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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 1,459 records · Page 81
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2001

Langmuir Probe Measurements of Inductively Coupled Plasmas in CF4/Ar/O2 Mixtures

Inductively coupled plasmas of CF4:Ar:O2, which have been of importance to material processing, were studied in the GEC cell at 80:10:10, 60:20:20, and 40:30:30 mixture ratios. Radial distributions of plasma potential (V(sub p)), electron and ion number densities (n(sub e) and n(sub i), electron temperature (T(sub e)), and electron energy distribution functions (EEDFs) were measured in the mid-plane of plasma across the electrodes in the pressure range of 10-50 mTorr, and RF (radio frequency) power of 200 and 300 W. V(sub p), n(sub e) and n(sub i), which peak in the center of the plasma, increase with decrease of pressure. T(sub e) also increases with pressure but peaks toward the electrode edge. Both V(sub p) and T(sub e) remain nearly independent of RF power, whereas n(sub e) and n(sub i) increase with power. In all conditions the EEDFs exhibit non-Maxwellian shape and are more like Druyvesteyn form at higher energies. They exhibit a broad dip in the energy range 0-10 eV suggesting an electron loss mechanism, which could be due to via resonance electron attachment processes producing negative ions in this rich electronegative gas mixture. This behavior is more prominent towards the electrode edge.

Rao, M. V. V. S.↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-T-169: A Periodic Quality Assurance Program for a Spot-Scanning Proton Treatment Facility

Purpose: To develop daily and monthly quality assurance (QA) programs in support of a new spot-scanning proton treatment facility using a combination of commercial and custom equipment and software. Emphasis was placed on efficiency and evaluation of key quality parameters. Methods: The daily QA program was developed to test output, spot size and position, proton beam energy, and image guidance using the Sun Nuclear Corporation rf-DQA™3 device and Atlas QA software. The program utilizes standard Atlas linear accelerator tests repurposed for proton measurements and a custom jig for indexing the device to the treatment couch. The monthly QA program was designed to test mechanical performance, image quality, radiation quality, isocenter coincidence, and safety features. Many of these tests are similar to linear accelerator QA counterparts, but many require customized test design and equipment. Coincidence of imaging, laser marker, mechanical, and radiation isocenters, for instance, is verified using a custom film-based device devised and manufactured at our facility. Proton spot size and position as a function of energy are verified using a custom spot pattern incident on film and analysis software developed in-house. More details concerning the equipment and software developed for monthly QA are included in the supporting document. Thresholds for daily and monthly tests were established via perturbation analysis, early experience, and/or proton system specifications and associated acceptance test results. Results: The periodic QA program described here has been in effect for approximately 9 months and has proven efficient and sensitive to sub-clinical variations in treatment delivery characteristics. Conclusion: Tools and professional guidelines for periodic proton system QA are not as well developed as their photon and electron counterparts. The program described here efficiently evaluates key quality parameters and, while specific to the needs of our facility, could be readily adapted to other proton centers.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Finite-size effects in the dynamic conductivity and Faraday effect of quantum anomalous Hall insulators

Here, we theoretically study the finite-size effects in the dynamical response of a quantum anomalous Hall insulator in the disk geometry. Semianalytic and numerical results are obtained for the wave functions and energies of the disk within a continuum Dirac Hamiltonian description subject to a topological infinite mass boundary condition. Using the Kubo formula, we obtain the frequency-dependent longitudinal and Hall conductivities and find that optical transitions between edge states contribute dominantly to the real part of the dynamic Hall conductivity for frequency values both within and beyond the bulk band gap. We also find that the topological infinite mass boundary condition changes the low-frequency Hall conductivity to e 2 / h in a finite-size system from the well-known value e 2 / 2 h in an extended system. The magneto-optical Faraday rotation is then studied as a function of frequency for the setup of a quantum anomalous Hall insulator mounted on a dielectric substrate, showing both finite-size effects of the disk and Fabry-Pérot resonances due to the substrate. Our work shows the vital role played by the boundary condition in the topological properties of finite-size systems through its effects on the electronic wave functions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

First-order exchange and self-energy corrections to static density correlation function of a spin-polarized two-dimensional quantum electron fluid

Static density-density correlation function has been calculated for a spin-polarized two-dimensional quantum electron fluid by including the first-order exchange and self-energy corrections to the random-phase approximation (RPA). This is achieved by determining these corrections to the RPA linear density-density response function, obtained by solving the equation of motion for the single-particle Green’s function. Resulting infinite hierarchy of equations (involving higher-order Green’s functions) is truncated by factorizing the two-particle Green’s function as a product of the single-particle Green’s function and one-particle distribution function. Numerical results of correlation function are compared directly against the quantum Monte Carlo simulation data due to Tanatar and Ceperley for different coupling parameter (r{sub s}) values. We find almost exact agreement for r{sub s}=1, with a noticeable improvement over the RPA. Its quality, however, deteriorates with increasing r{sub s}, but correction to RPA is quite significant.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Isoscalar and Isovector Giant Resonances in Closed Shells Nuclei and Bulk Properties of Nuclear Matter

Centroid energies, E CEN , of the isoscalar (T = 0) and isovector (T = 1) giant resonances of multipolarities L = 0 – 3 in 40,48 Ca, 68 Ni, 90 Zr, 116 Sn, 144 Sm and 208 Pb, were calculated within the fully self-consistent spherical Hartree-Fock (HF)-based random phase approximation (RPA) theory, using 33 different energy density functionals associated with Skyrme-type effective nucleon-nucleon interactions of the standard form commonly employed in the literature. Here, we also calculate the Pearson linear correlation coefficients between each E CEN and each bulk property of nuclear matter (NM), associated with the Skyrme interactions used in the calculations, and determine the sensitivity of E CEN to bulk properties of NM. By comparing the calculated values of E CEN to the experimental data, we constrain the values of the bulk NM properties. We find that interactions associated with the values of the NM effective mass, m* / m = 0.70 to 0.90, incompressibility coefficient, K NM = 210 to 240 MeV, and the enhancement coefficient of the energy weighted sum rule of the isovector giant dipole resonance, κ = 0.25 to 0.70, best reproduce the experimental data.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Studies on the effect of the axial magnetic field on the x-ray bremsstrahlung in a 2.45 GHz permanent magnet microwave ion source

A compact microwave ion source has been designed and developed for operation at a frequency of 2.45 GHz. The axial magnetic field is based on two permanent magnet rings, operating in the “off-resonance” mode and is tunable by moving the permanent magnets. In order to understand the electron energy distribution function, x-ray bremsstrahlung has been measured in the axial direction. Simulation studies on the x-ray bremsstrahlung have been carried out to compare with the experimental results. The effect of the axial magnetic field with respect to the microwave launching position and the position of the extraction electrode on the x-ray bremsstrahlung have been studied.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Production of neutron-rich isotopes for 𝑍 ≥ 98 in the 238 U + 248 Cm reaction

Multinucleon transfer (MNT) reactions in actinide systems are a promising method to synthesize transuranium neutron-rich elements. Appropriate theoretical approaches are needed to understand the mechanisms behind MNT. We employ a microscopic approach to calculate neutron-rich isotope production in the reaction 238 U + 248 Cm system. Here, the stochastic mean-field (SMF) approach is used to calculate the primary cross sections in MNT reactions based on the quasifission and inverse quasifission processes, and a statistical de-excitation model with GEMINI ++ code to calculate the secondary fragment cross sections. The calculated cross sections using SMF and GEMINI ++ explain available experimental results for the 238 U + 248 Cm system at 𝐸 c.m. = 898.7 MeV energy. This shows the effectiveness and applicability of the quantal diffusion approach, based on the SMF theory, in heavy-ion collisions. Production of transuranium neutron-rich elements with a proton number up to 𝑍=101 is obtained with sizable cross sections. Theoretical results calculated for the 𝑍=102–105 region, for which there are no experimental data, show that the cross-section values would be lower than the microbarn level. SMF theory does not contain any adjustable parameters other than the standard parameters of the energy density functional used in the TDHF theory and is an important approach for the microscopic understanding of reaction mechanisms.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Optical characteristics and parameters of gas-discharge plasma in a mixture of mercury dibromide vapor with neon

Results are presented from studies of the optical characteristics and parameters of plasma of a dielectric barrier discharge in a mixture of mercury dibromide vapor with neon—the working medium of a non-coaxial exciplex gas-discharge emitter. The electron energy distribution function, the transport characteristics, the specific power losses for electron processes, the electron density and temperature, and the rate constants for the processes of elastic and inelastic electron scattering by the working mixture components are determined as functions of the reduced electric field. The rate constant of the process leading to the formation of exciplex mercury monobromide molecules is found to be 1.6 × 10{sup −14} m{sup 3}/s for a reduced electric field of E/N = 15 Td, at which the maximum emission intensity in the blue-green spectral region (λ{sub max} = 502 nm) was observed in this experiment.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1987

A study of a flux-limited sample of IRAS galaxies

Redshift data and accurate four-color infrared photometry are presented for a complete IRAS sample of galaxies brighter than 2 Jy at 60 microns. A simple power law provides a good fit to the distribution for luminosities from 10 to the 10th to 10 to the 12th solar. There is no indication of an exponential dropoff in the luminosity function at high energies. A flattening of the luminosity function occurs at L less than 10 to the 20th solar. The highest luminosity galaxies typically are found in multiple, possibly interacting, systems and exhibit marginally narrower infrared spectral energy distributions than the isolated spirals which predominate at low luminosities. Infrared-bright galaxies come from a different population than the majority of optically bright galaxies. In particular, galaxies of low blue luminosity are not strong infrared emitters.

Smith, Beverly J.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Influence of oxygen impurity on electronic properties of carbon and boron nitride nanotubes: A comparative study

Influence of oxygen impurity on electronic properties of carbon and boron nitride nanotubes (CNTs and BNNTs) is systematically studied using first principle calculations based on density functional theory. Energy band structures and density of states of optimized zigzag (5, 0), armchair (3, 3), and chiral (4, 2) structures of CNT and BNNT are calculated. Oxygen doping in zigzag CNT exhibits a reduction in metallicity with opening of band gap in near-infrared region while metallicity is enhanced in armchair and chiral CNTs. Unlike oxygen-doped CNTs, energy bands are drastically modulated in oxygen-doped zigzag and armchair BNNTs, showing the nanotubes to have metallic behaviour. Furthermore, oxygen impurity in chiral BNNT induces narrowing of band gap, indicating a gradual modification of electronic band structure. This study underscores the understanding of different electronic properties induced in CNTs and BNNTs under oxygen doping, and has potential in fabrication of various nanoelectronic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Investigation of magnetic-pole-enhanced inductively coupled nitrogen-argon plasmas

This article presented the features of the mixed mode and H mode in magnetic pole enhanced, inductively coupled Ar-N{sub 2} plasmas using RF-compensated Langmuir probe measurements. To fully characterize plasma parameters and electron energy probability functions (EEPFs), the gas pressure and argon content were varied. It was observed that with increasing the nitrogen content and gas pressure, the critical RF power to sustain H mode increases; this increase was more prominent for pure nitrogen discharge at higher pressure. The electron number density (n{sub e}) shows increasing trend with increasing RF power, while at higher gas pressures, the electron number density decreases at fixed RF power. Mostly, the EEPFs show a Maxwellian distribution even at low RF power (for higher argon content in the discharge) and at moderate RF power (for higher or pure nitrogen content in the discharge) for pressures of 15-60 mTorr. With increasing the nitrogen content in the mixture, the low energy part of the EEPF is more Druyvesteyn with a distorted high energy tail at low RF power. At fixed RF power, the slope of EEPF changes sharply with increasing pressure. It was observed that in hybrid mode, the EEPF at higher gas pressure (75 mTorr) in a pure nitrogen discharge shows a flat hole near the average electron energy of 3 eV and changes to Maxwellian distribution in H mode. The skin depth versus RF power shows that the skin depth is smaller than the critical dimension of the chamber, regardless of the gas type and the gas pressure.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Optical properties of InAsBi and optimal designs of lattice-matched and strain-balanced III-V semiconductor superlattices

The optical properties of bulk InAs{sub 0.936}Bi{sub 0.064} grown by molecular beam epitaxy on a (100)-oriented GaSb substrate are measured using spectroscopic ellipsometry. The index of refraction and absorption coefficient are measured over photon energies ranging from 44 meV to 4.4 eV and are used to identify the room temperature bandgap energy of bulk InAs{sub 0.936}Bi{sub 0.064} as 60.6 meV. The bandgap of InAsBi is expressed as a function of Bi mole fraction using the band anticrossing model and a characteristic coupling strength of 1.529 eV between the Bi impurity state and the InAs valence band. These results are programmed into a software tool that calculates the miniband structure of semiconductor superlattices and identifies optimal designs in terms of maximizing the electron-hole wavefunction overlap as a function of transition energy. These functionalities are demonstrated by mapping the design spaces of lattice-matched GaSb/InAs{sub 0.911}Sb{sub 0.089} and GaSb/InAs{sub 0.932}Bi{sub 0.068} and strain-balanced InAs/InAsSb, InAs/GaInSb, and InAs/InAsBi superlattices on GaSb. The absorption properties of each of these material systems are directly compared by relating the wavefunction overlap square to the absorption coefficient of each optimized design. Optimal design criteria are provided for key detector wavelengths for each superlattice system. The optimal design mid-wave infrared InAs/InAsSb superlattice is grown using molecular beam epitaxy, and its optical properties are evaluated using spectroscopic ellipsometry and photoluminescence spectroscopy.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Combined Theoretical Analysis of the Parity-Violating Asymmetry for 48 Ca and 208 Pb

The recent experimental determination of the parity violating asymmetry A PV in 48 Ca and 208 Pb at Jefferson Lab is important for our understanding on how neutrons and protons arrange themselves inside the atomic nucleus. To better understand the impact of these measurements, we present a rigorous theoretical investigation of A PV in 48 Ca and 208 Pb and assess the associated uncertainties. Here, we complement our study by inspecting the static electric dipole polarizability in these nuclei. The analysis is carried out within nuclear energy density functional theory with quantified input. We conclude that the simultaneous accurate description of A PV in 48 Ca and 208 Pb cannot be achieved by our models that accommodate a pool of global nuclear properties, such as masses and charge radii, throughout the nuclear chart, and describe—within one standard deviation—the experimental dipole polarizabilities in these nuclei.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Vip1 is a kinase and pyrophosphatase switch that regulates inositol diphosphate signaling

Inositol diphosphates (PP-IPs), also known as inositol pyrophosphates, are high-energy cellular signaling codes involved in nutrient and regulatory responses. We report that the evolutionarily conserved gene product, Vip1, possesses autonomous kinase and pyrophosphatase domains capable of synthesis and destruction of D-1 PP-IPs. Our studies provide atomic-resolution structures of the PP-IP products and unequivocally define that the Vip1 gene product is a highly selective 1-kinase and 1-pyrophosphatase enzyme whose activities arise through distinct active sites. Kinetic analyses of kinase and pyrophosphatase parameters are consistent with Vip1 evolving to modulate levels of 1-IP 7 and 1,5-IP 8 . Individual perturbations in kinase and pyrophosphatase activities in cells result in differential effects on vacuolar morphology and osmotic responses. Analogous to the dual-functional key energy metabolism regulator, phosphofructokinase 2, Vip1 is a kinase and pyrophosphatase switch whose 1-PP-IP products play an important role in a cellular adaptation.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Energy spectrum of longitudinal ion losses in the GDT facility under development of Alfvén ion-cyclotron instability

The influence of Alfvén ion cyclotron instability on the longitudinal losses of particles and energy from the GDT gas-dynamic trap was studied experimentally. To record the energy spectrum of ions escaping from the facility along magnetic field lines, a wide-range energy analyzer was attached to the expander. Processing of the experimental data made it possible to determine the time evolution of the ion energy distribution function and showed that the relative increase in the loss power during the development of instability did not exceed 1%. This result confirms the main conclusion of the theoretical model describing the interaction between an Alfvén wave and resonance particles and predicting that this microinstability insignificantly affects the confinement of hot ions in open magnetic traps.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Molecular beam epitaxy growth of high quality p-doped SnS van der Waals epitaxy on a graphene buffer layer

We report on the systematic investigation of optoelectronic properties of tin (IV) sulfide (SnS) van der Waals epitaxies (vdWEs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technique. Energy band simulation using commercial CASTEP code indicates that SnS has an indirect bandgap of size 0.982 eV. Furthermore, our simulation shows that elemental Cu can be used as a p-type dopant for the material. Growth of high quality SnS thin films is accomplished by MBE technique using graphene as the buffer layer. We observed significant reduction in the rocking curve FWHM over the existing published values. Crystallite size in the range of 2-3 {mu}m is observed which is also significantly better than the existing results. Measurement of the absorption coefficient, {alpha}, is performed using a Hitachi U-4100 Spectrophotometer system which demonstrate large values of {alpha} of the order of 10{sup 4} cm{sup -1}. Sharp cutoff in the values of {alpha}, as a function of energy, is observed for the films grown using a graphene buffer layer indicating low concentration of localized states in the bandgap. Cu-doping is achieved by co-evaporation technique. It is demonstrated that the hole concentration of the films can be controlled between 10{sup 16} cm{sup -3} and 5 x 10{sup 17}cm{sup -3} by varying the temperature of the Cu K-cell. Hole mobility as high as 81 cm{sup 2}V{sup -1}s{sup -1} is observed for SnS films on graphene/GaAs(100) substrates. The improvements in the physical properties of the films are attributed to the unique layered structure and chemically saturated bonds at the surface for both SnS and the graphene buffer layer. Consequently, the interaction between the SnS thin films and the graphene buffer layer is dominated by van der Waals force and structural defects at the interface, such as dangling bonds or dislocations, are substantially reduced.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2011

Variation of the equilibrium energy and the S-property of stationary compact sets

This paper studies a variation of the equilibrium energy for a certain fairly general functional which appears naturally in the solution of many rational approximation problems of multi-valued analytic functions. The main result of this work states that for the energy functional under consideration and a certain class of admissible compact sets, related to the function to be approximated, the corresponding stationary compact set is fully characterized by the so-called S-property. Bibliography: 38 titles.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Holography beyond conformal invariance and AdS isometry?

We suggest that the principle of holographic duality be extended beyond conformal invariance and AdS isometry. Such an extension is based on a special relation between functional determinants of the operators acting in the bulk and on its boundary, provided that the boundary operator represents the inverse propagators of the theory induced on the boundary by the Dirichlet boundary value problem in the bulk spacetime. This relation holds for operators of a general spin-tensor structure on generic manifolds with boundaries irrespective of their background geometry and conformal invariance, and it apparently underlies numerous O(N{sup 0}) tests of the AdS/CFT correspondence, based on direct calculation of the bulk and boundary partition functions, Casimir energies, and conformal anomalies. The generalized holographic duality is discussed within the concept of the “double-trace” deformation of the boundary theory, which is responsible in the case of large-N CFT coupled to the tower of higher-spin gauge fields for the renormalization group flow between infrared and ultraviolet fixed points. Potential extension of this method beyond the one-loop order is also briefly discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗