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At least 1,063 records · Page 59

Large-Eddy Simulations of Idealized Atmospheric Boundary Layers Using Nalu-Wind

Accurate prediction of wind-plant performance relies, in part, on properly characterizing the turbulent atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) flow in which wind turbines operate. Large-eddy simulation (LES) is a powerful tool for simulating ABLs because it resolves the largest, most energetic scales of three-dimensional turbulent motions. Yet LES predictions are well known to depend on modeling choices such as grid resolution, numerical discretization schemes, and closures for unresolved scales of turbulence. Here, we evaluate how these choices influence predictions of ABL winds using Nalu-Wind, a wind-specific fork of the open-source, generalized, unstructured, massively parallel flow solver NaluCFD/Nalu.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Electron and photon energy calibration with the ATLAS detector using 2015–2016 LHC proton-proton collision data

This paper presents the electron and photon energy calibration obtained with the ATLAS detector using about 36 fb –1 of LHC proton-proton collision data recorded at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. The different calibration steps applied to the data and the optimization of the reconstruction of electron and photon energies are discussed. The absolute energy scale is set using a large sample of Z boson decays into electron-positron pairs. The systematic uncertainty in the energy scale calibration varies between 0.03% to 0.2% in most of the detector acceptance for electrons with transverse momentum close to 45 GeV . For electrons with transverse momentum of 10 GeV the typical uncertainty is 0.3% to 0.8% and it varies between 0.25% and 1% for photons with transverse momentum around 60 GeV . Validations of the energy calibration with J/ψ → e + e – decays and radiative Z boson decays are also presented.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Three-dimensional reconstruction of the size and shape of protein microcrystals using Bragg coherent diffractive imaging

Three-dimensional imaging of protein crystals during X-ray diffraction experiments opens up a range of possibilities for optimising crystal quality and gaining new insights into the fundamental processes that drive radiation damage. Obtaining this information at the appropriate lengthscales however is extremely challenging. One approach that has been recently demonstrated as a promising avenue for charactering the size and shape of protein crystals at nanometre lengthscales is Bragg Coherent Diffractive Imaging (BCDI). BCDI is a recently developed technique that is able to recover the phase of the continuous diffraction intensity signal around individual Bragg peaks. When data is collected at multiple points on a rocking curve a Reciprocal Space Map (RSM) can be assembled and then inverted using BCDI to obtain a three-dimensional image of the crystal. The first demonstration of two-dimensional BCDI of protein crystals was reported by Boutet at al., recently this work was extended to the study of radiation damage of micron-sized crystals. Here we present the first three-dimensional reconstructions of a Lysozyme protein crystal using BDI. The results are validated against RSM and TEM data and have implications for both radiation damage studies and for developing new approaches to structure retrieval from micron-sized protein crystals.

Bragg coherent diffractive imaging↗

Fixation of CO 2 and CO on a diverse range of carbohydrates using anaerobic, non-photosynthetic mixotrophy

Biological CO 2 fixation is an important technology that can assist in combating climate change. Here, we show an approach called anaerobic, non-photosynthetic mixotrophy can result in net CO 2 fixation when using a reduced feedstock. This approach uses microbes called acetogens that are capable of concurrent utilization of both organic and inorganic substrates. In this study, we investigated the substrate utilization of 17 different acetogens, both mesophilic and thermophilic, on a variety of different carbohydrates and gases. Compared to most model acetogen strains, several non-model mesophilic strains displayed greater substrate flexibility, including the ability to utilize disaccharides, glycerol and an oligosaccharide, and growth rates. Three of these non-model strains ( Blautia producta , Clostridium scatologenes and Thermoanaerobacter kivui ) were chosen for further characterization, under a variety of conditions including H 2 - or syngas-fed sugar fermentations and a CO 2 -fed glycerol fermentation. In all cases, CO 2 was fixed and carbon yields approached 100%. Finally, the model acetogen C. ljungdahlii was engineered to utilize glucose, a non-preferred sugar, while maintaining mixotrophic behavior. This work demonstrates the flexibility and robustness of anaerobic, non-photosynthetic mixotrophy as a technology to help reduce CO 2 emissions.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

To use or not to use synthetic stellar spectra in population synthesis models?

ABSTRACT Stellar population synthesis (SPS) models are invaluable to study star clusters and galaxies. They provide means to extract stellar masses, stellar ages, star formation histories, chemical enrichment, and dust content of galaxies from their integrated spectral energy distributions, colours, or spectra. As most models, they contain uncertainties that can hamper our ability to model and interpret observed spectra. This work aims at studying a specific source of model uncertainty: the choice of an empirical versus a synthetic stellar spectral library. Empirical libraries suffer from limited coverage of parameter space, while synthetic libraries suffer from modelling inaccuracies. Given our current inability to have both ideal stellar-parameter coverage with ideal stellar spectra, what should one favour: better coverage of the parameters (synthetic library) or better spectra on a star-by-star basis (empirical library)? To study this question, we build a synthetic stellar library mimicking the coverage of an empirical library, and SPS models with different choices of stellar library tailored to these investigations. Through the comparison of model predictions and the spectral fitting of a sample of nearby galaxies, we learned that predicted colours are more affected by the coverage effect than the choice of a synthetic versus empirical library; the effects on predicted spectral indices are multiple and defy simple conclusions; derived galaxy ages are virtually unaffected by the choice of the library, but are underestimated when SPS models with limited parameter coverage are used; metallicities are robust against limited HRD coverage, but are underestimated when using synthetic libraries.

Coelho, Paula R. T.↗

Where’s Swimmy?: Mining unique color features buried in galaxies by deep anomaly detection using Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam data

Abstract We present the Swimmy (Subaru WIde-field Machine-learning anoMalY) survey program, a deep-learning-based search for unique sources using multicolored (grizy) imaging data from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP). This program aims to detect unexpected, novel, and rare populations and phenomena, by utilizing the deep imaging data acquired from the wide-field coverage of the HSC-SSP. This article, as the first paper in the Swimmy series, describes an anomaly detection technique to select unique populations as “outliers” from the data-set. The model was tested with known extreme emission-line galaxies (XELGs) and quasars, which consequently confirmed that the proposed method successfully selected $\sim\!\! 60\%$–$70\%$ of the quasars and $60\%$ of the XELGs without labeled training data. In reference to the spectral information of local galaxies at z = 0.05–0.2 obtained from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we investigated the physical properties of the selected anomalies and compared them based on the significance of their outlier values. The results revealed that XELGs constitute notable fractions of the most anomalous galaxies, and certain galaxies manifest unique morphological features. In summary, deep anomaly detection is an effective tool that can search rare objects, and, ultimately, unknown unknowns with large data-sets. Further development of the proposed model and selection process can promote the practical applications required to achieve specific scientific goals.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

Estimates of Ta strength at ultrahigh pressures and strain rates using thin-film graded-density impactors

In this paper, we present results from an experimental technique used to estimate the strength of Ta at extreme pressures (150 GPa) and strain rates (10 7 s -1 ). A graded-density impactor (GDI) was fabricated using sputter deposition to produce an approximately 40-μm-thick film containing alternating layers of Al and Cu. The thicknesses of the respective layers are adjusted to give an effective density gradient through the film. The GDIs were launched with a 2-stage light gas gun, and shock-ramp-release velocity profiles were measured over timescales of ~10 ns. Results are presented for the direct impact of the film onto LiF windows, which allows for a dynamic characterization of the GDI, as well as from impact onto thin (~40μm) sputtered Ta samples backed by a LiF window. The measurements were coupled with mesoscale numerical simulations to infer the strength of Ta, and the results agree well with other high-pressure platforms, particularly when strain-rate, microstructural, and thermodynamic-path differences are considered.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Feasibility study to use neutron capture for an ultralow energy nuclear-recoil calibration in liquid xenon

The feasibility of an ultra-low energy nuclear-recoil measurement in liquid xenon using neutron capture is investigated for a small (sub-kilogram) liquid xenon detector that is optimized for a high scintillation gain, and a pulsed neutron source. Further, the measurement uses the recoil energies imparted to xenon nuclei during the de-excitation process following neutron capture, where promptly emitted γ cascades can provide the nuclei with up to 0.3 keV nr of recoil energy due to conservation of momentum. A successful calibration of scintillation photon and ionization electron yields below this energy will contribute to a greater sensitivity for liquid xenon experiments in searches for light WIMPs.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Study of exclusive B → X u ℓ ν decays and extraction of | V u b | using full reconstruction tagging at the Belle experiment

Here, we report the results of a study of the exclusive semileptonic decays B - → π 0 ℓ - ν ¯ ℓ , B ¯ 0 → π + ℓ - ν ¯ ℓ , B - → ρ 0 ℓ - ν ¯ ℓ , B ¯ 0 → ρ + ℓ - ν ¯ ℓ and B - → ω ℓ - ν ¯ ℓ , where ℓ represents an electron or a muon. The events are tagged by fully reconstructing a second B meson in the event in a hadronic decay mode. The measured branching fractions are B ( B - → π 0 ℓ - ν ¯ ℓ ) = ( 0.80 ± 0.08 ± 0.04 ) × 10 - 4 , B ( B ¯ 0 → π + ℓ - ν ¯ ℓ ) = ( 1.49 ± 0.09 ± 0.07 ) × 10 - 4 , B ( B - → ρ 0 ℓ - ν ¯ ℓ ) = ( 1.83 ± 0.10 ± 0.10 ) × 10 - 4 , B ( B ¯ 0 → ρ + ℓ - ν ¯ ℓ ) = ( 3.22 ± 0.27 ± 0.24 ) × 10 - 4 , and B ( B - → ω ℓ - ν ¯ ℓ ) = ( 1.07 ± 0.16 ± 0.07 ) × 10 - 4 , where the first error is statistical and the second one is systematic. The obtained branching fractions are inclusive of soft photon emission. Furthermore, we determine the branching fractions as a function of the 4-momentum transfer squared to the leptonic system q 2 = ( p ℓ + p ν ) 2 , where p ℓ and p ν are the lepton and neutrino 4-momenta, respectively. Using the pion modes, a recent light cone sum rule calculation, lattice QCD results and a model-independent description of the hadronic form factor, a value of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element | V u b | = ( 3.52 ± 0.29 ) × 10 - 3 is extracted. A structure in the two-pion invariant mass distribution near 1.3 GeV / c 2 , which might be dominated by the decay B - → f 2 ( 1270 ) ℓ - ν ¯ ℓ , f 2 → π + π - , is seen. These results are obtained from a 711 fb - 1 data sample that contains 772 × 10 6 B B ¯ pairs, collected near the Υ ( 4 S ) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e + e - collider.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Study of heavy-flavor quarks produced in association with top-quark pairs at s = 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector

Using a sample of dilepton top-quark pair (t$\bar{t}$) candidate events, a study is performed of the production of top-quark pairs together with heavy-flavor (HF) quarks, the sum of t$\bar{t}$+b+X and t$\bar{t}$+c+X, collectively referred to as t$\bar{t}$+HF. The data set used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb -1 of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The presence of additional HF (b or c) quarks in the t$\bar{t}$ sample is inferred by looking for events with at least three b-tagged jets, where two are attributed to the b quarks from the t$\bar{t}$decays and the third to additional HF production. The dominant background to t$\bar{t}$+HF in this sample is t$\bar{t}$+jet events in which a light-flavor jet is misidentified as a heavy-flavor jet. To determine the heavy- and light-flavor content of the additional b -tagged jets, a fit to the vertex mass distribution of b -tagged jets in the sample is performed. The result of the fit shows that 79±14(stat)±22(syst) of the 105 selected extra b -tagged jets originate from HF quarks, 3 standard deviations away from the hypothesis of zero t$\bar{t}$+HF production. The result for extra HF production is quoted as a ratio (R HF ) of the cross section for t$\bar{t}$+HF production to the cross section for t$\bar{t}$ production with at least one additional jet. Both cross sections are measured in a fiducial kinematic region within the ATLAS acceptance. R HF is measured to be [6.2±1.1(stat)±1.8(syst)]% for jets with p T >25GeV and |η|<2.5, in agreement with the expectations from Monte Carlo generators.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗