A spatially explicit evolutionary algorithm for the spatial partitioning problem
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Capacity expansion models are important tools in examining the evolution of the electric power sector. Embedded in these tools are many modeling choices with consequential impacts on computational burden and associated analysis. In this study, we adjust the spatial resolution of the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) to understand the implications of higher-fidelity modeling on energy system projections and model solve times. The native ReEDS regions capture the contiguous United States in 134 balancing areas whereas the regions in the higher-resolution version are defined by over 3,000 U.S. counties. Using both resolutions, we conduct a case study of the Texas Interconnection (The Electric Reliability Council of Texas [ERCOT]) to explore differences in model projections and to inform appropriate applications of high spatial resolution in a large-scale, applied capacity expansion model.
The facies-based approach has been widely adopted to delineate an aquifer into distinct geological units with unique distributions of hydraulic, physical, and/or chemical properties. The recent development in ensemble-based data assimilation methods allows both the direct and indirect data to be used to improve facies delineation. A major difficulty in those applications is to honor the spatial continuity and avoid overfitting after data assimilation. We introduce a new facies delineation framework to integrate ensemble data assimilation with traditional transition probability-based geostatistics. A level-set concept is used to parametrize discrete facies indicators and for updating facies shape. During the iterative data assimilation process, we impose spatial continuity by conditioning facies field generation on points selected adaptively based on their sensitivity to observation data. This reconditioning step is a key step to maintain spatial continuity and overcome over-fitting problems in inversion. We selected two examples to evaluate the performance of the new framework in estimating facies-based permeability field. The first example is a two-dimensional synthetic system with transient head data induced by pumping tests used for delineating two facies. The second example is a three-dimensional case with three facies, conceptualized from a field tracer experiment within the Columbia River corridor in Washington State, USA. Both examples demonstrate that the new method can adequately capture the spatial pattern of hydrofacies with reconditioning, which leads to the improved prediction of system behaviors.
An increasing number of spatial multiomic workflows have been recently developed. Some of these approaches have leveraged initial mass spectrometry imaging (MSI)-based spatial metabolomics to inform region of interest (ROI) selection for downstream spatial proteomics. However, these workflows have been limited by varied substrate requirements between modalities or have required analyzing serial sections (i.e., one section per modality). To mitigate these issues, we present a novel multiomic workflow that uses desorption electrospray ionization (DESI)-MSI to identify representative spatial metabolite patterns on-tissue prior to spatial proteomic analyses on the same tissue section. Further, this workflow is demonstrated here with a model mammalian tissue (coronal rat brain section) mounted on a polyethylene naphthalate-membrane slide. Initial DESI-MSI resulted in 160 annotations (SwissLipids) within to the METASPACE platform (≤20% false discovery rate). A segmentation map from the annotated ion images informed downstream ROI selection for spatial proteomics characterization from the same sample. The unspecific substrate requirements and minimal sample disruption inherent to DESI-MSI allowed for an optimized, downstream spatial proteomics assay, resulting in 3888 ± 240 to 4717 ± 48 proteins being confidently directed per ROI (200 µm x 200 µm). Finally, we demonstrate the integration of multiomic information, where we found ceramide localization to be correlated with SMPD3 abundance (ceramide synthesis protein), and we also utilized protein abundance to resolve metabolite isomeric ambiguity. Overall, the integration of DESI-MSI into the multiomic workflow allows for complementary spatial and molecular-level information to be achieved from optimized implementations of each MS assay inherent to the workflow itself.
We achieve record spatial resolution in ambient tip-enhanced photoluminescence (TEPL) from CdSe/ZnS semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). Our approach only takes advantage of surface roughness at the apex of a sputtered plasmonic gold probe. When irradiated with visible light (633 and 532 nm lasers), nano-corrugated regions of the apex of an Au tip support 5-nm spatial resolution in TEPL imaging of QD aggregates on silicon. The reproducibility of our observations is illustrated using different plasmonic probes and samples. The origin of the observed near-field contrast, underlying the demonstrated high spatial resolution in TEPL, is discussed in the context of field enhancement at the metal tip-fluorophore interface.
A traditional safeguards neutron coincidence counting system, the Neutron Coincidence Collar, has been modified to incorporate individual preamplifiers on each of its 18 3He tubes in active interrogation mode. When used with list mode data acquisition (LMDA) and analysis, a signal from each 3He tube can be recorded and analyzed to allow a spatial response measurement to be performed on an item based on count rate and 3He tube location within the system. The ultimate goal of this project is to demonstrate the capabilities of a list mode response matrix for the nondestructive assay of fresh nuclear fuel assemblies. To enable partial defect detection of fuel pin locations and absences within an assembly, the project aims to extend well-established correlated neutron analysis techniques on a preexisting Neutron Coincidence Collar by extracting a greater number of useful signatures from the system than are currently generated. LMDA, combined with the addition of multiple preamplifiers, facilitates this capability by increasing the number of simultaneous signals that can be measured; this allows an in-depth analysis of neutron coincidence events to determine a fissioning item’s location based on the measured doubles count rate in various channel logic coincidence combinations. All of this can be done from a single measurement pulse train in offline analysis, which is the major benefit provided by LMDA. Through various stages of development and testing, a Mirion Technologies model JCC-71 Neutron Coincidence Collar has been successfully retrofit with modern electronics designed in-house at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, matching preexisting JAB-01 electronics performance, while maintaining the original system footprint. This paper presents these various stages of development and experimental evaluation of the proof of concept system.
In the last few years, the National Energy Technology Laboratory has started leveraging cloud-hosted services for hosting spatial data collections published on the Energy Data eXchange (EDX). Using cloud-hosted storage and compute options offers multiple benefits for visualization and tool development through utilization of spatial data resources. The transition from on-premises services to cloud-hosted services has enabled a few key features: increased accessibility of large derivative datasets, dynamic integration of external authoritative data resources directly from outside entities through representational state transfer application programming interfaces (REST API), and the ability to produce complex mapping applications, dashboards, and online maps. As a result of the shift, NETL has launched EDX Spatial, a platform that leverages on-premises resources combined with cloud compute capabilities to enable enhanced online mapping interfaces and optimize data access. In addition, a unified workflow for handling the public release of spatial data products through EDX has been developed, including standardization of data hosting practices, metadata, symbology, and application elements. This poster reviews the opportunity of leveraging cloud-hosted and hybrid data management solutions for spatial data, and discusses the benefits and lessons learned while leveraging these services through the data repository EDX.
Cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy (spatial inhomogeneity) data provide the tightest constraints on the Hubble constant, matter density, spatial curvature, and dark energy dynamics. Other data, sensitive to the evolution of only the spatially homogeneous part of the cosmological model, such as Type Ia supernova apparent magnitude, baryon acoustic oscillation distance, and Hubble parameter measurements, can be used in conjunction with the CMB data to more tightly constrain parameters. Recent joint analyses of CMB and such non-CMB data indicate that slightly closed spatial hypersurfaces are favored in nonflat untilted inflation models and that dark energy dynamics cannot be ruled out, and favor a smaller Hubble constant. Here, we show that the constraints that follow from these non-CMB data alone are consistent with those that follow from the CMB data alone and so also consistent with, but weaker than, those that follow from the joint analyses of the CMB and non-CMB data.
Emitted photons stemming from the radiative recombination of electron–hole pairs carry chemical potential in radiative energy converters. This luminescent effect can substantially alter the local net photogeneration in near-field thermophotovoltaic cells. Several assumptions involving the luminescent effect are commonly made in modeling photovoltaic devices; in particular, the photon chemical potential is assumed to be zero or a constant prescribed by the bias voltage. The significance of photon chemical potential depends upon the emitter temperature, the semiconductor properties, and the injection level. Hence, these assumptions are questionable in near-field thermophotovoltaic devices with nanoscale separation distances between the emitter and the cell. In the present work, an iterative solver that combines fluctuational electrodynamics with the drift-diffusion model is developed to tackle the coupled photon and charge transport problem, enabling the determination of the spatial profile of photon chemical potential beyond the detailed balance approach. Here, the difference between the results obtained by allowing the photon chemical potential to vary spatially and by assuming a constant value demonstrates the limitations of the conventional approaches. This study is critically important for performance evaluation of near-field thermophotovoltaic systems with nanoscale vacuum gaps.
ABSTRACT In this paper, we use all available baryon acoustic oscillation, Hubble parameter, and quasar angular size data to constrain six dark energy cosmological models, both spatially flat and non-flat. Depending on the model and data combination considered, these data mildly favour closed spatial hypersurfaces (by as much as 1.7σ) and dark energy dynamics (up to a little over 2σ) over a cosmological constant Λ. The data also favour, at 1.8σ to 3.4σ, depending on the model and data combination, a lower Hubble constant than what is measured from the local expansion rate.
The electric vehicle (EV) is an increasingly popu- lar mobility solution today. It is especially appealing for urban commercial usage including serving commuters and delivering goods. Commercial EVs, defined as electric taxi fleets in this paper, contribute a lot to the energy consumption and emission. One critical component to facilitate the adoption of EVs is to provide sufficient charging infrastructures for road users to alleviate the range anxiety. In this study, we develop an analytical model to profile the stationary spatial distribution of charging demand for any given fleet of commercial EVs, which serves as the necessary input for planning the location of charging infrastructures. Our model considers the movement of EVs as a random walk, with the underlying Markov process driven by the spatial demand that the commercial EV fleet needs to serve. We then define the electricity consumption and charging models and develop the probability distribution that an EV may need to recharge its battery at any given location in the city, based on the stationary distribution of the random walk process. We calibrate the performance parameters of EVs from the trip record and present numerical experiments based on New York City taxi trip data and compare the solution from simulation with our analytical solution. The result shows that analytical solution is quite close to the simulation result. This paper provides insights to the city agencies and private companies to make charging infrastructure location planning.
Quantum computing presents a promising approach for machine learning with its capability for extremely parallel computation in high-dimension through superposition and entanglement. Despite its potential, existing quantum learning algorithms, such as Variational Quantum Circuits (VQCs), face challenges in handling more complex datasets, particularly those that are not linearly separable. What’s more, it encounters the deployability issue, making the learning models suffer a drastic accuracy drop after deploying them to the actual quantum devices. To overcome these limitations, this paper proposes a novel spatial-temporal design, namely “ST-VQC”, to integrate nonlinearity in quantum learning and improve the robustness of the learning model to noise. Specifically, ST-VQC can extract spatial features via a novel block-based encoding quantum sub-circuit coupled with a layer-wise computation quantum sub-circuit to enable temporal-wise deep learning. Additionally, a SWAP-Free physical circuit design is devised to improve robustness. These designs bring a number of hyperparameters. After a systematic analysis of the design space for each design component, an automated optimization framework is proposed to generate the ST-VQC quantum circuit. The proposed ST-VQC has been evaluated on two IBM quantum processors, ibm-cairo with 27 qubits and ibmq-lima with 7 qubits to assess its effectiveness. The results of the evaluation on the standard dataset for binary classification show that ST-VQC can achieve over 30% accuracy improvement compared with existing VQCs on actual quantum computers. Moreover, on a non-linear synthetic dataset, the STVQC outperforms a linear classifier by 27.9%, while the linear classifier using classical computing outperforms the existing VQC by 15.58%.
Biological processes involve complex hierarchies where composite traits result from multiple component traits. However, holistically understanding of how sets of component traits interact to underpin genotype-to-phenotype relationships is generally lacking. Stomatal density (SD) is a tractable model system for exploring how high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) data could be exploited by a new spatial analysis approach to better understand a developmentally and functionally important trait. SD is a composite trait, resulting from various components related to cell identity and size, which are themselves governed by a series of spatio-developmental processes. Data from 192 recombinant inbred lines of maize [Zea mays (L.)] were analyzed by a new stomatal patterning phenotype (SPP) to (1) describe the average spatial probability distribution of the nearest neighboring stomata; (2) derive a core set of component traits related to cell size, cell packing, and positional probabilities; (3) build a structural equation model of component traits underlying SD; and (4) identify stomatal patterning quantitative trait loci (QTL). The core set of SPP-derived traits explained 74% of the variation in SD. Analyzing SPP component traits allowed some loci previously identified as generic SD QTL to be recognized as specific to lateral versus longitudinal elements of stomatal patterning. Therefore, this study highlights how novel insights can be gained by decomposing a composite trait (e.g., SD) into a set of component traits that were present in HTP data but not previously exploited.
Understanding the relative contributions of spatial and environmental processes on community assembly is a central question in ecology. Despite this long-standing interest, our understanding of how landscape structure may drive spatial processes of community assembly remains poorly understood in part because of the challenge of tracking community assembly across landscapes and quantifying key aspects of landscapes that may impact assembly processes. Here, we examined the roles of spatial and environmental processes on structuring assemblies of ants in 72 cleared patches embedded within a forested landscape.
We record local optical field images of silver nanocubes (75 nm) using tip-enhanced Raman (TER) spectral imaging. The images that we observe are consistent with several recent reports from our group, but here, we demonstrate sub-2 nm spatial resolution in local optical field nanoimaging under ambient laboratory conditions. This is achieved by scanning the substrate (nanocube on Si) relative to a 4-thiobenzonitrile (TBN)-functionalized Ag-coated TER probe. The spatial resolution that we obtain necessitates that only a few molecules govern the recorded optical response; molecular orientation becomes an important consideration in such measurements. We model the orientation through geometry optimization of a TBN molecule chemisorbed onto an Ag79 cluster (sphere with a ~1 nm diameter). Using the computed orientation of the cluster-bound molecule, we then model the optical response using formalism that accounts for the orientation of the molecule relative to vector components of the local optical fields. We find optimal agreement between experiment and theory. In effect, this work reveals the parallels between single-molecule Raman scattering and high-spatial-resolution TER spectroscopy, even when the images themselves cannot be used to visualize a single molecule in real space.
Tantalum nitride (Ta 3 N 5 ) has gained significant attention as a potential photoanode material, yet it has been challenged by material quality issues. Defect-induced trap states are detrimental to the performance of any semiconductor material. Beyond influencing the performance of Ta 3 N 5 films, defects can also accelerate the degradation in water during desired electrochemical applications. Defect passivation has provided an enormous boost to the development of many semiconductor materials but is currently in its infancy for Ta 3 N 5 . This is in part due to a lack of experimental understanding regarding the spatial and energetic distribution of trap states throughout Ta 3 N 5 thin films. Here, we employ drive-level capacitance profiling (DLCP) to experimentally resolve the spatial and energetic distribution of trap states throughout Ta 3 N 5 thin films. The density of deeper energetic traps is found to reach ∼2.5 to 6 × 10 22 cm –3 at the interfaces of neat Ta 3 N 5 thin films, over an order of magnitude greater than the bulk. In addition to the spatial profile of deep trap states, we report neat Ta 3 N 5 thin films to be highly n-type in nature, owning a free carrier density of ∼9.74 × 10 17 cm –3 . This information, coupled with the present understanding of native oxide layers on Ta 3 N 5 , has facilitated the rational design of a targeted passivation strategy that simultaneously provides a means for catalyst immobilization. Loading catalyst via silatrane moieties suppresses the density of defects at the surface of Ta 3 N 5 thin films by two orders of magnitude, while also reducing the free carrier density of films by over one order of magnitude, effectively dedoping the films to ∼2.40 × 10 16 cm –3 . The surface passivation of Ta 3 N 5 films translates to suppressed defect-induced trapping and recombination of photoexcited carriers, as determined through absorption, photoluminescence, and transient photovoltage. Here, this illustrates how developing a deeper understanding of the distribution and influence of defects in Ta 3 N 5 thin films has the potential to guide future works and ultimately accelerate the integration and development of high-performance Ta 3 N 5 thin film devices.
Nematicity, where rotational symmetry is broken while translational symmetry is conserved, is prevalent in higherature superconductors. In particular, nematic quantum critical point has been universally found near the optimum doping of the superconducting dome of several iron-based superconductor families. In such a regime, evidence for strong nematic fluctuations have been observed. As the precursor to this order, nematic fluctuations emerge before nematicity, providing favorable ground to study how nematic order modifies the electronic structure in the absence of structural distortion. Here we use spatially resolved angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to investigate the correlation between the onset of nematic fluctuations and electronic structure in an optimally doped BaFe 2 (As 1-x P x )2 (x ~ 0.3) superconductor. We reveal a strong spatially varying anisotropy of the Fermi surface on a length scale of tens of microns with strong correlation between the changes in the hole and electron Fermi pockets, consistent with the variations expected in the presence of fluctuating nematic order. These results provide direct evidence for spatial nematic fluctuations in the optimal doping regime of iron-based superconductors.
In wind energy research, scientific challenges are often associated with complex terrain sites, where orography, vegetation, and buildings disrupt flow uniformity. However, even sites characterized as simple terrain can exhibit significant spatial variability in wind speed, particularly during stable boundary layers (SBLs) and low-level jets (LLJs). This study investigates these terrain interactions using both simulations and observations from the American WAKe ExperimeNt (AWAKEN). We employ a multiscale Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulation, integrating mesoscale forcing in the coarse domains and representing three rows of turbines from the King Plains wind farm as generalized actuator disks (GAD) in the large-eddy simulation (LES) domains. During a nocturnal LLJ event on 3 April 2023, the downstream, wake-affected turbine rows outperformed the upstream, unwaked row by 25 %–51 %. This counterintuitive result arises from terrain-induced streamwise variations in hub-height wind speed of approximately 4 m s −1 over 5 km – equivalent to ∼50 % of the upstream reference speed. This enhancement outweighs the wake-induced reduction in mean wind speed (∼12 %) and global blockage effects reported in the literature (∼1 %–3.4 %). The multiscale simulations capture the intra-farm spatial variability in power performance observed in SCADA data. Terrain-induced vertical displacement of the LLJ, coupled with large wind shear below the jet maximum, drives the substantial streamwise acceleration within the wind farm. These findings underscore the importance of accounting for spatial variability related to terrain, even in simple landscapes, particularly during LLJ conditions. Incorporating such effects into reduced-order modeling frameworks for wind farm design and control could significantly enhance their effectiveness.