Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “light element”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 307 records · Page 17

Sub miniaturized laser doppler velocimeter sensor

A miniaturized laser Doppler velocimeter is formed in a housing that is preferably 3 mm in diameter or less. A laser couples light to a first diffractive optical element that is formed on the fiber end. The light is coupled to a lens that also includes a diffractive optical element. The same lens is also used to collect receive light, and receives includes another diffractive optical element to collect that received light.

Gharib, Morteza↗

Isotopic investigations in the area of the Tunguska catastrophe in 1908 year

The hypotheses of the annihilation and thermonuclear character of the Tunguska explosion have been tested by measuring inductive Ar-39 radioactivity from K and Ca in rocks and soil under the explosion epicentrum. Ar-39 was not detected though its estimated radioactivity was expected to be 100 times higher than the radio-metrical plant sensitivity. These results testify against the nuclear nature of the Tunguska explosion. The contents of 11 elements in the ultrasmall quantity of matter of the silicate microspherules isolated from catastrophe peat layer at the explosion site were measured by method of neutron activation analysis. It was demonstrated that the enrichment of microspherules by light and volatile elements (Al, Na, Zn, Cs) and the impoverishment by more heavy and hard volatile ones (Fe, Co, Sc). It was shown that the microspherules were not the product of differentiation of the terrestrial soil or of an ordinary meteorite material. It was demonstrated that Pb isotopic content in catastrophe peat layer had more Pb-204, Pb-207, Pb-208 than Pb-206 as compared with Pb isotopic content of other peat layers and common Pb in this area. In the peat column taken at the Ostraya hill area in three nearcatastrophe layers, small increases of isotopic C-13 was determined. Isotopic C effect in the peat layer is confirmed also for the North peatbog. Observed isotopic changes are not accounted for by climatic changes or other physico-chemical reasons. They seem to be related to preservation in the peat of matter resembling carbonaceous chrondrites of the Cl type or more probably of cometary matter enriched much more in volatile elements.

Kolesnikov, E. M.↗

The interstellar abundances of tin and four other heavy elements

Spectra recorded at 1150-1600 A with an instrumental resolution near 16 km/s were obtained with the Goddard High-Resolution Spectrograph on board the HST. The gaseous interstellar abundances of five heavy elements along the light paths to 23 Ori, 15 Mon, 1 Sco, Pi Sco, and Pi Aqr were determined from the observations. The 1400.450 A line of Sn II was detected and identified toward three stars; at Z = 50, tin is the first element from the fifth row of the periodic table to be identified in the interstellar medium. One spectral line of each of Cu II (Z = 29) and Ga II (Z = 31), three lines of Ge II (Z = 32), and two lines of Kr I (Z = 36) were also detected toward some or all of the five stars. The depletions of these five heavy elements generally decrease monotonically with increasing atomic number toward each of the six stars, and tin is generally undepleted within the observational errors. The depletions of 26 elements from the interstellar gas in an average dense interstellar cloud appear to correlate with the elemental 'nebular' condensation temperatures more closely than with the first ionization potentials.

Hobbs, L. M.↗

A study of methods to predict and measure the transmission of sound through the walls of light aircraft. Integration of certain singular boundary element integrals for applications in linear acoustics

An alternative method for performing singular boundary element integrals for applications in linear acoustics is discussed. The method separates the integral of the characteristic solution into a singular and nonsingular part. The singular portion is integrated with a combination of analytic and numerical techniques while the nonsingular portion is integrated with standard Gaussian quadrature. The method may be generalized to many types of subparametric elements. The integrals over elements containing the root node are considered, and the characteristic solution for linear acoustic problems are examined. The method may be generalized to most characteristic solutions.

Zimmerle, D.↗

Interrelations for the elements of the scattering matrix

Light scattered by molecules and particulate matter in planetary atmospheres was analyzed. The 4x4 scattering matrix that transforms the Stokes parameters of the incident beam into those of the scattered beam is discussed. Elementary methods are described to obtain interrelations for the 16 elements of the scattering matrix, when light is scattered by a particle of arbitrary size, shape and composition or by a collection of such particles. The implications of the results for the interpretation of polarimetric data of planets with an atmosphere are outlined.

Hovenier, J. W.↗

Lithium hydride - A space age shielding material

Men and materials performing in the environment of an operating nuclear reactor require shielding from the escaping neutron particles and gamma rays. For efficient shielding from gamma rays, dense, high atomic number elements such as iron, lead, or tungsten are required, whereas light, low atomic number elements such as hydrogen, lithium, or beryllium are required for efficient neutron shielding. The use of lithium hydride (LiH) as a highly efficient neutron-shielding material is considered. It contains, combined into a single, stable compound, two of the elements most effective in attenuating and absorbing neutrons.

Welch, F. H.↗

Tensor network simulations of quasi-GPDs in the massive Schwinger model

Generalized parton distribution functions (GPDs) are off-diagonal light-cone matrix elements that encode the internal structure of hadrons in terms of quark and gluon degrees of freedom. In this work, we present the first nonperturbative study of quasi-GPDs in the massive Schwinger model, quantum electrodynamics in 1+1 dimensions (QED 2 ), within the Hamiltonian formulation of lattice field theory. Quasidistributions are spatial correlation functions of boosted states, which approach the relevant light-cone distributions in the luminal limit. Using tensor networks, we prepare the first excited state in the strongly coupled regime and boost it to close to the light-cone on lattices of up to 400 lattice sites. We compute both quasiparton distribution functions and, for the first time, quasi-GPDs, and study their convergence for increasingly boosted states. In addition, we perform analytic calculations of GPDs in the two-particle Fock-space approximation and in the Reggeized limit, providing qualitative benchmarks for the tensor network results. Our analysis establishes computational benchmarks for accessing partonic observables in low-dimensional gauge theories, offering a starting point for future extensions to higher dimensions, non-Abelian theories, and quantum simulations.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Mesosiderites and howardites - Igneous formation and possible genetic relationships

Neutron activation data are presented for major, minor, and trace elements in whole rock howardites and silicates from mesosiderites. Compositions of howardites and mesosiderites are similar and intermediate between those of eucrites and diogenites. It is indicated that mesosiderites have a higher normative silica component than howardites. It appears that this results partly from a higher content of a highly evolved igneous component and partly from in situ reduction of FeO to Fe followed by magnetic separation of metal prior to analysis. It is shown that light rare earth elements are enriched in some mesosiderites.

Mittlefehldt, D. W.↗

Radial velocity studies and absolute parameters of contact binaries. I - AB Andromedae

New radial velocity curves have been obtained for the contact binary AB And, using the cross-correlation technique. A mass ratio of 0.479 is determined, which is revised to 0.491 when the velocities are corrected for proximity effects using a light curve model. These values differ by less than ten percent from the photometric mass ratio. An analysis of the symmetric B and V light curves reported by Rigterink in 1973 using the spectroscopic mass ratio yields a consistent set of light and velocity curve elements. These also produce a reasonably good fit to the infrared J and K light curves reported by Jameson and Akinci in 1979. Absolute elements are determined, and these indicate that both components have a main-sequence internal structure. These absolute parameters, together with the Galactic kinematics, suggest an age for the system similar to or greater than that of the Sun.

Hrivnak, Bruce J.↗

Biologically mediated isotope fractionations - Biochemistry, geochemical significance and preservation in the earth's oldest sediments

Preferential metabolization of isotopically light carbon and sulfur has resulted in a fractionation of the stable isotopes of these elements on a global scale, with the light species (C-12, S-32) markedly concentrated in biogenic materials. Since the biological effects are basically retained when carbon and sulfur are incorporated in sediments, the respective fractionations are propagated into the rock section of the geochemical cycle, this having consequently caused a characteristic bipartition of both elements between 'light' and 'heavy' crustal reservoirs. Preservation of the biological isotope effects in sedimentary rocks makes it possible to trace the underlying biochemical processes back over most of the geological record. According to the available evidence, biological (autotrophic) carbon fixation arose prior to 3.5(if not 3.8) billion years ago, while the emergence of dissimilatory sulfate reduction antedates the appearance of the oldest presumably bacteriogenic sulfur isotope patterns in rocks between 2.7 and 2.8 billion years old. Hence, biological control of the terrestrial carbon and sulfur cycles has been established very early in the earth's history.

Schidlowski, M.↗

Wavefront Sensing Analysis of Grazing Incidence Optical Systems

Wavefront sensing is a process by which optical system errors are deduced from the aberrations in the image of an ideal source. The method has been used successfully in near-normal incidence, but not for grazing incidence systems. This innovation highlights the ability to examine out-of-focus images from grazing incidence telescopes (typically operating in the x-ray wavelengths, but integrated using optical wavelengths) and determine the lower-order deformations. This is important because as a metrology tool, this method would allow the integration of high angular resolution optics without the use of normal incidence interferometry, which requires direct access to the front surface of each mirror. Measuring the surface figure of mirror segments in a highly nested x-ray telescope mirror assembly is difficult due to the tight packing of elements and blockage of all but the innermost elements to normal incidence light. While this can be done on an individual basis in a metrology mount, once the element is installed and permanently bonded into the assembly, it is impossible to verify the figure of each element and ensure that the necessary imaging quality will be maintained. By examining on-axis images of an ideal point source, one can gauge the low-order figure errors of individual elements, even when integrated into an assembly. This technique is known as wavefront sensing (WFS). By shining collimated light down the optical axis of the telescope and looking at out-of-focus images, the blur due to low-order figure errors of individual elements can be seen, and the figure error necessary to produce that blur can be calculated. The method avoids the problem of requiring normal incidence access to the surface of each mirror segment. Mirror figure errors span a wide range of spatial frequencies, from the lowest-order bending to the highest order micro-roughness. While all of these can be measured in normal incidence, only the lowest-order contributors can be determined through this WFS technique.

Rohrbach, Scott↗

Atomic-Scale Imaging of Lithium Vacancies in a Battery Cathode by Multislice Electron Ptychography

Atomic-resolution imaging of battery materials is critical for identification of local defects and structural variations, which are tied to battery performance. However, since battery materials are, by design, optimized to allow ion motion in response to an applied electric field, they are also very sensitive to radiation damage by an electron beam. Image resolution is therefore severely constrained by the dose applied. Here, we show that multislice electron ptychography (MEP) can provide sub-ångström lateral resolution images of both light and heavy elements of a Li-ion battery cathode, along with nanometer-scale depth information and greater dose efficiency than conventional electron microscopy methods. Using the depth-sectioning capability of MEP, we have been able to obtain direct visualizations of Li vacancy clusters, atom column by atom column, in Li x Ni 0.33 Mn 0.33 Co 0.33 O 2 (NMC111) cathodes. This capability to track Li distributions will be valuable in understanding, informing, and optimizing electrode material design for ion storage and transfer.

batteries↗

Relativistic Exact Two-Component Theory in the Generalized Pseudospectral Representation

We present a formulation and implementation of exact two-component (X2C) relativistic theory in the generalized pseudospectral representation. When combined with the Hartree-Fock-Slater framework, this approach enables efficient and accurate treatments of scalar-relativistic and spin-orbit effects in atomic electronic structures without the computational overhead of four-component methods. Benchmark calculations across light and heavy elements demonstrate that the our X2C scheme yields substantially more accurate relativistic corrections to core-electron binding energies than perturbational Breit-Pauli treatments while converging more rapidly with respect to basis size. The method provides an improved computational framework for modeling ultrafast x-ray-induced processes in heavy-element systems.

Wang, Xubo↗

Photon-odderon interference in exclusive χ c charmonium production at the Electron-Ion Collider

Exclusive C = + 1 scalar, axial-vector, and tensor quarkonium production in high-energy electron-proton scattering requires a C -odd t -channel exchange of a photon or a three-gluon ladder. We derive the expressions for the corresponding amplitudes. The relative phase of the photon vs three-gluon exchange amplitudes is determined by the sign of the light-front matrix element of the eikonal color current operator d a b c J + a J + b J + c at moderate x , and is not affected by small- x QCD evolution. Model calculations predict constructive interference, which is particularly strong for momentum transfer | t | ∼ 1 GeV 2 where the cross section for χ c J production exceeds that for pure photon exchange by up to a factor of 4. Exclusive χ c J electroproduction at the high luminosity Electron-Ion Collider occurs with well measurable rates and measurements of these processes should find evidence for the perturbative odderon exchange. We also compute the total electroproduction cross section as a function of energy and provide first estimates of the number of χ c J events per month at the Electron-Ion Collider design luminosity. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Gauge-invariant renormalization of four-quark operators

We study the renormalization of four-quark operators in one-loop perturbation theory. We employ a coordinate-space gauge-invariant renormalization scheme (GIRS), which can be advantageous compared to other schemes, especially in nonperturbative lattice investigations. From our perturbative calculations, we extract the conversion factors between GIRS and the modified minimal subtraction scheme ( MS ¯ ) at the next-to-leading order. As a by-product, we also obtain the relevant anomalous dimensions in the GIRS scheme. A formidable issue in the study of the four-quark operators is that operators with different Dirac matrices mix among themselves upon renormalization. We focus on both parity-conserving and parity-violating four-quark operators, which change flavor numbers by two units ( Δ F = 2 ). The extraction of the conversion factors entails the calculation of two-point Green’s functions involving products of two four-quark operators, as well as three-point Green’s functions with one four-quark and two bilinear operators. The significance of our results lies in their potential to refine our understanding of QCD phenomena, offering insights into the precision of Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix elements and shedding light on the nonperturbative treatment of complex mixing patterns associated with four-quark operators. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Constantinou, M. (ORCID:0000000269881745)↗