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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

The impact of anisotropic redshift distributions on angular clustering

A leading way to constrain physical theories from cosmological observations is to test their predictions for the angular clustering statistics of matter tracers, a technique that is set to become ever more central with the next generation of large imaging surveys. Interpretation of this clustering requires knowledge of the projection kernel, or the redshift distribution of the sources, and the typical assumption is an isotropic redshift distribution for the objects. However, variations in the kernel are expected across the survey footprint due to photometric variations and residual observational systematic effects. Here, we develop the formalism for anisotropic projection and present several limiting cases that elucidate the key aspects. We quantify the impact of anisotropies in the redshift distribution on a general class of angular two-point statistics. In particular, we identify a mode-coupling effect that can add power to auto-correlations, including galaxy clustering and cosmic shear, and remove it from certain cross-correlations. If the projection anisotropy is primarily at large scales, the mode-coupling depends upon its variance as a function of redshift; furthermore, it is often of similar shape to the signal. In contrast, the cross-correlation of a field whose selection function is anisotropic with another one featuring no such variations — such as CMB lensing — is immune to these effects. We discuss explicitly several special cases of the general formalism including galaxy clustering, galaxy-galaxy lensing, cosmic shear and cross-correlations with CMB lensing, and publicly release a code to compute the biases.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1977

Investigation of the applications of GEOS-3 radar altimeter data in remote sensing of land and sea features

A number of GEOS-3 passes over the Atlantic Ocean and Southeastern U.S. are examined. Surface-truth and radar altimeter data comparisons are given in terms of surface correlation length, signal fluctuation characteristics, and altitude tracker dynamic response. Detailed analyses are given regarding spatial resolution and its dependency on angular backscatter behavior. These analyses include data from passes over ocean (diffuse scatter), land (large body scatter), and mirror-like inland water areas (pseudo-specular scatter). Altimeter data are examined for a pass over a large reservoir and marsh area of differing water levels; this geometry represents a stepchange in altitude which is usable in determination of the transient response of the tracker. The extent to which pulse-length limited operation pertains over-land is examined. A Wiener filter altitude algorithm is discussed which permits specification of tracker variance and geoidal spectral characteristics during operation.

Miller, L. S.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Angular navigation on short baselines using phase delay interferometry

Results are presented for two recent short baseline experiments, with baseline lengths of 6 and 253 km, showing delay residuals of 10 ps or less for angularly close sources. On the 6-km baseline, a fiber-optic link was used to distribute a common frequency reference, enabling coherent operation of the two stations. The observed delay residuals correspond to a differential angular accuracy of about 10 nrad on the 253-km baseline. Future plans are discussed, including the development of a realtime correlation capability on a 22-km baseline at Goldstone, CA.

Edwards, Charles D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Development of realtime connected element interferometry at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex

Connected-element interferometry (CEI) has the potential to provide high-accuracy angular spacecraft tracking on short baselines by making use of the very precise phase delay observable. Within the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (DSCC), one of three tracking complexes in the NASA Deep Space Network, baselines of up to 21 km in length are available. Analysis of data from a series of short-baseline phase-delay interferometry experiments are presented to demonstrate the potential tracking accuracy on these baselines. Repeated differential observations of pairs of angularly close extragalactic radio sources were made to simulate differential spacecraft-quasar measurements. Fiber-optic data links and a correlation processor are currently being developed and installed at Goldstone for a demonstration of real-time CEI in 1990.

Edwards, C. D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Measuring the dynamics of structural changes in biological macromolecules from light scattering data

Examining techniques to study the dynamics of structural changes in various molecules has been an ongoing goal of the space program. Knowing how these phenomena occur in biological systems is fundamental to understanding what is necessary for life to remain functional in the space environment. A hierarchy of biological organization is functionally described when cells join together small organic molecules to form larger and more complex molecules. Characterizing the architecture of a particular macromolecule helps determine how that molecule works in the living cell and is basic to the diversity of life. Understanding this arrangement involves the correlation of the structure of macromolecules with their functions. A light scattering photometer was developed for detecting continuous measurement of the angular spectrum of light scattered by dynamically changing systems. The analysis of light scattered by biological macromolecules can be used to determine concentration, size, shape, molecular weight, and structural changes of cells, such as erythrocytes. Some light scattering photometers can collect and store 120 angular scattering spectra per minute, with an angular resolution of 0.2 deg which can be displayed with computer graphics. The light scattering photometer does the following: functions to produce and detect scattered light; determines scatter angles; and collects, stores, and analyzes data.

Johnson, Adriel D.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Cross-correlating Cosmic IR and X-ray Background Fluctuations: Evidence of Significant Black Hole Populations Among the CIB Sources

In order to understand the nature of the sources producing the recently uncovered cosmic infrared background (CIB) fluctuations, we study cross-correlations between the fluctuations in the source-subtracted CIB from Spitzer/IRAC data and the unresolved cosmic X-ray background from deep Chandra observations. Our study uses data from the EGS/AEGIS field, where both data sets cover an approx = 8' x 45' region of the sky. Our measurement is the cross-power spectrum between the IR and X-ray data. The cross-power signal between the IRAC maps at 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron and the Chandra [0.5-2] keV data has been detected, at angular scales approx >20'', with an overall significance of approx = 3.8 sigma and approx. = 5.6 sigma, respectively. At the same time we find no evidence of significant cross-correlations at the harder Chandra bands. The cross-correlation signal is produced by individual IR sources with 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron magnitudes m(sub AB) approx. > 25-26 and [0.5-2] keV X-ray fluxes << 7 × 10(exp -177 erg sq. cm/ s. We determine that at least 15%-25% of the large scale power of the CIB fluctuations is correlated with the spatial power spectrum of the X-ray fluctuations. If this correlation is attributed to emission from accretion processes at both IR and X-ray wavelengths, this implies a much higher fraction of accreting black holes than among the known populations. We discuss the various possible origins for the cross-power signal and show that neither local foregrounds nor the known remaining normal galaxies and active galactic nuclei can reproduce the measurements. These observational results are an important new constraint on theoretical modeling of the near-IR CIB fluctuations. local foregrounds, nor the known remaining normal galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGN) can reproduce the measurements. These observational results are an important new constraint on theoretical modeling of the near-IR CIB fluctuations

Cosmic X-ray Background (CXB)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Bayesian model mixing with multireference energy density functional

Reliably predicting nuclear properties across the entire chart of isotopes is important for applications ranging from nuclear astrophysics to superheavy science to nuclear technology. To this day, however, all the theoretical models that can scale at the level of the chart of isotopes remain semiphenomenological. Because they are fitted locally, their predictive power can vary significantly; different versions of the same theory provide different predictions. Bayesian model mixing takes advantage of such imperfect models to build a local mixture of a set of models to make improved predictions. Earlier attempts to use Bayesian model mixing for mass table calculations relied on models treated at single-reference energy density functional level, which fail to capture some of the correlations caused by configuration mixing or the restoration of broken symmetries. In this study we have applied Bayesian model mixing techniques within a multireference energy density functional (MR-EDF) framework. We considered predictions of two-particle separation energies from particle number projection or angular momentum projection with four different energy density functionals—a total of eight different MR-EDF models. We used a hierarchical Bayesian stacking framework with a Dirichlet prior distribution over weights together with an inverse log-ratio transform to enable positive correlations between different models. We found that Bayesian model mixing provides significantly improved predictions compared to the participating models. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Non-local contribution from small scales in galaxy–galaxy lensing: comparison of mitigation schemes

ABSTRACT Recent cosmological analyses with large-scale structure and weak lensing measurements, usually referred to as 3 × 2pt, had to discard a lot of signal to noise from small scales due to our inability to accurately model non-linearities and baryonic effects. Galaxy–galaxy lensing, or the position–shear correlation between lens and source galaxies, is one of the three two-point correlation functions that are included in such analyses, usually estimated with the mean tangential shear. However, tangential shear measurements at a given angular scale θ or physical scale R carry information from all scales below that, forcing the scale cuts applied in real data to be significantly larger than the scale at which theoretical uncertainties become problematic. Recently, there have been a few independent efforts that aim to mitigate the non-locality of the galaxy–galaxy lensing signal. Here, we perform a comparison of the different methods, including the Y-transformation, the point-mass marginalization methodology, and the annular differential surface density statistic. We do the comparison at the cosmological constraints level in a combined galaxy clustering and galaxy–galaxy lensing analysis. We find that all the estimators yield equivalent cosmological results assuming a simulated Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) Year 1 like set-up and also when applied to DES Y3 data. With the LSST Y1 set-up, we find that the mitigation schemes yield ∼1.3 times more constraining S8 results than applying larger scale cuts without using any mitigation scheme.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

CMB/kSZ and Compton-y Maps from 2500 deg 2 of SPT-SZ and Planck Survey Data

Abstract We present component-separated maps of the primary cosmic microwave background/kinematic Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) amplitude and the thermal SZ Compton- y parameter, created using data from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) and the Planck satellite. These maps, which cover the ∼2500 deg 2 of the southern sky imaged by the SPT-SZ survey, represent a significant improvement over previous such products available in this region by virtue of their higher angular resolution ( 1 .′ 25 for our highest-resolution Compton- y maps) and lower noise at small angular scales. In this work we detail the construction of these maps using linear combination techniques, including our method for limiting the correlation of our lowest-noise Compton- y map products with the cosmic infrared background. We perform a range of validation tests on these data products to test our sky modeling and combination algorithms, and we find good performance in all of these tests. Recognizing the potential utility of these data products for a wide range of astrophysical and cosmological analyses, including studies of the gas properties of galaxies, groups, and clusters, we make these products publicly available at http://pole.uchicago.edu/public/data/sptsz_ymap and on the NASA/LAMBDA website.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2002

Solar Supergranulation Revealed as a Superposition of Traveling Waves

40 years ago two new solar phenomena were described: supergranulation and the five-minute solar oscillations. While the oscillations have since been explained and exploited to determine the properties of the solar interior, the supergranulation has remained unexplained. The supergranules, appearing as convective-like cellular patterns of horizontal outward flow with a characteristic diameter of 30 Mm and an apparent lifetime of 1 day, have puzzling properties, including their apparent superrotation and the minute temperature variations over the cells. Using a 60-day sequence of data from the MDI (Michelson-Doppler Imager) instrument onboard the SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) spacecraft, we show that the supergranulation pattern is formed by a superposition of traveling waves with periods of 5-10 days. The wave power is anisotropic with excess power in the direction of rotation and toward the equator, leading to spurious rotation rates and north-south flows as derived from correlation analyses. These newly discovered waves could play an important role in maintaining differential rotation in the upper convection zone by transporting angular momentum towards the equator.

Gizon, L.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Adjusting solar-induced fluorescence to nadir-viewing provides a better proxy for GPP

Solar-induced fluorescence (SIF) provides key information for inferring terrestrial gross primary productivity (GPP). However, there is little research on analyzing the performance of nadir-adjusted SIF (SIF nadir ) on GPP, compared to total SIF emitted by all leaves (SIF total ) for reducing the viewing angle effects and estimating GPP. Besides, there have been controversial opinions on whether SIF total is better correlated to GPP than raw SIF observations (SIF obs ). Here we systematically analyzed the relationship between raw/nadir/total SIF (i.e., SIF obs , SIF nadir and SIF total ) and GPP and investigated the underlying mechanism, using multi-angular field measurements and eddy covariance data in wheat and corn crops at sub-daily scale. We further compared the performance of SIF obs , SIF nadir and SIF total in estimating GPP using the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) SIF and concurrent AmeriFlux measurements at daily scale. Furthermore, the results indicate that diurnal SIF nadir has stronger correlations to GPP than SIF obs for field measurements, with the increase of mean coefficient of determination (R 2 ) by 0.05–0.07 for far-red band and 0.11–0.20 for red band. SIF nadir shows comparable performance with SIF total for both far-red and red bands. Although the viewing angle effects dominate the difference in estimating GPP between SIF nadir and SIF obs , the correlation between light use efficiency (LUE) and fesc further determines the different performance of SIF nadir and SIF total in estimating GPP. TROPOMI-based analysis further confirms that SIF nadir overall has higher correlations to AmeriFlux GPP than SIF obs for different plant functional types and shows similar performance with SIF total . Compared to SIF total , the estimation of SIF nadir independent of viewing angle effects does not require any canopy structure parameters, and thus offers promising potential for reliably estimating regional and global GPP.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Exploring the Nucleon Structure via Deep Electroproduction Processes

Understanding the internal structure of the nucleon is a fundamental goal of modern physics, which aims at a comprehensive framework describing the internal dynamics of quarks and gluons. Among other structure functions, Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) offer a powerful framework for describing the nucleon dynamics by correlating the longitudinal momentum and the transverse position of its internal partons. Such a correlation provides a three-dimensional picture of the nucleon and enables access to fundamental properties, including the internal pressure distributions and the parton’s angular momentum contribution to the nucleon's total spin, thereby playing a central role in resolving the nucleon spin puzzle. At the Thomas Jefferson National Facility (JLab), polarized electron beam experiments allow for probing GPDs through the measurement of hard exclusive processes. Among the cleanest experimental channels, we find the electro-production of a real photon through the Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS) mechanism. The first data-taking period of the CLAS12 program, taking place in 2018, allowed for unique DVCS Beam Spin Asymmetry (BSA) measurements in the phase space covered by a 10.6 GeV polarized electron beam impinging on an unpolarized liquid hydrogen target. Although detecting all final-state particles ensures exclusivity of the process, conservation laws indicate that it is not mandatory. I adopt an approach omitting the direct detection of the recoil proton, providing a simplified yet effective event selection strategy that boosts statistics and gives access to a larger phase space sensitive to the underlying GPD dynamics through BSA and cross section measurements. The Double DVCS (DDVCS) process promises a dedicated mapping of GPDs. Contributing to the electro-production of a lepton pair cross-section, the DDVCS reaction extends DVCS by allowing the final-state photon to be virtual, enriching the kinematic phase space and providing unique access to the internal correlations encoded by GPDs. A feasibility study is conducted to assess the potential of future DDVCS measurements at Jefferson Lab and the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). While Jefferson Lab will provide DDVCS measurements in the valence region through the SoLID$\mu$ and $\mu$CLAS12 experimental projects, in the long term, the EIC will provide complementary measurements in the sea region, both accessing unprecedented information about GPDs in a phase space region otherwise inaccessible. Taken together, these investigations demonstrate both the current capabilities and future opportunities for probing GPDs through exclusive processes. The experimental analysis of DVCS at CLAS12 provides precise measurements within an established framework, while the phenomenological study of DDVCS opens the door to richer and more comprehensive explorations with future detectors and facilities.

Alvarado, Juan [Université Paris-Saclay: Gif-sur-Y↗
DOE OSTI2021

Machine Learning the Sixth Dimension: Stellar Radial Velocities from 5D Phase-space Correlations

The Gaia satellite will observe the positions and velocities of over a billion Milky Way stars. In the early data releases, the majority of observed stars do not have complete 6D phase-space information. In this Letter, we demonstrate the ability to infer the missing line-of-sight velocities until more spectroscopic observations become available. Here, we utilize a novel neural network architecture that, after being trained on a subset of data with complete phase-space information, takes in a star's 5D astrometry (angular coordinates, proper motions, and parallax) and outputs a predicted line-of-sight velocity with an associated uncertainty. Working with a mock Gaia catalog, we show that the network can successfully recover the distributions and correlations of each velocity component for stars that fall within ~5 kpc of the Sun. We also demonstrate that the network can accurately reconstruct the velocity distribution of a kinematic substructure in the stellar halo that is spatially uniform, even when it comprises a small fraction of the total star count.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Probing the Short-Distance Structure of the Quark-Gluon Plasma with Energy Correlators

Energy-energy correlators (EECs) are promising observables to study the dynamics of jet evolution in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) through its imprint on angular scales in the energy flux of final-state particles. We carry out the first complete calculation of EECs using realistic simulations of high-energy heavy-ion collisions and dissect the different dynamics underlying the final distribution through analyses of jet propagation in a uniform medium. The EECs of γ -jets in heavy-ion collisions are found to be enhanced by the medium response from elastic scatterings instead of induced gluon radiation at large angles. In the meantime, EECs are suppressed at small angles due to energy loss and transverse momentum broadening of jet shower partons. These modifications are further shown to be sensitive to the angular scale of the in-medium interaction, as characterized by the Debye screening mass. Experimental verification and measurement of such modifications will shed light on this scale and the short-distance structure of the QGP in heavy-ion collisions. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS1993

Ways to improve your correlation functions

This paper describes a number of ways to improve on the standard method for measuring the two-point correlation function of large scale structure in the Universe. Issues addressed are: (1) the problem of the mean density, and how to solve it; (2) how to estimate the uncertainty in a measured correlation function; (3) minimum variance pair weighting; (4) unbiased estimation of the selection function when magnitudes are discrete; and (5) analytic computation of angular integrals in background pair counts.

Hamilton, A. J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Preliminary results of polarization signatures for glacial moraines in the Mono Basin, Eastern Sierra Nevada

The valleys of the Mono Basin contain several sets of lateral and terminal moraines representing multiple stages of glaciation. The semi-arid climate with slow weathering rates preserved sequences of nested younger moraines within older ones. There is a well established relative chronology and recently exposure dating provided a new set of numerical dates. The moraines span the late Wisconsin (11-25 ka) to the Illinoian (130-190 ka) glaciations. The Mono Basin area was used as a 'calibration site' to establish remote dating techniques for eventual transfer to the more inaccessible but geomorphically and climatically similar moraines of the South American Andes Mountains. Planned polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery acquired by JPL AIRSAR (South American Campaign) and SIR-C (Andes super-site) are analyzed to establish chronologies of previously undated moraine sequences in a study of Pleistocene climatic change in the Southern Hemisphere. The dry climate and sparse vegetation is also favorable for correlation of ground surface roughness with radar polarization signature. The slow weathering processes acting over thousands of years reduce the size, frequency, and angularity of surface boulders while increasing soil development on the moraines. Field observations based on this hypothesis result in relative ages consistent with those inferred from nested position within the valley. Younger moraines, therefore, will appear rougher than the older smoother moraines at scales measurable at AIRSAR wavelengths. Previously documented effects of ground surface roughness on polarization signatures suggest that analysis of moraine polarization signatures can be useful for relative dating. The technique may be extended to predict numerical ages. The data set reported were acquired on 8 Sep. 1989 with the JPL Airborne SAR (AIRSAR) collecting polarimetric imagery at C- (5.6 cm), L- (24 cm), and P-band (68 cm) with a flight-line parallel to the strike of the mountains. Phase calibration was performed on the analyzed scene by setting the co-phase of a smooth lake to zero as described. Absolute amplitude calibration was not possible because corner reflectors were not deployed.

Forster, Richard R.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Initial Circulation and Peak Vorticity Behavior of Vortices Shed from Airfoil Vortex Generators

An extensive parametric study of vortices shed from airfoil vortex generators has been conducted to determine the dependence of initial vortex circulation and peak vorticity on elements of the airfoil geometry and impinging flow conditions. These elements include the airfoil angle of attack, chord length, span, aspect ratio, local boundary layer thickness, and free stream Mach number. In addition, the influence of airfoil-to-airfoil spacing on the circulation and peak vorticity has been examined for pairs of co-rotating and counter-rotating vortices. The vortex generators were symmetric airfoils having a NACA-0012 cross-sectional profile. These airfoils were mounted either in isolation, or in pairs, on the surface of a straight pipe. The turbulent boundary layer thickness to pipe radius ratio was about 17 percent. The circulation and peak vorticity data were derived from cross-plane velocity measurements acquired with a seven-hole probe at one chord-length downstream of the airfoil trailing edge location. The circulation is observed to be proportional to the free-stream Mach number, the angle-of-attack, and the span-to-boundary layer thickness ratio. With these parameters held constant, the circulation is observed to fall off in monotonic fashion with increasing airfoil aspect ratio. The peak vorticity is also observed to be proportional to the free-stream Mach number, the airfoil angle-of-attack, and the span-to-boundary layer thickness ratio. Unlike circulation, however, the peak vorticity is observed to increase with increasing aspect ratio, reaching a peak value at an aspect ratio of about 2.0 before falling off again at higher values of aspect ratio. Co-rotating vortices shed from closely spaced pairs of airfoils have values of circulation and peak vorticity under those values found for vortices shed from isolated airfoils of the same geometry. Conversely, counter-rotating vortices show enhanced values of circulation and peak vorticity when compared to values obtained in isolation. The circulation may be accurately modeled with an expression based on Prandtl's relationship between finite airfoil circulation and airfoil geometry. A correlation for the peak vorticity has been derived from a conservation relationship equating the moment at the airfoil tip to the rate of angular momentum production of the shed vortex, modeled as a Lamb (ideal viscous) vortex. This technique provides excellent qualitative agreement to the observed behavior of peak vorticity for low aspect ratio airfoils typically used as vortex generators.

Wendt, Bruce J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Method and apparatus for fiber optic multiple scattering suppression

The instant invention provides a method and apparatus for use in laser induced dynamic light scattering which attenuates the multiple scattering component in favor of the single scattering component. The preferred apparatus utilizes two light detectors that are spatially and/or angularly separated and which simultaneously record the speckle pattern from a single sample. The recorded patterns from the two detectors are then cross correlated in time to produce one point on a composite single/multiple scattering function curve. By collecting and analyzing cross correlation measurements that have been taken at a plurality of different spatial/angular positions, the signal representative of single scattering may be differentiated from the signal representative of multiple scattering, and a near optimum detector separation angle for use in taking future measurements may be determined.

Ackerson, Bruce J.↗