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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

Exploring the Potential of Factory Installed Solar + Storage for Homebuilding

In recent years, an increasing number of grid disruptions due to intense weather events, natural disasters, and high peak loads resulted in increased interest in energy-resilient homes. Solar + storage (S+S) as an energy resiliency solution can provide continuity, onsite generation, and backup power during critical events. This project explored factory-installed solar plus storage (FISS) to overcome first cost and installation barriers and bring this resiliency solution to scale for single-family affordable and market-rate homebuyers. Guided by the principles of Lean manufacturing, the team explored how factories building high-performance zero energy modular homes can incorporate S+S into their existing construction system while improving quality and productivity and reducing the costs of the resilient energy system.

ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION,↗

An argument for using anaerobes as microbial cell factories to advance synthetic biology and biomanufacturing

Anaerobes thrive in the absence of oxygen and are an untapped reservoir of biotechnological potential. Therefore, bioprospecting efforts focused on anaerobic microbial diversity could rapidly uncover new enzymes, pathways, and chassis organisms to drive biotechnology innovation. Despite their potential utility, anaerobic fermenters are viewed as inefficient from a biochemical perspective because their metabolisms produce fewer ATP (~2) per molecule of glucose processed than heterotrophic respirers (~32–38 ATP). While aerobes excel at ATP generation, they are often less efficient than anaerobes at processes that compete with ATP generation for cellular resources. This perspective highlights how anaerobic adaptations are advantageous for synthetic biology and biomanufacturing applications through the engineering of microbial cell factories. We further highlight emerging applications of anaerobic bioprocessing, including the use of anaerobic metabolisms for lignocellulosic bioprocessing, human and environmental health, and value-added bioproduction.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Harnessing selenocysteine to enhance microbial cell factories for hydrogen production

Hydrogen is a clean, renewable energy source, that when combined with oxygen, produces heat and electricity with only water vapor as a biproduct. Furthermore, it has the highest energy content by weight of all known fuels. As a result, various strategies have engineered methods to produce hydrogen efficiently and in quantities that are of interest to the economy. To approach the notion of producing hydrogen from a biological perspective, we take our attention to hydrogenases which are naturally produced in microbes. These organisms have the machinery to produce hydrogen, which when cleverly engineered, could be useful in cell factories resulting in large production of hydrogen. Not all hydrogenases are efficient at hydrogen production, and those that are, tend to be oxygen sensitive. Therefore, we provide a new perspective on introducing selenocysteine, a highly reactive proteinogenic amino acid, as a strategy towards engineering hydrogenases with enhanced hydrogen production, or increased oxygen tolerance.

08 HYDROGEN↗

The Host Galaxies of Type Ia Supernovae Discovered by the Palomar Transient Factory

We present spectroscopic observations of the host galaxies of 82 low-redshift type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) discovered by the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF). We determine star-formation rates, gas-phase stellar metallicities, and stellar masses and ages of these objects. As expected, strong correlations between the SN Ia light-curve width (stretch) and the host age mass metallicity are found: fainter, faster-declining events tend to be hosted by older massive metal-rich galaxies. There is some evidence that redder SNe Ia explode in higher metallicity galaxies, but we found no relation between the SN colour and host galaxy extinction based on the Balmer decrement, suggesting that the colour variation of these SNe does not primarily arise from this source. SNe Ia in higher-mass metallicity galaxies also appear brighter after stretch colour corrections than their counterparts in lower mass hosts, and the stronger correlation is with gas-phase metallicity suggesting this may be the more important variable. We also compared the host stellar mass distribution to that in galaxy targeted SN surveys and the high-redshift untargeted Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS). SNLS has many more low mass galaxies, while the targeted searches have fewer. This can be explained by an evolution in the galaxy stellar mass function, coupled with a SN delay-time distribution proportional to t1. Finally, we found no significant difference in the mass--metallicity relation of our SN Ia hosts compared to field galaxies, suggesting any metallicity effect on the SN Ia rate is small.

host↗

Slow-Speed Supernovae from the Palomar Transient Factory: Two Channels

Since the discovery of the unusual prototype SN 2002cx, the eponymous class of low-velocity, hydrogen-poor supernovae has grown to include at most another two dozen members identified from several heterogeneous surveys, in some cases ambiguously. Here we present the results of a systematic study of 1077 hydrogen-poor supernovae discovered by the Palomar Transient Factory, leading to nine new members of this peculiar class. Moreover we find there are two distinct subclasses based on their spectroscopic, photometric, and host galaxy properties: The "SN 2002cx-like" supernovae tend to be in later-type or more irregular hosts, have more varied and generally dimmer luminosities, have longer rise times, and lack a Ti II trough when compared to the \SN 2002es-like" supernovae. None of our objects show helium, and we counter a previous claim of two such events. We also find that these transients comprise 5.6+17 -3:7% (90% confidence) of all SNe Ia, lower compared to earlier estimates. Combining our objects with the literature sample, we propose that these subclasses have two distinct physical origins.

palomar↗

Multi-track displaced vertices at $B$-factories

We propose a program at B-factories of inclusive, multi-track displaced vertex searches, which are expected to be low background and give excellent sensitivity to non-minimal hidden sectors. Multi-particle hidden sectors often include long-lived particles (LLPs) which result from approximate symmetries, and we classify the possible decays of GeV-scale LLPs in an effective field theory framework. Considering several LLP production modes, including dark photons and dark Higgs bosons, we study the sensitivity of LLP searches with different number of displaced vertices per event and track requirements per displaced vertex, showing that inclusive searches can have sensitivity to a large range of hidden sector models that are otherwise unconstrained by current or planned searches.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DGFRS-2—A gas-filled recoil separator for the Dubna Super Heavy Element Factory

The main goal of development of the new Dubna Gas-Filled Recoil Separator (DGFRS-2) is to sufficiently improve the efficiency of studies on heavy and superheavy nuclei at the Super Heavy Element Factory of the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (FLNR) at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. The use of beams with the intensity up to 6×10 13 s -1 (10 pμA) delivered by the DC280 cyclotron requires an effective setup providing high suppression of background reaction products. Additionally, the described gas-filled separator is optimized for synthesis and study of heavy isotopes produced in complete fusion reactions of massive nuclei. Basic characteristics of DGFRS-2, as well as the results of the first test experiments, are presented. In comparison to the DGFRS-1, the transmission efficiency was doubled, and the background was reduced by a factor 200.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Efficiency corrections for factorial moments and cumulants of overlapping sets of particles

In this note we discuss subtleties associated with the efficiency corrections for measurements of off-diagonal cumulants and factorial moments for a situation when one deals with overlapping sets of particles, such as correlations between numbers of protons and positively charged particles. In particular, we discuss the situation commonly encountered in heavy-ion experiments, where first all charges are reconstructed and then protons are selected from these charges by an additional particle identification procedure. We present the efficiency correction formulas for the case when the detection efficiencies follow a binomial distribution.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

The role of gas flow distributions on CO 2 mineralization within monolithic cemented composites: coupled CFD-factorial design approach

The carbonation kinetics of monolithic cementing composites are strongly affected by gas transport which is, in turn, influenced by microstructural resistances and the presence of liquid water within pore networks. The non-uniform gas flow distribution within the CO 2 mineralization reactor can impart mass transfer resistance in the monolith microstructure, which affects the uptake of CO 2 (“carbonation”) of the cementing composites. This paper demonstrates how the gas spatial distribution (velocity and flow rate; quantified by CFD analysis) and processing conditions (temperature, relative humidity, and flow rate; quantified by factorial design) affect drying and carbonation, and in turn, the engineering properties of a representative ‘monolithic’ carbonate-cemented concrete component (i.e., herein concrete masonry unit: CMUs, also known as concrete block). It is shown that the gas flow distribution affects drying front penetration and results in moisture and carbonation gradients within the monolith. Particularly, variations in drying kinetics caused by non-uniformity of the contacting gas velocity impose gradients in moisture saturation, which results in increasing microstructural resistance to CO 2 transport. The resultant non-uniform carbonate-mineral formation (i.e., carbonate cementation), if not controlled, can produce gradients in mechanical properties and may alter failure patterns upon loading. Finally, these insights inform the optimal design of gas flow distribution systems and processing conditions within CO 2 mineralization reactors for the manufacturing of low-CO 2 concrete components using CO 2 -dilute industrial flue gas streams.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Towards a modular architecture for science factories

Advances in robotic automation, high-performance computing, and artificial intelligence encourage us to propose large, general-purpose science factories with the scale needed to tackle large discovery problems and to support thousands of scientists.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Lead tungstate calorimeter of the Jefferson Lab Eta Factory experiment

A new electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) consisting of 1596 lead tungstate PbWO 4 scintillating crystals has been fabricated and installed in the experimental Hall D at Jefferson Lab (JLab). The highgranularity, high-resolution calorimeter is required by the JLab Eta Factory experiment, whose main physics goal is to study rare decays of eta mesons. The ECAL replaced the inner part of the forward lead glass calorimeter of the GlueX detector. Signals from the detector will be digitized using twelve-bit flash analog-to-digital converters operated at a sampling rate of 250 MHz. The ECAL is integrated into the trigger system of the GlueX detector using electronics modules designed at JLab. The ECAL is currently at the commissioning stage and should be ready for the physics run in January 2025. We will give an overview of the JEF experiment, the design and construction of the ECAL, and the integration of the detector and its infrastructure into the Hall D experimental setup.

Somov, Alexander [Thomas Jefferson National Accele↗

From core collapse to superluminous: the rates of massive stellar explosions from the Palomar Transient Factory

ABSTRACT We present measurements of the local core-collapse supernova (CCSN) rate using SN discoveries from the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF). We use a Monte Carlo simulation of hundreds of millions of SN light-curve realizations coupled with the detailed PTF survey detection efficiencies to forward model the SN rates in PTF. Using a sample of 86 CCSNe, including 26 stripped-envelope SNe (SESNe), we show that the overall CCSN volumetric rate is $r^\mathrm{CC}_v=9.10_{-1.27}^{+1.56}\times 10^{-5}\, \text{SNe yr}^{-1}\, \text{Mpc}^{-3}\, h_{70}^{3}$ at 〈z〉 = 0.028, and the SESN volumetric rate is $r^\mathrm{SE}_v=2.41_{-0.64}^{+0.81}\times 10^{-5}\, \text{SNe yr}^{-1}\, \text{Mpc}^{-3}\, h_{70}^{3}$. We further measure a volumetric rate for hydrogen-free superluminous SNe (SLSNe-I) using eight events at z ≤ 0.2 of $r^\mathrm{SLSN-I}_v=35_{-13}^{+25}\, \text{SNe yr}^{-1}\text{Gpc}^{-3}\, h_{70}^{3}$, which represents the most precise SLSN-I rate measurement to date. Using a simple cosmic star formation history to adjust these volumetric rate measurements to the same redshift, we measure a local ratio of SLSN-I to SESN of ${\sim}1/810^{+1500}_{-94}$, and of SLSN-I to all CCSN types of ${\sim}1/3500^{+2800}_{-720}$. However, using host galaxy stellar mass as a proxy for metallicity, we also show that this ratio is strongly metallicity dependent: in low-mass (logM* < 9.5 M⊙) galaxies, which are the only environments that host SLSN-I in our sample, we measure an SLSN-I to SESN fraction of $1/300^{+380}_{-170}$ and $1/1700^{+1800}_{-720}$ for all CCSN. We further investigate the SN rates a function of host galaxy stellar mass, and show that the specific rates of all CCSNe decrease with increasing stellar mass.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Investigation of 48 Ca-induced reactions with 242 Pu and 238 U targets at the JINR Superheavy Element Factory

Experiments using a 48 Ca beam on 238 U and 242 Pu targets to produce superheavy nuclei were performed at the gas-filled separator DGFRS-2 online to the new cyclotron DC280 at the SHE Factory at JINR. The decay properties of 286 Fl and 287 Fl, as well as their α-decay products, were refined after the detection of 25 and 69 new decay chains, respectively. In addition, 16 decay chains of 283 Cn were observed in the 238 U+ 48 Ca reaction. The possibility of existing of isomeric states in the 287 Fl consecutive α decays is discussed. A new α line with an energy of 100–200 keV lower than the main one at 10.19 MeV was observed for the first time for even-even 286 Fl decay. A maximum cross section of $10.4^{+3.5}_{-2.1}$pb was measured for the 242 Pu( 48 Ca,3n) 287 Fl reaction.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

First experiment at the Super Heavy Element Factory: High cross section of Mc 288 in the Am 243 + Ca 48 reaction and identification of the new isotope Lr 264

Here, we present results of the first experiment aimed at the synthesis of Mc isotopes in the 243 Am+ 48 Ca reaction performed at the new gas-filled separator DGFRS-2 online to the new cyclotron DC280 at the Super Heavy Element Factory at JINR. Fifty-five new decay chains of 288 Mc and six chains assigned to 289 Mc were detected. The α decay of 268 Db with an energy of 7.6–8.0 MeV, half-life of 16$^{+6}_{-4}$h, and a branch of 55$^{+20}_{-15}$% was registered for the first time, and a new spontaneously fissioning isotope 264 Lr with a half-life of 4.9$^{+2.1}_{-1.3}$h was identified. The cross section for the 243 Am( 48 Ca,3n) 288 Mc reaction was measured to be 17.1$^{+6.3}_{-4.7}$ pb, which is the largest value for the known superheavy nuclei at the island of stability.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Search for the critical point of strongly-interacting matter in $^{40}$Ar + $^{45}$Sc collisions at 150A Ge V /c using scaled factorial moments of protons

The critical point of dense, strongly interacting matter is searched for at the CERN SPS in $^{40}$Ar + $^{45}$Sc collisions at 150A Ge V /c. The dependence of second-order scaled factorial moments of proton multiplicity distribution on the number of subdivisions of transverse momentum space is measured. The intermittency analysis is performed using both transverse momentum and cumulative transverse momentum. For the first time, statistically independent data sets are used for each subdivision number. The obtained results do not indicate any statistically significant intermittency pattern. An upper limit on the fraction of correlated proton pairs and the power of the correlation function is obtained based on a comparison with the Power-law Model developed for this purpose.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Superbeams and neutrino factories — Two paths to intense accelerator-based neutrino beams

High-energy and high-beam power accelerators are extensively used for the neutrino physics research. At present, the leading operational facilities are the J-PARC facility in Japan, which recently approached 0.5 MW of the 30 GeV proton beam power, and the Fermilab Main Injector complex that delivers over 0.75 MW of 120 GeV protons on the neutrino target. Besides such type of neutrino superbeams, the concept of neutrino factories offers great promise for particle physics research. In this brief review we present the status and planned upgrades of the J-PARC and Fermilab accelerators and leading proposals for the next generation accelerator-based facilities of both types, their challenges and required and ongoing accelerator R&D programs aimed to address corresponding performance and cost risks.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Low-cost sensors and analytics for a digital factory

ORNL Manufacturing Demonstration Facility and Perisense worked on a low-cost solution for machining process monitoring to enable a digital factory. Enabling machine connectivity for digital factors is expensive for many small to medium manufacturers. The hypothesis for the research project is that a lowcost sensor suite, which can be retrofitted to a legacy machine tool or a new machine tool, can effectively provide real-time, in-situ sensing for manufacturing processes, which can enable improvements in process performance and efficiency. The Perisense sensor node was installed on the Haas TM1 machine with a current sensor and an accelerometer. Cutting tests were performed at different process parameters and sensor data was recorded. Results show a correlation of the current sensor to the spindle load. The accelerometer, mounted on the machine base, showed a correlation to the spindle speed as well as the spindle load. The sensor data can be used to monitor the machining process and provide insights on the machine spindle load utilization.

42 ENGINEERING↗

The Jefferson Lab Eta Factory (JEF) experiment

The Jefferson Lab Eta Factory (JEF) experiment is an upcoming experiment designed to run in Hall D at Jefferson Lab using an upgraded GlueX spectrometer to study various decays of the ? meson. The GlueX spectrometer consists of a ?2 Tesla solenoid magnet housing a liquid hydrogen target and drift chambers used for tracking charged particles and an array of lead glass blocks (the Forward Calorimeter (FCAL)) downstream of the magnet for detecting neutral particles. The decays of the ? meson can be used to measure the light quark mass ratio via the ???+???0 channel and allow access to higher-order terms in Chiral Perturbation Theory via the ???0?? channel. The decays can also be used to constrain new charge-conjugation violating/parity conserving (CVPC) reactions and to search for signatures of dark matter. In particular, the ???0?? channel can be used to search for lepto-phobic dark vector (B) bosons in the reaction ??B? (B??0?) or dark scalar (S) bosons in the reaction ???0S (S???). Studying the rare radiative decay channel ???0?? requires replacing the 4×4×45 cm3 lead glass blocks in the inner region of the FCAL with 2×2×20 cm3 lead tungstate crystals, which will provide twice better position and energy resolution. This talk will describe the JEF physics program and the upgrade to the FCAL.

Taylor, Simon↗