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At least 1,189 records · Page 66

The reactants equation of state for the tri-amino-tri-nitro-benzene (TATB) based explosive PBX 9502

The response of high explosives (HEs), due to mechanical and/or thermal insults, is of great importance for both safety and performance. A major component of how an HE responds to these stimuli stems from its reactant equation of state (EOS). In this study, the tri-amino-tri-nitro-benzene based explosive PBX 9502 is investigated by examining recent experiments. Furthermore, a complete thermal EOS is calibrated based on the functional form devised by Wescott, Stewart, and Davis [J. Appl. Phys. 98, 053514 (2005)]. It is found, by comparing to earlier calibrations, that a variety of thermodynamic data are needed to sufficiently constrain the EOS response over a wide range of thermodynamic state space. Included in the calibration presented here is the specific heat as a function of temperature, isobaric thermal expansion, and shock Hugoniot response. As validation of the resulting model, isothermal compression and isentropic compression are compared with recent experiments.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

A hybrid coupler for directing quantum light emission with high radiative Purcell enhancement to a dielectric metasurface lens

Quantum photonic technologies such as quantum sensing, metrology, and simulation could be transformatively enabled by the availability of integrated single photon sources with high radiative rates and photon collection efficiencies. We address these challenges for quantum emitters formed from color center defect sites such as those in hexagonal boron nitride, which are promising candidates as single photon sources due to their bright, stable, polarized, and room temperature emission. We report design of a nanophotonic coupler from color center quantum emitters to a dielectric metasurface lens. The coupler is comprised of a hybrid plasmonic–dielectric resonator that achieves a large radiative Purcell enhancement and partial control of far-field radiation. We report radiative Purcell factors up to 285 and photon collection efficiencies up to 89% for a lossless metasurface, applying a continuous hyperboloidal phase-front. Our hybrid plasmonic–dielectric coupler interfacing two nanophotonic elements is a compound optical element, analogous to those found in microscope objective lenses, which combine multiple optical functions into a single component for improved performance.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

CALIBRATING C-IV-BASED BLACK HOLE MASS ESTIMATORS

We present the single-epoch black hole mass estimators based on the C IV {lambda}1549 broad emission line, using the updated sample of the reverberation-mapped active galactic nuclei and high-quality UV spectra. By performing multi-component spectral fitting analysis, we measure the C IV line widths (FWHM{sub C{sub IV}} and line dispersion, {sigma}{sub C{sub IV}}) and the continuum luminosity at 1350 A (L{sub 1350}) to calibrate the C-IV-based mass estimators. By comparing with the H{beta} reverberation-based masses, we provide new mass estimators with the best-fit relationships, i.e., M{sub BH}{proportional_to}L{sub 1350}{sup 0.50{+-}0.07}{sigma}{sub C{sub IV}{sup 2}} and M{sub BH}{proportional_to}L{sub 1350}{sup 0.52{+-}0.09} FWHM{sub C{sub IV}{sup 0.56{+-}0.48}}. The new C-IV-based mass estimators show significant mass-dependent systematic difference compared to the estimators commonly used in the literature. Using the published Sloan Digital Sky Survey QSO catalog, we show that the black hole mass of high-redshift QSOs decreases on average by {approx}0.25 dex if our recipe is adopted.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Spectral energy distributions of QSOs at z > 5: Common active galactic nucleus-heated dust and occasionally strong star-formation

We present spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of 69 QSOs at z > 5, covering a rest frame wavelength range of 0.1 μm to ∼80 μm, and centered on new Spitzer and Herschel observations. The detection rate of the QSOs with Spitzer is very high (97% at λ{sub rest} ≲ 4 μm), but drops toward the Herschel bands with 30% detected in PACS (rest frame mid-infrared) and 15% additionally in the SPIRE (rest frame far-infrared; FIR). We perform multi-component SED fits for Herschel-detected objects and confirm that to match the observed SEDs, a clumpy torus model needs to be complemented by a hot (∼1300 K) component and, in cases with prominent FIR emission, also by a cold (∼50 K) component. In the FIR-detected cases the luminosity of the cold component is of the order of 10{sup 13} L {sub ☉} which is likely heated by star formation. From the SED fits we also determine that the active galactic nucleus (AGN) dust-to-accretion disk luminosity ratio declines with UV/optical luminosity. Emission from hot (∼1300 K) dust is common in our sample, showing that nuclear dust is ubiquitous in luminous QSOs out to redshift 6. However, about 15% of the objects appear under-luminous in the near infrared compared to their optical emission and seem to be deficient in (but not devoid of) hot dust. Within our full sample, the QSOs detected with Herschel are found at the high luminosity end in L {sub UV/opt} and L {sub NIR} and show low equivalent widths (EWs) in Hα and in Lyα. In the distribution of Hα EWs, as determined from the Spitzer photometry, the high-redshift QSOs show little difference to low-redshift AGN.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

High-resolution observations of the shock wave behavior for sunspot oscillations with the interface region imaging spectrograph

We present the first results of sunspot oscillations from observations by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph. The strongly nonlinear oscillation is identified in both the slit-jaw images and the spectra of several emission lines formed in the transition region and chromosphere. We first apply a single Gaussian fit to the profiles of the Mg II 2796.35 Å, C II 1335.71 Å, and Si IV 1393.76 Å lines in the sunspot. The intensity change is ∼30%. The Doppler shift oscillation reveals a sawtooth pattern with an amplitude of ∼10 km s{sup –1} in Si IV. The Si IV oscillation lags those of C II and Mg II by ∼6 and ∼25 s, respectively. The line width suddenly increases as the Doppler shift changes from redshift to blueshift. However, we demonstrate that this increase is caused by the superposition of two emission components. We then perform detailed analysis of the line profiles at a few selected locations on the slit. The temporal evolution of the line core is dominated by the following behavior: a rapid excursion to the blue side, accompanied by an intensity increase, followed by a linear decrease of the velocity to the red side. The maximum intensity slightly lags the maximum blueshift in Si IV, whereas the intensity enhancement slightly precedes the maximum blueshift in Mg II. We find a positive correlation between the maximum velocity and deceleration, a result that is consistent with numerical simulations of upward propagating magnetoacoustic shock waves.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Scalar perturbations in a Friedmann-like metric with non-null Weyl tensor

In a previous work the authors have solved the Einstein equations of General Relativity for a class of metrics with constant spatial curvature, where it was found a non vanishing Weyl tensor in the presence of a primordial magnetic field with an anisotropic pressure component. Here, we perform the perturbative analysis of this model in order to study the gravitational stability under linear scalar perturbations. For this purpose, we take the Quasi-Maxwellian formalism of General Relativity as our framework, which offers a naturally covariant and gauge-invariant approach to deal with perturbations that are directly linked to observational quantities. We then compare this scenario with the perturbed dust-dominated Friedmann model emphasizing how the growth of density perturbations are enhanced in our case.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Phase-2 electronics upgrade of the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter system

The LHC high-luminosity upgrade in 2024–2026 requires the associated detectors to operate at luminosities about 5–7 times larger than assumed in their original design. The pile-up is expected to increase to up to 200 events per proton bunch-crossing. The current readout of the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeters does not provide sufficient buffering and bandwidth capabilities to accommodate the hardware triggers requirements imposed by these harsh conditions. Furthermore, the expected total radiation doses are beyond the qualification range of the current front-end electronics. For these reasons an almost complete replacement of the front-end and off-detector readout system is foreseen for the 182,468 readout channels. Here, the new readout system will be based on a free-running architecture, where calorimeter signals are amplified, shaped and digitized by on-detector electronics, then sent at 40 MHz to the off-detector electronics for further processing. Results from the design studies on the performance of the components of the readout system are presented, as well as the results of the tests of the first prototypes.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

QFT in curved spacetime from quantum gravity: Proper WKB decomposition of the gravitational component

Starting from a reanalysis of previous work, we construct the proper low-energy quantum field theory (QFT) limit of a full quantum gravity theory in the Born-Oppenheimer approach. We separate the gravitational sector into a classical background, given by a vacuum diagonal Bianchi I cosmology, and its quantum perturbations represented by the two graviton degrees of freedom; we further include quantum matter in the form of a test scalar field. We then implement a Born-Oppenheimer separation, where the gravitons and matter play the roles of “slow” and “fast” quantum components, respectively, and perform a WKB expansion in a Planckian parameter. The functional Schrödinger evolution for matter is recovered after averaging over quantum-gravitational effects, provided that a condition is imposed on the gravitons’ wave functional. Such a condition fixes the graviton dynamics and is equivalent to the purely gravitational Wheeler-DeWitt constraint imposed in previous approaches. Here, the main accomplishment of the present work is to clarify that QFT in curved spacetime can be recovered in the low-energy limit of quantum gravity only after averaging over the graviton degrees of freedom, in the spirit of effective field theory. Furthermore, it justifies a posteriori the implementation of the gravitational Wheeler-DeWitt equation on the “slow” gravitons’ wave functional rather than assuming its validity a priori.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Covariance of CMB anomalies

Several unexpected features are observed at large angular scales in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropy measurements by both WMAP and Planck. These include the lack of both variance and correlation, alignment of the lowest multipole moments with one another, hemispherical power asymmetry, and an odd-to-even parity excess. In this work, we study the statistics of eight representative large-angle CMB features in order to evaluate their covariance in the standard Λ CDM model. We do so using two sets of simulated CMB temperature maps; an ensemble of 100 000 simple Gaussian simulations, and 1000 Full Focal Plane (FFP) simulations provided by the Planck collaboration. In measuring feature probabilities, we pay particular attention to analysis choices, making sure that we can reproduce previous results in the literature, and explain differences where appropriate. The covariance structure we find is consistent with expectations given that many of the features studied are functions of the angular power spectrum. Notably, we find significant differences in the covariance entries associated with the quadrupole-octopole alignments derived from the Gaussian and FFP simulations. We additionally perform a principal component analysis to quantitatively gauge what combinations of features capture the most information about how simulation measurements vary, and to provide an alternative assessment of the ways in which the real sky is anomalous. Here, the first four principal components explain about 90% of the simulations’ variance, with the first two roughly quantifying the lack of large-angle correlations, and the next two quantifying the phase-dependent anomalies (multipole alignments and power asymmetry). Though the results of this analysis are fairly unsurprising, its comprehensive approach serves to tie together a number of previous results, and will therefore provide context for future studies of large-angle anomalies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

CuXASNet: Rapid and accurate prediction of copper L-edge x-ray absorption spectra using machine learning

In this work, we have developed CuXASNet, a dense neural network that predicts simulated Cu -edge x-ray absorption spectra (XAS) from atomic structures. Featurization of the Cu local environment is performed using a component of M3GNet, a graph neural network developed for predicting the potential energy surface. CuXASNet is trained on simulated spectra from FEFF9 at the multiple scattering level of theory, and can predict the and edges for Cu sites to quantitative accuracy. To validate our approach, we compare 14 experimental spectra extracted from the literature with the predictions of CuXASNet. The agreement of CuXASNet with experiments is shown by an average mean absolute error of 0.125 and an average Spearman's correlation coefficient of 0.891, which is comparable to FEFF9's values of 0.131 and 0.898 for the same metrics. As such, CuXASNet can rapidly predict a large number of -edge XAS spectra at the same accuracy as FEFF9 simulations. This can be used as a drop-in replacement for multiple scattering codes for fast screening of candidate atomic structure models of a measured system. This model establishes a general framework for Cu XAS prediction, and can be extended to more computationally expensive levels of theory and to other transition metal edges.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Scalable PGAS Metadata Management on Extreme Scale Systems

Programming models intended to run on exascale systems have a number of challenges to overcome, specially the sheer size of the system as measured by the number of concurrent software entities created and managed by the underlying runtime. It is clear from the size of these systems that any state maintained by the programming model has to be strictly sub-linear in size, in order not to overwhelm memory usage with pure overhead. A principal feature of Partitioned Global Address Space (PGAS) models is providing easy access to global-view distributed data structures. In order to provide efficient access to these distributed data structures, PGAS models must keep track of metadata such as where array sections are located with respect to processes/threads running on the HPC system. As PGAS models and applications become ubiquitous on very large transpetascale systems, a key component to their performance and scalability will be efficient and judicious use of memory for model overhead (metadata) compared to application data. We present an evaluation of several strategies to manage PGAS metadata that exhibit different space/time tradeoffs. We use two real-world PGAS applications to capture metadata usage patterns and gain insight into their communication behavior.

Global Arrays↗

The phase-1 upgrade of the CMS pixel detector

The pixel detector of the CMS experiment will be upgraded during the extended end of year shutdown during winter 2016/2017. The upgraded detector will operate at full efficiency at an instantaneous luminosity of 2 × 10 34 cm -2 s -1 with increased detector acceptance and additional redundancy for the tracking, while at the same time reducing the material budget. The design and technological choices will be reviewed, and the status of the construction of the detector and the performance of its components as measured in system tests are discussed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Trial-Run of a Junction-Box Attachment Test for Use in Photovoltaic Module Qualification: Preprint

Engineering robust adhesion of the junction box (j-box) is a hurdle typically encountered by photovoltaic module manufacturers during product development and manufacturing process control. There are historical incidences of adverse effects (e.g., fires) caused when the j-box/adhesive/module system has failed in the field. The addition of a weight to the j-box during the 'damp-heat,' 'thermal-cycle,' or 'creep' tests within the IEC qualification protocol is proposed to verify the basic robustness of the adhesion system. The details of the proposed test are described, in addition to a trial-run of the test procedure. The described experiments examine four moisture-cured silicones, four foam tapes, and a hot-melt adhesive used in conjunction with glass, KPE, THV, and TPE substrates. For the purpose of validating the experiment, j-boxes were adhered to a substrate, loaded with a prescribed weight, and then subjected to aging. The replicate mock-modules were aged in an environmental chamber (at 85 degrees C/85% relative humidity for 1000 hours; then 100 degrees C/<10% relative humidity for 200 hours) or fielded in Golden (CO), Miami (FL), and Phoenix (AZ) for one year. Attachment strength tests, including pluck and shear test geometries, were also performed on smaller component specimens.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Spatial–spectral Schroedinger embedding for target detection in hyperspectral imagery

In this work, the Schroedinger eigenmaps (SE) algorithm using spatial and spectral information has been applied to supervised classification of hyperspectral imagery (HSI). We have previously introduced the use of SE in spectral target detection problems. The original SE-based target detector was built on the spectral information encoded in the Laplacian and Schroedinger operators. The original SE-based detector is extended such that spatial connectivity of target-like pixels is explored and encoded into the Schroedinger operator using a “knowledge propagation” scheme. The modified SE-based detector is applied to two HSI data sets that share similar target materials. Receiver operating characteristic curves and rates of detection and false alarm at object level are used as quantitative metrics to assess the detector. In addition, the Schroedinger embedding performance in target detection is compared against the performances of principal component embedding and the Laplacian embedding. Finally, results show that the SE-based detector with spatial–spectral features outperforms the other considered approaches.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

SU-E-T-144: Effective Analysis of VMAT QA Generated Trajectory Log Files for Medical Accelerator Predictive Maintenance

Purpose: To determine the effectiveness of SPC analysis for a model predictive maintenance process that uses accelerator generated parameter and performance data contained in trajectory log files. Methods: Each trajectory file is decoded and a total of 131 axes positions are recorded (collimator jaw position, gantry angle, each MLC, etc.). This raw data is processed and either axis positions are extracted at critical points during the delivery or positional change over time is used to determine axis velocity. The focus of our analysis is the accuracy, reproducibility and fidelity of each axis. A reference positional trace of the gantry and each MLC is used as a motion baseline for cross correlation (CC) analysis. A total of 494 parameters (482 MLC related) were analyzed using Individual and Moving Range (I/MR) charts. The chart limits were calculated using a hybrid technique that included the use of the standard 3σ limits and parameter/system specifications. Synthetic errors/changes were introduced to determine the initial effectiveness of I/MR charts in detecting relevant changes in operating parameters. The magnitude of the synthetic errors/changes was based on: TG-142 and published analysis of VMAT delivery accuracy. Results: All errors introduced were detected. Synthetic positional errors of 2mm for collimator jaw and MLC carriage exceeded the chart limits. Gantry speed and each MLC speed are analyzed at two different points in the delivery. Simulated Gantry speed error (0.2 deg/sec) and MLC speed error (0.1 cm/sec) exceeded the speed chart limits. Gantry position error of 0.2 deg was detected by the CC maximum value charts. The MLC position error of 0.1 cm was detected by the CC maximum value location charts for every MLC. Conclusion: SPC I/MR evaluation of trajectory log file parameters may be effective in providing an early warning of performance degradation or component failure for medical accelerator systems.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

Quantum advantage in learning from experiments

Quantum technology promises to revolutionize how we learn about the physical world. An experiment that processes quantum data with a quantum computer could have substantial advantages over conventional experiments in which quantum states are measured and outcomes are processed with a classical computer. We proved that quantum machines could learn from exponentially fewer experiments than the number required by conventional experiments. This exponential advantage is shown for predicting properties of physical systems, performing quantum principal component analysis, and learning about physical dynamics. Furthermore, the quantum resources needed for achieving an exponential advantage are quite modest in some cases. Conducting experiments with 40 superconducting qubits and 1300 quantum gates, we demonstrated that a substantial quantum advantage is possible with today’s quantum processors.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

FLOW BATTERY COST AND COMMERCIALIZATION TOOL (FlowBaCC) v.1.0

The Flow Battery Cost and Commercialization Tool (FlowBaCC) is a python-based framework used to project the costs and commercialization timelines for redox flow batteries. FlowBaCC combines learning curves for component costs and performance with adoption curves for market diffusion to project future system costs. The tool uses the bottom-up, spreadsheet-based Battery Performance and Cost Model for Flow Batteries (BatPaC-Flow) as the engine to translate learning curve inputs into full system costs. FlowBaCC provides capital costs and levelized costs of energy storage. The tool enables scenario analysis, sensitivity analysis, and uncertainty quantification (via grid and Monte Carlo methods).

Fu, Xiaoxu [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Arg↗

Integrated photonics on thin-film lithium niobate

Lithium niobate (LN), an outstanding and versatile material, has influenced our daily life for decades—from enabling high-speed optical communications that form the backbone of the Internet to realizing radio-frequency filtering used in our cell phones. This half-century-old material is currently embracing a revolution in thin-film LN integrated photonics. The successes of manufacturing wafer-scale, high-quality thin films of LN-on-insulator (LNOI) and breakthroughs in nanofabrication techniques have made high-performance integrated nanophotonic components possible. With rapid development in the past few years, some of these thin-film LN devices, such as optical modulators and nonlinear wavelength converters, have already outperformed their legacy counterparts realized in bulk LN crystals. Furthermore, the nanophotonic integration has enabled ultra-low-loss resonators in LN, which has unlocked many novel applications such as optical frequency combs and quantum transducers. In this review, we cover—from basic principles to the state of the art—the diverse aspects of integrated thin-film LN photonics, including the materials, basic passive components, and various active devices based on electro-optics, all-optical nonlinearities, and acousto-optics. We also identify challenges that this platform is currently facing and point out future opportunities. The field of integrated LNOI photonics is advancing rapidly and poised to make critical impacts on a broad range of applications in communication, signal processing, and quantum information.

Zhu, Di (ORCID:0000000302101860)↗