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At least 451 records · Page 25

The isotopic composition of solar flare noble gases

The relative elemental and isotopic abundances of noble gases provide insights into a number of topics related to the solar system. Neon is in many ways the most diagnostic of the noble gases. The diagnostic character is mainly related to the variation in the relative abundance of the two most abundant neon isotopes, Ne-20 and Ne-22. The available evidence suggests that trapped neon found in meteorites and in lunar samples consists of as many as five isotopically distinct components, including neon A, B, C, D, and E. Neon B has been shown to be due to solar wind neon which has been directly implanted into the material found in a meteorite. It appears that neon E is extrasolar in origin. There exist ambiguities regarding the origins of the remaining three components. The present investigation is concerned with a reexamination of the existing data in an effort to eliminate or at least clarify these ambiguities. It is found that neon C is apparently due to directly implanted, low-energy solar flare neon nuclei.

Black, D. C.↗

Southeast Ecological Observatory Network (SEEON) Workshop on Ecological Sensors and Information Technology. Report on Second SEEON Workshop

A fundamental goal of the new National Science Foundation (NSF) initiative National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is to provide timely and broad access to the ecological data collected at NEON sites. Information management and data collection will be critical components to achieving this goal and a successful NEON implementation. The Southeast Ecological Observatory Network (SEEON) working group recognized the importance of information management and sensor technology in its first planning workshop and recommended that interested parties in the region come together to discuss these subjects in the context of the needs and capabilities of a southeast regional ecological observatory network. In February 2004, 28 participants from 14 organizations including academic institutions, state and federal agencies, private and non-profit entities convened at the Space Life Sciences Laboratory (SLSL) at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida for two days of presentations and discussions on ecological sensors and information management. Some of the participants were previously involved in the first SEEON workshop or other meetings concerned with NEON, but many were somewhat new to the NEON community. Each day focused on a different technical component, i.e. ecological sensors the first day and cyber-infrastructure the second day, and were structured in a similar manner. The mornings were devoted to presentations by experts to help stimulate discussions on aspects of the focal topic held in the afternoon. The formal and informal discussions held during the workshop succeeded in validating some concerns and needs identified in the first SEEON workshop, but also served to bring to light other questions or issues that will need to be addressed as the NEON planning and design stages move forward. While the expansion of the SEEON community meant that some of the presentation and discussion time was needed to help bring the newcomers up to speed on the goals, objectives and current status of the various NEON efforts, the additional perspectives and technical expertise included in this workshop helped fuel some valuable interdisciplinary discussions that will need to continue to bring SEEON and NEON to fruition. Participants agreed that continued discussions of SEEON are needed , to keep up the momentum and that the southeast region must continue to be represented at the national level. It is vital that the all'the regions continue to push things forward for NEON to succeed.

Jones, Lori N.↗

The Terrestrial Organism and Biogeochemistry Spatial Sampling Design for the National Ecological Observatory Network

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) seeks to facilitate ecological prediction at a continental scale by measuring processes that drive change and responses at sites across the United States for thirty years. The spatial distribution of observations of terrestrial organisms and soil within NEON sites is determined according to a “design‐based” sample design that relies on the randomization of sampling locations. Development of the sample design was guided by high‐level NEON objectives and the multitude of data products that will be subjected to numerous analytical approaches to address the causes and consequences of ecological change. A requirement framework permeates the NEON design, ensuring traceability from each facet of the design to the high‐level requirements that make the NEON mission statement actionable. Requirements were developed for the terrestrial sample design to guide the key components of the design: Randomizing the sample locations ensures the unbiased collection of data, is appropriate for organisms and soil, and provides data suitable for a variety of analyses. Stratification increases efficiency and allows sampling to focus on those parts of the landscape measured by other NEON observation platforms. Attention to the sample size and spatial plot allocation ensures that data products will be sufficient to inform questions asked of the data and the NEON objectives. Establishing a framework with the capacity for re‐evaluate and design iteration allows for adaption to unexpected challenges and optimization of the sample design based on early data returns. The utility of the NEON sampling design is highlighted by its application across terrestrial systems. The data generated from this unique design will be used to quantify patterns in: the abundance and diversity of small mammals, breeding birds, insects, and soil microbes; vegetation structure, biomass, productivity, and diversity; and soil biogeochemistry.

National Ecological Observatory Network↗

Characterization and controllability of radiated power via extrinsic impurity seeding in strongly negative triangularity plasmas in DIII-D

Experiments with extrinsic impurity seeding in strongly negative triangularity shapes in DIII-D achieved radiated power fractions (relative to input power) of up to ≈85% total radiation and ≈55% core radiation in steady-operating conditions. The relationship between core and total radiation was sensitive to impurity species and input power. Attempts to reach higher radiation levels via higher impurity flows resulted in radiative collapse disruptions. Nitrogen, neon, argon, and krypton were tested. Injection was by gas puffing, usually controlled by feeding back real-time estimates for core or total radiating fractions ($P_\textrm{rad} / P_\textrm{input}$). Argon and krypton were controlled by feeding back total radiating fraction, whereas neon was controlled by feeding back the core radiating fraction, due to the lower efficiency of neon as a divertor radiator. Nitrogen flows were pre-programmed. Reasonable total $P_\textrm{rad}$ control target following was achieved with argon or krypton. Control was more challenging with the neon/core radiation configuration, which was more prone to slow response and overshooting of the control target. Poor particle removal contributed to the control challenge: neon particle inventory within the last closed flux surface was roughly constant for up to 1 s (the longest duration tested) after neon injection was halted. However, separate experiments with laser-blow off of non-recycling impurities measured a short impurity confinement time, on the scale of the energy confinement time of ∼100 ms. Modeling with the Aurora impurity transport simulation matched experimental neon density profiles with full recycling (R = 1.0) and weak pumping but predicted rapid decreases in neon inventory if pumping were increased or recycling decreased. This indicates that changes outside the confined plasma (adding a well-placed pump) would improve controllability for all highly recycling species.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Injection of multiple shattered pellets for disruption mitigation in DIII-D

Plasma shutdown experiments in DIII-D have injected multiple shattered pellets at different toroidal locations for the first time, as is planned for the ITER disruption mitigation system. Systematically varying the relative timing of the two pellets suggests that simultaneously injected pellets may influence the assimilation of each other, altering the resulting disruption characteristics compared to a single pellet injecting similar neon quantities. Thermal quench (TQ) radiation measured near the injection location is reduced with the dual pellets, contrary to TQ radiation measured away from the injection ports, which does not show a clear difference between single or dual pellet injections. The mitigation of other disruption loads, such as the current quench (CQ) duration and divertor heat loads, decrease when the pellets enter the plasma simultaneously compared to single shattered pellet injections with similar neon quantities. This similar reduction in mitigation of CQ and conductive loads is consistent with the observed reduction in total TQ radiation. The time between initial pellet injection and the end of the TQ is shorter when both pellets are injected simultaneously compared to a single pellet. This lower cooling duration may limit the amount of the neon assimilated by the plasma prior to the end of the TQ, consistent with the observed reduction in radiation. The injected impurities spread primarily in the parallel direction, away from the source at the injection location. The addition of two shattered pellet injectors shows that the initial poloidal radiation is spread out into two distinct regions, cooling multiple flux tubes simultaneously, which may induce global MHD instabilities more rapidly than a single flux tube of impurities leading to a shorter cooling duration. The electron density increased by approximately a factor of two with the addition of multiple pellets, but is highly sensitive to the time between injections. Here, a maximum density increase is found when both pellets arrive at the plasma prior to the start of the TQ.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Disruption thermal load mitigation with shattered pellet injection on the Joint European Torus (JET)

Disruption mitigation remains a critical, unresolved challenge for ITER. To aid in addressing this challenge, a shattered pellet injection (SPI) system was installed on JET and experiments conducted at a range of thermal energy fractions and stored energies in excess of 7 MJ. The primary goals of these experiments were to investigate the efficacy of the SPI on JET and the ability of the plasma to assimilate multiple pellets. Single pellet injections produced a saturation in total radiated energy (Wrad) with increasing injected neon content, suggesting total radiation of stored thermal energy. Further increases in injected neon quantities resulted in reduced cooling times and current quench (CQ) durations, indicating higher impurity assimilation. No significant variation in CQ duration or W rad was observed when varying the deuterium content at fixed neon quantities. Additionally, higher assimilation, inferred by shorter CQ durations, was measured when a mechanical punch was used to launch the pellets and this was attributed to a lower pellet velocity leading to higher solid content in the pellet plume and larger fragments penetrating deeper into the plasma. Radiation asymmetries averaged over the cooling time were inferred from Emis3D and ranged from 1.6 to 1.9. Asymmetries averaged over the entire disruption sequence were found to increase at higher thermal energy fractions. The radiated energy fractions decreased with increasing thermal energy fractions but this trend was eliminated when toroidal asymmetries were accounted for with Emis3D. Pure deuterium pellets were able to produce cooling times of up to 75 ms with a gradual loss in thermal stored energy of up to 80%. Experiments with multiple pellet injection indicated W rad can be increased through pellet superposition and density can be increased with an additional D2 injection without a reduction in W rad . KPRAD modelling accurately reproduced the cooling times and the CQ duration at high thermal energies. Assimilation estimates from KPRAD indicated CQ rates scale strongly whilst W rad scales weakly and saturates with assimilated neon content. Comparable W rad can be achieved with lower assimilated neon quantities as longer cooling times are attained. Thus reduced neon content can be preferential in a thermal load mitigation scheme as it may reduce radiation asymmetries and prevent flash melting.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

NEONiso R Package, versions greater than 0.5.2

Carbon fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems and their response to environmental change are a major source of uncertainty in the modern carbon cycle. The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) presents the opportunity to merge eddy covariance (EC)-derived fluxes with CO2 isotope ratio measurements to gain insights into carbon cycle processes. Collected continuously and consistently across >40 sites, NEON EC and isotope data facilitate novel integrative analyses. However, currently provisioned atmospheric isotope data are uncalibrated, greatly limiting ability to perform cross-site analyses. Here, we present two approaches to calibrating NEON CO2 isotope ratios, along with an R package to calibrate NEON data. We find that calibrating CO2 isotopologues independently yields a lower d13C bias (<0.05‰) and higher precision (<0.40‰) than directly correcting d13C with linear regression (bias: <0.11‰, precision: 0.42‰), but with slightly higher error and lower precision in calibrated CO2 mole fraction. The magnitude of the corrections to d13C and CO2 mole fractions vary substantially by site, underscoring the need for users to apply a consistent calibration framework to data in the NEON archive. Post-calibration data sets show that site mean annual d13C correlates negatively with precipitation, temperature, and aridity, but positively with elevation. Forested and agricultural ecosystems exhibit larger gradients in CO2 and d13C than other sites, particularly during the summer and at night. The overview and analysis tools developed here will facilitate cross-site analysis using NEON data, provide a model for other continental-scale observational networks, and enable new advances leveraging the isotope ratios of specific carbon fluxes.

Fiorella, Richard↗

IRAS low-resolution spectral observations of H II regions

Abundances of neon and sulfur for 95 H II regions whose spectra were measured by the IRAS Low Resolution Spectrometer (LRS) are determined; and theoretical implications of the neon ionization level and the sulfur-to-neon abundance ratio are discussed. The abundances show a distinct gradient of Ne/H with respect to Galactocentric radius RG, and a smaller gradient for S/H. The neon ionization is high only for sources with both low neon abundance and high luminosity. It is concluded that, due to the fact that the luminosities observed are so high compared to those predicted for the zero-age main sequence star, the most luminous H II regions are probably excited by several stars or a cluster of stars. The observed ionization of neon shows that the effective temperatures of the exciting stars cannot be more than 40,000 K, with an alternative explanation that 04 and 03 stars have Lyman continuum spectra cooler than the 45,000 - 50,000 K effective temperatures that are found for their visible and UV spectra.

Simpson, J. P.↗

Dissociation Energy and Dissociative Recombination of Ne{sub 2}{sup +} and HeNe{sup +} Ions

We present the results of our study of a weakly ionized decaying helium plasma with a small admixture of neon by means of kinetic spectroscopy. The experimental conditions are a helium pressure of 10–38 Torr, an electron density [e] ≤ 2 × 10{sup 11} cm{sup –3}, and a neon density [Ne] ≤ 2 × 10{sup –4} [He]. The recombination processes of Ne{sub 2}{sup +}, He{sub 2}{sup +}, HeNe{sup +}, and Ne{sup +} ions with electrons have been identified by the decaying-plasma radiation. The neon afterglow spectrum at [e] ≤ 10{sup 11} cm{sup –3} is shown to be formed mainly by dissociative recombination of Ne{sub 2}{sup +} and HeNe{sup +} ions in the ground vibrational state v = 0. The early afterglow of a number of atomic neon lines is formed by the well-known process of excitation transfer from helium atoms in metastable states He(2{sup 3}S{sub 1}, 2{sup 1}S{sub 0}). At [e] > 10{sup 11} cm{sup –3}, the afterglow spectrum is enriched due to the collisional-radiation recombination of Ne{sup +} ions. In the recombination stage of the afterglow at room electron temperature, the existence of a clear upper bound on the excitation energy of the atomic neon levels being populated is characteristic of the dissociative recombination of both molecular ions. For Ne{sub 2}{sup +} this is the 3p{sub 1} level (in Paschen notation) with an energy of 20.369 eV, with the levels closest to Ne{sub 2}{sup +} (v = 0) in energy being 3p{sub 3} and 3p{sub 2} with energies of 20.26 and 20.3 eV, respectively; for HeNe{sup +}, this is the 5d{sub 1}{sup ′} level with an energy of about 21.02 eV. These values are proposed to be taken as the energies of Ne{sub 2}{sup +} and HeNe{sup +} ions in the ground vibrational state.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

A molecular dynamics study of intramolecular proton transfer reaction of malonaldehyde in solution based upon a mixed quantum–classical approximation. II. Proton transfer reaction in non-polar solvent

The intramolecular proton transfer reaction of malonaldehyde in neon solvent has been investigated by mixed quantum–classical molecular dynamics (QCMD) calculations and fully classical molecular dynamics (FCMD) calculations. Comparing these calculated results with those for malonaldehyde in water reported in Part I [A. Yamada, H. Kojima, and S. Okazaki, J. Chem. Phys. 141, 084509 (2014)], the solvent dependence of the reaction rate, the reaction mechanism involved, and the quantum effect therein have been investigated. With FCMD, the reaction rate in weakly interacting neon is lower than that in strongly interacting water. However, with QCMD, the order of the reaction rates is reversed. To investigate the mechanisms in detail, the reactions were categorized into three mechanisms: tunneling, thermal activation, and barrier vanishing. Then, the quantum and solvent effects were analyzed from the viewpoint of the reaction mechanism focusing on the shape of potential energy curve and its fluctuations. The higher reaction rate that was found for neon in QCMD compared with that found for water solvent arises from the tunneling reactions because of the nearly symmetric double-well shape of the potential curve in neon. The thermal activation and barrier vanishing reactions were also accelerated by the zero-point energy. The number of reactions based on these two mechanisms in water was greater than that in neon in both QCMD and FCMD because these reactions are dominated by the strength of solute–solvent interactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

NUCLEAR THERMOMETERS FOR CLASSICAL NOVAE

Classical novae are stellar explosions occurring in binary systems, consisting of a white dwarf and a main-sequence companion. Thermonuclear runaways on the surface of massive white dwarfs, consisting of oxygen and neon, are believed to reach peak temperatures of several hundred million kelvin. These temperatures are strongly correlated with the underlying white dwarf mass. The observational counterparts of such models are likely associated with outbursts that show strong spectral lines of neon in their shells (neon novae). The goals of this work are to investigate how useful elemental abundances are for constraining the peak temperatures achieved during these outbursts and determine how robust 'nova thermometers' are with respect to uncertain nuclear physics input. We present updated observed abundances in neon novae and perform a series of hydrodynamic simulations for several white dwarf masses. We find that the most useful thermometers, N/O, N/Al, O/S, S/Al, O/Na, Na/Al, O/P, and P/Al, are those with the steepest monotonic dependence on peak temperature. The sensitivity of these thermometers to thermonuclear reaction rate variations is explored using post-processing nucleosynthesis simulations. The ratios N/O, N/Al, O/Na, and Na/Al are robust, meaning they are minimally affected by uncertain rates. However, their dependence on peak temperature is relatively weak. The ratios O/S, S/Al, O/P, and P/Al reveal strong dependences on temperature and the poorly known {sup 30}P(p, {gamma}){sup 31}S rate. We compare our model predictions to neon nova observations and obtain the following estimates for the underlying white dwarf masses: 1.34-1.35 M {sub Sun} (V838 Her), 1.18-1.21 M {sub Sun} (V382 Vel), {<=}1.3 M {sub Sun} (V693 CrA), {<=}1.2 M {sub Sun} (LMC 1990 no. 1), and {<=}1.2 M {sub Sun} (QU Vul).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Spectroscopy of He–Ne afterglow plasma

The afterglow of pulsed low-current discharge in a He–Ne mixture is spectroscopically studied under conditions of competition between the processes of Ne{sub 2}{sup +} and HeNe{sup +} dissociative recombination with electrons, which are the sources of population of excited levels of neon atoms. The behavior of neon spectral lines in the wavelength range of 350–850 nm corresponding to the transitions from the levels of neon atoms of the 2p{sup 5}3p, 2p{sup 5}3d, 2p{sup 5}4p, 2p{sup 5}4d, 2p5{sup 5}s, 2p{sup 5}5d, 2p5{sup 6}s configurations are studied by the multichannel photoncounting method at electron density n{sub e} < 10{sup 11} cm{sup –3} and helium and neon pressures P{sub He} = 38 Torr and P{sub Ne} ≈ 10{sup -5}p{sub He} Distributions of recombination fluxes and population over excited states of the neon atom formed in the afterglow by homo- and heteronuclear ions are found. The data obtained show that vibrationally excited molecular ions make no noticeable contribution to the spectrum of decaying He–Ne plasma.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Study of background processes with the formation of neutrons in nuclear reactions in the energy range of 26–32 kev

The nature of background processes accompanying astrophysical nuclear reactions induced by hydrogen, helium, and neon ions in deuterated targets with small cross sections has been studied in calculations and experiments. The experiments have been performed at a Hall pulsed plasma accelerator in the ion energy range of 26–32 keV. The yield of background neutrons and γ-quanta with energies below 4 MeV in the proton-induced D(p, γ){sup 3}He reaction is primarily due to the presence of a natural impurity of gaseous deuterium in gaseous hydrogen and the chain of D(D, {sup 3}He)n → (n, γ) or (n, n'γ) reactions. A small contribution comes from the chain of D({sup 1}H, {sup 1}H)D → D(D, {sup 3}He)n → (n, γ) or (n, n'γ) reactions. It has been shown that background neutrons and γ-quanta from the D(4He, γ)6Li reaction are entirely due to the chain of D({sup 4}He, {sup 4}He)D → D(D, {sup 3}He)n → (n, γ) or (n, n'γ) reactions. It has been shown that the yield of neutrons and γ-ray photons detected at the interaction of neon ions with deuterated targets is also entirely due to the chain of elastic- scattering reactions of neon ions on deuterons in the target and to subsequent inelastic processes of interaction of deuterons accelerated at elastic scattering with other deuterons of the target. The main contribution to the yields of background neutrons and γ-quanta comes from doubly charged neon ions. The main conclusion is that the explanation of the yield of neutrons and γ-quanta at the interaction of hydrogen, helium, and neon ions with deuterated targets does not require “exotic” theoretical models.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

The Plant Phenology Monitoring Design for the National Ecological Observatory Network

Phenology is an integrative science that comprises the study of recurring biological activities or events. In an era of rapidly changing climate, the relationship between the timing of those events and environmental cues such as temperature, snowmelt, water availability, or day length are of particular interest. This article provides an overview of the observer-based plant phenology sampling conducted by the U.S. National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), the resulting data, and the rationale behind the design. Trained technicians will conduct regular in situ observations of plant phenology at all terrestrial NEON sites for the 30-yr life of the observatory. Standardized and coordinated data across the network of sites can be used to quantify the direction and magnitude of the relationships between phenology and environmental forcings, as well as the degree to which these relationships vary among sites, among species, among phenophases, and through time. Vegetation at NEON sites will also be monitored with tower-based cameras, satellite remote sensing, and annual high-resolution airborne remote sensing. Ground-based measurements can be used to calibrate and improve satellite-derived phenometrics. NEON's phenology monitoring design is complementary to existing phenology research efforts and citizen science initiatives throughout the world and will produce interoperable data. By collocating plant phenology observations with a suite of additional meteorological, biophysical, and ecological measurements (e.g., climate, carbon flux, plant productivity, population dynamics of consumers) at 47 terrestrial sites, the NEON design will enable continental-scale inference about the status, trends, causes, and ecological consequences of phenological change.

phenology↗

High gas throughput SOLPS-ITER simulations extending the ITER database to strong detachment

Abstract SOLPS-ITER simulations performed for Q DT = 10, P SOL = 100 MW burning plasmas on ITER extend the existing database to high values of separatrix averaged neon impurity concentration (⟨ c Ne ⟩ ≈ 6%) and divertor neutral pressure (⟨ p div ⟩ > 25 Pa) in order to determine the heat flux mitigation capability of these scenarios and whether strongly detached states are accessible. In the existing database of ITER simulations, the level of detachment was limited to cases where the integral ion flux to the outer target was greater than 80% of the value at rollover, with the impurity radiation localized near the target. With the possibility of narrow heat flux channels and increased deposited power due to tile shaping, it is important to explore operation at a higher degree of detachment. Two series of simulations were explored to extend the database of SOLPS simulations. By increasing the deuterium and neon puff rates proportionally, the peak divertor energy flux ( q ⊥,max ) is decreased from 5 to 3 MW m −2 while ⟨ p div ⟩ increased from 11 to 27 Pa. By increasing only the neon puff, q ⊥, max can be reduced to <1MW m −2 while ⟨ p div ⟩ is maintained at ∼ 11 Pa. As the neon puff level is increased, the position of the impurity radiation peak is shifted towards the X-point. At the highest neon puff levels with steady-state solutions, the electron temperature is reduced below 1 eV across 50 cm of each divertor target. The new cases extend previously observed tight relationships in power and momentum loss factors to low electron temperature improving their utility for highly detached regimes.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗