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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 55 records · Page 3

Theoretical Analysis of Photoelectron Spectra of Pure and Mixed Metal Clusters: Disentangling Size, Structure, and Composition Effects

A theoretical/computational description and analysis of the spectra of electron binding energies of Al 12 - , Al 13 - and Al 12 Ni- clusters, which differ in size and/or composition by a single atom yet possess strikingly different measured photoelectron spectra, is presented. It is shown that the measured spectra can not only be reproduced computationally with quantitative fidelity – this is achieved through a combination of state-of-the-art density functional theory with a highly accurate scheme for conversion of the Kohn-Sham eigenenergies into electron binding energies – but also explained in terms of the effects of size, structure/symmetry and composition. Furthermore, a new methodology is developed and applied that provides for disentanglement and differential assignment of the separate roles played by size, structure/symmetry and composition in defining the observed differences in the measured spectra. The methodology is general and applicable to any finite system, homogeneous or heterogeneous. Finally, we project that in combination with advances in synthesis techniques this methodology will become an indispensable computation-based aid in the design of controlled synthesis protocols for manufacture of nanosystems and nanodevices with precisely desired electronic and other characteristics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Disentangling the Relative Drivers of Seasonal Evapotranspiration Across a Continental-Scale Aridity Gradient

Evapotranspiration (ET) is a significant ecosystem flux, governing the partitioning of energy at the land surface. Understanding the seasonal pattern and magnitude of ET is critical for anticipating a range of ecosystem impacts, including drought, heat-wave events, and plant mortality. Here, in this study, we identified the relative controls of seasonal variability in ET, and how these controls vary among ecosystems. We used overlapping AmeriFlux and PhenoCam time series at a daily timestep from 20 sites to explore these linkages (# site-years >100), and our study area covered a broad climatological aridity gradient in the U.S. and Canada. We focused on disentangling the most important controls of bulk surface conductance (G s ) and evaporative fraction (EF = LE/[H + LE]), where LE and H represent latent and sensible heat fluxes, respectively. Specifically, we investigated how vegetation phenology varied in importance relative to meteorological variables (vapor pressure deficit and antecedent precipitation) as a driver of G s and EF using path analysis, a framework for quantifying and comparing the causal linkages among multiple response and explanatory variables. Our results revealed that the drivers of G s and EF seasonality varied significantly between energy- and water-limited ecosystems. Specifically, precipitation had a much higher effect in water-limited ecosystems, while seasonal patterns in canopy greenness emerged as a stronger control in energy-limited ecosystems. Given that phenology is expected to shift under future climate, our findings provide key information for understanding and predicting how phenology may impact 21st-century hydroclimate regimes and the surface-energy balance.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Layer-by-layer disentanglement of Bloch states

Layer-by-layer material engineering has produced interesting quantum phenomena such as interfacial superconductivity and the quantum anomalous Hall effect. However, probing electronic states layer-by-layer remains challenging. This is exemplified by the difficulty in understanding the layer origins of topological electronic states in magnetic topological insulators. In this work, we report a layer-encoded frequency-domain photoemission experiment on the magnetic topological insulator (MnBi 2 Te 4 )(Bi 2 Te 3 ) that characterizes the origins of its electronic states. Infrared laser excitations launch coherent lattice vibrations with the layer index encoded by the vibration frequency. Photoemission spectroscopy then tracks the electron dynamics, where the layer information is carried in the frequency domain. This layer-frequency correspondence reveals wavefunction relocation of the topological surface state from the top magnetic layer into the buried second layer, reconciling the controversy over the vanishing broken-symmetry energy gap in (MnBi 2 Te 4 )(Bi 2 Te 3 ) and its related compounds. The layer-frequency correspondence can be harnessed to disentangle electronic states layer-by-layer in a broad class of van der Waals superlattices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Structural regulation-induced Li-electron disentanglement for stabilized oxygen redox of Li-excess disordered rock-salt cathode materials

Since the discovery of its electrochemical activity, Li-excess disordered rock-salt (DRX) cathode material has received worldwide attention as it sets up a new way to exploit oxygen redox beyond the conventional layered structure with late-3d transition metals. However, the intricate structure-function relationship in the disordered lattice of the DRX material fogs the researcher's lens on the underlying redox mechanisms. Here, in this study, we employ a synergistic approach combining neutron total scattering with reverse Monte Carlo modeling and density functional theory calculations to unravel the landscape of oxygen redox reactions in DRX. Redox activities are evaluated in diverse oxygen clusters (OLi x TM 6-x ) and the spatial distribution of these clusters in the model DRX structure (Li 1.16 Ti 0.37 Ni 0.37 Nb 0.1 O 2 and Li 1.2 Ti 0.35 Ni 0.35 Nb 0.1 O 1.8 F 0.2 ) is explicitly determined. The results unveil that by regulating the short-range ordering between cations, fluorine atoms can effectively decouple the location of Li extraction and electron depletion. Such disentanglement between the Li reservoir and electron reservoir in the DRX lattice could play a pivotal role in protecting the oxidized oxygen and preserving the lattice framework during cycling. Through a tentatively designed non-fluorinated DRX oxide realizing similar Li-electron decoupling, an obvious enhancement of the cycling capability can be achieved without compromising the capacity release.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Planck intermediate results: XLVIII. Disentangling Galactic dust emission and cosmic infrared background anisotropies

Using the Planck 2015 data release (PR2) temperature maps, we separate Galactic thermal dust emission from cosmic infrared background (CIB) anisotropies. For this purpose, we implement a specifically tailored component-separation method, the so-called generalized needlet internal linear combination (GNILC) method, which uses spatial information (the angular powerspectra) to disentangle the Galactic dust emission and CIB anisotropies. We produce significantly improved all-sky maps of Planck thermal dust emission, with reduced CIB contamination, at 353, 545, and 857 GHz. By reducing the CIB contamination of the thermal dust maps, we provide more accurate estimates of the local dust temperature and dust spectral index over the sky with reduced dispersion, especially at high Galactic latitudes above b = ±20°. We find that the dust temperature is T = (19.4 ± 1.3) K and the dust spectral index is β = 1.6 ± 0.1 averaged over the whole sky, while T = (19.4 ± 1.5) K and β = 1.6 ± 0.2 on 21% of the sky at high latitudes. Moreover, subtracting the new CIB-removed thermal dust maps from the CMB-removed Planck maps gives access to the CIB anisotropies over 60% of the sky at Galactic latitudes |b| > 20°. Because they are a significant improvement over previous Planck products, the GNILC maps are recommended for thermal dust science. The new CIB maps can be regarded as indirect tracers of the dark matter and they are recommended for exploring cross-correlations with lensing and large-scale structure optical surveys. The reconstructed GNILC thermal dust and CIB maps are delivered as Planck products.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Simulation studies for operating electron beam ion trap at very low energy for disentangling edge plasma spectra

Electron beam ion traps (EBITs) are very useful tools for disentanglement studies of atomic processes in plasmas. In order to assist studies on edge plasma spectroscopic diagnostics, a very low energy EBIT, SH-PermEBIT, has been set up at the Shanghai EBIT lab. In this work, simulation studies for factors which hinder an EBIT to operate at very low electron energies were made based on the Tricomp (Field Precision) codes. Longitudinal, transversal, and total kinetic energy distributions were analyzed for all the electron trajectories. Influences from the electron current and electron energy on the energy depression caused by the space charge are discussed. The simulation results show that although the energy depression is most serious along the center of the electron beam, the electrons in the outer part of the beam are more likely to be lost when an EBIT is running at very low energy. Using the simulation results to guide us, we successfully managed to reach the minimum electron beam energy of 60 eV with a beam transmission above 57% for the SH-PermEBIT. Ar and W spectra were measured from the SH-PermEBIT at the apparent electron beam energies (read from the voltage difference between the electron gun cathode and the central drift tube) of 60 eV and 1200 eV, respectively. The spectra are shown in this paper.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Variable-temperature inelastic light scattering spectroscopy of nickel oxide: Disentangling phonons and magnons

We report the results of an investigation of the temperature dependence of the magnon and phonon frequencies in NiO. A combination of Brillouin-Mandelstam and Raman spectroscopies allowed us to elucidate the evolution of the phonon and magnon spectral signatures from the Brillouin zone center (GHz range) to the second-order peaks from the zone boundary (THz range). The temperature-dependent behavior of the magnon and phonon bands in the NiO spectrum indicates the presence of antiferromagnetic (AF) order fluctuation or a persistent AF state at temperatures substantially above the Néel temperature (TN=523 K). Tuning the intensity of the excitation laser provides a method for disentangling the features of magnons from acoustic phonons in AF materials without the application of a magnetic field. Our results are useful for the interpretation of the inelastic-light scattering spectrum of NiO and add to the knowledge of its magnon properties important for THz spintronic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Disentangling direct from indirect relationships in association networks

Networks are vital tools for understanding and modeling interactions in complex systems in science and engineering, and direct and indirect interactions are pervasive in all types of networks. However, quantitatively disentangling direct and indirect relationships in networks remains a formidable task. Here, we present a framework, called iDIRECT (Inference of Direct and Indirect Relationships with Effective Copula-based Transitivity), for quantitatively inferring direct dependencies in association networks. Using copula-based transitivity, iDIRECT eliminates/ameliorates several challenging mathematical problems, including ill-conditioning, self-looping, and interaction strength overflow. With simulation data as benchmark examples, iDIRECT showed high prediction accuracies. Application of iDIRECT to reconstruct gene regulatory networks in Escherichia coli also revealed considerably higher prediction power than the best-performing approaches in the DREAM5 (Dialogue on Reverse Engineering Assessment and Methods project, #5) Network Inference Challenge. In addition, applying iDIRECT to highly diverse grassland soil microbial communities in response to climate warming showed that the iDIRECT-processed networks were significantly different from the original networks, with considerably fewer nodes, links, and connectivity, but higher relative modularity. Further analysis revealed that the iDIRECT-processed network was more complex under warming than the control and more robust to both random and target species removal ( P < 0.001). As a general approach, iDIRECT has great advantages for network inference, and it should be widely applicable to infer direct relationships in association networks across diverse disciplines in science and engineering.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DISENTANGLING THE ORIGIN AND HEATING MECHANISM OF SUPERNOVA DUST: LATE-TIME SPITZER SPECTROSCOPY OF THE TYPE IIn SN 2005ip

This paper presents late-time near-infrared and Spitzer mid-infrared photometric and spectroscopic observations of warm dust in the Type IIn SN 2005ip in NGC 2906. The spectra show evidence for two dust components with different temperatures. Spanning the peak of the thermal emission, these observations provide strong constraints on the dust mass, temperature, and luminosity, which serve as critical diagnostics for disentangling the origin and heating mechanism of each component. The results suggest that the warmer dust has a mass of {approx}5 x 10{sup -4} M{sub sun}, originates from newly formed dust in the ejecta, or possibly the cool, dense shell, and is continuously heated by the circumstellar interaction. By contrast, the cooler component likely originates from a circumstellar shock echo that forms from the heating of a large, pre-existing dust shell {approx}0.01-0.05 M{sub sun} by the late-time circumstellar interaction. The progenitor wind velocity derived from the blue edge of the He I 1.083 {mu}m P Cygni profile indicates a progenitor eruption likely formed this dust shell {approx}100 years prior to the supernova explosion, which is consistent with a Luminous Blue Variable progenitor star.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DISENTANGLING THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESSES IN GALAXY CLUSTERS

In this work, we present the results of a novel approach devoted to disentangling the role of the environmental processes affecting galaxies in clusters. This is based on the analysis of the near-UV (NUV) - r' distributions of a large sample of star-forming galaxies in clusters spanning more than four absolute magnitudes. The galaxies inhabit three distinct environmental regions: virial regions, cluster infall regions, and field environment. We have applied rigorous statistical tests to analyze both the complete NUV - r' distributions and their averages for three different bins of the r'-band galaxy luminosity down to M{sub r{sup '}}{approx}-18, throughout the three environmental regions considered. We have identified the environmental processes that significantly affect the star-forming galaxies in a given luminosity bin by using criteria based on the characteristics of these processes: their typical timescales, the regions where they operate, and the galaxy luminosity range for which their effects are more intense. We have found that the high-luminosity (M{sub r{sup '}}{<=}-20) star-forming galaxies do not show significant signs in their star formation activity of being affected by: (1) the environment in the last {approx}10{sup 8} yr, or (2) a sudden quenching in the last 1.5 Gyr. The intermediate-luminosity (-20< M{sub r{sup '}}{<=}-19) star-forming galaxies appear to be affected by starvation in the virial regions and by the harassment in the virial and infall regions. Low-luminosity (-19<M{sub r{sup '}}{<=}-18.2) star-forming galaxies seem to be affected by the same environmental processes as intermediate-luminosity star-forming galaxies in a stronger way, which would be expected for their lower luminosities.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DISENTANGLING AGN AND STAR FORMATION IN SOFT X-RAYS

We have explored the interplay of star formation and active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity in soft X-rays (0.5-2 keV) in two samples of Seyfert 2 galaxies (Sy2s). Using a combination of low-resolution CCD spectra from Chandra and XMM-Newton, we modeled the soft emission of 34 Sy2s using power-law and thermal models. For the 11 sources with high signal-to-noise Chandra imaging of the diffuse host galaxy emission, we estimate the luminosity due to star formation by removing the AGN, fitting the residual emission. The AGN and star formation contributions to the soft X-ray luminosity (i.e., L{sub x,AGN} and L{sub x,SF}) for the remaining 24 Sy2s were estimated from the power-law and thermal luminosities derived from spectral fitting. These luminosities were scaled based on a template derived from XSINGS analysis of normal star-forming galaxies. To account for errors in the luminosities derived from spectral fitting and the spread in the scaling factor, we estimated L{sub x,AGN} and L{sub x,SF} from Monte Carlo simulations. These simulated luminosities agree with L{sub x,AGN} and L{sub x,SF} derived from Chandra imaging analysis within a 3{sigma} confidence level. Using the infrared [Ne II]12.8 {mu}m and [O IV]26 {mu}m lines as a proxy of star formation and AGN activity, respectively, we independently disentangle the contributions of these two processes to the total soft X-ray emission. This decomposition generally agrees with L{sub x,SF} and L{sub x,AGN} at the 3{sigma} level. In the absence of resolvable nuclear emission, our decomposition method provides a reasonable estimate of emission due to star formation in galaxies hosting type 2 AGNs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Disentangling ferroelectric domain wall geometries and pathways in dynamic piezoresponse force microscopy via unsupervised machine learning

In this work, domain switching pathways in ferroelectric materials visualized by dynamic piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) are explored via variational autoencoder, which simplifies the elements of the observed domain structure, crucially allowing for rotational invariance, thereby reducing the variability of local polarization distributions to a small number of latent variables. For small sampling window sizes the latent space is degenerate, and variability is observed only in the direction of a single latent variable that can be identified with the presence of domain wall. For larger window sizes, the latent space is 2D, and the disentangled latent variables can be generally interpreted as the degree of switching and complexity of domain structure. Applied to multiple consecutive PFM images acquired while monitoring domain switching, the polarization switching mechanism can thus be visualized in the latent space, providing insight into domain evolution mechanisms and their correlation with the microstructure.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Disentanglement of density and rotation dependences of the field penetration threshold on the J-TEXT tokamak

The field penetration threshold of magnetic perturbations has been observed to vary non-monotonically with an increase of density in ohmic plasmas on the J-TEXT tokamak. This observation appears contradicting the previous empirical density scaling law. Disentanglement of plasma density and rotation dependences of the field penetration threshold has been carried out. It shows that the field penetration threshold depends only weakly on the density but linearly on the plasma rotation. This result is not only important for the prediction of error field tolerance in fusion devices, but also opens a question on the role of density in the forced magnetic reconnection process in magnetized plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DISENTANGLING THE ENTANGLED: OBSERVATIONS AND ANALYSIS OF THE TRIPLE NON-COEVAL PROTOSTELLAR SYSTEM VLA1623

Commonplace at every evolutionary stage, multiple protostellar systems (MPSs) are thought to be formed through fragmentation, but it is unclear when and how. The youngest MPSs, which have not yet undergone much evolution, provide important constraints to this question. It is then of interest to disentangle early stage MPSs. In this Letter we present the results of our work on VLA1623 using our observations and archival data from the Submillimeter Array. Our continuum and line observations trace VLA1623's components, outflow, and envelope, revealing unexpected characteristics. We construct the spectral energy distribution (SED) for each component using the results of our work and data from literature, as well as derive physical parameters from continuum and perform a simple kinematical analysis of the circumstellar material. Our results show VLA1623 to be a triple non-coeval system composed of VLA1623A, B, and W, with each source driving its own outflow and unevenly distributed circumstellar material. From the SED, physical parameters, and IR emission we conclude that VLA1623A and W are Class 0 and Class I protostars, respectively, and together drive the bulk of the observed outflow. Furthermore, we find two surprising results, first the presence of a rotating disk-like structure about VLA1623A with indications of pure Keplerian rotation, which, if real, would make it one of the first evidence of Keplerian disk structures around Class 0 protostars. Second, we find VLA1623B to be a bona fide extremely young protostellar object between the starless core and Class 0 stages.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Disentangling magnification in combined shear-clustering analyses

ABSTRACT We investigate the sensitivity to the effects of lensing magnification on large-scale structure analyses combining photometric cosmic shear and galaxy clustering data (i.e. the now commonly called ‘3 × 2-point’ analysis). Using a Fisher matrix bias formalism, we disentangle the contribution to the bias on cosmological parameters caused by ignoring the effects of magnification in a theory fit from individual elements in the data vector, for Stage-III and Stage-IV surveys. We show that the removal of elements of the data vectors that are dominated by magnification does not guarantee a reduction in the cosmological bias due to the magnification signal, but can instead increase the sensitivity to magnification. We find that the most sensitive elements of the data vector come from the shear-clustering cross-correlations, particularly between the highest redshift shear bin and any lower redshift lens sample, and that the parameters ΩM, $S_8=\sigma _8\sqrt{\Omega _\mathrm{ M}/0.3}$, and w0 show the most significant biases for both survey models. Our forecasts predict that current analyses are not significantly biased by magnification, but this bias will become highly significant with the continued increase of statistical power in the near future. We therefore conclude that future surveys should measure and model the magnification as part of their flagship ‘3 × 2-point’ analysis.

Thiele, Leander↗

Disentangling the physical parameters of gaseous nebulae and galaxies

Abstract We present an analysis to disentangle the connection between physical quantities that characterize the conditions of ionized H ii regions – metallicity (Z), ionization parameter (U), and electron density (ne) – and the global stellar mass (M*) and specific star formation rate (sSFR = SFR/M*) of the host galaxies. We construct composite spectra of galaxies at 0.027 ≤ z ≤ 0.25 from Sloan Digital Sky Survey, separating the sample into bins of M* and sSFR, and estimate the nebular conditions from the emission-line flux ratios. Specially, metallicity is estimated from the direct method based on the faint auroral lines [O iii]λ4363 and [O ii]λλ7320,7330. The derived metallicities cover a range of 12 + log O/H ∼ 7.6–8.9. It is found that the three nebular parameters, Z, U, and ne, are tightly correlated with the location in the M*–sSFR plane. With simple physically motivated ansätze, we derive scaling relations between these physical quantities by performing multiregression analysis. In particular, we find that U is primarily controlled by sSFR, as U∝sSFR0.43, but also depends significantly on both Z and ne. The derived partial dependence of U∝Z−0.36 is weaker than the apparent correlation (U∝Z−1.52). The partial dependence of U on ne is found to be $U \propto n_\mathrm{e}^{-0.29}$. The scaling relations we derived are in agreement with predictions from theoretical models and observations of each aspect of the link between these quantities. Our results provide a useful set of equations to predict the nebular conditions and emission-line fluxes of galaxies in semi-analytic models.

Kashino, Daichi↗

Disentangling the effects of non-adiabatic interactions upon ion self-diffusion within warm dense hydrogen

Warm dense matter is a material state in the region of parameter space connecting condensed matter to classical plasma physics. In this intermediate regime, we investigate the significance of non-adiabatic electron-ion interactions upon ion dynamics. To disentangle non-adiabatic from adiabatic electron-ion interactions, we compare the ion self-diffusion coefficient from the non-adiabatic electron force field computational model with an adiabatic, classical molecular dynamics simulation. A classical pair potential developed through a force-matching algorithm ensures the only difference between the models is due to the electronic inertia. Here, we implement this new method to characterize non-adiabatic effects on the self-diffusion of warm dense hydrogen over a wide range of temperatures and densities. Ultimately we show that the impact of non-adiabatic effects is negligible for equilibrium ion dynamics in warm dense hydrogen.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗