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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 OSTI2024

Nontrivial fusion of Majorana zero modes in interacting quantum-dot arrays

Motivated by recent experimental reports of Majorana zero modes (MZMs) in quantum-dot systems at the “sweet spot,” where the electronic hopping t ℎ is equal to the superconducting coupling Δ, we study the time-dependent spectroscopy corresponding to the nontrivial fusion of MZMs. The term “nontrivial” refers to the fusion of Majoranas from different original pairs of MZMs, each with well-defined parities. We employ an experimentally accessible time-dependent real-space local density-of-states (LDOS) method to investigate the nontrivial MZM fusion outcomes in canonical chains and in a Y-shaped array of interacting electrons. In the case of quantum-dot chains where two pairs of MZMs are initially disconnected, after fusion we find equal-height peaks in the electron and hole components of the LDOS, signaling nontrivial fusion into both the vacuum I and fermion Ψ channels with equal weight. For π-junction quantum-dot chains, where the superconducting phase has opposite signs on the left and right portions of the chain, after the nontrivial fusion we observed the formation of an exotic two-site MZM near the center of the chain, coexisting with another single-site MZM. Furthermore, we also studied the fusion of three MZMs in the Y-shaped geometry. In this case, after the fusion we observed the novel formation of another exotic multisite MZM, with properties depending on the connection and geometry of the central region of the Y-shaped quantum-dot array.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Trinuclear gold chains and octanuclear copper gyrobifastigia stabilized using a fluorinated pyridyl ligand

The fluorinated pyridyl ligand [6-(CF 3 )-2-Py] − with gold( I ) affords trinuclear Au 3 assemblies that further organize into a supramolecular helical column through aurophilic interactions. Its chemistry with copper( I ) is even more remarkable, leading to an unprecedented octanuclear copper–pyridyl cluster complex featuring a central Cu 8 core with an approximate gyrobifastigium geometry. Solid powders of compounds {(6-(CF 3 )-2-Py)Au} 3 and {(6-(CF 3 )-2-Py)Cu} 8 exhibit intense photoluminescence at room temperature, displaying green and yellow colors to the naked eye, respectively. Here, the octanuclear copper complex is also an effective catalyst for azide–alkyne cycloaddition, producing triazoles. Detailed computational analyses confirm the preference for experimental geometries and provide insights into the observed luminescence.

Phan, Vo Quang Huy [University of Texas at Arlingt↗
DOE OSTI2021

Mock light-cones and theory friendly catalogues for the CANDELS survey

Here we present mock catalogues created to support the interpretation of the Cosmic Assembly Near-IR Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS). We extract haloes along past light-cones from the Bolshoi Planck dissipationless N-body simulations and populate these haloes with galaxies using two different independently developed semi-analytic models of galaxy formation and the empirical model UNIVERSEMACHINE. Our mock catalogues have geometries that encompass the footprints of observations associated with the five CANDELS fields. In order to allow field-to-field variance to be explored, we have created eight realizations of each field. In this paper, we present comparisons with observable global galaxy properties, including counts in observed frame bands, luminosity functions, colour–magnitude distributions and colour–colour distributions. We additionally present comparisons with physical galaxy parameters derived from SED fitting for the CANDELS observations, such as stellar masses and star formation rates. We find relatively good agreement between the model predictions and CANDELS observations for luminosity and stellar mass functions. We find poorer agreement for colours and star formation rate distributions. All of the mock light-cones as well as curated ‘theory friendly’ versions of the observational CANDELS catalogues are made available through a web-based data hub.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Crystal structure of an RNA/DNA strand exchange junction

Short segments of RNA displace one strand of a DNA duplex during diverse processes including transcription and CRISPR-mediated immunity and genome editing. These strand exchange events involve the intersection of two geometrically distinct helix types—an RNA:DNA hybrid (A-form) and a DNA:DNA homoduplex (B-form). Although previous evidence suggests that these two helices can stack on each other, it is unknown what local geometric adjustments could enable A-on-B stacking. Here we report the X-ray crystal structure of an RNA-5′/DNA-3′ strand exchange junction at an anisotropic resolution of 1.6 to 2.2 Å. The structure reveals that the A-to-B helical transition involves a combination of helical axis misalignment, helical axis tilting and compression of the DNA strand within the RNA:DNA helix, where nucleotides exhibit a mixture of A- and B-form geometry. These structural principles explain previous observations of conformational stability in RNA/DNA exchange junctions, enabling a nucleic acid architecture that is repeatedly populated during biological strand exchange events.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Prospects for Astrobiology and Technosignature Searches with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will map sources in multiband colour--variability space. We present a prototype coherence-based framework for astrobiology and technosignature searches, in which candidates are treated as structured departures from natural astrophysical manifolds rather than isolated photometric outliers. We illustrate the framework with three simulated cases: five Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) surface/activity states, a grid of 649 synthetic exoplanet spectra with vegetation-red-edge-like (VRE) perturbations, and 500 synthetic multiband light curves, each projected into LSST-like observable space and analysed through colour geometry, chromatic variability, and cross-band coherence. Key results include a full-colour Mahalanobis distance $D\approx5.1$ for the weak-coma KBO state (${\sim}5σ$ in the five-dimensional colour vector), an indicative VRE coherence threshold at $f_{\rm crit}\approx0.13$, and an idealised stacking forecast reaching $5σ$ under optimistic assumptions. We show, using a small Gaia~DR3 stellar sample, that stellar colour and photometric stability may inform the prioritisation of Galactic regions for applying such coherence diagnostics.

Kovačević, Andjelka B. [Belgrade U.] (ORCID:000000↗
DOE OSTI2023

Neutron Characterization of 3D Printed Gas Turbine Alloy With Internal Cooling Structure

The objective of this research work is to investigate the residual strains induced by the presence of a exit hole and internal hollow geometry present in a 3D printed IN718 similar to that seen in a gas turbine blade. The specimens were manufactured with an internal hollow structure that ended with an exit hole, and fabricated by direct metal laser sintering additive manufacturing technique. Using this technique, metal powder was melted by a laser source and rapidly cooled to form the part layer by layer. Rapid heating and cooling generate large thermal gradients and residual stresses in the 3D printed material. To be aligned with industry standards, specimens were heat-treated to relieve most of the residual stresses as well as to investigate whether IN718 still preserved a nonhomogeneous stress state after the thermal treatment. Roughness and microstructure analysis was performed to understand the heat-treated sample properties. To investigate the volumetric residual strain, the neutron diffraction technique was used with a definite neutron wavelength. Bragg’s law was used to determine lattice spacing. Interplanar lattice spacing and stress-free state lattice spacings were measured to calculate the strains. Residual strains were measured in the x and y direction to understand the impact of the presence of a exit hole and internal hollow geometry. The results of volumetric residual strain in the x and y directions showed no significant variations in the distribution of the strain due to the presence of a hollow structure as well as the exit hole. Overall, no significant stress concentration was observed in the heat treated sample. Sample geometry, instrumentation for neutron diffraction, and material properties are discussed in detail in this paper.

Raju, Nandhini↗
DOE OSTI2025

Magnetic geometry effects on turbulent density fluctuations in Wendelstein 7-X

Line-integrated density fluctuation measurements from the core of the optimised stellarator Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) are studied in the context of magnetic field geometry changes. The amplitude as well as the spectral distribution of fluctuations is affected by varying the magnetic field configuration. Weaker turbulent fluctuations are observed in configurations with higher rotational transform and lower magnetic mirror depth. Simulations with the gyrokinetic codes stella and GENE-3D are used to investigate the role of magnetic geometry for the experimental observations. The stabilising effect of the high rational transform configuration is reproduced by simulations and can be associated with stronger shaping of the magnetic field. This leads to increased finite Larmor radius and local shear effects, which limit the toroidal extent of ion temperature gradient (ITG) modes. For W7-X configurations with higher magnetic mirror depth, gyrokinetic theory and simulations predict weaker fluctuations, since they are closer to having the maximum-J property, which has a stabilising effect on trapped-electron mode and ITG. The opposite trend is observed experimentally, which can therefore not be explained by geometry effects on turbulence alone.

Wendelstein-7X↗
DOE OSTI2025

Jet Drift in Heavy-Ion Collision: Acoplanarity and v 2

We introduce a sub-eikonal anisotropic contribution to jet-broadening, “jet drift,” that couples to the flow of the nuclear medium, showing that this effect results in a deflection of hard partons, and thus jets, in the direction of the medium flow. We study two-jet observables, i.e. v 2 and acoplanarity for √s = 5.02 TeV PbPb collisions at the LHC. We show that jet drift leads to an enhancement of the elliptic flow (v 2 ) of charged hadrons and modification of the acoplanarity of dihadrons and discuss the implications for jet substructure and medium response effects. We also demonstrate that we can obtain independent information about the event geometry encoded in the drift modification to acoplanarity vs v 2 enhancement, whereas the temperature dependence of these observables is qualitatively different. By disentangling this temperature vs geometry dependence of these observables, we can add discriminatory power to our analysis. Next, we study acoplanarity and v 2 across different system sizes and collisional energies i.e. 200 GeV AuAu collision at RHIC using our in-house simulation package (APE). Our analysis will be critical for understanding and generalizing dynamical jet-QGP interactions for different collisional systems and energies which will aid event engineering applications in the future.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Delineation of the impact on temporal behaviors of off-axis photoemission in an ultrafast electron microscope

Efforts to push the spatiotemporal imaging-resolution limits of femtosecond laser-driven ultrafast electron microscopes (UEMs) to the combined angstrom–fs range will benefit from stable sources capable of generating high bunch charges. Recent demonstrations of unconventional off-axis photoemitting geometries are promising, but connections to the observed onset of structural dynamics are yet to be established. Here we use the in-situ photoexcitation of coherent phonons to quantify the relative time-of-flight (r-TOF) of photoelectron packets generated from the Ni Wehnelt aperture and from a Ta cathode set-back from the aperture plane. We further support the UEM experiments with particle-tracing simulations of the precise electron-gun architecture and photoemitting geometries. In this way, we measure discernible shifts in electron-packet TOF of tens of picoseconds for the two photoemitting surfaces. Furthermore, these shifts arise from the impact that the Wehnelt-aperture off-axis orientation has on the electron-momentum distribution, which modifies both the collection efficiency and the temporal-packet distribution relative to on-axis emission. Future needs are identified; we expect this and other developments in UEM electron-gun configuration to expand the range of material phenomena that can be directly imaged on scales commensurate with fundamental structural dynamics.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Accretion of matter and spectra of binary X-ray sources in massive gravity

We study low-mass binary X-ray sources involving stellar mass black holes within massive gravity. Regarding the accretion disk, we adopt the standard model for an optically thick, cool, and geometrically thin disk by Shakura–Sunyaev. For the gravitational field generated by the black hole, we consider the analogue of the Schwarzschild–de Sitter space–time of Einstein’s theory in massive gravity, for which we found an additional term linear in the radial coordinate. Then, we compute the radial velocity, the energy density and the pressure as a function of the radial coordinate, and the X-ray emission’s soft spectral component expected from the disk. We also investigated in detail the impact of this new geometry. Our result indicates that by using observed spectra from confirmed X-ray binaries involving astrophysical black holes, we can put strong constraints on alternative theories of gravity.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Performance Before and After Irradiation of Pixelated 3D Silicon Sensors for the HL-LHC CMS Tracker

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerator at European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) will be shut down starting in 2026 to achieve the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) upgrade. The upgrade will allow for higher fluences, in order to increase the probability of detecting increasingly rare particles, and to obtain higher precision measurements of known particles. To accommodate the new accelerator conditions, many aspects of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector will be upgraded; of particular interest for this thesis are the silicon pixel detectors located in the inner tracker. These will be replaced and upgraded to accommodate the higher fluences of the HL-LHC upgrade, as well as to replace existing sensors which have sustained radiation damage. In order for the new sensors to operate under high luminosity conditions, they must be increasingly radiation hard, and in order to detect rare particles, they must be increasingly more precise. The performance of one Centro Nacional de Microelectronica (CNM) 3D silicon sensor before and after undergoing irradiation at fluences similar to those which will be observed at the HL-LHC was investigated to determine radiation hardness and precision. Data was collected at Fermi National Laboratory (Fermilab), in the Fermi National Laboratory Test Beam Facility (FTBF) silicon tracker telescope, which can be used to determine the number of particles, and tracks made by high energy protons passing through. The sensor was also irradiated at Fermilab in the Irradiation Test Area (ITA). Prior to data collection a tuning procedure is carried out to determine ideal bias voltage operating conditions, mask noisy and dead pixels, adjust to the ideal threshold, and map sensor gain. Data is then collected at the FTBF, where the sensor is installed in the center of the FTBF silicon telescope. Variables, including angle and bias voltage, are varied throughout data collection. Data is then processed using an alignment software to determine the exact telescope geometry, along with the tracks which were observed passing through the sensor and telescope. Sensor performance was found to be comparable before and after irradiation, with irradiated results showing slightly lower efficiencies and cluster sizes. Position resolution is comparable both before and after irradiation, and similar distributions of cluster shape are observed. After irradiation, the sensor shows increasing collected charge with bias, an indication of increased width of the depletion region. Peak charge pre-irradiation is higher than post-irradiation peak charge, indicating the irradiated results are not taken under fully-depleted conditions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

A tutorial on the micro-trench technique for incident ion angle, material erosion, and impurity deposition measurements at plasma-facing surfaces

The micro-trench method is a new technique to measure polar and azimuthal incident ion angles, material erosion, and impurity deposition at plasma-facing surfaces, and has been applied in the DIII-D divertor. This article gives a tutorial of the micro-trench technique consisting of six steps: (1) micro-trench fabrication, (2) pre-exposure measurement of the fabricated micro-trench geometry, (3) tracer material deposition, (4) plasma exposure, (5) post-exposure observation of the tracer material, and (6) post-exposure measurement of the micro-trench geometry. Two criteria need to be satisfied to apply the micro-trench method successfully: (i) uniform impurity deposition on the micro-trench floor, and (ii) erosion dominated by the physical sputtering induced by the impinging ions. Furthermore, when those two criteria are satisfied, post-exposure analysis of the impurity deposition patterns on the micro-trench floor may be used to determine the polar and azimuthal incident ion directions (mean values of the ion angle directions), erosion rate, and impurity deposition rate during plasma exposure without computational interpretation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Monte Carlo event generator for initial conditions of conserved charges in nuclear geometry

At top collider energies where baryon stopping is negligible, the initial state of heavy-ion collisions is overall charge neutral and predominantly composed of gluons. Nevertheless, there can also be significant local fluctuations of the baryon number, strangeness, and electric charge densities about zero, perturbatively corresponding to the production of quark/antiquark pairs. These previously ignored local charge fluctuations can permit the study of charge diffusion in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP), even at top collider energies. In this paper we present a new model denoted ICCING (initial conserved charges in nuclear geometry) which can reconstruct the initial conditions of conserved charges in the QGP by sampling a (g→q¯q) splitting probability over the initial energy density. We find that the new charge distributions generally differ from the bulk energy density; in particular, the strangeness distribution is significantly more eccentric than standard bulk observables and appears to be associated with the geometry of hot spots in the initial state. The new information provided by these conserved charges opens the door to studying a wealth of new charge- and flavor-dependent correlations in the initial state and ultimately the charge transport parameters of the QGP.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Statistical analysis of magnetic divertor configuration influence on H-mode transitions

DIII-D plasmas are compared for two upper divertor configurations: with the outer strike point on the small angle slot (SAS) divertor target and with the outer strike point on the horizontal divertor target (HT). Scanning the vertical distance between the magnetic null point and the divertor target over a range 0.10–0.16 m is shown to increase the threshold power, $P_\mathrm{th}$, and edge plasma power, $P_\mathrm{Loss},$ for the low-to-high confinement (L–H) and H–L transitions respectively, by up to a factor of 1.4. The X-point height scans were performed at three L-mode core plasma line average electron densities, $\bar{n}_\mathrm{e} = $ 1.2, 2.2 and 3.6 $\times 10^{19}\,\mathrm{m}^{-3}$, to investigate the density dependence of divertor magnetic configuration influence on $P_\mathrm{th}$. The X-point height, $Z_\textrm{x-pt}$, was further extended across the range 0.16–0.22 m with the more open HT divertor configuration, for which a clear decrease in $P_\mathrm{th}$ with increasing $Z_\textrm{x-pt}$ is observed. The dependence of $P_\textrm{th}$ on divertor magnetic geometry is further investigated using a time-dependent probability density function (PDF) model and information geometry to elucidate the roles played by pedestal plasma turbulence and perpendicular velocity flows. The degree of stochasticity of the plasma turbulence is observed to be sensitive to the plasma heating rate. The calculated square of the information rate shows changes in the relative density fluctuations and perpendicular velocity PDFs begin 2–5 ms prior to the L–H transition for three plasmas; providing a crucial measurement of the dynamic timescale of external transport barrier formation. Additionally, both information length and rate provide potential predictors of the L–H transition for these plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

High-speed X-ray study of process dynamics caused by surface features during continuous-wave laser polishing

During high-speed X-ray imaging of laser surface polishing experiments of specimens of 316L stainless steel at Argonne National Lab's Advanced Photon Source, it was discovered that the induced keyhole changes shape and dimensions while crossing an engineered surface feature without altering process parameters. It was observed that the post-surface feature keyhole was deeper than that of the pre surface feature keyhole. Here, this work reports on the first in-situ observation of the effect of localized surface geometry on underlying melt pool behavior. This has implications for defect formation mechanisms during laser melting processes that rely on melt pool geometry.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Empirical and mechanistic transient fission gas release model for high-burnup LOCA conditions

In response to the nuclear industry desire to extend burnup beyond current licensing practices, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) released a research information letter (RIL) that provides a basis for analyzing fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal (FFRD) in light-water reactors. Of the five elements discussed, the most ambiguous is the significance of transient fission gas (FG) release (FGR) (tFGR) and its effects on fuel performance under loss-of-coolant accident conditions. In fresh fuel, FG migration and eventual release is primarily governed by diffusion-based mechanisms at higher temperatures (>1,000 °C). However, the mechanisms governing FGR changes as burnup increases. More recent research indicates that FGR increases as burnup increases, specifically under temperature transient conditions, and this release occurs at lower temperatures with a new release mechanism. This behavior has been attributed to microcracking in the fuel and is likely related to microstructure embrittlement with the presence of over pressurized FG bubbles. The NRC RIL outlines the complexity of the phenomenon and a need for a deeper understanding to adequately address FFRD for regulatory application. Here, therefore, this manuscript intends to summarize the publicly available tFGR data and discuss the observed dependencies (e.g., burnup, heating rate, sample geometry, terminal temperature). An empirical model has been developed and benchmarked against recently published experimental data. However, this empirical model is limited to conditions for which fitting data exist and, therefore, a high-level discussion is included to provide a roadmap for atomistically-informed multiscale modeling in conjunction with experimental data collection to develop a mechanistic tFGR model widely applicable to a broad range of nuclear fuel conditions at high burnup.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Cutting force and stability prediction for inserted cutters

Here, this paper presents an approach for inserted end/face mill force and stability predictions using a reverse engineering approach. Structured light scanning is implemented to identify the spatial coordinates of the points that define the multiple insert cutting edges. These points are analyzed to extract the cutting edge radius and angle values, which are then incorporated in a time domain simulation that predicts cutting force and tool/workpiece deflection for user-selected operating parameters. Good agreement between predicted and measured cutting forces is first demonstrated. The process stability is then predicted using the validated force model and measured structural dynamics. Observations about the stability dependence on insert geometry are finally presented for a selected end mill.

Machining↗
DOE OSTI2020

A Closer Look at Corrugated Au Tips

A series of optical and electron microscopies are utilized in concert to unravel the structural, optical, and plasmonic properties of corrugated metallic tips. While the overall microscopic shapes of the tips dictate their optical resonances and plasmonic field enhancement factors, nanometric structural details govern their tip-enhanced Raman (TER) spectra and images. Using 4-thiobenzonitrile (TBN) as a molecular reporter, spatially resolved TER spectra reveal that optical rectification and molecular charging are among the prominent observables in the tip-tip TER geometry. The comparisons we provide reinforce the complexity of what otherwise may be regarded as sharp tip probes. We show the spurious appearance of anions is driven by highly localized resonances that appear as a result of surface corrugation and their manifestation throughout the course of TER nano-spectroscopy complicates spectral assignments, particularly in works aimed at understanding plasmon-enhanced/induced chemical transformations through enhanced Raman spectroscopy and imaging. Overall, nanoscale spatial variations in the TERS spectra suggest that the tip-tip geometry sustains junction plasmons that appear very different from what may be expected from the hybridization of the bulk tip resonances.

Bhattarai, Ashish↗