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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Shear Measurement Bias Due to Spatially Varying Spectral Energy Distributions in Galaxies

Galaxy color gradients (CGs)—i.e., spectral energy distributions that vary across the galaxy profile—will impact galaxy shape measurements when the modeled point-spread function (PSF) corresponds to that for a galaxy with spatially uniform color. This paper describes the techniques and results of a study of the expected impact of galaxy CGs on weak lensing measurements with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) when the PSF size depends on wavelength. The bias on cosmic shear measurements from CGs is computed both for parametric bulge$+$disk galaxy simulations and for more realistic chromatic galaxy surface brightness profiles based on Hubble Space Telescope V- and I-band images in the All-Wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS). For the parametric galaxies, and for the more realistic galaxies derived from AEGIS galaxies with a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio that CG bias can be isolated, the predicted multiplicative shear biases due to CGs are found to be at least a factor of two below the LSST full-depth requirement on the total systematic uncertainty in the redshift-dependent shear calibration. The analysis code and data products are publicly available (https://github.com/sowmyakth/measure_cg_bias).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Enhanced flow boiling heat transfer on chromium coated zircaloy-4 using cold spray technique for accident tolerant fuel (ATF) materials

Flow boiling heat transfer tests were conducted to evaluate the Critical Heat Flux (CHF) and Heat Transfer Coefficient (HTC) of conventional and accident tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding materials, i.e., bare Zircaloy-4 (Zr4), and Zircaloy-4 coated with Chromium using physical vapor deposition (PVD) (Zr4-Cr-PVD) and cold spray process (Zr4-Cr-CS), respectively. The tests were performed on a single heater rod with a uniform heat flux profile, at the atmospheric pressure, inlet temperature (24 °C) and mass flow rate (750 kg/m 2 s). HTC’s were increased by 5.2% and 3.3% on Zr4-Cr-CS compared to bare Zr4 and Zr4-Cr-PVD. Improved HTCwas attributed to the increased void fraction and high roughness (Ra = 532 nm) of the Zr4-Cr-CS. In detail, the micro-cavities, which act as bubble seeds, were entirely distributed on the Zr4-Cr-CS, and these micro-cavities generated smaller and faster bubbles, thus the void fraction increased by 10.9% compared to bare Zr4. HTC is improved by these smaller and faster bubbles which can remove heat from the heater rod surface more efficiently. To identify the exact location of CHF, the surface temperature profile was measured using advanced fiber-optic sensors which have high temporal/spatial resolution (distance between point to point: ~2.5 mm, frequency ~100 Hz). CHF occurred at 80–95% along the heated length and showed an 11.6% reduction on Zr4-Cr-CS compared to bare Zr4. We hypothesize the CHF reduction was caused by the lower wettability of the Zr4-Cr-CS which reduces the liquid supply to the surface, and vigorous bubble accumulation owing to high void fraction near the outlet, which results in early formation of the vapor film. During the post-CHF quenching phase, the rougher Zr4-Cr-CS showed larger cooling rates compared to the bare Zr4 and Zr4-Cr-PVD, preventing of oxidation by chromium layer. In conclusion, we demonstrate that the high roughness on the Zr4-Cr-CS increased the number of micro-cavities on the surface, resulting in 5.2% increase in HTC and improvement in the quenching heat transfer performance whereas CHF was 11.6% reduced compared to bare Zr4. Overall statistically there is little effect in the coating with regards to CHF and slight improvement in HTC.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Warm air intrusions reaching the MOSAiC expedition in April 2020—The YOPP targeted observing period (TOP)

In the spring period of the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition, an initiative was in place to increase the radiosounding frequency during warm air intrusions in the Atlantic Arctic sector. Two episodes with increased surface temperatures were captured during April 12–22, 2020, during a targeted observing period (TOP). The large-scale circulation efficiently guided the pulses of warm air into the Arctic and the observed surface temperature increased from -30°C to near melting conditions marking the transition to spring, as the temperatures did not return to values below -20°C. Back-trajectory analysis identifies 3 pathways for the transport. For the first temperature maximum, the circulation guided the airmass over the Atlantic to the northern Norwegian coast and then to the MOSAiC site. The second pathway was from the south, and it passed over the Greenland ice sheet and arrived at the observational site as a warm but dry airmass due to precipitation on the windward side. The third pathway was along the Greenland coast and the arriving airmass was both warm and moist. The back trajectories originating from pressure levels between 700 and 900 hPa line up vertically, which is somewhat surprising in this dynamically active environment. The processes acting along the trajectory originating from 800 hPa at the MOSAIC site are analyzed. Vertical profiles and surface energy exchange are presented to depict the airmass transformation based on ERA5 reanalysis fields. The TOP could be used for model evaluation and Lagrangian model studies to improve the representation of the small-scale physical processes that are important for airmass transformation. A comparison between MOSAiC observations and ERA5 reanalysis demonstrates challenges in the representation of small-scale processes, such as turbulence and the contributions to various terms of the surface energy budget, that are often misrepresented in numerical weather prediction and climate models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Development of a molecularly informed biogeochemical framework for reactive transport modeling of subsurface carbon inventories, transformations and fluxes (Final Report)

The overall objective of the project was to combine new molecular-level characterization strategies with soil carbon flux measurements to develop and evaluate model representations of subsurface carbon cycling. We expanded on existing studies in the East River watershed, Colorado, in collaboration with the Berkeley Lab Watershed Function Scientific Focus Area (SFA), SLAC Groundwater Quality SFA, and Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) to develop an elevation and vegetation gradient that is now the subject of long-term monitoring by the USGS. To achieve the overall objective, we combined field studies of soil respiration with laboratory analyses, ranging from spectroscopy to incubation studies. This combination of techniques enabled us to develop a new understanding of the drivers of high-elevation soil respiration. In the process, we developed three new modeling approaches that improve our ability to conceptualize and ultimately to represent soil respiration in numerical models. The first approach is a plot-scale transient inverse model that can be used to determine in situ CO 2 production rates from measured concentration profiles and surface fluxes. Application of this method revealed the importance of plant phenology and deep CO 2 production in moderating CO 2 fluxes to the atmosphere. The second modeling approach is a molecular-scale tool that enables spectroscopic and elemental data for carbon speciation to be transformed into functional group abundances, or the ‘SOC-fga model’. This method uniquely enables carbon speciation to be tracked within a reactive transport framework to partition carbon among different pathways and storage zones within the soil. The third modeling tool builds strongly on the previous approaches and captures the microbial processes driving heterotrophic respiration. This ‘dormancy model’ allows the native soil microbial population to respond transiently to the presence or absence of water in order to catalyze carbon respiration. This approach was also compared to the simpler and more widely used first-order model using two experimental datasets with different temporal and spatial resolutions. Our results illustrate that the simpler first order model provides a robust and efficient representation of deep (>1 meter) soil respiration, but that shallow soils, where most respiration occurs, require explicit representation of moisture-dependent activation and dormancy rates. By assessing soil organic carbon turnover at multiple scales, we see a complex array of controls emerge. Atte scale of a hillslope, spatial heterogeneity in soil respiration rates dominates and is uncorrelated with instantaneous soil moisture and plant community. At the profile scale, the balance between plant inputs and water availability is the dominant control. At the microbial to molecular scale, physiological processes associated with carbon use and carbon speciation are important controls. These scale-dependent controls emphasize the need for new modeling approaches that examine their interactions and hierarchies.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

New Determination of Fundamental Properties of Palomar 5 Using Deep DESI Imaging Data

The legacy imaging surveys for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument project provides multiple-color photometric data, which are about 2 mag deeper than those from the SDSS. In this study, we redetermine the fundamental properties for an old halo globular cluster of Palomar 5 based on these new imaging data, including structure parameters, stellar population parameters, and luminosity and mass functions. These characteristics, together with its tidal tails, are key for dynamical studies of the cluster and constraining the mass model of the Milky Way. By fitting the King model to the radial surface density profile of Palomar 5, we derive the core radius of [[Formula]], tidal radius of [[Formula]], and concentration parameter of c = 0.78 ± 0.04. We apply a Bayesian analysis method to derive the stellar population properties and get an age of 11.508 ± 0.027 Gyr, metallicity of [Fe/H] = −1.798 ± 0.014, reddening of E(B − V) = 0.0552 ± 0.0005, and distance modulus of (m−M){sub 0} = 16.835±0.006. The main-sequence luminosity and mass functions for both the cluster center and tidal tails are investigated. The luminosity and mass functions at different distances from the cluster center suggest that there is obvious spatial mass segregation. Many faint low-mass stars have been evaporated at the cluster center, and the tidal tails are enhanced by low-mass stars. Both the concentration and relaxation times suggest that Palomar 5 is a totally relaxed system.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Anisotropic spall failure of additively manufactured 316L stainless steel

The dynamic high strain rate tensile (spall) failure of additively manufactured (AM) materials is an area of great interest but much less understood than material failure under other loading regimes. The research presented here examines the effects of microstructure anisotropy in 316L stainless steel fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) on its spall failure and properties. In this work, plate-on-plate impact experiments were performed using an 80-mm gas gun to investigate the spall behavior of AM fabricated sample discs with impact along the perpendicular and parallel orientations relative to build directions. Experiments were also performed on wrought 316L stainless steel as baseline material with uniform equiaxed grain microstructure for comparison with the AM material of same composition. The spall experiments involved free-surface velocity profiles measured using Photon Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) to capture the spall pull-back signals, combined with post-mortem analysis of the microstructure of soft-recovered impacted samples. In the case of AM samples, spall failure initiated preferentially at melt pool boundaries in both impact directions. The spall plane location and spall strength, however, were both heavily influenced by the orientation of the impact direction relative to the build direction in the AM samples. The spall behavior is also observed to be more complex in the samples impacted perpendicular to the build (through-thickness) direction, due in large part to the orientation of the microstructural features such as melt pool boundaries, laser scan tracks, and general grain morphology.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Hot, cold, or just right? An infrared biometric sensor to improve occupant comfort and reduce overcooling in buildings via closed-loop control

To improve occupant comfort and save energy in buildings, we have developed a closed-loop air conditioning (AC) sensor-controller that predicts occupant thermal sensation from the thermographic measurement of skin temperature distribution, then uses this information to reduce overcooling (cooling-energy overuse that discomforts occupants) by regulating AC output. Taking measures to protect privacy, it combines thermal-infrared (TIR) and color (visible spectrum) cameras with machine vision to measure the skin-surface temperature profile. Since the human thermoregulation system uses skin blood flow to maintain thermoneutrality, the distribution of skin temperature can be used to predict warm, neutral, and cool thermal states. We conducted a series of human-subject thermal-sensation trials in cold-to-hot environments, measuring skin temperatures and recording thermal sensation votes. We then trained random-forest classification machine-learning models (classifiers) to estimate thermal sensation from skin temperatures or skin-temperature differences. The estimated thermal sensation was input to a proportional integral (PI) control algorithm for the AC, targeting a sensation level between neutral and warm. Our sensor-controller includes a sensor assembly, server software, and client software. The server software orients the cameras and transmits images to the client software, which in turn assesses occupant skin temperature distribution, estimates occupant thermal sensation, and controls AC operation. A demonstration conducted in a conference room in an office building near Houston, TX showed that our system reduced overcooling, decreasing AC load by 42% when the room was occupied while improving occupant comfort (fraction of “comfortable” votes) by 15 percentage points.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Resonant Soft X-ray Scattering Reveals Hierarchical Structure in a Multicomponent Vapor-Deposited Glass

Multiphase vapor-deposited glasses are an important class of materials for organic electronics, particularly organic photovoltaics and thermoelectrics. These blends are frequently regarded as molecular alloys and there have been few studies of their structure at nanometer scales. Here, in this work, we show that a codeposited system of TPD (N,N'-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N'-diphenylbenzidine) and DO37 (disperse orange 37), two small molecule glass-formers, separates into amorphous, compositionally distinct phases with a domain size and spacing ca. 10s of nanometers that depends on substrate temperature during deposition. Domains rich in one of the two components become larger and more pure at higher deposition temperatures. We use resonant soft X-ray scattering (RSoXS) complemented with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and photoinduced force microscopy to measure the phase separation, topography, and purity of the deposited films. A forward-simulation approach to RSoXS analysis, the National Institute of Standards and Technology RSoXS Simulation Suite (NIST RSoXS simulation suite), is used with models developed from AFM images to evaluate the energy dependence of scattering across multiple length scales and interpret the RSoXS with respect to structure within the films. We find that the RSoXS is sensitive to a length scale of phase separation buried within the film that is consistent with the surface composition profile, and correlates to the topography to an extent that depends on substrate temperature. We demonstrate that vacuum scattering, which is often ignored in RSoXS analysis, contributes significantly to the features and energy dependence of the RSoXS pattern, and then illustrate how to properly account for vacuum scattering to analyze films with significant roughness. We then use this analysis framework to understand structure development mechanisms that occur during vapor deposition of a TPD-DO37 codeposited glass with results that outline paths to tune morphology in multicomponent materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Scalar Flux Profiles in the Unstable Atmospheric Surface Layer Under the Influence of Large Eddies: Implications for Eddy Covariance Flux Measurements and the Non‐Closure Problem

How convective boundary-layer (CBL) processes modify fluxes of sensible (SH) and latent (LH) heat and CO 2 (F c ) in the atmospheric surface layer (ASL) remains a recalcitrant problem. Here, large eddy simulations for the CBL show that while SH in the ASL decreases linearly with height regardless of soil moisture conditions, LH and F c decrease linearly with height over wet soils but increase with height over dry soils. This varying flux divergence/convergence is regulated by changes in asymmetric flux transport between top-down and bottom-up processes. Such flux divergence and convergence indicate that turbulent fluxes measured in the ASL underestimate and overestimate the “true” surface interfacial fluxes, respectively. While the non-closure of the surface energy balance persists across all soil moisture states, it improves over drier soils due to overestimated LH. The non-closure does not imply that F c is always underestimated; F c can be overestimated over dry soils despite the non-closure issue.

Geology↗
DOE OSTI2026

Inundation and Sediment Supply Predict Annual but Not Centennial Carbon Accumulation in Tidal Wetlands Across Land‐Use Types

Despite growing interest in the contributions of tidal wetlands to natural climate solutions, data remain scarce on how land use affects their carbon accumulation rates (CAR). Additionally, environmental factors driving the large observed variability in CAR among sites are poorly understood. To address these knowledge gaps, we measured short-term (∼1 year) and long-term (∼100 years) CAR using feldspar marker horizons, 210 Pb profiles, and surface elevation tables from 39 sites in seven estuaries in Oregon and Washington, USA. Sites varied in wetland type (tidal marsh, tidal swamp, nontidal pasture), land-use history (reference, restored, and disturbed), and salinity (fresh to polyhaline). Across both timescales, CAR was lowest in disturbed pastures and highest in restored marshes, reflecting patterns in sediment accretion rates. Short-term CAR exceeded long-term CAR by approximately 50% on average and was only weakly correlated with long-term CAR, with differences among hydrogeomorphic setting. Short-term CAR was well predicted by summer inundation frequency and relative sediment load, together explaining 60% of variance, whereas long-term CAR was poorly predicted by contemporary environmental conditions. These findings highlight the importance of aligning predictor and response timescales when modeling blue carbon dynamics, and reinforce the climate mitigation potential of tidal wetland restoration.

land use and land cover change↗
DOE OSTI2026

Observed Land Surface Influence on Atmospheric Heat and Moisture Profiles During Interstorms

Land-atmospheric (L-A) feedbacks have historically been studied using models whose structure and parameterizations influence outcomes and insights. The representation of L-A feedbacks based on observations alone remains an ongoing challenge for understanding boundary layer development and precipitation. To address this gap, we use ground-based passive remote sensing and in-situ observations to present an analysis of the atmosphere during 103 interstorm soil moisture drydown events spanning nine warm seasons (2016–2024) in the U.S. Southern Great Plains region. By separating events based on local L-A coupling signals and characterizing the profiles of atmospheric heat and moisture to surface energy flux behavior, we investigate the physical mechanisms linking land surface processes to boundary layer development. We find that during interstorm drydowns, the atmospheric column follows a consistent pattern: moisture increases within the boundary layer, peaks near its top, and declines rapidly above, while warming occurs through the depth. Drydowns that shift toward evaporation produce stronger and deeper thermodynamic responses than cases dominated by sensible heating, which are weaker and shallower. Additionally, moisture is accumulated faster within the boundary layer during shorter drydowns, with longer drydowns representing slower, moisture-limited growth. Drydowns with wetter initial soil moisture will sustain stronger moistening within and above the boundary layer, accelerating buoyancy growth and convective potential toward the next storm. These results provide observational evidence linking surface flux evolution to boundary layer thermodynamics and offer a process-level benchmark for evaluating coupled L-A representations in models and demonstrating the influence of soil moisture on short-term weather forecasting skill.

Zhang, M. S. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (M↗
DOE OSTI2020

Massive peatland carbon banks vulnerable to rising temperatures

Peatlands contain one-third of the world’s soil carbon (C). If destabilized, decomposition of this vast C bank could accelerate climate warming; however, the likelihood of this outcome remains unknown. Here, we examine peatland C stability through five years of whole-ecosystem warming and two years of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (eCO 2 ). Warming exponentially increased methane (CH 4 ) emissions and enhanced CH 4 production rates throughout the entire soil profile; although surface CH 4 production rates remain much greater than those at depth. Additionally, older deeper C sources played a larger role in decomposition following prolonged warming. Most troubling, decreases in CO 2 :CH 4 ratios in gas production, porewater concentrations, and emissions, indicate that the peatland is becoming more methanogenic with warming. We observed limited evidence of eCO 2 effects. Our results suggest that ecosystem responses are largely driven by surface peat, but that the vast C bank at depth in peatlands is responsive to prolonged warming.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Learning to Predict Crystal Plasticity at the Nanoscale: Deep Residual Networks and Size Effects in Uniaxial Compression Discrete Dislocation Simulations

The density and configurational changes of crystal dislocations during plastic deformation influence the mechanical properties of materials. These influences have become clearest in nanoscale experiments, in terms of strength, hardness and work hardening size effects in small volumes. The mechanical characterization of a model crystal may be cast as an inverse problem of deducing the defect population characteristics (density, correlations) in small volumes from the mechanical behavior. In this work, we demonstrate how a deep residual network can be used to deduce the dislocation characteristics of a sample of interest using only its surface strain profiles at small deformations, and then statistically predict the mechanical response of size-affected samples at larger deformations. As a testbed of our approach, we utilize high-throughput discrete dislocation simulations for systems of widths that range from nano- to micro- meters. We show that the proposed deep learning model significantly outperforms a traditional machine learning model, as well as accurately produces statistical predictions of the size effects in samples of various widths. By visualizing the filters in convolutional layers and saliency maps, we find that the proposed model is able to learn the significant features of sample strain profiles.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

TDCOSMO 2025: Cosmological constraints from strong lensing time delays

We present cosmological constraints from eight strongly lensed quasars (hereafter, the TDCOSMO-2025 sample). Building on previous work, our analysis incorporated new deflector stellar velocity dispersions measured from spectra obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Keck Telescopes, and the Very Large Telescope (VLT), utilizing improved methods. We used integrated JWST stellar kinematics for five lenses, VLT-MUSE for 2, and resolved kinematics from Keck and JWST for RX J1131−1231. We also considered two samples of non-time-delay lenses: 11 from the Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS) sample with Keck-KCWI resolved kinematics; and four from the Strong Lenses in the Legacy Survey (SL2S) sample. We improved our analysis of line-of-sight effects, the surface brightness profile of the lens galaxies, and orbital anisotropy, and corrected for projection effects in the dynamics. Our uncertainties are maximally conservative by accounting for the mass-sheet degeneracy in the deflectors’ mass density profiles. The analysis was blinded to prevent experimenter bias. Our primary result is based on the TDCOSMO-2025 sample, in combination with Ωm constraints from the Pantheon+ Type Ia supernovae (SN) dataset. In the flat Λ cold dark matter (CDM), we find H0 = 71.6+3.9−3.3 km s−1 Mpc−1. The SLACS and SL2S samples are in excellent agreement with the TDCOSMO-2025 sample, improving the precision on H0 in flat ΛCDM to 4.6%. Using the Dark Energy Survey SN Year-5 dataset (DES-SN5YR) or DESI-DR2 baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO) likelihoods instead of Pantheon+ yields very similar results. We also present constraints in the open ΛCDM, wCDM, w0waCDM, and wϕCDM cosmologies. The TDCOSMO H0 inference is robust and consistent across all presented cosmological models, and our cosmological constraints in them agree with those from the BAO and SN.Key words: cosmological parameters / cosmology: observations / dark energy / distance scale⋆⋆ Brinson Fellow.⋆⋆⋆ NHFP Einstein Fellow.

Birrer, Simon [SUNY, Stony Brook] (ORCID:000000033↗
DOE OSTI2021

Probing the properties and mechanisms of failure waves in soda-lime glass

Soda-lime glass (SLG) and other silica glasses exhibit the failure wave phenomenon under shock compression. The mechanism responsible for this peculiar behavior of glasses is still unresolved. In this study, a series of plate impact experiments was performed at three different impact stresses of 6.4, 8.3, and 10.8 GPa to better understand the mechanisms underlying the failure wave phenomenon. Specifically, spall experiments were conducted to probe the speed and existence of failure waves at different stresses in SLG. A layered glass target was used to probe the possibility of a “renucleation” of the wave at the SLG–SLG interface. When it existed, the failure wave was inferred to propagate at a speed of 1.3 km/s. However, it was observed that the failure wave phenomenon ceases to exist for impact stresses higher than 10 GPa. In experiments with a 6.4 GPa impact stress, the peak free surface velocity was significantly less than what is predicted by stress-Hugoniot calculations. This velocity deficit and other important features of the measured free surface velocity profiles were simulated using finite element analysis by incorporating an abrupt densification of SLG at a critical stress in the equation of state. Furthermore, this densification feature is similar to what would be expected of a phase transition. Although unable to unambiguously reveal the mechanism causing the failure wave phenomenon, the results of the present work clearly indicate that the failure wave causes a secondary compression and densification in SLG.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Spall strength of additively repaired 304L stainless steel

Additive manufacturing has the potential to repair damaged parts, but the performance of additive materials under high strain rate loading is still uncertain—especially with the added complexity of an interface with an existing wrought material. In this work, 304L stainless steel samples were intentionally damaged and then repaired with wire-fed laser additive manufacturing. The samples were subjected to shock loading to generate incipient spall. Velocimetry and post-mortem metallography results show that when the additive repair process parameters are optimized to reduce porosity and match the equation of state of the original material, the influence of the repair region on the shock propagation is negligible. In conclusion, the free-surface velocity profile and internal damage morphology of the repaired sample are shown to be practically identical to the pristine material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Tilted outer and inner structures in edge-on galaxies?

ABSTRACT Tilted and warped discs inside tilted dark matter haloes are predicted from numerical and semi-analytical studies. In this paper, we use deep imaging to demonstrate the likely existence of tilted outer structures in real galaxies. We consider two SB0 edge-on galaxies, NGC 4469 and NGC 4452, which exhibit apparent tilted outer discs with respect to the inner structure. In NGC 4469, this structure has a boxy shape, inclined by ΔPA ≈ 3° with respect to the inner disc, whereas NGC 4452 harbours a discy outer structure with ΔPA ≈ 6°. In spite of the different shapes, both structures have surface brightness profiles close to exponential and make a large contribution (∼30 per cent) to the total galaxy luminosity. In the case of NGC 4452, we propose that its tilted disc likely originates from a former fast tidal encounter (probably with IC 3381). For NGC 4469, a plausible explanation may also be galaxy harassment, which resulted in a tilted or even a tumbling dark matter halo. A less likely possibility is accretion of gas-rich satellites several Gyr ago. New deep observations may potentially reveal more such galaxies with tilted outer structures, especially in clusters. We also consider galaxies, mentioned in the literature, where a central component (a bar or a bulge) is tilted with respect to the stellar disc. According to our numerical simulations, one of the plausible explanations of such observed ‘tilts’ of the bulge/bar is a projection effect due to a not exactly edge-on orientation of the galaxy coupled with a skew angle of the triaxial bulge/bar.

Mosenkov, Aleksandr V.↗
DOE OSTI2021

SDSS-IV DR17: final release of MaNGA PyMorph photometric and deep-learning morphological catalogues

ABSTRACT We present the MaNGA PyMorph photometric Value Added Catalogue (MPP-VAC-DR17) and the MaNGA Deep Learning Morphological VAC (MDLM-VAC-DR17) for the final data release of the MaNGA survey, which is part of the SDSS Data Release 17 (DR17). The MPP-VAC-DR17 provides photometric parameters from Sérsic and Sérsic+Exponential fits to the two-dimensional surface brightness profiles of the MaNGA DR17 galaxy sample in the g, r, and i bands (e.g. total fluxes, half-light radii, bulge-disc fractions, ellipticities, position angles, etc.). The MDLM-VAC-DR17 provides deep-learning-based morphological classifications for the same galaxies. The MDLM-VAC-DR17 includes a number of morphological properties, for example, a T-Type, a finer separation between elliptical and S0, as well as the identification of edge-on and barred galaxies. While the MPP-VAC-DR17 simply extends the MaNGA PyMorph photometric VAC published in the SDSS Data Release 15 (MPP-VAC-DR15) to now include galaxies that were added to make the final DR17, the MDLM-VAC-DR17 implements some changes and improvements compared to the previous release (MDLM-VAC-DR15): Namely, the low end of the T-Types is better recovered in this new version. The catalogue also includes a separation between early or late type, which classifies the two populations in a complementary way to the T-Type, especially at the intermediate types (−1 < T-Type < 2), where the T-Type values show a large scatter. In addition, k-fold-based uncertainties on the classifications are also provided. To ensure robustness and reliability, we have also visually inspected all the images. We describe the content of the catalogues and show some interesting ways in which they can be combined.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗