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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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The purpose of this benchmark study is to compare simulation results predicted by various models of radiographic testing, in particular those that are capable of separately predicting primary and scatter radiation for specimens of arbitrary geometry.
We present a theoretical study of the electronic structures and polarized absorption properties of quantum dot superlattices (QDSLs) using wide–gap matrix material, InAs/In{sub 0.48}Ga{sub 0.52}P QDSLs, for realizing intermediate–band solar cells (IBSCs) with two–step photon–absorption. The plane–wave expanded Burt–Foreman operator ordered 8–band k·p theory is used for this calculation, where strain effect and piezoelectric effect are taken into account. We find that the absorption spectra of the second transitions of two–step photon–absorption can be shifted to higher energy region by using In{sub 0.48}Ga{sub 0.52}P, which is lattice–matched material to GaAs substrate, as a matrix material instead of GaAs. We also find that the transverse magnetic polarized absorption spectra in InAs/In{sub 0.48}Ga{sub 0.52}P QDSL with a separate IB from the rest of the conduction minibands can be shifted to higher energy region by decreasing the QD height. As a result, the second transitions of two–step photon–absorption by the sunlight occur efficiently. These results indicate that InAs/In{sub 0.48}Ga{sub 0.52}P QDSLs are suitable material combination of IBSCs toward the realization of ultrahigh efficiency solar cells.
Anti-Stokes laser cooling of semiconductors as a compact and vibration-free method is very attractive. While it has achieved significant milestones, increasing its efficiency is highly desirable. The main limitation is the lack of the pristine material quality with high luminescence efficiency. Here, we theoretically demonstrate that the Coulomb interaction among electrons and holes in piezoelectric heterostructures could lead to coherent damping of acoustic phonons; rendering a significantly higher efficiency that leads to the possibility of cooling a broad range of semiconductors.
Identifying materials and devices which offer efficient thermoelectric effects at low temperature is a major obstacle for the development of thermal management strategies for low-temperature electronic systems. Superconductors cannot offer a solution since their near perfect electron-hole symmetry leads to a negligible thermoelectric response; however, here we demonstrate theoretically a superconducting thermoelectric transistor which offers unparalleled figures of merit of up to ∼45 and Seebeck coefficients as large as a few mV/K at sub-Kelvin temperatures. The device is also phase-tunable meaning its thermoelectric response for power generation can be precisely controlled with a small magnetic field. Our concept is based on a superconductor-normal metal-superconductor interferometer in which the normal metal weak-link is tunnel coupled to a ferromagnetic insulator and a Zeeman split superconductor. Upon application of an external magnetic flux, the interferometer enables phase-coherent manipulation of thermoelectric properties whilst offering efficiencies which approach the Carnot limit.
The ability to engineer and convert photons between different modes in a solid-state approach has extensive technological implications not only for classical communication systems but also for future quantum networks. In this paper, we put forward a scheme for coherent mode conversion of optical photons by utilizing the intermediate coupling between a single quantum dot and a bimodal photonic crystal microcavity via a waveguide. Here, one mode of the photonic crystal microcavity is coherently driven by an external single-frequency continuous-wave laser field and the two cavity modes are not coupled to each other due to their orthogonal polarizations. The undriven cavity mode is thus not directly coupled to the input driving laser and the only way it can get light is via the quantum dot. The influences of the system parameters on the photon-conversion efficiency are analyzed in detail in the limit of weak probe field and it is found that high photon-conversion efficiency can be achieved under appropriate conditions. It is shown that the cavity dark mode, which is a superposition of the two optical modes and is decoupled from the quantum dot, can appear in such a hybrid optical system. We discuss the properties of the dark mode and indicate that the formation of the dark mode enables the efficient transfer of optical fields between the two cavity modes.
In this work, we present a graphene-based all-spin logic gate (G-ASLG) that integrates the functionalities of perpendicular anisotropy magnetic tunnel junctions (p-MTJs) with spin transport in graphene-channel. It provides an ideal integration of logic and memory. The input and output states are defined as the relative magnetization between free layer and fixed layer of p-MTJs. They can be probed by the tunnel magnetoresistance and controlled by spin transfer torque effect. Using lateral non-local spin valve, the spin information is transmitted by the spin-current interaction through graphene channels. By using a physics-based spin current compact model, the operation of G-ASLG is demonstrated and its performance is analyzed. It allows us to evaluate the influence of parameters, such as spin injection efficiency, spin diffusion length, contact area, the device length, and their interdependence, and to optimize the energy and dynamic performance. Compared to other beyond-CMOS solutions, longer spin information transport length (∼μm), higher data throughput, faster computing speed (∼ns), and lower power consumption (∼μA) can be expected from the G-ASLG.
Align with the current needs of the sustainable and green technology in Malaysian construction industry, this research is conducted to seek and identify opportunities to better manage energy use including the process of understand when, where, and how energy is used in a building. The purpose of this research is to provide a best practice guideline as a practical tool to assist construction industry in Malaysia to improve the energy efficiency of the office building during the post-production by reviewing the current practice of the building operation and maintenance in order to optimum the usage and reduce the amount of energy input into the building. Therefore, this paper will review the concept of maintenance management, current issue in energy management, and on how the research process will be conducted. There are several process involves and focuses on technical and management techniques such as energy metering, tracing, harvesting, and auditing based on the case study that will be accomplish soon. Accordingly, a case study is appropriate to be selected as a strategic research approach in which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence for the data collection process. A Government office building will be selected as an appropriate case study for this research. In the end of this research, it will recommend a strategic approach or model in a specific guideline for enabling energy-efficient operation and maintenance in the office building.
Integrable optics is an innovation in particle accelerator design that potentially enables a greater betatron tune spread and damps collective instabilities. An integrable rapid-cycling synchrotron (RCS) would be an effective replacement for the Fermilab Booster, as part of a plan to reach multi-MW beam power at 120 GeV for the Fermilab high-energy neutrino program. We provide an example integrable lattice with features of a modern RCS - dispersion-free drifts, low momentum compaction factor, superperiodicity, chromaticity correction, bounded beta functions, and separate-function magnets.
A tagged deep inelastic scattering (TDIS) experiment is planned for Hall A of Jefferson Lab, which will probe the mesonic content of the nucleon directly. Low momentum recoiling (and spectator) protons will be measured in coincidence with electrons scattered in a deep inelastic regime from hydrogen (and deuterium) targets, covering kinematics of 8 < W2 < 18 GeV2, 1 < Q2 < 3 (GeV/c)2 and 0:05 < x < 0:2. The tagging technique will help identify scattering from partons in the meson cloud and provide access to the pion structure function via the Sullivan process. The experiment will yield the first TDIS results in the valence regime, for both proton and neutron targets. We present here an overview of the experiment.
The present design concept for the ITER low-field-side reflectometer transmission line (TL) consists of an ~40 m long, 6.35 cm diameter helically corrugated waveguide (WG) together with ten 90° miter bends. This paper presents an evaluation of the TL performance at low frequencies (33-50 GHz) where the predicted HE11 mode ohmic and mode conversion losses start to increase significantly. Quasi-optical techniques were used to form a near Gaussian beam to efficiently couple radiation in this frequency range into the WG. We observed that the output beams from the guide remained linearly polarized with cross-polarization power levels of ~1.5%-3%. The polarization rotation due to the helical corrugations was in the range ~1°-3°. The radiated beam power profiles typically show excellent Gaussian propagation characteristics at distances >20 cm from the final exit aperture. The round trip propagation loss was found to be ~2.5 dB at 50 GHz and ~6.5 dB at 35 GHz, showing an inverse increase with frequency. This was consistent with updated calculations of miter bend and ohmic losses. At low frequencies (33-50 GHz), the mode purity remained very good at the exit of the waveguide, and the losses are perfectly acceptable for operation in ITER. Finally, the primary challenge may come from the future addition of a Gaussian telescope and other filter components within the corrugated guide, which will likely introduce additional perturbations to the beam profile and an increase in mode-conversion loss.
Here, we present a scheme for positron beam acceleration in CEBAF antiparallel to the normal electron path, requiring no change in polarity of the magnet systems. This feature is essential to the principal benefit: enabling extremely simple configuration changes between conventional (clockwise) e - acceleration and counter clockwise e + acceleration. Additionally, it appears possible to configure the accelerating cavity phases to support concurrent acceleration of the electron and positron beams. The last mode also may enable use of the higher peak current electron beam for system diagnostics. The inherent penalty of the concurrent mode in acceleration efficiency and increased energy spread may render this a commissioning-only diagnostic option, but the possibility appears worthy of consideration.
Femtosecond X-ray pump X-ray probe experiments are currently possible at free electron lasers such as the linac coherent light source (LCLS), which opens new opportunities for studying solvated transition metal-ligand complexes. In order to make the most effective use of these kinds of experiments, it is necessary to determine which chemical properties an X-ray pump pulse will measure. In this paper, we have combined electron cascade calculations and excited-state time-dependent density functional theory calculations to predict the initial state prepared by an X-ray pump and the subsequent X-ray probe spectra at the Fe K-edge in the solvated model transition metal complex, K 4 Fe II (CN) 6 . We find several key spectral features that report on the ligand-field splitting, solvent-solute interactions, and the 3p and 3d electron interactions. We then show how these features could be measured in an experiment.
Significance Recent experiments have suggested that the energy released by a chemical reaction can propel its enzyme catalyst (for example, alkaline phosphatase). However, this topic remains controversial, partially due to the indirect and ensemble nature of existing measurements. Here, we used recently developed single-molecule approaches to monitor directly the motions of individual proteins in aqueous solution and find that single alkaline phosphatase enzymes do not diffuse faster under catalysis. Instead, we demonstrate that interactions between the fluorescent dye and the enzyme’s substrate can produce the signature of apparent diffusion enhancement in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, the standard ensemble assay currently used to study enzyme diffusion and indicate that single-molecule approaches provide a more robust means to investigate diffusion at the nanoscale.
The Zheng Anthony Miller (ZAM) computer model, a multicomponent ion exchange model used to predict the exchange of Group I metals onto crystalline silicotitanate (CST), has historically been used to predict Cs distribution coefficients from Hanford and Savannah River Site (SRS) tank waste simulants. Comparison of experimentally determined Cs distribution coefficients from tank waste simulants with ZAM isotherm model predictions indicate overprediction of Cs and K distribution coefficients for simple and complex simulants with the engineered form of CST. Additionally, recent changes in chemical composition/manufacturing of IONSIV TM R9140-B have resulted in increased Cs capacity from high-salt, highly alkaline solutions. Here, this work served to assess different isotherm models and refine equilibrium parameters to develop a model that can be applied to Hanford and SRS tank waste Cs removal efforts. Toward this goal, the Campbell Westesen Peterson (CWP) model was developed. This model utilized the experimentally determined Cs capacity, and simplified ZAM equilibria expressions to include only the binary substitution of Cs + or K + on the Na + sites. Equilibrium constants for these equations were refined using experimentally determined distribution coefficients. Overall, the CWP model significantly improved our ability to predict both Cs and K loading capacity from complex matrices.
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Using a three-dimensional (3D) magnetohydrodynamic model, we simulate the magnetic reconnection in a single current sheet. We assume a finite guide field, a random perturbation on the velocity field, and uniform resistivity. Our model enhances the reconnection rate relative to the classical Sweet–Parker model in the same configuration. The efficiency of magnetic energy conversion is increased by interactions between the multiple tearing layers coexisting in the global current sheet. This interaction, which forms a positive-feedback system, arises from coupling of the inflow and outflow regions in different layers across the current sheet. The coupling accelerates the elementary reconnection events, thereby enhancing the global reconnection rate. The reconnection establishes flux tubes along each tearing layer. Slow-mode shocks gradually form along the outer boundaries of these tubes, further accelerating the magnetic energy conversion. Such a positive-feedback system is absent in two-dimensional simulations, 3D reconnection without a guide field, and reconnection under a single perturbation mode. We refer to our model as the “shock-evoking positive-feedback” model.
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Light scalar fields coupled to matter are a common consequence of theories of dark energy and attempts to solve the cosmological constant problem. The chameleon screening mechanism is commonly invoked in order to suppress the fifth forces mediated by these scalars, sufficiently to avoid current experimental constraints, without fine tuning. The force is suppressed dynamically by allowing the mass of the scalar to vary with the local density. Recently it has been shown that near future cold atoms experiments using atom-interferometry have the ability to access a large proportion of the chameleon parameter space. In this work we demonstrate how experiments utilising asymmetric parallel plates can push deeper into the remaining parameter space available to the chameleon.