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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 OSTI2023

Source identification by non-negative matrix factorization combined with semi-supervised clustering

Machine-learning methods and apparatus are provided to solve blind source separation problems with an unknown number of sources and having a signal propagation model with features such as wave-like propagation, medium-dependent velocity, attenuation, diffusion, and/or advection, between sources and sensors. In exemplary embodiments, multiple trials of non-negative matrix factorization are performed for a fixed number of sources, with selection criteria applied to determine successful trials. A semi-supervised clustering procedure is applied to trial results, and the clustering results are evaluated for robustness using measures for reconstruction quality and cluster separation. The number of sources is determined by comparing these measures for different trial numbers of sources. Source locations and parameters of the signal propagation model can also be determined. Disclosed methods are applicable to a wide range of spatial problems including chemical dispersal, pressure transients, and electromagnetic signals, and also to non-spatial problems such as cancer mutation.

Alexandrov, Boian S.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Seeking Repeating Anthropogenic Seismic Sources: Implications for Seismic Velocity Monitoring at Fault Zones

Abstract Seismic velocities in rocks are highly sensitive to changes in permanent deformation and fluid content. The temporal variation of seismic velocity during the preparation phase of earthquakes has been well documented in laboratories but rarely observed in nature. It has been recently found that some anthropogenic, high‐frequency (>1 Hz) seismic sources are powerful enough to generate body waves that travel down to a few kilometers and can be used to monitor fault zones at seismogenic depth. Anthropogenic seismic sources typically have fixed spatial distribution and provide new perspectives for velocity monitoring. In this work, we propose a systematic workflow to seek such powerful seismic sources in a rapid and straightforward manner. We tackle the problem from a statistical point of view, considering that persistent, powerful seismic sources yield highly coherent correlation functions (CFs) between pairs of seismic sensors. The algorithm is tested in California and Japan. Multiple sites close to fault zones show high‐frequency CFs stable for an extended period of time. These findings have great potential for monitoring fault zones, including the San Jacinto Fault and the Ridgecrest area in Southern California, Napa in Northern California, and faults in central Japan. However, extra steps, such as beamforming or polarization analysis, are required to determine the dominant seismic sources and study the source characteristics, which are crucial to interpreting the velocity monitoring results. Train tremors identified by the present approach have been successfully used for seismic velocity monitoring of the San Jacinto Fault in previous studies.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Correcting correlation functions for redshift-dependent interloper contamination

ABSTRACT The construction of catalogues of a particular type of galaxy can be complicated by interlopers contaminating the sample. In spectroscopic galaxy surveys this can be due to the misclassification of an emission line; for example in the Hobby–Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) low-redshift [O ii] emitters may make up a few per cent of the observed Ly α emitter (LAE) sample. The presence of contaminants affects the measured correlation functions and power spectra. Previous attempts to deal with this using the cross-correlation function have assumed sources at a fixed redshift, or not modelled evolution within the adopted redshift bins. However, in spectroscopic surveys like HETDEX, where the contamination fraction is likely to be redshift dependent, the observed clustering of misclassified sources will appear to evolve strongly due to projection effects, even if their true clustering does not. We present a practical method for accounting for the presence of contaminants with redshift-dependent contamination fractions and projected clustering. We show using mock catalogues that our method, unlike existing approaches, yields unbiased clustering measurements from the upcoming HETDEX survey in scenarios with redshift-dependent contamination fractions within the redshift bins used. We show our method returns autocorrelation functions with systematic biases much smaller than the statistical noise for samples with at least as high as 7 per cent contamination. We also present and test a method for fitting for the redshift-dependent interloper fraction using the LAE–[O ii] galaxy cross-correlation function, which gives less biased results than assuming a single interloper fraction for the whole sample.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Sneezing and asymptomatic virus transmission

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread pattern continues to show that geographical barriers alone cannot contain a virus. Asymptomatic carriers play a critical role in the nature of this virus quickly escalating into a global pandemic. Asymptomatic carriers may transmit the virus unintentionally through sporadic sneezing. A novel Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach has been proposed with a realistic modeling of a human sneeze achieved by the combination of state-of-the-art experimental and numerical methods. This modeling approach may be suitable for future engineering analyses aimed at reshaping public spaces and common areas, with the main objective to accurately predict the spread of aerosol and droplets that may contain pathogens. This study shows that the biomechanics of a human sneeze, including complex muscle contractions and relaxations, can be accurately modeled by the angular head motion and the dynamic pressure response during sneezing. These have been considered as the human factors and were implemented in the CFD simulation by imposing a momentum source term to the coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian momentum equations. The momentum source was modeled by the measured dynamic pressure response in conjunction with the angular head motion. This approach eliminated the need to create an ad hoc set of inlet boundary conditions. With this proposed technique, it is easier to add multiple fixed and/or moving sources of sneezes in complex computational domains. Additionally, extensive sensitivity analyses based on different environmental conditions were performed, and their impact was described in terms of potential virus spread.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Error-mitigated data-driven circuit learning on noisy quantum hardware

Application-level benchmarks measure how well a quantum device performs meaningful calculations. In the case of parameterized circuit training, the computational task is the preparation of a target quantum state via optimization over a loss landscape. This is complicated by various sources of noise, fixed hardware connectivity, and generative modeling, the choice of target distribution. Gradient-based training has become a useful benchmarking task for noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers because of the additional requirement that the optimization step uses the quantum device to estimate the loss function gradient. In this work, we use gradient-based data-driven circuit learning to qualitatively evaluate the performance of several superconducting platform devices and present results that show how error mitigation can improve the training of quantum circuit Born machines with 28 tunable parameters.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Disentangling Sources of Momentum Fluctuations in Xe+Xe and Pb+Pb Collisions with the ATLAS Detector

High-energy nuclear collisions create a quark-gluon plasma, whose initial condition and subsequent expansion vary from event to event, impacting the distribution of the eventwise average transverse momentum [𝑃⁡([𝑝 T ])]. Disentangling the contributions from fluctuations in the nuclear overlap size (geometrical component) and other sources at a fixed size (intrinsic component) remains a challenge. This problem is addressed by measuring the mean, variance, and skewness of 𝑃⁡([𝑝 T ]) in 208 Pb + 208 Pb and 129 Xe + 129 Xe collisions at $\sqrt{S{NN}}$ = 5.02 and 5.44 TeV, respectively, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. All observables show distinct features in ultracentral collisions, which are explained by a suppression of the geometrical component as the overlap area reaches its maximum. These results demonstrate a new technique to separate geometrical and intrinsic fluctuations, providing constraints on initial conditions and properties of the quark-gluon plasma, such as the speed of sound.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Mid-infrared nonlinear optics in thin-film lithium niobate on sapphire

Periodically poled thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) waveguides have emerged as a leading platform for highly efficient frequency conversion in the near-infrared. However, the commonly used silica bottom-cladding results in high absorption loss at wavelengths beyond 2.5 µm. In this work, we demonstrate efficient frequency conversion in a TFLN-on-sapphire platform, which features high transparency up to 4.5 µm. In particular, we report generating mid-infrared light up to 3.66 µm via difference-frequency generation of a fixed 1 µm source and a tunable telecom source, with normalized efficiencies up to 200 % <#comment/> / W c m 2 . These results show TFLN-on-sapphire to be a promising platform for integrated nonlinear nanophotonics in the mid-infrared.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Method for In-Situ Q₀ Measurements of High-Quality SRF Resonators

Accelerator projects such as LCLS-II naturally require low-loss superconducting (SRF) cavities. Due to strong demand for improving intrinsic quality factor (Q₀), importance of accurate cavity characterization increases. We propose a method to measure Q₀ in situ for an SRF resonator installed in its cryogenic module and connected with a RF feed source via a fixed RF coupler. The method exploits measurements of a response for an SRF resonator fed by an amplitude-modulated signal. Such a signal can be synthesized as a beat-wave composed of two frequencies that are close to the resonant frequency. Analyzing the envelope of the reflected signal, one can find the difference in reflection for the chosen frequencies and use them to compute the intrinsic Q. We also develop the methodology to carry out measurements of Q₀ at the nominal cavity operating voltage. We verified our method in experiments with a room temperature copper resonator and with two SRF resonators including Fermilab’s 650 MHz cavity and JLab’s 1500 MHz cavity.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

New Capabilities for Sampling Tools

This report will discuss new capabilities that have been added to the sample.py and uniform_sampler.py codes. The codes have been updated to allow for both log-uniform sampling and categorical variables. The categorical variables do not have to be numeric. The different values for a categorical variable are specified in a limits file by having spaces between them. The difference between sample.py and uniform_sampler.py is that sample.py is for generating random samples and uniform_sampler.py is for generating samples or points on a fixed grid. After sourcing a file to set the environment, execute the codes with the commands: sample.py and uniform sampler.py .

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Verification Testing For Solid-Element Material Models 11-19 in DYNA3D/ParaDyn

This technical report documents the creation and implementation of verification tests for solid-element material models 11 through 19 available in DYNA3D/ParaDyn. The verification tests covered all aspects of each material model, except for the Weibull distribution functionality in material models 15 and 19. General test cases were created to verify the elastic and plastic behavior of the material models. Other additional tests were developed to examine the intricacies of each material model. Each test involved the use a kinematic load case and specification of material parameters necessary to activate corresponding features of the material model. The load cases prescribed the full time history of the kinematic motion for the solid elements, and these loads are independent of the material model or element formulation. When possible, closed form solutions were then derived for each verification test in a continuum setting. The DYNA3D simulations for each test were carried out over a unit time interval, t ϵ [0, 1], and the as implemented DYNA3D response was compared to the closed form solutions evaluated at discrete points in time. A relative error measure was determined for each test to justify the proper implementation of the material model. The relative errors comparing the DYNA3D solution to the analytical solution were, in general, on the order of machine precision except where noted. This signifies the proper implementation of solid-element material models 11-19. In the development of these verification tests, six bugs were found and fixed in the source code. Additionally, this work generated eighteen DYNA3D input decks and answer extraction scripts in the DYNA3D/ParaDyn Software Quality Assurance test suite, which are comprised of a total of 285 solid-element tests. Testing for each material model utilizes two input decks and answer extraction scripts, where one focuses on the linear elastic response and the other examines the inelastic and remaining functionalities of the material model. In total, this work added 285 individual verification test problems in the DYNA3D/ParaDyn test suite.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dimming LED circuit augmenting DC/DC controller integrated circuit

Embodiments include systems, methods, and apparatuses for providing a dimming function in a single stage AC input light emitting diode (LED) driver with a controller that contains an on-chip error amplifier and an on-chip fixed reference voltage source coupled to a first input of the error amplifier. The controller controls a duty cycle of a switching transistor to cause a feedback voltage, applied to a first package input terminal, to match the reference voltage. To achieve a dimming function, a voltage across a current sense resistor in series with the LEDs is applied to a first input of a high gain differential amplifier, and a variable dimming control voltage is applied to a second input of the differential amplifier. The output of the differential amplifier is coupled to the first package input terminal. The differential amplifier input signals will be matched at the target LED current level.

Song, Zhengrong↗
DOE OSTI2025

Designing Yield Grids for Airborne Nuclear Explosions to Maintain Decrements in Rayleigh Waveform Amplitudes

This document details a method for selecting grid points that sample the yields of airborne, low yield nuclear explosions that constrains the relative size of seismic waveforms sourced by explosions that are parameterized by this grid. In detail, we impose this constraint so that the vertical component of ground displacement that is sourced by explosions with a fixed height of burst (HoB) at grid point k change by a fixed factor of a when compared to the waveform amplitudes sourced by explosions at grid point k + 1, as observed at a fixed standoff distance. This gridding thereby preserves amplitude ratios along the grid so that they are agnostic to k. We assert that this method is useful in tests that apply algorithms against synthetic or augmented datasets for which the performance of the algorithm must be measured against source size, and waveform amplitudes must change uniformly (e.g., Berg et al, 2025).

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Wellbore detector with azimuthal and spectral energy resolution

A wellbore inspection device includes a radiation generation source operable to emit neutrons, and a radiation detector fixed relative to the radiation generation source and operable to detect backscattered neutron radiation from a surrounding environment. The radiation detector includes a plurality of individually addressable detector elements arranged in one or more concentric rings. Respective amounts of backscattered neutron radiation detected by the individually addressable detector elements within a ring is indicative of the azimuthal direction of the detected backscattered neutron radiation, and the respective amount of backscattered neutron radiation detected by the individually addressable detector elements of two or more concentric rings is indicative of an energy level of the backscattered neutron radiation. The inspection device determines whether a potential anomaly is present in or around the wellbore, based at least in part on the respective amounts of backscattered radiation detected by the individually addressable detector elements.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

Machine learning and ligand binding predictions: A review of data, methods, and obstacles

We report that computational predictions of ligand binding is a difficult problem, with more accurate methods being extremely computationally expensive. The use of machine learning for drug binding predictions could possibly leverage the use of biomedical big data in exchange for time-intensive simulations. This paper reviews current trends in the use of machine learning for drug binding predictions, data sources to develop machine learning algorithms, and potential problems that may lead to overfitting and ungeneralizable models. A few popular datasets that can be used to develop virtual high-throughput screening models are characterized using spatial statistics to quantify potential biases. We can see from evaluating some common benchmarks that good performance correlates with models with high-predicted bias scores and models with low bias scores do not have much predictive power. A better understanding of the limits of available data sources and how to fix them will lead to more generalizable models that will lead to novel drug discovery.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Novel plant–microbe interactions: Rapid evolution of a legume–rhizobium mutualism in restored prairies

Abstract When plants colonize new habitats, the novel interactions they form with new mutualists or enemies can immediately affect plant performance. These novel interactions also may provoke rapid evolutionary responses and can be ideal scenarios for investigating how species interactions influence plant evolution. To explore how mutualists influence the evolution of colonizing plant populations, we capitalized on an experiment in which two former agricultural fields were seeded with identical prairie seed mixes in 2010. Six years later, we compared how populations of the legume Chamaecrista fasciculata from these sites and their original (shared) source population responded to nitrogen‐fixing rhizobia from the restoration sites in a greenhouse reciprocal cross‐inoculation experiment. We found that the two populations differed both from their original source population and from each other in the benefits they derive from rhizobia, and that one population has evolved reduced allocation to rhizobia (i.e. forms fewer rhizobium‐housing nodules). Synthesis . Our results suggest that these plant populations have evolved different ways of interacting with rhizobia, potentially in response to differences in rhizobium quality between sites. Our study illustrates how microbial mutualists may shape plant evolution in new environments and highlights how variation in microbial mutualists potentially may select for different evolutionary strategies in plant hosts.

Magnoli, Susan M.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Polarized Deep-Inelastic Scattering with Spin Correlations in Herwig 7

This repository is the research software and reproducibility companion for the HerwigPol polarized deep-inelastic scattering implementation developed for Herwig 7. It brings together the modified Herwig and ThePEG source snapshots, the curated POLDIS fixed-order reference code, the custom Rivet analyses, the DIS validation workflow, and the paper source in a single formal repository layout. The repository is intended to preserve the source-level ingredients needed to rebuild and re-run the validated DIS studies. It therefore tracks code, input cards, workflow drivers, and technical notes, while intentionally excluding generated artifacts such as build products, campaign outputs, merged YODA files, plots, and rendered paper outputs.

Papaefstathioou, Andreas [Kennesaw State Universit↗
DOE OSTI2022

Fixed-target serial crystallography at the Structural Biology Center

Serial synchrotron crystallography enables the study of protein structures under physiological temperature and reduced radiation damage by collection of data from thousands of crystals. The Structural Biology Center at Sector 19 of the Advanced Photon Source has implemented a fixed-target approach with a new 3D-printed mesh-holder optimized for sample handling. The holder immobilizes a crystal suspension or droplet emulsion on a nylon mesh, trapping and sealing a near-monolayer of crystals in its mother liquor between two thin Mylar films. Data can be rapidly collected in scan mode and analyzed in near real-time using piezoelectric linear stages assembled in an XYZ arrangement, controlled with a graphical user interface and analyzed using a high-performance computing pipeline. Here, the system was applied to two β-lactamases: a class D serine β-lactamase from Chitinophaga pinensis DSM 2588 and L1 metallo-β-lactamase from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia K279a.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Microscopic Origin of Polarization Charges at Ga N / ( Al , Ga ) N Interfaces

Ga⁢N/(Al,Ga)⁢N heterojunctions are at the heart of high-electron-mobility transistors that are being adopted for high-power and high-frequency applications. The strong polarization fields present at this interface significantly enhance the density of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) that is confined on the Ga⁢ N side of the junction. The microscopic origin of these electrons has been debated over the years: after excluding that they would be contributed by bulk donors, a model that identifies surface states on the (Al, Ga)⁢N surface as the source of electrons has become widely adopted. Recently, it has become clear, however, that the measured density of surface states is insufficient to account for the high electron density in the 2DEG. Here we demonstrate, based on state-of-the-art first-principles calculations, that the source of electrons is intrinsic to the overall structure and that the negative charge in the 2DEG is balanced by fixed charge on the surface. We perform a rigorous study of polarization, using our recently developed methodology for quantifying polarization fields within the finite-sized systems that can be addressed with density-functional calculations. The results show that the electrons that appear in the 2DEG originate locally at the interface, and that the net charge at the interface is predominantly compensated by fixed charge on the surface, rather than surface states. We elucidate the source of this fixed charge and associate it with surface reconstructions or the presence of heterovalent impurities (such as oxygen). Our results force a reassessment of the impact of surface states on the density of the 2DEG: rather than serving as a supply of electrons, the surface states mainly act to pin the Fermi level. Our conclusions allow a fresh interpretation of experimental observations and allow devising guidelines for optimizing carrier densities in the 2DEG.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗