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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 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Overview of Large Helical Device experiments of basic plasma physics for solving crucial issues in reaching burning plasma conditions

Recently, experiments on basic plasma physics issues for solving future problems in fusion energy have been performed on a Large Helical Device. There are several problems to be solved in future devices for fusion energy. Emerging issues in burning plasma are: alpha-channeling (ion heating by alpha particles), turbulence and transport in electron dominant heating helium ash exhaust, reduction of the divertor heat load. To solve these problems, understanding the basic plasma physics of (1) wave–particle interaction through (inverse) Landau damping, (2) characteristics of electron-scale (high-k) turbulence, (3) ion mixing and the isotope effect, and (4) turbulence spreading and detachment, is necessary. This overview discusses the experimental studies on these issues and turbulent transport in multi-ion plasma and other issues in the appendix.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Light in the shadows: primordial black holes making dark matter shine

We consider the possibility of indirect detection of dark sector processes by investigating a novel form of interaction between ambient dark matter (DM) and primordial black holes (PBHs). The basic scenario we envisage is that the ambient DM is “dormant”, i.e., it has interactions with the SM, but its potential for an associated SM signal is not realized for various reasons. We argue that the presence of PBHs with active Hawking radiation (independent of any DM considerations) can act as a catalyst in this regard by overcoming the aforementioned bottlenecks. The central point is that PBHs radiate all types of particles, whether in the standard model (SM) or beyond (BSM), which have a mass at or below their Hawking temperature. The emission of such radiation is “democratic” (up to the particle spin), since it is based on a coupling of sorts of gravitational origin. In particular, such shining of (possibly dark sector) particles onto ambient DM can then activate the latter into giving potentially observable SM signals. We illustrate this general mechanism with two specific models. First, we consider asymmetric DM, which is characterized by an absence of ambient anti-DM, and consequently the absence of DM indirect detection signals. In this case, PBHs can “resurrect” such a signal by radiating anti-DM, which then annihilates with ambient DM in order to give SM particles such as photons. In our second example, we consider the PBH emission of dark gauge bosons which can excite ambient DM into a heavier state (which is, again, not ambient otherwise), this heavier state later decays back into DM and photons. Finally, we demonstrate that we can obtain observable signals of these BSM models from asteroid-mass PBHs (Hawking radiating currently with ~ $ \mathcal{O}\left(\textrm{MeV}\right) $ temperatures) at gamma-ray experiments such as AMEGO-X.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modulating solvation interactions of deep eutectic solvents formed by ammonium salts and carboxylic acids through varying the molar ratio of hydrogen bond donor and acceptor

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have gained increasing popularity in separation science due to the fact that their physico-chemical properties can be easily fine-tuned by varying the type or ratio of hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) and hydrogen bond donor (HBD). While it is well-known that the molar ratio of HBA/HBD affects the melting point of a eutectic mixture, much less is understood regarding its effect on the magnitude of individual solvation interactions. This is largely due to the fact that established solvatochromic dye methods lack sensitivity when the HBA/HBD ratio is varied slightly in a eutectic mixture. Herein, this study is the first to measure the variation of DES solvation interactions with small changes in the molar ratio of HBA/HBD using inverse gas chromatography (IGC). Solute-solvent interactions of three different DES systems comprised of ammonium salts and organic acids were examined. The probe molecules were studied for 18 eutectic mixtures of varied HBA and HBD composition. We report DES hydrogen bond basicity, hydrogen bond acidity, and dispersive-type interactions exhibited the greatest change when the molar ratio of HBA/HBD was varied in the eutectic mixture. Results from this study demonstrate that the HBA/HBD ratio can be used to modulate the solvation characteristics for this class of DESs in separations and that the stoichiometric ratio of the HBA/HBD is important in ensuring their reproducible preparation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

African Swine Fever Virus Protein–Protein Interaction Prediction

The African swine fever virus (ASFV) is an often deadly disease in swine and poses a threat to swine livestock and swine producers. With its complex genome containing more than 150 coding regions, developing effective vaccines for this virus remains a challenge due to a lack of basic knowledge about viral protein function and protein–protein interactions between viral proteins and between viral and host proteins. In this work, we identified ASFV-ASFV protein–protein interactions (PPIs) using artificial intelligence-powered protein structure prediction tools. We benchmarked our PPI identification workflow on the Vaccinia virus, a widely studied nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus, and found that it could identify gold-standard PPIs that have been validated in vitro in a genome-wide computational screening. We applied this workflow to more than 18,000 pairwise combinations of ASFV proteins and were able to identify seventeen novel PPIs, many of which have corroborating experimental or bioinformatic evidence for their protein–protein interactions, further validating their relevance. Two protein–protein interactions, I267L and I8L, I267L__I8L, and B175L and DP79L, B175L__DP79L, are novel PPIs involving viral proteins known to modulate host immune response.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Nonstereotypical Distribution and Effect of Ergosterol in Lipid Membranes

Ergosterol, found in fungi and some protist membranes, is understudied compared with cholesterol from animal membranes. Generally, ergosterol is assumed to modulate membranes in the same manner as cholesterol, based on their similar chemical structures. Here we reveal some fundamental structural and dynamical differences between them. Neutron diffraction shows that ergosterol is embedded in the lipid bilayer much shallower than cholesterol. Further, ergosterol does not change the membrane thickness as much as cholesterol does, indicating little condensation effect. Neutron spin echo shows that ergosterol can rigidify and soften membranes at different concentrations. The lateral lipid diffusion measured by quasielastic neutron scattering indicates that ergosterol promotes a jump diffusion of the lipid, whereas cholesterol keeps the same continuous lateral diffusion as the pure lipid membrane. Our results point to quite distinct interactions of ergosterol with membranes compared with cholesterol. These insights provide a basic understanding of membranes containing ergosterol with implications for phenomena such as lipid rafts and drug interactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Competing Intermolecular and Molecule–Surface Interactions: Dipole–Dipole-Driven Patterns in Mixed Carborane Self-Assembled Monolayers

Carboranedithiol isomers adsorbing with opposite orientations of their dipoles on surfaces are self-assembled together to form mixed monolayers where both lateral dipole–dipole and lateral thiol–thiolate (S–H···S) interactions provide enhanced stability over single-component monolayers. Here, we demonstrate the first instance of the ability to map individual isomers in a mixed monolayer using the model system carboranedithiols on Au{111}. The addition of methyl groups to one isomer provides both an enhanced dipole moment and extra apparent height for differentiation via scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Associated computational investigations rationalize favorable interactions of mixed pairs and the associated stability changes that arise from these interactions. Both STM images and Monte Carlo simulations yield similarly structured mixed monolayers, where approximately 10% of the molecules have reversed dipole moment orientations but no direct chemical attachment to the surface, leading to homogeneous monolayers with no apparent phase separation. Deprotonating the thiols by depositing the molecules under basic conditions eliminates the lateral S–H···S interactions while accentuating the dipole–dipole forces. The molecular system investigated is composed of isomeric molecules with opposite orientations of dipoles and identical surface packing, which enables the mapping of individual molecules within the mixed monolayers and enables analyses of the contributions of the relatively weak lateral interactions to the overall stability of the assemblies.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Ecological interactions between hatchery summer steelhead and wild Oncorhynchus mykiss in the Willamette River basin, 2014

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which juvenile hatchery summer steelhead and wild winter steelhead overlap in space and time, to evaluate the extent of residualism among hatchery summer steelhead in the South Santiam River, and to evaluate the potential for negative ecological interactions among hatchery summer steelhead and wild winter steelhead. Because it is not possible to visually discern juvenile winter steelhead from resident rainbow trout, we treated all adipose-intact juvenile O. mykiss as one group that represented juvenile wild winter steelhead. The 2014 study objectives were to 1) estimate the proportion of hatchery summer steelhead that residualized in the South Santiam River in 2014, 2) determine the extent to which hatchery and naturally produced O. mykiss overlapped in space and time in the South Santiam River, and 3) characterize the behavioral interactions between hatchery-origin juvenile summer steelhead and naturally produced O. mykiss. We used a combination of radio telemetry and direct observations (i.e., snorkeling) to determine the potential for negative interactions between hatchery summer and wild winter steelhead juveniles in the South Santiam River. Data collected from these two independent methods indicated that a significant portion of the hatchery summer steelhead released as smolts did not rapidly emigrate from the South Santiam River in 2014. Of the 164 radio-tagged steelhead that volitionally left the hatchery, only 66 (40.2%) were detected outside of the South Santiam River. Forty-four (26.8% of 164) of the radio-tagged hatchery summer steelhead successfully emigrated to Willamette Falls. Thus, the last known location of the majority of the tagged fish (98 of 164 = 59.8%) was in the South Santiam River. Thirty-three of the tagged hatchery steelhead were detected in the South Santiam River during mobile-tracking surveys. Of those, 21 were found to be alive in the South Santiam River over three months after their release, representing a residualization rate of 12.8% (21 of 164). Snorkeling revealed considerable overlap of habitat use (in space and time) by residual hatchery steelhead and naturally produced O. mykiss in the South Santiam River. Results from our study (and others) also indicated that hatchery steelhead juveniles typically dominate interactions with naturally produced O. mykiss juveniles. The overlap in space and time, combined with the competitive advantage that residual hatchery steelhead appear to have over naturally produced O. mykiss, increases the potential for negative ecological interactions that could have population-level effects on the wild winter steelhead population of the South Santiam River.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Minimal two-body quantum absorption refrigerator

Here, we study the phenomenon of absorption refrigeration, where refrigeration is achieved by heating instead of work, in two different setups: a minimal set up based on coupled qubits and two nonlinearly coupled resonators. Considering ZZ interaction between the two qubits, we outline the basic ingredients required to achieve cooling. Using local as well as global master equations, we observe that inclusion of an XX type term in the qubit-qubit coupling is detrimental to cooling. We compare the cooling effect obtained in the qubit case with that of nonlinearly coupled resonators (multilevel system) where the ZZ interaction translates to a Kerr-type nonlinearity. For small to intermediate strengths of nonlinearity, we observe that multilevel quantum systems, for example qutrits, give better cooling effect compared to the qubits. Using Keldysh nonequilibrium Green's function formalism, we go beyond first order sequential tunneling processes and study the effect of higher order processes on refrigeration. We find a reduced cooling effect compared to the master equation calculations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Microbial Interactions With Dissolved Organic Matter Drive Carbon Dynamics and Community Succession

Knowledge of dynamic interactions between natural organic matter (NOM) and microbial communities is critical not only to delineate the routes of NOM degradation/transformation and carbon (C) fluxes, but also to understand microbial community evolution and succession in ecosystems. Yet, these processes in subsurface environments are usually studied independently, and a comprehensive view has been elusive thus far. In this study, we fed sediment-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) to groundwater microbes and continually analyzed microbial transformation of DOM over a 50-day incubation. To document fine-scale changes in DOM chemistry, we applied high-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) and soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (sXAS). We also monitored the trajectory of microbial biomass, community structure and activity over this time period. Together, these analyses provided an unprecedented comprehensive view of interactions between sediment-derived DOM and indigenous subsurface groundwater microbes. Microbial decomposition of labile C in DOM was immediately evident from biomass increase and total organic carbon (TOC) decrease. The change of microbial composition was closely related to DOM turnover: microbial community in early stages of incubation was influenced by relatively labile tannin- and protein-like compounds; while in later stages the community composition evolved to be most correlated with less labile lipid- and lignin-like compounds. These changes in microbial community structure and function, coupled with the contribution of microbial products to DOM pool affected the further transformation of DOM, culminating in stark changes to DOM composition over time. Our study demonstrates a distinct response of microbial communities to biotransformation of DOM, which improves our understanding of coupled interactions between sediment-derived DOM, microbial processes, and community structure in subsurface groundwater.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Plasmons in molecules: Microscopic characterization based on orbital transitions and momentum conservation

In solid state physics, electronic excitations are often classified as plasmons or single-particle excitations. The former class of states refers to collective oscillations of the electron density. The random-phase approximation allows for a quantum-theoretical treatment and a characterization on a microscopic level as a coherent superposition of a large number of particle-hole transitions with the same momentum transfer. However, small systems such as molecules or small nanoclusters lack the basic properties (momentum conservation and uniform exchange interaction) responsible for the formation of plasmons in the solid-state case. Despite an enhanced interest in plasmon-based technologies and an increasing number of studies regarding plasmons in molecules and small nanoclusters, their definition on a microscopic level of theory remains ambiguous. In this work, we analyze the microscopic properties of molecular plasmons in comparison with the homogeneous electron gas as a model system. Subsequently, the applicability of the derived characteristics is validated by analyzing the electronic excitation vectors with respect to orbital transitions for two linear polyenes within second order versions of the algebraic diagrammatic construction scheme for the polarization propagator.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Quantum transport in ferromagnetic graphene: Role of Berry curvature

The magnetic effects in ferromagnetic graphene basically depend on the principle of exchange interaction when ferromagntism is induced by depositing an insulator layer on graphene. Here we deal with the consequences of non-uniformity in the exchange coupling strength of the ferromagnetic graphene. We discuss how the in- homogeneity in the coordinate and momentum of the exchange vector field can provide interesting results in the conductivity analysis of the ferromagnetic graphene. Our analysis is based on the Kubo formalism of quantum transport.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Focus: Phase-resolved nonlinear terahertz spectroscopy—From charge dynamics in solids to molecular excitations in liquids

Intense terahertz (THz) electric field transients with amplitudes up to several megavolts/centimeter and novel multidimensional techniques are the key ingredients of nonlinear THz spectroscopy, a new area of basic research. Both nonlinear light-matter interactions including the non-perturbative regime and THz driven charge transport give new insight into the character and dynamics of low-energy excitations of condensed matter and into quantum kinetic phenomena. This article provides an overview of recent progress in this field, combining an account of technological developments with selected prototype results for liquids and solids. The potential of nonlinear THz methods for future studies of low-frequency excitations of condensed-phase molecular systems is discussed as well.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Verilator Testbench Environment (VTE) v0.1

VTE is a library that allows fast and simple generation of C++ testers for modules written in Chisel and build an efficient interface to existing C++ based simulators. It contains Scala-based interface and C++ testbench class. Scala interface interacts with Firtl Interpreter and generates a basic set of C++ testbench files. These files contain the list of the Device Under Test (DUT) input-output ports as well as their parameters. C++ testbench provides functionalities similar to the Chisel PeekPokeTester, such as poke, expect, step functions. As a backend it uses Verilator.

Fatollahi-Fard, Farzad↗
DOE OSTI2013

Elementary Particle Physics and High Energy Phenomena: Final Report for FY2010-13

The work under this grant consists of experimental, theoretical, and phenomenological research on the fundamental properties of high energy subnuclear particles. The work is conducted at the University of Colorado, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC), Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and other facilities, employing neutrino-beam experiments, test beams of various particles, and proton-proton collider experiments. It emphasizes mass generation and symmetry-breaking, neutrino oscillations, bottom particle production and decay, detector development, supergravity, supersymmetry, superstrings, quantum chromodynamics, nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, cosmology, phase transitions, lattice gauge theory, and anomaly-free theories. The goals are to improve our understanding of the basic building blocks of matter and their interactions. Data from the Large Hadron Collider at CERN have revealed new interactions responsible for particle mass, and perhaps will lead to a more unified picture of the forces among elementary material constituents. To this end our research includes searches for manifestations of theories such as supersymmetry and new gauge bosons, as well as the production and decay of heavy-flavored quarks. Our current work at J-PARC, and future work at new facilities currently under conceptual design, investigate the specifics of how the neutrinos change flavor. The research is integrated with the training of students at all university levels, benefiting both the manpower and intellectual base for future technologies.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Reduced Fast Ion Transport Model For The Tokamak Transport Code TRANSP

Fast ion transport models presently implemented in the tokamak transport code TRANSP [R. J. Hawryluk, in Physics of Plasmas Close to Thermonuclear Conditions, CEC Brussels, 1, 19 (1980)] are not capturing important aspects of the physics associated with resonant transport caused by instabilities such as Toroidal Alfven Eigenmodes (TAEs). This work describes the implementation of a fast ion transport model consistent with the basic mechanisms of resonant mode-particle interaction. The model is formulated in terms of a probability distribution function for the particle's steps in phase space, which is consistent with the MonteCarlo approach used in TRANSP. The proposed model is based on the analysis of fast ion response to TAE modes through the ORBIT code [R. B. White et al., Phys. Fluids 27 , 2455 (1984)], but it can be generalized to higher frequency modes (e.g. Compressional and Global Alfven Eigenmodes) and to other numerical codes or theories.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Computational Modeling and Simulation for Nonproliferation: The History (and Present) of Monte Carlo and the MCNP(R) Code at Los Alamos [Slides]

The emergence of the Monte Carlo method as a research tool springs from work done at Los Alamos in the 1940s.Monte Carlo and the MCNP Code have been and continue to be developed at Los Alamos for many decades. From basic science in support of understanding nuclear interaction physics to global security applications, application uses of the code are extensive. Recent R&D projects and code modernization efforts make the MCNP code a great tool for nuclear nonproliferation applications. In collaboration with nuclear safeguards experts, new training has just recently been developed to help new practitioners learn how to use the code for nuclear safeguards applications.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering at Hall A, Jefferson Lab

The Standard Model of particle physics de?nes quarks and leptons as the basic building blocks of all matter. The interaction between them are mediated by force carrying gauge bosons. Quantum Chromo Dynamics (QCD), the theory that explains the strong interaction is still not complete enough to derive the physical observables of a Quark-Gluon system from the fundamental degrees of freedom of its constituents. Experimentally observable single particle densities provide important insights into our understanding of the quark-gluon system and hence help fill in the gaps of QCD. Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) provide simultaneous information of both spacial and longitudinal momentum distributions of constituents of a quark-gluon system. Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS) is understood to be the simplest and cleanest process to access GPDs. Even though the exclusive DVCS is simple to understand, the experimental process however, is complex with the Bethe-Heitler and e + p ? e + ? + N? being in the mix of the electron proton scattering e+p ? e+?+X. Over the years, 3 generations of DVCS experiments have been conducted in the Experimental Hall-A of Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab). This thesis presents the extraction of DVCS cross section in 9 total kinematic points from the 3rd generation experiment (DVCS3) conducted after the 12 GeV upgrade of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) of JLab during Fall 2014 - Fall 2016.

Hashir Rashad, Mohamed Nuhman↗
DOE OSTI2015

Transgenic approaches to altering carbon and nitrogen partitioning in whole plants: assessing the potential to improve crop yields and nutritional quality

The principal components of plant productivity and nutritional value, from the standpoint of modern agriculture, are the acquisition and partitioning of organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) compounds among the various organs of the plant. The flow of essential organic nutrients among the plant organ systems is mediated by its complex vascular system, and is driven by a series of transport steps including export from sites of primary assimilation, transport into and out of the phloem and xylem, and transport into the various import-dependent organs. Manipulating C and N partitioning to enhance yield of harvested organs is evident in the earliest crop domestication events and continues to be a goal for modern plant biology. Research on the biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, and physiology of C and N partitioning has now matured to an extent that strategic manipulation of these transport systems through biotechnology are being attempted to improve movement from source to sink tissues in general, but also to target partitioning to specific organs. These nascent efforts are demonstrating the potential of applied biomass targeting but are also identifying interactions between essential nutrients that require further basic research. In this review, we summarize the key transport steps involved in C and N partitioning, and discuss various transgenic approaches for directly manipulating key C and N transporters involved. In addition, we propose several experiments that could enhance biomass accumulation in targeted organs while simultaneously testing current partitioning models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗