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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 1,117 records · Page 62
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Optimal carrier concentration for FeSb 2 colossal thermopower

Crystals of FeSb 2 correlated narrow-gap semiconductor host colossal thermopower values. By tuning the impurity level here, we demonstrate that electron-phonon scattering that transfers phonon momentum to electrons is efficient only for certain optimal carrier concentration in the low-mobility band. Phonon drag acting on such states in crystals with high phonon mean free path enhances thermopower to colossal values, whereas for different carrier concentration, dominant thermal transport mechanism is electronic diffusion. This highlights the dual nature of correlated in-gap states that take part in the phonon drag but also reduce phonon mean free path.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Thermotropic phase transitions in Pb{sub 1−x}Sr{sub x}(Al{sub 1/3}Nb{sub 2/3}){sub 0.1}(Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48}){sub 0.9}O{sub 3} ceramics: Temperature dependent dielectric permittivity and Raman scattering

The phase transitions of Pb{sub 1−x}Sr{sub x}(Al{sub 1/3}Nb{sub 2/3}){sub 0.1}(Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48}){sub 0.9}O{sub 3} (Sr-modified PAN-PZT) ceramics with Sr compositions of x = 2%, 5%, 10% and 15% have been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature dependent dielectric permittivity and Raman scattering. The XRD analysis show that the phase transition occurs between Sr composition of 5% and 10%. Based on the broad dielectric peaks at 100 Hz, the diffused phase transition from tetragonal (T) to cubic (C) structure shifts to lower temperature with increasing Sr composition. The dramatic changes of wavenumber and full width at half-maximum (FWHM) for E(TO{sub 4})′ softing mode can be observed at morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). Moreover, the MPB characteristic shows a wider and lower trend of temperature region with increasing Sr composition. It could be ascribed to the diminishment of the energy barrier and increment of A-cation entropy. Therefore, the Sr-modified PAN-PZT ceramics unambiguously undergo two successive structural transitions (rhombohedral-tetragonal-cubic phase) with temperature from 80 to 750 K. Correspondingly, the phase diagram of Sr-modified PAN-PZT ceramics can be well depicted.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Low-coherence interferometry as a method for assessing the transport parameters in randomly inhomogeneous media

The specific features of using low-coherence interferometric probing of layers in randomly inhomogeneous media for determination of the radiation propagation transport length both in diffuse regime and in the case of optically thin media are discussed. The transport length is determined by the rate of exponential decay of the interference signal with the increase in the path length difference between the light beams in the reference arm of the low-coherence interferometer and in the object arm, containing the probed layer as a diffuse reflector. The results are presented of experimental testing of the discussed approach with the use of layers of densely packed titanium dioxide nanoparticles and polytetrafluoroethylene. (radiation scattering)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Dynamics of water in real space and time

Owing to marked advances in instrumentation in X-ray and neutron scattering the time-dependent pair correlation function, the Van Hove function, can now be determined by inelastic X-ray and neutron scattering measurements. The local dynamics of water in real space and time is visualised by this approach. We discuss how the dynamic properties, such as viscosity and diffusion, can be elucidated through the Van Hove function of water.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

DIFFUSE EXTRAPLANAR DUST IN NGC 891

We report the detection of vertically extended far-ultraviolet and near-UV emissions in an edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 891, which we interpret as being due to dust-scattered starlight. Three-dimensional radiative transfer models are used to investigate the content of the extraplanar dust that is required to explain the UV emission. The UV halos are well reproduced by a radiative transfer model with two exponential dust disks, one with a scale height of ≈0.2-0.25 kpc and the other with a scale height of ≈1.2-2.0 kpc. The central face-on optical depth of the geometrically thick disk is found to be τ{sub B}{sup thick}≈0.3--0.5 at the B band. The results indicate that the dust mass at |z| > 2 kpc is ≈3%-5% of the total dust mass, which is in good accordance with the recent Herschel submillimeter observation. Our results, together with the recent discovery of the UV halos in other edge-on galaxies, suggest the widespread existence of a geometrically thick dust layer above the galactic plane in spirals.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Wildfire‐Smoke Aerosols Lead to Increased Light Use Efficiency Among Agricultural and Restored Wetland Land Uses in California's Central Valley

Abstract There are few observational studies measuring the ecosystem‐scale productivity effects of changes in incident diffuse photosynthetically active radiation (PAR diffuse ), especially related to wildfire smoke. Climate change‐induced increases to the duration and intensity of fire conditions have made smoke a common occurrence across western North America, with largely unquantified ecosystem feedbacks. Under equivalent amounts of radiation, increased atmospheric particulate matter could lead to a boost in productivity as scattering redistributes photons throughout multilayer canopies. In this work, we leverage a meso‐network of eddy covariance measurement sites across a unique array of managed and restored C 3 and C 4 canopy types to understand how recent wildfire smoke affected ecosystem productivity during the summer of 2018, an especially smoky year in the agriculturally productive Central Valley. We find that diffuse PAR diffuse increased by more than a third compared to the previous growing season, while total PAR was only slightly diminished. These conditions caused nearly a doubling of light use efficiency over the range of diffuse fraction observed, with the highest sensitivity to diffuse fraction exhibited by corn and alfalfa crops. We utilized an empirical model to assess the trade‐off between enhanced diffuse fraction and reduced total PAR. Under mean radiation conditions, daily integrated gross ecosystem productivity increased by 1.2–4.2% compared to the previous growing season. Finally, we explore the potential negative effect of heightened ozone, a copollutant often associated with wildfire. In addition to the effects of wildfire smoke, the results of this natural experiment can help validate future predictions of aerosol‐productivity feedbacks.

Hemes, Kyle S.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Enhancement of Exciton–Phonon Scattering from Monolayer to Bilayer WS 2

Layered transition metal dichalcogenides exhibit the emergence of a direct bandgap at the monolayer limit along with pronounced excitonic effects. In these materials, interaction with phonons is the dominant mechanism that limits the exciton coherence lifetime. Exciton-phonon interaction also facilitates energy and momentum relaxation, and influences exciton diffusion under most experimental conditions. However, the fundamental changes in the exciton–phonon interaction are not well understood as the material undergoes the transition from a direct to an indirect bandgap semiconductor. Here, we address this question through optical spectroscopy and microscopic theory. In the experiment, we study room-temperature statistics of the exciton line width for a large number of mono- and bilayer WS 2 samples. We observe a systematic increase in the room-temperature line width of the bilayer compared to the monolayer of 50 meV, corresponding to an additional scattering rate of ~0.1 fs –1 . We further address both phonon emission and absorption processes by examining the temperature dependence of the width of the exciton resonances. Using a theoretical approach based on many-body formalism, we are able to explain the experimental results and establish a microscopic framework for exciton–phonon interactions that can be applied to naturally occurring and artificially prepared multilayer structures.

2D materials↗
DOE OSTI2017

Surface texture of single-crystal silicon oxidized under a thin V{sub 2}O{sub 5} layer

The process of surface texturing of single-crystal silicon oxidized under a V{sub 2}O{sub 5} layer is studied. Intense silicon oxidation at the Si–V{sub 2}O{sub 5} interface begins at a temperature of 903 K which is 200 K below than upon silicon thermal oxidation in an oxygen atmosphere. A silicon dioxide layer 30–50 nm thick with SiO{sub 2} inclusions in silicon depth up to 400 nm is formed at the V{sub 2}O{sub 5}–Si interface. The diffusion coefficient of atomic oxygen through the silicon-dioxide layer at 903 K is determined (D ≥ 2 × 10{sup –15} cm{sup 2} s{sup –1}). A model of low-temperature silicon oxidation, based on atomic oxygen diffusion from V{sub 2}O{sub 5} through the SiO{sub 2} layer to silicon, and SiO{sub x} precipitate formation in silicon is proposed. After removing the V{sub 2}O{sub 5} and silicon-dioxide layers, texture is formed on the silicon surface, which intensely scatters light in the wavelength range of 300–550 nm and is important in the texturing of the front and rear surfaces of solar cells.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Constraining primordial magnetic fields with distortions of the black-body spectrum of the cosmic microwave background: pre- and post-decoupling contributions

Primordial magnetic fields that exist before the photon-baryon decoupling epoch are damped on length scales below the photon diffusion and free-streaming scales. The energy injected into the plasma by dissipation of magnetosonic and Alfv and apos;en waves heats photons, creating a y-type distortion of the black-body spectrum of the cosmic microwave background. This y-type distortion is converted into a μ-type distortion when elastic Compton scattering is efficient. Therefore, we can use observational limits on y- and μ-type distortions to constrain properties of magnetic fields in the early universe. Assuming a Gaussian, random, and non-helical field, we calculate μ and y as a function of the present-day strength of the field, B{sub 0}, smoothed over a certain Gaussian width, k{sub c}{sup −1}, as well as of the spectral index of the power spectrum of fields, n{sub B}, defined by P{sub B}(k)∝k{sup n{sub B}}. For a nearly scale-invariant spectrum with n{sub B} = −2.9 and a Gaussian smoothing width of k{sub c}{sup −1} = 1Mpc, the existing COBE/FIRAS limit on μ yields B{sub 0} < 40 nG, whereas the projected PIXIE limit on μ would yield B{sub 0} < 0.8 nG. For non-scale-invariant spectra, constraints can be stronger. For example, for B{sub 0} = 1 nG with k{sub c}{sup −1} = 1Mpc, the COBE/FIRAS limit on μ excludes a wide range of spectral indices given by n{sub B} > −2.6. After decoupling, energy dissipation is due to ambipolar diffusion and decaying MHD turbulence, creating a y-type distortion. The distortion is completely dominated by decaying MHD turbulence, and is of order y ≈ 10{sup −7} for a few nG field smoothed over the damping scale at the decoupling epoch, k{sub d,} {sub dec} ≈ 290(B{sub 0}/1nG){sup −1}Mpc{sup −1}. The projected PIXIE limit on y would exclude B{sub 0} > 1.0 and 0.6 nG for n{sub B} = −2.9 and -2.3, respectively, and B{sub 0} > 0.6 nG for n{sub B} ≥ 2. Finally, we find that the current limits on the optical depth to Thomson scattering restrict the predicted y-type distortion to be y∼<10{sup −8}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Stationary density profiles in the Alcator C-mod tokamak

In the absence of an internal particle source, plasma turbulence will impose an intrinsic relationship between an inwards pinch and an outwards diffusion resulting in a stationary density profile. The Alcator C-mod tokamak utilizes RF heating and current drive so that fueling only occurs in the vicinity of the separatrix. Discharges that transition from L-mode to I-mode are seen to maintain a self-similar stationary density profile as measured by Thomson scattering. For discharges with negative magnetic shear, an observed rise of the safety factor in the vicinity of the magnetic axis appears to be accompanied by a decrease of electron density, qualitatively consistent with the theoretical expectations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Identification and elimination of anomalous thermal decay in gamma-ray microcalorimeters

Microcalorimeter detectors rely on superconducting components and cryogenic temperatures to provide over an order-of-magnitude improvement in energy resolution compared to semiconducting sensors. Resolution improvements impact fields from gamma-ray astrophysics to nuclear safeguards. The temporal response of these detectors has been much slower than predicted from the known device parameters. This discrepancy has been attributed to the dynamics of quasiparticles and phonons in the bulk absorber used for absorbing photons. We will show that long-lived states in the glue used for absorber attachment have been the dominant cause of the slow response. Also, we have fabricated microcalorimeters using metal-to-metal diffusion bonding to attach the absorber. These detectors show a significant improvement in their recovery after gamma-ray events and will now enable study of the internal scattering dynamics of the bulk absorber.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2013

DOES A SCALING LAW EXIST BETWEEN SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE EVENTS AND SOLAR FLARES?

Among many other natural processes, the size distributions of solar X-ray flares and solar energetic particle (SEP) events are scale-invariant power laws. The measured distributions of SEP events prove to be distinctly flatter, i.e., have smaller power-law slopes, than those of the flares. This has led to speculation that the two distributions are related through a scaling law, first suggested by Hudson, which implies a direct nonlinear physical connection between the processes producing the flares and those producing the SEP events. We present four arguments against this interpretation. First, a true scaling must relate SEP events to all flare X-ray events, and not to a small subset of the X-ray event population. We also show that the assumed scaling law is not mathematically valid and that although the flare X-ray and SEP event data are correlated, they are highly scattered and not necessarily related through an assumed scaling of the two phenomena. An interpretation of SEP events within the context of a recent model of fractal-diffusive self-organized criticality by Aschwanden provides a physical basis for why the SEP distributions should be flatter than those of solar flares. These arguments provide evidence against a close physical connection of flares with SEP production.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Spectrum of relativistic and subrelativistic cosmic rays in the 100 pc central region

From the rate of hydrogen ionization and the gamma-ray flux, we derived the spectrum of relativistic and subrelativistic cosmic rays (CRs) nearby and inside the molecular cloud Sgr B2 near the Galactic Center. We studied two cases of CR propagation in molecular clouds: free propagation and scattering of particles by magnetic fluctuations excited by the neutral gas turbulence. We showed that in the latter case CR propagation inside the cloud can be described as diffusion with a coefficient of ∼3×10{sup 27} cm{sup 2} s{sup −1}. For the case of hydrogen ionization by subrelativistic protons, we showed that their spectrum outside the cloud is quite hard with a spectral index of δ>−1. The energy density of subrelativistic protons (>50 eV cm{sup −3}) is one order of magnitude higher than that of relativistic CRs. These protons generate the 6.4 keV emission from Sgr B2, which was about 30% of the flux observed by Suzaku in 2013. Future observations for the period after 2013 may discover the background flux generated by subrelativistic CRs in Sgr B2. Alternatively, hydrogen ionization of the molecular gas in Sgr B2 may be caused by high energy electrons. We showed that the spectrum of electron bremsstrahlung is harder than the observed continuum from Sgr B2, and in principle, this X-ray component provided by electrons could be seen from the INTEGRAL data as a stationary high energy excess above the observed spectrum E{sub x}{sup −2}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Multi-satellite simultaneous observations of magnetopause and atmospheric losses of radiation belt electrons during an intense solar wind dynamic pressure pulse

Radiation belt electron flux dropouts are a kind of drastic variation in the Earth's magnetosphere, understanding of which is of both scientific and societal importance. We report multi-satellite simultaneous observations of magnetopause and atmospheric losses of radiation belt electrons during an event of intense solar wind dynamic pressure pulse, using electron flux data from a group of 14 satellites. Moreover, when the pulse occurred, magnetopause and atmospheric loss could take effect concurrently contributing to the electron flux dropout. Losses through the magnetopause were observed to be efficient and significant at L ≳ 5, owing to the magnetopause intrusion into L ~6 and outward radial diffusion associated with sharp negative gradient in electron phase space density. Losses to the atmosphere were directly identified from the precipitating electron flux observations, for which pitch angle scattering by plasma waves could be mainly responsible. While the convection and substorm injections strongly enhanced the energetic electron fluxes up to hundreds of keV, they could delay other than avoid the occurrence of electron flux dropout at these energies. Finally, we demonstrate that the pulse-time radiation belt electron flux dropout depends strongly on the specific interplanetary and magnetospheric conditions and that losses through the magnetopause and to the atmosphere and enhancements of substorm injection play an essential role in combination, which should be incorporated as a whole into future simulations for comprehending the nature of radiation belt electron flux dropouts.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Multi-component modeling of quasielastic neutron scattering from phospholipid membranes

We investigated molecular motions in the 0.3–350 ps time range of D{sub 2}O-hydrated bilayers of 1-palmitoyl-oleoyl-sn-glycero-phosphocholine and 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-phosphocholine in the liquid phase by quasielastic neutron scattering. Model analysis of sets of spectra covering scale lengths from 4.8 to 30 Å revealed the presence of three types of motion taking place on well-separated time scales: (i) slow diffusion of the whole phospholipid molecules in a confined cylindrical region; (ii) conformational motion of the phospholipid chains; and (iii) fast uniaxial rotation of the hydrogen atoms around their carbon atoms. Based on theoretical models for the hydrogen dynamics in phospholipids, the spatial extent of these motions was analysed in detail and the results were compared with existing literature data. The complex dynamics of protons was described in terms of elemental dynamical processes involving different parts of the phospholipid chain on whose motions the hydrogen atoms ride.

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

Time-dependent water dynamics in hydrated uranyl fluoride

In this study, uranyl fluoride is a three-layer, hexagonal structure with significant stacking disorder in the c-direction. It supports a range of unsolved ‘thermodynamic’ hydrates with 0–2.5 water molecules per uranium atom, and perhaps more. However, the relationship between water, hydrate crystal structures, and thermodynamic results, collectively representing the chemical pathway through these hydrate structures, has not been sufficiently elucidated. We used high-resolution quasielastic neutron scattering to study the dynamics of water in partially hydrated uranyl fluoride powder over the course of 4 weeks under closed conditions. The spectra are composed of two quasielastic components: one is associated with translational diffusive motion of water that is approximately five to six times slower than bulk water, and the other is a slow (on the order of 2–300 ps), spatially bounded water motion. The translational component represents water diffusing between the weakly bonded layers in the crystal, while the bounded component may represent water trapped in subnanometre ‘pockets’ formed by the space between uranium-centred polymerisation units. Complementary neutron diffraction measurements do not show any significant structural changes, suggesting that a chemical conversion of the material does not occur in the thermodynamically isolated system on this timescale.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Diffusion of energetic electrons in turbulent plasmas of the solar wind

A method of calculation of the diffusion coefficients D(v) of particles in velocity space, based on the statistical analysis of the motion of a great number of test electrons, is proposed. In the case of Langmuir turbulence developing in plasmas with fluctuating density inhomogeneities such as the solar wind, simulations provide coefficients D(v) which mainly depend on the Langmuir wave spectra and agree well with the analytical predictions D{sub th}(v) of the quasilinear theory of weak turbulence. Nevertheless, some noticeable differences exist with this theory: in the range of phase velocity of the short waves where the main part of the wave energy is concentrated, D(v) is noticeably smaller than D{sub th}(v), due to the scattering, the reflection, and the focusing effects encountered by the Langmuir waves when they interact with the plasma density inhomogeneities. Moreover, the probability of large velocity jumps in the particles’ trajectories essentially exceeds the probability of a Gaussian distribution. These large jumps, which are connected with the waves’ transformation processes, modify the nature of the particle diffusion, which is no more classical. These higher order effects cause the discrepancies observed with the quasilinear theory, which does not take them into account in its perturbative approach. The solar wind plasmas, which present fluctuating density inhomogeneities of noticeable average levels, are a very good laboratory to study such diffusion processes, which can eventually influence significantly on the development of essential physical phenomena, as electromagnetic radio emissions by type III solar radio bursts, for example.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Magnetic structures and excitations in sawtooth olivine chalcogenides Mn 2 SiX 4 (X = S, Se)

The Mn lattice in olivine chalcogenide Mn 2 SiX 4 (X = S, Se) compounds forms a sawtooth, which is of special interest in magnetism owing to the possibility of realizing flat bands in magnon spectra, a key component in magnonics. In this work, we investigate the Mn 2 SiX 4 olivines using magnetic susceptibility, and X-ray and neutron diffraction. We have determined the average and local crystal structures of Mn 2 SiS 4 and Mn 2 SiSe 4 using synchrotron X-ray, neutron diffraction, and X-ray total scattering data followed by Rietveld and pair distribution function analyses. It is found from the pair distribution function analysis that the Mn triangle that constitutes the sawtooth is isosceles in Mn 2 SiS 4 and Mn 2 SiSe 4 . The temperature evolution of magnetic susceptibility of Mn 2 SiS 4 and Mn 2 SiSe 4 shows anomalies below 83 K and 70 K, respectively, associated with magnetic ordering. From the neutron powder diffraction measurements the magnetic space groups of Mn 2 SiS 4 and Mn 2 SiSe 4 are found to be Pnma and Pnm'a', respectively. Here, we find that the Mn spins adopt a ferromagnetic alignment on the sawtooth in both Mn 2 SiS 4 and Mn 2 SiSe 4 but along different crystallographic directions for the S and the Se compounds. From the temperature evolution of Mn magnetic moments obtained from refining neutron diffraction data, the transition temperatures are accurately determined as T N (S) = 83(2) K and T N (Se) = 70.0(5) K. Broad diffuse magnetic peaks are observed in both the compounds, and are prominently seen close to T N , suggesting the presence of a short-range magnetic order. The magnetic excitations studied using inelastic neutron scattering reveal a magnon excitation with an energy corresponding to approximately 4.5 meV in both S and Se compounds. Spin correlations are observed to persist up to 125 K much above the ordering temperature and we suggest the possibility of short-range spin correlations responsible for this.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗