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

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At least 685 records · Page 38
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Occupational exposure assessment: Practices in Malaysian nuclear agency

Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuclear Malaysia) is the leading agency in introducing and promoting the application of nuclear science technology in Malaysia. The agency provides major nuclear facilities purposely for research and commercialisation such as reactor, irradiation plants and radioisotope production laboratory. When dealing with ionizing radiation, there is an obligatory requirement to monitor and assess the radiation exposure to the workers. The personal dose of radiation workers were monitored monthly by assessing their Thermoluminescence Dosimeter (TLD) dose reading. This paper will discuss the current practice in managing, assessing, record keeping and reporting of the occupational exposure in Nuclear Malaysia including the Health Physic Group roles and challenges. The statistics on occupational radiation exposure of monitored workers working in different fields in Nuclear Malaysia from 2011 - 2013 will also be presented. The results show that the null hypothesis (H{sub 0}) was accepted which the means of every populations are all equal or not differ significantly. This hypothesis states that the dose exposure received by the radiation workers in Nuclear Malaysia is similar and there were no significant changes from 2011 to 2013. The radiation monitoring programme correlate with the requirement of our national law, the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304)

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Electromagnetic cyclotron waves in the solar wind: Wind observation and wave dispersion analysis

Wind observed long-lasting electromagnetic cyclotron waves near the proton cyclotron frequency on 11 March 2005, in the descending part of a fast wind stream. Bi-Maxwellian velocity distributions are fitted for core protons, beam protons, and α-particles. Using the fitted plasma parameters we conduct kinetic linear dispersion analysis and find ion cyclotron and/or firehose instabilities grow in six of 10 wave intervals. After Doppler shift, some of the waves have frequency and polarization consistent with observation, thus may be correspondence to the cyclotron waves observed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Energy utilization in fluctuating biological energy converters

We have argued previously that energy utilization and evolution are emergent properties based on a small number of established laws of physics and chemistry. The relevant laws constitute a framework for biology on a level intermediate between quantum chemistry and cell biology. There are legitimate questions whether these concepts are valid at the mesoscopic level. Such systems fluctuate appreciably, so it is not clear what their efficiency is. Advances in fluctuation theorems allow the description of such systems on a molecular level. We attempt to clarify this topic and bridge the biochemical and physical descriptions of mesoscopic systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Critical behavior in Ni 2 MnGa and Ni 2 Mn 0.85 Cu 0.15 Ga

The critical behaviors of polycrystalline Ni 2 MnGa and Ni 2 Mn 0.85 Cu 0.15 Ga have been examined through high-resolution bulk magnetization measurements. The critical exponents, β and γ, were derived from modified Arrott plots using the Kouvel-Fisher method. The values of the extracted critical exponents satisfied the scaling equation of state and associated exponent relations, indicating self-consistency of the extracted values. In Ni2MnGa, the critical exponents (β = 0.401 ± 0.003, γ = 1.27 ± 0.02) indicate a deviation from the 3D-Heisenberg values toward the mean-field values, likely due to the presence of long-range Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interactions. However, the critical exponents of Ni2Mn0.85Cu0.15Ga (β = 0.389 ± 0.004, γ =1.39 ± 0.02) are closer to the 3D-Heisenberg values. This indicates a weakening of the long-range exchange interactions due to the substitution of Cu in the Mn site.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

Thermal transport exceeding bulk heat conduction due to nonthermal micro/nanoscale phonon populations

While classical size effects usually lead to a reduced effective thermal conductivity, we report here that nonthermal phonon populations produced by a micro/nanoscale heat source can lead to enhanced heat conduction, exceeding the prediction from Fourier's law. We study nondiffusive thermal transport by phonons at small distances within the framework of the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) and demonstrate that the transport is significantly affected by the distribution of phonons emitted by the source. We discuss analytical solutions of the steady-state BTE for a source with a sinusoidal spatial profile, as well as for a three-dimensional Gaussian “hot spot,” and provide numerical results for single crystal silicon at room temperature. If a micro/nanoscale heat source produces a thermal phonon distribution, it gets hotter than that predicted by the heat diffusion equation; however, if the source predominantly produces low-frequency acoustic phonons with long mean free paths, it may get significantly cooler than that predicted by the heat equation, yielding an enhanced heat transport beyond bulk heat conduction.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Murray Gell-Mann

Murray Gell-Mann, the preeminent architect of theoretical elementary-particle physics, died on 24 May 2019 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He received the 1969 Nobel Prize “for his contributions and discoveries concerning the classification of elementary particles and their interactions.” His contributions to physics include many foundational ideas, such as the renormalization group, which is fundamental to quantum field theory and statistical mechanics.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Operator-level quantum acceleration of non-logconcave sampling

Sampling from probability distributions of the form 𝝈 ∝ e −𝜷V , where V is a continuous potential, is a fundamental task across physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, and statistics. However, when V is nonconvex, the resulting distribution becomes non-logconcave, and classical methods such as Langevin dynamics often exhibit poor performance. We introduce a quantum algorithm that provably accelerates a broad class of continuous-time sampling dynamics. For Langevin dynamics, our method encodes the target Gibbs measure into the amplitudes of aquantum state, identified as the kernel of a block matrix derived from a factorization of the Witten Laplacian operator. This connection enables Gibbs sampling via singular value thresholding and yields up to a quartic quantum speedup over best-knownclassical Langevin-based methods in the non-logconcave setting. Building on this framework, we further develop the first quantum algorithm that accelerates replica exchange Langevin diffusion, a widely used method for sampling from complex, rugged energy landscapes.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Allan Franklin, Shifting Standards: Experiments in Particle Physics in the Twentieth Century . Book Review

The book Shifting Standards is a valuable contribution to the literature on the history and philosophy of science and specifically to the philosophy of scientific experimentation, the discipline of which Allan Franklin is one of the outstanding scholars and founders. Here, the central focus of the book is the contemporary shift in the norms of representation of experimental results in particle physics as well as the increasing role and drawbacks of statistical standards of acceptance for those results.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Late-formed haloes prefer to host quiescent central galaxies – I. Observational results

ABSTRACT The star formation and quenching of central galaxies are regulated by the assembly histories of their host haloes. In this work, we use the central stellar mass to halo mass ratio as a proxy of halo formation time, and we devise three different models, from the physical hydrodynamical simulation to the empirical statistical model, to demonstrate its robustness. With this proxy, we inferred the dependence of the central galaxy properties on the formation time of their host haloes using the SDSS main galaxy sample, where central galaxies are identified with the halo-based group finder. We found that central galaxies living in late-formed haloes have higher quiescent fractions and lower spiral fractions than their early-formed counterparts by $\lesssim 8~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ . Finally, we demonstrate that the group finding algorithm has a negligible impact on our results.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2017

Improved modeling of photon observables with the event-by-event fission model FREYA

The event-by-event fission model FREYA has been improved, in particular to address deficiencies in the calculation of photon observables. In this paper, we discuss the improvements that have been made and introduce several new variables, some detector dependent, that affect the photon observables. We show the sensitivity of FREYA to these variables. Finally, we then compare the results to the available photon data from spontaneous and thermal neutron-induced fission.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Thermonuclear fusion rates for tritium + deuterium using Bayesian methods

The 3 H(d, n) 4 He reaction has a large low-energy cross section and will likely be utilized in future commercial fusion reactors. This reaction also takes place during Big Bang nucleosynthesis. Studies of both scenarios require accurate and precise fusion rates. To this end, we implement a one-level, two-channel R-matrix approximation into a Bayesian model. Our main goals are to predict reliable astrophysical S-factors and to estimate R-matrix parameters using the Bayesian approach. All relevant parameters are sampled in our study, including the channel radii, boundary condition parameters, and data set normalization factors. In addition, we take uncertainties in both measured bombarding energies and S-factors rigorously into account. Thermonuclear rates and reactivities of the 3 H(d, n) 4 He reaction are derived by numerically integrating the Bayesian S-factor samples. The present reaction rate uncertainties at temperatures between 1.0 MK and 1.0 GK are in the range of 0.2% to 0.6%. Our reaction rates differ from previous results by 2.9% near 1.0 GK.Our reactivities are smaller than previous results, with a maximum deviation of 2.9% near a thermal energy of 4 keV. The present rate or reactivity uncertainties are more reliable compared to previous studies that did not include the channel radii, boundary condition parameters, and data set normalization factors in the fitting. Finally, we investigate previous claims of electron screening effects in the published 3 H(d, n) 4 He data. No such effects are evident and only an upper limit for the electron screening potential can be obtained.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effective Model for Fractional Topological Corner Modes in Quasicrystals

High-order topological insulators (HOTIs), as generalized from topological crystalline insulators, are characterized with lower-dimensional metallic boundary states protected by spatial symmetries of a crystal, whose theoretical framework based on band inversion at special k points cannot be readily extended to quasicrystals because quasicrystals contain rotational symmetries that are not compatible with crystals, and momentum is no longer a good quantum number. In this work, we develop a low-energy effective model underlying HOTI states in 2D quasicrystals for all possible rotational symmetries. By implementing a novel Fourier transform developed recently for quasicrystals and approximating the long-wavelength behavior by their large-scale average, we construct an effective k · p Hamiltonian to capture the band inversion at the center of a pseudo-Brillouin zone. We show that an in-plane Zeeman field can induce mass kinks at the intersection of adjacent edges of a 2D quasicrystal topological insulators and generate corner modes (CMs) with fractional charge, protected by rotational symmetries. Our model predictions are confirmed by numerical tight-binding calculations. Furthermore, when the quasicrystal is proximitized by an s-wave superconductor, Majorana CMs can also be created by tuning the field strength and chemical potential. Our work affords a generic approach to studying the low-energy physics of quasicrystals, in association with topological excitations and fractional statistics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

U.S. stock market interaction network as learned by the Boltzmann machine

Here, we study historical dynamics of joint equilibrium distribution of stock returns in the U.S. stock market using the Boltzmann distribution model being parametrized by external fields and pairwise couplings. Within Boltzmann learning framework for statistical inference, we analyze historical behavior of the parameters inferred using exact and approximate learning algorithms. Since the model and inference methods require use of binary variables, effect of this mapping of continuous returns to the discrete domain is studied. The presented results show that binarization preserves the correlation structure of the market. Properties of distributions of external fields and couplings as well as the market interaction network and industry sector clustering structure are studied for different historical dates and moving window sizes. We demonstrate that the observed positive heavy tail in distribution of couplings is related to the sparse clustering structure of the market. We also show that discrepancies between the model’s parameters might be used as a precursor of financial instabilities.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Search for Pauli exclusion principle violating atomic transitions and electron decay with a p-type point contact germanium detector

Here, a search for Pauli-exclusion-principle-violating K α electron transitions was performed using 89.5 kg-d of data collected with a p-type point contact high-purity germanium detector operated at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility. A lower limit on the transition lifetime of 5.8 × 10 30 s at 90% C.L. was set by looking for a peak at 10.6 keV resulting from the X-ray and Auger electrons present following the transition. A similar analysis was done to look for the decay of atomic K-shell electrons into neutrinos, resulting in a lower limit of 6.8 × 10 30 s at 90% C.L. It is estimated that the Majorana Demonstrator, a 44 kg array of p-type point contact detectors that will search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76 Ge, could improve upon these exclusion limits by an order of magnitude after three years of operation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

COBRA:COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY BASED RANDOM-FIELD APPROXIMATION

SF-25-115 COBRA (COmputed-tomography Based Random-field Approximation) is a Python application for generating statistically equivalent random fields from CT-scan imagery. It leverages Karhunen–Loève expansions to model microstructural variability, enabling users to: Preprocess CT scans (filtering and Gaussian transformation); Fit covariance kernels fromempirical data; Solve eigenproblems to obtain KL modes; Sample random fields onsistent with fitted statistics; Postprocess samples back into the physical domain.

Hu, Tianchen↗
DOE OSTI2013

Hedberg Research Conference on Fundamental Controls on Flow in Carbonates: Request for Travel Support for Post-Doctoral Fellows

Carbonate reservoirs pose a scientific and engineering challenge to geophysical prediction and monitoring of fluid flow in the subsurface. Difficulties in interpreting hydrological, reservoir and other exploration data arise because carbonates are composed of a hierarchy of geological structures, constituents and processes that span a wide spectrum of length and time scales. What makes this problem particularly challenging is that length scales associated with physical structure and processes are often not discrete, but overlap, preventing the definition of discrete elements at one scale to become the building blocks of the next scale. This is particularly true for carbonates where complicated depositional environments, subsequent post-deposition diagenesis and geochemical interactions result in pores that vary in scale from submicron to centimeters to fractures, variation in fabric composition with fossils, minerals and cement, as well as variations in structural features (e.g., oriented inter- and intra layered - interlaced bedding and/or discontinuous rock units). In addition, this complexity is altered by natural and anthropogenic processes such as changes in stress, fluid content, reactive fluid flow, etc. Thus an accurate geophysical assessment of the flow behavior of carbonate reservoirs requires a fundamental understanding of the interplay of textural and structural features subjected to physical processes that affect and occur on various length and time scales. To address this complexity related to carbonates, a Hedberg conference on “Fundamental Controls on Flow in Carbonates” was held July 8 to 13, 2012, to bring together industry and academic scientists to stimulate innovative ideas that can accelerate research advances related to flow prediction and recovery in carbonate reservoirs. Participants included scientist and engineers from multiple disciplines (such as hydrology, structural geology, geochemistry, reservoir engineering, geophysics, geomechanics, numerical modeling, physical experiments, sedimentology, well-testing, statistics, mathematics, visualization, etc.) who encompass experience as well as the latest advances in these multi-faceted fields. One of the goals was to include early career scientists and engineers (post-doctoral fellows, assistant professors, etc.). With this grant 10 early career scientists and engineers were supported to attend the conference. This reports contains a brief overview of the conference and the list of support participants supported by this grant. Full details of the outcomes of the conference are given in the publication found in the Attachment section of this report.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

LDRD 20190608ER: Diagnosing Near-Future Changes in Arctic Sea Ice and Ocean Conditions

Environmental changes in the Arctic present opportunities and increased hazards as potential shipping corridors open. We apply novel statistical techniques to simultaneously characterize multiple physical properties and uncertainties relevant for Arctic shipping, analyzing existing model projections to understand the likelihood of encountering high wind and low ice conditions along potential transportation routes through the Arctic Ocean. We assess the quality of Department of Energy (DOE) simulations against observed data, for these purposes. We find that the Arctic system is highly variable, but its large-scale patterns are captured by the models, allowing us to consider the two major shipping routes along Arctic coasts: the Northern Sea Route on the Russian side of the Arctic Ocean, and the Northwest Passage through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Our work highlights the usefulness and promise of DOE’s new modeling system (E3SM) as well as limitations of the models and observed data, such as resolution, differing types of information available from models and measurements, and challenges for quantifying uncertainty and bias. A procedure developed to increase predictability in Community Earth System Model simulations could be beneficial for E3SM. This research provides insight into Arctic trends and a baseline to articulate future model development needs.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Catalog of Quasar Properties from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 16

We present a catalog of continuum and emission-line properties for 750,414 broad-line quasars included in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 16 quasar catalog (DR16Q), measured from optical spectroscopy. These quasars cover broad ranges in redshift (0.1 ≲ z ≲ 6) and luminosity (44 ≲ log(L bol /erg s -1 ) ≲ 48), and probe lower luminosities than an earlier compilation of SDSS DR7 quasars. Derived physical quantities such as single-epoch virial black hole masses and bolometric luminosities are also included in this catalog. We present improved systemic redshifts and realistic redshift uncertainties for DR16Q quasars using the measured line peaks and correcting for velocity shifts of various lines with respect to the systemic velocity. About 1%, 1.4%, and 11% of the original DR16Q redshifts deviate from the systemic redshifts by |ΔV| > 1500 km s -1 , |ΔV| $\in$ [1000, 1500] km s -1 , and |ΔV| $\in$ [500, 1000] km s -1 , respectively; about 1900 DR16Q redshifts were catastrophically wrong (|ΔV| > 10,000 km s -1 ). We demonstrate the utility of this data product in quantifying the spectral diversity and correlations among physical properties of quasars with large statistical samples.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗