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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 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Bioaerosols are the dominant source of warm-temperature immersion-mode INPs and drive uncertainties in INP predictability

Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are rare atmospheric aerosols that initiate primary ice formation, but accurately simulating their concentrations and variability in large-scale climate models remains a challenge. Doing so requires both simulating major particle sources and parameterizing their ice nucleation (IN) efficiency. Validating and improving model predictions of INP concentrations requires measuring their concentrations delineated by particle type. We present a method to speciate INP concentrations into contributions from dust, sea spray aerosol (SSA), and bioaerosol. Field campaign data from Bodega Bay, California, showed that bioaerosols were the primary source of INPs between –12° and –20°C, while dust was a minor source and SSA had little impact. We found that recent parameterizations for dust and SSA accurately predicted ambient INP concentrations. However, the model did not skillfully simulate bioaerosol INPs, suggesting a need for further research to identify major factors controlling their emissions and INP efficiency for improved representation in models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Improving Variational Autoencoders for New Physics Detection at the LHC With Normalizing Flows

We investigate how to improve new physics detection strategies exploiting variational autoencoders and normalizing flows for anomaly detection at the Large Hadron Collider. As a working example, we consider the DarkMachines challenge dataset. We show how different design choices (e.g., event representations, anomaly score definitions, network architectures) affect the result on specific benchmark new physics models. Once a baseline is established, we discuss how to improve the anomaly detection accuracy by exploiting normalizing flow layers in the latent space of the variational autoencoder.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Aerosol Vertical Turbulent Mass Flux Retrievals Through Novel Remote Sensing Algorithm

Abstract Integrated measurements of aerosol, radiation, cloud, and turbulent transport in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) are essential for understanding and modeling climate and air quality. Here, we developed a new technique for the identification of convective turbulent regions and deriving the vertical distribution of aerosol turbulent mass fluxes within PBL. The algorithm uses retrievals from coherent Doppler lidars and a high spectral resolution lidar. The technique was applied to study particle mass fluxes over 2 months (November–December 2020) during the campaign conducted at the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Lamont, Oklahoma. The algorithm developed here is capable of continuously deriving vertically resolved (curtains) aerosol mass fluxes. Our data analysis shows that at the site, the 30‐min averaged fluxes at 135 m above the surface were mainly positive (upward) at ∼1 μg m −2 s −1 , suggesting that the surface is the primary source of the particle mass supplied to the boundary layer at the SGP site. Analyses of the individual case studies have revealed that not all the derived fluxes can be linked to surface emissions. Both positive and negative values in a range of ±5 μg m −2 s −1 can be caused by convective thermals interacting between the residual layer and the mixed layer and by rotation of the horizontal wind with the height. Large erroneous negative fluxes can also be caused by drizzling/precipitating clouds. We anticipate that the application of the current technique will lead to a more realistic representation of aerosol mass budgets and bidirectional mixing rates.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Edge counts for the auxiliary pair graph within the graphical unitary group approach

Closed-form expressions are presented for the numbers of edges in the auxiliary pair graphs (APGs) associated with non spin-orbit and spin-orbit Shavitt graphs for full configuration interaction expansions. A Shavitt graph is a visual representation of a configuration state function expansion space constructed via the graphical unitary group approach (GUGA). An APG is an organisational aid and a programmatic tool generated from a Shavitt graph. The number of edges in an APG determines bounds on the computational scaling as a function of the total numbers of electrons, orbitals, and spin multiplicities. The edge counts extend a suite of Shavitt graph statistics based on these functional parameters. The derivation and the presentation of the formulas for the edge counts has been assisted by the bra-ket interchange symmetry and the particle-hole interchange symmetry in the GUGA formalism. Furthermore, these symmetry operators produce one-to-one correspondences between various sets of edges, and this yields identities among some edge count formulas. There are 208 possible edge types. Of these, some do not contribute to two-electron operators, some are related by bra-ket interchange symmetry, and some are related by particle-hole interchange symmetry. For the remaining unique edge types, explicit expressions are derived for the numbers of edges.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Measurement Problems: Contemporary Discussions and Models

In this paper I review the basic concepts of measurement that have existed from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day, such as representational theory and the realistic, operationalist, conventionalist, information-theoretical, and theoretical-operational models, with their respective advantages and weaknesses. Such characteristics of measurement as accuracy, precision, and various aspects of their application, related to agreement between measurement results, measurements and standards, and measurements and “true” values, as well as the internal and external reproducibility of measurements, are considered. The theoretical-operational model approach to experiment (and measurement), based on V.A. Fock’s three-part scheme, proposed by him for quantum mechanics, is discussed in detail using an example from the physics of elementary particles. The comparative advantages of the latter approach as well as its possible applications for the determination of systematic uncertainty are examined.

Pronskikh, V.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Towards the Gravituhedron: new expressions for NMHV gravity amplitudes

In this paper, we present new expressions for n-point NMHV tree-level gravity amplitudes. We introduce a method of factorization diagrams which is a simple graphical representation of R-invariants in Yang-Mills theory. We define the gravity analogues which we call G-invariants, and expand the NMHV gravity amplitudes in terms of these objects. We provide explicit formulas of NMHV gravity amplitudes up to eight points in terms of G-invariants, and give the general definition for any number of points. We discuss the connection to BCFW representation, special behavior under large momentum shift, the role of momentum twistors and the intricate web of spurious poles cancelation. Because of the close connection between R-invariants and the (tree-level) Amplituhedron for Yang-Mills amplitudes, we speculate that the new expansion for gravity amplitudes should correspond to the triangulation of the putative Gravituhedron geometry.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Phase transition phenomenology with nonparametric representations of the neutron star equation of state

Astrophysical observations of neutron stars probe the structure of dense nuclear matter and have the potential to reveal phase transitions at high densities. Most recent analyses are based on parametrized models of the equation of state with a finite number of parameters and occasionally include extra parameters intended to capture phase-transition phenomenology. However, such models restrict the types of behavior allowed and may not match the true equation of state. We introduce a complementary approach that extracts phase transitions directly from the equation of state without relying on, and thus being restricted by, an underlying parametrization. We then constrain the presence of phase transitions in neutron stars with astrophysical data. Current pulsar mass, tidal deformability, and mass-radius measurements disfavor only the strongest of possible phase transitions (latent energy per particle ≳ 100 MeV). Weaker phase transitions are consistent with observations. Here we further investigate the prospects for measuring phase transitions with future gravitational-wave observations and find that catalogs of O (100) events will (at best) yield Bayes factors of ~ 10 : 1 in favor of phase transitions even when the true equation of state contains very strong phase transitions. Our results reinforce the idea that neutron star observations will primarily constrain trends in macroscopic properties rather than detailed microscopic behavior. Fine-tuned equation of state models will likely remain unconstrained in the near future.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Modified instanton sum in QCD and higher-groups

We consider the SU(N) Yang-Mills theory, whose topological sectors are restricted to the instanton number with integer multiples of p. We can formulate such a quantum field theory maintaining locality and unitarity, and the model contains both 2π-periodic scalar and 3-form gauge fields. This can be interpreted as coupling a topological theory to Yang-Mills theory, so the local dynamics becomes identical with that of pure Yang-Mills theory. The theory has not only $\mathbb{Z}$ N 1-form symmetry but also $\mathbb{Z}$ p 3-form symmetry, and we study the global nature of this theory from the recent ’t Hooft anomaly matching. The computation of ’t Hooft anomaly incorporates an intriguing higher-group structure. We also carefully examine that how such kinematical constraint is realized in the dynamics by using the large-N and also the reliable semiclassics on $\mathbb{R}$ 3 × S 1 , and we find that the topological susceptibility plays a role of the order parameter for the $\mathbb{Z}$ p 3-form symmetry. Introducing a fermion in the fundamental or adjoint representation, we find that the chiral symmetry becomes larger than the usual case by $\mathbb{Z}$ p , and it leads to the extra p vacua by discrete chiral symmetry breaking. No dynamical domain wall can interpolate those extra vacua since such objects must be charged under the 3-form symmetry in order to match the ’t Hooft anomaly.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Soft-collinear gravity beyond the leading power

We construct “soft-collinear gravity”, the effective field theory which describes the interaction of collinear and soft gravitons with matter (and themselves), to all orders in the soft-collinear power expansion. Despite the absence of collinear divergences in gravity at leading power, the construction exhibits remarkable similarities with soft-collinear effective theory of QCD (gauge fields). It reveals an emergent soft background gauge symmetry, which allows for a manifestly gauge-invariant representation of the interactions in terms of a soft covariant derivative, the soft Riemann tensor, and a covariant generalisation of the collinear light-cone gauge metric field. The gauge symmetries control both the unsuppressed collinear field components and the inherent inhomogeneity in λ of the invariant objects to all orders, resulting in a consistent expansion.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Aerosol Hygroscopic Growth, Mixing State, and Cloud Condensation Nuclei Activity during TRACER (Field Campaign Report)

Convective clouds play a critical role in the Earth’s climate system. Recent research has shown that a realistic representation of convective processes is critical to constraining climate sensitivity in global climate models. Theoretical and modeling studies showed that aerosols could have strong dynamic feedback to convection in warm and humid environments through enhancing ice-related processes and condensational growth. A few observation-based studies also suggested the influence of aerosols on convective cloud and precipitation properties. However, robust observational quantification of an aerosol effect on convective clouds isolated from other factors remains elusive. Understanding the impact of aerosol on convective clouds requires knowledge of the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) spectrum, which represents the number of particles that uptake water and form cloud droplets as a function of supersaturation. The water uptake by aerosol is also of critical importance for the direct interaction of aerosol with radiation (i.e., aerosol direct effect) due to light scattering and absorption by aerosol. While both droplet activation under supersaturated conditions (i.e., relative humidity RH > 100%) and the hygroscopic growth under sub-saturated conditions (i.e., RH < 100%) are strongly influenced by particle hygroscopicity, the thermodynamic regimes and measurement methods are quite different. Aerosol particles, especially organic particles, can exhibit higher hygroscopicity for droplet activation than that for hygroscopic growth. In the subsaturated regime, the hygroscopicity of organic particles can also vary strongly with RH. However, global climate models usually treat organic species in aerosols with a constant hygroscopicity, potentially introducing substantial uncertainties in the quantification of aerosol radiative effects.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Graph Analytics for CEBAF Operations

We report on the progress achieved during a 2-year Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project titled “Graph Analytics for CEBAF Operations”. The objective of this project is to leverage deep learning on graph representations of CEBAF’s injector beamline in order to create a tool for improving the efficiency of beam tuning tasks. Specifically, we use graphs to represent the injector beamline at any arbitrary date and time and invoke a graph neural network (GNN) to extract a low-dimensional, informative representation that can be visualized in two-dimensions. By analyzing years of operational data from the CEBAF archiver, good and bad regions of parameter space can be identified. The goal is to exercise this framework as a real-time tool to aid beam tuning, which represents the dominant source of machine downtime.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

The quantum evolutions of the diffractive transverse-momentum dependent gluon distribution

Using the Colour Glass Condensate description of electron-nucleus collisions at high energy, we study the diffractive production of a pair of jets with transverse momenta much larger than the nuclear saturation momentum Q s . At leading order in the QCD coupling, the di-jet cross-section exhibits transverse-momentum dependent (TMD) factorisation, with a gluon diffractive TMD distribution (DTMD) which is controlled by gluon saturation and describes the transverse-momentum imbalance between the produced jets. The next-to-leading corrections generate the various quantum evolutions of the diffractive gluon distribution. We focus on the Collins-Soper-Sterman (CSS) evolution which describes the change in the gluon DTMD when increasing the “hard scale” (the typical transverse momentum of the di-jets). We consider two different representations for this equation, one in transverse-momentum space, the other one in transverse-coordinate space. They are not fully equivalent with each other (despite being related by a Fourier transform) because of the respective boundary conditions. These conditions encode the essential physics of gluon saturation together with the effects of two other types of quantum evolution: the BK/JIMWLK evolution over the rapidity gap (“inside the Pomeron”) and the DGLAP evolution outside the rapidity gap (“within the diffractive system”). We demonstrate that, due to gluon saturation, one can compute both the boundary conditions and the CSS solutions mostly from first principles, without the need for a non-perturbative Sudakov. We numerically find a good agreement between the CSS solutions in the two aforementioned representations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Symmetry, Confinement, and the Higgs Phase

We show that the Higgs and confinement phases of a gauge Higgs theory, with the Higgs field in the fundamental representation of the gauge group, are distinguished both by a broken or unbroken realization of the global center subgroup of the gauge group, and by the type of confinement in each phase. This is color confinement in the Higgs phase, and a stronger property, which we call “separation-of-charge” confinement, in the confining phase.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Generic Construction of the Standard Model Gauge Group and Matter Representations in F-theory

In this work, we describe general classes of 6D and 4D F-theory models with gauge group (SU(3)×SU(2)×U(1))/Z 6 . For 6D F-theory models with no tensor multiplets, we prove that this set of constructions gives all possible consistent supergravity theories with this gauge group and the corresponding generic matter representations, which include those of the MSSM. We expect, though do not prove, that these models are similarly generic for 6D theories with tensor multiplets and for 4D N=1 supergravity theories. Finally, the models in the largest class of these constructions come from deforming an underlying geometry with SU(4)×SU(3)×SU(2), corresponding to Higgsing on three bifundamental fields.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Structural and compositional complexities of hierarchical self-assembly: A hypergraph approach

Programmable self-assembly enables the construction of complex molecular, supramolecular, and crystalline architectures from well-designed building blocks. In this work, we introduce a hypergraph-based formalism, Blocks & Bonds (B&B), which generalizes classical chemical graph theory by incorporating directed and multicolored interactions, internal symmetries, and hierarchical organization. Within this framework, we develop the Structure Code (SC), a compact and versatile language for describing self-assembled architectures. We define a Kolmogorov-style structural complexity as the total information content of SC, obtained through its tokenization and Shannon information assignment. Complementing this encoding-based measure, we introduce a much simpler quantity, the compositional complexity, which depends only on the number and cumulative usage of block and bond types in the construction set. A central result of this work is a strong empirical correlation between the token-based structural complexity and the compositional complexity across all examined systems. Owing to this agreement, the compositional complexity emerges as the most practical and broadly applicable measure: it is easy to compute, requires no explicit encoding, and yet closely tracks the actual information content of structurally diverse architectures. Applications to molecular systems (ethylene glycol and glucose), DNA-origami lattices, and crystalline assemblies show that B&B hypergraphs provide a unified, scalable, and information-efficient representation of structural organization, naturally capturing symmetry, modularity, and stereochemistry. This framework establishes a quantitative foundation for complexity-aware classification and inverse design of programmable matter.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Hofmann Stability Charts Revisited for PIP-II: From Classical Theory to Assumption-Free and ML-Driven Maps

The Hofmann stability chart remains a standard for visualizing parametric resonances in space-charge–dominated linacs, but its use typically relies on non-oscillatory Vlasov dispersion relations with simplifying assumptions (continuous focusing, KV phase space, linear optics, limited transverse–longitudinal coupling). We revisit the chart for the PIP-II linac along three tracks. (1) We reproduce the conventional maps in the (νz/νx, νx/ν0x) plane for relevant εz/εx, providing a validated reference. (2) We remove key assumptions by deriving stability surfaces directly from multi-particle tracking with realistic lattice discreteness, RF defocusing, solenoid/quad optics, and bunched-beam dynamics; local tunes and early-time growth rates are estimated from envelope oscillations and projected to the same coordinates. These assumption-reduced maps recover the canonical stopbands while revealing shifts and broadenings driven by tune modulation, non-KV distributions, and transverse–longitudinal coupling at PIP-II intensities. (3) We train a compact machine-learning surrogate that emulates the growth surface from zero-current optics, tune depression, emittance ratio, bunching factor, and selected lattice descriptors, enabling rapid scans and online working-point selection. We compare the three representations on representative PIP-II sections and discuss implications for commissioning guard bands, resonance avoidance, and routine operations.

Pathak, Abhishek [Fermilab] (ORCID:000000021704208↗
DOE OSTI2026

Particle-hole symmetric slave-boson method for the mixed valence problem

We introduce an analytic slave-boson method for treating the finite-𝑈 Anderson impurity model. Our approach introduces two bosons to track both 𝑄 ⇌ 𝑄 ± 1 valence fluctuations and reduces to a single symmetric 𝑠 boson in the effective action, encoding all the high-energy atomic physics information in the boson's kinematics, while the low-energy part of the action remains unchanged across finite-𝑈, infinite-𝑈, and Kondo limits. We recover the infinite-𝑈- and Kondo-limit actions from our approach and show that the Kondo resonance already develops in the normal state when the slave boson has yet to condense. We show that the slave rotor and 𝑠 boson have the same algebraic structure, and we establish a unified functional integral framework connecting the 𝑠-boson and slave-rotor representations for the single-impurity Anderson model.

Anderson impurity model↗
DOE OSTI2021

Scalable In Situ Computation of Lagrangian Representations via Local Flow Maps

In situ computation of Lagrangian flow maps to enable post hoc time-varying vector field analysis has recently become an active area of research. However, the current literature is largely limited to theoretical settings and lacks a solution to address scalability of the technique in distributed memory. To improve scalability, we propose and evaluate the benefits and limitations of a simple, yet novel, performance optimization. Our proposed optimization is a communication-free model resulting in local Lagrangian flow maps, requiring no message passing or synchronization between processes, intrinsically improving scalability, and thereby reducing overall execution time and alleviating the encumbrance placed on simulation codes from communication overheads. To evaluate our approach, we computed Lagrangian flow maps for four time-varying simulation vector fields and investigated how execution time and reconstruction accuracy are impacted by the number of GPUs per compute node, the total number of compute nodes, particles per rank, and storage intervals. Our study consisted of experiments computing Lagrangian flow maps with up to 67M particle trajectories over 500 cycles and used as many as 2048 GPUs across 512 compute nodes. In all, our study contributes an evaluation of a communication-free model as well as a scalability study of computing distributed Lagrangian flow maps at scale using in situ infrastructure on a modern supercomputer.

Sane, Sudhanshu↗