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At least 1,261 records · Page 70
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Measurements of Gamow-Teller transitions from 59 Co via the 59 Co ⁢(𝑡, 3 He +𝛾) charge-exchange reaction and its application to the stellar electron-capture rates

Electron-capture reactions on iron-group nuclei play a crucial role in the late stages of massive star evolution. Since stellar evolution simulations depend on accurate electron-capture rates—which are highly sensitive to the detailed Gamow-Teller (GT) strength distributions—reliable theoretical models are essential. However, experimental data on GT strength distributions are scarce. High-resolution measurements are therefore vital for benchmarking and improving these theoretical calculations. To provide high-resolution data on Gamow-Teller strength distributions of iron-group nuclei and to compare these results with theoretical calculations within this mass region. Differential cross sections for the 59 Co ⁢(𝑡, 3 He)⁢ 59 Fe charge-exchange reaction at 115 MeV/u were measured using the S800 spectrometer. Furthermore, to resolve individual levels that are not distinguishable in the S800 particle singles data, coincident 𝛾 rays from the 59 Fe residual nucleus were detected by using the Gamma-Ray Energy Tracking In-beam Nuclear Array 𝛾-ray tracking array. Here, the Gamow-Teller transition strength distribution from the ground state of 59 Co to 59 Fe was extracted up to an excitation energy of 10 MeV. Additionally, transition strengths for several low-lying states were determined from coincident 𝛾-ray measurements. Electron-capture rates calculated using the present data indicate that these low-lying states contribute significantly to the overall rates in relevant stellar environments. The experimental results show reasonable agreement with theoretical predictions based on both shell-model and projected shell-model calculations. High-resolution data on Gamow-Teller strength distributions—particularly for individual low-lying states—are essential for accurately determining electron-capture rates in iron-group nuclei. Coincident 𝛾-ray measurements provide a powerful tool for obtaining such detailed information. While the present work demonstrates that shell-model calculations successfully reproduce the experimental results, such comparisons are scarce and more experimental data are desirable.

59 ≤ A ≤ 89↗
DOE OSTI2022

Astrometric gravitational-wave detection via stellar interferometry

Here, we evaluate the potential for gravitational-wave (GW) detection in the frequency band from 10 nHz to 1 μ Hz using extremely high-precision astrometry of a small number of stars. In particular, we argue that nonmagnetic, photometrically stable, hot white dwarfs (WD) located at ~kpc distances may be optimal targets for this approach. Previous studies of astrometric GW detection have focused on the potential for less precise surveys of large numbers of stars; our work provides an alternative optimization approach to this problem. Interesting GW sources in this band are expected at characteristic strains around h c ~10 -17 × (μHz/ $f$ GW ). The astrometric angular precision required to see these sources is Δθ~h c after integrating for a time T~1/$f$GW. We show that jitter in the photometric center of WD of this type due to starspots is bounded to be small enough to permit this high-precision, small-N approach. We discuss possible noise arising from stellar reflex motion induced by orbiting objects and show how it can be mitigated. The only plausible technology able to achieve the requisite astrometric precision is a space-based stellar interferometer. Such a future mission with few-meter-scale collecting dishes and baselines of $\mathscr{O}$(100 km ) is sufficient to achieve the target precision. This collector size is broadly in line with the collectors proposed for some formation-flown, space-based astrometer or optical synthetic-aperture imaging-array concepts proposed for other science reasons. The proposed baseline is however somewhat larger than the km-scale baselines discussed for those concepts, but we see no fundamental technical obstacle to utilizing such baselines. A mission of this type thus also holds the promise of being one of the few ways to access interesting GW sources in this band.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Constraint of the Astrophysical Al 26 g ( p , γ ) Si 27 Destruction Rate at Stellar Temperatures

The Galactic 1.809-MeV γ-ray signature from the β decay of 26g Al is a dominant target of γ-ray astronomy, of which a significant component is understood to originate from massive stars. The 26g Al(p,γ) 27 Si reaction is a major destruction pathway for 26g Al at stellar temperatures, but the reaction rate is poorly constrained due to uncertainties in the strengths of low-lying resonances in 27 Si. The 26g Al (d,p) 27 Al reaction has been employed in inverse kinematics to determine the spectroscopic factors, and hence resonance strengths, of proton resonances in 27 Si via mirror symmetry. Finally, the strength of the 127-keV resonance is found to be a factor of 4 higher than the previously adopted upper limit, and the upper limit for the 68-keV resonance has been reduced by an order of magnitude, considerably constraining the 26g Al destruction rate at stellar temperatures.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Stellar Ar 36 , 38 ( n , γ ) Ar 37 , 39 Reactions and Their Effect on Light Neutron-Rich Nuclide Synthesis

Here, the 36 Ar(n,γ) 37 Ar (t 1/2 = 35 d) and 38 Ar(n,γ) 39 Ar (269 yr) reactions were studied for the first time with a quasi-Maxwellian (kT ~ 47 keV) neutron flux for Maxwellian average cross section (MACS) measurements at stellar energies. Gas samples were irradiated at the high-intensity Soreq applied research accelerator facility-liquid-lithium target neutron source and the 37 Ar/ 36 Ar and 39 Ar/ 38 Ar ratios in the activated samples were determined by accelerator mass spectrometry at the ATLAS facility (Argonne National Laboratory). The 37 Ar activity was also measured by low-level counting at the University of Bern. Experimental MACS of 36 Ar and 38 Ar, corrected to the standard 30 keV thermal energy, are 1.9(3) and 1.3(2) mb, respectively, differing from the theoretical and evaluated values published to date by up to an order of magnitude. The neutron-capture cross sections of 36,38 Ar are relevant to the stellar nucleosynthesis of light neutron-rich nuclides; the two experimental values are shown to affect the calculated mass fraction of nuclides in the region A = 36 – 48 during the weak s process. Finally, the new production cross sections have implications also for the use of 37 Ar and 39 Ar as environmental tracers in the atmosphere and hydrosphere.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Limits on Stellar-Mass Compact Objects as Dark Matter from Gravitational Lensing of Type Ia Supernovae

We present that the nature of dark matter (DM) remains unknown despite very precise knowledge of its abundance in the Universe. An alternative to new elementary particles postulates DM as made of macroscopic compact halo objects (MACHO) such as black holes formed in the very early Universe. Stellar-mass primordial black holes (PBHs) are subject to less robust constraints than other mass ranges and might be connected to gravitational-wave signals detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). New methods are therefore necessary to constrain the viability of compact objects as a DM candidate. Here we report bounds on the abundance of compact objects from gravitational lensing of type Ia supernovae (SNe). Current SNe data sets constrain compact objects to represent less than 35.2% (Joint Lightcurve Analysis) and 37.2% (Union 2.1) of the total matter content in the Universe, at 95% confidence level. The results are valid for masses larger than ~ 0.01 M ⊙ (solar masses), limited by the size SNe relative to the lens Einstein radius. We demonstrate the mass range of the constraints by computing magnification probabilities for realistic SNe sizes and different values of the PBH mass. Our bounds are sensitive to the total abundance of compact objects with M ≳ 0.01 M ⊙ and complementary to other observational tests. These results are robust against cosmological parameters, outlier rejection, correlated noise, and selection bias. PBHs and other MACHOs are therefore ruled out as the dominant form of DM for objects associated to LIGO gravitational wave detections. Lastly, these bounds constrain early-Universe models that predict stellar-mass PBH production and strengthen the case for lighter forms of DM, including new elementary particles.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Probing Dark Matter Using Precision Measurements of Stellar Accelerations

Dark matter comprises the bulk of the matter in the Universe, but its particle nature and cosmological origin remain mysterious. Knowledge of the dark matter density distribution in the Milky Way Galaxy is crucial both to our understanding of the standard cosmological model and for grounding direct and indirect searches for the particles comprising dark matter. Current measurements of Galactic dark matter content rely on model assumptions to infer the forces acting upon stars from the distribution of observed velocities. Here, we propose to apply the precision radial velocity method, optimized in recent years for exoplanet astronomy, to measure the change in the velocity of stars over time, thereby providing a direct probe of the local gravitational potential in the Galaxy. Using numerical simulations, we develop a realistic strategy to observe the differential accelerations of stars in our Galactic neighborhood with next-generation telescopes, at the level of 10 –8 cm/s 2 . Our simulations show that detecting accelerations at this level with an ensemble of 10 3 stars requires the effect of stellar noise on radial velocity measurements to be reduced to < 10 cm/s. Furthermore, the measured stellar accelerations may then be used to extract the local dark matter density and morphological parameters of the density profile.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Stellarators with Permanent Magnets

It is shown that the magnetic-field coils of a stellarator can, at least in principle, be substantially simplified by the use of permanent magnets. Such magnets cannot create toroidal magnetic flux but they can be used to shape the plasma and thus to create poloidal flux and rotational transform, thereby easing the requirements on the magnetic-field coils. As an example, a quasiaxisymmetric stellarator configuration is constructed with only 8 circular coils (all identical) and permanent magnets.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Galactic Potential and Dark Matter Density from Angular Stellar Accelerations

Here, we present an approach to measure the Milky Way (MW) potential using the angular accelerations of stars in aggregate as measured by astrometric surveys like Gaia. Accelerations directly probe the gradient of the MW potential, as opposed to indirect methods using, e.g., stellar velocities. We show that end-of-mission Gaia stellar acceleration data may be used to measure the potential of the MW disk at approximately 3σ significance and, if recent measurements of the solar acceleration are included, the local dark matter density at ~2σ significance. Since the significance of detection scales steeply as t 5/2 for observing time t, future surveys that include angular accelerations in the astrometric solutions may be combined with Gaia to precisely measure the local dark matter density and shape of the density profile.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

High-Field Ignition-Capable Stellarator i-ASTER: Initial Structural Evaluation

i-ASTER is a preliminary conceptual design of a high-field pulsed experimental stellarator aimed essentially at achieving and understanding plasma ignition. The averaged magnetic field on the axis of i-ASTER.v1 is B ~ 10 T and the plasma volume is 30 m 3 . A toroidal monolithic support structure, which is located externally to the modular coils, is defined to accurately arrange the coils and withstand the magnetic Lorentz forces from the high magnetic fields. The magnetic field in the coils and the resulting Lorentz forces on the coils were calculated and utilized for the stress calculation in monolithic support of constant thickness. Subsequently, a monolithic support of variable thickness is proposed and studied. The thickness of the structure is variable and adjusted to the magnitude of the mechanical stress in each area of the toroidal structure so as to smooth the stresses while minimizing the quantity of material used. A fabrication method for the monolithic structure has been tested. For that, a scaled-down mock-up of one period of stellarator has been additively manufactured and strengthened with fiber-reinforced resin. Unsurmountable difficulties have not been found for this fabrication method.

Queral, Vicente↗
DOE OSTI2019

Verification of the global gyrokinetic stellarator code XGC-S for linear ion temperature gradient driven modes

XGC (X-point Gyrokinetic Code) is a whole-volume, total-f gyrokinetic particle-in-cell code developed for modelling tokamaks.In recent work, XGC has been extended to model more general 3D toroidal magnetic configurations, such as stellarators.These improvements have resulted in the XGC-S version.In this paper, XGC-S is benchmarked in the reduced delta-f limit for linear electrostatic ion temperature gradient-driven microinstabilities, which can underlie turbulent transport in stellarators.An initial benchmark of XGC-S in tokamak geometry shows good agreement with the XGC1, ORB5, and global GENE codes.A benchmark between XGC-S and the EUTERPE global gyrokinetic code for stellarators has also been performed, this time in geometry of the optimised stellarator Wendelstein 7-X.Good agreement has been found for the mode number spectrum, mode structure, and growth rate.

M, Cole↗
DOE OSTI2022

Design of an arrangement of cubic magnets for a quasi-axisymmetric stellarator experiment

The usage of permanent magnets to shape the confining field of a stellarator has the potential to reduce or eliminate the need for non-planar coils. As a proof-of-concept for this idea, we have developed a procedure for designing an array of cubic permanent magnets that works in tandem with a set of toroidal-field coils to confine a stellarator plasma. All of the magnets in the design are constrained to have identical geometry and one of three polarization types in order to simplify fabrication while still producing sufficient field accuracy. We present some of the key steps leading to the design, including the geometric arrangement of the magnets around the device, the procedure for optimizing the polarizations according to three allowable magnet types, and the choice of magnet types to be used. We apply these methods to design an array of rare-Earth permanent magnets that can be paired with a set of planar toroidal-field coils to confine a quasi-axisymmetric plasma with a toroidal magnetic field strength of about 0.5 T on axis.

Hammond, Kenneth↗
DOE OSTI2016

Radio properties of young stellar objects in the core of the Serpens South Infrared Dark Cloud

We present deep radio continuum observations of the star-forming core of the Serpens South Infrared Dark Cloud with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. Observations were conducted in two bands centered at 7.25 GHz (4.14 cm) and 4.75 GHz (6.31 cm) with a σ{sub rms} of 8.5 and 11.1 μJy/beam, respectively. We also use 2MASS, Spitzer and Herschel data to put our radio observations in the context of young stellar populations characterized by near and far-infrared observations. Within a 5′ × 5′ region of interest around the central cluster, we detect roughly eighteen radio sources, seven of which we determine are protostellar in nature due to their radio spectral indices and their association with infrared sources. We find evidence for a previously undetected embedded Class 0 protostar and reaffirm Class 0 protostellar classifications determined by previous millimeter wavelength continuum studies. We use our infrared data to derive mid-infrared luminosities for three of our protostellar sources and find relative agreement between the known young stellar object (YSO) radio luminosity versus bolometric luminosity correlation. Lastly, we marginally detect an additional six radio sources at the 2–3σ level that lie within two arcseconds of infrared YSO candidates, providing motivation for higher sensitivity studies to clarify the nature of these sources and further probe embedded and/or low luminosity YSOs in Serpens South.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

ASPCAP: THE APOGEE STELLAR PARAMETER AND CHEMICAL ABUNDANCES PIPELINE

The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) has built the largest moderately high-resolution ( R ≈ 22,500) spectroscopic map of the stars across the Milky Way, and including dust-obscured areas. The APOGEE Stellar Parameter and Chemical Abundances Pipeline (ASPCAP) is the software developed for the automated analysis of these spectra. ASPCAP determines atmospheric parameters and chemical abundances from observed spectra by comparing observed spectra to libraries of theoretical spectra, using χ {sup 2} minimization in a multidimensional parameter space. The package consists of a fortran90 code that does the actual minimization and a wrapper IDL code for book-keeping and data handling. This paper explains in detail the ASPCAP components and functionality, and presents results from a number of tests designed to check its performance. ASPCAP provides stellar effective temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities precise to 2%, 0.1 dex, and 0.05 dex, respectively, for most APOGEE stars, which are predominantly giants. It also provides abundances for up to 15 chemical elements with various levels of precision, typically under 0.1 dex. The final data release (DR12) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III contains an APOGEE database of more than 150,000 stars. ASPCAP development continues in the SDSS-IV APOGEE-2 survey.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

IN-SYNC. IV. The young stellar population in the Orion A molecular cloud

We present the results of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey APOGEE INfrared Spectroscopy of Young Nebulous Clusters program (IN-SYNC) survey of the Orion A molecular cloud. This survey obtained high-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy of about 2700 young pre-main-sequence stars on a ∼6{sup ∘} field of view. We have measured accurate stellar parameters (T{sub eff}, logg, vsini) and extinctions and placed the sources in the Hertzsprung–Russel diagram (HRD). We have also extracted radial velocities for the kinematic characterization of the population. We compare our measurements with literature results to assess the performance and accuracy of the survey. Source extinction shows evidence for dust grains that are larger than those in the diffuse interstellar medium: we estimate an average R{sub V} = 5.5 in the region. Importantly, we find a clear correlation between HRD inferred ages and spectroscopic surface-gravity-inferred ages and between extinction and disk presence; this strongly suggests a real spread of ages larger than a few Myr. Focusing on the young population around NGC 1980/ι Ori, which has previously been suggested to be a separate, foreground, older cluster, we confirm its older (∼5 Myr) age and low A{sub V}, but considering that its radial velocity distribution is indistinguishable from Orion A’s population, we suggest that NGC 1980 is part of Orion A’s star formation activity. Based on their stellar parameters and kinematic properties, we identify 383 new candidate members of Orion A, most of which are diskless sources in areas of the region poorly studied by previous works.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

A stellar velocity dispersion for a strongly lensed, intermediate-mass quiescent galaxy at z = 2.8

Measuring stellar velocity dispersions of quiescent galaxies beyond z∼2 is observationally challenging. Such measurements require near-infrared spectra with a continuum detection of at least moderate signal to noise, often necessitating long integrations. In this paper, we present deep X-Shooter spectroscopy of one of only two known gravitationally lensed massive quiescent galaxies at z>2. This galaxy is quadruply imaged, with the brightest images magnified by a factor of ∼5. The total exposure time of our data is 9.8 hr on-source; however, the magnification, and the slit placement encompassing two images, provides a total equivalent exposure time of 215 hr. From this deep spectrum we measure a redshift of (z{sub spec}=2.756±0.001), making this one of the highest redshift quiescent galaxies that is spectroscopically confirmed. We simultaneously fit both the spectroscopic and photometric data to determine stellar population parameters and conclude that this galaxy is relatively young (560{sub −80}{sup +100} Myr), of intermediate mass (log M{sub ∗}/M{sub ⊙}=10.59{sub −0.05}{sup +0.04}), consistent with low dust content (A{sub V}=0.20{sub −0.20}{sup +0.26}), and has quenched only relatively recently. This recent quenching is confirmed by strong Balmer absorption, particularly Hδ (Hδ{sub A}=6.66{sub −0.92}{sup +0.96}). Remarkably, this proves that at least some intermediate-mass galaxies have already quenched as early as z∼2.8. Additionally, we have measured a velocity dispersion of (σ=187±43 km s{sup −1}), making this the highest-redshift quiescent galaxy with a dispersion measurement. We confirm that this galaxy falls on the same mass fundamental plane (MFP) as galaxies at z = 2.2, consistent with little to no evolution in the MFP up to z = 2.8. Overall this galaxy is proof of the existence of intermediate-mass quenched galaxies in the distant universe, and that lensing is a powerful tool for determining their properties with improved accuracy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

EVOLUTION OF STELLAR-TO-HALO MASS RATIO AT z = 0–7 IDENTIFIED BY CLUSTERING ANALYSIS WITH THE HUBBLE LEGACY IMAGING AND EARLY SUBARU/HYPER SUPRIME-CAM SURVEY DATA

We present clustering analysis results from 10,381 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at z ∼ 4–7, identified in the Hubble legacy deep imaging and new complimentary large-area Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam data. We measure the angular correlation functions of these LBGs at z ∼ 4, 5, 6, and 7 and fit these measurements using halo occupation distribution (HOD) models that provide an estimate of halo masses, M{sub h}∼(1−20)×10{sup 11} M{sub ⊙}. Our M{sub h} estimates agree with those obtained by previous clustering studies in a UV-magnitude versus M{sub h} plane and allow us to calculate stellar-to-halo mass ratios (SHMRs) of LBGs. By comparison with the z∼0 SHMR, we identify evolution of the SHMR from z∼0 to z∼4 and from z∼4 to z∼7 at the >98% confidence levels. The SHMR decreases by a factor of ∼2 from z∼0 to 4 and increases by a factor of ∼4 from z∼4 to 7 at the dark matter halo mass of M{sub h}∼10{sup 11} M{sub ⊙}. We compare our SHMRs with results of a hydrodynamic simulation and a semianalytic model and find that these theoretical studies do not predict the SHMR increase from z∼4 to 7. We obtain the baryon conversion efficiency (BCE) of LBGs at z∼4 and find that the BCE increases with increasing dark matter halo mass. Finally, we compare our clustering+HOD estimates with results from abundance matching techniques and conclude that the M{sub h} estimates of the clustering+HOD analyses agree with those of the simple abundance matching within a factor of 3, and that the agreement improves when using more sophisticated abundance matching techniques that include subhalos, incompleteness, and/or evolution in the star formation and stellar mass functions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

The stellar population structure of the galactic disk

The spatial structure of stellar populations with different chemical abundances in the Milky Way (MW) contains a wealth of information on Galactic evolution over cosmic time. We use data on 14,699 red-clump stars from the APOGEE survey, covering 4 kpc≲R≲15 kpc, to determine the structure of mono-abundance populations (MAPs)—stars in narrow bins in [α/Fe] and [Fe/H]—accounting for the complex effects of the APOGEE selection function and the spatially variable dust obscuration. We determine that all MAPs with enhanced [α/Fe] are centrally concentrated and are well-described as exponentials with a scale length of 2.2±0.2 kpc over the whole radial range of the disk. We discover that the surface-density profiles of low-[α/Fe] MAPs are complex: they do not monotonically decrease outwards, but rather display a peak radius ranging from ≈5 to ≈13 kpc at low [Fe/H]. The extensive radial coverage of the data allows us to measure radial trends in the thickness of each MAP. While high-[α/Fe] MAPs have constant scale heights, low-[α/Fe] MAPs flare. We confirm, now with high-precision abundances, previous results that each MAP contains only a single vertical scale height and that low-[Fe/H], low-[α/Fe] and high-[Fe/H], high-[α/Fe] MAPs have intermediate (h{sub Z}≈300--600 pc) scale heights that smoothly bridge the traditional thin- and thick-disk divide. That the high-[α/Fe], thick disk components do not flare is strong evidence against their thickness being caused by radial migration. The correspondence between the radial structure and chemical-enrichment age of stellar populations is clear confirmation of the inside-out growth of galactic disks. The details of these relations will constrain the variety of physical conditions under which stars form throughout the MW disk.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗