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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 1,657 records · Page 92
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Predictions for cold nuclear matter effects in p+Pb collisions at s N N = 8.16 TeV

In this study, predictions for cold nuclear matter effects on charged hadrons, identified light hadrons, quarkonium and heavy flavor hadrons, Drell-Yan dileptons, jets, photons, gauge bosons and top quark pairs produced in p+Pb collisions at √sNN = 8.16 TeV are compiled and, where possible, compared to each other. Predictions of the normalized ratios of p+Pb to p + p cross sections are also presented for most of the observables, providing new insights into the expected role of cold nuclear matter effects. In particular, the role of nuclear parton distribution functions on particle production can now be probed over a wider range of phase space than ever before.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Planetarium Show on Dark Matter

We describe a new planetarium show about Dark Matter entitled “Phantom of the Universe”. When completed in late 2014, it will feature the exciting story of dark matter, from the Big Bang to its anticipated discovery at the Large Hadron Collider.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

The structural and dynamical role of water in natural organic matter: A 2H NMR and XRD study

Natural organic matter (NOM) is an important component in many near-surface geochemical environments, and its properties are greatly affected by the incorporation of water. Because of its importance, the macroscopic behavior and effects of water in NOM and soil organic matter (SOM) have been extensively studied using a wide range of experimental and computational methods. The molecular scale structural and dynamical behavior of water in these materials, however, is less well understood. This paper presents a variable temperature 2 H NMR and XRD study of water in Suwannee River NOM and its fulvic acid (FA) and humic acid (HA) fractions that provides new insight into the dynamical behavior of structurally different types of water and exchangeable hydrogen environments in NOM. The results provide a basis for future studies of more complex natural organic materials and the interaction of organic materials with mineral surfaces. Room temperature 2 H NMR spectra of samples hydrated in 2 H 2 O and then dehydrated, distinguish 2 H 2 O molecules that are in rapid reorientational motion (correlation times, ν c, > 10 5 Hz), 2 H exchanged onto carboxylic sites of the NOM that do not undergo rapid reorientation at frequencies >~10 3 Hz, and 2 H exchanged onto phenolic and possibly other alcohol sites of the NOM that undergoes rapid, but anisotropic, dynamical reorientation. For samples exposed to water and not dried, the XRD results collected at temperatures from 173 to 298 K show the formation of ice-1h in samples exposed to 100% relative humidity (R.H.) but not in samples exposed to 43% R.H. 2 H NMR of those samples collected at temperatures from 313 K to 173 K show the presence of multiple sites. Near room temperature, the spectra contain a narrow resonance for mobile water undergoing rapid isotropic motion, and a broader symmetrical resonance probably due to a combination of more dynamically restricted water molecules and 2 H exchanged onto phenolic and alcohol functional groups undergoing rapid anisotropic motion. The 43% R.H. samples also yield a broader, quadrupole-dominated, resonance for 2 H exchanged onto functional groups of the NOM. With decreasing temperature the resonances for dynamically restricted water molecules and 2 H exchanged onto phenolic and alcohol functional groups become broader, reflecting a decreasing rate of exchange between the water molecules and functional groups and a decreasing rate of reorientation of the 2 H 2 O molecules. The formation of ice-1h is directly reflected in the 2 H spectra of the 100% R.H. samples as a resonance with a quadrupole coupling constant (QCC) of ~180 kHz. For the 43% R.H. samples, there is also a broad, poorly resolved resonance with typical QCCs of ~180 kHz for which the relative signal intensity increases with decreasing temperature. This signal represents 2 H 2 O molecules that are not crystallized in ice-1h but have greatly reduced reorientation frequencies at low temperature and a hydrogen bonding network with hydrogen bond strengths similar to, but somewhat weaker than, ice-1h. Such molecules are also likely to be present in the 100% R.H. samples. At both R.H.s, some of the 2 H 2 O molecules do not freeze and retain their isotropic motion down to 173 K, the lowest temperature investigated.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Readout technologies for directional WIMP Dark Matter detection

We report that the measurement of the direction of WIMP-induced nuclear recoils is a compelling but technologically challenging strategy to provide an unambiguous signature of the detection of Galactic dark matter. Most directional detectors aim to reconstruct the dark-matter-induced nuclear recoil tracks, either in gas or solid targets. The main challenge with directional detection is the need for high spatial resolution over large volumes, which puts strong requirements on the readout technologies. In this paper we review the various detector readout technologies used by directional detectors. In particular, we summarize the challenges, advantages and drawbacks of each approach, and discuss future prospects for these technologies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Multiple biomarkers highlight the importance of water column processes in treatment wetland organic matter cycling

A suite of biomarkers, including amino acids, pigments, and lignin phenols coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry were used to evaluate differences in the sources and fate of organic matter (OM) in Everglades treatment wetlands as a model for OM cycling in shallow water wetlands. Five components of the system (water column particulate organic matter, vertical traps, flocculent material, periphyton, and surface soil) were assessed for OM transformations down-profile (i.e. water column to soil) and between treatment cells dominated by emergent aquatic vegetation (EAV) and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), with comparisons to reference sites that resemble historic Everglades conditions. We found that OM cycling is fundamentally different between EAV and SAV wetlands, and that SAV wetlands have some shared characteristics with similar habitats in the Everglades. Other than locations densely populated by Typha spp., water column particulate organic C was derived from microbial/cryptomonad sources, rather than macroscopic sources (vascular plants and algal mats). Bacterial amino acid biomarkers were positively correlated with amino acid degradation indices and organic P (Po), respectively suggesting that microbial abundance is associated with "fresher" OM, and that further investigation into relationships between microbial biomass and Po is warranted. Overall, this multi-biomarker approach can evaluate the relative "freshness" of OM pools, identify sources of OM, and highlight the importance of water column processes in shallow water wetlands.

treatment wetlands, organic matter, Everglades, am↗
DOE OSTI2024

Improved Characterization of Soil Organic Matter by Integrating FT-ICR MS, Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry, and Molecular Networking: A Case Study of Root Litter Decay under Drought Conditions

Understanding of how soil organic matter (SOM) chemistry is altered in a changing climate has advanced considerably; however, most SOM components remain unidentified, impeding the ability to characterize a major fraction of organic matter and predict what types of molecules, and from which sources, will persist in soil. Here we present a novel approach to better characterize SOM extracts by integrating information from three types of analyses, and we deploy this method to characterize decaying root-detritus soil microcosms subjected to either drought or normal conditions. To observe broad differences in composition, we employed direct infusion Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (DI-FT-ICR MS). We complemented this with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to identify components by library matching. Since libraries contain only a small fraction of SOM components, we also used fragment spectral cosine similarity scores to relate unknowns and library matches through molecular networks. This integrated approach allowed us to corroborate DI-FT-ICR MS molecular formulas using library matches, which included fungal metabolites and related polyphenolic compounds. We also inferred structures of unknowns from molecular networks and improved LC-MS/MS annotation rates from ~5 to 35% by considering DI-FT-ICR MS molecular formula assignments. Under drought conditions, we found greater relative amounts of lignin-like vs condensed aromatic polyphenol formulas and lower average nominal oxidation state of carbon, suggesting reduced decomposition of SOM and/or microbes under stress. Our integrated approach provides a framework for enhanced annotation of SOM components that is more comprehensive than performing individual data analyses in parallel.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2026

Comparability of Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Dissolved Organic Matter across Laboratories

Non-targeted liquid chromatography tandem highresolution mass spectrometry (LC−MS/MS) is increasingly applied for the structure-resolved chemical analysis of dissolved organic matter (DOM). With new developments in MS instrumentation and analysis software, the approach has gained substantial momentum over the past decade. However, achieving high-quality analytical data that is reproducible and comparable across laboratories can be a bottleneck in non-targeted metabolomics and organic matter chemical analysis, especially for data reuse in repository-scale analyses. Understanding the capabilities as well as challenges of comparing LC−MS/MS data from different laboratories is necessary for inferring global trends from public data sets. To illuminate instrumentation factors that drive differences and variability, we used a standardized data analysis pipeline, including classical (CMN) and featurebased molecular networking (FBMN), to analyze data from a ring trial by 24 laboratories on identical sample sets of algal and DOM extracts that were mixed in predefined concentrations and spiked with standards. Our results showed that data sets from similar mass spectrometer types with unified instrument parameters were qualitatively comparable, resolving the same general trends and shared mass spectral features. Interlaboratory comparability was best for high-intensity features, while low-intensity features showed greater detection variability. Our analysis also highlights challenges when comparing data from instruments with different acquisition rates or operating with less standardized methods. Lastly, we provide recommendations for data integration, public data sharing, standardization, and best practices for standardized LC−MS/MS data acquisition, which will be critical for long-term time series and intercomparability of DOM chemical analyses.

DOM↗
DOE OSTI2026

Interaction of Soil pH and Mineralogy Controls Soil Organic Matter Persistence through Changes in the Composition and Amount of Microbial Necromass

Microbial necromass–mineral associations are key to long-term soil organic matter (SOM) persistence. However, how soil pH and mineralogy interact to regulate SOM stability remains poorly understood. Here, we used artificial soils to test how three clay minerals (bentonite, kaolinite, and goethite), adjusted to four pH levels (5–8), affect microbial activity (respiration), microbial physiology (carbon use efficiency, CUE), microbial-derived residue material (necromass), and the formation and stability of mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM). Artificial soils were inoculated with a rhizosphere-derived microbial community cultured under the same pH conditions and on two representative simulated exudate types (organic acids and carbohydrates) and incubated for 6 weeks. In two complementary experiments, we added necromass from known microbial taxa to the same minerals across pH levels to isolate the role of necromass chemistry and loading. We found that soil pH shaped MAOM chemistry by altering microbial activity and necromass composition. In interaction with mineral type, pH also controlled MAOM thermal stability. Higher necromass loading weakened mineral-organic bonding, reducing MAOM stability, consistent with zonal mineral–organic interaction models. Our results demonstrate that microbial activity, rather than carbon use efficiency, better predicts MAOM formation and that pH-dependent necromass composition and loading govern MAOM persistence. These findings advance mechanistic understanding of SOM stabilization and have implications for predicting soil carbon dynamics under shifting environmental conditions.

carbon use efficiency↗
DOE OSTI2019

Dissolved Organic Matter Affects Arsenic Mobility and Iron(III) (hydr)oxide Formation: Implications for Managed Aquifer Recharge

During managed aquifer recharge (MAR), injected water significantly alters water chemistry in an aquifer, affecting arsenic mobility. To elucidate the effects of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on arsenic mobilization during MAR, this bench-scale study examined arsenic mobilization from arsenopyrite (FeAsS, an arsenic-containing sulfide) in the presence of Suwannee River natural organic matter, humic acid, and fulvic acid (SRNOM, SRHA, and SRFA), alginate (Alg), polyaspartate (PA), and glutamate (Glu). Suwannee River DOM (SRDOM) decreased arsenic mobility in the short term (<6 h) via inhibiting arsenopyrite oxidative dissolution, but increased arsenic mobility over a longer experimental time (~7 days) via inhibiting secondary iron(III) (hydr)oxide precipitation and decreasing arsenic adsorption onto iron(III) (hydr)oxide. In situ grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering measurements indicated that SRDOM decreased iron(III) (hydr)oxide nucleus sizes and growth rates. A combined analysis of SRDOM and other proteinaceous or labile DOM (Alg, PA, and Glu) revealed that DOM with higher molecular weights would cause more increased arsenic mobility. Finally, these new observations advance our understanding of the impacts of DOM in injected water on arsenic mobility and secondary precipitate formation during MAR, and in other systems where interactions between DOM, arsenic, and iron(III) (hydr)oxides take place.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Mechanisms of Organic Matter Export in Estuaries with Contrasting Carbon Sources

Modifications in land-use and climate will result in shifts in the magnitude and quality of organic matter (OM) transported from wetlands to coastal waters, but differentiation between riverine and wetland OM sources in coastal areas remains a challenge. Here, we evaluate particulate and dissolved OM export dynamics in two representative estuary types—Apalachicola Bay (AP) and Barataria Bay (BB), characterized by primarily blackwater river inputs and high particle abundance, respectively. The magnitude and composition of OM exported from each estuary was evaluated based on seasonal measurements of surface water dissolved organic carbon (DOC), particulate organic carbon (POC), particulate nitrogen (PN), the stable isotopic composition of DOC and POC (d13C-DOC and d13C-POC, respectively), dissolved and particulate lignin phenols, and carbon-normalized dissolved lignin-phenol yields. Discriminant analyses indicated that BB is a more particle-rich and wetland-carbon dominated system compared to AP, which is due to a lack of direct river inputs and high prevalence of wetlands carbon sources (living vs. eroded/submerged). The primary parameters explaining the predominance of particulate and wetland carbon sources in BB were total suspended sediment concentrations, d13C-DOC, d13C-POC, the ratio of cinnamyl to vanillyl phenols in DOC, and the ratio of syringyl to vanillyl phenols for both POC and DOC. In contrast, AP was separated by DOC, particulate C:N ratios, and the ratio of acid to aldehyde lignin phenols for both POC and DOC, indicating a more terrestrial source of organic matter and reflecting the importance of fluvial DOM inputs in this system. Total lignin export (sum of dissolved and particulate) was higher in BB (5.73×105 kg yr-1) than in AP (4.21×105 kg yr-1). Particulate lignin export from BB was greater than the export of dissolved lignin at either BB or AP, suggesting coastal marsh erosion may be driving this comparatively large export of particulate lignin.

aquatic↗
DOE OSTI2017

Topological states of condensed matter

Topological states of quantum matter have been investigated intensively in recent years in materials science and condensed matter physics. The field developed explosively largely because of the precise theoretical predictions, well-controlled materials processing, and novel characterization techniques. In this Perspective, we review recent progress in topological insulators, the quantum anomalous Hall effect, chiral topological superconductors, helical topological superconductors and Weyl semimetals.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Matter-wave interference of a native polypeptide

The de Broglie wave nature of matter is a paradigmatic example of quantum physics and it has been exploited in precision measurements of forces and fundamental constants. However, matter-wave interferometry has remained an outstanding challenge for natural polypeptides, building blocks of life, which are fragile and difficult to handle. Here, we demonstrate the wave nature of gramicidin, a natural antibiotic composed of 15 amino acids. Its center of mass is delocalized over more than 20 times the molecular size in our timedomain Talbot-Lau interferometer. We compare the observed interference fringes with a model that includes both a rigorous treatment of the peptide’s quantum wave nature as well as a quantum chemical assessment of its optical properties to distinguish our result from classical predictions. The realization of quantum optics with this prototypical biomolecule paves the way for quantum-assisted measurements on a large class of biologically relevant molecules.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Long-baseline quantum sensor network as dark matter haloscope

Ultralight dark photons constitute a well-motivated candidate for dark matter. A coherent electromagnetic wave is expected to be induced by dark photons when coupled with Standard-Model photons through kinetic mixing mechanism, and should be spatially correlated within the de Broglie wavelength of dark photons. Here we report the first search for correlated dark-photon signals using a long-baseline network of 15 atomic magnetometers, which are situated in two separated meter-scale shield rooms with a distance of about 1700 km. Both the network’s multiple sensors and the shields large size significantly enhance the expected dark-photon electromagnetic signals, and long-baseline measurements confidently reduce many local noise sources. Using this network, we constrain the kinetic mixing coefficient of dark photon dark matter over the mass range 4.1 feV-2.1 peV, which represents the most stringent constraints derived from any terrestrial experiments operating over the aforementioned mass range. Our prospect indicates that future data releases may go beyond the astrophysical constraints from the cosmic microwave background and the plasma heating.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Numerical challenges for energy conservation in N -body simulations of collapsing self-interacting dark matter halos

Dark matter (DM) halos can be subject to gravothermal collapse if the DM is not collisionless, but engaged in strong self-interactions instead. When the scattering is able to efficiently transfer heat from the centre to the outskirts, the central region of the halo collapses and reaches densities much higher than those for collisionless DM. This phenomenon is potentially observable in studies of strong lensing. Current theoretical efforts are motivated by observations of surprisingly dense substructures. However, a comparison with observations requires accurate predictions. One method to obtain such predictions is to use N-body simulations. Collapsed halos are extreme systems that pose severe challenges when applying state-of-the-art codes to model self-interacting dark matter (SIDM). In this work, we investigate the root of such problems, with a focus on energy non-conservation. Moreover, we discuss possible strategies to avoid them. We ran N-body simulations, both with and without SIDM, of an isolated DM-only halo and we adjusted the numerical parameters to check the accuracy of the simulation. We find that not only the numerical scheme for SIDM can lead to energy non-conservation, but also the modelling of gravitational interaction and the time integration are problematic. The main issues we find are: (a) particles changing their time step in a non-time-reversible manner; (b) the asymmetry in the tree-based gravitational force evaluation; and (c) SIDM velocity kicks breaking the time symmetry. Tuning the parameters of the simulation to achieve a high level of accuracy allows us to conserve energy not only at early stages of the evolution, but also later on. However, the cost of the simulations becomes prohibitively large as a result. Some of the problems that make the simulations of the gravothermal collapse phase inaccurate can be overcome by choosing appropriate numerical schemes. However, other issues still pose a challenge. Our findings motivate further works on addressing the challenges in simulating strong DM self-interactions.

dark matter↗
DOE OSTI2025

Accurately simulating core-collapse self-interacting dark matter halos

The properties of satellite halos provide a promising probe for dark matter (DM) physics. Observations have motivated current efforts to explain surprisingly compact DM halos. If DM is not collisionless, but has strong self-interactions, halos can undergo gravothermal collapse, leading to higher densities in the central region of the halo. However, it is challenging to model this collapse phase from first principles. To improve on this, we sought to better understand the numerical challenges and convergence properties of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) N-body simulations in the collapse phase. Especially, our aim was to better understand the evolution of satellite halos. To do so, we ran SIDM N-body simulations of a low-mass halo in isolation and within an external gravitational potential. The simulation set-up was motivated by the perturber of the stellar stream GD-1. We find that the halo evolution is very sensitive to energy conservation errors, and a SIDM kernel size that is too large can artificially speed up the collapse. Moreover, we demonstrate that the King model can describe the density profile at small radii for the late stages that we have simulated. Furthermore, for our most highly resolved simulation (N = 5 × 10 7 ) we have made the data public. It can serve as a benchmark. Overall, we find that the current numerical methods do not suffer from convergence problems in the late collapse phase and provide guidance on how to choose numerical parameters, for example that the energy conservation error is better kept well below 1%. This allows simulations to be run of halos that become concentrated enough to explain observations of GD-1-like stellar streams or strong gravitational lensing systems.

dark matter↗
DOE OSTI2015

The role of the dark matter distribution in the structure formation

We review the most important ingredients that compose the halo model of structure formation, emphasizing on the role played by the density profile of dark matter (DM). The theoretical predictions of the so-called warm DM (WDM) and cold DM (CDM) cosmologies at small scales are discussed in terms of recent numerical simulations and current observational data coming from rotation curves of galaxies. We elaborate on the recently introduced Ruffini-Argüelles-Rueda (RAR) DM profile, which is obtained from the configuration of equilibrium of a self-gravitating system of massive fermions, hereafter “inos”, and show that it can be a good candidate for WDM. A significant insight for this model might be inferred based on the analytical approach of the halo model, pointing out that there might have signals of quantum cores of galaxies on the non-linear matter power spectrum at small scales, which are however unfortunately inaccessible today with the current observational instruments. Upcoming surveys could test in the future the quantum features of galactic cores.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Relating the strangeness content of the nucleon with the mass shift of the ϕ meson in nuclear matter

The behavior of the ϕ meson at finite density is studied, making use of a QCD sum rule approach in combination with the maximum entropy method. It is demonstrated that a possible mass shift of the ϕ in nuclear matter is strongly correlated to the strangeness content of the nucleon, which is proportional to the strange sigma term, σ{sub sN}. In contrast to earlier studies, our results show that, depending on the value of σ{sub sN}, the ϕ meson could receive both a positive or negative mass shift at nuclear matter density. We find that these results depend only weakly on potential modifications of the width of the ϕ meson peak and on assumptions made on the behavior of four-quark condensates at finite density.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Models of quark-hadron matter and compact stars

Phenomenological approaches to Quantum Chromodynamics covering the whole region of low and high temperatures and/or densities must address the problem that the effective degrees of freedom change from hadrons to quarks and gluons. We approach this task with a unified description of hadronic and quark matter allowing for cross-over as well as first or second-order phase transitions. As a further benefit of such an approach, a quantitatively satisfactory description of nuclear ground state matter as well as nuclear and hypernuclear properties can be achieved. We apply this model to neutron stars and consider potential constraints on star properties arising from lattice gauge results in relation with the observation of 2 solar mass stars.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗