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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Scalar Atomic Defect-Based Solid-State Self-calibrating Magnetometer (3SM) for Space Plasma Analysis

The Earth’s magnetosphere is a system of multiple, co-located particle populations interacting via plasma waves. Things to understand are driving processes, radiation belt and ring current issues, auroral physics, internal plasma processes, and magnetosphere-ionosphere mapping issues. These plasma-physics processes enable the Earth’s magnetosphere to evolve in response to temporal changes in the solar wind and they underlie the phenomena of space weather, which impacts spacecraft systems, astronauts, radio communications, and ground based electric-power grids. The objective of 3SM is to measure magnetic field strength and to calibrate the Vector Magnetometer (VM) device to maintain absolute accuracy during a mission. The 3SM features make the instrument preferably suited not only for the traditional role of scalar magnetometers as absolute references for the calibration of the on-board vector instruments, but also for extended operational capacities, such as higher frequency scalar measurements (of potential interest for magnetosphere studies for the low frequency part of the spectrum) or autonomous scalar / vector operations. Diamond has been the solid-state platform of choice for quantum device technologies for some time, however, it suffers from difficulties such as scalability, integration, and cost. While the diamond platform is very useful for quantum technologies, further development is needed to make it viable. The material platform of choice for NASA Glenn’s Quantum Sensing And Spin Physics (Q-SASP) is silicon carbide (SiC). This is due to the much higher industry development of the SiC material platform for high-power and high-temperature electronics. It leverages both the decades-long SiC development expertise and infrastructure at NASA Glenn and its growing capabilities in quantum metrology. To make SiC devices usable for quantum technologies such as quantum sources, a much deeper understanding of defects is needed. Q-SASP is developing quantum metrology capabilities to evaluate the energy structure, defect formation energy, band structure augmentation, generation/recombination rates, and limits of dipole-dipole coupling in non-metal implanted SiC devices. This can be achieved by analysis of zero-field splitting, low-field resonance, and singlet-triplet mixing through various forms of Electrically Detectable Magnetic Resonance (EDMR) and Near-Zero Field Magnetic Resonance (NZFMR) spectroscopy. This work will discuss recent system developments, device developments, computational modeling, and spectroscopy results and analysis of defects created by non-metal implantations in SiC devices. The defect formation energies of V Si ,V C , V C V Si , N C V Si , N Si , N C in 4H-SiC are previously reported values in other research [2]-[3]. The defect formation energies of PSi and PC were calculated in GPAW [fig 1A]. The basic underlying mechanism of the zero-field phenomenon is the mixing of singlet and triplet states [4]-[5]. In most spin-dependent transport, two electron spins are involved, and thus one must consider each of their interactions with the field. We investigated the electronic and magnetic properties of 4H-SiC and 6H-SiC. The defect formation energy helps us determine what types of defects we are observing in the SiC EDMR experiment. They have very low formation energy (it is negative). The phosphorus substitution in 4H-SiC is a very stable defect. The band diagrams provide us with vital information about how the electronic properties of SiC (such as band gap) change as we add non-metal defects. The zero-field splitting parameters allow us to study the inflection point in the NZFMR [fig 1B]. We clearly observed zero-field splitting. We also noted that the zero-field splitting remained constant with changing bias. We aspect it zero-field splitting to remain constant while the hyperfine and exchange interaction perturbations shift under the influence of an external magnetic field. This is the essence of quantum magnetometry and self-calibration.

space plasma↗
NASA NTRS2010

Physical Invariants of Intelligence

A program of research is dedicated to development of a mathematical formalism that could provide, among other things, means by which living systems could be distinguished from non-living ones. A major issue that arises in this research is the following question: What invariants of mathematical models of the physics of systems are (1) characteristic of the behaviors of intelligent living systems and (2) do not depend on specific features of material compositions heretofore considered to be characteristic of life? This research at earlier stages has been reported, albeit from different perspectives, in numerous previous NASA Tech Briefs articles. To recapitulate: One of the main underlying ideas is to extend the application of physical first principles to the behaviors of living systems. Mathematical models of motor dynamics are used to simulate the observable physical behaviors of systems or objects of interest, and models of mental dynamics are used to represent the evolution of the corresponding knowledge bases. For a given system, the knowledge base is modeled in the form of probability distributions and the mental dynamics is represented by models of the evolution of the probability densities or, equivalently, models of flows of information. At the time of reporting the information for this article, the focus of this research was upon the following aspects of the formalism: Intelligence is considered to be a means by which a living system preserves itself and improves its ability to survive and is further considered to manifest itself in feedback from the mental dynamics to the motor dynamics. Because of the feedback from the mental dynamics, the motor dynamics attains quantum-like properties: The trajectory of the physical aspect of the system in the space of dynamical variables splits into a family of different trajectories, and each of those trajectories can be chosen with a probability prescribed by the mental dynamics. From a slightly different perspective, the mechanism of decision-making is feedback from the mental dynamics to the motor dynamics, and this mechanism provides a quantum-like collapse of a random motion into an appropriate deterministic state, such that entropy undergoes a pronounced decrease. The existence of this mechanism is considered to be an invariant of intelligent behavior of living systems, regardless of the origins and material compositions of the systems.

Zak, Michail↗
NASA NTRS1998

Vibrational Spectrum of (CO)2 on Cu(100): Quantum Calculations with 18 Coupled Mode

We report calculations of the vibrational frequencies of CO dimer on Cu(100) using recently developed vibrational self-consistent field code. Eighteen modes are treated explicitly within three modes coupling representation. Nine symmetry distinct doublets are observed and the corresponding frequencies are computed. The thermally broadened spectrum of the CO-stretch fundamental is calculated at various temperatures. Both the temperature and coverage dependence of both the average CO-stretch frequency and the corresponding line-width are consistent with experimentally observed trends. The document contains no classified information International clearance is needed.

Dzegilenko, Fedor↗
NASA NTRS1986

Spaceborne imaging radar research in the 90's

The imaging radar experiments on SEASAT and on the space shuttle (SIR-A and SIR-B) have led to a wide interest in the use of spaceborne imaging radars in Earth and planetary sciences. The radar sensors provide unique and complimentary information to what is acquired with visible and infrared imagers. This includes subsurface imaging in arid regions, all weather observation of ocean surface dynamic phenomena, structural mapping, soil moisture mapping, stereo imaging and resulting topographic mapping. However, experiments up to now have exploited only a very limited range of the generic capability of radar sensors. With planned sensor developments in the late 80's and early 90's, a quantum jump will be made in our ability to fully exploit the potential of these sensors. These developments include: multiparameter research sensors such as SIR-C and X-SAR, long-term and global monitoring sensors such as ERS-1, JERS-1, EOS, Radarsat, GLORI and the spaceborne sounder, planetary mapping sensors such as the Magellan and Cassini/Titan mappers, topographic three-dimensional imagers such as the scanning radar altimeter and three-dimensional rain mapping. These sensors and their associated research are briefly described.

Elachi, Charles↗
NASA NTRS2020

Quantum Speedup for Aeroscience and Engineering

Algorithms and hardware for quantum computing (QC) are reaching a critical stage in their development and have the potential to generate a paradigm shift in computing capability across a range of fields. Opportunities are growing for genuine impact of these systems over a timescale of 10-15 years, and there has been significant investment both from government agencies and private industry in its development. However, utilization of quantum phenomena is extraordinarily challenging due to its delicate nature and difficulties in measurement and control. A clear path exists toward demonstrating the advantages of QC over existing high-performance computing for some physics and materials science problems but addressing practical computational challenges in other fields, though promising, is at an early stage of development. Reaching the next level of development will require strategic coordination between physicists, computer & information scientists, mathematicians, and engineers, in order to transition this technology from the laboratory to robust and scalable computations for practical problems, especially those of interest to the aeroscience and engineering community. This community has been relying on high-performance computing heavily and will surely want to be informed of the developments in QC. This survey introduces the background and current state of the art in QC, as well as its perceived opportunities and challenges.

Peyman Givi↗
NASA NTRS2019

AladynPi – Adaptive Neural Network Molecular Dynamics Simulation Code with Physically Informed Potential: Computational Materials Mini-Application

This report provides an overview and description of commands used in the Computational Materials mini-application, AladynPi. AladynPi is an extension of a previously released mini-application, Aladyn (https://github.com/nasa/aladyn; Yamakov, V.I., and Glaessgen, E.H., NASA/TM-2018-220104). Aladyn and AladynPi are basic molecular dynamics codes written in FORTRAN 2003, which are designed to demonstrate the use of adaptive neural networks (ANNs) in atomistic simulations. The role of ANNs is to efficiently reproduce the very complex energy landscape resulting from the atomic interactions in materials with the accuracy of the more expensive quantum mechanics-based calculations. The ANN is trained on a large set of atomic structures calculated using the density functional theory method. An input for the ANN is a set of structure coefficients, characterizing the local atomic environment of each atom, for which the atomic energy is obtained in the ANN inference process. In Aladyn, the ANN gives directly the energy of interatomic interactions. In AladynPi, the ANN gives optimized parameters for a predefined empirical function, known as bond-order-potential (BOP). The parameterized BOP function is then used to calculate the energy. AladynPi code is being released to serve as a training testbed for students and professors in academia to explore possible optimization algorithms for parallel computing on multicore central processing unit (CPU) computers or computers utilizing manycore architectures based on graphic processing units (GPUs). The effort is supported by the High Performance Computing incubator (HPCi) project at NASA Langley Research Center.

Yamakov, Vesselin I.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Intensity dependent spread theory

The Intensity Dependent Spread (IDS) procedure is an image-processing technique based on a model of the processing which occurs in the human visual system. IDS processing is relevant to many aspects of machine vision and image processing. For quantum limited images, it produces an ideal trade-off between spatial resolution and noise averaging, performs edge enhancement thus requiring only mean-crossing detection for the subsequent extraction of scene edges, and yields edge responses whose amplitudes are independent of scene illumination, depending only upon the ratio of the reflectance on the two sides of the edge. These properties suggest that the IDS process may provide significant bandwidth reduction while losing only minimal scene information when used as a preprocessor at or near the image plane.

Holben, Richard↗
NASA NTRS2002

Chemical sensing with pulsed QC-DFB lasers operating at 15.6 micrometers

Pulsed thermoelectrically cooled QC-DFB lasers operating at 15.6 micrometers were characterized for spectroscopic gas sensing applications. A new method for wavelength scanning based on repetition rate modulation was developed. A non-wavelength-selective pyroelectric detector was incorporated in the sensor configuration giving the advantage of room-temperature operation and low cost. Absorption lines of CO2 and H2O were observed in ambient air, providing information about the concentration of these species.

NASA Discipline Life Sciences Technologies↗
NASA NTRS1972

Study of optimum methods of optical communication

Optimum methods of optical communication accounting for the effects of the turbulent atmosphere and quantum mechanics, both by the semi-classical method and the full-fledged quantum theoretical model are described. A concerted effort to apply the techniques of communication theory to the novel problems of optical communication by a careful study of realistic models and their statistical descriptions, the finding of appropriate optimum structures and the calculation of their performance and, insofar as possible, comparing them to conventional and other suboptimal systems are discussed. In this unified way the bounds on performance and the structure of optimum communication systems for transmission of information, imaging, tracking, and estimation can be determined for optical channels.

Harger, R. O.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Cyclotron Resonant Scattering Feature Simulations I. Thermally Averaged Cyclotron Scattering Cross Sections, Mean Free Photon-Path Tables, and Electron Momentum Sampling

Electron cyclotron resonant scattering features (CRSFs) are observed as absorption-like lines in the spectra of X-ray pulsars. A significant fraction of the computing time for Monte Carlo simulations of these quantum mechanical features is spent on the calculation of the mean free path for each individual photon before scattering, since it involves a complex numerical integration over the scattering cross section and the (thermal) velocity distribution of the scattering electrons. We aim to numerically calculate interpolation tables which can be used in CRSF simulations to sample the mean free path of the scattering photon and the momentum of the scattering electron. The tables also contain all the information required for sampling the scattering electron's final spin. The tables were calculated using an adaptive Simpson integration scheme. The energy and angle grids were refined until a prescribed accuracy is reached. The tables are used by our simulation code to produce artificial CRSF spectra. The electron momenta sampled during these simulations were analyzed and justified using theoretically determined boundaries. We present a complete set of tables suited for mean free path calculations of Monte Carlo simulations of the cyclotron scattering process for conditions expected in typical X-ray pulsar accretion columns (0.01 B/B(sub crit) is less than or equal to 0.12, where B(sub crit) = 4.413 x 1013 G, and 3 keV kBT 15 keV). The sampling of the tables is chosen such that the results have an estimated relative error of at most 1/15 for all points in the grid. The tables are available online (see link in footnote, page 1).

Schwarm, F.-W.↗
NASA NTRS1994

On the theory of quantum measurement

Many so called paradoxes of quantum mechanics are clarified when the measurement equipment is treated as a quantized system. Every measurement involves nonlinear processes. Self consistent formulations of nonlinear quantum optics are relatively simple. Hence optical measurements, such as the quantum nondemolition (QND) measurement of photon number, are particularly well suited for such a treatment. It shows that the so called 'collapse of the wave function' is not needed for the interpretation of the measurement process. Coherence of the density matrix of the signal is progressively reduced with increasing accuracy of the photon number determination. If the QND measurement is incorporated into the double slit experiment, the contrast ratio of the fringes is found to decrease with increasing information on the photon number in one of the two paths.

Haus, Hermann A.↗
NASA NTRS2013

The Photochemistry of Pyrimidine in Pure H2O Ice Subjected to Different Radiation Environments and the Formation of Uracil

Nucleobases are N-heterocycles which are the informational subunits of DNA and RNA. They include pyrimidine bases (uracil, cytosine, and thymine) and purine bases (adenine and guanine). Nucleobases have been detected in several meteorites, although no Nheterocycles have been observed in space to data. Laboratory experiments showed that the ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of pyrimidine in pure H2O ice at low temperature (<=20 K) leads to the formation of pyrimidine derivatives including the nucleobase uracil and its precursor 4(3H)-pyrimidone. These results were confirmed by quantum chemical calculations. When pyrimidine is mixed with combinations of H2O, NH3, CH3OH, and CH4 ices under similar conditions, uracil and cytosine are formed. In the present work we study the formation of 4(3H)-pyrimidone and uracil from the irradiation of pyrimidine in H2O ice with high-energy UV photons (Lyman , He I, and He II lines) provided by a synchrotron source. The photo-destruction of pyrimidine in these H2O ices as well as the formation yields for 4(3H)-pyrimidone and uracil are compared with our previous results in order to study the photo-stability of pyrimidine and the production efficiency of uracil as a function of the photon energy.

Radiation↗
NASA NTRS2011

Eagleworks Laboratories: Advanced Propulsion Physics Research

NASA/JSC is implementing an advanced propulsion physics laboratory, informally known as "Eagleworks", to pursue propulsion technologies necessary to enable human exploration of the solar system over the next 50 years, and enabling interstellar spaceflight by the end of the century. This work directly supports the "Breakthrough Propulsion" objectives detailed in the NASA OCT TA02 In-space Propulsion Roadmap, and aligns with the #10 Top Technical Challenge identified in the report. Since the work being pursued by this laboratory is applied scientific research in the areas of the quantum vacuum, gravitation, nature of space-time, and other fundamental physical phenomenon, high fidelity testing facilities are needed. The lab will first implement a low-thrust torsion pendulum (<1 uN), and commission the facility with an existing Quantum Vacuum Plasma Thruster. To date, the QVPT line of research has produced data suggesting very high specific impulse coupled with high specific force. If the physics and engineering models can be explored and understood in the lab to allow scaling to power levels pertinent for human spaceflight, 400kW SEP human missions to Mars may become a possibility, and at power levels of 2MW, 1-year transit to Neptune may also be possible. Additionally, the lab is implementing a warp field interferometer that will be able to measure spacetime disturbances down to 150nm. Recent work published by White [1] [2] [3] suggests that it may be possible to engineer spacetime creating conditions similar to what drives the expansion of the cosmos. Although the expected magnitude of the effect would be tiny, it may be a "Chicago pile" moment for this area of physics.

White, Harold↗
NASA NTRS2011

Magnetic Reconnection: Theoretical and Observational Perspectives: Preface

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma-physical process by which energy stored in a magnetic field is converted, often explosively, into heat and the kinetic energy of the charged particles that constitute the plasma. It occurs in a variety of astrophysical settings, ranging from the solar corona to pulsar magnetospheres and winds, as well as in laboratory fusion experiments, where it is responsible for sawtooth crashes. First proposed by R.G. Giovanelli in the late I 940s as the mechanism responsible for solar flares, magnetic reconnection was invoked at the beginning of the space age to explain not just solar flares but also the transfer of energy, mass, and momentum from the solar wind to Earth's magnetosphere and the subsequent storage and release of the transferred energy in the magnetotai\. During the half century or so that has followed the seminal theoretical works by J.W. Dungey, P.A. Sweet, E.N. Parker, and H.E. Petschek, in-situ measurements by Earth-orbiting satellites and remote-sensing observations of the solar corona have provided a growing body of evidence for the occurrence of reconnection at the Sun, in the solar wind, and in the near-Earth space environment. The last thirty years have also seen the development of laboratory reconnection experiments at a number of institutions. In parallel with the efforts of experimentalists in both space and laboratory plasma physics, theorists have investigated, analytically and with the help of increasingly powerful MHD, hybrid, and kinetic numerical simulations, the structure of the diffusion region, the factors controlling the rate, onset, and cessation of reconnection, and the detailed physics that enables the demagnetization of the ions and electrons and the topological reconfiguration of the magnetic field. Moreover, the scope of theoretical reconnection studies has been extended well beyond solar system and laboratory plasmas to include more exotic astrophysical plasma systems whose strong (10(exp 14)-10(exp 15) G) magnetic fields require that models of reconnection in these systems incorporate quantum electrodynamical, special relativistic, and radiative effects. The papers collected in this topical issue of Space Science Reviews cover different aspects of recent theoretical and observational work on magnetic reconnection in solar and space physics, astrophysics, and laboratory plasma physics. They derive from presentations given at a workshop on magnetic reconnection held in the Yosemite National Park, February 8-12,2010. The intent of the workshop was to stimulate, through a combination of tutorial talks, shorter focused talks, and extensive informal discussions, an interdisciplinary dialogue among members of the different research communities working on the problem of magnetic reconnection. One of the motivating considerations for holding the workshop was its relevance to NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, scheduled for launch in 2014. The four identically instrumented MMS spacecraft are designed to study reconnect ion in Earth's magnetosphere and, specifically, to probe the electron diffusion region in order to determine the microphysical processes that enable the change in the topology of the magnetic field. Building on the achievements of the multi spacecraft Cluster and THEMIS missions, MMS will use the magnetosphere as an astrophysical plasma laboratory in which to test, through in-situ measurement of the plasma, energetic particles, and electric and magnetic fields, various models and theories that have emerged during the past twenty years, a period of extraordinarily productive theoretical and observational work.

Lewis, W. S.↗
NASA NTRS1989

High-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy of water dimer

High-resolution near-infrared spectra are reported for all of the O-H stretch vibrational bands of the water dimer. The four O-H vibrations are characterized as essentially independent proton-donor or proton-acceptor motions. In addition to the rotational and vibrational information contained in these spectra, details are obtained concerning the internal tunneling dynamics in both the ground and excited vibrational states. These results show that, for tunneling motions which involve the interchange of the proton donor and acceptor molecules, the associated frequencies decrease substantially due to vibrational excitation. The predissociation lifetimes for the various states of the dimer are determined from linewidth measurements. These results clearly show that the predissociation dynamics is strongly dependent on the tunneling states, as well as the Ka quantum number, indicating that the internal tunneling dynamics plays an important role in determining the dissociation rate in this complex.

Huang, Z. S.↗
NASA NTRS1989

CCD imaging sensors

A method for promoting quantum efficiency (QE) of a CCD imaging sensor for UV, far UV and low energy x-ray wavelengths by overthinning the back side beyond the interface between the substrate and the photosensitive semiconductor material, and flooding the back side with UV prior to using the sensor for imaging. This UV flooding promotes an accumulation layer of positive states in the oxide film over the thinned sensor to greatly increase QE for either frontside or backside illumination. A permanent or semipermanent image (analog information) may be stored in a frontside SiO.sub.2 layer over the photosensitive semiconductor material using implanted ions for a permanent storage and intense photon radiation for a semipermanent storage. To read out this stored information, the gate potential of the CCD is biased more negative than that used for normal imaging, and excess charge current thus produced through the oxide is integrated in the pixel wells for subsequent readout by charge transfer from well to well in the usual manner.

Janesick, James R.↗
NASA NTRS2013

NASA Tech Briefs, March 2013

Topics covered include: Remote Data Access with IDL Data Compression Algorithm Architecture for Large Depth-of-Field Particle Image Velocimeters Vectorized Rebinning Algorithm for Fast Data Down-Sampling Display Provides Pilots with Real-Time Sonic-Boom Information Onboard Algorithms for Data Prioritization and Summarization of Aerial Imagery Monitoring and Acquisition Real-time System (MARS) Analog Signal Correlating Using an Analog-Based Signal Conditioning Front End Micro-Textured Black Silicon Wick for Silicon Heat Pipe Array Robust Multivariable Optimization and Performance Simulation for ASIC Design; Castable Amorphous Metal Mirrors and Mirror Assemblies; Sandwich Core Heat-Pipe Radiator for Power and Propulsion Systems; Apparatus for Pumping a Fluid; Cobra Fiber-Optic Positioner Upgrade; Improved Wide Operating Temperature Range of Li-Ion Cells; Non-Toxic, Non-Flammable, -80 C Phase Change Materials; Soft-Bake Purification of SWCNTs Produced by Pulsed Laser Vaporization; Improved Cell Culture Method for Growing Contracting Skeletal Muscle Models; Hand-Based Biometric Analysis; The Next Generation of Cold Immersion Dry Suit Design Evolution for Hypothermia Prevention; Integrated Lunar Information Architecture for Decision Support Version 3.0 (ILIADS 3.0); Relay Forward-Link File Management Services (MaROS Phase 2); Two Mechanisms to Avoid Control Conflicts Resulting from Uncoordinated Intent; XTCE GOVSAT Tool Suite 1.0; Determining Temperature Differential to Prevent Hardware Cross-Contamination in a Vacuum Chamber; SequenceL: Automated Parallel Algorithms Derived from CSP-NT Computational Laws; Remote Data Exploration with the Interactive Data Language (IDL); Mixture-Tuned, Clutter Matched Filter for Remote Detection of Subpixel Spectral Signals; Partitioned-Interval Quantum Optical Communications Receiver; and Practical UAV Optical Sensor Bench with Minimal Adjustability.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1986

A process activity monitor for AOS/VS

With the ever increasing concern for computer security, users of computer systems are becoming more sensitive to unauthorized access. One of the initial security concerns for the Shuttle Management Information System was the problem of users leaving their workstations unattended while still connected to the system. This common habit was a concern for two reasons: it ties up resources unnecessarily and it opens the way for unauthorized access to the system. The Data General MV/10000 does not come equipped with an automatic time-out option on interactive peripherals. The purpose of this memorandum is to describe a system which monitors process activity on the system and disconnects those users who show no activity for some time quantum.

Mckosky, R. A.↗