Statistical significances and projections for proton decay experiments
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72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
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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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Robust Strategy for Rocket Engine Health Monitoring
Monitoring the health of rocket engine systems is essentially a two-phase process. The acquisition phase involves sensing physical conditions at selected locations, converting physical inputs to electrical signals, conditioning the signals as appropriate to establish scale or filter interference, and recording results in a form that is easy to interpret. The inference phase involves analysis of results from the acquisition phase, comparison of analysis results to established health measures, and assessment of health indications. A variety of analytical tools may be employed in the inference phase of health monitoring. These tools can be separated into three broad categories: statistical, rule based, and model based. Statistical methods can provide excellent comparative measures of engine operating health. They require well-characterized data from an ensemble of "typical" engines, or "golden" data from a specific test assumed to define the operating norm in order to establish reliable comparative measures. Statistical methods are generally suitable for real-time health monitoring because they do not deal with the physical complexities of engine operation. The utility of statistical methods in rocket engine health monitoring is hindered by practical limits on the quantity and quality of available data. This is due to the difficulty and high cost of data acquisition, the limited number of available test engines, and the problem of simulating flight conditions in ground test facilities. In addition, statistical methods incur a penalty for disregarding flow complexity and are therefore limited in their ability to define performance shift causality. Rule based methods infer the health state of the engine system based on comparison of individual measurements or combinations of measurements with defined health norms or rules. This does not mean that rule based methods are necessarily simple. Although binary yes-no health assessment can sometimes be established by relatively simple rules, the causality assignment needed for refined health monitoring often requires an exceptionally complex rule base involving complicated logical maps. Structuring the rule system to be clear and unambiguous can be difficult, and the expert input required to maintain a large logic network and associated rule base can be prohibitive.
Santi, L. Michael↗
Seismicity on the western Greenland Ice Sheet: Surface fracture in the vicinity of active moulins
We analyzed geophone and GPS measurements collected within the ablation zone of the western Greenland Ice Sheet during a ~35 day period of the 2011 melt season to study changes in ice deformation before, during, and after a supraglacial lake drainage event. During rapid lake drainage, ice flow speeds increased to ~400% of winter values, and icequake activity peaked. At times >7 days after drainage, this seismicity developed variability over both diurnal and longer periods (~10 days), while coincident ice speeds fell to ~150% of winter values and showed nightly peaks in spatial variability. Approximately 95% of all detected seismicity in the lake basin and its immediate vicinity was triggered by fracture propagation within near-surface ice (<330 m deep) that generated Rayleigh waves. Icequakes occurring before and during drainage frequently were collocated with the down flow (west) end of the primary hydrofracture through which the lake drained but shifted farther west and outside the lake basin after the drainage. We interpret these results to reveal vertical hydrofracture opening and local uplift during the drainage, followed by enhanced seismicity and ice flow on the downstream side of the lake basin. This region collocates with interferometric synthetic aperture radar-measured speedup in previous years and could reflect the migration path of the meltwater supplied to the bed by the lake. The diurnal seismic signal can be associated with nightly reductions in surface melt input that increase effective basal pressure and traction, thereby promoting elevated strain in the surficial ice.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Diffusion Monte Carlo approaches for studying nuclear quantum effects in fluxional molecules
Abstract Diffusion quantum Monte Carlo (DMC) provides a powerful approach for obtaining the ground state energy and wave function of molecules, ions, and molecular clusters. The approach is uniquely well suited for studies of fluxional molecules, which undergo large amplitude vibrational motions even in their ground state. In contrast to the electronic structure problem, where the wave function must be antisymmetric with respect to exchange of any pair of electrons, the wave function for the ground vibrational state is nodeless. This greatly simplifies the application of DMC for vibrational problems. Because there is not a single potential function that can be used to describe the intramolecular and intermolecular interactions in all molecular systems, most methods that are used to describe nuclear quantum effects rely on a carefully chosen zero‐order description of the molecular vibrations. In contrast, DMC calculations can be performed in Cartesian coordinates, making the DMC algorithm easily transferable between different chemical systems. In this contribution, the theory that underlies DMC will be discussed along with important considerations for performing DMC calculations. Extensions for evaluating vibrationally excited states and molecular properties are also discussed. Insights that can be obtained from DMC calculations are illustrated in the context of the protonated water clusters. This article is categorized under: Molecular and Statistical Mechanics > Molecular Dynamics and Monte‐Carlo Methods Theoretical and Physical Chemistry > Spectroscopy
Chemistry↗
Microscopic diagonal entropy and its connection to basic thermodynamic relations
We define a diagonal entropy (d-entropy) for an arbitrary Hamiltonian system as S{sub d}=-{Sigma}{sub n{rho}nn}ln{rho}{sub nn} with the sum taken over the basis of instantaneous energy states. In equilibrium this entropy coincides with the conventional von Neumann entropy S{sub n} = -Tr{rho} ln {rho}. However, in contrast to S{sub n}, the d-entropy is not conserved in time in closed Hamiltonian systems. If the system is initially in stationary state then in accord with the second law of thermodynamics the d-entropy can only increase or stay the same. We also show that the d-entropy can be expressed through the energy distribution function and thus it is measurable, at least in principle. Under very generic assumptions of the locality of the Hamiltonian and non-integrability the d-entropy becomes a unique function of the average energy in large systems and automatically satisfies the fundamental thermodynamic relation. This relation reduces to the first law of thermodynamics for quasi-static processes. The d-entropy is also automatically conserved for adiabatic processes. We illustrate our results with explicit examples and show that S{sub d} behaves consistently with expectations from thermodynamics.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Load response of a floating wind turbine to turbulent atmospheric flow
The two turbulence-generation models [Kaimal Spectrum Exponential Coherence (KSEC) and Mann] specified in the international standard for wind turbine design assume neutral atmospheric conditions and are based on statistical and spectral methods. Mainly due to the lack of physics, the flow fields simulated with these models ultimately differ in their underlying structure, especially in terms of the spatial coherence of longitudinal velocity perturbations. While this may not be critical for smaller wind turbine rotors, it becomes important when rotor sizes increase. Furthermore, it might be especially important in the context of floating technologies as they are more sensitive to large turbulent coherent structures. Previous work found that these differences between KSEC and Mann can propagate to loads predictions and thereby affect the design space of the entire wind turbine system. It is therefore crucial to determine in which ways these two models are underperforming. Up until now, validation of these models had only been done in the vertical direction because it is extremely difficult to obtain atmospheric turbulence measurements separated laterally, and sampled at heights relevant to wind energy. In this work, we address the lack of measurements by using high-fidelity, high-resolution simulation data as a reference. We perform hour-long, large-eddy simulations of turbulent velocity fields that are stability-dependent and contain three-dimensional coherent structures. These flow fields are then used to investigate which stochastic model is a better predictor of loads on a realistic spar-system floating offshore wind turbine, and to quantify how the assumption of neutral stratification propagates to short-term load estimates. Both stochastic turbulence models are found to overpredict fatigue loading in high-wind scenarios (in some cases, by more than 25%) and underpredict it when the wind speed is low (by as much as 20%). The KSEC model matches the high-fidelity flow fields more closely than Mann at high wind speeds, and the opposite is true at low wind speeds. Finally, turbine loading is found to be sensitive to atmospheric stability even when the turbulence intensity remains fairly constant. This sensitivity is most pronounced at low wind speeds, when fatigue load estimates on the spar system can differ by 40%.
17 WIND ENERGY↗
Cloud properties derived from two lidars over the ARM SGP site
[1] Active remote sensors such as lidars or radars can be used with other data to quantify the cloud properties at regional scale and at global scale (Dupont et al., 2009). Relative to radar, lidar remote sensing is sensitive to very thin and high clouds but has a significant limitation due to signal attenuation in the ability to precisely quantify the properties of clouds with a 20 cloud optical thickness larger than 3. In this study, 10-years of backscatter lidar signal data are analysed by a unique algorithm called STRucture of ATmosphere (STRAT, Morille et al., 2007). We apply the STRAT algorithm to data from both the collocated Micropulse lidar (MPL) and a Raman lidar (RL) at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) site between 1998 and 2009. Raw backscatter lidar signal is processed and 25 corrections for detector deadtime, afterpulse, and overlap are applied. (Campbell et al.) The cloud properties for all levels of clouds are derived and distributions of cloud base height (CBH), top height (CTH), physical cloud thickness (CT), and optical thickness (COT) from local statistics are compared. The goal of this study is (1) to establish a climatology of macrophysical and optical properties for all levels of clouds observed over the ARM SGP site 30 and (2) to estimate the discrepancies induced by the two remote sensing systems (pulse energy, sampling, resolution, etc.). Our first results tend to show that the MPLs, which are the primary ARM lidars, have a distinctly limited range where all of these cloud properties are detectable, especially cloud top and cloud thickness, but even actual cloud base especially during summer daytime period. According to the comparisons between RL and MPL, almost 50% of situations show a signal to noise ratio too low (smaller than 3) for the MPL in order to detect clouds higher than 7km during daytime period in summer. Consequently, the MPLderived annual cycle of cirrus cloud base (top) altitude is biased low, especially for daylight periods, compared with those derived from the RL data, which detects 5 cloud base ranging from 7.5 km in winter to 9.5 km in summer (and tops ranging from 8.6 to 10.5 km). The optically thickest cirrus clouds (COT>0.3) reach 50% of the total population for the Raman lidar and only 20% for the Micropulse lidar due to the difference of pulse energy and the effect of solar irradiance contamination. A complementary study using the cloud fraction 10 derived from the Micropulse lidar for clouds below 5 km and from the Raman lidar for cloud above 5 km allows for better estimation of the total cloud fraction between the ground and the top of the atmosphere. This study presents the diurnal cycle of cloud fraction for each season in comparisons with the Long et al. (2006) cloud fraction calculation derived from radiative flux analysis.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Emission from quantum-dot high-β microcavities: transition from spontaneous emission to lasing and the effects of superradiant emitter coupling
Measured and calculated results are presented for the emission properties of a new class of emitters operating in the cavity quantum electrodynamics regime. The structures are based on high-finesse GaAs/AlAs micropillar cavities, each with an active medium consisting of a layer of InGaAs quantum dots (QDs) and the distinguishing feature of having a substantial fraction of spontaneous emission channeled into one cavity mode (high β-factor). This paper demonstrates that the usual criterion for lasing with a conventional (low β-factor) cavity, that is, a sharp non-linearity in the input–output curve accompanied by noticeable linewidth narrowing, has to be reinforced by the equal-time second-order photon autocorrelation function to confirm lasing. The article also shows that the equal-time second-order photon autocorrelation function is useful for recognizing superradiance, a manifestation of the correlations possible in high-β microcavities operating with QDs. In terms of consolidating the collected data and identifying the physics underlying laser action, both theory and experiment suggest a sole dependence on intracavity photon number. Evidence for this assertion comes from all our measured and calculated data on emission coherence and fluctuation, for devices ranging from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and cavity-enhanced LEDs to lasers, lying on the same two curves: one for linewidth narrowing versus intracavity photon number and the other for g( 2 )(0) versus intracavity photon number.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Active site design enables industrial scale H 2 O 2 electrosynthesis with metal-free catalysts
The electrosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) via a two-electron oxygen reduction reaction enables decentralized H 2 O 2 production. While metal-free carbon catalysts are sustainable and low-cost, their performance is hindered by poorly defined active sites and uncontrolled defect states. Here, we resolve these challenges through active site design and catalyst screening using fluorine (F) and nitrogen (N) codoped carbons as model materials. Statistical analysis combined with density functional theoretical calculations reveals that F-induced structural modification and defect passivation optimize OOH* binding, with F-doping and adjacent F atoms predominantly lowering abs ΔG(OOH*). Experimental results confirm that semi-ionic C–F bonds passivate defects in nitrogen-doped carbon, enhancing catalytic activity and durability. The resulting (N, F)-codoped carbon achieves nearly 100% H 2 O 2 selectivity at 0.5–0.65 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode and maintains > 95% across 0.01–0.65 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. In an electrolyzer, (N, F)-codoped carbon exhibits an H 2 O 2 yield rate of 74.35 mol g cat. −1 h -1 and sustains 300 mA cm -2 for 105 hours with ~95% faradaic efficiency. Coupling the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction with methanol oxidation further reduces cell voltage and enhances productivity. This work provides a means to design efficient catalysts for industrial H 2 O 2 electrosynthesis.
H2O2 electrosynthesis↗
Plasma dispersion function for a Fermi-Dirac distribution
A plasma dispersion function (PDF) is defined for a nonrelativistic Fermi-Dirac distribution and its properties are explored. The degree of degeneracy is described by a parameter {xi}=e{sup {mu}}{sub e}{sup /T}{sub e}, for electrons, with {mu}{sub e}/T{sub e} large and negative in the nondegenerate limit, and large and positive in the completely degenerate limit. The PDF is denoted Z(y,{xi}), where the variable y={omega}/{radical}(2)kV{sub e}, is the argument of the conventional PDF, Z(y)=Z(y,0), for a Maxwellian distribution. In the completely degenerate limit, Z(y,{xi}) approaches a logarithmic function that depends on the Fermi temperature and is independent of T{sub e}. Analytic approximations to Z(y,{xi}) are derived in terms of polylogarithmic functions for y{sup 2}>>1 and for y{sup 2}<<1.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Large deviations of the current in a two-dimensional diffusive system
In this notes we study the large deviations of the time-averaged current in the two-dimensional (2D) Kipnis-Marchioro-Presutti model of energy transport when subject to a boundary gradient. We use the tools of hydrodynamic fluctuation theory, supplemented with an appropriate generalization of the additivity principle. As compared to its one-dimensional counterpart, which amounts to assume that the optimal profiles responsible of a given current fluctuation are time-independent, the 2D additivity conjecture requires an extra assumption, i.e. that the optimal, divergence-free current vector field associated to a given fluctuation of the time-averaged current is in fact constant across the system. Within this context we show that the current distribution exhibits in general non-Gaussian tails. The ensuing optimal density profile can be either monotone for small current fluctuations, or non-monotone with a single maximum for large enough current deviations. Furthermore, this optimal profile remains invariant under arbitrary rotations of the current vector, providing a detailed example of the recently introduced Isometric Fluctuation Relation.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Response to 'Comment on 'Heat capacity, enthalpy fluctuations, and configurational entropy in broken ergodic systems'' [J. Chem. Phys. 134, 147101 (2011)]
We show that Johari's critique of our work is based on a misunderstanding of ergodic theory and a disregard for the broken ergodic nature of glass. His analysis is in contradiction with well established experimental results in specific heat spectroscopy, shear-mechanical spectroscopy, and the vanishing of heat capacity in the limit of zero temperature. Based on these misinterpretations, Johari arrives at the erroneous conclusion that the residual entropy of glass is real. However, we show that Johari's result is an artifact in direct contradiction with both rigorous theory and experimental measurements.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Electron inertia effects on the planar plasma sheath problem
The steady one-dimensional planar plasma sheath problem, originally considered by Tonks and Langmuir, is revisited. Assuming continuously generated free-falling ions and isothermal electrons and taking into account electron inertia, it is possible to describe the problem in terms of three coupled integro-differential equations that can be numerically integrated. The inclusion of electron inertia in the model allows us to obtain the value of the plasma floating potential as resulting from an electron density discontinuity at the walls, where the electrons attain sound velocity and the electric potential is continuous. Results from numerical computation are presented in terms of plots for densities, electric potential, and particles velocities. Comparison with results from literature, corresponding to electron Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution (neglecting electron inertia), is also shown.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Landau damping of Langmuir waves in non-Maxwellian plasmas
As free electrons move in the nearest neighbour ion's potential well, the equilibrium velocity departs from Maxwell distribution. The effect of the non-Maxwellian velocity distribution function (NMVDF) on many properties of the plasma such as the transport coefficients, the kinetic energy, and the degree of ionization is found to be noticeable. A correction to the Langmuir wave dispersion relation is proved to arise due to the NMVDF as well [Phys. Plasmas 17, 052105 (2010)]. The study is extended hereafter to include the effect of NMVDF on the Landau damping of Langmuir wave.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
A different approach to obtain Mayer's extension to stationary single particle Wigner distribution
It is shown that the stationary collisionless single-particle Wigner equation in one dimension containing quantum corrections at the lowest order is satisfied by a distribution function that is similar in form to the Maxwellian distribution with an effective mass and a generalized potential. The distribution is used to study quantum corrections to electron hole solutions.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Korteweg de Vries Burgers equation in multi-ion and pair-ion plasmas with Lorentzian electrons
Korteweg de Vries Burgers equation for multi-ion and pair-ion plasmas has been derived using reductive perturbation technique. The kinematic viscosities of both positive and negative ions are taken into account. Generalized Lorentzian distribution is assumed for the electron component, accounting for deviation from Maxwellian equilibrium, parametrized via a real parameter {kappa}. The modification in the strength of shock structure is presented. A comprehensive comparison between the profiles of shock wave structure in multi-ion and pair-ion plasmas, (for the Maxwellian electrons to Lorentzian electrons), is discussed.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
A model distribution function for relativistic bi-Maxwellian with drift
A model distribution function for relativistic bi-Maxwellian with drift is proposed, based on the maximum entropy principle and the relativistic canonical transformation. Since the obtained expression is compatible with the existing distribution functions and has a relatively simple form as well as smoothness, it might serve as a useful tool in the research fields of space or high temperature fusion plasmas.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
O({sup 3}P{sub J}) formation and desorption by 157-nm photoirradiation of amorphous solid water
Photodissociation of amorphous solid water (ASW) deposited on a thinly oxidized copper substrate at 82 K was studied by measuring O({sup 3}P{sub J=2,1,0}) photoproducts detected with resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization. For each spin-orbit state, the oxygen atom time-of-flight spectrum was measured as a function of H{sub 2}O exposure, which is related to ice thickness, and 157-nm irradiation time. Four Maxwell-Boltzmann distributions with translational temperatures of 10 000 K, 1800 K, 400 K, and 82 K were found to fit the data. The most likely formation mechanisms are molecular elimination following ionization of water and ion-electron recombination, secondary recombination of hydroxyl radicals, and photodissociation of adsorbed hydroxyl radicals. Evidence for O-atom diffusion through bulk ASW was found for H{sub 2}O exposures of at least 5 Langmuir (1 L = 10{sup −6} Torr s). The cross sections for O({sup 3}P{sub 2}) depletion were 1.3 × 10{sup −19} and 6.5 × 10{sup −20} cm{sup 2} for 1 and 5 L, respectively.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗