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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 OSTI2023

A comparative analysis of US state-level policies and programs to advance energy justice

Abstract The US energy system is undergoing massive changes that have environmental, technological, and societal implications. Decisions and actions taken now will dramatically alter the trajectory of our future energy system. Though new technologies can lessen the dangers of anthropogenic climate change, an effective and sustainable transition requires addressing social justice issues as a priority. To this end, many states have implemented policies and programs that address energy justice. A formal survey of state-level energy justice policies and programs is needed to better understand the methods used to assist communities targeted and the impacts of these efforts. Such an analysis should include an analysis of the metrics used to judge the effectiveness of the enacted policies and programs. In this paper, we analyze the energy justice policies and programs of seven different US states. From this analysis, we identify three important aspects of state energy policies. First, most policies and programs do not articulate their goals, nor cite metrics to judge their successes. This lack of transparency and accountability is a major roadblock to truly just solutions. Second, states focus on a very narrow range of solutions for energy justice issues. The most prevalent being utility bill assistance, which does not address the systemic and enduring challenges faced by many low-income or historically marginalized communities. Lastly, comprehensive energy policy does not acknowledge and address housing, employment, education, and healthcare inequities that exacerbate energy system inequities. The work presented in this paper sheds light on the progress of state-level energy justice policies and programs across the United States, and we argue more work needs to be done to understand best practices in energy justice policymaking.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Causal and stable first-order chiral hydrodynamics

We derive the set of inequalities that is necessary and sufficient for nonlinear causality and linear stability of first-order relativistic hydrodynamics with either a U ( 1 ) V conserved current or a U ( 1 ) A current with a chiral anomaly or both. Our results apply to generic hydrodynamic frames in which no relations among the transport parameters are imposed. Furthermore, our analysis yields, to the best of our knowledge, the first theory of viscous chiral hydrodynamics proven to be causal and stable. We find that causality demands the absence of vorticity-induced heat flux, forcing a departure from the thermodynamic frame in the chiral case. The inequalities for causality and stability define a hypervolume in the space of transport parameters, wherein each point corresponds to a consistent formulation. Notably, causality is determined by just three combinations of transport parameters. We present our results in a form amenable to numerical hydrodynamic simulations. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Locality in collider tests of quantum mechanics with top quark pairs

Tests of quantum properties of fundamental particles in high energy colliders are starting to appear. Entanglement and Bell inequality violation in top and antitop quark system is of particular interest since top quarks are unstable particles that undergo a cascade decay. We argue for criteria for the spacelike separation between top and antitop quarks at their different decay stages. We considered causal separation at three different instances: at the top quark decay, at the 𝑊 boson decay, and at the lepton/jet contact with the macroscopic apparatus. We showed that the spacelike fraction of events is the smallest, when requiring that both top quarks and 𝑊 bosons decay within the spacelike interval. For high invariant masses, typically required for the Bell inequality violation, this is almost identical to just the top quark decay requirement. We also include an option for the angular correlation of the 𝑏 quarks from top quark decay to be used for the spin correlation measurement. We require that both top quark and 𝑏 hadron decays are spacelike separated. Again, we find that at high invariant masses it is almost identical to just the requirement of spacelike separation between top and antitop quarks. We provide numerical values for our proposed criteria. If such a criterion is satisfied, the system is guaranteed to not be in a causal connection.

Entanglement in field theory↗
DOE OSTI2021

Crossing Symmetric Dispersion Relations in Quantum Field Theories

For 2-2 scattering in quantum field theories, the usual fixed t dispersion relation exhibits only two-channel symmetry. This Letter considers a crossing symmetric dispersion relation, reviving certain old ideas from the 1970s. Rather than the fixed t dispersion relation, this needs a dispersion relation in a different variable z, which is related to the Mandelstam invariants s, t, u via a parametric cubic relation making the crossing symmetry in the complex z plane a geometric rotation. The resulting dispersion is manifestly three-channel crossing symmetric. We give simple derivations of certain known positivity conditions for effective field theories, including the null constraints, which lead to two sided bounds and derive a general set of new nonperturbative inequalities. We show how these inequalities enable us to locate the first massive string state from a low energy expansion of the four dilaton amplitude in type II string theory. We also show how a generalized (numerical) Froissart bound, valid for all energies, is obtained from this approach.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Universal Bound on Effective Central Charge and Its Saturation

The effective central charge (denoted by 𝑐 eff ) is a measure of entanglement through a conformal interface, while the transmission coefficient (encoded in the coefficient 𝑐 𝐿⁢𝑅 of the two-point function of the energy-momentum tensor across the interface) is a measure of energy transmission through the interface. It has been pointed out that these two are generally different. In this Letter, we propose the inequalities, 0 ≤ 𝑐 𝐿⁢𝑅 ≤ 𝑐 eff ≤ min⁡(𝑐 𝐿 ,𝑐 𝑅 ). They have the simple but important implication that the amount of energy transmission can never exceed the amount of information transmission. We verify them using the AdS/CFT correspondence, using the perturbation method, and in examples beyond holography. We also show that these inequalities are sharp by constructing a class of interfaces that saturate them.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Mutual information bounded by Fisher information

We derive a general upper bound to mutual information in terms of the Fisher information. The bound may be further used to derive a lower bound for the Bayesian quadratic cost. These two provide alternatives to other inequalities in the literature (e.g., the van Trees inequality) that are useful also for cases where the latter ones give trivial bounds. We then generalize them to the quantum case, where they bound the Holevo information in terms of the quantum Fisher information. We illustrate the usefulness of our bounds with a case study in quantum phase estimation. Here, they allow us to adapt to mutual information (useful for global strategies where the prior plays an important role), the known and highly nontrivial bounds for the Fisher information in the presence of noise. The results are also useful in the context of quantum communication, both for continuous and discrete alphabets. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Learning to Predict Arbitrary Quantum Processes

We present an efficient machine-learning (ML) algorithm for predicting any unknown quantum process ℰ over 𝑛 qubits. For a wide range of distributions 𝒟 on arbitrary 𝑛-qubit states, we show that this ML algorithm can learn to predict any local property of the output from the unknown process ℰ, with a small average error over input states drawn from 𝒟. The ML algorithm is computationally efficient even when the unknown process is a quantum circuit with exponentially many gates. Our algorithm combines efficient procedures for learning properties of an unknown state and for learning a low-degree approximation to an unknown observable. The analysis hinges on proving new norm inequalities, including a quantum analogue of the classical Bohnenblust-Hille inequality, which we derive by giving an improved algorithm for optimizing local Hamiltonians. Numerical experiments on predicting quantum dynamics with evolution time up to 10 6 and system size up to 50 qubits corroborate our proof. Overall, our results highlight the potential for ML models to predict the output of complex quantum dynamics much faster than the time needed to run the process itself.

quantum computation↗
DOE OSTI2022

Equity in Transactive Energy Systems

Transactive energy (TE) research primarily focuses on efficient and reliable operation of the electricity grid by using economic or market-based constructs to incorporate significant amounts of responsive, demand-side assets. This research examines the literature to evaluate if the design of TE demonstrations incorporates microeconomic principles of equity and fairness. We also consider the extent to which the design and implementation of TE affects energy inequities, and how these inequities could be addressed in future research with specific equity valuation metrics. The design of TE systems can impact energy equity across several dimensions and we provide recommendations for incorporating microeconomic principles of equity and fairness in TE system architecture as well as metrics for improving equitable outcomes in TE system design, implementation, and performance.

Energy, Transactive Energy, Economics↗
DOE OSTI2023

ALESQP: An Augmented Lagrangian Equality-Constrained SQP Method for Optimization with General Constraints

Here we present a new algorithm for infinite-dimensional optimization with general constraints, called ALESQP. In short, ALESQP is an augmented Lagrangian method that penalizes inequality constraints and solves equality-constrained nonlinear optimization subproblems at every iteration. The subproblems are solved using a matrix-free trust-region sequential quadratic programming (SQP) method that takes advantage of iterative, i.e., inexact linear solvers, and is suitable for large-scale applications. A key feature of ALESQP is a constraint decomposition strategy that allows it to exploit problem-specific variable scalings and inner products. We analyze convergence of ALESQP under different assumptions. We show that strong accumulation points are stationary. Consequently, in finite dimensions ALESQP converges to a stationary point. In infinite dimensions we establish that weak accumulation points are feasible in many practical situations. Under additional assumptions we show that weak accumulation points are stationary. We present several infinite-dimensional examples where ALESQP shows remarkable discretization-independent performance in all of its iterative components, requiring a modest number of iterations to meet constraint tolerances at the level of machine precision. Also, we demonstrate a fully matrix-free solution of an infinite-dimensional problem with nonlinear inequality constraints.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Comprehensive Analysis of Uncertainties in Warm-Rain Parameterizations in Climate Models Based on In Situ Measurements

Abstract Because of the coarse grid size of Earth system models (ESMs), representing warm-rain processes in ESMs is a challenging task involving multiple sources of uncertainty. Previous studies evaluated warm-rain parameterizations mainly according to their performance in emulating collision–coalescence rates for local droplet populations over a short period of a few seconds. The representativeness of these local process rates comes into question when applied in ESMs for grid sizes on the order of 100 km and time steps on the order of 20–30 min. We evaluate several widely used warm-rain parameterizations in ESM application scenarios. In the comparison of local and instantaneous autoconversion rates, the two parameterization schemes based on numerical fitting to stochastic collection equation (SCE) results perform best. However, because of Jessen’s inequality, their performance deteriorates when grid-mean, instead of locally resolved, cloud properties are used in their simulations. In contrast, the effect of Jessen’s inequality partly cancels the overestimation problem of two semianalytical schemes, leading to an improvement in the ESM-like comparison. In the assessment of uncertainty due to the large time step of ESMs, it is found that the rainwater tendency simulated by the SCE is roughly linear for time steps smaller than 10 min, but the nonlinearity effect becomes significant for larger time steps, leading to errors up to a factor of 4 for a time step of 20 min. After considering all uncertainties, the grid-mean and time-averaged rainwater tendency based on the parameterization schemes is mostly within a factor of 4 of the local benchmark results simulated by SCE.

Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cylinders’ percolation: Decoupling and applications

In this paper we establish a strong decoupling inequality for the cylinder’s percolation process introduced by Tykesson and Windisch (Probab. Theory Related Fields 154 (2012) 165–191). This model features a very strong dependency structure, making it difficult to study, and this is why such decoupling inequalities are desirable. It is important to notice that the type of dependencies featured by cylinder’s percolation is particularly intricate, given that the cylinders have infinite range (unlike some models like Boolean percolation) while at the same time being rigid bodies (unlike processes such as random interlacements). Here our work introduces a new notion of fast decoupling, proves that it holds for the model in question and finishes with an application. More precisely, we prove that for a small enough density of cylinders, a random walk on a connected component of the vacant set is transient for all dimensions d≥3.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Community Centered Solar Development (CCSD) Case Study Interviews [Slides]

Large-scale solar (LSS, defined here as ground-mounted photovoltaic projects ≥1 MWDC) has grown rapidly in the U.S., accounting for nearly half of new electric generating capacity added to the U.S. grid in 2022. All sources of electricity bring positive and negative impacts to hosting communities and the rapid growth of LSS has increased the urgency to understand those impacts. Yet, information about the potential positive and negative impacts of LSS on host communities, and the factors or drivers leading to support or opposition to a project, is lacking. This information gap limits how project developers, municipalities, and local siting authorities can address community concerns and appropriately align proposed projects to best suit and benefit local communities. As part of Berkeley Lab’s Community-Centered Solar Development (CCSD) project, this research set out to explore deep insights and perceptions from LSS stakeholders that only qualitative data can provide to identify key factors driving project success or threatened failure. Case studies, such as those utilized in this research, are uniquely adept at capturing the subjective experience of individuals and at identifying variables, structures, and interactions between stakeholders. Our case studies included 54 semi-structured interviews across 7 different LSS sites, representing a diversity of geographies, project sizes (MW), site types (i.e., greenfield, agrivoltaic, and brownfield / contaminated sites), zoning jurisdiction types, and more (Table 1). In addition to local residents living in close proximity to these LSS sites, we interviewed other key stakeholders involved in the projects such as developers, decision-makers, utility representatives, landowners, and individuals from community-based organizations. The overarching aim of this case study research was two-fold: (1) to inform subsequent tasks in the CCSD research project (including an upcoming national survey of LSS neighbors), and (2) to provide insights into the following set of research questions: -What are the key positive and negative drivers leading to support and opposition to LSS projects? -To what extent do LSS projects exacerbate or mitigate perceived inequities and marginalization within hosting communities and how can those inequities be mitigated going forward? -What strategies can communities employ to align LSS development with local land-use plans and community needs and values? The research findings and next steps are described in this slide deck report.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

LA100 Equity Strategies. Chapter 3: Community-Guided Energy Equity Strategies

The LA100 Equity Strategies project synthesizes community guidance with robust research, modeling, and analysis to identify strategy options that can increase equitable outcomes in Los Angeles' clean energy transition. Grounded in the analysis of past and ongoing energy inequities and engagement with underserved communities, the project presents community-guided strategies that aim to operationalize recognition and procedural justice. Chapters 1 and 2 target the problem space - the causal factors, impact areas, and values affecting LA's energy justice landscape. This chapter threads those themes through to begin focusing on the solution space. We examine community-identified problems and solutions through the lens of recognition and procedural justice, presenting analysis and strategies that form the basis for more equitable outcomes in LA's energy transition. In our listening sessions, underserved Angelenos highlighted the need to transition away from the status quo one participant described as "transactional extraction of information to check the box. To say yes, we engaged." She asked the LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to approach her community with respect and transparency, stating, "We consider you all to be experts in your community, and we'd like to authentically engage with you in the decision-making process. So, I do think there needs to be some intentional actions for that rapport building and that trust building." The community-informed analysis and strategies described in this chapter, which are foundational to the LA100 Equity Strategies project, rise to the challenge of engaging authentically to build rapport, establish relationships of respect, and meaningfully involve Angelenos in the decision-making process. LADWP is already making concerted efforts to redress a disproportionate distribution of investments in physical infrastructure and energy efficient technologies in Los Angeles. This chapter concentrates on the challenge to further rectify past and ongoing inequities in the social, cultural, and institutional scaffolding of Los Angeles. We examine community-guided strategies to tackle this challenge, informed by community input on how all Angelenos can equitably access green jobs and affordable, safe, and resilient energy services, technologies, and programs. These actionable strategies can help move energy equity programs from plans to applied practices, supporting LADWP in launching a just and equitable clean energy transition.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

LA100 Equity Strategies. Chapter 4: Lessons Learned and Options for Community Engagement in Los Angeles

The LA100 Equity Strategies project synthesizes community guidance with robust research, modeling, and analysis to identify strategy options that can increase equitable outcomes in Los Angeles' clean energy transition. Grounded in the analysis of past and ongoing energy inequities and engagement with underserved communities, the project presents community-guided strategies that aim to operationalize recognition and procedural justice. Building on the community-identified problems and solutions, and the analysis of the 11 strategies described in Chapter 3, this chapter continues to focus on the solution space through the lens of recognition and procedural justice. It centers the role of community engagement in energy utility planning and project development with a specific focus on how the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) can engage and work equitably with Los Angeles communities to cocreate a clean and just energy future for LA. LA100 Equity Strategies is rooted in the crucial role community engagement plays in restructuring the energy systems of cities, states, and nations. Scholarship on wind, solar, and other transitional energy technologies and projects has documented that such engagement is commonly used as a top-down mechanism for adapting social practices to fit new technological innovations. Yet, understanding how the clean energy transition - with related changes in technologies, infrastructures, practices, and costs - will fit equitably into the existing socio-political context is a challenge that requires substantive collaboration with local communities. Any form of community engagement opens up government officials and utilities to opposition from their public. Meaningful engagement methods turn such dissent into a strength, embracing critical feedback - particularly from communities historically excluded from decision-making - as contributing to more grounded design and effective implementation. Leveraging this collaborative model to further rectify past and ongoing inequities in the social, cultural, and institutional scaffolding of LA, this chapter presents options and methods to support LADWP in launching a just and equitable clean energy transition. We approach community engagement as a critical process linking recognition, procedural, and distributional justice, outlining how LADWP could learn from past engagement, coordinate such knowledge organization-wide, and use engagement as a key tool for achieving energy justice and equity.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

LA100 Equity Strategies. Chapter 5: Low-Income Energy Bill Equity and Affordability

The LA100 Equity Strategies project synthesizes community guidance with robust research, modeling, and analysis to identify strategy options that can increase equitable outcomes in Los Angeles' clean energy transition. Grounded in the analysis of past and ongoing energy inequities and engagement with underserved communities, the project presents community-guided strategies that aim to operationalize recognition and procedural justice. Building on the community-identified problems and solutions, and the analysis of the 11 strategies described in Chapter 3, this chapter continues to focus on the solution space through the lens of recognition and procedural justice. It centers the role of community engagement in energy utility planning and project development with a specific focus on how the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) can engage and work equitably with Los Angeles communities to cocreate a clean and just energy future for LA. LA100 Equity Strategies is rooted in the crucial role community engagement plays in restructuring the energy systems of cities, states, and nations. Scholarship on wind, solar, and other transitional energy technologies and projects has documented that such engagement is commonly used as a top-down mechanism for adapting social practices to fit new technological innovations. Yet, understanding how the clean energy transition - with related changes in technologies, infrastructures, practices, and costs - will fit equitably into the existing socio-political context is a challenge that requires substantive collaboration with local communities. Any form of community engagement opens up government officials and utilities to opposition from their public. Meaningful engagement methods turn such dissent into a strength, embracing critical feedback - particularly from communities historically excluded from decision-making - as contributing to more grounded design and effective implementation. Leveraging this collaborative model to further rectify past and ongoing inequities in the social, cultural, and institutional scaffolding of LA, this chapter presents options and methods to support LADWP in launching a just and equitable clean energy transition. We approach community engagement as a critical process linking recognition, procedural, and distributional justice, outlining how LADWP could learn from past engagement, coordinate such knowledge organization-wide, and use engagement as a key tool for achieving energy justice and equity.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Principles for Equitable Transmission Planning

Energy justice is gaining traction in the planning processes that govern the generation and supply of electric power in the U.S., with a growing number of federal and state authorities applying it as a framework to ensure that the benefits of a clean energy future extend to all levels of society. However, the principles of energy justice have not yet been integrated into electric transmission planning processes, which are designed to meet established reliability criteria and have not historically considered externalities like social inequities. This paper presents a review of transmission planning requirements in the U.S. and existing literature on energy justice, then synthesizes them to propose a framework for incorporating energy justice principles into transmission planning processes to yield more equitable outcomes. By applying procedural and recognition justice principles to create more extensive, inclusive, and diverse public participation in the planning process, planners can gain insight into—and begin to correct—the inequities created by previous planning decisions. Equipped with this understanding and informed by affected communities, planners can improve the distributional outcomes of the planning process and identify opportunities for energy system investments that will restore communities and place them on more equitable footing.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

A consistent dataset for the net income distribution for 190 countries and aggregated to 32 geographical regions from 1958 to 2015

Abstract. Data on income distributions within and across countries are becoming increasingly important for informing analysis of income inequality and understanding the distributional consequences of climate change. While datasets on income distribution collected from household surveys are available for multiple countries, these datasets often do not represent the same concept of inequality (or income concept) and therefore make comparisons across countries, over time and across datasets difficult. Here, we present a consistent dataset of income distributions across 190 countries from 1958 to 2015 measured in terms of net income. We complement the observed values in this dataset with values imputed from a summary measure of the income distribution, specifically the Gini coefficient. For the imputation, we use a recently developed nonparametric principal-component-based approach that shows an excellent fit to data on income distributions compared to other approaches. We also present another version of this dataset aggregated from the country level to 32 geographical regions. Our dataset is developed for the purpose of calibrating models such as integrated human–Earth system models with detailed data on income distributions. This dataset will enable more robust analysis of income distribution at multiple scales. The latest version of our data are available on Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7093997 (Narayan et al., 2022b).

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗