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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 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Unitarity violation and the geometry of Higgs EFTs

We derive the scale of unitarity violation from the geometry of Effective Field Theory (EFT) extensions of the Standard Model Higgs sector. The high-energy behavior of amplitudes with more than four scalar legs depends on derivatives of geometric invariants with respect to the physical Higgs field h, such that higher-point amplitudes begin to reconstruct the scalar manifold away from our vacuum. In theories whose low-energy limit can be described by the Higgs EFT (HEFT) but not the Standard Model EFT (SMEFT), non-analyticities in the vicinity of our vacuum limit the radius of convergence of geometric invariants, leading to unitarity violation at energies below 4πv. Our results unify approaches to the HEFT/SMEFT dichotomy based on unitarity, analyticity, and geometry, and more broadly illustrate the sense in which observables probe the geometry of an EFT. Along the way, we provide novel basis-independent results for Goldstone/Higgs boson scattering amplitudes expressed in terms of geometric covariant quantities.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Experimental Observation of Inertial Particles through Idealized Hydroturbine Distributor Geometry

To increase and maintain existing hydropower capacity within biological performance-based regulations, predictive simulation methods are needed that can reliably estimate the risk to fish passing through flow passage routes at hydropower facilities. One of the central challenges is to validate the software capabilities for simulating the trajectories, including collisions, of inertial particles against laboratory data. In this work, neutrally buoyant spherical- and rod-shaped beads were released upstream of laboratory-scale geometries representative of the distributor of a hydroturbine. The experimental campaign involved a test matrix of 24 configurations with variations in bead geometry, collision target geometry, flow speeds, and release locations. A total of more than 10,000 beads were recorded using high-speed video cameras and analyzed using particle tracking software. Collision rates from 1–7% were observed for the cylinder geometry and rates of 1–23% were observed for the vane array over the range of test configurations.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Geometry and growth contributions to cosmic shear observables

We explore the sensitivity of weak-lensing observables to the expansion history of the Universe and to the growth of cosmic structures, as well as the relative contribution of both effects to constraining cosmological parameters. We utilize ray-tracing dark-matter-only N-body simulations and validate our technique by comparing our results for the convergence power spectrum with analytic results from past studies. We then extend our analysis to non-Gaussian observables which cannot be easily treated analytically. We study the convergence (equilateral) bispectrum and two topological observables, lensing peaks and Minkowski functionals, focusing on their sensitivity to the matter density Ω m and the dark energy equation of state w. We find that a cancellation between the geometry and growth effects is a common feature for all observables and exists at the map level. It weakens the overall sensitivity by factors of up to 3 and 1.5 for w and Ω m , respectively, with the bispectrum worst affected. However, combining geometry and growth information alleviates the degeneracy between Ω m and w from either effect alone. As a result, the magnitudes of marginalized errors remain similar to those obtained from growth-only effects, but with the correlation between the two parameters switching sign. Furthermore, these results shed light on the origin of the cosmology sensitivity of non-Gaussian statistics and should be useful in optimizing combinations of observables.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

GEOMETRY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HELIOSHEATH REVEALED IN THE FIRST FIVE YEARS OF INTERSTELLAR BOUNDARY EXPLORER OBSERVATIONS

We investigate and interpret the geometry and characteristics of the inner heliosheath (IHS) plasma and their impact on the heliotail structure as observed in energetic neutral atom (ENA) maps acquired during the first 5 yr of Interstellar Boundary Explorer ( IBEX ) observations. In particular, IBEX observations of the heliotail reveal distinct, localized emission features (lobes) that provide a rich set of information about the properties and evolution of the heliosheath plasma downstream of the termination shock (TS). We analyze the geometry of the heliotail lobes and find that the plane intersecting the port and starboard heliotail lobe centers is ∼6° from the solar equatorial plane, and the plane intersecting the north and south heliotail lobe centers is ∼90° from the solar equatorial plane, both indicating strong correlation with the fast–slow solar wind asymmetry, and thus reflecting the structure of the IHS flow around the Sun. We also analyze the key parameters and processes that form and shape the port and starboard lobes, which are distinctly different from the north and south lobes. By comparing IBEX ENA observations with results from a simplistic flow model of the heliosphere and a multicomponent description for pickup ions (PUIs) in the IHS, we find that the port and starboard lobe formation is driven by a thin IHS, large nose–tail asymmetry of the distance to the TS (and consequently, a large nose–tail asymmetry of the relative abundance of PUIs at the TS) and the energy-dependent removal of PUIs by charge exchange in the IHS.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

The Viewing Geometry of Brown Dwarfs Influences Their Observed Colors and Variability Amplitudes

In this paper we study the full sample of known Spitzer [3.6 μm] and J-band variable brown dwarfs. We calculate the rotational velocities, vsin i, of 16 variable brown dwarfs using archival Keck NIRSPEC data and compute the inclination angles of 19 variable brown dwarfs. The results obtained show that all objects in the sample with mid-IR variability detections are inclined at an angle >20{sup ∘}, while all objects in the sample displaying J-band variability have an inclination angle >35{sup ∘}. J-band variability appears to be more affected by inclination than Spitzer [3.6 μm] variability, and is strongly attenuated at lower inclinations. Since J-band observations probe deeper into the atmosphere than mid-IR observations, this effect may be due to the increased atmospheric path length of J-band flux at lower inclinations. We find a statistically significant correlation between the color anomaly and inclination of our sample, where field objects viewed equator-on appear redder than objects viewed at lower inclinations. Considering the full sample of known variable L, T, and Y spectral type objects in the literature, we find that the variability properties of the two bands display notably different trends that are due to both intrinsic differences between bands and the sensitivity of ground-based versus space-based searches. However, in both bands we find that variability amplitude may reach a maximum at ∼7–9 hr periods. Finally, we find a strong correlation between color anomaly and variability amplitude for both the J-band and mid-IR variability detections, where redder objects display higher variability amplitudes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Generalized geometric speed limits for quantum observables

Leveraging quantum information geometry, we derive generalized quantum speed limits on the rate of change of the expectation values of observables. These bounds subsume and, for Hilbert space dimension ≥3, tighten existing bounds—in some cases by an arbitrarily large multiplicative constant. Our theoretical results are supported by illustrative examples and an experimental demonstration using a superconducting qutrit. We also derive two upper bounds on the generalized quantum Fisher information in terms of the condition number of the density matrix. One of these bounds applies only to coherent dynamics and depends also on the variance of the Hamiltonian. The other bound depends also on the so-called Wigner-Yanase skew information. These bounds generalize well-known bounds on the symmetric logarithmic derivative quantum Fisher information and are tighter than the existing bounds for sufficiently mixed states (e.g., for sufficiently high temperature thermal states).

open quantum systems & decoherence↗
DOE OSTI2014

Self-catalysed InAs{sub 1-x}Sb{sub x} nanowires grown directly on bare Si substrates

Highlights: • Self-catalysed InAs{sub 1-x}Sb{sub x} nanowires grown directly on bare Si substrates. • InAs{sub 1-x}Sb{sub x} nanowires directly grown on bare Si substrates without employing the commonly used nucleation nanowire stems which could be problematic in device applications. • Pre-deposited Indium droplets were employed to facilitate InAs{sub 1-x}Sb{sub x} nanowire nucleation and growth. • Unravels a promising route for the direct integration of InAs{sub 1-x}Sb{sub x} nanowires with the well-established Silicon platform. - Abstract: We report the self-catalysed growth of InAs{sub 1-x}Sb{sub x} nanowires directly on bare Si substrates. Vertically aligned and non-tapered InAs{sub 1-x}Sb{sub x} nanowires were realized via indium-assisted nucleation without using nanowire stems. The compositions of the InAs{sub 1-x}Sb{sub x} nanowires were determined by high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD). It is observed that the geometry of the nanowires is modified by the Sb flux resulting in an almost doubling of the lateral dimension and a corresponding suppression in the axial growth of the InAs{sub 1-x}Sb{sub x} nanowires. This observation unravels a method to modify the geometry of InAs nanowire and open up a promising route for the direct integration of InAs{sub 1-x}Sb{sub x} nanowires with the well-established Si platform.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1987

Structure, vibrational spectrum, and energetics of the CH5(+) ion - A theoretical investigation

Analytic derivative techniques are utilized to determine molecular geometries, vibration spectra, molecular force field, proton affinity, and energetics of clustering of protonated methane. It is observed that the geometries are gradient optimized, while the harmonic force fields and IR intensities are also determined analytically at the SCF level. It is determined that the frequency of the torsional model for rotation of the H2 about the pseudothreefold axis of the CH3(+) group is extremely low, and the proton affinity of CH4 is calculated as 129.0 kcal/mol.

Komornicki, Andrew↗
DOE OSTI2012

THE THOMSON SURFACE. I. REALITY AND MYTH

The solar corona and heliosphere are visible via sunlight that is Thomson-scattered off free electrons and detected by coronagraphs and heliospheric imagers. It is well known that these instruments are most responsive to material at the 'Thomson surface', the sphere with a diameter passing through both the observer and the Sun. It is less well known that in fact the Thomson scattering efficiency is minimized on the Thomson surface. Unpolarized heliospheric imagers such as STEREO/HI are thus approximately equally responsive to material over more than a 90 Degree-Sign range of solar exit angles at each given position in the image plane. We call this range of angles the 'Thomson plateau'. We observe that heliospheric imagers are actually more sensitive to material far from the Thomson surface than close to it, at a fixed radius from the Sun. We review the theory of Thomson scattering as applied to heliospheric imaging, feature detection in the presence of background noise, geometry inference, and feature mass measurement. We show that feature detection is primarily limited by observing geometry and field of view, that the highest sensitivity for detection of density features is to objects close to the observer, that electron surface density inference is independent of geometry across the Thomson plateau, and that mass inference varies with observer distance in all geometries. We demonstrate the sensitivity results with a few examples of features detected by STEREO, far from the Thomson surface.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

He I VECTOR MAGNETOMETRY OF FIELD-ALIGNED SUPERPENUMBRAL FIBRILS

Atomic-level polarization and Zeeman effect diagnostics in the neutral helium triplet at 10830 A in principle allow full vector magnetometry of fine-scaled chromospheric fibrils. We present high-resolution spectropolarimetric observations of superpenumbral fibrils in the He I triplet with sufficient polarimetric sensitivity to infer their full magnetic field geometry. He I observations from the Facility Infrared Spectropolarimeter are paired with high-resolution observations of the H{alpha} 6563 A and Ca II 8542 A spectral lines from the Interferometric Bidimensional Spectrometer from the Dunn Solar Telescope in New Mexico. Linear and circular polarization signatures in the He I triplet are measured and described, as well as analyzed with the advanced inversion capability of the ''Hanle and Zeeman Light'' modeling code. Our analysis provides direct evidence for the often assumed field alignment of fibril structures. The projected angle of the fibrils and the inferred magnetic field geometry align within an error of {+-}10 Degree-Sign . We describe changes in the inclination angle of these features that reflect their connectivity with the photospheric magnetic field. Evidence for an accelerated flow ({approx}40 m s{sup -2}) along an individual fibril anchored at its endpoints in the strong sunspot and weaker plage in part supports the magnetic siphon flow mechanism's role in the inverse Evershed effect. However, the connectivity of the outer endpoint of many of the fibrils cannot be established.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

A SEMI-ANALYTICAL LINE TRANSFER MODEL TO INTERPRET THE SPECTRA OF GALAXY OUTFLOWS

We present a semi-analytical line transfer model, (SALT), to study the absorption and re-emission line profiles from expanding galactic envelopes. The envelopes are described as a superposition of shells with density and velocity varying with the distance from the center. We adopt the Sobolev approximation to describe the interaction between the photons escaping from each shell and the remainder of the envelope. We include the effect of multiple scatterings within each shell, properly accounting for the atomic structure of the scattering ions. We also account for the effect of a finite circular aperture on actual observations. For equal geometries and density distributions, our models reproduce the main features of the profiles generated with more complicated transfer codes. Also, our SALT line profiles nicely reproduce the typical asymmetric resonant absorption line profiles observed in starforming/starburst galaxies whereas these absorption profiles cannot be reproduced with thin shells moving at a fixed outflow velocity. We show that scattered resonant emission fills in the resonant absorption profiles, with a strength that is different for each transition. Observationally, the effect of resonant filling depends on both the outflow geometry and the size of the outflow relative to the spectroscopic aperture. Neglecting these effects will lead to incorrect values of gas covering fraction and column density. When a fluorescent channel is available, the resonant profiles alone cannot be used to infer the presence of scattered re-emission. Conversely, the presence of emission lines of fluorescent transitions reveals that emission filling cannot be neglected.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1976

X-ray topographic observations of magnetic domains in Czochralski-grown nickel single crystals in anomalous transmission geometry

The anomalous transmission effect has been observed in nickel single crystals grown by the Czochralski technique. Sample crystals prepared for X-ray topography are 1.5 to 2.5 cm in diameter and thicker than 0.4 mm; the product of the ordinary linear absorption coefficient and thickness ranges from 17 to 45 for Cu K-alpha radiation. Topographs taken with an asymmetric-crystal-topographic (ACT) camera have revealed extremely straight line images and rectangular arrangements of short line-segment images, along with the images of crystal imperfections. The line images change their arrangement upon application of magnetic fields. These images are attributed to magnetic domains in the interior of crystals. The formation of domain walls near the crystal surface is also observed and distinguished clearly from magnetic domains in the bulk with the use of the ACT camera.

Kuriyama, M.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Relativistic electrons and magnetic fields of the M87 jet on the ∼10 Schwarzschild radii scale

We explore energy densities of the magnetic fields and relativistic electrons in the M87 jet. Since the radio core at the jet base is identical to the optically thick surface against synchrotron self-absorption (SSA), the observing frequency is identical to the SSA turnover frequency. As a first step, we assume the radio core has a simple uniform sphere geometry. Using the observed angular size of the radio core measured by the Very Long Baseline Array at 43 GHz, we estimate the energy densities of magnetic fields (U{sub B} ) and relativistic electrons (U{sub e} ) on the basis of the standard SSA formula. Imposing the condition that the Poynting power and kinetic power of relativistic electrons should be smaller than the total power of the jet, we find that (1) the allowed range of the magnetic field strength (B {sub tot}) is 1 G ≤ B {sub tot} ≤ 15 G and that (2) 1 × 10{sup –5} ≤ U{sub e} /U{sub B} ≤ 6 × 10{sup 2} holds. The uncertainty of U{sub e} /U{sub B} comes from the strong dependence on the angular size of the radio core and the minimum Lorentz factor of non-thermal electrons (γ {sub e,min}) in the core. It is still unsettled whether resultant energetics are consistent with either the magnetohydrodynamic jet or the kinetic power dominated jet even on the ∼10 Schwarzschild radii scale.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1992

Meso-beta scale numerical simulation studies of terrain-induced jet streak mass/momentum perturbations

Work performed during the report period is summarized. The first numerical experiment which was performed on the North Carolina Supercomputer Center's CRAY-YMP machine during the second half of FY92 involved a 36 hour simulation of the CCOPE case study. This first coarse-mesh simulation employed the GMASS model with a 178 x 108 x 32 matrix of grid points spaced approximately 24 km apart. The initial data was comprised of the global 2.5 x 2.5 degree analyses as well as all available North American rawinsonde data valid at 0000 UTC 11 July 1981. Highly-smoothed LFM-derived terrain data were utilized so as to determine the mesoscale response of the three-dimensional atmosphere to weak terrain forcing prior to including the observed highly complex terrain of the northern Rocky Mountain region. It was felt that the model should be run with a spectrum of terrain geometries, ranging from observed complex terrain to no terrain at all, to determine how crucial the terrain was in forcing the mesoscale phenomena. Both convection and stratiform (stable) precipitation were not allowed in this simulation so that their relative importance could be determined by inclusion in forth-coming simulations. A full suite of planetary boundary layer forcing was allowed in the simulation, including surface sensible and latent heat fluxes employing the Blakadar PBL formulation. The details of this simulation, which in many ways could be considered the control simulation, including the important synoptic-scale, meso-alpha scale, and meso-beta scale circulations is described. These results are compared to the observations diagnosed by Koch and his colleagues as well as hypotheses set forth in the project proposal for terrain-influences upon the jet stream and their role in the generation of mesoscale wave phenomenon. The fundamental goal of the analyses being the discrimination among background geostrophic adjustment, terrain influences, and shearing instability in the initiation and maintainance of mesoscale internal wave phenomena. Based upon these findings, FY93 plans are discussed. A review of linear theory and theoretical modeling of a geostrophic zonal wind anomaly is included.

Lin, Yuh-Lang↗
NASA NTRS1980

1979J2 - Discovery of a previously unknown Jovian satellite

Detailed examination of imaging data of Jupiter taken by Voyager 1 reveals a previously unknown satellite 1979J2. Analysis of the image on the Jovian disk indicates that it is not an atmospheric feature or the shadow of any known satellite. The orbital period is calculated at 16 hours 11 minutes 21.25 seconds + or - 0.5 second and the semimajor axis is 3.1054 Jupiter radii. The observed profile is roughly circular with a diameter of 80 kilometers. An albedo of approximately 0.05 is reported, which is similar to Amalthea's. The geometry of the observational situation is illustrated.

Synnott, S. P.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Influence of Subpixel Scale Cloud Top Structure on Reflectances from Overcast Stratiform Cloud Layers

Recent observational studies have shown that satellite retrievals of cloud optical depth based on plane-parallel model theory suffer from systematic biases that depend on viewing geometry, even when observations are restricted to overcast marine stratus layers, arguably the closest to plane parallel in nature. At moderate to low sun elevations, the plane-parallel model significantly overestimates the reflectance dependence on view angle in the forward-scattering direction but shows a similar dependence in the backscattering direction. Theoretical simulations are performed that show that the likely cause for this discrepancy is because the plane-parallel model assumption does not account for subpixel, scale variations in cloud-top height (i.e., "cloud bumps"). Monte Carlo simulation, comparing ID model radiances to radiances from overcast cloud field with 1) cloud-top height variation, but constant cloud volume extinction; 2) flat tops but horizontal variations in cloud volume extinction; and 3) variations in both cloud top height and cloud extinction are performed over a approximately equal to 4 km x 4 km domain (roughly the size of an individual GAC AVHRR pixel). The comparisons show that when cloud-top height variations are included, departures from 1D theory are remarkably similar (qualitatively) to those obtained observationally. In contrast, when clouds are assumed flat and only cloud extinction is variable, reflectance differences are much smaller and do not show any view-angle dependence. When both cloud-top height and cloud extinction variations are included, however, large increases in cloud extinction variability can enhance reflectance difference. The reason 3D-1D reflectance differences are more sensitive to cloud-top height variations in the forward-scattering direction (at moderate to low, sun elevations) is because photons leaving the cloud field in that direction experience fewer scattering events (low-order scattering) and are restricted to the topmost portions of the cloud. While reflectance deviations from 1D theory are much larger for bumpy clouds than for flat clouds with variable cloud extinction, differences in cloud albedo are comparable for these two cases.

Loeb, N. G.↗
NASA NTRS1989

The effects of arcjet operating condition and constrictor geometry on the plasma plume

Measurements of plasma number density and electron temperature were obtained in the plumes of lab arcjet thrusters using electrostatic probes of both spherical and cylindrical geometry. The two arcjet thrusters used had different constrictor and/or nozzle geometries and operated on mixtures of nitrogen, hydrogen, and ammonia to simulate the decomposition products of hydrazine and ammonia. An increase in the measured electron density was observed for both geometries with increasing arc power at a constant mass flow rate and with increasing mass flow rate at a constant arc current. For a given operating condition, the electron number density decreased exponentially off centerline and followed an inverse distance squared relationship along the thrust axis. Typical measured electron temperatures ranged from 0.1 to 0.2 eV.

Carney, Lynnette M.↗