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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 811 records · Page 45
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Project Earthrise: Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Conference of in VIVO Planetary Health

The “Earthrise” photograph, taken on the 1968 Apollo 8 mission, became one of the most significant images of the 20th Century. It triggered a profound shift in environmental awareness and the potential for human unity—inspiring the first Earth Day in 1970. Taking inspiration from these events 50 years later, we initiated Project Earthrise at our 2020 annual conference of inVIVO Planetary Health. This builds on the emergent concept of planetary health, which provides a shared narrative to integrate rich and diverse approaches from all aspects of society towards shared solutions to global challenges. The acute catastrophe of the COVID-19 pandemic has drawn greater attention to many other interconnected global health, environmental, social, spiritual, and economic problems that have been underappreciated or neglected for decades. This is accelerating opportunities for greater collaborative action, as many groups now focus on the necessity of a “Great Transition”. While ambitious integrative efforts have never been more important, it is imperative to apply these with mutualistic value systems as a compass, as we seek to make wiser choices. Project Earthrise is our contribution to this important process. This underscores the imperative for creative ecological solutions to challenges in all systems, on all scales with advancing global urbanization in the digital age—for personal, environmental, economic and societal health alike. At the same time, our agenda seeks to equally consider our social and spiritual ecology as it does natural ecology. Revisiting the inspiration of “Earthrise”, we welcome diverse perspectives from across all dimensions of the arts and the sciences, to explore novel solutions and new normative values. Building on academic rigor, we seek to place greater value on imagination, kindness and mutualism as we address our greatest challenges, for the health of people, places and planet.

interdependence↗
DOE OSTI2020

Dynamical Control of Broadband Coherent Absorption in ENZ Films

Interferometric effects between two counter-propagating beams incident on an optical system can lead to a coherent modulation of the absorption of the total electromagnetic radiation with 100% efficiency even in deeply subwavelength structures. Coherent perfect absorption (CPA) rises from a resonant solution of the scattering matrix and often requires engineered optical properties. For instance, thin film CPA benefits from complex nanostructures with suitable resonance, albeit at a loss of operational bandwidth. In this work, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate a broadband CPA based on light-with-light modulation in epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) subwavelength films. We show that unpatterned ENZ films with different thicknesses exhibit broadband CPA with a near-unity maximum value located at the ENZ wavelength. By using Kerr optical nonlinearities, we dynamically tune the visibility and peak wavelength of the total energy modulation. Our results based on homogeneous thick ENZ media open a route towards on-chip devices that require efficient light absorption and dynamical tunability.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Combining 3-Momentum and Kinetic Energy on Galilei/Newton Spacetime

Without the mass-energy equivalence available on Minkowski spacetime M, it is not possible on 4-dimensional non-relativistic Galilei/Newton spacetime G to combine 3-momentum and total mass-energy in a single tensor object. However, given a fiducial frame, it is possible to combine 3-momentum and kinetic energy into a linear form (particle) or (1,1) tensor (continuum) in a manner that exhibits increased unity of classical mechanics on flat relativistic and non-relativistic spacetimes M and G. As on M, for a material continuum on G, the first law of thermodynamics can be considered a consequence of a unified dynamical law for energy-momentum rather than an independent postulate.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Non-Semisimple TQFT's and BPS q -Series

We propose and in some cases prove a precise relation between 3-manifold invariants associated with quantum groups at roots of unity and at generic q. Both types of invariants are labeled by extra data which plays an important role in the proposed relation. Bridging the two sides - which until recently were developed independently, using very different methods - opens many new avenues. In one direction, it allows to study (and perhaps even to formulate) q-series invariants labeled by spin c structures in terms of non-semisimple invariants. In the opposite direction, it offers new insights and perspectives on various elements of non-semisimple TQFT's, bringing the latter into one unifying framework with other invariants of knots and 3-manifolds that recently found realization in quantum field theory and in string theory.

3-manifold invariants↗
DOE OSTI2023

Sun's Series via Cyclotomic Multiple Zeta Values

We prove and generalize several recent conjectures of Z.-W. Sun surrounding binomial coefficients and harmonic numbers. We show that Sun's series and their analogs can be represented as cyclotomic multiple zeta values of levels N ϵ {4,8,12,16,24} , namely Goncharov's multiple polylogarithms evaluated at N -th roots of unity.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2016

ZONAL TOROIDAL HARMONIC EXPANSIONS OF EXTERNAL GRAVITATIONAL FIELDS FOR RING-LIKE OBJECTS

We present an expression of the external gravitational field of a general ring-like object with axial and plane symmetries such as oval toroids or annular disks with an arbitrary density distribution. The main term is the gravitational field of a uniform, infinitely thin ring representing the limit of zero radial width and zero vertical height of the object. The additional term is derived from a zonal toroidal harmonic expansion of a general solution of Laplace’s equation outside the Brillouin toroid of the object. The special functions required are the point value and the first-order derivative of the zonal toroidal harmonics of the first kind, namely, the Legendre function of the first kind of half integer degree and an argument that is not less than unity. We developed a recursive method to compute them from two pairs of seed values explicitly expressed by some complete elliptic integrals. Numerical experiments show that appropriately truncated expansions converge rapidly outside the Brillouin toroid. The truncated expansion can be evaluated so efficiently that, for an oval toroid with an exponentially damping density profile, it is 3000–10,000 times faster than the two-dimensional numerical quadrature. A group of the Fortran 90 programs required in the new method and their sample outputs are available electronically.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

NO THERMAL INVERSION AND A SOLAR WATER ABUNDANCE FOR THE HOT JUPITER HD 209458B FROM HST /WFC3 SPECTROSCOPY

The nature of the thermal structure of hot Jupiter atmospheres is one of the key questions raised by the characterization of transiting exoplanets over the past decade. There have been claims that many hot Jupiters exhibit atmospheric thermal inversions. However, these claims have been based on broadband photometry rather than the unambiguous identification of emission features with spectroscopy, and the chemical species that could cause the thermal inversions by absorbing stellar irradiation at high altitudes have not been identified despite extensive theoretical and observational effort. Here we present high-precision Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 observations of the dayside thermal emission spectrum of the hot Jupiter HD 209458b, which was the first exoplanet suggested to have a thermal inversion. In contrast to previous results for this planet, our observations detect water in absorption at 6.2 σ confidence. When combined with Spitzer photometry, the data are indicative of a monotonically decreasing temperature with pressure over the range of 1–0.001 bars at 7.7 σ confidence. We test the robustness of our results by exploring a variety of model assumptions, including the temperature profile parameterization, presence of a cloud, and choice of Spitzer data reduction. We also introduce a new analysis method to determine the elemental abundances from the spectrally retrieved mixing ratios with thermochemical self-consistency and find plausible abundances consistent with solar metallicity (0.06–10 × solar) and carbon-to-oxygen ratios less than unity. This work suggests that high-precision spectrophotometric results are required to robustly infer thermal structures and compositions of extrasolar planet atmospheres and to perform comparative exoplanetology.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Influence of the nonlinearity parameter on the solar wind sub-ion magnetic energy spectrum: FLR–Landau fluid simulations

The cascade of kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) at sub-ion scales in the solar wind is simulated numerically using a fluid approach that retains ion and electron Landau damping, together with ion finite Larmor radius (FLR) corrections. Assuming initially equal and isotropic ion and electron temperatures, and an ion beta equal to unity, different simulations are performed by varying the propagation direction and the amplitude of KAWs that are randomly driven at a transverse wavenumber k{sub 0} such that k{sub 0}d{sub i}=0.18 (where d{sub i} is the proton inertial length), in order to maintain a prescribed level of turbulent fluctuations. The resulting turbulent regimes are characterized by the nonlinearity parameter, defined as the ratio of the characteristic times of Alfvén wave propagation and of the transverse nonlinear dynamics. The corresponding transverse magnetic energy spectra display power laws with exponents spanning a range of values consistent with spacecraft observations. The meandering of the magnetic field lines and the homogenization of ion temperature along these lines are shown to be related to the strength of the turbulence, measured by the nonlinearity parameter. The results are interpreted in terms of a recently proposed phenomenological model where the homogenization process along field lines induced by Landau damping plays a central role.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

ANISOTROPY OF X-RAY BURSTS FROM NEUTRON STARS WITH CONCAVE ACCRETION DISKS

Emission from neutron stars and accretion disks in low-mass X-ray binaries is anisotropic. The non-spherical shape of the disk as well as blocking of the neutron star by the disk make the observed flux dependent on the inclination angle of the disk with respect to the line of sight. This is of importance for the interpretation of thermonuclear X-ray bursts from neutron stars. Because part of the X-ray burst is reflected off the disk, the observed burst flux depends on the anisotropies for both direct emission from the neutron star and reflection off the disk. This influences measurements of source distance, mass accretion rate, and constraints on the neutron star’s equation of state. Previous predictions of the anisotropy factors assumed a geometrically flat disk. Detailed observations of two so-called superbursts allowed for the direct and the reflected burst fluxes to each be measured separately. The reflection fraction was much higher than what the anisotropies of a flat disk can account for. We create numerical models to calculate the anisotropy factors for different disk shapes, including concave disks. We present the anisotropy factors of the direct and reflected burst fluxes separately, as well as the anisotropy of the persistent flux. Reflection fractions substantially larger than unity are produced in the case where the inner accretion disk increases steeply in height, such that part of the star is blocked from view. Such a geometry could possibly be induced by the X-ray burst if X-ray heating causes the inner disk to puff up.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Cosmic variance in the nanohertz gravitational wave background

We use large N-body simulations and empirical scaling relations between dark matter halos, galaxies, and supermassive black holes (SMBBHs) to estimate the formation rates of SMBBH binaries and the resulting low-frequency stochastic gravitational wave background (GWB). We find this GWB to be relatively insensitive (≲10%) to cosmological parameters, with only slight variation between wmap5 and Planck cosmologies. We find that uncertainty in the astrophysical scaling relations changes the amplitude of the GWB by a factor of ∼2. Current observational limits are already constraining this predicted range of models. We investigate the Poisson variance in the amplitude of the GWB for randomly generated populations of SMBBHs, finding a scatter of order unity per frequency bin below 10 nHz, and increasing to a factor of ∼10 near 100 nHz. This variance is a result of the rarity of the most massive binaries, which dominate the signal, and acts as a fundamental uncertainty on the amplitude of the underlying power law spectrum. This Poisson uncertainty dominates at ≳20 nHz, while at lower frequencies the dominant uncertainty is related to our poor understanding of the astrophysical scaling relations, although very low frequencies may be dominated by uncertainties related to the final parsec problem and the processes which drive binaries to the gravitational wave dominated regime. Cosmological effects are negligible at all frequencies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

POLARIZED SYNCHROTRON EMISSIVITIES AND ABSORPTIVITIES FOR RELATIVISTIC THERMAL, POWER-LAW, AND KAPPA DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS

Synchrotron emission and absorption determine the observational appearances of many astronomical systems. In this paper, we describe a numerical scheme for calculating synchrotron emissivities and absorptivities in all four Stokes parameters for arbitrary gyrotropic electron distribution functions, building on earlier work by Leung, Gammie, and Noble. We use this technique to evaluate the emissivities and the absorptivities for a thermal (Maxwell–Jüttner), isotropic power-law, and an isotropic kappa distribution function. The latter contains a power-law tail at high particle energies that smoothly merges with a thermal core at low energies, as is characteristic of observed particle spectra in collisionless plasmas. We provide fitting formulae and error bounds on the fitting formulae for use in codes that solve the radiative transfer equation. The numerical method and the fitting formulae are implemented in a compact C library called symphony. We find that the kappa distribution has a source function that is indistinguishable from a thermal spectrum at low frequency and transitions to the characteristic self-absorbed synchrotron spectrum, ∝ν{sup 5/2}, at high frequency; the linear polarization fraction for a thermal spectrum is near unity at high frequency; and all distributions produce O(10%) circular polarization at low frequency for lines of sight sufficiently close to the magnetic field vector.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Nonaxisymmetric MHD instabilities of Chandrasekhar states in Taylor-Couette geometry

We consider axially periodic Taylor–Couette geometry with insulating boundary conditions. The imposed basic states are so-called Chandrasekhar states, where the azimuthal flow U {sub ϕ} and magnetic field B {sub ϕ} have the same radial profiles. Mainly three particular profiles are considered: the Rayleigh limit, quasi-Keplerian, and solid-body rotation. In each case we begin by computing linear instability curves and their dependence on the magnetic Prandtl number Pm. For the azimuthal wavenumber m = 1 modes, the instability curves always scale with the Reynolds number and the Hartmann number. For sufficiently small Pm these modes therefore only become unstable for magnetic Mach numbers less than unity, and are thus not relevant for most astrophysical applications. However, modes with m>1 can behave very differently. For sufficiently flat profiles, they scale with the magnetic Reynolds number and the Lundquist number, thereby allowing instability also for the large magnetic Mach numbers of astrophysical objects. We further compute fully nonlinear, three-dimensional equilibration of these instabilities, and investigate how the energy is distributed among the azimuthal (m) and axial (k) wavenumbers. In comparison spectra become steeper for large m, reflecting the smoothing action of shear. On the other hand kinetic and magnetic energy spectra exhibit similar behavior: if several azimuthal modes are already linearly unstable they are relatively flat, but for the rigidly rotating case where m = 1 is the only unstable mode they are so steep that neither Kolmogorov nor Iroshnikov–Kraichnan spectra fit the results. The total magnetic energy exceeds the kinetic energy only for large magnetic Reynolds numbers Rm>100.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

The energy budget of GRBs based on a large sample of prompt and afterglow observations

We compare the isotropic equivalent 15–2000 keV γ-ray energy, E {sub γ}, emitted by a sample of 91 swift Gamma-Ray Bursts with known redshifts, with the isotropic equivalent fireball energy, E {sub fb}, as estimated within the fireball model framework from X-ray afterglow observations of these bursts. The uncertainty in E {sub γ}, which spans the range of ∼10{sup 51} to ∼10{sup 53.5} erg, is ≈25% on average, due mainly to the extrapolation from the BAT detector band to the 15–2000 keV band. The uncertainty in E {sub fb} is approximately a factor of 2, due mainly to the X-ray measurements’ scatter. We find E {sub γ} and E {sub fb} to be tightly correlated. The average(std) of η{sub γ}{sup 11 hr}≡log{sub 10}(E{sub γ}/(3ε{sub e}E{sub fb}{sup 11 hr})) are −0.34(0.60), and the upper limit on the intrinsic spread of η {sub γ} is approximately 0.5 (ε{sub e} is the fraction of energy carried by electrons and E{sub fb}{sup x hr} is inferred from the X-ray flux at x hours). E{sub fb}{sup 3 hr} and E{sub fb}{sup 11 hr} are similar, with an average(std) of log{sub 10}(E{sub fb}{sup 3 hr}/E{sub fb}{sup 11 hr}) of 0.04(0.28). The small variance of η {sub γ} implies that burst-to-burst variations in ε{sub e} and in the efficiency of fireball energy conversion to γ-rays are small, and suggests that both are of order unity. The small variance of η {sub γ} and the similarity of E{sub fb}{sup 3 hr} and E{sub fb}{sup 11 hr} further imply that deviations from a simple fireball model description, if present, are small. This puts stringent constraints on models incorporating such modifications (due e.g., to radiative losses, energy injection, off-axis viewing).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Amended results for hard X-ray emission by non-thermal thick target recombination in solar flares

Brown and Mallik and the corresponding corrigendum Brown et al. presented expressions for non-thermal recombination (NTR) in the collisionally thin- and thick-target regimes, claiming that the process could account for a substantial part of the hard X-ray continuum in solar flares usually attributed entirely to thermal and non-thermal bremsstrahlung (NTB). However, we have found the thick-target expression to become unphysical for low cut-offs in the injected electron energy spectrum. We trace this to an error in the derivation, derive a corrected version that is real-valued and continuous for all photon energies and cut-offs, and show that, for thick targets, Brown et al. overestimated NTR emission at small photon energies. The regime of small cut-offs and large spectral indices involve large (reducing) correction factors but in some other thick-target parameter regimes NTR/NTB can still be of the order of unity. We comment on the importance of these results to flare and microflare modeling and spectral fitting. An empirical fit to our results shows that the peak NTR contribution comprises over half of the hard X-ray signal if δ≳6(((E{sub 0c})/(4keV))){sup 0.4}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Stellar and black hole mass densities as empirical tracers of co-evolution show lock-step growth since z ∼ 3

At redshifts beyond z∼1, measuring the black hole (BH) galaxy relations proves to be a difficult task. The bright light of the active galactic nuclei aggravates the deconvolution of BH and galaxy properties. However, high-redshift data on these relations are vital to understand the ways in which galaxies and BHs co-evolve and the ways in which they do not. In this work we use BH and stellar mass densities (BHMDs and SMDs) to constrain the possible co-evolution of BHs with their host galaxies since z∼5. The BHMDs are calculated from quasar luminosity functions using the Soltan argument, while we use integrals over stellar mass functions or the star-formation rate density to obtain values for the SMD. We find that both quantities grow in lock-step below redshifts of z∼3 with a non-evolving BHMD to SMD ratio. A fit to the data assuming a power-law relation between the BHMD and the SMD yields exponents around unity (1.0–1.5). Up to z∼5 the BHMD to SMD ratio does not show a strong evolution given the larger uncertainty in the completeness of high-redshift data sets. Our results, always applying the same analysis technique, seem to be consistent across all adopted data sets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Alma imaging and gravitational lens models of south pole telescope—selected dusty, star-forming galaxies at high redshifts

The South Pole Telescope has discovered 100 gravitationally lensed, high-redshift, dusty, star-forming galaxies (DSFGs). We present 0.″5 resolution 870 μm Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array imaging of a sample of 47 DSFGs spanning z=1.9--5.7, and construct gravitational lens models of these sources. Our visibility-based lens modeling incorporates several sources of residual interferometric calibration uncertainty, allowing us to properly account for noise in the observations. At least 70% of the sources are strongly lensed by foreground galaxies (μ{sub 870μm}>2), with a median magnification of μ{sub 870μm}=6.3, extending to μ{sub 870μm}>30. We compare the intrinsic size distribution of the strongly lensed sources to a similar number of unlensed DSFGs and find no significant differences in spite of a bias between the magnification and intrinsic source size. This may indicate that the true size distribution of DSFGs is relatively narrow. We use the source sizes to constrain the wavelength at which the dust optical depth is unity and find this wavelength to be correlated with the dust temperature. This correlation leads to discrepancies in dust mass estimates of a factor of two compared to estimates using a single value for this wavelength. We investigate the relationship between the [C ii] line and the far-infrared luminosity and find that the same correlation between the [C ii]/L{sub FIR} ratio and Σ{sub FIR} found for low-redshift star-forming galaxies applies to high-redshift galaxies and extends at least two orders of magnitude higher in Σ{sub FIR}. This lends further credence to the claim that the compactness of the IR-emitting region is the controlling parameter in establishing the “[C ii] deficit.”.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

The role of the Kozai-Lidov mechanism in black hole binary mergers in galactic centers

In order to understand the rate of merger of stellar mass black hole binaries (BHBs) by gravitational wave (GW) emission it is important to determine the major pathways to merger. We use numerical simulations to explore the evolution of BHBs inside the radius of influence of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in galactic centers. In this region, the evolution of binaries is dominated by perturbations from the central SMBH. In particular, as first pointed out by Antonini and Perets, the Kozai–Lidov mechanism trades relative inclination of the BHB to the SMBH for eccentricity of the BHB, and for some orientations can bring the BHB to an eccentricity near unity. At very high eccentricities, GW emission from the BHB can become efficient, causing the members of the BHB to coalesce. We use a novel combination of two N-body codes to follow this evolution. We are required to simulate small systems to follow the behavior accurately. We have completed 400 simulations that range from ∼300 stars around a 10{sup 3} M{sub ⊙} black hole to ∼4500 stars around a 10{sup 4} M{sub ⊙} black hole. These simulations are the first to follow the internal orbit of a binary near an SMBH while also following the changes to its external orbit self-consistently. We find that this mechanism could produce mergers at a maximum rate per volume of ∼100 Gpc{sup −3} yr{sup −1} or considerably less if the inclination oscillations of the binary remain constant as the BHB inclination to the SMBH changes, or if the binary black hole fraction is small.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

THE BARYON CYCLE AT HIGH REDSHIFTS: EFFECTS OF GALACTIC WINDS ON GALAXY EVOLUTION IN OVERDENSE AND AVERAGE REGIONS

We employ high-resolution cosmological zoom-in simulations focusing on a high-sigma peak and an average cosmological field at z ∼ 6–12 in order to investigate the influence of environment and baryonic feedback on galaxy evolution in the reionization epoch. Strong feedback, e.g., galactic winds, caused by elevated star formation rates (SFRs) is expected to play an important role in this evolution. We compare different outflow prescriptions: (i) constant wind velocity (CW), (ii) variable wind scaling with galaxy properties (VW), and (iii) no outflows (NW). The overdensity leads to accelerated evolution of dark matter and baryonic structures, absent from the “normal” region, and to shallow galaxy stellar mass functions at the low-mass end. Although CW shows little dependence on the environment, the more physically motivated VW model does exhibit this effect. In addition, VW can reproduce the observed specific SFR (sSFR) and the sSFR–stellar mass relation, which CW and NW fail to satisfy simultaneously. Winds also differ substantially in affecting the state of the intergalactic medium (IGM). The difference lies in the volume-filling factor of hot, high-metallicity gas, which is near unity for CW, while such gas remains confined in massive filaments for VW, and locked up in galaxies for NW. Such gas is nearly absent from the normal region. Although all wind models suffer from deficiencies, the VW model seems to be promising in correlating the outflow properties with those of host galaxies. Further constraints on the state of the IGM at high z are needed to separate different wind models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗