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At least 865 records · Page 48

Computational Imaging for Intelligence in Highly Scattering Aerosols (Final Report)

Natural and man-made degraded visual environments pose major threats to national security. The random scattering and absorption of light by tiny particles suspended in the air reduces situational awareness and causes unacceptable down-time for critical systems and operations. To improve the situation, we have developed several approaches to interpret the information contained within scattered light to enhance sensing and imaging in scattering media. These approaches were tested at the Sandia National Laboratory Fog Chamber facility and with tabletop fog chambers. Computationally efficient light transport models were developed and leveraged for computational sensing. The models are based on a weak angular dependence approximation to the Boltzmann or radiative transfer equation that appears to be applicable in both the moderate and highly scattering regimes. After the new model was experimentally validated, statistical approaches for detection, localization, and imaging of objects hidden in fog were developed and demonstrated. A binary hypothesis test and the Neyman-Pearson lemma provided the highest theoretically possible probability of detection for a specified false alarm rate and signal-to-noise ratio. Maximum likelihood estimation allowed estimation of the fog optical properties as well as the position, size, and reflection coefficient of an object in fog. A computational dehazing approach was implemented to reduce the effects of scatter on images, making object features more readily discernible. We have developed, characterized, and deployed a new Tabletop Fog Chamber capable of repeatably generating multiple unique fog-analogues for optical testing in degraded visual environments. We characterized this chamber using both optical and microphysical techniques. In doing so we have explored the ability of droplet nucleation theory to describe the aerosols generated within the chamber, as well as Mie scattering theory to describe the attenuation of light by said aerosols, and correlated the aerosol microphysics to optical properties such as transmission and meteorological optical range (MOR). This chamber has proved highly valuable and has supported multiple efforts inclusive to and exclusive of this LDRD project to test optics in degraded visual environments. Circularly polarized light has been found to maintain its polarization state better than linearly polarized light when propagating through fog. This was demonstrated experimentally in both the visible and short-wave infrared (SWIR) by imaging targets made of different commercially available retroreflective films. It was found that active circularly polarized imaging can increase contrast and range compared to linearly polarized imaging. We have completed an initial investigation of the capability for machine learning methods to reduce the effects of light scattering when imaging through fog. Previously acquired experimental long-wave images were used to train an autoencoder denoising architecture. Overfitting was found to be a problem because of lack of variability in the object type in this data set. The lessons learned were used to collect a well labeled dataset with much more variability using the Tabletop Fog Chamber that will be available for future studies. We have developed several new sensing methods using speckle intensity correlations. First, the ability to image moving objects in fog was shown, establishing that our unique speckle imaging method can be implemented in dynamic scattering media. Second, the speckle decorrelation over time was found to be sensitive to fog composition, implying extensions to fog characterization. Third, the ability to distinguish macroscopically identical objects on a far-subwavelength scale was demonstrated, suggesting numerous applications ranging from nanoscale defect detection to security. Fourth, we have shown the capability to simultaneously image and localize hidden objects, allowing the speckle imaging method to be effective without prior object positional information. Finally, an interferometric effect was presented that illustrates a new approach for analyzing speckle intensity correlations that may lead to more effective ways to localize and image moving objects. All of these results represent significant developments that challenge the limits of the application of speckle imaging and open important application spaces. A theory was developed and simulations were performed to assess the potential transverse resolution benefit of relative motion in structured illumination for radar systems. Results for a simplified radar system model indicate that significant resolution benefits are possible using data from scanning a structured beam over the target, with the use of appropriate signal processing.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Bacterial Biogeography across the Amazon River-Ocean Continuum

Spatial and temporal patterns in microbial biodiversity across the Amazon river-ocean continuum were investigated along ~675 km of the lower Amazon River mainstem, in the Tapajos River tributary, and in the plume and coastal ocean during low and high river discharge using amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA genes in whole water and size-fractionated samples (0.2-2.0 μm and >2.0 μm). River communities varied among tributaries, but mainstem communities were spatially homogeneous and tracked seasonal changes in river discharge and co-varying factors. Co-occurrence network analysis identified strongly interconnected river assemblages during high (May) and low (December) discharge periods, and weakly interconnected transitional assemblages in September, suggesting that this system supports two seasonal microbial communities linked to river discharge. In contrast, plume communities showed little seasonal differences and instead varied spatially tracking salinity. However, salinity explained only a small fraction of community variability, and plume communities in blooms of diatom-diazotroph assemblages were strikingly different than those in other high salinity plume samples. This suggests that while salinity physically structures plumes through buoyancy and mixing, the composition of plume-specific communities is controlled by other factors including nutrients, phytoplankton community composition, and dissolved organic matter chemistry. Co-occurrence networks identified interconnected assemblages associated with the highly productive low salinity nearshore region, diatom-diazotroph blooms, and the plume edge region, and weakly interconnected assemblages in high salinity regions. This suggests that the plume supports a transitional community influenced by immigration of ocean bacteria from the plume edge, and by species sorting as these communities adapt to local environmental conditions. Few studies have explored patterns of microbial diversity in tropical rivers and coastal oceans. Comparison of Amazon continuum microbial communities to those from temperate and arctic systems suggest that river discharge and salinity are master variables structuring a range of environmental conditions that control bacterial communities across the river-ocean continuum.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Discontinuous Galerkin Methods for Turbulence Simulation

A discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method is formulated, implemented, and tested for simulation of compressible turbulent flows. The method is applied to turbulent channel flow at low Reynolds number, where it is found to successfully predict low-order statistics with fewer degrees of freedom than traditional numerical methods. This reduction is achieved by utilizing local hp-refinement such that the computational grid is refined simultaneously in all three spatial coordinates with decreasing distance from the wall. Another advantage of DG is that Dirichlet boundary conditions can be enforced weakly through integrals of the numerical fluxes. Both for a model advection-diffusion problem and for turbulent channel flow, weak enforcement of wall boundaries is found to improve results at low resolution. Such weak boundary conditions may play a pivotal role in wall modeling for large-eddy simulation.

Collis, S. Scott↗

Electron transfer calculations between edge sharing octahedra in hematite, goethite, and annite

A key reaction underlying the charge transport in iron containing oxides, clays, micas is the Fe$^{2+}$-Fe$^{3+}$ exchange reaction between edge-sharing iron octahedra. These reactions facilitate conduction in these minerals by the thermally-activated hopping of small polarons across the lattice. Depending on the mineral and local charge state the small polaron can either encase an electron or hole. The probability for conduction of small polarons depends strongly on the height and adiabicity of the reaction barrier, with larger and more diabatic barriers yielding slow conduction associated with either weak coupling or a large prerequisite rearrangement of the lattice during charge transport. To model these reactions, a first principle electron transfer (ET) method was developed to model the small polaron hopping between the edge-sharing octahedra sites in hematite ($e^{-}$ polaron), goethite ($e^{-}$ polaron), and annite ($h^{+}$ polaron) bulk structures. The ET method is based on electronic structure methods (i.e., plane-wave Density Functional Theory) capable of performing calculations with periodic cells and large size systems efficiently while at the same time being accurate enough to be used in the estimation of the electron-transfer coupling matrix element, $V_{AB}$, and the electron transfer transmission factor, $\kappa_{el}$. Additionally, the calculations confirmed the existence of small polarons in all three minerals, and the reactions were predicted to be strongly adiabatic. It was found that transfer of a hole in the octahedral layer of annite had an adiabatic barrier of $0.311$ eV, and the transfer of an extra electron in hematite and goethite had adiabatic barriers of $0.242$ eV and $0.232$ eV respectively. The electronic coupling parameters,$V_{AB}$, were found to be $0.188$ eV, $0.196$ eV, and $0.102$ eV respectively for hematite, goethite, and annite. While similar bonding topologies pertain, the underlying basis for the differences is the subtle differences in local structures.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Autonomous Lunar PNT Simulator (ALPS)

In this paper we present a simulation tool that has been used to develop an architecture for a low-cost Position, Navigation and Time (PNT) system to provide PNT services on and around the Moon using non-dedicated low-cost orbital and ground assets. The simulation tool has been developed to be flexible and is capable of modeling and analyzing the many different capabilities and configurations that the non-dedicated assets could support. The tool models the creation of an ad hoc swarm, the localization of this swarm and the subsequent provision of PNT services from this swarm. We present results from several studies of select configurations chosen to reflect existing and future real-world needs and capabilities. Over the next few decades there is expected to be a substantial increase in Lunar missions supporting and inspired by NASA’s Artemis Program. It is expected that a large fraction of these missions will be low cost, utilizing rideshares and CubeSats, just as has seen in Earth orbit over the past decade. Many of these missions will need navigation capabilities but may be unable to support the large power, mass and weight that a weak GNSS or DSN based navigation solution would entail. As Lunar PNT service demand is not likely to be needed over the entire lunar surface 24/7, the creation of a dedicated Lunar GNSS constellation cannot be justified. Hence, our proposed architecture envisions utilizing existing Lunar science and exploration assets to create ad hoc and on demand Lunar PNT swarms capable of providing PNT services to low cost missions. The simulation reflects the two distinct parts of the architecture: the creation of a Lunar PNT swarm using non-dedicated existing assets, and the quantitative modeling of the quality of the PNT services that this swarm provides. To support the former, the simulation supports various swarm localization techniques, including centralized and distributed EKFs both of which support pluggable dynamics models. In modeling the PNT service performance the simulation adopts standard techniques from the GNSS community, including providing degree of precision (DOP) estimates for theoretical end users. Crucially, all asset capabilities, including clock accuracy, independent location self-knowledge and timing measurement precision can be set independently for each asset, reflecting the key concept of utilizing non-dedicated assets. The simulation is predominantly implemented in MATLAB, with GMAT being used for the propagation of orbital assets. The paper will present results from the simulation reflecting the tool’s flexibility and focusing on scenarios that match real-world proposed missions, including scenarios designed to provide PNT support to lunar surface missions similar to NASA Ames' forthcoming VIPER mission. The performance of centralized and decentralized swarm configuration and localization techniques will be compared. Finally, performance of the PNT service provided by an autonomous Lunar PNT swarm will be compared to existing radiometric and weak GNSS methods.

Kelley Elizabeth Hashemi↗

Enhancing Cycling Stability of Lithium Metal Batteries by a Bifunctional Fluorinated Ether

Abstract The lifespan of lithium (Li) metal batteries (LMBs) can be greatly improved by the formation of inorganic‐rich electrode‐electrolyte interphases (EEIs) (including solid‐electrolyte interphase on anode and cathode‐electrolyte interphase on cathode). In this work, a localized high‐concentration electrolyte containing lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI) salt, 1,2‐dimethoxyethane (DME) solvent and 1,2‐bis(1,1,2,2‐tetrafluoroethoxy)ethane (BTFEE) diluent is optimized. BTFEE is a fluorinated ether with weakly‐solvating ability for LiFSI so it also acts as a co‐solvent in this electrolyte. It can facilitate anion decomposition at electrode surfaces and promote the formation of more inorganic‐rich EEI layers. With an optimized molar ratio of LiFSI:DME:BTFEE = 1:1.15:3, LMBs with a high loading (4 mAh cm −2 ) lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 ) cathode can retain 80% capacity in 470 cycles when cycled in a voltage range of 2.8–4.4 V. The fundamental understanding on the functionality of BTFEE revealed in this work provides new perspectives on the design of practical high‐energy density battery systems.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Ultrafast Graphene Light Emitters

Ultrafast electrically driven nanoscale light sources are critical components in nanophotonics. Compound semiconductor-based light sources for the nanophotonic platforms have been extensively investigated over the past decades. However, monolithic ultrafast light sources with a small footprint remain a challenge. Here in this paper, we demonstrate electrically driven ultrafast graphene light emitters that achieve light pulse generation with up to 10 GHz bandwidth across a broad spectral range from the visible to the near-infrared. The fast response results from ultrafast charge-carrier dynamics in graphene and weak electron-acoustic phonon-mediated coupling between the electronic and lattice degrees of freedom. We also find that encapsulating graphene with hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) layers strongly modifies the emission spectrum by changing the local optical density of states, thus providing up to 460% enhancement compared to the gray-body thermal radiation for a broad peak centered at 720 nm. Furthermore, the hBN encapsulation layers permit stable and bright visible thermal radiation with electronic temperatures up to 2000 K under ambient conditions as well as efficient ultrafast electronic cooling via near-field coupling to hybrid polaritonic modes under electrical excitation. These high-speed graphene light emitters provide a promising path for on-chip light sources for optical communications and other optoelectronic applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Emergence of Kondo Resonance in Graphene Intercalated with Cerium

The interaction between a magnetic impurity, such as cerium (Ce) atom, and surrounding electrons has been one of the core problems in understanding many-body interaction in solid and its relation to magnetism. Kondo effect, the formation of a new resonant ground state with quenched magnetic moment, provides a general framework to describe many-body interaction in the presence of magnetic impurity. In this Letter, a combined study of angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) and dynamic mean-field theory (DMFT) on Ce-intercalated graphene shows that Ce-induced localized states near Fermi energy, E F , hybridized with the graphene π-band, exhibit gradual increase in spectral weight upon decreasing temperature. The observed temperature dependence follows the expectations from the Kondo picture in the weak coupling limit. These results provide a novel insight how Kondo physics emerges in the sea of two-dimensional Dirac electrons.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Simultaneous Observation of Two Isolated Proton Auroras at Subauroral Latitudes by a Highly Sensitive All-Sky Camera and Van Allen Probes

Isolated proton auroras (IPAs) appearing at subauroral latitudes are generated by energetic protons precipitating from the magnetosphere through interaction with electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves. An IPA thus indicates the spatial scale and temporal variation of wave-particle interactions in the magnetosphere. In this study, a unique event of simultaneous ground and magnetospheric satellite observations of two IPAs were conducted on March 16, 2015, using an all-sky imager at Athabasca, Canada and Van Allen Probes. The Van Allen Probes observed two isolated EMIC waves with frequencies of ~1 and 0.4 Hz at L ≈ 5.0 when the satellite footprint crossed over the two IPAs. This suggests that the IPAs were caused by localized EMIC waves. Proton flux at 5–20 keV increased locally when the EMIC waves appeared. Electron flux at energies below ~500 eV also increased. Temperature anisotropy of the energetic protons was estimated at 1.5–2.5 over a wide L-value range of 3.0–5.2. Electron density gradually decreased from L = 3.5 to 5.4, suggesting that the EMIC wave at L ≈ 5.0 was located in the gradual plasmapause. From these observations, we conclude that the localized IPAs and associated EMIC waves took place because of localized enhancement of energetic proton flux and plasma density structure near the plasmapause. Furthermore, the magnetic field observed by the satellite showed small variation during the wave observation, indicating that the IPAs were accompanied by the weak field-aligned current.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Transition of a network of nonlinear interactions into a regime of strong nonlinear fluctuations: A paradigm for the edge localized mode onset

We study how a network of nonlinear oscillators transits into a regime of strong nonlinear fluctuations when perturbed by a triad. In this regime, most of the potential energy contained in the waves is made available to the system through strong nonlinear fluctuations. This analysis is motivated by recent experimental observations [Dominski and Diallo, Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 62, 095011 (2020)] where it was found that magnetic fluctuations trigger the onset of edge localized modes by suddenly exciting a network of nonlinear interactions. In our study, we consider the simplest system of many harmonic oscillators that are organized in a network of nonlinear triads. We model and simulate the sudden transition of this network of triads into a regime of strong nonlinear fluctuations—reminiscent of the onset of edge localized modes in tokamaks. This transition is triggered by the activation of a nonlinear perturbation. An abrupt rise of the system's disorder (an entropy-like quantity) is measured during the transition. This transition from weak to strong nonlinear fluctuations is even more abrupt when these fluctuations are chaotic, i.e., when the timescale of the nonlinear interaction is comparable to the timescale of the wave oscillations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Integrated modeling of alpha particle losses in JET DT plasmas

Alpha particle confinement is crucial for sustaining burning plasmas and designing future reactor concepts. Along with classical/prompt losses, various magnetohydrodynamic instabilities can lead to wave-particle interactions which can transport alpha particles outward from the plasma. This can result in a reduction in plasma heating/performance, and, at worst, damage in-vessel components. Joint European Torus’s recent deuterium–tritium campaigns in 2021–2023 have produced numerous alpha particle loss measurements with its scintillator probe and Faraday cup array fast ion loss detectors as discussed in Bonofiglo et al (2024 Nucl. Fusion 64 096038). This paper will report on integrated energetic particle transport modeling in support of those measurements. The modeling is accomplished with the TRANSP and ORBIT-kick codes with the use of recently developed reduced models which calculate mode structure, amplitude, and the evolving dynamics. When possible, constraints and comparisons to experiment are conducted. Case studies are performed on a variety of magnetohydrodynamic activity, including: fishbones, tearing modes (TMs), and sawtooth crashes. Additionally, a special case of an alpha-driven toroidal Alfvén eigenmode is briefly discussed, where modeling showed marginally weak alpha losses and was unable to support experimental observations. Coupled effects between a TM and toroidal field ripple are presented and were unable to replicate the observations in lost particle pitch but did duplicate the localized flattening of the measured neutron profile. Additional modeling results compare the magnitude of losses and energy/velocity-space sensitivities against experimental observations/measurements for each scenario. This work corroborates numeric alpha transport modeling while also identifying model deficiencies. While this report details alpha transport, it also presents open issues for discussion in assessing the validity of our numerical models towards burning plasmas.

Bonofiglo, Phillip J. [Princeton Plasma Physics La↗

ISM EXCITATION AND METALLICITY OF STAR-FORMING GALAXIES AT Z ≃ 3.3 FROM NEAR-IR SPECTROSCOPY

We study the relationship between stellar mass, star formation rate (SFR), ionization state, and gas-phase metallicity for a sample of 41 normal star-forming galaxies at 3 ≲ z ≲ 3.7. The gas-phase oxygen abundance, ionization parameter, and electron density of ionized gas are derived from rest-frame optical strong emission lines measured on near-infrared spectra obtained with Keck/Multi-Object Spectrograph for Infra-Red Exploration. We remove the effect of these strong emission lines in the broadband fluxes to compute stellar masses via spectral energy distribution fitting, while the SFR is derived from the dust-corrected ultraviolet luminosity. The ionization parameter is weakly correlated with the specific SFR, but otherwise the ionization parameter and electron density do not correlate with other global galaxy properties such as stellar mass, SFR, and metallicity. The mass–metallicity relation (MZR) at z ≃ 3.3 shows lower metallicity by ≃0.7 dex than that at z = 0 at the same stellar mass. Our sample shows an offset by ≃0.3 dex from the locally defined mass–metallicity–SFR relation, indicating that simply extrapolating such a relation to higher redshift may predict an incorrect evolution of MZR. Furthermore, within the uncertainties we find no SFR–metallicity correlation, suggesting a less important role of SFR in controlling the metallicity at high redshift. We finally investigate the redshift evolution of the MZR by using the model by Lilly et al., finding that the observed evolution from z = 0 to z ≃ 3.3 can be accounted for by the model assuming a weak redshift evolution of the star formation efficiency.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Accretion onto magnetized neutron stars - Normal mode analysis of the interchange instability at the magnetopause

Results are reported for a linearized hydromagnetic stability analysis of the magnetopause of an accreting neutron star. The magnetosphere is assumed to be slowly rotating, and the plasma just outside the magnetopause is assumed to be weakly magnetized. The plasma layer is assumed to be bounded above by a shock wave and to be thin compared with the radius of the magnetosphere. Under these circumstances, the growing modes are shown to be localized in the direction parallel to the zero-order magnetic field, but the structure of the modes is still similar to the flute mode. An expression for the growth rate at each magnetic latitude is obtained in terms of the magnitude of the gravitational acceleration normal to the surface, the azimuthal mode number, the radius of the magnetosphere, the height of the shock above the magnetopause, and the effective Atwood number which embodies the stabilizing effects of favorable curvature and magnetic tension. The effective Atwood number is calculated, and the stabilizing effects of viscosity and aligned flow parallel to the magnetopause are discussed.

Arons, J.↗

The stability of quasi-geostrophic fields induced by potential vorticity sources

A determination of the conditions leading to instabilities which grow in place in quasi-geostrophic fields induced by localized potential vorticity sources is presented. The analysis considers a quasi-geostrophic barotropic flow in a horizontally open domain, and a nondimensional quasi-geostrophic vorticity equation is defined which governs the deviation stream function. Weak forcing is considered, and it is shown that the field induced by the topography is stable while the field induced by the potential vorticity source can be unstable. The growth rate is exponential and a function of nonlinearity and friction, which, if absent, indicates an unstable flowfield. The instability is shown to be capable of changing the flowfield from one quasi-steady state to another, with energy extraction occurring at the source

Merkine, L.-O.↗

Optical Observations of Nearby Interstellar Gas

Observations indicated that a cloud with a heliocentric velocity of approximately -28 km/s and a hydrogen column density that possibly could be on the order of, or greater than, 5 x 10 to the 19 power/square cm is located within the nearest 50 to 80 parsecs in the direction of Ophiuchus. This is a surprisingly large column density of material for this distance range. The patchy nature of the absorption from the cloud indicates that it may not be a feature with uniform properties, but rather one with small scale structure which includes local enhancements in the column density. This cloud is probably associated with the interstellar cloud at about the same velocity in front of the 20 parsec distant star alpha Oph (Frisch 1981, Crutcher 1982), and the weak interstellar polarization found in stars as near as 35 parsecs in this general region (Tinbergen 1982). These data also indicate that some portion of the -14 km/s cloud also must lie within the 100 parsec region. Similar observations of both Na1 and Ca2 interstellar absorption features were performed in other lines of sight. Similar interstellar absorption features were found in a dozen stars between 20 and 100 parsecs of the Sun.

Frisch, P. C.↗

Linear and nonlinear stability of the Blasius boundary layer

Two new techniques for the study of the linear and nonlinear instability in growing boundary layers are presented. The first technique employs partial differential equations of parabolic type exploiting the slow change of the mean flow, disturbance velocity profiles, wavelengths, and growth rates in the streamwise direction. The second technique solves the Navier-Stokes equation for spatially evolving disturbances using buffer zones adjacent to the inflow and outflow boundaries. Results of both techniques are in excellent agreement. The linear and nonlinear development of Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) waves in the Blasius boundary layer is investigated with both techniques and with a local procedure based on a system of ordinary differential equations. The results are compared with previous work and the effects of non-parallelism and nonlinearity are clarified. The effect of nonparallelism is confirmed to be weak and, consequently, not responsible for the discrepancies between measurements and theoretical results for parallel flow.

Bertolotti, F. P.↗

Experimental and Calculational Studies of the Interactions of BF3 with Fluoroethers

BF3 was co-condensed with (C2H5)2O, (CF3CH2)2O and (C2F5)2O in excess argon at 15 K. Infrared spectra of the matrices showed a definite Lewis acid-base interaction between BF3 and diethyl ether; a weak but definite interaction with bis(2,2,2,-trifluorodiethyl)ether, and no observable interaction with perfluorodiethyl ether. Molecular orbital (MO) calculations complemented the experimental observations by revealing that fluorine atoms on the ethers decreased electron localization about the oxygen atom. Thus, the experimental data and MO calculations indicated a clear trend between strength of interaction with BF3 and the degree of ether F substitution. The implications of the results for commercial perfluoro ether lubricant/metal oxide surface interactions are discussed.

Zehe, Michael J.↗