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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 1,549 records · Page 86
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Evidence for strong enhancement of the magnetic ordering temperature of trivalent Nd metal under extreme pressure [Anomalous enhancement of the magnetic ordering temperature of trivalent Nd metal under extreme pressure: Possible Kondo lattice behavior]

Four-point electrical resistivity measurements were carried out on Nd metal and dilute magnetic alloys containing up to 1 at.% Nd in superconducting Y for temperatures 1.5–295 K under pressures to 210 GPa. The magnetic ordering temperature T o of Nd appears to rise steeply under pressure, increasing ninefold to 180 K at 70 GPa before falling rapidly. Y(Nd) alloys display both a resistivity minimum and superconducting pair breaking ΔT c as large as 38 K/at.% Nd. The present results give evidence that for pressures above 30–40 GPa, the exchange coupling J between Nd ions and conduction electrons becomes negative, thus activating Kondo physics in this highly correlated electron system. Furthermore, the rise and fall of T o and ΔT c with pressure can be accounted for in terms of an increase in the Kondo temperature.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Reduction of the ordered magnetic moment and its relationship to Kondo coherence in Ce 1-x La x Cu 2 Ge 2

The microscopic details of the suppression of antiferromagnetic order in the Kondo-lattice series Ce 1-x La x Cu 2 Ge 2 due to nonmagnetic dilution by La are revealed through neutron diffraction results for x = 0:20, 0:40, 0:75, and 0:85. Magnetic Bragg peaks are found for 0:20 ≤ x ≤ 0:75, and both the Neel temperature, T N , and the ordered magnetic moment per Ce μ linearly decrease with increasing x. The reduction in μ points to strong hybridization of the increasingly diluted Ce 4f electrons, and we find a remarkable quadratic dependence of μ on the Kondo-coherence temperature. Here, we discuss our results in terms of local-moment- versus itinerant-type magnetism and mean-field theory, and show that Ce 1-x La x Cu 2 Ge 2 provides an exceptional opportunity to quantitatively study the multiple magnetic interactions in a Kondo lattice.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Enhanced magnetic ordering in Sm metal under extreme pressure

The dependence of the magnetic ordering temperature T o of Sm metal was determined through four-point electrical resistivity measurements to pressures as high as 150 GPa. A strong increase in T o with pressure is observed above 85 GPa. In this pressure range, Sm ions alloyed in dilute concentration with superconducting Y exhibit giant Kondo pair breaking. Taken together, these results suggest that for pressures above ~85 GPa Sm is in a highly correlated electron state, like a Kondo lattice, with an unusually high value of T o . Furthermore, a detailed comparison is made with similar results obtained earlier on Nd, Tb, and Dy and their dilute magnetic alloys with superconducting Y.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Axion-assisted production of sterile neutrino dark matter

Sterile neutrinos can be generated in the early universe through oscillations with active neutrinos and represent a popular and well-studied candidate for our Universe’s dark matter. Stringent constraints from X-ray and gamma-ray line searches, however, have excluded the simplest of such models. Here in this paper, we propose a novel alternative to the standard scenario in which the mixing angle between the sterile and active neutrinos is a dynamical quantity, induced through interactions with a light axionlike field. As the energy density of the axionlike particles is diluted by Hubble expansion, the degree of mixing is reduced at late times, suppressing the decay rate and easily alleviating any tension with X-ray or gamma-ray constraints. Lastly, we present a simple model which illustrates the phenomenology of this scenario, and also describe a framework in which the QCD axion is responsible for the production of sterile neutrinos in the early universe.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Emission of photons and relativistic axions from axion stars

The number of nonrelativistic axions can be changed by inelastic reactions that produce photons or relativistic axions. Any odd number of axions can annihilate into two photons. Any even number of nonrelativistic axions can scatter into two relativistic axions. We calculate the rate at which axions are lost from axion stars from these inelastic reactions. In dilute systems of axions, the dominant inelastic reaction is axion decay into two photons. In sufficiently dense systems of axions, the dominant inelastic reaction is the scattering of four nonrelativistic axions into two relativistic axions. The scattering of odd numbers of axions into two photons produces monochromatic radio-frequency signals at odd-integer harmonics of the fundamental frequency set by the axion mass. This provides a unique signature for dense systems of axions, such as a dense axion star or a collapsing dilute axion star.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Enhancement of the dark matter abundance before reheating: Applications to gravitino dark matter

In the first stages of inflationary reheating, the temperature of the radiation produced by inflaton decays is typically higher than the commonly defined reheating temperature T RH ~ (Γ φ M P ) 1/2 where Γ φ is the inflaton decay rate. Here we consider the effect of particle production at temperatures at or near the maximum temperature attained during reheating. We show that the impact of this early production on the final particle abundance depends strongly on the temperature dependence of the production cross section. For $\langle$σv$\rangle$ ~ T n /M n + 2 , and for n < 6, any particle produced at T max is diluted by the later generation of entropy near T RH . This applies to cases such as gravitino production in low scale supersymmetric models (n = 0) or NETDM models of dark matter (n = 2). However, for n ≥ 6 the net abundance of particles produced during reheating is enhanced by over an order of magnitude, dominating over the dilution effect. This applies, for instance to gravitino production in high scale supersymmetry models where n = 6.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Cellulose nanofibrils and nanocrystals in confined flow: Single-particle dynamics to collective alignment revealed through scanning small-angle x-ray scattering and numerical simulations

Nanostructured materials made through flow-assisted assembly of proteinaceous or polymeric nanosized fibrillar building blocks are promising contenders for a family of high-performance biocompatible materials in a wide variety of applications. Optimization of these processes relies on improving our knowledge of the physical mechanisms from nano- to macroscale and especially understanding the alignment of elongated nanoparticles in flows. Here, we study the full projected orientation distributions of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and nanofibrils (CNFs) in confined flow using scanning microbeam SAXS. For CNCs, we further compare with a simulated system of dilute Brownian ellipsoids, which agrees well at dilute concentrations. However, increasing CNC concentration to a semidilute regime results in locally arranged domains called tactoids, which aid in aligning the CNC at low shear rates, but limit alignment at higher rates. Similarly, shear alignment of CNF at semidilute conditions is also limited owing to probable bundle or flock formation of the highly entangled nanofibrils. Finally, this work provides a quantitative comparison of full projected orientation distributions of elongated nanoparticles in confined flow and provides an important stepping stone towards predicting and controlling processes to create nanostructured materials on an industrial scale.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Clogging, dynamics, and reentrant fluid for active matter on periodic substrates

Here, we examine the collective states of run-and-tumble active matter disks driven over a periodic obstacle array. When the drive is applied along a symmetry direction of the array, we find a clog-free uniform liquid state for low activity, while at higher activity, the density becomes increasingly heterogeneous and an active clogged state emerges in which the mobility is strongly reduced. For driving along nonsymmetry or incommensurate directions, there are two different clogging behaviors consisting of a drive-dependent clogged state in the low activity thermal limit and a drive-independent clogged state at high activity. These regimes are separated by a uniform flowing liquid at intermediate activity. There is a critical activity level above which the thermal clogged state does not occur, as well as an optimal activity level that maximizes the disk mobility. Thermal clogged states are dependent on the driving direction while active clogged states are not. In the low activity regime, diluting the obstacles produces a monotonic increase in the mobility; however, for large activities, the mobility is more robust against obstacle dilution. We also examine the velocity-force curves for driving along nonsymmetry directions and find that they are linear when the activity is low or intermediate but become nonlinear at high activity and show behavior similar to that found for the plastic depinning of solids. At higher drives, the active clustering is lost. For low activity, we also find a reentrant fluid phase, where the system transitions from a high mobility fluid at low drives to a clogged state at higher drives and then back into another fluid phase at very high drives. We map the regions in which the thermally clogged, partially clogged, active uniform fluid, clustered fluid, active clogged, and directionally locked states occur as a function of disk density, drift force, and activity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Interstitial solute segregation at triple junctions: Implications for nanomaterials and a case study of hydrogen in palladium

At very fine grain sizes, grain boundary segregation can deviate from conventional behavior due to triple junction effects. While this issue has been addressed in prior work for substitutional alloys, here we develop a framework that accounts for interstitial sites in the grains, grain boundaries, and triple junctions of model Pd(H) polycrystals. This approach allows computation of interstitial segregation spectra separately at both defect types, which permits an understanding of segregation at all grain sizes via a size-scaling spectral isotherm. Here, the size dependencies of dilute Pd(H) are found to be influenced not only by the triple junction content, but also by grain size–dependent lattice strains; the latter effect is evidenced by size dependencies of individual grain boundary and junction subspectra. The framework proposed here is applicable to interstitial alloys in general and may serve as a basis for interfacial engineering in interstitial nanocrystalline alloys. As an example, we show that using the dilute limit isotherm, hydrogen density can triple in nanocrystalline vis-à-vis microcrystalline Pd due to hydrogen adsorption at intergranular defect sites.

Alloys↗
DOE OSTI2026

Coexisting paramagnetic spins and long-range magnetic order in Ba4⁢(Ru0.92⁢Ir0.08)3⁢O10

We investigate the effect of dilute Ir substitution on the magnetism of the trimer-based ruthenate Ba4⁢Ru3⁢O10 using neutron diffraction, magnetic susceptibility measurements, first-principles calculations, and atomistic simulations. Neutron diffraction shows that Ir doping preserves the zigzag antiferromagnetic structure and the ordered-moment magnitude of the parent compound, in which the moments reside exclusively on the two outer Ru(2) sites of each Ru3⁢O12 trimer, while the central Ru(1) site remains nonmagnetic. The Néel temperature is reduced from ∼105 to 84.0(1) K upon 8% Ir substitution, while magnetic susceptibility reveals a pronounced low-temperature Curie-like upturn, indicating the coexistence of paramagnetic spins with long-range antiferromagnetic order. Density-functional calculations show that Ir preferentially occupies the central Ru(1) site, which disrupts the exchange pathways of the affected Ru3⁢O12 trimer state. Atomistic simulations incorporating this paramagnetic dilution reproduce the suppressed ordering temperature and the coexistence of ordered and paramagnetic components.

Islam, Farhan [Ames Laboratory]↗
DOE OSTI2016

Rotation of X-ray polarization in the glitches of a silicon crystal monochromator

EXAFS studies on dilute samples are usually carried out by collecting the fluorescence yield using a large-area multi-element detector. This method is susceptible to the `glitches' produced by all single-crystal monochromators. Glitches are sharp dips or spikes in the diffracted intensity at specific crystal orientations. If incorrectly compensated, they degrade the spectroscopic data. Normalization of the fluorescence signal by the incident flux alone is sometimes insufficient to compensate for the glitches. Measurements performed at the state-of-the-art wiggler beamline I20-scanning at Diamond Light Source have shown that the glitches alter the spatial distribution of the sample's quasi-elastic X-ray scattering. Because glitches result from additional Bragg reflections, multiple-beam dynamical diffraction theory is necessary to understand their effects. Here, the glitches of the Si(111) four-bounce monochromator of I20-scanning just above the Ni K edge are associated with their Bragg reflections. A fitting procedure that treats coherent and Compton scattering is developed and applied to a sample of an extremely dilute (100 micromolal) aqueous solution of Ni(NO 3 ) 2 . The depolarization of the wiggler X-ray beam out of the electron orbit is modeled. The fits achieve good agreement with the sample's quasi-elastic scattering with just a few parameters. The X-ray polarization is rotated up to ±4.3° within the glitches, as predicted by dynamical diffraction. These results will help users normalize EXAFS data at glitches.

Sutter, John P.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Strategies and limitations for fluorescence detection of XAFS at high flux beamlines

The issue of detecting the XAFS signal from dilute samples is discussed in detail with the aim of making best use of high flux beamlines that provide up to 10 13 photons -1 . Various detection methods are compared, including filters with slits, solid state detectors, crystal analyzers and combinations of these. These comparisons rely on simulations that use experimentally determined parameters. It is found that inelastic scattering places a fundamental limit on detection, and that it is important to take proper account of the polarization dependence of the signals. The combination of a filter–slit system with a solid state detector is a promising approach. With an optimized system good performance can be obtained even if the total count rate is limited to 10 7 Hz. Detection schemes with better energy resolution can help at the largest dilutions if their collection efficiency and count rate limits can be improved.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

Autonomous Selective Parts-Based Tracking

Object tracking from videos is still a challenging task due to various changes throughout a video sequence including occlusions, motion blur, scale and other deformation changes. In this paper, we propose a selective parts-based approach, using correlation filters, that makes choices based on a consensus of the parts and global tracking. Moreover, we further enhance our parts-based approach by introducing a segmentation-assisted parts initialization. In addition, we present a genetic algorithm-based method to autonomously select various parameters of the tracking algorithm, as opposed to the common practice of manually tuning those parameters. In contrast to existing part-based methods, the proposed method does not dilute accurate tracking by averaging results over multiple parts at every frame. Instead, we take a selective approach based on the relative weight of the responses across parts. Moreover, we only make location corrections when a part diverges, and rely on these location corrections to maintain an accurate appearance model. In the case of occlusions, which are among the main reasons for using a parts-based approach, our proposed approach consistently achieves the best performance. It is due to the ability to handle occlusion and not dilute decisions with incorrect parts, that our proposed approach enables state-of-the-art performance. The approach we propose was evaluated on videos from three different challenging benchmark datasets. Our approach has resulted in better overall precision and success rates for three different base tracking approaches.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Constraints to nitrogen acquisition of terrestrial plants under elevated CO 2

Abstract A key part of the uncertainty in terrestrial feedbacks on climate change is related to how and to what extent nitrogen (N) availability constrains the stimulation of terrestrial productivity by elevated CO 2 ( eCO 2 ), and whether or not this constraint will become stronger over time. We explored the ecosystem‐scale relationship between responses of plant productivity and N acquisition to eCO 2 in free‐air CO 2 enrichment ( FACE ) experiments in grassland, cropland and forest ecosystems and found that: (i) in all three ecosystem types, this relationship was positive, linear and strong ( r 2 = 0.68), but exhibited a negative intercept such that plant N acquisition was decreased by 10% when eCO 2 caused neutral or modest changes in productivity. As the ecosystems were markedly N limited, plants with minimal productivity responses to eCO 2 likely acquired less N than ambient CO 2 ‐grown counterparts because access was decreased, and not because demand was lower. (ii) Plant N concentration was lower under eCO 2 , and this decrease was independent of the presence or magnitude of eCO 2 ‐induced productivity enhancement, refuting the long‐held hypothesis that this effect results from growth dilution. (iii) Effects of eCO 2 on productivity and N acquisition did not diminish over time, while the typical eCO 2 ‐induced decrease in plant N concentration did. Our results suggest that, at the decennial timescale covered by FACE studies, N limitation of eCO 2 ‐induced terrestrial productivity enhancement is associated with negative effects of eCO 2 on plant N acquisition rather than with growth dilution of plant N or processes leading to progressive N limitation.

Feng, Zhaozhong↗
DOE OSTI2015

Groundwater age, brine migration, and large‐scale solute transport in the A lberta B asin, C anada

Abstract There is a great contrast in geochemical and hydrogeologic estimates of the residence times of pore fluids in sedimentary basins. This contrast is particularly evident in the Alberta Basin, Canada, which has served as the study area for important studies of long‐term fluid flow and transport. To address these differences, we developed two‐dimensional simulations of groundwater age, constrained by both hydrogeologic and geochemical observations, to estimate the residence time of fluids and the amount and timing of flushing by meteoric waters in the Alberta Basin. Results suggest that old, residual brines have been retained in the deepest parts of the basin since their formation ca. 400 Ma, but significant dilution by younger waters has reduced the age of these pore waters to no more than approximately 200 My. Shallower formations have been flushed extensively by fresh, young waters. Loss of brines and dilution of older pore waters occurred primarily after the uplift of the Rockies with the introduction of the gravity‐driven flow regime. Despite these large changes in flow regime, solute exchange between deep saline aquifers and the overlying vigorous freshwater flow system was found to be consistent with long‐term dispersive mixing across subhorizontal concentration gradients rather than by direct flushing. Sensitivity studies using an analytic solution supported the use of 100 m for transverse dispersivity in large‐scale numerical models. These simulations confirm that the age and origin of brines are in many cases poor indicators of long‐term solute transport rates in sedimentary basins, but the geochemical indicators that are used to determine the origin of brines can provide useful constraints for calculating groundwater age and are far more commonly available than isotopic groundwater age tracers.

Gupta, I.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Rhamnogalacturonan-I is a determinant of cell–cell adhesion in poplar wood

The molecular basis of cell–cell adhesion in woody tissues is not known. Xylem cells in wood particles of hybrid poplar (Populus tremula 9 P. alba cv. INRA 717-1B4) were separated by oxidation of lignin with acidic sodium chlorite when combined with extraction of xylan and rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) using either dilute alkali or a combination of xylanase and RG-lyase. Acidic chlorite followed by dilute alkali treatment enables cell–cell separation by removing material from the compound middle lamellae between the primary walls. Although lignin is known to contribute to adhesion between wood cells, we found that removing lignin is a necessary but not sufficient condition to effect complete cell–cell separation in poplar lines with various ratios of syringyl:guaiacyl lignin. Transgenic poplar lines expressing an Arabidopsis thaliana gene encoding an RG-lyase (AtRGIL6) showed enhanced cell–cell separation, increased accessibility of cellulose and xylan to hydrolytic enzyme activities, and increased fragmentation of intact wood particles into small cell clusters and single cells under mechanical stress. Our results indicate a novel function for RG-I, and also for xylan, as determinants of cell–cell adhesion in poplar wood cell walls. Genetic control of RG-I content provides a new strategy to increase catalyst accessibility and saccharification yields from woody biomass for biofuels and industrial chemicals.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Evaluation of Property Methods for Modeling Direct-Supercritical CO2 Power Cycles

Direct supercritical CO2 (sCO2) power cycles combust natural gas or syngas with oxygen in a high pressure, heavily-diluted sCO2 environment, and are an efficient and potentially cost-effective method of capturing CO2 from fossil-fueled power plants. The cycle thermal efficiency varies with the proximity of the operating conditions to the CO2 critical point, as well as to the level of working fluid dilution by minor components, thus it is crucial to correctly model the thermo-physical properties of these sCO2 mixtures. This paper presents a quantitative evaluation of ten different property methods that can be used for modeling direct sCO2 cycles in Aspen Plus. These property methods are assessed against several mixture property measurements, and offer a relative comparison to the accuracy obtained with REFPROP, the standard for analyzing high purity indirect sCO2 systems. The Lee-Kessler-Plocker Equation of State is recommended if REFPROP cannot be used.

direct sCO2↗