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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.

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At least 289 records · Page 16
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Implications for Post-processing Nucleosynthesis of Core-collapse Supernova Models with Lagrangian Particles

We investigate core-collapse supernova (CCSN) nucleosynthesis with self-consistent, axisymmetric (2D) simulations performed using the neutrino hydrodynamics code Chimera. Computational costs have traditionally constrained the evolution of the nuclear composition within multidimensional CCSN models to, at best, a 14-species α-network capable of tracking only (α,γ) reactions from {sup 4}He to {sup 60}Zn. Such a simplified network limits the ability to accurately evolve detailed composition and neutronization or calculate the nuclear energy generation rate. Lagrangian tracer particles are commonly used to extend the nuclear network evolution by incorporating more realistic networks into post-processing nucleosynthesis calculations. However, limitations such as poor spatial resolution of the tracer particles; inconsistent thermodynamic evolution, including misestimation of expansion timescales; and uncertain determination of the multidimensional mass cut at the end of the simulation impose uncertainties inherent to this approach. We present a detailed analysis of the impact of such uncertainties for four self-consistent axisymmetric CCSN models initiated from solar-metallicity, nonrotating progenitors of 12, 15, 20, and 25 M{sub ⊙} and evolved with the smaller α-network to more than 1 s after the launch of an explosion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Structure formation and exotic compact objects in a dissipative dark sector

Here, we present the complete history of structure formation in a simple dissipative dark-sector model. The model has only two particles: a dark electron, which is a subdominant component of dark matter, and a dark photon. Dark-electron perturbations grow from primordial overdensities, become non-linear, and form dense dark galaxies. Bremsstrahlung cooling leads to fragmentation of the dark-electron halos into clumps that vary in size from a few to millions of solar masses, depending on the particle model parameters. In particular, we show that asymmetric dark stars and black holes form within the Milky Way from the collapse of dark electrons. These exotic compact objects may be detected and their properties measured at new high-precision astronomical observatories, giving insight into the particle nature of the dark sector without the requirement of non-gravitational interactions with the visible sector. Our analysis demonstrates that a full study of the structure-formation history is needed to assess correctly the viability of exotic compact objects in dissipative dark-sector models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Three-family particle physics models from global F-theory compactifications

We construct four-dimensional, globally consistent F-theory models with three chiral generations, whose gauge group and matter representations coincide with those of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, the Pati-Salam Model and the Trinification Model. These models result from compactification on toric hypersurface fibrations X with the choice of base $\mathbb P^{3}$. We observe that the F-theory conditions on the G 4 -flux restrict the number of families to be at least three. We comment on the phenomenology of the models, and for Pati-Salam and Trinification models discuss the Higgsing to the Standard Model. A central point of this work is the construction of globally consistent G 4 -flux. For this purpose we compute the vertical cohomology H V (2,2) (X) in each case and solve the conditions imposed by matching the M- and F-theoretical 3D Chern-Simons terms. Finally, we explicitly check that the expressions found for the G 4 -flux allow for a cancelation of D3-brane tadpoles. We also use the integrality of 3D Chern-Simons terms to ensure that our G 4 -flux solutions are adequately quantized.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Measurement of the multi-TeV neutrino interaction cross-section with IceCube using Earth absorption

We report that neutrinos interact only very weakly, so they are extremely penetrating. The theoretical neutrino-nucleon interaction cross-section, however, increases with increasing neutrino energy, and neutrinos with energies above 40 teraelectronvolts (TeV) are expected to be absorbed as they pass through the Earth. Experimentally, the cross-section has been determined only at the relatively low energies (below 0.4 TeV) that are available at neutrino beams from accelerators. Here we report a measurement of neutrino absorption by the Earth using a sample of 10,784 energetic upward-going neutrino-induced muons. The flux of high-energy neutrinos transiting long paths through the Earth is attenuated compared to a reference sample that follows shorter trajectories. Using a fit to the two-dimensional distribution of muon energy and zenith angle, we determine the neutrino-nucleon interaction cross-section for neutrino energies 6.3-980 TeV, more than an order of magnitude higher than previous measurements. The measured cross-section is about 1.3 times the prediction of the standard model, consistent with the expectations for charged- and neutral-current interactions. We do not observe a large increase in the cross-section with neutrino energy, in contrast with the predictions of some theoretical models, including those invoking more compact spatial dimensions or the production of leptoquarks. This cross-section measurement can be used to set limits on the existence of some hypothesized beyond-standard-model particles, including leptoquarks.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Unitary version of the particle–hole dispersive optical model

For the particle–hole dispersive optical model developed recently, a method is proposed for restoring unitarity weakly violated by a phenomenological description of the spreading effect. The method is implemented by performing a quantitative analysis of the energy-averaged isoscalar monopole double transition density and strength functions over a broad energy range including the isoscalar giant monopole resonance and its overtone in the {sup 208}Pb nucleus.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Dispersive Alfvén waves in a plasma with anisotropic superthermal particles

The dispersion of dispersive Alfvén wave in a low β plasma with anisotropic superthermal particles modeled by a bi-nonextensive distribution is derived from a kinetic way. The effect of anisotropic temperature on inertial Alfvén wave is so small that it is negligible. However, it will play an important role on the property of kinetic Alfvén wave (KAW). The numerical results reveal that the presence of superthermal electrons in the small wavenumber limit will lead the damping rate of the KAW bigger than the one with Maxwellian distribution. Whereas, the damping rate of KAW in the large wavenumber limit will decrease with the presence of superthermal electrons. When the effect of electron anisotropic temperature overwhelms the effect of finite ion gyroradius in the small wavenumber regime, the damping rate of KAW grows with the presence of electron temperature anisotropy. On the other hand, when the effects of finite ion gyroradius play a dominant role in the large wavenumber regime, the damping rate of KAW increases with the effective perpendicular and parallel electron temperatures.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS2005

The Cycle of Cosmic Dust

The presence of dust in the interstellar medium of galaxies dramatically affects their spectral appearance, and the interpretation of their underlying physical properties. Consequently, the diagnostic of galaxy spectra depends crucially on our understanding of the nature and properties of these dust particles. Models of interstellar dust particles must be able to reproduce a basic set of observational constraints, including the general interstellar extinction and infrared emission observed in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM). Recent analysis of the solar spectrum have resulted in a convergence between the solar and B star abundances. This development, and the steadiness in the solar abundance determination of the primary refractory elements Mg, Si, and Fe, strongly suggest that any viable dust model must also obey interstellar abundances constraints. I will present fifteen dust models that differ in composition and size distribution and that simultaneously satisfy the local extinction, infrared emission, and abundances constraints have been shown to exist. This multitude of viable dust models provides us with an increased flexibility in understanding dust evolution and the many variations in dust properties in different phases of the ISM and stellar environments.

Dwek, Eliahu↗
DOE OSTI2021

An Indirect Search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles in the Sun Using Upward-going Muons in NOvA

I present the first Dark Matter search results using the full data set collected with the upward-going muon trigger in NOvA. Weakly Interactive Massive Particles (WIMPs) are a theoretical non-baryonic form of Dark Matter. The nature of Dark Matter is one of the most exciting open questions in modern physics. Though its existence can be inferred by astrophysical evidence, its properties are not yet understood. If we assume that Dark Matter particles can produce Standard Model particles through their interactions, an indirect search can help shed light on this mystery.The NOvA collaboration has built a 14 kton, fine-grained, low-Z, total absorption tracking calorimeter at an off-axis angle to the NuMI neutrino beam. Even though the detector is optimized to observe electron neutrino appearance from a muon neutrino beam, it has a unique potential for more exotic searches given its excellent granularity and energy resolution and relatively low-energy neutrino thresholds. In fact, with an efficient upward-going muon trigger and sufficient background suppression offline, NOvA is capable of a competitive indirect Dark Matter search for low-mass WIMPs.The idea of the upward-going muon trigger is first to select high-quality muon tracks, then use the timing information of all of the hits of each track to estimate directionality. In this way, the background flux is suppressed by more than a factor of 10^5 at trigger level to a rate of approximately 1 Hz. To further optimize this search, we use only upward-going muons that point to the Sun, so our search occurs at night when the Sun is on the other side of the Earth. This strategy also allows us to use the time when the Sun is above the horizon as a control region to estimate the background. Ultimately, implementation of a cut based and maximum likelihood analysis provides a powerful tool for rejecting background and selecting a sample of neutrino-induced upward-going muons. The overall background rejection power achieved by the analysis is substantial and impressive. Starting with approximately 150,000 events per second, we reduced it to 40 events per year. Since no statistically significant excess was found, a 90\% C.L. upper limit on the expected muon flux of upward-going muons has been set using the upper limit on the number of events given the number of observed events in the signal region. Lastly, by assuming the theory behind the upward-going muon flux, a limit on the WIMP-nucleon spin-dependent cross-section in the Sun was estimated. Although the limits on the spin-dependent cross-section do not appear to be competitive with previous indirect Dark Matter searches, the upward-going muon flux limits are promising. The upward-going muon flux limits could extend these results to a broader class of models that are not specific to the dark matter theory but produce upward-going muons, leading to competitive results.

Principato, Cristiana↗
DOE OSTI2017

Numerical convergence and validation of the DIMP inverse particle transport model

The data integration with modeled predictions (DIMP) model is a promising inverse radiation transport method for solving the special nuclear material (SNM) holdup problem. Unlike previous methods, DIMP is a completely passive nondestructive assay technique that requires no initial assumptions regarding the source distribution or active measurement time. DIMP predicts the most probable source location and distribution through Bayesian inference and quasi-Newtonian optimization of predicted detector re-sponses (using the adjoint transport solution) with measured responses. DIMP performs well with for-ward hemispherical collimation and unshielded measurements, but several considerations are required when using narrow-view collimated detectors. DIMP converged well to the correct source distribution as the number of synthetic responses increased. DIMP also performed well for the first experimental validation exercise after applying a collimation factor, and sufficiently reducing the source search vol-ume's extent to prevent the optimizer from getting stuck in local minima. DIMP's simple point detector response function (DRF) is being improved to address coplanar false positive/negative responses, and an angular DRF is being considered for integration with the next version of DIMP to account for highly collimated responses. Overall, DIMP shows promise for solving the SNM holdup inverse problem, especially once an improved optimization algorithm is implemented.

42 ENGINEERING↗