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At least 127 records · Page 7

Short Time Scale Evolution of Microbiolites in Rapidly Receding Altiplanic Lakes: Learning How to Recognize Changing Signatures of Life

As part of the exploration of high altitude lakes as analogs to Martian paleolakes environment, we are investigating a remarkably large and diverse field of lacustrine stromatolites located at 4,365m in the Bolivian Altiplano (22 deg 47 00 min S and 67 deg 47.00 min W).The field is composed of both early Holocene fossil structures located on paleoshorelines and present-day active cyanobacterial communities on the shore and at the bottom of the current Laguna Blanca and Verde. Its physical environment, broad diversity of morphologies, and their associated spatial heterogeneity, origin, and scale offer a unique opportunity to explore microbiolites in conditions reminiscent of early Earth and Mars. At this altitude and latitude, UV radiation levels are enhanced (40% higher than sea level) and harmful to microorganisms living in shallow waters which provide only minimal protection from UV. Similar conditions prevailed on early Earth when the ozone layer had yet to be formed in the atmosphere. Compared to those studied at sea levels, these stromatolites could yield new insights about the earliest terrestrial forms of life. Moreover, the combination of physical and geological environment of this site is exceptionally analogous to conditions believed to be prevalent on Mars at the end of the Noachian (3.5 Ga ago), allowing to test the potential for forming stromatolites in martian paleolakes and learn how to identify their fossil record remotely. Our overarching goal is to generate new astrobiological information on high-altitude stromatolites as clues to early biospheres with implications for Earth and Mars. Our two central objectives are: (1) characterize the biological, geological, and mineralogical features and significance of this field, and to identify geo-signatures such as morphology, geology, chronostratigraphy, mineralogy and biosignatures, and (2) to facilitate remote-sensing and ground robotic detection capabilities for future astrobiological missions to Mars.

Cabrol, N. A.

Horizontal and Vertical Velocities Derived from the IDS Contribution to ITRF2014, and Comparisons with Geophysical Models

In the context of the 2014 realization of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF2014), the International DORIS Service (IDS) has delivered to the IERS a set of 1140 weekly SINEX files including station coordinates and Earth orientation parameters, covering the time period from 1993.0 to 2015.0. From this set of weekly SINEX files, the IDS Combination Center estimated a cumulative DORIS position and velocity solution to obtain mean horizontal and vertical motion of 160 stations at 71 DORIS sites. The main objective of this study is to validate the velocities of the DORIS sites by comparison with external models or time series. Horizontal velocities are compared with two recent global plate models (GEODVEL 2010 and NNR-MORVEL56). Prior to the comparisons, DORIS horizontal velocities were corrected for Global Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) from the ICE-6G (VM5a) model. For more than half of the sites, the DORIS horizontal velocities differ from the global plate models by less than 2-3 mm/yr. For five of the sites (Arequipa, Dionysos/Gavdos, Manila, Santiago) with horizontal velocity differences wrt these models larger than 10 mm/yr, comparisons with GNSS estimates show the veracity of the DORIS motions. Vertical motions from the DORIS cumulative solution are compared with the vertical velocities derived from the latest GPS cumulative solution over the time span 1995.0-2014.0 from the University of La Rochelle (ULR6) solution at 31 co-located DORIS-GPS sites. These two sets of vertical velocities show a correlation coefficient of 0.83. Vertical differences are larger than 2 mm/yr at 23 percent of the sites. At Thule the disagreement is explained by fine-tuned DORIS discontinuities in line with the mass variations of outlet glaciers. Furthermore, the time evolution of the vertical time series from the DORIS station in Thule show similar trends to the GRACE equivalent water height.

DORIS

Real-time Contaminant Evolution from a CO 2 Scrubber

Spaceflight requires recycling and revitalization of cabin air within the spacecraft during missions. Marshall Space Flight Center’s (MSFC) Environmental Control and Life Support Systems Engineering Development Branch (ES-62), develops and tests novel regenerative life support systems, supports the International Space Station (ISS) operations, and plans life support for future missions, such as Gateway and Mars transit.

Jennifer G Williams

Comments on absolute and convective instabilities

The paper puts into question the tenability of a critique by Oscarsson and Roennmark (1986) regarding the theory of absolute and convective instabilities. The space-time evolution of instabilities is reviewed with attention given to the two categories of time-asymptotic evolution. It is mentioned that the notion of time-asymptotics does not simply refer to t approaching infinity and that the evolution of the arbitrary initial perturbation at t = 0 is obtained by convolving the Green's function. The examples used in the previous critique describe instabilities that evolve in time only and are concluded to be nongeneric for continuous media, and the corresponding treatment of a time-asymptotic limit is characterized by imprecision. The original authors respond by suggesting that nondispersive waves are physically legitimate as in common plasma-wave modes and Alfven waves and can be described by their dispersion relation. A dispersive term is added to the relation so that it can be applied to ion-acoustic waves and other phenomena.

Ram, A. K.

Quantum to classical parton evolution in the QGP

We study the time evolution of the density matrix of a high energy quark in the presence of a dense QCD background that is modeled as a stochastic Gaussian color field. At late times, we find that only the color singlet component of the quark’s reduced density matrix survives the in-medium evolution and that the density matrix becomes asymptotically diagonal in both transverse position and momentum spaces. In addition, we observe an accelerated entropy growth due to the larger phase space being explored by the quark and that the quantum and classical quark entropies converge at late times. We further observe that the quark state loses all memory of the initial condition. Combined with the fact that the reduced density matrix satisfies Boltzmann-diffusion transport, we conclude that the quark reduced density matrix can be interpreted as a classical phase space distribution.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS

Spectral Evolution in GRB 990510

We present time-resolved spectroscopy of the afterglow of GRB 990510. Through the identification of several absorption lines in the first epoch spectrum, we determine the redshift for this burst to be z >= 1.6190 +/- 0.0016. No clear emission lines are detected. From the absence of the Ly.alpha drop, we can put an upper limit to the redshift of z <= 2.3. We study the time evolution of the MgII absorption line in our spectra taken 0.8 and 3.9 days after the burst, whose equivalent width (E.W.) is expected to change in case the burst resides in a dense compact medium (Perna & Loeb 1998). We measure an E.W. of 2.5 /- 0.2 and 2.3 +/- 0.6 in the spectra 0.8 and 3.8 days after the burst, respectively. Our results suggest that the atoms responsible for the absorption are not in the vicinity of the site of the burst.

Vreeswijk, P. M.

Adaptive Grid Redistribution for a 1D Model of Turbulence and Clouds

In global atmospheric models, resolving stratocumulus (Sc) in the vertical is computationally expensive. However, Sc appear only under special meteorological conditions. Therefore, there is motivation to refine the vertical grid levels adaptively. In order to facilitate the possibility of parallelization on graphical processing units, our grid adaptation method prescribes the number of vertical levels a priori. Then grid levels are relocated toward altitude ranges in need of refinement. Because the method relocates existing grid levels, rather than adding extra levels, there is a risk of creating regions with overly coarse grid spacing, that is, voids in the grid mesh. To prevent such voids from forming, a simple method is developed to impose a maximum grid spacing. To decide where to place enhanced resolution, the authors develop an empirical mesh refinement criterion. It refines grid spacing near the ground, near strong temperature gradients, and within clouds. Our grid adaptation method is implemented in a single-column model and evaluated on four test cases: decaying stratocumulus, developing shallow cumulus, a quasi-stationary stratocumulus deck, and the diurnal cycle of a dry boundary layer. In the stratocumulus cases, mesh refinement leads to improvements in both the time evolution of fields and their time averages. The other two cases show smaller differences.

Carstensen, Steffen [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Theoretical Description of Pump-Probe Experiments in Charge-Density-Wave Materials out to Long Times

We describe coupled nonequilibrium electron-phonon systems semiclassically—Ehrenfest dynamics for the phonons and quantum mechanics for the electrons—using a classical Monte Carlo approach that determines the nonequilibrium response to a large pump field. The semiclassical approach is expected to be accurate, because the phonons are excited to average energies much higher than the phonon frequency, eliminating the need for a quantum description. The numerical efficiency of this method allows us to perform a self-consistent time evolution out to very long times (tens of picoseconds), enabling us to model pump-probe experiments of a charge-density-wave (CDW) material. Our system is a half-filled, one-dimensional (1D) Holstein chain that exhibits CDW ordering due to a Peierls transition. The chain is subjected to a time-dependent electromagnetic pump field that excites it out of equilibrium, and then a second probe pulse is applied after a time delay. By evolving the system to long times, we capture the complete process of lattice excitation and subsequent relaxation to a new equilibrium, due to an exchange of energy between the electrons and the lattice, leading to lattice relaxation at finite temperatures. We employ an indirect (impulsive) driving mechanism of the lattice by the pump pulse due to the direct driving of the electrons. We identify two driving regimes, where the pump can either cause small perturbations or completely invert the initial CDW order. Our work successfully describes the ringing of the amplitude mode in CDW systems that has long been seen in experiment but never successfully explained by microscopic theory. We also describe the fluence-dependent crossover that inverts the CDW order parameter and changes the phonon dynamics. Finally, we illustrate how this method can examine a number of different types of experiments including photoemission, x-ray diffraction, and two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Physics

Solar Mesosphere Explorer satellite measurements of el Chichon stratospheric aerosols. 2: Aerosol mass and size parameters

Spatially and temporally extensive observations of the stratospheric aerosol cloud produced by the eruption of el Chichon in 1982 were made by the Solar Mesosphere Explorer satellite. Measurements of thermal emission at 6.8 microns are inverted to give aerosol extinction coefficients. At this wavelength the extinction coefficient is proportional to the cube of the particle radius, so the measured radiance is proportional to the slant column mass density of aerosols, independent of size distribution. Vertical column mass densities of aerosols and total aerosol mass are found from the 6.8-microns data. The evolution of the aerosol cloud in time and space is discussed. A peak column mass density above 22 km of 0.43 g/sq m occurred near 20 deg N latitude 8 weeks after the eruption. A maximum total global aerosol burden above 22 km of 1.3 x 10(exp 13) g occurred a week later. The aerosol mass determinations are used in conjunction with observations of scattered sunlight from the aerosols at 1.27 and 1.87 microns to derive single-mode log normal columnar size distributions for the aerosol cloud. The results are presented and the time evolution of the particle sizes is discussed.

Eparvier, F. G.

Apollo experience report: Evolution of the attitude time line

The evolution of the attitude time line is discussed. Emphasis is placed on the operational need for and constraints on the time line and on how these factors were involved in the time line generation procedure. Examples of constraints on and applications of the complete time line are given.

Duncan, R. D.

Revealing the Structure and Dynamics of Self-Generated Electric and Magnetic Fields Near Plasma Stagnation in Laser-Driven Hohlraums

By coupling newly developed triparticle charged particle radiography with radiography reconstruction algorithms and novel reconstruction postprocessing techniques, the spatial structure and time evolution of self-generated electric and magnetic fields in laser-driven vacuum hohlraums have been quantitatively revealed. Through high-fidelity data from a series of experiments, it is shown that late in the hohlraum evolution (after the end of laser drive) these fields are strongly correlated in both space and time, providing evidence that their evolution is primarily dominated by advection with the plasma flow. At these late times, plasma flow velocities inferred from both gross radiography analysis and field reconstructions (and corroborated with Thomson scattering measurements) indicate that the plasma is approaching stagnation near the hohlraum axis. Finally, these experiments provide not only new physical insight into spontaneously generated hohlraum fields, but also provide important spatially and temporally resolved information for future benchmarking of numerical codes.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY

Measuring the Loschmidt Amplitude for Finite-Energy Properties of the Fermi-Hubbard Model on an Ion-Trap Quantum Computer

Calculating the equilibrium properties of condensed-matter systems is one of the promising applications of near-term quantum computing. Recently, hybrid quantum-classical time-series algorithms have been proposed to efficiently extract these properties from a measurement of the Loschmidt amplitude ⟨ ψ | e − i H ^ t | ψ ⟩ from initial states | ψ ⟩ and a time evolution under the Hamiltonian H ^ up to short times t . In this work, we study the operation of this algorithm on a present-day quantum computer. Specifically, we measure the Loschmidt amplitude for the Fermi-Hubbard model on a 16 -site ladder geometry (32 orbitals) on the Quantinuum H2-1 trapped-ion device. We assess the effect of noise on the Loschmidt amplitude and implement algorithm-specific error-mitigation techniques. By using a thus-motivated error model, we numerically analyze the influence of noise on the full operation of the quantum-classical algorithm by measuring expectation values of local observables at finite energies. Finally, we estimate the resources needed for scaling up the algorithm. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Physics

Utilizing the Quantum Zeno Effect in superconducting qubit based particle sensors

Superconducting qubit sensors are a compelling option for detecting faint signals from dark matter or low energy neutrino interactions. Improving their reach calls for both signal amplification and background suppression. The Quantum Zeno Effect (QZE)--which governs how entanglement reshapes a quantum system's time evolution--addresses both needs. By quantifying these modified time dynamics, we can better predict a qubit's response to a genuine particle event while suppressing coherence dips from other local disturbances. We present a new QZE-based protocol that could mitigate a dominant source of coherence fluctuations from Two Level Systems, show initial measurements of the QZE in superconducting qubits, and discuss additional opportunities where understanding and exploiting the effect are critical for building robust, high-sensitivity qubit detectors.

Seidel, Olivia [Fermilab]

Coherent laser excitation of Ba-137 and Ba-138

Computations are carried out for the 1S(6s2)-1P(6s,6p) coherent laser excitation of Ba-137 and Ba-138 in a magnetic field. Results are presented for both the steady-state and time-dependent excited-state populations of the Zeeman-split magnetic sublevels. The quantum-statistical Liouville-equation approach (for the reduced density matrix) is compared to the rate-equations approach. Significant differences are found between these, due to the interference between strongly overlapping lines (especially for Ba-137). The time-evolution profiles indicate that the Ba-137 transient time is much longer than that of Ba-138.

Lam, Kai-Shue

A VHDL Core for Intrinsic Evolution of Discrete Time Filters with Signal Feedback

Evolution of a novel low-pass filter design has been presented along with an assessment of its capabilities. (1) Performed well with the two added sines used as input during the evolution. (2) Also performs well when the input includes more sine at frequencies between the two used during evolution. (3) Fails to perform when input is a sine sweep with wider bandwidth. (4) This illustrates the importance of designing the evolutionary process to be representative of the environment that will be seen by the evolved design during deployment. The use of non-standard operators and fewer resources should allow the EMVCore to implement more compact representations of digital filters and to provide fault tolerance by implementing a new solution in the remaining tiles after some are damaged. The EMVCore can be used to implement standard discrete time filters in addition to evolved components.

Gwaltney, David A.

Delay time for the onset of beam plasma discharge

The interaction of a nonrelativistic electron beam with a neutral gas in a large chamber is considered, and the time interval before ignition of beam plasma discharge (BPD) is studied. A new theoretical expression for the time delay before BPD ignition is found as a function of the critical current necessary for BPD to be established. There are two parameters in the theoretical expression, and both are derived from two different experiments. These parameters are used to write the time evolution equation for plasma density as a function of time.

Parish, J. L.

Model of a rotating magnetic cloud

The possibility that magnetic clouds rotate while they propagate antisunward was investigated. Magnetic clouds are modeled as magnetic flux ropes which rotate rigidly about the axis of symmetry. An ideal magnetohydrodynamic model, in which the evolution of the magnetic structure is related to the time evolution of the angular frequency, is developed. A class of 'separable' magnetic fields is employed to reduce the problem to a nonlinear ordinary differential equation for the evolution function, and it is solved numerically. The corresponding effective potential gives rise to two modes of evolution--expansion and oscillation--depending on the energy and on the value of a dimensionless parameter, k. Parameter k depends on the gas pressure, the ratio of the magnetic field components, and the frequency of rotation. There is a critical value of k, k(sub c), above which the oscillatory regime disappears and the flux rope invariably expands, regardless of the energy. Below k(sub c) the energy determines whether the configuration is confined or unbounded. Rotation always helps expansion by lowering the potential barrier. A data example was studied and features which are interpreted as signatures of rotation are presented. The angular speed is comparable to the Alfven speed, and the core of the rotating cloud completes on average one full revolution every three days at 1 AU. The parameter k is calculated from observations, and it is found to be close to, but below, critical. Only three out of the nine clouds examined showed signatures of rotation. Theoretical analysis suggests that close to the Sun rotation effects may play a more important role in the evolution of magnetic clouds than 1 AU.

Farrugia, C. J.

Kennedy Space Center - "America's Gateway to Space"

KSC fits into the overall NASA vision and mission by moving forward so that what we do and learn will benefit all here on Earth. In January of last year, KSC revised its Mission and Vision statements to articulate our identity as we align with this new direction the Agency is heading. Currently KSC is endeavoring to form partnerships with industry, , Government, and academia, utilizing institutional assets and technical capabilities to support current and future m!issions. With a goal of safe, low-cost, and readily available access to space, KSC seeks to leverage emerging industries to initiate development of a new space launch system, oversee the development of a multipurpose crew vehicle, and assist with the efficient and timely evolution of commercial crew transportation capabilities. At the same time, KSC is pursuing modernizing the Center's infrastructure and creating a multi-user launch complex with increased onsite processing and integration capabilities.

Petro, Janet