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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Addressing Experimental Challenges in Probing Dark Energy with Accuracy and Precision with the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space & Time (LSST)

With support from this award, the Stanford group under the leadership of PI Patricia Burchat focused on pixel-level algorithms that are key to the investigation of dark energy with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). The work was carried out through strong engagement in the DOE-supported LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration (DESC), for which the PI served as Deputy Spokesperson (07/2019 - 07/2021) and Technical Coordinator (07/2021 - 07/2023). Members of the Burchat group are Full DESC members and are among scientists who have been accepted to join the Rubin Observatory System Integration, Test, and Commissioning (SIT-Com) effort. The specific intellectual focus of the group was the optimization of gravitational lensing as a probe of the evolution of the distribution of dark matter in space and time to learn about the nature of dark energy. The Stanford group pursued an integrated research program to understand in detail, and then remediate or calibrate, systematic effects that could limit the sensitivity of the LSST to cosmic shear as a dark energy probe -- particularly those related to our understanding of the atmospheric point spread function (PSF), challenges associated with blended galaxy images, and impacts of residual camera artifacts. Key to this work was developing, enhancing, and validating the fidelity of simulations that play a key role in the development of our understanding of subtle systematic biases and then using these simulations to develop techniques to characterize and mitigate biases, and associated algorithms for implementation in the LSST or DESC science pipelines. The group’s work included contributions to the open-source GalSim simulation package, which is widely used in the community; simulations and studies of spatial correlations of atmospheric PSFs; studies of temporal correlations of the atmospheric PSF; impacts of chromatic PSFs on cosmic shear calibration; continued studies of anisotropic Gaussian process interpolation of PSF models across the focal plane; and measuring and mitigating impacts of residual camera artifacts on cosmic shear. A primary impact of this work is that it increases the scientific discovery potential of the DOE and NSF investments in the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space \& Time, by addressing challenges in interpreting astronomical images through more accurate descriptions of the blurring of images due to the atmosphere. Specifically, this work impacts our ability to understand the fundamental nature of dark energy.

Burchat, Patricia Rose↗
DOE OSTI2021

Uncertainty Analysis and Software Verification

Uncertainty analyses are an important part of calibrations and testing. They allow researchers insight on how to reduce and mitigate errors in testing. Each device used in testing introduces error in a system, as well as other sources such as environmental conditions, electronics, analog to digital, and random errors. Each source is carefully examined to identify how much error it introduces to a system. These sources are then combined using various methods of uncertainty calculations. To verify and validate software, a manual calculation is required to ensure the software is performing as intended. Using Excel to verify the calculations, we can identify discrepancies within the software. The root of the sum of the squares uncertainty (RSS) is used to find the combined uncertainty of a device at one and two standard deviations of the mean. Calibrations on accelerometers are performed using a vibration system along with a back-toback reference accelerometer. The vibration system takes a reference point at 100Hz frequency at 10g amplitude. The sensitivities are collected at each dialed in frequency. The sensitivity of the device represents the electrical output of the UUT (mV, pC, etc.) per unit of acceleration (g). The full history of sensitivities of selected accelerometers are used to find the averaged, standard deviation, and uncertainty of the device at each frequency tested. The uncertainty calculations from excel and the software are then compared.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Godiva IV Simulated Radiation Field Characterization and Variance Reduction

Godiva IV is a system comprised of highly enriched uranium alloyed with molybdenum in the form of fuel plate rings. The reactor, along with its predecessors, was designed with the unique ability to satisfy interests in the super-prompt-critical reactor operation space. Originally, the reactor was part of the Los Alamos Critical Experiments Facility (LACEF) at Technical Area-18 (TA-18). The radiation field around Godiva at this facility was well characterized and understood. As a fast neutron system, the neutron spectrum in and around Godiva was close to a Watt Fission spectrum. The Kiva where Godiva IV was located at LACEF was made of thin, sheet metal walls which did not contribute significantly to the neutron spectrum. Following the transition of LACEF to the National Critical Experiments and Research Center (NCERC) in Nevada, Godiva-IV was moved from TA-18 to the Device Assembly Facility (DAF) at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Part of this move brought renewed interest in radiation field characterization. The new facility introduced significant changes to the environment surrounding Godiva, and preliminary foil irradiation results suggested that the room contribution to the neutron spectrum was significant. Unlike at TA-18, a large thermal neutron signature was added to the fast spectrum from Godiva due to significant room return. A primary goal due to the additional complexity that the room return adds to the Godiva IV radiation emission spectrum was the development of an efficient Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) calculation capable of characterizing the neutron spectrum anywhere in the room around Godiva. A campaign of activation foil irradiations and analysis were completed to support the validation of the MCNP model. The modeling of these foils in MCNP can be easily done with a standard volumetric neutron flux tally. However, given the multitude of locations and reaction rates to be modeled, further steps must be taken to increase the efficiency of these calculations in MCNP. During this study, a benchmark model currently under development for Godiva IV was used. A qualitative assessment of the thermal neutron contributors was performed using spatial neutron distribution plots. Additional detail was added to the model based on the qualitative results showing the thermal spectrum’s large sensitivity to hydrogenous material. Neutron energy spectra was evaluated at discrete locations in the room around Godiva to quantify the relative contribution of various components. It was discovered that the concrete walls are the largest contributor to the thermal signature, with minor contributions from plastic components surrounding Godiva. Following these results, two different variance reduction techniques were implemented to improve the problem efficiency in these calculations. In the first approach, an F5 point detector tally was implemented in the standard Godiva IV criticality problem. The second approach involved a weight-window generator implementation with an F5 point detector tally in a fixed source problem. The weight window implementation reduced the runtime from 42739.55 minutes to 1803.34 minutes (computer time), compared to the F5 KCODE implementation.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

High-sensitivity electronic Stark spectrometer featuring a laser-driven light source

We report developmental details of a high-sensitivity Stark absorption spectrometer featuring a laser-driven light source. The light source exhibits intensity fluctuations of ~0.3% over timescales ranging from 1 min to 12 h, minimal drift (≤0.1%/h), and very little 1/f noise at frequencies greater than 200 Hz, which are comparable to or better than an arc-driven light source. Additional features of the spectrometer include balanced detection with multiplex sampling, which yielded lower noise in A, and constant wavelength or wavenumber (energy) spectral bandpass modes. We achieve noise amplitudes of ~7 × 10 –4 and ~6 × 10 –6 in measurements of single A and ΔA spectra (with 92 data points) taking ~7 and ~19 min, respectively.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

A new aerial approach for quantifying and attributing methane emissions: implementation and validation

Methane (CH 4 ) is a powerful greenhouse gas that is produced by a diverse set of natural and anthropogenic emission sources. Biogenic methane sources generally involve anaerobic decay processes such as those occurring in wetlands, melting permafrost, or the digestion of organic matter in the guts of ruminant animals. Thermogenic CH 4 sources originate from the breakdown of organic material at high temperatures and pressure within the Earth's crust, a process which also produces more complex trace hydrocarbons such as ethane (C 2 H 6 ). Here, we present the development and deployment of an uncrewed aerial system (UAS) that employs a fast (1 Hz) and sensitive (1–0.5 ppb s -1 ) CH 4 and C 2 H 6 sensor and ultrasonic anemometer. The UAS platform is a vertical-takeoff, hexarotor drone (DJI Matrice 600 Pro, M600P) capable of vertical profiling to 120 m altitude and plume sampling across scales up to 1 km. Simultaneous measurements of CH 4 and C 2 H 6 concentrations, vector winds, and positional data allow for source classification (biogenic versus thermogenic), differentiation, and emission rates without the need for modeling or a priori assumptions about winds, vertical mixing, or other environmental conditions. The system has been used for direct quantification of methane point sources, such as orphan wells, and distributed emitters, such as landfills and wastewater treatment facilities. With detectable source rates as low as 0.04 and up to ~1500 kg h -1 , this UAS offers a direct and repeatable method of horizontal and vertical profiling of emission plumes at scales that are complementary to regional aerial surveys and localized ground-based monitoring.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Time-reversed Young’s experiment: Deterministic, diffractionless second-order interference effect

The classic Young’s double-slit experiment exhibits first-order interference, producing alternating bright and dark fringes shaped by the diffraction effect of the slits. In contrast, here we demonstrate that its time-reversed configuration generates an ideal, deterministic second-order ‘ghost’ interference pattern free from diffraction and first-order effects with the use of only a position-fixed detector. The pattern’s size is governed by the dimensions of the ‘effectively extended light source’ formed by point emitter(s). Beyond highlighting the nonreciprocal physics between the two configurations, this system unlocks a range of novel phenomena inaccessible in traditional double-slit experiments. These include fully programmable, digitized interference fringe formations and the ability to align the pattern plane with the source plane on the same side of the setup. Remarkably, our proposed experiment achieves these outcomes without relying on nonclassical correlations or quantum entanglement. Here, by restoring time-reversal symmetry and eliminating diffraction, our theoretical analysis reveals that this approach offers exciting potential for advancing optical imaging and sensing technologies with improved transverse and longitudinal phase-shift sensitivity and resolution limit beyond current limitations.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Calcination Heterogeneity in Li-Rich Layered Oxides: A Systematic Study of Li 2 CO 3 Particle Size

Li- and Mn-rich (LMR) layered oxide positive-electrode materials exhibit high energy density and have earth-abundant compositions relative to conventional Ni-, Mn-, and Co-oxides (NMCs). The lithiation of coprecipitated precursors is a key part of the synthesis and offers opportunities for tuning the properties of LMR materials. Whereas the morphology of transition metal precursors has received substantial attention, that of Li sources has not. Using Li 1.14 Mn 0.57 Ni 0.29 O 2 as a model system, in this work, we establish a detailed understanding of LMR calcination pathways via in situ and ex situ diffraction, spectroscopy, microscopy, and thermogravimetry. Our work shows that a large Li 2 CO 3 particle size modulates a previously misunderstood thermogravimetric feature present at the Li 2 CO 3 melting point during layered oxide calcination and causes heterogeneity at larger length scales (inter-secondary particle) than previously reported (intra-secondary particle). We found that electrochemical performance is largely insensitive to this heterogeneity. Finally, this work highlights the sensitivity of layered oxide calcination pathways to synthesis conditions and suggests design rules to minimize calcination heterogeneity in layered oxides beyond LMR.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Ultrafast x-ray and electron scattering of free molecules: A comparative evaluation

Resolving gas phase molecular motions with simultaneous spatial and temporal resolution is rapidly coming within the reach of x-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs) and Mega-electron-Volt (MeV) electron beams. These two methods enable scattering experiments that have yielded fascinating new results, and while both are important methods for determining transient molecular structures in photochemical reactions, it is important to understand their relative merits. In the present study, we evaluate the respective scattering cross sections of the two methods and simulate their ability to determine excited state molecular structures in light of currently existing XFEL and MeV source parameters. Using the example of optically excited N-methyl morpholine and simulating the scattering patterns with shot noise, we find that the currently achievable signals are superior with x-ray scattering for equal samples and on a per-shot basis and that x-ray scattering requires fewer detected signal counts for an equal fidelity structure determination. Importantly, within the independent atom model, excellent structure determinations can be achieved for scattering vectors only to about 5 Å−1, leaving larger scattering vector ranges for investigating vibrational motions and wavepackets. Electron scattering has a comparatively higher sensitivity toward hydrogen atoms, which may point to applications where electron scattering is inherently the preferred choice, provided that excellent signals can be achieved at large scattering angles that are currently difficult to access.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

SSA Monte Carlo and Master Equation Modeling of Neutron Leakage Distributions

Strongly stochastic neutron populations in highly subcritical multiplying media containing weak spontaneous fission sources are unique indicators of the presence of SNM. For instance, in neutron multiplicity counting, an extended tail in the count number probability distribution is observed that is a characteristic of and sensitive to the amount of SNM present. Theoretical modeling and efficient computation of stochastic neutron distributions are complementary to experimental measurements and moreover shed light on the fundamental interactions and transport processes that underlie nuclear signatures. Modeling approaches that are intermediate between gross-system level models and high-fidelity but computationally demanding Monte Carlo simulations are of particular interest in this regard. Furthermore we present three advances on existing work in point kinetic or lumped geometry: (i) implementation of the Stochastic Simulation Algorithm (SSA), a system state-updating Monte Carlo method that is more e cient than single-event Monte Carlo in lumped geometries, (ii) application of the backward Master equation to obtain time-gated count moments, and (iii) reconstructing the count number distribution from the deterministically computed moments using a generalized Laguerre polynomial expansion.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Updates to a Preliminary Probabilistic Performance Assessment Model for Radiological and Chemical Contamination at the West Valley Site, New York - 20420

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is the owner of the Western New York Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC), a 1,351-ha site located approximately 48 km south of Buffalo, New York. In 1962, Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS) entered into agreements with the Atomic Energy Commission and New York State to construct the first commercial reprocessing plant of nuclear fuel in the United States at the WNYNSC. NFS built and operated the spent fuel reprocessing plant and waste disposal facilities, processing 640 Mg (640 metric tons) of spent nuclear fuel from 1966 to 1972 under an Atomic Energy Commission license. Nuclear fuel reprocessing operations halted in 1972 and never restarted, leaving behind radioactive and chemical wastes. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was required to complete certain waste management activities under the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) Act of 1980 including decommissioning of WVDP facilities. As collaborating agencies, NYSERDA and the DOE are tasked with making decisions about decommissioning and risk reduction for the West Valley Site. Neptune and Company, Inc. (Neptune) was contracted to develop a probabilistic performance assessment (PPA) model to assist the agencies in their decision making process for decommissioning the WVDP and WNYNSC. One important tool that is needed in order to inform the decision-making process is a science-based model of the West Valley Site that evaluates potential future consequences for human health and the environment. This forms the core of the spatial domain of the West Valley PPA Model. The PPA Model, developed using the GoldSim system modeling software, is a tool intended to provide support for decision making that evaluates uncertainty, in a manner that is transparent, defensible, and robust. The PPA Model includes contaminant transport and health effects components, and is organized around geographically-grouped contaminated facilities. These include the waste disposal areas licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the State of New York, a waste tank farm for storage of high level radioactive waste resulting from reprocessing operations, and several areas contaminated with radioactive and chemical constituents. The PPA Model evaluates contaminant transport from these sources to points of exposure across the site and into receiving surface waters and sediments. Hypothetical people and wildlife could be exposed to contamination at these locations, and the effects of these exposures are evaluated. Contaminant transport processes to be evaluated in the PPA Model include groundwater and surface water transport, contaminant translocation by plants and animals, diffusion, and erosion. The evaluation of exposures to people in this preliminary model is limited to a resident farmer scenario, and ecological assessment is performed at the level of a screening analysis. The results of these preliminary evaluations inform future model developments. PPA Model results are subjected to sensitivity analysis in order to determine those pathways and parameters that are most significant in influencing the results. This information allows analysts and decision makers to focus on those aspects of Site behavior and processes. With this information, the decision makers can drive informed, defensible decisions regarding decommissioning of the Site. This paper includes an update of the information presented at WM2019 [1]. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2026

Benchmarking Cylindrical Blast Wave Theory Against the OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule Reentry

Weak shock theory based on cylindrical blast waves has been used to interpret meteor infrasound, but it has not been systematically benchmarked against a non-ablating hypersonic source with independently known parameters. The objective of this study is not to propose a new theoretical framework, but to evaluate the operational validity of the existing suite of blast radius formulations against a high-fidelity ground truth dataset. The OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule reentry on 24 September 2023 provides such a benchmark because the capsule geometry, trajectory, and infrasound emission points are constrained from mission data and ray tracing, reducing source-side uncertainty associated with ablation. Using observations from 39 infrasound stations, this benchmarking study evaluates six published blast radius (${R}_{0}$ ) formulations and three weak-shock transition coefficients ( C ) within a stratified atmospheric propagation model to predict signal period and peak overpressure. The benchmarking identifies the Sakurai formulation as the best-performing formulation for non-ablating bodies, with the Jones/Plooster formulation performing comparably when a physically appropriate C is adopted. Sakurai and Jones/Plooster yield linear-period median absolute percentage residuals of 9% and 11%, respectively. The period predictions show only weak sensitivity to C at these propagation distances. The Mach-diameter approximation commonly used in meteor studies overestimates ${R}_{0}$ by more than a factor of 3 in the absence of ablation. Finally, these results establish a performance baseline for applying cylindrical blast wave theory to effectively non-ablating hypersonic bodies and demonstrate that the signal period is a robust observable for constraining ${R}_{0}$.

atmospheric entry↗
DOE OSTI2022

Predicting tungsten erosion and leakage properties for the new V-shaped small angle slot divertor in DIII-D

Impurity transport modeling of the new tungsten (W)-coated, V-shaped small angle slot (SAS) divertor in the DIII-D tokamak was conducted using the SOLPS-ITER plasma edge code package and the DIVIMP impurity tracking code. The inboard baffle of the current SAS divertor will be shifted closer to the outboard baffle, creating a V-corner at the slot vertex. In addition, the outboard baffle will be coated with 10–15 μm of W for experiments studying high-Z sourcing and leakage in a closed divertor. Modeling of the 'SAS-VW' divertor predicts that these changes to the inner baffle will reduce W gross erosion by 40× relative to the existing SAS divertor when the outer strike point (OSP) is at the V-corner and the ion B × ∇B drift is towards the divertor, driven primarily by significant cooling near the slot vertex. Most W erosion in SAS-VW is expected to occur near the slot entrance, which may pose a higher risk to core contamination than W eroded deeper in the slot. Furthermore, adding a new sheath-based prompt redeposition model increases the sensitivity of redeposition estimates to near-target plasma conditions and may provide more accurate predictions of net erosion. Moving the OSP outboard from the slot vertex ~4 cm onto the W-coated region yields a 40× increase in the gross erosion rate and a 50% decrease in the core leakage fraction. Thus slight variations in strike point location may counteract the potential benefits of the tightly-baffled V slot on minimizing erosion. This impurity transport modeling provides useful guidance for future experiments on the SAS-VW divertor focused on high-Z erosion/redeposition, scrape-off layer transport, and core leakage.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Assessing the Optical Performance Impact of Tracking Error in an Operational Concentrated Solar Power Plant Using Monte Carlo Ray-Tracing Simulation

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) provides firm and dispatchable electricity due to its thermal storage and hybridization capabilities, which supports the decarbonization of our energy supply. Of the various CSP technologies, parabolic trough collectors are the most mature, with over 500 MW operating worldwide. The optical performance of parabolic trough systems is sensitive to tracking error, which is defined as the angular offset of a collector away from the sun position in the transversal plane. Tracking error commonly occurs due to non-continuous adjustment of the trough angle to point toward the sun, but other factors such as gravity, heating, and wind loading can also contribute to tracking error. Researchers have explored the impact of tracking error on optical performance both numerically and experimentally, but existing studies do not include measurements from operational utility-scale power plants. Tilt angle measurements of parabolic troughs at operational utility-scale power plants illustrate spatial variations in optical performance and include various sources of tracking error such as gravity, heating, and wind loading. To fully characterize wind driven loads on parabolic troughs, we are conducting a long-term field measurement campaign at the Nevada Solar One CSP plant located in Boulder City, NV, which has a nominal capacity of 72 MW and 0.5 hours of full-load storage. We record load measurements on four outer trough rows, collecting support structure bending moments, drive torque moments, dynamic accelerations of the spaceframe, mirror displacement, and tilt angles. Using the tilt measurements acquired at 20 Hz frequency, we calculate the deviation between the nominal sun position and the tracker angle. Using a Monte-Carlo ray-tracing simulation software, we assess the impact of the tracker angle deviation on optical performance throughout the diurnal cycle at various spatial locations within the CSP plant. In our view, this first-of-a-kind study will provide important guidance for future trough designs that reduce the impact of various sources of tracking error on performance.

concentrating solar power↗
DOE OSTI2022

Seeking Repeating Anthropogenic Seismic Sources: Implications for Seismic Velocity Monitoring at Fault Zones

Abstract Seismic velocities in rocks are highly sensitive to changes in permanent deformation and fluid content. The temporal variation of seismic velocity during the preparation phase of earthquakes has been well documented in laboratories but rarely observed in nature. It has been recently found that some anthropogenic, high‐frequency (>1 Hz) seismic sources are powerful enough to generate body waves that travel down to a few kilometers and can be used to monitor fault zones at seismogenic depth. Anthropogenic seismic sources typically have fixed spatial distribution and provide new perspectives for velocity monitoring. In this work, we propose a systematic workflow to seek such powerful seismic sources in a rapid and straightforward manner. We tackle the problem from a statistical point of view, considering that persistent, powerful seismic sources yield highly coherent correlation functions (CFs) between pairs of seismic sensors. The algorithm is tested in California and Japan. Multiple sites close to fault zones show high‐frequency CFs stable for an extended period of time. These findings have great potential for monitoring fault zones, including the San Jacinto Fault and the Ridgecrest area in Southern California, Napa in Northern California, and faults in central Japan. However, extra steps, such as beamforming or polarization analysis, are required to determine the dominant seismic sources and study the source characteristics, which are crucial to interpreting the velocity monitoring results. Train tremors identified by the present approach have been successfully used for seismic velocity monitoring of the San Jacinto Fault in previous studies.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Nanoscale covariance magnetometry with diamond quantum sensors

Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are atom-scale defects that can be used to sense magnetic fields with high sensitivity and spatial resolution. Typically, the magnetic field is measured by averaging sequential measurements of single NV centers, or by spatial averaging over ensembles of many NV centers, which provides mean values that contain no nonlocal information about the relationship between two points separated in space or time. In this work, we propose and implement a sensing modality whereby two or more NV centers are measured simultaneously, and we extract temporal and spatial correlations in their signals that would otherwise be inaccessible. We demonstrate measurements of correlated applied noise using spin-to-charge readout of two NV centers and implement a spectral reconstruction protocol for disentangling local and nonlocal noise sources.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Fueling the Future: The Emergence of Self-Powered Enzymatic Biofuel Cell Biosensors

Self-powered biosensors are innovative devices that can detect and analyze biological or chemical substances without the need for an external power source. These biosensors can convert energy from the surrounding environment or the analyte itself into electrical signals for sensing and data transmission. The self-powered nature of these biosensors offers several advantages, such as portability, autonomy, and reduced waste generation from disposable batteries. They find applications in various fields, including healthcare, environmental monitoring, food safety, and wearable devices. While self-powered biosensors are a promising technology, there are still challenges to address, such as improving energy efficiency, sensitivity, and stability to make them more practical and widely adopted. This review article focuses on exploring the evolving trends in self-powered biosensor design, outlining potential advantages and limitations. With a focal point on enzymatic biofuel cell power generation, this article describes various sensing mechanisms that employ the analyte as substrate or fuel for the biocatalyst’s ability to generate current. Technical aspects of biofuel cells are also examined. Research and development in the field of self-powered biosensors is ongoing, and this review describes promising areas for further exploration within the field, identifying underexplored areas that could benefit from further investigation.

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

Toward white light emission from plasmonic-luminescent hybrid nanostructures

We study the light emission of plasmonic-luminescent hybrid nanostructures consisting of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in europium oxide (EuO X ). The Ag NPs present a bidimensional organization in the nanostructures and they optically behave as oblate spheroids. The photoluminescence (PL) spectral response of the nanostructures evolves from a narrow red emission characteristic of Eu 3+ ions in absence of Ag NPs to a broad blue-green emission band associated with Eu 2+ ions when the layer of Ag NPs is present. This behavior is not related to a change in the Eu 2+ /Eu 3+ ratio, which is verified by compositional analysis. Instead, a detailed investigation of the PL emission of the nanostructures suggests that the coupling of the Ag NPs to the Eu 2+ ions present in the EuO X layer, which manifests itself in an efficient sensitization of these ions, enhances their broad visible emission. In particular, the longitudinal mode of the Ag NPs surface plasmon is considered to be responsible for the efficient energy transfer for the non-normal incidence excitation PL configuration used. Finally, the use of a capping amorphous Al 2 O 3 layer allows improving the robustness of hybrid nanostructures and further enhances their PL emission. These findings provide a new path to actively control the selective excitation of Eu 2+ and Eu 3+ ions via a controlled coupling with the surface plasmon resonance modes of the Ag NPs and points to these nanostructures as promising building blocks for the development of integrable white light sources.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Mitigating the Impact of Extragalactic Foregrounds for the DR6 Cosmic Microwave Background Lensing Analysis

We investigate the impact and mitigation of extragalactic foregrounds for the cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing power spectrum analysis of Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) data release 6 (DR6) data. Two independent microwave sky simulations are used to test a range of mitigation strategies. We demonstrate that finding and then subtracting point sources, finding and then subtracting models of clusters, and using a profile bias-hardened lensing estimator together reduce the fractional biases to well below statistical uncertainties, with the inferred lensing amplitude, A lens , biased by less than 0.2σ. We also show that another method where a model for the cosmic infrared background (CIB) contribution is deprojected and high-frequency data from Planck is included has similar performance. Other frequency-cleaned options do not perform as well, either incurring a large noise cost or resulting in biased recovery of the lensing spectrum. In addition to these simulation-based tests, we also present null tests on the ACT DR6 data for sensitivity of our lensing spectrum estimation to differences in foreground levels between the two ACT frequencies used, while nulling the CMB lensing signal. These tests pass whether the nulling is performed at the map or bandpower level. The CIB-deprojected measurement performed on the DR6 data is consistent with our baseline measurement, implying that contamination from the CIB is unlikely to significantly bias the DR6 lensing spectrum. This collection of tests gives confidence that the ACT DR6 lensing measurements and cosmological constraints presented in companion papers to this work are robust to extragalactic foregrounds.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗