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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

Synoptic studies of chromospheric variability in F - K dwarfs with the IUE

Time-sequential series of IUE spectra for ten F, G and K dwarfs were obtained in 1980 and 1981 to study the rotational dependence of chromospheric flux in the ultraviolet. An interactive computational method using unbiased estimators was developed to measure emission line fluxes free of arbitrary judgement concerning the behavior of the underlying spectrum and shapes of the line profiles. Due to the limited number of observational samples per star, we have used special techniques to analyze the sparsely and anharmonically sampled emission line flux data. Two different autocorrelation measures were computed for each emission line as a function of temporal frequency. Examples and results of this analysis now in progress are given for several stars.

Hallam, K. L.↗

Potential, velocity, and density fields from sparse and noisy redshift-distance samples - Method

A method for recovering the three-dimensional potential, velocity, and density fields from large-scale redshift-distance samples is described. Galaxies are taken as tracers of the velocity field, not of the mass. The density field and the initial conditions are calculated using an iterative procedure that applies the no-vorticity assumption at an initial time and uses the Zel'dovich approximation to relate initial and final positions of particles on a grid. The method is tested using a cosmological N-body simulation 'observed' at the positions of real galaxies in a redshift-distance sample, taking into account their distance measurement errors. Malmquist bias and other systematic and statistical errors are extensively explored using both analytical techniques and Monte Carlo simulations.

Dekel, Avishai↗

Dynamic X-ray diffraction sampling for protein crystal positioning

A sparse supervised learning approach for dynamic sampling (SLADS) is described for dose reduction in diffraction-based protein crystal positioning. Crystal centering is typically a prerequisite for macromolecular diffraction at synchrotron facilities, with X-ray diffraction mapping growing in popularity as a mechanism for localization. In X-ray raster scanning, diffraction is used to identify the crystal positions based on the detection of Bragg-like peaks in the scattering patterns; however, this additional X-ray exposure may result in detectable damage to the crystal prior to data collection. Dynamic sampling, in which preceding measurements inform the next most information-rich location to probe for image reconstruction, significantly reduced the X-ray dose experienced by protein crystals during positioning by diffraction raster scanning. The SLADS algorithm implemented herein is designed for single-pixel measurements and can select a new location to measure. In each step of SLADS, the algorithm selects the pixel, which, when measured, maximizes the expected reduction in distortion given previous measurements. Ground-truth diffraction data were obtained for a 5 µm-diameter beam and SLADS reconstructed the image sampling 31% of the total volume and only 9% of the interior of the crystal greatly reducing the X-ray dosage on the crystal. Furthermore, by using in situ two-photon-excited fluorescence microscopy measurements as a surrogate for diffraction imaging with a 1 µm-diameter beam, the SLADS algorithm enabled image reconstruction from a 7% sampling of the total volume and 12% sampling of the interior of the crystal. When implemented into the beamline at Argonne National Laboratory, without ground-truth images, an acceptable reconstruction was obtained with 3% of the image sampled and approximately 5% of the crystal. The incorporation of SLADS into X-ray diffraction acquisitions has the potential to significantly minimize the impact of X-ray exposure on the crystal by limiting the dose and area exposed for image reconstruction and crystal positioning using data collection hardware present in most macromolecular crystallography end-stations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Machine Learning Toolkit for Extreme Scale

Support Vector Machines (SVM) is a popular machine learning technique, which has been applied to a wide range of domains such as science, finance, and social networks for supervised learning. MaTEx undertakes the challenge of designing a scalable parallel SVM training algorithm for large scale systems, which includes commodity multi-core machines, tightly connected supercomputers and cloud computing systems. Several techniques are proposed for improved speed and memory space usage including adaptive and aggressive elimination of samples for faster convergence , and sparse format representation of data samples. Several heuristics for earliest possible to lazy elimination of non-contributing samples are considered in MaTEx. In many cases, where an early sample elimination might result in a false positive, low overhead mechanisms for reconstruction of key data structures are proposed. The proposed algorithm and heuristics are implemented and evaluated on various publicly available datasets

Source record↗

Machine Learning Toolkit for Extreme Scale

Support Vector Machines (SVM) is a popular machine learning technique, which has been applied to a wide range of domains such as science, finance, and social networks for supervised learning. MaTEx undertakes the challenge of designing a scalable parallel SVM training algorithm for large scale systems, which includes commodity multi-core machines, tightly connected supercomputers and cloud computing systems. Several techniques are proposed for improved speed and memory space usage including adaptive and aggressive elimination of samples for faster convergence , and sparse format representation of data samples. Several heuristics for earliest possible to lazy elimination of non-contributing samples are considered in MaTEx. In many cases, where an early sample elimination might result in a false positive, low overhead mechanisms for reconstruction of key data structures are proposed. The proposed algorithm and heuristics are implemented and evaluated on various publicly available datasets

Source record↗

Coherent diffractive imaging of single layer microspheres

We report the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) coherent diffractive imaging of silica/polymer micro-particle samples illuminated by a table-top high harmonic generation source at the wavelength of 30 nm. We achieve images constructed from diffraction patterns acquired with 13 μm × 13 μm samples comprising a sparse monolayer of spherical silica and polymer micro-particles. Successful reconstructed image of an aperiodic sample using this HHG source will open the path to the realization of a compact soft x-ray microscope to investigate other complex absorbing samples.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Machine-learned Identification of RR Lyrae Stars from Sparse, Multi-band Data: The PS1 Sample

RR Lyrae stars may be the best practical tracers of Galactic halo (sub-)structure and kinematics. The PanSTARRS1 (PS1) 3π survey offers multi-band, multi-epoch, precise photometry across much of the sky, but a robust identification of RR Lyrae stars in this data set poses a challenge, given PS1's sparse, asynchronous multi-band light curves (≲12 epochs in each of five bands, taken over a 4.5 year period). We present a novel template fitting technique that uses well-defined and physically motivated multi-band light curves of RR Lyrae stars, and demonstrate that we get accurate period estimates, precise to 2 s in >80% of cases. We augment these light-curve fits with other features from photometric time-series and provide them to progressively more detailed machine-learned classification models. From these models, we are able to select the widest (three-fourths of the sky) and deepest (reaching 120 kpc) sample of RR Lyrae stars to date. The PS1 sample of ∼45,000 RRab stars is pure (90%) and complete (80% at 80 kpc) at high galactic latitudes. It also provides distances that are precise to 3%, measured with newly derived period–luminosity relations for optical/near-infrared PS1 bands. With the addition of proper motions from Gaia and radial velocity measurements from multi-object spectroscopic surveys, we expect the PS1 sample of RR Lyrae stars to become the premier source for studying the structure, kinematics, and the gravitational potential of the Galactic halo. The techniques presented in this study should translate well to other sparse, multi-band data sets, such as those produced by the Dark Energy Survey and the upcoming Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Galactic plane sub-survey.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Robustness-Based Design Optimization Under Data Uncertainty

This paper proposes formulations and algorithms for design optimization under both aleatory (i.e., natural or physical variability) and epistemic uncertainty (i.e., imprecise probabilistic information), from the perspective of system robustness. The proposed formulations deal with epistemic uncertainty arising from both sparse and interval data without any assumption about the probability distributions of the random variables. A decoupled approach is proposed in this paper to un-nest the robustness-based design from the analysis of non-design epistemic variables to achieve computational efficiency. The proposed methods are illustrated for the upper stage design problem of a two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) vehicle, where the information on the random design inputs are only available as sparse point and/or interval data. As collecting more data reduces uncertainty but increases cost, the effect of sample size on the optimality and robustness of the solution is also studied. A method is developed to determine the optimal sample size for sparse point data that leads to the solutions of the design problem that are least sensitive to variations in the input random variables.

Zaman, Kais↗

Discrete-Direct Model Calibration and Uncertainty Propagation Method Confirmed on Multi-Parameter Plasticity Model Calibrated to Sparse Random Field Data

A discrete direct (DD) model calibration and uncertainty propagation approach is explained and demonstrated on a 4-parameter Johnson-Cook (J-C) strain-rate dependent material strength model for an aluminum alloy. The methodology's performance is characterized in many trials involving four random realizations of strain-rate dependent material-test data curves per trial, drawn from a large synthetic population. The J-C model is calibrated to particular combinations of the data curves to obtain calibration parameter sets which are then propagated to “Can Crush” structural model predictions to produce samples of predicted response variability. These are processed with appropriate sparse-sample uncertainty quantification (UQ) methods to estimate various statistics of response with an appropriate level of conservatism. This is tested on 16 output quantities (von Mises stresses and equivalent plastic strains) and it is shown that important statistics of the true variabilities of the 16 quantities are bounded with a high success rate that is reasonably predictable and controllable. The DD approach has several advantages over other calibration-UQ approaches like Bayesian inference for capturing and utilizing the information obtained from typically small numbers of replicate experiments in model calibration situations—especially when sparse replicate functional data are involved like force–displacement curves from material tests. The DD methodology is straightforward and efficient for calibration and propagation problems involving aleatory and epistemic uncertainties in calibration experiments, models, and procedures.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Improved Sampling Algorithms in the Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization Toolkit

The RISMC approach is developing advanced set of methodologies and algorithms in order to perform Probabilistic Risk Analyses (PRAs). In contrast to classical PRA methods, which are based on Event-Tree and Fault-Tree methods, the RISMC approach largely employs system simulator codes applied to stochastic analysis tools. The basic idea is to randomly perturb (by employing sampling algorithms) timing and sequencing of events and internal parameters of the system codes (i.e., uncertain parameters) in order to estimate stochastic parameters such as core damage probability. This approach applied to complex systems such as nuclear power plants requires to perform a series of computationally expensive simulation runs given a large set of uncertain parameters. These types of analysis are affected by two issues. Firstly, the space of the possible solutions (a.k.a., the issue space or the response surface) can be sampled only very sparsely, and this precludes the ability to fully analyze the impact of uncertainties on the system dynamics. Secondly, large amounts of data are generated and tools to generate knowledge from such data sets are not yet available. This report focuses on the first issue and in particular employs novel methods that optimize the information generated by the sampling process by sampling unexplored and risk-significant regions of the issue space: adaptive (smart) sampling algorithms. They infer system response from surrogate models constructed from existing samples and predict the most relevant location of the next sample. It is therefore possible to understand features of the issue space with a small number of carefully selected samples. In this report, we will present how it is possible to perform adaptive sampling using the RISMC toolkit and highlight the advantages compared to more classical sampling approaches such Monte-Carlo. We will employ RAVEN to perform such statistical analyses using both analytical cases but also another RISMC code: RELAP-7.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Sampling Conditions for Conforming Voronoi Meshing by the VoroCrust Algorithm

We study the problem of decomposing a volume with a smooth boundary into a collection of Voronoi cells. Unlike the dual problem of conforming Delaunay meshing, a principled solution to this problem for generic smooth surfaces remained elusive. VoroCrust leverages ideas from weighted α-shapes and the power crust algorithm to produce unweighted Voronoi cells conforming to the surface, yielding the first provably-correct algorithm for this problem. Given a κ-sparse ε-sample, we work with the balls of radius δ times the local feature size centered at each sample. The corners of the union of these balls on both sides of the surface are the Voronoi sites and the interface of their cells is a watertight surface reconstruction embedded in the dual shape of the union of balls. With the surface protected, the enclosed volume can be further decomposed by generating more sites inside it. Compared to clipping-based algorithms, VoroCrust cells are full Voronoi cells, with convexity and fatness guarantees. Compared to the power crust algorithm, VoroCrust cells are not filtered, are unweighted, and offer greater flexibility in meshing the enclosed volume by either structured or randomly genenerated samples.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Multi-element stochastic spectral projection for high quantile estimation

We investigate quantile estimation by multi-element generalized Polynomial Chaos (gPC) metamodel where the exact numerical model is approximated by complementary metamodels in overlapping domains that mimic the model’s exact response. The gPC metamodel is constructed by the non-intrusive stochastic spectral projection approach and function evaluation on the gPC metamodel can be considered as essentially free. Thus, large number of Monte Carlo samples from the metamodel can be used to estimate α-quantile, for moderate values of α. As the gPC metamodel is an expansion about the means of the inputs, its accuracy may worsen away from these mean values where the extreme events may occur. By increasing the approximation accuracy of the metamodel, we may eventually improve accuracy of quantile estimation but it is very expensive. A multi-element approach is therefore proposed by combining a global metamodel in the standard normal space with supplementary local metamodels constructed in bounded domains about the design points corresponding to the extreme events. To improve the accuracy and to minimize the sampling cost, sparse-tensor and anisotropic-tensor quadratures are tested in addition to the full-tensor Gauss quadrature in the construction of local metamodels; different bounds of the gPC expansion are also examined. The global and local metamodels are combined in the multi-element gPC (MEgPC) approach and it is shown that MEgPC can be more accurate than Monte Carlo or importance sampling methods for high quantile estimations for input dimensions roughly below N=8, a limit that is very much case- and α-dependent.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Frequency extrapolation by nonconvex compressive sensing

Tomographic imaging modalities sample subjects with a discrete, finite set of measurements, while the underlying object function is continuous. Because of this, inversion of the imaging model, even under ideal conditions, necessarily entails approximation. The error incurred by this approximation can be important when there is rapid variation in the object function or when the objects of interest are small. In this work, we investigate this issue with the Fourier transform (FT), which can be taken as the imaging model for magnetic resonance imaging (MRl) or some forms of wave imaging. Compressive sensing has been successful for inverting this data model when only a sparse set of samples are available. We apply the compressive sensing principle to a somewhat related problem of frequency extrapolation, where the object function is represented by a super-resolution grid with many more pixels than FT measurements. The image on the super-resolution grid is obtained through nonconvex minimization. The method fully utilizes the available FT samples, while controlling aliasing and ringing. The algorithm is demonstrated with continuous FT samples of the Shepp-Logan phantom with additional small, high-contrast objects.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Data-driven surrogate modeling of hPIC ion energy-angle distributions for high-dimensional sensitivity analysis of plasma parameters' uncertainty

In this work, we present a data-driven strategy for effective construction of a surrogate model in high-dimensional parameter space for the ion energy-angle distribution (IEAD) output of hPIC simulations of plasma-surface interactions. The methodology is based on a bin-by-bin least-squares fitting of the IEAD in the parameter space. The fitting is performed in a transformed coordinate system to normalize the IEAD, and it employs sparse grids for sampling the parameter space to overcome sampling challenges in high dimensions. The surrogate model is significantly cheaper computationally than direct hPIC simulations yet maintains high fidelity to them, providing a fast emulator for hPIC simulations. Sensitivity analysis based on the surrogate model is utilized to characterize the dependence of the ion impact angle and energy moments on the physical parameters.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Global analysis of night marine air temperature and its uncertainty since 1880

An updated version of the Met Office Hadley Centre's monthly night marine air temperature data set is presented. It is available on a 5° latitude-longitude grid from 1880 as anomalies relative to 1961–1990 calendar-monthly climatological average night marine air temperature (NMAT). Adjustments are made for changes in observation height; these depend on estimates of the stability of the near surface atmospheric boundary layer. In previous versions of the data set, ad hoc adjustments were also made for three periods and regions where poor observational practice was prevalent. These adjustments are re-examined. Estimates of uncertainty are calculated for every grid box and result from measurement errors, uncertainty in adjustments applied to the observations, uncertainty in the measurement height, and under-sampling. The new data set is a clear improvement over previous versions in terms of coverage because of the recent digitization of historical observations from ships' logbooks. However, the periods prior to about 1890 and around World War II remain particularly uncertain, and sampling is still sparse in some regions in other periods. A further improvement is the availability of uncertainty estimates for every grid box and every month. Previous versions required adjustments that were dependent on contemporary measurements of sea surface temperature (SST); to avoid these, the new data set starts in 1880 rather than 1856. Overall agreement with variations of SST is better for the updated data set than for previous versions, supporting existing estimates of global warming and increasing confidence in the global record of temperature variability and change.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Stratigraphic Identification with Airborne Electromagnetic Methods at the Hanford Site, Washington

Stratigraphic units can influence the fate and transport of subsurface contaminants within groundwater. Units having coarse-grained sediments act as preferential flow pathways, and therefore can accelerate the transport of contaminants to reach human and ecological receptors. At legacy waste sites, detailed knowledge of subsurface stratigraphy can be used for effective monitoring and remediation planning to help minimize risk to human health and the environment. Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) methods can non-invasively provide information on kilometer-scale or larger subsurface stratigraphic features and fill informational gaps in directly sampled data from sparsely located boreholes. In this paper, we present inversion results of a 412 line-km frequency-domain AEM survey to delineate subsurface stratigraphic features at the Hanford Site, located in southeastern Washington State. The inversion was performed using a massively parallel 3D electromagnetic modeling and inversion code, where the modeling is based on solving frequency-domain Maxwell’s equations using an unstructured-mesh finite-element method and the inversion employs a Gauss-Newton optimization scheme. The results are compared to an underlying geologic framework model (GFM), built by interpolating contact depths of stratigraphic units interpreted from site borehole datasets. In areas with good borehole coverage, the inversion results show a good match with the GFM to a depth of about 60 m. Outside of these areas, the inversion results exhibit inconsistencies from the assumptions made to create the GFM, demonstrating that the AEM survey results can be used to improve the understanding of the geological conceptual model.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Very Forward Calorimetry at the LHC--Recent results from ATLAS

We present first results from the ATLAS Zero Degree Calorimeters (ZDC) based on 7 TeV pp collision data recorded in 2010. The ZDC coverage of {+-}{approx}350 {mu}rad about the forward direction makes possible the measurement of neutral particles (primarily {pi}{sup 0}'s and neutrons) over the kinematic region x{sub F} > or approx. 0.1 and out to p{sub T} < or approx. 1.2 GeV/c at large x{sub F}. The ATLAS ZDC is unique in that it provides a complete image of both electromagnetic and hadronic showers. This is illustrated with the reconstruction of {pi}{sup 0}'s with energies of 0.7-3.5 TeV. We also discuss the waveform reconstruction algorithm which has allowed good time-of-flight resolution on leading neutrons emerging from the collisions despite the sparse (40 MHz) sampling of the calorimeter signals used.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

COSMICFLOWS-2: THE DATA

Cosmicflows-2 is a compilation of distances and peculiar velocities for over 8000 galaxies. Numerically the largest contributions come from the luminosity-line width correlation for spirals, the Tully-Fisher relation (TFR), and the related fundamental plane relation for E/S0 systems, but over 1000 distances are contributed by methods that provide more accurate individual distances: Cepheid, tip of the red giant branch (TRGB), surface brightness fluctuation, Type Ia supernova, and several miscellaneous but accurate procedures. Our collaboration is making important contributions to two of these inputs: TRGB and TFR. A large body of new distance material is presented. In addition, an effort is made to ensure that all the contributions, both our own and those from the literature, are on the same scale. Overall, the distances are found to be compatible with a Hubble constant H {sub 0} = 74.4 ± 3.0 km s{sup –1} Mpc{sup –1}. The great interest going forward with this data set will be with velocity field studies. Cosmicflows-2 is characterized by a great density and high accuracy of distance measures locally, falling to sparse and coarse sampling extending to z = 0.1.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗