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At least 271 records · Page 15

A numerical approach for detecting switch-like bistability in mass action chemical reaction networks with conservation laws

Theoretical analysis of signaling pathways can provide a substantial amount of insight into their function. One particular area of research considers signaling pathways capable of assuming two or more stable states given the same amount of signaling ligand. This phenomenon of bistability can give rise to switch-like behavior, a mechanism that governs cellular decision making. Investigation of whether or not a signaling pathway can confer bistability and switch-like behavior, without knowledge of specific kinetic rate constant values, is a mathematically challenging problem. Recently a technique based on optimization has been introduced, which is capable of finding example parameter values that confer switch-like behavior for a given pathway. Although this approach has made it possible to analyze moderately sized pathways, it is limited to reaction networks that presume a uniterminal structure. It is this limited structure we address by developing a general technique that applies to any mass action reaction network with conservation laws. In this paper we developed a generalized method for detecting switch-like bistable behavior in any mass action reaction network with conservation laws. The method involves (1) construction of a constrained optimization problem using the determinant of the Jacobian of the underlying rate equations, (2) minimization of the objective function to search for conditions resulting in a zero eigenvalue, (3) computation of a confidence level that describes if the global minimum has been found and (4) evaluation of optimization values, using either numerical continuation or directly simulating the ODE system, to verify that a bistability region exists. The generalized method has been tested on three motifs known to be capable of bistability. We have developed a variation of an optimization-based method for the discovery of bistability, which is not limited to uniterminal chemical reaction networks. Successful completion of the method provides an S-shaped bifurcation diagram, which indicates that the network acts as a bistable switch for the given optimization parameters.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Theoretical study of the CO 2 –O 2 van der Waals complex: potential energy surface and applications

A four-dimensional-potential energy surface (4D-PES) of the atmospherically relevant carbon dioxide–oxygen molecule (CO 2 –O 2 ) van der Waals complex is mapped using the ab initio explicitly correlated coupled cluster method with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations (UCCSD(T)-F12b), and extrapolation to the complete basis set (CBS) limit using the cc-pVTZ-F12/cc-pVQZ-F12 bases and the l –3 formula. An analytic representation of the 4D-PES was fitted using the method of interpolating moving least squares (IMLS). These calculations predict that the most stable configuration of CO 2 –O 2 complex corresponds to a planar slipped-parallel structure with a binding energy of V ~ –243 cm –1 . Another isomer is found on the PES, corresponding to a non-planar cross-shaped structure, with V ~ –218 cm –1 . The transition structure connecting the two minima is found at V ~ –211 cm –1 . We also performed comparisons with some CO 2 –X van der Waals complexes. Moreover, we provide a SAPT analysis of this molecular system. Then, we discuss the complexation induced shifts of CO 2 and O 2 . Afterwards, this new 4D-PES is employed to compute the second virial coefficient including temperature dependence. A comparison between quantities obtained in our calculations and those from experiments found close agreement attesting to the high quality of the PES and to the importance of considering a full description of the anisotropic potential for the derivation of thermophysical properties of CO 2 –O 2 mixtures.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

The physical origin of dark energy constraints from rubin observatory and CMB-S4 lensing tomography

ABSTRACT We seek to clarify the origin of constraints on the dark energy equation of state parameter from CMB lensing tomography, that is the combination of galaxy clustering and the cross-correlation of galaxies with CMB lensing in a number of redshift bins. We focus on the analytic understanding of the origin of the constraints. Dark energy information in these data arises from the influence of three primary relationships: distance as a function of redshift (geometry), the amplitude of the power spectrum as a function of redshift (growth), and the power spectrum as a function of wavenumber (shape). We find that the effects from geometry and growth play a significant role and partially cancel each other out, while the shape effect is unimportant. We also show that Dark Energy Task Force figure of merit forecasts from the combination of LSST galaxies and CMB-S4 lensing are comparable to the forecasts from cosmic shear in the absence of the CMB lensing map, thus providing an important independent check. Compared to the forecasts with the LSST galaxies alone, combining CMB lensing and LSST clustering information increases the FoM by roughly a factor of 3–4 in the optimistic scenario where systematics are fully under control. We caution that achieving these forecasts will likely require a full analysis of higher-order biasing, photometric redshift uncertainties, and stringent control of other systematic limitations, which are outside the scope of this work, whose primary purpose is to elucidate the physical origin of the constraints.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Sample Size Effects on Petrophysical Characterization and Fluid-to-Pore Accessibility of Natural Rocks

Laboratory-scale analysis of natural rocks provides petrophysical properties such as density, porosity, pore diameter/pore-throat diameter distribution, and fluid accessibility, in addition to the size and shape of framework grains and their contact relationship with the rock matrix. Different types of laboratory approaches for petrophysical characterization involve the use of a range of sample sizes. While the sample sizes selected should aim to be representative of the rock body, there are inherent limitations imposed by the analytical principles and holding capacities of the different experimental apparatuses, with many instruments only able to accept samples at the μm–mm scale. Therefore, a total of nine (three limestones, three shales, two sandstones, and one dolomite) samples were collected from Texas to fill the knowledge gap of the sample size effect on the resultant petrophysical characteristics. The sample sizes ranged from 3 cm cubes to <75 μm particles. Using a combination of petrographic microscopy, helium expansion pycnometry, water immersion porosimetry, mercury intrusion porosimetry, and (ultra-) small-angle X-ray scattering, the impact of sample size on the petrophysical properties of these samples was systematically investigated here. The results suggest that the sample size effect is influenced by both pore structure changes during crushing and sample size-dependent fluid-to-pore connectivity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Validation of the DESI DR2 Ly$α$ forest full-shape analysis

We present the validation of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Data Release 2 (DR2) Lyman-$α$ (Ly$α$) forest full-shape analysis. This analysis combines three-dimensional Ly$α$ forest auto-correlations and cross-correlations with quasars to extract information from both the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) feature and the broadband clustering signal, with primary emphasis on the Alcock-Paczynski (AP) measurement. Compared to the DESI DR1 analysis, the DR2 validation uses substantially larger and more realistic mock datasets, including CoLoRe 2LPT and AbacusSummit Ly$α$ forest simulations. The modeling framework is also improved through analytic marginalization over small scales ($<10$$h^{-1}$Mpc) and the impact of ultraviolet background fluctuations. The validation program was completed prior to unblinding and defines quantitative requirements for the cosmological parameters of interest, which are evaluated using hundreds of mock realizations. We further test the analysis through independent fits to the auto- and cross-correlations, multiple catalog splits, and a broad suite of analysis and modeling variations applied to both mocks and blinded observational data. We find that the BAO and AP parameters satisfy all validation requirements and remain stable across all tests. In contrast, mock studies reveal a significant bias in the inferred growth-rate parameter $fσ_8$, leading us to exclude this measurement from the final analysis. The consistency across mocks, data splits, and robustness tests demonstrates that the DR2 Ly$α$ full-shape analysis provides a reliable and substantially improved broadband AP measurement over previous Ly$α$ forest studies.

Herbold, M. [Chicago U., KICP; Ohio State U.] (ORC↗

Polarization-shape alignment of IllustrisTNG star-forming galaxies

In star-forming disk galaxies, the radio continuum emission (1–10GHz) powered by star formation has an integrated polarization direction imperfectly aligned with the apparent disk minor axis. This polarization-shape alignment effect was previously observed in a small sample of local spirals. If this is prevalent for disk galaxies out to cosmological redshifts, novel measurements of cosmic birefringence and cosmic shear will be enabled by leveraging radio continuum surveys such as the Square Kilometre Array synergized with galaxy shape measurements. We calculate the polarization-shape misalignment angle for star-forming galaxies in the IllustrisTNG50 simulation at 0 < z < 2, assuming that additional polarized radio emission from an active galactic nucleus is negligible in at least a sizable fraction of the star-forming galaxies. The alignment found for z = 0 is consistent with local spiral data, but significantly deteriorates as redshift increases. Moreover, it degrades toward lower frequencies due to internal Faraday depolarization. Thanks to cosmic redshifting, observing higher-z galaxies at a fixed frequency greatly mitigates degradation due to reduced Faraday depolarization at the source-frame frequency. We present analytic fits to the non-Gaussian misalignment angle distribution, and evaluate Fisher information per galaxy for measuring a polarization rotation angle induced by cosmic birefringence. For observation at 4.8 GHz, the effective root-mean-square misalignment angle σα,eff is 18°, 23° and 33° at z = 0, 1 and 2, respectively. Analyzing N independent galaxies reduces the uncertainty on an isotropic cosmic birefringence signal to σ α,eff /√(N), providing competitive sensitivity once large samples are available. As accurate observation-driven models are not yet available for cosmological galaxy samples, our results motivate pilot observations to empirically characterize polarization-shape alignment, and can facilitate forecasts of cosmology and fundamental physics applications that exploit this effect.

axions↗

SPECTER: efficient evaluation of the spectral EMD

The Energy Mover’s Distance (EMD) has seen use in collider physics as a metric between events and as a geometric method of defining infrared and collinear safe observables. Recently, the Spectral Energy Mover’s Distance (SEMD) has been proposed as a more analytically tractable alternative to the EMD. In this work, we obtain a closed-form expression for the Riemannian-like p = 2 SEMD metric between events, eliminating the need to numerically solve an optimal transport problem. Additionally, we show how the SEMD can be used to define event and jet shape observables by minimizing the distance between events and parameterized energy flows (similar to the EMD), and we obtain closed-form expressions for several of these observables. We also present the Specter framework, an efficient and highly parallelized implementation of the SEMD metric and SEMD-derived shape observables as an analogue of the previously-introduced Shaper for EMD-based computations. We demonstrate that computing the SEMD with Specter can be up to a thousand times faster than computing the EMD with standard optimal transport libraries.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Preface to Special Issue on Advances in Ceria Catalysis

Ceria, which acts as a “star” among the metal-oxides, has established to be one of the most promising materials for chemical transformations and energy applications owing to its redox and acid–base properties. Ceria has become a key component in three-way catalytic converters, water-gas shift reaction, CO oxidation, methane combustion, and complex organic reactions. More importantly, introducing of other metals to ceria, tailoring the shape of the ceria, and reducing structure size of ceria, usually decrease the formation energy of oxygen vacancy (Vö) and lead to unique catalytic performances.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Selectivity of nitrate and chloride ions in microporous carbons: the role of anisotropic hydration and applied potentials

Understanding ion transport in porous carbons is critical for a wide range of technologies, including supercapacitors and capacitive deionization for water desalination, yet many details remain poorly understood. For instance, an atomistic understanding of how ion selectivity is influenced by the molecular shape of ions, morphology of the micropores and applied voltages is largely lacking. In this work, we combined molecular dynamics simulations with enhanced sampling methods to elucidate the mechanism of nitrate and chloride selectivity in subnanometer graphene slit-pores. We demonstrate that nitrate is preferentially adsorbed over chloride in the slit-like micropores. This preferential adsorption was found to stem from the weaker hydration energy and unique anisotropy of the ion solvation of nitrate. Beside the effects of ion dehydration, we found that applied potential plays an important role in determining the ion selectivity, leading to a lower selectivity of nitrate over chloride at a high applied potential. We conclude that the measured ion selectivity results from a complex interplay between voltage, confinement, and specific ion effects-including ion shape and local hydration structure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Polymers in molten inorganic salt hydrate phase change materials: solubility and gelation

Inorganic salt hydrates are of interest as phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage because of their unique properties, such as high latent heats of fusion, moderate melting temperatures, high volumetric energy storage densities, and enhanced thermal conductivities compared to their organic counterparts. Because of the low viscosities of molten salt hydrates, the leakage and settling of solids can easily occur during their application. Polymers are promising candidates for preventing these issues. In addition, the non-flammability, non-volatility, and nontoxicity of many molten salt hydrates make them attractive options as “green” solvents for polymers. However, solutions of polymers in molten salt hydrates have rarely been studied and are poorly understood. The highly ionic environments in these materials created due to a scarcity of hydration water for ions leads to strong ionic interactions, with ramifications for polymer solubility and chain expansion. This Perspective article aims to focus on polymer solutions and gels in inorganic salt hydrates by comparing these systems with existing knowledge of polymers in traditional ionic liquids and aqueous salt solutions. To provide insight into the states of ions and water in molten salt hydrates and the degree of hydration of polymers in these solvents, infrared spectroscopy experiments have been performed, and the data are correlated with the temperature-responsive gelation of poly(vinyl alcohol), one candidate material currently used for the shape stabilization of inorganic PCMs. Finally, the thermal properties of inorganic salt hydrates and ionic liquids are compared and strategies for the shape stabilization of inorganic salt hydrates using polymers, through the formation of physical gels, are discussed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Reevaluation of XPS Pt 4f peak fitting: Ti 3s plasmon peak interference and Pt metallic peak asymmetry in Pt@TiO2 system

The structural, electronic, and electrochemical properties of noble metals supported on transition metal oxides, such as Pt nanoparticles (NPs) supported on TiO2 (Pt@TiO2), have been extensively studied for their relevance to energy technologies, including photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and electrochemical energy conversion. As the need to lower the amount of Pt and other noble metals used in energy conversion systems becomes urgent, it is essential to accurately quantify the loading of these metals and electronic density redistribution between them and their supports. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is widely used for the identification and quantification of chemical species. In particular, fitting of the Pt 4f spectra for Pt@TiO2 is frequently performed to determine the chemical environment and oxidation state of Pt, which strongly affect the physical behavior and catalytic performance of this system. Here, we show that neglecting contributions due to the Pt surroundings and the asymmetry of the Pt metal peak in the line shape fitting can lead to severe mischaracterization of the oxidation state of Pt. We quantify the effects of background contributions that stem from the TiO2 support and discuss how factoring in the strong asymmetry of Pt 4f doublets, which stems from the shake-up type processes, affects the interpretation of Pt 4f XPS line shape.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Modeling Marangoni Convection using a Velocity-Time Relationship

The Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Handford site is designed to treat 56 million gallons of radioactive waste through vitrification. The melting vessels physical and chemical integrity is essential to maintain, as failure has a high safety and financial penalty. Monofrax® K-3 refractory, the material widely used for the melting vessel, undergoes significant corrosion over time, concentrated at the triple-point junction between the gaseous atmosphere, refractory, and glass melt, producing a characteristic neck-like profile that significantly limits refractory service life. Accurate prediction of the corrosion within the melter can be used to prevent this and extend the lifetime of the melters. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was previously developed, and predicted subsurface refractory corrosion, but failed to predict the neck-line profile observed experimentally. To address this limitation, the glass-melt meniscus geometry at the glass-refractory interface was estimated from experimentally measured neck profiles and wettability experiments. A curve was fitted to the neck profile to identify the triple point location, and the meniscus shape was characterized by a contact angle of 1°. A velocity profile accounting for Marangoni convection-driven corrosion was derived from the estimated meniscus geometry. Surface tension measurements from LORPM14R1 glasses of varying composition were coupled with K-3 coupon dissolution rates to establish a surface tension–time relationship. This analytical velocity-time model was integrated into the existing CFD framework to improve prediction of the neck corrosion profile. Work was done in a computational setting with national collaboration, resulting in professional development through presentational and technical writing growth.

36 - MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

An implicit, sharp numerical treatment of viscous terms at arbitrarily shaped liquid-gas interfaces in evaporative flows

We report a novel methodology for accurate treatment of viscous terms in evaporation problems. The proposed scheme is an extension of the sharp viscous treatment of Kang et al. (2000) [7] to 3D phase change problems. To ensure accuracy and grid converging solutions, a new implicit approach to computing viscous fluxes across the phase interfaces is proposed, which was previously unavailable in fixed grid numerical schemes. Analytical relations were derived for the jump in velocity gradients across the 2D and 3D phase interfaces, an important constituent of the proposed scheme. The relations show a non-vanishing jump in the tangential gradients across the phase interface that are associated with evaporative flux and interfacial curvature. The proposed methodology demonstrated first order accuracy in canonical test cases. It is general and applicable to arbitrarily oriented interfaces, and can be readily implemented in existing evaporation flow solvers.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Probing triaxial deformation of atomic nuclei in high-energy heavy ion collisions

Most atomic nuclei are deformed with a quadrupole shape described by its overall strength β 2 and triaxiality γ. The deformation can be accessed in high-energy heavy ion collisions by measuring the collective flow response of the produced quark-gluon plasma to the eccentricity ε 2 and the density gradient d ⊥ in the initial state. Using an analytical estimate and a Glauber model, I show that the variances $\langleε^{2}_{2}\rangle$ or $\langle$(δd ⊥ /d ⊥ ) 2 $\rangle$ and skewnesses $\langleε^{2}_{2}δd_{⊥}/d_{⊥}\rangle$ or $\langle(δd_{⊥}/d_{⊥})^{3}\rangle$ have a simple analytical form of a'+b'β$^{2}_{2}$ and a'+[b'+c' cos(3γ)]β$^{3}_{2}$, respectively. From these, I constructed several normalized skewnesses to isolate the γ dependence from that of β 2 and show that the correlations between a normalized skewness and a variance can constrain simultaneously β 2 and γ. Assuming a linear relation with elliptic flow v 2 and mean-transverse momentum [p T ] of final-state particles, v 2 ∝ ε 2 and δ [p T ] / [p T ] ∝ δd ⊥ /d ⊥ , similar conclusions are also expected for the variances and skewnesses of v 2 and [p T ], i.e., a + bβ$^{2}_{2}$ for $\langle v^{2}_{2}\rangle$ and $\langle(δ[p_{T}] / [p_{T}])^{2}\rangle$ and a + [b + c cos (3γ)] β$^{3}_{2}$ for $\langle v^{2}_{2}δ [p_{T}] / [p_{T}]\rangle$ or $\langle(δ[p_{T}] / [p_{T}])^{3}\rangle$. My findings motivate a dedicated system scan of high-energy heavy ion collisions at RHIC and LHC to measure triaxiality of atomic nuclei: one first determines the coefficients b and c by collisions of isobaric near prolate nuclei, cos (3γ) ≈ 1, and near oblate nuclei, cos (3γ) ≈ –1 , with known β 2 values, followed by collisions of other species of interest with similar mass number. The (β 2 , γ) values for this species can be inferred directly from the measured variance and skewness observables from these collisions. Finally, the results demonstrate the unique opportunities offered by high-energy collisions as a tool to perform interdisciplinary nuclear physics studies.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Stochastic exciton-scattering theory of optical line shapes: Renormalized many-body contributions

Spectral line shapes provide a window into the local environment coupled to a quantum transition in the condensed phase. In this paper, we build upon a stochastic model to account for non-stationary background processes produced by broad-band pulsed laser stimulation, as distinguished from those for stationary phonon bath. In particular, we consider the contribution of pair-fluctuations arising from the full bosonic many-body Hamiltonian within a mean-field approximation, treating the coupling to the system as a stochastic noise term. Herein, using the Itô transformation, we consider two limiting cases for our model, which lead to a connection between the observed spectral fluctuations and the spectral density of the environment. In the first case, we consider a Brownian environment and show that this produces spectral dynamics that relax to form dressed excitonic states and recover an Anderson–Kubo-like form for the spectral correlations. In the second case, we assume that the spectrum is Anderson–Kubo like and invert to determine the corresponding background. Using the Jensen inequality, we obtain an upper limit for the spectral density for the background. The results presented here provide the technical tools for applying the stochastic model to a broad range of problems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Adaptive Data-Driven Deep-Learning Surrogate Model for Frontal Polymerization in Dicyclopentadiene

Frontal polymerization (FP) is a self-sustaining curing process that enables rapid and energy-efficient manufacturing of thermoset polymers and composites. Computational methods conventionally used to simulate the FP process are time-consuming, and repeating simulations are required for sensitivity analysis, uncertainty quantification, or optimization of the manufacturing process. Here, in this work, we develop an adaptive surrogate deep-learning model for FP of dicyclopentadiene (DCPD), which predicts the evolution of temperature and degree of cure orders of magnitude faster than the finite-element method (FEM). The adaptive algorithm provides a strategy to select training samples efficiently and save computational costs by reducing the redundancy of FEM-based training samples. The adaptive algorithm calculates the residual error of the FP governing equations using automatic differentiation of the deep neural network. A probability density function expressed in terms of the residual error is used to select training samples from the Sobol sequence space. The temperature and degree of cure evolution of each training sample are obtained by a 2D FEM simulation. The adaptive method is more efficient and has a better prediction accuracy than the random sampling method. With the well-trained surrogate neural network, the FP characteristics (front speed, shape, and temperature) can be extracted quickly from the predicted temperature and degree-of-cure fields.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗