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At least 451 records · Page 25

Site 300 (Facility ID N-472) Toxic Emissions Inventory Plan

The Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Information and Assessment Act (AB 2588 or the “Act”) was enacted in September 1987. Under the Act, stationary sources are required to report the types and quantities of certain toxic substances their facilities routinely release into the air. AB 2588 is designed to provide information to state and local agencies and to the general public on the extent of airborne emissions from stationary sources and the potential public health impacts of those emissions. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (the District) is mandated by the State to implement AB 2588. On March 6, 2015, The State Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) adopted changes to the Air Toxics Hot Spots Program Guidance Manual for the Preparation of Health Risk Assessments. These revisions were designed to incorporate three technical support documents and to provide enhanced protection of children as required under state law (SB 25, Escutia, 1999). Due to these recent changes, and the corresponding potential increases in calculated health risk, the District notified LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATL SECURITY, LLC that we must be re-evaluated under AB 2588. Pursuant to the Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Information and Assessment Act of 1987, we have prepared a comprehensive, site-specific Toxics Emissions Inventory Plan. The plan specifies in detail how LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATL SECURITY, LLC will inventory our facility's emissions of all toxic substances on the list of substances subject to the Act. The plan provides a comprehensive and detailed description of the methods that will be used to quantify air releases or potential air releases of listed substances from all points of release. The plan also includes quantification methods which result in accurate and comprehensive characterization of releases and comply with all applicable requirements of the “Hot Spots” regulation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLCSite 300: Toxic Emissions Inventory Plan for ABA 2588 California Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Information and Assessment Act of 1987 (Revision 3.0)

The Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Information and Assessment Act (AB 2588 or the “Act”) was enacted in September 1987. Under the Act, stationary sources are required to report the types and quantities of certain toxic substances their facilities routinely release into the air. AB 2588 is designed to provide information to state and local agencies and to the general public on the extent of airborne emissions from stationary sources and the potential public health impacts of those emissions. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (the District) is mandated by the State to implement AB 2588. On March 6, 2015, The State Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) adopted changes to the Air Toxics Hot Spots Program Guidance Manual for the Preparation of Health Risk Assessments. These revisions were designed to incorporate three technical support documents and to provide enhanced protection of children as required under state law (SB 25, Escutia, 1999). Due to these recent changes, and the corresponding potential increases in calculated health risk, the District notified LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL SECURITY, LLC that we must be re-evaluated under AB 2588. Pursuant to the Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Information and Assessment Act of 1987, we have prepared a comprehensive, site-specific Toxics Emissions Inventory Plan. The plan specifies in detail how LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL SECURITY, LLC will inventory our facility's emissions of all toxic substances on the list of substances subject to the Act. The plan provides a comprehensive and detailed description of the methods that will be used to quantify air releases or potential air releases of listed substances from all points of release. The plan also includes quantification methods which result in accurate and comprehensive characterization of releases and comply with all applicable requirements of the “Hot Spots” regulation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Evaluating The Impact Of Connected Vehicle Technology On Heavy Duty Vehicle Emissions

Vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) like adaptive cruise control (ACC) could use connected (V2X) data to improve fuel economy  Eco driving generates an energy efficient speed profile by minimizing acceleration events  SwRI demonstrated a 7% reduction in energy consumption for fully loaded class 8 trucks by using nearby vehicle and traffic signal information  How does eco driving impact vehicle emissions and aftertreatment (AT) systems?

Gankov, Stanislav↗

Composite materials with self-regulated infrared emissivity and environment responsive fibers

A composite fabric having self-regulating Infrared emissivity includes meta fibers formed with optical nanostructures and an environment (temperature and/or moisture) responsive mechanism configured to adjust a relative disposition between the optical structures to control the electromagnetic coupling therebetween, thus regulating the infrared emissivity of the composite fabric to maintain a user of the fabric in a temperature/moisture comfort zone. The environment responsive mechanism may include a temperature responsive polymer layer on the fiber capable of expansion/shrinkage depending on the applied temperature, or a moisture responsive fiber changing its shape depending on the moisture level to affect spacing between the optical nanostructures.

Wang, Yuhuang↗

Vehicle Localization in 3D World Coordinates Using Single Camera at Traffic Intersection

Optimizing traffic control systems at traffic intersections can reduce the network-wide fuel consumption, as well as emissions of conventional fuel-powered vehicles. While traffic signals have been controlled based on predetermined schedules, various adaptive signal control systems have recently been developed using advanced sensors such as cameras, radars, and LiDARs. Among these sensors, cameras can provide a cost-effective way to determine the number, location, type, and speed of the vehicles for better-informed decision-making at traffic intersections. In this research, a new approach for accurately determining vehicle locations near traffic intersections using a single camera is presented. For that purpose, a well-known object detection algorithm called YOLO is used to determine vehicle locations in video images captured by a traffic camera. YOLO draws a bounding box around each detected vehicle, and the vehicle location in the image coordinates is converted to the world coordinates using camera calibration data. During this process, a significant error between the center of a vehicle’s bounding box and the real center of the vehicle in the world coordinates is generated due to the angled view of the vehicles by a camera installed on a traffic light pole. As a means of mitigating this vehicle localization error, two different types of regression models are trained and applied to the centers of the bounding boxes of the camera-detected vehicles. The accuracy of the proposed approach is validated using both static camera images and live-streamed traffic video. Based on the improved vehicle localization, it is expected that more accurate traffic signal control can be made to improve the overall network-wide energy efficiency and traffic flow at traffic intersections.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Imaging Photonic Resonances within an All‐Dielectric Metasurface via Photoelectron Emission Microscopy

Dielectric metasurfaces, through volume‐type photonic resonances, enable precise control of light‐matter interactions for applications including imaging, holography, and sensing. The application space of dielectric metasurfaces has extended from infrared to visible wavelengths by incorporating high refractive index materials, such as titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ). Understanding the fundamental and fabrication limits for these applications requires metrology with nanoscale resolution, sensitivity to electromagnetic fields within the meta‐atom volume, and far‐field excitation. In this work, photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM) is used to image field distributions of photonic resonances in a TiO 2 metasurface excited with far‐field, visible‐wavelength illumination. The local volumetric field variations within the meta‐atoms are analyzed as a function of illumination angle and polarization by comparing photoelectron images to finite‐difference time‐domain simulations. This study determines the inelastic mean free path of very low‐energy (<1 eV) photoelectrons to be 35 ± 10 nm, which is comparable to the meta‐atom height thereby highlighting PEEM sensitivity to resonances within the volume. Additionally, the simulations reveal high sensitivity of PEEM images to an in‐plane component of the illumination k ‐vector. These results demonstrate that photoelectron imaging with subwavelength resolution offers unique advantages for examining light‐matter interactions in volume‐type (as opposed to surface) photonic modes within dielectric nanophotonic structures.

electron inelastic mean free path↗

Axion constraints from quiescent soft gamma-ray emission from magnetars

We report axion-like-particles (ALPs) emitted from the core of a magnetar can convert to photons in its magnetosphere. The resulting photon flux is sensitive to the product of (i) the ALP-nucleon coupling G an which controls the production cross section in the core and (ii) the ALP-photon coupling g aγγ which controls the conversion in the magnetosphere. We study such emissions in the soft-gamma-ray range (300 keV to 1 MeV), where the ALP spectrum peaks and astrophysical backgrounds from resonant Compton up scattering are expected to be suppressed. Using published quiescent soft-gamma-ray flux upper limits in five magnetars obtained with CGRO COMPTEL and INTEGRAL SPI/IBIS/ISGRI, we put limits on the product of the ALP-nucleon and ALP-photon couplings. We also provide a detailed study of the dependence of our results on the magnetar core temperature. We further show projections of our result for future Fermi-GBM observations. Our results motivate a program of studying quiescent soft-gamma-ray emission from magnetars with the Fermi-GBM.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A Statistical Evaluation of WRF-LES Trace Gas Dispersion Using Project Prairie Grass Measurements

In recent years, new measurement systems have been deployed to monitor and quantify methane emissions from the natural gas sector. Large-eddy simulation (LES) has complemented measurement campaigns by serving as a controlled environment in which to study plume dynamics and sampling strategies. However, with few comparisons with controlled-release experiments, the accuracy of LES for modeling natural gas emissions is poorly characterized. In this paper, we evaluate LES from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model against Project Prairie Grass campaign measurements and surface layer similarity theory. Using WRF-LES, we simulate continuous emissions from 30 near-surface trace gas sources in two stability regimes: strong convection and weak convection. We examine the impact of grid resolutions ranging from 6.25 to 52 m in the horizontal dimension on model results. We evaluate performance in a statistical framework, calculating fractional bias and conducting Welch’s t tests. WRF-LES accurately simulates observed surface concentrations at 100 m and beyond under strong convection; simulated concentrations pass t tests in this region irrespective of grid resolution. However, in weakly convective conditions with strong winds, WRF-LES substantially overpredicts concentrations—the magnitude of fractional bias often exceeds 30%, and all but one t test fails. The good performance of WRF-LES under strong convection correlates with agreement with local free convection theory and a minimal amount of parameterized turbulent kinetic energy. The poor performance under weak convection corresponds to misalignment with Monin–Obukhov similarity theory and a significant amount of parameterized turbulent kinetic energy.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

The effect of filament peaking on electron beam weld quality

Electron beam welding uses high intensity beams that are generated by an electron emitting cathode under high vacuum conditions. The cathode, typically a ribbon or wire filament of refractory metal, must be heated to sufficiently high temperatures for electron emission to occur and must be carefully controlled to produce the desired beam current while at the same time optimizing filament lifetime. Traditional methods for doing this in commonly used triode gun assemblies consist of first finding the filament knee point in the filament current versus beam current relationship that produces the desired beam current for a given beam voltage. The filament current is then increased by some amount, typically 5–10%, per conventional wisdom to produce a peaked beam. This investigation studies and quantifies the beam and weld quality produced by underkneed and overpeaked filaments using electron beam diagnostics to measure the power density distribution of these beams. Underkneed filaments are shown to have power densities that drop off very quickly below the traditional knee, resulting in poor weld penetration. Kneed filaments do not reach the full beam intensity and also produce shallow welds. Increasing the filament current 10% above the traditional knee was shown to produce a circular Gaussian-like beam with peaked intensity optimized for welding and for filament lifetime. Further increases in the filament current that produce overpeaked beams do not significantly change the beam or weld quality and would only contribute to a reduced filament lifetime.

Electron Beam Welding↗

High-Performance Near-Infrared Quantum Emission from Color Centers in hBN

Color centers hosted in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) have emerged as a highly promising platform for single-photon emission and spin-photon technologies relevant to quantum communication and quantum networking. As a wide bandgap van der Waals material, hBN can host optically active quantum defects across a broad spectral range. Here, we demonstrate a simple and scalable oxygen-plasma process that reproducibly creates single quantum emitters in hBN with blinking-free zero-phonon lines (ZPLs) spanning near-infrared (NIR) from 700 up to 971 nm. These emitters combine MHz-level brightness, single-photon purity up to 99.9%, and ultranarrow cryogenic line widths down to 2.7 GHz under quasi-resonant excitation, placing them in a particularly attractive regime for quantum photonics. Photostability measurements further reveal resistance to photobleaching, subnanometer spectral stability over long time scales, and near-shot-noise-limited intensity fluctuations. Analysis of the phonon sidebands shows weak vibronic coupling and ZPL-dominated emission, with Debye–Waller factors approaching 50%. Control experiments together with elemental mapping support oxygen incorporation as a necessary ingredient in activating the NIR emitter population, while first-principles calculations identify O N V N and O N V N H as the leading defect candidates. These results establish a high-performance NIR quantum-emitter platform in hBN for free-space quantum networking and future integrated quantum-photonic architectures.

2D materials↗

Quantum defects in carbon nanotubes as single-photon sources

Single-photon emitters are essential components of emerging quantum technologies, including secure communication and quantum computing. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have emerged as a promising platform for quantum light sources due to their quasi-one-dimensional excitonic host structure and compatibility with telecom photonic systems. Recent advances in deterministic defect engineering—most notably the development of organic color centers (OCCs)—have enabled stable, chemically controllable, and spectrally tunable single-photon emission. OCC-based emitters have demonstrated single-photon purity exceeding 99% and, more recently, room-temperature photon indistinguishability, placing them among the few solid-state systems with quantum-grade performance under ambient conditions. This review surveys progress in the field from three complementary perspectives: chemical synthesis and quantum defect engineering, computational studies of structure-property relationships and excitonic behavior, and experimental investigations of quantum optical properties. We also discuss alternative approaches, including air-suspended SWCNTs and hybrid van der Waals heterostructures, highlighting opportunities and open challenges for scalable integration into quantum photonic platforms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Anisotropic 2D excitons unveiled in organic-inorganic quantum wells

Here we report that two-dimensional (2D) excitons arise from electron-hole confinement along one spatial dimension. Such excitations are often described in terms of Frenkel or Wannier limits according to the degree of exciton spatial localization and the surrounding dielectric environment. In hybrid material systems, such as the 2D perovskites, the complex underlying interactions lead to excitons of an intermediate nature, whose description lies somewhere between the two limits, and a better physical description is needed. Here, we explore the photophysics of a tuneable materials platform where covalently bonded metal-chalcogenide layers are spaced by organic ligands that provide confinement barriers for charge carriers in the inorganic layer. We consider self-assembled, layered bulk silver benzeneselenolate, [AgSePh] ∞ , and use a combination of transient absorption spectroscopy and ab initio GW plus Bethe-Salpeter equation calculations. We demonstrate that in this non-polar dielectric environment, strongly anisotropic excitons dominate the optical transitions of [AgSePh] ∞ . We find that the transient absorption measurements at room temperature can be understood in terms of low-lying excitons confined to the AgSe planes with in-plane anisotropy, featuring anisotropic absorption and emission. Finally, we present a pathway to control the exciton behaviour by changing the chalcogen in the material lattice. Our studies unveil unexpected excitonic anisotropies in an unexplored class of tuneable, yet air-stable, hybrid quantum wells, offering design principles for the engineering of an ordered, yet complex dielectric environment and its effect on the excitonic phenomena in such emerging materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Observation of kinetic mix enhancement in thin-shell OMEGA implosions

Recent separated reactant experiments for thin-shell (6 µ⁢m) shock-driven implosions on OMEGA have demonstrated significant mix from a buried deuterated layer of the shell into the hot spot. Time resolved D 3 He-p reaction history data demonstrate a (50 ± 20)⁢ ps shift earlier in peak nuclear emission for separated reactant experiments relative to control, in contrast to past experimental data for thicker, 20 µ⁢m shells with no laser burn through that show a 75 ps delay due to the time required for hydrodynamic instabilities to develop. This contrast suggests that the mix mechanism was not hydrodynamic. Ion kinetic simulations utilizing fall line analyses show much closer agreement with mix yield and temperature than diffusion models, predicting a D 3 He-p mix yield of 1.7 × 10 9 as compared to the experimental value of 9.3⁢ (±2.1) × 10 8 . This is three orders of magnitude closer than the fall line analysis from a hydrodynamic simulation with an inline diffusive mix model, which suggests minimal mix and D 3 He-p yields of 5×10 5 . This makes kinetic mechanisms the only feasible explanation for the mix seen, demonstrating impact of a non-standard mix mechanism. An analytical model of this kinetic mix mechanism suggests that it can remain significant in situations when the shell expands significantly to low densities, and diffusive models predict negligible mix. Finally, kinetic mix will impact multiple types of high energy density, laser-driven fusion experiments including high-adiabat direct drive cryoexperiments, nuclear cross section experiments, and thin-shell polar direct drive experiments used to tune heat conduction models.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Influence of Spatial Dipole Pattern in Asian Aerosol Changes on East Asian Summer Monsoon

Since China implemented the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan in 2013, the aerosol emissions in East Asia have been greatly reduced, while emissions in South Asia have continued to increase. This has led to a dipole pattern of aerosol emissions between South Asia and East Asia. We report the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) responses to the dipole changes in aerosol emissions during 2013–17 are investigated using the atmosphere model of Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2). We show that decreases in East Asian emissions alone lead to a positive aerosol effective radiative forcing (ERF) of 1.59 (±0.97) W m -2 over central-eastern China (25°–40°N, 105°–122.5°E), along with a 0.09 (±0.07)°C warming in summer during 2013–17. The warming intensified the land–sea thermal contrast and increased the rainfall by 0.32 (±0.16) mm day -1 . When considering both the emission reductions in East Asia and increases in South Asia, the ERF is increased to 3.39 (±0.89) W m -2 , along with an enhanced warming of 0.20 (±0.08)°C over central-eastern China, while the rainfall insignificant decreased by 0.07 (±0.16) mm day -1 . It is due to the westward shift of the strengthened western Pacific subtropical high, linked to the increase in black carbon in South Asia. Based on multiple EASM indices, the reductions in aerosol emissions from East Asia alone increased the EASM strength by almost 5%. Considering the effect of the westward shift of WPSH, the dipole changes in emissions together increased the EASM by 5%–15% during 2013–17, revealing an important role of South Asian aerosols in changing the East Asian climate.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Influence of Spatial Dipole Pattern in Asian Aerosol Changes on East Asian Summer Monsoon

Since China implemented the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan in 2013, the aerosol emissions in East Asia have been greatly reduced, while emissions in South Asia have continued to increase. This has led to a dipole pattern of aerosol emissions between South Asia and East Asia. Here, the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) responses to the dipole changes in aerosol emissions during 2013–17 are investigated using the atmosphere model of Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2). We show that decreases in East Asian emissions alone lead to a positive aerosol effective radiative forcing (ERF) of 1.59 (±0.97) W m -2 over central-eastern China (25°–40°N, 105°–122.5°E), along with a 0.09 (±0.07)°C warming in summer during 2013–17. The warming intensified the land–sea thermal contrast and increased the rainfall by 0.32 (±0.16) mm day -1 . When considering both the emission reductions in East Asia and increases in South Asia, the ERF is increased to 3.39 (±0.89) W m -2 , along with an enhanced warming of 0.20 (±0.08)°C over central-eastern China, while the rainfall insignificant decreased by 0.07 (±0.16) mm day -1 . It is due to the westward shift of the strengthened western Pacific subtropical high, linked to the increase in black carbon in South Asia. Based on multiple EASM indices, the reductions in aerosol emissions from East Asia alone increased the EASM strength by almost 5%. Finally, considering the effect of the westward shift of WPSH, the dipole changes in emissions together increased the EASM by 5%–15% during 2013–17, revealing an important role of South Asian aerosols in changing the East Asian climate.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Mid-infrared spectroscopy with a broadly tunable thin-film lithium niobate optical parametric oscillator

Mid-infrared spectroscopy, an important technique for sensing molecules, has encountered barriers from sources either limited in tuning range or excessively bulky for widespread use. We present a compact, efficient, and broadly tunable optical parametric oscillator surmounting these challenges. Leveraging dispersion-engineered thin-film lithium niobate-on-sapphire photonics and a singly resonant cavity allows broad, controlled tuning over an octave from 1.5–3.3 µm. The device generates >25mW of mid-infrared light at 3.2 µm with 15% conversion efficiency. The ability to precisely control the device’s mid-infrared emission enables spectroscopy of methane and ammonia, demonstrating our approach’s relevance for sensing. Our work signifies an important advance in nonlinear photonics miniaturization, bringing practical field applications of high-speed, broadband mid-infrared spectroscopy closer to reality.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Leaf isoprene and monoterpene emission data-set across hyperdominant tree genera in the Amazon basin

This data package contains the analyzed data used to support the publication "Leaf isoprene and monoterpene emission distribution across hyperdominant tree genera in the Amazon basin," Phytochemistry, in-press. Data was collected from 162 trees across four sites in the Amazon. For all leaf samples studied for volatile isoprenoid emissions, branch cuttings were conducted in the upper canopy with sun exposed leaves with the assistance of a tree climber utilizing a pole pruner or directly accessed from flux towers. Large branches were removed from the upper canopy (up to 0.5-1.0 meter in length) and rapidly recut on the ground under water to maintain the transpiration stream. Net photosynthesis and isoprene and monoterpene emission rates were quantified from leaves during controlled changes in photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) using a commercial leaf photosynthesis system (LI-6400XT, LI-COR Inc., USA) interfaced with a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS, 5975C series, Agilent Technologies, USA). For detailed methods and raw data, refer to the publication and related material cited in Dataset References.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC Site 300 Facility ID N-472 Toxics Emissions Inventory Plan for AB 2588 California Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Information and Assessment Act of 1987

The Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Information and Assessment Act (AB 2588 or the “Act”) was enacted in September 1987. Under the Act, stationary sources are required to report the types and quantities of certain toxic substances their facilities routinely release into the air. AB 2588 is designed to provide information to state and local agencies and to the general public on the extent of airborne emissions from stationary sources and the potential public health impacts of those emissions. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (the District) is mandated by the State to implement AB 2588.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗