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At least 1,099 records · Page 61
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Dark matter catalyzed baryon destruction

WIMP-type dark matter may have additional interactions that break baryon number, leading to induced nucleon decays which are subject to direct experimental constraints from proton decay experiments. In this work, we analyze the possibility of continuous baryon destruction, deriving strong limits from the dark matter accumulating inside old neutron stars, as such a process leads to excess heat generation. We construct the simplest particle dark matter model that breaks the baryon and lepton numbers separately but conserves B - L. Virtual exchange by DM particles in this model results in dinucleon decay via nn → $n\overline{v}$ and np → ne⁺ processes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Neutrinoless double beta decay versus other probes of heavy sterile neutrinos

We make a comparative study of the neutrinoless double beta decay constraints on heavy sterile neutrinos versus other direct and indirect constraints from both lepton number conserving and violating processes, as a sensitive probe of the extent of lepton number violation and possible interference effects in the sterile sector. We introduce a phenomenological parametrisation of the simplified one-generation seesaw model with one active and two sterile neutrino states in terms of experimentally measurable quantities, such as active-sterile neutrino mixing angles, CP phases, masses and mass splittings. This simple parametrisation enables us to analytically derive a spectrum of possible scenarios between the canonical seesaw with purely Majorana heavy neutrinos and inverse seesaw with pseudo-Dirac ones. We then go on to constrain the simplified parameters of this model from various experiments at the energy, intensity and cosmic frontiers. We emphasise that the constraints from lepton number violating processes strongly depend on the mass splitting between the two sterile states and the relative CP phase between them. This is particularly relevant for neutrinoless double beta decay, which is weakened for small mass splitting and opposite CP parities between the sterile states. On the other hand, neutrinoless double beta decay is especially sensitive for Majorana sterile neutrinos with masses around 0.1-10 GeV.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Mechanistic photodecarboxylation of pyruvic acid: Excited-state proton transfer and three-state intersection

Photodissociation dynamics of pyruvic acid experimentally differs from that of commonly known ketones. We have employed the complete active space self-consistent field and its multi-state second-order perturbation methods to study its photodissociation mechanism in the S{sub 0}, T{sub 1}, and S{sub 1} states. We have uncovered four nonadiabatic photodecarboxylation paths. (i) The S{sub 1} system relaxes via an excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) to a hydrogen-transferred tautomer, near which an S{sub 1}/S{sub 0} conical intersection funnels the S{sub 1} to S{sub 0} state. Then, some trajectories continue completing the decarboxylation reaction in the S{sub 0} state; the remaining trajectories via a reverse hydrogen transfer return to the S{sub 0} minimum, from which a thermal decarboxylation reaction occurs. (ii) Due to a small S{sub 1} −T{sub 1} energy gap and a large S{sub 1}/T{sub 1} spin-orbit coupling, an efficient S{sub 1} → T{sub 1} intersystem crossing process happens again near this S{sub 1}/S{sub 0} conical intersection. When decaying to T{sub 1} state, a direct photodecarboxylation proceeds. (iii) Prior to ESIPT, the S{sub 1} system first decays to the T{sub 1} state via an S{sub 1} → T{sub 1} intersystem crossing; then, the T{sub 1} system evolves to a hydrogen-transferred tautomer. Therefrom, an adiabatic T{sub 1} decarboxylation takes place due to a small barrier of 7.7 kcal/mol. (iv) Besides the aforementioned T{sub 1} ESIPT process, there also exists a comparable Norrish type I reaction in the T{sub 1} state, which forms the ground-state products of CH{sub 3}CO and COOH. Finally, we have found that ESIPT plays an important role. It closes the S{sub 1}-T{sub 1} and S{sub 1}-S{sub 0} energy gaps, effecting an S{sub 1}/T{sub 1}/S{sub 0} three-state intersection region, and mediating nonadiabatic photodecarboxylation reactions of pyruvic acid.

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

Big Data and AI at DoE's Legacy Sites - 20546

More than 30 years have passed since DOE started the decommissioning of nuclear weapon complexes and the clean-up of soil and groundwater. All the sites have been collecting and archiving soil and groundwater monitoring datasets; particularly contaminant concentration time-series. These datasets provide unparalleled opportunities to understand the system behavior (including more fundamental hydrological and geochemical processes, the response to various perturbations, the long-term trend and environmental decay rate towards the regulatory limit). This understanding is critical for providing multiple lines of evidences that can support site closure. In this study, we explore the machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications to the long-term soil and groundwater management at DoE's legacy sites. ML can improve our understanding of the subsurface systems, which is critical for long-term monitoring and management of the sites, while AI can automate or support some of decision-making processes (e.g., anomaly detection, monitoring well placements). The particular focuses are to develop general algorithms to: (1) to identify distinct spatiotemporal patterns and to identify several groups that have similar temporal behaviors, using unsupervised clustering methods, (2) identify the different temporal scales of hydrological responses to climate perturbations by time-series analysis, and (3) reduce the number of monitoring wells by identifying the minimum sufficient number of wells to capture the heterogeneity of the groundwater contaminant plume and concentration distribution, using the Gaussian Process model. We demonstrate our methodology at the Savannah River Site F-Area. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS1992

High-energy gamma-ray emission from pion decay in a solar flare magnetic loop

The production of high-energy gamma rays resulting from pion decay in a solar flare magnetic loop is investigated. Magnetic mirroring, MHD pitch-angle scattering, and all of the relevant loss processes and photon production mechanisms are taken into account. The transport of both the primary ions and the secondary positrons resulting from the decay of the positive pions, as well as the transport of the produced gamma-ray emission are considered. The distributions of the gamma rays as a function of atmospheric depth, time, emission angle, and photon energy are calculated and the dependence of these distributions on the model parameters are studied. The obtained angular distributions are not sufficiently anisotropic to account for the observed limb brightening of the greater than 10 MeV flare emission, indicating that the bulk of this emission is bremsstrahlung from primary electrons.

Mandzhavidze, Natalie↗
DOE OSTI2015

Energy transfer dynamics in trimers and aggregates of light-harvesting complex II probed by 2D electronic spectroscopy

The pathways and dynamics of excitation energy transfer between the chlorophyll (Chl) domains in solubilized trimeric and aggregated light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) are examined using two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES). The LHCII trimers and aggregates exhibit the unquenched and quenched excitonic states of Chl a, respectively. 2DES allows direct correlation of excitation and emission energies of coupled states over population time delays, hence enabling mapping of the energy flow between Chls. By the excitation of the entire Chl b Q{sub y} band, energy transfer from Chl b to Chl a states is monitored in the LHCII trimers and aggregates. Global analysis of the two-dimensional (2D) spectra reveals that energy transfer from Chl b to Chl a occurs on fast and slow time scales of 240–270 fs and 2.8 ps for both forms of LHCII. 2D decay-associated spectra resulting from the global analysis identify the correlation between Chl states involved in the energy transfer and decay at a given lifetime. The contribution of singlet–singlet annihilation on the kinetics of Chl energy transfer and decay is also modelled and discussed. The results show a marked change in the energy transfer kinetics in the time range of a few picoseconds. Owing to slow energy equilibration processes, long-lived intermediate Chl a states are present in solubilized trimers, while in aggregates, the population decay of these excited states is significantly accelerated, suggesting that, overall, the energy transfer within the LHCII complexes is faster in the aggregated state.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

A challenge to lepton universality in B-meson decays

One of the key assumptions of the standard model of particle physics is that the interactions of the charged leptons, namely electrons, muons and taus, differ only because of their different masses. Whereas precision tests comparing processes involving electrons and muons have not revealed any definite violation of this assumption, recent studies of B-meson decays involving the higher-mass tau lepton have resulted in observations that challenge lepton universality at the level of four standard deviations. Here, a confirmation of these results would point to new particles or interactions, and could have profound implications for our understanding of particle physics.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Measurement of the $\Upsilon$(1S) pair production cross section and search for resonances decaying to $\Upsilon$(1S)$\mu^+\mu^-$ in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV

The fiducial cross section for Y(1S) pair production in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in the region where both Y(1S) mesons have an absolute rapidity below 2.0 is measured to be 79±11(stat)±6(syst)±3(B) pb assuming the mesons are produced unpolarized. The last uncertainty corresponds to the uncertainty in the Y(1S) meson dimuon branching fraction. The measurement is performed in the final state with four muons using proton-proton collision data collected in 2016 by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1 . This process serves as a standard model reference in a search for narrow resonances decaying to Y(1S)μ+μ− in the same final state. Such a resonance could indicate the existence of a tetraquark that is a bound state of two b quarks and two b¯ antiquarks. The tetraquark search is performed for masses in the vicinity of four times the bottom quark mass, between 17.5 and 19.5 GeV, while a generic search for other resonances is performed for masses between 16.5 and 27 GeV. No significant excess of events compatible with a narrow resonance is observed in the data. Limits on the production cross section times branching fraction to four muons via an intermediate Y(1S) resonance are set as a function of the resonance mass.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Rossby waves in the magnetic fluid dynamics of a rotating plasma in the shallow-water approximation

We have studied rotating magnetohydrodynamic flows of a thin layer of astrophysical plasma with a free boundary in the β-plane. Nonlinear interactions of the Rossby waves have been analyzed in the shallow-water approximation based on the averaging of the initial equations of the magnetic fluid dynamics of the plasma over the depth. The shallow-water magnetohydrodynamic equations have been generalized to the case of a plasma layer in an external vertical magnetic field. We have considered two types of the flow, viz., the flow in an external vertical magnetic field and the flow in the presence of a horizontal magnetic field. Qualitative analysis of the dispersion curves shows the presence of three-wave nonlinear interactions of the magnetic Rossby waves in both cases. In the particular case of zero external magnetic field, the wave dynamics in the layer of a plasma is analogous to the wave dynamics in a neutral fluid. The asymptotic method of multiscale expansions has been used for deriving the nonlinear equations of interaction in an external vertical magnetic field for slowly varying amplitudes, which describe three-wave interactions in a vertical external magnetic field as well as three-wave interactions of waves in a horizontal magnetic field. It is shown that decay instabilities and parametric wave amplification mechanisms exist in each case under investigation. The instability increments and the parametric gain coefficients have been determined for the relevant processes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Search for flavour-changing neutral-current couplings between the top quark and the Higgs boson in multi-lepton final states in 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search is presented for flavour-changing neutral-current interactions involving the top quark, the Higgs boson and an up-type quark (q = u, c ) with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis considers leptonic decays of the top quark along with Higgs boson decays into two W bosons, two Z bosons or a τ + τ - pair. It focuses on final states containing either two leptons (electrons or muons) of the same charge or three leptons. The considered processes are $t\bar{t}$ and Ht production. For the $t\bar{t}$ production, one top quark decays via $t\rightarrow Hq$. The proton–proton collision data set analysed amounts to (140 fb -1 ) at $(\sqrt{s}={13}\,\hbox {TeV})$. No significant excess beyond Standard Model expectations is observed and upper limits are set on the $t\rightarrow Hq$ branching ratios at 95 % confidence level, amounting to observed (expected) limits of $\mathcal {B}(t\rightarrow Hu)<2.8\,(3.0) \times 10^{-4}$ and $\mathcal {B}(t\rightarrow Hc)<3.3\,(3.8) \times 10^{-4}$. Combining this search with other searches for tHq flavour-changing neutral-current interactions previously conducted by ATLAS, considering $H\rightarrow b\bar{b}$ and $H\rightarrow \gamma \gamma$ decays, as well as $H\rightarrow \tau ^{+}\tau ^{-}$ decays with one or two hadronically decaying τ-leptons, yields observed (expected) upper limits on the branching ratios of $\mathcal {B}(t\rightarrow Hu)<2.6\,(1.8) \times 10^{-4}$ and $\mathcal {B}(t\rightarrow Hc)<3.4\,(2.3) \times 10^{-4}$.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Direct Evidence of Exciton–Exciton Annihilation in Single-Crystalline Organic Metal Halide Nanotube Assemblies

Excitons in low-dimensional organic–inorganic metal halide hybrid structures are commonly thought to undergo rapid self-trapping following creation due to strong quantum confinement and exciton–phonon interaction. Here we report an experimental study probing the dynamics of these self-trapped excitons in the single-crystalline bulk assemblies of 1D organic metal halide nanotubes, (C 6 H 13 N 4 ) 3 Pb 2 Br 7 . Through time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) measurements at different excitation intensities, we observed a marked variation in the PL decay behavior that is manifested by an accelerated decay rate with increasing excitation fluence. Our results offer direct evidence of the occurrence of an exciton–exciton annihilation process, a nonlinear relaxation phenomenon that takes place only when some of the self-trapped excitons become mobile and can approach either each other or those trapped excitons. As a result, we further identify a fast and dominant PL decay component with a lifetime of ~2 ns with a nearly invariant relative area for all acquired PL kinetics, suggesting that this rapid relaxation process is intrinsic.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

High-temperature 205 Tl decay clarifies 205 Pb dating in early Solar System

Radioactive nuclei with lifetimes on the order of millions of years can reveal the formation history of the Sun and active nucleosynthesis occurring at the time and place of its birth. Among such nuclei whose decay signatures are found in the oldest meteorites, 205 Pb is a powerful example, as it is produced exclusively by slow neutron captures (the s process), with most being synthesized in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. However, making accurate abundance predictions for 205 Pb has so far been impossible because the weak decay rates of 205 Pb and 205 Tl are very uncertain at stellar temperatures. To constrain these decay rates, we measured for the first time the bound-state β - decay of fully ionized 205 Tl 81+ , an exotic decay mode that only occurs in highly charged ions. The measured half-life is 4.7 times longer than the previous theoretical estimate and our 10% experimental uncertainty has eliminated the main nuclear-physics limitation. With new, experimentally backed decay rates, we used AGB stellar models to calculate 205 Pb yields. Propagating those yields with basic galactic chemical evolution (GCE) and comparing with the 205 Pb/ 204 Pb ratio from meteorites, we determined the isolation time of solar material inside its parent molecular cloud. We find positive isolation times that are consistent with the other s-process short-lived radioactive nuclei found in the early Solar System. Our results reaffirm the site of the Sun’s birth as a long-lived, giant molecular cloud and support the use of the 205 Pb– 205 Tl decay system as a chronometer in the early Solar System.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2012

Long-Term Changes in Stratospheric Age Spectra in the 21st Century in the Goddard Earth Observing System Chemistry-Climate Model (GEOSCCM)

In this study we investigate the long-term variations in the stratospheric age spectra using simulations of the 21st century with the Goddard Earth Observing System Chemistry- Climate Model (GEOSCCM). Our purposes are to characterize the long-term changes in the age spectra and identify processes that cause the decrease of the mean age in a warming climate. Changes in the age spectra in the 21st century simulations are characterized by decreases in the modal age, the mean age, the spectral width, and the tail decay timescale. Our analyses show that the decrease in the mean age is caused by two processes: the acceleration of the residual circulation that increases the young air masses in the stratosphere, and the weakening of the recirculation that leads to the decrease of tail of the age spectra and the decrease of the old air masses. The weakening of the stratospheric recirculation is also strongly correlated with the increase of the residual circulation. One important result of this study is that the decrease of the tail of the age spectra makes an important contribution to the decrease of the main age. Long-term changes in the stratospheric isentropic mixing are investigated. Mixing increases in the subtropical lower stratosphere, but its impact on the age spectra is outweighed by the increase of the residual circulation. The impacts of the long-term changes in the age spectra on long-lived chemical traces are also investigated. 37 2

Li, Feng↗
DOE OSTI2019

Search for resonant $ \mathrm{t}\overline{\mathrm{t}} $ production in proton-proton collisions at $ \sqrt{s}=13 $ TeV

A search for a heavy resonance decaying into a top quark and antiquark $ \left(\mathrm{t}\overline{\mathrm{t}}\right) $ pair is performed using proton-proton collisions at $ \sqrt{s}=13 $ TeV. The search uses the data set collected with the CMS detector in 2016, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{–1}$. The analysis considers three exclusive final states and uses reconstruction techniques that are optimized for top quarks with high Lorentz boosts, which requires the use of nonisolated leptons and jet substructure techniques. No significant excess of events relative to the expected yield from standard model processes is observed. Upper limits on the production cross section of heavy resonances decaying to a $ \mathrm{t}\overline{\mathrm{t}} $ pair are calculated. Limits are derived for a leptophobic topcolor Z$^{'}$ resonance with widths of 1, 10, and 30%, relative to the mass of the resonance, and exclude masses up to 3.80, 5.25, and 6.65 TeV, respectively. Kaluza-Klein excitations of the gluon in the Randall-Sundrum model are excluded up to 4.55 TeV. To date, these are the most stringent limits on $ \mathrm{t}\overline{\mathrm{t}} $ resonances.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Climate-focused Life Cycle Assessments of Biochar Production by an ARTi Pyrolysis Reactor and an Air Burners CharBoss® Air Curtain Incinerator

This report presents a limited, dynamic, consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare the climate impacts of two biochar production methods using wood as a feedstock. The two methods are a pyrolysis reactor supplied by ARTi (Des Moines, IA, https://www.arti.com/) and a T26 CharBoss® air curtain incinerator supplied by Air Burners, Inc. (Palm City, FL, https://airburners.com/). The underlying LCA methodology is described in a chapter by Singh et al. (2024) and implemented in the form of a workbook freely available as online Supplementary Material for the chapter. For the convenience of the reader, a pre-print version of the relevant portions of Singh et al. (2024) is attached as Appendix A to this report. Specific assumptions and calculations to obtain the input parameters used in this LCA for each production method are described in the Methodology section below. This implementation of the LCA considers emissions associated with biomass loading, comminution and conversion, biochar decay in soil, and the production and use of bioenergy generated during the conversion process. The LCA is “limited” in that upstream emissions associated with biomass production, harvest, transportation, and land-use change, as well as embodied emissions in equipment and facilities are not considered. Similarly, downstream emissions from biochar transport and incorporation into soil (i.e., tillage), and the impact of biochar soil amendments on soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (other than CO 2 from biochar decay in soil), soil organic carbon stocks, crop response, and surface albedo are not considered. As the intent is to compare different biochar production methods in a simple unbiased manner, the primary alternative biomass pathway for the LCA is immaculate combustion, which is the hypothetical instantaneous and complete conversion of carbon in the biomass to CO 2 at time zero without generation of any other greenhouse gases or aerosols (GHGAs) or any useful bioenergy. Use of this pathway provides relative values for the production methods and, when the embodied emissions are similar and the same feedstock is used, these relative values are reasonable approximations for those attained with a full LCA.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Search for lepton-flavor-violating τ – → μ – μ + μ – decays at Belle II

We present the result of a search for the charged-lepton-flavor violating decay τ – → μ – μ + μ – using a 424 fb –1 sample of data recorded by the Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB e + e – collider. The selection of e + e – → τ + τ – events is based on an inclusive reconstruction of the non-signal tau decay, and on a boosted decision tree to suppress background. We observe one signal candidate, which is compatible with the expectation from background processes. We set a 90% confidence level upper limit of 1.9 × 10 –8 on the branching fraction of the τ – → μ – μ + μ – decay, which is the most stringent bound to date.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Charge Recombination with Fractional Reaction Orders in Water-Splitting Dye-sensitized Photoelectrochemical Cells

In water-splitting dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells (WS-DSPECs), charge recombination competes with catalytic water oxidation to determine the overall efficiency of the system. The kinetics of these processes have been difficult to understand because transient absorbance (TA) experiments typically show nearly complete charge recombination on the sub-millisecond timescale; in contrast, electrochemical measurements such as open circuit photovoltage decay suggest a charge recombination timescale that is 2-3 orders of magnitude longer. Here we explore these processes with dye-sensitized nanocrystalline TiO 2 and TiO 2 /Ta 2 O 5 core-shell photoanodes in aqueous electrolytes using TA spectroscopy, intensity-modulated photovoltage spectroscopy (IMVS), and photoelectrochemical impedance spectroscopy (PEIS). The fast recombination rates measured by TA result from strong laser excitation that leads to high electron occupancy in TiO 2 , whereas IMVS modulates the concentration of charge-separated states near solar irradiance levels. The recombination processes measured by electrochemical methods such as IMVS, PEIS, and transient photovoltage are the discharging of injected electrons in TiO 2 , as evidenced by the close agreement betweeen the nearly first-order recombination rates probed by IMVS and the RC time constants derived from PEIS data. However, IMVS measurements at variable probe light intensity reveal that the reaction orders for the recombination of injected electrons with oxidized sensitizer molecules are far from unity. In conclusion, this kinetic analysis is relevant to understanding steady-state recombination rates in full WS-DSPECs in which molecular and nanoparticle catalysts are used to oxidize water.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Observation of the $γγ → ττ$ Process in $\mathrm{Pb + Pb}$ Collisions and Constraints on the $\tau$-Lepton Anomalous Magnetic Moment with the ATLAS Detector

This Letter reports the observation of τ-lepton pair production in ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions, Pb+Pb→Pb(γγ→ττ)Pb, and constraints on the τ-lepton anomalous magnetic moment, a τ . The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.44 nb -1 of LHC Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ =5.02 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment in 2018. Selected events contain one muon from a τ-lepton decay, an electron or charged-particle track(s) from the other τ-lepton decay, little additional central-detector activity, and no forward neutrons. The γγ→ττ process is observed in Pb+Pb collisions with a significance exceeding 5 standard deviations, and a signal strength of μ ττ =1.03$^{+0.06}_{-0.05}$ assuming the Standard Model value for a τ . To measure a τ , a template fit to the muon transverse-momentum distribution from τ-lepton candidates is performed, using a dimuon (γγ→μμ) control sample to constrain systematic uncertainties. The observed 95% confidence-level interval for aτ is -0.057 < a τ < 0.024.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗