Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Model Counting”

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 109 records · Page 6

Optimization of a Secondary Air Injector for a Rich-Quench-Lean (RQL) Ammonia Combustor Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Ammonia has emerged as a promising medium for moving hydrogen around the globe due to its energy density, existing infrastructure for production, transportation, and storage, and multiple applications from fertilizer to power generation. However, one of the most significant challenges with ammonia combustion for power generation is the formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) during combustion. Several combustion strategies have been developed to minimize the formation of NOx. One such strategy, known as rich-quench-lean (RQL), is a method that combusts NH3 in a fuel-rich environment, followed by a quick mix section and a lean burnout section. Rapid mixing of secondary air before lean burnout is thought to be important to minimize the formation of NOx. A genetic algorithm (GA) is used to parametrically vary the secondary air injector design, including the diameter, count, and angles over a constrained design space. The designs are evaluated using a non-reacting OpenFOAM model, with the objective function being the uniformity index of the secondary air (modeled as a scalar). Optimization campaigns show that traditional correlation-based designs might not be adequate. After running 414 OpenFOAM models, the optimal design is 32, 1 mm diameter, angled air injectors, increasing the uniformity index at the outlet of the quick mix zone by 36.8%. The most promising designs will be manufactured and tested in a small RQL burner setup, which is expected to lead to validation and insight into the practical usage of NH3 combustion for power generation.

ammonia combustion↗

DAmodel: hierarchical Bayesian modelling of DA white dwarfs for spectrophotometric calibration

We use hierarchical Bayesian modelling to calibrate a network of 32 all-sky faint DA white dwarf (DA WD) spectrophotometric standards (⁠16.5 < V , 19.5⁠) alongside three CALSPEC standards, from 912 Å to 32 μm. The framework is the first of its kind to jointly infer photometric zero points and WD parameters (surface gravity log g⁠, effective temperature T eff ⁠, extinction A V ⁠, dust relation parameter R V ) by simultaneously modelling both photometric and spectroscopic data. We model panchromatic Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (HST/WFC3) UVIS and IR photometry, HST/STIS UV spectroscopy, and ground-based optical spectroscopy to sub-per cent precision. Photometric residuals for the sample are the lowest yet yielding < 0.004 mag RMS on average from the UV to the NIR, achieved by jointly inferring time-dependent changes in system sensitivity and WFC3/IR count-rate nonlinearity. Our GPU-accelerated implementation enables efficient sampling via Hamiltonian Monte Carlo, critical for exploring the high-dimensional posterior space. The hierarchical nature of the model enables population analysis of intrinsic WD and dust parameters. Inferred spectral energy distributions from this model will be essential for calibrating the James Webb Space Telescope as well as next-generation surveys, including Vera Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

methods: statistical↗

Raccoon density estimation from camera traps for raccoon rabies management

Abstract Density estimation for unmarked animals is particularly challenging, yet density estimates are often necessary for effective wildlife management. Raccoons ( Procyon lotor ) are the primary terrestrial wildlife reservoir for Lyssavirus rabies within the United States. The raccoon rabies variant (RRVV) is actively managed at landscape scales using oral rabies vaccination (ORV) within the eastern United States. To effectively manage RRVV, it is important to know the density of raccoons to appropriately scale the density of ORV baits distributed on the landscape. We compared methods to estimate raccoon densities from camera‐trap data versus more intensive capture‐mark‐recapture (CMR) estimates across 2 land cover types (upland pine and bottomland hardwood) in the southeastern United States during 2019 and 2020. We evaluated the effect of alternative camera configurations and durations of camera trapping on density estimates and used an N‐mixture model to estimate raccoon densities, including covariates on abundance and detection. We further compared different methods of scaling camera‐based counts, with the maximum number of raccoons seen on any given image within a day best explaining density. Camera‐trap density estimates were moderately correlated with CMR estimates ( r = 0.56). However, densities from camera‐trap data were more reliable when classifying category of density as an index used to inform management (83% correct when compared to CMR estimates), although the densities in our study fell into the 2 lowest density classes only. Using more cameras reduced bias and uncertainty around density estimates; however, if ≤6 camera traps were used at a site, a line transect approach proved less biased than a grid design. Camera trapping should be conducted for at least 3 weeks for more accurate estimates of raccoon population density in our study area (<5% bias). We show that camera‐trap data can be used to assign raccoon densities to management‐relevant density index bins, but more studies are needed to ensure reliability across a greater range of environmental conditions and raccoon densities.

Davis, Amy J.↗

Efficient state preparation for the Schwinger model with a theta term

We present a comparison of different quantum state preparation algorithms and their overall efficiency for the Schwinger model with a theta term. While adiabatic state preparation is proved to be effective, in practice it leads to large gate counts to prepare the ground state. The quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA) provides excellent results while keeping the counts small by design, at the cost of an expensive classical minimization process. We introduce a “blocked” modification of the Schwinger Hamiltonian to be used in the QAOA that further decreases the length of the algorithms as the size of the problem is increased. The rodeo algorithm (RA) provides a powerful tool to efficiently prepare any eigenstate of the Hamiltonian, as long as its overlap with the initial guess is large enough. We obtain the best results when combining the blocked QAOA ansatz and the RA, as this provides an excellent initial state with a relatively short algorithm without the need to perform any classical steps for large problem sizes. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Bazavov, Alexei (ORCID:0000000321411901)↗

Automated Bacterial Identification and Morphological Feature Analysis in Low‐Dose Cryo‐EM Using YOLOv11

Bacteria rapidly adapt to environmental cues through morphological and ultrastructural changes that correlate with physiology and behavior. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo‐TEM) can capture these phenotypic changes in near‐native, vitrified states, but manual analysis of low‐dose micrographs is labor intensive and limits throughput. Here, we present an end‐to‐end workflow that combines low‐dose cryo‐TEM imaging with a YOLOv11‐based instance‐segmentation model to automatically identify bacteria and quantify key structural features directly from the micrographs. This workflow enables (i) robust bacterial localization and counting from low‐magnification atlas/montage images, (ii) automated measurements of cell‐envelope (outer–inner membrane) thickness and anisotropy from higher‐magnification views, and (iii) detection and quantification of bacteria–flagella interactions, including overlap length and curvature metrics for interacting versus noninteracting flagella. Using Pantoea sp. YR343 grown under distinct media conditions, we show that the automated measurements agree with manual annotations while substantially reducing analysis time. Together, these tools provide a practical framework for scalable bacterial identification and quantitative phenotyping in low‐dose cryo‐TEM datasets and establish a foundation for extending cryo‐TEM image analysis toward higher‐throughput studies of microbial heterogeneity and biointerfaces.

YOLOv11↗

Privacy-Preserving Real-Time Action Detection in Intelligent Vehicles Using Federated Learning-Based Temporal Recurrent Network

This study introduces a privacy-preserving approach for the real-time action detection in intelligent vehicles using a federated learning (FL)-based temporal recurrent network (TRN). This approach enables edge devices to independently train models, enhancing data privacy and scalability by eliminating central data consolidation. Our FL-based TRN effectively captures temporal dependencies, anticipating future actions with high precision. Extensive testing on the Honda HDD and TVSeries datasets demonstrated robust performance in centralized and decentralized settings, with competitive mean average precision (mAP) scores. The experimental results highlighted that our FL-based TRN achieved an mAP of 40.0% in decentralized settings, closely matching the 40.1% in centralized configurations. Notably, the model excelled in detecting complex driving maneuvers, with mAPs of 80.7% for intersection passing and 78.1% for right turns. These outcomes affirm the model’s accuracy in action localization and identification. The system showed significant scalability and adaptability, maintaining robust performance across increased client device counts. The integration of a temporal decoder enabled predictions of future actions up to 2 s ahead, enhancing the responsiveness. Our research advances intelligent vehicle technology, promoting safety and efficiency while maintaining strict privacy standards.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

β -delayed neutron emission of Mn 64 , Cr 62 , and Fe 65

The β-decay properties of nuclei near the second nuclear “island of inversion” around neutron rich nuclei with neutron number 40 are important tests of nuclear structure models and interactions. In particular, the β-delayed neutron emission branch (Ρ n ), is useful for investigating β-strength and neutron-γ competition above the neutron separation energies of the daughter nuclei. We report new constraints for Ρ n values for three nuclei in the region: 62 Cr (Ρ n <1%), 64 Mn (Ρ n = 1.5⁢(6)%), and 65 Fe (Ρ n < 1%), measured with the Neutron Emission Ratio Observer (NERO) neutron long counter system and the Beta Counting Station (BCS) at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL). Our results resolve the large discrepancy between previous direct and indirect measurements for 64 Mn and confirm the predictions of global theoretical models when a statistical treatment of the γ and neutron decays of the daughter states is included. Here we also obtain improved half-lives for 62 Cr [206(5) ms] and the short-lived isomer in the 62 Fe daughter [112(7) ms] from β-delayed γ emission data obtained in the same experiment with the Summing NaI (SuN) total absorption spectrometer. Finally, we use γ emission data to obtain a new upper limit for the 62 Cr β-decay population of the long-lived isomeric state in 62 Mn.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

eDNAjoint: An R package for interpreting paired or semi‐paired environmental DNA and traditional survey data in a Bayesian framework

Abstract Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling is increasingly used in surveys of species distribution as a potentially sensitive and efficient monitoring method. Yet access to modelling tools designed specifically for interpreting this new data type lags behind its ubiquity. While occupancy modelling software has dominated the analytical landscape for eDNA data analysis of single species, this type of model may not always be the most appropriate. The rate of eDNA detection often corresponds to species density, rather than just occupancy, and researchers often have access to observations from non‐genetic sampling methods at the same sites. To provide users access to a modelling framework designed to maximize the use of all available data, we developed an R package, eDNAjoint . The package provides an easy‐to‐use interface for fitting a ‘joint’ model that integrates data from paired or semi‐paired eDNA and traditional surveys in a Bayesian framework. The model can be used to estimate parameters like the probability of a false positive eDNA detection and mean catch rate at a site, and the package allows access to multiple model variations and Bayesian prior customization. Additional functionality can be used for model selection, summarising posteriors and comparing the relative sensitivities of the two survey methods. We demonstrate the use of eDNAjoint by fitting a variation of the model with site‐level covariates that scale the sensitivity of eDNA sampling relative to traditional sampling. The example workflow uses binary eDNA and seine count data for the endangered tidewater goby ( Eucyclogobius newberryi ) from a study by Schmelzle and Kinziger (2016). This use case includes a prior sensitivity analysis and an evaluation of the relationship between detection rates and environmental variables. eDNAjoint has the potential to greatly increase the range of users who will be able to rigorously analyse eDNA and traditional survey data in a Bayesian framework, understand if and how eDNA can improve monitoring practices, and gain confidence in the interpretability of eDNA data.

Keller, Abigail G. [Department of Environment Scie↗

Data Files for 'The 2030 National Charging Network: Estimating U.S. Light-Duty Demand for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure'

This data set includes modeling results from The 2030 National Charging Network: Estimating U.S. Light-Duty Demand for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure, including region-specific (i.e., national, state, and core-based statistical area cities and towns) electric vehicle supply equipment port count requirements in 2025 and 2030 for multiple scenarios described in the study.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Generalized eikonal identities for charged currents

Abstract We discuss QED radiative corrections to contact operators coupling two heavy fields and one light field. These operators appear ubiquitously in weak interactions with nuclei such as beta decay and neutrino nucleus scattering. New eikonal identities are derived in the static limit (i.e., neglecting nuclear recoil) that allow for manifest power counting of enhancements proportional to the charge of the nucleus. We apply these new identities to nuclear beta decays and find that the “independent particle model” used by Jaus, Rasche, Sirlin & Zucchini is closely related, though not identical, to a model independent effective field theorcalculation.

Physics↗

Energy, power, and infrastructure demands from electrifying airport ground support equipment at United States airports

As the airline industry seeks to reduce costs and transition to clean energy, electric ground support equipment is emerging as a favorable option. The integration of electric ground support equipment into airport operations requires careful planning for vehicle deployment, charging infrastructure, and grid impacts. We develop a flexible, bottom-up modeling framework to assess energy and infrastructure needs across more than 300 U.S. airports. Our analysis estimates site-specific power and energy demand, equipment counts by type, charger requirements, and costs. Here we quantify the magnitude of new electrical loads created by the electrification of airport ground support equipment, finding that peak power demand at the largest airports can reach up to 20 megawatts, with annual electricity consumption approaching 51,000 megawatt-hours. We further show that behind-the-meter battery energy storage systems and solar photovoltaic systems can reduce peak load and lower total system costs by as much as 10 million dollars.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

PRIME - A Software Toolkit for the Characterization of Partially Observed Epidemics in a Bayesian Framework

PRIME is a modeling framework designed for the “real-time’” characterization and forecasting of partially observed epidemics. Characterization is the estimation of infection spread parameters using daily counts of symptomatic patients. The method is designed to help guide medical resource allocation in the early epoch of the outbreak. The estimation problem is posed as one of Bayesian inference and solved using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique. The framework can accommodate multiple epidemic waves and can help identify different disease dynamics at the regional, state, and country levels. We include examples using publicly available COVID-19 data.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

The use of a benign fast-growing cyanobacterial species to control microcystin synthesis from Microcystis aeruginosa

Introduction Microcystis aeruginosa(M. aeruginosa), one of the most abundant blue-green algae in aquatic environments, produces microcystin by causing harmful algal blooms (HABs). This study investigated the combined effects of nutrients and competition among cyanobacterial subpopulations on the synthesis of microcystin-LR. Methods Under varying nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, cyanobacterial coculture, and the presence of algicidal DCMU, the growth was monitored by optical density analysis or microscopic counting, and the microcystin production was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography-UV. Furthermore, growth and toxin production were predicted using a kinetic model. Results and discussion First, coculture with the fast-growing cyanobacteriumSynechococcus elongatusUTEX 2973 (S. elongatus) reducedM. aeruginosabiomass and microcystin production at 30°C. Under high nitrogen and low phosphorus conditions,S. elongatuswas most effective, limitingM. aeruginosagrowth and toxin synthesis by up to 94.7% and 92.4%, respectively. Second, this biological strategy became less effective at 23°C, whereS. elongatusgrew more slowly. Third, the photosynthesis inhibitor DCMU (3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea) inhibitedM. aeruginosagrowth (at 0.1 mg/L) and microcystin production (at 0.02 mg/L). DCMU was also effective in controlling microcystin production inS. elongatus–M. aeruginosacocultures. Based on the experimental results, a multi-substrate, multi-species kinetic model was built to describe coculture growth and population interactions. Conclusion Microcystin from representative toxin-producingM. aeruginosacan be controlled by coculturing fast-growing benign cyanobacteria, which can be made even more efficient if appropriate algicide is applied. This study improved the understanding of the biological control of microcystin production under complex environmental conditions.

Microbiology↗

Oak Ridge National Laboratory EAGLE-I TM : Modeling Electric Utility County Customers for Situational Awareness

During natural hazard events (hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, etc.) and recent man-made events (e.g., cyber attacks), the exchange of near real-time, spatially refined data within the response community is critical. The EAGLE-I$^{TM}$ platform is one tool that facilitates this data for decision makers within the energy sector. While much information can be collected and integrated into the system directly, other pertinent data must be augmented by other derived data products to enhance the information and allow for a consistent evaluation of on-the-ground conditions. One such data set that requires the addition of other derived data is the electric utility customer outage data that is aggregated to the county level within the EAGLE-I application. Without a county customer data set, outages can only be compared on total counts, which gives greater importance to higher population outages. Including an electric utility customer data set at the county level allows for these outage counts to be converted to percent outages and brings a consistent classification of outages and equal importance to all outages. To achieve this, several available data sets were combined and spatial disaggregation techniques were employed to model customer estimates at the county scale. This paper presents the approach to produce this data for the United States and lessons learned from working with these disparate data sets. Data validation is provided, where possible, and limitations of the model and possible improvements are discussed.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Basin-scale analysis of Mokelumne River Formation for multi-well CO 2 injection

Large-scale carbon sequestration will likely require multiple projects injecting CO 2 into the same subsurface formation, raising concerns about safe operation and efficient use of storage capacity. This study evaluates the long-term response of the Mokelumne River Formation in California’s Sacramento Basin to multi-megaton CO 2 injection using three geologic models of the formation and the open-source simulator GEOS. The analysis focuses on three aspects of reservoir performance: (1) average pressure increase and dissolved CO 2 mass after 30 years for varying well counts and injection rates, (2) pressure interference in a multi-well configuration, and (3) dynamic storage capacity with identification of overpressure-prone regions. The results show that average formation pressure increases linearly with injected mass, while CO 2 dissolution exhibits mixed scaling: approximately linear with the number of wells but sublinear with injection rate, indicating that distributing injection across more wells enhances dissolution more effectively than increasing per-well rates. Pressure-interference effects are significant, with lower-permeability conditions delaying their onset but amplifying their magnitude at later times. Dynamic capacity, defined by the first occurrence of pressure exceeding the local overburden-based limit anywhere in the formation, varies across geologic models and assumed overburden pressure gradients. A lower fidelity geologic model predicts nearly twice the storage capacity of the two higher fidelity models, which consistently estimate approximately 1 Gt under the upper-bound overburden pressure gradient considered for the Sacramento Basin. In all model scenarios, overpressure develops away from injection wells, particularly in higher-elevation regions, highlighting the importance of basin-scale modelling for identifying risks beyond the immediate well vicinity.

Basin-scale↗

Powers of magnetic graph matrix: Fourier spectrum, walk compression, and applications

Magnetic graphs, originally developed to model quantum systems under magnetic fields, have recently emerged as a powerful framework for analyzing complex directed networks. Existing research has primarily used the spectral properties of the magnetic graph matrix to study global and stationary network features. However, their capacity to model local, nonequilibrium behaviors, often described by matrix powers, remains largely unexplored. We present a combinatorial interpretation of the magnetic graph matrix powers through directed walk profiles—counts of graph walks indexed by the number of edge reversals. Crucially, we establish that walk profiles correspond to a Fourier transform of magnetic matrix powers. The connection allows exact reconstruction of walk profiles from magnetic matrix powers at multiple discrete potentials, and more importantly, an even smaller number of potentials often suffices for accurate approximate reconstruction in real networks. This shows the empirical compressibility of the information captured by the magnetic matrix. This fresh perspective suggests further applications; for example, we illustrate how powers of the magnetic matrix can identify frustrated directed cycles (e.g., feedforward loops) and can be effectively employed for link prediction by encoding local structural details in directed graphs.

complex networks↗

Evidence of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering with COHERENT’s Germanium Array

We report the first detection of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) on natural germanium, measured at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The Ge-Mini detector of the COHERENT collaboration employs large-mass, low-noise, high-purity germanium spectrometers, enabling excellent energy resolution, and an analysis threshold of 1.5 keV electron-equivalent ionization energy. We observe an on-beam excess of 20.6$^{+7.1}_{−6.3}$ counts with a total exposure of 10.22 GWhkg, and we reject the no-CEvNS hypothesis with 3.9⁢𝜎 significance. The result agrees with the predicted standard model of particle physics signal rate within 2⁢𝜎.

Electroweak interaction↗

Creating high-precision reference gas standards of 85Kr for groundwater age-dating

Absolute gas counting (AGC) was applied to two gas blends of 85Kr in argon-methane (P10) counting gas to establish a high-precision specific activity (Bq/cm3) reference value for characterizing 85Kr detection efficiency for groundwater age dating measurements. The AGC or length-compensated technique has been utilized by the metrology community for decades and is an accepted method for developing radioactive gas standards. The AGC capability at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) uses a set of nine unequal-length proportional counters with precisely-measured internal volumes, and a gas loading system with high-precision pressure and temperature sensors. A series of AGC measurements were collected at multiple pressures to determine the inverse pressure relationship (1/P) for 85Kr and define a wall-effect correction that accounts for events decaying into the detector wall and not depositing sufficient energy in the gas to be detected. In addition to the wall-effect, two additional corrections were evaluated and are discussed in detail. Specifically, the threshold effect which accounts for events deposited below the analysis threshold and a detection efficiency as a function of detector volume effect that was observed during analysis. A robust uncertainty model was developed using the Guide to the expression of Uncertainty in Measurements (GUM) approach. The combination of carefully scrutinized correction factors, precise measurements of pressure, temperature and detector volume, and robust counting statistics resulted in the determination of high-precision specific activity values with 0.50% or less total combined uncertainty for two Kr-in-P10 reference gas standards (KP10) that will enable new groundwater age-dating measurements at PNNL.

Kr-85↗