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DOE OSTI2020

Unraveling intrinsic correlation effects with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

Interaction effects can change materials properties in intriguing ways, and they have, in general, a huge impact on electronic spectra. In particular, satellites in photoemission spectra are pure many-body effects, and their study is of increasing interest in both experiment and theory. However, the intrinsic spectral function is only a part of a measured spectrum, and it is notoriously difficult to extract this information, even for simple metals. Our joint experimental and theoretical study of the prototypical simple metal aluminum demonstrates how intrinsic satellite spectra can be extracted from measured data using angular resolution in photoemission. A nondispersing satellite is detected and explained by electron–electron interactions and the thermal motion of the atoms. Additional nondispersing intensity comes from the inelastic scattering of the outgoing photoelectron. The ideal intrinsic spectral function, instead, has satellites that disperse both in energy and in shape. Theory and the information extracted from experiment describe these features with very good agreement.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2024

Phase control of nonlinear Breit-Wheeler pair creation

Electron-positron pair creation occurs throughout the universe in the environments of extreme astrophysical objects, such as pulsar magnetospheres and black hole accretion disks. The difficulty of emulating these environments in the laboratory has motivated the use of ultrahigh-intensity laser pulses for pair creation. Here we show that the phase offset between a laser pulse and its second harmonic can be used to control the relative transverse motion of electrons and positrons created in the nonlinear Breit-Wheeler process. Analytic theory and particle-in-cell simulations of a head-on collision between a two-color laser pulse and electron beam predict that with an appropriate phase offset, the electrons will drift in one direction and the positrons in the other. The resulting current may provide a collective signature of nonlinear Breit-Wheeler, while the spatial separation resulting from the relative motion may facilitate isolation of positrons for subsequent applications or detection. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Co-Firing Switchgrass and Waste Coal in A Power Plant: A Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Evaluation for The Ohio River Valley (SWITCH) (Final Technical Report for Ohio State/FE0032204)

Abandoned coal mine lands (AMLs) represent one of the most persistent environmental challenges in the United States. Prior to the enactment of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) in 1977, coal mining operations were not legally required to reclaim disturbed lands, leaving behind approximately 500,000 AML sites nationwide. These sites pose severe environmental and health risks, including acid mine drainage, soil and water contamination, and spontaneous combustion of waste coal piles. Millions of Americans live within one mile of these AMLs, underscoring the urgency of remediation. Traditional reclamation practices, such as planting cool-season grasses, often fail to fully restore ecological function or leverage the economic potential of these lands. This project addressed these challenges by developing integrated strategies for resource recovery, land reclamation, and sustainable energy production. This project evaluated an integrated strategy to convert this liability into an opportunity by recovering waste coal and co-firing it with switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) cultivated on reclaimed or marginal AML areas in existing coal-fired power plants. Switchgrass not only provides a renewable feedstock but also aids in land reclamation and carbon sequestration. 1) Remote Sensing and Machine Learning for Waste Coal Identification Using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and supervised classification, we applied four machine learning models to detect historical waste coal piles. Random Forest achieved the highest accuracy (precision: 86%, recall: 77%). Time-series analysis revealed gradual vegetation recovery since 1986, indicating natural reclamation processes in historical sites, while active mining areas showed ongoing disturbance. This workflow enables scalable monitoring and prioritization of reclamation efforts. 2) UAS-Based Stockpile Volume Estimation To quantify recoverable waste coal, we evaluated Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) equipped with Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and multispectral sensors. Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry combined with interpolated Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) achieved strong agreement with LiDAR reference volumes (Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) ≈147 m 3 , Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) ≈2%). Sensitivity analysis confirmed that spatial resolution significantly influences accuracy, emphasizing the need for high-resolution data for precise volume estimation. This approach offers a scalable, cost-effective, and accurate alternative to conventional ground-based surveys. 3) Switchgrass Cultivation for Bioenergy and Water Quality Improvement We assessed the hydrological and water quality impacts of converting AMLs to switchgrass production areas using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Results showed that converting 10% of the watershed area into the switchgrass production zone reduced streamflow by 3.1%, total suspended solids by 18.1%, total nitrogen by 7.6%, and total phosphorus by 6.2%, while achieving biomass yields of 8.6–9.2 metric tons per hectare. These findings highlight switchgrass as a dual-benefit strategy for land reclamation and bioenergy feedstock production. 4) Integrated Co-Firing and CCS for Carbon-Negative Power Generation We modeled co-firing scenarios using the Power Plant Flexible Model (PPFM) to evaluate plant efficiency, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). Without carbon capture and storage (CCS), increasing switchgrass co-firing ratios reduced LCOE from $\$$150/MWh at 0% biomass to $\$$110/MWh at full substitution. Under CCS, costs remained higher (~$\$$250/MWh at 0% biomass) but decreased to $\$$200/MWh at 100% biomass, while enabling net-zero or carbon-negative electricity due to switchgrass sequestration benefits. Although CCS introduced efficiency penalties, pairing it with biomass co-firing offset these impacts and maximized climate benefits. Overall, optimizing co-firing ratios between 60-100%, supported by reliable logistics and storage strategies, emerged as a practical pathway to balance affordability, sustainability, and net-zero or negative GHG emissions while promoting productive reuse of AMLs.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

NASA NTRS1973

A new ion and electron detector for ion cyclotron resonance spectroscopy.

A new detector using an extremelly driven tuned circuit has been developed for use in ion cyclotron resonance spectroscopy experiments. Based on the Q-meter circuit, this detector will operate at frequencies greater than 1 MHz at rf levels less than 1 mV. Operation in the frequency range 1-15 MHz allows the use of higher magnetic fields for more efficient storage of low mass ions in the trapping mode of operation. In the frequency range 2-6 MHz electrons can be detected in the ion cyclotron resonance cell by their resonant motion in the trapping plane.

Huntress, W. T., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1987

The detection of planetary systems from Space Station - A star observation strategy

A 10-20-yr star-observation program for the Space Station Astrometric Telescope Facility (ATF) is proposed and evaluated by means of computer simulations. The primary aim of the program is to detect stars with planetary systems by precise determination of their motion relative to reference stars. The designs proposed for the ATF are described and illustrated; the basic parameters of the 127 stars selected for the program are listed in a table; spacecraft and science constraints, telescope slewing rates, and the possibility of limiting the program sample to stars near the Galactic equator are discussed; and the effects of these constraints are investigated by simulating 1 yr of ATF operation. Viewing all sky regions, the ATF would have 81-percent active viewing time, observing each star about 200 times (56 h) per yr; only small decrements in this performance would result from limiting the viewing field.

Mascy, Alfred C.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Spectral and correlated timing behaviour of GX 5-1

We have analyzed the X-ray spectral and fast timing behavior of the Z-source GX 5-1 using X-ray color-color diagrams (CDs), hardness-intensity diagrams (HIDs) and power spectra. We used all EXOSAT ME data on GX 5-1, a total of seven observations during 1983-1985. We detect, for the first time in GX 5-1, secular motion of the well-known 'Z' pattern through the CDs and HIDs. This behavior resembles Cyg X-2, but in GX 5-1 has a smaller amplitude. We find that the power spectra do not change when the 'Z' moves, and are only dependent on the position inside the 'Z'. We also report, for the first time in GX 5-1, indications of flaring-branch (FB) like behavior, both during one of our EXOSAT observations, and during observations done with Ginga. As the secular changes of the position of the 'Z' pattern in the CD and HID are relatively small we investigated in detail the systematic changes in the EXOSAT ME detectors using the only bright and steady X-ray 'standard star', the Crab Nebula. Finally, we determined an intrinsic CD of GX 5-1 (i.e. a soft photon flux-ratio versus hard photon flux-ratio diagram) in a model independent way, by applying a first order correction for the detector efficiency. It is shown, using data of the Crab Nebula, that this method works reasonably well for the determination of intrinsic colors.

Kuulkers, E.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Discovery and Mass Measurements of a Cold, Sub-Neptune Mass Planet and Its Host Star

The gravitational microlensing exoplanet detection method is uniquely sensitive to cold, low-mass planets which orbit beyond the snow-line, where the most massive planets are thought to form. The early statistical results from microlensing indicate that Neptune-Saturn mass planets located beyond the snow-line are substantially more common than their counterparts in closer orbits that have found by the Doppler radial velocity method. We present the discovery of the planet MOA-2009-BLG-266Lb, which demonstrates that the gravitational microlensing method also has the capability to measure the masses of cold, low-mass planets. The mass measurements of the host star and the planet are made possible by the detection of the microlensing parallax signal due to the orbital motion or the Earth as well as observations from the EPOXI spacecraft in a Heliocentric orbit. The microlensing light curve indicates a planetary host star mass of M(sun) = 0.54 + / - 0.05M(sun) located at a distance of DL= 2.94 _ 0.21 kpc, orbited by a planet of mass mp= 9.8 +/-1.1M(Earth) with a semi-major axis of a = 3.1(+1.9-0.4)MAU.

Barry, Richard K., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Whispering Gallery Mode Optomechanical Resonator

Great progress has been made in both micromechanical resonators and micro-optical resonators over the past decade, and a new field has recently emerged combining these mechanical and optical systems. In such optomechanical systems, the two resonators are strongly coupled with one influencing the other, and their interaction can yield detectable optical signals that are highly sensitive to the mechanical motion. A particularly high-Q optical system is the whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonator, which has many applications ranging from stable oscillators to inertial sensor devices. There is, however, limited coupling between the optical mode and the resonator s external environment. In order to overcome this limitation, a novel type of optomechanical sensor has been developed, offering great potential for measurements of displacement, acceleration, and mass sensitivity. The proposed hybrid device combines the advantages of all-solid optical WGM resonators with high-quality micro-machined cantilevers. For direct access to the WGM inside the resonator, the idea is to radially cut precise gaps into the perimeter, fabricating a mechanical resonator within the WGM. Also, a strategy to reduce losses has been developed with optimized design of the cantilever geometry and positions of gap surfaces.

Aveline, David C.↗

NASA NTRS2012

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Recent Studies and Technology Developments in the Area of SSA/Orbital Debris

NASA/MSFC has been investigating the various aspects of the growing orbital debris problem since early 2009. Data shows that debris ranging in size from 5 mm to 10 cm presents the greatest threat to operational spacecraft today. Therefore, MSFC has focused its efforts on small orbital debris. Using off-the-shelf analysis packages, like the ESA MASTER software, analysts at MSFC have begun to characterize the small debris environment in LEO to support several spacecraft concept studies and hardware test programs addressing the characterization, mitigation, and ultimate removal, if necessary, of small debris. The Small Orbital Debris Active Removal (SODAR) architectural study investigated the overall effectiveness of removing small orbital debris from LEO using a low power, space-based laser. The Small Orbital Debris Detection, Acquisition, and Tracking (SODDAT) conceptual technology demonstration spacecraft was developed to address the challenges of in-situ small orbital debris environment classification including debris observability and instrument requirements for small debris observation. Work is underway at MSFC in the areas of hardware and testing. By combining off the shelf digital video technology, telescope lenses, and advanced video image FPGA processing, MSFC is building a breadboard of a space based, passive orbital tracking camera that can detect and track faint objects (including small debris, satellites, rocket bodies, and NEOs) at ranges of tens to hundreds of kilometers and speeds in excess of 15 km/sec,. MSFC is also sponsoring the development of a one-of-a-kind Dynamic Star Field Simulator with a high resolution large monochrome display and a custom collimator capable of projecting realistic star images with simple orbital debris spots (down to star magnitude 11-12) into a passive orbital detection and tracking system with simulated real-time angular motions of the vehicle mounted sensor. The dynamic star field simulator can be expanded for multiple sensors (including advanced star trackers), real-time vehicle pointing inputs, and more complex orbital debris images. This system is also adaptable to other sensor optics, missions, and installed sensor testing.

Wiegmann, Bruce M.↗

NASA NTRS1975

A study of moving base simulation motion cues utilizing washout technique

The present study was conducted to derive data on non-visual motion thresholds utilizing washout technique, and to develop specific threshold values for use as washout parameters. It describes the results of acceleration detection studies carried out using the NASA MSFC General Purpose Simulator which provides six degree-of-freedom cab motion. A series of experiments was performed to test the hypothesis that constant velocity visual cues might suppress non-visual deceleration sensitivity. The psychophysical method employed was the forced-choice procedure which theoretically yields a pure sensitivity measure. The MSFC General Purpose Simulator was programmed to provide velocity ramps in three axes - pitch, fore-aft translation, and vertical translation. Data were collected with and without a constant velocity visual input. Comparison of the current results with classical data suggested significantly greater sensitivity of the human observer to fore-aft accelerations than has generally been reported, sensitivity tending to depend on motion direction and sign of velocity change.

Kirkpatrick, M., III↗

NASA NTRS1989

A situated reasoning architecture for space-based repair and replace tasks

Space-based robots need low level control for collision detection and avoidance, short-term load management, fine-grained motion, and other physical tasks. In addition, higher level control is required to focus strategic decision making as missions are assigned and carried out. Reasoning and control must be responsive to ongoing changes in the environment. Research aimed at bridging the gap between high level artificial intelligence (AI) planning techniques and task-level robot programming for telerobotic systems is described. Situated reasoning is incorporated into AI and Robotics systems in order to coordinate a robot's activity within its environment. An integrated system under development in a component maintenance domain is described. It is geared towards replacing worn and/or failed Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) designed for use aboard NASA's Space Station Freedom based on the collection of components available at a given time. High level control reasons in component space in order to maximize the number operational component-cells over time, while the task-level controls sensors and effectors, detects collisions, and carries out pick and place tasks in physical space. Situated reasoning is used throughout the system to cope with component failures, imperfect information, and unexpected events.

Bloom, Ben↗

DOE OSTI2021

Vehicle Tracking with Crop-based Detection

End-to-end production of vehicle tracking data from video in real-time and with high accuracy remains a challenging problem due to the computational cost of object detection on each frame. In this work we present Tracking with Crop-based Detection, a method for speeding object tracking in constrained contexts (with stable cameras and relatively-predictable object motion) such as vehicle traffic monitoring. We leverage this context to provide a strong prior for object locations, which we use to 1.) boost detection speed by detecting objects only in regions corresponding to object priors on most frames and 2.) inform the selection of the detector output for each object. We evaluate Crop-based Detection as an extension to the KIOU object tracker (Crop-KIOU) on the UA-DETRAC dataset. The proposed tracker outperforms all other reported algorithms in terms of PR-MOTA, PR-MOTP, and mostly tracked objects on the UA-DETRAC benchmark, establishing a new state-of-the-art. Relative to tracking by detection with KIOU, Crop-KIOU achieves a 26% higher frame-rate and increases accuracy. Furthermore, Tracking with Crop-based Detection can be combined with frame skipping; we show a 149% increase in framerate relative to KIOU with no decrease in accuracy using this combination of methods.

Gloudemans, Derek↗

NASA NTRS1972

The use of ERTS-1 satellite data in Great Lakes mesometeorological studies

The author has identified the following significant results. In the original proposal, it was hoped that ERTS could, with its extremely high resolution and multispectral capability, detect many meteorological phenomena occurring at the low end of the mesoscale motion spectrum (1 - 100 km). This included convective cloud phenomena, internal wave patterns, air pollution, snow squalls, etc. For meteorologists, ERTS-1 has more than lived up to initial hopes. First-look inspection of images has produced a large number of truly remarkable finds. Some of the most significant are: (1) Images of Lake Ontario during late summer have revealed several extremely good examples of lake breeze frontal cloud patterns. (2) Detection of suspended particulates from Chicago-Gary industrial complex in the 50,000 to 150,000 tons/year category. (3) Inadvertant weather modification due to anthropogenic condensation and ice nuclei from urban areas.

Lyons, W. A.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Signal detection techniques applied to the Chandler wobble

A sudden excitation event of the Chandler wobble should induce the earth's rotation pole to undergo damped harmonic motion. This type of motion has been searched for in the observations of the Chandler wobble using techniques based upon the concept of a matched filter. Although the signal detection techniques used here were not sensitive enough to detect any such isolated sudden excitation events, the result that was obtained is consistent with a randomly excited model of the Chandler wobble.

Gross, R. S.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Minimal time change detection algorithm for reconfigurable control system and application to aerospace

System parameters should be tracked on-line to build a reconfigurable control system even though there exists an abrupt change. For this purpose, a new performance index that we are studying is the speed of adaptation- how quickly does the system determine that a change has occurred? In this paper, a new, robust algorithm that is optimized to minimize the time delay in detecting a change for fixed false alarm probability is proposed. Simulation results for the aircraft lateral motion with a known or unknown change in control gain matrices, in the presence of doublet input, indicate that the algorithm works fairly well. One of its distinguishing properties is that detection delay of this algorithm is superior to that of Whiteness Test.

Kim, Sungwan↗

DOE OSTI2026

INR-TEM: Robust cavity detection in multifocus TEM images via implicit neural representations

When characterizing materials using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images, detecting and quantifying small features in microstructures, such as cavities, pose significant challenges. Off-the-shelf object detection models, including YOLOv8, show considerable performance degradation, particularly when images vary in resolution and the objects of interest possess a low percentage of the total image region of interest. In this study, we introduce a novel detection pipeline that incorporates an implicit neural representation (INR)-based detection method, INR-TEM, and two-modality imaging (e.g., under-focused and over-focused images typically acquired during materials characterization) to improve object detection performance. The INR-TEM method incorporates a pixel-wise prediction principle inspired by pixel-wise centerness weighting. INR-TEM demonstrates superior robustness to resolution variability, maintaining high detection accuracy even at low image resolutions compared to YOLOv8. To leverage INR-TEM effectively in real-world two-modality characterization applications, we further integrate a two-stage motion correction pipeline designed explicitly for aligning multifocus TEM images. The alignment process, comprising keypoint (based on scale-invariant feature transform, SIFT) and intensity matching, significantly mitigates the adverse effects of perceived motion-induced image degradation during through-focal TEM imaging, directly enhancing INR-TEM’s detection capability over conventional single-focus images. Our integrated INR-TEM cavity detection framework notably improves performance across various cavity sizes, outperforming off-the-shelf YOLOv8 detections that rely on a single image modality.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS2016

Discovery of a Gas Giant Planet in Microlensing Event Ogle-2014-BLG-1760

We present the analysis of the planetary microlensing event OGLE-2014-BLG-1760, which shows a strong light-curve signal due to the presence of a Jupiter mass ratio planet. One unusual feature of this event is that the source star is quite blue, with V-I = 1.48 +/- 0.08. This is marginally consistent with a source star in the Galactic bulge, but it could possibly indicate a young source star on the far side of the disk. Assuming a bulge source, we perform a Bayesian analysis assuming a standard Galactic model, and this indicates that the planetary system resides in or near the Galactic bulge at D(sub L) = 6.9 +/- 1.1 kpc. It also indicates a host-star mass of M(sub *) = 0.51(sup + 0.44/sub -0.28) M(sub theta), a planet mass of m(sub p ) = 0.56(sup +0.34/sub -0.26) M(sub J), and a projected star-planet separation of a(perpendicular) = 1.75(sup +0.33/sub -0.34) au. The lens-source relative proper motion is micro(sub rel) = 6.5 +/- 1.1mas per yr. The lens (and stellar host star) is estimated to be very faint compared to the source star, so it is most likely that it can be detected only when the lens and source stars start to separate. Due to the relatively high relative proper motion, the lens and source will be resolved to about approximately 46 mas in 6-8 yr after the peak magnification. So, by 2020-2022, we can hope to detect the lens star with deep, high-resolution images.

Galactic bulge↗

DOE OSTI2022

Testing the Cosmological Principle: Astrometric Limits on Systemic Motion of Quasars at Different Cosmological Epochs

A sample of 60,410 bona fide optical quasars with astrometric proper motions in Gaia Early Data Release 3 and spectroscopic redshifts above 0.5 in an oval 8400 square degree area of the sky is constructed. Using orthogonal Zernike functions of polar coordinates, the proper motion fields are fitted in a weighted least-squares adjustment of the entire sample and of six equal bins of sorted redshifts. The overall fit with 37 Zernike functions reveals a statistically significant pattern, which is likely to be of instrumental origin. The main feature of this pattern is a chain of peaks and dips mostly in the R.A. component with an amplitude of 25 μ as yr -1 . This field is subtracted from each of the six analogous fits for quasars grouped by redshifts covering the range 0.5 through 7.03, with median values of 0.72, 1.00, 1.25, 1.52, 1.83, 2.34. The resulting residual patterns are noisier, with formal uncertainties up to 8 μ as yr -1 in the central part of the area. We detect a single high-confidence Zernike term for the R.A. proper motion components of quasars with redshifts around 1.52 representing a general gradient of 30 μ as yr -1 over 150° on the sky. We do not find any small- or medium-scale systemic variations of the residual proper motion field as functions of redshift above the 2.5 σ significance level.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗