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At least 1,081 records · Page 60
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Fast radio burst dispersion measure distribution as a probe of helium reionization

Fast radio burst (FRB) discoveries are occurring rapidly, with thousands expected from upcoming surveys. The dispersion measures (DM) observed for FRB include important information on cosmological distances and the ionization state of the universe from the redshift of emission until today. Rather than considering the DM–redshift relation, we investigate the statistical ensemble of the distribution of dispersion measures. Here, we explore the use of this abundance information, with and without redshift information, to probe helium reionization through simulated data to redshift z = 6. Carrying out Monte Carlo simulations of FRB survey samples, we examine the effect of different source redshift distributions, host galaxy models, sudden vs gradual reionization, and covariance with cosmological parameters on determination of helium reionization properties. We find that a fluence limited survey with 10 4 FRBs can discriminate different helium reionization histories at ~6σ using the DM-distribution of bursts, without redshift information (and ~10σ with redshifts).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Closures for multicomponent reacting flows based on dispersion analysis

This work presents algebraic closure models associated with advective transport and nonlinear reactions in a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes context for a system of species subject to binary reactions and transport by advection and diffusion. Expanding upon analysis originally developed for non-reactive transport in the context of Taylor dispersion of scalars, this work extends the modified gradient diffusion model explicated by Peters [N. Peters, Turbulent Combustion, Cambridge Monographs on Mechanics (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000)] and based on work by Corrsin [S. Corrsin, The reactant concentration spectrum in turbulent mixing with a first-order reaction, J. Fluid Mech. 11, 407 (1961)] beyond single-component transport phenomena and involving nonlinear reactions. The presented model forms, from this weakly nonlinear extension of the original dispersion theory, lead to an analytic expression for the eddy diffusivity matrix that explicitly captures the influence of the reaction kinetics on the closure operators. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the derived model form directly translates between flow topologies through a priori and a posteriori testing of a binary species system subject to homogeneous isotropic turbulence. Using two- and three-dimensional direct numerical simulations involving laminar and turbulent flows, it is shown that this framework improves prediction of mean quantities compared to previous results. Lastly, the presented model form, collapses to the earlier gradient diffusion and its modified version derived by Corrsin in the limits of nonreactive species and linear reactions, respectively.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Effect of the volume fraction gradient on the phase interaction force model for disperse two-phase flows

In this work, the effects of the particle volume fraction gradient on fluid-particle interactions are studied. The phase interaction force is decomposed into three terms. For the first term, namely the symmetrized force density, we present theoretical reasoning and numerical evidence to assume that it is independent of the particle volume fraction gradient. The second term is the particle volume fraction gradient times a newly introduced diffusion stress. The third term is the divergence of the particle-fluid-particle (PFP) stress. If this assumption of independence of the particle volume fraction gradient for the first term can be verified, to the first order of the ratio of the mean distance between particles to the macroscopic lengthscale, all three terms can be studied and modeled in flows with uniform particle distributions. Models thus obtained are applicable to statistically inhomogeneous flows, with the second and third terms accounting for statistical inhomogeneity. To verify this assumption, numerical simulations of flows passing fixed arrays of particles are performed. Both uniform and nonuniform particle volume fractions are studied and compared for disperse multiphase flows with the particle Reynolds numbers ranging from 1 to 100, and particle volume fraction ranging from 1% to 26% in statistically steady states. It is found that the symmetrized force (first) term can be well approximated by the drag force obtained from studies of uniform flows. The diffusion stress is positive along the flow direction and negative in the directions perpendicular to the flow. In the case of moving particles, this stress could potentially cause particle aggregation in the flow direction and dispersion in the directions perpendicular to the flow. Finally, the diffusion stress is only important when there is a volume fraction gradient, while the PFP stress can be important in inhomogeneous flows with either nonuniform particle concentrations or nonuniform average relative velocities between the phases.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Hourglass Dispersion and Resonance of Magnetic Excitations in the Superconducting State of the Single-Layer Cuprate HgBa 2 CuO 4 + δ Near Optimal Doping

Here, we use neutron scattering to study magnetic excitations near the antiferromagnetic wave vector in the underdoped single-layer cuprate HgBa 2 CuO 4 + δ (superconducting transition temperature T c ≈ 88 K , pseudogap temperature T* ≈ 220 K ). The response is distinctly enhanced below T* and exhibits a Y -shaped dispersion in the pseudogap state, whereas the superconducting state features an X -shaped (hourglass) dispersion and a further resonancelike enhancement. We also observe a large spin gap of about 40 meV in both states. This phenomenology is reminiscent of that exhibited by bilayer cuprates. The resonance spectral weight, irrespective of doping and compound, scales linearly with the putative binding energy of a spin exciton described by an itinerant-spin formalism.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Observation of Self-Cavitating Envelope Dispersive Shock Waves in Yttrium Iron Garnet Thin Films

The formation and properties of envelope dispersive shock wave (DSW) excitations from repulsive nonlinear waves in a magnetic film are studied here. Experiments involve the excitation of a spin wave step pulse in a low-loss magnetic ${\mathrm{Y}}_{3}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$ thin film strip, in which the spin wave amplitude increases rapidly, realizing the canonical Riemann problem of shock theory. Under certain conditions, the envelope of the spin wave pulse evolves into a DSW that consists of an expanding train of nonlinear oscillations with amplitudes increasing from front to back, terminated by a black soliton. The onset of DSW self-cavitation, indicated by a point of zero power and a concomitant 180° phase jump, is observed for sufficiently large steps, indicative of the bidirectional dispersive hydrodynamic nature of the DSW. The experimental observations are interpreted with theory and simulations of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Hyperbolic Dispersion Arising from Anisotropic Excitons in Two-Dimensional Perovskites

Excitations of free electrons and optical phonons are known to permit access to the negative real part of relative permittivities (ϵ' < 0) that yield strong light-matter interactions. However, negative ϵ' arising from excitons has been much less explored. Via development of a dielectric-coating based technique described herein, we report fundamental optical properties of two-dimensional hybrid perovskites (2DHPs), composed of alternating layers of inorganic and organic sublattices. Low members of 2DHPs ( N = 1 and N = 2) exhibit negative ϵ' stemming from the large exciton binding energy and sizable oscillator strength. Furthermore, hyperbolic dispersion (i.e., ϵ' changes sign with directions) occurs in the visible range, which has been previously achieved only with artificial metamaterials. Such naturally occurring, exotic dispersion stems from the extremely anisotropic excitonic behaviors of 2DHPs, and can intrinsically support a large photonic density of states. Here, we suggest that several other van der Waals solids may exhibit similar behaviors arising from excitonic response.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Demonstration of Tokamak Discharge Shutdown with Shell Pellet Payload Impurity Dispersal

The first rapid tokamak discharge shutdown using dispersive core payload deposition with shell pellets has been achieved in the DIII-D tokamak. Shell pellets are being investigated as a possible new path toward achieving tokamak disruption mitigation with both low conducted wall heat loads and slow current quench. Conventional disruption mitigation injects radiating impurities into the outer edge of the tokamak plasma, which tends to result in poor impurity assimilation and creates a strong edge cooling and outward heat flow, thus requiring undesirable high-$Z$ impurities to achieve low conducted heat loads. The shell pellet technique aims to produce a hollow temperature profile by using a thin, low-ablation shell surrounding a dispersive payload, giving a greatly increased impurity ablation (and radiation) rate when the payload is released in the plasma core. This principle was demonstrated successfully using 3.6 mm outer diameter, 40 μ m thickness diamond shells holding boron powder. The pellets caused rapid (<10 ms) discharge shutdown with low conducted divertor heat fluence (~0.1 MJ/m 2 ). Confirmation of massive release of the boron powder payload into the plasma core was obtained spectroscopically. Some evidence for the formation of a hollow temperature profile during the shutdown was observed. Furthermore, these first results open a new avenue for disruption mitigation research, hopefully enabling development of highly effective methods of avoiding disruption wall damage in future reactor-scale tokamaks.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Casimir Light in Dispersive Nanophotonics

Time-varying optical media, whose dielectric properties are actively modulated in time, introduce a host of novel effects in the classical propagation of light, and are of intense current interest. In the quantum domain, time-dependent media can be used to convert vacuum fluctuations (virtual photons) into pairs of real photons. Here, we refer to these processes broadly as “dynamical vacuum effects” (DVEs). Despite interest for their potential applications as sources of quantum light, DVEs are generally very weak, presenting many opportunities for enhancement through modern techniques in nanophotonics, such as using media which support excitations such as plasmon and phonon polaritons. Here, we present a theory of weakly modulated DVEs in arbitrary nanostructured, dispersive, and dissipative systems. A key element of our framework is the simultaneous incorporation of time-modulation and “dispersion” through time-translation-breaking linear response theory. As an example, we use our approach to propose a highly efficient scheme for generating entangled surface polaritons based on time-modulation of the optical phonon frequency of a polar insulator.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Picosecond phase-velocity dispersion of hypersonic phonons imaged with ultrafast electron microscopy

We describe the direct imaging—with four-dimensional ultrafast electron microscopy—of the emergence, evolution, dispersion, and decay of photoexcited, hypersonic coherent acoustic phonons in nanoscale germanium wedges. Coherent strain waves generated via ultrafast in situ photoexcitation were imaged propagating with initial phase velocities of up to 35 km/s across discrete micrometer-scale crystal regions. We then observe that, while each wave front travels at a constant velocity, the entire wave train evolves with a time-varying phase-velocity dispersion, displaying a single-exponential decay to the longitudinal speed of sound (5 km/s) and with a mean lifetime of 280 ps. We also find that the wave trains propagate along a single in-plane direction oriented parallel to striations introduced during specimen preparation, independent of crystallographic direction. Elastic-plate modeling indicates the dynamics arise from excitation of a single, symmetric (dilatational) guided acoustic mode. Further, by precisely determining the experiment time-zero position with a plasma-lensing method, we find that wave-front emergence occurs approximately 100 ps after femtosecond photoexcitation, which matches well with Auger recombination times in germanium. We conclude by discussing the similarities between the imaged hypersonic strain-wave dynamics and electron/hole plasma-wave dynamics in strongly photoexcited semiconductors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Quasilinear dispersion in electronic band structure and high Seebeck coefficient in CuFeS 2 -based thermoelectric materials

The earth-abundant natural mineral chalcopyrite CuFeS 2 is a potential n-type thermoelectric material because of its large Seebeck coefficient at high carrier concentrations. For a long time, the large Seebeck coefficient of CuFeS 2 has been attributed to a large electron effective mass, but the reasons for this and the unusual carrier concentration dependent behavior have rarely been discussed. Here, we systematically investigated the special transport behavior of CuFeS 2 and found the classical parabolic band model to be inadequate in explaining it. Our experimental and theoretical studies indicate that there are two flat electronic pockets at the and Z points of the Brillouin zone near the conduction band edge of CuFeS 2 that dominate the charge transport. These electronic pockets result from nonparabolic quasilinearly dispersing bands that give rise to a linear wave vector dependent energy (E ~ k) and a carrier density dependent effective mass (m* ~ m 0 n 1/3 ). Such a strong carrier concentration dependent carrier effective mass results in the high Seebeck coefficient of CuFeS 2 compound under a large carrier density. Here, the work demonstrates that quasilinearly dispersing bands can give strongly enhanced Seebeck coefficient, and could be useful in optimizing the properties of thermoelectric materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

A Framework for Self-Adaptive Dispersal of Computing Services

Modern networking architectures are making it increasingly possible to disperse services not just across servers but into intermediate network devices as well. Here we introduce the Misson-oriented Adaptive Placement (MAP) architecture, which synthesizes prior work on middleware, load-balancing, constraint solving, and aggregate programming into a framework for self-adaptive management of dispersed services. We provide a first evaluation of the efficacy and resilience that can be provided through this approach: results in simulation demonstrating that MAP can autonomously change the deployment of services to adapt to changing needs and failures.

Paulos, Aaron↗
DOE OSTI2019

Dispersal behaviour of Euwallacea nr. fornicatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in avocado groves and estimation of lure sampling range

Abstract Invasive ambrosia beetles in the Euwallacea nr. fornicatus species complex (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) threaten avocado production in multiple countries. These pests are currently monitored with lures containing quercivorol; α‐copaene was also recently discovered to be an effective attractant. We investigated dispersal behaviour of female E . nr . fornicatus in two Florida avocado groves using mark–release–recapture experiments and laboratory flight mills. Additionally, we estimated the sampling range of quercivorol and α‐copaene lures deployed alone and in tandem. The two‐component lure recaptured 31.2% of marked beetles, which was significantly more than quercivorol (11.2%) or α‐copaene (8.8%) alone. Contour analysis indicated that wind speed and direction can influence the number of females that disperse, as well as the direction and distance of their flight. Two methods were used to estimate sampling range and both of them indicated comparable effective ranges for the three lure treatments, with 80% of marked beetles being recaptured within 30–35 m of the release point. Average total flight distance in laboratory tests was 81.0 m in 24 h, with a maximum distance recorded at 400 m. The combination of quercivorol and α‐copaene lures provides the best detection of pest E . nr. fornicatus in Florida, with a recommended trap spacing of approximately 30 m in surveillance programmes for this pest in avocado groves.

Owens, David↗
DOE OSTI2018

Resilience of seed production to a severe El Niño-induced drought across functional groups and dispersal types

More frequent and severe El Niño Southern Oscillations (ENSO) are causing episodic periods of decreased rainfall. Although the effects of these ENSO-induced droughts on tree growth and mortality have been well studied, the impacts on other demographic rates such as reproduction are less well known. We use a four-year seed rain dataset encompassing the most severe ENSO-induced drought in more than 30 years to assess the resilience (i.e., resistance and recovery) of the seed composition and abundance of three forest types in a tropical dry forest. We found that forest types showed distinct differences in the timing, duration, and intensity of drought during the ENSO event, which likely mediated seed composition shifts and resilience. Drought-deciduous species were particularly sensitive to the drought with overall poor resilience of seed production, whereby seed abundance of this functional group failed to recover to predrought levels even two years after the drought. Liana and wind-dispersed species were able to maintain seed production both during and after drought, suggesting that ENSO events promote early successional species or species with a colonization strategy. Combined, these results suggest that ENSO-induced drought mediates the establishment of functional groups and dispersal types suited for early successional conditions with more open canopies and reduced competition among plants. Finally, the effects of the ENSO-induced drought on seed composition and abundance were still evident two years after the event suggesting the recovery of seed production requires multiple years that may lead to shifts in forest composition and structure in the long term, with potential consequences for higher trophic levels like frugivores.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Prime focus wide-field corrector designs with lossless atmospheric dispersion correction

Wide-Field Corrector designs are presented for the Blanco and Mayall telescopes, the CFHT and the AAT. The designs are Terezibh-style, with 5 or 6 lenses, and modest negative optical power. They have 2.2-3 degree fields of view, with curved and telecentric focal surfaces suitable for fiber spectroscopy. Some variants also allow wide-field imaging, by changing the last WFC element. Apart from the adaptation of the Terebizh design for spectroscopy, the key feature is a new concept for a 'Compensating Lateral Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector', with two of the lenses being movable laterally by small amounts. This provides excellent atmospheric dispersion correction, without any additional surfaces or absorption. A novel and simple mechanism for providing the required lens motions is proposed, which requires just 3 linear actuators for each of the two moving lenses.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2017

Environmental Selection, Dispersal, and Organism Interactions Shape Community Assembly in High-Throughput Enrichment Culturing

A central goal of microbial ecology is to identify and quantify the forces that lead to observed population distributions and dynamics. However, these forces, which include environmental selection, dispersal, and organism interactions, are often difficult to assess in natural environments. Here in this paper, we present a method that links microbial community structures with selective and stochastic forces through highly replicated subsampling and enrichment of a single environmental inoculum. Specifically, groundwater from a well-studied natural aquifer was serially diluted and inoculated into nearly 1,000 aerobic and anaerobic nitrate-reducing cultures, and the final community structures were evaluated with 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. We analyzed the frequency and abundance of individual operational taxonomic units (OTUs) to understand how probabilistic immigration, relative fitness differences, environmental factors, and organismal interactions contributed to divergent distributions of community structures. We further used a most probable number (MPN) method to estimate the natural condition-dependent cultivable abundance of each of the nearly 400 OTU cultivated in our study and infer the relative fitness of each. Additionally, we infer condition-specific organism interactions and discuss how this high-replicate culturing approach is essential in dissecting the interplay between overlapping ecological forces and taxon-specific attributes that underpin microbial community assembly. IMPORTANCE Through highly replicated culturing, in which inocula are subsampled from a single environmental sample, we empirically determine how selective forces, interspecific interactions, relative fitness, and probabilistic dispersal shape bacterial communities. These methods offer a novel approach to untangle not only interspecific interactions but also taxon-specific fitness differences that manifest across different cultivation conditions and lead to the selection and enrichment of specific organisms. Additionally, we provide a method for estimating the number of cultivable units of each OTU in the original sample through the MPN approach.

16S RNA↗
DOE OSTI2013

Theoretical study of influencing factors on the dispersion of bulk band-gap edges and the surface states in topological insulators Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3}

The dispersion of the band-gap edge states in bulk topological insulators Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} is considered within density functional theory. The dependences of this dispersion both on the approximation used for an exchange-correlation functional at fixed unit cell parameters and atomic positions and on these parameters and positions that are obtained upon structural relaxation performed using a certain approximated functional are analyzed. The relative position of the Dirac point of topologically protected surface states and the valence band maximum in the surface electronic structure of the topological insulators is discussed.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

High-frequency solitons in media with induced scattering from damped low-frequency waves with nonuniform dispersion and nonlinearity

The dynamics of high-frequency field solitons is considered using the extended nonhomogeneous nonlinear Schrödinger equation with induced scattering from damped low-frequency waves (pseudoinduced scattering). This scattering is a 3D analog of the stimulated Raman scattering from temporal spatially homogeneous damped low-frequency modes, which is well known in optics. Spatial inhomogeneities of secondorder linear dispersion and cubic nonlinearity are also taken into account. It is shown that the shift in the 3D spectrum of soliton wavenumbers toward the short-wavelength region is due to nonlinearity increasing in coordinate and to decreasing dispersion. Analytic results are confirmed by numerical calculations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2013

Evolution of proton shells in 20 ⩽ Z ⩽ 28 and 20 ⩽ N ⩽ 50 nuclei and dispersive optical model

Experimental single-particle proton energies in spherical and nearly spherical 20 ⩽ Z ⩽ 28 medium-mass nuclei and their counterparts evaluated with the aid of data formirror nuclei were analyzed on the basis of the dispersive optical model. The parameters of the dispersive optical potential were extrapolated to the region of unstable nuclei, and the values obtained in this way were then used to predict the single-particle proton energies in the 20 ⩽ N ⩽ 50 nuclei under study. The evolution of the particle-hole energy gap was traced, and features peculiar to single-particle spectra of magic and nonmagic nuclei were revealed by comparing single-particle energies with proton-separation energies.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗