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At least 451 records · Page 25

The Global Precipitation Patterns Associated with Short-Term Extratropical Climate Fluctuations

Two globally-complete, observation-only precipitation datasets have recently been developed for the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP). Both depend heavily on a variety of satellite input, as well as gauge data over land. The first, Version 2x79, provides monthly estimates on a 2.5 deg. x 2.5 deg. lat/long grid for the period 1979 through late 1999 (by the time of the conference). The second, the One-Degree Daily (1DD), provides daily estimates on a 1 deg. x l deg. grid for the period 1997 through late 1999 (by the time of the conference). Both are in beta test preparatory to release as official GPCP products. These datasets provide a unique perspective on the hydrological effects of the various atmospheric flow anomalies that have been identified by meteorologists. In this paper we discuss the regional precipitation effects that result from persistent extratropical flow anomalies. We will focus on the Pacific-North America (PNA) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) patterns. Each characteristically becomes established on synoptic time scales, but then persists for periods that can exceed a month. The onset phase of each appears to have systematic mobile features, while the mature phase tend to be more stationary. Accordingly, composites of monthly data for outstanding positive and negative events (separately) contained in the 20-year record reveal the climatological structure of the precipitation during the mature phase. The climatological anomalies of the positive, negative, and (positive-negative) composites show the expected storm-track-related shifts in precipitation, and provide the advantage of putting the known precipitation effects over land in the context of the total pattern over land and ocean. As well, this global perspective points out some unexpected areas of correlation. Day-by-day composites of daily data anchored to the onset date demonstrate the systematic features during the onset. Although the 1DD has a fairly short record, some preliminary results are shown and compared to previous work with numerical weather prediction models.

Huffman, George J.↗

A Global Precipitation Perspective on Persistent Extratropical Flow Anomalies

Two globally-complete, observation-only precipitation datasets have recently been developed for the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP). Both depend heavily on a variety of satellite input, as well as gauge data over land. The first, Version 2 x 79, provides monthly estimates on a 2.5 deg x 2.5 deg lat/long grid for the period 1979 through late 1999 (by the time of the conference). The second, the One-Degree Daily (1DD), provides daily estimates on a 1 deg x 1 deg grid for the period 1997 through late 1999 (by the time of the conference). Both are in beta test preparatory to release as official GPCP products. These datasets provide a unique perspective on the hydrological effects of the various atmospheric flow anomalies that have been identified by meteorologists. In this paper we discuss the regional precipitation effects that result from persistent extratropical flow anomalies. We will focus on the Pacific-North America (PNA) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) patterns. Each characteristically becomes established on synoptic time scales, but then persists for periods that can exceed a month. The onset phase of each appears to have systematic mobile features, while the mature phase tend to be more stationary. Accordingly, composites of monthly data for outstanding positive and negative events (separately) contained in the 20-year record reveal the climatological structure of the precipitation during the mature phase. The climatological anomalies of the positive, negative, and (positive-negative) composites show the expected storm-track-related shifts in precipitation, and provide the advantage of putting the known precipitation effects over land in the context of the total pattern over land and ocean. As well, this global perspective points out some unexpected areas of correlation. Day-by-day composites of daily data anchored to the onset date demonstrate the systematic features during the onset. Although the 1DD has a fairly short record, some preliminary results are shown and compared to previous work with numerical weather prediction models.

Huffman, George J.↗

A real-time approximate optimal guidance law for flight in a plane

A real-time guidance scheme is presented for the problem of maximizing the payload into orbit subject to the equations of motion of a rocket over a nonrotating spherical earth. The flight is constrained to a path in the equatorial plane while reaching an orbital altitude at orbital injection speeds. The dynamics of the problem can be separated into primary and perturbation effects by a small parameter, epsilon, which is the ratio of the atmospheric scale height to the radius of the earth. The Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman or dynamic programming equation is expanded in an asymptotic series where the zeroth-order term (epsilon = 0) can be obtained in closed form. The neglected perturbation terms are included in the higher-order terms of the expansion, which are determined from the solution of first-order linear partial differential equations requiring only integrations which are quadratures. The quadratures can be performed rapidly with emerging computer capability, so that real-time approximate optimization can be used to construct the launch guidance law. The application of this technique to flight in three-dimensions is made apparent from the solution presented.

Feeley, Timothy S.↗

A new tri-particle backlighter for high-energy-density plasmas (invited)

A new tri-particle mono-energetic backlighter based on laser-driven implosions of DT3He gas-filled capsules has been implemented at the OMEGA laser. This platform, an extension of the original D 3 He backlighter platform, generates 9.5 MeV deuterons from the T3He reaction in addition to 14.7 and 3.0 MeV protons from the deuterium and helium-3 reactants. The monoenergetic 14.7 and 3.0 MeV protons have been used with success at OMEGA and the NIF for both radiography and stopping-power studies. There are several advantages of having a third particle to diagnose plasma conditions: an extra time-of-flight-separated radiograph and an improved ability to discern between electric and magnetic fields. In cases where the 3.0 MeV protons cannot penetrate an experiment, the benefit of the additional 9.5 MeV deuterons is magnified. This capability is well-suited for NIF experiments, where large fields and plasma densities often preclude useful 3.0 MeV proton data. The advantages are demonstrated with radiographs of OMEGA plasmas with magnetic and electric fields. Tests using backlighter-scale 420 μm diameter thin glass capsules validate the platform’s extended backlighting capability. The performance characteristics of this backlighter, such as source size and timing, are discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

The Winds of B Supergiants

We present the most suitable data sets available in the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) archive for the study of time-dependent stellar winds in early B supergiants. The UV line profile variability in 11 B0 to B3 stars is analyzed, compared and discussed, based on 16 separate data sets comprising over 600 homogeneously reduced high-resolution spectrograms. The targets include 'normal' stars with moderate rotation rates and examples of rapid rotators. A gallery of grey-scale images (dynamic spectra) is presented, which demonstrates the richness and range of wind variability and highlights different structures in the winds of these stars. This work emphasizes the suitability of B supergiants for wind studies, under-pinned by the fact that they exhibit unsaturated wind lines for a wide range of ionization. The wind activity of B supergiants is substantial and has highly varied characteristics. The variability evident in individual stars is classified and described in terms of discrete absorption components, spontaneous absorption, bowed structures, recurrence, and ionization variability and stratification. Similar structures can occur in stars of different fundamental parameters but also different structures may occur in the same star at a given epoch. We discuss the physical phenomena that may be associated with the spectral signatures, and highlight the challenges that these phenomena present to theoretical studies of time-dependent outflows in massive stars. In addition, SEI line-synthesis modelling of the UV wind lines is used to provide further information about the state of the winds in our program stars. Typically the range, implied by the line profile variability, in the product of mass-loss rate and ion fraction (M qi) is a factor of approximately 1.5, when integrated between 0.2 and 0.9 v infinity; it it can however be several times larger over localized velocity regions. At a given effective temperature the mean relative ion ratios can differ by a factor of 5. The general excess in predicted (forward-scattered) emission in the low velocity regime is discussed in turns of structured outflows. Mean ion fractions are estimated over the B0 to B1 spectral classes, and trends in the ionic ratios as a function of wind velocity are described. The low values obtained for the ion fractions of UV resonance lines may reflect the role of clumping in the wind.

Massa, Derck↗

The Winds of B Supergiants

We present the most suitable data sets available in the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) archive for the study of time-dependent stellar winds in early B supergiants. The UV line profile variability in 11 B0 to B3 stars is analyzed, compared and discussed, based on 16 separate data sets comprising over 600 homogeneously reduced high-resolution spectrograms. The targets include 'normal' stars with moderate rotation rates and examples of rapid rotators. A gallery of grey-scale images (dynamic spectra) is presented, which demonstrates the richness and range of wind variability and highlights different structures in the winds of these stars. This work emphasises the suitability of B supergiants for wind studies, under-pinned by the fact that they exhibit unsaturated wind lines for a wide range of ionization. The wind activity of B supergiants is substantial and has highly varied characteristics. The variability evident in individual stars is classified and described in terms of discrete absorption components, spontaneous absorption, bowed structures, recurrence, and ionization variability and stratification. Similar structures can occur in stars of different fundamental parameters, but also different structures may occur in the same star at a given epoch. We discuss the physical phenomena that may be associated with the spectral signatures, and highlight the challenges that these phenomena present to theoretical studies of time-dependent outflows in massive stars. In addition, SEI line-synthesis modelling of the UV wind lines is used to provide further information about the state of the winds in our program stars. Typically the range, implied by the line profile variability, in the product of mass-loss rate and ion fraction (M (dot) q(sub i)) is a factor of approximately 1.5, when integrated between 0.2 and 0.9 v infinity; it can however be several times larger over localized velocity regions. At a given effective temperature the mean relative ion ratios can differ by a factor of 5. The general excess in predicted (forward-scattered) emission in the low velocity regime is discussed in terms of structured outflows. Mean ion fractions are estimated over the B0 to B1 spectral classes, and trends in the ionic ratios as a function of wind velocity are described. The low values obtained for the ion fractions of UV resonance lines may reflect the role of clumping in the wind.

Massa, D.↗

Convolutional L2LFlows: generating accurate showers in highly granular calorimeters using convolutional normalizing flows

Abstract In the quest to build generative surrogate models as computationally efficient alternatives to rule-based simulations, the quality of the generated samples remains a crucial frontier. So far, normalizing flows have been among the models with the best fidelity. However, as the latent space in such models is required to have the same dimensionality as the data space, scaling up normalizing flows to high dimensional datasets is not straightforward. The prior L2LFlows approach successfully used a series of separate normalizing flows and sequence of conditioning steps to circumvent this problem. In this work, we extend L2LFlows to simulate showers with a 9-times larger profile in the lateral direction. To achieve this, we introduce convolutional layers and U-Net-type connections, move from masked autoregressive flows to coupling layers, and demonstrate the successful modelling of showers in the ILD Electromagnetic Calorimeter as well as Dataset 3 from the public CaloChallenge dataset.

Instruments & Instrumentation↗

Challenges of and Opportunities for a Large Diverse Software Team

A large software team consisting of members with different expertise, skillsets, personalities, ethnicities, and involving collaboration on a large and complex software product presents many technical and cultural challenges, but also provides unique opportunities. In this article, we discuss the essential issues we faced when successfully transforming a collection of various independently developed software libraries into one large integrated product: the eXtreme-scale scientific Software Development Kit (xSDK). Furthermore, we argue it is just as important to pay attention to cultural challenges, such as establishment of reliable communication channels that considers, among others, differences in personalities and backgrounds as well as overcoming geographical separation and time-zone distribution when collaborating, as technical challenges. Finally, we discuss opportunities stemming from participating in a large diverse software team, such as increased internal expertise, variety of skillsets, broadened connections to external experts, and access to a larger pool of ideas or solutions.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Temporal evolution of velocity structures in the solar wind

Generally poor correlations were obtained of solar wind flow speed measurements at one point in the ecliptic plane with measurements at the same point 28 days (one solar rotation) earlier or with measurements at other points in the ecliptic plane separated by 50 deg or more in solar longitude. This is evidence that either the flow speed is a very sensitive function of solar latitude or that temporal processes typically alter the speed of the wind emanating from particular solar regions on a time scale of about 4 days. From a measure of the persistence of the flow speed at the orbit of the earth, it appears that the temporal explanation is more likely to be the correct one.

Gosling, J. T.↗

A new time scale based k-epsilon model for near wall turbulence

A k-epsilon model is proposed for wall bonded turbulent flows. In this model, the eddy viscosity is characterized by a turbulent velocity scale and a turbulent time scale. The time scale is bounded from below by the Kolmogorov time scale. The dissipation equation is reformulated using this time scale and no singularity exists at the wall. The damping function used in the eddy viscosity is chosen to be a function of R(sub y) = (k(sup 1/2)y)/v instead of y(+). Hence, the model could be used for flows with separation. The model constants used are the same as in the high Reynolds number standard k-epsilon model. Thus, the proposed model will be also suitable for flows far from the wall. Turbulent channel flows at different Reynolds numbers and turbulent boundary layer flows with and without pressure gradient are calculated. Results show that the model predictions are in good agreement with direct numerical simulation and experimental data.

Yang, Z.↗

New time scale based k-epsilon model for near-wall turbulence

A k-epsilon model is proposed for wall bonded turbulent flows. In this model, the eddy viscosity is characterized by a turbulent velocity scale and a turbulent time scale. The time scale is bounded from below by the Kolmogorov time scale. The dissipation equation is reformulated using this time scale and no singularity exists at the wall. The damping function used in the eddy viscosity is chosen to be a function of R(sub y) = (k(sup 1/2)y)/v instead of y(+). Hence, the model could be used for flows with separation. The model constants used are the same as in the high Reynolds number standard k-epsilon model. Thus, the proposed model will be also suitable for flows far from the wall. Turbulent channel flows at different Reynolds numbers and turbulent boundary layer flows with and without pressure gradient are calculated. Results show that the model predictions are in good agreement with direct numerical simulation and experimental data.

Yang, Z.↗

The case for planetary sample return missions. 2. History of Mars

Principal science goals for exploration of Mars are to establish the chemical, isotopic, and physical state of Martian material, the nature of major surface-forming processes and their time scales, and the past and present biological potential of the planet. Many of those goals can only be met by detailed analyses of atmospheric gases and carefully selected samples of fresh rocks, weathered rocks, soils, sediments, and ices. The high-fidelity mineral separations, complex chemical treatments, and ultrasensitive instrument systems required for key measurements, as well as the need to adapt analytical strategies to unanticipated results, point to Earth-based laboratory analyses on returned Martian samples as the best means for meeting the stated objectives.

NASA Center ARC↗

A Qualitative Investigation of Selected Infrared Flow Visualization Image Processing Techniques

The deployment and integration of high-sensitivity infrared cameras in a transonic wind tunnel testenvironment has resulted in a unique capability to image aerodynamic phenomena in real-time. Multi-camera infrared flow visualization data systems are now routinely utilized at the NASA Ames Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel. The small flow-induced temperature gradients on the surface of the wind tunnel test article coupled with the high bit-depth of the infrared camera sensor makes the processing of the image data critically important. An image processing routine must enhance features of interest with minimal artifacts. Additionally, the production wind tunnel test environment demands that these processed images are made available in a real-time, automatic fashion. Therefore, any image processing routine must be computationally economical and enhance the image data with minimal input from a human operator. The following seeks to qualitatively explore selected image processing techniques by assessing their effectiveness to resolve flow features on a wind tunnel test article. A multi-scale contrast enhancement technique is discussed as well as a new implementation of a multi-scale, non-interpolated adaptive histogram equalization. Finally, a novel method is introduced that demonstrates the ability to resolve flow features imaged on bare-steel test articles possessing low emissivity.This method makes use of dynamic mode decomposition and discrete-time filtering to separate the background reflections that dominate low emissivity surfaces from the aerodynamic driven surface temperature gradients.This process will be shown to resolve the onset of boundary layer transition on a bare metal wing as well as identify and resolve hidden features in the image data. While the implementation of this technique is very preliminary it demonstrates the potential to extend the application of infrared flow-visualization within the wind tunnel test environment.

Image Processeing↗

The completed SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: measurement of the growth rate of structure from the small-scale clustering of the luminous red galaxy sample

ABSTRACT We measure the small-scale clustering of the Data Release 16 extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey Luminous Red Galaxy sample, corrected for fibre-collisions using Pairwise Inverse Probability weights, which give unbiased clustering measurements on all scales. We fit to the monopole and quadrupole moments and to the projected correlation function over the separation range $7-60\, h^{-1}{\rm Mpc}$ with a model based on the aemulus cosmological emulator to measure the growth rate of cosmic structure, parametrized by fσ8. We obtain a measurement of fσ8(z = 0.737) = 0.408 ± 0.038, which is 1.4σ lower than the value expected from 2018 Planck data for a flat ΛCDM model, and is more consistent with recent weak-lensing measurements. The level of precision achieved is 1.7 times better than more standard measurements made using only the large-scale modes of the same sample. We also fit to the data using the full range of scales $0.1\text{--}60\, h^{-1}{\rm Mpc}$ modelled by the aemulus cosmological emulator and find a 4.5σ tension in the amplitude of the halo velocity field with the Planck + ΛCDM model, driven by a mismatch on the non-linear scales. This may not be cosmological in origin, and could be due to a breakdown in the Halo Occupation Distribution model used in the emulator. Finally, we perform a robust analysis of possible sources of systematics, including the effects of redshift uncertainty and incompleteness due to target selection that were not included in previous analyses fitting to clustering measurements on small scales.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Real-time approximate optimal guidance laws for the advanced launch system

An approach to optimal ascent guidance for a launch vehicle is developed using an expansion technique. The problem is to maximize the payload put into orbit subject to the equations of motion of a rocket over a rotating spherical earth. It is assumed that the thrust and gravitational forces dominate over the aerodynamic forces. It is shown that these forces can be separated by a small parameter epsilon, where epsilon is the ratio of the atmospheric scale height to the radius of the earth. The Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman or dynamic programming equation is expanded in a series where the zeroth-order term (epsilon = 0) can be obtained in closed form. The zeroth-order problem is that of putting maximum payload into orbit subject to the equations of motion of a rocket in a vacuum over a flat earth. The neglected inertial and aerodynamic terms are included in higher order terms of the expansion, which are determined from the solution of first-order linear partial differential equations requiring only quadrature integrations. These quadrature integrations can be performed rapidly, so that real-time approximate optimization can be used to construct the launch guidance law.

Speyer, Jason L.↗

Sieving Hydrogen Isotopes via Machine Learning Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) of High‐Quality Monolayer Hexagonal Boron Nitride (h‐BN) on Iron Foils

Atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) ceramics, such as monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), present potential for disruptive advances in separations. However, sub-atomic scale separation of hydrogen isotopes (H + /D + ) require near pristine 2D material membranes, and scalable synthesis of such high-quality h-BN comparable to mechanically exfoliated crystals remains a significant challenge. Here, we report a scalable Fe-catalyzed chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process for bottom-up synthesis of large-area, high-quality monolayer h-BN films, overcoming key limitations of conventional ammonia-based routes. By leveraging mechanistic insights and higher CVD temperatures, we suppress multilayer formation and achieve uniform monolayer h-BN coverage on commercially available Fe foils. Machine learning enables systematic exploration of the complex, multi-dimensional CVD parameter space (growth time, temperature, precursor temperature, multilayer faction, coverage), providing data-driven approaches to visualize and identify process regimes facilitating predominantly monolayer h-BN growth with minimal secondary nuclei/ad-layers. The optimized Fe-catalyzed CVD h-BN membranes show high-quality as observed by proton/deuteron (H + /D + ) selectivity ≈8.45, approaching the highest quality benchmark of mechanically exfoliated h-BN (H + /D + selectivity ≈10) as well as significantly outperforming Cu-catalyzed CVD h-BN membranes (H + /D + selectivity ≈3.62, control selectivity ≈1.7). Our work provides a scalable cost-effective route for high-quality monolayer h-BN synthesis for sub-atomic scale separations (H + /D + ) and demonstrates the broader potential of machine learning-guided optimization of CVD for advancing synthesis of 2D materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Revealing the Correlation between the Solvation Structures and the Transport Properties of Water-in-Salt Electrolytes

Water-in-salt (WIS) electrolytes containing 21 m lithium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) have been considered as a safe and environment-friendly alternative to common organic electrolytes used in lithium-ion batteries. However, the relation between the solvation structures and transport properties of these materials remains elusive. Here, for this paper, we performed small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), and X-ray pair distribution function (PDF) measurements of LiTFSI aqueous solutions at a wide range of concentrations. Combined with molecular dynamics simulations, the detailed solvation structures from long to short length scale were resolved. We found that the TFSI– solvation structures consist of TFSI– solvated structures and TFSI– networks; the former corresponds to solvent separated ion pairs, while the latter corresponds to contact ion pairs and cation–anion aggregates. In addition, we found that the relaxation time in the q range associated with the anion network structure exhibits the same concentration dependence as the viscosity. By combining the results from the experiments and simulations, this study revealed a correlation between the solvation structures of LiTFSI and the transport properties of the solutions, which is critical to understand the relation between the transport properties and the dynamics of the ions for imide-based lithium-ion salt aqueous electrolytes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗