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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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Novel imaging technique for thermal neutrons using a fast optical camera

A novel imaging technique for thermal neutrons using a fast optical camera is presented. Thermal neutrons are reacted with 6 Lithium to produce a pair of 2.73 MeV tritium and 2.05 MeV alpha particles, which in turn interact in a thin layer of LYSO crystal scintillator to produce a localized flash of light. These photons are directed by a pair of lenses to a micro-channel plate intensifier, and its output is connected to the optical camera, TPX3CAM. The results from the camera are reconstructed through a custom algorithm. Various cutting parameters were found through data analysis to eliminate the background, and they were shown effective in matching the simulated rate of the neutron source. The system is fast with 40 ns decay time and allows free-space light collection, both vastly enhances flexibility of neutron detection.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Dynamical coupled-channel models for hadron dynamics

Dynamical coupled-channel (DCC) approaches parametrize the interactions and dynamics of two and more hadrons and their response to different electroweak probes. The inclusion of unitarity, three-body channels, and other properties from scattering theory allows for a reliable extraction of resonance spectra and their properties from data. Here, we review the formalism and application of the ANL-Osaka, the Juelich-Bonn-Washington, and other DCC approaches in the context of light baryon resonances from meson, (virtual) photon, and neutrino-induced reactions, as well as production reactions, strange baryons, light mesons, heavy meson systems, exotics, and baryon-baryon interactions. Finally, we also provide a connection of the formalism to study finite-volume spectra obtained in Lattice QCD, and review applications involving modern statistical and machine learning tools.

Amplitude analysis↗
DOE OSTI2022

A simple model of COVID-19 explains disease severity and the effect of treatments

Abstract Considerable effort has been made to better understand why some people suffer from severe COVID-19 while others remain asymptomatic. This has led to important clinical findings; people with severe COVID-19 generally experience persistently high levels of inflammation, slower viral load decay, display a dysregulated type-I interferon response, have less active natural killer cells and increased levels of neutrophil extracellular traps. How these findings are connected to the pathogenesis of COVID-19 remains unclear. We propose a mathematical model that sheds light on this issue by focusing on cells that trigger inflammation through molecular patterns: infected cells carrying pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and damaged cells producing damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). The former signals the presence of pathogens while the latter signals danger such as hypoxia or lack of nutrients. Analyses show that SARS-CoV-2 infections can lead to a self-perpetuating feedback loop between DAMP expressing cells and inflammation, identifying the inability to quickly clear PAMPs and DAMPs as the main contributor to hyperinflammation. The model explains clinical findings and reveal conditions that can increase the likelihood of desired clinical outcome from treatment administration. In particular, the analysis suggest that antivirals need to be administered early during infection to have an impact on disease severity. The simplicity of the model and its high level of consistency with clinical findings motivate its use for the formulation of new treatment strategies.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Searching for dark radiation at the LHC

There is an interesting connection between early universe cosmology and searches for long-lived particles (LLPs) at the LHC. Light particles can be produced via freeze-in and act as dark radiation, contributing to the effective number of relativistic species $N_\text{eff}$. The parameter space of interest for future CMB missions points to LLP decay lengths in the mm to cm range. These decay lengths lie at the boundary between prompt and displaced signatures at the LHC and can be comprehensively explored only by combining searches for both. We consider a model where the LLP decays into a charged lepton and a (nearly) massless invisible particle. By reinterpreting searches for promptly decaying sleptons and for displaced leptons at both ATLAS and CMS we can then directly compare LHC exclusions with cosmological observables. Our results show how in this model the target value of CMB-S4 is already excluded by current LHC searches.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Secondary reflectors for solar collectors and methods of making the same

A secondary reflector for receiving light from a plurality of primary reflectors that includes a reflecting surface having a length aligned along a first axis (z), where a cross-section of the reflecting surface in a plane perpendicular to the first axis (z) forms a curve comprising a concave section positioned between a first endpoint and a second endpoint, at least a portion of the concave section is accurately approximated by a polynomial equation, an aperture is formed by a straight line connecting the first endpoint to the second endpoint, and the concave section is configured to focus a plurality of beams of light passing through the aperture onto a focal point.

Zhu, Guangdong↗
DOE OSTI2022

Connecting cation site location to alkane dehydrogenation activity in Ni/BEA catalysts

Ni-modified beta zeolite (Ni/BEA) catalysts activate carbon-hydrogen bonds in light alkanes, as demonstrated through isobutane reaction testing. Controlled synthesis of Ni/BEA allows for efficient introduction of ion-exchanged Ni sites at varying Ni loadings (0.43% - 1.8%). These catalysts exhibit site time yields (STY) for H2 production that increase with increasing Ni loading. A detailed analysis of secondary reactions and carbon deposition based on the relative molar flowrates of product C and H indicates that the observed increase in H2 STY with increasing Ni loading is likely attributed to both increasing alkane activation activity and increasing formation of hydrogen-deficient aromatic products retained within the catalyst pores. In situ diffuse-reflectance UV-visible-NIR absorbance and X-ray absorption spectroscopies indicate isolated, 4-coordinate Ni(2+) species for all loadings. Quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics modeling identifies two distinct Ni(2+) sites consistent with the structural characterization, but with differing relative stabilities due to their coordination environment. Computed reaction energetics for isobutane dehydrogenation demonstrate that the more stable Ni(2+) species at a six-membered 4Si-2Al ring, Ni-6MR, is less active for isobutane dehydrogenation than the less stable Ni(2+) at the five-membered 3Si-2Al ring, Ni-5MR. The differing local structure of the isolated cationic Ni sites in Ni/BEA offers a possible rationalization for the increased H2 STY observed at greater Ni loadings.

catalysts↗
DOE OSTI2022

Mold and method for molding a reinforced preform

A mold for molding a reinforced preform having at least two apertures therein includes first and second mold halves, first and second emitters disposed in the mold halves and configured to emit light therefrom, first and second receivers disposed in the mold halves and configured to receive light from the respective first and second emitters, and first and second moving members having couplings for connection with side portions of the reinforced preform and actuators for moving the couplings between respective first and second positions. A controller determines an alignment condition based on signals received from the receivers. If the alignment condition fails to meet predetermined criteria, then at least one of the actuators is caused to move its coupling from its respective first position to a respective adjusted position that is different from the respective second position.

Rodgers, William R.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Rapid eco‐phenotypic feedback and the temperature response of biomass dynamics

Biomass dynamics capture information on population dynamics and ecosystem-level processes (e.g., changes in production over time). Understanding how rising temperatures associated with global climate change influence biomass dynamics is thus a pressing issue in ecology. The total biomass of a species depends on its density and its average mass. Consequently, disentangling how biomass dynamics responds to increasingly warm and variable temperatures ultimately depends on understanding how temperature influences both density and mass dynamics. Here, we address this issue by keeping track of experimental microbial populations growing to carrying capacity for 15 days at two different temperatures, and in the presence and absence of temperature variability. We develop a simple mathematical expression to partition the contribution of changes in density and mass to changes in biomass and assess how temperature responses in either one influence biomass shifts. Moreover, we use time-series analysis (Convergent Cross Mapping) to address how temperature and temperature variability influence reciprocal effects of density on mass and vice versa. We show that temperature influences biomass through its effects on density and mass dynamics, which have opposite effects on biomass and can offset each other. We also show that temperature variability influences biomass, but that effect is independent of any effects on density or mass dynamics. Last, we show that reciprocal effects of density and mass shift significantly across temperature regimes, suggesting that rapid and environment-dependent eco-phenotypic dynamics underlie biomass responses. Overall, our results connect temperature effects on population and phenotypic dynamics to explain how biomass responds to temperature regimes, thus shedding light on processes at play in cosmopolitan and abundant microbes as the world experiences increasingly warm and variable temperatures.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

A medium-range structure motif linking amorphous and crystalline states

Amorphous materials have no long-range order, but there are ordered structures at short range (2–5 Å), medium range (5–20 Å) and even longer length scales. While regular and semiregular polyhedra are often found as short-range ordering in amorphous materials, the nature of medium-range order has remained elusive. Consequently, it is difficult to determine whether there exists any structural link at medium range or longer length scales between the amorphous material and its crystalline counterparts. Moreover, an amorphous material often crystallizes into a phase of different composition, with very different underlying structural building blocks, further compounding the issue. Here, we capture an intermediate crystalline cubic phase in a Pd-Ni-P amorphous alloy and reveal the structure of the medium-range order, a six-membered tricapped trigonal prism cluster (6M-TTP) with a length scale of 12.5 Å. We find that the 6M-TTP can pack periodically to several tens of nanometres to form the cube phase. Our experimental observations provide evidence of a structural link between the amorphous and crystalline phases in a Pd-Ni-P alloy at the medium-range length scale and suggest that it is the connectivity of the 6M-TTP clusters that distinguishes the crystalline and amorphous phases. These findings will shed light on the structure of amorphous materials at extended length scales beyond that of short-range order.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Model for current drive induced crash cycles in W7-X

In the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) stellarator, the vacuum rotational transform, ι, has a flat radial profile and does not cross any major rational resonance. Nevertheless, during plasma operation the ι–profile can be strongly modified by electron cyclotron current drive in such a way that the resulting ι-profile passes through low-order rational values, and this can trigger magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) events. Indeed, W7-X plasmas are sometimes subject to repetitive collapses of core confinement, which can be observed regardless of the direction in which the EC current is driven. Even though the origin of these MHD instabilities is under investigation, the crashes may be connected to the formation of magnetic islands and magnetic reconnection. In the present work, we try to shed light on the dynamics of different events happening during the course of sawtooth cycles in W7-X by proposing a model that combines a slow current diffusion with a recipe for fast relaxation that conserves the corresponding helical flux (Kadomtsev 1975 Fiz. Plazmy 1 710–15). We also propose a simple model based on Taylor relaxation (Taylor 1974 Phys. Rev. Lett. 33 1139), (Taylor 1986 Rev. Mod. Phys. 58 741) to predict the nonlinear redistribution of plasma current caused by the largest of the observed events.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Toward nonthermal control of excited quantum materials: framework and investigations by ultrafast electron scattering and imaging

Quantum material systems upon applying ultrashort laser pulses provide a rich platform to access excited material phases and their transformations that are not entirely like their equilibrium counterparts. The addressability and potential controls of metastable or long-trapped out-of-equilibrium phases have motivated interests both for the purposes of understanding the nonequilibrium physics and advancing the quantum technologies. Thus far, the dynamical spectroscopic probes eminently focus on microscopic electronic and phonon responses. For characterizing the long-range dynamics, such as order parameter fields and fluctuation effects, the ultrafast scattering probes offer direct sensitivity. Bridging the connections between the microscopic dynamics and macroscopic responses is central toward establishing the nonequilibrium physics behind the light-induced phases. Here, we present a path toward such understanding by cross-examining the structure factors associated with different dynamical states obtained from ultrafast electron scattering, imaging, and modeling. We give the basic theoretical framework on describing the non-equilibrium scattering problems and briefly describe how such framework relates to the out-of-equilibrium phenomena. We give effective models outlining the emergences of nonthermal critical points, hidden phases, and non-equilibrium relaxational responses from vacuum-suspended rare-earth tritellurides, tantalum disulfides thin films, and vanadium dioxide nanocrystalline materials upon light excitations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Broadband light emitting zero-dimensional antimony and bismuth-based hybrid halides with diverse structures

Low-dimensional organic–inorganic metal halides have recently attracted extensive attention because of their various structures and distinguished photoelectric properties. Herein, we report a series of new zero-dimensional organic–inorganic hybrid metal halides: (TMEDA) 3 Bi 2 Cl 12 ·H 2 O, (TMEDA) 3 Bi 2 Br 12 ·H 2 O, (TMEDA) 3 Sb 2 Br 12 ·H 2 O, and (TMEDA) 5 Sb 6 Cl 28 ·2H 2 O [TMEDA = N,N,N'·trimethylethylenediamine]. (TMEDA) 3 M 2 X 12 ·H 2 O (M = Bi or Sb, X = Cl or Br) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2 1 /n, and (TMEDA) 5 Sb 6 Cl 28 ·2H 2 O crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma. (TMEDA) 3 M 2 X 12 possesses a zero-dimensional structure with the metal halide ions of [MBr 6 ] 3- isolated by the organic TMEDA 2+ cations. Interestingly, the (TMEDA) 5 Sb 6 Cl 28 ·2H 2 O structure consists of a combination of corner-connected octahedra [Sb 4 Cl 18 ] 6- and edge-shared [Sb 2 Cl 10 ] 4- , which is quite rare. The light emission of all these compounds was measured, and (TMEDA) 3 Sb 2 Br 12 ·H 2 O exhibits the most intense luminescence. Upon 400 nm ultraviolet light excitation, (TMEDA) 3 Sb 2 Br 12 ·H 2 O exhibited strong broadband yellow emission centered at 625 nm with a full-width at half-maximum of ~150 nm originating from self-trapped excitons. In conclusion, this work suggests the possibility of new types of hybrid halides by introducing different metal centers and probing the structural evolution and photoluminescent properties, serving as a reference for the relationship between structure and luminescent performance and demonstrating their potential use as phosphors in light-emitting diodes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Metasurfaces for photonic devices

Notably, metasurfaces have attracted significant attention owing to their broad capability to achieve exotic electromagnetic responses, and their potential as optical devices for wavefront control. Wide ranging materials may be used to form metasurfaces including noble and non-noble metals, oxides, ceramics, phase change materials, and semiconductors, permitting versatile and reconfigurable properties ideal for applications. In particular, applications that affect the science and technology of light—i.e., photonics—are of interest and will continue to grow in importance as our society becomes more digitally connected, but yet environmentally conscious.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Parallel-plate avalanche counters for heavy-ion beam tracking: History and mysteries

Despite being an old detector concept, position-sensitive parallel-plate avalanche counters (PPACs) remain widely used today for heavy-ion position and timing measurements. In modern rare isotope beam facilities and large-acceptance fragment separators, PPACs are used to characterize beam properties (diagnostics), facilitate beam delivery (tuning), and provide event-by-event beam tracking for particle identification (PID). Most popular particle localization methods in PPAC detectors are based on strip electrodes electrically connected to resistive-chain circuits or delay lines. More exotic systems include optical readouts based on recording electroluminescence light with high-granularity photodetector arrays or high-resolution resistive anode electrodes. PPACs with conventional resistive-chain or delay-line readouts achieve typical position and time resolutions of below 1 mm ( σ ) and around 150 ps ( σ ), respectively. In addition, delay-line systems are capable of counting rates above several hundred kHz for beam areas of a few millimeters square, and around 1 MHz for larger beam sizes. Resistive-chain readouts have limited rates of a few tens of kHz. A review of the operation principles and performance of PPAC detectors is presented in this paper. We will discuss decades-long experience building and operating PPACs developed at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, and then refined at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), mostly focusing on the delay-line readout technique (DLPPAC). We will also discuss problems that arise due to electric discharges at high rates and briefly describe ongoing developments at FRIB. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2022

Optical device for in-line and real-time monitoring of microorganisms

A multi-wavelength laser diode based optical sensor system capable of monitoring the dynamics and physiological changes of a microorganism culture in real-time. The microorganism culture from a microorganism production chamber is pumped to a flow chamber. Laser diodes emit light at certain wavelengths through the flow chamber, which is sensed by photodiodes. A laser control circuitry is operatively connected to the laser diodes and a signal conditioning circuitry is operatively connected to the photodiodes. A microprocessor reads and records voltage signals corresponding to the wavelengths. A data acquisition system converts said voltage signals into measurements of biological parameters, which are displayed on a graphical user interface and allow a user to monitor the measurements in real time.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Global analysis of $μ → e$ interactions in the SMEFT

We study current experimental bounds on charged lepton flavor violating (CLFV) μ – e interactions in the model-independent framework of the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT). Assuming a generic flavor structure in the quark sector, we consider the contributions of CLFV operators to low-energy observables, including μ → eγ and μ → e conversion for quark-flavor conserving operators and CLFV meson decays for quark-flavor violating operators. At high energy, we consider limits on CLFV decays of the Higgs and Z bosons and of the top quark, and obtain bounds on operators with light quarks by recasting searches for production of eμ pairs in pp collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We connect observables at low- and high-energy by taking into account renormalization group running and matching between CLFV operators. We also discuss the sensitivity of the future Electron-Ion Collider, where the prospective bounds are derived by imposing simple cuts on final state particles. We find that, in a single operator scenario, bounds on purely leptonic operators are dominated by μ → eγ and μ → e conversion. Semileptonic operators with down-type quarks are also dominantly constrained by low-energy observables, while LHC searches lead the bounds on up-type quark-flavor violating operators. Taking simplified multiple-coupling scenarios, we show that it is easy to evade the strongest low-energy bounds from spin-independent μ → e conversion, and that collider searches are competitive and complementary to constraints from spin-dependent μ → e conversion and other low-energy probes.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

How Topological Polymer Loops on the Nanoparticle Surface Control the Mechanical Properties of Nanocomposites

Carbon black (CB) and silica (SiO 2 ) filled elastomers are known to be the most successful polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) in industry, where “bound rubber (BR)” (i.e., polymer chains that are physically or chemically adsorbed on the nanofiller surface) plays a critical role in their reinforcement. Here, we report a molecular-scale mechanism underlying the “BR-induced reinforcement” by integrating neutron scattering experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. Simplified non-cross-linked SiO 2 -filled polybutadiene (PB) and CB-filled PB reveal the critical role of topological polymer loops in the BR for the enhanced mechanical performance. The average loop size on the SiO 2 surface modified with a silane coupling agent is much smaller than that on the CB surface and the loops on the SiO 2 surface are densely formed, preventing interdigitation with the matrix chains. On the other hand, the larger, uncrowded loops formed on the CB surface facilitate the interdigitation with the matrix polymer chains even near the filler surface. In this way, a strong connectivity is established between a matrix and a nanofiller, resulting in an adhesive filler–polymer interface. Furthermore, our findings shed light on rich and complex physics and materials design problems in PNCs, where the topological polymer structure on the nanofiller surface directly controls the macroscopic mechanical properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

High-spin states in 60 Cu and implications for states in the mirror nucleus 60 Ga

High-spin states in 60 Cu are investigated on the basis of reaction-channel-selected 𝛾-ray spectroscopy. Data stem from three experiments that used the same fusion-evaporation reaction at similar beam energies. The Gammasphere 𝛾-ray spectrometer was combined with the Microball CsI(Tl) detector array and sets of liquid-scintillator neutron detectors which allowed us to identify and tag on evaporated light charged particles and neutrons, respectively. A level scheme is proposed which comprises more than 300 𝛾-ray transitions connecting more than 100 excited states. Predictions from cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky calculations describe the observed high-spin collective structures in 60 Cu. Predictions of shell-model calculations are probed with a suite of low- to medium-spin states of both parities. Taking into account isospin-symmetry-breaking terms in these calculations, a case study of the yrast line of the weakly bound mirror nucleus 60 Ga is presented.

Rudolph, Dirk [Lund University (Sweden)] (ORCID:00↗