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

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At least 793 records · Page 44
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Exploring the Strong Interaction of Three-Body Systems at the LHC

Deuterons are atomic nuclei composed of a neutron and a proton held together by the strong interaction. Unbound ensembles composed of a deuteron and a third nucleon have been investigated in the past using scattering experiments, and they constitute a fundamental reference in nuclear physics to constrain nuclear interactions and the properties of nuclei. In this work, K + -d and p-d femtoscopic correlations measured by the ALICE Collaboration in proton-proton (pp) collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are presented. It is demonstrated that correlations in momentum space between deuterons and kaons or protons allow us to study three-hadron systems at distances comparable with the proton radius. The analysis of the K + -d correlation shows that the relative distances at which deuterons and protons or kaons are produced are around 2 fm. The analysis of the p-d correlation shows that only a full three-body calculation that accounts for the internal structure of the deuteron can explain the data. In particular, the sensitivity of the observable to the short-range part of the interaction is demonstrated. These results indicate that correlations involving light nuclei in pp collisions at the LHC will also provide access to any three-body system in the strange and charm sectors.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Robust qubit interactions mediated by photonic topological edge states

Here, we investigate the coupling of two spatially separated qubits via topologically protected edge states in a two-dimensional Hofstadter lattice. In this hybrid platform, the qubits are coupled to distinct edge sites of the lattice, enabling long-range interactions mediated by topological edge modes. We solve the full system Hamiltonian and analyze the resulting eigenstate structure to uncover the conditions under which coherent qubit interactions emerge. Our analysis reveals that the effective coupling is highly sensitive to the qubit placement, energy detuning, and the topological character of the edge spectrum. We obtain an analytical solution that goes beyond the perturbative regime, capturing the full interplay between the qubits and edge modes. These results provide a foundation for exploring information transport and many-body effects in engineered quantum systems where interactions are mediated by topological edge modes.

Chern insulators↗
DOE OSTI2025

To immunity and beyond: the central role of jasmonate signalling in beneficial root–microbe–environment interactions

Jasmonates (JAs) have traditionally been studied for their defensive roles against wounding and detrimental organisms, but they are also crucial hormones for plant–microbe beneficial interactions. Here, we review the most recent advances in this overlooked field. We cover the evolutionary divergences of JA biosynthesis and signalling across various plant lineages and present the molecular mechanisms of action through which beneficial microbes interact with the host JA signalling pathway as well as environmental integration. Special emphasis is given to the cutting‐edge tools to study the spatial compartmentalization and cell and tissue specialization of JA signalling. This review underscores the role of the JA signalling pathway, with the MYELOCYTOMATOSIS2 transcription factor as a potential integrator of biotic and environmental cues, and highlights its significance in mutualistic interactions.

defence↗
DOE OSTI2023

High-Energy to Ultrahigh-Energy Neutrino Interactions

The cross sections for neutrino interactions with nucleons have been measured directly in accelerator experiments and through the zenith-angle and energy dependence of neutrino events at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. Fluxes of high-energy neutrinos are produced at the Large Hadron Collider and by cosmic rays in the atmosphere. High-energy neutrinos also come from astrophysical and cosmic sources. The theory of neutrino interactions is reviewed. Current cross-section measurements and prospects for the future are discussed. The focus here is on neutrino interactions for energies larger than 1 TeV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

From Intermolecular Interaction Energies and Observable Shifts to Component Contributions and Back Again: A Tale of Variational Energy Decomposition Analysis

Quantum chemistry in the form of density functional theory (DFT) calculations is a powerful numerical experiment for predicting intermolecular interaction energies. However, no chemical insight is gained in this way beyond predictions of observables. Energy decomposition analysis (EDA) can quantitatively bridge this gap by providing values for the chemical drivers of the interactions, such as permanent electrostatics, Pauli repulsion, dispersion, and charge transfer. These energetic contributions are identified by performing DFT calculations with constraints that disable components of the interaction. This review describes the second-generation version of the absolutely localized molecular orbital EDA (ALMO-EDA-II). The effects of different physical contributions on changes in observables such as structure and vibrational frequencies upon complex formation are characterized via the adiabatic EDA. Example applications include red- versus blue-shifting hydrogen bonds; the bonding and frequency shifts of CO, N 2 , and BF bound to a [Ru(II)(NH 3 ) 5 ] 2 + moiety; and the nature of the strongly bound complexes between pyridine and the benzene and naphthalene radical cations. Additionally, the use of ALMO-EDA-II to benchmark and guide the development of advanced force fields for molecular simulation is illustrated with the recent, very promising, MB-UCB potential.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Factorial experiment to identify two-way interactions between temperature, harvesting period, hydraulic retention time, and light intensity that influence the biomass productivity and phosphorus removal efficiency of a microalgae–bacteria biofilm

Rotating algae biofilm reactors (RABRs) can reduce energy requirements for wastewater reclamation but require further optimization for implementation at water resource recovery facilities (WRRF). Optimizing RABR operation is challenging because conditions at WRRF change frequently, and disregarding interaction terms related to these changes can produce incorrect conclusions about RABR behavior. This study evaluated the two-way interaction and main effects of four factors on the biomass productivity and phosphorus removal efficiency of a microalgae-bacteria biofilm grown in municipal anaerobic digester centrate, with factor levels and operating conditions selected to mimic a pilot RABR at a WRRF in Utah. Two-way interactions harvesting period*light intensity (LI), harvesting period*temperature, and LI*hydraulic retention time (HRT) had significant effects on biomass productivity: at high temperature and low LI, highest biomass productivity was achieved with a 14-day harvesting period, but at medium temperature and high LI, highest biomass productivity was achieved with a 7-day harvesting period. At high HRT, highest biomass productivity occurred at low LI, but at low HRT, highest biomass productivity occurred at high LI. Phosphorus removal was strongly influenced by LI and occurred most rapidly during the first 2 days HRT, which suggests precipitation contributed significantly to phosphorus removal. These observations provide insight for further RABR optimization.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Understanding the Molecular‐level Interactions Between Ionic Liquids and Molecular Species to Design and Develop Novel Solvent Systems for Environmental and Energy Applications (DOE-EPSCoR – DE‐SC0020282 Final Technical Report)

The central theme of the work is to develop an understanding of the molecular-level interactions between ionic liquids and molecular species that govern a specific set of separations (aliphatic/aromatic, Topic I), reactions (SNAr, high-temp reactions, Topic II) and polymer (ultrahigh performance polymers, Topic III) synthesis processes through the synergistic application of synthesis, characterization and simulation. Understanding these interactions will provide significant insight into how to optimize these and other processes that are influenced by these interactions. An important additional goal is to build the collaborative infrastructure to enable the cluster researchers to develop professional relationships to enhance this and future research endeavors. This collaboration, the Alabama Advanced Solvents Cluster (AASC) is on ongoing collaborative effort between many of the investigators.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Online Interactive Platform for COVID-19 Literature Visual Analytics: Platform Development Study

Background Papers on COVID-19 are being published at a high rate and concern many different topics. Innovative tools are needed to aid researchers to find patterns in this vast amount of literature to identify subsets of interest in an automated fashion. Objective We present a new online software resource with a friendly user interface that allows users to query and interact with visual representations of relationships between publications. Methods We publicly released an application called PLATIPUS (Publication Literature Analysis and Text Interaction Platform for User Studies) that allows researchers to interact with literature supplied by COVIDScholar via a visual analytics platform. This tool contains standard filtering capabilities based on authors, journals, high-level categories, and various research-specific details via natural language processing and dozens of customizable visualizations that dynamically update from a researcher’s query. Results PLATIPUS is available online and currently links to over 100,000 publications and is still growing. This application has the potential to transform how COVID-19 researchers use public literature to enable their research. Conclusions The PLATIPUS application provides the end user with a variety of ways to search, filter, and visualize over 100,00 COVID-19 publications.</:p>

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Specialized Plant Growth Chamber Designs to Study Complex Rhizosphere Interactions

The rhizosphere is a dynamic ecosystem shaped by complex interactions between plant roots, soil, microbial communities and other micro- and macro-fauna. Although studied for decades, critical gaps exist in the study of plant roots, the rhizosphere microbiome and the soil system surrounding roots, partly due to the challenges associated with measuring and parsing these spatiotemporal interactions in complex heterogeneous systems such as soil. To overcome the challenges associated with in situ study of rhizosphere interactions, specialized plant growth chamber systems have been developed that mimic the natural growth environment. This review discusses the currently available lab-based systems ranging from widely known rhizotrons to other emerging devices designed to allow continuous monitoring and non-destructive sampling of the rhizosphere ecosystems in real-time throughout the developmental stages of a plant. We categorize them based on the major rhizosphere processes it addresses and identify their unique challenges as well as advantages. We find that while some design elements are shared among different systems (e.g., size exclusion membranes), most of the systems are bespoke and speaks to the intricacies and specialization involved in unraveling the details of rhizosphere processes. We also discuss what we describe as the next generation of growth chamber employing the latest technology as well as the current barriers they face. We conclude with a perspective on the current knowledge gaps in the rhizosphere which can be filled by innovative chamber designs.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Modeling Thermal Interactions between Buildings in an Urban Context

Thermal interactions through longwave radiation exchange between buildings, especially in a dense urban environment, can strongly influence a building’s energy use and environmental impact. However, these interactions are either neglected or oversimplified in urban building energy modeling. We developed a new feature in EnergyPlus to explicitly consider this term in the surface heat balance calculations and developed an algorithm to batch calculating the surrounding surfaces’ view factors using a ray-tracing technique. We conducted a case study with a district in the Chicago downtown area to evaluate the longwave radiant heat exchange effects between urban buildings. Results show that the impact of the longwave radiant effects on annual energy use ranges from 0.1% to 3.3% increase for cooling and 0.3% to 3.6% decrease for heating, varying among individual buildings. At the district level, the total energy demand increases by 1.39% for cooling and decreases 0.45% for heating. We also observe the longwave radiation can increase the exterior surface temperature by up to 10 °C for certain exterior surfaces. These findings justify a detailed and accurate way to consider the thermal interactions between buildings in an urban context to inform urban planning and design.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

Exploring the Role of Glycans in the Interaction of SARS-CoV-2 RBD and Human Receptor ACE2

COVID-19 is a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. It has become a global pandemic and its frequent mutations may pose new challenges for vaccine design. During viral infection, the Spike RBD of SARS-CoV-2 binds the human host cell receptor ACE2, enabling the virus to enter the host cell. Both the Spike and ACE2 are densely glycosylated, and it is unclear how distinctive glycan types may modulate the interaction of RBD and ACE2. Detailed understanding of these determinants is key for the development of novel therapeutic strategies. To this end, we perform extensive all-atom simulations of the (i) RBD-ACE2 complex without glycans, (ii) RBD-ACE2 with oligomannose MAN9 glycans in ACE2, and (iii) RBD-ACE2 with complex FA2 glycans in ACE2. These simulations identify the key residues at the RBD-ACE2 interface that form contacts with higher probabilities, thus providing a quantitative evaluation that complements recent structural studies. Notably, we find that this RBD-ACE2 contact signature is not altered by the presence of different glycoforms, suggesting that RBD-ACE2 interaction is robust. Applying our simulated results, we illustrate how the recently prevalent N501Y mutation may alter specific interactions with host ACE2 that facilitate the virus-host binding. Furthermore, our simulations reveal how the glycan on Asn90 of ACE2 can play a distinct role in the binding and unbinding of RBD. Finally, an energetics analysis shows that MAN9 glycans on ACE2 decrease RBD-ACE2 affinity, while FA2 glycans lead to enhanced binding of the complex. Together, our results provide a more comprehensive picture of the detailed interplay between virus and human receptor, which is much needed for the discovery of effective treatments that aim at modulating the physical-chemical properties of this virus.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

SDSS-IV MaNGA: Unveiling Galaxy Interaction by Merger Stages with Machine Learning

We use machine-learning techniques to classify galaxy merger stages, which can unveil physical processes that drive the star formation and active galactic nucleus (AGN) activities during galaxy interaction. The sample contains 4690 galaxies from the integral field spectroscopy survey SDSS-IV MaNGA and can be separated into 1060 merging galaxies and 3630 nonmerging or unclassified galaxies. For the merger sample, there are 468, 125, 293, and 174 galaxies (1) in the incoming pair phase, (2) in the first pericentric passage phase, (3) approaching or just passing the apocenter, and (4) in the final coalescence phase or post-mergers. With the information of projected separation, line-of-sight velocity difference, Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) gri images, and MaNGA Hα velocity map, we are able to classify the mergers and their stages with good precision, which is the most important score to identify interacting galaxies. For the two-phase classification (binary; nonmerger and merger), the performance can be high (precision > 0.90) with LGBMClassifier . We find that sample size can be increased by rotation, so the five-phase classification (nonmerger, and merger stages 1, 2, 3, and 4) can also be good (precision > 0.85). The most important features come from SDSS gri images. The contribution from the MaNGA Hα velocity map, projected separation, and line-of-sight velocity difference can further improve the performance by 0%–20%. In other words, the image and the velocity information are sufficient to capture important features of galaxy interactions, and our results can apply to all the MaNGA data, as well as future all-sky surveys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Medium-induced photon bremsstrahlung in neutrino-nucleus, antineutrino-nucleus, and electron-nucleus scattering from multiple QED interactions

Interactions of charged leptons with nuclei and the naive tree-level kinematics of these processes are affected by radiation of photons induced by the QED nuclear medium. We evaluate cross section modifications at leading orders of the number of correlated interactions inside the nucleus, known as the opacity expansion. We derive results for soft and collinear types of the bremsstrahlung at the first three orders in opacity and generalize them to higher orders. We present the leading in opacity energy spectra of soft and collinear photons and radiative energy loss inside the nucleus for experiments with lepton kinematics in the GeV energy range. At leading power of the Glauber soft-collinear effective field theory, the soft radiation is further resummed to all orders both in opacity and in the electromagnetic coupling constant. We find that the soft and collinear medium-induced radiation is vacuumlike, and additional corrections are power suppressed. Despite the negligible modification to the induced photon spectra, the nuclear medium-induced radiation sizably affects the broadening of charged leptons in the direction orthogonal to their propagation. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

CP-violating axion interactions II: axions as dark matter

Axions provide a solution to the strong CP problem and are excellent dark matter candidates. The presence of additional sources of CP violation, for example to account for the matter/antimatter asymmetry of the universe, can lead to CP-violating interactions between axions and Standard Model fields. In case axions form a coherent dark matter background, this leads to time-oscillating fundamental constants such as the fine-structure constant and particle masses. In this work we compare the sensitivity of various searches for CP-odd axion interactions. These include fifth-force experiments, searches for time-oscillating constants induced by axion dark matter, and direct limits from electric dipole moment experiments. We show that searches for oscillating constants can outperform fifth-force experiments in the regime of small axion masses, but, in general, do not reach the sensitivity of electric dipole moment experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Measurement of neutrino and antineutrino neutral-current quasielasticlike interactions on oxygen by detecting nuclear deexcitation γ rays

Neutrino- and antineutrino-oxygen neutral-current quasielasticlike interactions are measured at Super-Kamiokande using nuclear deexcitation γ rays to identify signal-like interactions in data from a 14.94 ( 16.35 ) × 10 20 protons-on-target exposure of the T2K neutrino (antineutrino) beam. The measured flux-averaged cross sections on oxygen nuclei are < σ ν - NCQE > = 1.70 ± 0.17 ( stat . ) - 0.38 + 0.51 ( syst . ) × 10 - 38 cm 2 / oxygen with a flux-averaged energy of 0.82 GeV and < σ ν ¯ - NCQE > = 0.98 ± 0.16 ( stat . ) - 0.19 + 0.26 ( syst . ) × 10 - 38 cm 2 / oxygen with a flux-averaged energy of 0.68 GeV, for neutrinos and antineutrinos, respectively. These results are the most precise to date, and the antineutrino result is the first cross section measurement of this channel. They are compared with various theoretical predictions. The impact on evaluation of backgrounds to searches for supernova relic neutrinos at present and future water Cherenkov detectors is also discussed.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Tradeoff between Intermolecular Interaction and Backbone Disorder by High Molecular Dipole Block for Improving Blend Morphology of Polymer Solar Cells

Constructing terpolymer has attracted increasing attention as a strategy to improve the performance of polymer solar cell. Terpolymer usually offers an opportunity to lower the frontier molecular orbital energy level, introduces additional absorption band and sometimes optimizes the morphology of the active blend. Generally, the additional segment in terpolymer backbone inevitably introduces backbone disorder, which causes entropy rises. However, selecting a suitable dipole unit introduces extra driving forces for crystallization by enhancing intermolecular interactions. This provides a handy knob for tradeoff between intermolecular interaction and backbone disorder, thus regulating the blend morphology. In this study, a high dipole and electron-deficient group of pyrrolo[3,4-f ]benzotriazole-5,7(6H)-dione (TzBI) is incorporated into the high-performance donor polymer and a series of terpolymers with different content of TzBI are designed. As expected, the morphology is optimized gradually for improving charge generation and charge transport, also suppressing charge recombination. The champion device with 10% TzBI exhibited a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.36%, which is 5% increase compared to the controlled device. This study presents a charming terpolymer strategy by highly electron-deficient and high dipole segment to realize a tradeoff between intermolecular interaction and backbone disorder, facilitating the optimization of morphology and elevation of fill factor and device efficiency.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Role of Interfacial Interactions and Oxygen Vacancies in Tuning Magnetic Anisotropy in LaCrO 3 /LaMnO 3 Heterostructures

The interplay of lattice, electronic, and spin degrees of freedom at epitaxial complex oxide interfaces provides a route to tune their magnetic ground states. Unraveling the competing contributions is critical for tuning their functional properties. The relationship between magnetic ordering and magnetic anisotropy and the lattice symmetry, oxygen content, and film thickness in compressively strained LaMnO 3 (LMO)/LaCrO 3 (LCO) superlattices is investigated. Mn–O–Cr antiferromagnetic superexchange interactions across the heterointerface result in a net ferrimagnetic magnetic structure. Bulk magnetometry measurements reveal isotropic in-plane magnetism for as-grown oxygen-deficient thin samples due to equal fractions of orthorhombic a+a-c-, and a-a+c- twin domains. As the superlattice thickness is increased, in-plane magnetic anisotropy emerges as the fraction of the a+a-c- domain increases. On annealing in oxygen, the suppression of oxygen vacancies results in a contraction of the lattice volume, and an orthorhombic to rhombohedral transition leads to isotropic magnetism independent of the film thickness. The complex interactions are investigated using high-resolution synchrotron diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. These results highlight the role of the evolution of structural domains with film thickness, interfacial spin interactions, and oxygen-vacancy-induced structural phase transitions in tuning the magnetic properties of complex oxide heterostructures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Design of 3D Oxide–Metal Hybrid Metamaterial for Tailorable Light–Matter Interactions in Visible and Near-Infrared Region

Dielectric–metallic hybrid metamaterials exhibit extraordinary optical properties due to the light–matter interactions at the dielectric–metallic interfaces. The ability in precision control of the light–matter interactions in nanoscale is key to tailor the optical properties of hybrid metamaterials. In this work, a complex 3D framework of multilayered self-assembled BaTiO 3 (BTO)-Au hybrid thin films is demonstrated with such precision control of the light–matter interaction in nanoscale. Here, unique “bamboo-like” Au nanostructures are formed via the bilayer and trilayer stacking of BTO-Au hybrid layers with interlayers of SrTiO 3 , CeO 2 , or MgO. Different film strain states introduced by the three interlayers result in variable diameter and density of Au nanopillars. Both simulated and experimental optical data demonstrate the localized surface plasmon resonance change and hyperbolic dispersion wavelength shift in visible to near-infrared because of the effective tuning of the Au nanopillar aspect ratio and free electron density. The highly tunable optical properties along with the ferroelectric behavior and thermal robustness of the 3D hybrid film enable it to be a great candidate for multifunctional applications. This study demonstrates a unique 3D approach for precision optical property tuning and combined functionalities in oxide–metal metamaterial systems toward future integrated photonic and electronic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗