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At least 1,477 records · Page 82

Increased accuracy of multiphysics simulations through flexible execution, transient algorithms, and modular physics

The MOOSE framework is a foundational capability used by the NEAMS program to create over 15 different simulation tools for advanced nuclear reactors. Due to MOOSE’s broad use, improvements to the framework in support of modeling and simulation goals are critical to the program. Such improvements can take many forms, including optimization, improved user experience, streamlined application programming interfaces (APIs), parallelism, and new capabilities. The work described in this report was conducted in direct support of the simulation tools and has already been deployed. The capabilities were implemented in the same order as they are covered in this report: multiple time integrators in the same input file, initial design of framework Components, an input file Application block, extension of NetGen to 3D geometries in MOOSE, and deployment of executors in the multi-system paradigm. These five additions are fundamental capabilities that will be leveraged by many NEAMS applications.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Spectral Flux Measurements on SNS Direct Geometry Spectrometers at IRP-2 End-of-Life

The Inner Reflector Plug (IRP) of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) was replaced during the SNS shutdown period beginning 25 November 2025. This IRP, IRP-2, was first placed in service in May 2018, and was in use for 42.5 GW-hrs of operation, somewhat longer than its original design life of 30 GW-hrs, or even a refined estimate of 33 GW-hrs for the water moderator poison plate and 39 GW-hrs on the decoupled-poisoned hydrogen moderator decoupler (Gallmeier, Lu, and Iverson 2018). The time-integrated power history for IRP-2 is tracked in Figure 1.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Some Considerations and Techniques for the Predictive Simulation of Global Instabilities in Tokamaks

This is a write-up of a lecture given at the Fourth ITER International Summer School held at the IFS, U. Texas in June 2010. A simple rigid plasma model is used to show that axisymmetric plasma instabilities (in two-dimensions) will occur on a resistive timescale and do not depend on the plasma mass. This is the justification for ignoring the inertial term in two-dimensional studies of plasma shape control and vertical stability. In three dimensions, it is not normally possible to ignore the inertial terms when computing plasma instabilities. This results in a stiff system of equations (with multiple timescales) in which the driving terms causing plasma instabilities are small compared with the stable compressive terms. Techniques are described for implicit time integration and for representing the vector fields in a way to facilitate obtaining accurate solutions for plasma instabilities when a strong background magnetic field is present.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Adagio 4.16 user s guide.

Adagio is a three-dimensional, implicit solid mechanics code with a versatile element library, nonlinear material models, and capabilities for modeling large deformation and contact. Adagio is a parallel code, and its nonlinear solver and contact capabilities enable scalable solutions of large problems. It is built on the SIERRA Framework [1, 2]. SIERRA provides a data management framework in a parallel computing environment that allows the addition of capabilities in a modular fashion. The Adagio 4.16 User's Guide provides information about the functionality in Adagio and the command structure required to access this functionality in a user input file. This document is divided into chapters based primarily on functionality. For example, the command structure related to the use of various element types is grouped in one chapter; descriptions of material models are grouped in another chapter. The input and usage of Adagio is similar to that of the code Presto [3]. Presto, like Adagio, is a solid mechanics code built on the SIERRA Framework. The primary difference between the two codes is that Presto uses explicit time integration for transient dynamics analysis, whereas Adagio is an implicit code. Because of the similarities in input and usage between Adagio and Presto, the user's guides for the two codes are structured in the same manner and share common material. (Once you have mastered the input structure for one code, it will be easy to master the syntax structure for the other code.) To maintain the commonality between the two user's guides, we have used a variety of techniques. For example, references to Presto may be found in the Adagio user's guide and vice versa, and the chapter order across the two guides is the same. On the other hand, each of the two user's guides is expressly tailored to the features of the specific code and documents the particular functionality for that code. For example, though both Presto and Adagio have contact functionality, the content of the chapter on contact in the two guides differs. Important references for both Adagio and Presto are given in the references section at the end of this chapter. Adagio was preceded by the codes JAC and JAS3D; JAC is described in Reference 4; JAS3D is described in Reference 5. Presto was preceded by the code Pronto3D. Pronto3D is described in References 6 and 7. Some of the fundamental nonlinear technology used by both Presto and Adagio are described in References 8, 9, and 10. Currently, both Presto and Adagio use the Exodus II database and the XDMF database; Exodus II is more commonly used than XDMF. (Other options may be added in the future.) The Exodus II database format is described in Reference 11, and the XDMF database format is described in Reference 12. Important information about contact is provided in the reference document for ACME [13]. ACME is a third-party library for contact. One of the key concepts for the command structure in the input file is a concept referred to as scope. A detailed explanation of scope is provided in Section 1.2. Most of the command lines in Chapter 2 are related to a certain scope rather than to some particular functionality.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Limitations for Quantum Algorithms to Solve Turbulent and Chaotic Systems

We investigate the limitations of quantum computers for solving nonlinear dynamical systems. In particular, we tighten the worst-case bounds of the quantum Carleman linearisation (QCL) algorithm answering one of their open questions. We provide a further significant limitation for any quantum algorithm that aims to output a quantum state that approximates the normalized solution vector. Given a natural choice of coordinates for a dynamical system with one or more positive Lyapunov exponents and solutions that grow sub-exponentially, we prove that any such algorithm has complexity scaling at least exponentially in the integration time. As such, an efficient quantum algorithm for simulating chaotic systems or regimes is likely not possible.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Mechanical Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality in Recently Constructed U.S. Homes in Marine and Cold-Dry Climates Data from Building America Project

Data were collected to characterize whole-house mechanical ventilation (WHMV) and indoor air quality (IAQ) in 55 homes in the Marine climate of Oregon and Cold-Dry climate of Colorado in the U.S. Sixteen homes were monitored for two weeks, with and without WHMV operating. Ventilation airflows; airtightness; time-resolved CO2, PM2.5 and radon; and time-integrated NO2, NOX and formaldehyde were measured. Participants provided information about IAQ-impacting activities, perceptions and ventilation use. All homes had operational cooktop ventilation and bathroom exhaust. Thirty homes had equipment that could meet the ASHRAE 62.2-2010 standard with continuous or controlled runtime and 34 had some WHMV operating as found. Thirty-five of 46 participants with WHMV reported they did not know how to operate it, and only half of the systems were properly labeled. Two-week homes had lower formaldehyde, radon, CO2, and NO (NOX-NO2) when operated with WHMV; and also had faster PM2.5 decays following indoor emission events. Overall IAQ satisfaction was similar in Oregon and Colorado, but more Colorado participants (19 vs. 3%) felt their IAQ could be improved and more reported dryness as a problem (58 vs. 14%). The collected data indicate that there are benefits of operating WHMV, even when continuous use may not be needed because outdoor pollutant concentrations are low and indoor sources do not present substantial challenges.

air quality↗

CORRELATION OF HARD X-RAY AND WHITE LIGHT EMISSION IN SOLAR FLARES

A statistical study of the correlation between hard X-ray and white light emission in solar flares is performed in order to search for a link between flare-accelerated electrons and white light formation. We analyze 43 flares spanning GOES classes M and X using observations from the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager and Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. We calculate X-ray fluxes at 30 keV and white light fluxes at 6173 Å summed over the hard X-ray flare ribbons with an integration time of 45 s around the peak hard-X ray time. We find a good correlation between hard X-ray fluxes and excess white light fluxes, with a highest correlation coefficient of 0.68 for photons with energy of 30 keV. Assuming the thick target model, a similar correlation is found between the deposited power by flare-accelerated electrons and the white light fluxes. The correlation coefficient is found to be largest for energy deposition by electrons above ∼50 keV. At higher electron energies the correlation decreases gradually while a rapid decrease is seen if the energy provided by low-energy electrons is added. This suggests that flare-accelerated electrons of energy ∼50 keV are the main source for white light production.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Multi-wavelength observations of GRB 111228A and implications for the fireball and its environment

Observations of very early multi-wavelength afterglows are critical to reveal the properties of the radiating fireball and its environment as well as the central engine of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). We report our optical observations of GRB 111228A from 95 s to about 50 hr after the burst trigger and investigate its properties of the prompt gamma-rays and the ambient medium using our data and the data from the Swift and Fermi missions. Our joint optical and X-ray spectral fits to the afterglow data show that the ambient medium features a low dust-to-gas ratio. Incorporating the energy injection effect, our best fit to the afterglow light curves with the standard afterglow model via the Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique shows that ϵ{sub e}=(6.9±0.3)×10{sup −2}, ϵ{sub B}=(7.73±0.62)×10{sup −6},E{sub K}=(6.32±0.86)×10{sup 53} erg, n=0.100±0.014 cm{sup −3}. The low medium density likely implies that the afterglow jet may be in a halo or in a hot ISM. A chromatic shallow decay segment observed in the optical and X-ray bands is well explained with the long-lasting energy injection from the central engine, which would be a magnetar with a period of about 1.92 ms inferred from the data. The E{sub p} of its time-integrated prompt gamma-ray spectrum is ∼26 KeV. Using the initial Lorentz factor (Γ{sub 0}=476{sub −237}{sup +225}) derived from our afterglow model fit, it is found that GRB 111228A satisfies the L{sub iso}−E{sub p,z}−Γ{sub 0} relation and bridges the typical GRBs and low luminosity GRBs in this relation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

ESTIMATING LONG GRB JET OPENING ANGLES AND REST-FRAME ENERGETICS

We present a method to estimate the jet opening angles of long duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) using the prompt gamma-ray energetics and an inversion of the Ghirlanda relation, which is a correlation between the time-integrated peak energy of the GRB prompt spectrum and the collimation-corrected energy in gamma-rays. The derived jet opening angles using this method and detailed assumptions match well with the corresponding inferred jet opening angles obtained when a break in the afterglow is observed. Furthermore, using a model of the predicted long GRB redshift probability distribution observable by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM), we estimate the probability distributions for the jet opening angle and rest-frame energetics for a large sample of GBM GRBs for which the redshifts have not been observed. Previous studies have only used a handful of GRBs to estimate these properties due to the paucity of observed afterglow jet breaks, spectroscopic redshifts, and comprehensive prompt gamma-ray observations, and we potentially expand the number of GRBs that can be used in this analysis by more than an order of magnitude. In this analysis, we also present an inferred distribution of jet breaks which indicates that a large fraction of jet breaks are not observable with current instrumentation and observing strategies. We present simple parameterizations for the jet angle, energetics, and jet break distributions so that they may be used in future studies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

ARE THERE TWO DISTINCT SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE RELEASES IN THE 2012 MAY 17 GROUND LEVEL ENHANCEMENT EVENT?

We examine ion release times in the solar vicinity for the 2012 May 17 Ground Level Enhancement event using the velocity dispersion analysis method. In situ energetic proton data from Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)/Energetic and Relativistic Nuclei and Electron and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite are used. We find two distinct releases of Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) near the Sun, separated by ∼40 minutes. From soft X-ray observations, we find that the first release coincides with the solar flare eruption: the release starts from the flare onset and ends near the peak of the soft X-ray; type-III radio bursts also occur when the release starts. A type II radio burst may also start at the begining of the release. However, the associated Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) only has a height of 0.08R{sub s} from extrapolation of SOHO/LASCO data. At the start of the second release, the CME propagates to more than 8.4R{sub s} in height, and there are signatures of an enhanced type II radio burst. The time-integrated spectra for the two releases differ. The spectrum for the second release shows the common double-power-law feature of gradual SEP events. The spectrum for the first release does not resemble power laws because there is considerable modulation at lower energies. Based on our analysis, we suggest that SEPs of the first release were dominated by particles accelerated at the flare, and those of the second release were dominated by particles accelerated at the associated CME-driven shock. Our study may be important to understand certain extreme SEP events.

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SIGNATURES OF GRAVITATIONAL INSTABILITY IN RESOLVED IMAGES OF PROTOSTELLAR DISKS

Protostellar (class 0/I) disks, which have masses comparable to those of their nascent host stars and are fed continuously from their natal infalling envelopes, are prone to gravitational instability (GI). Motivated by advances in near-infrared (NIR) adaptive optics imaging and millimeter-wave interferometry, we explore the observational signatures of GI in disks using hydrodynamical and Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulations to synthesize NIR scattered light images and millimeter dust continuum maps. Spiral arms induced by GI, located at disk radii of hundreds of astronomical units, are local overdensities and have their photospheres displaced to higher altitudes above the disk midplane; therefore, arms scatter more NIR light from their central stars than inter-arm regions, and are detectable at distances up to 1 kpc by Gemini/GPI, VLT/SPHERE, and Subaru/HiCIAO/SCExAO. In contrast, collapsed clumps formed by disk fragmentation have such strong local gravitational fields that their scattering photospheres are at lower altitudes; such fragments appear fainter than their surroundings in NIR scattered light. Spiral arms and streamers recently imaged in four FU Ori systems at NIR wavelengths resemble GI-induced structures and support the interpretation that FUors are gravitationally unstable protostellar disks. At millimeter wavelengths, both spirals and clumps appear brighter in thermal emission than the ambient disk and can be detected by ALMA at distances up to 0.4 kpc with one hour integration times at ∼0.″1 resolution. Collapsed fragments having masses ≳1 M {sub J} can be detected by ALMA within ∼10 minutes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

MEASURING PROTOPLANETARY DISK GAS SURFACE DENSITY PROFILES WITH ALMA

The gas and dust are spatially segregated in protoplanetary disks due to the vertical settling and radial drift of large grains. A fuller accounting of the mass content and distribution in disks therefore requires spectral line observations. We extend the modeling approach presented in Williams and Best to show that gas surface density profiles can be measured from high fidelity {sup 13}CO integrated intensity images. We demonstrate the methodology by fitting ALMA observations of the HD 163296 disk to determine a gas mass, M {sub gas} = 0.048 M {sub ⊙}, and accretion disk characteristic size R {sub c} = 213 au and gradient γ = 0.39. The same parameters match the C{sup 18}O 2–1 image and indicate an abundance ratio [{sup 12}CO]/[C{sup 18}O] of 700 independent of radius. To test how well this methodology can be applied to future line surveys of smaller, lower mass T Tauri disks, we create a large {sup 13}CO 2–1 image library and fit simulated data. For disks with gas masses 3–10 M {sub Jup} at 150 pc, ALMA observations with a resolution of 0.″2–0.″3 and integration times of ∼20 minutes allow reliable estimates of R {sub c} to within about 10 au and γ to within about 0.2. Economic gas imaging surveys are therefore feasible and offer the opportunity to open up a new dimension for studying disk structure and its evolution toward planet formation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

VELOCITY VARIATIONS IN THE PHOENIX–HERMUS STAR STREAM

Measurements of velocity and density perturbations along stellar streams in the Milky Way provide a time-integrated measure of dark matter substructure at larger galactic radius than the complementary instantaneous inner-halo strong lensing detection of dark matter sub-halos in distant galaxies. An interesting case to consider is the proposed Phoenix–Hermus star stream, which is long, thin, and on a nearly circular orbit, making it a particular good target to study for velocity variations along its length. In the presence of dark matter sub-halos, the stream velocities are significantly perturbed in a manner that is readily understood with the impulse approximation. A set of simulations shows that only sub-halos above a few 10{sup 7} M {sub ⊙} lead to reasonably long-lived observationally detectable velocity variations of amplitude of order 1 km s{sup −1}, with an average of about one visible hit per (two-armed) stream over a 3 Gyr interval. An implication is that globular clusters themselves will not have a visible impact on the stream. Radial velocities have the benefit of being completely insensitive to distance errors. Distance errors scatter individual star velocities perpendicular and tangential to the mean orbit, but their mean values remain unbiased. Calculations like these help build the quantitative case to acquire large, fairly deep, precision velocity samples of stream stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Stacking spectra in protoplanetary disks: detecting intensity profiles from hidden molecular lines in HD 163296

We introduce a new stacking method in Keplerian disks that (1) enhances signal-to-noise ratios (S/Ns) of detected molecular lines and (2) makes visible otherwise-undetectable weak lines. Our technique takes advantage of the Keplerian rotational velocity pattern. It aligns spectra according to their different centroid velocities at their different positions in a disk and stacks them. After aligning, the signals are accumulated in a narrower velocity range as compared to the original line width without alignment. Moreover, originally correlated noise becomes decorrelated. Stacked and aligned spectra thus have a higher S/N. We apply our method to Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) archival data of DCN (3–2), DCO{sup +} (3–2), N{sub 2}D{sup +} (3–2), and H{sub 2}CO (3{sub 0,3}–2{sub 0,2}), (3{sub 2,2}–2{sub 2,1}), and (3{sub 2,1}–2{sub 2,0}) in the protoplanetary disk around HD 163296. As a result, (1) the S/Ns of the originally detected DCN (3–2), DCO{sup +} (3–2), H{sub 2}CO (3{sub 0,3}–2{sub 0,2}), and N{sub 2}D{sup +} (3–2) lines are boosted by a factor of ≳4–5 at their spectral peaks, implying one order of magnitude shorter integration times to reach the original S/N; and (2) the previously undetectable spectra of the H{sub 2}CO (3{sub 2,2}–2{sub 2,1}) and (3{sub 2,1}–2{sub 2,0}) lines are materialized at more than 3σ. These dramatically enhanced S/Ns allow us to measure intensity distributions in all lines with high significance. The principle of our method can be applied not only to Keplerian disks but also to any systems with ordered kinematic patterns.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Characterization of Exoplanet Atmospheres with the Optical Coronagraph on WFIRST

Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST)-CGI is a NASA technology demonstration mission that is charged with demonstrating key technologies for future exo-Earth imaging missions in space. In the process, it will obtain images and low-resolution spectra of a handful to a dozen extrasolar planets and possibly protoplanetary disks. Its unprecedented contrast levels in the optical will provide astronomers’ with their first direct look at mature, Jupiter-sized planets at moderate separations. This paper addresses the question: what science can be done with such data? An analytic noise model, which is informed by the ongoing engineering developments, is used to compute maximum achievable signal-to-noise ratios and scientifically viable integration times for hypothetical star–planet systems, as well as to investigate the constraining power of various combinations of WFIRST-CGI photometric and spectral observations. This work introduces two simple models for planetary geometric albedos, which are inspired largely by the solar system’s gas giants. The first planet model is a hybrid Jupiter–Neptune model, which separately treats the short and long wavelengths where chromophores and methane dominate absorption, respectively. The second planet model fixes cloud and haze properties in CoolTLusty to match Jupiter’s albedo spectrum, it then perturbs only the metallicity. MCMC retrievals performed on simulated observations are used to assess the precision with which planet model parameters can be measured subject to different exposure times and observing cases. Planet radius is recovered within ±15% for all observing cases with both the hybrid model and the CoolTLusty metallicity grid. Fit results for both models’ parameterizations of geometric albedo spectra demonstrate that a rough indication of the metallicity or methane content should be possible for some WFIRST-CGI targets. We conclude that real observations will likely be able to differentiate between extreme cases using these models, but will lack the precision necessary to uncover subtle trends.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Theoretical Reflectance Spectra of Earth-like Planets through Their Evolutions: Impact of Clouds on the Detectability of Oxygen, Water, and Methane with Future Direct Imaging Missions

In the near-future, atmospheric characterization of Earth-like planets in the habitable zone will become possible via reflectance spectroscopy with future telescopes such as the proposed LUVOIR and HabEx missions. While previous studies have considered the effect of clouds on the reflectance spectra of Earth-like planets, the molecular detectability considering a wide range of cloud properties has not been previously explored in detail. In this study, we explore the effect of cloud altitude and coverage on the reflectance spectra of Earth-like planets at different geological epochs and examine the detectability of O{sub 2},H{sub 2}O, and CH{sub 4} with test parameters for the future mission concept, LUVOIR, using a coronagraph noise simulator previously designed for WFIRST-AFTA. Considering an Earth-like planet located at 5 pc away, we have found that for the proposed LUVOIR telescope, the detection of the O{sub 2} A-band feature (0.76 μm) will take approximately 100, 30, and 10 hr for the majority of the cloud parameter space modeled for the atmospheres with 10%, 50%, and 100% of modern Earth O{sub 2} abundances, respectively. In particular, for the case of ≳50% of modern Earth O{sub 2} abundance, the feature will be detectable with an integration time ≲10 hr as long as there are lower-altitude (≲8 km) clouds with a global coverage of ≳20%. For the 1% of the modern Earth O{sub 2} abundance case, however, it will take more than 100 hr for all the cloud parameters we modeled.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Feasibility of Directly Imaging Nearby Cold Jovian Planets with MIRI/JWST

The upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will dramatically increase our understanding of exoplanets, particularly through direct imaging. Microlensing and radial velocity surveys indicate that some M dwarfs host long-period giant planets. Some of these planets will likely be just a few parsecs away and a few astronomical units from their host stars, a parameter space that cannot be probed by existing high-contrast imagers. We studied whether the coronagraphs on the Mid-infrared Instrument on JWST can detect Jovian-type planets around nearby M dwarfs. For a sample of 27 very nearby M dwarfs, we simulated a sample of Saturn–Jupiter-mass planets with three atmospheric configurations and three orbital separations, observed in three different filters. We found that the f1550c 15.5 μm filter is best suited for detecting Jupiter-like planets. Jupiter-like planets with patchy cloud cover, 2 au from their star, are detectable at 15.5 μm around 14 stars in our sample, while Jupiters with clearer atmospheres are detectable around all stars in the sample. Saturns were most detectable at 10.65 and 11.4 μm (f1065c and f1140c filters), but only with cloud-free atmospheres and within 3 pc (six stars). Surveying all 27 stars would take <170 hr of JWST integration time, or just a few hours for a shorter survey of the most favorable targets. There is one potentially detectable known planet in our sample: GJ 832 b. Observations aimed at detecting this planet should occur in 2024–2026, when the planet is maximally separated from the star.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗