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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 1,279 records · Page 71
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

LEEM investigations of clean surfaces driven by energetic ion beams

he original purpose of this award was to use low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) to explore the dynamics of surfaces of clean single crystal surfaces when driven by a beam of energetic ions. The goal was to understand the nanoscience of hyperthermal growth, surface erosion by sublimation and irradiation, operation of surface sinks in irradiated materials, diffusion on driven surfaces, and the creation of structural patterns. This project was based on a novel LEEM system constructed by C. P. Flynn, which provided real-time imaging of surface dynamics by scattering low energy electrons. With the passing of Prof. Flynn in late 2011, this project was completed under a slightly different scope by constructing a low-energy, inelastic electron scattering (“EELS”) instrument. Consistent with Flynn’s original objectives for his LEEM system, this device (shown in Fig. 1) probes the dynamics of crystal surfaces. However the measurements are not carried out in real time, but instead are done in the frequency domain, through the energy lost from the probe electrons. The purpose of this device is to study the collective bosonic excitations in a variety of materials, including high temperature superconductors, topological insulators, carbon allotropes including (but not limited to) graphene, etc. The ultimate goal here is to identify the bosons that mediate interactions in these and other materials, with hopes of shedding light on the origin of many exotic phenomena including high temperature superconductivity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Diffusion of Hydrophilic to Hydrophobic Forms of Nile Red in Aqueous C 12 EO 10 Gels by Variable Area Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy

In this work, solute diffusion within lyotropic liquid crystal gels prepared from a series of water and decaethylene glycol monododecyl ether (C 12 EO 10 ) mixtures was explored by variable area fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Aqueous C 12 EO 10 gels were prepared in concentrations ranging from 55:45 to 70:30 wt% of surfactant and water. Small angle X-ray scattering revealed that these gels comprise hexagonal mesophases of cylindrical micelles. Micelle spacing was found to decrease with increasing C 12 EO 10 concentration. Three different Nile red (NR) dyes were employed as model solutes and were separately doped into the gels at nanomolar levels. These include a hydrophilic form of NR incorporating an anionic sulfonate group (NRSO 3 - ), a hydrophobic form incorporating a fourteen-carbon alkane tail (NRC 14 ), and commercial NR as an intermediate case. FCS data acquired from the gels revealed that NRSO 3 - diffused primarily in 3D. Its diffusion coefficient exhibited a monotonic decrease with increasing gel concentration and micelle packing density, consistent with confinement of its motions as a result of its exclusion from the micelle cores. NRC 14 exhibited the smallest diffusion coefficient, most likely due to its larger size and enhanced interactions with the micelle cores. NR yielded an intermediate diffusion coefficient and the most anomalous behavior of the three dyes, attributable to its facile partitioning between core and corona regions, and greater participation by 1D diffusion. The results of these studies afford an improved understanding of molecular mass transport through soft-matter nanomaterials like those being developed for use in drug delivery and membrane based chemical separations.

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

Local Stability and Global Instability in Iron-opaque Disks

The thermal stability of accretion disks and the possibility of seeing a limit-cycle behavior strongly depends on the ability of the disk plasma to cool down. Various processes connected with radiation–matter interaction appearing in hot accretion disk plasma contribute to opacity. For the case of geometrically thin and optically thick accretion disks, we can estimate the influence of several different components of function κ, given by the Roseland mean. In the case of high temperatures of ∼10{sup 7} K, the electron Thomson scattering is dominant. At lower temperatures, atomic processes become important. The slope dlogκ/dlogT can have a locally stabilizing or destabilizing effect on the disk. Although the local MHD simulation postulates the stabilizing influence of the atomic processes, only the global time-dependent model can reveal the global disk stability range estimation. This is due to the global diffusive nature of those processes. In this paper, using the previously tested GLADIS code with a modified prescription of the viscous dissipation, we examine the stabilizing effect of the iron opacity bump.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

In Situ Time-Resolved X-ray Scattering Study of Isotactic Polypropylene in Additive Manufacturing

In this study, we used a specially designed apparatus, which collects simultaneous temperature and X-ray scattering data, to perform in situ measurements of the filament during MatEx 3D printing. The data show that the MatEx 3D printing extrusion process provides sufficient shear to form shish-kebab structures, which initially nucleate at the filament surface and spread into the filament core. Time-resolved measurements show that the kebab component near the surface relaxes after deposition of the second filament and enhances chain diffusion across the interface. SEM images indicate near complete interfacial merging of the filaments, which results in excellent mechanical properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Constraining Reionization with the z ~ 5–6 Ly α Forest Power Spectrum: The Outlook after Planck

The latest measurements of cosmic microwave background electron-scattering optical depth reported by Planck significantly reduces the allowed space of ${\rm{H}}\,{\rm{I}}$ reionization models, pointing toward a later ending and/or less extended phase transition than previously believed. Reionization impulsively heats the intergalactic medium (IGM) to $\sim {10}^{4}\,{\rm{K}}$, and owing to long cooling and dynamical times in the diffuse gas that are comparable to the Hubble time, memory of reionization heating is retained. Therefore, a late-ending reionization has significant implications for the structure of the $z\sim 5\mbox{-}6$ Lyα forest. Using state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations that allow us to vary the timing of reionization and its associated heat injection, we argue that extant thermal signatures from reionization can be detected via the Lyα forest power spectrum at $5\lt z\lt 6$. This arises because the small-scale cutoff in the power depends not only the the IGM temperature at these epochs, but is also particularly sensitive to the pressure-smoothing scale set by the IGM full thermal history. Comparing our different reionization models with existing measurements of the Lyα forest flux power spectrum at $z=5.0\mbox{-}5.4$, we find that models satisfying Planck's ${\tau }_{e}$ constraint favor a moderate amount of heat injection consistent with galaxies driving reionization, but disfavoring quasar-driven scenarios. We study the feasibility of measuring the flux power spectrum at $z\simeq 6$ using mock quasar spectra and conclude that a sample of ~10 high-resolution spectra with an attainable signal-to-noise ratio will allow distinguishing between different reionization scenarios.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Dynamical properties of the hydration shell of fully deuterated myoglobin

Freeze-dried perdeuterated sperm whale myoglobin was kept in a water-saturated atmosphere in order to obtain a hydration degree of 335 {sup 1}H{sub 2}O molecules per one myoglobin molecule. Incoherent neutron scattering was performed at the neutron spectrometer TOFTOF at the FRM II in an angular range of q from 0.6 to 1.8 A{sup -1} and a temperature range from 4 to 297 K. We used neutrons with a wavelength of {lambda}{alpha}E 6 A and an energy resolution of about 65 {mu}eV corresponding to motions faster than 10 ps. At temperatures above 225 K, broad lines appear in the spectra caused by quasielastic scattering. For an explanation of these lines, we assumed that there are only two types of protons, those that are part of the hydration water (72%) and those that belong to the protein (28%). The protons of the hydration water were analyzed with the diffusion model of Singwi and Sjoelander [Phys. Rev. 119, 863 (1960)]. In this model, a water molecule stays for a time {tau}{sub 0} in a bound state performing oscillatory motions. Thereafter, the molecule performs free diffusion for the time {tau}{sub 1} in a nonbound state followed again by the oscillatory motions for {tau}{sub 0} and so forth. We used the general formulation with no simplifications as {tau}{sub 0}>>{tau}{sub 1} or {tau}{sub 1}>>{tau}{sub 0}. At room temperature, we obtained {tau}{sub 0} {alpha}E 104 ps and {tau}{sub 1} {alpha}E 37 ps. For the protein bound hydrogen, the dynamics is described by a Brownian oscillator where the protons perform overdamped motions in limited space.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Unexpected Hole Doping of Graphene by Osmium Adatoms

Abstract The electronic transport of monolayer graphene devices is studied before and after in situ deposition of a sub‐monolayer coating of osmium adatoms. Unexpectedly, and unlike all other metallic adatoms studied to date, osmium adatoms shift the charge neutrality point to more positive gate voltages. This indicates that osmium adatoms act as electron acceptors and thus leave the graphene hole‐doped. Analysis of transport data suggest that Os adatoms behave as charged impurity scatterers, albeit with a surprisingly low charge‐doping efficiency. The charge neutrality point of graphene is found to vary non‐monotonically with gate voltage as the sample is warmed to room temperature, suggesting that osmium diffuses on the surface but is not completely removed.

Elias, Jamie A.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Expanding the color palette of bicolor-emitting nanocrystals

Owing to their bright and tunable luminescence spectra, nanocrystals appear as a unique playground for light source design. Displays and lighting require white light sources that combine several narrow lines. As Kasha's rule prevents the emission of hot carriers, blends of multiple nanocrystal populations are currently the obvious strategy for broad-band source design. However, a few reports suggest that bicolor emission can also be obtained from a single particle even under weak excitation if a careful design of the exciton scattering mechanism sufficiently slows down its relaxation pathways. A key challenge remains to maintain quantum confinement for color tunability in the same structure, while simultaneously achieving a large size to leverage the critical, slower exciton diffusion or relaxation down to the ground state. In this work, we demonstrate that 2D nanoplatelets offer an original opportunity for the design of confined and large heterostructures. We demonstrate that bicolor emission is not limited to green–red pair and show that blue–yellow and purple–green emissions can be obtained from CdSe/CdTe/CdSe core/crown/crown and CdSe/CdS core/crown heterostructures, respectively.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

γ -ray Constraints on Decaying Dark Matter and Implications for IceCube

Utilizing the Fermi measurement of the γ -ray spectrum toward the Inner Galaxy, we derive some of the strongest constraints to date on the dark matter (DM) lifetime in the mass range from hundreds of MeV to above an EeV. Our profile-likelihood-based analysis relies on 413 weeks of Fermi Pass 8 data from 200 MeV to 2 TeV, along with up-to-date models for diffuse γ -ray emission within the Milky Way. We model Galactic and extragalactic DM decay and include contributions to the DM-induced γ -ray flux resulting from both primary emission and inverse-Compton scattering of primary electrons and positrons. For the extragalactic flux, we also calculate the spectrum associated with cascades of high-energy γ rays scattering off of the cosmic background radiation. We argue that a decaying DM interpretation for the 10 TeV–1 PeV neutrino flux observed by IceCube is disfavored by our constraints. Our results also challenge a decaying DM explanation of the AMS-02 positron flux. In conclusion, we interpret the results in terms of individual final states and in the context of simplified scenarios such as a hidden sector glueball model.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Weak localization and universal conductance fluctuations in large-area twisted bilayer graphene

We study diffusive magnetotransport in highly 𝑝-doped large-area twisted bilayer graphene in 1∘, 7∘, 9∘, and 20∘ samples. All samples exhibit weak localization, from which we extract the phase coherence length and intervalley scattering lengths, and from that determine that dephasing is caused by electron-electron scattering and intervalley scattering is caused by point defects. We observe signatures of universal conductance fluctuations in the 9∘ sample, which has high mobility and is near the van Hove singularity. Further improvements in sample quality and applications to large-area moiré materials will open new avenues to observe quantum interference effects.

Talkington, Spenser [University of Pennsylvania]↗
DOE OSTI2012

High-throughput method for optimum solubility screening for homogeneity and crystallization of proteins

An optimum solubility screen in which a panel of buffers and many additives are provided in order to obtain the most homogeneous and monodisperse protein condition for protein crystallization. The present methods are useful for proteins that aggregate and cannot be concentrated prior to setting up crystallization screens. A high-throughput method using the hanging-drop method and vapor diffusion equilibrium and a panel of twenty-four buffers is further provided. Using the present methods, 14 poorly behaving proteins have been screened, resulting in 11 of the proteins having highly improved dynamic light scattering results allowing concentration of the proteins, and 9 were crystallized.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

GLOBAL SIMULATIONS OF GALACTIC WINDS INCLUDING COSMIC-RAY STREAMING

Galactic outflows play an important role in galactic evolution. Despite their importance, a detailed understanding of the physical mechanisms responsible for the driving of these winds is lacking. In an effort to gain more insight into the nature of these flows, we perform global three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical simulations of an isolated Milky Way-size starburst galaxy. We focus on the dynamical role of cosmic rays (CRs) injected by supernovae, and specifically on the impact of the streaming and anisotropic diffusion of CRs along the magnetic fields. We find that these microphysical effects can have a significant effect on the wind launching and mass loading factors, depending on the details of the plasma physics. Due to the CR streaming instability, CRs propagating in the interstellar medium scatter on self-excited Alfvén waves and couple to the gas. When the wave growth due to the streaming instability is inhibited by some damping process, such as turbulent damping, the coupling of CRs to the gas is weaker and their effective propagation speed faster than the Alfvén speed. Alternatively, CRs could scatter from “extrinsic turbulence” that is driven by another mechanism. We demonstrate that the presence of moderately super-Alfvénic CR streaming enhances the efficiency of galactic wind driving. Cosmic rays stream away from denser regions near the galactic disk along partially ordered magnetic fields and in the process accelerate more tenuous gas away from the galaxy. For CR acceleration efficiencies broadly consistent with the observational constraints, CRs reduce the galactic star formation rates and significantly aid in launching galactic winds.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Enormous electron-electron scattering in the filled-cage cubic compound B a 10 T i 24 B i 39

Cubic intermetallic compound Ba 10 Ti 24 Bi 39 has a Ba 6 Bi 16 polyhedral cage with a Bi guest atom encapsulated inside. The compound can be formulated as Ba 5 Ti 12 Bi$_{19+x}$ when $x$ signifies the extra Bi atoms filling cages. It crystallizes in a complex noncentrosymmetric cubic structure in space group $P-43m$ with cell parameter $a = 12.6787(4)Å$. The guest Bi atoms distribute diffusely in the cages and seem to play a role in stabilizing the crystal structure. The magnetic susceptibility of this compound shows a weak temperature dependence with a positive slope coefficient. The charge transport properties as a function of temperature exhibit two competing components which are in charge of positive and negative magnetoresistances. Electronic band-structure calculations reveal the complex multiband hybridization of Ti/Bi orbitals near the Fermi surface, which may play a role in the enormous electron-electron scattering in this material evidenced by the large Kadowaki-Woods ratio.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Amphoteric Indium Enables Carrier Engineering to Enhance the Power Factor and Thermoelectric Performance in n -Type Ag n Pb 100 In n Te 100+2 n (LIST)

The Ag and In co-doped PbTe, Ag n Pb 100 In n Te 100+2n (LIST), exhibits n-type behavior and features unique inherent electronic levels that induce self-tuning carrier density. Results show that In is amphoteric in the LIST, forming both In 3+ and In 1+ centers. Through unique interplay of valence fluctuations in the In centers and conduction band filling, the electron carrier density can be increased from ≈3.1 × 10 18 cm -3 at 323 K to ≈2.4 × 10 19 cm -3 at 820 K, leading to large power factors peaking at ≈16.0 μWcm -1 K -2 at 873 K. The lone pair of electrons from In + can be thermally continuously promoted into the conduction band forming In 3+ , consistent with the amphoteric character of In. Moreover, with rising temperature, the Fermi level shifts into the conduction band, which enlarges the optical band gap based on the Moss–Burstein effect, and reduces bipolar diffusion and thermal conductivity. Adding extra Ag in LIST improves the electrical transport properties and meanwhile lowers the lattice thermal conductivity to ≈0.40 Wm -1 K -1 . Here, the addition of Ag creates spindle-shaped Ag 2 Te nanoprecipitates and atomic-scale interstitials that scatter a broader set of phonons. As a result, a maximum ZT value ≈1.5 at 873 K is achieved in Ag 6 Pb 100 InTe 102 (LIST).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Cone beam x-ray luminescence computed tomography: A feasibility study

Purpose: The appearance of x-ray luminescence computed tomography (XLCT) opens new possibilities to perform molecular imaging by x ray. In the previous XLCT system, the sample was irradiated by a sequence of narrow x-ray beams and the x-ray luminescence was measured by a highly sensitive charge coupled device (CCD) camera. This resulted in a relatively long sampling time and relatively low utilization of the x-ray beam. In this paper, a novel cone beam x-ray luminescence computed tomography strategy is proposed, which can fully utilize the x-ray dose and shorten the scanning time. The imaging model and reconstruction method are described. The validity of the imaging strategy has been studied in this paper. Methods: In the cone beam XLCT system, the cone beam x ray was adopted to illuminate the sample and a highly sensitive CCD camera was utilized to acquire luminescent photons emitted from the sample. Photons scattering in biological tissues makes it an ill-posed problem to reconstruct the 3D distribution of the x-ray luminescent sample in the cone beam XLCT. In order to overcome this issue, the authors used the diffusion approximation model to describe the photon propagation in tissues, and employed the sparse regularization method for reconstruction. An incomplete variables truncated conjugate gradient method and permissible region strategy were used for reconstruction. Meanwhile, traditional x-ray CT imaging could also be performed in this system. The x-ray attenuation effect has been considered in their imaging model, which is helpful in improving the reconstruction accuracy. Results: First, simulation experiments with cylinder phantoms were carried out to illustrate the validity of the proposed compensated method. The experimental results showed that the location error of the compensated algorithm was smaller than that of the uncompensated method. The permissible region strategy was applied and reduced the reconstruction error to less than 2 mm. The robustness and stability were then evaluated from different view numbers, different regularization parameters, different measurement noise levels, and optical parameters mismatch. The reconstruction results showed that the settings had a small effect on the reconstruction. The nonhomogeneous phantom simulation was also carried out to simulate a more complex experimental situation and evaluated their proposed method. Second, the physical cylinder phantom experiments further showed similar results in their prototype XLCT system. With the discussion of the above experiments, it was shown that the proposed method is feasible to the general case and actual experiments. Conclusions: Utilizing numerical simulation and physical experiments, the authors demonstrated the validity of the new cone beam XLCT method. Furthermore, compared with the previous narrow beam XLCT, the cone beam XLCT could more fully utilize the x-ray dose and the scanning time would be shortened greatly. The study of both simulation experiments and physical phantom experiments indicated that the proposed method was feasible to the general case and actual experiments.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

RAPID COSMIC-RAY ACCELERATION AT PERPENDICULAR SHOCKS IN SUPERNOVA REMNANTS

Perpendicular shocks are shown to be rapid particle accelerators that perform optimally when the ratio u{sub s} of the shock speed to the particle speed roughly equals the ratio 1/η of the scattering rate to the gyro frequency. We use analytical methods and Monte-Carlo simulations to solve the kinetic equation that governs the anisotropy generated at these shocks, and find, for ηu{sub s} ≈ 1, that the spectral index softens by unity and the acceleration time increases by a factor of two compared to the standard result of the diffusive shock acceleration theory. These results provide a theoretical basis for the 30 year old conjecture that a supernova exploding into the wind of a Wolf–Rayet star may accelerate protons to an energy exceeding 10{sup 15} eV.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Correlated atomic dynamics in liquid seen in real space and time

In liquids, the timescales for structure, diffusion, and phonon are all similar, of the order of a pico-second. This not only makes characterization of liquid dynamics difficult but also renders it highly questionable to describe liquids in these terms. In particular, the current definition of the structure of liquids by the instantaneous structure may need to be expanded because the liquid structure is inherently dynamic. Here, we advocate describing the liquid structure through the distinct-part of the Van Hove function, which can be determined by inelastic neutron and x-ray scattering measurements as well as by simulation. It depicts the dynamic correlation between atoms in space and time, starting with the instantaneous correlation function at t = 0. The observed Van Hove functions show that the atomic dynamics is strongly correlated in some liquids, such as water. The effect of atomic correlation on various transport properties of fluid, including viscosity and diffusivity, is discussed.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Onset of anharmonicity and thermal conductivity in SnSe

The anharmonicity in SnSe is investigated through the analysis of moments of 119Sn nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering and ab initio molecular dynamics calculations. Experimental evidences show that the anharmonic behavior started around 300 K, substantially lower than the usually suggested structural transition at 800 K. Both theory and experiments reveal substantial lifetime broadening and frequency renormalization of the optical phonons. Additionally, thermal conductivities calculated from the temporal energy moment using the Einstein diffusion equation are in good agreement with previous experiments. The abrupt increase of the thermal power near 800 K is driven by an electronic factor and not by the enhanced anharmonicity due to structural change.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗