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At least 325 records · Page 18

Color Change During Thermal Degradation of Polyolefin Electric Cable Insulations

Color change of electric cable insulations used in nuclear power plants (NPPs) is a non-destructive, quick and inexpensive technique to measure degradation. Quantification of color change is facilitated by a light booth of CIE D65 illuminant, a commercial camera and open-source software ImageJ with micaToolbox plugin. Yellowness index (YI) and total color difference (?E) are calculated from calibrated photos of a white cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) and a black ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) based specimens aged at 110°C, 121°C, 136°C and 150°C after 1~640 days. Using the same setup and software, pixelwise ?E profile is determined for the cross-sectional photo of a white EPR specimen, where heterogeneous aging is detected.

cable aging, color analysis↗

Actualizing Change after Experiencing Significant Mathematics PD: Hearing from Teachers of Color about Their Practice and Mathematical Identities

While it is well-documented that students of color and students from low-income communities have often been denied access to a challenging education in mathematics in the United States, less is known about how teachers of color have overcome their deprived educational backgrounds to become teachers of mathematics who implement inquiry-based instructional methods as a means to improve their students’ learning and mathematical identities. In this article, we use a sociopolitical theoretical framework to examine how seven elementary school teachers of color characterized their experiences as mathematics students, themselves as teachers of mathematics, and their mathematical identities after experiencing significant professional development in mathematics. All the participants in this study had experienced extensive professional development support in mathematics over a sustained period of time. We demonstrate through the teachers’ narratives that, given the deprived mathematics education that the majority of the participants experienced as PK-12 students, having opportunities to participate in significant and focused PD in mathematics over a sustained period transformed how teachers viewed themselves as teachers and positively impacted their mathematical identities.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Intrinsic Color Indices of Early-type Dwarf Stars

Early-type stars are short lived and scarce in comparison with other types. Based on the recently released catalogs of early-type stars from the largest Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope spectroscopic survey, the intrinsic colors of the stars with effective temperature up to 32,000 K are determined for the bands from ultraviolet to infrared using the blue-edge method. Analytic relations are derived for the intrinsic color index with the effective temperature for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Two Micron All Sky Survey, Gaia, AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey, Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System 1, and Galaxy Evolution Explorer bands. The results are generally consistent with previous works. In addition, the intrinsic colors of O-type dwarfs and OB supergiants are roughly estimated.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Real-time three-dimensional color Doppler echocardiography for characterizing the spatial velocity distribution and quantifying the peak flow rate in the left ventricular outflow tract

Quantification of flow with pulsed-wave Doppler assumes a "flat" velocity profile in the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT), which observation refutes. Recent development of real-time, three-dimensional (3-D) color Doppler allows one to obtain an entire cross-sectional velocity distribution of the LVOT, which is not possible using conventional 2-D echo. In an animal experiment, the cross-sectional color Doppler images of the LVOT at peak systole were derived and digitally transferred to a computer to visualize and quantify spatial velocity distributions and peak flow rates. Markedly skewed profiles, with higher velocities toward the septum, were consistently observed. Reference peak flow rates by electromagnetic flow meter correlated well with 3-D peak flow rates (r = 0.94), but with an anticipated underestimation. Real-time 3-D color Doppler echocardiography was capable of determining cross-sectional velocity distributions and peak flow rates, demonstrating the utility of this new method for better understanding and quantifying blood flow phenomena.

NASA Discipline Cardiopulmonary↗

Suomi NPP VIIRS Ocean Color Data Product Early Mission Assessment

Following the launch of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the Suomi National Polarorbiting Partnership (NPP) spacecraft, the NASA NPP VIIRS Ocean Science Team (VOST) began an evaluation of ocean color data products to determine whether they could continue the existing NASA ocean color climate data record (CDR). The VOST developed an independent evaluation product based on NASA algorithms with a reprocessing capability. Here we present a preliminary assessment of both the operational ocean color data products and the NASA evaluation data products regarding their applicability to NASA science objectives.

NPP↗

Dynamic Range and Sensitivity Requirements of Satellite Ocean Color Sensors: Learning from the Past

Sensor design and mission planning for satellite ocean color measurements requires careful consideration of the signal dynamic range and sensitivity (specifically here signal-to-noise ratio or SNR) so that small changes of ocean properties (e.g., surface chlorophyll-a concentrations or Chl) can be quantified while most measurements are not saturated. Past and current sensors used different signal levels, formats, and conventions to specify these critical parameters, making it difficult to make cross-sensor comparisons or to establish standards for future sensor design. The goal of this study is to quantify these parameters under uniform conditions for widely used past and current sensors in order to provide a reference for the design of future ocean color radiometers. Using measurements from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer onboard the Aqua satellite (MODISA) under various solar zenith angles (SZAs), typical (L(sub typical)) and maximum (L(sub max)) at-sensor radiances from the visible to the shortwave IR were determined. The Ltypical values at an SZA of 45 deg were used as constraints to calculate SNRs of 10 multiband sensors at the same L(sub typical) radiance input and 2 hyperspectral sensors at a similar radiance input. The calculations were based on clear-water scenes with an objective method of selecting pixels with minimal cross-pixel variations to assure target homogeneity. Among the widely used ocean color sensors that have routine global coverage, MODISA ocean bands (1 km) showed 2-4 times higher SNRs than the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (Sea-WiFS) (1 km) and comparable SNRs to the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS)-RR (reduced resolution, 1.2 km), leading to different levels of precision in the retrieved Chl data product. MERIS-FR (full resolution, 300 m) showed SNRs lower than MODISA and MERIS-RR with the gain in spatial resolution. SNRs of all MODISA ocean bands and SeaWiFS bands (except the SeaWiFS near-IR bands) exceeded those from prelaunch sensor specifications after adjusting the input radiance to L(sub typical). The tabulated L(sub typical), L(sub max), and SNRs of the various multiband and hyperspectral sensors under the same or similar radiance input provide references to compare sensor performance in product precision and to help design future missions such as the Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO-CAPE) mission and the Pre-Aerosol-Clouds-Ecosystems (PACE) mission currently being planned by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

chlorophyll fluorescence↗

Calibration Uncertainty in Ocean Color Satellite Sensors and Trends in Long-term Environmental Records

Launched in late 2011, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) spacecraft is being evaluated by NASA to determine whether this sensor can continue the ocean color data record established through the Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) and the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). To this end, Goddard Space Flight Center generated evaluation ocean color data products using calibration techniques and algorithms established by NASA during the SeaWiFS and MODIS missions. The calibration trending was subjected to some initial sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. Here we present an introductory assessment of how the NASA-produced time series of ocean color is influenced by uncertainty in trending instrument response over time. The results help quantify the uncertainty in measuring regional and global biospheric trends in the ocean using satellite remote sensing, which better define the roles of such records in climate research.

environment↗

Corrections to the MODIS Aqua Calibration Derived From MODIS Aqua Ocean Color Products

Ocean color products such as, e.g., chlorophyll-a concentration, can be derived from the top-of-atmosphere radiances measured by imaging sensors on earth-orbiting satellites. There are currently three National Aeronautics and Space Administration sensors in orbit capable of providing ocean color products. One of these sensors is the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite, whose ocean color products are currently the most widely used of the three. A recent improvement to the MODIS calibration methodology has used land targets to improve the calibration accuracy. This study evaluates the new calibration methodology and describes further calibration improvements that are built upon the new methodology by including ocean measurements in the form of global temporally averaged water-leaving reflectance measurements. The calibration improvements presented here mainly modify the calibration at the scan edges, taking advantage of the good performance of the land target trending in the center of the scan.

MODIS↗

Atmospheric Correction for Hyperspectral Ocean Color Retrieval with Application to the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO)

The classical multi-spectral Atmospheric Correction (AC) algorithm is inadequate for the new generation of spaceborne hyperspectral sensors such as NASA's first hyperspectral Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) onboard the anticipated Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite mission. The AC process must estimate and remove the atmospheric path radiance contribution due to the Rayleigh scattering by air molecules and scattering by aerosols from the measured top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiance, compensate for the absorption by atmospheric gases, and correct for reflection and refraction of the air-sea interface. In this work, we present and evaluate an improved AC for hyperspectral sensors developed within NASA's Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Data Analysis System software package (SeaDAS). The improvement is based on combining the classical AC approach of multi-spectral capabilities to correct for the atmospheric path radiance, extended to hyperspectral, with a gas correction algorithm to compensate for absorbing gases in the atmosphere, including water vapor. The SeaDAS-hyperspectral version is capable of operationally processing the AC of any hyperspectral airborne or spaceborne sensor. The new algorithm development was evaluated and assessed using the Hyperspectral Imager for Coastal Ocean (HICO) scenes collected at the Marine Optical BuoY (MOBY) site, and other SeaWiFS Bio-optical Archive and Storage System (SeaBASS) and AERosol Robotic NETwork - Ocean Color (AERONET-OC) coastal sites. A hyperspectral vicarious calibration was applied to HICO, showing the validity and consistency of HICO's ocean color products. The hyperspectral AC capability is currently available in SeaDAS to the scientific community at https://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/.

Ocean Color↗

Satellite Remote Sensing: Ocean Color

Satellite ocean color instruments routinely provide global, synoptic views of the Earth's marine biosphere. These spaceborne radiometers measure light exiting the top of the atmosphere at discrete wavelengths in the ultraviolet to shortwave infrared region of the spectrum. This includes measurements of the color of the ocean - information used to infer the contents of the sunlit upper ocean, such as concentrations of phytoplankton, suspended sediments, and dissolved organic carbon. Continuous marine biological, ecological, and biogeochemical data records from satellite ocean color instruments now span over twenty years. This time-series not only supports Earth system and climate research, but also ecosystem and watershed management activities, including detection of nuisance and harmful algal blooms.

Biosphere↗

Sensitivity of Satellite Ocean Color Data to System Vicarious Calibration of the Long Near Infrared Band

Satellite ocean color missions require accurate (< 1% uncertainties) system vicarious calibrations (SVC) in order to retrieve the relatively small remote sensing reflectance (Rrs, sr-1) from the at-sensor radiance. However, current atmospheric correction and SVC procedures do not include calibration of the “long” near infrared band (NIRL–869nm for MODIS), partially because earlier studies indicated that accuracy in the retrieved Rrsis insensitive to moderate changes in the NIRLvicarious gain (g). However, the sensitivity of ocean color data products to g(NIRL) has not been thoroughly examined. Here, we first derived 10 SVC ‘gain configurations’ (vicarious gains for all visible and NIR bands) for MODIS/Aqua using current operational NASA protocols, each time assuming a different g(869). From these, we derived a suite of ~1.4E6 unique gain configurations with g(869) ranging from 0.85 to 1.2. All MODIS/A data for 25locations within each of five ocean gyres were then processed using each of these gain configurations. Such time series show substantial variability inthe dominant Rrs(547) patterns in response to changes in g(869). Overall gyre mean Rrs(547) generally decreased with increasing g(869), while the standard deviations around those means show gyre-specific minima for 0.97 < g(869) < 1.02. Following these sensitivity analyses, we assess the potential to resolve g(869) using suchtime series, finding g(869) = 1.025 most closely comports with expectations. This approach is broadly applicable to other ocean color sensors, and highlights the importance of rigorous cross-sensor calibration of the NIRLbands, with implications on consistency of merged-sensor datasets.

vicarious calibration↗

Optimal Estimation Framework for Ocean Color Atmospheric Correction and Pixel-level Uncertainty Quantification

Ocean color remote sensing requires compensation for atmospheric scattering and absorption (aerosol, Rayleigh, and trace gases), referred to as atmospheric correction (AC). AC allows inference of parameters such as spectrally resolved remote sensing reflectance ( R rs )(λ) ; sr 1 ) at the ocean surface from the top-of-atmosphere reflectance. Often, the uncertainty of this process is not fully explored. Bayesian inference techniques provide a simultaneous AC and uncertainty assessment via a full posterior distribution of the relevant variables, given the prior distribution of those variables and the radiative transfer (RT) likelihood function. Given uncertainties in the algorithm inputs, the Bayesian framework enables better constraints on the AC process by using the complete spectral information compared to traditional approaches that use only a subset of bands for AC. This paper investigates a Bayesian inference research method (Optimal Estimation, OE) for ocean color AC by simultaneously retrieving atmospheric and ocean properties using all visible and near-infrared spectral bands. The OE algorithm analytically approximates the posterior distribution of parameters based on normality assumptions and provides a potentially viable operational algorithm with a reduced computational expense. We developed a Neural Network (NN) RT forward model look-up-table-based emulator to increase algorithm efficiency further and thus speed up the likelihood computations. We then applied the OE algorithm to synthetic data and observations from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua spacecraft. We compared the R rs )(λ) retrieval and its uncertainty estimates from the OE method with in-situ validation data from the SeaWiFS Bio-optical Archive and Storage System (SeaBASS) and Aerosol Robotic Network Ocean Color (AERONET-OC) datasets. The OE algorithm improved R rs )(λ) estimates relative to the NASA standard operational algorithm by improving all statistical metrics at 443, 555, and 667 nm. Unphysical negative R rs )(λ) , which often appear in complex water conditions, was reduced by a factor of 3. The OE-derived pixel-level R rs )(λ) uncertainty estimates were also assessed relative to in-situ data and were shown to have skill.

Atmospheric correction↗

Crowd-Sourced Technology Challenge for Improving Visual Color Detection of Hydrazine and Monomethylhydrazine Vapors in Spacecraft Environments

NASA currently uses a visual colorimetric detection method for potential hydrazine, monomethylhydrazine (MMH), or unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) contamination in the International Space Station. Astronauts exposed to propellants or their residues during extravehicular activities may transfer contaminants into the airlock. The colorimetric detection method employs the Contamination Detection Kit (CDK), which uses a potassium tetrachloroaurate redox reaction with the propellant hydrazine vapors and a color comparison card to determine airborne concentrations. Seeking ideas for improvement, the NASA Tournament Lab (NTL) crowdsourced a way to tackle the challenge of detecting hydrazine and MMH vapors using colorimetric detection methods. This Rid the Rocket competition drew over 200 participants and 20 submissions from around the world proposing innovative ways to develop a new chemical colorimetric detection method for hydrazine and MMH vapors on spacecraft. Using a phased approach to evaluate contestants, NASA eventually narrowed the field to five finalists from the United States, Romania, Taiwan, and India. Concept papers and hardware submissions were judged on feasibility, creativity, and ability to detect hydrazine and MMH vapors before being sent to the NASA White Sands Test Facility for laboratory evaluation. Finalists employed variations of sampling methods and color-detection chemistry using a variety of sampling pumps and indicator pads or solutions—including those employing potassium or hydrogen tetrachloroaurate, para -dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (PDAB), and modifiers including sodium metasilicate and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide—to enhance gold nanoparticle formation and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) resulting in visual blue to purple color development. This paper presents a summary of the crowdsourced submissions and results of laboratory testing.

Crowd-Sourced↗

Surfaceology for colored Yukawa theory

Arkani-Hamed and collaborators have recently shown that scattering amplitudes for colored theories can be expressed as integrals over combinatorial objects simply constructed from surfaces decorated by kinematic data. In this paper we extend the curve integral formalism to theories with colored fermionic matter and present a compact formula for the all-loop, all-genus, all-multiplicity amplitude integrand of a colored Yukawa theory. The curve integral formalism makes certain properties of the amplitudes manifest and repackages non-trivial numerators into a single combinatorial object. We also present an efficient formula for L-loop integrated amplitudes in terms of a sum over 2 L combinatorial determinants.

1/N Expansion↗

Hidden zeros for particle/string amplitudes and the unity of colored scalars, pions and gluons

Recent years have seen the emergence of a new understanding of scattering amplitudes in the simplest theory of colored scalar particles — the Tr(Φ 3 ) theory — based on combinatorial and geometric ideas in the kinematic space of scattering data. In this paper we report a surprise: far from the toy model it appears to be, the “stringy” Tr(Φ 3 ) amplitudes secretly contains the scattering amplitudes for pions, as well as non-supersymmetric gluons, in any number of dimensions. The amplitudes for the different theories are given by one and the same function, related by a simple shift of the kinematics. This discovery was spurred by another fundamental observation: the tree-level Tr(Φ 3 ) field theory amplitudes have a hidden pattern of zeros when a special set of non-planar Mandelstam invariants is set to zero. These zeros are not manifest in Feynman diagrams but are made obvious by the connection of these amplitudes to the new understanding of associahedra arising from “causal diamonds” in kinematic space. Furthermore, near these zeros, the amplitudes simplify, by factoring into a non-trivial product of smaller amplitudes. Remarkably the amplitudes for pions and gluons are observed to also vanish in the same kinematical locus. These properties for Tr(Φ 3 ) amplitudes hold and further generalize to the “stringy” Tr(Φ 3 ) amplitudes. The “kinematic causal diamond” picture suggests a unique shift of the kinematic data that preserves the zeros, and this shift is precisely the one that unifies colored scalars, pions, and gluons into a single object. We will focus in this paper on explaining the hidden zeros and factorization properties and the connection between all the colored theories, working for simplicity at tree level. Subsequent works will describe this new formulation for the Non-linear Sigma Model and non-supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, at all loop orders.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Covariant color-kinematics duality

We show that color-kinematics duality is a manifest property of the equations of motion governing currents and field strengths. For the nonlinear sigma model (NLSM), this insight enables an implementation of the double copy at the level of fields, as well as an explicit construction of the kinematic algebra and associated kinematic current. As a byproduct, we also derive new formulations of the special Galileon (SG) and Born-Infeld (BI) theory. For Yang-Mills (YM) theory, this same approach reveals a novel structure — covariant color-kinematics duality — whose only difference from the conventional duality is that 1/$\square$ is replaced with covariant 1/D 2 . Remarkably, this structure implies that YM theory is itself the covariant double copy of gauged biadjoint scalar (GBAS) theory and an F 3 theory of field strengths encoding a corresponding kinematic algebra and current. Directly applying the double copy to equations of motion, we derive general relativity (GR) from the product of Einstein-YM and F 3 theory. This exercise reveals a trivial variant of the classical double copy that recasts any solution of GR as a solution of YM theory in a curved background. Covariant color-kinematics duality also implies a new decomposition of tree-level amplitudes in YM theory into those of GBAS theory. Using this representation we derive a closed-form, analytic expression for all BCJ numerators in YM theory and the NLSM for any number of particles in any spacetime dimension. By virtue of the double copy, this constitutes an explicit formula for all tree-level scattering amplitudes in YM, GR, NLSM, SG, and BI.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Entanglement entropy of a color flux tube in (2+1)D Yang-Mills theory

We construct a novel flux tube entanglement entropy (FTE 2 ), defined as the excess entanglement entropy relative to the vacuum of a region of color flux stretching between a heavy quark-anti-quark pair in pure gauge Yang-Mills theory. We show that FTE 2 can be expressed in terms of correlators of Polyakov loops, is manifestly gauge-invariant, and therefore free of the ambiguities in computations of the entanglement entropy in gauge theories related to the choice of the center algebra. Employing the replica trick, we compute FTE 2 for SU(2) Yang-Mills theory in (2+1)D and demonstrate that it is finite in the continuum limit. We explore the properties of FTE 2 for a half-slab geometry, which allows us to vary the width and location of the slab, and the extent to which the slab cross-cuts the color flux tube. Following the intuition provided by computations of FTE 2 in (1+1)D, and in a thin string model, we examine the extent to which our FTE 2 results can be interpreted as the sum of an internal color entropy and a vibrational entropy corresponding to the transverse excitations of the string.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Sample screening of uranium ore concentrates using portable spectrophotometers: investigating the correlation between visible colors and chemical signatures

A research collaboration between the Japan Atomic Energy Agency and the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration examined nuclear forensic signatures and analytical methods for tracing the origins of uranium ore concentrates (UOCs). Here, this study focuses on utilizing portable spectrophotometers capable of reflectance measurements in the visible light spectrum as a potential rapid screening tool for nuclear forensics analysis. Unlike laboratory-based near-infrared spectroscopy or digital image analysis, this research investigated the potential to correlate visible color measurements with key nuclear forensics signatures using seven types of UOC samples with known origins and three UOC certified reference materials. Results demonstrated that distinct color groups, quantified using CIELAB values, correlated with major uranium compounds. Furthermore, the findings indicated that trace elements can influence the UOC colors, providing additional insights into material characteristics. Although this approach requires further validation across a broader range of UOC species, this study demonstrated that simple colorimetric analysis using visible spectrophotometry, which does not require complex sample preparation or data processing, can serve as a practical and novel rapid tool for preliminary screening and attribution in nuclear forensics investigations.

and nuclear chemistry↗