insulation small subscale solenoids for compact tokamaks

Fusion energy systems studies (FESS) for next-step devices based on the most promising magnetic configurations indicate that high magnetic fields and high current density for magnet coil systems may reduce device size and lower the cost. High current density and radiation resistant fusion magnets are particularly beneficial for low cost, low aspect ratio compact reactor designs such as Fusion Nuclear Science Facility (FNSF), Fusion Pilot Plant (FPP) of low-aspect ratio spherical tokamak (ST) or compact stellarators. Unlike typical high field magnets for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or high energy physics research applications, neutron irradiation damage to organic insulations in the coil winding pack is a critical issue for next generation fusion reactors where orders of magnitude higher neutron fluence than those in present experimental reactors such as ITER are expected. Moreover, a high coil winding pack current density is needed for high field magnets in low cost, compact radial build next step fusion reactors. The slow current charging time, however, is an issue in fully non-insulated coils. In this work, we present the design, construction and testing of subscale Nb3Sn solenoids, up to half the diameter of the central solenoid (CS) for National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX), with and without inter-layer insulation for enhancing radiation resistance while improving the winding pack current density and coil performance. The major radius for the NSTX/NSTX-Upgrade (reference for compact ST) is 0.854/0.934 meter, and 4.8 meters for FNSF. The magnetic field for NSTX/NSTX-U at the plasma center is 0.6/1 Tesla and 9 Tesla for FNSF. The inner diameter of the central solenoid coil is 0.2/0.4 meter for NSTX/NSTX-U and 1.2 meters for FNSF. The current charging and discharging behavior of the prototype solenoids was investigated to quantify performance advantages of a simplified coil fabrication without error-prone vacuum pressure impregnation (VPI) for the removal of epoxy organic insulation. Scalability of the no insulation concept for fusion can be addressed via engineered coating for novel insulation on contact resistance or intra-layer no insulations. Radiation resistance and coil winding efficiency were significantly improved in the no insulation coils for next step compact fusion reactors.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Magnetized neutral 2SC color superconductivity and possible origin of the inner magnetic field of magnetars

In this paper, the neutral 2SC phase of color superconductivity is investigated in the presence of a magnetic field and for diquark coupling constants and baryonic densities that are expected to characterize neutron stars. Specifically, the behavior of the charged gluons Meissner masses is investigated in the parameter region of interest, taking into account, in addition, the contribution of a rotated magnetic field. It is found that up to moderately high diquark coupling constants the mentioned Meissner masses become tachyonic independently of the applied magnetic-field amplitude, hence signalizing the chromomagnetic instability of this phase. To remove the instability, the restructuring of the system ground state is proposed, which now will be formed by vortices of the rotated charged gluons. These vortices boost the applied magnetic field, having the most significant increase for relatively low applied magnetic fields. Finally, considering that with the stellar rotational frequency observed for magnetars a field of the order of 10 8 G can be generated by dynamo effect, we show that by the boosting effect just described the field can be amplified to 10 17 G that is in the range of inner core fields expected for magnetars. Thus, we conclude that the described mechanism could be the one responsible for the large fields characterizing magnetars if the cores of these compact objects are formed by neutral 2SC matter. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Yuan, Shuai↗

Self-assembly of nanocrystals into strongly electronically coupled all-inorganic supercrystals

Colloidal nanocrystals of metals, semiconductors, and other functional materials can self-assemble into long-range ordered crystalline and quasicrystalline phases, but insulating organic surface ligands prevent the development of collective electronic states in ordered nanocrystal assemblies. We reversibly self-assembled colloidal nanocrystals of gold, platinum, nickel, lead sulfide, and lead selenide with conductive inorganic ligands into supercrystals exhibiting optical and electronic properties consistent with strong electronic coupling between the constituent nanocrystals. The phase behavior of charge-stabilized nanocrystals can be rationalized and navigated with phase diagrams computed for particles interacting through short-range attractive potentials. By finely tuning interparticle interactions, the assembly was directed either through one-step nucleation or nonclassical two-step nucleation pathways. In the latter case, the nucleation was preceded by the formation of two metastable colloidal fluids.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Direct Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide Using Nickel Hydroxide Batteries in a Membrane Electrode Assembly

Direct air capture (DAC) is a growing field responding to the need to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Several technologies are being developed today attempting to meet this need. The technology furthest in development are temperature swing adsorption technologies which have recently moved out of the pilot plant scale.1 This presentation looks to present an electrochemical device as alternative to these technologies. The electrochemical device proposed is a pair of nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH)2) battery electrodes which produce hydroxide (OH-). The hydroxide reacts with carbon dioxide (CO2) to create carbonate (CO32-) and bicarbonate (HCO3-). These carbonates can be transported from the cathode across an anion exchange membrane to the anode where they are evolved back into CO2 due to a pH reduction at the anode. This builds on work that optimized a Hydroxide Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (HEMFC) for CO2 capture, showing the efficacy of an electrochemically mediated pH swing carbon capture device.2,3 The benefit of the nickel hydroxide battery approach is the low energy cost associated with separation. Because a pair of nickel hydroxide batteries undergo the same electrochemical reaction, low potentials, and thus low energy cost is required. Experiments have shown device level energy requirements of less than 1 MWh ton-1CO2. Most of the energy required by the device produces the pH gradient used to capture and release CO2. The biggest hurdle for this electrochemical approach is increasing the flux of CO2 to allow for more compact devices. Strategies for managing the transient charge and discharge behavior of the battery system will be discussed. Focus will be on improving flux to reduce the overall cost of the device.

Buchen, James↗

Fatigue failure of hydrogen embrittled high strength steels

Results of an experimental investigation are presented concerning the fracture behavior of cathodically charged, quenched and tempered martensitic steels under cyclic load conditions. Introduction of H2 by cathodic charging reduced fatigue life by as much as 60%. It is proposed that subsurface transverse fatigue cracks nucleate simultaneously at multiple sites, such as at microcracks, voids, or inclusions. Fatigue crack growth then occurs on planes perpendicular to the major applied stress axis in the presence of the critical combination of applied external stress and hydrogen.

Kim, Y. G.↗

Dynamics of the Jovian magnetosphere and energetic particle radiation

Inferences are drawn from Jovian magnetosphere data acquired in the flybys of Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11. Data on the outer magnetosphere and the inner core, and on observed 10-hr variations in particle intensity, are summarized, with attention given to the immense size and complexity of the magnetosphere and the behavior of trapped charged particles. The data support the maintenance and acceleration of charged particles trapped in Jupiter's magnetic field by inward diffusion in violation of the third adiabatic invariant. Prodigious quantities of high-energy particles are found to escape from Jupiter into interplanetary space, and MHD waves in the circumjovian plasma are considered. Whether the 10-hr variations are spatial or temporal in origin is weighed in favor of the latter. Production and loss mechanisms for the particles, and the nature of the Jovian magnetosphere itself, are noted among questions remaining obscure.

Simpson, J. A.↗

The Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer

The Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS) on Ulysses is designed to determine uniquely the elemental and ionic-charge composition, and the temperatures and mean speeds of all major solar-wind ions, from H through Fe, at solar wind speeds ranging from 175 km/s (protons) to 1280 km/s (Fe(8+)). The instrument, which covers an energy per charge range from 0.16 to 59.6 keV/e in about 13 min, combines an electrostatic analyzer with postacceleration, followed by a time-of-flight and energy measurement. The measurements made by SWICS will have an impact on many areas of solar and heliospheric physics, in particular providing essential and unique information on: (1) conditions and processes in the region of the corona where the solar wind is accelerated; (2) the location of the source regions of the solar wind in the corona; (3) coronal heating processes; (4) the extent and causes of variations in the composition of the solar atmosphere; (5) plasma processes in the solar wind; (6) the acceleration of energetic particles in the solar wind; (7) the thermalization and acceleration of interstellar ions in the solar wind, and their composition; and (8) the composition, charge states, and behavior of the plasma in various regions of the Jovian magnetosphere.

Gloeckler, G.↗

Coulomb effects in low-energy nuclear fragmentation

Early versions of the Langley nuclear fragmentation code NUCFRAG (and a publicly released version called HZEFRG1) assumed straight-line trajectories throughout the interaction. As a consequence, NUCFRAG and HZEFRG1 give unrealistic cross sections for large mass removal from the projectile and target at low energies. A correction for the distortion of the trajectory by the nuclear Coulomb fields is used to derive fragmentation cross sections. A simple energy-loss term is applied to estimate the energy downshifts that greatly alter the Coulomb trajectory at low energy. The results, which are far more realistic than prior versions of the code, should provide the data base for future transport calculations. The systematic behavior of charge-removal cross sections compares favorably with results from low-energy experiments.

Wilson, John W.↗

The annihilation of positrons in the cold phase of the interstellar medium revisited

The positron cross sections in H and H2 media are reevaluated, taking into account new experimental results. Using a Monte Carlo simulation, we find a positronium fraction before thermalization of 0.90 for H2, in good agreement with the previous experimental result given by Brown et al. (1986). For H we obtain an upper limit of 0.98. We study the behavior of the charge exchange annihilation in a cold phase (molecular cloud). We calculate a formula for the slowing-down time t, before annihilation lasting Delta t, via charge exchange, of a positron beam with a given energy for different medium densities and initial energies. An upper limit of 0.7 MeV for the initial energy of the positrons, annihilating in the molecular cloud G0.86 - 0.08 near the gamma ray source positronium and gives new time constraints on their possible observation.

Wallyn, P.↗

Physics of Granular Materials: Investigations in Support of Astrobiology

This publication list is submitted as a summary of the work conducted under Cooperative Agreement 1120. The goal of the 1120 research was to study granular materials within a planetary, astrophysical, and astrobiological context. This involved research on the physical, mechanical and electrostatic properties of granular systems, as well as the examination of these materials with atomic force microscopy and x-ray analysis. Instruments for analyzing said materials in planetary environments were developed, including the MECA (Mars Environment Compatibility Assessment) experiment for the MSP '01 lander, the ECHOS/MATADOR experiment for the MSP '03 lander, an ISRU experiment for the '03 lander, and MiniLEAP technology. Flight experiments for microgravity (Space Station and Shuttle) have also been developed for the study of granular materials. As expressed in the publications, work on 1120 encompassed laboratory research, theoretical modeling, field experiments, and flight experiments: a series of successful new models were developed for understanding the behavior of triboelectrostatically charged granular masses, and 4 separate instruments were selected for space flight. No inventions or patents were generated by the research under this Agreement.

Marshall, John R.↗

Fractional Statistics

The quantum-mechanical description of assemblies of particles whose motion is confined to two (or one) spatial dimensions offers many possibilities that are distinct from bosons and fermions. We call such particles anyons. The simplest anyons are parameterized by an angular phase parameter θ. θ = 0, π correspond to bosons and fermions, respectively; at intermediate values, we say that we have fractional statistics. In two dimensions, θ describes the phase acquired by the wave function as two anyons wind around one another counterclockwise. It generates a shift in the allowed values for the relative angular momentum. Composites of localized electric charge and magnetic flux associated with an abelian U(1) gauge group realize this behavior. More complex charge-flux constructions can involve nonabelian and product groups acting on a spectrum of allowed charges and fluxes, giving rise to nonabelian and mutual statistics. Interchanges of nonabelian anyons implement unitary transformations of the wave function within an emergent space of internal states. Anyons of all kinds are described by quantum field theories that include Chern–Simons terms. The crossings of one-dimensional anyons on a ring are unidirectional, such that a fractional phase θ acquired upon interchange gives rise to fractional shifts in the relative momenta between the anyons. The quasiparticle excitations of fractional quantum Hall states have long been predicted to include anyons. Recently, the anyon behavior predicted for quasiparticles in the ν = 1/3 fractional quantum Hall state has been observed in both scattering and interferometric experiments. Excitations within designed systems, notably including superconducting circuits, can exhibit anyon behavior. Such systems are being developed for possible use in quantum information processing.

Physics↗

Effect of pulsed current charging on the performance of nickel-cadium cells

The effect of pulsed current charging on the charge acceptance of NiCd cells in terms of mass transfer, kinetic, and structural considerations was investigated. A systemic investigation on the performance of Ni-Cd cells by pulsed current charging was conducted under a variety of well-defined charge-discharge conditions. Experiments were carried out with half cells and film electrodes. The system behavior was studied by charge acceptance, mechanistic, and structural measurements.

Bedrossian, A. A.↗

National Dataset of EV Charging Stations With Estimates of Load and Vehicle Throughput

Current data from the AFDC provide locations and many details about EV charging stations, but not estimates of their peak loads or the number of vehicles they can accommodate. This dataset will augment the AFDC charging station locations with estimates of transmission load and vehicle throughput based on engineering specifications of the chargers, charging patterns based on vehicle types, battery capacities, and user behavior.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗