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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 343 records · Page 19

Overlooked trade-offs of environmentally protective hydropower operation: Impacts to ancillary services and greenhouse gas emissions

The relicensing of large hydropower projects in the United States often enforces environmental constraints such as minimum instream flows. These requirements can reduce hydropower's negative environmental impacts but may come at a cost of reduced electric generation and revenue. During the federal hydropower relicensing process, participants negotiate these environmental and economic trade-offs based on coarse models, often conflating impacts on generation and revenue, overlooking ancillary services (AS) markets, and ignoring potential greenhouse gas (GHG) implications. Using a case study of a 362-MW hydropower project in California, this research conducts higher resolution modelling to compare energy generation, AS provision, revenue, and GHG impacts of two hydropower operating regimes. The environmentally protective regime reduces average generation by 6% but increases AS provision by 2%. Total average revenue decreases by 3.5% under environmental constraints using current electricity prices (and by only 1.1% when modelled with projected 2030 electricity prices), indicating that generation impacts should not be equated with revenue impacts during relicensing. In the California electricity market, this reduced hydropower generation is replaced primarily by natural gas, resulting in an estimated 30,000 additional tons of CO 2 emitted annually. Furthermore, these positive and negative externalities are not adequately examined in the hydropower relicensing process.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Clustering VoIP caller for SPIT identification

Abstract The number of unsolicited and advertisement telephony calls over traditional and Internet telephony has rapidly increased over recent few years. Every year, the telecommunication regulators, law enforcement agencies and telecommunication operators receive a very large number of complaints against these unsolicited, unwanted calls. These unwanted calls not only bring financial loss to the users of the telephony but also annoy them with unwanted ringing alerts. Therefore, it is important for the operators to block telephony spammers at the edge of the network so to gain trust of their customers. In this paper, we propose a novel spam detection system by incorporating different social network features for combating unwanted callers at the edge of the network. To this extent the reputation of each caller is computed by processing call detailed records of user using three social network features that are the frequency of the calls between caller and the callee, the duration between caller and the callee and the number of outgoing partners associated with the caller. Once the reputation of the caller is computed, the caller is then places in a spam and non‐spam clusters using unsupervised machine learning. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated using a synthetic dataset generated by simulating the social behaviour of the spammers and the non‐spammers. The evaluation results reveal that the proposed approach is highly effective in blocking spammer with 2% false positive rate under a large number of spammers. Moreover, the proposed approach does not require any change in the underlying VoIP network architecture, and also does not introduce any additional signalling delay in a call set‐up phase. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Azad, Muhammad Ajmal↗

Learning and Predicting Photonic Responses of Plasmonic Nanoparticle Assemblies via Dual Variational Autoencoders

In this work, the application of machine learning is demonstrated for rapid and accurate extraction of plasmonic particles cluster geometries from hyperspectral image data via a dual variational autoencoder (dual-VAE). In this approach, the information is shared between the latent spaces of two VAEs acting on the particle shape data and spectral data, respectively, but enforcing a common encoding on the shape-spectra pairs. It is shown that this approach can establish the relationship between the geometric characteristics of nanoparticles and their far-field photonic responses, demonstrating that hyperspectral darkfield microscopy can be used to accurately predict the geometry (number of particles, arrangement) of a multiparticle assemblies below the diffraction limit in an automated fashion with high fidelity (for monomers (0.96), dimers (0.86), and trimers (0.58). This approach of building structure-property relationships via shared encoding is universal and should have applications to a broader range of materials science and physics problems in imaging of both molecular and nanomaterial systems.

variational autoencoder↗

Quantifying modeling uncertainty in simplified beam models for building response prediction

The use of simple models for response prediction of building structures is preferred in earthquake engineering for risk evaluations at regional scales, as they make computational studies more feasible. The primary impediment in their gainful use presently is the lack of viable methods for quantifying (and reducing upon) the modeling errors/uncertainties they bear. This study presents a Bayesian calibration method wherein the modeling error is embedded into the parameters of the model. Here, the method is specifically described for coupled shear-flexural beam models here, but it can be applied to any parametric surrogate model. The major benefit the method offers is the ability to consider the modeling uncertainty in the forward prediction of any degree-of-freedom or composite response regardless of the data used in calibration. The method is extensively verified using two synthetic examples. In the first example, the beam model is calibrated to represent a similar beam model but with enforced modeling errors. In the second example, the beam model is used to represent the detailed finite element model of a 52-story building. Both examples show the capability of the proposed solution to provide realistic uncertainty estimation around the mean prediction.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

A strategy for improved computational efficiency of the method of anchored distributions

This paper proposes a strategy for improving the computational efficiency of model inversion using the method of anchored distributions by “bundling” similar model parametrizations in the likelihood function. Inferring the likelihood function typically requires a large number of forward model simulations for each possible model parametrization; as a result, the process is quite expensive. To ease this prohibitive cost, we present an approximation for the likelihood function – called “bundling” – that relaxes the requirement for high quantities of forward model simulations. This approximation redefines the conditional statement of the likelihood function as the probability of sets of similar model parametrizations – “bundles” – replicating field measurements. To evaluate the effectiveness of these modifications, we compare the quality of predictions and computational cost of bundling relative to a baseline method of anchored distributions inversion of three-dimensional flow and transport model parameters. For our synthetic experiment, bundling achieved a 35% reduction in overall computational cost and had a limited negative on predicted probability distributions of the model parameters. Strategies for minimizing error in the bundling approximation, for enforcing similarity amongst the sets of model parametrizations, and for identifying convergence of the likelihood function are also presented.

Bayesian Inversion, SVD, computational efficiency↗

Data Diodes in Support of Trustworthy Cyber Infrastructure and Net-Centric Cyber Decision Support

Data diodes provide protection of critical cyber assets by the means of physically enforcing traffic direction on the network. In order to deploy data diodes effectively, it is imperative to understand the protection they provide, the protection they do not provide, their limitations, and their place in the larger security infrastructure. In this work, we study data diodes, their functionalities and limitations. We then propose two critical infrastructure systems that can benefit from the additional protection offered by data diodes: process control networks and net-centric cyber decision support systems. We review the security requirements of these systems, describe the architectures, and study the trade-offs. Finally, the architectures are evaluated against different attack patterns.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Ambitwistor string vertex operators on curved backgrounds

We present vertex operators for ambitwistor strings around generic Yang-Mills, gravity and NS-NS backgrounds. The requirement that vertex operators lie in the BRST cohomology of the worldsheet theory enforces the appropriate linear equations of motion (as well as gauge fixing conditions) for the respective perturbations in these backgrounds. Due to the nature of ambitwistor strings, no approximation is taken and all calculations around the backgrounds are exact.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Linearity of holographic entanglement entropy

Here, we consider the question of whether the leading contribution to the entanglement entropy in holographic CFTs is truly given by the expectation value of a linear operator as is suggested by the Ryu-Takayanagi formula. We investigate this property by computing the entanglement entropy, via the replica trick, in states dual to superpositions of macroscopically distinct geometries and find it consistent with evaluating the expectation value of the area operator within such states. However, we find that this fails once the number of semi-classical states in the superposition grows exponentially in the central charge of the CFT. Moreover, in certain such scenarios we find that the choice of surface on which to evaluate the area operator depends on the density matrix of the entire CFT. This nonlinearity is enforced in the bulk via the homology prescription of Ryu-Takayanagi. We thus conclude that the homology constraint is not a linear property in the CFT. We also discuss the existence of entropy operators in general systems with a large number of degrees of freedom.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Parton distribution function for topological charge at one loop

We present results for the gg-part of the one-loop corrections to the recently introduced “topological charge” GPD F~(x, q 2 ). In particular, we give expression for its evolution kernel. To enforce strict compliance with the gauge invariance requirements, we have used on-shell states for external gluons, and have obtained identical results both in Feynman and light-cone gauges. No “zero mode” δ(x) terms were found for the twist-4 gluon GPD F~(x, q 2 ).

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

SUSY’s Ladder: Reframing sequestering at Large Volume

Theories with approximate no-scale structure, such as the Large Volume Scenario, have a distinctive hierarchy of multiple mass scales in between TeV gaugino masses and the Planck scale, which we call SUSY's Ladder. This is a particular realization of Split Supersymmetry in which the same small parameter suppresses gaugino masses relative to scalar soft masses, scalar soft masses relative to the gravitino mass, and the UV cutoff or string scale relative to the Planck scale. This scenario has many phenomenologically interesting properties, and can avoid dangers including the gravitino problem, flavor problems, and the moduli-induced LSP problem that plague other supersymmetric theories. We study SUSY's Ladder using a superspace formalism that makes the mysterious cancelations in previous computations manifest. This opens the possibility of a consistent effective field theory understanding of the phenomenology of these scenarios, based on power-counting in the small ratio of string to Planck scales. We also show that four-dimensional theories with approximate no-scale structure enforced by a single volume modulus arise only from two special higher-dimensional theories: five-dimensional supergravity and ten-dimensional type IIB supergravity. As a result, this gives a phenomenological argument in favor of ten dimensional ultraviolet physics which is different from standard arguments based on the consistency of superstring theory.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Pions as gluons in higher dimensions

We derive the nonlinear sigma model as a peculiar dimensional reduction of Yang-Mills theory. In this framework, pions are reformulated as higher-dimensional gluons arranged in a kinematic configuration that only probes cubic interactions. This procedure yields a purely cubic action for the nonlinear sigma model that exhibits a symmetry enforcing color-kinematics duality. Remarkably, the associated kinematic algebra originates directly from the Poincaré algebra in higher dimensions. Applying the same construction to gravity yields a new quartic action for Born-Infeld theory and, applied once more, a cubic action for the special Galileon theory. Since the nonlinear sigma model and special Galileon are subtly encoded in the cubic sectors of Yang-Mills theory and gravity, respectively, their double copy relationship is automatic.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Non-linear evolution in QCD at high-energy beyond leading order

The standard formulation of the high-energy evolution in perturbative QCD, based on the Balitsky-Kovchegov equation, is known to suffer from severe instabilities associated with radiative corrections enhanced by double transverse logarithms, which occur in all orders starting with the next-to-leading one. Over the last years, several methods have been devised to resum such corrections by enforcing the time-ordering of the successive gluon emissions. We observe that the instability problem is not fully cured by these methods: various prescriptions for performing the resummation lead to very different physical results and thus lack of predictive power. We argue that this problem can be avoided by using the rapidity of the dense target (which corresponds to Bjorken x) instead of that of the dilute projectile as an evolution time. This automatically ensures the proper time-ordering and also allows for a direct physical interpretation of the results. We explicitly perform this change of variables at NLO. We observe the emergence of a new class of double logarithmic corrections, potentially leading to instabilities, which are however less severe, since disfavoured by the typical BK evolution for “dilute-dense” scattering. We propose several prescriptions for resumming these new double-logarithms to all orders and find only little scheme dependence: different prescriptions lead to results which are consistent to each other to the accuracy of interest. We restore full NLO accuracy by completing one of the resummed equations (non-local in rapidity) with the remaining NLO corrections.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A technical analog of the cosmological constant problem and a solution thereof

The near vanishing of the cosmological constant is one of the most puzzling open problems in theoretical physics. We consider a system, the so-called framid, that features a technically similar problem. Its stress-energy tensor has a Lorentz-invariant expectation value on the ground state, yet there are no standard, symmetry-based selection rules enforcing this, since the ground state spontaneously breaks boosts. We verify the Lorentz invariance of the expectation value in question with explicit one-loop computations. These, however, yield the expected result only thanks to highly nontrivial cancellations, which are quite mysterious from the low-energy effective theory viewpoint.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Unveiling horizons in quantum critical collapse

Critical gravitational collapse offers a unique window into regimes of arbitrarily high curvature, culminating in a naked singularity arising from smooth initial data — thus providing a dynamical counterexample to weak cosmic censorship. Near the critical regime, quantum effects from the collapsing matter are expected to intervene before full quantum gravity resolves the singularity. Despite its fundamental significance, a self-consistent treatment has so far remained elusive. In this work, we perform a one-loop semiclassical analysis using the robust anomaly-based method in the canonical setup of Einstein gravity minimally coupled to a free, massless scalar field. Focusing on explicitly solvable near-critical solutions in both 2 + 1 and 3 + 1 dimensions, we analytically solve the semiclassical Einstein equations and obtain controlled, quantitative results for several long-standing questions within the dominant s-wave sector. We find that regularity uniquely selects a Boulware-like quantum state, encoding genuine vacuum polarization effects from the collapsing matter. Remarkably, the resulting quantum corrections manifest as a growing mode. Horizon-tracing analyses, incorporating both classical and quantum modes, reveal the emergence of a finite mass gap, signaling a phase transition from classical Type II to quantum-modified Type I behavior, thereby providing a quantum enforcement of the weak cosmic censorship. The most non-trivial aspect of our analysis involves dealing with non-conformal matter fields in explicitly time-dependent critical spacetimes. Along the way, we uncover intriguing and previously underexplored features of quantum field theory in curved spacetime.

2D Gravity↗

Emergent area laws from entangled matrices

We consider a wavefunction of large N matrices supported close to an emergent classical fuzzy sphere geometry. The SU( N ) Gauss law of the theory enforces correlations between the matrix degrees of freedom associated to a geometric subregion and their complement. We call this ‘Gauss law entanglement’. We show that the subregion degrees of freedom transform under a single dominant, low rank representation of SU( N ). The corresponding Gauss law entanglement entropy is given by the logarithm of the dimension of this dominant representation. It is found that, after coarse-graining in momentum space, the SU( N ) Gauss law entanglement entropy is proportional to the geometric area bounding the subregion. The constant of proportionality goes like the inverse of an emergent Maxwell coupling constant, reminiscent of gravitational entropy.

1/N Expansion↗

Radiative corrections relating leptoquark-fermion couplings probed at low and high energy

Scalar leptoquarks (LQ) with masses between 2 TeV and 50 TeV are prime candidates to explain deviations between measurements and Standard-Model predictions in decay observables of b-flavored hadrons (“flavor anomalies”). Explanations of low-energy data often involve $\mathcal{O}$ (1) LQ-quark-lepton Yukawa couplings, especially when collider bounds enforce a large LQ mass. This calls for the calculation of radiative corrections involving these couplings. Studying such corrections to LQ-mediated b → cτν and b → sℓ + ℓ − amplitudes, we find that they can be absorbed into finite renormalizations of the LQ Yukawa couplings. If one wants to use Yukawa couplings extracted from low-energy data for the prediction of on-shell LQ decay rates, one must convert the low-energy couplings to their high-energy counterparts, which subsume the corrections to the on-shell LQ-quark-lepton vertex. We present compact formulae for these correction factors and find that in scenarios with S 1 , R 2 , or S 3 LQ the high-energy coupling is always smaller than the low-energy one, which weakens the impact of collider data on the determination of the allowed parameter spaces. For the R 2 scenario addressing b → cτν, in which one of the two involved Yukawa coupling must be significantly larger than 1, we find this coupling reduced by 15% at high energy. If both S 1 and R 2 are present, the high-energy coupling can also be larger and the size of the correction is unbounded, because tree contribution and vertex corrections involve different couplings. We further present the conversion formula to the $\overline{MS}$ scheme for the Yukawa couplings of the S 3 scenario.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Recursive Soft Drop

We introduce a new jet substructure technique called Recursive Soft Drop, which generalizes the Soft Drop algorithm to have multiple grooming layers. Like the original Soft Drop method, this new recursive variant traverses a jet clustering tree to remove soft wide-angle contamination. By enforcing the Soft Drop condition N times, Recursive Soft Drop improves the jet mass resolution for boosted hadronic objects like W bosons, top quarks, and Higgs bosons. We further show that this improvement in mass resolution persists when including the effects of pileup, up to large pileup multiplicities. In the limit that N goes to infinity, the resulting groomed jets formally have zero catchment area. As an alternative approach, we present a bottom-up version of Recursive Soft Drop which, in its local form, is similar to Recursive Soft Drop and which, in its global form, can be used to perform event-wide grooming.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

The minimal SUSY B - L model: simultaneous Wilson lines and string thresholds

In previous work, we presented a statistical scan over the soft supersymmetry breaking parameters of the minimal SUSY B - L model. For specificity of calculation, unification of the gauge parameters was enforced by allowing the two Z 3 ×Z 3 Wilson lines to have mass scales separated by approximately an order of magnitude. This introduced an additional “left-right” sector below the unification scale. In this paper, for three important reasons, we modify our previous analysis by demanding that the mass scales of the two Wilson lines be simultaneous and equal to an “average unification” mass U >. The present analysis is 1) more “natural” than the previous calculations, which were only valid in a very specific region of the Calabi-Yau moduli space, 2) the theory is conceptually simpler in that the left-right sector has been removed and 3) in the present analysis the lack of gauge unification is due to threshold effects — particularly heavy string thresholds, which we calculate statistically in detail. As in our previous work, the theory is renormalization group evolved from U > to the electroweak scale — being subjected, sequentially, to the requirement of radiative B - L and electroweak symmetry breaking, the present experimental lower bounds on the B - L vector boson and sparticle masses, as well as the lightest neutral Higgs mass of ~125 GeV. The subspace of soft supersymmetry breaking masses that satisfies all such constraints is presented and shown to be substantial.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗