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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 505 records · Page 28
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

DUNE’s Potential to Search for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay

Neutrinoless double beta decay is a forbidden process by the standard model due to a violation of lepton number and could be piece of the matter/anti-matter asymmetry puzzle. Its rarity makes it very difficult to search for, but if found could aid in figuring out the mass hierarchy. The idea is to take advantage of DUNE's size and capabilities to attempt to detect the decay by doping the liquid argon with Xenon, a candidate isotope for this decay. Thus, we need to know whether this search is feasible within DUNE’s framework

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Disruption Prediction and Avoidance in High Beta Long Pulse KSTAR Plasmas

DoE Grant DE-SC0016409 (Disruption Prediction and Avoidance in High Beta Long Pulse KSTAR Plasmas) supported a collaboration among Columbia University, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), and the Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) at MIT to conduct research on the KSTAR tokamak at the National Fusion Research Institute (NFRI) in Korea to improve predictive capability for disruptions in tokamaks. This initiative included upgrades to kinetic diagnostics at KSTAR whose measurements form the basis for the disruption prediction models. The major thrust of the PPPL and PSFC work was implementing a capability at KSTAR to allow partially-polarized background light seen by the KSTAR Motional Stark Effect (MSE) diagnostic to be compensated by ‘wavelength interpolation’ rather than the traditional ‘beam modulation’ technique. This objective was completed on time and on budget, and the MSE Background Polychromator is currently functioning at KSTAR. Primary responsibility for maintaining and operating the MSE-BP was transferred to Nova Photonics, Inc. in 2019.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Transportation analysis and related design optimization of the Fermilab high-beta 650 MHz cryomodule

The Proton Improvement Plan-II (PIP-II) at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) will create a new and vastly improved accelerator, which will be the source of high-energy particles for the experiments taking place at FNAL. The new linear accelerator (LINAC) contains several types of cryomodules, which are individual particle accelerators. The last cryomodule in the LINAC will be the High-Beta 650 (HB650), which will operate at 650 MHz. Each module is approximately 15 meters in length and 1.5 meters wide, weighs 13 tonnes, and shares many design features with three of the other cryomodules. The HB650 consists of two primary sections, the outer vacuum vessel and the components that reside within it, which will be cooled to cryogenic temperatures – the cold mass. Once assembly is complete at FNAL, it will be transported to one of three places: another location at FNAL, another national laboratory within the continental United States, or to a scientific partner in Europe. Any excitation the module experiences, such as going over rough roads when on a semitrailer, can create high stresses in components and cause failure if severe enough. Additionally, any delicate components with low resonant frequencies that match the excitation spectrum could achieve resonance, potentially causing a fatigue failure by repeated flexing. To ensure the successful transportation of the HB650, a transport analysis utilizing ANSYS simulation software has been performed on major subassemblies, as well as analysis of the subassemblies as a combined system. The optimization of components, design of support structures, and overall increasing of the lowest resonant frequencies have resulted in a cryomodule that will be better equipped to handle transportation and any large impact loads that come with it.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Release of NDI 2.2.0beta

The Nuclear Data Interface 2.2.0beta has been released. Compared to NDI 2.2.0alpha, it provides minor changes to the build system and fixes problems with the binary and dedx tests.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Disruption Prediction and Avoidance in High Beta Long Pulse KSTAR Plasmas

This research is a concentrated and coordinated experimental and physics analysis program by a small U.S. team, focused on the topical area of “Long Pulse Control” as stated in the proposal solicitation. The overall goal of the research is to produce world-class analysis regarding forecasting and avoidance of disruptions in a long-pulse, superconducting tokamak at high stability parameters (e.g. normalized beta) with direct, quantifiable figures of merit (i.e. plasma disruption rate - “disruptivity”) and its reduction based on improved stability physics and control. The research targets the backbone of the problem – the basic, main issues – to produce this quantitative analysis by: (1) Creating and applying a new physics-based paradigm to understand how to eliminate disruptions: disruption event characterization, and event chain analysis – a direct manifestation of the approach suggested in the DOE Transients Report, (2) Ensuring that the components required to produce high-quality measurements and analysis needed for disruption event characterization for the tokamak in question (here, KSTAR) exist (e.g. pressure profile peaking, high-accuracy pitch angle data, compensated low frequency toroidal mode number n = 1 mode measurement) to create a primarily physics-based disruption forecasting capability, and (3) Addressing disruption avoidance for the first time in KSTAR by attacking primary disruption ‘event chains’, utilizing the most important associated plasma measurements (dynamic n = 1 field). The focus of this work will be avoidance of macroscopic instabilities, especially global modes.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Multi-scale Dynamics of Kinetic Turbulence in Weakly Collisional, High-Beta Plasmas (Final Report for DOE Grant DE-SC0019046)

This grant was a collaborative grant between Prof Matt Kunz (Princeton) and Prof. Eliot Quataert. Quataert was initially a faculty member at UC Berkeley when the grant was funded but moved to Princeton during the timeframe of this grant. Over the course of this grant we made major progress on understanding turbulence and multi-scale dynamics in weakly collisional high-beta plasmas. The most important contributions included: We developed one of the most compelling theoretical explanations for a decades-old puzzle at the heart of our understanding of the origin of the solar wind. The puzzle is that many of the observations of ion temperatures and distribution functions in the solar wind are consistent with cyclotron resonant heating. However, theoretical models of MHD turbulence in the solar wind show that most of the turbulent energy remains at low frequencies below the cyclotron frequency. In Squire et al. (2022), we showed, however, that in imbalanced turbulence (in which there is an asymmetry in the Alfven-wave flux in opposite directions along the magnetic field), which is the norm in the fast solar wind, the turbulent energy reaches a ‘bottleneck’ near the ion Larmor radius, and the amplitude and characteristic frequency of the fluctuations grow until the cyclotron frequency is reached.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Nuclear Matrix Elements for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay from Lattice QCD

Neutrinoless double-beta decay (0vbb) is a hypothetical nuclear decay that is only possible if the neutrino is a Majorana fermion. Experimental searches for this process with ever-increasing sensitivity have placed strong constraints on the 0vbb half-lives of relevant isotopes. Relating these experimental half-lives to the underlying particle physics -- the effective Majorana mass of the neutrino -- requires understanding of the nuclear matrix elements for the transition. These matrix elements can be computed within a nuclear effective field theory framework, but input from lattice QCD is necessary to constrain low-energy constants relevant for the decay. This talk will discuss calculations of these matrix elements using lattice QCD and the implications for determination of nuclear EFT parameters.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Xenon-Doped Liquid Argon TPCs as a Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay Platform

Next-generation large liquid argon time-projection chambers offer an unprecedented amount of active detector mass in a deep location. Modifications to the detector design could enable neutrinoless double beta decay searches, with the possibility of reaching the normal ordering region. These modifications include adding external neutron moderation, filling the detector with argon depleted in Ar42, doping with xenon, and a method to achieve percent-level energy resolution at the MeV scale. One way to achieve this desired level of energy resolution is to introduce a photosensitive dopant into the argon, converting the isotropic scintillation photons into a directional ionization signal. This would enhance the achievable energy resolution in large LArTPCs, and would lead to sizeable improvements to many facets of the broad physics program such a detector could offer.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Radioisotope Analysis of Wastewater from Livermore Site Retention Tanks by Gel Laboratory Gross Alpha, Gross Beta and Tritium Sampling Method

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory discharged approximately 4.4% of the City of Livermore’s total wastewater in 2022 (LLNL’s Annual Site Environmental Report, Chapter 5, 2022). This volume includes wastewater from Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and some process wastewater from Site 300. Due to the high volume and constituents of the discharge, LLNL works alongside the City of Livermore under permit #1250, requiring wastewater generated to be monitored and sampled in accordance with permit limits. Process wastewater, from buildings with the highest risk to sewer, is collected by wastewater retention tanks throughout the Livermore Site and sampled prior to discharge. Domestic wastewater directly discharges to sanitary sewer. To maintain permit requirements and ensure proper wastewater discharge practices, an internal wastewater audit was conducted during the summer of 2023. Current wastewater practices, regulatory knowledge and risk management across various Livermore Site buildings were evaluated. Workspaces connected to a wastewater retention tank and sanitary sewer drains were major focus areas. Data collected from walk-throughs prompted further evaluation as many practices were reported to be done based on historical usage. A table of concerns was created to showcase reasons for auditing and proceeding action. An analysis of current and historical retention tank usage throughout LLNL Livermore Site buildings with radioisotope results over a 5-year period from 2019 to 2024, was done to assess building trends and any significant changes throughout the 5-year period. Analytes evaluated were Gross Alpha, Gross Beta and Tritium (GABT) of eleven buildings at the Livermore Site, posing the highest risk to sanitary sewer for radioisotopes.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2025

The Low-Beta Quadrupoles for the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider: enabling higher luminosity by using Nb_3Sn conductor

The large-aperture, high-gradient Low Beta Quadrupoles for the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider at CERN are the cornerstones of this collider. They are first-of-the-kind accelerator magnets bringing Nb_3Sn conductor to High Energy Physics colliders. In the US they are being fabricated and tested by the HL-LHC Accelerator Upgrade Project (AUP), and in Europe by CERN. The design was developed by AUP and CERN in close collaboration. The Q1/Q3 cryo-assemblies contain two 4.2 m long magnets (MQXFA) fabricated and by AUP. They are tested vertically before use in a cry-assembly. In this paper we are going to present the main features of the MQXFA design, results of vertical tests, and main lessons learned. We will also discuss lessons learned for future use of Nb_3Sn magnets in HEP colliders.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay of 136 Xe and Related Nuclear Structure Studies (Final Scientific Report)

The search for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0nbb) explores new physics by directly probing the unknown mass scale and possible Majorana nature of the neutrino. The nEXO experiment, one of the two leading proposed ton-scale projects in the US, has a projected sensitivity to the 136 Xe 0nbb half-life of 10 28 years. The interpretation of possible signals in this next generation of experiments would be complicated by significant variations in theoretical calculations of the nuclear matrix elements (NMEs) of the decay, and nuclear structure measurements testing those theories can help address that uncertainty. We have 136 Xe(p,n) 136 Cs reaction at TUNL to deduce the level-scheme of states in 136 Cs through which the lowest-lying 1+ state decays. We find that over 99% of such decays will proceed through at least one isomeric state with a lifetime of order 100ns, which would enable large xenon detectors to employ a delayed-coincidence technique to search for charge-exchange processes including solar neutrino interactions. We have carried out measurements at TUNL of the 134 Xe( 3 He,n) 136 Ba and 136 Xe( 3 He,n) 138 Ba reactions to low-lying 0 + states in the residuals to probe the BCS assumption for QRPA NME calculations for the initial and final nuclei in 136 Xe 0nbb. While the analyses of these reactions is not yet complete and is ongoing, our initial results indicate tension with the BCS assumption. We have assembled a thermosyphon cooling R&D system for nEXO which has demonstrated up to 500 W of cooling in vacuum. We have developed a simple thermosyphon cooling simulation for nEXO and planned laboratory tests with the R&D system to benchmark it.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Warm to cold correlations and other test results of the MQXFA Low-Beta Quadrupole magnets for the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider

The production of the MQXFA low-beta quadrupole magnets for the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) is quite advanced with about 20 magnets cold tested in vertical cryostat. The MQXFA magnets are fabricated by the US HL-LHC Accelerator Upgrade Project (AUP) and are being used in the Q1 and Q3 Inner Triplet (IT) elements of the HL-LHC, whereas CERN is fabricating similar magnets for Q2a and Q2b IT elements. These large-aperture, high-gradient quadrupole magnets are first-of-the-kind accelerator magnets introducing Nb_3Sn conductor to High Energy Physics colliders. At this point of MQXFA production there is sufficient data to look at warm to cold correlations for the HL-LHC and for future use of Nb_3Sn magnets in particle accelerators. Examples of warm-cold correlations discussed in this paper are: field quality (including the use of magnetic shims for low-order harmonics correction), magnetic length, magnetic axis and magnetic field angle. A summary of main test data will also be presented and discussed.

Kurian, F. [Brookhaven]↗
DOE OSTI2026

Evaluation for QFlex Beta Run

The following report consists of measurements on passive and active photonic components fabricated by AIM Photonics as part of their QFlex platform, which at the time of fabrication was in its beta form (version 0.6). This report is broken down into electrical and optical testing that was done on the chips.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Electromagnetic Transient Modeling of Large Data Centers for Grid-Level Studies: Beta Release

The magnitude and complexity of electricity usage patterns from large data centers are having significant impacts on the operation and dynamics of the power grid; grid operators and planners require a range of specialized data center models to properly evaluate these impacts and specify technical solutions as needed. Towards addressing this need, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has developed a library of electromagnetic transient (EMT) models for grid-level studies of data centers called the data center model library (DML). This report describes how the DML was created and how it may properly be used. This report details the DML’s beta release, completed in July 2026. This is a revision and expansion of the alpha release, which was made available in January 2026 The models present in the DML are generic models; subject matter expertise and additional technical data are needed to modify these models before they can represent any real data center. However, they will significantly reduce the level of effort required to develop site-specific models and can serve as a common starting point to guide industry towards a more refined consensus. Most of the models within DML are dedicated to representing the power electronics interfaces commonly used in modern data centers, such as double-conversion uninterruptible power supplies and single-phase power factor correction converters. These models are intended for use in grid-level studies and are a simplified aggregation of many small components. That said, background material on the physical and electrical design of large data centers is provided as companion material so that users can be aware of many of the details which have been omitted or streamlined as a matter of practical necessity. Additionally, guidance on the application of EMT analysis for data center interconnection studies is provided, which aids users in identifying when the DML is necessary and what sort of additional model development may be necessary for conducting real-world studies.

electromagnetic transients↗
DOE OSTI2025

Influences of Alkali Metal Cation Interactions on N2 Coordination to Iron(I) Beta-Diketiminate Complexes in Electrolyte Solutions

N2 functionalization reactions often use stable, isolable N2-bound complexes and low temperatures or highly activated reagents. However, little work has focused on systems where N2 binds weakly, and the N2 binding equilibrium can be modulated. Here, we describe analysis of surprising trends in alkali metal cation solvation on the formation of an anionic iron(I) beta-diketiminate complex and the subsequent N2 binding equilibrium. Variable temperature UV-vis spectroscopy shows that increased ionic strength in the coordinating solvent tetrahydrofuran promotes N2 coordination. Additionally, less solvated alkali metal cations in noncoordinating 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MeTHF) stabilize N2 coordination, likely through the formation of contact ion pairs in solution that have enhanced N2 binding. Ionic strength has little effect on the energetics of N2 coordination to these proposed contact ion pairs in MeTHF. When the electrochemical analysis is done at –78 °C, there is an irreversible reduction of iron(II) and an anodically shifted oxidation, which is attributed to the formation of the spectroscopically observed N2 complex. Finally, bulk electrolysis is used to verify the electrochemical formation of the N2-bound anionic iron(I) complex. These studies demonstrate a new strategy for promoting N2 coordination by changing solution properties, which is relevant to homogeneous electrochemical N2 reduction methods.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗