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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 217 records · Page 12

Clustering analysis of medium-band selected high-redshift galaxies

Next-generation large-scale structure spectroscopic surveys will probe cosmology at high redshifts (2.3 < z < 3.5), relying on abundant galaxy tracers such as Lyα emitters (LAEs) and Lyman break galaxies (LBGs). Medium-band photometry has emerged as a potential technique for efficiently selecting these high-redshift galaxies. In this work, we present clustering analysis of medium-band selected galaxies at high redshift, utilizing photometric data from the Intermediate Band Imaging Survey (IBIS) and spectroscopic data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). We interpret the clustering of such samples using both Halo Occupation Distribution (HOD) modeling and a perturbation theory description of large-scale structure. Our modeling indicates that the current target sample is composed from an overlapping mixture of LAEs and LBGs with emission lines. Despite differences in target selection, we find that the clustering properties are consistent with previous studies, with correlation lengths r 0 ≃ 3-4 h -1 Mpc and a linear bias of b ∼ 1.8-2.5. Finally, we discuss the simulation requirements implied by these measurements and demonstrate that the properties of the samples would make them excellent targets to enhance our understanding of the high-z universe.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

VICS-120 - A tube-vehicle system test facility.

Description of a large test facility for carrying out research in support of the aerodynamic and ventilation section of a handbook on subway design. The facility described is vertically oriented and has a test section with a nominal inside diameter of 2 in. and a length of 109 ft. It is capable of operating at Reynolds numbers up to full-scale (60,000,000) under open-end tube conditions. The facility is distinguished by a high degree of flexibility in configuration and operational limits. Details are given concerning the plenum assembly, the test section tubes, the scaffold, the instrumentation, the model launcher, the model arrestor, and the models themselves. A step-by-step account is given of the operation of the facility, and a brief sample of the type of data obtained from the facility is presented.

Marte, J. E.↗

Polarization and Compressibility of Oblique Kinetic Alfven Waves

Even though solar wind, as a collisionless plasma, is properly described by the kineticMaxwell-Vlasov description, it can be argued that much of our understanding of solar wind observational data comes from an interpretation and numerical modeling which is based on a fluid description of magnetohydrodynamics. In recent years, there has been a significant interest in better understanding the importance of kinetic effects, i.e. the differences between the kinetic and usual fluid descriptions. Here we concentrate on physical properties of oblique kinetic Alfvn waves (KAWs), which are often recognized as one of the key ingredients in the solar wind turbulence cascade. We use three different fluid models with various degrees of complexity and calculate polarization and magnetic compressibility of oblique KAWs (propagation angle q = 88), which we compare to solutions derived from linear kinetic theory. We explore a wide range of possible proton plasma b = [0.1,10.0] and a wide range of length scales krL = [0.001,10.0]. It is shown that the classical isotropic two-fluid model is very compressible in comparison with kinetic theory and that the largest discrepancy occurs at scales larger than the proton gyroscale. We also show that the two-fluid model contains a large error in the polarization of electric field, even at scales krL 1. Furthermore, to understand these discrepancies between the two-fluid model and the kinetic theory, we employ two versions of the Landau fluid model that incorporate linear low-frequency kinetic effects such as Landau damping and finite Larmor radius (FLR) corrections into the fluid description. It is shown that Landau damping significantly reduces the magnetic compressibility and that FLR corrections (i.e. nongyrotropic contributions) are required to correctly capture the polarization.We also show that, in addition to Landau damping, FLR corrections are necessary to accurately describe the damping rate of KAWs. We conclude that kinetic effects are important even at scales which are significantly larger than the proton gyroscale krL 1.

Turbulence↗

Universal thermodynamics of an SU ( N ) Fermi-Hubbard model

The SU(2) symmetric Fermi-Hubbard model (FHM) plays an essential role in strongly correlated fermionic many-body systems. In the one particle per site and strongly interacting limit U/t $\gg$ 1, it is effectively described by the Heisenberg Hamiltonian. In this limit, enlarging the spin and extending the typical SU(2) symmetry to SU(N) has been predicted to give exotic phases of matter in the ground state, with a complicated dependence on N. This raises the question of what—if any—are the finite-temperature signatures of these phases, especially in the currently experimentally relevant regime near or above the superexchange energy. We explore this question for thermodynamic observables by numerically calculating the thermodynamics of the SU(N) FHM in the two-dimensional square lattice near densities of one particle per site, using determinant quantum Monte Carlo and numerical linked cluster expansion. Interestingly, we find that for temperatures above the superexchange energy, where the correlation length is short, the energy, number of on-site pairs, and kinetic energy are universal functions of N. Although the physics in the regime studied is well beyond what can be captured by low-order high-temperature series, we show that an analytic description of the scaling is possible in terms of only one- and two-site calculations.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Attitude transfer assembly design for MAGSAT

A description is given of a design for an instrument system that will monitor the orientation of a boom-mounted vector magnetometer relative to the main spacecraft body. The attitude of the magnetometer is measured with respect to X and Z axes lateral to the boom length and also a twist axis around the boom center line. These measurements are made in a noncontact optical approach employing a three-axis autocollimator system mounted on the main body of the spacecraft with only passive elements (reflectors) located at the end of the 20-foot boom.

Collyer, P. W.↗

Experiments on the stability of FeOOH on the surface of the moon

A description is given of an investigation which had been conducted to determine whether the water-bearing phase of FeOOH composition found in the study of lunar rocks could be of lunar origin. The reported experiments demonstrate that FeOOH of any structure cannot exist for any length of time on the surface of the moon. The investigation substantiates, therefore, the original proposal of Taylor et al. (1973) that the FeOOH in the Apollo 16 rocks is due entirely to terrestrial water vapor contamination.

Taylor, L. A.↗

The atomic geometries of GaP(110) and ZnS(110) revisited - A structural ambiguity and its resolution

The atomic geometries of GaP(110) and ZnS(110) are reexamined using the R-factor minimization procedure, developed for GaAs(110) and previously applied to GaSb(110), ZnTe(110), InAs(110), and AlP(110), to analyze experimental elastic low-energy electron diffraction intensities. Unlike most of the earlier cases, both GaP(110) and ZnS(110) exhibit two distinct minimum-Rx structures which cannot be distinguished by analysis of the shapes of the intensity profiles alone. One region of best-fit structures exhibits top-layer displacements normal to the surface characterized by a small bond-length-conserving, top-layer rotation (omega aproximately 2-3 deg), a small relaxation of the top layer away from the surface, and a 10 percent expansion of the top-layer bond length. The other region of best-fit structures is the conventional one: nearly bond-length-conserving rotations of omega = 26-28 deg in the top layer and a small (approximately 0.1 A) contraction of the uppermost layer spacing. This ambiguity may be removed, however, by consideration of the integrated beam intensities. The conventional region of structural parameters provides a decisively better description of the relative magnitudes of the integrated beam intensities and hence is the preferred structure.

Duke, C. B.↗

On sound generation by turbulent convection: A new look at old results

We have revisited the problem of acoustic wave generation by turbulent convection in stellar atmospheres. The theory of aerodynamically generated sound, originally developed by Lighthill and later modified by Stein to include the effects of stratification, has been used to estimate the acoustic wave energy flux generated in solar and stellar convection zones. We correct the earlier computations by incorporating an improved description of the spatial and temporal spectrum of the turbulent convection. We show the dependence of the resulting wave fluxes on the nature of the turbulence, and compute the wave energy spectra and wave energy fluxes generated in the Sun on the basis of a mixing-length model of the solar convection zone. In contrast to the previous results, we show that the acoustic energy generation does not depend very sensitively on the turbulent energy spectrum. However, typical total acoustic fluxes of order F(sub A) = 5 x 10(exp 7) ergs/sq cm/s with a peak of the acoustic frequency spectrum near omega = 100 mHz are found to be comparable to those previously calculated. The acoustic flux turns out to be strongly dependent on the solar model, scaling with the mixing-length parameter alpha as alpha(exp 3.8). The computed fluxes most likely constitute a lower limit on the acoustic energy produced in the solar convection zone if recent convection simulations suggesting the presence of shocks near the upper layers of the convection zone apply to the Sun.

Musielak, Z. E.↗

Substrate-Mediated Evaporation and Stochastic Evolution of Supported Au Nanoparticles

Here, we use in situ transmission electron microscopy with automated tracking to study supported gold nanoparticles (NPs) during high-temperature vacuum annealing. The average mass loss per NP is governed by a flat, nearly size-independent substrate-mediated evaporation profile. On top of this mean shrinkage, individual NPs show significant fluctuations in apparent growth or shrinkage, and NP volume follows a random-walk-like trajectory. To rationalize both the ensemble-mean behavior and the particle-resolved variability, we develop a self-consistent theory that couples substrate-mediated evaporation to collective 2D Ostwald-type mass exchange through a shared adatom field, described in terms of a renormalized screening length and background concentration. In the experimentally relevant regime, the theory predicts an approximately size-independent mean shrinkage rate and clarifies how net mass loss suppresses classical coarsening. Superimposed on this deterministic drift, we quantify stochastic volume trajectories and capture their fluctuation spectrum with a minimal Langevin description consistent with intermittent adatom attachment and detachment events. In addition, we characterize the lateral diffusive motion of NPs, which is responsible for their coalescence. Altogether, our results highlight that stochasticity is intrinsic at the nanoscale and that predicting the evolution of supported NPs at early and intermediate times requires a unified framework combining substrate-mediated evaporation, collective mass exchange, and stochastic fluctuations.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Probing the Boundary between Classical and Quantum Mechanics by Analyzing the Energy Dependence of Single-Electron Scattering Events at the Nanoscale

The relation between the energy-dependent particle and wave descriptions of electron–matter interactions on the nanoscale was analyzed by measuring the delocalization of an evanescent field from energy-filtered amplitude images of sample/vacuum interfaces with a special aberration-corrected electron microscope. The spatial field extension coincided with the energy-dependent self-coherence length of propagating wave packets that obeyed the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, and underwent a Goos–Hänchen shift. The findings support the view that wave packets are created by self-interferences during coherent–inelastic Coulomb interactions with a decoherence phase close to Δφ = 0.5 rad. Due to a strictly reciprocal dependence on energy, the wave packets shrink below atomic dimensions for electron energy losses beyond 1000 eV, and thus appear particle-like. Consequently, our observations inevitably include pulse-like wave propagations that stimulate structural dynamics in nanomaterials at any electron energy loss, which can be exploited to unravel time-dependent structure–function relationships on the nanoscale.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Subnanometer Visualization of Spatially Varying Local Field Resonances that Drive Tip-Enhanced Optical Spectroscopy

Our knowledge of the electromagnetic fields that power modern nanoscale optical measurements, including (non)linear tip-enhanced Raman and photoluminescence, chiefly stems from numerical simulations. Aside from idealized in silico vs heterogeneous (nano)structures in the laboratory, challenges in quantitative descriptions of nanoscale light–matter interactions more generally stem from the very nature of the problem, which lies at the interface of classical and quantum theories. This is particularly the case in ultrahigh spatial resolution measurements that are sensitive to local optical field variations that take place on subnanometer length scales. Here this work approaches this challenge through extinction-based spectral nanoimaging experiments. We demonstrate <1 nm spatial resolution in hyperspectral extinction measurements that track spatially varying plasmon resonances. We describe the principles behind our experiments and highlight more general implications of our observations.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Extended precision software packages

A description of three extended precision packages is presented along with three small conversion subroutines which can be used in conjunction with the extended precision packages. These extended packages represent software packages written in FORTRAN 4. They contain normalized or unnormalized floating point arithmetic with symmetric rounding and arbitrary mantissa lengths, and normalized floating point interval arithmetic with appropriate rounding. The purpose of an extended precision package is to enable the user to use and manipulate numbers with large decimal places as well as those with small decimal places where precision beyond double precision is required.

Phillips, E. J.↗

Modeling of three-dimensional mixing and reacting ducted flows

A computer code based on a finite-element solution algorithm is developed to perform an analytical investigation on the turbulent mixing and reaction of hydrogen jets injected from multiple orifices transverse and parallel to a supersonic airstream. A laser optical cavity flow field was also analyzed to demonstrate the generality of the proposed model. Computational results provide a three-dimensional description of velocity, temperature, and species-concentration fields downstream of injection. Major conclusions are that the analysis has immediate utility in evaluating the mixing effectiveness of transverse H2 injection data since it has been tested in its ability to model this type of data and that turbulent mixing length theory, constant effective Prandtl number, and a Lewis number of unity provide reasonable agreement with transverse H2 injection data downstream of the near-injection region. Efforts are presently being directed toward using the code in modeling laser and scramjet data for a wide range of flow conditions.

Zelazny, S. W.↗

Nonguiding Center Motion and Substorm Effects in the Magnetotail

Thick and thin models of the middle magnetotail were developed using a consistent orbit tracing technique. It was found that currents carried near the equator by groups of ions with anisotropic distribution functions are not well approximated by the guiding center expressions. The guiding center equations fail primarily because the calculated pressure tensor is not magnetic field aligned. The pressure tensor becomes field aligned as one moves away from the equator, but here there is a small region in which the guiding center equations remain inadequate because the two perpendicular components of the pressure tensor are unequal. The significance of nonguiding center motion to substorm processes then was examined. One mechanism that may disrupt a thin cross-tail current sheet involves field changes that cause ions to begin following chaotic orbits. The lowest-altitude chaotic region, characterized by an adiabaticity parameter kappa approx. equal to 0.8, is especially important. The average cross-tail particle drift is slow, and we were unable to generate a thin current sheet using such ions. Therefore, any process that tends to create a thin current sheet in a region with kappa approaching 0.8 may cause the cross-tail current to get so low that it becomes insufficient to support the lobes. A different limit may be important in resonant orbit regions of a thin current sheet because particles reach a maximum cross-tail drift velocity. If the number of ions per unit length decreases as the tail is stretched, this part of the plasma sheet also may become unable to carry the cross-tail current needed to support the lobes. Thin sheets are needed for both resonant and chaotic orbit mechanisms because the distribution function must be highly structured. A description of current continuity is included to show how field aligned currents can evolve during the transition from a two-dimensional (2-D) to a 3-D configuration.

Kaufmann, Richard L.↗

Hydroxylpyromorphite, a mineral important to lead remediation: Modern description and characterization

Abstract Hydroxylpyromorphite, Pb5(PO4)3(OH), has been documented in the literature as a synthetic and naturally occurring phase for some time but has not previously been formally described as a mineral. It is fully described here for the first time using crystals collected underground in the Copps mine, Gogebic County, Michigan. Hydroxylpyromorphite occurs as aggregates of randomly oriented hexagonal prisms, primarily between about 20–35 μm in length and 6–10 μm in diameter. The mineral is colorless and translucent with vitreous luster and white streak. The Mohs hardness is ~3½–4; the tenacity is brittle, the fracture is irregular, and indistinct cleavage was observed on {001}. Electron microprobe analyses provided the empirical formula Pb4.97(PO4)3(OH0.69F0.33Cl0.06)Σ1.08. The calculated density using the measured composition is 7.32 g/cm3. Powder X-ray diffraction data for the type material is compared to data previously reported for hydroxylpyromorphite from the talc mine at Rabenwald, Austria, and from Whytes Cleuch, Wanlockhead, Scotland. Hydroxylpyromorphite is hexagonal, P63/m, at 100 K, a = 9.7872(14), c = 7.3070(10) Å, V = 606.16(19) Å3, and Z = 2. The structure [R1 = 0.0181 for 494 F>4σ(F) reflections] reveals that hydroxylpyromorphite adopts a column anion arrangement distinct from other members of the apatite supergroup due to the presence of fluorine and steric constraints imposed by stereoactive lone-pair electrons of Pb2+ cations. The F– anion sites are displaced slightly from hydroxyl oxygen anions, which allows for stronger hydrogen-bonding interactions that may in turn stabilize the observed column-anion arrangement and overall structure. Our modern characterization of hydroxylpyromorphite provides deeper understanding to a mineral useful for remediation of lead-contaminated water.

Geochemistry & Geophysics↗

Interaction of upstream flow distortions with high Mach number cascades

Features of the interaction of flow distortions, such as gusts and wakes with blade rows of advance type fans and compressors having high tip Mach numbers are modeled. A typical disturbance was assumed to have harmonic time dependence and was described, at a far upstream location, in three orthogonal spatial coordinates by a double Fourier series. It was convected at supersonic relative to a linear cascade described as an unrolled annulus. Conditions were selected so that the component of this velocity parallel to the axis of the turbomachine was subsonic, permitting interaction between blades through the upstream as well as downstream flow media. A strong, nearly normal shock was considered in the blade passages which was allowed curvature and displacement. The flows before and after the shock were linearized relative to uniform mean velocities in their respective regions. Solution of the descriptive equations was by adaption of the Wiener-Hopf technique, enabling a determination of distortion patterns through and downstream of the cascade as well as pressure distributions on the blade and surfaces. Details of interaction of the disturbance with the in-passage shock were discussed. Infuences of amplitude, wave length, and phase of the disturbance on lifts and moments of cascade configurations are presented. Numerical results are clarified by reference to an especially orderly pattern of upstream vertical motion in relation to the cascade parameters.

Englert, G. W.↗

Noise produced by turbulent flow into a rotor: Theory manual for atmospheric turbulence prediction and mean flow and turbulence contraction prediction

Prediction of helicopter main rotor noise due to ingestion of atmospheric turbulence was analyzed. The analysis combines several different models that describe the fluid mechanics of the turbulence and the ingestion process. Two models, atmospheric turbulence, and mean flow and turbulence contraction were covered. The third model, covered in a separate report, describes the rotor acoustic mode. The method incorporates the atmospheric turbulence model and a rapid distortion turbulence contraction description to determine the statistics of the anisotropic turbulence at the rotor plane. The analytical basis for a module was provided which was incorporated in NASA's ROTONET helicopter noise prediction program. The mean flow and turbulence statistics associated with the atmospheric boundary layer were modeled including effects of atmospheric stability length, wind speed, and altitude. The turbulence distortion process is modeled as a deformation of vortex filaments (which represent the turbulence field) by a mean flow field due to the rotor inflow.

Simonich, J. C.↗

Ab initio Computations of the Electronic, Mechanical, and Thermal Properties of Ultra High Temperature Ceramics (UHTC) ZrB2 and HfB2

Refractory materials such as metallic borides, often considered as ultra high temperature ceramics (UHTC), are characterized by high melting point, high hardness, and good chemical inertness. These materials have many applications which require high temperature materials that can operate with no or limited oxidation. Ab initio, first principles methods are the most accurate modeling approaches available and represent a parameter free description of the material based on the quantum mechanical equations. Using these methods, many of the intrinsic properties of these material can be obtained. We performed ab initio calculations based on density functional theory for the UHTC materials ZrB2 and HfB2. Computational results are presented for structural information (lattice constants, bond lengths, etc), electronic structure (bonding motifs, densities of states, band structure, etc), thermal quantities (phonon spectra, phonon densities of states, specific heat), as well as information about point defects such as vacancy and antisite formation energies.

Lawson, John W.↗