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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 433 records · Page 24

The HZE radiation problem

Radiation-exposure limits have yet to be established for missions envisioned in the framework of the Space Exploration Initiative. The radiation threat outside the earth's magnetosphere encompasses protons from solar particle events and the highly charged energetic particles constituting galactic cosmic rays; radiation biology entails careful consideration of the extremely nonuniform patterns of such particles' energy deposition. The ability to project such biological consequences of exposure to energetic particles as carcinogenicity currently involves great uncertainties from: (1) different regions of space; (2) the effects of spacecraft structures; and (3) the dose-effect relationships of single traversals of energetic particles.

Schimmerling, Walter↗

Transverse Instabilities of a Bunch with Space Charge, Wake and Feedback

When a resistive feedback and single-bunch wake act together, it is known that some head-tail modes may become unstable even without space charge. This feedback-wake instability, FWI, modified by space charge to a certain degree, is shown to have a special single-maximum increasing- dropping pattern with respect to the gain. Also, at sufficiently large Coulomb and wake fields, as well as the feedback gain, a new type of transverse mode-coupling instability is shown to take place, 3FMCI, when head-to-tail amplified positive modes couple and the growth rate saturates with the gain.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

The Aharonov–Bohm effect in scattering theory

The Aharonov–Bohm effect is considered as a scattering event with nonrelativistic charged particles of the wavelength which is less than the transverse size of an impenetrable magnetic vortex. The quasiclassical WKB method is shown to be efficient in solving this scattering problem. We find that the scattering cross section consists of two terms, one describing the classical phenomenon of elastic reflection and another one describing the quantum phenomenon of diffraction; the Aharonov–Bohm effect is manifested as a fringe shift in the diffraction pattern. Both the classical and the quantum phenomena are independent of the choice of a boundary condition at the vortex edge, providing that probability is conserved. We show that a propagation of charged particles can be controlled by altering the flux of a magnetic vortex placed on their way. -- Highlights: •Aharonov–Bohm effect as a scattering event. •Impenetrable magnetic vortex of nonzero transverse size. •Scattering cross section is independent of a self-adjoint extension employed. •Classical phenomenon of elastic reflection and quantum phenomenon of diffraction. •Aharonov–Bohm effect as a fringe shift in the diffraction pattern.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Dynamic evolution of ultracold electron beams from nanostructured cathodes

Dynamic Coulomb expansion of dense, nonuniform particle beamlets can lead to causticlike formations in the charge density profile of the resultant beam. Such features only occur for cold beams where thermal diffusion of the particles is minimized. These phenomena have been observed experimentally for select cases with ion beams but not yet for electron beams as the electron dynamics occur over far faster timescales. We simulate the interaction of electron bunches while varying the initial transverse temperature and density profiles to determine the thresholds that characterize this pattern formation. Furthermore, we extend the simulations to geometric arrangements that are more pertinent to the nanotip cathode application and consider the effects of asymmetries and the impact of a low-density halo on the overall process. The simulations are conducted using a previously documented high-fidelity algorithm for collisional particle dynamics. These studies identify the temperature and density thresholds required for caustic formation and provide guidance for optimizing the design of nanoscale structured cathodes. We also demonstrate that the correlation between the final density patterns and the underlying beam parameters enables a virtual diagnostic tool for measuring ultralow emittance beams solely based on a transverse charge density profile.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Nanoscale Periodic Modulations on Sodium Chloride Induced by Surface Charges

The sodium chloride surface is one of the most common platforms for the study of catalysts, thin film growth, and atmospheric aerosols. Here we report a nanoscale periodic modulation pattern on the surface of a cleaved NaCl single crystal, revealed by non-contact atomic force microscopy with a tuning fork sensor. The surface pattern shows two orthogonal domains, extending over the entire cleavage surface. The spatial modulations exhibit a characteristic period of 5.4 nm, along 110 crystallographic directions of the NaCl. The modulations are robust in vacuum, not affected by the tip-induced electric field or gentle annealing (<300 C); however, they are eliminated after exposure to water and an atomically flat surface can be recovered by subsequent thermal annealing after water exposure. A strong electrostatic charging is revealed on the cleavage surface which may facilitate the formation of the observed metastable surface reconstruction.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Comparison between solar wind latitude distribution derived from Lyman-alpha observations and Ulysses measurements

The all-sky interplanetary Lyman-alpha pattern is sensitive to the latitude distribution of the solar wind because of destruction of neutral H by charge-exchange with solar wind protons. Lyman-alpha intensities recorded by Prognoz 5 and 6 in 1976 in a few parts of the sky were demonstrating a decrease of solar wind mass flux by about 30 % from equator to pole, when assuming a sinusoidal variation of this mass flux (harmonic distribution). A new analysis with a discrete variation with latitude has shown a decrease from 0 to 30 deg and then a plateau of constant mass flux up to the pole. This distribution bears a striking resemblance with Ulysses in-situ measurements, showing a clear similarity at 19 years interval. The Ulysses measurements were then used as a model input to calculate an all-sky Lyman-alpha pattern, either with a discrete model or with a harmonic solar wind variation with the same Ulysses equator-to-pole variation. There are conspicuous differences between the two Lyman-alpha patterns, in particular in the downwind region which are discussed in the context of future all-sky measurements with SWAN experiment on SOHO.

Quemarais, E.↗

Electrifying Education: Insights into Charging Electric School Buses in the United States

To combat climate change, the United States joined 193 Parties in committing to the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 2 degrees C or less, and decarbonizing transportation will be a key requirement for achieving this goal. School buses (SBs) are a common form of student transport in the U.S. with nearly all SBs today powered by fossil fuels (primarily diesel). As a result, SBs have historically been a concerning source of both greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and local air pollutants with negative health impacts for students and others living nearby. Electric SBs (ESBs) are a promising emerging technology for decarbonizing student transport, however, ESB adoption in the U.S. remains at an early stage (approximate 1.1%) with many outstanding uncertainties. This study aims to elucidate several of these by taking inventory of the total SB stock within U.S. states and studying real-world SB operating profiles to infer potential battery range requirements, daily charging opportunities, and charging infrastructure requirements for ESBs. In addition, we observe the geographic trends of early-stage ESB adoption, which can be used to better understand early adopter patterns and train vehicle technology adoption models.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗

Properties of tree rings in LSST sensors

Images of uniformly illuminated sensors for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope have circular periodic patterns with an appearance similar to tree rings. Furthermore, these patterns are caused by circularly symmetric variations of the dopant concentration in the monocrystal silicon boule induced by the manufacturing process. Non-uniform charge density results in the parasitic electric field inside the silicon sensor, which may distort shapes of astronomical sources. Here, we analyzed data from fifteen LSST sensors produced by ITL to determine the main parameters of the tree rings: amplitude and period, and also variability across the sensors tested at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Tree ring pattern has a weak dependence on the wavelength. But the ring amplitude gets smaller as wavelength gets longer, since longer wavelengths penetrate deeper into the silicon. Tree ring amplitude gets larger as it gets closer to the outer part of the wafer, from 0.1 to 1.0%, indicating that the resistivity variation is larger for larger radii.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

From dots to doughnuts: Two-dimensionally confined deposition of polyelectrolytes on block copolymer templates

The combination of block copolymer templating with electrostatic self-assembly provides a simple and robust method for creating nano-patterned polyelectrolyte multilayers over large areas. The deposition of the first polyelectrolyte layer provides important insights on the initial stages of multilayer buildup. Here, we focus on two-dimensionally confined “dots” patterns afforded by block copolymer films featuring hexagonally-packed cylinders that are oriented normal to the substrate. Rendering the cylinder caps positively charged enables the selective deposition of negatively charged polyelectrolytes on them under salt-free conditions. The initially formed polyelectrolyte nanostructures adopt a toroidal (“doughnut”) shape, which results from retraction of dangling polyelectrolyte segments into the “dots” upon drying. With increasing exposure time to the polyelectrolyte solution, the final shape of the deposited polyelectrolyte transitions from a doughnut to a hemisphere. In conclusion, these insights would enable the creation of patterned polyelectrolyte multilayers with increased control over adsorption selectivity of the additional incoming polyelectrolytes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Probing the early stages of salt nucleation—Experimental and theoretical investigations of sodium/potassium thiocyanate cluster anions

Due to the fast solvent evaporation in electrospray ionization (ESI), the concentration of initially dilute electrolyte solutions rapidly increases to afford the formation of supersaturated droplets and generation of various pristine anhydrous salt clusters in the gas phase. The size, composition, and charge distributions of these clusters, in principle, witness the nucleation evolution in solutions. Herein, we report a microscopic study on the initial stage of nucleation and crystallization of sodium/potassium thiocyanate salt solutions simulated in the ESI process. Singly charged M{sub x}(SCN){sub x+1}{sup −}, doubly charged M{sub y}(SCN){sub y+2}{sup 2−} (M = Na, K), and triply charged K{sub z}(SCN){sub z+3}{sup 3−} anion clusters (x, y, and z stand for the number of alkali atoms in the singly, doubly, and triply charged clusters, respectively) were produced via electrospray of the corresponding salt solutions and were characterized by negative ion photoelectron spectroscopy (NIPES). The vertical detachment energies (VDEs) of these sodium/potassium thiocyanate cluster anions were obtained, and theoretical calculations were carried out for the sodium thiocyanate clusters in assisting spectral identification. The measured VDEs of singly charged anions M{sub x}(SCN){sub x+1}{sup −} (M = Na and K) demonstrate that they are superhalogen anions. The existence of doubly charged anions M{sub y}(SCN){sub y+2}{sup 2−} (y = 2x, x ≥ 4 and 3 for M = Na and K, respectively) and triply charged anions K{sub z}(SCN){sub z+3}{sup 3−} (z = 3x, x ≥ 6) was initially discovered from the photoelectron spectra for those singly charged anions of M{sub x}(SCN){sub x+1}{sup −} with the same mass-to-charge ratio (m/z), and later independently confirmed by the observation of their distinct mass spectral distributions and by taking their NIPE spectra for those pure multiply charged anions with their m/z different from the singly charged species. For large clusters, multiply charged clusters were found to become preferred, but at higher temperatures, those multiply charged clusters were suppressed. The series of anion clusters investigated here range from molecular-like M{sub 1}(SCN){sub 2}{sup −} to nano-sized K{sub 22}(SCN){sub 25}{sup 3−}, providing a vivid molecular-level growth pattern reflecting the initial salt nucleation process.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Probing orientation-specific charge-dipole interactions between hexafluoroisopropanol and halides: A joint photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical study

The interactions between hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) and halogen anions X? (F?, Cl?, Br?, and I?) have been investigated by negative ion photoelectron spectroscopy (NIPES) and ab initio calculations. The measured NIPE spectrum of each [HFIP·X]? (X = Cl, Br, and I) complex shows the identical pattern to the corresponding X? by shifting to the high electron binding energy side, indicative of formation of [HFIP···X?] structure, in which X? interacts with HFIP via charge-dipole interactions. However, the spectrum of [HFIP·F]? appears completely different from that of F?, and is more similar to the spectrum of the deprotonated HFIP anion (HFIP?H?). The geometry and electron density calculations indicate that a neutral HF molecule is formed upon HFIP interacting with F? via proton transfer, rendering a stable structure of [HFIP?H···HF]?. Two conformers of [HFIP?H·HF]? with HFIP being in synperiplanar and antiperiplanar configurations, respectively, are observed, providing direct experimental evidences to show the distinctly different and orientation-specific interactions between HFIP and halide anions.

Wang, Lei↗

Large Charge Moment Change Lightning in an Oklahoma Mesoscale Convective System

On 31 May 2013, a line of severe thunderstorms developed during the local afternoon in central Oklahoma, USA. One of the supercells produced the El Reno tornado, which caused significant damage and killed several people. During the 2300 UTC hour (during the mature supercell stage and just after the tornado began), the storm produced several positive cloud-to-ground (+CG) lightning strokes that featured large (> 100 C km) impulse charge moment changes (iCMCs; charge moment during the first 2 ms after the return stroke). These discharges occurred mainly in convection, in contrast to the typical pattern of large-CMC and sprite-parent +CGs occurring mainly in stratiform precipitation regions. After this time, the line of thunderstorms evolved over several hours into a large mesoscale convective system (MCS). By the 0700 UTC hour on 1 June 2013, the large-CMC pattern had changed markedly. Large-CMC negative CGs, which were absent early in the storm's lifetime, occurred frequently within convection. Meanwhile, large-CMC +CGs had switched to occurring mainly within the broad stratiform region that had developed during the intervening period. The evolution of the large-CMC lightning in this case will be examined using a mix of national mosaics of radar reflectivity, the Oklahoma Lightning Mapping Array (OKLMA), the Charge Moment Change Network (CMCN), and the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN). A major goal of this study is understanding how storm structure and evolution affected the production of large-CMC lightning. It is anticipated that this will lead to further insight into how and why storms produce the powerful lightning that commonly causes sprites in the upper atmosphere.

Lang, Timothy J.↗

Domain Texture of the Orthorhombic Phase of La 2-x Ba x CuO 4

Bragg Coherent Diffraction Imaging (BCDI) experiments have been carried out at the Advanced Photon Source using a new cryostat system developed to achieve high mechanical stability and low vibrations. Here, we measured the (012) LTO Bragg peak which is unique to the low-temperature orthorhombic (LTO) phase of micron-sized crystals of the High-temperature Superconductor La 2-x Ba x CuO 4 (LBCO) to study the formation of structural domains. Each time the sample was cooled into the orthorhombic phase, the diffraction pattern of domains was different. Finally, this confirms the interpretation of pinning of the lower-temperature Charge Density Wave domains observed in coherent resonant X-ray speckle correlation analysis experiments.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Analysis and visualization of energy densities. II. Insights from linear-response time-dependent density functional theory calculations

Inspired by the analysis of Kohn–Sham energy densities by Nakai and coworkers, we extended the energy density analysis to linear-response time-dependent density functional theory (LR-TDDFT) calculations. Using ethylene–tetrafluoroethylene and oxyluciferin–water complexes as examples, distinctive distribution patterns were demonstrated for the excitation energy densities of local excitations (within a molecular fragment) and charge-transfer excitations (between molecular fragments). It also provided a simple way to compute the effective energy of both hot carriers (particle and hole) from charge-transfer excitations via an integration of the excitation energy density over the donor and acceptor grid points.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Adaptive interferometry based on dynamic reflective holograms in cubic photorefractive crystals

The characteristics of a holographic interferometer, which is based on the interaction of counterpropagating light waves on reflective holograms in cubic photorefractive sillenite crystals of the (100) cut and designed for measuring surface vibration spectra from specularly reflecting objects, have been theoretically analysed and experimentally studied. The experiments showed that an interferometer of this type, based on an Bi{sub 12}TiO{sub 20} : Fe,Cu crystal, makes it possible to measure vibrations with an amplitude of 5 pm. An analysis performed with allowance for the shot and thermal noise of the photodetector showed that vibrations with an amplitude below 1 pm can be measured. A model is proposed to describe the experimentally found strong temperature dependence of the light interaction on reflection holograms in a Bi{sub 12}TiO{sub 20} : Ca crystal. This model takes into account the influence of temperature on the photoinduced charge redistribution over deep donor and shallow trap centres, as well as the drift of the interference pattern in the crystal due to the thermooptical effect and linear expansion of the crystal.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Vehicle Data for Analysis of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Electrification [Slides]

Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs) are a major source of greenhouse gases and local criteria air pollutants. Electrifying MHDVs may reduce these harmful emissions, but understanding MHDV operations is a necessary first step to decarbonizing them. In February 2024, NREL released a public dataset and accompanying technical report describing the subset of MHDV operating patterns that may originate from a consistent depot each day and rely on the same depot for charging if electrified (NREL/TP-5400-88241). This presentation provides a brief overview of that dataset and technical report.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Exploring the Origins of Anti-Ambipolarity in BBL Polymer: Links to Redox Chemistry, Electronic Structure, and Structural Dynamics

We examine the intrinsic physical-chemical properties of the conjugated ladder-type polymer poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline) (BBL) in response to electron transfer. We aim at explaining the origin of the anti-ambipolar behavior behind the observed BBL nonlinear response associated with specific device architectures. To elucidate this point, we use theory and computation based on first principles, including density functional theory optimizations, ab initio molecular dynamics, time-dependent DFT, and Marcus-theory analysis. Our results reveal that this redox response is not simply monotonic but follows an alternating odd/even pattern in which gap narrowing and reopening occur sequentially before near-gapless behavior emerges at high charging. Converging theoretical evidence in this work demonstrates that bell shaped conductivity in BBL originates in its fundamental electronic structure and supramolecular organization.

FOS: Physical sciences↗

Nematode radiobiology and development in space. Results from IML-1

The Radiat experiment was one of 17 investigations which used the ESA Biorack on IML-1 (International Microgravity Laboratory) and it had two objectives. The first objective was to isolate and characterize mutations induced by cosmic rays; the second was to assess the fidelity of development in 0-gravity over two consecutive generations. Two strategies were used to isolate mutations in a set of essential genes or a specific gene and to correlate the genetic events with the passage of charged particles. The results were isolation of 60 lethal mutations whose phenotypes are related to the local pattern of energy deposition. 12 mutations in the unc-22 gene include large deletions as characterized by DNA hybridization studies. Development of nematodes proceeded through two consecutive generations with no obvious defects. Cytoplasmic determinants in embryos, nuclear location and symmetry of cellular anatomy were normal as were Mendelian segregation and recombination of genetic markers.

Nelson, Gregory A.↗