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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2019

Numerical investigations of background pressure effects and channel erosion in the SPT-140 Hall thruster for the Psyche mission

Four SPT-140 Hall thrusters are the main components of the electric propulsion system for the Psyche mission. We employ the 2-D (r-z) code Hall2De to conduct numerical simulations of the SPT-140 with the goal of estimating erosion of the acceleration channel rings for the Psyche mission profile. The simulations are informed by direct measurements of the plasma conditions in the acceleration channel that were obtained using laser-induced fluorescence. We validate our simulation results with additional plasma measurements, wear test erosion rates, and performance data as a function of background pressure. We then make use of a series of numerical simulations to compute the progressive erosion of the channel walls, using as input parameters a profile for the Psyche mission that includes operation at 4.5, 2.5 and 1.0 kW with duration of all segments increased by a 50% margin. We find that the channel walls are not completely eroded at the end of the mission (plus 50% margin). We also observe a progressive decrease in thrust as the channel walls erode that is consistent with the wear test and flight data, with a rate of ~4.5 mN/kh for the first 2,500 h and constant thrust after that. The reasons for these thrust trends are explained.

Lenguito, Giovanni↗
DOE OSTI2025

Subglacial discharge effects on basal melting of a rotating, idealized ice shelf

When subglacial meltwater is discharged into the ocean at the grounding line, it acts as a source of buoyancy, enhancing flow speeds along the ice base that result in higher basal melt rates. The effects of subglacial discharge have been well studied in the context of a Greenland-like, vertical calving front, where Earth's rotation can be neglected. Here we study these effects in the context of Antarctic ice shelves, where rotation is important. We use a numerical model to simulate ocean circulation and basal melting beneath an idealized three-dimensional ice shelf and vary the rate and distribution of subglacial discharge. For channelized discharge, we find that in the rotating case, total melt-flux anomaly increases with two-thirds power of the discharge, in contrast to existing non-rotating results for which the melt-flux anomaly increases with one-third power of the discharge. The higher melt-flux anomaly with discharge is attributed to a more extensive area of the ice-shelf base being exposed to direct high melting by the rising plume as it is deflected due to Earth's rotation and its path is prolonged. For distributed discharge, we find that in both the rotating and the non-rotating cases, the melt-flux anomaly increases with two-thirds power of the discharge. Furthermore, in the rotating case, the addition of channelized, subglacial discharge can produce either a higher or a lower ice-shelf basal melt-flux anomaly than the equivalent amount of distributed discharge, depending on its location along the grounding line relative to the directionality of the Coriolis force. This contrasts with previous results from non-rotating, vertical ice-cliff simulations, where distributed discharge was always found to be more efficient than channelized discharge at enhancing the terminus-averaged melt rate. The implication, based on our idealized simulations, is that melt-rate parameterizations attempting to include subglacial discharge effects that are not geometry- and rotation-aware may produce total melt-flux anomalies that are off by a factor of 2 or more.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2006

Model Calculations of Solar Spectral Irradiance in the 3.7 Micron Band for Earth Remote Sensing Applications

Since the launch of the first Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument aboard TIROS-N, measurements in the 3.7 micron atmospheric window have been exploited for use in cloud detection and screening, cloud thermodynamic phase and surface snow/ice discrimination, and quantitative cloud particle size retrievals. The utility of the band has led to the incorporation of similar channels on a number of existing satellite imagers and future operational imagers. Daytime observations in the band include both reflected solar and thermal emission energy. Since 3.7 micron channels are calibrated to a radiance scale (via onboard blackbodies), knowledge of the top-of-atmosphere solar irradiance in the spectral region is required to infer reflectance. Despite the ubiquity of 3.7 micron channels, absolute solar spectral irradiance data comes from either a single measurement campaign (Thekaekara et al. 1969) or synthetic spectra. In this study, we compare historical 3.7 micron band spectral irradiance data sets with the recent semi-empirical solar model of the quiet-Sun by Fontenla et al. (2006). The model has expected uncertainties of about 2 % in the 3.7 pm spectral region. We find that channel-averaged spectral irradiances using the observations reported by Thekaekara et al. are 3.2-4.1% greater than those derived from the Fontenla et al. model for MODIS and AVHRR instrument bandpasses; the Kurucz spectrum (1995) as included in the MODTRAN4 distribution, gives channel-averaged irradiances 1.2-1.5 % smaller than the Fontenla model. For the MODIS instrument, these solar irradiance uncertainties result in cloud microphysical retrievals uncertainties comparable with other fundamental reflectance error sources.

Platnick, Steven↗
DOE OSTI2020

Enlarging the scope of resonant di-Higgs searches: hunting for Higgs-to-Higgs cascades in 4b final states at the LHC and future colliders

We extend the coverage of resonant di-Higgs searches in the $b\bar{b}b\bar{b}$ final state to the process $pp → H_1 → H_2H_2 → b\bar{b}b\bar{b}$, where both $H_{1,2}$ are spin-0 states beyond the Standard Model. Such a process constitutes a joint discovery mode for the new states $H_1$ and $H_2$. We present the first sensitivity study of this channel, using public LHC data to validate our analysis. We also provide a first estimate of the sensitivity of the search for the HL-LHC and future facilities like the HE-LHC and FCC-hh. We analyze the discovery potential of this search for several non-minimal scalar sector scenarios: an extension of the SM with two extra singlet scalar fields, the two-Higgs-doublet model and a two-Higgs doublet model plus a singlet, which captures the scalar potential features of the NMSSM. We find that this channel represents a novel, very powerful probe for extended Higgs sectors, offering complementary sensitivity to existing analyses.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Analytical simulation of meander morphology from equilibrium to long-term evolution: Impacts of channel geometry and vegetation-induced coarsening

This study introduces an innovative approach to modeling meandering river morphology, integrating and investigating the effects of geometric characteristics and vegetation-induced channel coarsening. The developed comprehensive framework combines several advanced techniques: Genetic Programming for refining the scour factor of transverse bed slope, a Leaf Area Index (LAI)-enhanced analytical model for quantifying vegetative flow resistance, and an upstream-weighted moving average method for efficient approximation of the convolution integral in meander migration calculations. The model is validated against both an idealized Kinoshita meander and a natural bend of the Tumen River (China) in equilibrium, demonstrating its robustness across diverse scales and conditions. The model's ability to simulate the long-term evolution, including cutoff events, provides valuable insight for river management strategies. The current findings demonstrate that channel geometry, particularly width-to-depth ratio, plays a dominant role in meander evolution, with wider channels prone to more complex and rapid morphological changes. Vegetation effects are most pronounced in channels with moderate width-to-depth ratios, where they can significantly influence migration rates and bed topography. A combination of channel widening and deepening, coupled with strategic vegetation management, can effectively enhance navigability while maintaining channel stability in the studied Tumen River reach. Sensitivity analyses highlight the complex interplay between hydraulic conditions, sediment characteristics, and vegetation in shaping river morphology. This research advances understanding of the multifaceted nature of meandering river systems and offers practical tools for informed decision-making in river engineering and environmental management, particularly in the context of climate change and increasing anthropogenic pressures on fluvial ecosystems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2017

Introduction of the ASGARD Code

ASGARD stands for 'Automated Selection and Grouping of events in AIA Regional Data'. The code is a refinement of the event detection method in Ugarte-Urra & Warren (2014). It is intended to automatically detect and group brightenings ('events') in the AIA EUV channels, to record event parameters, and to find related events over multiple channels. Ultimately, the goal is to automatically determine heating and cooling timescales in the corona and to significantly increase statistics in this respect. The code is written in IDL and requires the SolarSoft library. It is parallelized and can run with multiple CPUs. Input files are regions of interest (ROIs) in time series of AIA images from the JSOC cutout service (http://jsoc.stanford.edu/ajax/exportdata.html). The ROIs need to be tracked, co-registered, and limited in time (typically 12 hours).

Code development↗
DOE OSTI2026

Towards Scaling Law Analysis For Spatiotemporal Weather Data

Compute-optimal scaling laws are relatively well studied for NLP and CV, where objectives are typically single-step and targets are comparatively homogeneous. Weather forecasting is harder to characterize in the same framework: autoregressive rollouts compound errors over long horizons, outputs couple many physical channels with disparate scales and predictability, and globally pooled test metrics can disagree sharply with per-channel, late-lead behavior implied by short-horizon training. We extend neural scaling analysis for autoregressive weather forecasting from single-step training loss to long rollouts and per-channel metrics. We quantify (1) how prediction error is distributed across channels and how its growth rate evolves with forecast horizon, (2) if power law scaling holds for test error, relative to rollout length when error is pooled globally, and (3) how that fit varies jointly with horizon and channel for parameter, data, and compute-based scaling axes. We find strong cross-channel and cross-horizon heterogeneity: pooled scaling can look favorable while many channels degrade at late leads. We discuss implications for weighted objectives, horizon-aware curricula, and resource allocation across outputs.

Kiefer Jr, Alexander [ORNL] (ORCID:000000025398874↗
DOE OSTI2025

Mechanistic understanding of carbon mineralization in fracture systems using microfluidics

Carbon mineralization in mafic and ultramafic rocks presents an opportunity for permanent carbon storage in the Earth's subsurface. However, due to their lower permeability, pre-existing fracture networks are key for mineralization to occur. Therefore, to fully develop this technology, a mechanistic understanding of the mineralization behavior in fractures with the consideration of hydrodynamic components is required. We use high-pressure microfluidics to investigate key mechanisms influencing dissolution–precipitation in a fracture network. The experiments were conducted in micromodels made of natural rocks with a comb-shaped flow channel to mimic a fracture network. This enabled studying the effect of injection rate on coupled dissolution–precipitation in advection and diffusion-dominated flow paths. We used gypsum carbonation as an analog reaction to allow for realistic experimental time frames due to its rapid reaction kinetics. The experimental work is coupled with high-fidelity numerical simulations to enhance our understanding of the parameters affecting the mineralization reaction. Our results demonstrate the importance of flow rate on the rate and nature of the gypsum carbonation reaction revealing that higher flow rates enable deeper penetration of the mineral precipitation front into the dead-end channels. This is an important finding since for sustained mineralization in a fracture network, precipitation in dead-ends while still allowing for flowing fractures is critical. Detailed characterization of the precipitates showed that lower flow rates led to porous and loose precipitates in the form of aragonite while higher flow rates mimicked supersaturation behavior leading to the formation of calcite. The reactive transport simulations further demonstrated the significance of flow velocity in advection-dominated channels to influence the efficiency of carbon mineralization in diffusion-dominated channels, potentially clogging of dead-end channels. These findings highlight the need for coupling chemical, mechanical, and hydrodynamic processes to evaluate the nature and extent of carbon mineralization in fractured media critical for permanent storage in mafic and ultramafic formations. This research further highlights the need for more investigation in potential subsurface fracture generation techniques to aid carbon mineralization.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Human perception of ionizing radiation

Here, in this work, we address the question of whether humans can perceive ionizing radiation. We conducted a thorough review of the clinical and experimental literature related to ionizing radiation, with a focus on its acute effects. Specifically, we examined the three domains of X-ray perception found in animals (abdominal, olfactory, and retinal), which led us to instances of ionizing radiation-induced hearing and taste sensory phenomena in humans thus suggesting that humans can perceive X-rays across various sensory modalities via multiple mechanisms. We also analyzed literature to understand the mechanisms associated with reported symptoms, this led us to the concept of radiomodulation, an understudied modulatory effect of sub-ablative ionizing radiation doses on neurons. Based on this review of the literature we propose the hypothesis that a significant radiomodulation mechanism is the formation of reactive oxygen species from radiolysis which activates immune and sensory signal transduction mechanisms specifically related to the redox activity in TRP and K+ channels. Additionally, we find evidence to support the previous claims of perception stemming from Cherenkov radiation and ozone production which are perceived using canonical sensory modalities. Finally, for we provide a concise summary of the applications of ionizing radiation in clinical imaging and therapy, as well as prospects for future developments of radiation technologies for biomedical and fundamental research.

Ionizing radiation↗
DOE OSTI2020

On the Virasoro six-point identity block and chaos

We study six-point correlation functions in two dimensional conformal field theory, where the six operators are grouped in pairs with equal conformal dimension. Assuming large central charge $c$ and a sparse spectrum, the leading contribution to this correlation function is the six-point Virasoro identity block - corresponding to each distinct pair of operators fusing into the identity and its descendants. We call this the star channel. One particular term in the star channel identity block is the stress tensor $SL(2,\mathbb{R})$ (global) block, for which we derive an explicit expression. In the holographic context, this object corresponds to a direct measure of nonlinear effects in pure gravity. We calculate additional terms in the star channel identity block that contribute at the same order at large $c$ as the global block using the novel theory of reparametrizations, which extends the shadow operator formalism in a natural way. We investigate these blocks' relevance to quantum chaos in the form of six-point scrambling in an out-of time ordered correlator. Interestingly, the global block does not contribute to the scrambling mode of this correlator, implying that, to leading order, six-point scrambling is insensitive to the three-point graviton coupling in the bulk dual. Finally, we compare our findings with a different OPE channel, called the comb channel, and find the same result for the chaos exponent in this decomposition.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Integrating phytoplankton pigment and DNA meta-barcoding observations to determine phytoplankton composition in the coastal ocean

Quantifying phytoplankton composition is critical to predicting marine ecosystem structure and function. DNA meta-barcoding and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) pigment analysis are two widely used methods for assessing phytoplankton composition; however, comparing their performance has been done only rarely. Here, we integrate DNA meta-barcoding and HPLC pigment observations to determine eukaryotic phytoplankton composition in the Santa Barbara Channel, California. We find that both methods identify the same four dominant eukaryotic phytoplankton taxa (diatoms, dinoflagellates, chlorophytes, and prymnesiophytes), but inter- and intra-lineage variability in biomarker pigmentation (associated with both a lack of taxonomic specificity of biomarker pigments and intrinsic differences in accessory pigmentation) drives substantial disagreement between the methods. Covariation network analysis circumvents this disagreement and reveals that diverse assemblages of phytoplankton and other protists covary with distinct suites of biomarker pigments. Our results highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each method in characterizing phytoplankton composition and reveal novel insights into phytoplankton physiology that could only be gained by integrating the two methods. Finally, we suggest a path to monitor eukaryotic plankton communities on unprecedented spatiotemporal scales based on the covariation of unique phytoplankton and protistan assemblages with remotely sensible phytoplankton pigment concentrations.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Revisiting single inclusive jet production: timelike factorization and reciprocity

Factorization theorems for single inclusive jet production play a crucial role in the study of jets and their substructure. In the case of small radius jets, the dynamics of the jet clustering can be factorized from both the hard production dynamics, and the dynamics of the low scale jet substructure measurement, and is described by a matching coefficient that can be computed in perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). A proposed factorization formula describing this process has been previously presented in the literature, and is referred to as the semi-inclusive, or fragmenting jets formalism. By performing an explicit two-loop calculation, we show the inconsistency of this factorization formula, in agreement with another recent result in the literature. Building on recent progress in the factorization of single logarithmic observables, and the understanding of reciprocity, we then derive a new all-order factorization theorem for inclusive jet production. The use of a jet algorithm, being only a modification of the infrared structure of the measurement, modifies the structure of convolutions in the factorization theorem, as compared to inclusive fragmentation, but maintains the universality of the inclusive hard function and its associated Dokshitzer-Gribov-Lipatov-Altarelli-Parisi (DGLAP) evolution, which are ultraviolet properties. However, the non-trivial structure of convolutions in the factorization theorem implies that the jet functions exhibit a modified evolution. We perform an explicit two-loop calculation of the jet function in both N = 4 super Yang-Mills (SYM), and for all color channels in QCD, finding exact agreement with the structure derived from our renormalization group equations. In addition, we derive several new results, including an extension of our factorization formula to jet substructure observables, a jet algorithm definition of a generating function for the energy correlators, and new results for exclusive jet functions. Our results are a key ingredient for achieving precision jet substructure at colliders.

Effective Field Theories↗
DOE OSTI2023

Analysys of the performance a PEM-type electrolyzer in variable energy supply conditions

Here in this article, the main variables related to the performance of a proton exchange membrane-type electrolyzer are analyzed along with the risk of explosion for different operating conditions, notably when the electrolyzer works with a variable solar energy power supply and at high pressure. A novel mathematical model was developed that considers all mass transport phenomena through the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) for water, hydrogen, and oxygen, as well as the water evaporation in the anode and cathode channels. The main findings of this work are that for a solar energy supply operating at high pressure, the electrolyzer cannot function safely throughout the day, since in the hours when solar irradiation is lower, low current densities favor high hydrogen concentrations at the anode. Finally, it was found that greater thicknesses of the membrane increased the explosion risk due to the increase in the MEA temperature and therefore the hydrogen solubility.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2021

TMTpro Complementary Ion Quantification Increases Plexing and Sensitivity for Accurate Multiplexed Proteomics at the MS2 Level

Multiplexed proteomics is a powerful tool to assay cell states in health and disease, but accurate quantification of relative protein changes is impaired by interference from co-isolated peptides. Most widely, this issue is alleviated by MS3-based quantification, reducing sensitivity and requiring specialized instrumentation. An alternative approach is quantification by complementary ions, which allows accurate and precise multiplexed quantification at the MS2 level and is compatible with the most widely distributed instruments. However, complementary ions of the popular TMT tag form inefficiently and plexing is limited to five channels. In this work, we evaluate and optimize complementary ion quantification for the recently released TMTPro tag, which increases plexing capacity to 8 channels (TMTProC). We find that the beneficial fragmentation properties increase quantification signal five-fold compared to TMT. This increased sensitivity results in ~50% more proteins quantified compared to TMTPro-MS3 and even slightly outperforms TMTPro-MS2. Furthermore, TMTProC quantification is more accurate than TMTPro-MS2 and even superior to TMTPro-MS3. To demonstrate the power of TMTProC, we analyzed a human and yeast interference sample and were able to quantify 13,290 proteins in 24 fractions. Thus, TMTProC advances multiplexed proteomics data quality and widens access to accurate multiplexed proteomics beyond laboratories with MS3-capable instrumentation.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Combined Optical and Radio-Frequency Measurements of a Lightning Megaflash by the FORTE Satellite

The optical and VHF instrumentation on the Fast On-Orbit Recording of Transient Events (FORTE) satellite is used to document the combined phenomenology evolution of a lightning “megaflash” – mesoscale lightning that propagates laterally over exceptional distances. We identify a FORTE flash whose maximum extent was 82 km and inferred length over multiple distinct branches exceeded 100 km. This flash lasted 1.2 s and produced 250 optical and 591 RF events. We find that the channel development mapped by FORTE’s pixelated lightning imager (LLS) occurred at a typical speed of 2.6x10 5 m s -1 and was accompanied by sustained periods of VHF emission that could individually exceed 100 ms in duration. The impulsive IC events generated by the flash indicate that this development occurred at altitudes between 3 and 8 km. Four +CG strokes were identified in the VHF waveform data that are responsible for two of the three highly-radiant LLS groups (two of the +CGs were not as optically bright as the others). These strokes occurred at different locations throughout the flash footprint with the most distant strokes separated by approximately 50 km. These space-based observations match previous observations of megaflashes as well as ground-based measurements of negative leader development during “spider” lightning, suggesting that FORTE is sensing the same phenomena.

Peterson, Michael Jay↗
DOE OSTI2023

Arctic Permafrost Thawing Enhances Sulfide Oxidation

Permafrost degradation is altering biogeochemical processes throughout the Arctic. Thaw-induced changes in organic matter transformations and mineral weathering reactions are impacting fluxes of inorganic carbon (IC) and alkalinity (ALK) in Arctic rivers. However, the net impact of these changing fluxes on the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (pCO 2 ) is relatively unconstrained. Resolving this uncertainty is important as thaw-driven changes in the fluxes of IC and ALK could produce feedbacks in the global carbon cycle. Enhanced production of sulfuric acid through sulfide oxidation is particularly poorly quantified despite its potential to remove ALK from the ocean-atmosphere system and increase pCO 2 , producing a positive feedback leading to more warming and permafrost degradation. In this work, we quantified weathering in the Koyukuk River, a major tributary of the Yukon River draining discontinuous permafrost in central Alaska, based on water and sediment samples collected near the village of Huslia in summer 2018. Using measurements of major ion abundances and sulfate (SO 4 2- ) sulfur ( 34 S/ 32 S) and oxygen ( 18 O/ 16 O) isotope ratios, we employed the MEANDIR inversion model to quantify the relative importance of a suite of weathering processes and their net impact on pCO 2 . Calculations found that approximately 80% of SO 4 2- in mainstem samples derived from sulfide oxidation with the remainder from evaporite dissolution. Moreover, 34 S/ 32 S ratios, 13 C/ 12 C ratios of dissolved IC, and sulfur X-ray absorption spectra of mainstem, secondary channel, and floodplain pore fluid and sediment samples revealed modest degrees of microbial sulfate reduction within the floodplain. Weathering fluxes of ALK and IC result in lower values of pCO 2 over timescales shorter than carbonate compensation (~10 4 yr) and, for mainstem samples, higher values of pCO 2 over timescales longer than carbonate compensation but shorter than the residence time of marine (~10 7 yr). Furthermore, the absolute concentrations of and Mg 2+ in the Koyukuk River, as well as the ratios of SO 4 2- and Mg 2+ to other dissolved weathering products, have increased over the past 50 years. Through analogy to similar trends in the Yukon River, we interpret these changes as reflecting enhanced sulfide oxidation due to ongoing exposure of previously frozen sediment and changes in the contributions of shallow and deep flow paths to the active channel. Overall, these findings confirm that sulfide oxidation is a substantial outcome of permafrost degradation and that the sulfur cycle responds to permafrost thaw with a timescale-dependent feedback on warming.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗