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At least 1,135 records · Page 63
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DOE OSTI2022

Density reconstruction in convergent high-energy-density systems using x-ray radiography and Bayesian inference

X-ray radiography is a technique frequently used to diagnose convergent high-energy-density (HED) systems, such as inertial confinement fusion implosion, and provides unique information that is not available through self-emission measurements. In this work, we investigate the scope and limits of that information using a radiography simulation combined with the Bayesian inference workflow. The accuracy of density reconstruction from simulated radiographs of spherical implosions driven with 27 kJ laser energy is assessed, including the increase or decrease in accuracy due to the addition of Lagrangian marker layers, Poisson noise, and improved prior information. This work is the first to present the full uncertainty distributions inferred from radiography analysis in HED systems and demonstrates the importance of constructing the full posterior probability density, as opposed to a point estimate, due to the modal structure of the likelihood surface introduced by typical experimental noise sources. This general methodology can be used both for robust analysis of radiographic data and for an improved design of radiography experiments by modeling the full experimental system.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Simulating cosmological evolution by quantum quench of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate

In cosmological evolution, it is the homogeneous scalar field (inflaton) that drives the universe to expand isotropically and to generate standard model particles. However, to simulate cosmology, atomic gas research has focused on the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) with continuously applied forces. In this paper we argue that a complementary approach needs also to be pursued; we thus consider the analog BEC experiments in a nondriven and naturally closed atomic system. We implement this using a BEC in an optical lattice which, after a quench, freely transitions from an unstable to a stable state. Furthermore, this dynamical evolution displays the counterpart “preheating,” “reheating,” and “thermalization” phases of cosmology. Importantly, our studies of these analog processes yield tractable analytic models. Additionally, of great utility to the cold atom community, such understanding elucidates the dynamics of nonadiabatic condensate preparation. Indeed, the dynamical processes discussed here are generic and in future cold atom reequilibration experiments it will be important to observe both the preheating stage, corresponding to a fragmented condensate, and the reheating stage, corresponding to a particle cloud.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

First simultaneous measurement of the γ-ray and neutron emission probabilities in inverse kinematics at a heavy-ion storage ring

The probabilities for γ-ray and particle emission as a function of the excitation energy of a decaying nucleus are valuable observables for constraining the ingredients of the models that describe the deexcitation of nuclei near the particle emission threshold. These models are essential in nuclear astrophysics and applications. In this paper, we have for the first time simultaneously measured the γ-ray and neutron emission probabilities of 208 Pb. The measurement was performed in inverse kinematics at the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) of the GSI/FAIR facility, where a 208 Pb beam interacted through the 208 Pb (p,p') reaction with a hydrogen gas jet target. Instead of detecting the γ rays and neutrons emitted by 208 Pb, we detected the heavy beamlike residues produced after γ and neutron emission. These heavy residues were fully separated by a dipole magnet of the ESR and were detected with outstanding efficiencies. The comparison of the measured probabilities with model calculations has allowed us to test and select different descriptions of the γ-ray strength function and the nuclear level density available in the literature.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Gauge-symmetrization method for energy-momentum tensors in high-order electromagnetic field theories

For electromagnetic field theories, canonical energy-momentum conservation laws can be derived from the underpinning spacetime translation symmetry according to the Noether procedure. However, the canonical energy-momentum tensors (EMTs) are neither symmetric nor gauge-symmetric (gauge invariant). The Belinfante-Rosenfeld (BR) method is a well-known procedure to symmetrize the EMTs, which also renders them gauge symmetric for first-order field theories. High-order electromagnetic field theories appear in the study of gyrokinetic systems for magnetized plasmas and the Podolsky system for the radiation reaction of classical charged particles. For these high-order field theories, gauge-symmetric EMTs are not necessarily symmetric and vice versa. In the present study, we develop a new gauge-symmetrization method for EMTs in high-order electromagnetic field theories. The Noether procedure is carried out using the Faraday tensor $F_{μν}$, instead of the 4-potential $A_{μ}$, to derive a canonical EMT $T^{μν}_{N}$. We show that the gauge-dependent part of $T^{μν}_{N}$ can be removed using the displacement-potential tensor $F^{σμν}$ ≡ $D^{σμ}A^{ν}/4π$, where $D^{σμ}$ is the antisymmetric electric displacement tensor. This method gauge-symmetrizes the EMT without necessarily making it symmetric, which is adequate for applications not involving general relativity. For first-order electromagnetic field theories, such as the standard Maxwell system, $F^{σμν}$ reduces to the familiar BR superpotential $S^{σμν}$, and the method developed can be used as a simpler procedure to calculate $S^{σμν}$ without employing the angular momentum tensor in 4D spacetime. When the electromagnetic system is coupled to classical charged particles, the gauge-symmetrization method for EMTs is shown to be effective as well.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Constraining the hadronic spectrum and repulsive interactions in a hadron resonance gas via fluctuations of conserved charges

We simultaneously incorporate two common extensions of the hadron resonance gas model, namely the addition of extra, unconfirmed resonances to the particle list and the excluded volume repulsive interactions. We emphasize the complementary nature of these two extensions and identify combinations of conserved charge susceptibilities that allow to constrain them separately. In particular, ratios of second-order susceptibilities like $\chi_{11}^{BQ}/\chi_2^B$ and $\chi_{11}^{BS}/\chi_2^B$ are sensitive only to the baryon spectrum, while fourth-to-second order ratios like $\chi_4^B/\chi_2^B$, $\chi_{31}^{BS}/\chi_{11}^{BS}$, or $\chi_{31}^{BQ}/\chi_{11}^{BQ}$ are mainly determined by repulsive interactions. Analysis of the available lattice results suggests the presence of both the extra states in the baryon-strangeness sector and the repulsive baryonic interaction, with indications that hyperons have a smaller repulsive core than non-strange baryons. Furthermore, the modified hadron resonance gas model presented here significantly improves the description of lattice QCD susceptibilities at chemical freeze-out and can be used for the analysis of event-by-event fluctuations in heavy-ion collisions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Calibration and Commissioning of the LSST

Understanding the nature of dark energy and dark matter remains one of the fundamental questions in physics today; impacting our understanding of particle physics, cosmology, and possibly theories of gravity. Given the scale and complexity of the next generation of cosmology experiments (e.g., the Rubin Observatory, the Euclid satellite mission, and the Roman space telescope) we are entering an era where statistical noise no longer determines the accuracy to which we can measure cosmological parameters. Our ability to control and correct for systematics will ultimately determine the scientific impact of these experiments. This award addressed the challenge of how we determine what limits the accuracy of our cosmological measures, what techniques are appropriate for measuring and calibrating the properties of galaxies to best constrain cosmological models, how to develop statistical techniques that are insensitive to systematic errors, and how to optimize survey strategies in order to minimize systematics while maximizing the speed at which an experiment can achieve its science objectives. In this final technical report for award DE-SC0011635 we describe a set of open-source frameworks that simulate the characteristics and properties of current and planned cosmology surveys and the application of these frameworks to the development of new methodologies for estimating the properties and distances to galaxies that are robust to noisy and incomplete data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Investigation of Surface and Marine-Cloud Coupling and its Impact on Cloud Droplet Number Concentrations and Cloud Cover Over the Southern Ocean

The proposed work involves characterizing and quantifying both the thermodynamic and dynamical coupling of marine low clouds (MLC) with the sea surface using Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) observations during MARCUS field campaign and an LES model. ARM data from multiple sensors will be used (e.g., Doppler cloud radar, ceilometer, and microwave radiometer) to characterize the MLC-surface coupling by virtue of the vertical structure and integrated quantities of boundary-layer clouds, aerosols, as well as atmospheric profiles and surface meteorology. We have used a combination of case studies and statistics-based composite analyses to find any linkages between large-scale dynamics, MLC-surface coupling, and cloud and boundary layer properties, the sequence of which reflects the chain of causality. An LES model with explicit aerosol physics, which includes the cycle of aerosols by being consumed as CCN and be regenerated following cloud droplet evaporation, has been run to determine the sources and sinks of Nd and their dependence on the degree of MLC-surface coupling. We have examined the systematic differences in both Nd and cloud occurrence between the two clusters under different meteorological conditions and further examine their respective roles, as well as causal relationships by means of LES modeling. This study helped improve our understanding of the ACI by differentiating the dynamic role of the coupling and cloud physics denoted by Nd, bridging the linkage in the chain toward understanding mechanisms governing the persistence of MLC over the Southern Ocean, solving the long-lasting problem of the cloud cover underestimation over the SO by GCMs. Ample ARM data and LES model have been employed to achieve the objectives of the study.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Optimization of Superconducting Linac for Proton Improvement Plan-II (PIP-II)

PIP-II is an essential upgrade of the Fermilab complex that will enable the worlds most intense high-energy beam of neutrinos for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment at LBNF and support a broad physics program at Fermilab. Ultimately, the PIP-II superconducting linac will be capable of accelerating the $H-$ CW beam to 800 MeV with an average power of 1.6 MW. To operate the linac with such high power, beam losses and beam emittance growth must be tightly controlled. In this paper, we present the results of global optimization of the Linac options towards a robust and efficient physics design for the superconducting section of the PIP-II linac. We also investigate the impact of the nonlinear field of the dipole correctors on the beam quality and derive the requirement on the field quality using statistical analysis. Finally, we assess the need to correct the quadrupole focusing produced by Half Wave, and Single Spoke accelerating cavities. We assess the feasibility of controlling the beam coupling in the machine by changing the polarity of the field of linac focusing solenoids

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Signatures of a liquid–liquid transition in an ab initio deep neural network model for water

Significance Water is central across much of the physical and biological sciences and exhibits physical properties that are qualitatively distinct from those of most other liquids. Understanding the microscopic basis of water’s peculiar properties remains an active area of research. One intriguing hypothesis is that liquid water can separate into metastable high- and low-density liquid phases at low temperatures and high pressures, and the existence of this liquid–liquid transition could explain many of water’s anomalous properties. We used state-of-the-art approaches in computational quantum chemistry, statistical mechanics, and machine learning and obtained evidence consistent with a liquid–liquid transition, supporting the argument for the existence of this phenomenon in real water.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Reconstructing neutrinoless double beta decay event kinematics in a xenon gas detector with vertex tagging

If neutrinoless double beta decay is discovered, the next natural step would be understanding the lepton number violating physics responsible for it. Several alternatives exist beyond the exchange of light neutrinos. Some of these mechanisms can be distinguished by measuring phase-space observables, namely the opening angle cos θ among the two decay electrons, and the electron energy spectra, T 1 and T 2 . In this work, we study the statistical accuracy and precision in measuring these kinematic observables in a future xenon gas detector with the added capability to precisely locate the decay vertex. For realistic detector conditions (a gas pressure of 10 bar and spatial resolution of 4 mm), we find that the average $\overline{cos θ}$ and $\overline{T_1}$ values can be reconstructed with a precision of 0.19 and 110 keV, respectively, assuming that only 10 neutrinoless double beta decay events are detected.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

Effects of sodium and calcium chloride ionic stresses on model yeast membranes revealed by molecular dynamics simulation

As efforts to move a renewable economy grow, it will be necessary to make use of microbial conversion strategies for the production of novel materials or the upgrading of waste to high-value products. One critical technical challenge currently limiting waste upgrading remains the difficulty in obtaining single-pot conversion techniques where physical, chemical, and biological conversion are performed in a single step. To overcome this challenge, a detailed understanding of how different stresses impact microbial membrane stability will be necessary. In this work, using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we examine the impacts of moderate concentrations of NaCl and CaCl 2 on a model yeast plasma membrane. Weak, though statistically significant, changes in membrane morphology and dynamics functions are observed that are consistent with swelling and stiffening. Additionally, an examination of the ion-lipid contacts and the behavior of water at the water-membrane interface suggests that the impacts of these common salts may, in part, be mediated through changes to water-membrane hydrogen-bonding and hydration water dynamics.

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

Exciting prospects for detecting late-time neutrinos from core-collapse supernovae

The importance of detecting neutrinos from a Milky Way core-collapse supernova is well known. An understudied phase is proto-neutron star cooling. For SN 1987A, this seemingly began at about 2 s and is thus probed by only 6 of the 19 events (and only the $\bar{ν}_e$ flavor) in the Kamiokande-II and IMB detectors. With the higher statistics expected for present and near-future detectors, it should be possible to measure detailed neutrino signals out to very late times. Here, we present the first comprehensive study of neutrino detection during the proto-neutron star cooling phase, considering a variety of outcomes, using all flavors, and employing detailed detector physics. For our nominal model, the event yields (at 10 kpc) after 10 s—the approximate duration of the SN 1987A signal—far exceed the entire SN 1987A yield, with ≃ 250 $\bar{ν}_e$ events (to 50 s) in Super-Kamiokande, ≃ 110 ν e events (40 s) in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), and ≃10 $ν_μ, ν_τ, \bar{ν}_μ, \bar{ν}_τ$ events (to 20 s) in the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory. These data would allow unprecedented probes of the proto-neutron star, including the onset of neutrino transparency and hence its transition to a neutron star. If a black hole forms, even at very late times, this can be clearly identified. But will the detectors fulfill their potential for this perhaps once-ever opportunity for an all-flavor, high-statistics detection of a core collapse? Maybe. Further work is urgently needed, especially for DUNE to thoroughly investigate and improve its MeV capabilities.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Joint inference of multiplicative and additive systematics in galaxy density fluctuations and clustering measurements

Galaxy clustering measurements are a key probe of the matter density field in the Universe. With the era of precision cosmology upon us, surveys rely on precise measurements of the clustering signal for meaningful cosmological analysis. However, the presence of systematic contaminants can bias the observed galaxy number density, and thereby bias the galaxy two-point statistics. As the statistical uncertainties get smaller, correcting for these systematic contaminants becomes increasingly important for unbiased cosmological analysis. We present and validate a new method for understanding and mitigating both additive and multiplicative systematics in galaxy clustering measurements (two-point function) by joint inference of contaminants in the galaxy overdensity field (one-point function) using a maximum-likelihood estimator (MLE). We test this methodology with Kilo-Degree Survey-like mock galaxy catalogues and synthetic systematic template maps. We estimate the cosmological impact of such mitigation by quantifying uncertainties and possible biases in the inferred relationship between the observed and the true galaxy clustering signal. Our method robustly corrects the clustering signal to the sub-percent level and reduces numerous additive and multiplicative systematics from 1.5σ to less than 0.1σ for the scenarios we tested. In addition, we provide an empirical approach to identifying the functional form (additive, multiplicative, or other) by which specific systematics contaminate the galaxy number density. Even though this approach is tested and geared towards systematics contaminating the galaxy number density, the methods can be extended to systematics mitigation for other two-point correlation measurements.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Deciphering baryonic feedback with galaxy clusters

Abstract Upcoming cosmic shear analyses will precisely measure the cosmic matter distribution at low redshifts. At these redshifts, the matter distribution is affected by galaxy formation physics, primarily baryonic feedback from star formation and active galactic nuclei. Employing measurements from theMagneticumandIllustrisTNGsimulations and a dark matter + baryon (DMB) halo model, this paper demonstrates that Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect observations of galaxy clusters, whose masses have been calibrated using weak gravitational lensing, can constrain the baryonic impact on cosmic shear with statistical and systematic errors subdominant to the measurement errors of DES-Y3 and LSST-Y1, with systematic errors on S 8 and Ω m reaching 10% and 50% of the statistical errors, respectively. For LSST-Y6 and Roman surveys, these systematic errors increase to 150% and 100% of the statistical errors, indicating the necessity for further model developments for future surveys. We further dissect the contributions from different scales and halos with different masses to cosmic shear, highlighting the dominant role of SZ clusters at scales critical for cosmic shear analyses. These findings suggest a promising avenue for future joint analyses of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and lensing surveys.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2023

Dressed vs. pairwise states, and the geometric phase of monopoles and charges

We construct the Faddeev-Kulish dressed multiparticle states of electrically and magnetically charged particles, incorporating the effects of real and virtual soft photons. We calculate the properties of such dressed states under Lorentz transformations, and find that they can be identified with the pairwise multi-particle states that transform under the pairwise little group. The shifts in the dressing factors under Lorentz transformations are finite and have a simple geometric interpretation. Using the transformation properties of the dressed states we also present a novel, fully quantum field theoretic derivation of the geometric (Berry) phase obtained by an adiabatic rotation of the Dirac string, and also of the Dirac quantization condition. For half integer pairwise helicity, we show that these multiparticle states have flipped spin-statistics, reproducing the surprising fact that fermions can be made out of bosons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Critical analysis of velocimetry methods for particulate flows from synthetic data

Particle tracking methods that extract high-fidelity particle velocity data from high speed video of particle laden flows is a common experimental technique applied to chemical processes. These measurements are used to better understand the motion of particles and fluids in complex systems and create data against which computational models are validated. However, the methods, codes, and experimental setups all have limitations. It is imperative that practitioners verify the methods and their implementation as well as understand the limitations of experimental setups. This work focuses on quantifying the visible depth of field in a high particle concentration fluidized bed. Following a precedent set by the particle imaging velocimetry community, a particle velocity field is manufactured using a computational fluid dynamics and discrete element method simulation. Photo realistic high-speed videos are rendered based on the simulated data using the three-dimensional creation software Blender. Particle velocities are extracted from the synthetic high-speed videos using three variants of Particle Tracking Velocimetry and Optical Flow Velocimetry methodologies. Here, the tracked results are then compared to the known solution, quantifying the error associated with the assumed visible depth. The results indicate that at depth of one particle diameter, all three particle tracking codes give accurate measurements, largely within 5%. However, the error increases when the full bed video measurements are compared to the known solution at one particle diameter, i.e., mimicking a validation study. Finally, for some statistics the constant depth assumption only increases the error slightly, for others significantly.

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

Shot noise sets the limit of quantification in electrochemical measurements

Detection of single molecules, particles, and rapid redox events is a challenge of electrochemical investigations and requires either an amplification strategy or significant averaging for the electrochemical current to exceed the noise level. We consider the minimum number of electrons required to reach the limit of quantification in these electrochemical measurements. A survey of the literature indicates that the state-of-the-art limit in current detection for different types of measurements (e.g. voltammetry, single-molecule redox cycling, ion channel recordings of single molecules, metal nanoparticle collision, and phase nucleation) is independent of the nature of the measurement and increases linearly with reciprocal response time, Δt -1 , over ~5 orders of magnitude (from ~10 to ~10 6 s -1 ). This paper demonstrates that the practical limit of quantification requires cumulative measurement of ~2100 electrons during Δt and is determined by statistics of counting electrons, that is, the shot noise in the current.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗