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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 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Reviews and syntheses: Australian vegetation phenology: new insights from satellite remote sensing and digital repeat photography

Phenology is the study of periodic biological occurrences and can provide important insights into the influence of climatic variability and change on ecosystems. Understanding Australia's vegetation phenology is a challenge due to its diverse range of ecosystems, from savannas and tropical rainforests to temperate eucalypt woodlands, semi-arid scrublands, and alpine grasslands. These ecosystems exhibit marked differences in seasonal patterns of canopy development and plant life-cycle events, much of which deviates from the predictable seasonal phenological pulse of temperate deciduous and boreal biomes. Many Australian ecosystems are subject to irregular events (i.e. drought, flooding, cyclones, and fire) that can alter ecosystem composition, structure, and functioning just as much as seasonal change. We show how satellite remote sensing and ground-based digital repeat photography (i.e. phenocams) can be used to improve understanding of phenology in Australian ecosystems. First, we examine temporal variation in phenology on the continental scale using the enhanced vegetation index (EVI), calculated from MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. Spatial gradients are revealed, ranging from regions with pronounced seasonality in canopy development (i.e. tropical savannas) to regions where seasonal variation is minimal (i.e. tropical rainforests) or high but irregular (i.e. arid ecosystems). Next, we use time series colour information extracted from phenocam imagery to illustrate a range of phenological signals in four contrasting Australian ecosystems. These include greening and senescing events in tropical savannas and temperate eucalypt understorey, as well as strong seasonal dynamics of individual trees in a seemingly static evergreen rainforest. We also demonstrate how phenology links with ecosystem gross primary productivity (from eddy covariance) and discuss why these processes are linked in some ecosystems but not others. We conclude that phenocams have the potential to greatly improve the current understanding of Australian ecosystems.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

SU-E-J-77: Dose Tracking On An MR-Linac for Online QA and Plan Adaptation in Abdominal Organs

Recent developments made MRI-guided radiotherapy feasible. Simultaneously performed imaging during dose delivery reveals the influence of changes in anatomy not yet known at the planning stage. When targeting highly motile abdominal organs, respiratory gating is commonly employed in MRI and investigated in external beam radiotherapy to mitigate malicious motion effects. The purpose of the presented work is to investigate anatomy-adaptive dose reconstruction in the treatment of abdominalorgans using concurrent (duplex) gating of an integrated MRlinac modality.Using navigators, 3D-MR images were sampled during exhale phase, requiring 3s per axial volume (360×260×100mm{sup 3}, waterselective T1w-FFE). Deformation vector fields (DVF) were calculated for all imaging dynamics with respect to initial anatomy, yielding an estimation of anatomy changes over the time of a fraction. A pseudo-CT was generated from the outline of a reference MR image, assuming a water-filled body. Consecutively, a treatment was planned on a fictional kidney lesion and optimized simulating a 6MV linac in a 1.5T magnetic field. After delivery, using the DVF, the pseudo-CT was deformed and dose accumulated for every individual gating interval yielding the true accumulated dose on the dynamic anatomy during beam-on.Dose-volume parameters on the PTV show only moderate changes when incorporating motion, i.e. ΔD{sub 99} (GTV)=0.3Gy with D{sub 99} (GTV)=20Gy constraints. However, local differences in the PTV region showed underdosages as high as 2.7Gy and overdosages up to 1.4Gy as compared to the optimized dose on static anatomy.A dose reconstruction toolchain was successfully implemented and proved its potential in the duplex gated treatment of abdominal organs by means of an MR-linac modality. While primary dose constraints were not violated on the fictional test data, large deviations could be found locally, which are left unaccounted for in conventional treatments. Dose-tracking of both target structures and organs at risk using 3D MRI during treatment enables truly adaptive hypofractionated radiotherapy. This work was funded by the SoRTS consortium, which includes the industry partners Elekta, Philips and Technolution.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Kinetic effects on neutron generation in moderately collisional interpenetrating plasma flows

Collisional kinetic modifications of ion distributions in interpenetrating flows are investigated by irradiating two opposing targets, either CD/CD or CD/CH, on the National Ignition Facility. In the CD/CD case, neutron time-of-flight diagnostics are successfully used to infer the ion temperature, 5–6 keV, and velocity, 500 km/s per flow, of the flows using a multi-fluid approximation of beam-beam nuclear fusion. These values are found to be in agreement with simulations and other diagnostics. However, for CD/CH, the multi-fluid assumption breaks down, as fusion is quasi-thermonuclear in this case and thus more dependent on the details of the ion velocity distribution. Using kinetic-ion, hydrodynamic-electron, and hybrid particle-in-cell modeling, this is found to be partially due to a skewed deviation from a Maxwellian in the ion velocity distribution function resulting from ion-ion collisions. This skew causes a downshift in the mean neutron velocity that partially resolves the observation in the CD/CH case. Finally, we note that the discrepancy is not completely resolved via collisional effects alone and may be a signature of collisionless electromagnetic interactions such as the Weibel-filamentation instability.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

A novel cage for actinides: A 6 W 4 Al 43 ( A = U and Pu)

We report on synthesis and characterization of the compounds A 6 W 4 Al 43 ( A = U and Pu), that form in the hexagonal Ho 6 Mo 4 Al 43 caged-structure family. The A ions reside within W/Al cages where the A – A nearest neighbors form dimers between adjacent W/Al cages, with U–U and Pu–Pu distances of 3.3892 and 3.4080 , respectively. While the W/Al networks provide environments similar to those of other cage-like materials (e.g. filled skutterudites), the atomic displacement parameters from single crystal x-ray diffraction measurements show that the A -ions do not exhibit rattling behavior. We find that there is site interchange disorder on one of the W/Al sites. Magnetic susceptibility measurements show that U 6 W 4 Al 43 displays anisotropic Curie–Weiss behavior where it fits to the data yield an effective magnetic moment near 2.0 /U. At low temperatures the magnetic susceptibility deviates from the Curie–Weiss temperature dependence and eventually saturates to a constant value. In contrast, Pu 6 W 4 Al 43 displays nearly temperature independent Pauli paramagnetism for all temperatures, as would be expected if the 5 f -electrons are delocalized. The electrical resistivity for U 6 W 4 Al 43 increases slightly with the decreasing temperature, suggesting that it is dominated by f -electronic hybridization effects and disorder scattering that originates from the W/Al site interchange. Specific heat measurements for U 6 W 4 Al 43 further reveal an enhanced electronic Sommerfeld coefficient that is consistent with a moderately enhanced charge carrier effective mass. Together these measurements expose these materials as hosts for unstable f -electron magnetism, where the novel cage-like structures control the phenomena through the spacing between the A ions. Through this combination of mild magnetism, the low cost elements of the Al–W cages, and chemical tunability that has been shown for related materials in the same structure, the A 6 W 4 Al 43 compounds emerge as promising nuclear waste-forms for transuranics, while the wider family of materials makes an appealing environment for studying f

charge transport↗
DOE OSTI2014

Fueling active galactic nuclei. II. Spatially resolved molecular inflows and outflows

We analyze the two-dimensional distribution and kinematics of the stars as well as molecular and ionized gas in the central few hundred parsecs of five active and five matched inactive galaxies. The equivalent widths of the Brγ line indicate that there is no ongoing star formation in their nuclei, although recent (terminated) starbursts are possible in the active galaxies. The stellar velocity fields show no signs of non-circular motions, while the 1-0 S(1) H{sub 2} kinematics exhibit significant deviations from simple circular rotation. In the active galaxies the H{sub 2} kinematics reveal inflow and outflow superimposed on disk rotation. Steady-state circumnuclear inflow is seen in three active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and hydrodynamical models indicate it can be driven by a large-scale bar. In three of the five AGNs, molecular outflows are spatially resolved. The outflows are oriented such that they intersect, or have an edge close to, the disk, which may be the source of molecular gas in the outflow. The relatively low speeds imply the gas will fall back onto the disk, and with moderate outflow rates, they will have only a local impact on the host galaxy. H{sub 2} was detected in two inactive galaxies. These exhibit chaotic circumnuclear dust morphologies and have molecular structures that are counter-rotating with respect to the main gas component, which could lead to gas inflow in the near future. In our sample, all four galaxies with chaotic dust morphology in the circumnuclear region exist in moderately dense groups with 10-15 members where accretion of stripped gas can easily occur.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Clustering instabilities in sedimenting fluid–solid systems: critical assessment of kinetic-theory-based predictions using direct numerical simulation data

In this paper the quantitative and qualitative ability of a kinetic-theory-based two-fluid model (KT-TFM) is assessed in a state of fully periodic sedimentation (fluidization), with a focus on statistically steady, unstable (clustered) states. The accuracy of KT-TFM predictions is evaluated via direct comparison to direct numerical simulation (DNS) data. The KT-TFM and DNS results span a rather wide parameter space: mean-flow Reynolds numbers on the order of 1 and 10, mean solid volume fractions from 0.1 to 0.4, solid-to-fluid density ratios from 10 to 1000 and elastic and moderately inelastic (restitution coefficient of 0.9) conditions. Data from both KT-TFM and DNS display a rich variety of statistically steady yet unstable structures (clusters). Instantaneous snapshots of KT-TFM and DNS demonstrate remarkable qualitative agreement. This qualitative agreement is quantified by calculating the critical density ratio at which the structure transitions from a chaotic, dynamic state to a regular, plug-flow state, with good overall comparisons. Further quantitative assessments of mean and fluctuating velocities show good agreement at high density ratios but weaker agreement at intermediate to low density ratios depending on the mean-flow Reynolds numbers and solid fractions. Deviations of the KT-TFM results from the DNS data were traced to a breakdown in one of the underlying assumptions of the kinetic theory derivation: high thermal Stokes number. Surprisingly, however, even though the low Knudsen number assumption, also associated with the kinetic theory derivation, is violated throughout most of the parameter space, it does not seem to affect the good quantitative accuracy of KT-TFM simulations.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2017

High-Resolution X-Ray and Neutron Computed Tomography of an Engine Combustion Network Spray G Gasoline Injector

Given the importance of the fuel-injection process on the combustion and emissions performance of gasoline direct injected engines, there has been significant recent interest in understanding the fluid dynamics within the injector, particularly around the needle and through the nozzles. Furthermore, the pressure losses and transients that occur in the flow passages above the needle are also of interest. Simulations of these injectors typically use the nominal design geometry, which does not always match the production geometry. Computed tomography (CT) using x-ray and neutron sources can be used to obtain the real geometry from production injectors, but there are trade-offs in using these techniques. X-ray CT provides high resolution, but cannot penetrate through the thicker parts of the injector. Neutron CT has excellent penetrating power but lower resolution. Here, we present results from a joint effort to characterize a gasoline direct injector representative of the Spray G injector as defined by the Engine Combustion Network. High-resolution (1.2 to 3 µm) x-ray CT measurements from the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory were combined with moderate-resolution (40 µm) neutron CT measurements from the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to generate a complete internal geometry for the injector. This effort combined the strengths of both facilities’ capabilities, with extremely fine spatially resolved features in the nozzles and injector tips and fine resolution of internal features of the needle along the length of injector. Analysis of the resulting surface model of the internal fluid flow volumes of the injector reveals how the internal cross-sectional area and nozzle hole geometry differs slightly from the design dimensions. A simplified numerical simulation of the internal flow shows how deviations from the design geometry can alter the flow inside the sac and holes. Our results of this study will provide computational modelers with very accurate solid and surface models for use in computational fluid dynamics studies and experimentalists with increased insight into the operating characteristics of their injectors.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evaluation of δ-Phase ZrH1.4 to ZrH1.7 Thermal Neutron Scattering Laws Using Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Zirconium hydride is commonly used for next-generation reactor designs due to its excellent hydrogen retention capacity at temperatures below 1000 K. These types of reactors operate at thermal neutron energies and require accurate representation of thermal scattering laws (TSLs) to optimize moderator performance and evaluate the safety indicators for reactor design. In this work, we present an atomic-scale representation of sub-stoichiometric ZrH2−x(0.3≤x≤0.6), which relies on ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) in tandem with velocity auto-correlation (VAC) analysis to generate phonon density of states (DOS) for TSL development. The novel NJOY+NCrystal tool, developed by the European Spallation Source community, was utilized to generate the TSL formulations in the A Compact ENDF (ACE) format for its utility in neutron transport software. First, stoichiometric zirconium hydride cross sections were benchmarked with experiments. Then sub-stoichiometric zirconium hydride TSLs were developed. Significant deviations were observed between the new δ-phase ZrH2−x TSLs and the TSLs in the current ENDF release. It was also observed that varying the hydrogen vacancy defect concentration and sites did not cause as significant a change in the TSLs (e.g., ZrH1.4 vs. ZrH1.7) as was caused by the lattice transformation from ϵ- to δ-phase.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2017

New insights into the shock tube ignition of H 2 /O 2 at low to moderate temperatures using high-speed end-wall imaging

In this study, the effects of pre-ignition energy releases on H 2 —O 2 mixtures were explored in a shock tube with the aid of high-speed imaging and conventional pressure and emission diagnostics. Ignition delay times and time-resolved camera image sequences were taken behind the reflected shockwaves for two hydrogen mixtures. High concentration experiments spanned temperatures between 858 and 1035 K and pressures between 2.74 and 3.91 atm for a 15% H 2 \18% O 2 \Ar mixture. Low concentration data were also taken at temperatures between 960 and 1131 K and pressures between 3.09 and 5.44 atm for a 4% H 2 \2% O 2 \Ar mixture. These two model mixtures were chosen as they were the focus of recent shock tube work conducted in the literature. Experiments were performed in both a clean and dirty shock tube facility; however, no deviations in ignition delay times between the two types of tests were apparent. The high-concentration mixture (15%H 2 \18%O 2 \Ar) experienced energy releases in the form of deflagration flames followed by local detonations at temperatures < 1000 K. Measured ignition delay times were compared to predictions by three chemical kinetic mechanisms: GRI-Mech 3.0, AramcoMech 2.0, and Burke's et al. (2012) mechanisms. It was found that when proper thermodynamic assumptions are used, all mechanisms were able to accurately predict the experiments with superior performance from the well-validated AramcoMech 2.0 and Burke et al. mechanisms. Current work provides better guidance in using available literature hydrogen shock tube measurements, which spanned more than 50 years but were conducted without the aid of high-speed visualization of the ignition process, and their modeling using combustion kinetic mechanisms.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Clausius–Clapeyron Scaling of CAPE from Analytical Solutions to RCE

By deriving analytical solutions to radiative-convective equilibrium (RCE), it is shown mathematically that convective available potential energy (CAPE) exhibits Clausius-Clapeyron (CC) scaling over a wide range of surface temperatures up to 310 K. Above 310 K, CAPE deviates from CC scaling and even decreases with warming at very high surface temperatures. At the surface temperature of the current tropics, the analytical solutions predict that CAPE increases at a rate of about 6%-7% per kelvin of surface warming. The analytical solutions also provide insight on how the tropopause height and stratospheric humidity change with warming. Changes in the tropopause height exhibit CC scaling, with the tropopause rising by about 400 m per kelvin of surface warming at current tropical temperatures and by about 1-2 km K -1 at surface temperatures in the range of 320-340 K. The specific humidity of the stratosphere exhibits super-CC scaling at temperatures moderately warmer than the current tropics. With a surface temperature of the current tropics, the stratospheric specific humidity increases by about 6% per kelvin of surface warming, but the rate of increase is as high as 30% K -1 at warmer surface temperatures.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

WE-EF-207-11: Energy and Depth Response of Thermoluminescent Dosimeters and Ionization Chambers in Water for Kilovoltage X-Ray Beams

Purpose: To assess the effects of changes in beam quality on detector response in the kilovoltage energy range by modulating the x-ray tube voltage and the measurement depth in water. Methods: Measurements were performed with TLD-100 and TLD-100H thermoluminescent dosimeters and an A12 farmer-type ionization chamber. To assess the energy response of the detectors, irradiations were performed at a depth of 3 cm in a custom-built thin-window water phantom using the moderately filtered x-ray beams at the UWADCL (20 kVp-250 kVp) and a Co-60 beam.The x-ray beams and detectors were modeled using the EGSnrc Monte Carlo code. The model was validated by simulating dose to the collecting volume of an A12 farmer chamber and comparing it with measured A12 signal as a function of depth. Dose was tallied to each detector and to water for comparison with measurements. Simulations were used to calculate the predicted energy response, which was compared to the measured response of each detector. Dose to each detector and dose to water as a function of depth were also simulated. Results: Detector output per dose to water was found to deviate by up to 15%, 20% and 30% as a function of energy relative to Co-60 for the A12, TLD-100H and TLD-100, respectively. The EGSnrc simulations produced results similar to the measurements for ionization chambers, but discrepancies of up to 30% were observed for TLD-100H. Simulated detector response as a function of depth was found to vary by up to 3%. Conclusion: These results suggest that changes in beam quality in kilovoltage x-ray beams can have a significant impact on detector response. In-water detector response was found to differ from the previously investigated in-air response. Deviations in detector response as a function of depth were less significant, but could potentially cause dosimetric errors if ignored.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Evidence for WW/WZ vector boson scattering in the decay channel ℓνqq produced in association with two jets in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV

Evidence is reported for electroweak (EW) vector boson scattering in the decay channel $\ell\nu$qq of two weak vector bosons WV (V = W or Z), produced in association with two parton jets. The search uses a data set of proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV collected with the CMS detector during 2016-2018 with an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. Events are selected requiring one lepton (electron or muon), moderate missing transverse momentum, two jets with a large pseudorapidity separation and a large dijet invariant mass, and a signature consistent with the hadronic decay of a W/Z boson. The cross section is computed in a fiducial phase space defined at parton level requiring all parton transverse momenta $p_\mathrm{T}$$\gt$ 10 GeV and at least one pair of outgoing partons with invariant mass $m_\mathrm{qq}$$\gt$ 100 GeV. The measured and expected EW WV production cross sections are 1.90 $^{+0.53}_{-0.46}$ pb and 2.23 $^{+0.08}_{-0.11}$ (scale) $\pm$ 0.05 (PDF) pb, respectively, where PDF is the parton distribution function. The observed EW signal strength is $m_\mathrm{EW}$ = 0.85 $\pm$ 0.12 (stat) $^{+0.19}_{-0.17}$ (syst), corresponding to a signal significance of 4.4 standard deviations with 5.1 expected, and it is measured keeping the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) associated diboson production fixed to the standard model prediction. This is the first evidence of vector boson scattering in the $\ell\nu$qq decay channel at LHC. The simultaneous measurement of the EW and QCD associated diboson production agrees with the standard model prediction.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Effects of aspect ratio and concentration on rheology of epoxy suspensions containing model plate-like nanoparticles

Hexagonal 2-dimensional α-zirconium phosphate crystals were prepared with lateral diameters ranging from 110 nm to 1.5 μm to investigate the effect of particle size on suspension rheology. The nanoplatelets were exfoliated to individual sheets with monodisperse thickness and dispersed in a Newtonian epoxy fluid. The steady shear response of dilute and semi-dilute suspensions was measured and compared to expressions obtained from theory for infinitely dilute suspensions. For suspensions containing the smaller nanoplatelets, aspect ratio ∼160, the low shear rate viscosity and transition to shear thinning behavior were well described by theory for loadings up to 0.5 vol. %. The agreement was improved by assuming a moderate polydispersity in lateral diameter, ∼30%–50%, which is consistent with experimental observation. For the higher aspect ratio nanoplatelets, good agreement between theory and experiment was observed only at high shear rates. At lower shear rate, theory consistently over-predicted viscosity, which was attributed to a progressive shift to non-isotropic initial conditions with increasing particle size. The results suggest that at a fixed Peclet number, there is an increasing tendency for the nanoplatelets to form transient, local stacks as particle size increases. The largest particles, aspect ratio ∼2200, showed unusual shear thinning and thickening behaviors that were attributed to particle flexibility. The findings demonstrate the surprising utility of theory for infinitely dilute suspensions to interpret, and in some cases quantitatively describe, the non-Newtonian viscosity of real suspensions containing high aspect ratio plate-like particles. A simple framework is proposed to interpret deviations from ideal behavior based on the local and collective behavior of the suspended nanoplatelets.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Thermal properties of U-Mo alloys irradiated under high fission power density

A variety of physical and thermal property measurements made on irradiated U-Mo alloy monolithic fuel samples with a Zr diffusion barrier and clad in Al alloy 6061 are reported. These properties form the basis for additional investigations in thermal behavior of U-Mo fuel under high performance research reactor irradiation conditions. Measurements were performed on samples harvested from fuel plates irradiated under high fission power density and surface heat flux and complement previous measurements on samples subjected to moderate fission power density and surface heat flux. Specific heat capacity of irradiated monolithic U-Mo increases with increasing temperature and fission density, but carries large uncertainties associated with thickness measurements used to determine the mass fraction of the layer constituents for extraction of the U-Mo specific heat capacity, specifically the very thin and nonuniform Zr diffusion barrier. Density of irradiated monolithic U-Mo decreases with increasing fission density resulting from fission gas swelling and porosity formation. Thermal diffusivity of irradiated monolithic U-Mo increased with increasing temperature and decreased with increasing fission density. Thermal conductivity of irradiated monolithic U-Mo increased with increasing temperature, and in general, appeared to decrease and become less sensitive to temperature with increasing fission density. Thermal conductivity measurements compared to a semi-empirical model agreed within ±30%. It is suspected that the main driver in deviation between model calculations and measurements is the fission gas swelling determination, which does not account for fission power density or irradiation temperature.

uranium (U), molybdenum, nuclear fuel, thermal con↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-R-50: Radiation-Induced Changes in CT Number Histogram During Chemoradiation Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer

Purpose: In an effort of early assessment of treatment response, we investigate radiation induced changes in CT number histogram of GTV during the delivery of chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for pancreatic cancer. Methods: Diagnostic-quality CT data acquired daily during routine CT-guided CRT using a CT-on-rails for 20 pancreatic head cancer patients were analyzed. All patients were treated with a radiation dose of 50.4 in 28 fractions. On each daily CT set, the contours of the pancreatic head and the spinal cord were delineated. The Hounsfiled Units (HU) histogram in these contourswere extracted and processed using MATLAB. Eight parameters of the histogram including the mean HU over all the voxels, peak position, volume, standard deviation (SD), skewness, kurtosis, energy, and entropy were calculated for each fraction. The significances were inspected using paired two-tailed t-test and the correlations were analyzed using Spearman rank correlation tests. Results: In general, HU histogram in pancreatic head (but not in spinal cord) changed during the CRT delivery. Changes from the first to the last fraction in mean HU in pancreatic head ranged from −13.4 to 3.7 HU with an average of −4.4 HU, which was significant (P<0.001). Among other quantities, the volume decreased, the skewness increased (less skewed), and the kurtosis decreased (less sharp) during the CRT delivery. The changes of mean HU, volume, skewness, and kurtosis became significant after two weeks of treatment. Patient pathological response status is associated with the changes of SD (ΔSD), i.e., ΔSD= 1.85 (average of 7 patients) for good reponse, −0.08 (average of 6 patients) for moderate and poor response. Conclusion: Significant changes in HU histogram and the histogram-based metrics (e.g., meam HU, skewness, and kurtosis) in tumor were observed during the course of chemoradiation therapy for pancreas cancer. These changes may be potentially used for early assessment of treatment response.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Theoretical Systematics of Future Baryon Acoustic Oscillation Surveys

Future Baryon Acoustic Oscillation surveys aim at observing galaxy clustering over a wide range of redshift and galaxy populations at great precision, reaching tenths of a percent, in order to detect any deviation of dark energy from the lambda cold dark matter ( ΛCDM ) model. We utilize a set of paired quasi- N -body FastPM simulations that were designed to mitigate the sample variance effect on the BAO feature and evaluated the BAO systematics as precisely as ~0.01 percent. We report anisotropic BAO scale shifts before and after density field reconstruction in the presence of redshift-space distortions over a wide range of redshift, galaxy/halo biases, and shot noise levels. We test different reconstruction schemes and different smoothing filter scales, and introduce physically motivated BAO fitting models. For the first time, we derive a Galilean-invariant infrared resummed model for halos in real and redshift space. We test these models from the perspective of robust BAO measurements and non-BAO information such as growth rate and non-linear bias. We find that pre-reconstruction BAO scale has moderate fitting-model dependence at the level of 0.1–0.2 percent for matter while the dependence is substantially reduced to less than 0.07 percent for halos. We find that post-reconstruction BAO shifts are generally reduced to below 0.1 percent in the presence of galaxy/halo bias and show much smaller fitting model dependence. Different reconstruction conventions can potentially make a much larger difference on the line-of-sight BAO scale, upto 0.3 percent. Furthermore, the precision (error) of the BAO measurements is quite consistent regardless of the choice of the fitting model or reconstruction convention.

(cosmology:) cosmological parameters↗
DOE OSTI2017

Is There a Circumbinary Planet around NSVS 14256825?

The cyclic behavior of (O–C) residuals of eclipse timings in the sdB+M eclipsing binary NSVS 14256825 was previously attributed to one or two Jovian-type circumbinary planets. We report 83 new eclipse timings that not only fill in the gaps in those already published but also extend the time span of the (O–C) diagram by three years. Based on the archival and our new data spanning over more than 17 years, we re-examined the up-to-date system (O–C). The data revealed a systematic, quasi-sinusoidal variation deviating from an older linear ephemeris by about 100 s. It also exhibits a maximum in the (O–C) near JD 2,456,400 that was previously unknown. We consider two most credible explanations of the (O–C) variability: the light propagation time due to the presence of an invisible companion in a distant circumbinary orbit, and magnetic cycles reshaping one of the binary components, known as the Applegate or Lanza–Rodonó effect. We found that the latter mechanism is unlikely due to the insufficient energy budget of the M-dwarf secondary. In the framework of the third-body hypothesis, we obtained meaningful constraints on the Keplerian parameters of a putative companion and its mass. Our best-fitting model indicates that the observed quasi-periodic (O–C) variability can be explained by the presence of a brown dwarf with the minimal mass of 15 Jupiter masses rather than a planet, orbiting the binary in a moderately elliptical orbit (e≃0.175) with a period of ∼10 years. Our analysis rules out the two-planet model proposed earlier.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE GALEX ARECIBO SDSS SURVEY. VII. THE BIVARIATE NEUTRAL HYDROGEN-STELLAR MASS FUNCTION FOR MASSIVE GALAXIES

We present the bivariate neutral atomic hydrogen (H I)-stellar mass function (HISMF) φ(M{sub H{sub I}}, M{sub *}) for massive (log M{sub *}/M{sub ☉} \gt 10) galaxies derived from a sample of 480 local (0.025 < z < 0.050) galaxies observed in H I at Arecibo as part of the GALEX Arecibo SDSS Survey. We fit six different models to the HISMF and find that a Schechter function that extends down to a 1% H I gas fraction, with an additional fractional contribution below that limit, is the best parameterization of the HISMF. We calculate Ω{sub H{sub I,{sub M{sub *>10{sup 1}{sup 0}}}}} and find that massive galaxies contribute 41% of the H I density in the local universe. In addition to the binned HISMF, we derive a continuous bivariate fit, which reveals that the Schechter parameters only vary weakly with stellar mass: M{sub H{sub I}{sup *}}, the characteristic H I mass, scales as M{sub *}{sup 0.39}; α, the slope of the HISMF at moderate H I masses, scales as M{sub *}{sup 0.07}; and f, the fraction of galaxies with H I gas fraction greater than 1%, scales as M{sub *}{sup -0.24}. The variation of f with stellar mass should be a strong constraint for numerical simulations. To understand the physical mechanisms that produce the shape of the HISMF, we redefine the parameters of the Schechter function as explicit functions of stellar mass and star formation rate (SFR) to produce a trivariate fit. This analysis reveals strong trends with SFR. While M{sub H{sub I}{sup *}} varies weakly with stellar mass and SFR (M{sub H{sub I}{sup *}} ∝ M{sub *}{sup 0.22}, M{sub H{sub I}{sup *}} ∝ SFR{sup –0.03}), α is a stronger function of both stellar mass and especially SFR (α ∝ M{sub *}{sup 0.47}, α ∝ SFR{sup 0.95}). The HISMF is a crucial tool that can be used to constrain cosmological galaxy simulations, test observational predictions of the H I content of populations of galaxies, and identify galaxies whose properties deviate from average trends.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗