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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 469 records · Page 26

Emission of a Neutrino Pair During Transitions of an Electron in the Field of the Nucleus of a Hydrogen-Like Atom in One Spatial Dimension

The Dirac equation for a particle – an electron with negative charge equal in magnitude to the elementary charge e{sub 1} in spacetime with one spatial dimension denoted as the z axis and in the field of a point-like charge (Ze{sub 1}) – the nucleus – with the one-dimensional potential φ{sub 1} = – (Ze{sub 1}) |z| (a one-dimensional hydrogen-like atom) is solved. The two-component wave function and the quantum values of the energy are expressed in terms of the Airy function and its zeros. Using the contact Lagrangian of the weak interaction with Fermi constant G{sub 1} = g{sub 1}ħc in such a space, where g{sub 1} is some number, the probability of emission per unit time of a neutrino pair (Ze{sub 1}){sup *}→(Ze{sub 1}) + νν{sup –} by the one-dimensional hydrogen-like atom, which turns out to be proportional to the square of the mass, is found. Prospects for the realization of the considered effect and its possible significance at various stages of the evolution of the Universe are discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Nodal variational principle for excited states

It is proven that the exact excited-state wave function and energy may be obtained by minimizing the energy expectation value of trial wave functions that are constrained only to have the correct nodes of the state of interest. This excited-state nodal minimum principle has the advantage that it requires neither minimization with the constraint of wave-function orthogonality to all lower eigenstates nor the antisymmetry of the trial wave functions. It is also found that the minimization over the entire space can be partitioned into several interconnected minimizations within the individual nodal regions, and the exact excited-state energy may be obtained by a minimization in just one or several of these nodal regions. For the proofs of the theorem, it is observed that the many-electron eigenfunction (excited state as well as ground state), restricted to a nodal region, is equivalent to a ground-state wave function of one electron in a higher-dimensional space; and, alternatively, an explicit excited-state energy variational expression is utilized by generalizing the Jacobi method of multiplicative variation. In corollaries, error functions are constructed for cases for which the nodes are not necessarily exact. The exact nodes minimize the energy error functions with respect to nodal variations. In conclusion, simple numerical illustrations of the error functions are presented.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Reactor System Facility Modification to Detect Compromised Human Machine Interfaces

This study focuses on a multi-layered Industrial Control System (ICS)/Operational Technology (OT) security architecture to aid in the discovery and mitigation of compromised Human Machine Interface (HMI)/Instrumentation & Control (I&C) based systems for modifying a prototypical reactor condition test facility called the Flowing Autoclave System (FAS) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). This is achieved through a three-layered combination of network security solutions, hash-based algorithms, and blockchain technologies. Hash algorithms are mathematical functions used to generate a predetermined set of fixed-length values. They are widely used in computer security to verify the integrity of system information and data, both on a local network and the wider internet. Even small amounts of unauthorized system modification will cause the hash algorithm to output a set of characters that deviate significantly from its original value. Assisting secure hash functions, blockchain technology is a secure and distributed technology used to provide an immutable set of records replicated on all devices within a decentralized network. Blockchain offers a cost-effective solution to detect system compromise by providing a traceable breadcrumb trail of all network activity and data modification happening on a system. If both are used in conjunction with network monitoring tools, the integration of this three-pronged approach can become an asset in detecting suspected system compromises before any real damage can occur.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Completely monotone regression estimates of software failure rates

A method for estimating the present failure rate of a program is presented. A crude nonparameter estimate of the failure rate function is obtained from past failure times. This estimate is then smoothed by fitting a completely monotonic function, which is the solution of a quadratic programming problem. The value of the smoothed function at present time is used as the estimate of present failure rate. Results of a Monte Carlo study of performance are given.

Miller, D. R.↗

Monthly mean global climatology of temperature, wind, geopotential height, and pressure for 0 - 120 km

A monthly mean climatology is presented of temperature, wind, and geopotential height with nearly pole-to-pole coverage (80 S to 80 N) for 0 to 210 km, which can be used as a function of altitude and pressure. The purpose is to provide a reference for various atmospheric research and analysis activities. Data sources and methods of computation are described; in general, hydrostatic and thermal wind balance are maintained at all levels and latitudes. As observed in a series of cross-sectional plots, this climatology accurately reproduces most of the characteristic features of the atmosphere such as equatorial wind and the general structure of the tropopause, stratopause, and mesopause. A series of zonal wind profiles is also represented comparing this climatological wind with monthly mean climatological direct wind measurements in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere. The temperature and zonal wind climatology at stratospheric levels is compared with corresponding data from the National Meteorological Center, and general agreement is observed between the two data sets. Tables of the climatological values as a function of latitude and height for each month are contained in Appendix B, and are also available in floppy disk.

Fleming, Eric L.↗

Cardanol Functionalized Carboxylated Acrylonitrile Butadiene Rubber for Better Processability, Technical Properties and Biocompatibility

The present investigation deals with the latex stage functionalization of carboxylated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (XNBR) by chemically grafting cardanol onto its backbone main chain to impart multifunctional characteristics to it. The grafting of cardanol onto XNBR in the latex stage has been accomplished successfully using benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as a free radical initiator. Cardanol grafted XNBR (C-g-XNBR) exhibited an increase in molecular weight (7.5%) with an increase in PDI (polydispersity index). The optimum grafting parameters were found to be of 1 phr BPO with 15 phr cardanol at a reaction temperature of 80 °C and a reaction time of 10 h using “Taguchi methodology”. The maximum percentage grafting (PG) and grafting efficiency (GE) were estimated to be 13.8 and 92.8%, respectively at the optimum combination of the reaction parameters. Differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis results exhibited a decrease in T{sub g} value for the functionalized elastomer. Thermogravimetric analysis displayed an increase in the thermal stability of C-g-XNBR. MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay and hemolysis studies proved that functionalized rubber as biocompatible. Moreover, functionalized XNBR exhibited a potential bactericidal effect against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli strains. Fire and flame retardancy study revealed an increased LOI (limiting oxygen index) for C-g-XNBR.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

GEDet: Detecting Erroneous Nodes with A Few Examples

Detecting nodes with erroneous values in real-world graphs re- mains challenging due to the lack of examples and various error scenarios. We demonstrate GEDet, an error detection engine that can detect erroneous nodes in graphs with a few examples. The GEDet framework tackles error detection as a few-shot node classification problem. We invite the attendees to experience the following unique features. (1) Few-shot detection. Users only need to provide a few examples of erroneous nodes to perform error detection with GEDet. GEDet achieves desirable accuracy with (a) a graph augmentation module, which automatically generates synthetic examples to learn the classifier, and (b) an adversarial detection module, which improves classifiers to better distinguish erroneous nodes from both cleaned nodes and synthetic examples. We show that GEDet significantly improves the state-of-the-art error detection methods. (2) Diverse error scenarios. GEDet profiles data errors with a built-in library of transformation functions from correct values to errors. Users can also easily “plug in” new error types or examples. (3) User-centric detection. GEDet supports (a) an active learning mode to engage users to verify detected results, and adapts the error detection process accordingly; and (b) visual interfaces to interpret and track detected errors.

Guan, Sheng↗

Forecasting constraints on the mean free path of ionizing photons at z ≥ 5.4 from the Lyman-α forest flux autocorrelation function

ABSTRACT Fluctuations in Lyman-α (Ly α) forest transmission towards high-z quasars are partially sourced from spatial fluctuations in the ultraviolet background, the level of which are set by the mean free path of ionizing photons (λmfp). The autocorrelation function of Ly α forest flux characterizes the strength and scale of transmission fluctuations and, as we show, is thus sensitive to λmfp. Recent measurements at z ∼ 6 suggest a rapid evolution of λmfp at z > 5.0 which would leave a signature in the evolution of the autocorrelation function. For this forecast, we model mock Ly α forest data with properties similar to the XQR-30 extended data set at 5.4 ≤ z ≤ 6.0. At each z, we investigate 100 mock data sets and an ideal case where mock data matches model values of the autocorrelation function. For ideal data with λmfp = 9.0 cMpc at z = 6.0, we recover $\lambda _{\text{mfp}}=12^{+6}_{-3}$ cMpc. This precision is comparable to direct measurements of λmfp from the stacking of quasar spectra beyond the Lyman limit. Hypothetical high-resolution data leads to a $\sim 40~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ reduction in the error bars over all z. The distribution of mock values of the autocorrelation function in this work is highly non-Gaussian for high-z, which should caution work with other statistics of the high-z Ly α forest against making this assumption. We use a rigorous statistical method to pass an inference test, however future work on non-Gaussian methods will enable higher precision measurements.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

FY21 Progress Report: SRNL Analysis of ICCWR LCM and WAMS data for Corrosion and Cracking

The development of algorithms for machine learning and data analysis for the 3013 Surveillance Program is a collaborative effort by the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and the University of South Carolina (USC). For corrosion detection, Laser Confocal Microscope (LCM) or Wide Area 3D Measurement System (WAMS) data is extracted from large binary files, with software written to convert the data to physical attributes (e.g., height, color and grayscale values; all as functions of a location in a plane projection). A user-friendly Matlab Graphical User Interface (GUI) that reads data from either LCM or WAMS files was developed to integrate input data with software developed for processing and evaluation. The GUI can selectively download binary data, interrogate data attributes, label data, flag significant features, execute Machine Learning (ML) algorithms, output parameters for trained ML algorithms, report ML model accuracy with respect to labeled data, and generate graphical representations for various analyses. Features can be called out by user-specified thresholds, manual labeling or machine learning algorithms when they have been completed. The ability to rapidly label data is important because of the volume of data required for training machine learning algorithms. The GUI has the flexibility to allow addition of improved ML algorithms, methods for data visualization, and statistical computations. Statistical analyses via the GUI include areas of pits within a defined range of pit depths, correlations between Red-Green-Blue (RGB) or grayscale intensity and relative surface height, covariances between values associated with features, and feature histograms. The development of supervised machine learning algorithms, however, has been hindered by a lack of training data. The machine learning algorithms for crack identification are being refined but require improvements to the true positive rate for crack detection. This shortcoming is an artifact of the limited training data currently available, perhaps more so than the structure of the neural networks. At present, the best results are had from a consensus over an ensemble of randomly generated Deep Neural Network (DNN) or Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) algorithms. Although the consensus accuracy method has yielded optimum true positive and true negative rates in excess of 80%, additional validation testing is necessary. In addition to the suite of LCM data that was initially used, and which represents the majority of the work presented in this report, WAMS image data was also reviewed at a preliminary level. The review included a comparison between image resolution and dynamic range for each method. WAMS (ZON file) image data was found to have a pixel pitch of 3.69μm compared to 1 μm for the LCM (vk4 file) data, which implies a lower resolution for the WAMS images. Conversely, the ratio of dynamic range of the WAMS data to the LCM data was approximately 41:20 for height data, suggesting that information from WAMS should more accurately determine the depth of pits. At present, the significance of the greater dynamic range of the WAMS data relative to the LCM data has not yet been evaluated.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Role of dynamic pairing correlations in fission dynamics

We study the role of dynamic pairing correlations in fission dynamics by considering intrinsic Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov wave functions that are obtained by minimizing the particle number projected energy. For the restricted variational space, the set of self-consistent wave functions with different values of proton and neutron number particle fluctuations are considered. The particle number projected energy is used to define the potential energy surface for fission whereas collective inertias are computed within the traditional formulas for the intrinsic states. Here, the results show that the effect of the restricted variation after particle number projection in the potential energy surface is small while collective inertias substantially decrease. On the other hand, we show that this quenching is strongly mitigated when Coulomb antipairing is considered and therefore the final outcome of the complete calculation is close to the plain mean field result without Coulomb antipairing. In the light of these beyond-mean-field calculations, the validity of traditional fission calculations is discussed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Effect of Oxygen on the Quantum, Magnetic, and Thermodynamic Properties of Co Nanowires on the Reconstructed Anisotropic (1 × 2)/Au(110) and (1 × 2)/Pt(110) Surfaces: Ab Initio Approach

Ab initio theoretical study of the quantum magnetic properties of Co nanowires on the pure and oxygen-reconstructed (1 × 2)/Au(110) and (1 × 2)/Pt(110) surfaces is performed. Their structures and electronic configurations are calculated using the electron density functional theory. High values of magnetic moment and magnetic anisotropy energies of Co atoms are found on both pure and oxygen-reconstructed (1 × 2)/Au(110) and (1 × 2)/Pt(110) surfaces. The adsorption of oxygen atoms on the (1 × 2)/Au(110) substrate is shown to affect the structural arrangement of Co nanowire atoms on this substrate and to increase the magnetic anisotropy energy (by 1.91 meV per nanowire atom). The adsorption of oxygen on the Pt(110) substrate substantially decreases the magnetic anisotropy energy of the Co nanowire on it (by 5.98 meV per atom). The origin of these changes is revealed by analyzing the local densities of states of the d electrons of nanowire atoms. The temperature ranges of the states with the lowest free surface energy are determined using the atomistic thermodynamics methods. These data and the available experimental data are used to predict the possibility of observing the structures under study in experiments.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

High Capacity Adsorption—Dominated Potassium and Sodium Ion Storage in Activated Crumpled Graphene

In this study, structurally and chemically defective activated-crumbled graphene (A-CG) is employed to achieve unique synergy of large reversible potassium (K) and sodium (Na) ion storage capacity with fast charging and extended cyclability. A-CG synthesis consists of low temperature spraying of graphene oxide slurry, followed by partial reduction annealing and air activation. For K storage, the reversible capacities are 340 mAh g -1 at 0.04 A g -1 , 261 mAh g -1 at 0.5 A g -1 , and 210 mAh g -1 at 2 A g -1 . For Na storage, the reversible capacities are 280 mAh g -1 at 0.04 A g -1 , 191 mAh g -1 at 0.5 A g -1 , and 151 mAh g -1 at 2 A g -1 . A-CG shows a stable intermediate rate (0.5 Ag -1 ) cycling with both K and Na, with minimal fade after 2800 and 8000 cycles. These are among the most favorable capacity—rate capability—cyclability combinations recorded for potassium-ion battery and sodium-ion battery carbons. Electroanalytical studies (cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic intermittent titration technique, b -value) and density functional theory (DFT) reveal that enhanced electrochemical performance originates from ion adsorption at various defects, such as Stone–Wales defects. Moreover, DFT highlights enhanced thermodynamic stability of A-CG with adsorbed K versus with adsorbed Na, explaining the unexpected higher reversible capacity with the former.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Very small-scale, segregating-fluidized-bed experiments: A dataset for CFD-DEM validation and uncertainty quantification

IWe report fluidization experiments were conducted on a small scale and with a rapid response (short duration) to enable corresponding simulations at low-computational cost. Rise times are reported for four or fewer polyethylene particles (intruders) in an air-fluidized bed of ~5000 group D glass beads. Experimental inputs were completely characterized—particle properties, system dimensions and operating conditions—which is necessary for validating computational fluid mechanics (CFD)-discrete element method (DEM) including a comprehensive uncertainty quantification (UQ) analysis. Input uncertainties are reported as bounds or cumulative distribution functions of measured values. The staggering number of simulations required to complete a UQ analysis (~O[10 4 ] simulations corresponding to ~5 uncertain inputs) motivates this study. These segregating-bed experiments are designed to permit analogous CFD-DEM simulations to complete in less than a day on a single (~2.5 GHz) computational processor unit (CPU). Segregation times are reported for several operating conditions, intruder sizes, and initial configurations, providing a rich dataset for numerical model testing, validation and UQ.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Strong coupling universality at large N for pure CFT thermodynamics in 2+1 dimensions

Pure CFTs have vanishing $\beta$-function at any value of the coupling. One example of a pure CFT is the O(N) Wess-Zumino model in 2+1 dimensions in the large N limit. This model can be analytically solved at finite temperature for any value of the coupling, and we find that its entropy density at strong coupling is exactly equal to $\frac{31}{35}$ of the non-interacting Stefan-Boltzmann result. We show that a large class of theories with equal numbers of N-component fermions and bosons, supersymmetric or not, for a large class of interactions, exhibit the same universal ratio. For unequal numbers of fermions and bosons we find that the strong-weak thermodynamic ratio is bounded to lie in between $\frac{4}{5}$ and $1$

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Charm production and fragmentation fractions at midrapidity in pp collisions at $\sqrt{\textrm{s}}$ = 13 TeV

Measurements of the production cross sections of prompt $D^{0}$, $D^{+}$, $D^{*+}$, $D^{+}_{s}$, $Λ^{+}_{c}$, and $Ξ^{+}_{c}$ charm hadrons at midrapidity in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{\textrm{s}}$ = 13 TeV with the ALICE detector are presented. The D-meson cross sections as a function of transverse momentum (p T ) are provided with improved precision and granularity. The ratios of p T -diferential meson production cross sections based on this publication and on measurements at diferent rapidity and collision energy provide a constraint on gluon parton distribution functions at low values of Bjorken-x (10 —5 –10 —4 ). The measurements of $Λ^{+}_{c}$ ($Ξ^{+}_{c}$) baryon production extend the measured p T intervals down to p T = 0(3) GeV/c. These measurements are used to determine the charm-quark fragmentation fractions and the $c$$\overline{c}$ production cross section at midrapidity (|$y$| < 0.5) based on the sum of the cross sections of the weakly-decaying ground-state charm hadrons $D^{0}$, $D^{+}$, $D^{+}_{s}$, $Λ^{+}_{c}$, and $Ξ^{0}_{c}$ and, for the first time, $Ξ^{+}_{c}$, and of the strongly-decaying J/ψ mesons. The frst measurements of $Ξ^{+}_{c}$and $Σ^{0,++}_{c}$ fragmentation fractions at midrapidity are also reported. A signifcantly larger fraction of charm quarks hadronising to baryons is found compared to e + e — and ep collisions. The $c$$\overline{c}$ production cross section at midrapidity is found to be at the upper bound of state-of-the-art perturbative QCD calculations

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Noncollinear Acousto-Optic Filtering of Polychromatic Bessel Light Beams in Uniaxial Crystals

We have studied the features of noncollinear acousto-optic filtering of quasi-nondiffracting Bessel light beams in uniaxial crystals. We have obtained coupled wave equations for the vector amplitudes of an incident ordinary (o-type) Bessel beam and an extraordinary (e-type) diffracted beam for different modes. We have found an expression for the diffraction efficiency as a function of the parameters of interacting ordinary and extraordinary Bessel beams, and also as a function of the values of the overlap integrals. Using the overlap integral method, we have shown that regardless of the mode order for the Bessel light beam, under transverse phase matching conditions for ordinary and extraordinary diffracted Bessel beams in the optical spectral range 0.4–1.1 μm we can achieve a filter transmission bandwidth of ~0.6 nm in paratellurite crystals .

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Aberrantly expressed lncRNAs identified by microarray analysis in CD4+T cells in asthmatic patients

Highlights: • Long noncoding RNAs may be potential biomarkers to diagnose asthma. • Long noncoding RNAs may regulate the expression of cytokines in CD4+T cells in asthma. • Specific long noncoding RNAs are related with the characteristics of asthmatic patients. The aim of the study was to determine the expression profiles of message RNAs and long non-coding RNAs in CD4{sup +}T cells of asthmatic patients and to explore the clinical value and biological function. Expression profiles in CD4{sup +}T cells of asthmatic patients and healthy controls were analyzed by microarray. We found 2725 lncRNAs and 3167 mRNAs differentially expressed. The data were validated by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction, with 3 up-regulated (ENST00000444682, ENST00000566098, ENST00000583179) and 1 down-regulated (ENST00000579468) lncRNAs found. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed the area under the curve was 0.7058, 0.9026, 0.8361, 0.8316, respectively. Spearman correlation analysis showed that ENST00000566098 was positively related with IL-13 and ENST00000579468 was positively related with peak expiratory flow. Bioinformatics analyses were performed to explore the function of lncRNAs. Specific lncRNAs aberrantly expressed in CD4{sup +}T cells may take part in the development of asthma and may be used as biomarkers for diagnosis.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗