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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Is Deprotonation of the Oxygen-Evolving Complex of Photosystem II during the S 1 → S 2 Transition Suppressed by Proton Quantum Delocalization?

We address the protonation state of the water-derived ligands in the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II (PSII), prepared in the S 2 state of the Kok cycle. We perform quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics calculations of isotropic proton hyperfine coupling constants, with direct comparisons to experimental data from two-dimensional hyperfine sublevel correlation (HYSCORE) spectroscopy and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). We find a low-barrier hydrogen bond with significant delocalization of the proton shared by the water-derived ligand, W1, and the aspartic acid residue D1–D61 of the D1 polypeptide. The lowering of the zero-point energy of a shared proton due to quantum delocalization precludes its release to the lumen during the S 1 → S 2 transition. Retention of the proton facilitates the shuttling of a proton during the isomerization of the tetranuclear manganese–calcium–oxo (Mn 4 Ca–oxo) cluster, from the “open” to “closed” conformation, a step suggested to be necessary for oxygen evolution from previous studies. Our findings suggest that quantum-delocalized protons, stabilized by low-barrier hydrogen bonds in model catalytic systems, can facilitate the accumulation of multiple oxidizing equivalents at low overpotentials.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2026

Mechanism of Tyrosine-Driven Deprotonation in Photosystem II Revealed by Multiscale Simulations

Photosystem II (PSII) drives light-induced water oxidation via stepwise redox transitions of its oxygen-evolving complex (OEC), a Mn 4 Ca cluster advancing through five intermediate S-states (S 0 –S 4 ). The S 2 → S 3 transition involves a redox event in which a Mn ion donates an electron to the redox-active tyrosine YZ, coupled to deprotonation of an OEC-bound water ligand─yet the underlying coupling mechanism remains unresolved. Time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography (TR-SFX) has revealed transient electron density shifts near the redox-active tyrosine Y Z , interpreted as sequential oxidation and reduction, with reduction initiating ∼1 μs after excitation and substantially progressed by 30 μs. However, this interpretation conflicts with kinetics from photothermal beam deflection (PBD), time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy (TR-XAS), and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), which place electron transfer at 190–400 μs and proton transfer around 30 μs. Here, we reconcile these discrepancies using quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We show that oxidation of P680 and Y Z breaks the symmetry of the nearby hydrogen bonds involving water molecule W4, displacing Y Z and replicating the TR-SFX features of Y Z and Q165 observed at 1 μs. This local perturbation propagates through a hydrogen-bond network, transmitting the electrostatic signal from Y Z to the E65-E312 dyad and triggering redox-coupled deprotonation via the Cl1 channel. By 30 μs, the hydrogen-bond symmetry is restored through deprotonation of W2 (or alternatively W1), reproducing the disappearance of TR-SFX density differences around Y Z and Q165 without requiring Y Z reduction. Our proposed mechanism also gives molecular insights into the O6* density, assigning it to water reorganization rather than a discrete Ca-bound hydroxide species. Here, our results reveal a detailed atomistic mechanism linking Y Z oxidation to long-range proton release and suggest a functional role for the nearby Cl – ion in proton transfer. More broadly, this study underscores the importance of hydrogen-bond dynamics in mediating redox-driven proton transport and demonstrates how integrative simulations can resolve mechanistic ambiguities.

Deprotonation↗
DOE OSTI2019

The mechanism and rate constants for oxidation of indenyl radical C 9 H 7 with molecular oxygen O 2 : a theoretical study

Ab initio G3(MP2,CC)//B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) calculations have been carried out in this work to map out the C 9 H 7 O 2 potential energy surface in relation to the reaction of the 1-indenyl radical with molecular oxygen. The resulting energetics and molecular parameters of the species involved in the reaction have been then utilized in Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus master equation calculations of temperature- and pressure-dependent reaction rate constants and product branching ratios. The results demonstrate that, while the reaction is insignificant at low temperatures, at higher temperatures, above 800 K or higher depending on the pressure, the prevailing reaction channel leads to the formation of the 1- H -inden-1-one + OH products via a 1,3-H shift from C to O in the initial association complex W1 accompanied by OH elimination through a high barrier of 25.6 kcal mol ₋1 . The branching ratio of 1- H -inden-1-one + OH increases from ~61% to ~80% with temperature, whereas c-C 6 H 4 -CH 2 CHO + CO (32–12%) and coumarin + H (7–6%) are significant minor products. The total rate constant of the indenyl + O 2 reaction leading to the bimolecular products is independent of pressure and exceeds 1.0 × 10 ₋15 cm 3 molecule ₋1 s ₋1 only at temperatures above 2000 K, reaching 6.7 × 10 ₋15 cm 3 molecule ₋1 s ₋1 at 2500 K. The indenyl + O 2 reaction is concluded to be too slow to play a substantial role in oxidation of the five-member ring in indenyl and the present results corroborate the assertion that molecular oxygen is not an efficient oxidizer of five-member-ring radicals.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Characterizing Wolf-Rayet stars in the near- and mid-infrared

We present refined color-color selection criteria for identifying Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars using available mid-infrared (MIR) photometry from WISE in combination with near-infrared (NIR) photometry from the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Using a sample of spectrally classified objects, we find that WR stars are well distinguished from the field stellar population in the (W1 – W2) versus (J – K{sub s} ) color-color diagram, and further distinguished from other emission line objects such as planetary nebulae, Be, and cataclysmic variable stars using a combination of NIR and MIR color constraints. As proof of concept we applied the color constraints to a photometric sample in the Galactic plane, located WR star candidates, and present five new spectrally confirmed and classified WC (1) and WN (4) stars. Analysis of the 0.8-5.0 μm spectral data for a subset of known, bright WC and WN stars shows that emission lines (primarily He I) extend into the 3.0-5.0 μm spectral region, although their strength is greatly diminished compared to the 0.8-2.5 μm region. The WR population stands out relative to background field stars at NIR and MIR colors due to an excess continuum contribution, likely caused by free-free scattering in dense winds. Mean photometric properties of known WRs are presented and imply that reddened late-type WN and WC sources are easier to detect than earlier-type sources at larger Galactic radii. WISE W3 and W4 images of 10 WR stars show evidence of circumstellar shells linked to mass ejections from strong stellar winds.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

NEOWISE-R observation of the coolest known brown dwarf

The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft has been reactivated as NEOWISE-R to characterize and search for near-Earth objects. The brown dwarf WISE J085510.83–071442.5 has now been re-observed by NEOWISE-R, and we confirm the results of Luhman, who found a very low effective temperature (≈250 K), a very high proper motion (8.''1 ± 0.''1 yr{sup –1}), and a large parallax (454 ± 45 mas). The large proper motion has separated the brown dwarf from the background sources that influenced the 2010 WISE data, allowing a measurement of a very red WISE color of W1 – W2 >3.9 mag. A re-analysis of the 2010 WISE astrometry using only the W2 band, combined with the new NEOWISE-R 2014 position, gives an improved parallax of 448 ± 33 mas and a proper motion of 8.''08 ± 0.''05 yr{sup –1}. These are all consistent with values from Luhman.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

DISCOVERY OF THE Y1 DWARF WISE J064723.23–623235.5

We present the discovery of a very cold, very low mass, nearby brown dwarf using data from the NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The object, WISE J064723.23–623235.5, has a very red WISE color of W1–W2 > 3.77 mag and a very red Spitzer Space Telescope color of ch1–ch2 = 2.82 ± 0.09 mag. In J{sub MKO} –ch2 color (7.58 ± 0.27 mag) it is one of the two or three reddest brown dwarfs known. Our grism spectrum from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) confirms it to be the seventeenth Y dwarf discovered, and its spectral type of Y1 ± 0.5 makes it one of the four latest-type Y dwarfs classified. Astrometric imaging from Spitzer and HST, combined with data from WISE, provides a preliminary parallax of π = 115 ± 12 mas (d = 8.7 ± 0.9 pc) and proper motion of μ = 387 ± 25 mas yr{sup –1} based on 2.5 yr of monitoring. The spectrum implies a blue J–H color, for which model atmosphere calculations suggest a relatively low surface gravity. The best fit to these models indicates an effective temperature of 350-400 K and a mass of ∼5-30 M{sub Jup}. Kinematic analysis hints that this object may belong to the Columba moving group, which would support an age of ∼30 Myr and thus an even lower mass of <2 M{sub Jup}, but verification would require a radial velocity measurement not currently possible for a J = 22.7 mag brown dwarf.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

A PRELIMINARY CALIBRATION OF THE RR LYRAE PERIOD-LUMINOSITY RELATION AT MID-INFRARED WAVELENGTHS: WISE DATA

Using time-resolved, mid-infrared data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and geometric parallaxes from the Hubble Space Telescope for four Galactic RR Lyrae variables, we derive the following Population II period-luminosity (PL) relations for the WISE [W1], [W2], and [W3] bands at 3.4, 4.6, and 12 μm, respectively: The slopes and the scatter around the fits are consistent with a smooth extrapolation of those same quantities from previously published K-band observations at 2.2 μm, where the asymptotic (long-wavelength) behavior is consistent with a period-radius relation with a slope of 0.5. No obvious correlation with metallicity (spanning 0.4 dex in [Fe/H]) is found in the residuals of the four calibrating RR Lyrae stars about the mean PL regression line.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

High-precision 2MASS JHK{sub s} light curves and other data for RR Lyrae star SDSS J015450 + 001501: Strong constraints for nonlinear pulsation models

We present and discuss an extensive data set for the non-Blazhko ab-type RR Lyrae star SDSS J015450+001501, including optical Sloan Digital Sky Survey ugriz light curves and spectroscopic data, LINEAR and Catalina Sky Survey unfiltered optical light curves, and infrared Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) JHK{sub s} and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer W1 and W2 light curves. Most notable is that light curves obtained by 2MASS include close to 9000 photometric measures collected over 3.3 yr and provide an exceedingly precise view of near-infrared variability. These data demonstrate that static atmosphere models are insufficient to explain multiband photometric light-curve behavior and present strong constraints for nonlinear pulsation models for RR Lyrae stars. It is a challenge to modelers to produce theoretical light curves that can explain data presented here, which we make publicly available.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Near-infrared imaging of white dwarfs with candidate debris disks

We have carried out JHK{sub s} imaging of 12 white dwarf debris disk candidates from the WIRED Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 catalog, aiming to confirm or rule out disks among these sources. On the basis of positional identification and the flux density spectra, we find that seven white dwarfs have excess infrared emission, but mostly at Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer W1 and W2 bands. Four are due to nearby red objects consistent with background galaxies or very low mass dwarfs, and one exhibits excess emission at JHK{sub s} consistent with an unresolved L0 companion at the correct distance. While our photometry is not inconsistent with all seven excesses arising from disks, the stellar properties are distinct from the known population of debris disk white dwarfs, making the possibility questionable. In order to further investigate the nature of these infrared sources, warm Spitzer imaging is needed, which may help resolve galaxies from the white dwarfs and provide more accurate flux measurements.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

The angular clustering of WISE-selected active galactic nuclei: Different halos for obscured and unobscured active galactic nuclei

We calculate the angular correlation function for a sample of ∼170,000 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) extracted from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) catalog, selected to have red mid-IR colors (W1 – W2 > 0.8) and 4.6 μm flux densities brighter than 0.14 mJy). The sample is expected to be >90% reliable at identifying AGNs and to have a mean redshift of (z) = 1.1. In total, the angular clustering of WISE AGNs is roughly similar to that of optical AGNs. We cross-match these objects with the photometric Sloan Digital Sky Survey catalog and distinguish obscured sources with r – W2 > 6 from bluer, unobscured AGNs. Obscured sources present a higher clustering signal than unobscured sources. Since the host galaxy morphologies of obscured AGNs are not typical red sequence elliptical galaxies and show disks in many cases, it is unlikely that the increased clustering strength of the obscured population is driven by a host galaxy segregation bias. By using relatively complete redshift distributions from the COSMOS survey, we find that obscured sources at (z) ∼ 0.9 have a bias of b = 2.9 ± 0.6 and are hosted in dark matter halos with a typical mass of log (M/M {sub ☉} h {sup –1}) ∼ 13.5. In contrast, unobscured AGNs at (z) ∼ 1.1 have a bias of b = 1.6 ± 0.6 and inhabit halos of log (M/M {sub ☉} h {sup –1}) ∼ 12.4. These findings suggest that obscured AGNs inhabit denser environments than unobscured AGNs, and they are difficult to reconcile with the simplest AGN unification models, where obscuration is driven solely by orientation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observations of luminous, heavily obscured, WISE-selected quasars at z ∼ 2

We report on a NuSTAR and XMM-Newton program that has observed a sample of three extremely luminous, heavily obscured WISE-selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at z ∼ 2 across a broad X-ray band (0.1 – 79 keV). The parent sample, selected to be faint or undetected in the WISE 3.4 μm (W1) and 4.6 μm (W2) bands but bright at 12 μm (W3) and 22 μm (W4), are extremely rare, with only ∼1000 so-called 'W1W2-dropouts' across the extragalactic sky. Optical spectroscopy reveals typical redshifts of z ∼ 2 for this population, implying rest-frame mid-IR luminosities of νL {sub ν}(6 μm) ∼ 6 × 10{sup 46} erg s{sup –1} and bolometric luminosities that can exceed L {sub bol} ∼ 10{sup 14} L {sub ☉}. The corresponding intrinsic, unobscured hard X-ray luminosities are L(2-10 keV) ∼ 4 × 10{sup 45} erg s{sup –1} for typical quasar templates. These are among the most AGNs known, though the optical spectra rarely show evidence of a broad-line region and the selection criteria imply heavy obscuration even at rest-frame 1.5 μm. We designed our X-ray observations to obtain robust detections for gas column densities N {sub H} ≤ 10{sup 24} cm{sup –2}. In fact, the sources prove to be fainter than these predictions. Two of the sources were observed by both NuSTAR and XMM-Newton, with neither being detected by NuSTAR (f {sub 3-24} {sub keV} ≲ 10{sup –13} erg cm{sup –2} s{sup –1}), and one being faintly detected by XMM-Newton (f {sub 0.5-10} {sub keV} ∼ 5 × 10{sup –15} erg cm{sup –2} s{sup –1}). A third source was observed only with XMM-Newton, yielding a faint detection (f {sub 0.5-10} {sub keV} ∼ 7 × 10{sup –15} erg cm{sup –2} s{sup –1}). The X-ray data imply these sources are either X-ray weak, or are heavily obscured by column densities N {sub H} ≳ 10{sup 24} cm{sup –2}. The combined X-ray and mid-IR analysis seems to favor this second possibility, implying the sources are extremely obscured, consistent with Compton-thick, luminous quasars. The discovery of a significant population of heavily obscured, extremely luminous AGNs would not conform to the standard paradigm of a receding torus, in which more luminous quasars are less likely to be obscured, and instead suggests that an additional source of obscuration is present in these extreme sources.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

THE MOST LUMINOUS GALAXIES DISCOVERED BY WISE

We present 20 Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)-selected galaxies with bolometric luminosities L{sub bol} > 10{sup 14} L{sub ☉}, including five with infrared luminosities L{sub IR} ≡ L{sub (rest} {sub 8–1000} {sub μm)} > 10{sup 14} L{sub ☉}. These “extremely luminous infrared galaxies,” or ELIRGs, were discovered using the “W1W2-dropout” selection criteria which requires marginal or non-detections at 3.4 and 4.6 μm (W1 and W2, respectively) but strong detections at 12 and 22 μm in the WISE survey. Their spectral energy distributions are dominated by emission at rest-frame 4–10 μm, suggesting that hot dust with T{sub d} ∼ 450 K is responsible for the high luminosities. These galaxies are likely powered by highly obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and there is no evidence suggesting these systems are beamed or lensed. We compare this WISE-selected sample with 116 optically selected quasars that reach the same L{sub bol} level, corresponding to the most luminous unobscured quasars in the literature. We find that the rest-frame 5.8 and 7.8 μm luminosities of the WISE-selected ELIRGs can be 30%–80% higher than that of the unobscured quasars. The existence of AGNs with L{sub bol} > 10{sup 14} L{sub ☉} at z > 3 suggests that these supermassive black holes are born with large mass, or have very rapid mass assembly. For black hole seed masses ∼10{sup 3} M{sub ☉}, either sustained super-Eddington accretion is needed, or the radiative efficiency must be <15%, implying a black hole with slow spin, possibly due to chaotic accretion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

NEOWISE: OBSERVATIONS OF THE IRREGULAR SATELLITES OF JUPITER AND SATURN

We present thermal model fits for 11 Jovian and 3 Saturnian irregular satellites based on measurements from the WISE/NEOWISE data set. Our fits confirm spacecraft-measured diameters for the objects with in situ observations (Himalia and Phoebe) and provide diameters and albedo for 12 previously unmeasured objects, 10 Jovian and 2 Saturnian irregular satellites. The best-fit thermal model beaming parameters are comparable to what is observed for other small bodies in the outer solar system, while the visible, W1, and W2 albedos trace the taxonomic classifications previously established in the literature. Reflectance properties for the irregular satellites measured are similar to the Jovian Trojan and Hilda Populations, implying common origins.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

THE INFLUENCE OF GALAXY SURFACE BRIGHTNESS ON THE MASS–METALLICITY RELATION

We study the effect of surface brightness on the mass–metallicity relation using nearby galaxies whose gas content and metallicity profiles are available. Previous studies using fiber spectra indicated that lower surface brightness galaxies have systematically lower metallicities for their stellar mass, but the results were uncertain because of aperture effects. With stellar masses and surface brightnesses measured at Wide-field Infrared Explorer W1 and W2 bands, we re-investigate the surface brightness dependence with spatially resolved metallicity profiles and find similar results. We further demonstrate that the systematical difference cannot be explained by the gas content of galaxies. For two galaxies with similar stellar and gas masses, the one with lower surface brightness tends to have a lower metallicity. Using chemical evolution models, we investigate the inflow and outflow properties of galaxies of different masses and surface brightnesses. We find that, on average, high mass galaxies have lower inflow and outflow rates relative to the star formation rate. On the other hand, galaxies with a lower surface brightness experience stronger inflow than galaxies with a higher surface brightness of a similar mass. The surface brightness effect is more significant for low-mass galaxies. We discuss implications on the different inflow properties between low and high surface brightness galaxies, including star formation efficiency, environment, and mass assembly history.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

On the discovery of stars, quasars, and galaxies in the Southern Hemisphere with S-PLUS DR2

ABSTRACT This paper provides a catalogue of stars, quasars, and galaxies for the Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey Data Release 2 (S-PLUS DR2) in the Stripe 82 region. We show that a 12-band filter system (5 Sloan-like and 7 narrow bands) allows better performance for object classification than the usual analysis based solely on broad bands (regardless of infrared information). Moreover, we show that our classification is robust against missing values. Using spectroscopically confirmed sources retrieved from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR16 and DR14Q, we train a random forest classifier with the 12 S-PLUS magnitudes + 4 morphological features. A second random forest classifier is trained with the addition of the W1 (3.4 $\mu\mathrm{m} $) and W2 (4.6 $\mu\mathrm{m} $) magnitudes from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). Forty-four per cent of our catalogue have WISE counterparts and are provided with classification from both models. We achieve 95.76 per cent (52.47 per cent) of quasar purity, 95.88 per cent (92.24 per cent) of quasar completeness, 99.44 per cent (98.17 per cent) of star purity, 98.22 per cent (78.56 per cent) of star completeness, 98.04 per cent (81.39 per cent) of galaxy purity, and 98.8 per cent (85.37 per cent) of galaxy completeness for the first (second) classifier, for which the metrics were calculated on objects with (without) WISE counterpart. A total of 2926 787 objects that are not in our spectroscopic sample were labelled, obtaining 335 956 quasars, 1347 340 stars, and 1243 391 galaxies. From those, 7.4 per cent, 76.0 per cent, and 58.4 per cent were classified with probabilities above 80 per cent. The catalogue with classification and probabilities for Stripe 82 S-PLUS DR2 is available for download.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

DESI DR2 Galaxy luminosity functions

We present galaxy luminosity functions (LFs) for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) DR2 Bright Galaxy Survey (BGS) in the g, r, z, and $w1$ bands over $0.002\lt z\lt 0.6$. Our analysis uses updated k-corrections and evolutionary corrections, including new polynomial kcorrection fits derived from BGS Year 1 data that supersede earlier GAMA-based prescriptions. Exploiting the statistical power of DESI, we measure LFs to very faint magnitudes, reaching $^{0.1}M_r-5\log h\sim -10$. Independent measurements from the North and South survey regions show excellent agreement around the LF knee, but the very small statistical uncertainties reveal that simple analytic forms fail to capture the full LF shape. The bright end departs from a pure exponential decline, while the faint end exhibits complex, non-powerlaw behaviour, including a pronounced upturn at $^{0.1}M_r-5\log h\gtrsim -15$, which is stronger for red galaxies than for blue. We show that our LFs are largely complete for galaxies with surface brightness $\mu _{50}\lt 25$, and that an apparent steepening fainter than $-13$ is driven primarily by local overdensity and fragmentation of large galaxies. A systematic North–South offset at the brightest magnitudes is traced to red galaxies and may reflect shallower North photometry underestimating extended earlytype profiles, although this remains inconclusive. We therefore also provide LFs based on model Petrosian magnitudes. Redshift splitting reveals small but significant residuals, indicating limitations of a simple global evolutionary model. Using the redshift limits of J. Loveday et al. (2012), we find excellent agreement with GAMA, with substantially reduced statistical errors. These measurements provide a precise reference for studies of environmental and population-dependent LFs and for testing galaxy formation models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Eight new luminous z ≥ 6 quasars discovered via SED model fitting of VISTA, WISE and Dark Energy Survey Year 1 observations

We present the discovery and spectroscopic confirmation with the ESO NTT and Gemini South telescopes of eight new 6.0 < z < 6.5 quasars with z$_{AB}$ < 21.0. These quasars were photometrically selected without any star-galaxy morphological criteria from 1533 deg$^{2}$ using SED model fitting to photometric data from the Dark Energy Survey (g, r, i, z, Y), the VISTA Hemisphere Survey (J, H, K) and the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (W1, W2). The photometric data was fitted with a grid of quasar model SEDs with redshift dependent Lyman-{\alpha} forest absorption and a range of intrinsic reddening as well as a series of low mass cool star models. Candidates were ranked using on a SED-model based $\chi^{2}$-statistic, which is extendable to other future imaging surveys (e.g. LSST, Euclid). Our spectral confirmation success rate is 100% without the need for follow-up photometric observations as used in other studies of this type. Combined with automatic removal of the main types of non-astrophysical contaminants the method allows large data sets to be processed without human intervention and without being over run by spurious false candidates. We also present a robust parametric redshift estimating technique that gives comparable accuracy to MgII and CO based redshift estimators. We find two z $\sim$ 6.2 quasars with HII near zone sizes < 3 proper Mpc which could indicate that these quasars may be young with ages < 10$^6$ - 10$^7$ years or lie in over dense regions of the IGM. The z = 6.5 quasar VDESJ0224-4711 has J$_{AB}$ = 19.75 is the second most luminous quasar known with z > 6.5.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-553: Characterization of Plastic Scintillator Detectors for Radiation Therapy

Purpose: To characterize basic performance of plastic scintillator detectors (PSD) designed for dosimetry of radiation therapy. Methods: The Exradin W1 Scintillator is a plastic scintillating fiber-based detector designed for highly accurate measurement of small radiotherapy fields used in patient plan verification and machine commissioning and QA procedures. The Cerenkov emissions were corrected using spectral separation. The optical signal was converted to electronic signal with a photodiode. We measured its dosimetry performance, including percentage depth dose, output factor, dose and dose rate linear response. We compared the dosimetry results with reference ion chamber measurements. Results: The dosimetry results of PSD agree well with reference ion chamber measurements. For percentage depth dose, the differences between PSD and ion chamber results are on average 1.7±1.1% and 0.8±0.8% with a maximum of 3.5% and 2.7% for 6MV and 15MV beams, respectively. For the output factors, PSD measurements are within 2% from ion chamber results. The dose linear response is within 1% when dose is larger than 20 MU for both 6 MV and 15 MV. The dose rate linear response is within 1% for the entire dose rate used (100 MU/min to 600MU/min). Conclusions: The current design of PSD is feasible for the dosimtry measurement in radiation therapy. This combination of PSD and photodiode system could be extended to multichannel array detection of dose distribution. It might as well be used as range verification in proton therapy. The work is partially supported by: DOD (W81XWH-09-2-0174) and American Cancer Society (IRG-78-002-28)

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗