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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

Quantification of the 35 Cl($\textit{n, p}$) reaction channel

The evaluated 35 Cl($\textit{n, p}$) cross sections in the ENDF/B-VIII.0 nuclear data library remain uncertain because of the lack of measured data in the neutron energy range between 100-600 keV. In this energy region, the R-matrix analysis relies heavily on estimated ($\textit{n, p}$) partial widths and level density information. This resulted in significant differences of the evaluated cross sections and predicted reactivity in nuclear reactor applications with respect to previous nuclear data libraries. Here, we present a methodology to quantify the cross sections for the 35 Cl($\textit{n, p}$) reaction channel from the combination of measured total cross sections and model calculations.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Active-region designs in quantum cascade lasers

This paper analyses the development of active-region designs in quantum cascade lasers. Active-region designs have been demonstrated to date that employ various radiative transitions (vertical, diagonal, interminiband and interband). The lower laser level is depopulated through nonradiative transitions, such as one- or two-phonon (and even three-phonon) relaxation or bound state {yields} continuum transitions. Advances in active-region designs and energy diagram optimisation in the past few years have led to significant improvements in important characteristics of quantum cascade lasers, such as their output power, emission bandwidth, characteristic temperature and efficiency. (invited paper)

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Comprehensive MRI simulation methodology using a dedicated MRI scanner in radiation oncology for external beam radiation treatment planning

Purpose: The use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in radiation oncology is expanding rapidly, and more clinics are integrating MRI into their radiation therapy workflows. However, radiation therapy presents a new set of challenges and places additional constraints on MRI compared to diagnostic radiology that, if not properly addressed, can undermine the advantages MRI offers for radiation treatment planning (RTP). The authors introduce here strategies to manage several challenges of using MRI for virtual simulation in external beam RTP. Methods: A total of 810 clinical MRI simulation exams were performed using a dedicated MRI scanner for external beam RTP of brain, breast, cervix, head and neck, liver, pancreas, prostate, and sarcoma cancers. Patients were imaged in treatment position using MRI-optimal immobilization devices. Radiofrequency (RF) coil configurations and scan protocols were optimized based on RTP constraints. Off-resonance and gradient nonlinearity-induced geometric distortions were minimized or corrected prior to using images for RTP. A multidisciplinary MRI simulation guide, along with window width and level presets, was created to standardize use of MR images during RTP. A quality assurance program was implemented to maintain accuracy and repeatability of MRI simulation exams. Results: The combination of a large bore scanner, high field strength, and circumferentially wrapped, flexible phased array RF receive coils permitted acquisition of thin slice images with high contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and image intensity uniformity, while simultaneously accommodating patient setup and immobilization devices. Postprocessing corrections and alternative acquisition methods were required to reduce or correct off-resonance and gradient nonlinearity induced geometric distortions. Conclusions: The methodology described herein contains practical strategies the authors have implemented through lessons learned performing clinical MRI simulation exams. In their experience, these strategies provide robust, high fidelity, high contrast MR images suitable for external beam RTP.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

EG ANDROMEDAE: A NEW ORBIT AND ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE FOR A PHOTOIONIZED WIND

We analyze a roughly 20 yr set of spectroscopic observations for the symbiotic binary EG And. Radial velocities derived from echelle spectra are best fit with a circular orbit having an orbital period of P = 483.3 ± 1.6 days and semi-amplitude K = 7.34 ± 0.07 km s{sup −1}. Combined with previous data, these observations rule out an elliptical orbit at the 10 σ level. Equivalent widths of H i Balmer emission lines and various absorption features vary in phase with the orbital period. Relative to the radius of the red giant primary, the apparent size of the H ii region is consistent with a model where a hot secondary star with effective temperature T{sub h} ≈ 75,000 K ionizes the wind from the red giant.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A weak lensing view of the downsizing of star-forming galaxies

We describe a weak lensing view of the downsizing of star-forming galaxies based on cross-correlating a weak lensing (κ) map with a predicted map constructed from a redshift survey. Moderately deep and high-resolution images with Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam covering the 4 deg{sup 2} DLS F2 field provide a κ map with 1 arcmin resolution. A dense complete redshift survey of the F2 field including 12,705 galaxies with R⩽20.6 is the basis for construction of the predicted map. The zero-lag cross-correlation between the κ and predicted maps is significant at the 30σ level. The width of the cross-correlation peak is comparable to the angular scale of rich clusters at z∼0.3, the median depth of the redshift survey. Slices of the predicted map in δz=0.05 redshift bins enable exploration of the impact of structure as a function of redshift. The zero-lag normalized cross-correlation has significant local maxima at redshifts coinciding with known massive X-ray clusters. Even in slices where there are no known massive clusters, there is a significant signal in the cross-correlation originating from lower mass groups that trace the large-scale of the universe. Spectroscopic D{sub n}4000 measurements enable division of the sample into star-forming and quiescent populations. In regions surrounding massive clusters of galaxies, the significance of the cross-correlation with maps based on star-forming galaxies increases with redshift from 5σ at z = 0.3 to 7σ at z=0.5; the fractional contribution of the star-forming population to the total cross-correlation signal also increases with redshift. This weak lensing view is consistent with the downsizing picture of galaxy evolution established from other independent studies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Observations of Aircraft Dissipation Trails from GOES

Two cases of distrails (aircraft dissipation trails) with associated fall streak clouds were analyzed using multispectral geostationary satellite data. One distrail was observed on 23 July 2000 in a single cloud layer over southeastern Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay. Another set of trails developed on 6 January 2000 at the top of multilayer clouds off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina. The distrails on both days formed in optically thin, midlevel stratified clouds with cloud-top heights between 7.6 and 9.1 km. The distrail features remained intact and easily visible from satellite images for 1-2 h in spite of winds near 50 km at cloud level. The width of the distrails spread as far as 20 km within 90 min or less. Differences between the optical properties of the clouds surrounding the trails and those of the fall streak particles inside the distrails allowed for easy identification of the fall streak clouds in either the 3.9-micrometer brightness temperature imagery, or the 10.7-micrometer - 12.0-micrometer brightness temperature difference. Although the three-channel infrared retrieval was better at retrieving cloud properties in the multilayer cloud case, two independent remote sensing retrievals of both distrail cases showed that the fall streaks had larger particle sizes than the clouds outside of the trails.

Duda, David P.↗

Gamma-Ray Emission Spectra as a Constraint on Calculations of 234,236,238 U Neutron-Capture Cross Sections

Neutron capture cross sections in the “continuum” region (>≈1 keV) and gamma-emission spectra are of importance to basic science and many applied fields. Careful measurements have been made on most common stable nuclides, but physicists must rely on calculations (or “surrogate” reactions) for rare or unstable nuclides. Calculations must be benchmarked against measurements (cross sections, gamma-ray spectra, and <Γ γ >). Gamma-ray spectrum measurements from resolved resonances were made with 1 - 2 mg/cm 2 thick targets; cross sections at >1 keV were measured using thicker targets. The results show that the shape of capture cross section vs neutron energy is not sensitive to the form of the strength function (although the magnitude is); the generalized Lorentzian E1 strength function is not sufficient to describe the shape of observed gamma-ray spectra; MGLO + “Oslo M1” parameters produces quantitative agreement with the measured 238 U(n,γ) cross section; additional strength at low energies (~ 3 MeV) -- likely M1-- is required; and careful study of complementary results on low-lying giant resonance strength is needed to consistently describe observations.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Experimental Observations of Large-amplitude Solitary Waves in Electron Beams

The longitudinal dynamics of space charge dominated beams plays an important role in particle accelerators and other applications such as heavy ion fusion and free electron lasers (FELs). All beams are space-charge dominated near the source. F urthermore, the longitudinal profile is not necessarily an ideal mathematical function. By means of experiments on the University of Maryland Electron Ring (UMER), we studied how a perturbation to the line charge density could affect the beam propagation. By varying the initial amplitude of the perturbation, we access nonlinear space charge physics. When starting with large-amplitude perturbations, we have observed, for the first time in charged particle beams, solitary waves for which the nonlinear steep ening exactly balances the wave dispersion, leading to persistent waves that preserves their shape over a long distance. This paper presents the results of the soliton experiments, including systematic studies of the dependence of the soliton propagation on beam current, perturbation level and width. The data is compared with theory and simulation.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

SU-E-E-11: Novel Matching Module for Respiration-Gated Motion Tumor of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) to 4DCT

Purpose: Four dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) scans reliably record whole respiratory phase and generate internal target volumes (ITV) for radiotherapy planning. However, image guiding with cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) cannot acquire all or specific respiratory phases. This study was designed to investigate the correlation between average CT and Maximum Intensity Projection (MIP) from 4DCT and CBCT. Methods: Retrospective respiratory gating were performed by GE Discovery CT590 RT. 4DCT and CBCT data from CRIS Dynamic Thorax Phantom with simulated breathing mode were analyzed. The lung tissue equivalent material encompassed 3 cm sphere tissue equivalent material. Simulated breathing cycle period was set as 4 seconds, 5 seconds and 6 seconds for representing variation of patient breathing cycle time, and the sphere material moved toward inferior and superior direction with 1 cm amplitude simulating lung tumor motion during respiration. Results: Under lung window, the volume ratio of CBCT scans to ITVs derived from 10 phases average scans was 1.00 ± 0.02, and 1.03 ± 0.03 for ratio of CBCT scans to MIP scans. Under abdomen window, the ratio of CBCT scans to ITVs derived from 10 phases average scans was 0.39 ± 0.06, and 0.06 ± 0.00 for ratio of CBCT scans to MIP scans. There was a significant difference between lung window Result and abdomen window Result. For reducing image guiding uncertainty, CBCT window was set with width 500 and level-250. The ratio of CBCT scans to ITVs derived from 4 phases average scans with abdomen window was 1.19 ± 0.02, and 1.06 ± 0.01 for ratio of CBCT to MIP scans. Conclusion: CBCT images with suitable window width and level can efficiently reduce image guiding uncertainty for patient with mobile tumor. By our setting, we can match motion tumor to gating tumor location on planning CT more accurately neglecting other motion artifacts during CBCT scans.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

RAINIER: A simulation tool for distributions of excited nuclear states and cascade fluctuations

In this paper, a new code has been developed named RAINIER that simulates the γ-ray decay of discrete and quasi-continuum nuclear levels for a user-specified range of energy, angular momentum, and parity including a realistic treatment of level spacing and transition width fluctuations. A similar program, DICEBOX, uses the Monte Carlo method to simulate level and width fluctuations but is restricted in its initial level population algorithm. On the other hand, modern reaction codes such as TALYS and EMPIRE populate a wide range of states in the residual nucleus prior to γ-ray decay, but do not go beyond the use of deterministic functions and therefore neglect cascade fluctuations. This combination of capabilities allows RAINIER to be used to determine quasi-continuum properties through comparison with experimental data. Finally, several examples are given that demonstrate how cascade fluctuations influence experimental high-resolution γ-ray spectra from reactions that populate a wide range of initial states.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Revisiting excitation gaps in the fractional quantum Hall effect

Recent systematic measurements of the quantum well width dependence of the excitation gaps of fractional quantum Hall states in high mobility samples open the possibility of a better quantitative understanding of this important issue. Here we present what we believe to be accurate theoretical gaps including the effects of finite width and Landau level (LL) mixing. While theory captures the width dependence, there still remains a deviation between the calculated and the measured gaps, presumably caused by disorder. It is customary to model the experimental gaps of the n/(2n ± 1) states as Δ n/(2n+1) = Ce 2 /[(2n ± 1)ϵl]-Γ, where ϵ is the dielectric constant of the background semiconductor and l is the magnetic length; the first term is interpreted as the cyclotron energy of composite fermions and Γ as a disorder-induced broadening of composite-fermion LLs. Fitting the gaps for various fractional quantum Hall states, we find that Γ can be nonzero even in the absence of disorder.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Spectral properties of three-dimensional Anderson model

The three-dimensional Anderson model represents a paradigmatic model to understand the Anderson localization transition. In this work we first review some key results obtained for this model in the past 50 years, and then study its properties from the perspective of modern numerical approaches. Our main focus is on the quantitative comparison between the level sensitivity statistics and the level statistics. While the former studies the sensitivity of Hamiltonian eigenlevels upon inserting a magnetic flux, the latter studies the properties of unperturbed eigenlevels. We define two versions of dimensionless conductance, the first corresponding to the width of the level curvature distribution relative to the mean level spacing, and the second corresponding to the ratio of the Heisenberg time and the Thouless time obtained from the spectral form factor. We show that both conductances look remarkably similar around the localization transition, in particular, they predict a nearly identical critical point consistent with other well-established measures of the transition. We then study some further properties of those quantities: for level curvatures, we discuss particular similarities and differences between the width of the level curvature distribution and the characteristic energy studied by Edwards and Thouless (1972) in their pioneering work, in which the hopping at one lattice edge is changed from periodic to antiperiodic boundary conditions. In the context of the spectral form factor, we show that at the critical point it enters a broad time-independent regime, in which its value is consistent with the level compressibility obtained from the level variance. Finally, we test the scaling solution of the average level spacing ratio in the crossover regime using the cost function minimization approach introduced recently in Šuntajs et al. (2020). The latter approach seeks for the optimal scaling solution in the vicinity of the crossing point, while at the same time it allows for the crossing point to drift due to finite-size corrections. We find that the extracted transition point and the scaling coefficient agree with those from the literature to high numerical accuracy.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Tunable and angle-insensitive plasmon resonances in graphene ribbon arrays with multispectral diffraction response

Plasmon resonances in graphene ribbon arrays are investigated numerically by means of the Finite Element Method. Numerical analysis shows that a series of multipolar resonances take place when graphene ribbon arrays are illuminated by a TM polarized electromagnetic wave. Moreover, these resonances are angle-independent, and can be tuned greatly by the width and the doping level of the graphene ribbons. Specifically, we demonstrate that for graphene arrays with several sets of graphene ribbons, which have different widths or doping levels, each of these multipolar resonances will be split into several ones. In addition, as plasmon resonances can confine electromagnetic field at the ribbon edges, graphene ribbons with different widths or doping levels offer intriguing application for electrically tunable spectral imaging.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Structure of Ne 20 states in resonance O 16 + α elastic scattering

Background: The nuclear structure of the cluster bands in 20 Ne presents a challenge for different theoretical approaches. It is especially difficult to explain the broad 0 + , 2 + states at 9 MeV excitation energy. Simultaneously, it is important to obtain more reliable experimental data for these levels in order to quantitatively assess the theoretical framework. Purpose: To obtain new data on 20 Ne α- cluster structure. Method: Thick target inverse kinematics technique was used to study the 16 O+α resonance elastic scattering and the data were analyzed using an R matrix approach. The 20 Ne spectrum, the cluster and nucleon spectroscopic factors were calculated using cluster-nucleon configuration interaction model (CNCIM). Results: We determined the parameters of the broad resonances in 20 Ne: 0 + level at 8.77 ± 0.150 MeV with a width of 750 $^{+500}_{-220}$ keV; 2 + level at 8.75 ± 0.100 MeV with the width of 695 ± 120 keV; the width of 9.48 MeV level of 65 ± 20 keV and showed that 9.19 MeV, 2 + level (if exists) should have width ≤ 10 keV. The detailed comparison of the theoretical CNCIM predictions with the experimental data on cluster states was made. Conclusions: Our experimental results by the TTIK method generally confirm the adopted data on α-cluster levels in 20 Ne. The CNCIM gives a good description of the 20 Ne positive parity states up to an excitation energy of ~7 MeV, predicting reasonably well the excitation energy of the states and their cluster and single particle properties. At higher excitations, the qualitative disagreement with the experimentally observed structure is evident, especially for broad resonances.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Progress on the R-matrix Analysis for the n+ 181 Ta Evaluation [Slides]

This presentation discusses how nuclear data evaluations can influence the accuracy of computational nuclear design calculations. It also discusses the motivation for a new evaluation of 181 Ta. The goals of the evaluations are to generate a set of resonance parameters in the Resolved Resonance Region (RRR) that extends up to 2.6 keV, to generate a set of average resonance parameters in the Unresolved Resonance Region (URR) up to 100 keV (derived from the RRR parameters), and to generate covariance information for both RRR and URR. The presentation discusses how several different experimental data sets will be fit simultaneously in the evaluation of 181 Ta. It states that the level density of 181 Ta can make R-matrix fitting a challenge as the width of the levels increase with energy (as well as decreasing experimental resolution) and the measured resonances can overlap. The presentation concludes by discussing R-matrix analysis and covariance information as the latter is important when propagated to quantify the uncertainty on output responses of nuclear design calculations such as the multiplication factor k .

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗