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At least 469 records · Page 26

The Dynamic Assimilation Technique measures photosynthetic CO 2 response curves with similar fidelity to steady-state approaches in half the time

The net CO 2 assimilation (A) response to intercellular CO 2 concentration (C i ) is a fundamental measurement in photosynthesis and plant physiology research. The conventional A/C i protocols rely on steady-state measurements and take 15–40 min per measurement, limiting data resolution or biological replication. Additionally, there are several CO 2 protocols employed across the literature, without clear consensus as to the optimal protocol or systematic biases in their estimations. We compared the non-steady-state Dynamic Assimilation Technique (DAT) protocol and the three most used CO 2 protocols in steady-state measurements, and tested whether different CO 2 protocols lead to systematic differences in estimations of the biochemical limitations to photosynthesis. The DAT protocol reduced the measurement time by almost half without compromising estimation accuracy or precision. The monotonic protocol was the fastest steady-state method. Estimations of biochemical limitations to photosynthesis were very consistent across all CO 2 protocols, with slight differences in Rubisco carboxylation limitation. The A/C i curves were not affected by the direction of the change of CO 2 concentration but rather the time spent under triose phosphate utilization (TPU)-limited conditions. Our results suggest that the maximum rate of Rubisco carboxylation (V cmax ), linear electron flow for NADPH supply (J), and TPU measured using different protocols within the literature are comparable, or at least not systematically different based on the measurement protocol used.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Comparison of measured and calculated dynamic loads for the Mod-2 2.5 mW wind turbine system

The Boeing Company, under contract to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), has completed a test program on the Mod-2 wind turbines at Goodnoe Hills, Washington. The objectives were to update fatigue load spectra, discern site and machine differences, measure vortex generator effects, and to evaluate rotational sampling techniques. This paper shows the test setup and loads instrumentation, loads data comparisons and test/analysis correlations. Test data are correlated with DYLOSAT predictions using both the NASA interim turbulence model and rotationally sampled winds as inputs. The latter is demonstrated to have the potential to improve the test/analysis correlations. The paper concludes with an assessment of the importance of vortex generators, site dependence, and machine differences on fatigue loads. The adequacy of prediction techniques used are evaluated and recommendations are made for improvements to the methodology.

Zimmerman, D. K.↗

Self-Assembly of Silica Nanoparticles at Water–Hydrocarbon Interfaces: Insights from In Operando Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Measurements and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

To achieve tunable controls on the interactions of siliceous materials in subsurface environments bearing water and hydrocarbons, it is essential to determine the influence of hydrocarbon–water interfaces on the self-assembly of the silica particles. The hydrophilic silica particle have a tendency to aggregate on the water front of the interface. Self-assembly of silica nanoparticles proceeds via the migration of these nanoparticles to the water–hydrocarbon interface followed by aggregation at the interface. Fractal-like morphologies of assembled silica nanoparticles at water–hydrocarbon interfaces are observed. Rapid assembly of the hydrophilic silica nanoparticles at water–hydrocarbon interfaces corresponds to an overall reduction in the surface tension of water–toluene and water–heptane systems. These studies demonstrate the silica aggregation that is the precursor of silica polymerization, or nucleation and growth is influenced by the presence of hydrocarbons in subsurface geologic environments. These insights were derived from in operando ultrasmall and small-angle X-ray scattering (USAXS/SAXS) measurements, cryo-scanning electron microscopy (Cryo-SEM) imaging, and classical molecular dynamics simulations. As a result, these studies are intended to inform current and future efforts aimed at tuning silica reactivity in subsurface geologic environments to enhance permeability, the design and use of silica-based proppants to enhance fractures, and the development of effective strategies to control silica-based scaling behavior in subsurface reservoirs.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Beam dynamics corrections to measurements of the muon anomalous magnetic moment

The Muon $g-2$ experiment at Fermilab is making progress towards its physics goal of measuring the muon anomalous magnetic moment with the unprecedented precision of 140 parts per billion. In April 2021, the collaboration published the first measurement based on the first year of data taking. The second result is based on the second and third years of data taking combined. We discuss the corrections to the anomalous spin precession signal due to beam dynamics effects being used to determine the anomalous spin precession frequency for the second result.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Pluto and Triton: Interactions Between Volatiles and Dynamics

Volatiles moving across the surfaces of Pluto and Triton can give rise to interesting dynamical consequences. Conversely, measurement of dynamical states can help constrain the movement of volatiles and interior structure of both bodies. Polar wander may theoretically occur on both Triton and Pluto. Triton's obliquity is low, so that the equatorial regions receive more insolation than the poles. Hence there is a tendency for nitrogen ice to sublime at the equator and condense at the poles, creating polar caps. If the nitrogen supply is large enough, then these caps could move in approximately 10(exp 5) years the global equivalent of 200 m of ice to the poles. At this point the equatorial moment of inertia becomes larger than the moment of inertia measured about the rotation axis, so that Triton overbalances and becomes dynamically unstable. The satellite then undergoes polar wander, restoring stability when the new equator contains the excess matter. Hence the pole may be continually wandering. Neptune raises a permanent tidal bulge on Triton, so that the satellite's surface is elongated like a football, with the long axis pointing at Neptune. This is expected to be the axis about which the pole wanders. Volatile migration would resurface the satellite to some depth and wandering would disturb leading side/trailing side crater statistics. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Rubincam, D. P.↗

Measurement of hand dynamics in a microsurgery environment: Preliminary data in the design of a bimanual telemicro-operation test bed

Data describing the microsurgeon's hand dynamics was recorded and analyzed in order to provide an accurate model for the telemicrosurgery application of the Bimanual Telemicro-operation Test Bed. The model, in turn, will guide the development of algorithms for the control of robotic systems in bimanual telemicro-operation tasks. Measurements were made at the hand-tool interface and include position, acceleration and force between the tool-finger interface. Position information was captured using an orthogonal pulsed magnetic field positioning system resulting in measurements in all six degrees-of-freedom (DOF). Acceleration data at the hands was obtained using accelerometers positioned in a triaxial arrangement on the back of the hand allowing measurements in all three cartesian-coordinate axes. Force data was obtained by using miniature load cells positioned between the tool and the finger and included those forces experienced perpendicular to the tool shaft and those transferred from the tool-tissue site. Position data will provide a minimum/maximum reference frame for the robotic system's work space or envelope. Acceleration data will define the response times needed by the robotic system in order to emulate and subsequently outperform the human operator's tool movements. The force measurements will aid in designing a force-reflective, force-scaling system as well as defining the range of forces the robotic system will encounter. All analog data was acquired by a 16-channel analog-to-digital conversion system residing in a IBM PC/AT-compatible computer at the Center's laboratory. The same system was also used to analyze and present the data.

Charles, Steve↗

Long-term Neutron Background Environment Measured by the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) Instrument onboard Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument onboard Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) consists of a pulsed neutron generator (PNG) and the neutron detector/electronics (DE) module. There are two 3He-proportional counters used in the DE module. One counter is surrounded with a Cd shell enclosure and measures epi-thermal neutrons with >0.4 eV. The second detector does not have a Cd shell enclosure and measures both thermal and epi-thermal neutrons. The main scientific objectives of DAN are two-fold: (1) the primary objective is to measure the bulk hydrogen abundance (in forms of water or hydrated minerals) of the sub-surface and (2) the secondary objective is to measure the background neutron environment at the surface. DAN achieves the first objective by using a pulsed 14 MeV neutron source (ACTIVE mode). Emitted neutrons undergo a series of nuclear interactions with the regolith and lose energy. The DAN DE module then measures the time profile of the neutrons returned from the regolith. Even a small amount of hydrogen, as low as 0.1 weight % in the regolith, can effectively moderate the high energy neutrons [Mitrofanov, et al., ]. The less-moderated (or epi-thermal) neutrons arrive at the detector earlier than the more-moderated (or thermal) neutrons. The shape and magnitude of neutron time profile curves after pulses can be used to estimate the depth distribution of the hydrogen content. When no neutron pulse is used (PASSIVE mode) DAN measures the neutron background environment at the Mars surface. There are two sources of the background neutrons which DAN would measure: one is secondary neutrons generated by galactic cosmic ray (GCR) interactions with atmospheric and surface materials and the other is neutrons from the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) onboard MSL as a power source. The passive mode data for the first 1300 sols of the MSL mission are presented in this paper. A summary of the DAN surface operation is described by [Mitrofanov et al., 2012; Jun et al., 2013.

Tate, C.↗

Electron-ion coincidence measurements of molecular dynamics with intense X-ray pulses

Molecules can sequentially absorb multiple photons when irradiated by an intense X-ray pulse from a free-electron laser. If the time delay between two photoabsorption events can be determined, this enables pump-probe experiments with a single X-ray pulse, where the absorption of the first photon induces electronic and nuclear dynamics that are probed by the absorption of the second photon. Here we show a realization of such a single-pulse X-ray pump-probe scheme on N 2 molecules, using the X-ray induced dissociation process as an internal clock that is read out via coincident detection of photoelectrons and fragment ions. By coincidence analysis of the kinetic energies of the ionic fragments and photoelectrons, the transition from a bound molecular dication to two isolated atomic ions is observed through the energy shift of the inner-shell electrons. Via ab-initio simulations, we are able to map characteristic features in the kinetic energy release and photoelectron spectrum to specific delay times between photoabsorptions. In contrast to previous studies where nuclear motions were typically revealed by measuring ion kinetics, our work shows that inner-shell photoelectron energies can also be sensitive probes of nuclear dynamics, which adds one more dimension to the study of light-matter interactions with X-ray pulses.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Dynamic gas temperature measurement system

A gas temperature measurement system with compensated frequency response of 1 KHz and capability to operate in the exhaust of a gas turbine combustor was developed. Environmental guidelines for this measurement are presented, followed by a preliminary design of the selected measurement method. Transient thermal conduction effects were identified as important; a preliminary finite-element conduction model quantified the errors expected by neglecting conduction. A compensation method was developed to account for effects of conduction and convection. This method was verified in analog electrical simulations, and used to compensate dynamic temperature data from a laboratory combustor and a gas turbine engine. Detailed data compensations are presented. Analysis of error sources in the method were done to derive confidence levels for the compensated data.

Elmore, D. L.↗

Transient absorption measurements of excitonic dynamics in 3 R -MoS 2

The excitonic dynamics in MoS 2 monolayer, bilayer, and bulk flakes with different stacking orders, namely 3R and 2H, are investigated through transient absorption spectroscopy at room temperature. Samples are obtained by the mechanical exfoliation of bulk MoS 2 crystals with 3R and 2H stacking orders. Photoluminescence spectroscopy is performed to characterize and compare the samples. Time-resolved differential reflection measurements reveal that monolayer flakes exfoliated from the 3R and 2H crystals exhibit similar exciton lifetimes of a few picoseconds. However, the exciton lifetime in the 3R bilayer flake is approximately 85 ps, about twice as long as that in the 2H bilayer. This prolonged exciton lifetime is attributed to the reduction of the electron-hole wavefunction overlap in the 3R bilayer due to the built-in polarization. Similarly, in bulk 3R MoS 2 , the exciton lifetime is around 220 ps, approximately twice as long as those in bulk 2H MoS 2 . The extension of the exciton lifetime in 3R transition metal dichalcogenides could be advantageous for their applications in optoelectronic devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Measurements of Parachute Dynamics in the World's Largest Wind Tunnel by Stereo Photogrammetry

Between 2012 and 2017, parachutes for four NASA Projects were tested in the 80- by 120-Ft test section of the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex (NFAC) at NASA Ames Research Center. These projects were: (1) Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD); (2) Capsule Parachute Assembly System (CPAS, for Orion); (3) Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight, a Mars mission); and (4) Mars 2020. In all tests stereo photogrammetry was used to measure time-dependent positions of features on the canopies. For the LDSD and CPAS tests, where the purpose was to study the trade-off between stability and drag of different parachute designs, the pendulum motion of the canopies about the riser attachment point was measured by calibrated cameras in the diffuser. The CPAS test also included static measurements where the inflated parachutes were pulled to the side by a system of tethers. The Insight tests were structural qualification tests where each canopy was packed in a bag and launched from a mortar. Cameras in the diffuser measured the trajectory of the bag and the stripping of the bag from the canopy. The Mars 2020 test was a workmanship verification test where the canopies were either launched from a mortar or deployed from a sleeve stretched along the tunnel axis. The deployments were recorded from many directions by thirteen high-speed cameras distributed in the diffuser and test section. Photogrammetry was not planned; however, after a tunnel-related accident ended the test prematurely, photogrammetric measurements were bootstrapped from the images to support the accident investigations. This paper describes how the photogrammetry measurements were made in each test and presents typical results.

Schairer, Edward T.↗

Topological order and entanglement dynamics in the measurement-only XZZX quantum code

We examine the dynamics of a ( 1 + 1 ) -dimensional measurement-only circuit defined by the stabilizers of the [[5,1,3]] quantum error correcting code interrupted by single-qubit Pauli measurements. The code corrects arbitrary single-qubit errors and it stabilizes an area law entangled state with a D 2 = Z 2 × Z 2 symmetry protected topological (SPT) order, as well as a symmetry breaking (SB) order from a twofold bulk degeneracy. The Pauli measurements break the topological order and induce a phase transition into a trivial area law phase. Allowing more than one type of Pauli measurement increases the measurement-induced frustration and the SPT and SB order can be broken either simultaneously or separately at nonzero measurement rate. This yields a rich phase diagram and unanticipated critical behavior at the phase transitions. Although the correlation length exponent ν = 4 3 and the dynamical critical exponent z = 1 are consistent with bond percolation, the prefactor of the logarithmic entanglement growth may take noninteger multiples of the percolation value. Remarkably, we identify a robust transient scaling regime for the purification dynamics of L qubits. It reveals a modified dynamical critical exponent z * ≠ z , which is observable up to times t ~ L z * and is reminiscent of the relaxation of critical systems into a prethermal state.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Characteristics of vertical and lateral tunnel turbulence measured in air in the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel

Preliminary measurements of the vertical and lateral velocity components of tunnel turbulence were obtained in the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel test section using a constant-temperature anemometer equipped with a hot-film X-probe. For these tests air was the test medium. Test conditions included tunnel velocities ranging from 100 to 500 fps at atmospheric pressure. Standard deviations of turbulence velocities were determined and power spectra were computed. Unconstrained optimization was employed to determine parameter values of a general spectral model of a form similar to that used to describe atmospheric turbulence. These parameters, and others (notably break frequency and integral scale length), were determined at each test condition and compared with those of Dryden and Von Karman atmospheric turbulence spectra. When the data were discovered to be aliased, the spectral model was modified to account for and 'eliminate' the aliasing.

Sleeper, Robert K.↗

Measurements of the dynamics of the high-latitude thermosphere

The study of the dynamics and thermodynamics of the earth's upper atmosphere has made significant progress over the past few years owing to the availability of new global-scale data sets from the Dynamics Explorer satellites. The thermospheric wind and temperature fields at high altitude have been observed to depend strongly on forcing processes of magnetospheric origin. A key momentum source is due to the drag effect of ions convecting in response to electric fields mapped down on the ionosphere from magnetospheric boundary regions. Likewise, an important heat source derives from Joule or frictional dissipation due to ion/neutral difference velocities governed by magnetospheric forcing. In this paper the progress made over the last 2-3 years initiated by the new satellite measurements is discussed, and published data on ion and neutral motions are reviewed in the context of the energy and momentum coupling between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere/neutral upper atmosphere.

Killeen, T. L.↗

Apparatus and method for dynamic acousto-elasticity technique measurements at simulated subsurface pressures

An apparatus (10) and method for performing nonlinear elasticity measurements using the dynamic acousto-elasticity technique (DAET) at simulated subsurface conditions in the laboratory, are described. The current state-of-the-art for measuring nonlinear elasticity parameters using DAET is limited to ambient pressure conditions on the bench-top. The present invention permits nonlinear parameter measurements at controlled sample internal fluid pore pressures (52) and external confining stress (44), (50) conditions.

Roberts, Peter M.↗

Measurement of femtosecond dynamics of ultrafast electron beams through terahertz compression and time-stamping

Visualizing ultrafast dynamics at the atomic scale requires time-resolved characterization with femtosecond temporal resolution. For fully relativistic electron bunch probes, existing techniques for single-shot ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) are limited by the achievable electron probe bunch length, charge, and timing jitter. We present the first experimental demonstration of dual-fed THz-driven compression and time-stamping that enables electron probes with improved temporal resolution. This technique utilizes two counter-propagating quasi-single-cycle THz pulses generated from two OH-1 organic crystals coupled into an optimized THz compressor structure. We demonstrate electron bunch compression and time-of-arrival jitter suppression by a factor of 3 paving the way toward unique opportunities for UED time-resolved measurements.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Simulation and measurement of the dynamic strain response in a prototypical spallation target

The Second Target Station (STS) at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) will address emerging scientific challenges by providing a source of intense cold neutrons to instruments optimized for this source. The STS target will use rotating tungsten blocks and will receive 1.3 GeV proton beam pulses from the SNS accelerator at a repetition rate of 15 Hz. The facility life is planned for 40 years, and each target assembly life is expected to be approximately 10 years. An accurate strain prediction is then critical for fatigue life assessment of STS target blocks because they will be subject to approximately 10 8 beam pulses per lifetime. As an R&D activity, the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) Weapons Neutron Research (WNR) Target 2 (Blue Room) facility was used to test the strain response of prototypical target blocks to the thermal shock of a proton pulse. The blue room was well suited for a pulsed proton beam impact test of subscale STS target blocks; the 800 MeV proton energy is approximately 60 % of the 1.3 GeV proton energy expected from the SNS accelerator to the STS. The LANSCE Proton Storage Ring (PSR) and SNS are both short-pulse proton beam sources with nominal pulse widths of 250 ns and 661 ns, respectively, so the energy deposition in the target occurs in <1 μs pulse duration. Strain measurements on the outer surface of three target blocks (bare tungsten, tantalum-clad tungsten, niobium-clad tungsten) were recorded for comparison against neutronics and structural simulations. In conclusion, this experiment and the supporting simulations satisfied the following primary research goals for the STS target.

Dynamic strain response↗