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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

Measuring the speed of light with ultra-compact radio quasars

In this paper, based on a 2.29 GHz VLBI all-sky survey of 613 milliarcsecond ultra-compact radio sources with 0.0035< z <3.787, we describe a method of identifying the sub-sample which can serve as individual standard rulers in cosmology. If the linear size of the compact structure is assumed to depend on source luminosity and redshift as l {sub m} = l L {sup β} (1+ z ) {sup n} , only intermediate-luminosity quasars (10{sup 27} W/Hz< L < 10{sup 28} W/Hz) show negligible dependence (| n |≅ 10{sup −3}, |β|≅ 10{sup −4}), and thus represent a population of such rulers with fixed characteristic length l =11.42 pc. With a sample of 120 such sources covering the redshift range 00.46< z <2.8, we confirm the existence of dark energy in the Universe with high significance under the assumption of a flat universe, and obtain stringent constraints on both the matter density Ω {sub m} =0.323{sup +0.245}{sub −0.145} and the Hubble constant H {sub 0}=66.30{sup +7.00}{sub −8.50} km sec{sup −1} Mpc{sup −1}. Finally, with the angular diameter distances D {sub A} measured for quasars extending to high redshifts (0 z ∼ 3.), we reconstruct the D {sub A} ( z ) function using the technique of Gaussian processes. This allows us to identify the redshift corresponding to the maximum of the D {sub A} ( z ) function: 0 z {sub m} =1.7 and the corresponding angular diameter distance D {sub A} ( z {sub m} )=1719.01±43.46 Mpc. Similar reconstruction of the expansion rate function H ( z ) based on the data from cosmic chronometers and BAO gives us H ( z {sub m} )=176.77±6.11 km sec{sup −1} Mpc{sup −1}. These measurements are used to estimate the speed of light: c =3.039(±0.180)× 10{sup 5} km/s. This is the first measurement of the speed of light in a cosmological setting referring to the distant past.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Simulating dust grain-radiation coupling on a moving mesh

ABSTRACT We present a model for the interaction between dust and radiation fields in the radiation hydrodynamic code arepo-rt, which solves the moment-based radiative transfer equations on an unstructured moving mesh. Dust is directly treated using live simulation particles, each of which represent a population of grains that are coupled to hydrodynamic motion through a drag force. We introduce methods to calculate radiation pressure on and photon absorption by dust grains. By including a direct treatment of dust, we are able to calculate dust opacities and update radiation fields self-consistently based on the local dust distribution. This hybrid scheme coupling dust particles to an unstructured mesh for radiation is validated using several test problems with known analytic solutions, including dust driven via spherically symmetric flux from a constant luminosity source and photon absorption from radiation incident on a thin layer of dust. Our methods are compatible with the multifrequency scheme in arepo-rt, which treats UV, optical photons as single scattered and IR photons as multi scattered. At IR wavelengths, we model heating of and thermal emission from dust. Dust and gas are not assumed to be in local thermodynamic equilibrium but transfer energy through collisional exchange. We estimate dust temperatures by balancing these dust-radiation and dust-gas energy exchange rates. This framework for coupling dust and radiation can be applied in future radiation hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy formation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Tracing the green valley with entropic thresholding

ABSTRACT The green valley represents the population of galaxies that are transitioning from the actively star-forming blue cloud to the passively evolving red sequence. Studying the properties of the green valley galaxies is crucial for our understanding of the exact mechanisms and processes that drive this transition. The green valley does not have a universally accepted definition. The boundaries of the green valley are often determined by empirical lines that are subjective and vary across studies. We present an unambiguous definition of the green valley in the colour–stellar mass plane using the entropic thresholding. We first divide the galaxy population into the blue cloud and the red sequence based on a colour threshold that minimizes the intraclass variance and maximizes the interclass variance. Our method splits the region between the mean colours of the blue cloud and the red sequence into three parts by maximizing the total entropy of that region. We repeat our analysis in a number of independent stellar mass bins to define the boundaries of the green valley in the colour–mass diagram. Our method provides a robust and natural definition of the green valley.

Pandey, Biswajit (ORCID:000000017876595X)↗

Discrete event modeling and massively parallel execution of epidemic outbreak phenomena

In complex phenomena such as epidemiological outbreaks, the intensity of inherent feedback effects and the significant role of transients in the dynamics make simulation the only effective method for proactive, reactive or post facto analysis. The spatial scale, runtime speed, and behavioral detail needed in detailed simulations of epidemic outbreaks cannot be supported by sequential or small-scale parallel execution, making it necessary to use large-scale parallel processing. Here, an optimistic parallel execution of a new discrete event formulation of a reaction–diffusion simulation model of epidemic propagation is presented to facilitate a dramatic increase in the fidelity and speed by which epidemiological simulations can be performed. Rollback support needed during optimistic parallel execution is achieved by combining reverse computation with a small amount of incremental state saving. Parallel speedup of over 5,500 and other runtime performance metrics of the system are observed with weak-scaling execution on a small (8,192-core) Blue Gene/P system, while scalability with a weak-scaling speedup of over 10,000 is demonstrated on 65,536 cores of a large Cray XT5 system. Scenarios representing large population sizes, with mobility and detailed state evolution modeled at the level of each individual, exceeding several hundreds of millions of individuals in the largest cases, are successfully exercised to verify model scalability.

Computer Science↗

Single Cell Genomics of Uncultured, Health-Associated Tannerella BU063 (Oral Taxon 286) and Comparison to the Closely Related Pathogen Tannerella forsythia

The uncultivated bacterium Tannerella BU063 (oral taxon 286) is the closest relative to the periodontal pathogen Tannerella forsythia, but is not disease-associated itself. Using a single cell genomics approach, we isolated 12 individual BU063 cells by flow cytometry, and we amplified and sequenced their genomes. Comparative analyses of the assembled genomic scaffolds and their gene contents allowed us to study the diversity of this taxon within the oral community of a single human donor that provided the sample. Eight different BU063 genotypes were represented, all about 5% divergent at the nucleotide level. There were 2 pairs of cells and one group of three that were more highly identical, and may represent clonal populations. We did pooled assemblies on the nearly identical genomes to increase the assembled genomic coverage. The presence of a set of 66 ‘‘core’’ housekeeping genes showed that two of the single cell assemblies and the assembly derived from the three putatively identical cells were essentially complete. As expected, the genome of BU063 is more similar to Tannerella forsythia than any other known genome, although there are significant differences, including a 44% difference in gene content, changes in metabolic pathways, loss of synteny, and an 8–9% difference in GC content. Several identified virulence genes of T. forsythia are not found in BU063 including karilysin, prtH, and bspA. The absence of these genes may explain the lack of periodontal pathogenesis by this species and provides a new foundation to further understand the genome evolution and mechanisms of bacterial-host interaction in closely related oral microbes with different pathogenicity potential.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Sitewide Environmental Impact Statement Site 300 and Arroyo Mocho Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Alameda and San Joaquin Counties, California (Mid-Term Report)

At the request of Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS), Nomad Ecology (Nomad) conducted sensitive botanical resource surveys, and vegetation mapping and classification of the 7,000-acre Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Experimental Test Site (Site 300) and 17 acres surrounding the Arroyo Mocho pumping station and the access road to the pumping station (Arroyo Mocho). In addition to surveying for sensitive botanical resources, Nomad also compiled existing rare plant and vegetation data provided by LLNL from past monitoring and environmental impact evaluations. The results of these efforts will provide supporting information for a Site-wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS). These surveys were conducted during the months of April – June, and August 2020. Rare plant surveys were scheduled for February and March 2020; however, February surveys were not initiated because the contract for this work was not finalized, and March surveys were cut short due to the timing of the Covid-19 shelter in place. February and March rare plant surveys are scheduled for 2021; therefore, the rare plant survey results in this report should be considered incomplete until the 2021 surveys are conducted. A total of 10 special status plant species were recorded within Site 300 and Arroyo Mocho. Of these 10, three were not previously recorded within the study areas, and include Hospital Canyon larkspur (Delphinium californicum subsp. interius), Jepson’s woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum jepsonii), and Michael’s rein orchid (Piperia michaelii), which all occur at Arroyo Mocho. Special status plant species known from these two sites total 23 rare plant occurrences (populations), which represent an estimated 50,929 rare plant individuals. This total of all special status plant species breaks down to one occurrence of a federally and/or state listed plant species (98 individuals), six occurrences of California Rare Plant Rank (CRPR) 1 & 2 species (49,010 individuals), and 16 occurrences of CRPR 3 & 4 species (1,821 individuals). A total of 35 vegetation communities were mapped at Site 300, of which 20 are considered Sensitive Natural Communities. A total of nine vegetation communities were mapped at Arroyo Mocho, of which two are considered Sensitive Natural Communities.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Final Site 300 Sensitive Botanical Resource Report for the Sitewide Environmental Impact Statement, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Alameda and San Joaquin Counties, California

At the request of Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS), Nomad Ecology (Nomad) conducted sensitive botanical resource surveys, and vegetation mapping and classification of the 7,000-acre Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Experimental Test Site (Site 300). In addition to surveying for sensitive botanical resources, Nomad also compiled existing rare plant and vegetation data provided by LLNL from past monitoring and environmental impact evaluations. The results of these efforts will provide supporting information for a Site-wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS). These surveys were conducted during the months of April-June, and August 2020, and February and March 2021. Rare plant surveys were originally scheduled for February and March 2020; however, February surveys were not initiated because the contract for this work was not finalized, and March surveys were cut short due to the timing of the Covid-19 shelter in place. Therefore, February and March rare plant surveys were conducted in 2021. A total of seven special status plant species were recorded within Site 300. Special status plant species known from the site total 26 rare plant occurrences (populations), which represent an estimated 14,077 rare plant individuals. This total of all special status plant species breaks down to one occurrence of a federally and/or state listed plant species (98 individuals), five occurrences of California Rare Plant Rank (CRPR) 1 & 2 species (11,553 individuals), and 20 occurrences of CRPR 3 & 4 species (2,426 individuals). A total of 35 vegetation communities were mapped at Site 300, of which 20 are considered Sensitive Natural Communities.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

RADIAL VELOCITY MONITORING OF KEPLER HEARTBEAT STARS

Heartbeat stars (HB stars) are a class of eccentric binary stars with close periastron passages. The characteristic photometric HB signal evident in their light curves is produced by a combination of tidal distortion, heating, and Doppler boosting near orbital periastron. Many HB stars continue to oscillate after periastron and along the entire orbit, indicative of the tidal excitation of oscillation modes within one or both stars. These systems are among the most eccentric binaries known, and they constitute astrophysical laboratories for the study of tidal effects. We have undertaken a radial velocity (RV) monitoring campaign of Kepler HB stars in order to measure their orbits. We present our first results here, including a sample of 22 Kepler HB systems, where for 19 of them we obtained the Keplerian orbit and for 3 other systems we did not detect a statistically significant RV variability. Results presented here are based on 218 spectra obtained with the Keck/HIRES spectrograph during the 2015 Kepler observing season, and they have allowed us to obtain the largest sample of HB stars with orbits measured using a single instrument, which roughly doubles the number of HB stars with an RV measured orbit. The 19 systems measured here have orbital periods from 7 to 90 days and eccentricities from 0.2 to 0.9. We show that HB stars draw the upper envelope of the eccentricity–period distribution. Therefore, HB stars likely represent a population of stars currently undergoing high eccentricity migration via tidal orbital circularization, and they will allow for new tests of high eccentricity migration theories.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

ALMA OBSERVATIONS OF Ly α BLOB 1: HALO SUBSTRUCTURE ILLUMINATED FROM WITHIN

We present new Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) 850 μ m continuum observations of the original Ly α Blob (LAB) in the SSA22 field at z = 3.1 (SSA22-LAB01). The ALMA map resolves the previously identified submillimeter source into three components with a total flux density of S {sub 850} = 1.68 ± 0.06 mJy, corresponding to a star-formation rate of ∼150 M {sub ⊙} yr{sup -1}. The submillimeter sources are associated with several faint ( m ≈ 27 mag) rest-frame ultraviolet sources identified in Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) clear filter imaging ( λ ≈ 5850 Å). One of these companions is spectroscopically confirmed with the Keck Multi-Object Spectrometer For Infra-Red Exploration to lie within 20 projected kpc and 250 km s{sup -1} of one of the ALMA components. We postulate that some of these STIS sources represent a population of low-mass star-forming satellites surrounding the central submillimeter sources, potentially contributing to their growth and activity through accretion. Using a high-resolution cosmological zoom simulation of a 10{sup 13} M {sub ⊙} halo at z = 3, including stellar, dust, and Ly α radiative transfer, we can model the ALMA+STIS observations and demonstrate that Ly α photons escaping from the central submillimeter sources are expected to resonantly scatter in neutral hydrogen, the majority of which is predicted to be associated with halo substructure. We show how this process gives rise to extended Ly α emission with similar surface brightness and morphology to observed giant LABs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

THE K2 M67 STUDY: AN EVOLVED BLUE STRAGGLER IN M67 FROM K2 MISSION ASTEROSEISMOLOGY

Yellow straggler stars (YSSs) fall above the subgiant branch in optical color–magnitude diagrams (CMDs), between the blue stragglers and the red giants. YSSs may represent a population of evolved blue stragglers, but none have the direct and precise mass and radius measurements needed to determine their evolutionary states and formation histories. Here we report the first asteroseismic mass and radius measurements of such a star, the yellow straggler S1237 in the open cluster M67. We apply asteroseismic scaling relations to a frequency analysis of the Kepler K2 light curve and find a mass of 2.9 ± 0.2 M {sub ⊙} and a radius of 9.2 ± 0.2 R{sub ⊙}. This is more than twice the mass of the main-sequence turnoff in M67, suggesting that S1237 is indeed an evolved blue straggler. S1237 is the primary in a spectroscopic binary. We update the binary orbital solution and use spectral energy distribution fitting to constrain the CMD location of the secondary star. We find that the secondary is likely an upper main-sequence star near the turnoff, but a slightly hotter blue straggler companion is also possible. We then compare the asteroseismic mass of the primary to its mass from CMD fitting, finding that the photometry implies a mass and radius more than 2 σ below the asteroseismic measurement. Finally, we consider formation mechanisms for this star and suggest that S1237 may have formed from dynamical encounters resulting in stellar collisions or a binary merger.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Cumulus cloud transport of transient tracers

A theoretical framework is developed for including cumulus cloud transport, rainout of water soluble gases, and aqueous phase chemistry into gas phase photochemical models. Cloud populations are represented as ensemble distributions of individual clouds of various heights. An individual cloud is represented as a one-dimensional, steady state plume with height-independent radius entraining air from the boundary of the cloud. The model is applied to several hypothetical atmospheric tracers to show how clouds may affect the tropospheric distributions of ozone, NO(y), SO2, peroxyacetylnitrate, hydrocarbons, and other gases. Although the numerical experiments were based on cloud mass fluxes from diagnostic studies in the tropics and thus are not representative of the entire globe, it was found that an increasing mixing ratio with height in the free troposphere can be produced for some gases with only a surface source when clouds are present. This suggests that some reactive tropospheric species with primarily surface sources may play a somewhat more important role in tropospheric chemistry than is presently believed depending on the global distribution of cloud mass fluxes. Deficiencies in existing photochemical models due to the way clouds are typically treated are discussed.

Gidel, L. T.↗

The chemistry of comets

Comets appear to represent a population of rather homogeneous objects. In particular, the original size distribution peaks at a mean diameter of the order of 10 km. Cometary dust grains appear to be made of clusters of extremely fine particles (0.1-1.0 micron) sintered by heat at a variable degree during their perihelion passages. The brightness laws of comets appear to be derived only by the sublimation of water ice or at least of gas hydrates of the clathrate type. Pristine nuclei are likely to be radially undifferentiated; only their crustal surface must be outgassed and sintered by the heat of perihelion passages. Comet Halley is confirmed to be in the same general class as the bright comets of the 1970s. With an organic fraction of 33 percent in the cometary dust, the carbon of Comet Halley is close to cosmic abundances.

Delsemme, A. H.↗

Origin of orbital debris impacts on LDEF's trailing surfaces

A model was developed to determine the origin of orbital impacts measured on the training surfaces of LDEF. The model calculates the expected debris impact crater distribution around LDEF as a function of debris orbital parameters. The results show that only highly elliptical, low inclination orbits could be responsible for these impacts. The most common objects left in this type of orbit are orbital transfer stages used by the U.S. and ESA to place payloads into geosynchronous orbit. Objects in this type of orbit are difficult to catalog by the U.S. Space Command; consequently there are independent reasons to believe that the catalog does not adequately represent this population. This analysis concludes that the relative number of cataloged objects with highly elliptical, low inclination orbits must be increased by a factor of 20 to be consistent with the LDEF data.

Kessler, Donald J.↗

Lay and Expert Perceptions of Planetary Protection

As space scientists and engineers plan new missions to Mars and other planets in our solar system, they will face critical questions about the potential for biological contamination of planetary surfaces. In a society that places ever-increasing importance on the role of public involvement in science and technology policy, questions about risks of biological contamination will be examined and debated in the media, and will lead to the formation of public perceptions of planetary-contamination risks. These perceptions will, over time, form an important input to the development of space policy. Previous research in public and expert perceptions of technological risks and hazards has shown that many of the problems faced by risk-management organizations are the result of differing perceptions of risk (and risk management) between the general public and scientific and technical experts. These differences manifest themselves both as disagreements about the definition (and level) of risk associated with a scientific, technological or industrial enterprise, and as distrust about the ability of risk-management organizations (both public and private) to adequately protect people's health and safety. This report presents the results of a set of survey studies designed to reveal perceptions of planetary exploration and protection from a wide range of respondents, including both members of the general public and experts in the life sciences. The potential value of this research lies in what it reveals about perceptions of risk and benefit that could improve risk-management policies and practices. For example, efforts to communicate with the public about Mars sample return missions could benefit from an understanding of the specific concerns that nonscientists have about such a mission by suggesting areas of potential improvement in public education and information. Assessment of both public and expert perceptions of risk can also be used to provide an advanced signal of aspects of planetary exploration and protection that may be particularly sensitive or controversial and that could prove problematic from a risk-management standpoint, perhaps warranting a more stringent risk-management approach than would otherwise be the case based on technical considerations alone. The design of the study compares perceptions and attitudes about space exploration relevant to a Mars sample return mission between three respondent groups: (1) members of The Planetary Society, a group representing individuals with a strong interest in space-related issues, (2) a group of university-aged students, representing a population relatively sensitive to environmental hazards, and (3) a group of life scientists outside of the space research community. Members of The Planetary Society received the survey as part of a special issue of The Planetary Report on planetary protection, which contained a number of background articles on planetary protection and related topics. A synopsis of the issue was prepared as an introduction to the survey for the other two groups.

Race, Margaret S.↗

Derivation of Boundary Manikins: A Principal Component Analysis

When designing any human-system interface, it is critical to provide realistic anthropometry to properly represent how a person fits within a given space. This study aimed to identify a minimum number of boundary manikins or representative models of subjects anthropometry from a target population, which would realistically represent the population. The boundary manikin anthropometry was derived using, Principal Component Analysis (PCA). PCA is a statistical approach to reduce a multi-dimensional dataset using eigenvectors and eigenvalues. The measurements used in the PCA were identified as those measurements critical for suit and cockpit design. The PCA yielded a total of 26 manikins per gender, as well as their anthropometry from the target population. Reduction techniques were implemented to reduce this number further with a final result of 20 female and 22 male subjects. The anthropometry of the boundary manikins was then be used to create 3D digital models (to be discussed in subsequent papers) intended for use by designers to test components of their space suit design, to verify that the requirements specified in the Human Systems Integration Requirements (HSIR) document are met. The end-goal is to allow for designers to generate suits which accommodate the diverse anthropometry of the user population.

Young, Karen↗

Recent Radar Observations of the Sub-Centimeter Orbital Debris Environment

The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) has conducted radar observations of the orbital debris environment since the early 1990’s to provide measurement data that supports orbital debris models and risk mitigation activities in support of NASA mission objectives. Orbital debris radar observations are a unique mode for radar operation, employing a fixed beam configuration to statistically sample the environment. An advantage of conducting operations in this fashion is that it enables observations of smaller classes of orbital debris than would otherwise be available from the same sensor operating in a traditional tracking mode. Orbital debris-mode radar observations are used to fill in the gaps, which exist in the currently available data from the Space Surveillance Network (SSN), on small size orbital debris populations that represent significant risk to NASA programs. These gaps have typically covered orbital debris with characteristic sizes less than approximately 10 cm down to approximately 3 mm in low Earth orbit (LEO) – depending upon the altitude and sensor configuration. The value of orbital debris radar measurements lies in the ability to extract partial orbital element information about orbital debris in the centimeter to several millimeter size regimes in low Earth orbit – which are not available from other measurement sources. This paper will discuss observations of this smaller class of orbital debris observed in recent years from the radars at the MIT Haystack Observatory in Westford, Massachusetts, and the Goldstone Solar System Radar near Barstow, California. The former radar is able to observe orbital debris down to approximately 5 mm, and the latter, orbital debris with characteristic sizes near 3 mm – at altitudes less than 1000 km. The characteristics and inferences about the current LEO orbital debris environment, and the different subpopulations that are identifiable in the observations are highlighted.

Kennedy, Timothy↗

Bayesian Statistical Models for Community Annoyance Survey Data

This paper demonstrates the use of two Bayesian statistical models to analyze single-event sonic boom exposure and human annoyance data from community response surveys. Each model is fit to data from a NASA pilot study.Unlike many community noise surveys, this study used a panel sample to collect multiple observations per participant instead of a single observation. Thus, a multilevel (also known as hierarchical or mixed-effects) model is used to account for the within-subject correlation in the panel sample data. This paper describes a multilevel logistic regression model and a multilevel ordinal regression model. The paper also proposes a method for calculating a summary dose-response curve from the multilevel models that represents the population. The two models’ summary dose-response curves are visually similar. However, their estimates differ when calculating the noise dose at a fixed percent highly annoyed.

Musical instruments↗

Dynamic Countermeasure Fabrics for Post-Spaceflight Orthostatic Intolerance

Aerospace orthostatic intolerance garments (OIG) have historically been pneumatic (e.g., NASA’s antigravity suit), an approach that inhibits mobility and requires connection to an air supply. Elastic compression garments, an alternative technology, are difficult to don/doff and cannot be worn in a noncompressive state, resulting in discomfort and usability challenges. This research evaluates a novel technology—contractile shape memory alloy (SMA) knitted actuators—that can enable low-profile, dynamic compression for an aerospace OIG. To characterize the functional capabilities of SMA knitted actuators, displacement control testing was conducted on 10 actuator samples with a range of geometric design parameters. Inactive (FI) and actuated forces (FA) were observed by repeatedly thermally cycling each sample at 0%, 15%, 30%, and 45% structural strain. Compression capabilities were approximated using medical compression hosiery standards and anthropometric data from a representative aerospace population (ANSUR 2012). Dynamic compression predictions reached 52 mmHg (single layer fabric) and 105 mmHg (double layer fabric) at the ankle. Low, inactive pressures (p, 20 mmHg) demonstrate that compression is controllable and can be dynamically increased upon actuation up to 33 mmHg in a single layer system and up to 67 mmHg in a double layer system. The results highlight the potential of SMA knitted actuators to enable low-profile, dynamic compression garments that can reach medically therapeutic pressures on an aerospace population to counteract OI symptoms. In addition to astronautic applications, this technology demonstrates widespread terrestrial medical and high-performance aircraft applicability.

Orthostatic intolerance↗