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At least 1,045 records · Page 58

Multipinhole collimator with 20 apertures for a brain SPECT application

Purpose: Several new technologies for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) instrumentation with parallel-hole collimation have been proposed to improve detector sensitivity and signal collection efficiency. Benefits from improved signal efficiency include shorter acquisition times and lower dose requirements. In this paper, the authors show a possibility of over an order of magnitude enhancement in photon detection efficiency (from 7.6 × 10{sup −5} to 1.6 × 10{sup −3}) for dopamine transporter (DaT) imaging of the striatum over the conventional SPECT parallel-hole collimators by use of custom-designed 20 multipinhole (20-MPH) collimators with apertures of 0.75 cm diameter. Methods: Quantifying specific binding ratio (SBR) of {sup 123}I-ioflupane or {sup 123}I-iometopane’s signal at the striatal region is a common brain imaging method to confirm the diagnosis of the Parkinson’s disease. The authors performed imaging of a striatal phantom filled with aqueous solution of I-123 and compared camera recovery ratios of SBR acquired between low-energy high-resolution (LEHR) parallel-hole collimators and 20-MPH collimators. Results: With only two-thirds of total acquisition time (20 min against 30 min), a comparable camera recovery ratio of SBR was achieved using 20-MPH collimators in comparison to that from the LEHR collimator study. Conclusions: Their systematic analyses showed that the 20-MPH collimator could be a promising alternative for the DaT SPECT imaging for brain over the traditional LEHR collimator, which could give both shorter scan time and improved diagnostic accuracy.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Scalable subsurface inverse modeling of huge data sets with an application to tracer concentration breakthrough data from magnetic resonance imaging

When characterizing subsurface properties is crucial for reliable and cost-effective groundwater supply management and contaminant remediation. With recent advances in sensor technology, large volumes of hydro-geophysical and geochemical data can be obtained to achieve high-resolution images of subsurface properties. However, characterization with such a large amount of information requires prohibitive computational costs associated with “big data” processing and numerous large-scale numerical simulations. To tackle such difficulties, the Principal Component Geostatistical Approach (PCGA) has been proposed as a “Jacobian-free” inversion method that requires much smaller forward simulation runs for each iteration than the number of unknown parameters and measurements needed in the traditional inversion methods. PCGA can be conveniently linked to any multi-physics simulation software with independent parallel executions. In our paper, we extend PCGA to handle a large number of measurements (e.g. 106 or more) by constructing a fast preconditioner whose computational cost scales linearly with the data size. For illustration, we characterize the heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity (K) distribution in a laboratory-scale 3-D sand box using about 6 million transient tracer concentration measurements obtained using magnetic resonance imaging. Since each individual observation has little information on the K distribution, the data was compressed by the zero-th temporal moment of breakthrough curves, which is equivalent to the mean travel time under the experimental setting. Moreover, only about 2,000 forward simulations in total were required to obtain the best estimate with corresponding estimation uncertainty, and the estimated K field captured key patterns of the original packing design, showing the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed method. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Utilizing ensemble learning for performance and power modeling and improvement of parallel cancer deep learning CANDLE benchmarks

Abstract Machine learning (ML) continues to grow in importance across nearly all domains in modeling to learn from data. Often a tradeoff exists between a model's ability to minimize bias and variance. In this article, we utilize ensemble learning to combine linear, nonlinear, and tree‐/rule‐based ML methods to cope with the bias‐variance tradeoff and result in more accurate models. We use the datasets collected for two parallel cancer deep learning CANDLE benchmarks, NT3 and P1B2, to build performance and power models based on hardware performance counters using single‐object and multiple‐objects ensemble learning to identify the most important counters for improvement on the Cray XC40 Theta at Argonne National Laboratory. Based on the insights from these models, we improve the performance and energy of P1B2 and NT3 by optimizing the deep learning environments TensorFlow, Keras, Horovod, and Python under the huge page size of 8 MB. Experimental results show that ensemble learning not only produces more accurate models but also provides more robust performance counter ranking. We achieve up to 61.15% performance improvement and up to 62.58% energy saving for P1B2 and up to 55.81% performance improvement and up to 52.60% energy saving for NT3 on up to 24,576 cores.

Wu, Xingfu↗

Software for the frontiers of quantum chemistry: An overview of developments in the Q-Chem 5 package

This article summarizes technical advances contained in the fifth major release of the Q-Chem quantum chemistry program package, covering developments since 2015. A comprehensive library of exchange-correlation functionals, along with a suite of correlated many-body methods, continues to be a hallmark of the Q-Chem software. The many-body methods include novel variants of both coupled-cluster and configuration-interaction approaches along with methods based on the algebraic diagrammatic construction and variational reduced density-matrix methods. Methods highlighted in Q-Chem 5 include a suite of tools for modeling core-level spectroscopy, methods for describing metastable resonances, methods for computing vibronic spectra, the nuclear-electronic orbital method, and several different energy decomposition analysis techniques. High-performance capabilities including multithreaded parallelism and support for calculations on graphics processing units are described. Q-Chem boasts a community of well over 100 active academic developers, and the continuing evolution of the software is supported by an "open teamware" model and an increasingly modular design.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

A fast, efficient direct slicing method for slender member structures

We describe a method for quickly and efficiently slicing structures consisting of a large number of slender members called struts connected at node positions called joints. Previous research on periodic lattice structures shows these structures are highly mechanically efficient with exceptionally high stiffness- and strength-to-weight ratios. Additive manufacturing technologies allow the construction slender member structures with complicated macroscale shapes. These structures could consist of thousands or millions of geometric primitives describing the struts. Structures with large numbers of geometric objects cause the conventional methods for manipulating, storing, and slicing the geometry of these parts via STL files to be highly inefficient. This work describes an alternate design process for slender member structures using efficient methods for manipulating, storing, and slicing the geometry of the part. These new methods, in particular a fast, efficient direct slicing method, enable printing slender member structures with over one hundred thousand struts. The slicing algorithm is nearly perfectly parallel so it could extend to handle structures with over one million struts, helping to facilitate the adoption of slender member structures for engineering-scale applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Calculation of the piezoelectric and flexoelectric effects in nanowires using a decoupled finite element analysis method

A simple and effective decoupled finite element analysis method was developed for simulating both the piezoelectric and flexoelectric effects of zinc oxide (ZnO) and barium titanate (BTO) nanowires (NWs). The piezoelectric potential distribution on a ZnO NW was calculated under three deformation conditions (cantilever, three-point, and four-point bending) and compared to the conventional fully coupled method. The discrepancies of the electric potential maximums from these two methods were found very small, validating the accuracy and effectiveness of the decoupled method. Both ZnO and BTO NWs yielded very similar potential distributions. Comparing the potential distributions induced by the piezoelectric and flexoelectric effects, we identified that the middle segment of a four-point bending NW beam is the ideal place for measuring the flexoelectric coefficient, because the uniform parallel plate capacitor-like potential distribution in this region is exclusively induced by the flexoelectric effect. This decoupled method could provide a valuable guideline for experimental measurements of the piezoelectric effects and flexoelectric effects in the nanometer scale.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

The Profiled Feldman-Cousins Method for Confidence Interval Construction for the Nova 3-Flavor Oscillation Analysis

The small interaction cross-section of neutrinos makes experimental neutrino physics particularly responsive to technological advancements. A significant development leveraged by the NOvA experiment is large-scale parallel processing, enabling novel computational approaches to longstanding experimental challenges. Central to managing the resulting high-throughput data is NOvA’s implementation of the Freight Train model, designed for efficient data production and handling.This dissertation details the methodology and execution of the NOvA 2024 3-Flavor Oscillation Analysis, supported by a comprehensive dataset spanning ten years. It emphasizes frequentist results refined through the Feldman-Cousins (FC) technique, specifically addressing confidence interval corrections in parameter estimation. The computational intensity associated with Feldman-Cousins arises from extensive Monte Carlo simulations, which were substantially mitigated through parallel computing on the Perlmutter supercomputer at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), employing the MPI framework.To further enhance computational efficiency, an Importance Sampling method is introduced and evaluated, demonstrating significant potential to reduce complexity, particularly in exploring extreme parameter space regions. This thesis presents both the successful application of advanced computational resources and the development of sophisticated statistical techniques, aiming to enhance the precision and scope of neutrino oscillation analyses.

Dye ajdye11190@gmail.com, Andrew Joseph [Mississip↗

Distributed Data-Driven Optimization for Voltage Regulation in Distribution Systems

Here, this paper proposes a distributed data-driven optimization framework for voltage regulation in distribution systems. The recursive kernel regression and alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) are selected to cover the system learning and distributed optimization tasks. The proposed distributed data-driven framework is capable of having a rapid response to system or load changes while considering the operation optimality. Besides, the distributed algorithm parallels the computation tasks and reduces the computational expense of a single agent. To validate the performance of the proposed method, a hypothetical 7-Bus system and the IEEE 123-Bus system are selected to show the effectiveness of the proposed data-driven framework. According to the numerical study results, the proposed method offers great flexibility for selecting customized kernel models for different regions and can effectively improve the system voltage profile in a distributed manner.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Stage-local partitioned two-step runge-kutta methods for large systems of ordinary differential equations

We introduce stage-local partitioned two-step Runge-Kutta methods are an extension of standard two-step Runge-Kutta methods, which are an alternative to the standard additive two-step Runge-Kutta methods currently existing in the literature. Furthermore, these new schemes are designed with an eye towards truly N-partitioned systems and leverage local stage approximations to make several computationally interesting approximations viable. Specifically, the focus on local stage approximations makes possible the construction of truly asynchronous schemes, in the parallel sense, possible. In addition, we show that an implicit-explicit approach to these schemes can lead to methods that require the inversion of only local nonlinear systems.

Applied Dynamical Systems↗

A new clocking method for a charge coupled device

We propose and demonstrate a new clocking method for a charge-coupled device (CCD). When a CCD is used for a photon counting detector of X-rays, its weak point is a limitation of its counting rate, because high counting rate makes non-negligible pile-up of photons. In astronomical usage, this pile-up is especially severe for an observation of a bright point-like object. One typical idea to reduce the pile-up is a parallel sum (P-sum) mode. This mode completely loses one-dimensional information. Our new clocking method, panning mode, provides complementary properties between the normal mode and the P-sum mode. We performed a simple simulation in order to investigate a pile-up probability and compared the simulated result and actual obtained event rates. Using this simulation and the experimental results, we compared the pile-up tolerance of various clocking modes including our new method and also compared their other characteristics.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

An error-controlled adaptive time-stepping method for particle advancement in coupled CFD-DEM simulations

Coupled Computational-Fluid-Dynamics (CFD) and Discrete-Element-Method (DEM) models provide an accurate description of multiphase physical systems where a solid granular particle phase exists in an underlying gaseous continuous medium. The time integration of the granular phase in these simulations is typically handled using an explicit scheme with a constant time-step among all particles that is invariant in time to resolve inter-particle collisions. A locally third-order accurate adaptive time integration technique for particles that employs an embedded locally second-order scheme for error determination is presented in this work. The particle time-step size is dynamically adapted based on solution error, thus leading to significant savings in computational time. The efficacy of our scheme is quantified using four test cases of varying complexity (binary collision, homogeneous cooling system, fluidized bed and hopper discharge). The adaptive time-stepping method exhibits improved performance (~ 2–3 times in most of the cases studied) compared to three commonly used non-adaptive time-step methods (first-order Euler-explicit, second-order Adams-Bashforth and third-order Runge-Kutta schemes), while maintaining the same level of accuracy and parallel scalability.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Implementation of CMFD Acceleration Scheme in PROTEUS-MOC

The PROTEUS-MOC code is a three-dimensional (3D) transport code, which is being developed at Argonne National Laboratory under the DOE-NE's Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program. It provides a fully consistent 3D discretization of the transport equation by combining the two-dimensional (2D) method of characteristics (MOC) for the planar direction with the discontinuous Galerkin method for the treatment of the axial variable. PROTEUS-MOC uses the unstructured finite element method (FEM) and thus allows the explicit representation of any extruded geometries. It also has a capability of massively parallel computation in energy group, angle, plane, and space using a top-level GMRES linear algebra solver. For parallel computation in space, it uses an unstructured domain decomposition by adapting METIS. The computational burden for direct heterogeneous core calculations based on unstructured geometries is excessive for practical reactor problems, and hence it is essential to implement an efficient acceleration scheme in PROTEUS-MOC. Recently, the coarse mesh finite difference (CMFD) method, which was originally applied to the nodal diffusion methods, has been successfully applied to the MOC transport solvers, resulting in a remarkable reduction in the number of fission source iterations. In addition, a modified CMFD method has been developed to overcome the limitation of the conventional CMFD that is applicable only to neutronics solvers with a conservative discretization. This CMFD method was derived to be consistent with the FEM, which is based on a nonconservative discretization. In this method, the neutron balance in each coarse mesh is enforced by introducing a pseudo absorption cross section (PAXS), and the well-established alternating solution process of CMFD and transport calculations is employed to accelerate source convergence. This modified CMFD acceleration scheme was adopted in PROTEUS-MOC to accelerate the fission source iteration. Pin-cell and assembly based CMFD schemes have been implemented by defining individual pin cells or assemblies as a coarse mesh. For this, an algorithm to map the finite elements to coarse meshes was developed, and the routines were developed to determine the coupling coefficients and PAXS of the CMFD equations from the transport solution. Preliminary performance tests were carried out using the C5G7 benchmark problem. This paper presents the main features of this CMFD acceleration scheme and the preliminary test results.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Low synchronization Gram–Schmidt and generalized minimal residual algorithms

The Gram–Schmidt process uses orthogonal projection to construct the A = QR factorization of a matrix. When Q has linearly independent columns, the operator P = I - Q(QTQ)-1QT defines an orthogonal projection onto Q⊥. In finite precision, Q loses orthogonality as the factorization progresses. A family of approximate projections is derived with the form P = I - QTQT, with correction matrix T. When T = (QTQ)-1, and T is triangular, it is postulated that the best achievable orthogonality is $\mathcal{O}(ε)\mathcal{K}(A)$. We present new variants of modified (MGS) and classical Gram–Schmidt algorithms that require one global reduction step. An interesting form of the projector leads to a compact WY representation for MGS. In particular, the inverse compact WY MGS algorithm is equivalent to a lower triangular solve. Our main contribution is to introduce a backward normalization lag into the compact WY representation, resulting in a $\mathcal{O}(ε)\mathcal{K}[r_0, AV_m])$ stable Generalized Minimal Residual Method (GMRES) algorithm that requires only one global reduce per iteration. Finally, further improvements in performance are achieved by accelerating GMRES on GPUs.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Inverse chirality-induced spin selectivity effect in chiral assemblies of π -conjugated polymers

Coupling of spin and charge currents to structural chirality in non-magnetic materials, known as chirality-induced spin selectivity, is promising for application in spintronic devices at room temperature. Although the chirality-induced spin selectivity effect has been identified in various chiral materials, its Onsager reciprocal process, the inverse chirality-induced spin selectivity effect, remains unexplored. Here we report the observation of the inverse chirality-induced spin selectivity effect in chiral assemblies of π-conjugated polymers. Using spin-pumping techniques, the inverse chirality-induced spin selectivity effect enables quantification of the magnitude of the longitudinal spin-to-charge conversion driven by chirality-induced spin selectivity in different chiral polymers. By widely tuning conductivities and supramolecular chiral structures via a printing method, we found a very long spin relaxation time of up to several nanoseconds parallel to the chiral axis. Furthermore, our demonstration of the inverse chirality-induced spin selectivity effect suggests possibilities for elucidating the puzzling interplay between spin and chirality, and opens a route for spintronic applications using printable chiral assemblies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

AN ALGORITHM FOR RADIATION MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS BASED ON SOLVING THE TIME-DEPENDENT TRANSFER EQUATION

We describe a new algorithm for solving the coupled frequency-integrated transfer equation and the equations of magnetohydrodynamics in the regime that light-crossing time is only marginally shorter than dynamical timescales. The transfer equation is solved in the mixed frame, including velocity-dependent source terms accurate to O(v/c). An operator split approach is used to compute the specific intensity along discrete rays, with upwind monotonic interpolation used along each ray to update the transport terms, and implicit methods used to compute the scattering and absorption source terms. Conservative differencing is used for the transport terms, which ensures the specific intensity (as well as energy and momentum) are conserved along each ray to round-off error. The use of implicit methods for the source terms ensures the method is stable even if the source terms are very stiff. To couple the solution of the transfer equation to the MHD algorithms in the ATHENA code, we perform direct quadrature of the specific intensity over angles to compute the energy and momentum source terms. We present the results of a variety of tests of the method, such as calculating the structure of a non-LTE atmosphere, an advective diffusion test, linear wave convergence tests, and the well-known shadow test. We use new semi-analytic solutions for radiation modified shocks to demonstrate the ability of our algorithm to capture the effects of an anisotropic radiation field accurately. Since the method uses explicit differencing of the spatial operators, it shows excellent weak scaling on parallel computers.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Decentralized Interleaving of Parallel-Connected Buck Converters

We present a decentralized control strategy that yields switch interleaving for parallel-connected dc-dc buck converters. Compared to state-of-the-art methods that are distributed at best, the proposed architecture requires no communication, and hence, presents a variety of advantages with regard to reliability, modularity, and cost. The method is based on the digital implementation of the dynamics of a Lienard-type oscillator circuit as the controller for the converters. Each controller only requires the locally measured output current to synthesize the pulsewidth modulation (PWM) carrier waveform. The intrinsic electrical coupling between converters drives the nonlinear-oscillator-based controllers to converge to an interleaved state with uniform phase spacing across PWM carriers, independent of the number of converters, the load, and initial conditions. We provide analytical guarantees for existence and stability of the interleaved state as well as extensive hardware results for a system of five 120 W 48 V-to-12 V dc-dc buck converters that demonstrate convergence to the interleaved state in the face of a variety of large-signal disturbances.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗