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At least 685 records · Page 38

An environmental testing facility for Space Station Freedom power management and distribution hardware

The plans for a new test facility, including new environmental test systems, which are presently under construction, and the major environmental Test Support Equipment (TSE) used therein are addressed. This all-new Rocketdyne facility will perform space simulation environmental tests on Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) hardware to Space Station Freedom (SSF) at the Engineering Model, Qualification Model, and Flight Model levels of fidelity. Testing will include Random Vibration in three axes - Thermal Vacuum, Thermal Cycling and Thermal Burn-in - as well as numerous electrical functional tests. The facility is designed to support a relatively high throughput of hardware under test, while maintaining the high standards required for a man-rated space program.

Jackola, Arthur S.↗

Sensitivity of neutron observables to the model input in simulations of 252 Cf ( sf )

Within the framework of $FREYA$ event-by-event fission simulations, we study the sensitivity of various neutron observables to the input yield function $Y$ ($A,Z,$TKE) on which the fission event sampling is based. We first perform a statistical analysis of the available fission data in order to determine the distribution of possible yield functions $Y$ ($A,Z$,TKE) and we then construct a sample of 15,000 such yield functions. For each of these, $FREYA$ is used to generate one million fission events, leading to a corresponding ensemble of fission observables, including the neutron multiplicity distribution and its factorial moments, the neutron energy spectrum, and the neutron-neutron angular correlation. This procedure allows us to study the sensitivity of those neutron observables to the uncertainty in the experimental data. Particular attention is given to the pronounced anticorrelation between the mean neutron multiplicity $\bar{v}$ and the mean total fragment kinetic energy TKE. Because the former observable is very well determined experimentally, it is possible to exploit that inherent anticorrelation to derive a significantly stricter tolerance on TKE. In addition, we study the sensitivity to the various $FREYA$ parameters and we introduce a method for determining a A-dependent x parameter, $x$($A$), based on the measured A-dependent neutron multiplicity, ($A$).

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

A Cosmic Void Catalog of SDSS DR12 BOSS Galaxies

We present a cosmic void catalog using the large-scale structure galaxy catalog from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This galaxy catalog is part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 12 and is the final catalog of SDSS-III. We take into account the survey boundaries, masks, and angular and radial selection functions, and apply the ZOBOV void finding algorithm to the Galaxy catalog. We identify a total of 10,643 voids. After making quality cuts to ensure that the voids represent real underdense regions, we obtain 1,228 voids with effective radii spanning the range 20–100 h{sup −1} Mpc and with central densities that are, on average, 30% of the mean sample density. We release versions of the catalogs both with and without quality cuts. We discuss the basic statistics of voids, such as their size and redshift distributions, and measure the radial density profile of the voids via a stacking technique. In addition, we construct mock void catalogs from 1000 mock galaxy catalogs, and find that the properties of BOSS voids are in good agreement with those in the mock catalogs. We compare the stellar mass distribution of galaxies living inside and outside of the voids, and find no large difference. These BOSS and mock void catalogs are useful for a number of cosmological and galaxy environment studies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Biophotonic rogue waves in red blood cell suspensions

Rogue waves are ubiquitous in nature, appearing in a variety of physical systems ranging from acoustics, microwave cavities, optical fibers, and resonators to plasmas, superfluids, and Bose–Einstein condensates. Unlike nonlinear solitary waves, rogue waves are extreme events that can occur even without nonlinearity by, for example, spontaneous synchronization of waves with different spatial frequencies in a linear system. Here, we report the observation of rogue-wave-like events in human red blood cell (RBC) suspensions under weak light illumination, characterized by an abnormal L-shaped probability distribution. Such biophotonic extreme events arise mostly due to the constructive interference of Mie-scattered waves from the suspended RBCs, whose biconcave shape and mutable orientation give rise to a time-dependent random phase modulation to an incident laser beam. We numerically simulate the beam propagation through the colloidal suspensions with added disorder in both spatial and temporal domains to mimic random scattering due to Brownian motion. In addition, at high power levels, nonlinear beam self-focusing is also observed, leading to a dual-exponential probability distribution associated with the formation of multiple soliton-like spots. Such rogue wave events should also exist in environments with cells of other species such as swimming bacteria, and understanding of their underlying physics may lead to unexpected biophotonic applications.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DSO+T: Transactive Energy Coordination Framework (DSO+T Study: Volume 3)

This report describes a transactive energy coordination scheme designed to integrate into existing day-ahead and real-time wholesale energy markets. This scheme was evaluated in the Distribution System Operator with Transactive (DSO+T) study to assess the engineering and economic performance of the transactive energy coordination of a large-scale deployment of distributed energy resources (DER). Transactive agents were developed for a range of DERs (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units, water heaters, batteries, and electric vehicles) that optimize flexibility over a 48-hour horizon and adjust their strategy in response to changes in real-time prices. A transactive energy coordination scheme, executed by a DSO retail market operator, aggregates these DER bids from participating customers and clears them against a DSO supply curve using a double auction market mechanism. The process of constructing the price-quantity DSO supply curve includes distribution-level transportation constraints (for example, substation congestion limits) and forecast locational marginal price of the DSO’s connected transmission node. The resulting day-ahead and real-time quantities are then bid into a competitive wholesale market operated by an independent system operator. This report also details additional capabilities for proper marketplace simulation such as wholesale price, weather, and load forecasting. The report concludes with a discussion of lessons learned and key design features required to ensure successful operation.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Size of bulk fermions in the SYK model

The study of quantum gravity in the form of the holographic duality has uncovered and motivated the detailed investigation of various diagnostics of quantum chaos. One such measure is the operator size distribution, which characterizes the size of the support region of an operator and its evolution under Heisenberg evolution. In this work, we examine the role of the operator size distribution in holographic duality for the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model. Using an explicit construction of AdS 2 bulk fermion operators in a putative dual of the low temperature SYK model, we study the operator size distribution of the boundary and bulk fermions. Our result provides a direct derivation of the relationship between (effective) operator size of both the boundary and bulk fermions and bulk SL(2;$\mathbb{R}$) generators.

2D gravity↗

Latitudinal distribution of the sources of carbon monoxide in the troposphere

A vertically and zonally averaged model of the troposphere has been constructed which calculates photochemical interactions and diffusive North-South transport of trace species. The model can be used to calculate the latitudinal distribution of the source function of a species if its concentration distribution is known. This procedure has been applied to carbon monoxide and large sources have been found outside the industrialized belt in the Northern Hemisphere.

Hameed, S.↗

Deriving Laws from Ordering Relations

It took much effort in the early days of non-Euclidean geometry to break away from the mindset that all spaces are flat and that two distinct parallel lines do not cross. Up to that point, all that was known was Euclidean geometry, and it was difficult to imagine anything else. We have suffered a similar handicap brought on by the enormous relevance of Boolean algebra to the problems of our age-logic and set theory. Previously, I demonstrated that the algebra of questions is not Boolean, but rather is described by the free distributive algebra. To get to this stage took much effort, as many obstacles-most self-placed-had to be overcome. As Boolean algebras were all I had ever known, it was almost impossible for me to imagine working with an algebra where elements do not have complements. With this realization, it became very clear that the sum and product rules of probability theory at the most basic level had absolutely nothing to do with the Boolean algebra of logical statements. Instead, a measure of degree of inclusion can be invented for many different partially ordered sets, and the sum and product rules fall out of the associativity and distributivity of the algebra. To reinforce this very important idea, this paper will go over how these constructions are made, while focusing on the underlying assumptions. I will derive the sum and product rules for a distributive lattice in general and demonstrate how this leads to probability theory on the Boolean lattice and is related to the calculus of quantum mechanical amplitudes on the partially ordered set of experimental setups. I will also discuss the rules that can be derived from modular lattices and their relevance to the cross-ratio of projective geometry.

Knuth, Kevin H.↗

Modeling and Simulation of Reliability & Maintainability Parameters for Reusable Launch Vehicles using Design of Experiments

This paper describes the development of a methodology for estimating reliability and maintainability distribution parameters for a reusable launch vehicle. A disciplinary analysis code and experimental designs are used to construct approximation models for performance characteristics. These models are then used in a simulation study to estimate performance characteristic distributions efficiently. The effectiveness and limitations of the developed methodology for launch vehicle operations simulations are also discussed.

Unal, Resit↗

Static Frequency Converter System Installed and Tested

A new Static Frequency Converter (SFC) system has been installed and tested at the NASA Glenn Research Center s Central Air Equipment Building to provide consistent, reduced motor start times and improved reliability for the building s 14 large exhausters and compressors. The operational start times have been consistent around 2 min, 20 s per machine. This is at least a 3-min improvement (per machine) over the old variable-frequency motor generator sets. The SFC was designed and built by Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) and installed by Encompass Design Group (EDG) as part of a Construction of Facilities project managed by Glenn (Robert Scheidegger, project manager). The authors designed the Central Process Distributed Control Systems interface and control between the programmable logic controller, solid-state exciter, and switchgear, which was constructed by Gilcrest Electric.

Brown, Donald P.↗

Distributed Magnetic Field and Temperature Monitoring for Superconducting Radio Frequency Cavities

The overall objective of the proposed Phase I program was to design, construct and demonstrate a fiber optic sensing system capable of providing temperature and magnetic field measurements with an enhanced spatial resolution that can be implemented over a large surface area (cryomodules) to survey superconducting radio frequency cavities and magnets. A magnetic field sensor capable of detecting fluxes on the order of 1 μT is required to detect the distribution of trapped flux on the cavity surface. A unique distributed magnetic field sensor was successfully designed and constructed to demonstrate the detection of magnetic fluxes less than 500 nT. The sensor leveraged the ultra-high sensitivity of Sentek’s picoDAS to measure the magnetostriction induced vibrations in a commercially available Metglas 2605 SC ribbon that was in physical contact with sensing fiber. Static magnetic fields were detected by applying an alternating current a copper wire proximate to the Metglas 2605SC ribbon to create an AC bias magnetic field. In an alternative approach, an AC bias magnetic field was applied to a special magnetic field sensing fiber with Metglas 2605SC cladding successfully detect a magnetic field flux of a 3 μT. Exhaustive testing was performed to characterize the dependency of sensor response on the direction of the applied magnetic field. Although the special sensing fiber based magnetic field sensor did not exhibit an observable dependence on the direction of the magnetic field, the Metglas 2605SC ribbon sensor exhibited a clear directional dependence. A wide variety of polymer materials were evaluated to enhance the temperature response of an FBG based sensor at cryogenic temperatures. The processing and performance challenges provided the motivation to develop a new simple cryogenic temperature sensor that uses a commercially available fiber optic splice protector. The EVA hot melt tube that becomes adhered to the optical fiber and the polyolefin outer tube that shrinks upon heating in the fusion splicer heater provide the high thermal expansion coefficient necessary to impart a significant strain on the FBG when exposed to cryogenic temperatures. The temperature sensitivity (Δ𝜆𝐵𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑔~ 62 𝑝𝑝𝑚/℃) of the FBG-based sensor was on par with the best reported to date. The simple design, use of readily available cost-effective materials, and well-established processing techniques lends this approach to the creation of hundreds to thousands of temperature sensors on one single optical fiber length. The inherently small form factor also allows for co-location with the distributed magnetic field sensor. In preparation for field testing of the prototype sensing system at the Jefferson Labs in potential Phase II program, several different cable designs were evaluated to package the sensors. The preliminary successful demonstration of fully functional sensing cables provides the foundation for subsequent development efforts to advance the Technology Readiness Level of the technology. The technical feasibility of the proposed approach was successfully demonstrated in this Phase I effort.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Pseudosymmetric features of non-centrosymmetric AB type crystals

This work is supplement to our previous investigation (Gazhulina and Marychev, 2015) [1]. We have considered pseudosymmetric features with respect to the operation of inversion (pseudoinversion) for 340 non-centrosymmetric AB type crystals. Analysis of the features of particular structure types allowed us to determine the positions of pseudoinversion centers, subdivide them into separate types, and classify the entire set of crystals studied with respect to the types of pseudoinversion centers and peculiarities of the behavior of the degree of pseudoinversion depending on the ratio of atomic numbers of A and B components. For each group of crystals, average values and lower boundaries of the maximum pseudoinversion are determined and distribution with respect to the degree of pseudoinversion is constructed. - Graphical abstract: A group of 340 non-centrosymmetric AB type crystals have been considered for their pseudosymmetry features with respect to the operation of inversion. Positions of pseudoinversion centers, subdivision of them into separate types, classification of the entire set of crystals studied with respect to the types of pseudoinversion centers and peculiarities of the behavior of the degree of pseudoinversion are established and discussed. Display Omitted - Highlights: • We consider pseudoinversion of 340 non-centrosymmetric AB type crystals. • AB type crystals are divided into three groups with respect to pseudoinversion. • Positions and types of pseudoinversion centers are determined. • Lower boundaries of the maximum pseudoinversion are determined.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Steering Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Membrane-Associated Proteins with Neutron Reflection Results

Herein, we present a novel method to incorporate structural results from surface-sensitive scattering, such as X-ray or neutron reflectometry, into molecular dynamics simulations. While reflectometry techniques generally provide a means to determine the molecular-scale structures of organized interfacial films, they were recently shown to offer the capability to characterize the structures of protein-membrane complexes supported by a solid substrate. One-dimensional information inherent in the experimental results is used in the form of component volume occupancy (CVO) profiles, which describe the distribution of molecular components within an interfacial architecture, to construct real-space constraints in the form of a biasing potential for the simulation that vanishes when the simulated and experimental profiles agree. This approach improves the correspondence between simulation and experiment, as shown in the re-evaluation of an neutron-reflection-derived structure which was approximated by an independent molecular dynamics simulation in earlier work, and it also leads to faster equilibration of ensemble structures. We further show that time averaging the CVO profile that develops in the simulation while biasing with this approach permits fluctuations about the average that are necessary for conformational exploration of the system. This method is particularly valuable for studies of proteins at interfaces that contain disordered regions since the conformation of such regions is difficult to judge from the analysis of one-dimensional experimental profiles and may take prohibitively long to equilibrate in simulations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Metallic filament formation by aligned oxygen vacancies in ZnO-based resistive switches

The electronic structure of ZnO with defects of oxygen vacancies were investigated by using first-principles methods. Some structure models were constructed in order to investigate the effects of the distribution of oxygen vacancies on the electronic properties of ZnO. By analyzing the calculated results, we found that only the aligned oxygen vacancies can form the conducting channel in ZnO, and the transformation of the oxygen vacancy from charged state to neutral state is consistent with the energetics rule of the forming aligned oxygen vacancies. As for the heterojunction of Pt/ZnO/Pt, the oxygen vacancies near the interface of Pt/ZnO depress the local Schottky barrier effectively, and the aligned oxygen vacancies in ZnO form a conducting filament connecting two Pt electrodes. The metallic filament formation in Pt/ZnO/Pt resistive switching cells should be closely related to the carrier injection from Pt electrode into ZnO and the arrangement of oxygen vacancies in ZnO slab.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Electrodynamics of massless charged particles

We derive the classical dynamics of massless charged particles in a rigorous way from first principles. Since due to ultraviolet divergences this dynamics does not follow from an action principle, we rely on (a) Maxwell’s equations, (b) Lorentz- and reparameterization-invariance, and (c) local conservation of energy and momentum. Despite the presence of pronounced singularities of the electromagnetic field along Dirac-like strings, we give a constructive proof of the existence of a unique distribution-valued energy-momentum tensor. Its conservation requires the particles to obey standard Lorentz equations and they experience, hence, no radiation reaction. Correspondingly, the dynamics of interacting classical massless charged particles can be consistently defined, although they do not emit bremsstrahlung end experience no self-interaction.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Experimental investigation on the energy deposition and morphology of the electrical explosion of copper wire in vacuum

This paper presents the experimental results of the electrical explosion of copper wires in vacuum using negative nanosecond-pulsed current with magnitude of 1–2 kA. The 20 μm-diameter copper wires with different lengths are exploded with three different current rates. A laser probe is applied to construct the shadowgraphy and interferometry diagnostics to investigate the distribution and morphology of the exploding product. The interference phase shift is reconstructed from the interferogram, by which the atomic density distribution is calculated. Experimental results show that there exist two voltage breakdown modes depending on the amount of the specific energy deposition. For the strong-shunting mode, shunting breakdown occurs, leading to the short-circuit-like current waveform. For the weak-shunting mode with less specific energy deposition, the plasma generated during the voltage breakdown is not enough to form a conductive plasma channel, resulting in overdamped declining current waveform. The influence of the wire length and current rate on the characteristics of the exploding wires is also analyzed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Tripartite entanglement dynamics of vibrations in triatomic molecules

In the present study, the dynamical behaviors of tripartite entanglement of vibrations in triatomic molecules are studied based on the Lie algebraic models of molecules. The dynamical behaviors of tripartite entanglement of the local mode molecule H{sub 2}O and normal mode molecule NO{sub 2} are comparatively studied for different initial states by employing the general concurrence. Our results show that the dynamics of tripartite entanglement are relied on the dynamics of intramolecular energy distribution. The local mode molecule is more suitable to construct the tripartite entangled states. Also, the greater degree of tripartite entanglement can be obtained if the stretching vibration is first excited. These results shed new light on the understanding of quantum multipartite entanglement of vibrations in the polyatomic molecules.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Synthetic galaxy clusters and observations based on Dark Energy Survey Year 3 Data

ABSTRACT We develop a novel data-driven method for generating synthetic optical observations of galaxy clusters. In cluster weak lensing, the interplay between analysis choices and systematic effects related to source galaxy selection, shape measurement, and photometric redshift estimation can be best characterized in end-to-end tests going from mock observations to recovered cluster masses. To create such test scenarios, we measure and model the photometric properties of galaxy clusters and their sky environments from the Dark Energy Survey Year 3 (DES Y3) data in two bins of cluster richness $\lambda \in [30; 45)$, $\lambda \in [45; 60)$ and three bins in cluster redshift ($z\in [0.3; 0.35)$, $z\in [0.45; 0.5)$ and $z\in [0.6; 0.65)$. Using deep-field imaging data, we extrapolate galaxy populations beyond the limiting magnitude of DES Y3 and calculate the properties of cluster member galaxies via statistical background subtraction. We construct mock galaxy clusters as random draws from a distribution function, and render mock clusters and line-of-sight catalogues into synthetic images in the same format as actual survey observations. Synthetic galaxy clusters are generated from real observational data, and thus are independent from the assumptions inherent to cosmological simulations. The recipe can be straightforwardly modified to incorporate extra information, and correct for survey incompleteness. New realizations of synthetic clusters can be created at minimal cost, which will allow future analyses to generate the large number of images needed to characterize systematic uncertainties in cluster mass measurements.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗