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At least 397 records · Page 22

AbacusSummit Halo Light Cone Catalogs

This is a set of halo light cone catalogs from the AbacusSummit suite of cosmological N-body simulations (abacussummit.readthedocs.io/). They are a value-added data product provided by post-processing the simulation output. The main application of the halo light cone catalogs is the construction of realistic mock galaxy catalogues and weak lensing maps on the sky. The algorithm (described in Hadzhiyska et al. 2021) associates CompaSO halos from 29 redshift epochs spanning z = 0.1-2.5 with their particles at the time of light-cone crossing. It then records the halo and particle information into an easily accessible product, which can be read with the CompaSO reader. The 25 base resolution boxes at fiducial cosmology have a halo light cone catalog covering an octant of the sky to z approx 0.8 and about 2000 deg2 extending to z approx 2.4. The huge boxes provide light cone information of the full sky until z approx 2.18 and extend further towards the corners of the box (available until z = 2.25). Galaxy mock catalogs on the sky can be generated easily though the AbacusHOD script providing an extended HOD framework (see Yuan et al. 2021, for details), which has been modified to work with the halo light cone catalogs. The available tracers are luminous red galaxies (LRGs), emission-line galaxies (ELGs), and quasi-stellar objects (QSOs).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Underlying data for characterization of phycocyanobilin (PCB) biosynthesis in Galdieria sulphuraria

This dataset contains data for studies of phycocyanobilin (PCB) synthesis in the red alga Galdieria sulphuraria. Red algae such as G. sulphuraria utilize phycobilisomes for light harvesting. The phycobilisomes of early-branching organisms such as G. sulphuraria or Cyanidioschyzon merolae contain PCB chromophores but not phycoerythrobilin (PEB), in contrast to the phycobilisomes of other red algae. The studies reported in this dataset examine biosynthesis of PCB in G. sulphuraria and C. merolae, starting from biliverdin IX-alpha (BV), the last known common precursor for PCB and PEB. In cyanobacteria, phages, green algae, and land plants, conversion of BV into PCB or PEB is carried out by a family of enzymes called ferredoxin-dependent bilin reductases (FDBRs). The current studies demonstrate that G. sulphuraria, but not C. merolae, require the action of an additional isomerase to synthesize PCB.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

The shock process and light element production in supernovae envelopes

Detailed hydrodynamic modeling of the passage of supernova shocks through the hydrogen envelopes of blue and red progenitor stars was carried out to explore the sensitivity to model conditions of light element production (specifically Li-7 and B-11) which was noted by Dearborn, Schramm, Steigman and Truran (1989) (DSST). It is found that, for stellar models with M is less than or approximately 100 M solar mass, current state of the art supernova shocks do not produce significant light element yields by hydrodynamic processes alone. The dependence of this conclusion on stellar models and on shock strengths is explored. Preliminary implications for Galactic evolution of lithium are discussed, and it is suspected that intermediate mass red giant stars may be the most consistent production site for lithium.

Brown, Lawrence E.↗

The shock process and light-element production in supernova envelopes

Detailed hydrodynamic modeling of the passage of supernova shocks through the hydrogen enevlopes of blue and red progenitor stars was carried out to explore the sensitivity to model conditions of light element production (specifically Li7 and B-11) which was noted by Dearborn, Schramm, Steigman and Truran (1989) (DSST). It is found that, for stellar models with M is less than or approximately 100 M solar mass, current state of the art supernova shocks do not produce significant light element yields by hydrodynamic processes alone. The dependence of this conclusion on stellar models and on shock strengths is explored. Preliminary implications for Galactic evolution of lithium are discussed, and it is suspected that intermediate mass red giant stars may be the most consistent production site for lithium.

Brown, Lawrence E.↗

Protein–chromophore interactions controlling photoisomerization in red/green cyanobacteriochromes

Abstract Photoreceptors in the phytochrome superfamily use 15,16-photoisomerization of a linear tetrapyrrole (bilin) chromophore to photoconvert between two states with distinct spectral and biochemical properties. Canonical phytochromes include master regulators of plant growth and development in which light signals trigger interconversion between a red-absorbing 15Z dark-adapted state and a metastable, far-red-absorbing 15E photoproduct state. Distantly related cyanobacteriochromes (CBCRs) carry out a diverse range of photoregulatory functions in cyanobacteria and exhibit considerable spectral diversity. One widespread CBCR subfamily typically exhibits a red-absorbing 15Z dark-adapted state similar to that of phytochrome that gives rise to a distinct green-absorbing 15E photoproduct. This red/green CBCR subfamily also includes red-inactive examples that fail to undergo photoconversion, providing an opportunity to study protein–chromophore interactions that either promote photoisomerization or block it. In this work, we identified a conserved lineage of red-inactive CBCRs. This enabled us to identify three substitutions sufficient to block photoisomerization in photoactive red/green CBCRs. The resulting red-inactive variants faithfully replicated the fluorescence and circular dichroism properties of naturally occurring examples. Converse substitutions restored photoconversion in naturally red-inactive CBCRs. This work thus identifies protein–chromophore interactions that control the fate of the excited-state population in red/green cyanobacteriochromes.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Biophotonic rogue waves in red blood cell suspensions

Rogue waves are ubiquitous in nature, appearing in a variety of physical systems ranging from acoustics, microwave cavities, optical fibers, and resonators to plasmas, superfluids, and Bose–Einstein condensates. Unlike nonlinear solitary waves, rogue waves are extreme events that can occur even without nonlinearity by, for example, spontaneous synchronization of waves with different spatial frequencies in a linear system. Here, we report the observation of rogue-wave-like events in human red blood cell (RBC) suspensions under weak light illumination, characterized by an abnormal L-shaped probability distribution. Such biophotonic extreme events arise mostly due to the constructive interference of Mie-scattered waves from the suspended RBCs, whose biconcave shape and mutable orientation give rise to a time-dependent random phase modulation to an incident laser beam. We numerically simulate the beam propagation through the colloidal suspensions with added disorder in both spatial and temporal domains to mimic random scattering due to Brownian motion. In addition, at high power levels, nonlinear beam self-focusing is also observed, leading to a dual-exponential probability distribution associated with the formation of multiple soliton-like spots. Such rogue wave events should also exist in environments with cells of other species such as swimming bacteria, and understanding of their underlying physics may lead to unexpected biophotonic applications.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Sensing Technology Survey for Obstacle Detection in Vegetation

This study reviews obstacle detection technologies in vegetation for autonomous vehicles or robots. Autonomous vehicles used in agriculture and as lawn mowers face many environmental obstacles that are difficult to recognize for the vehicle sensor. This review provides information on choosing appropriate sensors to detect obstacles through vegetation, based on experiments carried out in different agricultural fields. The experimental setup from the literature consists of sensors placed in front of obstacles, including a thermal camera; red, green, blue (RGB) camera; 360° camera; light detection and ranging (LiDAR); and radar. These sensors were used either in combination or single-handedly on agricultural vehicles to detect objects hidden inside the agricultural field. The thermal camera successfully detected hidden objects, such as barrels, human mannequins, and humans, as did LiDAR in one experiment. The RGB camera and stereo camera were less efficient at detecting hidden objects compared with protruding objects. Radar detects hidden objects easily but lacks resolution. Hyperspectral sensing systems can identify and classify objects, but they consume a lot of storage. To obtain clearer and more robust data of hidden objects in vegetation and extreme weather conditions, further experiments should be performed for various climatic conditions combining active and passive sensors.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Millimeter Light Curves of Sagittarius A* Observed during the 2017 Event Horizon Telescope Campaign

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observed the compact radio source, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), in the Galactic Center on 2017 April 5–11 in the 1.3 mm wavelength band. At the same time, interferometric array data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and the Submillimeter Array were collected, providing Sgr A* light curves simultaneous with the EHT observations. These data sets, complementing the EHT very long baseline interferometry, are characterized by a cadence and signal-to-noise ratio previously unattainable for Sgr A* at millimeter wavelengths, and they allow for the investigation of source variability on timescales as short as a minute. While most of the light curves correspond to a low variability state of Sgr A*, the April 11 observations follow an X-ray flare and exhibit strongly enhanced variability. All of the light curves are consistent with a red-noise process, with a power spectral density (PSD) slope measured to be between −2 and −3 on timescales between 1 minute and several hours. Our results indicate a steepening of the PSD slope for timescales shorter than 0.3 hr. The spectral energy distribution is flat at 220 GHz, and there are no time lags between the 213 and 229 GHz frequency bands, suggesting low optical depth for the event horizon scale source. We characterize Sgr A*’s variability, highlighting the different behavior observed just after the X-ray flare, and use Gaussian process modeling to extract a decorrelation timescale and a PSD slope. We also investigate the systematic calibration uncertainties by analyzing data from independent data reduction pipelines.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

SWIR Star Tracking

This work investigates the use of a star tracker that senses star light in the short wave infra-red wavelengths, specifically at the photometric H-band. The number of stars available for tracking and the corresponding photometric H-band magnitude is presented using information derived from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) catalog. The probability of observing at least four stars in the star tracker’s field of view (FOV) at a given H-band magnitude or brighter is also presented. Finally, a notional short wave infra-red (SWIR) star tracker design is presented using the parameters calculated for the expected number of stars observed at the corresponding magnitudes in the photometric H-band. The results for the SWIR star tracker indicate the potential for a reduced FOV as compared to the visible wavelengths and relaxed star magnitude sensing requirements.

star tracking↗

Phytochrome, plant growth and flowering

Attempts to use artificially lit cabinets to grow plants identical to those growing in sunlight have provided compelling evidence of the importance of light quality for plant growth. Changing the balance of red (R) to far-red (FR) radiation, but with a fixed photosynthetic input can shift the phytochrome photoequilibrium in a plant and generate large differences in plant growth. With FR enrichment the plants elongate, and may produce more leaf area and dry matter. Similar morphogenic responses are also obtained when light quality is altered only briefly (15-30 min) at the end-of-the-day. Conversely, for plants grown in natural conditions the response of plant form to selective spectral filtering has again shown that red and far-red wavebands are important as found by Kasperbauer and coworkers. Also, where photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFD) of sunlight have been held constant, the removal of far-red alone alters plant growth. With FR depletion plants grown in sunlight are small, more branched and darker green. Here we examine the implications for plant growth and flowering when the far-red composition of incident radiation in plant growth chambers is manipulated.

King, R. W.↗

Absorption Cross-Sections of Sodium Diatomic Molecules

The absorption cross sections of sodium dimers were studied using a heat pipe over operating in the non-heat-pipe mode. Three wavelength regions were observed. They are in the red, the green-blue, and the near ultraviolet regions. The absorption cross section depends on the wavelength of the incident light. Representative peak values for the v"=0 progression in the red and green-blue regions are 2.59 A sup 2 (average value) and 11.77 A sup 2 (T sub ave=624 K). The value for the C greater than X transitions is several tenths A sup 2. The cross sections were measured from absorption spectra taken as a function of temperature.

Fong, Zeng-Shevan↗

Structures of a phycobilisome in light-harvesting and photoprotected states

Phycobilisome (PBS) structures are elaborate antennae in cyanobacteria and red algae 1,2 . These large protein complexes capture incident sunlight and transfer the energy through a network of embedded pigment molecules called bilins to the photosynthetic reaction centres. However, light harvesting must also be balanced against the risks of photodamage. A known mode of photoprotection is mediated by orange carotenoid protein (OCP), which binds to PBS when light intensities are high to mediate photoprotective, non-photochemical quenching 3-6 . Here we use cryogenic electron microscopy to solve four structures of the 6.2 MDa PBS, with and without OCP bound, from the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. The structures contain a previously undescribed linker protein that binds to the membrane-facing side of PBS. For the unquenched PBS, the structures also reveal three different conformational states of the antenna, two previously unknown. The conformational states result from positional switching of two of the rods and may constitute a new mode of regulation of light harvesting. Further, only one of the three PBS conformations can bind to OCP, which suggests that not every PBS is equally susceptible to non-photochemical quenching. In the OCP-PBS complex, quenching is achieved through the binding of four 34kDa OCPs organized as two dimers. The complex reveals the structure of the active form of OCP, in which an approximately 60Å displacement of its regulatory carboxy terminal domain occurs. Finally, by combining our structure with spectroscopic properties 7 , we elucidate energy transfer pathways within PBS in both the quenched and light-harvesting states. Collectively, our results provide detailed insights into the biophysical underpinnings of the control of cyanobacterial light harvesting. The data also have implications for bioengineering PBS regulation in natural and artificial light-harvesting systems.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Beyond the visible: Accounting for ultraviolet and far‐red radiation in vegetation productivity and surface energy budgets

Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is typically defined as light with a wavelength within 400–700 nm. However, ultra-violet (UV) radiation within 280–400 nm and far-red (FR) radiation within 700–750 nm can also excite photosystems, though not as efficiently as PAR. Vegetation and land surface models (LSMs) typically do not explicitly account for UV's contribution to energy budgets or photosynthesis, nor FR's contribution to photosynthesis. However, whether neglecting UV and FR has significant impacts remains unknown. Here, we explored how canopy radiative transfer (RT) and photosynthesis are impacted when explicitly implementing UV in the canopy RT model and accounting for UV and FR in the photosynthesis models within a next-generation LSM that can simulate hyperspectral canopy RT. We validated our improvements using photosynthesis measurements from plants under different light sources and intensities and surface reflection from an eddy-covariance tower. Our model simulations suggested that at the whole plant level, after accounting for UV and FR explicitly, chlorophyll content, leaf area index (LAI), clumping index, and solar radiation all impact the modeling of gross primary productivity (GPP). At the global scale, mean annual GPP within a grid would increase by up to 7.3% and the increase is proportional to LAI; globally integrated GPP increases by 4.6 PgC year −1 (3.8% of the GPP without accounting for UV + FR). Further, using PAR to proxy UV could overestimate surface albedo by more than 0.1, particularly in the boreal forests. Our results highlight the importance of improving UV and FR in canopy RT and photosynthesis modeling and the necessity to implement hyperspectral or multispectral canopy RT schemes in future vegetation and LSMs.

energy budget↗

Brightness and polarization of the zodiacal light - Results of fixed-position observations from Skylab

A method is outlined for evaluating discrete and background starlight at the Skylab wavelengths so as to derive the total brightness of zodiacal light at five sky positions. These sky positions are north celestial pole, south ecliptic pole, vernal equinox and two places near the north galactic pole. Pioneer 10/11 imaging photopolarimeters were used to periodically measure sky brightness and polarization in the blue and red at heliocentric distances beyond 1.002 AU. Mean zodiacal light, which is assumed to be also solar color in total light, is then estimated by applying the method to all fixed-point observations.

Weinberg, J. L.↗

Efficiency Improvement Progress in Green, Yellow and Red III Nitride LEDs

Large improvements in the efficiencies of visible light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been realized over the last decade. Extending the range of wavelengths over which efficient emission can be realized continues to be a goal of active research. Efficiency droop refers to a non-thermal decrease in internal quantum efficiency with increasing current density that affects III-nitride LEDs in general, but more severely those with longer emission wavelengths. The so-called green gap is mainly related to the wavelength dependence of efficiency droop. The peak EQE in commercial green LEDs exceeds 60% but corresponds to a current density that is an order of magnitude lower than required for applications. In this presentation, we will review some of the underlying physics that contribute to the wavelength dependence of droop. We will discuss some challenges in the development of long wavelength III-nitride LEDs and possible strategies to mitigate efficiency droop based on the understanding that nonradiative Auger recombination is the root cause. One general strategy is to engineer the multi-quantum well active region to minimize the average carrier density. Another approach is to design wells with a more favorable balance between the radiative and Auger coefficients. Finally, we will present the current status of the performance of green, yellow and red III-Nitride LEDs.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Retina-inspired narrowband perovskite sensor array for panchromatic imaging

The retina is the essential part of the human visual system that receives light, converts it to neural signal, and transmits to brain for visual recognition. The red, green, and blue (R/G/B) cone retina cells are natural narrowband photodetectors (PDs) sensitive to R/G/B lights. Connecting with these cone cells, a multilayer neuro-network in the retina provides neuromorphic preprocessing before transmitting to brain. Inspired by this sophistication, we develop the narrowband (NB) imaging sensor combining R/G/B perovskite NB sensor array (mimicking the R/G/B photoreceptors) with a neuromorphic algorithm (mimicking the intermediate neural network) for high-fidelity panchromatic imaging. Compared to commercial sensors, we use perovskite “intrinsic” NB PD to exempt the complex optical filter array. In addition, we use an asymmetric device configuration to collect photocurrent without external bias, enabling a power-free photodetection feature. These results display a promising design for efficient and intelligent panchromatic imaging.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Control of Excitonic Energy Transfer in RGB Quantum Dot:Polymer Composites for Tunable White Emission

Tint-controlled white light is crucial for both illumination systems and display applications. Here, in this study, we demonstrate solution-processed quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs) featuring a red–green–blue (RGB) QD–poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composite emissive layer (EML) for tunable white electroluminescence (EL). In this composite EML, PMMA functions as a dispersion matrix that modulates the interdot spacing (d), thereby controlling Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between QDs. By adjustment of the PMMA content, the balance of R, G, and B emissions is controlled, enabling systematic and continuous tuning of the EL color from greenish to reddish white at a fixed RGB ratio and constant driving bias. Time-resolved photoluminescence measurements confirm that the variation in the exciton lifetime with the PMMA fraction is the primary factor for tuning the EL color. Notably, nearly pure white EL with CIE coordinates close to (0.33, 0.33) is achieved using a diluted PMMA matrix without significant degradation of the electrical properties. Our results demonstrate d as an independent design parameter for decoupling color tuning from RGB composition and electrical operation, providing a versatile design framework for high-quality white- or tint-controlled QD-LEDs toward advanced solid-state lighting and display technologies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Bubbles on Enceladus

Saturn’s icy moon, Enceladus, ejects frozen particles consisting of water and salts indicative of a subsurface ocean. Believed to originate from hydrothermal reactions near the core, the subsequent pressure drop generates boiling liquids that erupt and expand out of the tiger stripes. The purpose of this research is to simulate the ongoing geyser activity of Enceladus in the lab and to explore the concentrations of biomass which could exist in geyser bubbles as compared to ejected particles. We tested variance of intensity of light absorbed from the bubbles at different heights of the simulated plume. Anazodye, Allura Red, is a complex organic that will act as a tracer molecule allowing for quantitative analysis of light absorption through a spectrophotometer. Theazodye in combination with water is ejected from a water chamber using compressed air to simulate bubbles forming and a jet erupting from a body of water. Samples were taken of the bubbles at varying heights of the simulated plume as analogs to the Enceladus geysers. This research will provide quantitative analog information on rising bubbles from the ocean of Enceladus which can be applied directly to the practical concern of measuring biomass in the plume.

tiger stripes↗