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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 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Angular dependent measurement of electron-ion recombination in liquid argon for ionization calorimetry in the ICARUS liquid argon time projection chamber

This paper reports on a measurement of electron-ion recombination in liquid argon in the ICARUS liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC). A clear dependence of recombination on the angle of the ionizing particle track relative to the drift electric field is observed. An ellipsoid modified box (EMB) model of recombination describes the data across all measured angles. These measurements are used for the calorimetric energy scale calibration of the ICARUS TPC, which is also presented. The impact of the EMB model is studied on calorimetric particle identification, as well as muon and proton energy measurements. Accounting for the angular dependence in EMB recombination improves the accuracy and precision of these measurements.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

ICARUS at the Fermilab Short-Baseline Neutrino program: initial operation

The ICARUS collaboration employed the 760-ton T600 detector in a successful 3-year physics run at the underground LNGS laboratory, performing a sensitive search for LSND-like anomalous $\nu _e$ appearance in the CERN Neutrino to Gran Sasso beam, which contributed to the constraints on the allowed neutrino oscillation parameters to a narrow region around 1 eV$^2$. After a significant overhaul at CERN, the T600 detector has been installed at Fermilab. In 2020 the cryogenic commissioning began with detector cool down, liquid argon filling and recirculation. ICARUS then started its operations collecting the first neutrino events from the booster neutrino beam (BNB) and the Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) beam off-axis, which were used to test the ICARUS event selection, reconstruction and analysis algorithms. ICARUS successfully completed its commissioning phase in June 2022. The first goal of the ICARUS data taking will be a study to either confirm or refute the claim by Neutrino-4 short-baseline reactor experiment. ICARUS will also perform measurement of neutrino cross sections with the NuMI beam and several Beyond Standard Model searches. After the first year of operations, ICARUS will search for evidence of sterile neutrinos jointly with the Short-Baseline Near Detector, within the Short-Baseline Neutrino program. In this paper, the main activities carried out during the overhauling and installation phases are highlighted. Preliminary technical results from the ICARUS commissioning data with the BNB and NuMI beams are presented both in terms of performance of all ICARUS subsystems and of capability to select and reconstruct neutrino events.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Energy Spectrum of Ultrahigh-Energy Cosmic Rays across Declinations -90° to +44.8° as Measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory

The energy spectrum of cosmic rays above 2.5 EeV has been measured across the declination range - 9 0 ° ≤ δ ≤ + 44.8 ° using ∼ 310 000 events accrued at the Pierre Auger Observatory from an exposure of ( 104 900 ± 3 100 ) km 2 sr yr . No significant variations of energy spectra with declination are observed, after allowing or not for nonuniformities across the sky arising from the well-established dipolar anisotropies in the arrival directions of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays. Here, the instep feature in the spectrum at ≃ 10 EeV reported previously is now established at a significance above 5 σ . Within the statistics, the energy spectra are indistinguishable across declinations so disfavoring an origin for the instep from a few distinctive sources.

Abdul Halim, A. [University of Adelaide]↗
DOE OSTI2020

Three-dimensional signatures of self-similarity in a high-energy-density plasma shear-driven mixing layer

A hydrodynamic shear mixing layer experiment at the National Ignition Facility had previously demonstrated Eulerian scaling of integrated, late-time quantities, including turbulent kinetic energy. In this manuscript, the experiment is repeated with new materials. In this work, using the new dataset, we demonstrate that Euler-number scalings hold not just for late time, but dynamically throughout the experiment, for measurements in all three spatial dimensions. Incorporating the dynamic scaling leads to an enhanced calculation that the heavier of the two scaled experiments has approached three generations of mergers of its primary instability's structures and a consistent observation of such a merger in action in the lighter of the two scaled experiments. Furthermore, the improved scrutiny of the time evolution of instability structures leads to sharper estimates of turbulent kinetic energy, including a demonstration of different behaviors correlating with surface roughness (quantitatively consistent with transitions between laminar and turbulent initial states), as predicted by a Reynolds-averaged turbulent model, which evidently correctly handles the differing shock-roughness interactions to drive its internal state of the model into different regimes. Altogether, a picture arises of the analytical improvements in treating these variations (of times, densities, and roughnesses) as a unified whole and of multiple ways by which deviations from the scaling could indicate an onset of non-hydrodynamic behavior. Such deviations were not expected for these experiments (which models correctly indicated would remain hydrodynamic) but could be introduced by, for example, imposing external fields or increasing drive energy to test conditions relevant to inertial confinement fusion or other high-energy-density experiments.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

DUAL-PARTICLE DOSEMETER BASED ON ORGANIC SCINTILLATOR

Abstract Traditionally available handheld dosemeters are generally sensitive to only one type of radiation: neutrons or photons. Some dosemeters also rely on very specific attenuation correlations between response and dose, are not scalable in size and multiple dosemeters are required to characterise mixed-particle fields. The research presented here serves as a proof-of-concept for a method to simultaneously measure dose rates from neutrons and photons using a particle discriminating organic scintillation detector without the need for spectral deconvolution. The method was compared with traditional instruments and to simulation. Isotopic photon dose rates measured with this method were within 4% of simulated truth, whereas fission spectrum neutron dose rates were measured within 21%. Measurements of dose rates from both particles agree with simulated truth better than traditional instruments. This new method allows for measurement of dose equivalent from both neutrons and photons with a single instrument and no reliance on spectral deconvolution.

Miller, C. A.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Ligand-Structure-Dependent Coherent Vibrational Wavepacket Dynamics in Pyrazolate-Bridged Pt(II) Dimers

Bimetallic transition metal complexes have gained increasing attention because of their versatile functions in solar energy conversion and photonics applications arising from inter-metal electronic coupling. In bimetallic platinum (Pt) complexes, electronic communication between the Pt-centered and ligand-centered moieties have been shown to be critical for defining their excited-state dynamic trajectories undergoing either localized ligand centered (LC)/metal-to-ligand-charge-transfer (MLCT) transitions or delocalized metal-metal-to-ligand-charge-transfer (MMLCT) transitions. The branching of the excited-state intersystem crossing (ISC) trajectories are modulated through structural factors that alter the relative energies of the different states. In this study, we investigated the correlation of the structural factors influencing the excited state trajectories. Using femtosecond broadband transient absorption (fs-BBTA) spectroscopy, ultrafast dynamics in the excited state of two select Pt(II) dimers have been mapped out using their coherent vibrational wavepacket signatures in corresponding transient absorption spectra. To examine how the ligand moieties of the Pt(II) dimers influence excited-state dynamics and the coherent vibrational wavepacket behavior, here we carried out comparative studies on two pyrazolate-bridged Pt(II) dimers of the general formula [Pt( t Bu 2 Pz)(N^C)] 2 ( t Bu 2 Pz = 3,5-di-tert-butylpyrazole); N^C = 7,8-benzoquinoline (bzq, 1) or 1-phenylisoquinoline (piq, 2)). We found that photoexcitation into the low energy absorption bands of 1 and 2 respectively induce the formation of 1 MMLCT states from which ultrafast ISC proceeds, resulting in stimulated emission quenching and decoherence of the vibrational wavepacket motions. The results obtained in this study suggest that both energetics and the structural rigidity of the aromatic cyclometalating ligands in 1 and 2 can significantly influence dynamics along the excited state trajectory characterized by dephasing of the coherent oscillations. The collective results provide direct evidence of how ligand structure alters electronic dynamics along excited state trajectories associated with ISC processes, providing insight into using ligand design to steer photochemical processes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Search for Postinflationary QCD Axions with a Quantum-Limited Tunable Microwave Receiver

A search for cosmological axions has been performed by scanning a frequency region of 38 MHz centered at about 10.2 GHz, corresponding to an axion mass 𝑚 𝑎 ≃ 42 μ ⁢eV. The QUAX experimental apparatus, a haloscope comprised of a 1-liter volume tunable cavity immersed in an 8 T magnetic field and a quantum-limited detection chain, set limits on the axion-photon coupling at the 10 −14 GeV −1 level. As no signal candidate has been observed, viable hadronic axion models are ruled out in a currently preferred postinflationary region 𝑚 𝑎 > 40 μ ⁢eV.

Sardo Infirri, Giosue [INFN, Sezione di Padova; Un↗
DOE OSTI2021

The novel Mechanical Ventilator Milano for the COVID-19 pandemic

This paper presents the Mechanical Ventilator Milano (MVM), a novel intensive therapy mechanical ventilator designed for rapid, large-scale, low-cost production for the COVID-19 pandemic. Free of moving mechanical parts and requiring only a source of compressed oxygen and medical air to operate, the MVM is designed to support the long-term invasive ventilation often required for COVID-19 patients and operates in pressure-regulated ventilation modes, which minimize the risk of furthering lung trauma. The MVM was extensively tested against ISO standards in the laboratory using a breathing simulator, with good agreement between input and measured breathing parameters and performing correctly in response to fault conditions and stability tests. The MVM has obtained Emergency Use Authorization by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in healthcare settings during the COVID-19 pandemic and Health Canada Medical Device Authorization for Importation or Sale, under Interim Order for Use in Relation to COVID-19. Furthermore, following these certifications, mass production is ongoing and distribution is under way in several countries. The MVM was designed, tested, prepared for certification, and mass produced in the space of a few months by a unique collaboration of respiratory healthcare professionals and experimental physicists, working with industrial partners, and is an excellent ventilator candidate for this pandemic anywhere in the world

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Influence of Microstructure on TCR for Inkjet-Printed Resistive Temperature Detectors Fabricated Using AgNO 3 /Ethylene-Glycol-Based Inks

This study investigated the influence of microstructure on the performance of Ag inkjet-printed, resistive temperature detectors (RTDs) fabricated using particle-free inks based on a silver nitrate (AgNO 3 ) precursor and ethylene glycol as the ink solvent. Specifically, the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and sensitivity for sensors printed using inks that use monoethylene glycol (mono-EG), diethylene glycol (di-EG), and triethylene glycol (tri-EG) and subjected to a low-pressure argon (Ar) plasma after printing were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed previous findings that microstructure is strongly influenced by the ink solvent, with mono-EG inks producing dense structures, while di- and tri-EG inks produce porous structures, with tri-EG inks yielding the most porous structures. RTD testing revealed that sensors printed using mono-EG ink exhibited the highest TCR (1.7 × 10 -3 /°C), followed by di-EG ink (8.2 × 10 -4 /°C) and tri-EG ink (7.2 × 10 -4 /°C). These findings indicate that porosity exhibits a strong negative influence on TCR. Sensitivity was not strongly influenced by microstructure but rather by the resistance of RTD. The highest sensitivity (0.84 Ω/°C) was observed for an RTD printed using mono-EG ink but not under plasma exposure conditions that yield the highest TCR.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Design and construction of a new detector to measure ultra-low radioactive-isotope contamination of argon

Large liquid argon detectors offer one of the best avenues for the detection of galactic weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) via their scattering on atomic nuclei. The liquid argon target allows exquisite discrimination between nuclear and electron recoil signals via pulse-shape discrimination of the scintillation signals. Atmospheric argon (AAr), however, has a naturally occurring radioactive isotope, 39Ar, a ß emitter of cosmogenic origin. For large detectors, the atmospheric 39Ar activity poses pile-up concerns. The use of argon extracted from underground wells, deprived of 39Ar, is key to the physics potential of these experiments. The DarkSide-20k dark matter search experiment will operate a dual-phase time projection chamber with 50 tonnes of radio-pure underground argon (UAr), that was shown to be depleted of 39Ar with respect to AAr by a factor larger than 1400. Assessing the 39Ar content of the UAr during extraction is crucial for the success of DarkSide-20k, as well as for future experiments of the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration (GADMC). This will be carried out by the DArT in ArDM experiment, a small chamber made with extremely radio-pure materials that will be placed at the centre of the ArDM detector, in the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC) in Spain. The ArDM LAr volume acts as an active veto for background radioactivity, mostly ?-rays from the ArDM detector materials and the surrounding rock. This article describes the DArT in ArDM project, including the chamber design and construction, and reviews the background required to achieve the expected performance of the detector.

Noble liquid detectors, Dark Matter detectors, Cry↗
DOE OSTI2025

The XLZD Design Book: towards the next-generation liquid xenon observatory for dark matter and neutrino physics

This report describes the experimental strategy and technologies for XLZD, the next-generation xenon observatory sensitive to dark matter and neutrino physics. In the baseline design, the detector will have an active liquid xenon target of 60 tonnes, which could be increased to 80 tonnes if the market conditions for xenon are favorable. It is based on the mature liquid xenon time projection chamber technology used in current-generation experiments, LZ and XENONnT. The report discusses the baseline design and opportunities for further optimization of the individual detector components. The experiment envisaged here has the capability to explore parameter space for Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter down to the neutrino fog, with a 3σ evidence potential for WIMP-nucleon cross sections as low as 3 x 10 –49 cm 2 (at 40 GeV/c 2 WIMP mass). The observatory will also have leading sensitivity to a wide range of alternative dark matter models. It is projected to have a 3σ observation potential of neutrinoless double beta decay of 136 Xe at a half-life of up to 5.7 x 10 27 years. Additionally, it is sensitive to astrophysical neutrinos from the sun and galactic supernovae.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

ANTARES and IceCube Combined Search for Neutrino Point-like and Extended Sources in the Southern Sky

A search for point-like and extended sources of cosmic neutrinos using data collected by the ANTARES and IceCube neutrino telescopes is presented. The data set consists of all the track-like and shower-like events pointing in the direction of the Southern Sky included in the nine-year ANTARES point-source analysis, combined with the throughgoing track-like events used in the seven-year IceCube point-source search. The advantageous field of view of ANTARES and the large size of IceCube are exploited to improve the sensitivity in the Southern Sky by a factor of ~2 compared to both individual analyses. In this work, the Southern Sky is scanned for possible excesses of spatial clustering, and the positions of preselected candidate sources are investigated. In addition, special focus is given to the region around the Galactic Center, whereby a dedicated search at the location of SgrA* is performed, and to the location of the supernova remnant RXJ 1713.7-3946. Furthermore, no significant evidence for cosmic neutrino sources is found, and upper limits on the flux from the various searches are presented.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Improved imaging using Mn He- α x rays at OMEGA EP

In this paper, we report on a crystal based x-ray imaging system fielded at the OMEGA EP laser facility. This new system has a pointing accuracy of +/100 μm, a temporal resolution down to 100 ps (depending on backlighter characteristics), variable magnification, and a spatial resolution of 21.9 µm at the object plane at a magnification of 15×. The system is designed to use a crystal along the crystal plane that satisfies the Bragg condition for the x ray of interest. The thin crystal is then bent into a spherical geometry and attached to a glass backing substrate to hold it in the diagnostic, and the x rays are imaged onto a charge coupled device. We report on data acquired with the new Los Alamos National Laboratory supplied spherical quartz crystal to image the Mn He-α 6.15 keV line emission.

Fiedler Kawaguchi, C. (ORCID:0000000175522370)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Search for Fractionally Charged Particles with CUORE

The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is a detector array comprised by 988 5 cm × 5 cm × 5 cm TeO 2 crystals held below 20 mK, primarily searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay in 130 Te. Unprecedented in size among cryogenic calorimetric experiments, CUORE provides a promising setting for the study of exotic throughgoing particles. Using the first tonne year of CUORE’s exposure, we perform a search for hypothesized fractionally charged particles (FCPs), which are well-motivated by various standard model extensions and would have suppressed interactions with matter. Across the searched range of charges 𝑒/24−𝑒/2 no excess of FCP candidate tracks is observed over background, setting leading limits on the underground FCP flux with charges 𝑒/24 −𝑒/5 at 90% confidence level. Using the low background environment and segmented geometry of CUORE, we establish the sensitivity of tonne-scale subkelvin detectors to diverse signatures of new physics.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Measurement of the inhomogeneity of the KATRIN tritium source electric potential by high-resolution spectroscopy of conversion electrons from $\mathbf {^{83m}}$Kr

Precision spectroscopy of the electron spectrum of the tritium β-decay near the kinematic endpoint is a direct method to determine the effective electron antineutrino mass. The KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment aims to determine this quantity with a sensitivity of better than 0.3 eV (90% C.L.). An inhomogeneous electric potential in the tritium source of KATRIN can lead to distortions of the β-spectrum, which directly impact the neutrino-mass observable. This effect can be quantified through precision spectroscopy of the conversion-electrons of co-circulated metastable 83m Kr. Therefore, dedicated, several-weeks long measurement campaigns have been performed within the KATRIN data taking schedule. In this work, we infer the tritium source potential observables from these measurements, and present their implications for the neutrino-mass determination.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

The J-elongated conformation of β 2 -glycoprotein I predominates in solution: Implications for our understanding of antiphospholipid syndrome

β 2 -Glycoprotein I (β 2 GPI) is an abundant plasma protein displaying phospholipid-binding properties. Because it binds phospholipids, it is a target of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), a life-threatening autoimmune thrombotic disease. Indeed, aPLs prefer membrane-bound β 2 GPI to that in solution. β 2 GPI exists in two almost equally populated redox states: oxidized, in which all the disulfide bonds are formed, and reduced, in which one or more disulfide bonds are broken. Furthermore, β 2 GPI can adopt multiple conformations (i.e. J-elongated, S-twisted, and O-circular). While strong evidence indicates that the J-form is the structure bound to aPLs, which conformation exists and predominates in solution remains controversial, and so is the conformational pathway leading to the bound state. Here, we report that human recombinant β 2 GPI purified under native conditions is oxidized. Moreover, under physiological pH and salt concentrations, this oxidized form adopts a J-elongated, flexible conformation, not circular or twisted, in which the N-terminal domain I (DI) and the C-terminal domain V (DV) are exposed to the solvent. Consistent with this model, binding kinetics and mutagenesis experiments revealed that in solution the J-form interacts with negatively charged liposomes and with MBB2, a monoclonal anti-DI antibody that recapitulates most of the features of pathogenic aPLs. We conclude that the preferential binding of aPLs to phospholipid-bound β 2 GPI arises from the ability of its preexisting J-form to accumulate on the membranes, thereby offering an ideal environment for aPL binding. We propose that targeting the J-form of β 2 GPI provides a strategy to block pathogenic aPLs in APS.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Half-Life and Precision Shape Measurement of the 2⁢𝜈⁢𝛽⁢𝛽 Decay of 130 Te

Here, we present a new measurement of the 2⁢𝜈⁢𝛽⁢𝛽 half-life of 130 Te (𝑇$^{2⁢𝜈}_{1/2}$) using the first complete model of the CUORE data, based on 1038 kg yr of collected exposure. Thanks to optimized data selection, we achieve a factor of two improvement in precision, obtaining 𝑇$^{2⁢𝜈}_{1/2}$ = (9.32⁢$^{+0.05}_{−0.04}$⁢stat⁢ $^{+0.07}_{−0.07}$⁢syst)×10 20 yr. The signal-to-background ratio is increased by 70% compared to our previous results, enabling the first application of the improved 2⁢𝜈⁢𝛽⁢𝛽 formalism to 130 Te . Within this framework, we determine a credibility interval for the effective axial coupling in the nuclear medium as a function of nuclear matrix elements. We also extract values for the higher-order nuclear matrix element ratios: second-to-first and third-to-first. The second-to-first ratio agrees with nuclear model predictions, while the third-to-first ratio deviates from theoretical expectations. These findings provide essential tests of nuclear models and key inputs for future 0⁢𝜈⁢𝛽⁢𝛽 searches.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗