Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “detection”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,729 records · Page 96
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Automatic detection of low surface brightness galaxies from Sloan Digital Sky Survey images

ABSTRACT Low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies are galaxies with central surface brightness fainter than the night sky. Due to the faint nature of LSB galaxies and the comparable sky background, it is difficult to search LSB galaxies automatically and efficiently from large sky survey. In this study, we established the low surface brightness galaxies autodetect (LSBG-AD) model, which is a data-driven model for end-to-end detection of LSB galaxies from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) images. Object-detection techniques based on deep learning are applied to the SDSS field images to identify LSB galaxies and estimate their coordinates at the same time. Applying LSBG-AD to 1120 SDSS images, we detected 1197 LSB galaxy candidates, of which 1081 samples are already known and 116 samples are newly found candidates. The B-band central surface brightness of the candidates searched by the model ranges from 22 to 24 mag arcsec−2, quite consistent with the surface brightness distribution of the standard sample. A total of 96.46 per cent of LSB galaxy candidates have an axial ratio (b/a) greater than 0.3, and 92.04 per cent of them have $fracDev\_r$ < 0.4, which is also consistent with the standard sample. The results show that the LSBG-AD model learns the features of LSB galaxies of the training samples well, and can be used to search LSB galaxies without using photometric parameters. Next, this method will be used to develop efficient algorithms to detect LSB galaxies from massive images of the next-generation observatories.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

First detection of the BAO signal from early DESI data

We present the first detection of the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs) signal obtained using unblinded data collected during the initial 2 months of operations of the Stage-IV ground-based Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). From a selected sample of 261 291 luminous red galaxies spanning the redshift interval 0.4 < z < 1.1 and covering 1651 square degrees with a 57.9 per cent completeness level, we report a ∼5σ level BAO detection and the measurement of the BAO location at a precision of 1.7 per cent. Using a bright galaxy sample of 109 523 galaxies in the redshift range 0.1 < z < 0.5, over 3677 square degrees with a 50.0 per cent completeness, we also detect the BAO feature at ∼3σ significance with a 2.6 per cent precision. These first BAO measurements represent an important milestone, acting as a quality control on the optimal performance of the complex robotically actuated, fibre-fed DESI spectrograph, as well as an early validation of the DESI spectroscopic pipeline and data management system. Based on these first promising results, we forecast that DESI is on target to achieve a high-significance BAO detection at sub-per cent precision with the completed 5-yr survey data, meeting the top-level science requirements on BAO measurements. This exquisite level of precision will set new standards in cosmology and confirm DESI as the most competitive BAO experiment for the remainder of this decade.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Detecting strongly lensed type Ia supernovae with LSST

ABSTRACT Strongly lensed supernovae are rare and valuable probes of cosmology and astrophysics. Upcoming wide-field time-domain surveys, such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), are expected to discover an order-of-magnitude more lensed supernovae than have previously been observed. In this work, we investigate the cosmological prospects of lensed type Ia supernovae (SNIa) in LSST by quantifying the expected annual number of detections, the impact of stellar microlensing, follow-up feasibility, and how to best separate lensed and unlensed SNIa. We simulate SNIa lensed by galaxies, using the current LSST baseline v3.0 cadence, and find an expected number of 44 lensed SNIa detections per year. Microlensing effects by stars in the lensing galaxy are predicted to lower the lensed SNIa detections by ∼8 per cent. The lensed events can be separated from the unlensed ones by jointly considering their colours and peak magnitudes. We define a ‘gold sample’ of ∼10 lensed SNIa per year with time delay >10 d, >5 detections before light curve peak, and sufficiently bright (mi < 22.5 mag) for follow-up observations. In 3 yr of LSST operations, such a sample is expected to yield a 1.5 per cent measurement of the Hubble constant.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2017

MAGIC detection of very high energy γ-ray emission from the low-luminosity blazar 1ES 1741+196

Here, we present the first detection of the nearby (z = 0.084) low-luminosity BL Lac object 1ES 1741+196 in the very high energy (E > 100 GeV) band. This object lies in a triplet of interacting galaxies. Early predictions had suggested 1ES 1741+196 to be, along with several other high-frequency BL Lac sources, within the reach of MAGIC detectability. Its detection by MAGIC, later confirmed by VERITAS, helps to expand the small population of known TeV BL Lacs. The source was observed with the MAGIC telescopes between 2010 April and 2011 May, collecting 46 h of good quality data. These observations led to the detection of the source at 6.0 σ confidence level, with a steady flux F(>100 GeV) = (6.4 ± 1.7stat ± 2.6syst) × 10–12 ph cm–2s–1 and a differential spectral photon index Γ = 2.4 ± 0.2stat ± 0.2syst in the range of ~80 GeV–3 TeV. To study the broad-band spectral energy distribution (SED) simultaneous with MAGIC observations, we use KVA, Swift /UVOT and XRT and Fermi /LAT data. One-zone synchrotron-self-Compton (SSC) modelling of the SED of 1ES 1741+196 suggests values for the SSC parameters that are quite common among known TeV BL Lacs except for a relatively low Doppler factor and slope of electron energy distribution. A thermal feature seen in the SED is well matched by a giant elliptical's template. As a result, this appears to be the signature of thermal emission from the host galaxy, which is clearly resolved in optical observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Spitzer mid-infrared detections of neutron star merger GW170817 suggests synthesis of the heaviest elements

Abstract We report our Spitzer Space Telescope observations and detections of the binary neutron star merger GW170817. At 4.5 μm, GW170817 is detected at 21.9 mag AB at +43 days and 23.9 mag AB at +74 days after merger. At 3.6 μm, GW170817 is not detected to a limit of 23.2 mag AB at +43 days and 23.1 mag AB at +74 days. Our detections constitute the latest and reddest constraints on the kilonova/macronova emission and composition of heavy elements. The 4.5 μm luminosity at this late phase cannot be explained by elements exclusively from the first abundance peak of the r-process. Moreover, the steep decline in the Spitzer band, with a power-law index of 3.4 ± 0.2, can be explained by a few of the heaviest isotopes with half-life around 14 d dominating the luminosity (e.g. 140Ba, 143Pr, 147Nd, 156Eu, 191Os, 223Ra, 225Ra, 233Pa, 234Th) or a model with lower deposition efficiency. This data offers evidence that the heaviest elements in the second and third r-process abundance peak were indeed synthesized. Our conclusion is verified by both analytics and network simulations and robust despite intricacies and uncertainties in the nuclear physics. Future observations with Spitzer and James Webb Space Telescope will further illuminate the relative abundance of the synthesized heavy elements.

Kasliwal, Mansi M. (ORCID:0000000256194938)↗
DOE OSTI2015

Wind turbine blade shear web disbond detection using rotor blade operational sensing and data analysis

A wind turbine blade's structural dynamic response is simulated and analyzed with the goal of characterizing the presence and severity of a shear web disbond. Computer models of a 5 MW offshore utility-scale wind turbine were created to develop effective algorithms for detecting such damage. Through data analysis and with the use of blade measurements, a shear web disbond was quantified according to its length. An aerodynamic sensitivity study was conducted to ensure robustness of the detection algorithms. In all analyses, the blade's flap-wise acceleration and root-pitching moment were the clearest indicators of the presence and severity of a shear web disbond. A combination of blade and non-blade measurements was formulated into a final algorithm for the detection and quantification of the disbond. Here, the probability of detection was 100% for the optimized wind speed ranges in laminar, 30% horizontal shear and 60% horizontal shear conditions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Broadband Optical Detection Using the Spin Seebeck Effect

The generation, control, and detection of spin currents in solid-state devices are critical for Joule-heating minimization, spin-based computation, and electrical-energy generation from thermal gradients. Although incorporation of spin functionality into technologically important architectures is still in its infancy, advantages over all-electric devices are increasingly becoming clear. Here, we utilize the spin Seebeck effect (SSE) in Pt/Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 devices to detect light from 390 to 2200 nm. We find that the device responsivity is remarkably flat across this technologically important wavelength range, closely following the Pt absorption coefficient. As expected from a SSE-generation mechanism, we observe that the photovoltage and Pt heating dynamics are in strong agreement. To precisely determine the optically created thermal gradient produced from a pointlike heat source, we introduce a field-modulation method for measuring the SSE. Furthermore, our results show that broadband optical detection can be performed with devices based solely on spin-current generation and detection.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Detecting axion dynamics on the surface of magnetic topological insulators

Axions, initially proposed to solve the strong CP problem, have recently gained attention in condensed matter physics, particularly in topological insulators. However, detecting axion dynamics has proven challenging, with no experimental confirmations to date. In this paper, we identify the surface of magnetic topological insulators as an ideal platform for observing axion dynamics. The vanishing bulk gap at the surface allows for order O(1) variations in the axion field, making the detection of axionlike phenomena more feasible. In contrast, these phenomena are strongly suppressed in the bulk due to the small magnetic exchange gap. We investigate two-photon decay as a signature of axion dynamics and calculate the branching ratio using a perturbative approach. Our findings reveal that the photon flux emitted from the surface is in plane and orders of magnitude larger than that from the bulk, making it detectable with modern microwave technology. We also discuss potential material platforms for detecting axion two-photon decay and strategies to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio.

Gao, Zhi-Qiang↗
DOE OSTI2019

Direct detection of sub-GeV dark matter using a superfluid 4 He target

A promising technology concept for sub-GeV dark matter detection is described, in which low-temperature microcalorimeters serve as the sensors and superfluid 4 He serves as the target material. We name this concept “HeRALD,” helium roton apparatus for light dark matter. A superfluid helium target has several advantageous properties, including a light nuclear mass for better kinematic matching with light dark matter particles, copious production of scintillation light, extreme intrinsic radiopurity, high impedance to external vibration noise, and a unique “quantum evaporation” signal channel enabling the detection of phononlike modes via liberation of 4 He atoms into a vacuum. In this concept, both scintillation photons and triplet excimers are detected using calorimeters, including calorimeters immersed in the superfluid. Kinetic excitations of the superfluid medium (rotons and phonons) are detected using quantum evaporation and subsequent atomic adsorption onto a calorimeter suspended in vacuum above the target helium. The energy of adsorption amplifies the phonon/roton signal before calorimetric sensing, producing a gain mechanism that can reduce the technology’s recoil energy threshold below the calorimeter energy threshold. We describe signal production and signal sensing probabilities, and estimate the resulting electron recoil discrimination. We simulate radioactive backgrounds from gamma rays and construct an overall background spectrum expectation also including neutrons and solar neutrinos. Finally, we calculate projected sensitivities to dark matter–nucleon elastic scattering, demonstrating that even very small (sub-kg) target masses can probe wide regions of as-yet untested dark matter parameter space.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Online-compatible unsupervised nonresonant anomaly detection

There is a growing need for anomaly detection methods that can broaden the search for new particles in a model-agnostic manner. Most proposals for new methods focus exclusively on signal sensitivity. However, it is not enough to select anomalous events—there must also be a strategy to provide context to the selected events. In this work, we propose the first complete strategy for unsupervised detection of nonresonant anomalies that includes both signal sensitivity and a data-driven method for background estimation. Our technique is built out of two simultaneously trained autoencoders that are forced to be decorrelated from each other. This method can be deployed off-line for nonresonant anomaly detection and is also the first complete on-line-compatible anomaly detection strategy. We show that our method achieves excellent performance on a variety of signals prepared for the ADC2021 data challenge.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Detecting cosmic strings with lensed fast radio bursts

Correlated red noise recently reported from pulsar timing observations may be an indication of stochastic gravitational waves emitted by cosmic strings that formed during a primordial phase transition near the grand unification energy scale. Unfortunately, known probes of cosmic strings, namely the cosmic microwave background anisotropies and string lensing of extragalactic galaxies, are not sensitive enough for low dimensionless string tensions of Gμc -2 = 10 -10 – 10 -7 (where the tension μ is the string energy per unit length) that are needed to explain this putative signal. We show that strong gravitational lensing of fast radio bursts (FRBs) by cosmic strings is a potentially unambiguous avenue to probe that range of string tension values. The image pair of string lensing are expected to have identical magnification factor and parity, and have a typical time delay of ~10 2 (Gμc -2 /10 -8 ) 2 s. Here, the unique spectral fingerprint of each FRB, as well as the possibility to detect correlations in the time series of the electric field of the radio waves, will enable verification of the string lensing interpretation. Very-long-baseline interferometry observations can spatially resolve the image pair and provide a lower bound on the string tension based on the image separation. We calculate the FRB lensing rate as a function of the FRB detection number for several different models of the FRB redshift distribution. We find that a survey detecting ~10 5 FRBs, in line with estimates for the detection rate of the forthcoming survey CHORD, can uncover a strong lensing event for a string tension of Gμc -2 ≃ 10 -7 . Larger FRB surveys, such as Phase 2 of the Square Kilometre Array, have the potential to significantly improve the sensitivity on the string tension to Gμc -2 ≃ 10 -9 .

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Anomaly detection in collider physics via factorized observables

To maximize the discovery potential of high-energy colliders, experimental searches should be sensitive to unforeseen new physics scenarios. This goal has motivated the use of machine learning for unsupervised anomaly detection. In this paper, we introduce a new anomaly detection strategy called : factorized observables for regressing conditional expectations. Our approach is based on the inductive bias of factorization, which is the idea that the physics governing different energy scales can be treated as approximately independent. Assuming factorization holds separately for signal and background processes, the appearance of nontrivial correlations between low- and high-energy observables is a robust indicator of new physics. Under the most restrictive form of factorization, a machine-learned model trained to identify such correlations will in fact converge to the optimal new physics classifier. We test on a benchmark anomaly detection task for the Large Hadron Collider involving collimated sprays of particles called jets. By teasing out correlations between the kinematics and substructure of jets, our method can reliably extract percent-level signal fractions. This strategy for uncovering new physics adds to the growing toolbox of anomaly detection methods for collider physics with a complementary set of assumptions. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Detection of bosenovae with quantum sensors on Earth and in space

In a broad class of theories, the accumulation of ultralight dark matter (ULDM) with particles of mass 10 − 22 eV < m ϕ < 1 eV leads to the formation of long-lived bound states known as boson stars. When the ULDM exhibits self-interactions, prodigious bursts of energy carried by relativistic bosons are released from collapsing boson stars in bosenova explosions. We extensively explore the potential reach of terrestrial and space-based experiments for detecting transient signatures of emitted relativistic bursts of scalar particles, including ULDM coupled to photons, electrons, and gluons, capturing a wide range of motivated theories. For the scenario of relaxion ULDM, we demonstrate that upcoming experiments and technology such as nuclear clocks as well as space-based interferometers will be able to sensitively probe orders of magnitude in the ULDM coupling-mass parameter space, challenging to study otherwise, by detecting signatures of transient bosenova events. Detection of a bosenova event may also give information about microphysics properties of ϕ that would otherwise be difficult with typical direct detection methods. Our analysis can be readily extended to different scenarios of relativistic scalar particle emission. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Arakawa, Jason (ORCID:0000000237889486)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Nuclear spin metrology with nitrogen vacancy center in diamond for axion dark matter detection

We present a method to directly detect the axion dark matter using nitrogen vacancy centers in diamonds. In particular, we use metrology leveraging the nuclear spin of nitrogen to detect axion-nucleus couplings. This is achieved through protocols designed for dark matter searches, which introduce a novel approach of quantum sensing techniques based on the nitrogen vacancy center. Although the coupling strength of the magnetic fields with nuclear spins is three orders of magnitude smaller than that with electron spins for conventional magnetometry, the axion interaction strength with nuclear spins is the same order of magnitude as that with electron spins. Furthermore, we can take advantage of the long coherence time by using the nuclear spins for the axion dark matter detection. Our method has the potential to be sensitive to a broad frequency range ≲ 100 Hz corresponding to the axion mass m a ≲ 4 × 10 − 13 eV . We present the detection limit of our method for both the axion-neutron and the axion-proton couplings and discuss its significance in comparison with other proposed ideas. We also show that the sensitivities of the NV center sensor to various spin species will open up new directions for constructing protocols that can mitigate magnetic noise effects. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Chigusa, So (ORCID:0000000160054447)↗
DOE OSTI2017

Magnetic bubble chambers and sub-GeV dark matter direct detection

We propose a new application of single molecule magnet crystals: their use as “magnetic bubble chambers” for the direct detection of sub-GeV dark matter. The spins in these macroscopic crystals effectively act as independent nanoscale magnets. When antialigned with an external magnetic field they form metastable states with a relaxation time that can be very long at sufficiently low temperatures. The Zeeman energy stored in this system can be released through localized heating, caused for example by the scattering or absorption of dark matter, resulting in a spin avalanche (or “magnetic deflagration”) that amplifies the effects of the initial heat deposit, enabling detection. Much like the temperature and pressure in a conventional bubble chamber, the temperature and external magnetic field set the detection threshold for a single molecule magnet crystal. Here, we discuss this detector concept for dark matter detection and propose ways to ameliorate backgrounds. If successfully developed, this detector concept can search for hidden photon dark matter in the meV–eV mass range with sensitivities exceeding current bounds by several orders of magnitude.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

On the Direct Detection of Dark Matter Annihilation

We investigate the direct detection phenomenology of a class of dark matter (DM) models in which DM does not directly interact with nuclei, but rather, the products of its annihilation do. When these annihilation products are very light compared to the DM mass, the scattering in direct detection experiments is controlled by relativistic kinematics. This results in a distinctive recoil spectrum, a nonstandard and/or even absent annual modulation, and the ability to probe DM masses as low as a ~ 10 MeV. Here, we use current LUX data to show that experimental sensitivity to thermal relic annihilation cross sections has already been reached in a class of models. Moreover, the compatibility of dark matter direct detection experiments can be compared directly in E min space without making assumptions about DM astrophysics, mass, or scattering form factors. Lastly, when DM has direct couplings to nuclei, the limit from annihilation to relativistic particlesin the Sun can be stronger than that of conventional nonrelativistic direct detection by more than 3 orders of magnitude for masses in a 2–7 GeV window.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Detection of Hole Pockets in the Candidate Type-II Weyl Semimetal MoTe 2 from Shubnikov-de Haas Quantum Oscillations

We report the bulk electronic structure of T d -MoTe 2 features large hole Fermi pockets at the Brillouin zone center (Γ) and two electron Fermi surfaces along the Γ-X direction. However, the large hole pockets, whose existence has important implications for the Weyl physics of T d -MoTe 2 , has never been conclusively detected in quantum oscillations. This raises doubt about the realizability of Majorana states in T d -MoTe 2 , because these exotic states rely on the existence of Weyl points, which originated from the same band structure predicted by density functional theory (DFT). Here, we report an unambiguous detection of these elusive hole pockets via Shubnikov–de Haas (SdH) quantum oscillations. At ambient pressure, the quantum oscillation frequencies for these pockets are 988 and 1513 T, when the magnetic field is applied along the c axis. The quasiparticle effective masses m* associated with these frequencies are 1.50 and 2.77 m e , respectively, indicating the importance of Coulomb interactions in this system. We further measure the SdH oscillations under pressure. At 13 kbar, we detected a peak at 1798 T with m* = 2.86 m e . Relative to the oscillation data at a lower pressure, the amplitude of this peak experienced an enhancement, which can be attributed to the reduced curvature of the hole pockets under pressure. Combining our experimental data with DFT +U calculations, where U is the Hubbard parameter, our results shed light on why these important hole pockets have not been detected until now.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2026

Community detection robustness of graph neural networks

Graph neural networks (GNNs) are increasingly widely used for community detection in attributed networks. They combine structural topology with node attributes through message passing and pooling. However, their robustness or lack thereof with respect to different perturbations and targeted attacks in conjunction with community detection tasks is not well understood. To shed light on latent mechanisms behind GNN sensitivity on community detection tasks, we conduct a systematic computational evaluation of six widely adopted GNN architectures graph convolutional network, graph attention network, graph sample and aggregate (GraphSAGE), differentiable pooling (DiffPool), minimum cut pooling (MinCUT), and deep modularity networks (DMoN). The analysis covers three perturbation categories: node attribute manipulations, edge topology distortions, and adversarial attacks. We use element-centric similarity as the evaluation metric on synthetic benchmarks and real-world citation networks. Our findings indicate that supervised GNNs tend to achieve higher baseline accuracy, while unsupervised methods, particularly DMoN, maintain stronger resilience under targeted and adversarial perturbations. Furthermore, robustness appears to be strongly influenced by community strength, with well-defined communities reducing performance loss. Across all models, node attribute perturbations associated with targeted edge deletions and shifts in attribute distributions tend to cause the largest degradation in community recovery. These findings highlight important trade-offs between accuracy and robustness in GNN-based community detection and offer insights into selecting architectures resilient to noise and adversarial attacks.

Goel, Jaidev [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State↗