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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
NASA NTRS2000

Quantitative image analysis of laminin immunoreactivity in skin basement membrane irradiated with 1 GeV/nucleon iron particles

We previously reported that laminin immunoreactivity in mouse mammary epithelium is altered shortly after whole-body irradiation with 0.8 Gy from 600 MeV/nucleon iron ions but is unaffected after exposure to sparsely ionizing radiation. This observation led us to propose that the effect could be due to protein damage from the high ionization density of the ion tracks. If so, we predicted that it would be evident soon after radiation exposure in basement membranes of other tissues and would depend on ion fluence. To test this hypothesis, we used immunofluorescence, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and image segmentation techniques to quantify changes in the basement membrane of mouse skin epidermis. At 1 h after exposure to 1 GeV/nucleon iron ions with doses from 0.03 to 1.6 Gy, neither the visual appearance nor the mean pixel intensity of laminin in the basement membrane of mouse dorsal skin epidermis was altered compared to sham-irradiated tissue. This result does not support the hypothesis that particle traversal directly affects laminin protein integrity. However, the mean pixel intensity of laminin immunoreactivity was significantly decreased in epidermal basement membrane at 48 and 96 h after exposure to 0.8 Gy 1 GeV/nucleon iron ions. We confirmed this effect with two additional antibodies raised against affinity-purified laminin 1 and the E3 fragment of the long-arm of laminin 1. In contrast, collagen type IV, another component of the basement membrane, was unaffected. Our studies demonstrate quantitatively that densely ionizing radiation elicits changes in skin microenvironments distinct from those induced by sparsely ionizing radiation. Such effects may might contribute to the carcinogenic potential of densely ionizing radiation by altering cellular signaling cascades mediated by cell-extracellular matrix interactions.

Non-NASA Center↗
DOE OSTI2016

Neutral resonant ionization in a H{sup −} plasma source: Potential of doubly excited **H{sup −}

Hydrogen plasmas are optically dense to Lyman-α radiation, maintaining *H(n = 2) neutral atoms that may undergo neutral resonant ionization to **H{sup −}. One state, **H{sup −}(2p{sup 2} {sup 3}P{sup e}), is thought bound at 9.7 meV with a several nanosecond lifetime while all others are unbound resonances. Collision dynamics of two *H(2s) shows that an ionic pair of (p, **H{sup −}) resolves at least three long-standing collision experiments. The doubly excited anion also has a path to the unexcited ion pair whose only physical distinction is that both (p, H{sup −}) have energy of 3.7 eV.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2019

Predicting Ionizing Radiation Exposure (LDRD Final Report)

Rapid, low-cost, easy-to-use devices are needed for screening large populations potentially exposed to ionizing radiation following accidental or intentional release of radioactive materials. Measurements of radiation responsive messenger RNA (mRNA) biomarkers using fieldable devices could provide such a tool. mRNA expression level changes may be useful for discriminating between exposed individuals and the worried well and estimating the radiation dose received even days after exposure. Loop mediated isothermal amplification, or LAMP, is an established nucleic acid amplification technique that provides key advantages for use in low cost, portable instruments. We proposed to use LAMP to determine if the expression level of one or a small number of radiation responsive biomarkers can be used to discriminate unexposed cells from ionizing radiation (IR)-exposed cells. If successful, this methodology could potentially be transitioned to portable detection technology for use in population screening after large-scale events. Our approach involved designing quantitative, real-time, reverse transcriptase loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RTLAMP) assays for a panel of published IR-responsive mRNA biomarkers and control genes. This assay panel was then tested on mRNA isolated from white blood cells, lymphocyte cell lines and samples from internally dosed individuals. We used standard curves to quantify mRNA copy number along with the comparative Ct method to measure relative mRNA expression changes. We were able to generate quantitative and comparative gene expression changes for many of the samples evaluated. Although promising in its potential to measure gene expression, the technique suffered when attempting to amplify target genes with very low background RNA expression levels, in particular, FDXR in controls samples. Future work should focus on optimizing the RT-LAMP reaction for low RNA expression level targets allowing for the generation of validated assay panels.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1975

A field-ionization neutral detector - FIND

The field ionization neutral detector FIND operates according to the following principle: Neutral atoms are attracted toward the field ionization tips since they are polarized by the electric field of the tips. The atoms are singly ionized and repelled by the positive potential of the tips toward the detector situated behind a grid at ground potential. The ions deposit in the detector their kinetic energies, typically 26 keV, corresponding to the potential difference between the ionization region and the detector. Laboratory results show that FIND can have the resolution, sensitivities and durability required to perform in situ measurements of neutral H and He fluxes in interplanetary space, cometary halos and exospheres.

Curtis, C. C.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Collaborative Research: Unravelling the Physics Associated with the Production of Extremely Dense Plasma States of Microscale (Final Report) Nanosecond-pulsed Discharges

The aim of this project is to study and establish the physical mechanisms that contribute to the formation of anomalously dense plasmas in high-pressure nanosecond-pulsed discharges. These discharges have a broad range of applications such as plasma-assisted combustion, plasma flow actuators, biomedical sterilization and exotic materials synthesis. The structure and formation of these discharges, producing high plasma densities of ~10 14 -10 15 cm -3 , are well-studied and understood. Fast-pulsed microscale high-pressure discharges can be driven to even higher densities of > 10 19 cm -3 , approaching warm dense matter conditions. The mechanisms that generate these plasmas have not been understood. Analysis of the warm dense matter state under laboratory conditions is an expensive and non-trivial endeavor. For instance, dense plasmas can be generated by electrical explosions of metal foils and wires. Plasmas generated after the explosion have a short lifetime and often present difficult conditions for diagnostics. Generation of dense plasmas was also achieved during high-voltage nanosecond pulsed discharges when the so-called explosive electron emission is obtained. Unfortunately, this process is very difficult to control for the studies of warm dense matter. In our recent study, we have shown that additional heating of plasma by lasers can further increase the density of plasma and even lead to the fully ionized state. This method, potentially, allows better control of the plasma parameters. In this work, we studied a second stage laser-heated micro-discharge using a self-consistent one-dimensional particle-in-cell Monte Carlo-collision (1D PIC-MCC) model coupled with Maxwell’s equations. We predicted the generation of a fully ionized plasma on the picosecond time scale. However, this model considered the plasma as an ideal gas despite the high pressure and the nearly fully ionized state. The ideal plasma model assumes that the dilute gas approximation is valid, where the inter-particle interactions are negligible. For charged particles this assumption holds as long as the shielded Coulomb potential assumption is valid. For very high plasma densities, this concept breaks down since the Debye sphere surrounding each charged particle no longer contains enough electrons to statistically provide the shielding of the single particle Coulomb interaction potential. At such densities, the plasma can no longer be described as ideal and non-ideal coupling effects need to be considered. In this report, we elucidate our recent work of developing a PIC-MCC model with improvements for non-ideal plasma conditions due to Coulomb coupling at high densities. In particular, we study the interaction of green light radiation and a dense microplasma, and explore the non-ideal plasma effects in this interaction. In this computational model, we implement the two most important non-ideal effects: ionization potential depression (IPD) and enhanced collision cross sections. Our primary goal is to study the physics associated with electromagnetic (EM) wave heating, also called the second-stage wave-heating, and establish the role of plasma non-ideality in this phenomenon. Our secondary goal is to improve the chemistry mechanism of the 1D PIC-MCC model by including a more detailed excited species collision treatment. At high pressures, stepwise ionization from excited species might play an important role in the ionization process. Previously, this ionization mechanism was neglected due to the excitation collision cross section of xenon being smaller than that of ionization. However, a preliminary study showed that the excited species density in the initial microplasma was an order of magnitude higher than the electron density. Therefore, my aim is to determine the significance of this additional ionization pathway to the plasma generation.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Tunnel ionization within a one-dimensional, undriven plasma sheath

In high density, high temperature plasmas, the plasma sheath that develops can result in extremely high electric fields, on the order of tens to hundreds of V/nm. Under the right conditions, these electric fields can reach magnitudes that can increase the probability of electron tunneling ionization to occur, resulting in one or more electron-ion pairs. The presence of tunneling ionization can then modify the development of the plasma sheath, as well as properties such as the ion and electron densities and plasma potential. The tunnel ionization process for hydrogen atoms is demonstrated, in this work, as implemented in a Sandia National Laboratories, particle-in-cell code Aleph. Results are presented for the application of the tunnel ionization process to a one-dimensional, undriven plasma sheath. Additional results for cases that consider warm ions and neutrals, the inclusion of electron–neutral collisions, and the injection of neutral particles, as well as the application to various plasma devices, will be discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Calculation of total and ionization cross sections for electron scattering by primary benzene compounds

The total and ionization cross sections for electron scattering by benzene, halobenzenes, toluene, aniline, and phenol are reported over a wide energy domain. The multi-scattering centre spherical complex optical potential method has been employed to find the total elastic and inelastic cross sections. The total ionization cross section is estimated from total inelastic cross section using the complex scattering potential-ionization contribution method. In the present article, the first theoretical calculations for electron impact total and ionization cross section have been performed for most of the targets having numerous practical applications. A reasonable agreement is obtained compared to existing experimental observations for all the targets reported here, especially for the total cross section.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

Quantum Phenomena in High Energy Density Plasmas

The possibility of implementing efficient (phase matched) HHG upconversion of deep- UV lasers in multiply-ionized plasmas, with potentially unprecedented conversion efficiency is a fascinating prospect. HHG results from the extreme nonlinear response of matter to intense laser light:high harmonics are radiated as a result of a quantum coherent electron recollision process that occurs during laser field ionization of an atom. Under current support from this grant in work published in Science in 2015, we discovered a new regime of bright HHG in highly-ionized plasmas driven by intense UV lasers, that generates bright harmonics to photon energies >280eV

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

On the Contribution of the Long-Range Scattering Potential in the Process of Multiphoton Above-Threshold Ionization of Atoms in the Laser Field

Using the quantum mechanical analysis of stimulated bremsstrahlung of an electron on an electrostatic potential in the field of a strong electromagnetic wave in the generalized eikonal approximation, the simplified formula for the probability of multiphoton above-threshold ionization of a hydrogen-like atom in the laser field is obtained, taking into account the interaction of the photoelectron with the long-range Coulomb field of the residual ion.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1978

Evaluation of volcano-style field ionization source and field emitting cathodes for mass spectrometry and applications

A volcano-style field ionization source was tested with eight different gases: hydrogen, helium, ammonia, methane, argon, neon, water vapor, and hydrogen sulfide. For ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and water, the ionization efficiency of the field ionization source was determined as a function of the electrical potential difference between the ionizer and its counterelectrode. The ionization efficiencies for the other gases were too low to be measured in the present apparatus. The operating characteristics of a field emission cathode, were studied, in the presence of the same eight gases at pressures up to 0.00001 torr. The presence of the gases caused little or no significant change in the electron emission from the cathodes. Results indicate that the field emission cathode has advantages over electrically heated cathodes as a source of an electron beam in spacecraft mass spectrometers.

Buttrill, S. E., Jr.↗
DOE OSTI2019

TiO{sub 2} Photocatalyzed Oxidation of Drugs Studied by Laser Ablation Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

In drug discovery, it is important to identify phase I metabolic modifications as early as possible to screen for inactivation of drugs and/or activation of prodrugs. As the major class of reactions in phase I metabolism is oxidation reactions, oxidation of drugs with TiO{sub 2} photocatalysis can be used as a simple non-biological method to initially eliminate (pro)drug candidates with an undesired phase I oxidation metabolism. Analysis of reaction products is commonly achieved with mass spectrometry coupled to chromatography. However, sample throughput can be substantially increased by eliminating pretreatment steps and exploiting the potential of ambient ionization mass spectrometry (MS). Furthermore, online monitoring of reactions in a time-resolved way would identify sequential modification steps. Here, we introduce a novel (time-resolved) TiO{sub 2}-photocatalysis laser ablation electrospray ionization (LAESI) MS method for the analysis of drug candidates. This method was proven to be compatible with both TiO{sub 2}-coated glass slides as well as solutions containing suspended TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles, and the results were in excellent agreement with studies on biological oxidation of verapamil, buspirone, testosterone, andarine, and ostarine. Finally, a time-resolved LAESI MS setup was developed and initial results for verapamil showed excellent analytical stability for online photocatalyzed oxidation reactions within the set-up up to at least 1 h. .

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Integrated Decision Methodology for Final Disposal of Radioactive Sources

Radioactive sources are used throughout the world, and their beneficial uses are many. Sources are at the core of many applications in different branches of industry, medicine, agriculture and research. Sources are present in a very wide range of equipment that is used for, inter alia, cancer treatment, killing bacteria in food, sterilizing medical supplies, measuring instruments such as gauges used to measure soil moisture and soil density and many other components, irradiating seeds for enhancing food production, protecting buildings from lightning strikes, mapping underground sources of water, prospecting for oil and gas reserves, measuring density of soil for construction projects, or even detecting smoke. At their “cradle” and when in use, radioactive sources are usually properly managed and controlled. It is when a source has reached the end of its useful life when they are at a higher risk of being under inadequate control, poorly managed, or even becoming orphan. Sources that have reached the end of their useful life must be carefully and safely managed. The “grave” of disused sources needs a proper disposal process to prevent them from posing a potential threat to people or the environment. To protect the public and the environment from the potential hazards of ionizing radiation, and to prevent disused sources from becoming orphan, a “cradle-to-grave” control of radioactive sources is essential, as promoted by the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources. This approach requires a national policy and strategy, an adequate legal and regulatory framework, and adequate resources and infrastructure. Many IAEAMember States have expressed the need for effective solutions to this challenge. There is also a gap related to the life cycle costs of potential disposal practices. This paper proposes a multi-attribute decision making methodology to compare disposal options using both economic and non-economic criteria leading to a preferred option for disposal and a strategy for final disposal of disused radioactive sources that is specific and optimized for each IAEA Member State.

Beatty, Randy↗
DOE OSTI2018

Reduced graphene oxide as a filament material for thermal ionization mass spectrometry

Isotopic information can be informative as to the intended use and/or production history of special nuclear material. For uranium and plutonium samples, thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) is the benchmark technique for determining isotope ratio data. Sample utilization in thermal ionization, however, is low with typical ionization efficiencies between 0.1% and 0.5% - i.e., only 0.1% to 0.5% of the sample contributes to the detected signal. One barrier to improving the ionization efficiency is thermodynamic limits related to the work function of the ionization filament. Graphene oxide, having a tunable work function, has the potential to greatly improve ionization efficiencies over Re or W-based filaments. The bulk work function of graphene can be tuned through doping or incorporating metal particulates in the graphene oxide matrix. In the first year of this LDRD project reduced graphene oxide (RGO) filaments were constructed using 3D printing techniques and mated to commercial filament posts. The second year of this LDRD produced ultra-low U background RGO filaments and RGO-composite filaments that are more robust than Re filaments at high temperatures and high vacuum conditions. Preliminary results using a commercial TIMS instrument demonstrate a 500 % ionization enhancement for Uranium when using Re-RGO composite-based filaments over traditional Re filaments when direct loading sample solutions onto filaments.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2021

Plasma Muon Beam Cooling for HEP

Ionization cooling has the potential to shrink the phase space of a muon beam by a factor of 10⁶ within the muons’ short lifetime (2.2 µs) because the collision frequency in a cooling medium is extremely high compared to conventional beam cooling methods. It has been realized that ionization cooling inherently produces a plasma of free electrons inside the absorber material, and this plasma can have an important effect on the muon beam. In particular, under the right circumstances, it can both improve the rate of cooling and reduce the equilibrium emittance of the beam. This has the potential to improve the performance of muon facilities based on muon cooling; in particular a future muon collider. We describe how this project will integrate Plasma muon beam cooling into both the basic Helical Cooling Channel (HCC) and extreme Parametric-resonance Ionization Cooling (PIC) techniques. This potentially whole new approach to muon cooling has exciting prospects for significantly reduced muon beam emittance.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRS2003

"DUST BUSTER" - A Single Photon Ionization TOF MS for Cometary Dusts

It is hard to predict the properties and composition of dust that will be returned by STARDUST from WED- 2. The most interesting but challenging case would be grains, pg to fg in weight, each carrying its own isotopic signature characteristic of its source zones in a variety of stars. How do we extract the maximum amount of science from such grains? Clearly, the best that can be accomplished is to measure every atom in each grain.Academia Sinica and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) have entered into a collaboration to develop a SPI TOF MS instrument for analysis of stardust grains. A new instrument will be built at Academia Sinica based on the new TOF mass spectrometer design developed, built and operating at ANL. The instrument is intended for SPI TOF MS analysis of elements from Ca to Cu plus Li after first using SIMS to measure H, C, N, 0, Si, and S. There are still technical challenges facing the technique. We will need to improve submicrometer sample handling, avoid the effects of space charge, and increase the Mamie range of the detector. The most difficult obstacle to overcome may be the fact that the flux density of present high repetition rate, WV lasers is below the level needed to ensure full ionization (saturation) in the source region, which must be several mm in size to achieve the high useful yield needed for analysis of small stardust grains. A potential breakthrough effort is to exploit the novel free electron laser being pioneered at ANL. In principle, this FEL can reach ionization saturation and is tunable up to photon energies of 25 eV, which is higher than the ionization potential of any element.

Chen, C.-Y.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Structural and physical properties of two distinct 2D lead halides with intercalated Cu( II )

Transition metal cation intercalation between the layers of two-dimensional (2D) metal halides is an underexplored research area. In this work we focus on the synthesis and physical property characterizations of two layered hybrid lead halides: a new compound [Cu(O 2 C–CH 2 –NH 2 ) 2 ]Pb 2 Br 4 and the previously reported [Cu(O 2 C–(CH 2 ) 3 –NH 3 ) 2 ]PbBr 4 . These compounds exhibit 2D layered crystal structures with incorporated Cu 2+ between the metal halide layers, which is achieved by combining Cu(II) and lead bromide with suitable amino acid precursors. The resultant [Cu(O 2 C–(CH 2 ) 3 –NH 3 ) 2 ]PbBr 4 adopts a 2D layered perovskite structure, whereas the new compound [Cu(O 2 C–CH 2 –NH 2 ) 2 ]Pb 2 Br 4 crystallizes with a new structure type based on edge-sharing dodecahedral PbBr5O3 building blocks. [Cu(O 2 C–CH 2 –NH 2 ) 2 ]Pb 2 Br 4 is a semiconductor with a bandgap of 3.25 eV. It shows anisotropic charge transport properties with a semiconductor resistivity of 1.44 × 10 10 Ω cm (measured along the a-axis) and 2.17 × 10 10 Ω cm (along the bc-plane), respectively. The fabricated prototype detector based on this material showed response to soft low-energy X-rays at 8 keV with a detector sensitivity of 1462.7 μCGy –1 cm –2 , indicating its potential application for ionizing radiation detection. Finally, these encouraging results are discussed together with the results from density functional theory calculations, optical, magnetic, and thermal property characterization experiments.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗