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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
DOE OSTI2015

Hydrogenated indium oxide window layers for high-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} solar cells

High mobility hydrogenated indium oxide is investigated as a transparent contact for thin film Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGS) solar cells. Hydrogen doping of In{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films is achieved by injection of H{sub 2}O water vapor or H{sub 2} gas during the sputter process. As-deposited amorphous In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:H films exhibit a high electron mobility of ∼50 cm{sup 2}/Vs at room temperature. A bulk hydrogen concentration of ∼4 at. % was measured for both optimized H{sub 2}O and H{sub 2}-processed films, although the H{sub 2}O-derived film exhibits a doping gradient as detected by elastic recoil detection analysis. Amorphous IOH films are implemented as front contacts in CIGS based solar cells, and their performance is compared with the reference ZnO:Al electrodes. The most significant feature of IOH containing devices is an enhanced open circuit voltage (V{sub OC}) of ∼20 mV regardless of the doping approach, whereas the short circuit current and fill factor remain the same for the H{sub 2}O case or slightly decrease for H{sub 2}. The overall power conversion efficiency is improved from 15.7% to 16.2% by substituting ZnO:Al with IOH (H{sub 2}O) as front contacts. Finally, stability tests of non-encapsulated solar cells in dry air at 80 °C and constant illumination for 500 h demonstrate a higher stability for IOH-containing devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Highly conducting and preferred <220> oriented boron doped nc–Si films for window layers in nc–Si solar cells

Growth and optimization of the boron dopednanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) films have been studied by varyingthe gaspressure applied to the hydrogendiluted silane plasma in RF (13.56 MHz) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system, using diborane (B{sub 2}H{sub 6}) as the dopant gas. High magnitudeof electrical conductivity (~10{sup 2} S cm{sup −1}) and<220>orientedcrystallographic lattice planes have been obtained with high crystalline volume fraction (~86 %) at an optimum pressure of 2.5 Torr. XRD and Raman studies reveal good crystallinity with preferred orientation, suitable for applications in stacked layer devices, particularly in nc–Si solar cells.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Studies on RF sputtered (WO{sub 3}){sub 1-x} (V{sub 2}O{sub 5}){sub x} thin films for smart window applications

V{sub 2}O{sub 5} doped WO{sub 3} targets for RF sputtering thin film deposition were prepared for various compositions. Thin films of (WO{sub 3}){sub 1-x} (V{sub 2}O{sub 5}){sub x} were deposited on to glass substrates using these targets. Structural characteristics of the prepared targets and thin films were studied using X-ray diffraction. Laser Raman studies were carried out on the thin films to confirm the compound formation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

LaF{sub 3} core/shell nanoparticles for subcutaneous heating and thermal sensing in the second biological-window

We report on Ytterbium and Neodymium codoped LaF{sub 3} core/shell nanoparticles capable of simultaneous heating and thermal sensing under single beam infrared laser excitation. Efficient light-to-heat conversion is produced at the Neodymium highly doped shell due to non-radiative de-excitations. Thermal sensing is provided by the temperature dependent Nd{sup 3+} → Yb{sup 3+} energy transfer processes taking place at the core/shell interface. The potential application of these core/shell multifunctional nanoparticles for controlled photothermal subcutaneous treatments is also demonstrated.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Plasma-initiated rehydrogenation of amorphous silicon to increase the temperature processing window of silicon heterojunction solar cells

The dehydrogenation of intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) at temperatures above approximately 300°C degrades its ability to passivate silicon wafer surfaces. This limits the temperature of post-passivation processing steps during the fabrication of advanced silicon heterojunction or silicon-based tandem solar cells. We demonstrate that a hydrogen plasma can rehydrogenate intrinsic a-Si:H passivation layers that have been dehydrogenated by annealing. The hydrogen plasma treatment fully restores the effective carrier lifetime to several milliseconds in textured crystalline siliconwafers coated with 8-nm-thick intrinsic a-Si:H layers after annealing at temperatures of up to 450°C. Plasma-initiated rehydrogenation also translates to complete solar cells: A silicon heterojunction solar cell subjected to annealing at 450°C (following intrinsic a-Si:H deposition) had an open-circuit voltage of less than 600 mV, but an identical cell that received hydrogen plasma treatment reached a voltage of over 710 mV and an efficiency of over 19%.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Further modeling of q 95 windows for the suppression of edge localized modes by resonant magnetic perturbations in the DIII-D tokamak

An improved resonant plasma response model that more accurately captures the physics of the interaction between a tokamak plasma and a resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) is developed. The model interpolates between the linear and the nonlinear response regimes and takes into account the fact that the slip-frequency is non-zero in the nonlinear regime. The improved model is incorporated into the extended perturbed equilibrium code (EPEC) toroidal asymptotic matching code. The modified EPEC code is used to investigate RMP-induced edge-localized-mode (ELM) suppression in DIII-D H-mode discharge #145380. Somewhat surprisingly, allowing for a finite slip-frequency (i.e., relaxing the so-called no-slip constraint) is found to only slightly facilitate the locking of driven magnetic island chains to the RMP, and, hence, to only slightly facilitate RMP-induced ELM suppression. This is true despite the fact that the nature of non-locked island solutions is radically different when the no-slip constraint is imposed compared to when it is relaxed (in the first case, the widths of the island chains driven at the rational surfaces pulsate, and in the second case, they remain steady). The previously obtained conclusion that the response of a typical H-mode tokamak plasma to an RMP cannot be accurately modeled by linear theory is confirmed. Here, the previously obtained conclusion that the best agreement between theory and observations is achieved by assuming that the natural frequencies of tearing modes, in the absence of the RMP, are determined by the local equilibrium E × B velocity is also confirmed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

A windowed mean trajectory approximation for condensed phase dynamics

We propose a trajectory-based quasi-classical method for approximating dynamics in condensed phase systems. Building upon the previously developed optimized mean trajectory approximation that has been used to compute linear and nonlinear spectra, we borrow some ideas from filtering trajectory methods to obtain a novel semiclassical method for the dynamical propagation of density matrices. This new approximation is tested rigorously against standard multistate electronic models, spin-boson models, and models of the Fenna–Matthews–Olson complex. For dissipative systems, the current method is significantly better or as good as many other semiclassical methods available, especially at low temperatures and for off-diagonal density matrix elements, whereas for scattering models, the current method bears similar limitations as mean-field propagation schemes. All results are tested against the numerically exact hierarchical equations of motion method. In conclusion, the new method shows excellent agreement across various parameter regimes with numerically exact results, highlighting the robustness and accuracy of our approach.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Diatomic molecules, a window onto fundamental physics

Thanks to the rich structure of their energy levels, molecules can be exquisite probes of time-reversal-symmetry violation, the constancy of the proton-to-electron mass ratio, and more.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE QUASI-BIENNIAL PERIODICITY AS A WINDOW ON THE SOLAR MAGNETIC DYNAMO CONFIGURATION

Manifestations of the solar magnetic activity through periodicities of about 11 and 2 years are now clearly seen in all solar activity indices. In this paper, we add information about the mechanism driving the 2-year period by studying the time and latitudinal properties of acoustic modes that are sensitive probes of the subsurface layers. We use almost 17 years of high-quality resolved data provided by the Global Oscillation Network Group to investigate the solar cycle changes in p-mode frequencies for spherical degrees l from 0 to 120 and 1600 {mu}Hz {<=}{nu} {<=} 3500 {mu}Hz. For both periodic components of solar activity, we locate the origin of the frequency shift in the subsurface layers and find evidence that a sudden enhancement in amplitude occurs in just the last few hundred kilometers. We also show that, in both cases, the size of the shift increases toward equatorial latitudes and from minimum to maximum solar activity, but, in agreement with previous findings, the quasi-biennial periodicity (QBP) causes a weaker shift in mode frequencies and a slower enhancement than that caused by the 11-year cycle. We compare our observational findings with the features predicted by different models, that try to explain the origin of this QBP and conclude that the observed properties could result from the beating between a dipole and quadrupole magnetic configuration of the dynamo.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

A MOLECULAR LINE SURVEY OF THE CARBON-RICH PROTOPLANETARY NEBULA AFGL 2688 IN THE 3 mm AND 1.3 mm WINDOWS

We present a spectral line survey of the protoplanetary nebula (PPN) AFGL 2688 in the frequency ranges of 71-111 GHz, 157-160 GHz, and 218-267 GHz using the Arizona Radio Observatory 12 m telescope and the Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope. A total of 143 individual spectral features associated with 32 different molecular species and isotopologues were identified. The molecules C{sub 3}H, CH{sub 3}CN, H{sub 2}CO, H{sub 2}CS, and HCO{sup +} were detected for the first time in this object. By comparing the integrated line strengths of different transitions, we are able to determine the rotation temperatures, column densities, and fractional abundances of the detected molecules. The C, O, and N isotopic ratios in AFGL 2688 are compared with those in IRC+10216 and the Sun, and were found to be consistent with stellar nucleosynthesis theory. Through comparisons of molecular line strengths in asymptotic giant branch stars, PPNs, and planetary nebulae, we discuss the evolution in circumstellar chemistry in the late stages of evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

UNDERSTANDING THE UNUSUAL X-RAY EMISSION PROPERTIES OF THE MASSIVE, CLOSE BINARY WR 20a: A HIGH ENERGY WINDOW INTO THE STELLAR WIND INITIATION REGION

The problem of explaining the X-ray emission properties of the massive, close binary WR 20a is discussed. Located near the cluster core of Westerlund 2, WR 20a is composed of two nearly identical Wolf-Rayet stars of 82 and 83 solar masses orbiting with a period of only 3.7 days. Although Chandra observations were taken during the secondary optical eclipse, the X-ray light curve shows no signs of a flux decrement. In fact, WR 20a appears slightly more X-ray luminous and softer during the optical eclipse, opposite to what has been observed in other binary systems. To aid in our interpretation of the data, we compare with the results of hydrodynamical simulations using the adaptive mesh refinement code Mezcal which includes radiative cooling and a radiative acceleration force term. It is shown that the X-ray emission can be successfully explained in models where the wind-wind collision interface in this system occurs while the outflowing material is still being accelerated. Consequently, WR 20a serves as a critical test-case for how radiatively driven stellar winds are initiated and how they interact. Our models not only procure a robust description of current Chandra data, which cover the orbital phases between 0.3 and 0.6, but also provide detailed predictions over the entire orbit.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

ALMA observations of the Antennae galaxies. I. A new window on a prototypical merger

We present the highest spatial resolution (≈0.''5) CO (3-2) observations to date of the 'overlap' region in the merging Antennae galaxies (NGC 4038/39), taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. We report on the discovery of a long (3 kpc), thin (aspect ratio 30/1), filament of CO gas that breaks up into roughly 10 individual knots. Each individual knot has a low internal velocity dispersion (≈10 km s{sup –1}); the dispersion of the ensemble of knots in the filament is also low (≈10 km s{sup –1}). At the other extreme, we find that the individual clouds in the supergiant molecular cloud 2 region discussed by Wilson and collaborators have a large range of internal velocity dispersions (10 to 80 km s{sup –1}), and a large dispersion among the ensemble (≈80 km s{sup –1}). Other large-scale features observed in CO emission, and their correspondence with historical counterparts using observations in other wavelengths, are also discussed. We compare the locations of small-scale CO features with a variety of multi-wavelength observations, in particular broad- (BVIJH) and narrow-band data (H{sub α} and Pa{sub β}) taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, and radio (3.6 cm) continuum observations taken with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. This comparison leads to the development of an evolutionary classification system that provides a framework for studying the sequence of star cluster formation and evolution—from diffuse supergiant molecular clouds (SGMCs) to proto, embedded, emerging, young, intermediate/old clusters. The relative timescales have been assessed by determining the fractional population of sources at each evolutionary stage. The main uncertainty in this estimate is the identification of four regions as candidate protoclusters (i.e., strong compact CO emission but no clearly associated radio emission). Using the evolutionary framework, we estimate that the maximum age range of clusters in a single GMC is ≈10 Myr, which suggests that the molecular gas is removed over this timescale, resulting in the cessation of star formation and the destruction of the GMC within a radius of about 200 pc.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Re-opening dark matter windows compatible with a diphoton excess

We investigate a simple setup in which an excess in the di-photon invariant mass distribution around 750 GeV, as seen by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations, is originated through a pair of collimated photon pairs. In this framework a scalar state s decays into two light pseudo-Goldstone bosons a, each of which subsequently decays into a pair of collimated photons which are misidentified as a single photon. In a minimal context of spontaneous symmetry breaking, we show that coupling a complex scalar field Φ=(s+ia)/√2 to a fermionic dark matter candidate χ, also responsible for generating its mass, allows for the correct relic density in a large region of the parameter space, while not being excluded by the direct or indirect detection experiments. Moreover, the correct relic abundance can naturally co-exist with a relatively large width for the resonant field s.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

The Transcriptome of an Amphioxus, Asymmetron lucayanum, from the Bahamas: A Window into Chordate Evolution

Cephalochordates, the sister group of tunicates plus vertebrates, have been called “living fossils” due to their resemblance to fossil chordates from Cambrian strata. The genome of the cephalochordate Branchiostoma floridae shares remarkable synteny with vertebrates and is free from whole-genome duplication. We performed RNA sequencing from larvae and adults of Asymmetron lucayanum, a cephalochordate distantly related to B. floridae. Comparisons of about 430 orthologous gene groups among both cephalochordates and 10 vertebrates using an echinoderm, a hemichordate, and a mollusk as outgroups showed that cephalochordates are evolving more slowly than the slowest evolving vertebrate known (the elephant shark), with A. lucayanum evolving even more slowly than B. floridae. Against this background of slow evolution, some genes, notably several involved in innate immunity, stand out as evolving relatively quickly. This may be due to the lack of an adaptive immune system and the relatively high levels of bacteria in the inshore waters cephalochordates inhabit. Molecular dating analysis including several time constraints revealed a divergence time of ~120 Ma for A. lucayanum and B. floridae. The divisions between cephalochordates and vertebrates, and that between chordates and the hemichordate plus echinoderm clade likely occurred before the Cambrian.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Windowing artefacts likely account for recent claimed detection of oscillating cosmic scale factor

ABSTRACT Using the Pantheon data set of Type Ia supernovae, a recent publication (R20 in this work) reports a 2σ detection of oscillations in the expansion history of the Universe. The study conducted by R20 is wholly worthwhile. However, we demonstrate that there is a $\gt 10{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ chance of statistical fluctuations in the Pantheon data producing a false oscillatory signal larger than the oscillatory signal that R20 report. Their results are a less than 2σ detection. Applying the R20 methodology to simulated Pantheon data, we determine that these oscillations could arise due to analysis artefacts. The uneven spacing of Type Ia supernovae in redshift space and the complicated analysis method of R20 impose a structured throughput function. When analysed with the R20 prescription, about $11{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of artificial ΛCDM data sets produce a stronger oscillatory signal than the actual Pantheon data. Our results underscore the importance of understanding the false ‘signals’ that can be introduced by complicated data analyses.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Evaluating quenching in cosmological simulations of galaxy formation with spectral covariance in the optical window

ABSTRACT Cosmological hydrodynamical simulations provide valuable insights on galaxy evolution when coupled with observational data. Comparisons with real galaxies are typically performed via scaling relations of the observables. Here, we follow an alternative approach based on the spectral covariance in a model-independent way. We build upon previous work by Sharbaf et al. that studied the covariance of high-quality SDSS (Sloan Digital Sky Survey) continuum-subtracted spectra in a relatively narrow range of velocity dispersion ($\sigma \in [100,150]$ km s$^{-1}$). Here, the same analysis is applied to synthetic data from the eagle and IllustrisTNG100 simulations, to assess the ability of these runs to mimic real galaxies. The real and simulated spectra are consistent regarding spectral covariance, although with subtle differences that can inform the implementation of subgrid physics. Spectral fitting done a posteriori on stacks segregated with respect to latent space reveals that the first principal component (PC1) is predominantly influenced by the stellar age distribution, with an underlying age–metallicity degeneracy. Good agreement is found regarding star formation prescriptions but there is disagreement with active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback, that also affects the subset of quiescent galaxies. We show a substantial difference in the implementation of the AGN subgrid prescriptions, regarding central black hole seeding, that could lead to the mismatch. Differences are manifest between these two simulations in the star formation histories stacked with respect to latent space. We emphasize that this methodology only relies on the spectral covariance to assess whether simulations provide a true representation of galaxy formation.

Sharbaf, Z. (ORCID:0009000450545946)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Multipolar Fermi Surface Deformations in Sr 2 ⁢RuO 4 Probed by Resistivity and Sound Attenuation: A Window into Electron Viscosity and the Collision Operator

Recent developments in electron hydrodynamics have demonstrated the importance of considering the full structure of the electron-electron scattering operator, which encodes a sequence of lifetimes, one for each component of the Fermi surface deformation in a multipolar expansion. In this context, the dipolar lifetime is measured by resistivity, whereas the quadrupolar component probes the viscosity and can be measured in the bulk via sound attenuation. We introduce a framework to extract the collision operator of an arbitrary metal by combining resistivity and sound attenuation measurements with a realistic calculation of the scattering operator that includes multiband and umklapp effects. The collision operator allows for the prediction of a plethora of properties, including the nonlocal conductivity, and can be used to predict hydrodynamic behavior for bulk metals. As a first application, we apply this framework to Sr 2 ⁢RuO 4 in a temperature range where electron-electron scattering is dominant. Furthermore, we find quantitative agreement between our model and the temperature dependence of both the resistivity and the sound attenuation, we find the quadrupolar (𝐵 1⁢𝑔 ) relaxation rate to be 30% higher than the dipolar one due to the presence of hot spots on the 𝛾 band, and we predict a strongly anisotropic viscosity arising from the 𝛼 and 𝛽 bands.

Boltzmann theory↗