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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2005

Channel alignment and radiometry in hyperspectral atmospheric infrared sounders

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) is a hyper-spectral infrared sounder which covers the 3.7 to 15,4 micron region with 2378 spectral channels. The AIRS instrument specification called for spatial co-registration of all channels to better than 2% of the field of view. Pre-launch testing confirmed that this requirement was met, since the standard deviations in the centroids was about 1% of the 13.5 km IFOV in scan and 3% in track. Detailed analysis of global AIRS data show that the typical scene gradient in 10 micron window channels is about I .3K/km rms. The way these gradients, which are predominantly caused by clouds, manifest themselves in the data depends on the details of the instrument design and the way the spectral channels are used in the data analysis, AIRS temperature and moisture retrievals use 328 of the 2378 channels from 17 independent arrays. As a result, the effect of the boresight misalignment averages to zero mean. Any increase in the effective noise is less than 0.2K. Also, there is no discernable performance degradation of products at the 45 km spatial resolution in the presence of partially cloudy scenes with up to 80% cloudiness. Single pixel radiometric differences between channels with boresight alignment differences can be appreciable and can affect scientific investigations on a single 15km footprint scale, particularly near coastlines, thunderstorms and surface emissivity inhomogeneities.

sounders↗
NASA NTRS1964

Theoretical Current-Voltage Curve in Low-Pressure Cesium Diode for Electron-Rich Emission

Although considerable interest has been shown in the space-charge analysis of low-pressure (collisionless case) thermionic diodes, there is a conspicuous lack in the presentation of results in a way that allows direct comparison with experiment. The current-voltage curve of this report was, therefore, computed for a typical case within the realm of experimental interest. The model employed in this computation is shown in Fig. 1 and is defined by the limiting potential distributions [curves (a) and (b)]. Curve (a) represents the potential V as a monotonic function of position with a slope of zero at the anode; curve (b) is similarly monotonic with a slope of zero at the cathode. It is assumed that by a continuous variation of the anode voltage, the potential distributions vary continuously from one limiting form to the other. Although solutions for infinitely spaced electrodes show that spatically oscillatory potential distributions may exist, they have been neglected in this computation.

Coldstein, C. M.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Environmental risks and opportunities of orphaned oil and gas wells in the United States

Abstract Hundreds of thousands of documented and undocumented orphaned oil and gas wells exist in the United States (U.S.). These wells have the potential to contaminate water supplies, degrade ecosystems, and emit methane and other air pollutants. Thus, orphaned wells present risks to climate stability and to environmental and human health, which can be reduced by plugging. To quantify environmental risks and opportunities of well plugging at the national level, we analyze data on 81 857 documented orphaned wells across the U.S. We find that > 4.6 million people live within 1 km of a documented orphaned well. 35% of the documented orphaned wells are located within 1 km of a domestic groundwater well, yet only 8% of the wells have groundwater quality data within a 1 km radius. Methane emissions from the documented orphaned wells represent approximately 3%–6% of total U.S. methane emissions from abandoned oil and gas wells, but this estimate is based on measurements at < 0.03% of U.S. abandoned wells. 91% of the documented orphaned wells overlie formations favorable for geologic storage of carbon dioxide and hydrogen, meaning that orphaned well plugging can reduce leakage risks from future storage projects. Finally, we estimate plugging costs for documented orphaned wells to exceed the $4.7 billion federal funding by 30%–80%, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing federal spending on wells with large remediation benefits. Overall, environmental monitoring data are not extensive enough to quantify risks, especially those related to air and water quality and human health. Plugging orphaned wells can provide opportunities for geologic storage of carbon dioxide and hydrogen and geothermal energy development, thereby facilitating efforts to transition to net-zero energy systems. Our analysis on environmental risks and opportunities of orphaned wells provides a framework that can be used to manage the millions of documented and undocumented orphaned wells in the U.S. and abroad.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Evaluating Chemical Kinetics Predictions for Propane Using 3-D and 0-D Models in a Boosted Spark-Ignited Engine

Propane has been shown to be a promising alternative fuel to reduce emissions while simultaneously achieving high efficiencies in medium- and heavy-duty engines. These high-power density applications require boosted engines which, combined with high compression ratio, can lead to auto-ignition and knock. While three-dimensional (3-D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models are often used for resolving the complex fluid flow in engines, these models can become computationally expensive when simulating detailed chemical kinetics. Likewise, zero-dimensional (0-D) models are computationally concise enough for kinetics development, but lack any flow-field information which governs the flame propagation processes in spark ignition (SI) engines. This work presents a comprehensive comparison between 3-D and 0-D closed cycle simulations at knocking conditions in a high compression ratio high stroke-to-bore ratio propane engine. In order to initialize the flow-field for the 3-D closed cycle (intake valve closing, (IVC) to exhaust valve opening, (EVO)) simulation, a motored multi-cycle 3-D model was run using Converge to create a map at IVC, reducing the computational time. The map allowed a non-homogeneous 3-D closed cycle simulation to be satisfactorily validated against experiments, while a homogeneous case using only the turbulence field mapping was also simulated, mimicking 0-D modeling. The 3-D simulations were used to prescribe the initial conditions (e.g., IVC thermodynamics, speciation, burn-rate profile) for a 2-zone 0-D SI engine model in Chemkin Pro for both cases. It was found that 2-zone 0-D modeling underpredicted the knock onset timing, likely due to the lack of thermal stratification in the unburned gas region. Future work will carry multi-zone 0-D modeling to capture the fuel auto-ignition in the unburned region.

Douvry-Rabjeau, Julien [Oakland University, Roches↗
NASA NTRS1976

Correlation between microwave scattering and emission from land and sea at 13.9 GHz

Correlations have been calculated between active and passive microwave responses received by the S-193 radiometer-scatterometer on Skylab. Over both land and sea, the correlations between polarizations are high, but the correlation between radiometer and scatterometer response at 30-deg incidence is negligible. This suggests that multipolarization instruments with this crude resolution (greater than 10 km in all cases) are redundant, but a combination of radiometer and scatterometer is useful. Correlations among the responses at different angles suggest that the five angles used in Skylab are more than would be useful between zero and 48 deg in future instruments, but that instruments with three angles of measurement would be useful. In small areas, conclusions based on these large-data-set averages may need to be modified.

Sobti, A.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Alfven eigenmodes and fast ion transport in negative triangularity DIII-D plasmas

The first energetic particle experiments in negative triangularity tokamak plasmas have been carried out on DIII-D. Alfvén eigenmode (AE) activity and associated fast ion transport comparable to that in positive triangularity is observed during the current ramp portion of all plasmas with early beam heating indicating negative triangularity does not confer a special advantage with respect to AE induced transport. In these discharges, a range of mode activity driven by the sub-Alfvénic (Vbeam/VA < 0.5) 80 kV neutral beams is found including beta induced Alfvén acoustic eigenmodes, beta induced Alfvén eigenmodes, reversed shear Alfvén eigenmodes (RSAEs) and toroidicity induced Alfvén eigenmodes (TAEs). Mode intermittency and possibly chirping appears to be more common than comparable positive triangularity and/or oval discharges but overall, the unstable spectra and mode amplitudes observed on magnetics, CO2 interferometry, and electron cyclotron emission in a set of matched positive and negative triangularity cases at moderate beam power is similar. Large levels of Alfvén eigenmode induced fast ion transport are found in both positive and negative triangularity with up to 70% central fast ion pressure deficits relative to classical predictions early during the current ramp phase for discharges with 3 MW injected 80 kV neutral beam power. The deficit in both cases is reduced toward zero as the current penetrates and eventually reaches classical levels during current flattop with qmin ≈ 1. Fast ion transport in negative triangularity plasmas measured using a beam modulation technique show very similar levels to those measured in oval plasmas over the range of tested beam powers (Pbeam ≈ 2–7 MW). This similarity is found despite quite different unstable spectra in the highest beam power case where a mixture of coherent and quasi-coherent modes in the TAE frequency range are observed in negative triangularity and a spectrum of more typical narrowband TAEs and RSAEs is observed for the oval plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Metal–Organic Frameworks with Zero and Low‐Valent Metal Nodes Connected by Tetratopic Phosphine Ligands

Abstract Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) constructed with M 0 nodes are attractive targets due to the reactivity of these low‐valent metals, but examples of these MOFs remain exceedingly rare. The rational design of three‐dimensional MOFs with Pd 0 and Pt 0 nodes using tetratopic phosphine ligands is reported. Five new MOFs have been synthesized by systematic variation of the phosphine ligands and metal precursors employed, and these represent the first examples of MOFs constructed using phosphine–metal bonds as the sole structural component. The MOFs display solid‐state luminescence, with emission maxima that are significantly red‐shifted compared to Pd(PPh 3 ) 4 . In addition, a Rh I low‐valent coordination solid based on the same linker design is reported, which displays solid‐state luminescence that is not observed for the molecular analogue.

Sikma, R. Eric↗
DOE OSTI2025

Observation and origin of multi-THz quantum beats in superfluorescent emission from argon

We report observation of multi-THz quantum beats in the amplitude of superfluorescence in pure argon gas, using a time delayed 780-nm probe beam that interrogates the relevant population densities. The superfluorescence is induced by three-photon absorption of an ultrashort 260.5-nm laser pulse that creates coherent and coupled populations in multiple closely spaced 3⁢d and 5⁢s Ar levels. Argon pressure and pump laser focusing parameters are seen to modify the frequency of the quantum beats, which is attributed to the absorption of the self-generated, nonresonant third harmonic of the pump from Ar near the zero of the real part of the overlapping linear susceptibilities of the closely spaced 3⁢d and 5⁢s excited states. The self-absorption of the phase-matched THG photons creates a coherent population of atoms which acts like an atomic excited state (3⁢ω-induced state). Furthermore, we have also observed a new two-step superfluorescent cascade that results from the population redistribution enabled by the 780-nm probe pulse between the 3⁢d'[5/2] 3 and the 3⁢ω-induced state and gives rise to a previously unknown transition that emits on 1587 nm.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

The Second Radio Synchrotron Background Workshop: Conference Summary and Report

We summarize the second radio synchrotron background workshop, which took place on 2022 June 15–17 in Barolo, Italy. This meeting was convened because available measurements of the diffuse radio zero level continue to suggest that it is several times higher than can be attributed to known Galactic and extragalactic sources and processes, rendering it the least well-understood electromagnetic background at present and a major outstanding question in astrophysics. The workshop agreed on the next priorities for investigations of this phenomenon, which include searching for evidence of the radio Sunyaev–Zel’dovich effect, carrying out cross-correlation analyses of radio emission with other tracers, and supporting the completion of the 310 MHz absolutely calibrated sky map project.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1981

Two-dimensional model studies of the effect of supersonic aircraft operations on the stratospheric ozone content

For a fleet of 250 aircraft, the change in the ozone column is predicted to be very close to zero; in fact, the ozone overburden may actually increase as a result of show that above 25 to 30 km the ozone abundance decreases via catalytic destruction, but at lower heights it increases, mainly as a result of coupling with odd hydrogen species. Water vapor released in the engine exhaust is predicted to cause ozone decreases; for the hypothetical engines used in the study, the total column ozone changes due to water vapor emission largely offset the predicted ozone increases due to NOx emission. The actual effect of water vapor may be less than calculated because present models do not include thermal feedback. Feedback refers to the cooling effect of additional water vapor that would tend to slow the NOx reactions which destroy ozone.

Whitten, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Temperature Induced Voltage Offset Drifts in Silicon Carbide Pressure Sensors

We report the reduction of transient drifts in the zero pressure offset voltage in silicon carbide (SiC) pressure sensors when operating at 600 C. The previously observed maximum drift of +/- 10 mV of the reference offset voltage at 600 C was reduced to within +/- 5 mV. The offset voltage drifts and bridge resistance changes over time at test temperature are explained in terms of the microstructure and phase changes occurring within the contact metallization, as analyzed by Auger electron spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The results have helped to identify the upper temperature reliable operational limit of this particular metallization scheme to be 605 C.

Okojie, Robert S.↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Life Cycle Decarbonization of Modular Building Solutions: Preprint

Off-site construction methods offer the opportunity to compress costs of net zero energy housing using the advantages of mass production. Blokable, LLC, a vertically integrated modular builder, wanted to know how the learning curves of mass production would help them decarbonize their existing modular housing prototype at a relative cost advantage. The method developed for this question looked at the life cycle assessment of an individual apartment and used learning curve efficiencies to approximate the relative advantage of construction-at-scale. Greenhouse gas emissions were quantified by a learning-affected, whole life carbon emissions model and demonstrated a path to a 60% reduction of whole life CO2-equivalent in the 2030 production year. The resultant roadmap considers a best-first approach to decarbonizing a modular building product line, and the method can be replicated for other modular builders.

decarbonization↗
DOE OSTI2022

Metal–Organic Frameworks with Zero and Low–Valent Metal Nodes Connected by Tetratopic Phosphine Ligands

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) constructed with M 0 nodes are attractive targets due to the reactivity of these low-valent metals, but examples of these MOFs remain exceedingly rare. The rational design of three-dimensional MOFs with Pd 0 and Pt 0 nodes using tetratopic phosphine ligands is reported. Five new MOFs have been synthesized by systematic variation of the phosphine ligands and metal precursors employed, and these represent the first examples of MOFs constructed using phosphine–metal bonds as the sole structural component. Furthermore, the MOFs display solid-state luminescence, with emission maxima that are significantly red-shifted compared to Pd(PPh 3 ) 4 . In addition, a Rh I low-valent coordination solid based on the same linker design is reported, which displays solid-state luminescence that is not observed for the molecular analogue.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

A New Design of a Dressed Balloon Cavity with Superior Mechanical Properties

Superconducting spoke cavities are prone to multipactor - resonant raise of a number of electrons due to secondary emission. Recently proposed and tested by TRIUMF balloon-type spoke cavity showed an outstanding multipactor (MP) suppression property but unfortunately serious Q degradation at high fields. A new fully developed design of a dressed balloon cavity which can be used for any proton linac SSR2 section is developed. The design incorporates additional EP ports for high Q-factor demonstration. Superior properties are demonstrated, such as effective multipactor suppression, 40% lower Lorentz force coefficient, zero sensitivity to external pressure. This paper presents the results of coupled structural Multiphysics analysis, and engineering design of the dressed balloon cavity with EP ports.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

EP 250108a/SN 2025kg: Observations of the Most Nearby Broad-line Type Ic Supernova Following an Einstein Probe Fast X-Ray Transient

With a small sample of fast X-ray transients (FXTs) with multiwavelength counterparts discovered to date, their progenitors and connections to γ-ray bursts (GRBs) and supernovae (SNe) remain ambiguous. Here, we present photometric and spectroscopic observations of SN 2025kg, the SN counterpart to the FXT EP 250108a. At z = 0.17641, this is the closest known SN discovered following an Einstein Probe (EP) FXT. We show that SN 2025kg’s optical spectra reveal the hallmark features of a broad-lined Type Ic SN. Its light-curve evolution and expansion velocities are comparable to those of GRB-SNe, including SN 1998bw, and two past FXT-SNe. We present JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy taken around SN 2025kg’s maximum light, and find weak absorption due to He I 1.0830 μm and 2.0581 μm and a broad, unidentified emission feature at ∼4–4.5 μm. Further, we observe broadened Hα in optical data at 42.5 days that is not detected at other epochs, indicating interaction with H-rich material. From its light curve, we derive a 56 Ni mass of 0.2–0.6 M ⊙ . Together with our companion Letter, our broadband data are consistent with a trapped or low-energy (≲10 51 erg) jet-driven explosion from a collapsar with a zero-age main-sequence mass of 15–30 M ⊙ . Finally, we show that the sample of EP FXT-SNe supports past estimates that low-luminosity jets seen through FXTs are more common than successful (GRB) jets, and that similar FXT-like signatures are likely present in at least a few percent of the brightest Type Ic-BL SNe.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1972

Diffusion models for Jupiter's radiation belt

Solutions are given for the diffusion of trapped particles in a planetary magnetic field in which the first and second adiabatic invariants are preserved but the third is not, using as boundary conditions a fixed density at the outer boundary (the magnetopause) and a zero density at an inner boundary (the planetary surface). Losses to an orbiting natural satellite are included and an approximate evaluation is made of the effects of the synchrotron radiation on the energy of relativistic electrons. Choosing parameters appropriate to Jupiter, the electrons required to produce the observed synchrotron radiation are explained. If a speculative mechanism in which the diffusion is driven by ionospheric wind is the true explanation of the electrons producing the synchrotron emission it can be concluded that Jupiter's inner magnetosphere is occupied by an energetic proton flux that would be a serious hazard to spacecraft.

Jacques, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Observations of the gaseous Galactic halo toward 3C 273 with the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph

An analysis of observations of 24 absorption lines produced near zero redshift by Milky Way disk and halo gas along the sight line to 3C 273 is presented. The reduced spectra have a resolution of about 20 km/s (FWHM) with broad wings and an SNR of 13 to 20. The species detected include C II, C II*, C IV, O I, Mg II, Si II, Si IV, S II, Mn II, Fe II, and Ni II. The O I absorption is blended with earth atmospheric emission, and one of the Si IV doublet lines is blended with an intergalactic Lyman-alpha line. Column densities are determined for C II*, C IV, Si II, Si IV, N V, S II, Mn II, and Ni II using standard curve-of-growth techniques and the apparent optical depth method. The column density for S II and a measure of N(H I) from FOS observations of Lyman-alpha reveal a 45-percent overabundance of sulfur compared with neutral hydrogen which is probably due to the presence of S II in ionized gas toward 3C 273.

Savage, Blair D.↗