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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2011

THERMALLY DRIVEN ATMOSPHERIC ESCAPE: TRANSITION FROM HYDRODYNAMIC TO JEANS ESCAPE

Thermally driven escape from planetary atmospheres changes in nature from an organized outflow (hydrodynamic escape) to escape on a molecule-by-molecule basis (Jeans escape) with increasing Jeans parameter, {lambda}, the ratio of the gravitational to thermal energy of the atmospheric molecules. This change is described here for the first time using the direct simulation Monte Carlo method. When heating is predominantly below the lower boundary of the simulation region, R{sub 0}, and well below the exobase of a single-component atmosphere, the nature of the escape process changes over a surprisingly narrow range of Jeans parameters, {lambda}{sub 0}, evaluated at R{sub 0}. For an atomic gas, the transition occurs over {lambda}{sub 0} {approx} 2-3, where the lower bound, {lambda}{sub 0} {approx} 2.1, corresponds to the upper limit for isentropic, supersonic outflow. For {lambda}{sub 0} > 3 escape occurs on a molecule-by-molecule basis and we show that, contrary to earlier suggestions, for {lambda}{sub 0} > {approx}6 the escape rate does not deviate significantly from the familiar Jeans rate. In a gas composed of diatomic molecules, the transition shifts to {lambda}{sub 0} {approx} 2.4-3.6 and at {lambda}{sub 0} > {approx}4 the escape rate increases a few tens of percent over that for the monatomic gas. Scaling by the Jeans parameter and the Knudsen number, these results can be applied to thermally induced escape of the major species from solar and extrasolar planets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Reversion and T Cell Escape Mutations Compensate the Fitness Loss of a CD8+ T Cell Escape Mutant in Their Cognate Transmitted/Founder Virus

Immune escape mutations that revert back to the consensus sequence frequently occur in newly HIV-1-infected individuals and have been thought to render the viruses more fit. However, their impact on viral fitness and their interaction with other immune escape mutations have not been evaluated in the background of their cognate transmitted/founder (T/F) viral genomes. To precisely determine the role of reversion mutations, we introduced reversion mutations alone or together with CD8+ T cell escape mutations in their unmodified cognate T/F viral genome and determined their impact on viral fitness in primary CD4+ T cells. Two reversion mutations, V247I and I64T, were identified in Gag and Tat, respectively, but neither had measurable effect on the fitness of their cognate T/F virus. The V247I and G248A mutations that were detected before and concurrently with the potent T cell escape mutation T242N, respectively, were selected by early T cell responses. The V247I or the G248A mutation alone partially restored the fitness loss caused by the T242N mutation. Together they could fully restore the fitness of the T242N mutant to the T/F level. These results demonstrate that the fitness loss caused by a T cell escape mutation could be compensated by preexisting or concurrent reversion and other T cell escape mutations. Our findings indicate that the overall viral fitness is modulated by the complex interplay among T cell escape, compensatory and reversion mutations to maintain the balance between immune escape and viral replication capacity.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

Effect of Ion Escape Velocity and Conversion Surface Material on H- Production

According to generally accepted models surface production of negative ions depends on ion escape velocity and work function of the surface. We have conducted an experimental study addressing the role of the ion escape velocity on H- production. A converter-type ion source at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center was employed for the experiment. The ion escape velocity was affected by varying the bias voltage of the converter electrode. It was observed that due to enhanced stripping of H- no direct gain of extracted beam current can be achieved by increasing the converter voltage. The conversion efficiency of H- was observed to vary with converter voltage and follow the existing theories in qualitative manner. We present calculations predicting relative H- yields from different cesiated surfaces with comparison to experimental observations from different types of H- ion sources. Utilizing materials exhibiting negative electron affinity and exposed to UV-light is considered for Cesium-free H-/D- production.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THERMAL ESCAPE IN THE HYDRODYNAMIC REGIME: RECONSIDERATION OF PARKER's ISENTROPIC THEORY BASED ON RESULTS OF KINETIC SIMULATIONS

The one-dimensional steady-state problem of thermal escape from a single-component atmosphere of mon- and diatomic gases is studied in the hydrodynamic (blow-off) regime using the direct simulation Monte Carlo method for an evaporative-type condition at the lower boundary. The simulations are performed for various depths into an atmosphere, indicated by a Knudsen number, Kn{sub 0}, equal to the ratio of the mean free path of molecules to the radial position of the source surface, ranging from 10 to 10{sup -5}, and for the range of the source Jeans parameter, {lambda}{sub 0}, equal to the ratio of gravitational and thermal energies, specific to blow-off. The results of kinetic simulations are compared with the isentropic model (IM) and the Navier-Stokes model. It is shown that the IM can be simplified if formulated in terms of the local Mach number and Jeans parameter. The simulations predict that at Kn{sub 0} < {approx} 10{sup -3} the flow includes a near-surface non-equilibrium Knudsen layer, a zone where the flow can be well approximated by the IM, and a rarefied far field. The corresponding IM solutions, however, only approach Parker's critical solution as {lambda}{sub 0} approaches the upper limit for blow-off. The IM alone is not capable for predicting the flow and requires boundary conditions at the top of the Knudsen layer. For small Kn{sub 0}, the scaled escape rate and energy loss rate are found to be independent of {lambda}{sub 0}. The simulation results can be scaled to any single-component atmosphere exhibiting blow-off if the external heating above the lower boundary is negligible, in particular, to sublimation-driven atmospheres of Kuiper belt objects.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of doping on room temperature carrier escape mechanisms in InAs/GaAs quantum dot p-i-n junction photovoltaic cells

We investigate the effect of doping on the mechanisms of carrier escape from intermediate states in delta-doped InAs/GaAs intermediate band solar cells. The intermediate states arise from InAs quantum dots embedded in a GaAs p-i-n junction cell. We find that doping the sample increases the number of excited-state carriers participating in a cycle of trapping and carrier escape via thermal, optical, and tunneling mechanisms. However, we find that the efficiency of the optically-driven carrier escape mechanism is independent of doping and remains small.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Transport and Fate of Natural Gas and Brine Escaping from a Hydrocarbon Reservoir Through a Failed Deepwater Well in the Oceanic Subsurface of the Gulf of Mexico

The possibility of broaching, or the release of fluids at the seafloor due to a damaged or faulty well, is a hazard that must be assessed in the well permitting process. Here, this paper describes a numerical simulation study of a real-life scenario where a complex, permeable sandy formation, connected to the seafloor via known chimneys/seeps, is intersected by a damaged production well that drains another deeper, gas-bearing formation. The objective of the study is to determine the transport and fate of hydrocarbon reservoir fluids (gas and brines) escaping into the sandy formation through the casing shoe of the failed well, and to determine the time it takes for these contaminants to reach the ocean floor. We conducted a detailed simulation study to represent the conditions, properties, and behavior of the system under such failure conditions, and we investigated the migration of gas and brine for a range of reservoir and chimney properties. A key conclusion is that, for such complex systems, modeling the three-dimensional geometry of the system in detail is the key to describing transport and assessing the time and magnitude of potential releases. For the system studied here, transport times range from under 2 years (highest permeabilities) to many decades, ensuring significant time to respond to potential broaching hazards. Lastly, under the conditions investigated in this study, we also determine that gas-dominated releases associated with low rates of water flow into the sandy formation are likely to cause hydrate formation that can reduce permeabilities in the colder, upper regions of the chimneys and possibly mitigate releases.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

GAMMA-RAYS FROM THE QUASAR PKS 1441+25: STORY OF AN ESCAPE

Outbursts from gamma-ray quasars provide insights on the relativistic jets of active galactic nuclei and constraints on the diffuse radiation fields that fill the universe. The detection of significant emission above 100 GeV from a distant quasar would show that some of the radiated gamma-rays escape pair-production interactions with low-energy photons, be it the extragalactic background light (EBL), or the radiation near the supermassive black hole lying at the jet’s base. VERITAS detected gamma-ray emission up to ∼200 GeV from PKS 1441+25 (z = 0.939) during 2015 April, a period of high activity across all wavelengths. This observation of PKS 1441+25 suggests that the emission region is located thousands of Schwarzschild radii away from the black hole. The gamma-ray detection also sets a stringent upper limit on the near-ultraviolet to near-infrared EBL intensity, suggesting that galaxy surveys have resolved most, if not all, of the sources of the EBL at these wavelengths.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Shallow cloud variability in Houston, Texas, during the ESCAPE and TRACER field experiments

Shallow convection plays an important role in Earth's climate system by regulating the vertical transport of heat, moisture, and momentum in the lower troposphere. Aerosols, large-scale meteorology, and low-level convergence influence the spatiotemporal variability in shallow convection, and the coastal urban area of Houston, Texas, is an ideal laboratory to investigate these complex interactions. Here, geostationary satellite and ground-based radar observations from June to September 2022 during the TRacking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER) and Experiment of Sea Breeze Convection, Aerosols, Precipitation, and Environment (ESCAPE) field campaigns are used to characterize the spatial coverage, vertical extent, and precipitation fraction of shallow convective clouds. The fused operational remote sensing datasets over a 250 km × 250 km domain are evaluated against profiling observations. The domain-wide diurnal shallow cloud fractions are used to identify four distinct modes of shallow convection. In all clusters, the domain-wide cloud fractions are consistently higher than the domain-wide precipitation fractions, and shallow cloud fractions are higher over water than they are over land, while the shallow precipitation fractions show the opposite behavior. In the two modes with minimal deep cloud activity, shallow cloud frequency is highest over ocean in the early morning, and there is a transition to higher shallow cloud frequency over land by the afternoon in one cluster or to high shallow cloud frequencies everywhere by the afternoon in the other. Lastly, we find regions with higher shallow cloud top heights and a large region along the coastline where shallow clouds are more likely to precipitate.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Engineering of a tumor cell–specific, cytosol-penetrating antibody with high endosomal escape efficacy

Highlights: • Generation of a tumor cell–specific, cytosol-penetrating antibody, cytotransmab. • Engineering of a cytotransmab with the VH-mediated endosomal escape activity. • Creation of a cytotransmab with endosomal escape motif in both VH and VL. • Generation of a cytotransmab with a high endosomal escaping efficiency (∼17.5%). • Development of a cytosol-penetrating antibody in a druggable human IgG format. The main obstacles for practical uses of cytosol-penetrating peptides and proteins include their lack of cell- or tissue-specific targeting and limited cytosolic access owing to the poor endosomal escape ability. We have previously reported a cytosol-penetrating, human IgG1 antibody TMab4-WYW, generally referred to as a cytotransmab (CT), which reaches the cytosol of living cells but nonspecifically because it is endocytosed via a ubiquitously expressed receptor called heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG). Here, our aim was to construct a next-generation CT with tumor cell specificity and improved endosomal escape efficiency. We first substantially reduced the HSPG-binding activity of TMab4-WYW and then fused a cyclic peptide specifically recognizing tumor-associated epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) to the N terminus of the light chain for EpCAM-mediated endocytosis, while maintaining the endosomal escape ability in the light chain variable domain (VL), thus generating epCT05. Then, we separately engineered another CT, dubbed epCT65-AAA, with an endosomal escape ability only in the heavy chain variable domain (VH) but not in VL, by functional grafting of the endosomal escape motif of epCT05 VL to the VH. We finally combined the heavy chain of epCT65-AAA and the light chain of epCT05 to create epCT65 with endosomal escape capacity in both the VH and VL. epCT65 effectively localized to the cytosol of only EpCAM-expressing tumor cells and showed approximately twofold improved endosomal escape efficiency, as compared with CTs with endosomal escape motifs in either VH or VL. The full–IgG format CT, epCT65, with a tumor cell–specific cytosol-penetrating activity, has a great potential for practical medical applications, e.g., as a carrier for cytosolic delivery of payloads.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

THE HETDEX PILOT SURVEY. II. THE EVOLUTION OF THE Ly{alpha} ESCAPE FRACTION FROM THE ULTRAVIOLET SLOPE AND LUMINOSITY FUNCTION OF 1.9 < z < 3.8 LAEs

We study the escape of Ly{alpha} photons from Ly{alpha} emitting galaxies (LAEs) and the overall galaxy population using a sample of 99 LAEs at 1.9 < z < 3.8 detected through integral-field spectroscopy of blank fields by The Hobby Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment Pilot Survey. For 89 LAEs with broadband counterparts we measure ultraviolet (UV) luminosities and UV slopes, and estimate E(B - V) under the assumption of a constant intrinsic UV slope for LAEs. These quantities are used to estimate dust-corrected star formation rates (SFRs). Comparison between the observed Ly{alpha} luminosity and that predicted by the dust-corrected SFR yields the Ly{alpha} escape fraction. We also measure the Ly{alpha} luminosity function and luminosity density ({rho}{sub Ly{alpha}}) at 2 < z < 4. Using this and other measurements from the literature at 0.3 < z < 7.7 we trace the redshift evolution of {rho}{sub Ly{alpha}.} We compare it to the expectations from the star formation history of the universe and characterize the evolution of the Ly{alpha} escape fraction of galaxies. LAEs at 2 < z < 4 selected down to a luminosity limit of L(Ly{alpha}) > (3-6) x 10{sup 42} erg s{sup -1} (0.25-0.5 L*), have a mean (E(B - V)) = 0.13 {+-} 0.01, implying an attenuation of {approx}70% in the UV. They show a median UV uncorrected SFR = 11 M{sub sun} yr{sup -1}, dust-corrected SFR = 34 M{sub sun} yr{sup -1}, and Ly{alpha} equivalent widths (EWs) which are consistent with normal stellar populations. We measure a median Ly{alpha} escape fraction of 29%, with a large scatter and values ranging from a few percent to 100%. The Ly{alpha} escape fraction in LAEs correlates with E(B - V) in a way that is expected if Ly{alpha} photons suffer from similar amounts of dust extinction as UV continuum photons. This result implies that a strong enhancement of the Ly{alpha} EW with dust, due to a clumpy multi-phase interstellar medium (ISM), is not a common process in LAEs at these redshifts. It also suggests that while in other galaxies Ly{alpha} can be preferentially quenched by dust due to its scattering nature, this is not the case in LAEs. We find no evolution in the average dust content and Ly{alpha} escape fraction of LAEs from z {approx} 4 to 2. We see hints of a drop in the number density of LAEs from z {approx} 4 to 2 in the redshift distribution and the Ly{alpha} luminosity function, although larger samples are required to confirm this. The mean Ly{alpha} escape fraction of the overall galaxy population decreases significantly from z {approx} 6 to z {approx} 2, in agreement with recent results. Our results point toward a scenario in which star-forming galaxies build up significant amounts of dust in their ISM between z {approx} 6 and 2, reducing their Ly{alpha} escape fraction, with LAE selection preferentially detecting galaxies which have the highest escape fractions given their dust content. The fact that a large escape of Ly{alpha} photons is reached by z {approx} 6 implies that better constraints on this quantity at higher redshifts might detect re-ionization in a way that is uncoupled from the effects of dust.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Extinction correction significantly influences the estimate of the Lyα escape fraction

The Lyα escape fraction is a key measure to constrain the neutral state of the intergalactic medium and then to understand how the universe was fully reionized. We combine deep narrowband imaging data from the custom-made filter NB393 and the H{sub 2}S1 filter centered at 2.14 μm to examine the Lyα emitters and Hα emitters at the same redshift z = 2.24. The combination of these two populations allows us to determine the Lyα escape fraction at z = 2.24. Over an area of 383 arcmin{sup 2} in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (ECDFS), 124 Lyα emitters are detected down to NB393 = 26.4 mag at the 5σ level, and 56 Hα emitters come from An et al. Of these, four have both Lyα and Hα emissions (LAHAEs). We also collect the Lyα emitters and Hα emitters at z = 2.24 in the COSMOS field from the literature, and increase the number of LAHAEs to 15 in total. About one-third of them are AGNs. We measure the individual/volumetric Lyα escape fraction by comparing the observed Lyα luminosity/luminosity density to the extinction-corrected Hα luminosity/luminosity density. We revisit the extinction correction for Hα emitters using the Galactic extinction law with color excess for nebular emission. We also adopt the Calzetti extinction law together with an identical color excess for stellar and nebular regions to explore how the uncertainties in extinction correction affect the estimate of individual and global Lyα escape fractions. In both cases, an anti-correlation between the Lyα escape fraction and dust attenuation is found among the LAHAEs, suggesting that dust absorption is responsible for the suppression of the escaping Lyα photons. However, the estimated Lyα escape fraction of individual LAHAEs varies by up to ∼3 percentage points between the two methods of extinction correction. We find the global Lyα escape fraction at z = 2.24 to be (3.7 ± 1.4)% in the ECDFS. The variation in the color excess of the extinction causes a discrepancy of ∼1 percentage point in the global Lyα escape fraction.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗