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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 991 records · Page 55
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1995

Coincident bursts of auroral kilometric radiation and VLF emissions associted with a type 3 solar radio noise event

This paper examines an isolated magnetospheric VLF/radio noise event that is highly suggestive of the triggering of terrestrial auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) bu solar type III radio emission and of a close relation between AKR and broadband hiss. The solar type III burst was measured on polar HF riometers and was coincident with local dayside VLF/LF noise emission bursts at South Pole station. It was also coincident with AKR bursts detected onthe AMPTE/IRM satellite, at the same magnetic local time as South Pole. On the basis of the close association of AKR and VLF bursts, and from geometric considerations relating to wave propagation, it is likely that the AKR source was on the dayside and on field lines near South Pole station. The general level of geomagnetic activity was very low. However, an isolated magnetic impulse event (MIE) accompanied by a riometer absorption pulse was in progress when all of the VLF/radio noise bursts occurred. The very close association of the typew III burst at HF with the AKR is consistent with external stimulation of the AKR, is different, more immediate,triggering process than that implied by Calvert (1981) is invoked. It is suggested here that some of the HF solar radiant energy may decay into waves with frequences comparable to those of the AKR by paraetric excitation or some other process, thus providing the few background photons required for the generation of AKR by the WU and Lee (1979) cyclotron maser instability. The AKR, perhaps by modifying the magnetospheric electron velocity distribution, might have produced the observed VLF emissions. Alternatively, the VLF emissions may have arisen from the same anisotropic and unstable electron distribution function responsible for the AKR.

Rosenberg, T. J.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Study of the f 0 ( 980 ) and f 0 ( 500 ) Scalar Mesons through the Decay D s + → π + π − e + ν e

Using e + e − collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 7.33 fb − 1 recorded by the BESIII detector at center-of-mass energies between 4.128 and 4.226 GeV, we present an analysis of the decay D s + → π + π − e + ν e , where the D s + is produced via the process e + e − → D s * ± D s ∓ . We observe the f 0 ( 980 ) in the π + π − system and the branching fraction of the decay D s + → f 0 ( 980 ) e + ν e with f 0 ( 980 ) → π + π − measured to be ( 1.72 ± 0.1 3 stat ± 0.1 0 syst ) × 10 − 3 , where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The dynamics of the D s + → f 0 ( 980 ) e + ν e decay are studied with the simple pole parametrization of the hadronic form factor and the Flatté formula describing the f 0 ( 980 ) in the differential decay rate, and the product of the form factor f + f 0 ( 0 ) and the c → s Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element | V c s | is determined for the first time to be f + f 0 ( 0 ) | V c s | = 0.504 ± 0.01 7 stat ± 0.03 5 syst . Furthermore, the decay D s + → f 0 ( 500 ) e + ν e is searched for the first time but no signal is found. The upper limit on the branching fraction of D s + → f 0 ( 500 ) e + ν e , f 0 ( 500 ) → π + π − decay is set to be 3.3 × 10 − 4 at 90% confidence level. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Ablikim, M.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Extreme high temperature redox kinetics in ceria: exploration of the transition from gas-phase to material-kinetic limitations

The redox kinetics of undoped ceria (CeO 2-δ ) are investigated by the electrical conductivity relaxation method in the oxygen partial pressure range of -4.3 ≤ log(pO 2 /atm) ≤ -2.0 at 1400 °C. It is demonstrated that extremely large gas flow rates, relative to the mass of the oxide, are required in order to overcome gas phase limitations and access the material kinetic properties. Using these high flow rate conditions, the surface reaction rate constant k chem is found to obey the correlation log(k chem /cm s -1 ) = (0.84 ± 0.02) × log(pO 2 /atm) - (0.99 ± 0.05) and increases with oxygen partial pressure. This increase contrasts the known behavior of the dominant defect species, oxygen vacancies and free electrons, which decrease in concentration with increasing oxygen partial pressure. For the sample geometries employed, diffusion was too fast to be detected. At low gas flow rates, the relaxation process becomes limited by the capacity of the sweep gas to supply/remove oxygen to/from the oxide. An analytical expression is derived for the relaxation in the gas-phase limited regime, and the result reveals an exponential decay profile, identical in form to that known for a surface reaction limited process. Thus, measurements under varied gas flow rates are required to differentiate between surface reaction limited and gas flow limited behavior.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Distinct Biogeographic Patterns for Archaea, Bacteria, and Fungi along the Vegetation Gradient at the Continental Scale in Eastern China

Understanding biogeographic patterns is a precursor to improving our knowledge of the function of microbiomes and to predicting ecosystem responses to environmental change. Using natural forest soil samples from 110 locations, this study is one of the largest attempts to comprehensively understand the different patterns of soil archaeal, bacterial, and fungal biogeography at the continental scale in eastern China. These patterns in natural forest sites could ascertain reliable soil microbial biogeographic patterns by eliminating anthropogenic influences. This information provides guidelines for monitoring the belowground ecosystem’s decline and restoration. Meanwhile, the deviations in the soil microbial communities from corresponding natural forest states indicate the extent of degradation of the soil ecosystem. Moreover, given the association between vegetation type and the microbial community, this information could be used to predict the long-term response of the underground ecosystem to the vegetation distribution caused by global climate change. The natural forest ecosystem in Eastern China, from tropical forest to boreal forest, has declined due to cropland development during the last 300 years, yet little is known about the historical biogeographic patterns and driving processes for the major domains of microorganisms along this continental-scale natural vegetation gradient. We predicted the biogeographic patterns of soil archaeal, bacterial, and fungal communities across 110 natural forest sites along a transect across four vegetation zones in Eastern China. The distance decay relationships demonstrated the distinct biogeographic patterns of archaeal, bacterial, and fungal communities. While historical processes mainly influenced bacterial community variations, spatially autocorrelated environmental variables mainly influenced the fungal community. Archaea did not display a distance decay pattern along the vegetation gradient. Bacterial community diversity and structure were correlated with the ratio of acid oxalate-soluble Fe to free Fe oxides (Feo/Fed ratio). Fungal community diversity and structure were influenced by dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and free aluminum (Ald), respectively. The role of these environmental variables was confirmed by the correlations between dominant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and edaphic variables. However, most of the dominant OTUs were not correlated with the major driving variables for the entire communities. These results demonstrate that soil archaea, bacteria, and fungi have different biogeographic patterns and driving processes along this continental-scale natural vegetation gradient, implying different community assembly mechanisms and ecological functions for archaea, bacteria, and fungi in soil ecosystems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

On the Radio-emitting Particles of the Crab Nebula: Stochastic Acceleration Model

The broadband emission of pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) is well described by non-thermal emissions from accelerated electrons and positrons. However, the standard shock acceleration model of PWNe does not account for the hard spectrum in radio wavelengths. The origin of the radio-emitting particles is also important to determine the pair production efficiency in the pulsar magnetosphere. Here, we propose a possible resolution for the particle energy distribution in PWNe; the radio-emitting particles are not accelerated at the pulsar wind termination shock but are stochastically accelerated by turbulence inside PWNe. We upgrade our past one-zone spectral evolution model to include the energy diffusion, i.e., the stochastic acceleration, and apply the model to the Crab Nebula. A fairly simple form of the energy diffusion coefficient is assumed for this demonstrative study. For a particle injection to the stochastic acceleration process, we consider the continuous injection from the supernova ejecta or the impulsive injection associated with supernova explosion. The observed broadband spectrum and the decay of the radio flux are reproduced by tuning the amount of the particle injected to the stochastic acceleration process. The acceleration timescale and the duration of the acceleration are required to be a few decades and a few hundred years, respectively. Our results imply that some unveiled mechanisms, such as back reaction to the turbulence, are required to make the energies of stochastically and shock-accelerated particles comparable.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Distributive Nd-to-Yb Energy Transfer within Pure [YbNdYb] Heterometallic Molecules

Facile access to site-selective hetero-lanthanide molecules will open new avenues in the search of novel photophysical phenomena based on Ln-to-Ln' energy transfer (ET). This challenge demands strategies to segregate efficiently different Ln metal ions among different positions in a molecule. We report here the one-step synthesis and structure of a pure [YbNdYb] (1) coordination complex featuring short Yb···Nd distances, ideal to investigate a potential distributive (i.e., from one donor to two acceptors) intramolecular ET from one Nd 3+ ion to two Yb 3+ centers within a well-characterized molecule. The difference in ionic radius is the mechanism allowing to allocate selectively both types of metal ion within the molecular structure, exploited with the simultaneous use of two β-diketone-type ligands. To assist the photophysical investigation of this heterometallic species, the analogues [YbLaYb] (2) and [LuNdLu] (3) have also been prepared. Sensitization of Yb 3+ and Nd 3+ in the last two complexes, respectively, was observed, with remarkably long decay times, facilitating the determination of the Nd-to-Yb ET within the [YbNdYb] composite. This ET was demonstrated by comparing the emission of iso-absorbant solutions of 1, 2, and 3 and through lifetime determinations in solution and solid state. The comparatively high efficiency of this process corroborates the facilitating effect of having two acceptors for the nonradiative decay of Nd 3+ created within the [YbNdYb] molecule.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Compound nucleus decay: Comparison between saddle point and scission point barriers

One of the principal characteristics of nuclear multifragmentation is the emission of complex fragments of intermediate mass. An extension of the statistical multifragmentation model has been developed, in which the process can be interpreted as the near simultaneous limit of a series of sequential binary decays. In this extension, intermediate mass fragment emissions are described by expressions almost identical to those of light particle emission. At lower temperatures, similar expressions have been shown to furnish a good description of very light intermediate mass fragment emission but not of the emission of heavier fragments, which seems to be determined by the transition density at the saddle-point rather than at the scission point. Here, we wish to compare these different formulations of intermediate fragmment emission and analyze the extent to which they remain distinguishable at high excitation energy.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Fundamental Neutron Physics: Theory and Analysis

The goal of the proposal was to study the possibility of searching for manifestations of new physics beyond the Standard model in fundamental neutron physics experiments. This involves detailed theoretical analyses of parity- and time reversal invariance-violating processes in neutron-induced reactions, properties of neutron β-decay, and the precise description of properties of neutron interactions with nuclei. To describe neutron-nuclear interactions, we use both the effective field theory approach and the theory of nuclear reaction with phenomenological nucleon potentials for the systematic description of parity- and time reversal-violating effects in the consistent way. A major emphasis of our research during the funding period has been the study of parity violation (PV) and time reversal invariance violation (TRIV) in few-body systems. We studied PV effects in non-elastic processes in three-nucleon system using both ”DDH-like” and effective field theory (EFT) approaches. The wave functions were obtained by solving three-body Faddeev equations in configuration space for a number of realistic strong potentials. The observed model dependence for the DDH approach indicates intrinsic difficulty in the description of nuclear PV effects, and it could be the reason for the observed discrepancies in the nuclear PV data analysis. It shows that the DDH approach could be a reasonable approach for analysis of PV effects only if exactly the same strong and weak potentials are used in calculating all PV observables in all nuclei. However, the existing calculations of nuclear PV effects were performed using different potentials; therefore, strictly speaking, one cannot compare the existing results of these calculations among themselves.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Propagation of statistical uncertainties of Skyrme mass models to simulations of r -process nucleosynthesis

Uncertainties in nuclear models have a major impact on simulations that aim at understanding the origin of heavy elements in the universe through the rapid neutron capture process ( r process) of nucleosynthesis. Within the framework of the nuclear density functional theory, we use results of Bayesian statistical analysis to propagate uncertainties in the parameters of energy density functionals to the predicted r -process abundance pattern, by way not only of the nuclear masses but also through the influence of the masses on β -decay and neutron capture rates. We point out the importance of the nonequilibrium end stage of the r process in determining the width of the resulting abundance pattern uncertainty bands. We additionally make the first identifications of specific parameters of Skyrme-like energy density functionals which show tentative correlations with particular aspects of the r -process abundance pattern. While previous studies have explored the reduction in the abundance pattern uncertainties due to anticipated new measurements of neutron-rich nuclei, here we point out that an even larger reduction will occur when these new measurements are used to reduce the uncertainty of model predictions of masses, which are then propagated through to the abundance pattern. We make a quantitative prediction for how large this reduction will be.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Constraining Inputs to Realistic Kilonova Simulations through Comparison to Observed r -process Abundances

Kilonovae, one source of electromagnetic emission associated with neutron star mergers, are powered by the decay of radioactive isotopes in the neutron-rich merger ejecta. Models for kilonova emission consistent with the electromagnetic counterpart to GW170817 predict characteristic abundance patterns, determined by the relative balance of different types of material in the outflow. Assuming that the observed source is prototypical, this inferred abundance pattern in turn must match r -process abundances deduced by other means, such as what is observed in the solar system. We report on analysis comparing the input mass-weighted elemental compositions adopted in our radiative transfer simulations to the mass fractions of elements in the Sun, as a practical prototype for the potentially universal abundance signature from neutron star mergers. We characterize the extent to which our parameter inference results depend on our assumed composition for the dynamical and wind ejecta and examine how the new results compare to previous work. We find that a dynamical ejecta composition calculated using the FRDM2012 nuclear mass and FRLDM fission models with extremely neutron-rich ejecta ($Y_e$ = 0.035) along with moderately neutron-rich ($Y_e$ = 0.27) wind ejecta composition yields a wind-to-dynamical mass ratio of $M_w$/$M_d$ = 0.47, which best matches the observed AT2017gfo kilonova light curves while also producing the bestmatching abundance of neutron capture elements in the solar system, though, allowing for systematics, the ratio may be as high as of order unity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Dark Radiation Constraints on Heavy QCD Axions

The naturalness problem of PQ symmetry motivates study of the heavy QCD axion, with masses m a > 1 MeV generated at scales above the QCD scale, and low values of the PQ symmetry breaking scale, ƒ a . We compute the abundance of such axions in a model-independent way, assuming only that they freeze-out after reheating from inflation, and are not subsequently diluted by new physics. If these axions decay between neutrino decoupling and the last scatter era of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), they dilute the neutrinos and their abundance is constrained by CMB measurements of the energy density in dark radiation, N eff . We accurately compute this bound using a numerical code to evolve the axion momentum distribution, including many key processes and effects previously ignored. We assume that the only relevant axion decays are to final states involving Standard Model particles. We determine regions of (m a , ƒ a ) that will give a signal in N eff at CMB Stage 4 experiments. We similarly compute the N eff bound and CMB Stage 4 signal for heavy axions that can decay to light mirror photons. Finally, we compute the bounds on heavy axions with mass below 1 MeV that decay after the era of CMB last scatter, from their contribution to cold or hot dark matter or N eff at this era.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS1974

The origin and propagation of VVH primary cosmic ray particles

In an attempt to match the observed charge spectrum of VVH particles, several source spectra have been constructed from combinations of r- and s-process nuclei. Their propagation has then been followed, allowing for interactions and decay, and comparisons have been made between the calculated near-earth spectra and those observed during high-altitude balloon flights. None of the models yet used leads to good agreement with observation, suggesting either that more complicated models need to be examined, or that different components (for instance the r- and s-process nuclei) have different histories.

Blanford, G. E., Jr.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Search for a muonphilic scalar X 0 or vector X 1 via J / ψ → μ + μ − + invisible decays at BESIII

A light scalar X 0 or vector X 1 particles have been introduced as a possible explanation for the ( g − 2 ) μ anomaly and dark matter phenomena. Using ( 8.998 ± 0.039 ) × 10 9 J / ψ events collected by the BESIII detector, we search for a light muon philic scalar X 0 or vector X 1 in the processes J / ψ → μ + μ − X 0 , 1 with X 0 , 1 invisible decays. No obvious signal is found, and the upper limits on the coupling g 0 , 1 ′ between the muon and the X 0 , 1 particles are set to be between 1.1 × 10 − 3 and 1.0 × 10 − 2 for the X 0 , 1 mass in the range of 1 < M ( X 0 , 1 ) < 1000 MeV / c 2 at 90% credibility level. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2023

Direct Mass Measurements to Inform the Behavior of 128m $\mathrm{Sb}$ in Nucleosynthetic Environments

Nuclear isomer effects are pivotal in understanding nuclear astrophysics, particularly in the rapid neutron-capture process where the population of metastable isomers can alter the radioactive decay paths of nuclei produced during astrophysical events. The β-decaying isomer 128m Sb was identified as potentially impactful since the β-decay pathway along the A = 128 isobar funnels into this state bypassing the ground state. Here we report the first direct mass measurements of the 128 Sb isomer and ground state using the Canadian Penning Trap mass spectrometer at Argonne National Laboratory. We find mass excesses of -84564.8(25) keV and -84608.8(21) keV, respectively, resulting in an excitation energy for the isomer of 43.9(33) keV. These results provide the first key nuclear data input for understanding the role of 128m Sb in nucleosynthesis, and we show that it will influence the flow of the rapid neutron-capture process.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Higgs portal vector dark matter for GeV scale γ-ray excess from galactic center

We show that the GeV scale γ-ray excess from the direction of the Galactic Center can be naturally explained by the pair annihilation of Abelian vector dark matter (VDM) into a pair of dark Higgs bosons (VV→ϕϕ), followed by the subsequent decay of ϕ into bb{sup -bar} or ττ{sup -bar}. All the processes are described by a renormalizable VDM model with the Higgs portal, which is naturally flavor-dependent. Some parameter space of this scenario can be tested at the near future direct dark matter search experiments such as LUX and XENON1T.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Search for Dark Matter Produced in Association with a Higgs Boson Decaying to b b &#xAF; using 36 fb &#x2212; 1 of p p collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

CERN-LHC. Several extensions of the Standard Model predict associated production of dark-matter particles with a Higgs boson. Such processes are searched for in final states with missing transverse momentum and a Higgs boson decaying to a bb pair with the ATLAS detector using 36.1 fb-1 of pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the LHC. The observed data are in agreement with the Standard Model and limits are placed on the associated production of dark-matter particles and a Higgs boson.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS2003

[Results of Simulation Studies]

Lattice Monte Carlo and off-lattice molecular dynamics simulations of h(sub 1)t(sub 4) and h(sub 4)t(sub l) (head/tail) amphiphile solutions have been performed as a function of surfactant concentration and temperature. The lattice and off-lattice systems exhibit quite different self-assembly behavior at equivalent thermodynamic conditions. We found that in the weakly aggregating regime (no preferred-size micelles), all models yield similar micelle size distributions at the same average aggregation number, albeit at different thermodynamic conditions (temperatures). In the strongly aggregating regime, this mapping between models (through temperature adjustment) fails, and the models exhibit qualitatively different micellization behavior. Incipient micellization in a model self-associating telechelic polymer solution results in a network with a transient elastic response that decays by a two-step relaxation: the first is due to a heterogeneous jump-diffusion process involving entrapment of end-groups within well-defined clusters and this is followed by rapid diffusion to neighboring clusters and a decay (terminal relaxation) due to cluster disintegration. The viscoelastic response of the solution manifests characteristics of a glass transition and entangled polymer network.

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