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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 937 records · Page 52
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Competition between alpha-decay and spontaneous fission at isotopes of superheavy elements Rf, Db, and Sg

The most important decay modes for heavy and superheavy nuclei are their α-decay and spontaneous fission. This work investigates the evolution and the competition of these decay modes in long isotopic sequences. The partial half-lives are given by minimal sets of parameters extracted from the fit of experimental data and theoretical results. A summary of the experimental and calculated α-decay and spontaneous fission half-lives of the isotopes of elements Rf, Db, and Sg is presented. Some half-life extrapolations for nuclides not yet known are also obtained.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Redox levels in aqueous solution: Effect of van der Waals interactions and hybrid functionals

We investigate redox levels in aqueous solution using a combination of ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and thermodynamic integration methods. The molecular dynamics are performed with both the semilocal Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof functional and a nonlocal functional (rVV10) accounting for van der Waals (vdW) interactions. The band edges are determined through three different schemes, namely, from the energy of the highest occupied and of the lowest unoccupied Kohn-Sham states, from total-energy differences, and from a linear extrapolation of the density of states. It is shown that the latter does not depend on the system size while the former two are subject to significant finite-size effects. For the redox levels, we provide a formulation in analogy to the definition of charge transition levels for defects in crystalline materials. We consider the H{sup +}/H{sub 2} level defining the standard hydrogen electrode, the OH{sup −}/OH{sup ∗} level corresponding to the oxidation of the hydroxyl ion, and the H{sub 2}O/OH{sup ∗} level for the dehydrogenation of water. In spite of the large structural modifications induced in liquid water, vdW interactions do not lead to any significant structural effect on the calculated band gap and band edges. The effect on the redox levels is also small since the solvation properties of ionic species are little affected by vdW interactions. Since the electronic properties are not significantly affected by the underlying structural properties, it is justified to perform hybrid functional calculations on the configurations of our MD simulations. The redox levels calculated as a function of the fraction α of Fock exchange are found to remain constant, reproducing a general behavior previously observed for charge transition levels of defects. Comparison with experimental values shows very good agreement. At variance, the band edges and the band gap evolve linearly with α. For α ≃ 0.40, we achieve a band gap, band-edge positions, and redox levels in overall good agreement with experiment.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

A global potential energy surface and dipole moment surface for silane

A new nine-dimensional potential energy surface (PES) and dipole moment surface (DMS) for silane have been generated using high-level ab initio theory. The PES, CBS-F12{sup HL}, reproduces all four fundamental term values for {sup 28}SiH{sub 4} with sub-wavenumber accuracy, resulting in an overall root-mean-square error of 0.63 cm{sup −1}. The PES is based on explicitly correlated coupled cluster calculations with extrapolation to the complete basis set limit, and incorporates a range of higher-level additive energy corrections to account for core-valence electron correlation, higher-order coupled cluster terms, and scalar relativistic effects. Systematic errors in computed intra-band rotational energy levels are reduced by empirically refining the equilibrium geometry. The resultant Si–H bond length is in excellent agreement with previous experimental and theoretical values. Vibrational transition moments, absolute line intensities of the ν{sub 3} band, and the infrared spectrum for {sup 28}SiH{sub 4} including states up to J = 20 and vibrational band origins up to 5000 cm{sup −1} are calculated and compared with available experimental results. The DMS tends to marginally overestimate the strength of line intensities. Despite this, band shape and structure across the spectrum are well reproduced and show good agreement with experiment. We thus recommend the PES and DMS for future use.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Relativistic description of weak decays of B{sub s} mesons

The branching fractions of the semileptonic and rare B{sub s} decays are calculated in the framework of the QCD-motivated relativistic quark model. The form factors of the weak B{sub s} transitions are expressed through the overlap integrals of the initial and final meson wave functions in the whole accessible kinematical range. The momentum transfer dependence of the form factors is explicitly determined without additional model assumptions and extrapolations. The obtained results agree well with available experimental data.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

The “anomalous” dynamics of decahyroisoquinoline revisited

Decahydroisoquinoline (DHIQ) appears to be a unique material—the only non-associated, simple liquid with dynamics deviating from density scaling. To examine whether this anomaly is real, the density, ρ, of DHIQ was measured at temperatures, T, as low as 214 K and pressures up to ∼1.2 GPa. This enabled the equation of state (EoS) to be determined, without extrapolation, over the range of thermodynamic conditions for which the relaxation times had been reported. Using this less ambiguous EoS, we find that within the precision of the available relaxation times, the latter are a function of T/ρ{sup 3.9}, contrary to previous reports. Thus, the behavior of DHIQ is unexceptional; similar to every non-associated liquid tested to date, its dynamics comply with density scaling.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Minimising the effect of nanoparticle deformation in intermittent contact amplitude modulation atomic force microscopy measurements

The results of systematic height measurements of polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles using intermittent contact amplitude modulation atomic force microscopy (IC-AM-AFM) are presented. The experimental findings demonstrate that PS nanoparticles deform during AFM imaging, as indicated by a reduction in the measured particle height. This deformation depends on the IC-AM-AFM imaging parameters, material composition, and dimensional properties of the nanoparticles. A model for nanoparticle deformation occurring during IC-AM-AFM imaging is developed as a function of the peak force which can be calculated for a particular set of experimental conditions. The undeformed nanoparticle height can be estimated from the model by extrapolation to zero peak force. A procedure is proposed to quantify and minimise nanoparticle deformation during IC-AM-AFM imaging, based on appropriate adjustments of the experimental control parameters.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Shift of optical absorption edge in SnO{sub 2} films with high concentrations of nitrogen grown by chemical vapor deposition

The optical and electrical properties of n-type SnO{sub 2} films with high concentrations of nitrogen (SnO{sub 2}:N) grown by chemical vapor deposition are studied. The carrier concentration increases from 4.1 × 10{sup 18} to 3.9 × 10{sup 19 }cm{sup −3} and the absorption edge shifts from 4.26 to 4.08 eV with increasing NH{sub 3} flow rate. Typical Urbach tails were observed from the absorption spectra and the Urbach energy increases from 0.321 to 0.526 eV with increasing NH{sub 3} flow rate. An “effective” absorption edge of about 4.61 eV was obtained for all investigated samples from fitting the extrapolations of the Urbach tails. Burstein-Moss effect, electron-impurity, and electron-electron interactions are shown to play a minor role for the shift of the absorption edges in SnO{sub 2}:N thin films.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effects of oxygen partial pressure, deposition temperature, and annealing on the optical response of CdS:O thin films as studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry

Ex-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements are made on radio frequency magnetron sputtered oxygenated cadmium sulfide (CdS:O) thin films. Films are deposited onto glass substrates at room temperature and at 270 °C with varying oxygen to total gas flow ratios in the sputtering ambient. Ellipsometric spectra from 0.74 to 5.89 eV are collected before and after annealing at 607 °C to simulate the thermal processes during close-space sublimation of overlying cadmium telluride in that solar cell configuration. Complex dielectric function (ε = ε{sub 1} + iε{sub 2}) spectra are extracted for films as a function of oxygen gas flow ratio, deposition temperature, and post-deposition annealing using a parametric model accounting for critical point transitions and an Urbach tail for sub-band gap absorption. The results suggest an inverse relationship between degree of crystallinity and oxygen gas flow ratio, whereas annealing is shown to increase crystallinity in all samples. Direct band gap energies are determined from the parametric modeling of ε and linear extrapolations of the square of the absorption coefficient. As-deposited samples feature a range of band gap energies whereas annealing is shown to result in gap energies ranging only from 2.40 to 2.45 eV, which is close to typical band gaps for pure cadmium sulfide.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

“Virtual IED sensor” at an rf-biased electrode in low-pressure plasma

Energy distribution and the flux of the ions coming on a surface are considered as the key-parameters in anisotropic plasma etching. Since direct ion energy distribution (IED) measurements at the treated surface during plasma processing are often hardly possible, there is an opportunity for virtual ones. This work is devoted to the possibility of such indirect IED and ion flux measurements at an rf-biased electrode in low-pressure rf plasma by using a “virtual IED sensor” which represents “in-situ” IED calculations on the absolute scale in accordance with a plasma sheath model containing a set of measurable external parameters. The “virtual IED sensor” should also involve some external calibration procedure. Applicability and accuracy of the “virtual IED sensor” are validated for a dual-frequency reactive ion etching (RIE) inductively coupled plasma (ICP) reactor with a capacitively coupled rf-biased electrode. The validation is carried out for heavy (Ar) and light (H{sub 2}) gases under different discharge conditions (different ICP powers, rf-bias frequencies, and voltages). An EQP mass-spectrometer and an rf-compensated Langmuir probe (LP) are used to characterize plasma, while an rf-compensated retarded field energy analyzer (RFEA) is applied to measure IED and ion flux at the rf-biased electrode. Besides, the pulsed selfbias method is used as an external calibration procedure for ion flux estimating at the rf-biased electrode. It is shown that pulsed selfbias method allows calibrating the IED absolute scale quite accurately. It is also shown that the “virtual IED sensor” based on the simplest collisionless sheath model allows reproducing well enough the experimental IEDs at the pressures when the sheath thickness s is less than the ion mean free path λ{sub i} (s < λ{sub i}). At higher pressure (when s > λ{sub i}), the difference between calculated and experimental IEDs due to ion collisions in the sheath is observed in the low energy range. The effect of electron impact ionization in the sheath on the origin and intensity of low-energy peaks in IED is discussed compared to ion charge-exchange collisions. Obviously, the extrapolation of the “virtual IED sensor” approach to higher pressures requires developing some other sheath models, taking into account both ion and electron collisions and probably including even a model of the whole plasma volume instead of plasma sheath one.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

UV light induced insulator-metal transition in ultra-thin ZnO/TiO{sub x} stacked layer grown by atomic layer deposition

In the present study, atomic layer deposition has been used to grow a series of Ti incorporated ZnO thin films by vertically stacking different numbers (n = 1–7) of ZnO/TiO{sub x} layers on (0001) sapphire substrates. The effects of defect states mediated chemisorption of O{sub 2} and/OH groups on the electrical properties of these films have been investigated by illuminating the samples under UV light inside a high vacuum optical cryostat. The ultra-thin film having one stacked layer (n = 1) did not show any change in its electrical resistance upon UV light exposure. On the contrary, marginal drop in the electrical resistivity was measured for the samples with n ≥ 3. Most surprisingly, the sample with n = 2 (thickness ∼ 12 nm) showed an insulator to metal transition upon UV light exposure. The temperature dependent electrical resistivity measurement on the as grown film (n = 2) showed insulating behaviour, i.e., diverging resistivity on extrapolation to T→ 0 K. However, upon UV light exposure, it transformed to a metallic state, i.e., finite resistivity at T → 0 K. Such an insulator-metal transition plausibly arises due to the de-trapping of conduction electrons from the surface defect sites which resulted in an upward shift of the Fermi level above the mobility edge. The low-temperature electron transport properties on the insulating film (n = 2) were investigated by a combined study of zero field electrical resistivity ρ(T) and magnetoresistance (MR) measurements. The observed negative MR was found to be in good agreement with the magnetic field induced suppression of quantum interference between forward-going paths of tunnelling electrons. Both ρ(T) and MR measurements provided strong evidence for the Efros-Shklovskii type variable range hopping conduction in the low-temperature (≤40 K) regime. Such studies on electron transport in ultra-thin n-type doped ZnO films are crucial to achieve optimum functionality with long term reliability of ZnO based transparent conducting oxides.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

The color–magnitude distribution of small Jupiter Trojans

We present an analysis of survey observations targeting the leading L4 Jupiter Trojan cloud near opposition using the wide-field Suprime-Cam CCD camera on the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope. The survey covered about 38 deg{sup 2} of sky and imaged 147 fields spread across a wide region of the L4 cloud. Each field was imaged in both the g' and the i' band, allowing for the measurement of g – i color. We detected 557 Trojans in the observed fields, ranging in absolute magnitude from H = 10.0 to H = 20.3. We fit the total magnitude distribution to a broken power law and show that the power-law slope rolls over from 0.45 ± 0.05 to 0.36{sub -0.09}{sup +0.05} at a break magnitude of H{sub b}=14.93{sub -0.88}{sup +0.73}. Combining the best-fit magnitude distribution of faint objects from our survey with an analysis of the magnitude distribution of bright objects listed in the Minor Planet Center catalog, we obtain the absolute magnitude distribution of Trojans over the entire range from H = 7.2 to H = 16.4. We show that the g – i color of Trojans decreases with increasing magnitude. In the context of the less-red and red color populations, as classified in Wong et al. using photometric and spectroscopic data, we demonstrate that the observed trend in color for the faint Trojans is consistent with the expected trend derived from extrapolation of the best-fit color population magnitude distributions for bright cataloged Trojans. This indicates a steady increase in the relative number of less-red objects with decreasing size. Finally, we interpret our results using collisional modeling and propose several hypotheses for the color evolution of the Jupiter Trojan population.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

New detections of arsenic, selenium, and other heavy elements in two metal-poor stars

We use the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope to obtain new high-quality spectra covering the 1900 ≤λ ≤ 2360 Å wavelength range for two metal-poor stars, HD 108317 and HD 128279. We derive abundances of Cu II, Zn II, As I, Se I, Mo II, and Cd II, which have not been detected previously in either star. Abundances derived for Ge I, Te I, Os II, and Pt I confirm those derived from lines at longer wavelengths. We also derive upper limits from the non-detection of W II, Hg II, Pb II, and Bi I. The mean [As/Fe] ratio derived from these two stars and five others in the literature is unchanged over the metallicity range –2.8 < [Fe/H] <–0.6, ([As/Fe]) = +0.28 ± 0.14 (σ = 0.36 dex). The mean [Se/Fe] ratio derived from these two stars and six others in the literature is also constant, ([Se/Fe]) = +0.16 ± 0.09 (σ = 0.26 dex). The As and Se abundances are enhanced relative to a simple extrapolation of the iron-peak abundances to higher masses, suggesting that this mass region (75 ≤A ≤ 82) may be the point at which a different nucleosynthetic mechanism begins to dominate the quasi-equilibrium α-rich freezeout of the iron peak. ([Cu II/Cu I]) = +0.56 ± 0.23 in HD 108317 and HD 128279, and we infer that lines of Cu I may not be formed in local thermodynamic equilibrium in these stars. The [Zn/Fe], [Mo/Fe], [Cd/Fe], and [Os/Fe] ratios are also derived from neutral and ionized species, and each ratio pair agrees within the mutual uncertainties, which range from 0.15 to 0.52 dex.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Magnetic field restructuring associated with two successive solar eruptions

We examine two successive flare eruptions (X5.4 and X1.3) on 2012 March 7 in the NOAA active region 11429 and investigate the magnetic field reconfiguration associated with the two eruptions. Using an advanced non-linear force-free field extrapolation method based on the SDO/HMI vector magnetograms, we obtain a stepwise decrease in the magnetic free energy during the eruptions, which is roughly 20%-30% of the energy of the pre-flare phase. We also calculate the magnetic helicity and suggest that the changes of the sign of the helicity injection rate might be associated with the eruptions. Through the investigation of the magnetic field evolution, we find that the appearance of the 'implosion' phenomenon has a strong relationship with the occurrence of the first X-class flare. Meanwhile, the magnetic field changes of the successive eruptions with implosion and without implosion were well observed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

The mass-metallicity and fundamental metallicity relations at z > 2 using very large telescope and Subaru near-infrared spectroscopy of zCOSMOS galaxies

In the local universe, there is good evidence that, at a given stellar mass M, the gas-phase metallicity Z is anti-correlated with the star formation rate (SFR) of the galaxies. It has also been claimed that the resulting Z(M, SFR) relation is invariant with redshift—the so-called 'fundamental metallicity relation' (FMR). Given a number of difficulties in determining metallicities, especially at higher redshifts, the form of the Z(M, SFR) relation and whether it is really independent of redshift is still very controversial. To explore this issue at z > 2, we used VLT-SINFONI and Subaru-MOIRCS near-infrared spectroscopy of 20 zCOSMOS-deep galaxies at 2.1 < z < 2.5 to measure the strengths of up to five emission lines: [O II] λ3727, Hβ, [O III] λ5007, Hα, and [N II] λ6584. This near-infrared spectroscopy enables us to derive O/H metallicities, and also SFRs from extinction corrected Hα measurements. We find that the mass-metallicity relation (MZR) of these star-forming galaxies at z ≈ 2.3 is lower than the local Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) MZR by a factor of three to five, a larger change than found by Erb et al. using [N II]/Hα-based metallicities from stacked spectra. We discuss how the different selections of the samples and metallicity calibrations used may be responsible for this discrepancy. The galaxies show direct evidence that the SFR is still a second parameter in the MZR at these redshifts. However, determining whether the Z(M, SFR) relation is invariant with epoch depends on the choice of extrapolation used from local samples, because z > 2 galaxies of a given mass have much higher SFRs than the local SDSS galaxies. We find that the zCOSMOS galaxies are consistent with a non-evolving FMR if we use the physically motivated formulation of the Z(M, SFR) relation from Lilly et al., but not if we use the empirical formulation of Mannucci et al.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

A high-entropy-wind r-process study based on nuclear-structure quantities from the new finite-range droplet model FRDM(2012)

Attempts to explain the source of r-process elements in our solar system (S.S.) by particular astrophysical sites still face entwined uncertainties, stemming from the extrapolation of nuclear properties far from stability, inconsistent sources of different properties (e.g., nuclear masses and β-decay properties), and the poor understanding of astrophysical conditions, which are hard to disentangle. In this paper we present results from the investigation of r-process in the high-entropy wind (HEW) of core-collapse supernovae (here chosen as one of the possible scenarios for this nucleosynthesis process), using new nuclear-data input calculated in a consistent approach, for masses and β-decay properties from the new finite-range droplet model FRDM(2012). The accuracy of the new mass model is 0.56 MeV with respect to AME2003, to which it was adjusted. We compare the new HEW r-process abundance pattern to the latest S.S. r-process residuals and to our earlier calculations with the nuclear-structure quantities based on FRDM(1992). Substantial overall and specific local improvements in the calculated pattern of the r-process between A ≅ 110 and {sup 209}Bi, as well as remaining deficiencies, are discussed in terms of the underlying spherical and deformed shell structure far from stability.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Imaging the environment of a z = 6.3 submillimeter galaxy with SCUBA-2

We describe a search for submillimeter emission in the vicinity of one of the most distant, luminous galaxies known, HerMES FLS3, at z = 6.34, exploiting it as a signpost to a potentially biased region of the early universe, as might be expected in hierarchical structure formation models. Imaging to the confusion limit with the innovative, wide-field submillimeter bolometer camera, SCUBA-2, we are sensitive to colder and/or less luminous galaxies in the surroundings of HFLS3. We use the Millennium Simulation to illustrate that HFLS3 may be expected to have companions if it is as massive as claimed, but find no significant evidence from the surface density of SCUBA-2 galaxies in its vicinity, or their colors, that HFLS3 marks an overdensity of dusty, star-forming galaxies. We cannot rule out the presence of dusty neighbors with confidence, but deeper 450 μm imaging has the potential to more tightly constrain the redshifts of nearby galaxies, at least one of which likely lies at z ≳ 5. If associations with HFLS3 can be ruled out, this could be taken as evidence that HFLS3 is less biased than a simple extrapolation of the Millennium Simulation may imply. This could suggest either that it represents a rare short-lived, but highly luminous, phase in the evolution of an otherwise typical galaxy, or that this system has suffered amplification due to a foreground gravitational lens and so is not as intrinsically luminous as claimed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

A broadband X-ray study of the Geminga pulsar with NuSTAR And XMM-Newton

We report on the first hard X-ray detection of the Geminga pulsar above 10 keV using a 150 ks observation with the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) observatory. The double-peaked pulse profile of non-thermal emission seen in the soft X-ray band persists at higher energies. Broadband phase-integrated spectra over the 0.2-20 keV band with NuSTAR and archival XMM-Newton data do not fit to a conventional two-component model of a blackbody plus power law, but instead exhibit spectral hardening above ∼5 keV. We find that two spectral models fit the data well: (1) a blackbody (kT {sub 1} ∼ 42 eV) with a broken power law (Γ{sub 1} ∼ 2.0, Γ{sub 2} ∼ 1.4 and E {sub break} ∼ 3.4 keV) and (2) two blackbody components (kT {sub 1} ∼ 44 eV and kT {sub 2} ∼ 195 eV) with a power-law component (Γ ∼ 1.7). In both cases, the extrapolation of the Rayleigh-Jeans tail of the thermal component is consistent with the UV data, while the non-thermal component overpredicts the near-infrared data, requiring a spectral flattening at E ∼ 0.05-0.5 keV. While strong phase variation of the power-law index is present below ∼5 keV, our phase-resolved spectroscopy with NuSTAR indicates that another hard non-thermal component with Γ ∼ 1.3 emerges above ∼5 keV. The spectral hardening in non-thermal X-ray emission as well as spectral flattening between the optical and X-ray bands argue against the conjecture that a single power law may account for multi-wavelength non-thermal spectra of middle-aged pulsars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Investigation of the moving structures in a coronal bright point

We have explored the moving structures in a coronal bright point (CBP) observed by the Solar Dynamic Observatory Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on 2011 March 5. This CBP event has a lifetime of ∼20 minutes and is bright with a curved shape along a magnetic loop connecting a pair of negative and positive fields. AIA imaging observations show that a lot of bright structures are moving intermittently along the loop legs toward the two footpoints from the CBP brightness core. Such moving bright structures are clearly seen at AIA 304 Å. In order to analyze their features, the CBP is cut along the motion direction with a curved slit which is wide enough to cover the bulk of the CBP. After integrating the flux along the slit width, we get the spacetime slices at nine AIA wavelengths. The oblique streaks starting from the edge of the CBP brightness core are identified as moving bright structures, especially on the derivative images of the brightness spacetime slices. They seem to originate from the same position near the loop top. We find that these oblique streaks are bi-directional, simultaneous, symmetrical, and periodic. The average speed is about 380 km s{sup –1}, and the period is typically between 80 and 100 s. Nonlinear force-free field extrapolation shows the possibility that magnetic reconnection takes place during the CBP, and our findings indicate that these moving bright structures could be the observational outflows after magnetic reconnection in the CBP.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗