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At least 703 records · Page 39
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2016

Laboratory Measurements of the K-Shell Transition Energies in L-Shell Ions of Si and S

We have measured the energies of the strongest 1s-2 ℓ (azimuthal quantum number) (ℓ = s, p (s, p are angular momentum states)) transitions in He- through Ne-like silicon and sulfur ions to an accuracy of less than 1 electronvolt using the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's electron beam ion traps, EBIT-I and SuperEBIT, and the NASA/GSFC EBIT Calorimeter Spectrometer (ECS). We identify and measure the energies of 18 and 21 X-ray features from silicon and sulfur, respectively. The results are compared to new Flexible Atomic Code calculations and to semi-relativistic Hartree-Fock calculations by Palmeri et al. (2008). These results will be especially useful for wind diagnostics in high-mass X-ray binaries, such as Vela X-1 and Cygnus X-1, where high-resolution spectral measurements using Chandraʼs high-energy transmission grating has made it possible to measure Doppler shifts of 100 kilometers per second. The accuracy of our measurements is consistent with that needed to analyze Chandra observations, exceeding Chandraʼs 100 kilometers per second limit. Hence, the results presented here not only provide benchmarks for theory, but also accurate rest energies that can be used to determine the bulk motion of material in astrophysical sources. We show the usefulness of our results by applying them to redetermine Doppler shifts from Chandra observations of Vela X-1.

atomic data↗
NASA NTRS2016

Cupid's Arrow: An Innovative Nanosat to Sample Venus' Upper Atmosphere

In NASA's Discovery 2014 AO, the opportunity to propose a Technology Demonstration Opportunity (TDO) to enhance the primary mission was specified. For the Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy (VERITAS) mission, we elected to include the Cupid's Arrow nanosat TDO to sample and measure the abundances of noble gases and their isotopic ratios in Venus's upper atmosphere below the homopause. This paper will provide a basic overview of the VERITAS mission, with a focus on the Cupid's Arrow concept including a description of the mission, spacecraft design, and JPL's quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer (QITMS) instrument specifications and design. In previous planetary entry probe mission designs, particularly at Venus, engineers w ere focused on entry and descent. A landed probe was also proposed for the New Frontiers SAGE mission. For Cupid's Arrow, the nanosat is designed to skim through the upper atmosphere, just below the homopause, in order to sample the atmosphere, perform the analysis, and then exit the atmosphere to transmit its data to the orbiting VERITAS spacecraft. Cupid's Arrow is a compelling addition to the VERITAS geology mission. A key missing link in our understanding of Venus' evolution is the noble gas abundances and their isotopic ratios. Not since Pioneer Venus have these measurements been made in the Venus atmosphere and never in the upper atmosphere, just below the homopause, to the degree of accuracy that will be accomplished by VERITAS' Cupid's Arrow nanosat.Such measurements were ranked as the number 1 investigation of the number 1 objective of the goal "Atmospheric Formation, Evolution, and Climate History ".

Discovery↗
NASA NTRS2015

Ion Chromatography-on-a-chip for Water Quality Analysis

We report progress towards developing a Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS)- based ion chromatograph (IC) for crewed spacecraft water analysis. This IC-chip is an offshoot of a NASA-funded effort to produce a high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC)-chip. This HPLC-chip system would require a desalting (i.e. ion chromatography) step. The complete HPLC instrument consists of the Jet Propulsion Labortory's (JPL's) quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer integrated with a state-of-the-art MEMS liquid chromatograph (LC) system developed by the California Institute of Technology's (Caltech's) Micromachining Laboratory. The IC version of the chip consist of an electrolysis-based injector, a separation column, two electrolysis pumps for gradient generation, mixer, and a built-in conductivity detector. The HPLC version of the chip also includes a nanospray tip. The low instrument mass, coupled with its high analytical capabilities, makes the LC chip ideally suitable for wide range of applications such as trace contaminant, inorganic analytical science and, when coupled to a mass spectrometer, a macromolecular detection system for either crewed space exploration vehicles or robotic planetary missions.

Kidd, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS2020

X-ray Spectra of the Fe-L Complex II: Atomic Data Constraints from the EBIT Experiment and X-Ray Grating Observations of Capella

The Hitomi results for the Perseus cluster have shown that accurate atomic models are essential to the success of X-ray spectroscopic missions and just as important as the store of knowledge on instrumental calibration and astrophysical modeling. Preparing the models requires a multifaceted approach, including theoretical calculations, laboratory measurements, and calibration using real observations. In a previous paper, we presented a calculation of the electron impact cross sections on the transitions forming the Fe-L complex. In the present work, we systematically tested the calculation against cross-sections of ions measured in an electron beam ion trap experiment. A two-dimensional analysis in the electron beam energies and X-ray photon energies was utilized to disentangle radiative channels following dielectronic recombination, direct electron-impact excitation, and resonant excitation processes in the experimental data. The data calibrated through laboratory measurements were further fed into a global modeling of the Chandra grating spectrum of Capella. We investigated and compared the fit quality, as well as the sensitivity of the derived physical parameters to the underlying atomic data and the astrophysical plasma modeling. We further list the potential areas of disagreement between the observations and the present calculations, which, in turn, calls for renewed efforts with regard to theoretical calculations and targeted laboratory measurements.

Liyi Gu↗
NASA NTRS2021

Mitigation of Finite Bandwidth Effects in Time-Division-Multiplexed SQUID Readout of TES Arrays

Time division multiplexing (TDM) is being developed as the readout technology of the X-ray integral field unit (X-IFU), a 3,168-pixel X-ray transition-edge sensor (TES) imaging spectrometer that is part of the European Space Agency's Athena satellite mission. Recent improvements in the low X-ray event count rate performance of TDM have been driven by increases in multiplexer bandwidth and the mitigation of settling transients. These methods and design changes have improved the 32-row multiplexed resolution of a NASA LPA 2.5a array from an initial (2.73 ± 0.03) eV to (1.97 ± 0.01) eV resolution at 5.9 keV. We discuss these recent advances in TDM readout, which have been implemented in an 8-column × 32-row spectrometer that will be deployed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory electron beam ion trap (EBIT) facility, and present a model that will inform the design of future systems.

Transition-edge sensors↗
NASA NTRS2018

Laboratory Measurements of X-ray Emission from Highly Charged Argon Ions

Uncertainties in atomic models will introduce noticeable additional systematics in calculating the flux of weak dielectronic recombination (DR) satellite lines, affecting the detection and flux measurements of other weak spectral lines. One important example is the Ar xvii Heβ DR, which is expected to be present in emission from the hot intracluster medium of galaxy clusters and could impact measurements of the flux of the 3.5 keV line that has been suggested as a secondary emission from a dark matter interaction. We perform a set of experiments using the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's electron beam ion trap (EBIT-I) and the X-ray Spectrometer quantum calorimeter (XRS/EBIT) to test the Ar xvii Heβ DR origin of the 3.5 keV line. We measured the X-ray emission following resonant DR onto helium-like and lithium-like Argon using EBIT-I's Maxwellian simulator mode at a simulated electron temperature of T(e) = 1.74 keV. The measured flux of the Ar xvii Heβ DR lined is too weak to account for the flux in the 3.5 keV line, assuming reasonable plasma parameters. We, therefore, rule out Ar xvii Heβ DR as a significant contributor to the 3.5 keV line. A comprehensive comparison between the atomic theory and the EBIT experiment results is also provided.

Esra Bulbul↗
NASA NTRS2021

Absolute throughput calibration of multiple spherical crystals for the Orion High-REsolution X-ray spectrometer (OHREX)

We present absolute throughput analysis of several crystals for the Orion High-REsolution X-ray (OHREX) imaging crystal spectrometer using ray tracing and experimental measurements. The OHREX spectrometer is a high-resolution x-ray spectrometer designed to measure spectral line shapes at the Orion laser facility. The spectrometer is fielded with up to two spherical crystals simultaneously covering two independent spectral ranges. Each crystal has a nominal radius of curvature of R = 67.2 cm and is fielded at a nominal Bragg angle of 51.3°. To cover different bands of interest, several different crystals are available, including Ge (111), KAP, and several cuts of quartz, whose resolving power λ/Δλ exceeds 10 000. The calibrated response of the available crystals has previously been reported from measurements at the EBIT-I electron beam ion trap at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Here, we model the absolute throughput of each crystal using ray tracing and verify the results using experimental data for the quartz (10¯11) crystal.

M. J. MacDonald↗
NASA NTRS2021

Comprehensive Laboratory Measurements Resolving the LMM Dielectronic Recombination Satellite Lines in Ne-like Fe XVII Ions

We investigated experimentally and theoretically dielectronic recombination (DR) populating doubly excited configurations 3l3l¢ (LMM) in Fe XVII, the strongest channel for soft X-ray line formation in this ubiquitous species. We used two different electron beam ion traps and two complementary measurement schemes for preparing the Fe XVII samples and evaluating their purity, observing negligible contamination effects. This allowed us to diagnose the electron density in both EBITs. We compared our experimental resonant energies and strengths with those of previous independent work at a storage ring as well as those of configuration interaction, multiconfiguration Dirac–Fock calculations, and many-body perturbation theory. This last approach showed outstanding predictive power in the comparison with the combined independent experimental results. From these we also inferred DR rate coefficients, unveiling discrepancies from those compiled in the OPEN-ADAS and AtomDB databases.

Filipe Grilo↗
NASA NTRS2021

High-resolution Laboratory Measurements of K-shell X-ray Line Polarization and Excitation Cross Sections in Helium-like S XV Ions

We report measurements of electron-impact excitation cross sections for the strong K-shell n = 2 -> 1 transitions in S XV, using the LLNL EBIT-I electron beam ion trap, two crystal spectrometers, and the EBIT Calorimeter Spectrometer. The cross sections are determined by direct normalization to the well-known cross sections of radiative electron capture, measured simultaneously. Using contemporaneous polarization measurements with the two crystal spectrometers, whose dispersion planes are oriented parallel and perpendicular to the electron beam direction, the polarization of the direct excitation line emission is determined, and in turn the isotropic total cross sections are extracted. We further experimentally investigate various line-formation mechanisms, finding that radiative cascades and collisional inner-shell ionization dominate the degree of linear polarization and total line emission cross sections of the forbidden line, z.

atomic data↗
NASA NTRS2023

Testing the Gravitational Redshift With an Inner Solar System Probe: the Veritas Case

The NASA Discovery-class mission VERITAS, selected in June 2021, will be launched towards Venus after 2027. In addition to the science instrumentation that will build global foundational geophysical datasets, VERITAS proposed to conduct a technology demonstration for the Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC-2). A first DSAC successfully operated in low-Earth orbit for more than two years, demonstrated the trapped ion atomic clock technology, and established a new level of performance for clocks in space. DSAC-2 would have further improvements in size, power, and performance. It would host a 1× 10 -13 grade USO to produce a frequency output with short-term stability of less than 2× 10 -13 /√ τ (where τ is the averaging time).However, due to funding shortfalls, DSAC-2, had to be canceled. The initially foreseen presence of an atomic clock on board the probe, however, raised the question whether this kind of instrumentation could be useful not only for navigation and time transfer but also for fundamental physics tests. In this work, we consider the DSAC-2 atomic clock and VERITAS mission as a specific example to measure possible discrepancies in the redshift predicted by General Relativity by using an atomic clock onboard an interplanetary spacecraft. In particular we investigate the possibility of measuring possible violations of the Local Lorentz Invariance and Local Position Invariance principles. We perform accurate simulations of the experiment during the VERITAS cruise phase. We consider different parametrizations of the possible violations of the General Relativity, different operational conditions, and several different assumptions on the expected measurement performance. We show that DSAC-2 onboard VERITAS would provide new and improved constraints with respect to the current knowledge. Our analysis shows the scientific value of atomic clocks like DSAC-2 hosted onboard interplanetary spacecraft.

Fabrizio De Marchi↗
NASA NTRS2022

Deep Space Atomic Clock Technology Demonstration Mission Results

The Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC), a NASA Technology Demonstration Mission, was launched into low-Earth orbit on June 25, 2019 as a hosted payload aboard General Atomics’ Orbital Test Bed (OTB) spacecraft. The DSAC mission has been conducting a two-year demonstration of a mercury ion atomic clock to characterize its space-based performance and to validate its utility for deep space navigation and radio science. Analysis of the collected data using JPL’s GIPSY-OASIS software has shown DSAC’s AD at one-day to be near 310-15; much better than required AD of 210-14. Such low spacecraft clock errors will enable one-way radiometric tracking data with precision equivalent to or better than current-day two way tracking data, allowing a shift to a more efficient and flexible one-way deep space navigation architecture. To verify this, an analog deep space navigation experiment was performed using JPL’s operational navigation software (Monte). The experiment recovered orbit solutions with reduced data sets and geometric variations that are more representative of deep space missions, and showed that orbit determination using DSAC derived data is on par with more traditional two-way datatypes. As a technology demonstrator, DSAC’s development focus has been on maturing the mercury ion trap clock technology rather than achieving the smallest size, weight, and power (SWaP). Over the course of DSAC’s development the project has identified numerous improvements that could be made to significantly reduce SWaP for DSAC’s next version. Indeed, DSAC-2 was recently selected by NASA for further demonstration on the VERITAS mission to Venus. This work will review the DSAC technology, mission, and results from its two-year mission.

Wang, Rabi↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The ARADS Project as an Astrobiological Survey Mission Prototype

An astrobiological survey prior to human arrival will be important for preservation of signs of any existing or past evidence of Martian life, to reduce the risk of unintentional forward contamination of Martian environments in which terrestrial microbes might be able to gain a foothold (e.g., [1]), and to potentially protect the health of any human crews and enable their safe return to Earth. Evaluating for the presence of life and biosignatures may become a critical-path Mars exploration precursor in the not-so-far future, circa 2030-35. The near-subsurface, with its potential combination of volatiles, vapor exchange with the surface, and shelter from surface radiation, will be a primary initial target for in-situ astrobiological investigation. Sample acquisition, drilling and sample handling are key elements of robotic missions that target the subsurface [2], as well as near-surface ground ice deposits. In the mid 2000s, the Mars Astrobiology Field Laboratory (AFL) was proposed as a follow-on mission concept to the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)/Curiosity rover mission [3]. The AFL would have included precision drilling to 2m, automated sample handling and remote processing of cores. However, the AFL concept needed further development and maturation. The Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies (ARADS) project concept [4] was in part AFL-inspired. The 2014 ARADS concept included a medium sized rover, with habitability instruments, including the Phoenix Wet Chemistry Laboratory (WCL) [5], and an enhanced version of the ExoMars Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) Laser Desorption-Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (LITMS) [6]. ARADS likewise included two biosignature detection instruments -- the Signs of Life Detector (SOLID) immunoassay instrument [7,8] and the Chemical Laptop-derived [9] Planetary In-Situ Capillary Electrophoresis System (PISCES), while mitigating Planetary Protection-relevant contamination issues [10]. ARADS project objectives were to demonstrate the potential science return for such a mission in the context of the search for evidence of life, and technically to demonstrate the feasibility of roving with drilling missions to Mars. ARADS technology goals targeted analog-site demonstrations of automated drilling and sampling, integrated with its mobile habitability and biosignature detection instruments. And ARADS science operations goals developed remote science, contamination mitigation, and communications methods to enable simulating AFL-like science operations with time delays, directed by a remote science team[11]. Five subsequent Mars analog site field demonstrations (in Chile’s hyperarid Atacama Desert, 2016-19) provided a step-by-step development pathway for the ARADS platform’s science capabilities and systems integration, culminating in an integrated remote roving mission simulation in the final ARADS year (2019).

biosignatures↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Extraterrestrial Molecular Indicators of Life Investigation (EMILI)

Future missions to Enceladus, Europa, Mars, and beyond may seek the molecular signs of extraterrestrial life through chemical analysis of acquired samples. Particularly on ocean worlds such as Enceladus and Europa, samples may contain trace ocean-borne molecular biosignatures of extant life that may or may not share similarities to those of terrestrial life. In situ analyses must be prepared to detect and characterize a wide range of possible molecular species, structures, and patterns, typically with exquisite sensitivity and within a complex, poorly-characterized planetary environment. The Extraterrestrial Molecular Indicators of Life Investigation (EMILI) is designed to meet or exceed the requirements of such missions for organic molecular analysis through a powerful combination of dual chemical separation and both optical and mass spectrometry detection techniques, realized in an integrated, compact instrument package fully compatible with anticipated flight resources and conditions. The full EMILI instrument combines two sample analysis subsystems to provide wide-ranging and complementary detection of organic compounds and inorganic salts. The Gas Analysis Processing System (GAPS) uses a chemical derivatization protocol with gas chromatography (GC) separation prior to detection in an ion trap mass spectrometer (ITMS) to enable full characterization of lower-polarity, volatile and semi-volatile molecules such as fatty acids and hydrocarbons. The Organic Capillary Electrophoresis ANalysis System (OCEANS) uses a liquid-based extraction protocol with CE separation to enable precise analysis of more water-soluble/polar compounds. OCEANS features a laser-induced fluorescence detection mode to perform ultra-sensitive quantitative analysis of chiral amino acids. In EMILI, OCEANS is additionally coupled to the same ITMS through a novel electrospray ionization interface. The common ITMS allows EMILI to identify and cross-correlate molecular species and patterns, detected through either or both protocols, of molecular weights to over 1000 u, potentially even revealing complex biosignatures such as alien oligopeptides and informational polymers.

Europa↗
DOE OSTI2021

Simulating Large PEPs Tensor Networks on Small Quantum Devices

We systematically map low bond dimension PEPs tensor networks to quantum circuits. By measuring and reusing qubits, we are in principle able to simulate an N×M square lattice PEPs network (for arbitrary M) of bond dimension 2 using N+ 2 qubits. We then seek to determine if this mapping can yield useful values for long-range loop observables in the presence of quantum device noise in the topological Wen plaquette model by mapping a 3×3 PEPs tensor network to a 5-qubit quantum circuit and executing it on the Honeywell System Model H1-1 trapped-ion device. We find that, for this system size, the noisy observable values are indeed sufficient for diagnosing topological vs. trivial order as the Wen model is perturbed by a magnetic field term in the Hamiltonian. We provide an overview of the experimental procedure and its results. We then explain in greater detail our method for mapping 2D tensor networks to quantum circuits and its scaling properties. This serves as a proof-of-concept of the utilty of the measure-and-reuse approach for simulating large 2D quantum systems on small quantum devices.

MacCormack, Ian↗
DOE OSTI2022

Multi-channel pulsed valve inlet system and method

A multichannel inlet system for a mass spectrometer includes a plurality of valve assemblies coupled to a manifold, and a pulsed valve driver. The manifold is configured to be connected in fluid connection with an ion trap of the mass spectrometer. Each valve assembly includes a valve and an injection port operably coupled to receive the reagent. The valve has an actuated state in which the valve provides fluid communication between the injection port and the manifold, and an unactuated state in which the valve substantially prevents fluid communication between the injection port and the manifold. The pulsed valve driver is operably connected to receive a pulse signal sequence from a processor, and is configured to generate pulsed valve drive signals for one or more of the valves based on the pulse signal sequence to cause a corresponding one of the valves to be in the actuated state.

Kenttamaa, Hilkka↗
DOE OSTI2024

Quantum spatial search with multiple excitations

Spatial search is the problem of finding a marked vertex in a graph. A continuous-time quantum walk in the single-excitation subspace of an $n$ spin system solves the problem of spatial search by finding the marked vertex in $O(\sqrt{n})$ time. Here, we investigate a natural extension of the spatial search problem, marking multiple vertices of a graph, which are still marked with local fields. We prove that a continuous-time quantum walk in the $k$-excitation subspace of $n$ spins can determine the binary string of $k$ marked vertices with an asymptotic fidelity in time $O(\sqrt{n})$, despite the size of the state space growing as $O(n^k)$. Numerically, we show that this algorithm can be implemented with interactions that decay as $1/r^\alpha$, where $r$ is the distance between spins, and an $\alpha$ that is readily available in current ion trap systems.

Lewis, Dylan↗
DOE OSTI2025

Practical Scalability of LuGo: Benchmarking the HHL Algorithm Using an Enhanced QPE Algorithm

The HHL algorithm is a prominent quantum algorithm that offers exponential speedup over its classical counterparts for solving a system of linear equations. However, synthesizing and executing HHL circuits demand significant computational resources from both classical and quantum systems. In this paper, we benchmark the HHL algorithm using the optimized Quantum Phase Estimation (QPE) generation algorithm, LuGo \cite{lu2025lugo}, to enhance its scalability and efficiency. We leverage the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center's (NERSC) Perlmutter supercomputer to evaluate the scalability of generating HHL circuits and to measure the time to simulate the generated circuits. Additionally, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the algorithm's performance on various state-of-the-art superconducting and trapped-ion quantum devices, including studies on qubit connectivity, fidelity comparisons, and hardware compatibility and robustness. Our results offer preliminary insights into potential practical applications of the HHL algorithm enabled by LuGo and the performance of various types of quantum hardware.

Lu, Chao [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000179346933)↗