Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “neutral model”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 883 records · Page 49
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2014

Kuang's Semi-Classical Formalism for Calculating Electron Capture Cross Sections: A Space- Physics Application

Accurate estimates of electroncapture cross sections at energies relevant to the modeling of the transport, acceleration, and interaction of energetic neutral atoms (ENA) in space (approximately few MeV per nucleon) and especially for multi-electron ions must rely on detailed, but computationally expensive, quantum-mechanical description of the collision process. Kuang's semi-classical approach is an elegant and efficient way to arrive at these estimates. Motivated by ENA modeling efforts for apace applications, we shall briefly present this approach along with sample applications and report on current progress.

Barghouty, A. F.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Iron (IV) Formation and the pH Dependent Kinetics of the Fenton Reaction

Despite its widespread importance for biological and environmental chemistry and decades of study, the mechanism underlying the Fenton reaction is still a matter of some controversy. Here, to elucidate the pH dependence of this complex reaction, a new kinetic model is developed to explain the increase in rate and mechanistic shift that occurs from acidic to neutral conditions. This mechanism originated from a re-analysis of a previously proposed model, which neglected explicit iron speciation, leading to unrealistic rate constants. Accounting for speciation suggests a much faster formation rate of Fe(IV), which is estimated to be on the order of 10 6 M −1 s −1 . Expanding on prior kinetic studies that include speciation under acidic conditions, we propose a unified kinetic model that captures the pH-dependent rate acceleration in Fe(II) oxidation by H 2 O 2 , which is a significant step toward resolving the long-standing mechanistic ambiguity of Fenton chemistry.

Cohen, Liron [Lawrence Berkeley National Laborator↗
DOE OSTI2023

Keeping it simple: simplified frameworks for long-lived particles at neutrino facilities

Modern-day accelerator neutrino facilities are excellent venues for searches for new-physics particles. Many distinct new-physics models predict overlapping signatures and phenomenology in these experiments. In this work, we advocate for the adoption of simplified frameworks when studying these types of new-physics signatures, which are characterized by a small number of primary variables, including particle masses, lifetimes, and production and decay modes/rates that most directly control signal event rates and kinematics. In particular, taking the example of long-lived particles that decay inside a neutrino detector as a test case, we study formulate and study simplified frameworks in the context of light scalars/fermions produced in kaon decays which then decay into final states containing an electron-positron pair. We show that using these simplified frameworks can allow for individual experimental analyses to be applicable to a wide variety of specific model scenarios. As a side benefit, we demonstrate that using this approach can allow for the T2K collaboration, by reinterpreting its search for Heavy Neutral Leptons, to be capable of setting world-leading limits on the Higgs-Portal Scalar model. Furthermore, we argue the simplified framework interpretation can serve as a bridge to model identification in the hopeful detection of a new-physics signal. As an illustration, we perform a first determination of the likelihood that, in the presence of a new-physics signal in a detector like the DUNE ND-GAr, multiple different new-physics hypotheses (such as the Higgs-Portal Scalar and Heavy Neutral Lepton ones) can be disentangled. We demonstrate that this model discrimination is favorable for some portions of detectable new-physics parameter space but for others, it is more challenging.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Delving into the depths of NGC 3783 with XRISM

Using XRISM/Resolve 439 ks time-averaged spectra of the well-known Seyfert-1.5 active galactic nucleus (AGN) in NGC 3783, we investigated the nature of the Fe Kα emission line at 6.4 keV, the strongest and most common X-ray line observed in AGNs. Even the narrow component of the line is resolved with evident Fe Kα 1 (6.404 keV) and Kα 2 (6.391 keV) contributions with a 2:1 flux ratio, fully consistent with a neutral gas with negligible bulk velocity. The narrow and intermediate-width components have a full width at half maximum of 350 ± 50 km/s and 3510 ± 470 km/s, respectively, suggesting that they arise in the outer disk/torus and/or broad line region. We detect a 10% excess flux around 4–7 keV that is not described well by a symmetric Gaussian line but is consistent with a relativistically broadened emission line. In this study we took the simplest approach, modelling the asymmetric line as a single emission line (assuming neutral, He-like, or H-like iron) convolved with a relativistic disk line model. As expected, the inferred inclination angle (i) is highly sensitive to the assumed ionisation state and ranges between 17 and 44°. This model also constrains the black hole spin via the extent of the red wing: the required gravitational redshift in the fitted disk-line profile disfavours a non-spinning (Schwarzschild) black hole. The derived inner radius is close to the radius of the innermost stable circular orbit (rISCO) and is strongly correlated with the black hole spin. To better constrain the spin, we fixed the inner radius to r ISCO and derived a lower limit on the spin of a ≥ 0.29 at the 3σ confidence level. A Compton shoulder is detected in our data as well as a 2–3σ detection of the Cr Kα and Ni Kα lines.

Astronomy and AstroPhysics↗
NASA NTRS1982

The Seasat-A satellite scatterometer - The geophysical evaluation of remotely sensed wind vectors over the ocean

A description is given of the algorithm used to convert Seasat-A satellite microwave scatterometer measurements of ocean normalized radar cross section to the neutral stability vector wind at 19.5 m height, as well as to compare these winds with high-quality surface observations. The wind vector algorithm used an empirical normalized radar cross section model function to describe the ocean normalized radar cross section's dependence on the 19.5-m neutral stability wind vector. In addition, two model functions were evaluated by means of an independent set of in situ surface wind observations from the Joint Air Sea Interaction experiment (JASIN). Better results were produced by these comparisons than the stipulated Seasat wind speed and direction accuracy specifications of + or - 2 m/sec and + or - 20 deg, respectively, over the 0-16 m/sec range of winds observed during JASIN.

Jones, W. L.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A cloud collision model for water maser excitation

High-velocity collisions between small, dense, neutral clouds or between a dense cloud and a dense shell can provide the energy source required to excite H2O maser emission. The radiative precursor from the surface of the collisional shock front rapidly diffuses through the cloud, heating the dust grains but leaving the H2 molecules cool. Transient maser emission occurs as the conditions for the Goldreich and Kwan (1974) 'hot-dust cold-gas' maser pump scheme are realized locally within the cloud. In time, the local maser action quenches due to the heating of the H2 molecules by collisions against the grains. Although this model cannot explain the very long-lived steady maser features, it is quite successful in explaining a number of the observed properties of the high-velocity features in such sources as Orion, W51, and W49. In particular, it provides a natural explanation for the rapid time variations, the narrow line widths, juxtaposition of high- and low-velocity features, and the short lifetimes which are frequently observed for the so-called high-velocity maser 'bullets' thought to be accelerated by strong stellar winds.

Tarter, T. C.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Structural characterization of ligand binding and pH-specific enzymatic activity of mouse Acidic Mammalian Chitinase

Chitin is an abundant biopolymer and pathogen-associated molecular pattern that stimulates a host innate immune response. Mammals express chitin-binding and chitin-degrading proteins to remove chitin from the body. One of these proteins, Acidic Mammalian Chitinase (AMCase), is an enzyme known for its ability to function under acidic conditions in the stomach but is also active in tissues with more neutral pHs, such as the lung. Here, we used a combination of biochemical, structural, and computational modeling approaches to examine how the mouse homolog (mAMCase) can act in both acidic and neutral environments. We measured kinetic properties of mAMCase activity across a broad pH range, quantifying its unusual dual activity optima at pH 2 and 7. We also solved high-resolution crystal structures of mAMCase in complex with oligomeric GlcNAcn, the building block of chitin, where we identified extensive conformational ligand heterogeneity. Leveraging these data, we conducted molecular dynamics simulations that suggest how a key catalytic residue could be protonated via distinct mechanisms in each of the two environmental pH ranges. These results integrate structural, biochemical, and computational approaches to deliver a more complete understanding of the catalytic mechanism governing mAMCase activity at different pH. Engineering proteins with tunable pH optima may provide new opportunities to develop improved enzyme variants, including AMCase, for therapeutic purposes in chitin degradation.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1972

Properties of nearby interstellar hydrogen deduced from Lyman-alpha sky background measurements

For a sufficiently rapid relative motion of the solar system and the nearby interstellar gas, neutral atoms may be expected to penetrate the heliosphere before becoming ionized. Recent satellite measurements of the Lyman alpha emission above the geocorona indicate such an interstellar wind of neutral hydrogen emerging from the direction of Sagittarius and reaching to within a few astronomical units of the sun. A detailed model of the scattering of solar Lyman alpha from the spatial distribution of neutral hydrogen in interplanetary space is presented. This asymmetric distribution is established by solar wind and solar ultraviolet ionization processes along the trajectories of the incoming hydrogen atoms. The values of the interstellar density, the relative velocity, and the gas temperature are adjusted to agree with the Lyman alpha measurements. The results may be interpreted in terms of two models, the cold model and the hot model of the interstellar gas, depending on whether galactic Lyman alpha emission is present at its maximum allowable value or negligibly small.

Thomas, G. E.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Limits to Mercury's Magnesium Exosphere from MESSENGER Second Flyby Observations

The discovery measurements of Mercury's exospheric magnesium, obtained by the MErcury Surface. Space ENvironment, GEochemistry. and Ranging (MESSENGER) probe during its second Mercury flyby, are modeled to constrain the source and loss processes for this neutral species. Fits to a Chamberlain exosphere reveal that at least two source temperatures are required to reconcile the distribution of magnesium measured far from and near the planet: a hot ejection process at the equivalent temperature of several tens of thousands of degrees K, and a competing, cooler source at temperatures as low as 400 K. For the energetic component, our models indicate that the column abundance that can be attributed to sputtering under constant southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions is at least a factor of five less than the rate dictated by the measurements, Although highly uncertain, this result suggests that another energetic process, such as the rapid dissociation of exospheric MgO, may be the main source of the distant neutral component. If meteoroid and micrometeoroid impacts eject mainly molecules, the total amount of magnesium at altitudes exceeding approximately 100 km is found to be consistent with predictions by impact vaporization models for molecule lifetimes of no more than two minutes. Though a sharp increase in emission observed near the dawn terminator region can be reproduced if a single meteoroid enhanced the impact vapor at equatorial dawn, it is much more likely that observations in this region, which probe heights increasingly near the surface, indicate a reservoir of volatile Mg being acted upon by lower-energy source processes.

Sarantos, Menelaos↗
NASA NTRS1995

Bounce-Averaged Hamiltonian for Charged Particles in an Axisymmetric but Nondipolar Model Magnetosphere

In order to facilitate bounce-averaged guiding center simulations of geomagnetically trapped particles, we express the kinetic energy of a particle with magnetic coordinates (L,phi) as an analytic function of the first two adiabatic invariants (M, J) and the L value of the field line. The magnetic field model is axisymmetric, consisting of a dipolar B field plus a uniform southward magnetic field parallel to the dipole moment mu(sub E). This model magnetosphere is surrounded by a circular equatorial neutral line whose radius b is an adjustable parameter. The L value of a field line is (by definition) inversely proportional to the flux enclosed by the corresponding magnetic shell of equatorial radius r(sub 0), and the L value at the neutral line (r(sub 0) = b) is denoted L*. The azimuthal coordinate phi measures magnetic local time. The best functional representation found for the normalized difference (L(exp 3)a(exp 3)/mu(sub E))(B(sub m) - B(sub 0)) between mirror-point field B(sub m) and equatorial field B(sub 0) along any field line is a 5-term expansion in powers (2/3 through 6/3) of the quantity X equivalent to (La/mu(sub E))(exp 1/2)K, where K equivalent to (J(exp 2)/8m(sub 0)M)(exp 1/2) is an adiabatically conserved quantity independent of particle energy, m(sub 0) is the rest mass of the particle, and a is the radius of the Earth. This functional form is motivated by results for limiting cases in which particles mirror very near and very far from the magnetic equator. Expansion coefficients corresponding to various powers of X are obtained from least squares fits to numerically computed results for X as a function of L and B(sub m). These are accurately expressible as fourth-order polynomials in (r(sub 0)/b)(exp 3), hence indirectly as functions of L/L* = 3La/2b. This representation, which leads (except for a manageably small region of parameter space) to better than 1% accuracy in the specification of B(sub m) as a function of K and L, allows bounce-averaged guiding center simulations to be performed without actually tracing the bounce motions of individual particles. Bounce-averaged drifts L' (meridional) and phi' (azimuthal) are proportional to derivatives of the Hamiltonian H (sum of kinetic and potential energies) with respect to phi and L, respectively. Our formulation thus provides a computationally efficient method for tracing the bounce-averaged adiabatic motion (conserving all three invariants) and nonadiabatic transport (violating the third invariant while conserving the first two invariants) of geomagnetically trapped particles in the model magnetosphere.

Schulz, Michael↗
DOE OSTI2024

Implementation and Validation of a Generalized Actuator Disk Parameterization for Wind Turbine Simulations Within the FastEddy Model

ABSTRACT Fast and accurate large‐eddy simulation (LES) of the atmospheric boundary layer plays a crucial role in advancing wind energy research. Long‐duration wind farm studies at turbine‐resolving scales have become increasingly important to understand the intricate interactions between large wind farms and the atmospheric boundary layer. However, the prohibitive computational cost of these turbulence‐ and turbine‐resolving simulations has precluded such modeling to be exercised on a regular basis. To that end, we implement and validate the generalized actuator disk (GAD) model in the computationally efficient, graphics processing unit (GPU)–resident, LES model FastEddy. We perform single‐turbine simulations under three atmospheric stabilities (neutral, unstable, and stable) and compare them against observations from the Scaled Wind Farm Technology (SWiFT) facility and other LES codes from the recent Wakebench turbine wake model benchmark. Our idealized LES results agree well with observed wake velocity deficit and downstream recovery across stability regimes. Turbine response in terms of rotational speed, generated power, torque, and thrust coefficient are well predicted across stability regimes and are consistent with the LES results from the benchmark. The FastEddy simulations are found to be at least two orders of magnitude more efficient than the traditional CPU‐based LES models, opening the door for realistic LES simulations of full wind plants as a viable standard practice.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Search for single production of a vector-like T quark decaying to a top quark and a neutral scalar boson in the lepton+jets final state in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV

A search for single production of a vector-like T quark with charge 2e/3, decaying to a top quark and a neutral scalar boson is presented. The boson can be a standard model Higgs boson (H) or a new scalar boson (ϕ). In the first case, a branching fraction of 25% is assumed for the decay T → tH, while in the second case the T quark is assumed to decay exclusively to tϕ. The top quark is identified via its lepton+jets decay, and the neutral boson via its decay into a bottom quark-antiquark pair. Final states with Lorentz-boosted topologies are considered and machine-learning techniques are exploited for optimal event classification. The analysis uses data collected by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb −1 recorded at the CERN LHC in 2016–2018. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the product of cross section and branching fraction for a T quark in a narrow-width approximation. They vary between 14.7 and 0.1 fb, for T quark masses in the range 1.3–3.0 TeV and ϕ boson masses in the range 25–250 GeV. These are the first exclusion limits set on the production of a single T quark decaying into a top quark and a new neutral scalar boson. For the decay channel into a top quark and a standard model Higgs boson, the results provide the best limits on production cross sections to date, for T quark masses above 2 TeV.

hadron-hadron scattering↗
NASA NTRS1992

Design of potent substrate-analogue inhibitors of canine renin

Through a systematic study of structure-activity relationships, we designed potent renin inhibitors for use in dog models. In assays against dog plasma renin at neutral pH, we found that, as in previous studies of rat renin inhibitors, the structure at the P2 position appears to be important for potency. The substitution of Val for His at this position increases potency by one order of magnitude. At the P3 position, potency appears to depend on a hydrophobic side chain that does not necessarily have to be aromatic. Our results also support the approach of optimizing potency in a renin inhibitor by introducing a moiety that promotes aqueous solubility (an amino group) at the C-terminus of the substrate analogue. In the design of potent dog plasma renin inhibitors, the influence of the transition-state residue 4(S)-amino-3(S)-hydroxy-5-cyclohexylpentanoic acid (ACHPA)-commonly used as a substitute for the scissile-bond dipeptide to boost potency-is not obvious, and appears to be sequence dependent. The canine renin inhibitor Ac-paF-Pro-Phe-Val-statine-Leu-Phe-paF-NH2 (compound 15; IC50 of 1.7 nM against dog plasma renin at pH 7.4; statine, 4(S)-amino-3(S)-hydroxy-6-methylheptanoic acid; paF, para-aminophenylalanine) had a potent hypotensive effect when infused intravenously into conscious, sodium-depleted, normotensive dogs. Also, compound 15 concurrently inhibited plasma renin activity and had a profound diuretic effect.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1999

Use of Human Computer Models to Influence the Design of International Space Station Propulsion Module

The overall design for the International Space Station (ISS) Propulsion (Prop) Module consists of two bell shapes connected by a long tube having a shirt sleeve environment. The tube is to be used by the flight crew to transfer equipment and supplies from the Shuttle to ISS. Due to a desire to use existing space qualified hardware, the tube internal diameter was initially set at 38 inches, while the human engineering specification, NASA-STD-3000, required 50". Human computer modeling using the MannequinPro application was used to help make the case to enlarge the passageway to meet the specification. 3D CAD models of Prop Module were created with 38 inches, 45 inches and 50 inches passageways and human figures in the neutral body posture as well as a fetal posture were inserted into the model and systematically exercised. Results showed that only the 50 inches tube would accommodate a mid tube turn around by a large crew member, 95th percentile American males, by stature.

Hamilton, George S.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Diagrammatic Monte Carlo Approach to Real‐frequency Response Functions and the Spin‐Fermion Model of Hot Spots (Final Report)

This three‐year research project was focused on two outstanding condensed matter problems (i) Real‐frequency response functions in Coulomb systems at finite temperature, and Fermi surface (FS) reconstruction in the Spin-Fermion (SF) model. The uniform electron gas (jellium) model, describing electrons interacting via long‐range Coulomb forces on positive neutralizing background, is fundamentally important both for understanding the physics of correlated electrons and for formulation of the time‐dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The spin-fermion model has found a wide range of applications in the physics of cuprates and iron‐based superconductors to explain the “strange metal" behavior and to suggest a possible pairing mechanism for high‐temperature superconductivity. The project’s goals were development and application of the Diagrammatic Monte Carlo (DiagMC) techniques for solving the above problems.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗