Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Diffuse Scattering”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 991 records · Page 55
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

INTERSTELLAR PICKUP ION PRODUCTION IN THE GLOBAL HELIOSPHERE AND HELIOSHEATH

Interstellar pickup ions (PUIs) play a significant part in mediating the solar wind (SW) interaction with the interstellar medium. In this paper, we examine the details of spatial variation of the PUI velocity distribution function (VDF) in the SW by solving the PUI transport equation. We assume the PUI distribution is isotropic resulting from strong pitch-angle scattering by wave–particle interaction. A three-dimensional model combining the MHD treatment of the background SW and neutrals with a kinetic treatment of PUIs throughout the heliosphere and the surrounding local interstellar medium has been developed. The model generates PUI power-law tails via second-order Fermi process. We analyze how PUIs transform across the heliospheric termination shock and obtain the PUI phase space distribution in the inner heliosheath including continuing velocity diffusion. Our simulated PUI spectra are compared with observations made by New Horizons , Ulysses , Voyager 1, 2 , and Cassini , and a satisfactory agreement is demonstrated. Some specific features in the observations, for example, a cutoff of PUI VDF at v = V {sub SW} and a f ∝ v {sup -5} tail in the reference frame of the SW, are well represented by the model.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Lyα heating of inhomogeneous high-redshift intergalactic medium

The intergalactic medium (IGM) prior to the epoch of reionization consists mostly of neutral hydrogen gas. Lyman-α (Lyα) photons produced by early stars resonantly scatter off hydrogen atoms, causing energy exchange between the radiation field and the gas. This interaction results in moderate heating of the gas due to the recoil of the atoms upon scattering, which is of great interest for future studies of the pre-reionization IGM in the H I 21 cm line. We investigate the effect of this Lyα heating in the IGM with linear density, temperature, and velocity perturbations. Perturbations smaller than the diffusion length of photons could be damped due to heat conduction by Lyα photons. The scale at which damping occurs and the strength of this effect depend on various properties of the gas, the flux of Lyα photons, and the way in which photon frequencies are redistributed upon scattering. To find the relevant length scale and the extent to which Lyα heating affects perturbations, we calculate the gas heating rates by numerically solving linearized Boltzmann equations in which scattering is treated by the Fokker-Planck approximation. We find that (1) perturbations add a small correction to the gas heating rate, and (2) the damping of temperature perturbations occurs at scales with comoving wavenumber k ≳ 10{sup 4} Mpc{sup –1}, which are much smaller than the Jeans scale and thus unlikely to substantially affect the observed 21 cm signal.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Invited Review Article: Physics and Monte Carlo techniques as relevant to cryogenic, phonon, and ionization readout of Cryogenic Dark Matter Search radiation detectors

This review discusses detector physics and Monte Carlo techniques for cryogenic, radiation detectors that utilize combined phonon and ionization readout. A general review of cryogenic phonon and charge transport is provided along with specific details of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search detector instrumentation. In particular, this review covers quasidiffusive phonon transport, which includes phonon focusing, anharmonic decay, and isotope scattering. The interaction of phonons in the detector surface is discussed along with the downconversion of phonons in superconducting films. The charge transport physics include a mass tensor which results from the crystal band structure and is modeled with a Herring-Vogt transformation. Charge scattering processes involve the creation of Neganov-Luke phonons. Transition-edge-sensor (TES) simulations include a full electric circuit description and all thermal processes including Joule heating, cooling to the substrate, and thermal diffusion within the TES, the latter of which is necessary to model normal-superconducting phase separation. Relevant numerical constants are provided for these physical processes in germanium, silicon, aluminum, and tungsten. Random number sampling methods including inverse cumulative distribution function (CDF) and rejection techniques are reviewed. To improve the efficiency of charge transport modeling, an additional second order inverse CDF method is developed here along with an efficient barycentric coordinate sampling method of electric fields. Results are provided in a manner that is convenient for use in Monte Carlo and references are provided for validation of these models.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2017

Sensitive Detection: Photoacoustics, Thermography, and Optical Radiation Pressure

Research during the granting period has been carried out in several areas concerned with sensitive detection. An infrared pyrometer based on the photoacoustic effect has been developed. The sensitivity of this instrument to temperature differentials has been shown to be 50 mK. An investigation of transients that accompany photoacoustic waves generated by pulsed lasers has been carried out. Experiments have shown the existence of the transients, and a theory based on rapid heat diffusion has been developed. The photoacoustic effect in one dimension is known to increase without bound (in the linear acoustics regime) when an optical beam moves in a fluid at the sound speed. A solution to the wave equation for pressure has been found that describes the photoacoustic effect in a cell where an infrared optical grating moves at the sound speed. It was shown that the amplification effect exists along with a cavity resonance that can be used to great advantage in trace gas detection. The theory of the photoacoustic effect in a structure where the acoustic properties periodically vary in a one-dimensional based has been formulated based on solutions to a Mathieu equation. It was found that it is possible to excite photoacoustic waves within the band gaps to produce large amplitude acoustic waves. The idea of self-oscillation in a photoacoustic cell using a continuous laser has been investigated. A theory has been completed showing that in a compressive wave, the absorption increases as a result of the density increase leading to further absorption and hence an increased amplitude photoacoustic effect with the result that in a resonator, self-oscillation can place. Experiments have been carried out where irradiation of a suspension of absorbing carbon particles with a high power laser has been shown to result in cavitation luminescence. That is, following generation of CO and H 2 from the carbon particles through the carbon-steam reaction, an expanding gas bubble is produced, which during the phase where the bubble collapses, a sonoluminescent flash is produced. Work on the voltage generated by a spherical, colloidal object irradiated with an acoustic wave has been determined. The theory of X-ray imaging using a grating to generate a spatially heterodyned image has been formulated. The properties of X-ray images taken with a grating placed before the object and the resulting image Fourier transformed and filtered has been determined. The method essentially heterodynes the spatial component of the object in the image which can be used to eliminate scatter that degrades contrast. Another area of investigation is the motion of the components in a separation method known as thermal diffusion, or the Soret effect. By exploring the mathematics of the effect, it was found that the underlying mechanism of the separation is propagation of a shock whose features are masked typically by the effects of viscosity.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Modification of the parallel scattering mean free path of cosmic rays in the presence of adiabatic focusing

The cosmic ray mean free path in a large-scale nonuniform guide magnetic field with superposed magnetostatic turbulence is calculated to clarify some conflicting results in the literature. A new, exact integro-differential equation for the cosmic-ray anisotropy is derived from the Fokker-Planck transport equation. A perturbation analysis of this integro-differential equation leads to an analytical expression for the cosmic ray anisotropy and the focused transport equation for the isotropic part of the cosmic ray distribution function. The derived parallel spatial diffusion coefficient and the associated cosmic ray mean free path include the effect of adiabatic focusing and reduce to the standard forms in the limit of a uniform guide magnetic field. For the illustrative case of isotropic pitch angle scattering, the derived mean free path agrees with the earlier expressions of Beeck and Wibberenz, Bieber and Burger, Kota, and Litvinenko, but disagrees with the result of Shalchi. The disagreement with the expression of Shalchi is particularly strong in the limit of strong adiabatic focusing.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

THE ROLE OF THE DIFFUSIVE PROTONS IN THE GAMMA-RAY EMISSION OF SUPERNOVA REMNANT RX J1713.7–3946—A TWO-ZONE MODEL

RX J1713.7−3946 is a prototype in the γ-ray-bright supernova remnants (SNRs) and is in continuing debates on its hadronic versus leptonic origin of the γ-ray emission. We explore the role played by the diffusive relativistic protons that escape from the SNR shock wave in the γ-ray emission, apart from the high-energy particles’ emission from the inside of the SNR. In the scenario that the SNR shock propagates in a clumpy molecular cavity, we consider that the γ-ray emission from the inside of the SNR may arise either from the inverse Compton scattering or from the interaction between the trapped energetic protons and the shocked clumps. The dominant origin between them depends on the electron-to-proton number ratio. The diffusive protons that escaped from the shock wave during the expansion history can provide an outer hadronic γ-ray component by bombarding the surrounding dense matter. The broadband spectrum can be well explained by this two-zone model, in which the γ-ray emission from the inside governs the TeV band, while the outer emission component substantially contributes to the GeV γ-rays. The two-zone model can also explain the TeV γ-ray radial brightness profile that significantly stretches beyond the nonthermal X-ray-emitting region. In the calculation, we present a simplified algorithm for Li and Chen's “accumulative diffusion” model for escaping protons and apply the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to constrain the physical parameters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

27 Al NMR diffusometry of Al 13 Keggin nanoclusters

Although nanometer-sized aluminum hydroxide clusters (i.e., ϵ-Al 13 , [Al 13 O 4 (OH) 24 (H 2 O) 12 ] 7+ ) command a central role in aluminum ion speciation and transformations between minerals, measurement of their translational diffusion is often limited to indirect methods. Here, in this work, 27 Al pulsed field gradient stimulated echo nuclear magnetic resonance (PFGSTE NMR) spectroscopy has been applied to the AlO 4 core of the ϵ-Al 13 cluster with complementary theoretical simulations of the diffusion coefficient and corresponding hydrodynamic radii from a boundary element-based calculation. The tetrahedral AlO 4 center of the ϵ-Al 13 cluster is symmetric and exhibits only weak quadrupolar coupling, which results in favorable T 1 and T 2 27 Al NMR relaxation coefficients for 27 Al PFGSTE NMR studies. Stokes–Einstein relationship was used to relate the 27 Al diffusion coefficient of the ϵ-Al 13 cluster to the hydrodynamic radius for comparison with theoretical simulations, dynamic light scattering from literature, and previously published 1 H PFGSTE NMR studies of chelated Keggin clusters. This first-of-its-kind observation proves that 27 Al PFGSTE NMR diffusometry can probe symmetric Al environments in polynuclear clusters of greater molecular weight than previously considered.

27Al↗
DOE OSTI2021

Design of metal-mediated protein assemblies via hydroxamic acid functionalities

The self-assembly of proteins into sophisticated multicomponent assemblies is a hallmark of all living systems and has spawned extensive efforts in the construction of novel synthetic protein architectures with emergent functional properties. Protein assemblies in nature are formed via selective association of multiple protein surfaces through intricate noncovalent protein-protein interactions, a challenging task to accurately replicate in the de novo design of multiprotein systems. In this protocol, we describe the application of metal-coordinating hydroxamate (HA) motifs to direct the metal-mediated assembly of polyhedral protein architectures and 3D crystalline protein frameworks (protein-MOFs). This strategy has been implemented using an asymmetric cytochrome cb562 monomer through selective, concurrent association of Fe 3+ and Zn 2+ ions to form polyhedral cages. Furthermore, the use of ditopic HA linkers as bridging ligands with metal-binding protein nodes has allowed the construction of crystalline 3D protein-MOF lattices. The protocol is divided into two major sections: (1) the development of a Cys-reactive HA molecule for protein derivatization and self-assembly of protein-HA conjugates into polyhedral cages and (2) the synthesis of ditopic HA bridging ligands for the construction of ferritin-based protein-MOFs using symmetric metal-binding protein nodes. Furthermore, protein cages can be analyzed using analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (sc-XRD) techniques. HA-mediated protein-MOFs are formed in sitting-drop vapor diffusion crystallization trays and are probed via sc-XRD and multi-crystal small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements. Ligand synthesis, construction of HA-mediated assemblies, and post-assembly analysis as described in this protocol can be performed by a graduate-level researcher within six weeks.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

THE LONGITUDINAL TRANSPORT OF ENERGETIC IONS FROM IMPULSIVE SOLAR FLARES IN INTERPLANETARY SPACE

We present a study of the longitudinal spread of energetic charged particles from a localized instantaneous compact source on the Sun. Our study utilizes a diffusive-transport model for the propagation of energetic ions in interplanetary space. We show that even for very small values of the ratio of perpendicular to parallel diffusion coefficients-a few percent-the particles spread significantly in longitude. Spatial diffusion and adiabatic energy loss of ions in the interplanetary plasma cause impulsive particle events at Earth's orbit to last a few days. In this time, the combination of transport both along and across the local Parker-spiral magnetic field and the longitudinal motion of the magnetic lines of forces rooted at the Sun as it rotates leads to substantial longitudinal transport of the particles. We show that spacecraft separated by as much as 180 Degree-Sign or more may observe events associated with compact solar sources, such as those from impulsive solar flares. Our results are qualitatively consistent with recent multi-spacecraft observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Identification of structural relaxation in the dielectric response of water

One century ago pioneering dielectric results obtained for water and n-alcohols triggered the advent of molecular rotation diffusion theory considered by Debye to describe the primary dielectric absorption in these liquids. Here, comparing dielectric, viscoelastic, and light scattering results, we unambiguously demonstrate that the structural relaxation appears only as a high-frequency shoulder in the dielectric spectra of water. In contrast, the main dielectric peak is related to a supramolecular structure, analogous to the Debye-like peak observed in monoalcohols.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Charged Particle Diffusion in Isotropic Random Magnetic Fields

The investigation of the diffusive transport of charged particles in a turbulent magnetic field remains a subject of considerable interest. Research has most frequently concentrated on determining the diffusion coefficient in the presence of a mean magnetic field. Here we consider the diffusion of charged particles in fully three-dimensional isotropic turbulent magnetic fields with no mean field, which may be pertinent to many astrophysical situations. We identify different ranges of particle energy depending upon the ratio of Larmor radius to the characteristic outer length scale of turbulence. Two different theoretical models are proposed to calculate the diffusion coefficient, each applicable to a distinct range of particle energies. The theoretical results are compared to those from computer simulations, showing good agreement.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Simple analytical model for fitting QENS data from liquids

The advent of new generation of neutron spectrometers for quasielastic scattering measurements has demonstrated the need for multi-component (at least two-component) fitting of data collected from liquids. The narrowest component is associated with long-range translational diffusion, whereas the broader component originates from localized center-of-mass motions in the transient cage of the nearest neighbors. Intra-particle dynamics (e.g., of molecular side groups) may give rise to additional components besides the center-of-mass motions. We present a simple analytical model for two-component fits of quasielastic neutron scattering data collected from liquids. Here, the use of such models is optional (albeit helpful) in the traditional approach, where fits are performed sequentially and independently for the data collected at separate Q values, but imperative in the global fitting, where the data are fitted simultaneously at all Q values, which may be necessary to rationalize the data from increasingly complex systems.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Dynamics of Nano-Confined Water under Pressure

We report a study of the effects of pressure on the diffusivity of water molecules confined in single- wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) with average mean pore diameter of 16 A. The measurements were carried out using high-resolution neutron scattering, over the temperature range 220 T 260 K, and at two pressure conditions: ambient and elevated pressure. The high pressure data were collected at constant volume on cooling, with P varying from 1.92 kbar at temperature T = 260 K to 1.85 kbar at T = 220 K. Analysis of the observed dynamic structure factor S(Q, E) reveals the presence of two relaxation processes, a faster diffusion component (FC) associated with the motion of caged or restricted molecules, and a slower component arising from the free water molecules diffusing within the SWNT matrix. While the temperature dependence of the slow relaxation time exhibits a Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann law and is non-Arrhenius in nature, the faster component follows an Arrhenius exponential law at both pressure conditions. The application of pressure remarkably slows down the overall molecular dynamics, in agreement with previous observations, but most notably affects the slow relaxation. The faster relaxation shows marginal or no change with pressure within the experimental conditions.

Confined Water↗
DOE OSTI2023

Merging of the superbanana plateau and $\sqrt{v}$ transport regimes in nearly quasisymmetric stellarators

We report alpha particle confinement is one of the most demanding issues for stellarators. It now seems clear that it is possible to design optimized stellarators that confine the background plasma at near tokamak radial transport levels. Moreover, adequate collisionless alpha particle confinement is possible in the core of a highly optimized stellarator. Here, the collisional confinement of barely trapped alphas in an optimized stellarator is considered by accounting for the resonance due to the reversal in direction of the drift within a flux surface and investigating the sensitive role of magnetic shear in keeping this resonance close to the passing boundary in some nearly quasisymmetric stellarator configurations. The treatment relies on a narrow collisional boundary layer formulation that combines the responses of both these resonant pitch angle alphas and the remaining barely trapped alphas. A novel merged regime treatment leads to explicit expressions for the energy diffusivity for both superbanana plateau (or resonant plateau) and $\sqrt{v}$ transport in the large aspect ratio limit for a slowing down tail alpha distribution function, where v is the effective pitch angle scattering collision frequency of the trapped alphas off the background ions. Depending on the details of the optimization scheme and the sign of the magnetic shear, modest magnetic shear can be used to reduce superbanana (or resonant) plateau transport to below the $\sqrt{v}$ transport level. In addition, a quasilinear equation retaining spatial diffusion is derived for a general alpha distribution function that allows the radial alpha transport to modify the distribution so it is no longer isotropic in velocity space.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Pitch Angle Scattering and Loss of Radiation Belt Electrons in Broadband Electromagnetic Waves

A magnetic conjunction between Van Allen Probes spacecraft and the Balloon Array for Radiation-belt Relativistic Electron Losses (BARREL) demonstrates the simultaneous occurrence of broadband Alfvénic fluctuations and multi-timescale modulation of enhanced atmospheric X-ray bremsstrahlung emission. The properties of the Alfvénic fluctuations are utilized to build a model for pitch angle scattering in the outer radiation belt on electron gyro-radii scale field structures. It is observed that this scattering may lead to the transport of electrons into the loss cone over an energy range from hundreds of keV to multi-MeV on diffusive timescales on the order of hours. This process may account for modulation of atmospheric X-ray fluxes observed from balloons and constitute a significant loss process for the radiation belts.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Revisiting the ground state of CoAl 2 O 4 : Comparison to the conventional antiferromagnet MnAl 2 O 4

The A-site spinel material CoAl 2 O 4 is a physical realization of the frustrated diamond-lattice antiferromagnet, a model in which unique incommensurate or “spin-spiral-liquid” ground states are predicted. Our previous single-crystal neutron scattering study instead classified it as a “kinetically inhibited” antiferromagnet, where the long-ranged correlations of a collinear Néel ground state are blocked by the freezing of domain-wall motion below a first-order phase transition at T*=6.5 K. This study provides new data sets from a number of experiments, which support and expand this work in several important ways. We show that the phenomenology leading to the kinetically inhibited order is unaffected by sample measured and instrument resolution, while new low-temperature measurements reveal spin correlations are unchanging between T=2 K and 250 mK, consistent with a frozen state. Polarized diffuse neutron measurements show several interesting magnetic features, which can be entirely explained by the existence of short-ranged Néel order. Finally, and crucially, this paper presents some neutron scattering studies of single crystalline MnAl 2 O 4 , which acts as an unfrustrated analog to CoAl 2 O 4 and shows all the hallmarks of a classical antiferromagnet with a continuous phase transition to Néel order at T N =39 K. Direct comparison between the two compounds indicates that CoAl 2 O 4 is unique, not in the nature of high-temperature diffuse correlations, but rather in the nature of the frozen state below T*. Finally, the higher level of cation inversion in the MnAl 2 O 4 sample indicates that this behavior is primarily an effect of greater next-nearest-neighbor exchange.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Acoustic phonon-limited diffusion thermopower in monolayer MoS{sub 2}

Diffusion thermopower S{sub d} is investigated, theoretically, as a function of temperature, T and electron concentration, n{sub s} in a n-type monolayer molebdenum disulfide (MoS{sub 2}). Electron scattering due to unscreened deformation potential (DP) coupling of TA phonons, screened DP coupling of LA phonons, and screened piezoelectric (PE) coupling of LA and TA phonons is considered. Total S{sub d} is dominated by electron scattering by TA phonons via unscreened DP coupling. S{sub d} is found to increase (decrease) with increasing T (n{sub s}). At low T and for high n{sub s}, S{sub d} ∼ T and n{sub s}{sup −1} as found from the Mott formula. At a given T and for given ns, S{sub d} in MoS{sub 2} is much larger than that in GaAs, due to the larger electron effective mass in the former.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Dynamics of the fast component of nano-confined water under electric field

We report the diffusion of water molecules confined in the pores of folded silica materials (FSM-12 with average pore diameter of $\sim$ 16 \AA), measured by means of quasielastic neutron scattering using the cold neutron chopper spectrometer (CNCS). The goal is to investigate the effect of electric field on the previously observed fast component of nano-confined water. The measurements were taken at temperatures between 220 K and 245 K, and at two electric field values, 0 kV/mm and 2 kV/mm. Similar to the recently observed electric field induced enhancement of the slow translational motion of confined water, there is a an equally important impact of the field on the faster diffusion.

Omar Diallo, Souleymane↗