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At least 721 records · Page 40

The Always/Never Safety Framework for Satellite Rendezvous and Proximity Operations and On-Orbit Servicing

Space rendezvous and proximity operations are increasing in numbers, enabling inspections, diagnostics, and maintenance of on-orbit systems. Because collision, loss of control, and unintended damage can impact the system under examination -- and at the extreme, cause system break-up and space debris -- the safety practices for rendezvous and proximity operations can have significant implications for national security. This study examines the applicability of the Always/Never surety framework, which was developed for United States nuclear weapons, as a model safety basis for unmanned space proximity operations. This unclassified framework has understandable safety approaches and principles and focuses on a system being always safenever unsafe. The authors consider that the adapting the framework might present a means for standardization across government and commerce, encouraging a consistent approach and a set of clarifying safety principles and applications for rendezvous and proximity operations. The framework also offers a consistent taxonomy, presents safety and reliability requirements organized by four environment categories, defines accident or abnormal conditions, contributes a strategy for identifying hostile and tactical environments, and enables decision-making for determining if conditions are safe for proximity space operations.

42 ENGINEERING↗

ORBIT: Offshore Renewables Balance-of-System and Installation Tool

This report describes the Offshore Renewables Balance-of-system Installation Tool ("ORBIT"), a new model developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the balance-of-system (BOS) costs associated with offshore wind projects. In the context of wind energy projects BOS costs encompass all expenses required to construct a project other than the capital expenditures (CapEx) of the turbines and towers, including the procurement costs for all other components (such as substructures, cables, and electrical infrastructure), offshore and land-based construction costs, port costs, site surveying fees, permitting fees, and leasing fees are all categorized as BOS costs. BOS costs significantly contribute to the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for offshore wind, typically comprising over 50\% of the CapEx for a fixed-bottom offshore wind project and 60\% for a floating project. In addition, technology solutions and installation methods vary drastically between projects as they are impacted by factors such as vessel availability, geographic considerations and site geotechnical conditions. These effects require a model with appropriate fidelity to understand how these costs scale as turbine rating increases and the offshore wind supply chain, particularly offshore construction vessels, is expanded. For offshore wind, cost savings attributed to increased turbine rating are primarily realized through BOS procurement and project installation as fewer substructures and less cable are required. BOS costs represent both a modeling challenge, as well as an opportunity, for project developers to optimize solutions to reduce costs. It is critical to understand how these costs are affected by novel technologies, innovative installation processes, and operational constraints in order identify meaningful cost reductions for offshore wind energy.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Leveraging Spin-Orbit Coupling in Ge/SiGe Heterostructures for Quantum Information Transfer

Hole spin qubits confined to lithographically - defined lateral quantum dots in Ge/SiGe heterostructures show great promise. On reason for this is the intrinsic spin - orbit coupling that allows all - electric control of the qubit. That same feature can be exploited as a coupling mechanism to coherently link spin qubits to a photon field in a superconducting resonator, which could, in principle, be used as a quantum bus to distribute quantum information. The work reported here advances the knowledge and technology required for such a demonstration. We discuss the device fabrication and characterization of different quantum dot designs and the demonstration of single hole occupation in multiple devices. Superconductor resonators fabricated using an outside vendor were found to have adequate performance and a path toward flip-chip integration with quantum devices is discussed. The results of an optical study exploring aspects of using implanted Ga as quantum memory in a Ge system are presented.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Orbit response measurements with oscillating trajectories

Optical properties of components in a linac can be reconstructed from analysis of the orbit response matrix, composed from responses of BPMs to changes in currents of dipole correctors. An efficient way to record such response, discussed in this note, is to excite the corrector current with a sine wave and record its Fourier component of the BPM spectrum. Because of a narrow band of the excitation signal, response to multiple correctors can be recorded at the same time without significantly affecting the signal-to-noise ratio. For that, the correctors are oscillated at different frequencies, and the corresponding BPM Fourier components are recorded. In an ion (non-relativistic) linac, similar measurements can be performed for the longitudinal plane as well. Examples of measurements at the PIP2IT test linac are shown.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Using Lag Compensator in Orbit Feedback

Growing demand on the beam orbit stability requires higher loop gain inside the operational bandwidth. However, increasing the gain leads to the increase of the unity gain frequency and problems with systems stability due to the additional phase shifts caused by the trims (power supplies, eddy currents in vacuum chambers, etc.) and filtering of beam position data. Conventionally employed systems have 20 dB/decade slope near the unity gain providing 90 degrees phase shift which is sufficient for stability. Increase of the slope to 40 dB/decade by adding additional pole into the signal chain increases the phase shift to 180 degrees and makes system unstable. Utilizing one or more lag compensators allows to increase the gain while keeping phase margin acceptable. The paper provides more details on the proposed solution as well as simulations of how the transients will be modified.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DarkNESS: developing a skipper-CCD instrument to search for Dark Matter from Low Earth Orbit

The DarkNESS (Dark Matter Nano-satellite Equipped with Skipper Sensors) mission aims to deploy a skipper-CCD CubeSat Observatory to search for dark matter (DM) from Low Earth Orbit. This mission will employ novel skipper-CCDs to investigate O(keV) X-rays from decaying DM, as well as electron recoils from strongly-interacting sub-GeV DM. The DarkNESS mission will be the first space deployment of skipper-CCDs, and the DarkNESS team is developing a skipper-CCD instrument that is compatible with the CubeSat platform. DarkNESS has recently progressed from laboratory validation to a Critical Design Review (CDR) phase, with a launch opportunity anticipated in late 2025. The implementation of the DarkNESS skipper-CCD payload on the CubeSat platform will pave the way for future demonstrators of space-based imagers for X-ray and single-electron counting applications.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Clifford orbits from cayley graph quotients

We describe the structure of the $n$-qubit Clifford group $\mathcal{C}_n$ via Cayley graphs, whose vertices represent group elements and edges represent generators. In order to obtain the action of Clifford gates on a given quantum state, we introduce a quotient procedure. Quotienting the Cayley graph by the stabilizer subgroup of a state gives a reduced graph which depicts the state's Clifford orbit. Using this protocol for $\mathcal{C}_2$, we reproduce and generalize the reachability graphs. Since the procedure is state-independent, we extend our study to non-stabilizer states, including the W and Dicke states. Furthermore, our new construction provides a more precise understanding of state evolution under Clifford circuit action.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Detection of Thermal Emission at Millimeter Wavelengths from Low-Earth Orbit Satellites

The detection of satellite thermal emission at millimeter wavelengths is presented using data from the 3rd-Generation receiver on the South Pole Telescope (SPT-3G). This represents the first reported detection of thermal emission from artificial satellites at millimeter wavelengths. Satellite thermal emission is shown to be detectable at high signal-to-noise on timescales as short as a few tens of milliseconds. An algorithm for downloading orbital information and tracking known satellites given observer constraints and time-ordered observatory pointing is described. Consequences for cosmological surveys and short-duration transient searches are discussed, revealing that the integrated thermal emission from all large satellites does not contribute significantly to the SPT-3G survey intensity map. Measured satellite positions are found to be discrepant from their two-line element (TLE) derived ephemerides up to several arcminutes which may present a difficulty in cross-checking or masking satellites from short-duration transient searches.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Probing the Potential Energy Profile of the I + (H 2 O) 3 → HI + (H 2 O) 2 OH Forward and Reverse Reactions: High Level CCSD(T) Studies with Spin-Orbit Coupling Included

Three different pathways for the atomic iodine plus water trimer reaction I + (H 2 O) 3 → HI + (H 2 O) 2 OH were preliminarily examined by the DFT-MPW1K method. Related to previous predictions for the F/Cl/Br + (H 2 O) 3 reactions, three pathways for the I + (H 2 O) 3 reaction are linked in terms of geometry and energetics. To legitimize the results, the “gold standard” CCSD(T) method was employed to investigate the lowest-lying pathway with the correlation-consistent polarized valence basis set up to cc-pVQZ(-PP). According to the CCSD(T)/cc-pVQZ(-PP)//CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ(-PP) results, the I + (H 2 O) 3 → HI + (H 2 O) 2 OH reaction is predicted to be endothermic by 47.0 kcal mol -1 . The submerged transition state is predicted to lie 43.7 kcal mol -1 above the separated reactants. The I···(H 2 O) 3 entrance complex lies below the separated reactants by 4.1 kcal mol -1 , and spin-orbit coupling has a significant impact on this dissociation energy. The HI···(H 2 O) 2 OH exit complex is bound by 4.3 kcal mol -1 in relation to the separated products. Compared with simpler I + (H 2 O) 2 and I + H 2 O reactions, the I + (H 2 O) 3 reaction is energetically between them in general. It is speculated that the reaction between the iodine atom and the larger water clusters may be energetically analogous to the I + (H 2 O) 3 reaction. The iodine reaction I + (H 2 O) 3 is connected with the analogous valence isoelectronic bromine/chlorine reactions Br/Cl + (H 2 O) 3 but much different from the F + (H 2 O) 3 reaction. Significant difference with other halogen systems, especially for barrier heights, are seen for the iodine systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Long-term Photometry and Orbital Period Change of the W UMa–type Binary v0599 Aur: Evidence of about 11 yr Magnetic-activity Cycle

Combining all available photometric data from various surveys and literature with our observations, we present 10 sets of light curves for the eclipsing binary V0599 Aur covering a timescale of 20 yr. During the last two decades, the O’Connell effect continuously varied and went through at least two flips between positive and negative effects. The photometric solutions from our two sets of multicolored light curves show that V0599 Aur is a W-type shallow contact binary with an active spot on the secondary. Its absolute parameters are determined by combining the Gaia distance with the photometric solutions. The period investigation reveals a secular decrease and a cyclic variation in its orbital period. The former mainly originates from the mass transfer from the more massive secondary to the less massive primary. The latter can be preferentially explained as a result of cyclic magnetic activity of the secondary, with three observational supports: (1) the existence and evolution of an active spot suggested by the long-term photometry, (2) periodic variation in both the O’Connell effect and relative luminosity, and (3) weak correlations between O’Connell effect/relative luminosity changes and cyclic period variation. Together with the cyclic period variation and its theoretical reasonability by Applegate’s mechanism, we suggest that the secondary of V0599 Aur is a solar-type magnetic-activity star with an approximately 11 yr active cycle. Furthermore, by combining the secular period decrease with the Roche-lobe model, we infer that V0599 Aur is evolving from the marginal contact state controlled by thermal relaxation oscillation theory to the overcontact state.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DELVE-ing into the Jet: A Thin Stellar Stream on a Retrograde Orbit at 30 kpc

We perform a detailed photometric and astrometric analysis of stars in the Jet stream using data from the first data release of the DECam Local Volume Exploration Survey DR1 and Gaia EDR3. We discover that the stream extends over ∼ 29° on the sky (increasing the known length by 18°), which is comparable to the kinematically cold Phoenix, ATLAS, and GD-1 streams. Using blue horizontal branch stars, we resolve a distance gradient along the Jet stream of 0.2 kpc deg$^{−1}$, with distances ranging from D $_{⊙}$ ∼ 27–34 kpc. We use natural splines to simultaneously fit the stream track, width, and intensity to quantitatively characterize density variations in the Jet stream, including a large gap, and identify substructure off the main track of the stream. Furthermore, we report the first measurement of the proper motion of the Jet stream and find that it is well aligned with the stream track, suggesting the stream has likely not been significantly perturbed perpendicular to the line of sight. Finally, we fit the stream with a dynamical model and find that it is on a retrograde orbit, and is well fit by a gravitational potential including the Milky Way and Large Magellanic Cloud. These results indicate the Jet stream is an excellent candidate for future studies with deeper photometry, astrometry, and spectroscopy to study the potential of the Milky Way and probe perturbations from baryonic and dark matter substructure.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Orbital Evolution of Binary Black Holes in Active Galactic Nucleus Disks: A Disk Channel for Binary Black Hole Mergers?

We perform a series of high-resolution 2D hydrodynamical simulations of equal-mass binary black holes (BBHs) embedded in active galactic nucleus (AGN) accretion disks to study whether these binaries can be driven to merger by the surrounding gas. We find that the gravitational softening adopted for the BBH has a profound impact on this result. When the softening is less than 10% of the binary separation, we show that, in agreement with recent simulations of isolated equal-mass binaries, prograde BBHs expand in time rather than contract. Eventually, however, the binary separation becomes large enough that the tidal force of the central AGN disrupts them. Only when the softening is relatively large do we find that prograde BBHs harden. We determine through detailed analysis of the binary torque, that this dichotomy is due to a loss of spiral structure in the circum-single disks orbiting each black hole when the softening is a significant fraction of the binary separation. Properly resolving these spirals—both with high resolution and small softening—results in a significant source of binary angular momentum. Only for retrograde BBHs do we find consistent hardening, regardless of softening, as these BBHs lack the important spiral structure in their circum-single disks. This suggests that the gas-driven inspiral of retrograde binaries can produce a population of compact BBHs in the gravitational-wave-emitting regime in AGN disks, which may contribute a large fraction to the observed BBH mergers.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Stellar Mergers or Truly Young? Intermediate-age Stars on Highly Radial Orbits in the Milky Way’s Stellar Halo

Reconstructing the mass assembly history of the Milky Way relies on obtaining detailed measurements of the properties of many stars in the galaxy, especially in the stellar halo. One of the most constraining quantities is stellar age, as it can shed light on the accretion time and quenching of star formation in merging satellites. However, obtaining reliable age estimates for large samples of halo stars is difficult. We report published ages of 120 subgiant halo stars with highly radial orbits that likely belong to the debris of the Gaia-Enceladus/Sausage (GES) galaxy. The majority of these halo stars are old, with an age distribution characterized by a median of 11.6 Gyr and a 16th (84th) percentile of 10.5 (12.7) Gyr. However, the distribution is skewed, with a tail of younger stars that span ages down to ~6–9 Gyr. All highly radial halo stars have chemical and kinematic/orbital quantities that associate them with the GES debris. Initial results suggest that these intermediate-age stars are not a product of mass transfer and/or stellar mergers, which can bias their age determination low. If this conclusion is upheld by upcoming spectrophotometric studies, then the presence of these stars will pose an important challenge for constraining the properties of the GES merger and the accretion history of the galaxy.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

No Evidence for Orbital Clustering in the Extreme Trans-Neptunian Objects

The apparent clustering in longitude of perihelion piv and ascending node Ω of extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNOs) has been attributed to the gravitational effects of an unseen 5–10 Earth-mass planet in the outer solar system. To investigate how selection bias may contribute to this clustering, we consider 14 ETNOs discovered by the Dark Energy Survey, the Outer Solar System Origins Survey, and the survey of Sheppard and Trujillo. Using each survey's published pointing history, depth, and TNO tracking selections, we calculate the joint probability that these objects are consistent with an underlying parent population with uniform distributions in $\bar{w}$ and Ω. We find that the mean scaled longitude of perihelion and orbital poles of the detected ETNOs are consistent with a uniform population at a level between 17% and 94% and thus conclude that this sample provides no evidence for angular clustering.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Quantification of regional net CO 2 flux errors in the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) v10 model intercomparison project (MIP) ensemble using airborne measurements

Inverse model intercomparison projects (MIPs) provide a chance to assess the uncertainties in inversion estimates arising from various sources. However, accurately quantifying ensemble CO 2 flux errors remains challenging and often relies on the ensemble spread. This study proposes a method for quantifying the errors in regional net surface–atmosphere CO 2 flux estimates from models taken from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) v10 MIP by using independent airborne CO 2 measurements for the period 2015–2017. We first calculate the root mean square error (RMSE) between the ensemble mean of posterior CO 2 concentrations and airborne observations and then isolate the CO 2 concentration errors caused solely by the ensemble mean of posterior net fluxes by subtracting the observation, representation, and transport errors from seven regions. Our analysis reveals that the flux errors projected onto CO 2 space account for 55 %–85 % of the regional average RMSE over the 3 years, ranging from 0.88 to 1.91 ppm. In five regions, the error estimates based on observations exceed those computed from the ensemble spread of posterior fluxes by a factor of 1.33–1.93, implying an underestimation of the actual flux errors, while their magnitudes are comparable in two regions. The adjoint sensitivity analysis identifies that the underestimation of flux errors is prominent where the magnitudes of fossil fuel emissions exceed those of terrestrial-biosphere fluxes by a factor of 3–31 over the 3 years. This suggests the presence of systematic biases in the inversion estimates associated with errors in the prescribed fossil fuel emissions common to all models. Our study emphasizes the value of airborne measurements for quantifying regional errors in ensemble net CO 2 flux estimates.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Probing the Gluon Orbital Angular Momentum at the EIC

In these proceedings, we calculate double-spin asymmetry (DSA) in exclusive dijet production in ep collisions and we demonstrate for the first time that the cos(Φ) angular correlation between the scattered electron and proton is a simultaneous probe of the gluon orbital angular momentum and its interplay with the gluon helicity. We make a rough estimate of the DSA for the kinematics of the Electron–Ion Collider.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗