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At least 757 records · Page 42
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Overview of the ASDEX Upgrade results

After a 26-month vent ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) went back in operation with a newly designed upper W-divertor suitable for alternative divertor configurations (featuring in-vessel coils and cryo-pump). Parameter scans and an extensive set of measurements were obtained and their interpretation is ongoing. Prompted by the ITER wall change, dedicated experiments on non-boronized plasma startup were contrasted to that employing asymmetric and more symmetric boronizations. The asymmetric boronization proved to be as beneficial as the more symmetric one, which is in contrast to previous model calculations assuming perfect sticking of boron (measurements suggest sticking ≈ 0.3). In the startup phase also the impurity influxes at the outboard limiters were investigated contrasting the unboronized case featuring cold edges (low- Z radiation) to the boronized case, in which the lifetime of the boron layers could be estimated. Pedestal stability investigations revealed that the quasi-continuous exhaust (QCE) regime is obtained when ballooning modes are active in the vicinity of the separatrix and the global peeling-ballooning stability is high enough. Thus, at high enough shaping and high gas flux both can be achieved and QCE is a consequence. The closely related enhanced D-alpha (EDA) mode is not clearly distinguishable from QCE, e.g. the quasi-coherent mode characteristic for EDA also shows up in QCE. In QCE the impurity transport is behaving benign as could be measured for Ne with a novel analysis method making use of a comprehensive set of CXRS measurements. For high radiative fractions the regime of the X-point radiator (XPR) is accessible at AUG and the understanding of its access conditions and behaviour is further developed. Due to the localized radiative cooling at the X-point the XPR can be well diagnosed and thus controlled. For negative triangularity shapes, further experiments at increased shaping resulted in strongly heated L-mode plasmas avoiding ELMs. Two integrated modelling approaches towards ITER suggested that core W-accumulation will be no issue for ITER and that the fusion yield in ITER may be Q = 12 (i.e. ITPA20-IL scaling is too pessimistic). Further, investigations of the ITER ramp-down in AUG provide insights into maintaining position control. Various aspects of shattered pellet injection were investigated in AUG and one of the results show that with increasing Ne fraction the radiation during the current quench increases and the current decay becomes faster.

ASDEX Upgrade↗
DOE OSTI2022

Dissipative Superradiant Spin Amplifier for Enhanced Quantum Sensing

Quantum metrology protocols exploiting ensembles of N two-level systems and Ramsey-style measurements are ubiquitous. However, in many cases excess readout noise severely degrades the measurement sensitivity; in particular in sensors based on ensembles of solid-state defect spins. We present a dissipative “spin-amplification” protocol that allows us to dramatically improve the sensitivity of such schemes, even in the presence of realistic intrinsic dissipation and noise. Our method is based on exploiting collective (i.e., superradiant) spin decay, an effect that is usually seen as a nuisance because it limits spin-squeezing protocols. We show that our approach can allow a system with a highly imperfect spin readout to approach standard-quantum-limit-like scaling in N within a factor of 2, without needing to change the actual readout mechanism. Our ideas are compatible with several state-of-the-art experimental platforms where an ensemble of solid-state spins (NV centers, SiV centers) is coupled to a common microwave or mechanical mode.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS2004

Method Developed for Noninterference Measurement of Blade Damping

Although noninterference optical instrumentation has been previously used to monitor and measure rotor blade vibrations, it has not been used at the NASA Glenn Research Center for the determination of damping. This article describes such a measurement in Glenn's Spin Rig facility. The optical system was chosen because installation of the slip rig for this particular configuration was not feasible, ruling out strain gauge instrumentation. The shaft in this facility was suspended with two radial magnetic bearings, and the excitation was supplied to the bearings by a signal generator. For the first mode, the direction of excitation force was always perpendicular to the blade as described by Morrison. The preceding graph shows blade displacements, as measured by an optical probe during a frequency sweep designed to locate the first mode resonance. The resonance determines the frequency at which the shaft is excited. Because the sampling rate was fixed to only once per revolution with these transducers, and the first mode frequency was much larger than the rotational frequency, the data in this figure were undersampled with an apparent frequency that was only 1 Hz at the beginning of the sweep, about 14 Hz at the maximum amplitude, and about 20 Hz at the end of the sweep. The true excitation frequency varied during the sweep from 320 to 340 Hz, and the resonance occurred at 334 Hz. Damping is determined by applying a frequency burst to the shaft. Upon cessation of the burst, the blade undergoes free decay. The apparent damping is then obtained by a least squares fit of the theoretical cosine decay function through the experimental points. The following graph illustrates this procedure. Because of frequency aliasing, the apparent measured damping must be divided by the ratio of the true resonant frequency to the apparent measured frequency to obtain the true damping. Note that the contribution of the shaft vibration to the blade vibration could be neglected because it was shown that it is an order of magnitude smaller and that its decay is an order of magnitude faster.

Kurkov, Anatole P.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Exploring Excited State Proton Transfer Dynamics upon Ultraviolet Excitation

Excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) has been investigated in two prototypical systems─salicylaldehyde azine (SAA) and 1,5-dihydroxyanthraquinone (DHAQ)─using transient absorption spectroscopy upon ultraviolet excitation into the less studied higher excited (S n ) manifold. Excitation with sub-30 fs pulses and broadband visible probing has allowed for direct measurement of the ESIPT rate. In conjunction with steady-state measurements and TD-DFT calculations, a complete delineation of the ultrafast photophysics has been carried out. In SAA, ESIPT remains ultrafast (∼30 fs), consistent with previous S 1 excitation studies. Coherent vibrational beats maps reveal significant wavelength dependence, however. Theoretical analysis suggests that the observed modes and their intensities in coherent vibrational spectra are modulated by the nature of the electronically excited state. In DHAQ, the first direct observation of ESIPT presents a time-constant of ∼85 fs, and a slower component of 9 ps, akin to previous reports on double-proton transfer systems. Collectively, the results suggest that while the ultrafast ESIPT rate remains largely invariant vis-à-vis the excitation energy, the product yield, as well as accompanying coherent oscillations, may be substantively altered, owing to the existence of alternative decay pathways.

excited states↗
NASA NTRS1972

Pitch-angle diffusion of radiation belt electrons within the plasmasphere.

Study of the formation of the quiet-time electron slot, which divides the radiation belt electrons into an inner and an outer zone. The pitch-angle diffusion of radiation belt electrons resulting from resonant interactions with the observed plasmaspheric whistler-mode wave band is quantitatively investigated. The effects of wave propagation obliquely to the geomagnetic field direction with the resulting diffusion at all cyclotron-harmonic resonances and the Landau resonance are evaluated along with the effects of interactions occuring at all geomagnetic latitudes. The results obtained account for the long-term stability of the inner radiation zone, the location of its outer edge as a function of electron energy, and the removal of electrons to levels near zero throughout the slot. Computed pitch-angle distributions and precipitation decay rates are in good agreement with slot-region observations.

Lyons, L. R.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Analysis of gas storage and transport in Eagle Ford shale using pressure pulse decay measurements with He, Kr and CO 2

Detailed characterization of gas transport and storage in low-permeability and organic-rich shales is associated with an array of challenges due to the complex morphology of the pore space, representing a broad range of pore sizes, combined with the heterogeneous fabric of the shale matrix. These factors, and their interplay during gas transport and sorption, complicate a) the analysis of shale samples at the laboratory scale (~ up to a ft. In length), and b) the prediction of natural gas production and carbon sequestration potential at larger scales. Here, in this work, tandem experiments with inert (helium – He) and adsorbing (krypton - Kr and carbon dioxide - CO 2 ) gases were performed and analyzed to develop an efficient workflow for characterizing and modeling transport and sorption at the laboratory scale. In particular, pressure pulse-decay (PPD) measurements were conducted on an Eagle Ford shale core sample at room temperature using He, Kr, and CO 2 . PPD measurements with He (a non-sorbing gas) were employed to probe the overall porosity, including natural fractures, microcracks, mesopores, and micropores. A triple-porosity model (TPM) was adopted to interpret the gas transport in the shale sample: The pore space is represented by three interacting continua, including macropores (larger fractures), mesopores (including microcracks), and micropores. To facilitate the application of the TPM, a modified analytical approach is introduced to extract effective transport parameters (in terms of the characteristic time for transport at relevant porosity levels) directly from the PPD measurements with He. To validate the modeling approach, model parameters extracted from two He PPD measurements are demonstrated to provide excellent agreement with a 3rd He PPD measurement performed at a higher pressure. The effective transport parameters, extracted from the He experiments, were subsequently converted for application to the Kr and CO 2 PPD experiments, by accounting for relevant transport modes and differences in fluid properties. Excess adsorption isotherms were extracted from the equilibrium pressures of the Kr and CO 2 PPD experiments using the He pore volume as a baseline. These adsorption isotherms were then integrated into the TPM to predict combined gas transport and sorption for Kr and CO 2 , with transport coefficients translated from the He measurements. The predictions for Kr and CO 2 are demonstrated to be in excellent agreement with the experimental observations. This, in turn, demonstrates that the proposed analytical approach provides for an effective characterization of mass transfer rates in shales, that can be applied directly in a TPM representation of mass transfer and sorption.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Axion-Like Particles at the ILC Giga-Z

Axion-Like Particles (ALPs) are a generic, calculable, and well motivated extension of the Standard Model with far reaching phenomenology. ALPs that couple only to hypercharge represent one subset of such models, coupling the ALP to both photons and the Z boson. We examine the current constraints on this class of models with an ALP mass in the 100 MeV to 100 GeV range, paying particular attention to the region between 100 MeV to 10 GeV, a portion of parameter space which is ill constrained by current experiments. We show that the more than 109 Z bosons produced in the Giga-Z mode of the future ILC experiment, combined with the highly granular nature of its detectors, will allow for ALPs coupled to hypercharge to be discovered with couplings down to nearly 10 –5 GeV –1 over a range of masses from 0.4 to 50 GeV.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1987

A new interpretation of plasma-line overshoot phenomena

The temporal evolution of Langmuir waves excited by high-power, high-frequency (HF) radio waves in the ionosphere is studied theoretically. This study is motivated by past observations made with the 450 MHz radar at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Two kinds of nonlinear damping to the parametric decay instability are considered in the derivation of the rate equation for the spectral intensity of enhanced Langmuir waves. They are Langmuir wave cascading caused by nonlinear Landau damping and cross-field electron diffusion. The first damping process leads to the saturation of individual unstable Langmuir wave. The second process, which results from the incoherent scattering of electron orbits by the total excited Langmuir waves, yields anomalous damping that applies to each Langmuir wave. Consequently, Langmuir waves with smaller growth rates will be suppressed by those with larger growth rates. Such a mode competition process may cause the overshoot of the HF-enhanced plasma line observed with the Arecibo 430 MHz radar. Favorable agreement is obtained between theory and the Arecibo observations.

Kuo, S. P.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Annihilation-gamma-based diagnostic techniques for magnetically confined electron–positron pair plasma

Efforts are underway to magnetically confine electron–positron pair plasmas to study their unique behaviour, which is characterized by significant changes in plasma time and length scales, supported waves and unstable modes. However, use of conventional plasma diagnostics presents challenges with these low-density and annihilating matter–antimatter plasmas. To address this problem, we propose to develop techniques based on the distinct emission provided by annihilation. This emission exhibits two spatial correlations: the distance attenuation of isotropic sources and the back-to-back propagation of momentum-preserving 2 $\gamma$ annihilation. We present the results of our analysis of the $\gamma$ emission rate and the spatial profile of the annihilation in a magnetized pair plasma from direct pair collisions, from the formation and decay of positronium as well as from transport processes. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of annihilation-based techniques, we tested them on annular $\gamma$ emission profiles produced by a $\beta ^+$ radioisotope on a rotating turntable. Direct and positronium-mediated annihilation result in overlapping volumetric $\gamma$ sources, and the 2 $\gamma$ emission from these volumetric sources can be tomographically reconstructed from coincident counts in multiple detectors. Transport processes result in localized annihilation where field lines intersect walls, limiters or internal magnets. These localized sources can be identified by the fractional $\gamma$ counts on spatially distributed detectors.

Physics↗
NASA NTRS2000

Modeling Planetary Waves in the Middle Atmosphere

In our 3D Numerical Spectral Model (NSM) that incorporates the Doppler Spread Parameterization of Hines, planetary waves are generated with zonal wavenumbers 1-4 that have amplitudes as large as 25 m/s and periods between 50 and 2 days. The waves are generated spontaneously, i.e., without external source, and presumably represent normal modes. Numerical experiments are discussed to shed light on the generation mechanisms. For the wavenumbers 1 and 2 with periods primarily between 4 and 15 days, both eastward and westward propagating waves are generated and their amplitudes are affected significantly by the gravity wave source. For the wavenumbers, 3 and 4 in the upper mesosphere, the waves are virtually monochromatic, with periods around 2.5 days and they propagate westward. These waves behave like Rossby gravity waves; their amplitudes are largest during solstice where the baroclinic instability is playing an important role, but the waves decay when the gravity wave momentum source is turned off. The planetary waves generated in the model produce large amplitude modulations of the diurnal tides at altitudes above 80 km, but contrary to expectations they are not playing an important role for the seasonal variations of the tides. Preliminary results show that such Rossby gravity waves are also generated near the tropopause and are influencing significantly the QBO that is generated in the model.

Mengel, J. G.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Temperature-dependent charge barrier height of amorphous germanium contact detector

The exploration of germanium (Ge) detectors with amorphous Ge (a-Ge) contacts has drawn attention to the searches for rare-event physics such as dark matter and neutrinoless double-beta decay. The charge barrier height (CBH) of the a-Ge contacts deposited on the detector surface is crucial to suppress the leakage current of the detector in order to achieve a low-energy detection threshold and high-energy resolution. The temperature-dependent CBH of a-Ge contacts for three Ge detectors is analyzed to study the bulk leakage current (BLC) characteristics. The detectors were fabricated at the University of South Dakota using homegrown crystals. The CBH is determined from the BLC when the detectors are operated in the reverse bias mode with a guard-ring structure, which separates the BLC from the surface leakage current (SLC). Here the results show that CBH is temperature dependent. The direct relation of the CBH variation to temperature is related to the barrier inhomogeneities created on the interface of a-Ge and crystalline Ge. The inhomogeneities that occur at the interface were analyzed using the Gaussian distribution model for three detectors.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS1976

Argon content of the Martian atmosphere at the Viking 1 landing site - Analysis by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

Spectra provided by the Viking 1 X-ray fluorescence spectrometer operating in the calibration mode (without a soil sample in the analysis chamber) were analyzed to determine the argon content of the Martian atmosphere at the landing site. This was found to be less than or equal to 0.15 millibar, or not more than 2% by volume, consistent with data obtained by the entry mass spectrometer and by the mass spectrometer on the lander. It is anticipated that analysis of the K content of surface samples using X-ray fluorescence data will provide information on the evolution of the atmosphere, since most atmospheric argon is apparently produced by decay of K-40.

Clark, B. C.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Nonlinear Instability of a Uni-directional Transversely Sheared Mean Flow

It is well known that the presence of a weak cross flow in an otherwise two-dimensional shear flow results in a spanwise variation in the mean streamwise velocity profile that can lead to an amplification of certain three-dimensional disturbances through a kind of resonant-interaction mechanism (Goldstein and Wundrow 1994). The spatial evolution of an initially linear, finite-growth-rate, instability wave in such a spanwise-varying shear flow is considered, The base flow, which is governed by the three-dimensional parabolized Navier-Stokes equations, is initiated by imposing a spanwise- periodic cross-flow velocity on an otherwise two-dimensional shear flow at some fixed streamwise location. The resulting mean-flow distortion initially grows with increasing streamwise distance, reaches a maximum and eventually decays through the action of viscosity. This decay, which coincides with the viscous spread of of the shear layer, means that the local growth rate of the instability wave will eventually decrease as the wave propagates downstream. Nonlinear effects can then become important within a thin spanwise-modulated critical layer once the local instability-wave amplitude and growth rate become sufficiently large and small, respectively. The amplitude equation that describes this stage of evolution is shown to be a generalization of the one obtained by Goldstein and Choi (1989) who considered the related problem of the interaction of two oblique modes in a two-dimensional shear layer.

Wundrow, David W.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Velocity Measurement in a Dual-Mode Supersonic Combustor using Particle Image Velocimetry

Temporally and spatially-resolved, two-component measurements of velocity in a supersonic hydrogen-air combustor are reported. The combustor had a single unswept ramp fuel injector and operated with an inlet Mach number of 2 and a flow total temperature approaching 1200 K. The experiment simulated the mixing and combustion processes of a dual-mode scramjet operating at a flight Mach number near 5. The velocity measurements were obtained by seeding the fuel with alumina particles and performing Particle Image Velocimetry on the mixing and combustion wake of the ramp injector. To assess the effects of combustion on the fuel air-mixing process, the distribution of time-averaged velocity and relative turbulence intensity was determined for the cases of fuel-air mixing and fuel-air reacting. Relative to the mixing case, the near field core velocity of the reacting fuel jet had a slower streamwise decay. In the far field, downstream of 4 to 6 ramp heights from the ramp base, the heat release of combustion resulted in decreased flow velocity and increased turbulence levels. The reacting measurements were also compared with a computational fluid dynamics solution of the flow field. Numerically predicted velocity magnitudes were higher than that measured and the jet penetration was lower.

Goyne, C. P.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Switching Characteristics of a 4H-SiC Based Bipolar Junction Transistor to 200 C

Static curves and resistive load switching characteristics of a 600 V, 4 A rated, SiC-based NPN bipolar power transistor (BJT) were observed at selected temperatures from room to 200 C. All testing was done in a pulse mode at low duty cycle (approx.0.1 percent). Turn-on was driven by an adjustable base current pulse and turn-off was accelerated by a negative base voltage pulse of 7 V. These base drive signals were implemented by 850 V, gated power pulsers, having rise-times of roughly 10 ns, or less. Base charge sweep-out with a 7 V negative pulse did not produce the large reverse base current pulse seen in a comparably rated Si-based BJT. This may be due to a very low charge storage time. The decay of the collector current was more linear than its exponential-like rise. Switching observations were done at base drive currents (I(sub B)) up to 400 mA and collector currents (I(sub C)) up to 4 A, using a 100 Omega non-inductive load. At I(sub B) = 400 mA and I(sub C) = 4 A, turn-on times typically varied from 80 to 94 ns, over temperatures from 23 to 200 C. As expected, lowering the base drive greatly extended the turn-on time. Similarly, decreasing the load current to I(sub C) = 1 A with I(sub B) = 400 mA produced turn-on times as short as 34 ns. Over the 23 to 200 C range, with I(sub B) = 400 mA and I(sub C) = 4 A, turn-off times were in the range of 72 to 84 ns with the 7 V sweep-out.

Niedra, Janis M.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Measurements of production cross sections of the Higgs boson in the four-lepton final state in proton–proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13\,\text {Te}\text {V} $

Production cross sections of the Higgs boson are measured in the H $\to$ ZZ $\to$ $4\ell$ ($\ell$ $=$ e, $\mu$) decay channel. A data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected by the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb$^{-1}$ is used. The signal strength modifier $\mu$, defined as the ratio of the Higgs boson production rate in the $4\ell$ channel to the standard model (SM) expectation, is measured to be $\mu$ $=$ 0.94 $\pm$ 0.07 (stat) ${}^{+0.09}_{-0.08}$ (syst) at a fixed value of $m_H$ = 125.38 GeV. The signal strength modifiers for the individual Higgs boson production modes are also reported. The inclusive fiducial cross section for the H $\to$ $4\ell$ process is measured to be 2.84 $^{+0.23}_{-0.22}$ (stat) ${}^{+0.26}_{-0.21}$ (syst) fb, which is compatible with the SM prediction of 2.84 $\pm$ 0.15 fb for the same fiducial region. Differential cross sections as a function of the transverse momentum and rapidity of the Higgs boson, the number of associated jets, and the transverse momentum of the leading associated jet are measured. A new set of cross section measurements in mutually exclusive categories targeted to identify production mechanisms and kinematical features of the events is presented. The results are in agreement with the SM predictions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS1989

Feasibility of reduced gravity experiments involving quiescent, uniform particle cloud combustion

The study of combustible particle clouds is of fundamental scientific interest as well as a practical concern. The principal scientific interests are the characteristic combustion properties, especially flame structure, propagation rates, stability limits, and the effects of stoichiometry, particle type, transport phenomena, and nonadiabatic processes on these properties. The feasibility tests for the particle cloud combustion experiment (PCCE) were performed in reduced gravity in the following stages: (1) fuel particles were mixed into cloud form inside a flammability tube; (2) when the concentration of particles in the cloud was sufficiently uniform, the particle motion was allowed to decay toward quiescence; (3) an igniter was energized which both opened one end of the tube and ignited the suspended particle cloud; and (4) the flame proceeded down the tube length, with its position and characteristic features being photographed by high-speed cameras. Gravitational settling and buoyancy effects were minimized because of the reduced gravity enviroment in the NASA Lewis drop towers and aircraft. Feasibility was shown as quasi-steady flame propagation which was observed for fuel-rich mixtures. Of greatest scientific interest is the finding that for near-stoichiometric mixtures, a new mode of flame propagation was observed, now called a chattering flame. These flames did not propagate steadily through the tube. Chattering modes of flame propagation are not expected to display extinction limits that are the same as those for acoustically undisturbed, uniform, quiescent clouds. A low concentration of fuel particles, uniformly distributed in a volume, may not be flammable but may be made flammable, as was observed, through induced segregation processes. A theory was developed which showed that chattering flame propagation was controlled by radiation from combustion products which heated the successive discrete laminae sufficiently to cause autoignition.

Ross, Howard D.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Search for the lepton-flavor-violating τ − → e ∓ ℓ ± ℓ − decays at Belle II

We present the result of a search for the charged-lepton-flavor violating decays τ − → e ∓ ℓ ± ℓ − , where ℓ is a muon or an electron, using a data sample with an integrated luminosity of 428 fb −1 recorded by the Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB e + e − collider. The selection of e + e − → τ + τ − events containing a signal candidate is based on an inclusive-tagging reconstruction and on a boosted decision tree to suppress background. Upper limits on the branching fractions between 1.3 and 2.5 × 10 −8 are set at the 90% confidence level. These results are the most stringent bounds to date for four of the modes.

flavour physics↗