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At least 649 records · Page 36

Wave steepening and shock formation in ultracold neutral plasmas

We present observations of wave steepening and signatures of shock formation during expansion of ultracold neutral plasmas formed with an initial density distribution that is centrally peaked and decays exponentially with distance. The plasma acceleration and velocity decrease at large distance from the plasma center, leading to central ions overtaking ions in the outer regions and the development of a steepening front that is narrow compared to the size of the plasma. The density and velocity change dramatically across the front, and significant heating of the ions is observed in the region of steepest gradients. For a reasonable estimate of electron temperature, the relative velocity of ions on either side of the front modestly exceeds the local sound speed (Mach number M≳1). This indicates that by sculpting steep density gradients, it is possible to create the conditions for shock formation, or very close to it, opening a new avenue of research for ultracold neutral plasmas.

Computational fluid dynamics↗

Single pion production and pion propagation in A chilles

We extend the applicability of A chilles (A CHIcagoLand Lepton Event Simulator) by incorporating the single pion production mechanism in a fully exclusive fashion. The electroweak interaction vertex is modeled by combining the state-of-the-art dynamical coupled-channels approach with realistic hole spectral functions, which account for correlations in both the initial target state and the residual spectator system. Final-state interactions are treated using a semiclassical intranuclear cascade that leverages nuclear configurations to determine the correlated spatial distribution of protons and neutrons. The meson-baryon scattering amplitudes used in the cascade are computed within the dynamical coupled-channels framework, consistent with the electroweak vertex. To model pion absorption, we employ the optical potential approach of Oset and Salcedo [Nucl. Phys. A484, 557 (1988).]. As an alternative approach, we explicitly model the production and propagation of resonances which mediate pion-nucleon scattering and pion absorption. We validate our approach against pion-nucleon and pion-nucleus scattering data, and present comparisons with electron- and neutrino-nucleus measurements from e⁢4⁢𝜈, T2K, MINER⁢𝜈⁢A, and MicroBooNE.

Isaacson, Joshua [Michigan State Univ., East Lansi↗

Criticality and Phase Classification for Quadratic Open Quantum Many-Body Systems

Here we study the steady states of translation-invariant open quantum many-body systems governed by Lindblad master equations, where the Hamiltonian is quadratic in the ladder operators, and the Lindblad operators are either linear or quadratic and Hermitian. These systems are called quasifree and quadratic, respectively. We find that steady states of one-dimensional systems with finite-range interactions necessarily have exponentially decaying Green’s functions. For the quasifree case without quadratic Lindblad operators, we show that fermionic systems with finite-range interactions are noncritical for any number of spatial dimensions and provide bounds on the correlation lengths. Quasifree bosonic systems can be critical in D > 1 dimensions. Last, we address the question of phase transitions in quadratic systems and find that, without symmetry constraints beyond invariance under single-particle basis and particle-hole transformations, all gapped Liouvillians belong to the same phase.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Fast and Accurate Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger Encoding Using All-to-All Interactions

The 𝑁-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state is an important resource for quantum technologies. Here, we consider the task of GHZ encoding using all-to-all interactions, which prepares the GHZ state in a special case, and is furthermore useful for quantum error correction, interaction-rate enhancement, and transmitting information using power-law interactions. The naive protocol based on parallelizing CNOT gates takes O(1)-time of Hamiltonian evolution. In this work, we propose a fast protocol that achieves GHZ encoding with high accuracy. The evolution time O⁡(log 2 ⁡𝑁/𝑁) almost saturates the theoretical limit Ω⁡(log⁡𝑁/𝑁). Moreover, the final state is close to the ideal encoded one with high fidelity >1–10 −3 , up to large system sizes 𝑁 ≲ 2000. The protocol only requires a few stages of time-independent Hamiltonian evolution; the key idea is to use the data qubit as control, and to use fast spin-squeezing dynamics generated by e.g., two-axis twisting.

quantum computation↗

The Effect of Pressure on NO x Entitlement and Reaction Timescales in a Premixed Axial Jet-In-Crossflow

This paper investigates the pressure dependency of a lean premixed jet injected into a lean vitiated crossflow with an experimentally verified detailed chemistry computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model and 53 species considered. Experimental data were taken in an axially staged combustor with an optically accessible test section, allowing the use of particle image velocimetry (PIV) and CH* chemiluminescence techniques as well as point measurement of species concentration, temperature, and pressure. The experimental data cases at one, three, and five atmospheres were selected to describe the flame stabilization dependency on pressure and gain the required knowledge for an extrapolation to engine condition. Simulated exit nitrogen oxide levels were validated with experimental emission data, and a global emission trend for the NO reduction at elevated pressure and constant turbine inlet temperature level was defined. The nitrogen oxide benefit at elevated operating pressure was justified with the significantly smaller flame surface area: the analysis of the simulated spanwise and top-view profiles showed a relatively short receded core flame with nitrogen oxide production in the center at high pressure relative to a longer and larger shear layer flame at atmospheric condition that produced NO toward the inner and outer side of the flame. Furthermore, decomposition of the Damköhler number revealed the strong influence of the reaction timescales with higher reaction rates at elevated pressure, along with a moderate influence of the turbulent timescales, showing higher turbulence intensity in the lee-side recirculation zone at lower pressure.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Partially cracked ammonia mixture combustion in gas turbine combustors

Ammonia is gaining popularity for single fuel use in existing gas turbines, as it is carbonless, has higher hydrogen content per unit volume than liquid hydrogen, and facilitates easy storage and handling. However, the low flame speed of ammonia makes it prone to flame blow off and remains the chief concern for its use in power generation. Following previous studies that have shown improved combustion performance by partially cracking the fuel, in this computational study, efficacy of partially cracked ammonia as a replacement fuel for natural gas is evaluated. A high-pressure optically accessible combustor operated at ~10 bar pressure with non-vitiated heated air was used as the test platform. This combustor was equipped with a novel multifuel multi-tube micromixing injector (M3 injector). High resolution simulations of the flow fields both in the injector as well as the combustor were performed to understand the fuel mixing in the injector and in the inlet region of the combustor. These modeling results showed that the injector was highly effective for achieving mixture homogeneity at the entrance of the combustor for ammonia and natural gas injection, whereas, for hydrogen an earlier injection facilitating longer residence time would be beneficial. Also, these simulations show that while harnessing waste heat the ideal fuel dissociation fraction is between 0.4 and 0.55 for optimal operation.

Ammonia↗

Introduction to Special Section: Machine Learning for Image-based Geologic Interpretation

Image-based geological interpretation has been a labor-intensive and time-consuming process because it requires well-trained geoscientists to identify geological structures, features, and textures from various types of images. These images include scanning electron microscopic images, optical microscopic images, optical photos, resistivity images, seismic volumes, remote-sensing images, etc. With fast-evolving machine learning (ML) technology and computing power in recent decades, computers can achieve nearhuman-level to super-human-level performance with scalable high efficiency in the computer vision field. These technological revolutions facilitated image-based geological interpretation in petroleum exploration and production. For example, a fault picking method applied to 3-D seismic volume data using deep learning can achieve superior performance in comparison to conventional auto-picking methods. In addition, under the new normal of low oil prices, the petroleum industry seeks cost-effective strategies such as automating traditionally labor-intensive processes. Nevertheless, the potential of applying ML to geological image interpretation is still facing a few key challenges including data scarcity, data distribution, poor data and/or label quality, data leakage, learning algorithms, model architecture, training methodologies, testing and evaluation metrics, hyper-parameters optimization, model drift, production deployment, and the like.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

On the Stark Effect of the O I 777-nm Triplet in Plasma and Laser Fields

The O I 777-nm triplet transition is often used for plasma density diagnostics. It is also employed in nonlinear optics setups for producing quasi-comb structures when pumped by a near-resonant laser field. Here, we apply computer simulations to situations of the radiating atom subjected to the plasma microfields, laser fields, and both perturbations together. Our results, in particular, resolve a controversy related to the spectral line anomalously broadened in some laser-produced plasmas. The importance of using time-dependent density matrix is discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

How High to Fly? Mapping Evapotranspiration from Remotely Piloted Aircrafts at Different Elevations

Recent advancements in remotely piloted aircrafts (RPAs) have made frequent, low-flying imagery collection more economical and feasible than ever before. The goal of this work was to create, compare, and quantify uncertainty associated with evapotranspiration (ET) maps generated from different conditions and image capture elevations. We collected optical and thermal data from a commercially irrigated potato (Solanum tuberosum) field in the Wisconsin Central Sands using a quadcopter RPA system and combined multispectral/thermal camera. We conducted eight mission sets (24 total missions) during the 2019 growing season. Each mission set included flights at 90, 60, and 30 m above ground level. Ground reference measurements of surface temperature and soil moisture were collected throughout the domain within 15 min of each RPA mission set. Evapotranspiration values were modeled from the flight data using the High-Resolution Mapping of Evapotranspiration (HRMET) model. We compared HRMET-derived ET estimates to an Eddy Covariance system within the flight domain. Additionally, we assessed uncertainty for each flight using a Monte Carlo approach. Results indicate that the primary source of uncertainty in ET estimates was the optical and thermal data. Despite some additional detectable features at low elevation, we conclude that the tradeoff in resources and computation does not currently justify low elevation flights for annual vegetable crop management in the Midwest USA.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Incorporation of aerosol into the COSPv2 satellite lidar simulator for climate model evaluation

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosol has substantial impacts on climate, air quality and biogeochemical cycles, and its concentrations are highly variable in space and time. A key variability to evaluate within models that simulate aerosol is the vertical distribution, which influences atmospheric heating profiles and aerosol–cloud interactions, to help constrain aerosol residence time and to better represent the magnitude of simulated impacts. To ensure a consistent comparison between modeled and observed vertical distribution of aerosol, we implemented an aerosol lidar simulator within the Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project (CFMIP) Observation Simulator Package version 2 (COSPv2). We assessed the attenuated total backscattered (ATB) signal and the backscatter ratios (SRs) at 532 nm in the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 1 (E3SMv1). The simulator performs the computations at the same vertical resolution as the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP), making use of aerosol optics from the E3SMv1 model as inputs and assuming that aerosol is uniformly distributed horizontally within each model grid box. The simulator applies a cloud masking and an aerosol detection threshold to obtain the ATB and SR profiles that would be observed above clouds by CALIOP with its aerosol detection capability. Our analysis shows that the aerosol distribution simulated at a seasonal timescale is generally in good agreement with observations. Over the Southern Ocean, however, the model does not produce the SR maximum as observed in the real world. Comparison between clear-sky and all-sky SRs shows little differences, indicating that the cloud screening by potentially incorrect model clouds does not affect the mean aerosol signal averaged over a season. This indicates that the differences between observed and simulated SR values are due not to sampling errors, but to deficiencies in the representation of aerosol in models. Finally, we highlight the need for future applications of lidar observations at multiple wavelengths to provide insights into aerosol properties and distribution and their representation in Earth system models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Snow ALbedo eVOlution (SALVO) Campaign Spectral Albedo and Related Measurements from April - June, 2024 in Utqiagivk, AK

A field-portable spectroradiometer, referred to herein as an ‘ASD’, was used to make spatially-distributed spectral albedo (350 – 2500 nm) measurements on tundra and sea ice surfaces. The ASD detector is carried in a backpack and controlled via a computer mounted on the front of the operator (see Figure 1). The ASD measures the spectral irradiance from a fiber optic cable that is routed from the backpack to a custom, gooseneck cosine collector mounted on the end of a 1-m long boom (Grenfell and Perovich, 2008). The boom was held at hip height (approximately 1 m) and had an integrated bubble level for levelling. To make an albedo measurement, first the operator collect an incident (down-welling) irradiance, followed by a reflected (up-welling) measurement. The time between incident and reflected measurements was typically between 11 and 26 seconds (interquartile range). For each measurement, 10 spectra are averaged together. Albedo is calculated as the ratio of the reflected to incident measurement, which obviates the need for absolute radiometric calibration. Albedo measurements were taken parallel to the 200-m albedo lines at 5-m increments (41 measurements) ~1 m south of the line. While the ASD operator was making measurements, an assistant kept notes on the scan number associated with each measurement, the surface type (see below), and collected photos of each measurement (see companion oblique photos data archive). Measurements were made within 3 hours of solar noon.

ASD Spectroradiometer↗

Leveraging 3D CAD and Virtual Reality in Design of the Calcine Disposition Project - 20512

Fluor Idaho's Calcine Disposition Project (CDP) is leveraging the power of three-dimensional (3D) visualization, light detection and ranging (Lidar), and virtual reality to improve designs and worker safety. With the use of computer-aided design (CAD) modeling software, the CDP has created 3D models of the facility and systems to aid in the design, development, and operation of its retrieval and transfer system. This by itself is nothing new and has been done in industry for years. The CDP project however is taking this a few steps farther with the use of Lidar and virtual reality software. The CRP is tasked with removing a radioactive granular material from stainless steel bins located in concrete vaults that were constructed in the late 1950's and early 1960's. While construction drawings are available, it is not certain that the drawings are as-built or how accurate they truly are. Part of the project requires precise placement of equipment on to bins around multiple pipe, electrical lines, and bin stiffeners. Relying solely on the existing drawings and models created from these drawings is highly risky and prone to failure. The first step to determine the precise location and orientation of all obstructions in the vault the project will use a Lidar system to scan the vault structure and precisely locate all vault and bin components. Once this information is obtained, the data will be integrated into the CAD model. The model will then be verified, and a true as-built model developed. Precise component location, size, and orientation will be used for final design and placement of retrieval components. The second step will be to take the verified 3D model and scan data and import it into virtual reality software creating a virtual world. While some work on the project requires all work to be completed remotely due to high radiation fields, some areas have low enough radiation levels that personnel can enter and perform work. With the use of a virtual reality headset, operators and technicians will be able to enter our virtual world and become familiar with the surroundings and perform work prior to ever entering the radiation environment. This training is expected to pay dividends by improving worker efficiency, reducing errors, and improving confidence that the work can be performed as expected. It will play a key aspect in as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) principles. An additional aspect in using the Lidar scans and virtual environment, is that it will give engineers and managers an opportunity to revisit the facility, especially radiation areas, at any time to obtain design information and measurements that may be costly or impossible to obtain once the facility transitions into radiation operations. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Understanding and Overcoming Water-induced Interfacial Degradation in Si Modules (Final Technical Report)

Moisture ingress is an established issue for photovoltaic module durability. Durability studies probing moisture effects typically evaluate performance losses at the module level, attributing global power losses to the overall humidity condition of the test environment while leaving local module behavior unknown. This project successfully develops an in situ short-wave infrared probe of moisture content in PV modules with demonstrated detection limits better than 100 ppm in EVA-encapsulated Al-BSF and PERC architectures (66 µg/cm3) and applicability across the range of terrestrial conditions. Combining this optical moisture quantification method (water reflectometry detection, WaRD) with peel testing of interfaces, biased photoluminescence imaging of performance, and first principles computation, we correlate module moisture content and cell performance over the course of accelerated damp heat tests. By performing multi-level humidity and thermal accelerated testing over thousands of hours (0, 65 and 85% RH and 25, 65, and 85°C), we are able to attribute effects of individual environmental stresses and the dependence on module architecture. Using first-principles computational chemistry, we find that the decomposition of EVA to acetic acid (Norrish II) is thermodynamically preferred over a pathway to acetaldehyde (Norrish I), elucidating the underlying chemistry of encapsulant degradation. We also find it is likely that water segregates to the stable interfaces of the cell, especially the SiNx/EVA interface. We find that moisture is strongly correlated with reduction in adhesion at the interfaces of the cells, particularly at Ag fingers. We show uniquely that the peel strength required to delaminate the encapsulant from the front of the cell depends not only on the exposure to a high heat and humid environment, but also to the moisture content during the mechanical testing, indicating an important interaction between when mechanical stresses are faced in terms of the moisture content of the module and its durability. We find that the background sheet resistance (that is, the sheet resistance rise not attributable to finger interruptions or cracks) is substantially higher in the backsheet mini-modules vs glass-glass packages when humidity and temperature are faced. This increase in power loss due to the background resistance increase over time in damp heat in glass-backsheet modules resulted in ~3-4% larger decrease in relative PCE compared to glass-glass modules. In glass-backsheet modules, the effect of the moisture dose alone is comparable or greater than that of the combined temperature and water term, suggesting that glass-backsheet modules are overall more susceptible to moisture induced performance loss. Finally, we show that thin film PV modules are amenable to WaRD measurement, based on the ability to detect moisture in POE encapsulants or in the cell stack itself. The ease of WaRD measurement and its few requirements on the bill of materials should enable broad applicability of this technique for studying the effects of moisture in PV.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Parameterization of cloud transmittance for expeditious assessment and forecasting of all-sky DNI

Radiative transfer models require vast computing resources to solve cloud transmittance and reflectance from the radiative transfer equation. As a result, models offering precise simulation in operations often acquire individual cloud transmittance or reflectance from a lookup table precomputed for practicable scenarios. To further expedite the computation of global horizontal irradiance and to reduce the storage requirements, the Fast All-sky Radiation Model for Solar applications (FARMS) parameterized the lookup table using elementary functions with specified coefficients. This study extends FARMS direct normal irradiance (DNI) computation by utilizing hyperbolic tangent functions and various polynomial functions to parameterize the cloud transmittance for scattered solar radiation in the circumsolar region. The parameterization is implemented in FARMS with DNI (FARMS-DNI) and accounts for the circumsolar radiation when assessing or forecasting DNI. The evaluation, with long-term observations at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's, Solar Radiation Research Laboratory, and the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement, Southern Great Plains, Central Facility, shows that the parameterized DNIs are virtually identical with those computed by coupling FARMS-DNI to a lookup table of cloud transmittance. This parameterization has diverse applications in radiative transfer models and numerical weather prediction models used to assess or forecast direct solar radiation.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Giant nonlinear optical responses from photon-avalanching nanoparticles

Avalanche phenomena use steeply nonlinear dynamics to generate disproportionately large responses from small perturbations, and are found in a multitude of events and materials. Photon avalanching enables technologies such as optical phase-conjugate imaging, infrared quantum counting and efficient upconverted lasing. However, the photon-avalanching mechanism underlying these optical applications has been observed only in bulk materials and aggregates, limiting its utility and impact. In this study we report the realization of photon avalanching at room temperature in single nanostructures-small, Tm 3+ -doped upconverting nanocrystals-and demonstrate their use in super-resolution imaging in near-infrared spectral windows of maximal biological transparency. Avalanching nanoparticles (ANPs) can be pumped by continuous-wave lasers, and exhibit all of the defining features of photon avalanching, including clear excitation-power thresholds, exceptionally long rise time at threshold, and a dominant excited-state absorption that is more than 10,000 times larger than ground-state absorption. Beyond the avalanching threshold, ANP emission scales nonlinearly with the 26th power of the pump intensity, owing to induced positive optical feedback in each nanocrystal. This enables the experimental realization of photon-avalanche single-beam super-resolution imaging with sub-70-nanometre spatial resolution, achieved by using only simple scanning confocal microscopy and without any computational analysis. Pairing their steep nonlinearity with existing super-resolution techniques and computational methods, ANPs enable imaging with higher resolution and at excitation intensities about 100 times lower than other probes. The low photon-avalanching threshold and excellent photostability of ANPs also suggest their utility in a diverse array of applications, including sub-wavelength imaging and optical and environmental sensing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Implementation and experimental validation of nonlocal damage in a large-strain elasto-viscoplastic FFT-based framework for predicting ductile fracture in 3D polycrystalline materials

Ductile materials, such as metal alloys, can undergo substantial deformation before failure. Additionally, these materials are usually of polycrystalline composition and exhibit strongly anisotropic behavior at small length scales. Previously developed fast Fourier transform (FFT)-based models can model ductile fracture of isotropic materials or the elastic–plastic behavior of anisotropic polycrystalline materials; however, there remains a need to couple both capabilities. This work extends a large-strain FFT-based crystal plasticity model to simulate ductile fracture of polycrystalline materials. In this work, a triaxiality-based continuum damage mechanics (CDM) formulation is incorporated into a large-strain elasto-viscoplastic FFT (LS-EVPFFT) framework. The CDM formulation is augmented with an integral-based nonlocal regularization approach that correctly handles gas-phase material necessary to model unconstrained surfaces. To validate the damage-enabled LS-EVPFFT framework, mesoscale copper tensile coupons were machined using microwire electrical discharge machining and experimentally characterized using electron backscatter diffraction. In-situ optical digital image correlation was performed during uniaxial testing to provide a side-by-side comparison of the experimental and computational strain fields and stress–strain responses. The damage-enabled LS-EVPFFT framework can simulate the complete macroscopic stress–strain response of ductile polycrystals to failure. The model reproduces necking behavior that qualitatively agrees with experimental observations. By leveraging the relatively low computational cost of the damage-enabled LS-EVPFFT framework, the framework presented here allows the ductile fracture response of 3D polycrystalline materials to be tractably predicted.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Simulations of Attosecond Metallization in Quartz and Diamond Probed with Inner-Shell Transient Absorption Spectroscopy

When dielectrics are hit with intense infrared (IR) laser pulses, transient metalization can occur. The initial attosecond dynamics behind this metallization are not entirely understood. Therefore, simulations are needed to understand this process and to help interpret experimental observations of it, such as with attosecond transient absorption (ATA). In this paper, we present first-principles simulations of ATA based on bulk-mimicking clusters and real-time time-dependent density functional theory (RT-TDDFT), with Koopmans-tuned range-separated hybrid functionals and Gaussian basis sets. Our method gives good agreement with the experiment for the breakdown threshold in silica and diamond. This breakdown voltage corresponds to a Keldysh parameter of approximately one and thus involves a transition to a regime where the dynamics are driven by tunneling. Pumping at an amplitude just below this value causes a mixture of multiphoton and tunneling excitations across the band gap to occur. The computed extreme ultraviolet and X-ray attosecond transient spectra also agree well with the experiment and show a decrease in optical density due to the transient population of the conduction band from the IR field. First-principles approaches such as this are valuable for interpreting the complicated modulations in a spectrum and for guiding future attosecond experiments on solids.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Optical design concept of the CMB-S4 large-aperture telescopes and cameras

CMB-S4 -- the next-generation ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiment - will significantly advance the sensitivity of CMB measurements and improve our understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe. CMB-S4 will deploy large-aperture telescopes fielding hundreds of thousands of detectors at millimeter wavelengths. We present the baseline optical design concept of the large-aperture CMB-S4 telescopes, which consists of two optical configurations: (i) a new off-axis, three-mirror, free-form anastigmatic design and (ii) the existing coma-corrected crossed-Dragone design. We also present an overview of the optical configuration of the array of silicon optics cameras that will populate the focal plane with 85 diffraction-limited optics tubes covering up to 9 degrees of field of view, up to $1.1 \, \rm mm$ in wavelength. We describe the computational optimization methods that were put in place to implement the families of designs described here and give a brief update on the current status of the design effort.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗