Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Plot extraction”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

257 records · Page 15

Distant Cluster Hunting: A Comparison of X-Ray and Optical Cluster Detection Techniques and Catalogs from the ROSAT Optical X-Ray Survey - II

We present and analyze the optical and X-ray catalogs of moderate-redshift cluster candidates from the ROSA TOptical X-Ray Survey, or ROXS. The survey covers the sky area contained in the fields of view of 23 deep archival ROSA T PSPC pointings, 4.8 square degrees. The cross-correlated cluster catalogs were con- structed by comparing two independent catalogs extracted from the optical and X-ray bandpasses, using a matched-filter technique for the optical data and a wavelet technique for the X-ray data. We cross-identified cluster candidates in each catalog. As reported in Paper 1, the matched-filter technique found optical counter- parts for at least 60% (26 out of 43) of the X-ray cluster candidates; the estimated redshifts from the matched filter algorithm agree with at least 7 of 1 1 spectroscopic confirmations (Az 5 0.10). The matched filter technique. with an imaging sensitivity of ml N 23, identified approximately 3 times the number of candidates (155 candidates, 142 with a detection confidence >3 u) found in the X-ray survey of nearly the same area. There are 57 X-ray candidates, 43 of which are unobscured by scattered light or bright stars in the optical images. Twenty-six of these have fairly secure optical counterparts. We find that the matched filter algorithm, when applied to images with galaxy flux sensitivities of mI N 23, is fairly well-matched to discovering z 5 1 clusters detected by wavelets in ROSAT PSPC exposures of 8000-60,000 s. The difference in the spurious fractions between the optical and X-ray (30%) and IO%, respectively) cannot account for the difference in source number. In Paper I, we compared the optical and X-ray cluster luminosity functions and we found that the luminosity functions are consistent if the relationship between X-ray and optical luminosities is steep (Lx o( L&f). Here, in Paper 11, we present the cluster catalogs and a numerical simulation of the ROXS. We also present color-magnitude plots for several of the cluster candidates, and examine the prominence of the red sequence in each. We find that the X-ray clusters in our survey do not all have a prominent red sequence. We conclude that while the red sequence may be a distinct feature in the color-magnitude plots for virialized massive clusters, it may be less distinct in lower mass clusters of galaxies at even moderate redshifts. Multiple, complementary methods of selecting and defining clusters may be essential, particularly at high redshift where all methods start to run into completeness limits, incomplete understanding of physical evolution, and projection effects.

Donahue, Megan↗

Spectral energy distributions of the brightest Palomar-Green quasars at intermediate redshifts

We have combined low-dispersion International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) spectra with the optical/near-IR spectrophotometry of Neugebauer et al. (1987) in order to study the spectral energy distributions of seven of the brightest Palomar-Green (PG) quasars at intermediate redshifts (Z(sub em) greater than or equal to 0.9 and less than or equal to 1.5). Some of these PG quasars are barely detectable in long IUE exposures, so we have used the Gaussian Extraction (GEX) technique to maximize the signal-to-noise of the IUE data, and we have co-added all spectra available from the IUE archive for each QSO unless the ultraviolet spectra varied significantly from one exposure to the next. We have corrected the spectral energy distributions for Milky Way reddening using the observed neutral hydrogen column densities on each sight line and the gas-to-dust relation recently derived by Diplas & Savage. Six of the seven quasars are detected down to lambda much less than 700 A in the rest frame, and consequently continuum reddening due to dust in the immediate vicinity of the quasar can have a dramatic effect on the spectral energy distributions. In order to explore the possible importance of intrinsic continuum reddening, we have assembled a heuristic extinction curve which extends to lambda much less than 912 A. Using this heuristic extinction curve, we derive reasonable upper limits on the intrinsic E(B-V) for each quasar. We briefly discuss some of the implications of the derived intrinsic continuum reddening limits. We use geometrically thin accretion disk models to derive the black hole masses and accretion rates implied by the spectral energy distributions. Even if we neglect intrinsic reddening, we find that a large fraction of the quasars require super-Eddington accretion rates (which is not consistent with the thin disk assumption). Comparison of the data in this paper to a large body of data from the literature on the accretion disk M(sub BH) - M dot grid calculated by Wandel & Petrosian reveals that our quasars are among the brightest in the sky at 1450 A, and ostensibly suggests that the fraction of quasars which require super-Eddington accretion rates is much smaller than the fraction that we derive from our data alone. However, intrinsic continuum reddening has been ignored in this comparison, and a small amount of intrinsic reddening will push more of the quasars into the super-Eddington regime. We also plot the recent reverberation monitoring results on NGC 5548 and NGC 3783 on the Wandel & Petrosian grid, and we find that these Seyfert galaxies appear to vary along lines of constant M(sub BH). Continuum flux from two of the quasars in our main sample, PG 1338+416 and PG 1630+377, is detected at lambda(sub rest) less than 584 A. These quasars can in principle be used for the He I Gunn-Peterson test, but the S/N of IUE spectra of individual objects is usually too low to place interesting limits on the Gunn-Peterson optical depth. In order to improve the S/N, we have formed a composite spectrum from the spectra of five quasars detected with IUE at lambda(sub rest) less than 584 A, and we have used this composite spectrum to place a tighter limit on tau(sub GP, He I). We briefly discuss intermediate-redshift Lyman limit systems (Z(sub LL) greater than or equal to 0.5 and less than or equal to 1.6) detected in the IUE spectra of five quasars, including lower limits on N(H I) in each Lyman limit system.

Tripp, Todd M.↗

Advancing Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy to Detect and Measure NOW Pheromones (CPRB 2022 proposal)

Insect sex pheromones are chemical compounds that insects release to attract their partners over distances of hundreds of meters or even kilometers, in complete darkness and without any audible signals. Use of synthetic forms of key compounds have in some cases become an essential component of monitoring and/or managing key pests of agricultural crops, including navel orangeworm (Amyelois transitella) (NOW) in California tree nuts. These pheromone-based strategies can include monitoring, mating disruption, mass trapping, attract-and-kill and push-pull. There are currently multiple commercially available mating disruption products available for NOW and recent studies have demonstrated that they can be effectively used to reduce crop damage by this pest. Just how mating disruption works is not fully established and likely varies across products and target species. For instance, the extent to which synthetic pheromones compete with natural pheromone is not well understood, or in the case of monitoring, how efficaciously the insect follows the diffusing plumes, especially across large blocks and at plot borders. Furthermore, there may be specific conditions under which poor or impeded diffusion of synthetic pheromone diminishes the disruption effect, which could result in some males effectively locating females for reproduction. At the same time, many commercially available synthetic lures are also available, and growers have been effectively using them to track population development – although the attractive range of these lures remains unclear. That is, while pheromone lures can attract many moths, the relationship between trap capture and local populations, much less crop damage, remains unclear. Regardless of the emission source (aerosol puffers, meso emitters, lures etc.), we currently lack the ability to fully understand how these synthetic pheromone compounds diffuse away from their point-source of emission – and subsequently how this might affect the efficacy of mating disruption and/or the accuracy of monitoring efforts. Raman spectroscopy (RS) may offer a means to detect synthetic pheromone because of its analytical properties and recent technological advancements. In combination with nanostructured probes, RS has a demonstrated capability to detect volatiles at extremely low concentrations. While other methods for detecting pheromones have proven to be successful, such analytical methods like mass spectrometry (MS) gas chromatography (GC) require sampling in the fields and are not real-time. Other methods such as EAG/ EAD are also invasive (use antennas) but are of course valuable. Opto-electronic, micro and nano sensors just recently enticed interest. We fall in this latter category, proposing the use of optical spectroscopy (Raman) in a fiber aided by nanostructures to provide a chemical fingerprint without transductions and in real-time (i.e. no sampling). To date, we have been able to generate Raman signatures for the main chemicals in synthetic pheromones (a first for science, to the best of our knowledge), observe their trends at different concentrations, and also provide a clear distinction of such signatures in mixed samples via Principal Component Analysis (PCA) – all of which strengthens our conclusions on the ability of RS to detect emissions in more realistic conditions. We also established processes to enhance the detection sensitivity via preconcentration with Solid Phase Micro Extraction (SPME) fibers and Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) to increase the overall optical signals. Furthermore, we explored limitations and requirements for detecting from dispensers, lures, or live moths, including Dept. of Energy and CA State regulatory approvals. Finally, we setup some of our first “orchard in a box” experiments to measure pheromone diffusion along with developing appropriate models.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Public Reference Data for Megawatt-Scale Hydrogen Electrolysis - Simulated Marine Hydrokinetic Tidal Turbine

The U.S. Department of Energy and National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) demonstrate hydrogen electrolysis, hydrogen compression and storage, and variable hydrogen fuel cell power production using megawatt-scale equipment at NLR’s Flatirons Campus as part of the Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) initiative. This dataset is part of that effort and is intended for academic, national laboratory, industrial, and other stakeholders to plan, design, and validate models of megawatt-scale hydrogen technologies and diverse energy infrastructure. These data provide a baseline for how existing hydrogen electrolysis technologies perform when coupled with other energy technologies. This dataset contains inputs and outputs from simulations of a floating marine hydrokinetic turbine over approximately half a tidal cycle (~6.6 hours). Inflow conditions were derived from field measurements in Alaska’s Cook Inlet and represent a tidal environment in which the current speed ramps from near 0 m/s to a peak of 3 m/s and back. The original acoustic doppler current profiler dataset is publicly available on the Marine and Hydrokinetic Data Repository. In a full tidal cycle, the flow reverses and the rotor would reorient; this reversal was not modeled. In the Cook Inlet campaign , turbulence intensity was similar in both directions. Two inflow cases are included. In the first case, labeled “raw” in the files, the measured current time series was used directly in the InflowWind module of OpenFAST. Speed and direction were applied as a function of time and elevation, uniformly in the horizontal direction. With full spatial coherence, this approach captures high turbulent variability and results in pronounced power fluctuations, so it is considered a conservative, near-worst-case representation of loading. In the second case, labeled “average” in the files, a 30-minute moving average was applied to extract the slowly varying mean speed. The residual fluctuations about this mean were used to generate spatially varying, full-field turbulence inputs with TurbSim, giving a more physically realistic representation of the inflow across the rotor disk. Two random realizations were used to produce distinct inflow conditions for two OpenFAST simulations representing a two-turbine array. The same turbulence intensity is applied across the full time series, producing larger fluctuations at the start and end, where the mean speed is low. The second case is the more appropriate framework for performance and power assessment but overpredicts turbulence at lower flow speeds and underpredicts it at higher speeds. As the floating platform moves and the rotor changes its x-position, Taylor’s frozen turbulence hypothesis used by InflowWind assumes a constant rather than a time-varying mean velocity, introducing some inaccuracy in the velocity plane sampling. The turbine modeled is the 500-kW Reference Model 1, a horizontal-axis two-bladed hydrokinetic turbine on a four-column floating semisubmersible substructure . Simulations were performed using OpenFAST v4.1 with the Reference Open Source Controller (ROSCO) v2.10. All input files required to reproduce the simulations are included. The electrolyzer is a 1.25-MW proton exchange membrane type MC250 system manufactured by Nel . This unit supports up to 2.5 MW, but NLR has only a single 1.25-MW stack. The datasets report hydrogen balance-of-plant and system data, all captured at 1 Hz, including hydrogen mass production measured with an Emerson Coriolis flow meter. The system controls hydrogen production by varying direct current applied to the stack, from a maximum of 3,000 A to a minimum safe operating current of 300 A, or 10%. Because the current–voltage characteristic changes as the stack ages and efficiency degrades, the actual minimum safe operating power changes over time. The simulated tidal turbine time series data was translated from power (kilowatts) to current (amperes) using a curve fit with calibration data and sent to the electrolyzer power supply at 1-Hz. Each zip file represents a single tidal electrolysis experiment and is named: {technology}_{inflow method}_{number of 500 kW tidal turbines connected} For instance, “tidal-500kW-RM1_average_2.zip” is a 6-hour experiment using the 500-kW tidal reference model, scaled by 2x (1-MW) to better match the electrolyzer maximum of 1.25MW, fed with the 30-minute moving average current case. Each zip folder contains the following files: A .csv file of raw data. An .xlsx file explaining all the fields in the raw data. A .png plot showing the time series of hydrogen production in kilograms per hour, electrolysis power consumption, and input wave power. A .csv file combines all tidal profiles as "combined_tidal_experiments.csv." A separate experiment, “characterization_200.zip,” shows the MC250 electrolyzer steady-state response with 30-minute load steps over 5 hours and is accessible with this entry.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Shergottite Lead Isotope Signature in Chassigny and the Nakhlites

The nakhlites/chassignites and the shergottites represent two differing suites of basaltic martian meteorites. The shergottites have ages less than or equal to 0.6 Ga and a large range of initial Sr-/Sr-86 and epsilon (Nd-143) ratios. Conversely, the nakhlites and chassignites cluster at 1.3-1.4 Ga and have a limited range of initial Sr-87/Sr-86 and epsilon (Nd-143). More importantly, the shergottites have epsilon (W-182) less than 1, whereas the nakhlites and chassignites have epsilon (W-182) approximately 3. This latter observation precludes the extraction of both meteorite groups from a single source region. However, recent Pb isotopic analyses indicate that there may have been interaction between shergottite and nakhlite/chassignite Pb reservoirs.Pb Analyses of Chassigny: Two different studies haveinvestigated 207Pb/204Pb vs. 206Pb/204Pb in Chassigny: (i)TIMS bulk-rock analyses of successive leaches and theirresidue [3]; and (ii) SIMS analysis of individual minerals[4]. The bulk-rock analyses fall along a regression of SIMSplagioclase analyses that define an errorchron that is olderthan the Solar System (4.61±0.1 Ga); i.e., these define amixing line between Chassigny’s principal Pb isotopic components(Fig. 1). Augites and olivines in Chassingy (notshown) also fall along or near the plagioclase regression [4].This agreement indicates that the whole-rock leachateslikely measure indigenous, martian Pb, not terrestrial contamination[5]. SIMS analyses of K-spars and sulfides definea separate, sub-parallel trend having higher 207Pb/206Pbvalues ([4]; Fig. 1). The good agreement between the bulkrockanalyses and the SIMS analyses of plagioclases alsoindicates that the Pb in the K-spars and sulfides cannot be amajor component of Chassigny.The depleted reservoir sampled by Chassigny plagioclaseis not the same as the solar system initial (PAT) andrequires a multi-stage origin. Here we show a two-stagemodel (Fig. 1) with a 238U/204Pb (μ) of 0.5 for 4.5-2.4 Gaand a μ of 7 for 2.4-1.4 Ga. This is not a unique model butdoes produce a Pb composition that falls on the plagioclaseregression at 1.4 Ga, the approximate igneous age of Chassigny [1]. It should be noted that low-μ single-stage modelsare not capable of producing sufficiently radiogenic 206Pb/204Pb at 1.4 Ga.Relation to Shergottites: The Chassigny K-spars and sulfides fall along a second mixing line defined by leachesand residues of depleted and intermediate shergottites [6]. This mixing line falls above the plagioclase regression.Therefore, we also interpret the radiogenic component of this mixing line to represent indigenous martian Pb. It ispossible that the depleted and intermediate shergottites and the Chassigny plagioclases sample radiogenic Pb from thethe same source, i.e., the mixing lines may intersect at high 206Pb/204Pb.Both K-spar and sulfide are late-stage phases. At the time of their crystallization, the Chassigny system appearsto have remained open to a depleted shergottite Pb reservoir. The depleted component of the shergottite mixing linecan be generated by a single-stage evolution from PAT (4.5 to 1.4 Ga) in a reservoir having a μ ~2. A similar modelfor the most depleted shergottites is also possible: μ = 1.5 for 4.5 to 0.3 Ga.Nakhlites: Nakhlite analyses plot between the shergottite and Chassigny plagioclase regressions [3]. So again,members of the nakhlite/chassignite suite show affinities to shergottite Pb.

Jones, J. H.↗