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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 91 records · Page 5

The Short-Baseline Near Detector at Fermilab: Input to the European Strategy for Particle Physics 2026 Update

SBND is a 112 ton liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) neutrino detector located 110 meters from the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) target at Fermilab. Its main goals include searches for eV-scale sterile neutrinos as part of the Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) program, other searches for physics beyond the Standard Model, and precision studies of neutrino-argon interactions. In addition, SBND is providing a platform for LArTPC neutrino detector technology development and is an excellent training ground for the international group of scientists and engineers working towards the upcoming flagship Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). SBND began operation in July 2024, and started collecting stable neutrino beam data in December 2024 with an unprecedented rate of ~7,000 neutrino events per day. During its currently approved operation plans (2024-2027), SBND is expected to accumulate nearly 10 million neutrino interactions. The near detector dataset will be instrumental in testing the sterile neutrino hypothesis with unprecedented sensitivity in SBN and in probing signals of beyond the Standard Model physics. It will also be used to significantly advance our understanding of the physics of neutrino-argon interactions ahead of DUNE. After the planned accelerator restart at Fermilab (2029+), opportunities are being explored to operate SBND in antineutrino mode in order to address the scarcity of antineutrino-argon scattering data, or in a dedicated beam-dump mode to significantly enhance sensitivity to searches for new physics. SBND is an international effort, with approximately 40% of institutions from Europe, contributing to detector construction, commissioning, software development, and data analysis. Continued European involvement and leadership are essential during SBND's operations and analysis phase for both the success of SBND, SBN and its role leading up to DUNE.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Quantifying experimental edge plasma evolution via multidimensional adaptive Gaussian process regression

The edge density and temperature of tokamak plasmas are strongly correlated with energy and particle confinement and their quantification is fundamental to understanding edge dynamics. These quantities exhibit behaviours ranging from sharp plasma gradients and fast transient phenomena (e.g. transitions between low and high confinement regimes) to nominal stationary phases. Analysis of experimental edge measurements therefore require robust fitting techniques to capture potentially stiff spatiotemporal evolution. Additionally, fusion plasma diagnostics inevitably involve measurement errors and data analysis requires a statistical framework to accurately quantify uncertainties. This paper outlines a generalized multidimensional adaptive Gaussian process routine capable of automatically handling noisy data and spatiotemporal correlations. We focus on the edge-pedestal region in order to underline advancements in quantifying time-dependent plasma profiles including transport barrier formation on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Exploring for Superhot Geothermal Targets in Magmatic Settings: 2022 Field Campaign at Newberry Volcano

This paper presents preliminary results from a subset of work carried out as part of a multinational research project entitled DErisking Exploration for multiple geothermal Plays in magmatic ENvironments (DEEPEN), supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Geothermica, a joint effort by EU member states and associated countries. The DEEPEN project will develop a customized approach to exploration for supercritical and superhot geothermal plays in magmatic systems, which will be applied to two demonstration sites. This paper summarizes field activities carried out at the U.S. demonstration site, Newberry Volcano in central Oregon. The objective of this work effort is to refine the subsurface model of Newberry Volcano, with special focus on deeper zones including the magmatic plumbing system and other key geologic elements. New data collection included gravity and wideband magnetotelluric (MT) surveys, as well as reinstallation of a seismic network. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Enthalpion Energy LLC (Enthalpion) worked with the Deschutes National Forest Fort Rock District to use a low ground disturbance method of MT deployment to collect MT data inside the caldera and other restricted areas inside the National Volcanic Monument. This opened these areas to geophysical exploration for the first time in decades. Sites along and adjacent to the south rim of the volcano constituted the primary survey objectives. A team from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and AltaRock also began the process of reinstalling the seismic network from the AltaRock enhanced geothermal system (EGS) demonstration in anticipation of further development activities at the site. The data ingestion, reduction, and analysis phase of the project is ongoing. We are currently processing the MT and gravity data and are developing a new, highly GPU-accelerated, 3D joint MT and gravity inversion to better localize the south rim/south flank conductive target and better understand its relationship to deep heat, fluid sources, and surface extrusive features. Joint inversions, which have not yet been undertaken at Newberry, will allow us to obtain constraints on the geologic model that cannot be determined from each method in isolation, improving our ability to image key geologic features at depth.

geophysics↗

Neumann Series Based Voltage Sensitivity Analysis for Three Phase Distribution System

In this letter, a simplified voltage sensitivity analysis technique that can provide accurate estimates of voltage change across the network for a given change in bus power injections in a three-phase unbalanced distribution network is proposed. This technique is derived from the first-order approximation of the Neumann series, which allows maintaining the accuracy of the solution while the computational effort is reduced. Here, the proposed technique is tested on a 559-bus unbalanced distribution system with multiple distributed generation resources. The results show that the average error in the voltage estimates with the proposed method is not more than 0.3% with the execution time of similar order relative to the state-of-the-art sensitivity analysis methods.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Multiscale structural analysis of polymorphic phase boundaries in doped antiferroelectric sodium niobate

In the current work, we have performed multiscale structural analysis of a Pb-free sodium niobate-based smart system, i.e., 0.9⁢NaNbO 3 –0.1⁢Ba 0.9 ⁢Ca 0.1 ⁢TiO 3 (NN-10BCT) reported earlier for its high ferroelectric response. We have investigated the temperature-dependent evolution of crystal structure at long, medium, and short ranges using synchrotron x-ray diffraction (SXRD), Raman scattering, and pair distribution function(PDF) techniques in conjunction with dielectric studies. Temperature-dependent synchrotron x-ray diffraction data combined with dielectric analysis suggest two unique polymorphic phase boundaries (PPB) with two coexisting ferroelectric phases stable in the wide temperature ranges. These PPBs are stable in different regions viz. (i) cryogenic temperatures with coexisting R3c and Pmc⁢2 1 phases (ii) vicinity of room temperatures with coexisting Pmc⁢2 1 and Amm2 phases. In contrast to the conclusions drawn from SXRD, PDF reveals structures having lower symmetry (with coexisting Cc+ Pmc2 1 phases at 1.7 ≤r≤ 20 Å) at short ranges for these PPBs. In conclusion, the presence of different long- and short-range symmetries (accommodating tilt-oriented ferroelectric phases) in the unique polymorphic phase boundaries makes them thermally stable and advantageous for technological applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Synchrotron X-ray diffraction analysis of constituent phases in transition joint between nickel alloy 738LC and a MnFeCoNiCu alloy

Synchrotron x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was performed on transition joints between a single-phase MnFeCoNiCu alloy and Ni-base Alloy 738LC to efficiently identify the constituent phases across the interface, with different levels of material intermixing generated by laser-welding with variable power. Here, the intermixing extent was quantified by postmortem energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy mapping. Diffraction-based analyses on complex composition spaces with limited prior data present significant challenges because elemental substitution in both disordered and ordered phases is more extensive than in conventional alloy spaces, which may effectuate relatively large shifts in the observed lattice parameters that convolute the analysis. Therefore, thermodynamic simulations and crystallographic literature data were employed to construct a system-specific diffraction library of twelve prospective phases for the composition space investigated. Subsequently, for predicted disordered cubic phases, statistical hard-sphere models were established to estimate the lattice parameters and predict diffraction peak positions for inclusion in the library. The library was then employed to analyze diffraction profiles measured from the variably intermixed transition joints, with focus on accounting for both high and low-intensity peaks. 99.0 % of diffraction peaks with relative intensity greater than 0.001 were assigned to phases from the system-specific library, exemplifying rigorous peak accounting and indicating that no unexpected phases were present. Up to six of the twelve library phases were experimentally found in the transition joints. The lattice parameters predicted by the statistical hard-sphere model based upon thermodynamic simulations agree reasonably well with the measured values for the disordered FCC matrix phase.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

New Perspective on Phase Space Density Analysis for Outer Radiation Belt Enhancements: The Influence of MeV Electron Injections

Observation of growing phase space density (PSD) peak in the outer electron radiation belt has been considered evidence for local wave-driven acceleration as a primary cause of radiation belt enhancement. However, recent studies showed that strong substorm-associated MeV electron injections can also cause significant radiation belt enhancements on fast timescales (~10s min). Such rapid enhancements pose challenges for determining true spatial PSD profiles. To address this, we conduct a detailed spatiotemporal analysis of electron flux and PSD during an enhancement event, using Van Allen Probes data. Our analysis reveals rapid and intermittent flux enhancements. During these rapid enhancements, inbound spacecraft observed false PSD peaks, due to spacecraft's relatively slow movement. However, we identify time intervals of stable fluxes between enhancements, enabling us to determine quasi-stationary PSD profiles with no noticeable peaks. This study provides new insights into accurate PSD analysis, critical for understanding the mechanisms underlying radiation belt enhancements.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Integrated, Interoperable Software Environment for Fusion Simulation and Data Analysis Tools SBIR Phase II

This SBIR effort was focused on developing a production ready system to address the integration and interoperability challenges with analysis and visualization in fusion simulations. Our overarching technical objective was to minimize the code development simulation scientists incur when coupling their simulation codes with different analysis frameworks. To this end, we developed an open-source software library to make data exchange between application easier and a Web application to manage and display analysis extracts from simulations. We have also augmented existing libraries funded by DOE such as ADIOS and VTK-m. When used together, these make it significantly easier to integrate simulation and analysis capability. We demonstrated the flexibility of our approach using two common simulation codes in the fusion community, XGC1 and GTC.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

LeWRON: Agentic Analysis of Electroweak Phase Transitions

The electroweak phase transition (EWPT) is a central topic in particle physics and cosmology, connecting collider phenomenology, baryogenesis, and gravitational-wave observatories. Its analysis requires a technically demanding, convention-sensitive, and model-dependent pipeline, from constructing the finite-temperature effective potential to tracking thermal histories, computing bubble nucleation rates, and predicting gravitational-wave spectra. We present LeWRON (Learning ElectroWeak phase tRansitiON), an agentic framework that orchestrates this pipeline starting from an input Lagrangian. LeWRON combines audited toolbox construction with an Explorer module that uses the generated model-specific code for further analysis, including scans and plots. Intermediate analytic outputs are checked by auditor agents and stored as structured artifacts, enabling reproducible human inspection and downstream use through both a command-line interface and a public Python API. The framework supports a reproduction mode, which infers conventions from the literature and reproduces published results, and a discovery mode, which guides users through structured checkpoints for new models. We demonstrate LeWRON across representative beyond-the-Standard-Model scenarios and release the code on GitHub.

Wang, Isaac R. [Fermilab] (ORCID:000000030789218X)↗

Differentiating Between Simultaneous Loss Drivers in Earth's Outer Radiation Belt: Multi‐Dimensional Phase Space Density Analysis

Abstract We analyzed the contribution of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) wave driven electron loss to a flux dropout event in September 2017. The evolution of electron phase space density (PSD) through the dropout showed the formation of a radially peaked PSD profile as electrons were lost at high L* , resembling distributions created by magnetopause shadowing. By comparing 2D Fokker Planck simulations of pitch angle diffusion to the observed change in PSD, we found that the μ and K of electron loss aligned with maximum scattering rates at dropout onset. We conclude that, during this dropout event, EMIC waves produced substantial electron loss. Because pitch angle diffusion occurred on closed drift paths near the last closed drift shell, no radial PSD minimum was observed. Therefore, the radial PSD gradients resembled solely magnetopause shadowing loss, even though the local pitch angle scattering produced electron losses of several orders of magnitude of the PSD.

Staples, F. A.↗

Computational study of Li 3 BO 3 and Li 3 BN 2 II: Stability analysis of pure phases and of model interfaces with Li anodes

Both Li 3 BO 3 and Li 3 BN 2 materials have promising properties for use in all solid-state batteries and other technologies dependent on electrolytes with significant ionic conductivity. As the second of a two-part study, the structural properties of Li 3 BO 3 and three reported phases of Li 3 BN 2 are investigated using first-principles modeling techniques. For alpha- Li 3 BN 2 , the tetragonal P4 2 / mnm structure reported in the literature is found to be unstable as evidenced by imaginary phonon modes near the M point of its Brillouin zone. Our simulations within the harmonic approximation suggest that the real α phase has the orthorhombic space group symmetry Pmmn formed with twice as many formula units and tiny adjustments of the equivalent lattice parameters and fractional coordinates. Extending the analysis of the Pmmn α- Li 3 BN 2 structure to the quasiharmonic approximation improves the agreement between the room-temperature x-ray pattern reported in the literature and the corresponding simulation results. In anticipation of the use of the monoclinic phases of Li 3 BO 3 and Li 3 BN 2 in Li ion conducting applications, chemical stability is investigated in terms of free-energy differences of possible decomposition and Li reaction processes, finding encouraging results. As further investigations of Li 3 BO 3 and β- Li 3 BN 2 as electrolyte or coating materials, particularly for use with Li metal anodes, idealized electrolyte/Li interfaces were investigated in terms of their geometric, energetic, and electronic properties. The results find the electrolyte/Li interfaces to be quite favorable, perhaps comparable to the pioneering LiPON/Li system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Involved-Field Radiation Therapy Prevents Recurrences in the Early Stages of Hodgkin Lymphoma in PET-Negative Patients After ABVD Chemotherapy: Relapse Analysis of GHSG Phase 3 HD16 Trial

The HD16 trial of the German Hodgkin Study Group (NCT00736320) demonstrated that radiation therapy in early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma without risk factors cannot be safely omitted, and therefore combined modality therapy (CMT) remains the standard treatment. To demonstrate the local effect of consolidating involved-field radiation therapy (IF-RT), we performed an analysis of the recurrence pattern of positron emission tomography (PET)-negative HD16 patients.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Conversion of (NH 4 ) 2 [ReF 6 ] into ReO 2 mixed phases: A thermal analysis study

We report the thermal behavior of (NH 4 ) 2 [ReF 6 ] was evaluated in an alumina crucible using simultaneous thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in an argon atmosphere. The TGA of (NH 4 ) 2 [ReF 6 ] is characterized by a single step decomposition while the DSC exhibits two exothermic peaks. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analyses of the decomposition products show the presence of a mixed ReO 2 phase. The formation of ReO2 is driven by the reaction of (NH 4 ) 2 [ReF 6 ] with Al 2 O 3 at the grain boundary of the alumina crucible. XRD peak broadenings due to the combined effect of crystallite size and lattice strain were evaluated using both Scherrer and Williamson-Hall methods.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Spatially resolved nanostructural analysis of disordered phases in carbonated alkali-activated slag

Alkali-activated slag (AAS) is a promising low-CO 2 alternative cement consisting of several disordered phases of similar composition. Although their local atomic arrangements are known to influence macroscopic behavior, determination of structural changes in response to external stimuli remains a challenge. Here, X-ray diffraction-computed tomography (XRD-CT), pair distribution function-CT (PDF-CT), and nanoprobe X-ray fluorescence (nano-XRF) have been used to uncover how an increase of magnesium in AAS affects the atomic structure and spatial arrangement of phases after aggressive carbonation (100% dry CO 2 ), conditions experienced in applications such as oil and gas wells and geological storage of CO 2 . From PDF-CT it is found that a higher magnesium content decreases the average nanoscale crystallite size of disordered calcium carbonate. At the same time, higher magnesium content is correlated with a less decalcified C-(N)-A-S-H gel, as determined via analysis of Ca-Si atom-atom correlations from PDF-CT and Ca/Si ratios from nano-XRF. Finally, nano-XRF reveals that the disordered (i.e., amorphous) calcium carbonate is stabilized by the presence of silicates.

McCaslin, Eric R. [Princeton Univ., NJ (United Sta↗