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At least 1,135 records · Page 63

Effects of high energy simulated space radiation on polymeric second-surface mirrors

A radiation effects experimental program was performed, in which second surface mirror type thermal control coatings were exposed to ultraviolet radiation, electrons, and protons simultaneously. Stability was assessed by making periodic spectral reflectance measurements in situ (and in air after testing for comparison). Solar absorption coefficients were derived by computer. Many of the exposed materials showed large amounts of degradation in reflectance absorptance, principally due to the electron exposure. A series of tests was conducted, leading to the identification of a modified second surface mirror that shows considerable improvement and promise for stability during thermal control applications in a charged particle space radiation environment.

Eogdall, L. B.↗

Flare loop radiative hydrodynamics. III - Nonlocal radiative transfer effects

The study has three goals. The first is to demonstrate that processes exist whose intrinsic nonlocal nature cannot be represented by local approximations. The second is to elucidate the physical nature and origins of these nonlocal processes. The third is to suggest that the methods and results described here may prove useful in constructing semiempirical models of the chromosphere by means more efficient than trial and error. Matrices are computed that describe the effect of a temperature perturbation at an arbitrary point in the loop on density, hydrogen ionized fraction, total radiative loss rate, and radiative loss rate of selected hydrogen lines and continua at all other points. It is found that the dominant nonlocal radiative transfer effects can be separated into flux divergence coefficient effects and upper level population effects. The former are most important when the perturbation takes place in a region of significant opacity. Upper level population effects arise in both optically thick and thin regions in response to nonlocal density, ionization, and interlocking effects.

Canfield, R. C.↗

Slicing the vacuum: New accelerating mirror solutions of the dynamical Casimir effect

Radiation from accelerating mirrors in a Minkowski spacetime provides insights into the nature of horizons, black holes, and entanglement entropy. We introduce new, simple, symmetric and analytic moving mirror solutions and study their particle, energy, and entropy production. This includes an asymptotically static case with finite emission that is the black hole analog of complete evaporation. The total energy, total entropy, total particles, and spectrum are the same on both sides of the mirror. We also study its asymptotically inertial, drifting analog (which gives a black hole remnant) to explore differences in finite and infinite production.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Effects of Radiation Reaction Physics on High-Current Power Flow

In this study, we examine the effects of the radiation reaction force on electrons in a radial magnetically insulated transmission line (MITL) near a load with peak currents of 60+ MA. More specifically, we study the differences in electron motion and kinetic energy with or without radiation reaction physics using a novel guiding center drift approach that incorporates E $\times$ B and ∇B drifts. A key finding of this study is that an electron's magnetic moment, which would be conserved when radiation reaction physics is not incorporated, can be significantly reduced in magnetic fields on the order of 10,000's T when radiation reaction is included. The reduction of magnetic moment gives rise to a significant reduction in cycloidal kinetic energy as well as a reduction in the electron's ∇B drift.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Martian surface properties indicated by the opposition effect

Radiative transfer expressions are used to derive average surface particle single-scattering albedos, phase functions and porosities from a photometric comparison of Viking Orbiter opposition measurements of the Martian Arabia, Syrtis Major and Elysium Planitia regions with several generic features. The best functional fit to the data includes consideration of atmospheric scattering, two-particle populations and surface roughness. It is found that (1) the presence of high albedo, high porosity surface particles is ubiquitous, (2) opposition surge is absent in the Syrtis Major region, and (3) the Chryse areas possess the largest surface roughness.

Thorpe, T. E.↗

Oncogenic Radiation Abscopal Effects In Vivo: Interrogating Mouse Skin

Purpose: To investigate the tissue dependence in transmission of abscopal radiation signals and their oncogenic consequences in a radiosensitive mouse model and to explore the involvement of gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) in mediating radiation tumorigenesis in off-target mouse skin. Methods and Materials: Patched1 heterozygous (Ptch1{sup +/−}) mice were irradiated at postnatal day 2 (P2) with 10 Gy of x-rays. Individual lead cylinders were used to protect the anterior two-thirds of the body, whereas the hindmost part was directly exposed to radiation. To test the role of GJICs and their major constituent connexin43 (Cx43), crosses between Ptch1{sup +/−} and Cx43{sup +/−} mice were similarly irradiated. These mouse groups were monitored for their lifetime, and skin basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) were counted and recorded. Early responses to DNA damage - Double Strand Breaks (DSBs) and apoptosis - were also evaluated in shielded and directly irradiated skin areas. Results: We report abscopal tumor induction in the shielded skin of Ptch1{sup +/−} mice after partial-body irradiation. Endpoints were induction of early nodular BCC-like tumors and macroscopic infiltrative BCCs. Abscopal tumorigenesis was significantly modulated by Cx43 status, namely, Cx43 reduction was associated with decreased levels of DNA damage and oncogenesis in out-of-field skin, suggesting a key role of GJIC in transmission of oncogenic radiation signals to unhit skin. Conclusions: Our results further characterize the nature of abscopal responses and the implications they have on pathologic processes in different tissues, including their possible underlying mechanistic bases.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗

The effect of radiation damage on the light yield and uniformity of candidate plastic scintillator tiles for the CMS hadron calorimeter upgrade

A study has been performed to understand the effects of radiation damage on various plastic scintillator tiles considered for a possible upgrade of the hadron calorimeter of the CMS detector. Measurements were made with unirradiated tiles and with tiles that had been irradiated in the CMS collision hall to a dose of 44 kGy. Results are presented for the tiles of different shapes in terms of the energy spectrum, efficiency as a function of the position at which each tile was hit, as well as light yield. All the tiles showed a light reduction of up to about 50%. The tiles with the shape currently used in the CMS detector did not see increased non-uniformity of light collection, while a significant disuniformity was observed for the tiles considered as alternatives.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Reduced Complexity Model Intercomparison Project Phase 1: introduction and evaluation of global-mean temperature response

Reduced-complexity climate models (RCMs) are critical in the policy and decision making space, and are directly used within multiple Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports to complement the results of more comprehensive Earth system models. To date, evaluation of RCMs has been limited to a few independent studies. Here we introduce a systematic evaluation of RCMs in the form of the Reduced Complexity Model Intercomparison Project (RCMIP). We expect RCMIP will extend over multiple phases, with Phase 1 being the first. In Phase 1, we focus on the RCMs' global-mean temperature responses, comparing them to observations, exploring the extent to which they emulate more complex models and considering how the relationship between temperature and cumulative emissions of CO2 varies across the RCMs. Our work uses experiments which mirror those found in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP), which focuses on complex Earth system and atmosphere–ocean general circulation models. Using both scenario-based and idealised experiments, we examine RCMs' global-mean temperature response under a range of forcings. We find that the RCMs can all reproduce the approximately 1°C of warming since pre-industrial times, with varying representations of natural variability, volcanic eruptions and aerosols. We also find that RCMs can emulate the global-mean temperature response of CMIP models to within a root-mean-square error of 0.2°C over a range of experiments. Furthermore, we find that, for the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) and Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP)-based scenario pairs that share the same IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5)-consistent stratospheric-adjusted radiative forcing, the RCMs indicate higher effective radiative forcings for the SSP-based scenarios and correspondingly higher temperatures when run with the same climate settings. In our idealised setup of RCMs with a climate sensitivity of 3°C, the difference for the ssp585–rcp85 pair by 2100 is around 0.23°C(±0.12°C) due to a difference in effective radiative forcings between the two scenarios. Phase 1 demonstrates the utility of RCMIP's open-source infrastructure, paving the way for further phases of RCMIP to build on the research presented here and deepen our understanding of RCMs.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

The Effects of Radiation and Emitted Light Transport on the Positional Response of 11 cm × 42.5 cm × 5.5 cm NaI(Tl) Detectors

Experiments were performed with 30 11 cm x 42.5 x cm 5.5 cm NaI(Tl) detectors to better understand their positional response. Spectra were collected using 0.02 to 0.15 MBq point sources of 241 Am, 137 Cs, 60 Co, and 133 Ba positioned on lines parallel and perpendicular to the long axis of the crystal along both the narrow and wide detector faces as well as at different distances from them. A greater density of positions was sampled at the ends of the detector, and repeated measurements were made to examine potential gain drifts during the experiment. Spectroscopic peak counts, spectroscopic pulse heights, and net counts were analyzed. Empirical equations were fit to the aforementioned data for each specific source energy as a function of source position. In addition, a Monte Carlo radiation transport code was used to simulate the expected positionally variable response based solely upon radiation absorption. The simulated radiation transport efficiency functions were compared to the experimental data. The effects of the geometric radiation efficiency, the attenuation and scattering of emitted light within the scintillation crystal, and combined effects such as non-uniformity of the photomultiplier tube photocathode response and crystal irregularities were then distinguished. Functions describing each effect were derived. The results suggest potential new corrections to data obtained with large scintillation detectors as well as a novel approach to partial positional gamma-ray detection with minimal collimation, given that the energy resolution is within reason for particular photopeaks.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Placement and efficiency effects on radiative forcing of solar installations

The promise for harnessing solar energy being hampered by cost, triggered efforts to reduce them. As a consequence low-efficiency, low-cost photovoltaics (PV) panels prevail. Conversely, in the traditional energy sector efficiency is extremely important due to the direct costs associated to fuels. This also affects solar energy due to the radiative forcing caused by the dark solar panels. In this paper we extend the concept of energy payback time by including the effect of albedo change, which gives a better assessment of the system sustainability. We present an analysis on the short and medium term climate forcing effects of different solar collectors in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and demonstrate that efficiency is important to reduce the collector area and cost. This also influences the embodied energy and the global warming potential. We show that a placement of a high concentration photovoltaic thermal solar power station outside of the city using a district cooling system has a double beneficial effect since it improves the solar conversion efficiency and reduces the energy demand for cooling in the city. We also explain the mechanisms of the current economic development of solar technologies and anticipate changes.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Evaporation due to infrared heating and natural convection

The results obtained from a drying experiment under infrared heating are compared to those obtained from correlations for the mass transfer coefficients, which are commonly used to obtain evaporation rates for drying applications. It was shown that the mass transfer coefficients evaluated by natural convection correlations are approximately ten times lower than those measured under infrared (IR) exposure. In this work, an attempt to explain this discrepancy, which has been also observed in other studies and explained on the basis of thermal radiation effects, optical properties of NMP are presented and the implications of the IR and near infrared (NIR) spectrum on the thermal radiation effects and ensuing evaporation rates are discussed. The results show that expected raise in the film temperature, which would be due to the thermal radiation effects, cannot be used to describe the measured evaporation rates for this solvent. Therefore, this study provides important evaporation mass flux data, which cannot be predicted using traditional correlations, for the design of IR assisted drying systems used in membrane fabrication.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Stochastic Effects in Computational Biology of Space Radiation Cancer Risk

Estimating risk from space radiation poses important questions on the radiobiology of protons and heavy ions. We are considering systems biology models to study radiation induced repair foci (RIRF) at low doses, in which less than one-track on average transverses the cell, and the subsequent DNA damage processing and signal transduction events. Computational approaches for describing protein regulatory networks coupled to DNA and oxidative damage sites include systems of differential equations, stochastic equations, and Monte-Carlo simulations. We review recent developments in the mathematical description of protein regulatory networks and possible approaches to radiation effects simulation. These include robustness, which states that regulatory networks maintain their functions against external and internal perturbations due to compensating properties of redundancy and molecular feedback controls, and modularity, which leads to general theorems for considering molecules that interact through a regulatory mechanism without exchange of matter leading to a block diagonal reduction of the connecting pathways. Identifying rate-limiting steps, robustness, and modularity in pathways perturbed by radiation damage are shown to be valid techniques for reducing large molecular systems to realistic computer simulations. Other techniques studied are the use of steady-state analysis, and the introduction of composite molecules or rate-constants to represent small collections of reactants. Applications of these techniques to describe spatial and temporal distributions of RIRF and cell populations following low dose irradiation are described.

Cucinotta, Francis A.↗

SU-F-T-01: Optimization of the Accelerated Partial Breast Brachytherapy Fractionation with Consideration of Physical Doses to Tumor and Organ at Risk

Purpose: The accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) with brachytherapy prescribes 34Gy to be delivered in 10 fractions over 5 consecutive working days without considering the physical dose to the target and organs at risk (OARs) for an individual patient. The purpose of this study is to optimize the fractionation scheme by evaluating the radiation effect on tumor and OARs with a modified linear-quadratic (LQ) model based on dose-volume histograms (DVHs). Methods: Five breast patients treated with multilumen balloon brachytherapy were selected. The minimum skin and rib spacing were ranged from 2.5mm to 14.3mm and from 1.0mm to 25.0mm, respectively. The LQ model parameters were set as: (1) breast: α=0.08, β=0.028, doubling time Tpot=14.4 days, and starting time Tk=21days; (2) skin: acute reaction α=0.101, β=0.009; late reaction α=0.064, β=0.029; (3) rib: α=0.3, β=0.12. Boundary dose Dt was 6 Gy for both target and OARs. The relation between radiation effects on the tumor (ET) and OARs (EOAR) were plotted for fraction number from 1 to 20. Results: The value of radiation effect from routine 3.4Gyx10 fractions was used as reference, ETref and EOARref. If set ET=ETref, the fractionation that results in minimum EOAR values correspond to the optimal fractionation. For these patients, the optimal numbers are 10 fractions for skin acute reaction, 18 fractions for skin and rib late reaction while the doses per fraction are 3.4Gy and 2.05–2.10Gy, respectively. If set EOAR=EOARref, the fractionation that results in a maximum ET value corresponds to the optimal fractionation. The optimal fractionation is 3.4Gyx10 fractions for skin acute reaction, and 2.10–2.25Gyx18 fractions for skin late reaction and rib. Conclusion: For APBI brachytherapy, the routine 3.4Gyx10 fractions is optimal fractionation for skin acute reaction, while 2.05–2.25Gyx18 fractions is optimal fractionation for late reaction of skin and rib.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Direct solar and earth-albedo radiation pressure effects on the orbit of Pageos 1

The orbit of the Pageos 1 balloon satellite was analyzed for the effects of direct solar and albedo radiation pressure. Anomalous behavior occurred in the orbital acceleration near the end of the 2nd year of the satellite's lifetime which may have resulted from the change in its shape; the shape has become slightly oblate, spinning about a minor axis and precessing about the direction of the sun. The near-earth micrometeoroid particle flux was estimated to be 5 x 10 to the -8th/sq cm/s by analyzing the balloon inflation process with sublimating compounds and the resulting variation of the satellite mass due to the leakage through the holes produced by micrometeoroid bombardment.

Zerbini, S.↗

Aerosol Effects on Radiation and Climate: Column Closure Experiments with Towers, Aircraft, and Satellites

Many theoretical studies have shown that anthropogenic aerosol particles can change the radiation balance in an atmospheric column and might thereby exert a significant effect on the Earth's climate. In particular, recent calculations have shown that sulfate particles from anthropogenic combustion may already exert a cooling influence on the Earth that partially offsets the warming caused by the greenhouse gases from the same combustion. Despite the potential climatic importance of anthropogenic aerosols, simultaneous measurements of anthropogenic aerosol properties and their effect on atmospheric radiation have been very rare. Successful comparisons of measured radiation fields with those calculated from aerosol measurements - now referred to as column closure comparisons - are required to improve the accuracy and credibility of climate predictions. This paper reviews the column closure experiment performed at the Mt. Sutro Tower in San Francisco in 1975, in which elevated radiometers measured the change in Earth-plus-atmosphere albedo caused by an aerosol layer, while a lidar, sunphotometer, nephelometer, and other radiometers measured properties of the responsible aerosol. The time-dependent albedo calculated from the measured aerosol properties agreed with that measured by the tower radiometers. Also presented are designs for future column closure studies using radiometers and aerosol instruments on the ground, aircraft, and satellites. These designs draw upon algorithms and experience developed in the Sutro Tower study, as well as more recent experience with current measurement and analysis capabilities.

Russell, Philip B.↗