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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 1,441 records · Page 80
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

3D toroidal physics: Testing the boundaries of symmetry breaking

Toroidal symmetry is an important concept for plasma confinement; it allows the existence of nested flux surface MHD equilibria and conserved invariants for particle motion. However, perfect symmetry is unachievable in realistic toroidal plasma devices. For example, tokamaks have toroidal ripple due to discrete field coils, optimized stellarators do not achieve exact quasi-symmetry, the plasma itself continually seeks lower energy states through helical 3D deformations, and reactors will likely have non-uniform distributions of ferritic steel near the plasma. Also, some level of designed-in 3D magnetic field structure is now anticipated for most concepts in order to provide the plasma control needed for a stable, steady-state fusion reactor. Such planned 3D field structures can take many forms, ranging from tokamaks with weak 3D edge localized mode suppression fields to stellarators with more dominant 3D field structures. This motivates the development of physics models that are applicable across the full range of 3D devices. Ultimately, the questions of how much symmetry breaking can be tolerated and how to optimize its design must be addressed for all fusion concepts. A closely coupled program of simulation, experimental validation, and design optimization is required to determine what forms and amplitudes of 3D shaping and symmetry breaking will be compatible with the requirements of future fusion reactors.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Development and testing of a pulsed helium ion source for probing materials and warm dense matter studies

The neutralized drift compression experiment was designed and commissioned as a pulsed, linear induction accelerator to drive thin targets to warm dense matter (WDM) states with peak temperatures of ∼1 eV using intense, short pulses (∼1 ns) of 1.2 MeV lithium ions. At that kinetic energy, heating a thin target foil near the Bragg peak energy using He{sup +} ions leads to more uniform energy deposition of the target material than Li{sup +} ions. Experiments show that a higher current density of helium ions can be delivered from a plasma source compared to Li{sup +} ions from a hot plate type ion source. He{sup +} beam pulses as high as 200 mA at the peak and 4 μs long were measured from a multi-aperture 7-cm-diameter emission area. Within ±5% variation, the uniform beam area is approximately 6 cm across. The accelerated and compressed pulsed ion beams can be used for materials studies and isochoric heating of target materials for high energy density physics experiments and WDM studies.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Large grain CBMM Nb ingot slices: An ideal test bed for exploring the microstructure-electromagnetic property relationships relevant to SRF

High purity (RRR > 200), large grain (> 5-10 cm) niobium ingot slices have been successfully used to fabricate radio frequency (RF) cavities for particle accelerators. They offer significantly reduced fabrication cost by eliminating processing steps and furthermore they provide the opportunity to study the influence of individual grain boundaries in SRF Nb. Here we summarize our measurements of grain boundary (GB) effects on the superconducting properties of large grain high purity niobium sheet manufactured by CBMM. We show by magneto-optical (MO) imaging that GBs allow premature flux penetration, but only when they are oriented close to the direction of the magnetic field. However, even low angle GBs produced by minor deformations commensurate with half-cell forming produce localized flux penetration. The transport properties of grain boundaries were investigated by direct transport across them and evidence for preferential vortex flow along the GBs of SRF Nb was observed for the first time. Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and micro crystallographic analysis with electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), we were able to quantitatively characterize surface substructures that can lead to localized thermal breakdown of superconductivity. Important to these studies was the development of sample preparation techniques that made the cutout single, bi-crystal and tri-crystal Nb coupons as representative as possible of the surface properties of cavities manufactured by standard techniques.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

ULTRA-FAINT DWARF GALAXIES AS A TEST OF EARLY ENRICHMENT AND METALLICITY-DEPENDENT STAR FORMATION

The close relation of star formation with molecular gas indicated by observations and assumed in recent models implies that the efficiency with which galaxies convert their gas into stars depends on gas metallicity. This is because abundance of molecular hydrogen is sensitive to abundance of dust, which catalyzes formation of H{sub 2} and helps to shield it from dissociating radiation. In this study, we point out that in the absence of significant pre-enrichment by Population III stars forming out of zero metallicity gas, such H{sub 2}-based star formation is expected to leave an imprint in the form of bi-modality in the metallicity distribution among dwarf galaxies and in the metallicity distribution of stars within individual galaxies. The bi-modality arises because when gas metallicity (and dust abundance) is low, formation of molecular gas is inefficient, the gas consumption timescale is long, and star formation and metal enrichment proceed slowly. When metallicity reaches a critical threshold value star formation and enrichment accelerate, which leads to rapid increase in both stellar mass and metallicity of galaxies. We demonstrate this process both using a simple analytical model and full cosmological simulations. In contrast, the observed metallicity distributions of dwarf galaxies or stars within them are not bi-modal. We argue that this discrepancy points to substantial early stochastic pre-enrichment by Population III stars to levels Z {approx} 10{sup -2} Z{sub Sun} in dense, star-forming regions of early galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

TESTING MODELS OF INTRINSIC BRIGHTNESS VARIATIONS IN TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE AND THEIR IMPACT ON MEASURING COSMOLOGICAL PARAMETERS

For spectroscopically confirmed Type Ia supernovae we evaluate models of intrinsic brightness variations with detailed data/Monte Carlo comparisons of the dispersion in the following quantities: Hubble-diagram scatter, color difference (B - V - c) between the true B - V color and the fitted color (c) from the SALT-II light curve model, and photometric redshift residual. The data sample includes 251 ugriz light curves from the three-season Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II and 191 griz light curves from the Supernova Legacy Survey 3 year data release. We find that the simplest model of a wavelength-independent (coherent) scatter is not adequate, and that to describe the data the intrinsic-scatter model must have wavelength-dependent variations resulting in a {approx}0.02 mag scatter in B - V - c. Relatively weak constraints are obtained on the nature of intrinsic scatter because a variety of different models can reasonably describe this photometric data sample. We use Monte Carlo simulations to examine the standard approach of adding a coherent-scatter term in quadrature to the distance-modulus uncertainty in order to bring the reduced {chi}{sup 2} to unity when fitting a Hubble diagram. If the light curve fits include model uncertainties with the correct wavelength dependence of the scatter, we find that this approach is valid and that the bias on the dark energy equation-of-state parameter w is much smaller ({approx}0.001) than current systematic uncertainties. However, incorrect model uncertainties can lead to a significant bias on the distance moduli, with up to {approx}0.05 mag redshift-dependent variation. This bias is roughly reduced in half after applying a Malmquist bias correction. For the recent SNLS3 cosmology results, we estimate that this effect introduces an additional systematic uncertainty on w of {approx}0.02, well below the total uncertainty. This uncertainty depends on the choice of viable scatter models and the choice of supernova (SN) samples, and thus this small w-uncertainty is not guaranteed in future cosmology results. For example, the w-uncertainty for SDSS+SNLS (dropping the nearby SNe) increases to {approx}0.04.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Halo-independent tests of dark matter direct detection signals: local DM density, LHC, and thermal freeze-out

From an assumed signal in a Dark Matter (DM) direct detection experiment a lower bound on the product of the DM-nucleon scattering cross section and the local DM density is derived, which is independent of the local DM velocity distribution. This can be combined with astrophysical determinations of the local DM density. Within a given particle physics model the bound also allows a robust comparison of a direct detection signal with limits from the LHC. Furthermore, the bound can be used to formulate a condition which has to be fulfilled if the particle responsible for the direct detection signal is a thermal relic, regardless of whether it constitutes all DM or only part of it. We illustrate the arguments by adopting a simplified DM model with a Z{sup ′} mediator and assuming a signal in a future xenon direct detection experiment.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Halo-independent tests of dark matter annual modulation signals

New halo-independent lower bounds on the product of the dark matter-nucleon scattering cross section and the local dark matter density that are valid for annual modulations of dark matter direct detection signals are derived. They are obtained by making use of halo-independent bounds based on an expansion of the rate on the Earth’s velocity that were derived in previous works. In combination with astrophysical measurements of the local energy density, an observed annual modulation implies a lower bound on the cross section that is independent of the velocity distribution and that must be fulfilled by any particle physics model. In order to illustrate the power of the bounds we apply them to DAMA/LIBRA data and obtain quite strong results when compared to the standard halo model predictions. We also extend the bounds to the case of multi-target detectors.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Gamma ray tests of Minimal Dark Matter

We reconsider the model of Minimal Dark Matter (a fermionic, hypercharge-less quintuplet of the EW interactions) and compute its gamma ray signatures. We compare them with a number of gamma ray probes: the galactic halo diffuse measurements, the galactic center line searches and recent dwarf galaxies observations. We find that the original minimal model, whose mass is fixed at 9.4 TeV by the relic abundance requirement, is constrained by the line searches from the Galactic Center: it is ruled out if the Milky Way possesses a cuspy profile such as NFW but it is still allowed if it has a cored one. Observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies are also relevant (in particular searches for lines), and ongoing astrophysical progresses on these systems have the potential to eventually rule out the model. We also explore a wider mass range, which applies to the case in which the relic abundance requirement is relaxed. Most of our results can be safely extended to the larger class of multi-TeV WIMP DM annihilating into massive gauge bosons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Complementary test of the dark matter self-interaction in dark U(1) model by direct and indirect dark matter detection

The halo dark matter (DM) can be captured by the Sun if its final velocity after the collision with a nucleus in the Sun is less than the escape velocity. We consider a selfinteracting dark matter (SIDM) model where U(1) gauge symmetry is introduced to account for the DM self-interaction. Such a model naturally leads to isospin violating DM-nucleon interaction, although isospin symmetric interaction is still allowed as a special case. We present the IceCube-PINGU 2σ sensitivity to the parameter range of the above model with 5 years of search for neutrino signature from DM annihilation in the Sun. This indirect detection complements the direct detection by probing those SIDM parameter ranges which are either the region for very small m{sub χ} or the region opened up due to isospin violations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗