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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 1,387 records · Page 77
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Improving cosmological analyses of HI clustering by reducing stochastic noise

High-number-density tracers of large-scale structure, such as the HI-rich galaxies measured by 21 cm intensity mapping, have low sampling noise, making them particularly promising as cosmological probes. At large scales, this sampling noise can be subdominant to other scale-independent contributions to the power spectrum; such contributions arise from nonlinear bias, and exceed the sampling noise if at least one of the associated bias coefficients is sufficiently large. This has important consequences for cosmological constraints obtained from such tracers, since it indicates that using the power spectrum does not lead to optimal constraints even in the linear regime. In this paper, we provide a conservative estimate of the possible improvement in constraining power of a 21 cm survey if one were to use an optimal analysis strategy (such as field-level analysis), where only the true sampling noise enters the error budget. We find that improvements in uncertainties on some cosmological parameters can be as large as 50%, depending on redshift, foreground cleaning efficiency, scales used in the analysis, and instrumental noise. One byproduct of our work is measurements of bias parameters and stochasticity for neutral hydrogen in the IllustrisTNG simulation over a wide range of redshifts; we provide simple fitting formulas for these measurements. Furthermore, our results motivate further exploration of new optimal analysis techniques and provide important insights into the constraining power of current and future 21 cm surveys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Near, far, wherever you are: simulations on the dose efficiency of holographic and ptychographic coherent imaging

Different studies in X-ray microscopy have arrived at conflicting conclusions about the dose efficiency of imaging modes involving the recording of intensity distributions in the near (Fresnel regime) or far (Fraunhofer regime) field downstream of a specimen. A numerical study is presented on the dose efficiency of near-field holography, near-field ptychography and far-field ptychography, where ptychography involves multiple overlapping finite-sized illumination positions. Unlike what has been reported for coherent diffraction imaging, which involves recording a single far-field diffraction pattern, it is found that all three methods offer similar image quality when using the same fluence on the specimen, with far-field ptychography offering slightly better spatial resolution and a lower mean error. These results support the concept that (if the experiment and image reconstruction are done properly) the sample can be near or far; wherever you are, photon fluence on the specimen sets one limit to spatial resolution.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Machine learning-based inversion for acoustic impedance with large synthetic training data: Workflow and data characterization

Where wells are sparse or training data are difficult to label with high-quality wireline-derived impedance logs, machine learning (ML)-based inversion of acoustic impedance typically depends on small training data sets, leading to biased prediction. We have advanced a novel workflow that applies large synthetic seismic training data to reduce facies-related bias. Using a geologically realistic model as the truth model, we randomly select sparse seed wells to perform sequential Gaussian simulation (SGS) for impedance models of the same geometry and simulate facies variability. We implement random forest regression on 30 features extracted from the synthetic volume. We observe that more seed wells tend to reduce facies-induced bias by sampling more types of facies, resulting in a better prediction. We then focus on the responses of SGS models to facies changes, the number of seed wells necessary for a useful synthetic model, and how much a synthetic model can help ML-based inversion. Here, we observe that the SGS synthetic training model outperforms well-direct training in general. For modeled clastic shore-zone systems in Miocene Gulf of Mexico, two or more seed wells are necessary for a significant reduction of root-mean-square error and outliners, and improvement of facies imaging. In a field-data test, we apply a similar workflow to quantitatively predict acoustic impedance, which is then converted to a sand-volume map at a high-frequency sequence (10–100 m), revealing detailed facies and sandstone patterns. Such results are valuable in many geologic and engineering applications, such as hydrocarbon and CO 2 reservoir prospecting, reserve estimation, simulation, etc.

3D seismic↗
DOE OSTI2018

Direct binary search for improved coherent beam shaping and optical differentiation wavefront sensing

Spatially dithered distributions of binary amplitude pixels are optimized using a full direct binary search taking into account the experimental configuration for amplitude modulation of coherent waves. This design process is shown to yield a significant reduction of the noise induced by binarization and pixelation over the region of interest. In this study, we demonstrate this approach for beam shaping and optical differentiation wavefront sensing, where the region of interest is in an image plane of the pixel distribution and in the far field of the pixel distribution, respectively. Lastly, the observed reduction in error compared to a standard error diffusion algorithm is significant for both applications because it improves performance without the tighter fabrication tolerance and cost associated with smaller pixels.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Reconstructing Richtmyer–Meshkov instabilities from noisy radiographs using low dimensional features and attention-based neural networks

We develop an ML-based approach for density reconstruction based on transformer neural networks. This approach is demonstrated in the setting of ICF-like double shell hydrodynamic simulations wherein the parameters related to material properties and initial conditions are varied. The new method can robustly recover the complex topologies given by the Richtmyer-Meshkoff instability (RMI) from a sequence of hydrodynamic features derived from radiographic images corrupted with blur, scatter, and noise. A noise model is developed to characterize errors in extracting features from synthetic radiographs of the simulated density field. The key component of the network is a transformer encoder that acts on a sequence of features extracted from noisy radiographs. This encoder includes numerous self-attention layers that act to learn temporal dependencies in the input sequences and increase the expressiveness of the model. This approach is shown to exhibit an excellent ability to accurately recover the RMI growth rates, despite the gas-metal interface being greatly obscured by radiographic noise. Our approach can be applied in a broad array of fields involving shock physics and material science.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Numerical Modelling of the Optical Stochastic Cooling Experiment at IOTA

A proof-of-principle optical-stochastic cooling (OSC) experiment is currently in its commissioning phase at the Fermilab’s IOTA ring. In support of this experiment, we recently implemented an OSC element in the ELEGANT tracking program. The model, based on a semi-analytic description of OSC [*], supports the simulation of a large number of macroparticles (10⁴-10⁶) over many turns (10⁶). This paper showcases the simulation capabilities to investigate the beam dynamics in the presence of cooling (or self-interacting radiation field in general) and quantify the impact of various sources of error (e.g. transverse and phase jitter), guide data analysis.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRS1971

Digital decorrelator saves time and expense in acoustic testing of structures

Instantaneous signals from coherent random sound field are summed and time delayed to avoid introducing vectorial addition errors. Resultant statistically independent signals are applied to spectrometer. Displayed sound pressure level is proportional to square root of sum of squares of sound pressure levels taken over frequency range of interest.

Nakich, R. B.↗
NASA NTRS1969

Thermal convection at infinite Prandtl number

Numerical solutions are developed for the full scaled three dimensional thermal convection problem, at infinite Prandtl number, and for rigid boundaries. The procedure is designed to give an approximate account of horizontally homogeneous and isotropic flow situations. Results, which included a maximum of 36 horizontal wave number vectors and 20 vertical wave numbers, appear to adequately describe the flow fill up to R = 100,000; beyond this R the results appear to show horizontal wave number truncation error. This error seems to affect the boundary slope of the mean temperature field more than other mean quantities. Despite some numerical uncertainities, certain of the qualitative features of the flow fill are predicted with reasonable confidence.

Herring, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

A near-optimum receiver structure for the detection of M-ary optical PPM signals

A class of receivers called conditionally nulling receivers is defined for quantum noise limited optical communications. These receivers have the ability to decide at each moment in time whether or not to coherently combine a predetermined local oscillator field with the received optical field, prior to performing an energy measurement (photodetection) on the combined field. Conditionally nulling receivers are applicable to pulse position modulation and related modulation schemes, which have the property that, at each moment in time, the transmitted signal is in one of only two states, on or off. The local oscillator field which may or may not be added by the receiver is an exact replica of the negative of the received on field; hence, the receiver can exactly null the on signal if the on signal is present and the receiver chooses to use the local field. An ideal conditionally nulling receiver achieves very nearly the same error probability (within a multiplicative factor varying froom 1 to 2.15) as the optimum quantum measurement for quantum noise limited detection of M-ary PPM signals. In contrast, other known receiving methods, such as direct, heterodyne, and homodyne detection, are exponentially suboptimum.

Dolinar, S. J., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Evaluation of the synoptic and mesoscale predictive capabilities of a mesoscale atmospheric simulation system

The overall performance characteristics of a limited area, hydrostatic, fine (52 km) mesh, primitive equation, numerical weather prediction model are determined in anticipation of satellite data assimilations with the model. The synoptic and mesoscale predictive capabilities of version 2.0 of this model, the Mesoscale Atmospheric Simulation System (MASS 2.0), were evaluated. The two part study is based on a sample of approximately thirty 12h and 24h forecasts of atmospheric flow patterns during spring and early summer. The synoptic scale evaluation results benchmark the performance of MASS 2.0 against that of an operational, synoptic scale weather prediction model, the Limited area Fine Mesh (LFM). The large sample allows for the calculation of statistically significant measures of forecast accuracy and the determination of systematic model errors. The synoptic scale benchmark is required before unsmoothed mesoscale forecast fields can be seriously considered.

Koch, S. E.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Reflector antennas with low sidelobes, low cross polarization, and high aperture efficiency

Techniques are presented for computing the horn near field patterns on the subreflectors and for correcting the phase center errors of the horn pattern by shaping the subreflector surface. The diffraction pattern computations for scanned beams are described. The effects of dish aperture diffraction on pattern bandwidth are investigated. A model antenna consisting of a reflector, shaped subreflector, and corrugated feed horn is described.

Faigen, I. M.↗
NASA NTRS1984

COSMIC/NASTRAN Free-field Input

A user's guide to the COSMIC/NASTRAN free field input for the Bulk Data section of the NASTRAN program is proposed. The free field input is designed to be user friendly and the user is not forced out of the computer system due to input errors. It is easy to use, with only a few simple rules to follow. A stand alone version of the COSMIC/NASTRAN free field input is also available. The use of free field input is illustrated by a number of examples.

Chan, G. C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The Use of a Laser Doppler Velocimeter in a Standard Flammability Tube

The use of the Laser Doppler Velocimeter, (LDV), to measure the flow associated with the passage of a flame through a standard flammability limit tube (SFLT) was studied. Four major results are presented: (1) it is shown that by using standard ray tracing calculations, the displacement of the LDV volume and the fringe rotation within the experimental error of measurement can be predicted; (2) the flow velocity vector field associated with passage of an upward propagating flame in an SFLT is determined; (3) it is determined that the use of a light interruption technique to track particles is not feasible; and (4) it is shown that a 25 mW laser is adequate for LDV measurements in the Shuttle or Spacelab.

Strehlow, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Complementary information between UV and IR for remote sensing of total ozone

When infrared and ultraviolet measurements are available simultaneously with the same field of view, it is possible to minimize some of the errors in measuring the total ozone. The addition of the infrared technique to Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) operation can aid in getting measurements of ozone in the nighttime and during the polar night. A radiometer with a channel in the window region around 11 microns, a channel in the 9-6 micron O sub 3 band, and three channels in the 15 micron CO sub 2 band should be adequate to retrieve total ozone. Such a radiometer could be designed to do cross track scanning. This combination of ultraviolet and infrared instruments could be flown on a geostationary or polar orbiting satellite.

Cuddapah, Prabhakara↗
NASA NTRS1989

Direct discretization of planar div-curl problems

A control volume method is proposed for planar div-curl systems. The method is independent of potential and least squares formulations, and works directly with the div-curl system. The novelty of the technique lies in its use of a single local vector field component and two control volumes rather than the other way around. A discrete vector field theory comes quite naturally from this idea and is developed. Error estimates are proved for the method, and other ramifications investigated.

Nicolaides, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Calibration of HST wide field camera for quantitative analysis of faint galaxy images

We present the methods adopted to optimize the calibration of images obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera (WFC) (1991-1993). Our main goal is to improve quantitative measurement of faint images, with special emphasis on the faint (I approximately 20-24 mag) stars and galaxies observed as a part of the Medium-Deep Survey. Several modifications to the standard calibration procedures have been introduced, including improved bias and dark images, and a new supersky flatfield obtained by combining a large number of relatively object-free Medium-Deep Survey exposures of random fields. The supersky flat has a pixel-to-pixel rms error of about 2.0% in F555W and of 2.4% in F785LP; large-scale variations are smaller than 1% rms. Overall, our modifications improve the quality of faint images with respect to the standard calibration by about a factor of five in photometric accuracy and about 0.3 mag in sensitivity, corresponding to about a factor of two in observing time. The relevant calibration images have been made available to the scientific community.

Ratnatunga, Kavan U.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Use of midlatitude soil moisture and meteorological observations to validate soil moisture simulations with biosphere and bucket models

Soil moisture observations in sites with natural vegetation were made for several decades in the former Soviet Union at hundreds of stations. In this paper, the authors use data from six of these stations from different climatic regimes, along with ancillary meteorological and actinometric data, to demonstrate a method to validate soil moisture simulations with biosphere and bucket models. Some early and current general circulation models (GCMs) use bucket models for soil hydrology calculations. More recently, the Simple Biosphere Model (SiB) was developed to incorporate the effects of vegetation on fluxes of moisture, momentum, and energy at the earth's surface into soil hydrology models. Until now, the bucket and SiB have been verified by comparison with actual soil moisture data only on a limited basis. In this study, a Simplified SiB (SSiB) soil hydrology model and a 15-cm bucket model are forced by observed meteorological and actinometric data every 3 h for 6-yr simulations at the six stations. The model calculations of soil moisture are compared to observations of soil moisture, literally 'ground truth,' snow cover, surface albedo, and net radiation, and with each other. For three of the stations, the SSiB and 15-cm bucket models produce good simulations of seasonal cycles and interannual variations of soil moisture. For the other three stations, there are large errors in the simulations by both models. Inconsistencies in specification of field capacity may be partly responsible. There is no evidence that the SSiB simulations are superior in simulating soil moisture variations. In fact, the models are quite similar since SSiB implicitly has a bucket embedded in it. One of the main differences between the models is in the treatment of runoff due to melting snow in the spring -- SSiB incorrectly puts all the snowmelt into runoff. While producing similar soil moisture simulations, the models produce very different surface latent and sensible heat fluxes, which would have large effects on GCM simulations.

Robock, Alan↗
NASA NTRS1998

Permanent GPS Geodetic Array in Southern California

The southern California Permanent GPS Geodetic Array (PGGA) was established in the spring of 1990 to evaluate continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements as a new too] for monitoring crustal deformation. Southern California is an ideal location because of the relatively high rate of tectonic deformation, the high probability of intense seismicity, the long history of conventional and space geodetic measurements, and the availability of a well developed infrastructure to support continuous operations. Within several months of the start of regular operations, the PGGA recorded far-field coseismic displacements induced by the June 28, 1992 (M(sub w)=7.3), Landers earthquake, the largest magnitude earthquake in California in the past 40 years and the first one to be recorded by a continuous GPS array. Only nineteen months later, on 17 January 1994, the PGGA recorded coseismic displacements for the strongest earthquake to strike the Los Angeles basin in two decades, the (M(sub e)=6.7) Northridge earthquake. At the time of the Landers earthquake, only seven continuous GPS sites were operating in southern California; by the beginning of 1994, three more sites had been added to the array. However, only a pair of sites were situated in the Los Angeles basin. The destruction caused by the Northridge earthquake spurred a fourfold increase in the number of continuous GPS sites in southern California within 2 years of this event. The PGGA is now the regional component of the Southern California Integrated GPS Network (SCIGN), a major ongoing densification of continuous GPS sites, with a concentration in the Los Angeles metropolitan region. Continuous GPS provides temporally dense measurements of surface displacements induced by crustal deformation processes including interseismic, coseismic, postseismic, and aseismic deformation and the potential for detecting anomalous events such as preseismic deformation and interseismic strain variations. Although strain meters yield much higher short-term resolution to a period of about 1 year, a single continuous GPS site is significantly less expensive than a single strain meter and probably has better long-term stability beyond a 1-year period. Compared to less frequent field measurements, continuous GPS provides the means to better characterize the errors in GPS position measurements and thereby obtain more realistic estimates of derived parameters such as site velocities.

Green, Cecil H.↗