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Intelligent Process Visualization through Nuclear Operation Process Modeling, Reasoning, and Object Detection from Field Videos (Final Report)

This report is a deliverable for the “Final Report” task of DOE NEET Project 19-16790, "Context-Aware Safety Information Display for Nuclear Field Workers." This project's overall goal is to test the hypothesis that integrating computer vision and process reasoning methods will enable proactive visualization of the safe operation and maintenance processes of Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) for field workers. Augmented Reality (AR) glasses adopting such proactive safety information visualization techniques can significantly increase personnel safety and reduce the NPP’s operating costs. The current practice of monitoring NPPs requires workers to switch between digital models, data, and physical workspaces in identifying relevant but potentially occluded objects and in assessing the risks of operation and maintenance processes. On the other hand, frequently changed field conditions require field workers to report to supervisors for real-time guidance. Such guidance is essential to ensure that changing conditions will not invalidate or endanger the work order and other ongoing processes that may jeopardize NPP operations. Additionally, incorrect recognition of equipment objects can result in communication errors and safety problems. AR techniques can assist engineers in viewing the physical workspaces with objects labeled with detailed operation procedures and safety reminders during field operations. The project team developed an “Intelligent Context-Aware Safety Information Display” (ICAD) for supporting Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) field workers in achieving safe and efficient execution of a series of operational tasks in uncertain and changing workspaces of an NPP. Before designing the ICAD-AR prototype, the project team synthesized NPP operational knowledge models through literature review studies, surveys, interviews with domain experts, and knowledge modeling. The project team conducted an extensive study of the operational procedures of various NPPs, and digital technologies that can support the safe and efficient execution of those procedures in different NPP operational contexts. This literature review helped the project team conduct surveys and interviews with nuclear engineers and field workers to identify three categories of information. The NPP knowledge modeling efforts reveal that the three categories of information identified have different levels of importance in a typical procedure of carrying out a series of tasks to achieve a specific NPP operation goal (e.g., shutdown, mode changes). These three categories of information include 1) Workspace dynamics – the changing spatial arrangements of workspaces, tools, protection equipment, and supporting materials, 2) Workflow prognostics – the dynamic dependencies between different parts of an NPP that functionally support and influence each other in terms of safety and efficiency, and 3) Hazards – objects and spaces that contain hazardous materials or physical conditions that can pose risks to workers or mechanical systems. The project team has profiled the importance levels of these categories of information into a knowledge model. This knowledge model specifies what types of information are more critical for a given task in a given workspace so that computers can automatically identify critical objects and sensors in a scene for delivering context-ware safety information to field workers through AR devices. Significant research development of this project results in technical research outcomes and a prototyping system that illustrates the technical feasibility of establishing an ICAD-AR system supporting the proactive safety information display for nuclear field workers. This final report summarizes the project team’s technological achievements in the past three years. Overall, the project team completed the development and integration of five techniques into a prototype ICAD Augmented Reality (ICAD-AR) system and demonstrated the developed system’s real-time execution in a mechanical room. The project team completed the analysis of using this prototype in other types of workspaces based on 3D image data and digital design models collected from two additional workspaces (a water treatment plant and a flow loop training facility). The integrated techniques include 1) Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms supporting the generation and updates of nuclear fieldwork process models based on text analysis of work packages and operation manuals; 2) sensor log analysis for predicting control actions in given sensor reading contexts; 3) computer vision algorithms for automatic localization and navigation of workers; 4) object detection algorithms for identifying task-related objects and correlated sensors for safety checking; 5) AR technique as a platform for supporting the integration. The testing results of these five techniques have shown that 1) the sensor log analysis model can predict the next control action with an accuracy of 0.883; 2) the trained natural language processing model can extract more than 80% of the critical information from paper-based procedures (PBPs); 3) the navigation algorithm with the integration of Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO) and Non-Recursive Bayesian Filter methods make operator’s trajectory estimation resilient to drift error; 4) the computer vision algorithm can detect task-specific and safety-critical objects with an average accuracy of 95.3%. The project team used work procedures collected from a flow loop training facility and two datasets collected from two mechanical rooms simulating the workspaces of NPPs to demonstrate the technical capabilities of the developed ICAD-AR prototype. The demonstration validated the technical feasibility of establishing the ICAD-AR system for nuclear field workers and identified the challenges in 1) automatic text analysis of work packages; 2) use of limited samples of sensor logs for predicting the proper timings of control actions; 3) reliably tracking workers and their task progress in mechanical rooms with many similar objects.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

HFTS-2 (Final Report)

This report delves into the research program, identified tasks, various studies, observations, results, and conclusions under the Hydraulic Fracturing Test Site (HFTS-2) project. This test site is located in Loving County close to the Texas, New Mexico border. The program targeted the Wolfcamp formation in Delaware Basin. The aim of the project was to improve our understanding of hydraulic fracturing processes to not only optimize unconventional resource development in US Basins but to minimize environmental footprint as well. Various new diagnostic technologies were demonstrated at this site, including distributed acoustic microseismic, high resolution strain using Rayleigh frequency band (DSS-RFS), and in-fill proppant logging tool. Significant conclusions from this study include: 1) lateral and vertical fracture growth mapping as well as proppant transport behavior, 2) Use of DSS-RFS as a diagnostic tool to understand cluster level behavior, 3) Validation of proppant log, both at core scale as well as in-fill well implementation, and 4) New modeling tools to map far-field strain response using distributed strain sensing data. Specifically, far-field fracture distribution is influenced by linear fracture corridors defined by the stress-state as well as clustering behavior influenced by spatio-temporal effects. Depletion impacts on new stimulation was demonstrated and technically quantified. Significant vertical fracture height growth was observed. However, our understanding is limited by available gauge data availability. Numerical strain modeling techniques have been developed and demonstrated to help understand observed strain response behavior. Finally, proppant log has been further validated as a useful tool to map propped zones within the SRV. It has also shown very strong correlation with observed drawdown behavior at this test site. This report will detail many of these studies as well as technical results and conclusions from said studies. These include general subsurface characterization work, completion designs as implemented, studies looking at fracture geometry, high resolution microseismic study including source mechanisms, advanced DSS-RFS studies including drainage characterization, core characterization results, proppant analysis (core and in-fill child well), geochemistry, etc.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Evaluation of a CFD Commercial Package to the Modeling of Acoustic Wave Propagation in Bubbly-Liquid Column

This document reports on the considerations and development of an initial computational model based on the first principles for predicting acoustic propagation in a wellbore based on a logging-while-drilling (LWD) tool. This tool could be used to create a large database of simulated signals mimicking gas-influx-while-drilling events (so-called “kicks”). While other logging techniques, such as electrical resistivity and bulk density, are available in LWD tools, the acoustic logging method was identified in a complementary experimental endeavor as the most appropriate for early kick detection due to its high sensitivity to the presence of gas in liquids.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Geology of the One Earth Energy Site

The One Earth Energy site is one of two sites in the Illinois Storage Corridor (ISC) project. The objectives of the ISC project is to accelerate commercial deployment of carbon capture utilization and storage at two individual sites and receive approvals for Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class VI permits for construction at each site. At the One Earth Energy site, an extensive data collection program was undertaken, which included the drilling of a test well (One Earth Energy #1 [OEE #1]), four 2D seismic lines, and a small 3D seismic survey. The OEE #1 well was drilled in 2022 and acquired extensive core, log, and testing data to characterize the subsurface geology of the site. Coring was focused on the storage interval, the Mt. Simon Sandstone, and the confining interval, the Eau Claire Formation. The core and log data were used to evaluate the sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy, as well as to develop the conceptual geologic model. This report includes the geological summaries of the Mt. Simon Sandstone and the Eau Claire Formation. The extensive analysis of the log data is included in the petrophysical section, showing ranges of porosity, estimated pore size, and the mineral content of selected zones in the well. The separate petrographic technical report entitled “Petrographic and Advanced Geologic Characterization Report on One Earth Energy #1 (API# 1211325373)”, report number DOE-UIUC-0031892-04, details thin section point-counting analysis that includes mineralogical and pore space analysis, including grain size analysis, annotated thin section photomicrographs, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and statistics of grain size analysis on Mt. Simon thin sections from OEE #1. The final OEE #1 well data to be included in this geology report is the routine core analysis of both whole core plugs and rotary sidewall core plugs. In addition to the OEE #1 well, four 2D seismic lines and a small 3D survey were acquired as part of the overall subsurface geological characterization. This geology report references the seismic interpretation report, entitled “One Earth Energy Site Seismic Interpretation Task 5.0”, report number DOE-UIUC-0031892-07. This report details the stratigraphic and structural interpretation of the 2D and 3D seismic data acquired at the One Earth Energy site. The 2D seismic data was acquired in 2019 and 2021, and the 3D survey was acquired in 2022. The objectives of the seismic programs were to contribute to the subsurface characterization of the Mt. Simon-Eau Claire Storage Complex by evaluating the continuity of potential storage reservoirs and containment intervals across the project area, and to determine if any geologic features are present that would increase containment risk to the proposed carbon storage project.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Weak Gravitational Lensing around Low Surface Brightness Galaxies in the DES Year 3 Data

We present galaxy-galaxy lensing measurements using a sample of low surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs) drawn from the Dark Energy Survey Year 3 (Y3) data as lenses. LSBGs are diffuse galaxies with a surface brightness dimmer than the ambient night sky. These dark-matter-dominated objects are intriguing due to potentially unusual formation channels that lead to their diffuse stellar component. Given the faintness of LSBGs, using standard observational techniques to characterize their total masses proves challenging. Weak gravitational lensing, which is less sensitive to the stellar component of galaxies, could be a promising avenue to estimate the masses of LSBGs. Our LSBG sample consists of 23,790 galaxies separated into red and blue color types at g - i ≥ 0.60 and g - i < 0.60 , respectively. Combined with the DES Y3 shear catalog, we measure the tangential shear around these LSBGs and find signal-to-noise ratios of 6.67 for the red sample, 2.17 for the blue sample, and 5.30 for the full sample. We use the clustering redshifts method to obtain redshift distributions for the red and blue LSBG samples. Assuming all red LSBGs are satellites, we fit a simple model to the measurements and estimate the host halo mass of these LSBGs to be log(M host /M ⊙ ) = $12.98^{+0.10}_{-0.11}$. We place a 95% upper bound on the subhalo mass at log(M sub /M ⊙ ) < 11.51. By contrast, we assume the blue LSBGs are centrals, and place a 95% upper bound on the halo mass at log(M host /M ⊙ ) < 11.84. We find that the stellar-to-halo mass ratio of the LSBG samples is consistent with that of the general galaxy population. This work illustrates the viability of using weak gravitational lensing to constrain the halo masses of LSBGs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Peeling back the many layers of competitive exclusion

Baby chicks administered a fecal transplant from adult chickens are resistant to Salmonella colonization by competitive exclusion. A two-pronged approach was used to investigate the mechanism of this process. First, Salmonella response to an exclusive (Salmonella competitive exclusion product, Aviguard ® ) or permissive microbial community (chicken cecal contents from colonized birds containing 7.85 Log 10 Salmonella genomes/gram) was assessed ex vivo using a S. typhimurium reporter strain with fluorescent YFP and CFP gene fusions to rrn and hilA operon, respectively. Second, cecal transcriptome analysis was used to assess the cecal communities’ response to Salmonella in chickens with low (≤5.85 Log 10 genomes/g) or high (≥6.00 Log 10 genomes/g) Salmonella colonization. The ex vivo experiment revealed a reduction in Salmonella growth and hilA expression following co-culture with the exclusive community. The exclusive community also repressed Salmonella’s SPI-1 virulence genes and LPS modification, while the anti-virulence/inflammatory gene avrA was upregulated. Salmonella transcriptome analysis revealed significant metabolic disparities in Salmonella grown with the two different communities. Propanediol utilization and vitamin B12 synthesis were central to Salmonella metabolism co-cultured with either community, and mutations in propanediol and vitamin B12 metabolism altered Salmonella growth in the exclusive community. There were significant differences in the cecal community’s stress response to Salmonella colonization. Cecal community transcripts indicated that antimicrobials were central to the type of stress response detected in the low Salmonella abundance community, suggesting antagonism involved in Salmonella exclusion. This study indicates complex community interactions that modulate Salmonella metabolism and pathogenic behavior and reduce growth through antagonism may be key to exclusion.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Impact of intense sanitization procedures on bacterial communities recovered from floor drains in pork processing plants

Pork processing plants in the United States (US) cease operations for 24–48 h every six or twelve months to perform intense sanitization (IS) using fogging, foaming, and further antimicrobial treatments to disrupt natural biofilms that may harbor pathogens and spoilage organisms. The impact such treatments have on short-term changes in environmental microorganisms is not well understood, nor is the rate at which bacterial communities return. Swab samples were collected from floor drains to provide representative environmental microorganisms at two US pork processing plants before, during, and after an IS procedure. Samples were collected from four coolers where finished carcasses were chilled and from four locations near cutting tables. Each sample was characterized by total mesophile count (TMC), total psychrophile count (TPC), and other indicator bacteria; their biofilm-forming ability, tolerance of the formed biofilm to a quaternary ammonium compound (300 ppm, QAC), and ability to protect co-inoculated Salmonella enterica. In addition, bacterial community composition was determined using shotgun metagenomic sequencing. IS procedures disrupted bacteria present but to different extents depending on the plant and the area of the plant. IS reduced TPC and TMC, by up to 1.5 Log 10 CFU only to return to pre-IS levels within 2–3 days. The impact of IS on microorganisms in coolers was varied, with reductions of 2–4 Log 10 , and required 2 to 4 weeks to return to pre-IS levels. The results near fabrication lines were mixed, with little to no significant changes at one plant, while at the other, two processing lines showed 4 to 6 Log 10 reductions. Resistance to QAC and the protection of Salmonella by the biofilms varied between plants and between areas of the plants as well. Community profiling of bacteria at the genus level showed that IS reduced species diversity and the disruption led to new community compositions that in some cases did not return to the pre-IS state even after 15 to 16 weeks. The results found here reveal the impact of using IS to disrupt the presence of pathogen or spoilage microorganisms in US pork processing facilities may not have the intended effect.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Study on the Impacts of Capillary Number and Initial Water Saturation on the Residual Gas Distribution by NMR

The determination of microscopic residual gas distribution is beneficial for exploiting reservoirs to their maximum potential. In this work, both forced and spontaneous imbibition (waterflooding) experiments were performed on a high-pressure displacement experimental setup, which was integrated with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to reveal the impacts of capillary number ( Ca ) and initial water saturation ( S wi ) on the residual gas distribution over four magnitudes of injection rates (Q = 0.001, 0.01, 0.1 and 1 mL/min), expressed as Ca (log Ca = –8.68, –7.68, –6.68 and –5.68), and three different S wi ( S wi = 0%, 39.34% and 62.98%). The NMR amplitude is dependent on pore volumes while the NMR transverse relaxation time ( T 2 ) spectrum reflects the characteristics of pore size distribution, which is determined based on a mercury injection (MI) experiment. Using this method, the residual gas distribution was quantified by comparing the T 2 spectrum of the sample measured after imbibition with the sample fully saturated by brine before imbibition. The results showed that capillary trapping efficiency increased with increasing S wi , and above 90% of residual gas existed in pores larger than 1 μm in the spontaneous imbibition experiments. The residual gas was trapped in pores by different capillary trapping mechanisms under different Ca , leading to the difference of residual gas distribution. The flow channels were mainly composed of micropores (pore radius, r < 1 μm) and mesopores ( r = 1–10 μm) at log Ca = –8.68 and –7.68, while of mesopores and macropores (r > 10 μm) at logCa = –5.68. At both S wi = 0% and 39.34%, residual gas distribution in macropores significantly decreased while that in micropores slightly increased with log Ca increasing to –6.68 and –5.68, respectively.

02 PETROLEUM↗

100 TeV pp collisions, Exotics type, PYTHIA8 generator: tev100pp_qstar_pythia8_mbins_slim

Excited Fermions in mass range pT=5-40 TeV. 10000 events per file, 100 files per mass. Compositeness scale (Lambda) is set to the mass of the fermion, so the width is expected to be small (see the log files for details) Cross sections are included in the log files (mass dependent) Note that data are slimmed (see the log file). How to decode name: Name: tev100_pythia8_qstar_m[MASS]_[NUMBER] where [MASS] is generator-level mass as given below: Mass bins (in GeV) m[1]=5000 m[2]=10000 ......... How to use: To get a sample with a given mass, use "glob" regular expressions. Slimmed as: Particle records are slimmed (all stable with pT>0.3 GeV) and (PID=5 || PID=6) or PID>22 && PID<38) or PID>10 && PID<17).

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Experimental Determination of Solubilities of Sodium Polyborates In MgCl 2 Solutions: Solubility Constant of Di-Sodium Hexaborate Tetrahydrate, and Implications For the Diagenetic Formation of Ameghinite

In this paper, solubility measurements were conducted for sodium polyborates in MgCl 2 solutions at 22.5 ± 0.5 °C. According to solution chemistry and XRD patterns, di-sodium tetraborate decahydrate (borax) dissolves congruently, and is the sole solubility-controlling phase, in a 0.01 mol/kg MgCl 2 solution: Na 2 B 4 O 7 •10H 2 O(cr) ⇌ 2Na + + 4B(OH) 4 + 2H + + H 2 O(l). However, in a 0.1 mol/kg MgCl 2 solution borax dissolves incongruently and is in equilibrium with di-sodium hexaborate tetrahydrate: 2Na 2 B 6 O 10 •4H 2 O(cr) + 2Na + + 23H 2 O(l) ⇌ 3Na 2 B 4 O 7 •10H 2 O(cr) + 2H + . In this study, the equilibrium constant (log K 0 ) for Reaction 2 at 25 °C and infinite dilution was determined to be –16.44 ± 0.13 (2σ) based on the experimental data and the Pitzer model for calculations of activity coefficients of aqueous species. In accordance with the log K 0 for Reaction 1 from a previous publication from this research group, and log K 0 for Reaction 2 from this study, the equilibrium constant for dissolution of di-sodium hexaborate tetrahydrate at 25 °C and at infinite dilution, Na 2 B 6 O 10 •4H 2 O(cr) + 10H 2 O(l) ⇌ 2Na + + 6B(OH) 4 - + 4H + was derived to be –45.42 ± 0.16 (2σ). The equilibrium constants determined in this study can find applications in many fields. For example, in the field of nuclear waste management, the formation of di-sodium hexaborate tetrahydrate in brines containing magnesium will decrease borate concentrations, making less borate available for interactions with Am(III). In the field of experimental investigations, based on the equilibrium constant for Reaction 2, the experimental systems can be controlled in terms of acidity around neutral pH by using the equilibrium assemblage of borax and di-sodium hexaborate tetrahydrate at 25 °C. As salt lakes and natural brines contain both borate and magnesium as well as sodium, the formation of sodium hexaborate tetrahydrate may influence the chemical evolution of salt lakes and natural brines. Di-sodium hexaborate tetrahydrate is a polymorph of the mineral ameghinite [chemical formula Na 2 B 6 O 10 •4H 2 O; structural formula NaB 3 O 3 (OH) 4 or Na 2 B 6 O 6 (OH) 8 ]. Finally, di-sodium hexaborate tetrahydrate could be a precursor of ameghinite and could be transformed when borate deposits are subject to diagenesis.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

CALIBRATION OF LAMOST STELLAR SURFACE GRAVITIES USING THE KEPLER ASTEROSEISMIC DATA

Asteroseismology is a powerful tool to precisely determine the evolutionary status and fundamental properties of stars. With the unprecedented precision and nearly continuous photometric data acquired by the NASA Kepler mission, parameters of more than 10{sup 4} stars have been determined nearly consistently. However, most studies still use photometric effective temperatures (T {sub eff}) and metallicities ([Fe/H]) as inputs, which are not sufficiently accurate as suggested by previous studies. We adopted the spectroscopic T {sub eff} and [Fe/H] values based on the Large sky Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) low-resolution spectra (R ≃ 1800), and combined them with the global oscillation parameters to derive the physical parameters of a large sample of stars. Clear trends were found between Δlogg(LAMOST-seismic) and spectroscopic T {sub eff} as well as log g, which may result in an overestimation of up to 0.5 dex for the log g values of giants in the LAMOST catalog. We established empirical calibration relations for the log g values of dwarfs and giants. These results can be used for determining the precise distances to these stars based on their spectroscopic parameters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A granulation “Flicker”-based measure of stellar surface gravity

In our previous work we found that high-quality light curves, such as those obtained by Kepler, may be used to measure stellar surface gravity via granulation-driven light curve “flicker” (F{sub 8}). Here, we update and extend the relation originally presented by Bastien et al. in 2013 after calibrating F{sub 8} against a more robust set of asteroseismically derived surface gravities. We describe in detail how we extract the F{sub 8} signal from the light curves, including how we treat phenomena, such as exoplanet transits and shot noise, that adversely affect the measurement of F{sub 8}. We examine the limitations of the technique, and, as a result, we now provide an updated treatment of the F{sub 8}-based log g error. We briefly highlight further applications of the technique, such as astrodensity profiling or its use in other types of stars with convective outer layers. We discuss potential uses in current and upcoming space-based photometric missions. Finally, we supply F{sub 8}-based log g values, and their uncertainties, for 27,628 Kepler stars not identified as hosts of transiting planets, with 4500 K < T{sub eff} < 7150 K, 2.5 < log g < 4.6, K{sub p} ≤ 13.5, and overall photometric amplitudes <10 parts per thousand.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Possible signatures of a cold-flow disk from MUSE using a z ∼ 1 galaxy–quasar pair toward SDSS J1422−0001

We use a background quasar to detect the presence of circumgalactic gas around a z=0.91 low-mass star-forming galaxy. Data from the new Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on the Very Large Telescope show that the galaxy has a dust-corrected star formation rate (SFR) of 4.7 ± 2.0 M{sub ⊙} yr{sup −1}, with no companion down to 0.22 M{sub ⊙} yr{sup −1} (5σ) within 240 h{sup −1} kpc (“30”). Using a high-resolution spectrum of the background quasar, which is fortuitously aligned with the galaxy major axis (with an azimuth angle α of only 15°), we find, in the gas kinematics traced by low-ionization lines, distinct signatures consistent with those expected for a “cold-flow disk” extending at least 12 kpc (3×R{sub 1/2}). We estimate the mass accretion rate M-dot {sub in} to be at least two to three times larger than the SFR, using the geometric constraints from the IFU data and the H i column density of log N{sub HI}/cm{sup −2} ≃ 20.4 obtained from a Hubble Space Telescope/COS near-UV spectrum. From a detailed analysis of the low-ionization lines (e.g., Zn ii, Cr ii, Ti ii, Mn ii, Si ii), the accreting material appears to be enriched to about 0.4 Z{sub ⊙} (albeit with large uncertainties: log Z/Z{sub ⊙}=−0.4 ± 0.4), which is comparable to the galaxy metallicity (12 + log O/H = 8.7 ± 0.2), implying a large recycling fraction from past outflows. Blueshifted Mg ii and Fe ii absorptions in the galaxy spectrum from the MUSE data reveal the presence of an outflow. The Mg ii and Fe ii absorption line ratios indicate emission infilling due to scattering processes, but the MUSE data do not show any signs of fluorescent Fe ii* emission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

THE ROLE OF RADIATION PRESSURE IN THE NARROW LINE REGIONS OF SEYFERT HOST GALAXIES

We investigate the relative significance of radiation pressure and gas pressure in the extended narrow line regions (ENLRs) of four Seyfert galaxies from the integral field Siding Spring Southern Seyfert Spectroscopic Snapshot Survey (S7). We demonstrate that there exist two distinct types of starburst-active galactic nucleus (AGN) mixing curves on standard emission line diagnostic diagrams, which reflect the balance between gas pressure and radiation pressure in the ENLR. In two of the galaxies the ENLR is radiation pressure dominated throughout and the ionization parameter remains constant (log U ∼ 0). In the other two galaxies radiation pressure is initially important, but gas pressure becomes dominant as the ionization parameter in the ENLR decreases from log U ∼ 0 to −3.2 ≲ log U ≲ −3.4. Where radiation pressure is dominant, the AGN regulates the density of the interstellar medium on kiloparsec scales and may therefore have a direct impact on star formation activity and/or the incidence of outflows in the host galaxy to scales far beyond the zone of influence of the black hole. We find that both radiation pressure dominated and gas pressure dominated ENLRs are dynamically active with evidence for outflows, indicating that radiation pressure may be an important source of AGN feedback even when it is not dominant over the entire ENLR.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

THE CHANDRA COSMOS-LEGACY SURVEY: THE z > 3 SAMPLE

We present the largest high-redshift (3 < z < 6.85) sample of X-ray-selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs) on a contiguous field, using sources detected in the Chandra COSMOS-Legacy survey. The sample contains 174 sources, 87 with spectroscopic redshift and the other 87 with photometric redshift (z {sub phot}). In this work, we treat z {sub phot} as a probability-weighted sum of contributions, adding to our sample the contribution of sources with z {sub phot} < 3 but z {sub phot} probability distribution >0 at z > 3. We compute the number counts in the observed 0.5–2 keV band, finding a decline in the number of sources at z > 3 and constraining phenomenological models of the X-ray background. We compute the AGN space density at z > 3 in two different luminosity bins. At higher luminosities (log L (2–10 keV) > 44.1 erg s{sup −1}), the space density declines exponentially, dropping by a factor of ∼20 from z ∼ 3 to z ∼ 6. The observed decline is ∼80% steeper at lower luminosities (43.55 erg s{sup −1} < logL(2–10 keV) < 44.1 erg s{sup −1}) from z ∼ 3 to z ∼ 4.5. We study the space density evolution dividing our sample into optically classified Type 1 and Type 2 AGNs. At log L (2–10 keV) > 44.1 erg s{sup −1}, unobscured and obscured objects may have different evolution with redshift, with the obscured component being three times higher at z ∼ 5. Finally, we compare our space density with predictions of quasar activation merger models, whose calibration is based on optically luminous AGNs. These models significantly overpredict the number of expected AGNs at log L (2–10 keV) > 44.1 erg s{sup −1} with respect to our data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A high fraction of Lyα emitters among galaxies with extreme emission line ratios at z ∼ 2

Star-forming galaxies form a sequence in the [O iii] λ5007/Hβ versus [N ii] λ6584/Hα diagnostic diagram, with low-metallicity, highly ionized galaxies falling in the upper left corner. Drawing from a large sample of UV-selected star-forming galaxies at z∼2 with rest-frame optical nebular emission line measurements from Keck-MOSFIRE, we select the extreme ∼5% of the galaxies lying in this upper left corner, requiring log([N ii]/Hα) ⩽−1.1 and log([O iii]/Hβ) ⩾ 0.75. These cuts identify galaxies with 12+log(O/H)≲8.0, when oxygen abundances are measured via the O3N2 diagnostic. We study the Lyα properties of the resulting sample of 14 galaxies. The mean (median) rest-frame Lyα equivalent width is 39 (36) Å, and 11 of the 14 objects (79%) are Lyα emitters (LAEs) with W{sub Lyα} >20 A-ring . We compare the equivalent width distribution of a sample of 522 UV-selected galaxies at 2.0<z<2.6 identified without regard to their optical line ratios; this sample has mean (median) Lyα equivalent width −1 (−4) Å, and only 9% of these galaxies qualify as LAEs. The extreme galaxies typically have lower attenuation at Lyα than those in the comparison sample and have ∼50% lower median oxygen abundances. Both factors are likely to facilitate the escape of Lyα: in less dusty galaxies Lyα photons are less likely to be absorbed during multiple scatterings, while the harder ionizing spectrum and higher ionization parameter associated with strong, low-metallicity star formation may reduce the covering fraction or column density of neutral hydrogen, further easing Lyα escape. The use of nebular emission line ratios may prove useful in the identification of galaxies with low opacity to Lyα photons across a range of redshifts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Chandra cosmos legacy survey: clustering of X-ray-selected AGNs at 2.9 ≤ z ≤ 5.5 using photometric redshift probability distribution functions

We present the measurement of the projected and redshift-space two-point correlation function (2pcf) of the new catalog of Chandra COSMOS-Legacy active galactic nucleus (AGN) at 2.9 ≤ z ≤ 5.5 (〈L{sub bol}〉 ∼ 10{sup 46} erg s{sup −1}) using the generalized clustering estimator based on phot-z probability distribution functions in addition to any available spec-z. We model the projected 2pcf, estimated using π {sub max} = 200 h{sup −1} Mpc with the two-halo term and we derive a bias at z ∼ 3.4 equal to b = 6.6{sub −0.55}{sup +0.60}, which corresponds to a typical mass of the hosting halos of log M {sub h} = 12.83{sub −0.11}{sup +0.12} h{sup −1} M {sub ⊙}. A similar bias is derived using the redshift-space 2pcf, modeled including the typical phot-z error σ {sub z} = 0.052 of our sample at z ≥ 2.9. Once we integrate the projected 2pcf up to π {sub max} = 200 h{sup −1} Mpc, the bias of XMM and Chandra COSMOS at z = 2.8 used in Allevato et al. is consistent with our results at higher redshifts. The results suggest only a slight increase of the bias factor of COSMOS AGNs at z ≳ 3 with the typical hosting halo mass of moderate-luminosity AGNs almost constant with redshift and equal to log M {sub h} = 12.92{sub −0.18}{sup +0.13} at z = 2.8 and log M {sub h} = 12.83{sub −0.11}{sup +0.12} at z ∼ 3.4, respectively. The observed redshift evolution of the bias of COSMOS AGNs implies that moderate-luminosity AGNs still inhabit group-sized halos at z ≳ 3, but slightly less massive than observed in different independent studies using X-ray AGNs at z ≤ 2.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Characterizing 51 Eri b from 1 to 5 μm: A Partly Cloudy Exoplanet

We present spectrophotometry spanning 1–5 μm of 51 Eridani b, a 2–10 M{sub Jup} planet discovered by the Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey. In this study, we present new K1 (1.90–2.19 μm) and K2 (2.10–2.40 μm) spectra taken with the Gemini Planet Imager as well as an updated L {sub P} (3.76 μm) and new M {sub S} (4.67 μm) photometry from the NIRC2 Narrow camera. The new data were combined with J (1.13–1.35 μm) and H (1.50–1.80 μm) spectra from the discovery epoch with the goal of better characterizing the planet properties. The 51 Eri b photometry is redder than field brown dwarfs as well as known young T-dwarfs with similar spectral type (between T4 and T8), and we propose that 51 Eri b might be in the process of undergoing the transition from L-type to T-type. We used two complementary atmosphere model grids including either deep iron/silicate clouds or sulfide/salt clouds in the photosphere, spanning a range of cloud properties, including fully cloudy, cloud-free, and patchy/intermediate-opacity clouds. The model fits suggest that 51 Eri b has an effective temperature ranging between 605 and 737 K, a solar metallicity, and a surface gravity of log(g) = 3.5–4.0 dex, and the atmosphere requires a patchy cloud atmosphere to model the spectral energy distribution (SED). From the model atmospheres, we infer a luminosity for the planet of −5.83 to −5.93 (logL/L{sub ⊙}), leaving 51 Eri b in the unique position of being one of the only directly imaged planets consistent with having formed via a cold-start scenario. Comparisons of the planet SED against warm-start models indicate that the planet luminosity is best reproduced by a planet formed via core accretion with a core mass between 15 and 127 M{sub ⊕}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗