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At least 73 records · Page 4

Modeling and Analysis of Global and Regional Climate Change in Relation to Atmospheric Hydrologic Processes

The goal of this research is the continued development and application of global isentropic modeling and analysis capabilities to describe hydrologic processes and energy exchange in the climate system, and discern regional climate change. This work involves a combination of modeling and analysis efforts involving 4DDA datasets and simulations from the University of Wisconsin (UW) hybrid isentropic-sigma (theta-sigma) coordinate model and the GEOS GCM.

Johnson, Donald R.↗

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Cosmological Parameters from the 2008 Power Spectrum

We present cosmological parameters derived from the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation observed at 148 GHz and 218 GHz over 296 deg(exp 2) with the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) during its 2008 season. ACT measures fluctuations at scales 500 < l < 10,000. We fit a model for the lensed CMB, Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ), and foreground contribution to the 148 GHz and 218 GHz power spectra, including thermal and kinetic SZ, Poisson power from radio and infrared point sources, and clustered power from infrared point sources. At l = 3000, about half the power at 148 GHz comes from primary CMB after masking bright radio sources. The power from thermal and kinetic SZ is estimated to be Beta(sub 3000) is identical to 6.8 +/- 2.9 mu K (exp 2), where Beta (sub l) is identical to l(l + 1) C(sub l)/2pi. The IR Poisson power at 148 GHz is Bewta(sub 3000) 7.8 +/- 0.7 muK(exp 2) (C(sub l) = 5.5 +/- 0.5 nK(exp 2)), and a clustered IR component is required with Beta (sub 3000) = 4.6 +/- 0.9 muK(exp 2), assuming an analytic model for its power spectrum shape. At 218 GHz only about 15% of the power, approximately 27 mu K(exp 2), is CMB anisotropy at l = 3000. The remaining 85% is attributed to IR sources (approximately 50% Poisson and 35% clustered), with spectral index alpha = 3.69 +/- 0.14 for flux scaling as S(nu) varies as nu(sup alpha). We estimate primary cosmological parameters from the less contaminated 148 GHz spectrum, marginalizing over SZ and source power. The ACDM cosmological model is a good fit to the data (chi square/dof = 29/46), and ACDM parameters estimated from ACT+Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) are consistent with the seven-year WMAP limits, with scale invariant n(sub s) = 1 excluded at 99.7% confidence level (CL) (3 sigma). A model with no CMB lensing is disfavored at 2.8 sigma. By measuring the third to seventh acoustic peaks, and probing the Silk damping regime, the ACT data improve limits on cosmological parameters that affect the small-scale CMB power. The ACT data combined with WMAP give a 6 sigma detection of primordial helium, with Y(sub p) = 0.313 +/- 0.044, and a 4 sigma detection of relativistic species, assumed to be neutrinos, with N(sub eff) = 5.3 +/- 1.3 (4.6 +/- 0.8 with BAO+H(sub 0) data). From the CMB alone the running of the spectral index is constrained to be d(sub s) / d ln k = -0,034 +/- 0,018, the limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio is r < 0,25 (95% CL), and the possible contribution of Nambu cosmic strings to the power spectrum is constrained to string tension G(sub mu) < 1.6 x 10(exp -7) (95% CL),

Dunkley, J.↗

Numerical simulation of large-scale ocean-atmosphere coupling and the ocean's role in climate

The problem of reducing model generated sigma coordinate data to pressure levels is considered. A mass consistent scheme for performing budget analyses is proposed, wherein variables interpolated to a given pressure level are weighted according to the mass between a nominal pressure level above and either a nominal pressure level below or the Earth's surface, whichever is closer. The method is applied to the atmospheric energy cycle as simulated by the OSU two level atmospheric general circulation model. The results are more realistic than sigma coordinate analyses with respect to eddy decomposition, and are in agreement with the sigma coordinate evaluation of the numerical energy sink. Comparison with less sophisticated budget schemes indicates superiority locally, but not globally.

Gates, W. L.↗

One-level modeling for diagnosing surface winds over complex terrain. II - Applicability to short-range forecasting

The Alpert and Getenio (1988) modification of the Mass and Dempsey (1985) one-level sigma-surface model was used to study four synoptic events that included two winter cases (a Cyprus low and a Siberian high) and two summer cases. Results of statistical verification showed that the model is not only capable of diagnosing many details of surface mesoscale flow, but might also be useful for various applications which require operative short-range prediction of the diurnal changes of high-resolution surface flow over complex terrain, for example, in locating wildland fires, determining the dispersion of air pollutants, and predicting changes in wind energy or of surface wind for low-level air flights.

Alpert, P.↗

Studies of ocean radar backscatter and near surface winds relationship during FASINEX

The relationship between radar backscatter and surface wind was investigated using data of two separate studies conducted using a set of airborne radar backscatter measurements and the associated in-situ measurements obtained during the Frontal Air-Sea Interaction Experiment (FASINEX) on February 21, 1986. The results showed that the radar backscatter cross section, sigma(0), of the ocean correlates best with the friction velocity, rather than with the equivalent neutral stability wind, U(N), indicating that the existing model of sigma(0) vs U(N) is inadequate.

Li, F.↗

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: A Measurement of the 600 less than l less than 8000 Cosmic Microwave Background Power Spectrum at 148 GHz

We present a measurement of the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation observed at 148 GHz. The measurement uses maps with 1.4' angular resolution made with data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT). The observations cover 228 deg(sup 2) of the southern sky, in a 4 deg. 2-wide strip centered on declination 53 deg. South. The CMB at arc minute angular scales is particularly sensitive to the Silk damping scale, to the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect from galaxy dusters, and to emission by radio sources and dusty galaxies. After masking the 108 brightest point sources in our maps, we estimate the power spectrum between 600 less than l less than 8000 using the adaptive multi-taper method to minimize spectral leakage and maximize use of the full data set. Our absolute calibration is based on observations of Uranus. To verify the calibration and test the fidelity of our map at large angular scales, we cross-correlate the ACT map to the WMAP map and recover the WMAP power spectrum from 250 less than l less than 1150. The power beyond the Silk damping tail of the CMB (l approximately 5000) is consistent with models of the emission from point sources. We quantify the contribution of SZ clusters to the power spectrum by fitting to a model normalized to sigma 8 = 0.8. We constrain the model's amplitude A(sub sz) less than 1.63 (95% CL). If interpreted as a measurement of as, this implies sigma (sup SZ) (sub 8) less than 0.86 (95% CL) given our SZ model. A fit of ACT and WMAP five-year data jointly to a 6-parameter ACDM model plus point sources and the SZ effect is consistent with these results.

Fowler, J. W.↗

The GISS model of the global atmosphere

A description and numerical results are presented for a global atmospheric circulation model developed at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). The model version described is a 9-level primitive-equation model in sigma coordinates. It includes a realistic distribution of continents, oceans and topography. Detailed calculations of energy transfer by solar and terrestrial radiation make use of cloud and water vapor fields calculated by the model. The model hydrologic cycle includes two precipitation mechanisms: large-scale supersaturation and a parameterization of subgrid-scale cumulus convection. Results are presented both from a comparison of the 13th to the 43rd days (January) of one integration with climatological statistics, and from five short-range forecasting experiments. In the extended integration, the near-equilibrium January-mean model atmosphere exhibits an energy cycle in good agreement with observational estimates, together with generally realistic zonal mean fields of winds, temperature, humidity, transports, diabatic heating, evaporation, precipitation, and cloud cover.

Somerville, R. C. J.↗

Population-level Dark Energy Constraints from Strong Gravitational Lensing using Simulation-Based Inference

In this work, we present a scalable approach for inferring the dark energy equation-of-state parameter ($w$) from a population of strong gravitational lens images using Simulation-Based Inference (SBI). Strong gravitational lensing offers crucial insights into cosmology, but traditional Monte Carlo methods for cosmological inference are computationally prohibitive and inadequate for processing the thousands of lenses anticipated from future cosmic surveys. New tools for inference, such as SBI using Neural Ratio Estimation (NRE), address this challenge effectively. By training a machine learning model on simulated data of strong lenses, we can learn the likelihood-to-evidence ratio for robust inference. Our scalable approach enables more constrained population-level inference of $w$ compared to individual lens analysis, constraining $w$ to within $1\sigma$. Our model can be used to provide cosmological constraints from forthcoming strong lens surveys, such as the 4MOST Strong Lensing Spectroscopic Legacy Survey (4SLSLS), which is expected to observe 10,000 strong lenses.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Population-level Dark Energy Constraints from Strong Gravitational Lensing using Simulation-Based Inference

In this work, we present a scalable approach for inferring the dark energy equation-of-state parameter ($w$) from a population of strong gravitational lens images using Simulation-Based Inference (SBI). Strong gravitational lensing offers crucial insights into cosmology, but traditional Monte Carlo methods for cosmological inference are computationally prohibitive and inadequate for processing the thousands of lenses anticipated from future cosmic surveys. New tools for inference, such as SBI using Neural Ratio Estimation (NRE), address this challenge effectively. By training a machine learning model on simulated data of strong lenses, we can learn the likelihood-to-evidence ratio for robust inference. Our scalable approach enables more constrained population-level inference of $w$ compared to individual lens analysis, constraining $w$ to within 1$\sigma$. Our model can be used to provide cosmological constraints from forthcoming strong lens surveys, such as the 4MOST Strong Lensing Spectroscopic Legacy Survey (4SLSLS), which is expected to observe 10,000 strong lenses.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Acoustic Analogy and Alternative Theories for Jet Noise Prediction

Several methods for the prediction of jet noise are described. All but one of the noise prediction schemes are based on Lighthill's or Lilley's acoustic analogy, whereas the other is the jet noise generation model recently proposed by Tam and Auriault. In all of the approaches, some assumptions must be made concerning the statistical properties of the turbulent sources. In each case the characteristic scales of the turbulence are obtained from a solution of the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equation using a kappa-sigma turbulence model. It is shown that, for the same level of empiricism, Tam and Auriault's model yields better agreement with experimental noise measurements than the acoustic analogy. It is then shown that this result is not because of some fundamental flaw in the acoustic analogy approach, but instead is associated with the assumptions made in the approximation of the turbulent source statistics. If consistent assumptions are made, both the acoustic analogy and Tam and Auriault's model yield identical noise predictions. In conclusion, a proposal is presented for an acoustic analogy that provides a clearer identification of the equivalent source mechanisms, as is a discussion of noise prediction issues that remain to be resolved.

Morris, Philip J.↗

Off-nadir antenna bias correction using Amazon rain forest sigma deg data

The radar response from the Amazon rain forest was studied to determine the suitability of this region for use as a standard target to calibrate a scatterometer like that proposed for the National Ocean Satellite System (NOSS). Backscattering observations made by the SEASAT-1 scatterometer system show the Amazon rain forest to be a homogeneous, azimuthally-isotropic, radar target which is insensitive to polarization. The variation with angle of incidence may be adequately modeled as sigma deg (dB) = alpha theta + beta with typical values for the incidence-angle coefficient from 0.07 dB deg to 0.15 dB/deg. A small diurnal effect occurs, with measurements at sunrise being 0.5 dB to 1 dB higher than the rest of the day. Maximum likelihood estimation algorithms are presented which permit determination of relative bias and true pointing angle for each beam. Specific implementation of these algorithms for the proposed NOSS scatterometer system is also discussed.

Birrer, I. J.↗

Tropical amplitudes for colored Lagrangians

Recently a new formulation for scattering amplitudes in Tr(Φ 3 ) theory has been given based on simple combinatorial ideas in the space of kinematic data. This allows all-loop integrated amplitudes to be expressed as “curve integrals” defined using tropical building blocks — the “headlight functions”. This paper shows how the formulation extends to the amplitudes of more general Lagrangians. We will present a number of different ways of introducing tropical “numerator functions” that allow us to describe general Lagrangian interactions. The simplest family of these “tropical numerators” computes the amplitudes of interesting Lagrangians with infinitely many interactions. We also describe methods for tropically formulating the amplitudes for general Lagrangians. One uses a variant of “Wick contraction” to glue together numerator factors for general interaction vertices. Another uses a natural characterization of polygons on surfaces to give a novel combinatorial description of all possible diagrams associated with arbitrary valence interactions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

On amplitudes and field redefinitions

We derive an off-shell recursion relation for correlators that holds at all loop orders. This allows us to prove how generalized amplitudes transform under generic field redefinitions, starting from an assumed behavior of the one-particle-irreducible effective action. The form of the recursion relation resembles the operation of raising the rank of a tensor by acting with a covariant derivative. This inspires a geometric interpretation, whose features and flaws we investigate.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Geometry of soft scalars at one loop

We extend the soft theorems for scattering amplitudes of scalar effective field theories to one-loop order. Our analysis requires carefully accounting for the fact that the soft limit is not guaranteed to commute with evaluating IR-divergent loop integrals; new results for the soft limit of general scalar one-loop integrals are presented. The geometric soft theorem remains unmodified for any derivatively-coupled scalar effective field theory, and we conjecture that this statement holds to all orders. In contrast, the soft theorem receives nontrivial corrections in the presence of potential interactions, analogous to the case of non-Abelian gauge theories. We derive the universal leading-order correction to the scalar soft theorem arising from potential interactions at one loop. Explicit examples are provided that illustrate the general results.

differential and algebraic geometry↗

Bonding and reactivity of isostructural uranyl and neptunyl peroxide phases

Understanding the reactivity of actinide peroxides is critical for predicting the behavior of spent nuclear fuel in radiolytic environments. Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of a lithium neptunyl(VI) hydroxo peroxo compound (LiNp), which is isostructural to the uranyl analogue (LiU). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that LiNp contains both [NpO 2 (O 2 ) 3 ] 4- and [NpO 2 (OH) 4 ] 2- units stabilized by Li + and hydrogen bonding and Raman spectroscopy shows systematic redshifts in neptunyl vibrational modes relative to uranyl. DFT calculations highlight the importance of secondary coordination in reproducing vibrational and structural features, but challenges remain with correctly modeling strong sigma donors. Solid-state EPR spectroscopy and DFT confirm superoxide stabilization within LiU and calculations suggest favorability of the analogous radical species in LiNp. Solution state EPR spectroscopy with the radical spin trap 5-tert-butoxycarbonyl-5-methyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (BMPO) reveal evidence of superoxide in the LiU and LiNp phases and suggests stabilization of superoxide within actinyl triperoxide complexes, forming [AnO 2 (O 2 ) 2 (O) 2 • ] 3- .

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Mesoscale ageostrophic circulations associated with baroclinic jet streaks

Studies of ageostrophic motion attending jet streaks and convection are examined. Various types of dynamical experiments are carried out with the hybrid isentropic-sigma coordinate model. The effects of vorticity and static stability distributions on the intensity of secondary circulations forced by inertial accelerations as well as the superposition of an amplifying baroclinic wave on the jet streak structure are investigated.

Johnson, D. R.↗

Gamma-ray bursts are time-asymmetric

A simple test for time asymmetry is devised and carried out on the brightest gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on board the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. We show evidence that individual bursts are time-asymmetric on all timescales tested, from a timescale shorter than that of pulses which compose GRBs to a timescale similar to a greater envelope that contains these pulses. We also find bursts which manifest significant asymmetry only on timescales comparable to the duration of burst, and bursts for which no clear asymmetry on any timescale is present. The sense of the asymmetry is that bursts and/or component structures rise in a shorter time than they decay. We also find that our whole sample of bursts taken together is time-asymmetric, in that there are sifnificantly more bursts and pulses where the rise is more rapid than the decay, on all timescales tested and for all energy bands tested. When our whole GRB sample is binned at 64 ms and integrated over all BATSE energies, the statistical significance is at the 6 sigma level. Models that predict time symmetry are therefore excluded.

Nemiroff, R. J.↗

Can TOPEX/Poseidon Data be Used for Monitoring the Indonesian Throughflow?

The effects of the Indonesian throughflow(ITF) are studied in a reduced gravity, primitive equation, sigma coordinate model. The surface heat fluxes are provided by coupling the ocean GCAF to an advective atmospheric mixed layer model. There is an ENSO related signal in the ITF but the correlation with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) is only -0.31. When the winds over the Indian Ocean are held to climatology, this correlation jumps to -0.65 indicating that the non-EASO signal in the ITF is caused by the downstream winds. On interannual time-scales the ITF can be explained in terms of sea level differences between the western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans when appropriate representative locations are chosen as demonstrated in both model and TOPEX data. It is shown that the main climatological effect of the ITF is to warm the Indian Ocean and cool the Pacific. Mile the main ENSO indices, NIN03 and NIN04, are almost identical with and without the ITF, the total SSTs show significant ENSO dependence.

Murtugudde, Ragu↗