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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 37 records · Page 2

Emergent quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnetism in the distorted kagome magnet CePtPb

CePtPb hosts a distorted kagome lattice of Ce 3+ ions, providing a clean platform to investigate how reduced local symmetry and strong spin-orbit coupling reshape frustrated magnetism. Magnetization, specific heat, and magnetocaloric effect measurements, combined with a symmetry analysis of the single-ion anisotropy, demonstrate that the local 𝑚⁢2⁢𝑚 site symmetry selects a nearly Ising-like Kramers doublet with easy axes lying within the 𝑎⁢𝑏 plane. This results in three distinct in-plane Ising directions and an overall easy-plane anisotropy. The low-energy magnetic response is well captured by a three-sublattice Ising model, which quantitatively reproduces the saturation magnetization for arbitrary in-plane field orientations, including $[110]$ and $[1\bar{⁢1}⁢0]$, as well as the ratio of the field-induced critical fields. For 𝐵∥$[110]$, the phase diagram exhibits two quantum critical points at 𝐵 c⁢1 = 0.25T and 𝐵 c⁢2 = 0.55T, arising from the sequential polarization of the three Ising sublattices. In conclusion, these results reveal that the system develops quasi-one-dimensional spin chains along the 𝑐 axis, emerging from the nominally three-dimensional crystal structure composed of stacked kagome layers, and illustrate how reduced local symmetry can drive effective dimensional reduction in rare-earth Ising magnets.

Li, Fangli [Southern University of Science and Tec↗

Studies for the selection of fully contained muon neutrino CC events in the ICARUS T600 detector at Fermilab

The ICARUS T600 LAr-TPC detector has started its new physics runs in June 2022 at Fermilab within the SBN program. This detector is recording neutrino interactions from the Booster BNB neutrino beam in order to definitively clarify the open questions related to the possible existence of sterile neutrinos, as suggested by numerous observed experimental anomalies. In addition the neutrinos events recorded from the NuMI off-axis beam are under study in order to perform neutrino-Argon cross section measurements. At Fermilab, ICARUS is facing a challenging experimental condition: the detector is presently installed essentially at Earth surface where cosmic ray particles can become a serious source of background for the neutrino event search. This condition makes it necessary to deploy suitable automatic tools for the identification, selection, and measurement of the neutrino events among the millions of events triggered by cosmics. In this contribution, two automatic selection procedures devoted to the identification of fully contained muon neutrino interactions in the BNB neutrino beam will be presented, together with the first results of their application on simulated and on recently recorded events in the T600 detector.

Farnese, Christian [INFN, Padua] (ORCID:0000000163↗

Studies for the Selection of Fully Contained Muon Neutrino CC Events in the ICARUS T600 Detector at Fermilab

The ICARUS T600 LAr-TPC detector has started its new physics runs in June 2022 at Fermilab within the SBN program. This detector is recording neutrino interactions from the Booster BNB neutrino beam in order to definitively clarify the open questions related to the possible existence of sterile neutrinos, as suggested by numerous observed experimental anomalies. In addition the neutrinos events recorded from the NuMI off-axis beam are under study in order to perform neutrino-Argon cross section measurements. At Fermilab, ICARUS is facing a challenging experimental condition: the detector is presently installed essentially at Earth surface where cosmic ray particles can become a serious source of background for the neutrino event search. This condition makes it necessary to deploy suitable automatic tools for the identification, selection, and measurement of the neutrino events among the millions of events triggered by cosmics. In this contribution, two automatic selection procedures devoted to the identification of fully contained muon neutrino interactions in the BNB neutrino beam will be presented, together with the first results of their application on simulated and on recently recorded events in the T600 detector.

Farnese, Christian [INFN, Padua]↗

The Application of Quaternions to Strap-Down MEMS Sensor Data

We describe the mathematical transformations required to convert the data recorded using typical 6-axis microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensor packages (3-axis rate gyroscopes and 3-axis accelerometers) when attached to an object undergoing a short duration loading event, such as blast loading, where inertial data alone are sufficient to track the object motion. By using the quaternion description, the complex object rotations and displacements that typically occur are translated into the more convenient earth frame of reference. An illustrative example is presented where a large and heavy object was thrown by the action of a very strong air blast in a complex manner. The data conversion process yielded an accurate animation of the object’s subsequent motion.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Design of an arrangement of cubic magnets for a quasi-axisymmetric stellarator experiment

The usage of permanent magnets to shape the confining magnetic field of a stellarator has the potential to reduce or eliminate the need for non-planar coils. As a proof-of-concept for this idea, here we have developed a procedure for designing an array of cubic permanent magnets that works in tandem with a set of toroidal-field (TF) coils to confine a stellarator plasma. All of the magnets in the design are constrained to have identical geometry and one of three polarization types in order to simplify fabrication while still producing sufficient field accuracy. We present some of the key steps leading to the design, including the geometric arrangement of the magnets around the device, the procedure for optimizing the polarizations according to the three allowable magnet types, and the choice of magnet types to be used. We apply these methods to design an array of rare-Earth permanent magnets that can be paired with a set of planar TF coils to confine a quasi-axisymmetric plasma with a toroidal magnetic field strength of about 0.5 T on axis.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Dynamical Packing in the Habitable Zone: The Case of Beta CVn

Uncovering the occurrence rate of terrestrial planets within the habitable zone (HZ) of their host stars has been a particular focus of exoplanetary science in recent years. The statistics of these occurrence rates have largely been derived from transiting planet discoveries, and have uncovered numerous HZ planets in compact systems around M-dwarf host stars. Here we explore the width of the HZ as a function of spectral type, and the dynamical constraints on the number of stable orbits within the HZ for a given star. We show that, although the Hill radius for a given planetary mass increases with larger semimajor axis, the width of the HZ for earlier-type stars allows for more terrestrial planets in the HZ than late-type stars. In general, dynamical constraints allow ∼6 HZ Earth-mass planets for stellar masses ≳0.7M {sub ⊙}, depending on the presence of farther out giant planets. As an example, we consider the case of Beta CVn, a nearby bright solar-type star. We present 20 yr of radial velocities (RV) from the Keck/High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer (HIRES) and Automated Planet Finder (APF) instruments and conduct an injection-recovery analysis of planetary signatures in the data. Our analysis of these RV data rule out planets more massive than Saturn within 10 au of the star. These system properties are used to calculate the potential dynamical packing of terrestrial planets in the HZ and show that such nearby stellar targets could be particularly lucrative for HZ planet detection by direct imaging exoplanet missions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Design of an arrangement of cubic magnets for a quasi-axisymmetric stellarator experiment

The usage of permanent magnets to shape the confining field of a stellarator has the potential to reduce or eliminate the need for non-planar coils. As a proof-of-concept for this idea, we have developed a procedure for designing an array of cubic permanent magnets that works in tandem with a set of toroidal-field coils to confine a stellarator plasma. All of the magnets in the design are constrained to have identical geometry and one of three polarization types in order to simplify fabrication while still producing sufficient field accuracy. We present some of the key steps leading to the design, including the geometric arrangement of the magnets around the device, the procedure for optimizing the polarizations according to three allowable magnet types, and the choice of magnet types to be used. We apply these methods to design an array of rare-Earth permanent magnets that can be paired with a set of planar toroidal-field coils to confine a quasi-axisymmetric plasma with a toroidal magnetic field strength of about 0.5 T on axis.

Hammond, Kenneth↗

Pinning Characteristics of Zr and Hf- Added REBCO Coated Conductors Made by Advanced MOCVD in Low-to-High Magnetic Fields

BaMO 3 (M=Zr, Hf) pinning centers introduced in REBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x (REBCO and RE = rare earth) coated conductors yield superior performance in high magnetic fields. We present the critical current density J c over a temperature range of 4.2-77 K and magnetic fields of 0-14 T (B || c-axis), of 5-15 mol.% Zr- and Hf-added REBCO 4+ μm thick film tapes fabricated by advanced metal organic chemical vapor deposition (A-MOCVD). The morphology of self-assembled BMO nanorods aligned along c-axis is found to be dependent on the Zr/Hf content. We also observe a correlation between the density of RE 2 O 3 in-plane nano-precipitates and the continuity and concentration of BMO nanorods in films of different Ba content. It is found that the (Ba+M)/Cu (M=Zr, Hf) content in REBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x affects the shape of pinning force density curves over a wide magnetic field range and temperatures below 20 K. Another remarkable observation is the similarity in the critical current properties of Hf and Zr -added REBCO films as function of (Ba+M)/Cu content at intermediate to high range of (Ba+M)/Cu content. As a result, a quantitative analysis of pinning efficiency and correlation with the microstructure of Zr and Hf- added REBCO coated conductors is discussed.

2G high-temperature superconductor (2G-HTS)↗

A Deep and Wide Twilight Survey for Asteroids Interior to Earth and Venus

We are conducting a survey using twilight time on the Dark Energy Camera with the Blanco 4 m telescope in Chile to look for objects interior to Earth's and Venus' orbits. To date we have discovered two rare Atira/Apohele asteroids, 2021 LJ4 and 2021 PH27, which have orbits completely interior to Earth's orbit. We also discovered one new Apollo-type Near Earth Object (NEO) that crosses Earth's orbit, 2022 AP7. Two of the discoveries have diameters ≳1 km. 2022 AP7 is likely the largest Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) discovered in about eight years. To date we have covered 624 square degrees of sky near to and interior to the orbit of Venus. The average images go to 21.3 mag in the r band, with the best images near 22nd mag. Our new discovery 2021 PH27 has the smallest semimajor axis known for an asteroid, 0.4617 au, and the largest general relativistic effects (53 arcsec/century) known for any body in the solar system. The survey has detected ~15% of all known Atira NEOs. We put strong constraints on any stable population of Venus co-orbital resonance objects existing, as well as the Atira and Vatira asteroid classes. These interior asteroid populations are important to complete the census of asteroids near Earth, including some of the most likely Earth impactors that cannot easily be discovered in other surveys. Comparing the actual population of asteroids found interior to Earth and Venus with those predicted to exist by extrapolating from the known population exterior to Earth is important to better understand the origin, composition, and structure of the NEO population.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Evidence for Asteroid Scattering and Distal Solar System Solids From Meteorite Paleomagnetism

Asteroid-sized bodies are predicted to have been scattered throughout the solar system following gravitational interactions with the giant planets. This process could have delivered water-rich small bodies to the inner solar system. However, evidence from the meteorite record supporting this scattering is limited due to difficulties in recovering the formation distance of meteorite parent bodies from laboratory measurements. Moreover, ancient millimeter-sized solids that formed in the inner solar system (calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions and chondrules) have also been proposed to have migrated throughout the solar system, which could have been key to their survival. Our understanding of the driving mechanisms, distances and timings involved in this motion is also restricted for the same reasons. Here, we address these limitations by recovering the formation distance of the parent asteroid of the Tagish Lake meteorite from measurements of its natural remanent magnetization. We find that this meteorite experienced an ancient field intensity <0.15 µT. Accounting for the average effect of a tilted parent body rotation axis and possible uncertainties associated with the remanence acquisition mechanism, this result argues that the Tagish Lake parent body formed at >8 - 13 AU, suggesting this body originates from the distal solar system. Tagish Lake came to Earth from the asteroid belt, which, combined with our recovered formation distance, suggests that some small bodies travelled large distances throughout the solar system. Moreover, Tagish Lake contains calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions and chondrules, indicating that these solids were capable of traveling to the distal solar system within just a few million years.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Explanation of the seasonal variation of cosmic multiple muon events observed with the NOvA Near Detector

The flux of cosmic ray muons at the Earth’s surface exhibits seasonal variations due to changes in the temperature of the atmosphere affecting the production and decay of mesons in the upper atmosphere. Using 1473 live days of data collected by the NuMI Off-axis 𝜈 𝑒 Appearance (NOvA) Near Detector during 2018–2022, we studied the seasonal pattern in the multiple-muon event rate. The data confirm an anticorrelation between the multiple-muon event rate and effective atmospheric temperature, consistent across all the years of data. Previous analyses from MINOS and NOvA saw a similar anticorrelation but did not include an explanation. We find that this anticorrelation is driven by altitude–geometry effects as the average muon production height changes with the season. This has been studied with a CORSIKA cosmic ray simulation package by varying atmospheric parameters, and provides an explanation to a longstanding discrepancy between the seasonal phases of single and multiple-muon events.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Structure and Behavior of the Ni End-Member Schreibersite Ni 3 P under Compression to 50 GPa

To better understand the potential presence of light element alloys of Fe and Ni in the Earth’s interior, the crystal structure and compressional behavior of the Ni-P binary compound, schreibersite (Ni 3 P), have been investigated using synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments. Both powder and two single-crystal samples of synthetic Ni 3 P (in different orientations with respect to the loading axis of the diamond anvil cell) were compressed up to approximately 50 GPa at ambient temperature. The compressional data obtained for Ni3P were fitted with a 3rd order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state. All data indicated that the c/a ratio of unit cell parameters remained approximately constant up to about 30 GPa but then increased progressively with pressure, exhibiting a second slight discontinuity at approximately 40 GPa. The changes in unit cell parameters at ~30 GPa and ~40 GPa suggested discontinuous changes in magnetic ordering. Moreover, the threshold of these subtle discontinuities is sensitive to the stress state and orientation of the crystal in the diamond anvil cell. This study is the first report on the compressional behavior of both powder and single-crystal schreibersite at high-pressure (up to 50 GPa). It offers insights into the effects of Ni 3 P components on the compressional behavior of the Earth’s core.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Turbulent Rotating Rayleigh–Bénard Convection

Rotation with thermally induced buoyancy governs many astrophysical and geophysical processes in the atmosphere, ocean, sun, and Earth's liquid-metal outer core. Rotating Rayleigh–Bénard convection (RRBC) is an experimental system that has features of rotation and buoyancy, where a container of height H and temperature difference Δ between its bottom and top is rotated about its vertical axis with angular velocity Ω. The strength of buoyancy is reflected in the Rayleigh number (~ H 3 Δ) and that of the Coriolis force in the Ekman and Rossby numbers (~Ω -1 ). Rotation suppresses the convective onset, introduces instabilities, changes the velocity boundary layers, modifies the shape of thermal structures from plumes to vortical columns, affects the large-scale circulation, and can decrease or enhance global heat transport depending on buoyant and Coriolis forcing. RRBC is an extremely rich system, with features directly comparable to geophysical and astrophysical phenomena. Here we review RRBC studies, suggest a unifying heat transport scaling approach for the transition between rotation-dominated and buoyancy-dominated regimes in RRBC, and discuss non-Oberbeck–Boussinesq and centrifugal effects.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Neutron diffraction study of magnetic ordering in high pressure phases of rare earth metal holmium

The magnetic ordering in rare earth metals is well established for ambient pressure crystal structures, however, little is known about the magnetic ordering in their corresponding high-pressure crystalline modifications. Holmium (Ho) was studied in a large-volume diamond anvil cell at the Spallation Neutron Source to high-pressure up to 20 GPa and to low-temperature to 10 K. We have conducted two independent high-pressure low-temperature experiments under non-hydrostatic and quasi-hydrostatic pressure conditions respectively. The ambient pressure hexagonal close packed (hcp) phase of holmium shows two magnetic transitions below 10 GPa one to an incommensurate Antiferromagnetic (AFM) phase and another to a conical-Ferromagnetic (c-FM) phase. In contrast, alpha-Samarium-type (α-Sm) phase above 10 GPa and the double hexagonal close packed (dhcp) phase above 19 GPa show only one FM transition marked by the appearance of a magnetic peak at 3 Å and the concurrent enhancement of nuclear peaks below 30 K. Finally, these new transitions observed by neutron diffraction can be accounted by a commensurate superlattice formation along c-axis in both the α-Sm-type phase and the dhcp phase.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Low-Temperature Crystal Structure and Mean-Field Modeling of Er x Dy 1- x Al 2 Intermetallics

Low-temperature crystal structure of the Er x Dy 1-x Al 2 alloys with x = 0.45, 0.67, 0.90 was examined using temperature-dependent powder X-ray diffraction. The Er-rich sample, Er 0.9 Dy 0.1 Al 2 , exhibits a rhombohedral distortion associated with the magnetic ordering that occurs around 20 K. The rhombohedral distortion is suppressed in Er 0.67 Dy 0.33 Al 2 , while a weak low-temperature tetragonal distortion is observed in Er 0.45 Dy 0.55 Al 2 . The mean-field theory supports the correlation between the type of structural distortion and the variable easy magnetization axis in Er x Dy 1-x Al 2 intermetallics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Dispersion Leverage Coronagraph: a nulling coronagraph for use on primary objective grating telescopes

Here, we present the Dispersion Leverage Coronagraph (DLC), a variation of the Achromatic Interfero Coronagraph (AIC) that is designed for optical systems featuring large, dispersive primary objective gratings. DLC was originally designed for the Diffractive Interfero Coronagraph Exoplanet Resolver (DICER), a notional 20 m class infrared space telescope utilizing the enhanced one-dimensional angular resolution of large diffraction gratings to discover and characterize near-Earth exoplanets. Here we develop the theoretical foundation for DLC, and apply it to DICER as an example use case. We derive important properties of the DLC system, including focal plane transmission maps, stellar leakage, residual optical path difference tolerance, and pointing error/jitter considerations. Ultimately, we found that DLC effectively nulls an on-axis target across the entire spectrum in the focal plane, allowing for 2D/λ diffraction-limited imaging. It requires asymmetrical fine-guidance tolerances on pointing error/jitter. We work through a benchmark DICER design, explaining the need for a second disperser to reduce background from Zodiacal light, and showing that it could plausibly find and characterize ∼4 nearby, habitable exoplanets around Sun-like stars in a 7-year mission; about 30% of the habitable exoplanets within 8 pc were found in our simulation. The DLC may be useful for any application requiring extremely high-resolution, close companion spectroscopy.

AIC↗

Additive manufacturing methods using aluminum-rare earth alloys and products made using such methods

Described herein are additive manufacturing methods and products made using such methods. The alloy compositions described herein are specifically selected for the additive manufacturing methods and provide products that exhibit superior mechanical properties as compared to their cast counterparts. Using the compositions and methods described herein, products that do not exhibit substantial coarsening, such as at elevated temperatures, can be obtained. The products further exhibit uniform microstructures along the print axis, thus contributing to improved strength and performance. Additives also can be used in the alloys described herein.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Additive manufacturing methods using aluminum-rare earth alloys and products made using such methods

Described herein are additive manufacturing methods and products made using such methods. The alloy compositions described herein are specifically selected for the additive manufacturing methods and provide products that exhibit superior mechanical properties as compared to their cast counterparts. Using the compositions and methods described herein, products that do not exhibit substantial coarsening, such as at elevated temperatures, can be obtained. The products further exhibit uniform microstructures along the print axis, thus contributing to improved strength and performance. Additives also can be used in the alloys described herein.

Plotkowski, Alex J.↗