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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 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Background evaluation for the neutron sources in the Daya Bay experiment

Here, we present an evaluation of the background induced by 241Am–13C neutron calibration sources in the Daya Bay reactor neutrino experiment. Furthermore, as a significant background for electron-antineutrino detection at 0.26 ± 0.12 detector per day on average, it has been estimated by a Monte Carlo simulation that was benchmarked by a special calibration data set. This dedicated data set also provides the energy spectrum of the background.

241AM-13C neutron source↗
DOE OSTI2018

Attribution of gamma-ray background collected by a mobile detector system to its surroundings using panoramic video

Mobile radiation detector systems are important tools for detecting radiological and nuclear sources outside of regulatory control, but due to their mobility, they are subject to complex and varying backgrounds in most realistic operational scenarios. Recent work has found correlations between non-radiological contextual information and gamma-ray spectral features that can be used to decrease false alarm rates, however a more complete understanding of background source terms has been elusive. A measurement campaign developed a full radiological characterization of a controlled facility that roughly corresponded to two city blocks. As part of the campaign, the Radiological Multi-sensor Analysis Platform (RadMAP) collected extensive multi-sensor data. In this work, RadMAP’s panoramic video data were used to visually identify several different materials and quantify the detector response to each material. A linear model was fit between the material responses and radiological features, and the results demonstrate reasonable agreement with ground truth flux measurements for each material. This paper will describe the data collection, processing, and analysis of the gamma-ray and video data from RadMAP. The paper will conclude with perspectives on the applicability of such a method to less controlled environments both with respect to achieving better understanding the sources of variability of background radiation in urban environments and whether such methods could be leveraged in operational scenarios.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

A neural network for beam background decomposition in Belle II at SuperKEKB

Here, we describe a neural network for predicting the background hit rate in the Belle II detector produced by the SuperKEKB electron-positron collider. The neural network, BGNet, learns to predict the individual contributions of different physical background sources, such as beam-gas scattering or continuous top-up injections into the collider, to Belle II sub-detector rates. The samples for learning are archived 1 Hz time series of diagnostic variables from the SuperKEKB collider subsystems and measured hit rates of Belle II used as regression targets. We test the learned model by predicting detector hit rates on archived data from different run periods not used during training. We show that a feature attribution method can help interpret the source of changes in the background level over time.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

RPC background studies at CMS experiment

During Run2 the high instantaneous luminosity, up to 2.2 · 10 34 cm -2 s -1 , lead to a substantial hit rate in the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment’s muon chambers due to multiple background sources to physics processes sought for at LHC. In this article we will describe the analysis method devised to measure and identify the contributions to such background in the Resistive Plate Chambers. Thorough understanding of the background rates provides the base for the upgrade of the muon detectors for the High-Luminosity LHC.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2019

A novel invariant mass method to isolate resonance backgrounds from the chiral magnetic effect

The Chiral Magnetic Effect (CME) refers to charge separation along a strong magnetic field, due to topological charge fluctuations in QCD. Charge correlation (Δγ) signals consistent with CME have been first observed almost a decade ago. It has also been known since then that the Δγ is contaminated by a major background from resonance decays coupled with elliptic flow. In this contribution, we propose differential Δγ measurements as function of the pair invariant mass (m inv ). The Δγ in the high minv region is essentially free of resonance backgrounds. In the low m inv region, the Δγ backgrounds show resonance peaks. The CME signal, presumably smooth in m inv , may thus be extracted from a two-component model fit. We demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of this novel method by using the AMPT and toy-model Monte-Carlo simulations. We also discuss an application of the method in data analysis.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Cryocooled terahertz photoconductive detector system with background-limited performance in 1.5–4 THz frequency range

We describe a 4-K-cryocooled dual-band terahertz (THz) photoconductive detector system with background-limited performance. The detector system comprises two THz photoconductive detectors covering a response in a wide frequency range from 1.5 to 4 THz, low noise amplifiers, optical low-pass filters to eliminate input radiation of higher frequencies, and a mechanical 4 K Gifford-McMahon refrigerator that provides practical and convenient operation without a liquid He container. The electrical and optical performances of the THz detector system were evaluated at a detector temperature of 4 K under 300 K background radiation. We proved that the detector system can achieve background-limited noise-equivalent-power on the order of 10{sup −14} W/Hz{sup 1/2} in the frequency range from 1.5 to 4 THz even if the vibration noise of the mechanical refrigerator is present.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

The origin of the extragalactic gamma-ray background and implications for dark matter annihilation

The origin of the extragalactic γ-ray background (EGB) has been debated for some time. The EGB comprises the γ-ray emission from resolved and unresolved extragalactic sources, such as blazars, star-forming galaxies, and radio galaxies, as well as radiation from truly diffuse processes. This Letter focuses on the blazar source class, the most numerous detected population, and presents an updated luminosity function and spectral energy distribution model consistent with the blazar observations performed by the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT). Additionally, we show that blazars account for 50$_{-11}^{+12}$% of the EGB photons (>0.1 GeV), and that Fermi-LAT has already resolved ~70% of this contribution. Blazars, and in particular hard-spectrum sources such as BL Lacs, are responsible for most of the EGB emission above 100 GeV. We find that the extragalactic background light, which attenuates blazars' high-energy emission, is responsible for the high-energy cutoff observed in the EGB spectrum. Finally, we show that blazars, star-forming galaxies, and radio galaxies can naturally account for the amplitude and spectral shape of the background in the 0.1–820 GeV range, leaving only modest room for other contributions. In conclusion, this allows us to set competitive constraints on the dark matter annihilation cross section.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Exploring the non-Gaussianity of the cosmic infrared background and its weak gravitational lensing

ABSTRACT Gravitational lensing deflects the paths of photons, altering the statistics of cosmic backgrounds and distorting their information content. We take the cosmic infrared background (CIB), which provides plentiful information about galaxy formation and evolution, as an example to probe the effect of lensing on non-Gaussian statistics. Using the Websky simulations, we first quantify the non-Gaussianity of the CIB, revealing additional detail on top of its well-measured power spectrum. To achieve this, we use needlet-like multipole-band filters to calculate the variance and higher-point correlations. Using our simulations, we show the two-, three- and four-point spectra, and compare our calculated power spectra and bispectra to Planck values. We then lens the CIB, shell-by-shell with corresponding convergence maps, to capture the broad redshift extent of both the CIB and its lensing convergence. The lensing of the CIB changes the three- and four-point functions by a few tens of per cent at large scales, unlike with the power spectrum, which changes by less than two per cent. We expand our analyses to encompass the full intensity probability distribution functions (PDFs) involving all n-point correlations as a function of scale. In particular, we use the relative entropy between lensed and unlensed PDFs to create a spectrum of templates that can allow estimation of lensing. The underlying CIB model is missing the important role of star bursting, which we test by adding a stochastic lognormal term to the intensity distributions. The novel aspects of our filtering and lensing pipeline should prove useful for any radiant background, including line intensity maps.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Reconstructing small-scale lenses from the cosmic microwave background temperature fluctuations

Cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing is a powerful probe of the matter distribution in the Universe. The standard quadratic estimator, which is typically used to measure the lensing signal, is known to be suboptimal for low-noise polarization data from next-generation experiments. In this paper, we explain why the quadratic estimator will also be suboptimal for measuring lensing on very small scales, even for measurements in temperature where this estimator typically performs well. Though maximum likelihood methods could be implemented to improve performance, we explore a much simpler solution, revisiting a previously proposed method to measure lensing that involves a direct inversion of the background gradient. An important application of this simple formalism is the measurement of cluster masses with CMB lensing. We find that directly applying a gradient inversion matched filter to simulated lensed images of the CMB can tighten constraints on cluster masses compared to the quadratic estimator. While the difference is not relevant for existing surveys, for future surveys it can translate to significant improvements in mass calibration for distant clusters, where galaxy lensing calibration is ineffective due to the lack of enough resolved background galaxies. Improvements can be as large as ~50 per cent for a cluster at z = 2 and a next-generation CMB experiment with 1 μK arcmin noise, and over an order of magnitude for lower noise levels. For future surveys, this simple matched filter or gradient inversion method approaches the performance of maximum likelihood methods, at a fraction of the computational cost.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Contributions of Various Radiological Sources to Background in a Suburban Environment

This work is a brief overview and comparison of dose rates stemming from both indoor and outdoor natural background radiation and household objects within a suburban environment in North Carolina. Combined gamma and beta dose rates were taken from indoor objects that ranged from the potassium in fruit to the americium in smoke detectors. For outdoor measurements, various height and time data samples were collected to show fluctuations in dose rate due to temperature inversion and geometric attenuation. Although each sample tested proved to have a statistically significant increase over background using Students t-test, no sample proved to be more than a minor increase in natural radiation dose. Furthermore, the relative contributions from natural radioactivity such as potassium in foods and common household items are shown to be easily distinguished from background using standard handheld instrumentation when applied in a systematic, methodological manner.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Poster - 17: Characterization and correction of radiation induced background in scanning water tanks

Purpose: To characterize and correct for radiation-induced background (RIB) observed in the signals from a class of scanning water tanks. Methods: A method was developed to isolate the RIB through detector measurements in the background-free linac console area. Variation of the RIB against a large number of parameters was characterized, and its impact on basic clinical data for photon and electron beams was quantified. Different methods to minimize and/or correct for the RIB were proposed and evaluated. Results: The RIB is due to the presence of the electrometer and connection box in a low background radiation field (by design). The absolute RIB current with a biased detector is up to 2 pA, independent of the detector size, which is 0.6% and 1.5% of the central axis reference signal for a standard and a mini scanning chamber, respectively. The RIB monotonically increases with field size, is three times smaller for detectors that do not require a bias (e.g., diodes), is up to 80% larger for positive (versus negative) polarity, decreases with increasing photon energy, exhibits a single curve versus dose rate at the electrometer location, and is negligible for electron beams. Data after the proposed field-size correction method agree with point measurements from an independent system to within a few tenth of a percent for output factor, head scatter, depth dose at depth, and out-of-field profile dose. Manufacturer recommendations for electrometer placement are insufficient and sometimes incorrect. Conclusions: RIB in scanning water tanks can have a non-negligible effect on dosimetric data.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Cancer Mortality Among People Living in Areas With Various Levels of Natural Background Radiation

There are many places on the earth, where natural background radiation exposures are elevated significantly above about 2.5 mSv/year. The studies of health effects on populations living in such places are crucially important for understanding the impact of low doses of ionizing radiation. This article critically reviews some recent representative literature that addresses the likelihood of radiation-induced cancer and early childhood death in regions with high natural background radiation. The comparative and Bayesian analysis of the published data shows that the linear no-threshold hypothesis does not likely explain the results of these recent studies, whereas they favor the model of threshold or hormesis. Neither cancers nor early childhood deaths positively correlate with dose rates in regions with elevated natural background radiation.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗
DOE OSTI2015

Enhancements to the MCNP6 background source

The particle transport code MCNP has been used to produce a background radiation data file on a worldwide grid that can easily be sampled as a source in the code. Location-dependent cosmic showers were modeled by Monte Carlo methods to produce the resulting neutron and photon background flux at 2054 locations around Earth. An improved galactic-cosmic-ray feature was used to model the source term as well as data from multiple sources to model the transport environment through atmosphere, soil, and seawater. A new elevation scaling feature was also added to the code to increase the accuracy of the cosmic neutron background for user locations with off-grid elevations. Furthermore, benchmarking has shown the neutron integral flux values to be within experimental error.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2016

THE DISTORTION OF THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND SPECTRUM DUE TO INTERGALACTIC DUST

Infrared emission from intergalactic dust might compromise the ability of future experiments to detect subtle spectral distortions in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) from the early universe. We provide the first estimate of foreground contamination of the CMB signal due to diffuse dust emission in the intergalactic medium. We use models of the extragalactic background light to calculate the intensity of intergalactic dust emission and find that emission by intergalactic dust at z ≲ 0.5 exceeds the sensitivity of the planned Primordial Inflation Explorer to CMB spectral distortions by 1–3 orders of magnitude. In the frequency range ν = 150–2400 GHz, we place an upper limit of 0.06% on the contribution to the far-infrared background from intergalactic dust emission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2010

ARCADE Detection of an Extragalactic Radio Background

Sometimes when we look for one thing we stumble on something else. The Absolute Radiometer for Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Diffuse Emission (ARCADE) was designed to measure the blackbody spectrum of the cosmic microwave background to search for spectral distortions related to the epoch of reionization. Instead, the July 2006 flight found evidence for an extragalactic radio background with amplitude six times brighter than the expected contribution from faint radio sources. The author discusses the ARCADE instrument and the evidence for an extragalactic radio background.

Extraterrestrial radiation↗
DOE OSTI2017

In situ observations of magnetosonic waves modulated by background plasma density

We report in situ observations by the Van Allen Probe mission that magnetosonic (MS) waves are clearly relevant to the background plasma number density. As the satellite moved across dense and tenuous plasma alternatively, MS waves occurred only in lower density region. As the observed protons with “ring” distributions provide free energy, local linear growth rates are calculated and show that magnetosonic waves can be locally excited in tenuous plasma. With variations of the background plasma density, the temporal variations of local wave growth rates calculated with the observed proton ring distributions show a remarkable agreement with those of the observed wave amplitude. Therefore, the paper provides a direct proof that background plasma densities can modulate the amplitudes of magnetosonic waves through controlling the wave growth rates.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Stress Models of the Annual Hydrospheric, Atmospheric, Thermal, and Tidal Loading Cycles on California Faults: Perturbation of Background Stress and Changes in Seismicity

Stresses in the lithosphere arise from multiple natural loading sources that include both surface and body forces. The largest surface loads include near-surface water storage, snow and ice, atmosphere pressure, ocean loading, and temperature changes. The solid Earth also deforms from celestial body interactions and variations in Earth's rotation. We model the seasonal stress changes in California from 2006 through 2014 for seven different loading sources with annual periods to produce an aggregate stressing history for faults in the study area. Our modeling shows that the annual water loading, atmosphere, temperature, and Earth pole tides are the largest loading sources and should each be evaluated to fully describe seasonal stress changes. In California we find that the hydrological loads are the largest source of seasonal stresses. We explore the seasonal stresses with respect to the background principal stress orientation constrained with regional focal mechanisms and analyze the modulation of seismicity. Our results do not suggest a resolvable seasonal variation for the ambient stress orientation in the shallow crust. When projecting the seasonal stresses into the background stress orientation we find that the timing of microseismicity modestly increases from an ~8 kPa seasonal mean-normal-stress perturbation. The results suggest that faults in California are optimally oriented with the background stress field and respond to subsurface pressure changes, possibly due to processes we have not considered in this study. At any time a population of faults are near failure as evident from earthquakes triggered by these slight seasonal stress perturbations.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

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↗