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At least 613 records · Page 34

Structure of a seeded palladium nanoparticle and its dynamics during the hydride phase transformation

Palladium absorbs large volumetric quantities of hydrogen at room temperature and ambient pressure, making the palladium hydride system a promising candidate for hydrogen storage. Here, we use Bragg coherent diffraction imaging to map the strain associated with defects in three dimensions before and during the hydride phase transformation of an individual octahedral palladium nanoparticle, synthesized using a seed-mediated approach. The displacement distribution imaging unveils the location of the seed nanoparticle in the final nanocrystal. By comparing our experimental results with a finite-element model, we verify that the seed nanoparticle causes a characteristic displacement distribution of the larger nanocrystal. During the hydrogen exposure, the hydride phase is predominantly formed on one tip of the octahedra, where there is a high number of lower coordinated Pd atoms. Our experimental and theoretical results provide an unambiguous method for future structure optimization of seed-mediated nanoparticle growth and in the design of palladium-based hydrogen storage systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Machine Learning in Environmental Chemistry: Application to Surface Complexation Modeling

Environmental chemistry – or biogeochemistry – is the scientific discipline typically invoked when examining and quantifying groundwater or surface water contamination, and nutrient cycling in the environment. Over the last three decades, there have been significant advances in mechanistic model development to describe and predict these complex biogeochemical processes. In particular, surface complexation models (SCMs) have been developed to describe the rock/soil surface reactions of metals and radionuclides, and their partitioning between various mobile species in the aqueous phase or immobile species sorbed on solid surfaces. Often represented by a simplified linear isotherm constant – Kd – in reactive transport models, these reactions play a critical role in many environmental science applications; particularly in contamination risk assessments and nuclear waste disposal performance assessments. In the past several decades, efforts by various institutions across the world have focused on developing SCMs based on datasets from laboratory measurements, including the identification of key parameters such as equilibrium constants.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Gas-Phase Composition as a Predictive Metric for Calendar Life Behavior of Next-Generation Silicon Anodes

The expansion of renewable technologies and electrification of the transportation sector is driving increased demand for next-generation battery materials that provide higher power and energy density with superior cycling and calendar life stability. Silicon (Si) has a theoretical capacity nearly 10x that of graphite, and is therefore a promising anode material candidate to meet these rigorous performance demands. While leading Si anode battery demonstrations are approaching target metrics for cycle life, a series of complex and interrelated modes of reactivity lead to reduced calendar life and therefore challenge practical adoption of these materials. Deconvoluting the degradation processes that impact Si calendar life is critical to informing the rational and accelerated design of improved Si materials. In the present work, we employ novel sampling techniques and GC-MS-FID characterization to measure gas-phase composition during initial Si cycling, which we tie to selective mechanisms of Si passivation. We utilize a tiered analysis approach to identify and quantify the gas-phase reaction products associated with three advanced Si material candidates under practical operating conditions. Ex situ analysis of Si powders (pure chemical reactivity) is coupled with nondestructive in situ sampling of Si electrodes in a practical pouch-cell format (coupled chemical and electrochemical reactivity). We link the observed gas-phase species evolution to electrochemical behavior and measured calendar life of the three Si materials. Further, we evaluate the voltage-resolved evolution of gas-phase species for one such Si nanomaterial, where nonmonotonic gas generation implies competition between passivating reaction pathways. The measured gas-phase compositional data serves as a critical input for our advanced electrochemical SEI models to identify favorable vs unfavorable reaction pathways to stabilize Si. In addition to bolstering a fundamental understanding of Si reactivity, the present approach informs specific and quantifiable gas-phase metrics tied to calendar life improvements in Si, which can streamline and accelerate the process of next-generation material development.

DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION,ENERGY STORAGE↗

HIBP Applications to Advance Understanding of Plasma Transport Physics (2011-2017) (and subsequently titled) Development of Beam Measurements to Advance Understanding of Transients and Improve Validation (2017-2020) (Final Technical Report)

This is the Final Technical Report for the DoE Measurement Innovation (previously Diagnostic Development) grant DE-SC0006077 titled HIBP Applications to Advance Understanding of Plasma Transport Physics (2011-2017), and subsequently titled Development of Beam Measurements to Advance Understanding of Transients and Improve Validation (2017-2020). The grant was funded by the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) for the period 1 May 2011–17 July 2020. Work performed through the grant has resulted in diagnostic innovations and new measurement capabilities that will improve understanding of transport, magnetic equilibrium, and electric fields in magnetically confined plasmas. We have developed novel hardware and advanced techniques to expand beam-based diagnostic capabilities, and extend measurements to new operating regimes. Some have been realized using a Heavy Ion Beam Probe (HIBP) having traditional features, while other applications have joined our innovations with subsets of advantageous HIBP features. This work has established smaller, more economical detection systems and, in doing so, may enable substantial extension of scenarios in which beam-based diagnostics are deployed. Key Measurement Innovations include: Computer Models and Simulations of HIBP Applications-Computer modeling and simulating of HIBP applications is central to predicting interaction of beam particles with plasmas, designing diagnostic systems, and anticipating measurement characteristics. We have extended the capability and improved measurement fidelity of the HIBP diagnostic on the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) reversed field pinch (RFP); simulated feasibility of HIBP operation in the Helically Symmetric eXperiment (HSX) optimized stellarator; and investigated the plausibility of HIBP measurements in the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak. We have also developed a new technique that uses ion optics to model a finite phase-space beam. It yields more realistic (than traditional method) estimates of sample volume characteristics, which influence measurement resolution and sensitivity. Extension of Diagnostic Capabilities and Measurements on the MST RFP-Capabilities have been extended using the first and only HIBP installation on an RFP. Challenges associated with operation of the diagnostic on MST include the three-dimensional nature of particle trajectories, temporal topology and amplitude changes in the plasma equilibrium, and strong particle and radiative emission from the plasma. We have addressed these challenges through development of detailed and higher precision diagnostic simulations, calibrated subtraction of noise to resolve secondary ion signals, and implementation of hardware that enables higher fidelity measurement of plasma fluctuations. Development of New Hardware and Measurement Techniques - We have advanced beam-based measurement capabilities via development of new detectors and techniques to determine the poloidal magnetic flux ψ in the plasma, and enable placement of detectors close to the plasma and thus allow a smaller and less expensive diagnostic. We have demonstrated measurement of ψ, an ability that was made possible by development of highly effective noise reduction techniques. We also modeled the effect of non-ideal and instrumentation effects by developing a virtual (simulated) diagnostic. Application of beam-based diagnostics on various devices and multiple magnetic configurations (e.g. stellarator, tokamak, and reversed field pinch) enables investigation of critical physics issues and measurements resulting in the broad parameter space data needed to test and validate theory & modeling.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Clump survival and migration in VDI galaxies: an analytical model versus simulations and observations

ABSTRACT We address the nature of the giant clumps in high-z galaxies that undergo violent disc instability, distinguishing between long-lived and short-lived clumps. We study the evolution of long-lived clumps during migration through the disc via an analytical model tested by simulations and confront theory with CANDELS-HST observations. The clump ‘bathtub’ model, which considers gas and stellar gain and loss, involves four parameters: the accretion efficiency α, the star formation rate (SFR) efficiency ϵd, and the outflow mass-loading factors for gas and stars, η and ηs. The corresponding time-scales are comparable to the migration time, two-three orbital times. The accretion-rate dependence on clump mass, gas, and stars, allows an analytical solution involving exponential growing and decaying modes. For the fiducial parameter values there is a main evolution phase where the SFR and gas mass are constant and the stellar mass is rising linearly with time. This makes the inverse specific SFR an observable proxy for clump age. When η or ϵd are high, or α is low, the decaying mode induces a decline of SFR and gas mass till the migration ends. Later, the masses and SFR approach an hypothetical exponential growth with a constant specific SFR. The model matches simulations with different, moderate feedbacks, both in isolated and cosmological settings. The observed clumps agree with our predictions, indicating that the massive clumps are long-lived and migrating. A challenge is to model feedback that is non-disruptive in massive clumps but suppresses SFR to match the galactic stellar-to-halo mass ratio.

Dekel, Avishai↗

Quadrupole topological photonic crystals

Quadrupole topological phases, exhibiting protected boundary states that are themselves topological insulators of lower dimensions, have recently been of great interest. Extensions of these ideas from current tight binding models to continuum theories for realistic materials require the identification of quantized invariants describing the bulk quadrupole order. Here we identify the analog of quadrupole order in Maxwell’s equations for a gyromagnetic photonic crystal (PhC) through a double-band-inversion process. The quadrupole moment is quantized by the simultaneous presence of crystalline symmetry and broken time-reversal symmetry, which is confirmed using three independent methods: analysis of symmetry eigenvalues, numerical calculations of the nested Wannier bands and the expectation value of the quadrupole operator. Furthermore, we reveal the boundary manifestations of quadrupole phases as quantized edge polarizations and fractional corner charges. The latter are the consequence of a filling anomaly of energy bands as first predicted in electronic systems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

The effects of stress, temperature and facet structure on growth of { 10 1 ¯ 2 } twins in Mg: a molecular dynamics and phase field study

The present study focuses on the roles of structure, stress and temperature on the mobility of facets bounding twin domains and on the overall impact on the growth kinetics of { 10 1 ¯ 2 } twins in Mg. We first use molecular dynamics simulations (MD) to study the relationship between interface structures, stress, temperature and mobility. As facets can exhibit distinct atomic scale structures, we also quantify the effect of stress relaxation mediated by misfit dislocations on the mobility of the basal-prismatic interface. The information gathered for ten different facets is used to calibrate an anisotropic phase field model predicting the effects of temperature and stress on the kinetics and shape of a growing { 10 1 ¯ 2 } 3D twin, by comparison with MD data. The comparative analysis suggests that, as compared to simulations of individual facets, the effective mobility of facets can be significantly different during growth of a 3D twin. This can be attributed to the complex three-dimensional internal stress state of the twin and to coupling in facet motion triggered by facet junctions. As such, by directly fitting both the twin growth kinetics and morphology as predicted by MD for different stresses and temperatures, we can identify a limited set of rate-limiting facets that control twin growth and morphology, and measure their effective mobility.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

High-accuracy waveforms for black hole-neutron star systems with spinning black holes

The availability of accurate numerical waveforms is an important requirement for the creation and calibration of reliable waveform models for gravitational wave astrophysics. For black hole-neutron star binaries, very few accurate waveforms are however publicly available. Most recent models are calibrated to a large number of older simulations with good parameter space coverage for low-spin non-precessing binaries but limited accuracy, and a much smaller number of longer, more recent simulations limited to non-spinning black holes. In this paper, we present long, accurate numerical waveforms for three new systems that include rapidly spinning black holes, and one precessing configuration. Here, we study in detail the accuracy of the simulations, and in particular perform for the first time in the context of BHNS binaries a detailed comparison of waveform extrapolation methods to the results of Cauchy Characteristic Extraction. The new waveforms have <0.1rad phase errors during inspiral, rising to ~(0.2-0.4)rad errors at merger, and ≲1% error in their amplitude. We compute the faithfulness of recent analytical models to these numerical results, and find that models specifically designed for BHNS binaries perform well (F>0.99) for binaries seen face-on. For edge-on observations, particularly for precessing systems, disagreements between models and simulations increase, and models that include precession and/or higher-order modes start to perform better than BHNS models that currently lack these features.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Systematic Validation of Ensemble Cloud-Process Simulations using Polarimetric Radar Observations and Simulator over the NASA Wallops Flight Facility

The BiLateral Operational Storm-Scale Observation and Modeling (BLOSSOM) project was initiated to establish a long-term supersite to improve understanding of cloud physical states and processes as well as to support satellite and climate model programs over the WFF site via a bilateral approach of storm-scale observations and process modeling. This study highlights a noble systematic validation framework of the BLOSSOM ensemble cloud-process simulations through mixed-phase, light-rain, and deep-convective precipitation cases. The framework consists of creating a domain-shifted ensemble of large-scale forcing datasets, and configuring and performing cloud-process simulations with three different bulk microphysics schemes. Validation uses NASA S-band dual-POLarimetric radar (NPOL) observations in the form of statistical composites and skill scores via a polarimetric radar simulator and newly developed CfRad Data tool (CfRAD). While the simulations capture the overall structures of the reflectivity composites, polarimetric signals are still poorly simulated, mainly due to a lack of representation of ice microphysics diversity in shapes, orientation distributions, and their complex mixtures. Despite the limitation, this new ensemble-based validation framework demonstrates that 1) no particular forcing or microphysics scheme outperforms the rest and 2) the skill scores of coarse- and fine-resolution ensemble simulations with different domain-shifted forcing and microphysics schemes are highly correlated with each other with no clear improvement. On the other hand, this suggests that coarse-resolution ensemble simulations are relevant for selecting the best meteorological forcing and microphysics scheme before conducting computationally demanding large eddy simulations (LESs) in support of aircraft and satellite instrument development as well as cloud-precipitation-convection parameterizations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

The large- N partition function for non-parity-invariant Chern-Simons-matter theories

We extend the Fermi gas approach to a class of ABJM-like necklace quiver theories without parity invariance. The resulting partition function on S 3 retains the form of an Airy function, but now includes a phase that scales as Nk in the large- N limit where k is an overall Chern-Simons level. We demonstrate the presence of this phase both analytically and numerically in the case of a three node quiver.

Supersymmetric Gauge Theory↗

Mitigating life cycle GHG emissions of roads to be built through 2030: Case study of a Chinese province

We report the expansion of road networks in emerging economies such as China causes significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This development is conflicting with China's commitment to achieve carbon neutrality. Thus, there is a need to better understand life cycle emissions of road infrastructure and opportunities to mitigate these emissions. Existing impact studies of roads in developing countries do not address recycled materials, improved pavement maintenance, or pavement-vehicle interaction and electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Combining firsthand information from Chinese road construction engineers with publicly available data, this paper estimates a comprehensive account of GHG emissions of the road pavement network to be constructed in the next ten years in the Shandong province in Northern China. Further, we estimate the potential of GHG emission reductions achievable under three scenario sets: maintenance optimization, alternative pavement material replacement, and EV adoption. Results show that the life cycle GHG emissions of highways and Class 1–4 roads to be constructed in the next 10 years amount to 147 Mt CO2-eq. Considering the use phase in our model reveals that it is the dominant stage in terms of emissions, largely due to pavement-vehicle interaction. Vehicle electrification can only moderately mitigate these emissions. Other stages, such as materials production and road maintenance and rehabilitation, contribute substantially to GHG emissions as well, highlighting the importance of optimizing the management of these stages. Surprisingly, longer, not shorter maintenance intervals, yield significant emission reductions. Another counter-intuitive finding is that thicker and more material-intensive pavement surfaces cause lower emissions overall. Taken together, optimal maintenance and rehabilitation schedules, alternative material use, and vehicle electrification provide GHG reduction potentials of 11%, 4%–16% and 2%–6%, respectively.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Validation of IMEP on Alcator C-Mod and JET-ILW ELMy H-mode plasmas

Abstract The recently developed integrated model based on engineering parameters (IMEP) (Luda et al 2020 Nucl. Fusion 61 126048; Luda et al 2021 Nucl. Fusion 60 036023), so far validated on ASDEX Upgrade, has been tested on a database of 3 Alcator C-Mod and 55 JET-ILW ELMy (type I) H-mode stationary phases. The empirical pedestal transport model included in IMEP, consisting now of imposing a fixed value of R < ∇ T e > / T e , t o p = − 82.5 , allows an accurate prediction of the pedestal top temperature (when the pedestal top density is fixed to the experimental measurements) across these three machines with different sizes, when the pedestal is peeling–ballooning (PB) limited. Cases far from the ideal PB boundary, corresponding to high edge Spitzer resistivity, are instead strongly overpredicted by IMEP. A comparison between the predictions of Europed and IMEP for a subset of JET-ILW cases shows that IMEP can more accurately reproduce the experimental pedestal width. This allows IMEP to better capture profile effects on the pedestal stability, and therefore to correctly describe the negative effect of fueling on the pedestal pressure for PB limited cases. A strong correlation between the separatrix density and the fueling rate has been identified for a subset of JET-ILW cases, when taking into account different divertor configurations. Overall, these promising results encourage further developments of integrated models to obtain reliable predictions of pedestal and global confinement using only engineering parameters for present and future machines.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Gravothermal evolution of dark matter halos with differential elastic scattering

Here, we study gravothermal evolution of dark matter halos in the presence of differential self-scattering that has strong velocity and angular dependencies. We design controlled N-body simulations to model Rutherford and Møller scatterings in the halo, and follow its evolution in both core-expansion and -collapse phases. The simulations show the commonly-used transfer cross section underestimates the effects of dark matter self-interactions, but the viscosity cross section provides an accurate approximation for modeling angular-dependent dark matter scattering. We investigate thermodynamic properties of the halo, and find that the three moments of the Boltzmann equation under the fluid approximation are satisfied. We further propose a constant effective cross section, which integrates over the halo's characteristic velocity dispersion with weighting kernels motivated by kinetic theory of heat conduction. The effective cross section provides a good approximation to differential self-scattering for most of the halo evolution. It indicates that we can map astrophysical constraints on a constant self-interacting cross section to an SIDM model with velocity- and angular-dependent scatterings.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Characterizing Binding Interactions That Are Essential for Selective Transport through the Nuclear Pore Complex

Specific macromolecules are rapidly transported across the nuclear envelope via the nuclear pore complex (NPC). The selective transport process is facilitated when nuclear transport receptors (NTRs) weakly and transiently bind to intrinsically disordered constituents of the NPC, FG Nups. These two types of proteins help maintain the selective NPC barrier. To interrogate their binding interactions in vitro, we deployed an NPC barrier mimic. We created the stationary phase by covalently attaching fragments of a yeast FG Nup called Nsp1 to glass coverslips. We used a tunable mobile phase containing NTR, nuclear transport factor 2 (NTF2). In the stationary phase, three main factors affected binding: the number of FG repeats, the charge of fragments, and the fragment density. We also identified three main factors affecting binding in the mobile phase: the avidity of the NTF2 variant for Nsp1, the presence of nonspecific proteins, and the presence of additional NTRs. We used both experimentally determined binding parameters and molecular dynamics simulations of Nsp1FG fragments to create an agent-based model. The results suggest that NTF2 binding is negatively cooperative and dependent on the density of Nsp1FG molecules. Our results demonstrate the strengths of combining experimental and physical modeling approaches to study NPC-mediated transport.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Transmission and Distribution Real-Time Analysis Software for Monitoring and Control: Design and Simulation Testing

The US electric grid is facing operational, stability, and security challenges. Transmission system operators need some measure of visibility into distribution system renewable generation. Distribution system generation needs to support transmission system voltage. The grid is experiencing an expansion in measurement systems. How to take full advantage of this expansion and defend against attacks, both cyber and physical, poses additional challenges. This paper introduces software designed to meet these challenges. At the center of the software is an Integrated System Model (ISM) that spans from transmission to secondary distribution. The ISM is employed in real-time abnormality detection, voltage stability forecasting, and multi-mode control. The software architecture along with selected analysis modules is presented. Testing results are presented for: 1—attacks on utility infrastructure; 2—energy savings from optimal control; 3—distribution system control response during a low voltage transmission system event; 4—cyber-attacks on PV inverters, where physical inverters are used in hardware-in-the-simulation-loop studies. Contributions of this work include real-time analysis that spans from three-phase transmission through secondary distribution; an approach for detecting abnormalities that employs measurements from three independent measurement systems; and a multi-mode distribution system control that responds to cyber-attacks, physical attacks, equipment failures, and transmission system needs.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Explicit environmental and vibronic effects in simulations of linear and nonlinear optical spectroscopy

Accurately simulating the linear and nonlinear electronic spectra of condensed phase systems and accounting for all physical phenomena contributing to spectral line shapes presents a significant challenge. Vibronic transitions can be captured through a harmonic model generated from the normal modes of a chromophore, but it is challenging to also include the effects of specific chromophore–environment interactions within such a model. We work to overcome this limitation by combining approaches to account for both explicit environment interactions and vibronic couplings for simulating both linear and nonlinear optical spectra. We present and show results for three approaches of varying computational cost for combining ensemble sampling of chromophore–environment configurations with Franck–Condon line shapes for simulating linear spectra. We present two analogous approaches for nonlinear spectra. Simulated absorption spectra and two-dimensional electronic spectra (2DES) are presented for the Nile red chromophore in different solvent environments. Furthermore, employing an average Franck–Condon or 2DES line shape appears to be a promising method for simulating linear and nonlinear spectroscopy for a chromophore in the condensed phase.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Future projections and uncertainty assessment of precipitation extremes in the Korean peninsula from the CMIP5 ensemble

Abstract Projections of changes in extreme climate are sometimes predicted by multimodel ensemble methods that combine forecasts from individual simulation models using weighted averaging. One method to assign weight to each model is the Bayesian model averaging (BMA) in which posterior probability is used. For the cases of extreme climate, the generalized extreme value distribution (GEVD) is typically used. We applied the approach of GEV‐embedded BMA to a series of 35 years of the annual maximum daily precipitation data (both historical data and data gathered from simulation experiments for future periods) over the Korean peninsula as simulated by the models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Simulation data under two Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios, namely RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, were used. Observed data and 17 CMIP5 models for 12 gird cells in Korea have been examined to predict future changes in precipitation extremes. A simple regional frequency analysis of pooling observations from three stations in each cell was employed to reduce the estimation variance and local fluctuations. A bias correction technique using the regression‐type transfer function was applied to these simulation data. Return levels spanning over 20 and 50 years, as well as the return periods relative to the reference years (1971–2005), were estimated for two future periods, namely Period 1 (2021–2050) and Period 2 (2066–2095). From these analyses, relative increase observed in the spatially averaged 20‐year (50‐year) return level was approximately 23% (16%) and 45% (36%) in the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 experiments, respectively, by the end of the 21st century. We concluded that extreme rainfalls will likely occur two times and four times more frequently in the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios, respectively, as compared to in the reference years by the end of the 21st century.

Lee, Youngsaeng↗

Catalytic resonance theory: Circumfluence of programmable catalytic loops

Chemical reactions on heterogeneous catalyst surfaces exhibit complex networks of elementary reactions with multiple pathways to fluid phase products, sometimes leading to surface reaction loops consisting of a closed cycle reaction pathway. While conventional catalysts at steady state exhibit zero net flux in either direction around a catalytic loop, the loop turnover frequency of three-species surface loops was evaluated in this work via microkinetic modeling to assess the reaction loop behavior resulting from a catalytic surface oscillating between two or more surface energy states. For dynamic heterogeneous catalysts undergoing applied oscillations of surface energy (i.e., programs), surface reaction loops of three species were shown to exhibit non-zero net flow of molecules around the loop, with the extent of loop turnover frequency varying with the applied frequency and amplitude of a sinusoidal or square wave oscillation. Alternatively, some dynamic surface reactions exhibited oscillations only between two surface species or resulted in surfaces covered by a single species at all times. Here, more complex behavior was observed for dynamic surface programs of three distinct electronic states, with the temporal order of applied states controlling the direction of flow of molecules within a three-molecule surface loop. Catalytic loops have the potential to limit overall catalytic reaction rates and use energy in programmable catalysts, while some applications could purposely impose non-zero loop turnover frequency for improved surface reaction control.

Catalysis↗