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At least 631 records · Page 35
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

The role of ion-scale micro-turbulence in pedestal width of the DIII-D wide-pedestal QH mode

The low-edge rotation, intrinsically ELM-free, and improved confinement wide-pedestal quiescent H-mode (QH-mode), discovered in DIII-D tokamak, has pedestal widths exceeding the EPED-kinetic-ballooning mode (KBM) model scaling typically by at least 25%. Ion-scale ($k_yp_s$ < 1) microturbulence and its role in setting the pedestal structure is investigated using the radially local δ$f$ gyrokinetic code CGYRO. The electromagnetic trapped electron mode (TEM) is unstable at the pedestal top, while plasma beta (β$_e$) is ∼60% below the KBM onset threshold and the electron temperature gradient mode is found to be unstable in the peak gradient region. Nonlinear simulation reveals that the ion-scale turbulence could produce electron energy flux consistent with the flux inferred from power balance at the pedestal top, with a reasonable variation of the local shearing rate; and the local neoclassical transport from NEO is dominant over the simulated turbulent transport in the ion energy flux channel. The simulated ion-scale turbulence produces much lower electron energy flux than inferred from experiment in the pedestal peak gradient region. A correction to the EPED-KBM pedestal width scaling is obtained based on the two-dimensional scan of pedestal top plasma beta (β$_e$) and normalized electron density and temperature scale lengths,${a}$/${L_n}_e$, ${a}$/${L_T}_n$using CGYRO linear simulations. Mode transitions among TEM, micro-tearing mode, ion-temperature gradient mode and KBM, are observed in the 2D scan at the pedestal top. A fixed normalized growth rate for these drift-type modes is taken to determine the pedestal width scaling, which shows good consistency with the QH experimental database on pedestal heights and widths. The onset of KBM instabilities and the local E × B shear suppression criterion set the lower and upper limit for the pedestal width of standard QH-mode, wide-pedestal QH-mode and type-I ELMy H mode. A potentially higher and wider pedestal is expected from the new scaling of pedestal width. This work presents an improved understanding of the ion-scale micro-turbulence of wide-pedestal QH-mode and sheds light on a promising scenario for future reactors, including ITER and beyond.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

A compact dication source for Ba 2+ tagging and heavy metal ion sensor development

Here, we present a tunable metal ion beam that delivers controllable ion currents in the picoamp range for testing of dry-phase ion sensors. Ion beams are formed by sequential atomic evaporation and single or multiple electron impact ionization, followed by acceleration into a sensing region. Controllability of the ionic charge state is achieved through tuning of electrode potentials that influence the retention time in the ionization region. Barium, lead, and cadmium samples have been used to test the system, with ion currents identified and quantified using a quadrupole mass analyzer. Realization of a clean Ba 2+ ion beam within a bench-top system represents an important technical advance toward the development and characterization of barium tagging systems for neutrinoless double beta decay searches in xenon gas. This system also provides a testbed for investigation of novel ion sensing methodologies for environmental assay applications, with dication beams of Pb 2+ and Cd 2+ also demonstrated for this purpose.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Project 8 apparatus for cyclotron radiation emission spectroscopy with 83m Kr and tritium

Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES) is a novel technique for the precise measurement of relativistic electron energy. This technique is being employed by the Project 8 collaboration for measuring a high-precision tritium beta decay spectrum to perform a frequency-based measurement of the neutrino mass. In this work, we describe the Project 8 Phase II apparatus, used for the detection of the CRES signal from the conversion electrons of 83m Kr and the first CRES measurement of the beta-decay spectrum of molecular tritium.

Neutrino detectors↗
DOE OSTI2020

Skeletides: A Modular, Simplified Physical Model of Protein Secondary Structure

Three-dimensional (3D) models are essential for visualization and conceptual understanding of complex architectures such as protein structure. Although there is a plethora of software platforms that allow digital depictions of protein structure at an atomic level in silico, physical models are needed to convey an intuitive understanding of biomolecular architecture. However, it is a challenge to represent all the relevant features of proteins in a single physical model due to their sheer structural complexity. Here, we describe a modular protein model that focuses only on representation of the secondary structure—the underlying structural skeleton. The simplified model consists of amino acid units, which can be linked together to reproduce the two most fundamental structural features of protein secondary structure: the relative positions of the amino acid alpha carbon atoms, and the intra-main chain hydrogen bonding pattern. We use 3D printing and magnets to create a set of three modular amino acid building blocks, which when linked together into a chain, can faithfully represent alpha helices, beta sheets, and turns. These simple to make models can be used to quickly assemble the alpha carbon trace of an entire protein domain, which conveys a tactile experience of the complexity of protein skeletal architecture. These models highlight the modularity of protein structure: where a single structural unit, the amino acid, can be linked together to form a larger, regular secondary structure. These models also have a propensity to spontaneously organize into alpha helices and beta sheets, as demonstrated by their ability to autonomously assemble when placed in a circulating water tank. These models provide a missing educational tool to expand knowledge of protein structure, foster deeper insight into protein folding, and inspire greater interest in biomacromolecular architecture.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

CODEX weak lensing mass catalogue and implications on the mass–richness relation

The COnstrain Dark Energy with X-ray clusters (CODEX) sample contains the largest flux limited sample of X-ray clusters at 0.35 < z < 0.65. It was selected from ROSAT data in the 10 000 square degrees of overlap with BOSS, mapping a total number of 2770 high-z galaxy clusters. We present here the full results of the CFHT CODEX programme on cluster mass measurement, including a reanalysis of CFHTLS Wide data, with 25 individual lensing-constrained cluster masses. We employ lensfit shape measurement and perform a conservative colour–space selection and weighting of background galaxies. Using the combination of shape noise and an analytic covariance for intrinsic variations of cluster profiles at fixed mass due to large-scale structure, miscentring, and variations in concentration and ellipticity, we determine the likelihood of the observed shear signal as a function of true mass for each cluster. We combine 25 individual cluster mass likelihoods in a Bayesian hierarchical scheme with the inclusion of optical and X-ray selection functions to derive constraints on the slope α, normalization β, and scatter σln λ|μ of our richness–mass scaling relation model in log-space: ${\langle {\rm In}\,\, \lambda\!\!\mid\!\!\mu\rangle = \alpha\mu + \beta,} $ with μ = ln (M 200c /M piv ), and M piv = 10 14.81 M ⊙ . We find a slope $\alpha = 0.49^{+0.20}_{-0.15}$, normalization $\exp (\beta) = 84.0^{+9.2}_{-14.8}$, and $\sigma _{\ln \lambda | \mu } = 0.17^{+0.13}_{-0.09}$ using CFHT richness estimates. In comparison to other weak lensing richness–mass relations, we find the normalization of the richness statistically agreeing with the normalization of other scaling relations from a broad redshift range (0.0 < z < 0.65) and with different cluster selection (X-ray, Sunyaev–Zeldovich, and optical).

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Line confusion in spectroscopic surveys and its possible effects: shifts in Baryon Acoustic Oscillations position

ABSTRACT Roman Space Telescope will survey about 17 million emission-line galaxies over a range of redshifts. Its main targets are Hα emission-line galaxies at low redshifts (z < 2) and [O iii] emission-line galaxies at high redshifts (z > 2). The Roman Space Telescope will estimate the redshift of these galaxies with single-line identification. This suggests that other emission-line galaxies may be misidentified as the main targets. In particular, it is hard to distinguish between the H β and [O iii] lines as the two lines are close in wavelength and hence the photometric information may not be sufficient to separate them reliably. Misidentifying H β emitter as [O iii] emitter will cause a shift in the inferred radial position of the galaxy by approximately 90 Mpc h−1. This length-scale is similar to the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) scale and could shift and broaden the BAO peak, possibly introduce errors in determining the BAO peak position. We qualitatively describe the effect of this new systematic and further quantify it with a light-cone simulation with emission-line galaxies. Our results show a systematic shift in the recovered isotropic BAO positions that depends on the percentage of interlopers (percentage of ${\rm H}\,\beta$) in the sample. The systematic shift can be as large as $0.1{-}0.3\,\mathrm{ per}\,\mathrm{ cent} \, {\rm x}\, {{\%}}{\rm H}\,\beta$ for analysis performed at redshifts z = 1.3−1.9.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Association of optical, ultraviolet, and soft X-ray excess emissions in AGNs

Soft X-ray emission (0.5–2.0 keV) plays a pivotal role in regulating the optical and ultraviolet (UV) emission in the active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We collected a sample of 1811 AGNs from the SDSS database and obtained various parameters of Balmer lines, optical continuum, Mg ii line & UV continuum and studied their dependencies on soft X-ray luminosity. Based on the linear regression analysis, we found that FWHM$_{\rm {Mg\,\,\small {II}}}$ ∝ FWHM$_{\text{H}\beta }^{0.554}$ suggesting that UV emission is arising from a region relatively outside the broad-line region (BLR) associated to the Hβ emission and found a strong correlation between optical and UV luminosities (L$_{\rm {Mg\,\,\small {II}}}$ ∝ $L_{\rm {H}\beta }^{0.822}$). It was noticed that the dependency of optical continuum luminosities on soft excess changes with the redshift (L X ∝ L$^{0.596}_{5100\, \mathring{\rm A}}$ for z < 0.5 and L X ∝ L$^{0.429}_{5100\, \mathring{\rm A}}$ for z > 0.5). The full width at half-maximum components of Hβ and Mg II core components were found to be virialized and is not affected by the soft excess emission whereas the wings of Mg II display a dependency. We estimated a relation viz. L X ∝L$^{0.520}_{3000\, \mathring{\rm A}}$ FWHM$^{0.525}_{\rm {Mg\,\,\small {II}}}$ and found to be well in agreement with a proposed physical scenario. All the derived relations were used to understand the intermodulating association of the BLR and disc in the AGNs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Plasma instabilities dominate radioactive transients magnetic fields: the self-confinement of leptons in Type Ia and core-collapse supernovae, and kilonovae

The light curves of radioactive transients, such as supernovae and kilonovae, are powered by the decay of radioisotopes, which release high-energy leptons through $\beta ^+$ and $\beta ^-$ decays. These leptons deposit energy into the expanding ejecta. As the ejecta density decreases during expansion, the plasma becomes collisionless, with particle motion governed by electromagnetic forces. In such environments, strong or turbulent magnetic fields are thought to confine particles, though the origin of these fields and the confinement mechanism have remained unclear. Using fully kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, we demonstrate that plasma instabilities can naturally confine high-energy leptons. These leptons generate magnetic fields through plasma streaming instabilities, even in the absence of pre-existing fields. The self-generated magnetic fields slow lepton diffusion, enabling confinement, and transferring energy to thermal electrons and ions. Our results naturally explain the positron trapping inferred from late-time observations of thermonuclear and core-collapse supernovae. Furthermore, they suggest potential implications for electron dynamics in the ejecta of kilonovae. We also estimate synchrotron radio luminosities from positrons for Type Ia supernovae and find that such emission could only be detectable with next-generation radio observatories from a Galactic or local-group supernova in an environment without any circumstellar material.

instabilities↗
DOE OSTI2020

Standard versus non-standard CP phases in neutrino oscillation in matter with non-unitarity

We formulate a perturbative framework for the flavor transformation of the standard active three neutrinos but with a non-unitary flavor mixing matrix, a system which may be relevant for the leptonic unitarity test. We use the $\alpha$ parametrization of the non-unitary matrix and take its elements $\alpha_{\beta \gamma}$ ($\beta,\gamma = e,\mu,\tau$) and the ratio $\epsilon \simeq \Delta m^2_{21} / \Delta m^2_{31}$ as the small expansion parameters. Two qualitatively new features that hold in all the oscillation channels are uncovered in the probability formula obtained to first order in the expansion: (1) The phases of the complex $\alpha$ elements always come into the observable in the particular combination with the $\nu$SM CP phase $\delta$ in the form $[e^{- i \delta } \bar{\alpha}_{\mu e}, ~e^{ - i \delta} \bar{\alpha}_{\tau e}, ~\bar{\alpha}_{\tau \mu}]$ under the Particle Data Group convention of a unitary $\nu$SM mixing matrix. (2) The diagonal $\alpha$ parameters appear in particular combinations $\left( a/b - 1 \right) \alpha_{ee} + \alpha_{\mu \mu}$ and $\alpha_{\mu \mu} - \alpha_{\tau \tau}$, where $a$ and $b$ denote, respectively, the matter potential due to charged current and neutral current reactions. This property holds only in the unitary evolution part of the probability, and there is no such feature in the genuine non-unitary part, while the $\delta$–$\alpha$ parameter phase correlation exists for both. The reason for such remarkable stability of the phase correlation is discussed.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Response of the mode Grüneisen parameters with anisotropic compression: A pressure and temperature dependent Raman study of β-Sn

The lattice dynamic response of body-centered tetragonal beta-Sn (I4 1 /amd) under high-pressure and temperature conditions is determined using experimental optical vibration modes. Here, Raman scattering is used to map the phase stability region of beta-Sn to perform mode Gruneisen analysis, and we demonstrate the necessity of an optical intensity calibration for Raman thermometry. The Gruneisen tensor is evaluated along a set of isotherms to address shortcomings of single-mode Gruneisen parameters with respect to anisotropic deformations of this tetragonal structured soft metal. The changes observed here in the Gruneisen tensor as a function of temperature are related to anharmonicity and denote potential criteria for the onset of premelting.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Shape evolution of neutron-rich 106,108,110 Mo isotopes in the triaxial degree of freedom

Background: Neutron-rich nuclei with mass number between 100 and 110 attract much attention, since several kinds of shapes, such as spherical, prolate, oblate, and triaxial shapes, are predicted. In particular, for neutron-rich Mo isotopes, different models predict different magnitudes and rigidity of triaxial deformation. Previous interpretations of experimental results based solely on low-lying $2^+_2$ states are insufficient to distinguish between the rigid triaxial shape, $\gamma$ vibration, or $\gamma$-soft rotor. Purpose: The shape evolution of 106 Mo, 108 Mo, and 110 Mo is investigated through their $2^+_1$-state lifetimes, decay-branching ratios of the $2^+_2$ state, and energies of the low-lying collective excited states with $K^π = 0^+, 2^+$, and $4^+$. Method: $\beta$-delayed $\gamma$-ray spectroscopy was employed for neutron-rich Nb and Zr isotopes produced at the RIKEN RI Beam Factory to populate excited states in 106 Mo, 108 Mo, and 110 Mo. The EUroball-RIKEN Cluster Array was used for high-resolution $\gamma$-ray detection and lifetimes of the $2^+_1$ states were determined using the UK fast-timing array of LaBr 3 (Ce) detectors. Results: New $\gamma$-ray transitions and levels are reported, including newly assigned $0^+_2$ states in 108,110 Mo. Quadrupole deformations were obtained for 106,108,110 Mo from their $2^+_1$ energies and lifetimes. The $\beta$-delayed neutron-emission probabilities of 108 Nb and 110 Nb were determined by examining the $\gamma$ rays of their respective daughter decays. Conclusions: In this work, the even-odd energy staggering in the $2^+_2$ band was compared with typical patterns of the $\gamma$-vibrational band, rigid triaxial rotor, and $\gamma$-soft rotor. The very small even-odd staggering of 106 Mo, 108 Mo, and 110 Mo favors a $\gamma$-vibrational band assignment. The kinematic moment of inertia for the $2^+_2$ band showed a trend similar to the ground-state band, which is as expected for the $\gamma$-vibrational band. Beyond-mean-field calculations employing the constrained Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov and local quasiparticle-random-phase approximation method using the SLy5 + T interaction reproduced the ground and $2^+_2$ bands in 106 Mo and 108 Mo. The collective wave functions are consistent with the interpretation of the $2^+_2$ band as the $\gamma$-vibrational band of the prolate shape. However, the staggering pattern observed in 110 Mo differs from the one suggested in the calculations which predict a $\gamma$-soft rotor. There was no experimental indication of the oblate shape or the $\gamma$-soft rotor predicted in these Mo isotopes.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Novel technique for the study of pileup events in cryogenic bolometers

Precise characterization of detector time resolution is of crucial importance for next-generation cryogenic-bolometer experiments searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay, such as CUPID, in order to reject background due to pile-up of two-neutrino double-beta decay events. In this paper, we describe a technique developed to study the pile-up rejection capability of cryogenic bolometers. Our approach, which consists of producing controlled pile-up events with a programmable waveform generator, has the benefit that we can reliably and reproducibly control the time separation and relative energy of the individual components of the generated pile-up events. The resulting data allow us to optimize and benchmark analysis strategies to discriminate between individual and pile-up pulses. We describe a test of this technique performed with a small array of detectors at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, in Italy; we obtain a 90% rejection efficiency against pulser-generated pile-up events with rise time of ~15 ms down to time separation between the individual events of 2 ms.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Partial muon capture rates in A = 3 and A = 6 nuclei with chiral effective field theory

Searches for neutrinoless-double beta decay rates are crucial in addressing questions within fundamental symmetries and neutrino physics. The rates of these decays depend not only on unknown parameters associated with neutrinos, but also on nuclear properties. In order to reliably extract information about the neutrino, one needs an accurate treatment of the complex many-body dynamics of the nucleus. Neutrinoless-double beta decays take place at momentum transfers on the order of 100 MeV/$c$ and require both nuclear electroweak vector and axial current matrix elements. Muon capture, a process in the same momentum transfer regime, has readily available experimental data to validate these currents. In this work, we present results of {\it ab initio} calculations of partial muon capture rates for $^3$He and $^6$Li nuclei using variational and Green's Function Monte Carlo computational methods. We estimate the impact of the three-nucleon interactions, the cutoffs used to regularize two-nucleon ($2N$) interactions, and the energy range of $2N$ scattering data used to fit these interactions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

First-order formalism for β functions in bosonic sigma models from supersymmetry breaking

We consider the renormalization group flow equation for the two-dimensional sigma models with the Kähler target space. The first-order formulation allows us to treat perturbations in these models as current-current deformations. We demonstrate, however, that the conventional first-order formalism misses certain anomalies in the measure, and should be amended. We reconcile beta functions obtained within the conformal perturbation theory for the current-current deformations with traditional “geometric” results obtained in the background field methods, in this way resolving the peculiarities pointed out in O. Gamayun et al. [Peculiarities of beta functions in sigma models, J. High Energy Phys. 10 (2023) 097]. The result is achieved by the supersymmetric completion of the first-order sigma model.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Constraints on Lightly Ionizing Particles from CDMSlite

The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search low ionization threshold experiment (CDMSlite) achieved effcient detection of very small recoil energies in its germanium target, resulting in sensitivity to Lightly Ionizing Particles (LIPs) in a previously unexplored region of charge, mass, and velocity parameter space. We report first direct-detection limits on the vertical intensity of cosmogenically-produced LIPs with an electric charge smaller than e/(3x10^5), as well as the strongest limits for charge <= e/160, with a minimum vertical intensity of 1.36 x 10^-7 cm^-2s^-1sr^-1 at charge e/160. These results apply over a wide range of LIP masses (5 MeV/c^2 to 100 TeV/c^2) and cover a wide range of beta-gamma values (0.1--10^6), thus excluding non-relativistic LIPs with beta-gamma as small as 0.1 for the first time.

Alkhatib, I↗
DOE OSTI2023

Measurement of the 2 ν β β Decay Rate and Spectral Shape of Mo 100 from the CUPID-Mo Experiment

Neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) is a yet unobserved nuclear process that would demonstrate Lepton number violation, a clear evidence of beyond standard model physics. The process two neutrino double beta decay (2νββ) is allowed by the standard model and has been measured in numerous experiments. In this Letter, we report a measurement of 2νββ decay half-life of 100 Mo to the ground state of 100 Ru of [7.07±0.02(stat)±0.11(syst)]×10 18 yr by the CUPID-Mo experiment. With a relative precision of ±1.6% this is the most precise measurement to date of a 2νββ decay rate in 100 Mo. In addition, we constrain higher-order corrections to the spectral shape, which provides complementary nuclear structure information. We report a novel measurement of the shape factor ξ 3,1 =0.45±0.03(stat)±0.05(syst) based on a constraint on the ratio of higher-order terms from theory, which can be reliably calculated. This is compared to theoretical predictions for different nuclear models. Finally, we also extract the first value for the effective axial vector coupling constant obtained from a spectral shape study of 2νββ decay.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Final Search for Short-Baseline Neutrino Oscillations with the PROSPECT-I Detector at HFIR

The PROSPECT experiment is designed to perform precise searches for antineutrino disappearance at short distances (7–9 m) from compact nuclear reactor cores. This Letter reports results from a new neutrino oscillation analysis performed using the complete data sample from the PROSPECT-I detector operated at the High Flux Isotope Reactor in 2018. The analysis uses a multiperiod selection of inverse beta decay neutrino interactions with reduced backgrounds and enhanced statistical power to set limits on electron neutrino disappearance caused by mixing with sterile neutrinos with 0.2–20 eV 2 mass splittings. Inverse beta decay positron energy spectra from six different reactor-detector distance ranges are found to be statistically consistent with one another, as would be expected in the absence of sterile neutrino oscillations. The data excludes at 95% confidence level the existence of sterile neutrinos in regions above 3 eV 2 previously unexplored by terrestrial experiments, including all space below 10 eV 2 suggested by the recently strengthened Gallium Anomaly. The best-fit point of the Neutrino-4 reactor experiment’s claimed observation of short-baseline oscillation is ruled out at more than 5 standard deviations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Readout Noise of Digital Frequency Multiplexed TES Detectors for CUPID

The superconducting transition-edge sensor (TES) detectors have been the standard in cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments for almost two decades and are now being adapted for use in nuclear physics, such as neutrinoless double beta decay searches. In this article, we focus on a new high-bandwidth frequency multiplexed TES readout system developed for CUPID, a neutrinoless double beta decay experiment that will replace CUORE. In order to achieve the high energy resolution requirements for CUPID, the readout noise of the system must be kept to a minimum. Low TES operating resistance and long wiring between the readout SQUID and the warm electronics are needed for CUPID, prompting a careful consideration of the design parameters of this application of frequency multiplexing. In this work, we characterize the readout noise of the newly designed frequency multiplexed TES readout system for CUPID and construct a noise model to understand it. Here, we find that current sharing between the SQUID coil impedance and other branches of the circuit, as well as the long output wiring, worsen the readout noise of the system. To meet noise requirements, a SQUID with a low input inductance, high transimpedance, and/or low dynamic impedance is needed, and the wiring capacitance should be kept as small as possible. Alternatively, the option of adding a cryogenic low-noise amplifier at the output of the SQUID should be explored.

CUPID↗