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At least 343 records · Page 19

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NASA NTRS2011

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) Acceleration of the Goddard Earth Observing System Atmospheric Model

The Goddard Earth Observing System 5 (GEOS-5) is the atmospheric model used by the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) for a variety of applications, from long-term climate prediction at relatively coarse resolution, to data assimilation and numerical weather prediction, to very high-resolution cloud-resolving simulations. GEOS-5 is being ported to a graphics processing unit (GPU) cluster at the NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS). By utilizing GPU co-processor technology, we expect to increase the throughput of GEOS-5 by at least an order of magnitude, and accelerate the process of scientific exploration across all scales of global modeling, including: The large-scale, high-end application of non-hydrostatic, global, cloud-resolving modeling at 10- to I-kilometer (km) global resolutions Intermediate-resolution seasonal climate and weather prediction at 50- to 25-km on small clusters of GPUs Long-range, coarse-resolution climate modeling, enabled on a small box of GPUs for the individual researcher After being ported to the GPU cluster, the primary physics components and the dynamical core of GEOS-5 have demonstrated a potential speedup of 15-40 times over conventional processor cores. Performance improvements of this magnitude reduce the required scalability of 1-km, global, cloud-resolving models from an unfathomable 6 million cores to an attainable 200,000 GPU-enabled cores.

Putnam, Williama↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

MEDPRAT Treatment Clusters: Improving Representation of Mission Medical Risk

INTRODUCTION The Medical Extensible Dynamic Probabilistic Risk Assessment Tool (MEDPRAT) implements a computational model that aims to quantify spaceflight medical risk by utilizing probabilistic techniques to simulate critical event incidence and outcomes over thousands of simulated mission trials. The goal of MEDPRAT is to characterize mission medical risk and provide insight into medical resource utilization. In order to analyze the medical resource space, treatment must be mapped from each simulated condition, and resources consumed as a result of this treatment must be tracked throughout the course of the mission. A new MEDPRAT feature, ‘treatment clusters’, provide a more sophisticated method of defining the structure and interaction between resources, more closely mimicking the way treatment is carried out clinically. METHODS Treatment clusters expand on the two existing treatment groupings (combination and alternate) adding a new grouping: bundled treatment. Treatment clusters may be combined to any depth, giving users the ability to specify complex treatment trees whose behavior is governed by several user-specified parameters. This approach emphasizes reusability, as treatment clusters, once defined, can be used to create more complex treatment trees or applied to many conditions. By configuring parameters for contribution, efficacy, necessity, primacy, and equivalence, resource relationships and dependencies can be more accurately represented, thereby allowing users to build capabilities with desired treatment properties, for example an intravenous capability for conditions such as anaphylaxis, acute radiation syndrome, etc. MEDPRAT v1.0 remains backward compatible with existing treatment structures, giving users the ability to define new treatment clusters as evidence becomes available, without having to recode their existing treatment databases. In addition to facilitating the representation of more complex treatment options, by pairing treatment clusters with the internal optimization routine, the MEDPRAT set selector, medical resources can be identified as organized in bundles, where appropriate, so that optimized resource sets include groups of highly-dependent resources only when all resources of the group are together. For example, it would be wasteful to include ultrasound gel but not an ultrasound machine, since the gel provides no benefit as a treatment without the ultrasound machine. With treatment clusters, the user may require that both resources are available to provide any benefit as treatment, so that if one resource is optimized out of the set, the other resource will be optimized out as well. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS We will report on MEDPRAT treatment clusters used in a bundling study under the IMPACT project of the ExMC element. We will discuss an example of a complex treatment tree. Through the implementation of this feature MEDPRAT enables treatment to be defined and applied in a way that is more representative of the real world, providing more accurate insight into mission medical risk and the medical resource space.

Lawrence Leinweber↗

NASA NTRS1993

Indications for common origin and gravitational interaction in three binary LMC clusters

Three close pair clusters of the LMC, NGC 2006/SL 538, NGC 2011 a/b, and NGC 2042 a/b, have been studied in order to establish their binarity. The stellar content in the outer region of each cluster has been investigated by means of low resolution objective UK Schmidt prism spectra, the cores of the clusters have been examined using low resolution integrated IUE spectra, whereas their density profiles and their observed dynamical parameters have been derived by means of star counts. The integrated spectra of their cores and the stellar content of their outer cluster regions have shown a common origin and a very young age (less than 2 x 10 exp 7 yr) for each member of the pairs, whereas their dynamical study has shown that they are gravitationally interacting. Comparing the age of their stellar content with their dynamical and relaxation times, it has been found that these clusters are physically associated and had no time to relax by stellar encounters, no time to merge, and no time to be destroyed by dynamical friction.

Kontizas, E.↗

NASA NTRS1983

CCD photometry of Abell clusters. II - Surface photometry of 249 cluster galaxies

The luminosity of the brightest cluster galaxies remains the best standard candle for observational cosmology. Studies of over 250 relatively nearby clusters show that the luminosity of these objects within an aperture of constant metric diameter has a dispersion of only 0.35 mag. The observations considered by Schneider et al. (1983) were acquired to measure the aperture luminosities of the brightest cluster galaxies. However, the data base, because of its high signal-to-noise ratio and large spatial coverage, allows several other investigations to be performed. In the present investigation, surface photometry of the brightness three galaxies within approximately 250 kpc of the cluster center is presented, taking into account the cores of 83 Abell clusters. The relevance of the photometry to cosmological studies is also discussed. It is found that dynamical friction does play an extremely important role in determining properties of brightest cluster galaxies and cluster morphology.

Schneider, D. P.↗

NASA NTRS1989

The nearby Abell clusters. III - Luminosity functions for eight rich clusters

Red photographic data on eight rich Abell clusters are combined with previous results on four other Abell clusters to study the luminosity functions of the clusters. The results produce a mean value of the characteristic galaxy magnitude (M asterisk) that is consistent with previous results. No relation is found between the magnitude of the first-ranked cluster galaxy and M asterisk, suggesting that the value of M asterisk is not changed by dynamical evolution. The faint ends of the luminosity functions for many of the clusters are quite flat, validating the nonuniversality in the parametrization of Schechter (1976) functions for rich clusters of galaxies.

Oegerle, William R.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Globular cluster formation - The fossil record

Properties of globular clusters which have remained unchanged since their formation are used to infer the internal pressures, cooling times, and dynamical times of the protocluster clouds immediately prior to the onset of star formation. For all globular clusters examined, it is found that the cooling times are much less than the dynamical times, implying that the protoclusters must have been maintained in thermal equilibrium by external heat sources, with fluxes consistent with those found in previous work, and giving the observed rho-T relation. Self-gravitating clouds cannot be stably heated, so that the Jeans mass forms an upper limit to the cluster masses. The observed dependence of protocluster pressure upon galactocentric position implies that the protocluster clouds were in hydrostatic equilibrium after their formation. The pressure dependence is well fitted by that expected for a quasi-statically evolving background hot gas, shock heated to its virial temperature. The observations and inferences are combined with previous theoretical work to construct a picture of globular cluster formation.

Murray, Stephen D.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Molecular Origin of Nanoscale Anion Ordering of LiTFSI Electrolytes Revealed through SAXS/WAXS and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Recent developments in “water-in-salt” electrolytes have precipitated a renewed effort to study imide-based electrolytes. While previous small-/wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) studies have attributed the emergence of a low-Q peak in the SAXS profile of aqueous LiTFSI electrolytes to nanometer-scale anion clustering, a molecular-level understanding of the root of these clusters remains unclear. Here, in this study, we combined molecular dynamics simulations and SAXS/WAXS to study the solvation structures of LiTFSI in acetonitrile, methanol, and water. We concluded that hydrogen bonding in water and MeOH stabilizes anion clusters, while nonpolar methyl groups on methanol and acetonitrile interrupt the nanoscale ordering of TFSI anions. This causes LiTFSI in water and MeOH electrolytes to exhibit two low-Q SAXS profile peaks while LiTFSI in acetonitrile exhibits only a single peak below Q = 1 Å –1 . These findings shed light on the underlying molecular origins of nanoscale anion clusters, which may help in the design of the next generation of electrolyte chemistries.

Trojanowski, Lucas [Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, ↗

DOE OSTI2024

Double diffraction imaging of x-ray induced structural dynamics in single free nanoparticles

Abstract Because of their high photon flux, x-ray free-electron lasers (FEL) allow to resolve the structure of individual nanoparticles via coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) within a single x-ray pulse. Since the inevitable rapid destruction of the sample limits the achievable resolution, a thorough understanding of the spatiotemporal evolution of matter on the nanoscale following the irradiation is crucial. We present a technique to track x-ray induced structural changes in time and space by recording two consecutive diffraction patterns of the same single, free-flying nanoparticle, acquired separately on two large-area detectors opposite to each other, thus examining both the initial and evolved particle structure. We demonstrate the method at the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and soft x-ray Free-electron LASer in Hamburg (FLASH), investigating xenon clusters as model systems. By splitting a single XUV pulse, two diffraction patterns from the same particle can be obtained. For focus intensities of about 2 × 10 12 W cm −2 we observe still largely intact clusters even at the longest delays of up to 650 picoseconds of the second pulse, indicating that in the highly absorbing systems the damage remains confined to one side of the cluster. Instead, in case of five times higher flux, the diffraction patterns show clear signatures of disintegration, namely increased diameters and density fluctuations in the fragmenting clusters. Future improvements to the accessible range of dynamics and time resolution of the approach are discussed.

Sauppe, M. (ORCID:0000000163123102)↗

DOE OSTI2026

Comparison of DeePMD, MTP, GAP, ACE and MACE Machine‐Learned Potentials for Radiation‐Damage Simulations: A User Perspective

Accurate and efficient interatomic potentials are essential for molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of radiation damage, gas diffusion, and phase stability in complex ceramics such as LiAlO 2 , especially under extreme conditions relevant to tritium production. Here, we evaluate the performance of six machine-learned interatomic potentials (MLIPs), moment tensor potential (MTP), Gaussian approximation potential, deep potential (DeePMD), atomic cluster expansion (ACE), message-passing ACE (multilayer atomic cluster expansion (MACE) pretrained) and MACE (trained from-scratch), all trained on the same density functional theory dataset with inclusion of tritium. The MLIPs are benchmarked against traditional Buckingham and ReaxFF potentials in terms of energy accuracy, density predictions, thermal equilibration behavior, threshold displacement energy (E d ), tritium diffusivity, and computational cost. Among the models, MTP shows the best overall balance between efficiency and accuracy, with low force and energy errors and realistic E d values for Li and Al. The ACE and MACE (pretrained and trained from scratch) models exhibit high E d (>200 eV) and unphysical pair interactions. DeePMD underestimates Ed due to overly repulsive behavior even at equilibrium distances. All models over-estimate tritium diffusion but the pretrained MACE model behaves well during tritium-diffusion simulations up to 500 K, maintaining diffusivities in the physically consistent 10 −11 m 2 /s range. Finally, we quantify the computational cost of each potential in large-scale atomic/molecular massively parallel simulator, finding that only MTP is more efficient than traditional empirical potentials, while others are significantly more expensive. These findings explain the trade-offs between accuracy and computational cost in MLIP development and provide essential guidance for use in high-throughput radiation damage and gas diffusion simulations in nuclear ceramics.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Oscillatory and Collective Dynamics of Gold‐Nanoparticle‐Laden Droplets Driven by Photothermal‐Induced Thermocapillarity

Droplets have long intrigued researchers due to their ability to exhibit complex and fascinating behavior when subjected to external stimuli. Here, a coupled oscillatory behavior of gold-nanoparticle-surfactant-laden aqueous droplets is investigated at an oil-oil interface stimulated by light. This study shows that the interaction between light and the droplets gives rise to a range of oscillatory modes, including bouncing and clustering, where droplets exhibit collective movement. From experiment and numerical simulations, this study elucidates the underlying mechanism: upon laser irradiation, gold nanoparticles convert light into heat, generating asymmetric thermal gradients that drive upward thermocapillary flows and a hydrodynamic force from photothermal convection. These forces compete with gravity and buoyancy to induce droplet bouncing, while the resulting asymmetric flow fields bias neighboring droplets toward the illuminated droplet, leading to clustering. These findings not only expand the library of dynamic droplet behavior but also offer insights into the potential applications of light-driven systems in materials science, soft robotics, and microfluidics.

Marangoni effect↗

DOE OSTI2026

Understanding the Influence of Chain Architecture on the Transport Quantities of Polymer Electrolytes with Covalently Bonded Anions

Here, we use a combination of experiments and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the structure–property relationships in polymer electrolytes obtained by the copolymerization of poly(vinyl ethylene carbonate─lithium styrene bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide) or p(VEC-LiSTFSI). Experiments show that the conductivity reduces with increasing anion (i.e., STFSI) fraction on the chain, and the cation transference number (t + ) is found to be dependent on the anion fraction. Furthermore, a significant fraction of unpolymerized VEC monomers are observed. Since it is inherently difficult to experimentally control the chain architecture and the amount of unpolymerized VEC in these systems, we perform coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations on model polymer systems with different chain architectures to mimic the plausible experimental systems. Specifically, we look at the differences in transference numbers arising from (i) a random copolymer of VEC and STFSI monomers; (ii) a blend of VEC-STFSI copolymer with VEC monomers; and (iii) a ternary blend of the VEC homopolymer, STFSI homopolymers, and VEC monomers. The ternary blend model demonstrates the closest resemblance with the experimental transference numbers and diffusivities. The lithium diffusivity obtained from the coarse-grained models with VEC monomers (plasticizers) is about 1.5 times that of the model without VEC monomers, showing that the plasticizing effect of VEC monomers is modest. We rationalize the experimental observations based on aggregate and cluster analyses obtained from molecular simulations. This work reveals that polymer electrolyte chain architecture and plasticizers can critically influence the transport properties, and these parameters should be considered when designing single ion conducting polymeric electrolytes.

cluster distribution↗

NASA NTRS1993

Hydrodynamic stellar interactions in dense star clusters

Highly detailed HST observations of globular-cluster cores and galactic nuclei motivate new theoretical studies of the violent dynamical processes which govern the evolution of these very dense stellar systems. These processes include close stellar encounters and direct physical collisions between stars. Such hydrodynamic stellar interactions are thought to explain the large populations of blue stragglers, millisecond pulsars, X-ray binaries, and other peculiar sources observed in globular clusters. Three-dimensional hydrodynamics techniques now make it possible to perform realistic numerical simulations of these interactions. The results, when combined with those of N-body simulations of stellar dynamics, should provide for the first time a realistic description of dense star clusters. Here I review briefly current theoretical work on hydrodynamic stellar interactions, emphasizing its relevance to recent observations.

Rasio, Frederic A.↗

NASA NTRS1993

The dynamics of Abell 2634

We have amassed a large sample of velocity data for the cluster of galaxies Abell 2634 which contains the wide-angle tail (WAT) radio source 3C 465. Robust indicators of location and scale and their confidence intervals are used to determine if the cD galaxy, containing the WAT, has a significant peculiar motion. We find a cD peculiar radial velocity of 219 plus or minus 98 km s(exp -1). Further dynamical analyses, including substructure and normality tests, suggest that A 2634 is an unrelaxed cluster whose radio source structure may be bent by the turbulent gas of a recent cluster-subcluster merger.

Pinkney, J.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Plasmaspheric Plumes Observed by the CLUSTER and IMAGE Spacecraft

Global IMAGE/EUV observations have revealed complex changes in plasmaspheric structures as the plasmasphere responds to geomagnetic activity while remaining under varying degrees of influence by co-rotation, depending on the radial distance. The complex plasmaspheric dynamics, with different scales of variability, is clearly far from being well understood. There is now renewed interest in the plasmasphere due to its apparent connections with the development of the ring current and radiation belt, and loss of ionospheric plasmas. Early in the mission, the Cluster spacecraft only crossed the plasmapause (L - 4) occasionally and made measurements of the outer plasmasphere and plasmaspheric drainage plumes. The study by Darrouzet et al. [2006] provided detailed analyses of in situ Cluster observations and IMAGE EUV observations of three plasmaspheric plumes detected in April-June, 2002. Within the next couple of years, Cluster orbit will change, causing perigee to migrate to lower altitudes, and thus providing excellent opportunities to obtain more detailed measurements of the plasmasphere. In this paper, we report our analyses of the earlier Cluster-IMAGE events by incorporating the different perspectives provided by the IMAGE Radio Plasma Imager (RPI) observations. We will discuss our new understanding of the structure and dynamics of the Cluster-IMAGE events.

Fung, S. F.↗

DOE OSTI2023

The active CGCG 077-102 NED02 galaxy within the Abell 2063 galaxy cluster

Context.Within the framework of investigating the link between the central super massive black holes in the cores of galaxies and the galaxies themselves, we detected a variable X-ray source in the center of CGCG 077-102 NED02, which is a member of the CGCG 077-102 galaxy pair within the Abell 2063 cluster of galaxies. Aims.Our goal is to combine X-ray and optical data to demonstrate that this object harbors an active super massive black hole in its core, and to relate this to the dynamical status of the galaxy pair within the Abell 2063 cluster. Methods.We usedChandraandXMM-Newtonarchival data to derive the X-ray spectral shape and variability. We also obtained optical spectroscopy to detect the expected emission lines that are typically found in active galactic nuclei. Finally, we used public ZTF imaging data to investigate the optical variability. Results.There is no evidence of multiple X-ray sources or extended components within CGCG 077-102 NED02. Single X-ray spectral models fit the source well. We detect significant, nonrandom inter-observation 0.5–10 keV X-ray flux variabilities, for observations separated by ∼4 days for short-term variations and by up to ∼700 days for long-term variations. Optical spectroscopy points toward a passive galaxy for CGCG 077-102 NED01 and a Seyfert for CGCG 077-102 NED02. The classification of CGCG 077-102 NED02 is also consistent with its X-ray luminosity of over 10 42 erg s −1 . We do not detect short-term variability in the optical ZTF light curves. However, we find a significant long-term stochastic variability in theg-band that can be well described by the damped random walk model with a best-fit characteristic damping timescale ofτ DRW = 30 −12 +28 days. Finally, the CGCG 077-102 galaxy pair is deeply embedded within the Abell 2063 potential, with a long enough history within this massive structure to have been affected by the influence of this cluster for a long time. Conclusions.Our observations point toward a moderately massive black hole in the center of CGCG 077-102 NED02 of ∼10 6 M ⊙ . As compared to another similar pair in the literature, CGCG 077-102 NED02 is not heavily obscured, perhaps because of the surrounding intracluster medium ram-pressure stripping.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

DOE OSTI2025

Unique Conductivity Behavior in Water-In-Salt Electrolytes Driven by Ion Clusters

Understanding and predicting ion transport in aqueous electrolytes are crucial for advanced energy storage and biophysics, and many emergent technologies yet remain elusive. Herein, we introduce a unified framework to quantitatively describe and predict electrolyte conductivity that shifts from conventional molar concentration-based metrics to a volume fraction-based approach. Through analyzing a variety of electrolyte solutions via this perspective, we observe a universal conductivity peak at a 37% volume fraction. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations reveal that nanometer-scale ion clusters drive this general behavior. Moreover, key geometric features of the ion transport pathwayssuch as pore size, tortuosity, and connectivityfollow a consistent dependence with respect to the volume fraction, reinforcing the argument for the universal conductivity trend. This paradigm shift opens new avenues for designing high-performance electrolytes and provides transformative insights for advancing studies in many fields, wherein molecular aggregates dictate transport properties.

Nguyen, Huong T. D.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Xenia: A Probe of Cosmic Chemical Evolution

Xenia is a concept study for a medium-size astrophysical cosmology mission addressing the Cosmic Origins key objective of NASA's Science Plan. The fundamental goal of this objective is to understand the formation and evolution of structures on various scales from the early Universe to the present time (stars, galaxies and the cosmic web). Xenia will use X-and y-ray monitoring and wide field X-ray imaging and high-resolution spectroscopy to collect essential information from three major tracers of these cosmic structures: the Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM), Galaxy Clusters and Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). Our goal is to trace the chemo-dynamical history of the ubiquitous warm hot diffuse baryon component in the Universe residing in cosmic filaments and clusters of galaxies up to its formation epoch (at z =0-2) and to map star formation and galaxy metal enrichment into the re-ionization era beyond z ~ 6. The concept of Xenia (Greek for "hospitality") evolved in parallel with the Explorer of Diffuse Emission and GRB Explosions (EDGE), a mission proposed by a multinational collaboration to the ESA Cosmic Vision 2015. Xenia incorporates the European and Japanese collaborators into a U.S. led mission that builds on the scientific objectives and technological readiness of EDGE.

Kouveliotou, Chryssa↗

NASA NTRS1980

The photometric properties of brightest cluster galaxies. II - SIT and CCD surface photometry

Surface photometry of the first-ranked galaxy in 108 Abell clusters is presented. Galaxy structure, as parameterized by simple Hubble law models, is found to correlate with galaxy absolute magnitude and cluster structure. All the structure data support the dynamical friction evolution model. Twenty-eight percent of the galaxies have multiple component nuclei; the short lifetimes of such systems provide the best available evidence that ongoing evolution actually occurs. Average magnitude and structure evolution rates are derived from the data.

Hoessel, J. G.↗