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At least 613 records · Page 34

Upgrade of the LHC magnet interconnections thermal shielding

The about 1700 interconnections (ICs) between the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) superconducting magnets include thermal shielding at 50-75 K, providing continuity to the thermal shielding of the magnet cryostats to reduce the overall radiation heat loads to the 1.9 K helium bath of the magnets. The IC shield, made of aluminum, is conduction-cooled via a welded bridge to the thermal shield of the adjacent magnets which is actively cooled. TIG welding of these bridges made in the LHC tunnel at installation of the magnets induced a considerable risk of fire hazard due to the proximity of the multi-layer insulation of the magnet shields. A fire incident occurred in one of the machine sectors during machine installation, but fortunately with limited consequences thanks to prompt intervention of the operators. LHC is now undergoing a 2 years technical stop during which all magnet's ICs will have to be opened to consolidate the magnet electrical connections. The IC thermal shields will therefore have to be removed and re-installed after the work is completed. In order to eliminate the risk of fire hazard when re-welding, it has been decided to review the design of the IC shields, by replacing the welded bridges with a mechanical clamping which also preserves its thermal function. An additional advantage of this new solution is the ease in dismantling for maintenance, and eliminating weld-grinding operations at removal needing radioprotection measures because of material activation after long-term operation of the LHC. This paper describes the new design of the IC shields and in particular the theoretical and experimental validation of its thermal performance. Furthermore a status report of the on-going upgrade work in the LHC is given.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

The spectrum and morphology of the Fermi bubbles

The Fermi bubbles are two large structures in the gamma-ray sky extending to 55° above and below the Galactic center. We analyze 50 months of Fermi Large Area Telescope data between 100 MeV and 500 GeV above 10° in Galactic latitude to derive the spectrum and morphology of the Fermi bubbles. We thoroughly explore the systematic uncertainties that arise when modeling the Galactic diffuse emission through two separate approaches. The gamma-ray spectrum is well described by either a log parabola or a power law with an exponential cutoff. We exclude a simple power law with more than 7σ significance. The power law with an exponential cutoff has an index of 1.9 ± 0.2 and a cutoff energy of 110 ± 50 GeV. We find that the gamma-ray luminosity of the bubbles is 4.4{sub −0.9}{sup +2.4}×10{sup 37} erg s{sup –1}. We confirm a significant enhancement of gamma-ray emission in the southeastern part of the bubbles, but we do not find significant evidence for a jet. No significant variation of the spectrum across the bubbles is detected. The width of the boundary of the bubbles is estimated to be 3.4{sub −2.6}{sup +3.7} deg. Both inverse Compton (IC) models and hadronic models including IC emission from secondary leptons fit the gamma-ray data well. In the IC scenario, synchrotron emission from the same population of electrons can also explain the WMAP and Planck microwave haze with a magnetic field between 5 and 20 μG.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The direct detection of boosted dark matter at high energies and PeV events at IceCube

We study the possibility of detecting dark matter directly via a small but energetic component that is allowed within present-day constraints. Drawing closely upon the fact that neutral current neutrino nucleon interactions are indistinguishable from DM-nucleon interactions at low energies, we extend this feature to high energies for a small, non-thermal but highly energetic population of DM particle χ, created via the decay of a significantly more massive and long-lived non-thermal relic ϕ, which forms the bulk of DM. If χ interacts with nucleons, its cross-section, like the neutrino-nucleus coherent cross-section, can rise sharply with energy leading to deep inelastic scattering, similar to neutral current neutrino-nucleon interactions at high energies. Thus, its direct detection may be possible via cascades in very large neutrino detectors. As a specific example, we apply this notion to the recently reported three ultra-high energy PeV cascade events clustered around 1−2 PeV at IceCube (IC). We discuss the features which may help discriminate this scenario from one in which only astrophysical neutrinos constitute the event sample in detectors like IC.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Nanoscale x-ray imaging of circuit features without wafer etching

Modern integrated circuits (ICs) employ a myriad of materials organized at nanoscale dimensions, and certain critical tolerances must be met for them to function. To understand departures from intended functionality, it is essential to examine ICs as manufactured so as to adjust design rules ideally in a nondestructive way so that imaged structures can be correlated with electrical performance. Electron microscopes can do this on thin regions or on exposed surfaces, but the required processing alters or even destroys functionality. Microscopy with multi-keV x-rays provides an alternative approach with greater penetration, but the spatial resolution of x-ray imaging lenses has not allowed one to see the required detail in the latest generation of ICs. X-ray ptychography provides a way to obtain images of ICs without lens-imposed resolution limits with past work delivering 20–40-nm resolution on thinned ICs. We describe a simple model for estimating the required exposure and use it to estimate the future potential for this technique. Here we show that this approach can be used to image circuit detail through an unprocessed 300-μm-thick silicon wafer with sub-20-nm detail clearly resolved after mechanical polishing to 240-μm thickness was used to eliminate image contrast caused by Si wafer surface scratches. Here, by using continuous x-ray scanning, massively parallel computation, and a new generation of synchrotron light sources, this should enable entire nonetched ICs to be imaged to 10-nm resolution or better while maintaining their ability to function in electrical tests.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Non-Destructive State Machine Reverse Engineering

Most of the integrated circuits (ICs) that are in electronic systems today are based on state machines. We are taking advantage of this to develop a hardware reverse engineering method that discovers the IC’s underlying state machine, rather than its transistors and gates. While there are other methods for destructively reverse engineering ICs or for non-destructively characterizing ICs, our method offers a fast and accurate analysis while remaining non-destructive. To do this, we present an intelligent brute-force method of exploring the logic of the IC using only the input and outputs designed into the IC - the I/O pins. From this exploration, we can apply a folding algorithm to discover the designed state machine.

counterfeit↗

SU-E-T-351: Verification of Monitor Unit Calculation for Lung Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Using a Secondary Independent Planning System

Purpose: To compare isocenter (IC) dose between X-ray Voxel Monte Carlo (XVMC) and Acuros XB (AXB) as part of an independent verification of monitor unit (MU) calculation for lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) using a secondary independent treatment planning system (TPS). Methods: Treatment plans of 110 lesions from 101 patients who underwent lung SBRT with Vero4DRT (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Japan, and BrainLAB, Feldkirchen, Germany) were evaluated retrospectively. Dose distribution was calculated with X-ray Voxel Monte Carlo (XVMC) in iPlan 4.5.1 (BrainLAB, Feldkirchen, Germany) on averaged intensity projection images. A spatial resolution and mean variance were 2 mm and 2%, respectively. The clinical treatment plans were transferred from iPlan to Eclipse (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA, USA), and doses were recalculated with well commissioned AXB ver. 11.0.31 while maintaining the XVMC-calculated MUs and beam arrangement. Dose calculations were made in the dose-to-medium dose reporting mode with the calculation grid size of 2.5 mm. The mean and standard deviation (SD) of the IC dose difference between XVMC and AXB were calculated. The tolerance level was defined as |mean|+2SD. Additionally, the relationship between IC dose difference and the size of planning target volume (PTV) or computed tomography (CT) value of internal target volume (ITV) was evaluated. Results: The mean±SD of the IC dose difference between XVMC and AXB was −0.32±0.73%. The tolerance level was 1.8%. Absolute IC dose differences exceeding the tolerance level were observed in 3 patients (2.8%). There were no strong correlations between IC dose difference and PTV size (R=−0.14) or CT value of ITV (R=−0.33). Conclusion: The present study suggested that independent verification of MU calculation for lung SBRT using a secondary TPS is useful.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

SU-E-T-516: Measurement of the Absorbed Dose Rate in Water Under Reference Conditions in a CyberKnife Unit

Purpose: This paper aims to measure the absorbed-dose-rate in a CyberKnife unit reference-field (6cm diameter) using three ionization chambers (IC) following the new IAEA/AAPM formalism and Gafchromic film (MD-V3-55 and EBT3) protocol according to our work reported previously. Methods: The absorbed-dose-rates were measured at 90cm and 70cm SSD in a 10cmx10cm field and at 70cm SSD in a 5.4cmx5.4cm equivalent to 6cm diameter field using a linac Varian iX. All measurements were performed at 10cm depth in water. The correction factors that account for the difference between the IC response on the reference field and the CyberKnife reference field, k-(Q-msr,Q)^(f-msr,f-ref), were evaluated and Gafchromic film were calibrated using the results obtained above. Under the CyberKnife reference conditions, the factors were used to measure the absorbed-dose-rate with IC according to the new formalism and the calibrated film was irradiated in water. The film calibration curve was used to evaluate the absorbed-dose-rate in the CyberKnife unit. Results: Difference up to 2.56% is observed between dose-rate measured with IC in the reference 10cmx10cm field, depending where the chamber was calibrated, which was not reflected in the correction factor k-(Q-msr,Q)^(f-msr,f-ref ) where variations of ~0.15%-0.5% were obtained. Within measurements uncertainties, maximum difference of 1.8% on the absorbed-dose-rate in the CyberKnife reference field is observed between all IC and the films Conclusion: Absorbed-dose-rate to water was measured in a CyberKnife reference field with acceptable accuracy (combined uncertainties ~1.32%-1.73%, k=1) using three IC and films. The MD-V3-55 film as well as the new IAEA/AAPM formalism can be considered as a suitable dosimetric method to measure absorbed-dose-rate to water in small and non-standard CyberKnife fields used in clinical treatments However, the EBT3 film is not appropriated due to the high uncertainty provided (combined uncertainty ~9%, k=1) This work is partially supported by Conacyt grant 127409 and PAPIITUNAM grant IN10581.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Sci—Fri PM: Dosimetry — 03: Delta4 diode absolute dose response for large and small target volume IMRT QA

The goal of this project was to quantify the over-response/under-response of the Delta4 diodes for Helical Tomotherapy plans on extreme target volume sizes. A custom Delta4 phantom quarter with a hole to insert an ionisation chamber (IC) close to the center of the phantom have been used to acquire simultaneous IC and diodes absolute dose measurements. Eight plans for different target volumes were created from 20cm to 1cm diameter. Diodes dose measurements in the target were compared with IC measurement, to quantify absolute dose accuracy. IC measurements show a good agreement with planned dose (±2%). Diode measurements demonstrate a good agreement with IC for regular target size of 5 and 10cm (0 to 1%). For larger targets, an over-response is observed for FW 25mm and 10mm (2 to 3%). for small target of 1cm diameter, a major under-response is observed for FW 25mm and 10mm (−8 and −36%). The over-response could to be due to the extra amount of scattered radiation and the opposite for under-response. Although this scatter hypothesis still has to be proven, early testing demonstrates an over-response of 40%/20% of the central diodes compare to IC when an open helical rotational beam is delivered 75mm/25mm away from the center of the phantom. These results are in agreement with the real patient Delta4 DQA results at our center.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Risk assessment for Industrial Control Systems quantifying availability using mean failure cost (MFC)

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are commonly used in industries such as oil and natural gas, transportation, electric, water and wastewater, chemical, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, food and beverage, as well as discrete manufacturing (e.g., automotive, aerospace, and durable goods.) SCADA systems are generally used to control dispersed assets using centralized data acquisition and supervisory control. Originally, ICS implementations were susceptible primarily to local threats because most of their components were located in physically secure areas (i.e., ICS components were not connected to IT networks or systems). The trend toward integrating ICS systems with IT networks (e.g., efficiency and the Internet of Things) provides significantly less isolation for ICS from the outside world thus creating greater risk due to external threats. Albeit, the availability of ICS/SCADA systems is critical to assuring safety, security and profitability. Such systems form the backbone of our national cyber-physical infrastructure. We extend the concept of mean failure cost (MFC) to address quantifying availability to harmonize well with ICS security risk assessment. This new measure is based on the classic formulation of Availability combined with Mean Failure Cost (MFC). The metric offers a computational basis to estimate the availability of a system in terms of the loss that each stakeholder stands to sustain as a result of security violations or breakdowns (e.g., deliberate malicious failures).

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

On the Dominant Factor Controlling Seasonal Hydrological Forecast Skill in China

Initial conditions (ICs) and climate forecasts (CFs) are the two primary sources of seasonal hydrological forecast skill. However, their relative contribution to predictive skill remains unclear in China. In this study, we investigate the relative roles of ICs and CFs in cumulative runoff (CR) and soil moisture (SM) forecasts using 31-year (1980–2010) ensemble streamflow prediction (ESP) and reverse-ESP (revESP) simulations with the Variable Capacity Infiltration (VIC) hydrologic model. The results show that the relative importance of ICs and CFs largely depends on climate regimes. The influence of ICs is stronger in a dry or wet-to-dry climate regime that covers the northern and western interior regions during the late fall to early summer. In particular, ICs may dominate the forecast skill for up to three months or even six months during late fall and winter months, probably due to the low precipitation value and variability in the dry period. In contrast, CFs become more important for most of southern China or during summer months. The impact of ICs on SM forecasts tends to cover larger domains than on CR forecasts. These findings will greatly benefit future work that will target efforts towards improving current forecast levels for the particular regions and forecast periods.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

High-redshift Blazars through NuSTAR Eyes

The most powerful sources among the blazar family are MeV blazars. Often detected at z > 2, they usually display high X- and γ -ray luminosities, larger-than-average jet powers, and black hole masses ≳10{sup 9} M {sub ☉}. In the present work, we perform a multiwavelength study of three high-redshift blazars: 3FGL J0325.5+2223 ( z = 2.06), 3FGL J0449.0+1121 ( z = 2.15), and 3FGL J0453.2−2808 ( z = 2.56), analyzing quasi-simultaneous data from GROND, Swift -UVOT and XRT, Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array ( NuSTAR ), and Fermi -LAT. Our main focus is on the hard X-ray band recently unveiled by NuSTAR (3–79 keV) where these objects show a hard spectrum that enables us to constrain the inverse Compton (IC) peak and the jet power. We found that all three targets resemble the most powerful blazars, with the synchrotron peak located in the submillimeter range and the IC peak in the MeV range, and therefore belong to the MeV blazar class. Using a simple one-zone leptonic emission model to reproduce the spectral energy distributions, we conclude that a simple combination of synchrotron and accretion disk emission reproduces the infrared–optical spectra, while the X-ray to γ -ray part is well reproduced by the IC scattering of low-energy photons supplied by the broad-line region. The black hole masses for each of the three sources are calculated to be ≳4 × 10{sup 8} M {sub ☉}. The three studied sources have jet power at the level of, or beyond, the accretion luminosity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Evidence for Environmental Stripping in the Coma Cluster

The stability and longevity of globular clusters (GCs) make them effective tracers of the dynamical histories of galaxies in cluster environments. We construct a catalog of 23,351 GC candidates in the Coma Cluster using imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys. We cross-match galaxy data from the SIMBAD, NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database, and Sloan Digital Sky Survey archives to construct a galaxy sample and model their GC populations using the GC specific frequency. We find several galaxies with significantly smaller GC populations than expected from their luminosities, consistent with either tidal stripping or intrinsically low formation efficiencies. We analyze annular and Voronoi GC radial profiles of the two brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs), NGC 4874 and NGC 4889, as well as other Coma galaxies. A two-dimensional Voronoi density mapping reveals GC populations with marked deficits compared to our modeled expectations, including galaxies in proximity to the BCGs (e.g., IC 3998, NGC 4875, and NGC 4876) and others distributed across Coma (e.g., NGC 4908, NGC 4883, and IC 4042). Azimuthal symmetry testing suggests past dynamical interactions may have truncated GC systems in some galaxies, while intrinsic deficits are probable in others (e.g., IC 3973, IC 3976, IC 4040, and IC 4045). Our results show that GC deficits exist in several Coma galaxies and that the two-dimensional density structure reveals environmental signatures, with asymmetry statistics consistent with directional stripping. These findings highlight GC populations as powerful probes of environmental processing and the dynamical histories of galaxies in dense cluster environments.

Pomeroy, Richard T. [University of Texas Rio Grand↗

Local-thermal-gradient and large-scale-circulation impacts on turbine-height wind speed forecasting over the Columbia River Basin

Abstract. We investigate the sensitivity of turbine-height wind speed forecast to initial condition (IC) uncertainties over the Columbia River Gorge (CRG) and Columbia River Basin (CRB) for two typical weather phenomena, i.e., local-thermal-gradient-induced marine air intrusion and a cold frontal passage. Four types of turbine-height wind forecast anomalies and their associated IC uncertainties related to local thermal gradients and large-scale circulations are identified using the self-organizing map (SOM) technique. The four SOM types are categorized into two patterns, each accounting for half of the ensemble members. The first pattern corresponds to IC uncertainties that alter the wind forecast through a modulating weather system, which produces the strongest wind anomalies in the CRG and CRB. In the second pattern, the moderate uncertainties in local thermal gradient and large-scale circulation jointly contribute to wind forecast anomaly. We analyze the cross section of wind and temperature anomalies through the gorge to explore the evolution of vertical features of each SOM type. The turbine-height wind anomalies induced by large-scale IC uncertainties are more concentrated near the front. In contrast, turbine-height wind anomalies induced by the local IC thermal uncertainties are found above the surface thermal anomalies. Moreover, the wind forecast accuracy in the CRG and CRB is limited by IC uncertainties in a few specific regions, e.g., the 2 m temperature within the basin and large-scale circulation over the northeast Pacific around 140∘ W.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

The effects of the solid inner core and nonhydrostatic structure on the earth's forced nutations and earth tides

This paper computes the effects of the solid inner core (IC) on the forced nutations and earth tides, and on certain of the earth's rotational normal modes. The theoretical results are extended to include the effects of a solid IC and of nonhydrostatic structure. The presence of the IC is responsible for a new, almost diurnal, prograde normal mode which involves a relative rotation between the IC and fluid outer core about an equatorial axis. It is shown that the small size of the IC's effects on both nutations and tides is a consequence of the fact that the IC's moments of inertia are less than 1/1000 of the entire earth's.

De Vries, Dan↗

Mode I, Mode II, and Mixed-Mode Fracture of Plasma-sprayed Thermal Barrier Coatings at Ambient and Elevated Temperatures

The mixed-mode fracture behavior of plasma-sprayed ZrO2-8 wt% Y2O3 thermal barrier coatings was determined in air at 25 and 1316 C in asymmetric four-point flexure with single edge v-notched beam (SEVNB) test specimens. The mode I fracture toughness was found to be K(sub Ic) = 1.15 plus or minus 0.07 and 0.98 plus or minus 0.13 MPa the square root of m, respectively, at 25 and 1316 C. The respective mode II fracture toughness values were K(sub IIc) = 0.73 plus or minus 0.10 and 0.65 plus or minus 0.04 MPa the square root of m. Hence, there was an insignificant difference in either K(sub Ic or K(sub IIc) between 25 and 1316 C for the coating material, whereas there was a noticeable distinction between K(sub Ic) and K(sub IIc), resulting in K(sub IIc) per K(sub Ic) = 0.65 at both temperatures. The empirical mixed-mode fracture criterion best described the coatings' mixed-mode fracture behavior among the four mixed-mode fracture theories considered. The angle of crack propagation was in reasonable agreement with the minimum strain energy density criterion. The effect of the directionality of the coating material in on K(sub Ic) was observed to be insignificant, while its sintering effect at 1316 C on K(sub Ic) was significant.

Choi, Sung R.↗

Modeling the Diffuse Cloud-Top Optical Emissions from Ground and Cloud Flashes

A number of studies have indicated that the diffuse cloud-top optical emissions from intra-cloud (IC) lightning are brighter than that from normal negative cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning, and hence would be easier to detect from a space-based sensor. The primary reason provided to substantiate this claim has been that the IC is at a higher altitude within the cloud and therefore is less obscured by the cloud multiple scattering medium. CGs at lower altitudes embedded deep within the cloud are more obscured, so CG detection is thought to be more difficult. However, other authors claim that because the CG source current (and hence luminosity) is typically substantially larger than IC currents, the greater CG source luminosity is large enough to overcome the effects of multiple scattering. These investigators suggest that the diffuse cloud top emissions from CGs are brighter than from ICs, and hence are easier to detect from space. Still other investigators claim that the detection efficiency of CGs and ICs is about the same because modern detector sensitivity is good enough to "see" either flash type no matter which produces a brighter cloud top emission. To better assess which of these opinions should be accepted, we introduce an extension of a Boltzmann lightning radiative transfer model previously developed. It considers characteristics of the cloud (geometry, dimensions, scattering properties) and specific lightning channel properties (length, geometry, location, current, optical wave front propagation speed/direction). As such, it represents the most detailed modeling effort to date. At least in the few cases studied thus far, it was found that IC flashes appear brighter at cloud top than the lower altitude negative ground flashes, but additional model runs are to be examined before finalizing our general conclusions.

Solakiewicz, Richard↗

Upscaling of 500 °C Durable SiC JFET-R Integrated Circuits

At HiTEC2018, NASA Glenn Research Center reported the first demonstration of yearlong 500°C operation of ceramic-packaged “Generation 10” ~200-transistor integrated circuits (ICs) based on two-level interconnect silicon carbide (4H-SiC) junction field effect transistors and resistors (JFET-R). This HiTEC 2021submissionupdateson-going efforts at NASA Glenn spanning two subsequent prototype IC generations “11 and 12” to increase both complexity and durability of these ICs. Increased chip complexities of around 1000 transistors/chip for Gen. 11and near 3000 transistors/chip for Gen. 12 aremade possibleby reductions in minimum layout feature sizes (including resistorwidth shrinkage from 6 μm to 2μm) coupled with enlarged die size (from 3x3 mm to 5x5mm). Gen. 11 ICs electrically tested to date include an 8-bit delta-sigma analog to digital converter (ADC) as well as upscaled random access memory (RAM)and nearly 1 kbit read only memory (ROM). However, Gen. 11 prototype ICs exhibited significantly lower yield and durability than Gen. 10 ICs. Development of revised processing is being investigated towards mitigating these issues in subsequentGen. 12 fabrication runcurrentlyin progress.

Silicon Carbide↗

Upscaling of 500 °C Durable SiC JFET-R Integrated Circuits

At HiTEC 2018, NASA Glenn Research Center reported the first demonstration of yearlong 500 °C operation of ceramic-packaged “Generation 10” ~200-transistor integrated circuits (ICs) based on two-level interconnect silicon carbide (4H-SiC) junction field effect transistors and resistors (JFET-R). This HiTEC 2021 submission updates on-going efforts at NASA Glenn spanning two subsequent prototype IC generations “11 and 12” to increase both complexity and durability of these ICs. Increased chip complexities of around 1000 transistors/chip for Gen. 11 and near 3000 transistors/chip for Gen. 12 are made possible by reductions in minimum layout feature sizes (including resistor width shrinkage from 6 µm to 2 µm) coupled with enlarged die size (from 3 x 3 mm to 5 x 5 mm). Gen. 11 ICs electrically tested to date include an 8-bit delta-sigma analog to digital converter (ADC) as well as upscaled random access memory (RAM) and nearly 1 kbit read only memory (ROM). However, Gen. 11 prototype ICs exhibited significantly lower yield and durability than Gen. 10 ICs. Development of revised processing is being investigated towards mitigating these issues in subsequent Gen. 12 fabrication run currently in progress.

silicon carbide↗