A recent discovery by a team of astronomers centres on a galaxy cluster called CHIPS 1911+4455, located an incredible 6 billion light-years from Earth.
At its heart lies a supermassive black hole that has only recently ‘turned on’, just a thousand years ago. While that might sound like a long time, it’s merely a blink of an eye in astronomical terms.
Lead researcher Francesco Ubertosi from the University of Bologna describes the phenomenon as watching a sleeping giant wake up. The team used the Very Long Baseline Array and Very Large Array telescopes to peer deep into space with remarkable precision, imagine being able to read a newspaper in Los Angeles while standing in New York.
Related: Awakening Black Hole’s Wild Behavior Has Astronomers Stumped
What makes this black hole special is that it’s essentially a newborn in terms of activity. The jets of material it’s shooting out extend only about 100 light-years from its center.
While that sounds enormous, it’s actually tiny by black hole standards. Mature black holes in similar systems can create jets stretching for tens of thousands of light-years.
The ngVLA prototype antenna during the handover ceremony, with the older antennae in the background. (C. Jaramillo Feldman U.S. National Science Foundation/NSF National Radio Astronomy Observatory)
Most black holes astronomers study have been active for millions of years, making it difficult to understand how they first begin affecting their surroundings. This newly awakened black hole provides a unique ‘before’ picture, showing scientists what happens in the earliest stages of black hole activity.
“The jets are so young and small that they haven’t had time to push away the surrounding hot gas, this creates a perfect natural laboratory for studying how black holes first begin to influence their cosmic neighbourhood.” – Co-author Myriam Gitti from University of Bologna.
While the black hole is just waking up, the galaxy around it is anything but sleepy. This galaxy is creating new stars at an astounding rate; between 140 and 190 times the mass of our Sun every single year.
To put that in perspective, our entire Milky Way Galaxy only forms about one Sun’s worth of stars annually. The researchers believe they may be witnessing the smoking gun of how black holes get triggered in the first place. The hot gas surrounding this black hole is cooling very efficiently, potentially providing the fuel needed to wake up the black hole.
Hubble image of the galaxy cluster CHIPS1911+4455. (NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team)
Understanding how supermassive black holes wake up helps solve fundamental questions about how galaxies evolve. These black holes play a crucial role in regulating star formation and shaping the largest structures in the Universe. By catching one in the act of awakening, it’s possible to finally study this process as it unfolds rather than just seeing the end result.
The discovery required combining observations from multiple telescopes, each providing different pieces of the puzzle. Some offered ultra high resolution to see the tiny jets, while others provided the sensitivity needed to detect faint signals from star formation.
As the research team continues, they hope to watch how it evolves over time and find more similar systems. This could revolutionise our understanding of how the universe’s most powerful objects first begin to shape the cosmos around them.
This article was originally published by Universe Today. Read the original article.
If you’ve been to a routine eye exam at the optometrist’s office, chances are you’ve had to place your chin and forehead up close to a bioimaging device.
It’s known as optical coherence tomography (OCT), and it’s widely used in eye clinics around the world. OCT uses light waves to take high-resolution, cross-sectional images of the retina in a non-invasive manner.
These images can be essential for diagnosing and monitoring eye conditions.
In any bioimaging-either retinal or in-vivo imaging that takes place inside the human body-devices must be quite small and compact to produce high-quality images.
However, mechanical aspects of OCT devices, like spinning mirrors, can increase the chance of device failure.
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a new bioimaging device that can operate with significantly lower power and in an entirely non-mechanical way. It could one day improve detecting eye and even heart conditions.
In a recent study published in Optics Express, the team of engineers created a device that uses a process called electrowetting to change the surface shape of a liquid to perform optical functions.
We are really excited about using one of our devices, in particular for retinal imaging. This could be a critical technique for in-vivo imaging for inside our bodies.”
Samuel Gilinsky, lead author, a recent PhD graduate in electrical engineering
By creating a device that doesn’t use scanning mirrors, the technique requires less electrical power than other devices used for OCT and bioimaging.
“The benefits of non-mechanical scanning is that you eliminate the need to physically move objects in your device, which reduces any sources of mechanical failure and increases the overall longevity of the device itself,” Gilinsky said.
Gilinsky noted the need for these OCT systems to be compact, lightweight and, most importantly, safe for use for the human body.
Other members of the research team included Juliet Gopinath, professor of electrical engineering; Shu-Wei Huang, associate professor of electrical engineering; Victor Bright, professor of mechanical engineering; PhD graduates Jan Bartos and Eduardo Miscles; and PhD student Jonathan Musgrave.
“Our work presents an opportunity where we can hopefully detect health conditions earlier and improve the lives of people,” said Gopinath.
Where zebrafish meets the eye
To test the device’s ability to perform biomedical imaging, the researchers turned to a surprising aquatic animal: zebrafish.
Zebrafish have been used in OCT research because the structure of their eyes is fairly similar to the structure of the human eye. For the study, the researchers focused on identifying where the cornea, iris and retina was from the zebrafish.
To conduct in-vivo or other bioimaging, scientists need to be able to identify the structure of the samples of interest, such as the eye or organs inside the body. The two benchmarks that the group hoped to achieve were 10 micron in axial resolution and then around 5 microns in lateral resolution, all smaller than the width of a human hair.
“The interesting result was that we were able to actually delineate the cornea and iris in our images,” said Gilinsky. “We were able to meet the resolution targets we aimed for, which was exciting.”
Being able to test this bioimaging device can open new doors for mapping aspects of the retina that can be essential for diagnosing potential eye conditions like age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma.
Additionally, Gilinsky said, the new bioimaging technique could help in delineating actual human coronary features that would be important in diagnosing heart diseasethe leading cause of death in the United States.
With the research team’s expertise in microscopy systems, they are hopeful to create endoscopes that could revolutionize bioimaging technology.
“There is a growing push to make endoscopes as small in diameter and flexible as possible to cause as little discomfort as possible,” he said. “By using our components, we can maintain a very small-scale optical system compared to a mechanical scanner that can help OCT technologies.”
The project was funded by the Office of Naval Research, National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Source:
University of Colorado at Boulder
Journal reference:
Gilinsky, S., et al. (2025). Nonmechanical spectral domain optical coherence tomography using an electrowetting beam-scanner. Optics Express. doi.org/10.1364/oe.565684.
In Dir City, Pakistan, the majority of structures are non-engineered and old, and were built by local masons. Based on the Building Code of Pakistan, the city falls within Seismic Zone III, and these could be vulnerable during a seismic event.
In a study (DOI:10.1016/j.jdd.2025.100018 ) published in Journal of Dynamic Disasters, a hundred randomly selected buildings, including residential, commercial, government, and religious buildings, were assessed in a (rapid visual screening) RVS survey via a modified Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) data collection form.
“The structural configuration of the surveyed buildings was diverse—unreinforced masonry, confined masonry, stone masonry, and reinforced concrete (RC) frames with unreinforced masonry (URM) infill,” shares first author Khan Shahzada.
The authors used positive and negative score modifiers to assign and modify basic scores based on characteristics that increase or decrease seismic resistance in a building; low final scores indicate the need for further expert examination. The final scores were then mapped to damage grades representing potential vulnerability. Drawing on the findings, suggestions for improving the earthquake resilience of Dir City are offered.
Based on the Building Code of Pakistan, falls within Seismic Zone III.
“We recommend several actions to mitigate seismic risk and improve the seismic resilience of the buildings in Dir City,” says Khan. “These recommendations focus on enforcing stricter regulations, retrofitting vulnerable structures, and fostering community engagement to build a culture of preparedness.”
According to the authors, the following steps should be prioritized:
•Ensure that all new buildings, especially those located on slopes, adhere to engineering design standards to reduce seismic vulnerability.
•Prioritize retrofitting of older, non-engineered buildings, especially residential structures with a relatively high risk of severe seismic damage.
•Implement regular inspections to verify compliance with seismic safety standards and to identify necessary repairs.
•Educate residents on the importance of seismic resilience and encourage them to take steps to improve the seismic safety of their homes.
•Offer grants or low-interest loans to building owners to encourage investment in retrofitting and structural improvements.
•Create comprehensive plans that include early warning systems, earthquake drills, and the strengthening of critical infrastructure such as hospitals and schools.
•Residents should actively seek professional seismic evaluations of their buildings, invest in retrofitting, and ensure that new buildings comply with seismic resistance standards.
•Residents should acquire emergency kits, create family emergency plans, and facilitate and organize community discussions about seismic risks to build a culture of preparedness.
•Researchers should expand on Level 1 screenings by conducting highly in-depth studies on retrofitting methods, material performance, and slope stability.
•Perform studies assessing the impact of retrofitting measures and explore modern technologies such as seismic isolation systems to enhance the seismic resilience of buildings.
•Involve local stakeholders in applying research findings and improving the seismic safety of Dir City’s infrastructure.
##
References
DOI
10.1016/j.jdd.2025.100018
Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdd.2025.100018
About Journal of Dynamic Disasters
The Journal of Dynamic Disasters is one journal dedicated to publishing authoritative articles on dynamic disasters. Topics of interest include earthquake, wind, wave, explosion, shock, vehicle and environmental vibrations. The journal features original research and case studies focusing on the dynamical analysis, disaster mechanisms, disaster prevention, disaster monitoring, disaster assessment and post-disaster restoration for engineering structures (such as civil engineering structures, mechanical engineering structures, aerospace structures, marine structures). The journal welcomes interdisciplinary studies, covering topics such as sensing, signal processing, intelligent management and control of dynamic disasters.
Exosomes, naturally derived vesicles responsible for intercellular communication, are emerging as next-generation drug delivery systems capable of transporting therapeutics to specific cells. However, their tightly packed, cholesterol-rich membranes make it extremely difficult to encapsulate large molecules such as mRNA or proteins. Conventional approaches have relied on techniques like electroporation or chemical treatment, which often damage both the drugs and exosomes, reduce delivery efficiency, and require complex purification steps-all of which pose significant barriers to commercialization.
A joint research team led by Dr. Hojun Kim at the Center for Advanced Biomolecular Recognition and Dr. Hong Nam Kim at the Center for Brain Convergence Research of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST, President Sang-Rok Oh) has developed a novel drug-loading technique that allows large biomolecules to be efficiently incorporated into exosomes simply by mixing. This breakthrough enables stable drug encapsulation in under 10 minutes, eliminating the need for specialized equipment or complex processing.
The team utilized a lipid-based nanoparticle known as a “cubosome,” which mimics the fusion structure of cell membranes and naturally fuses with exosomes. By mixing cubosomes carrying mRNA with exosomes at room temperature for just 10 minutes, the researchers achieved efficient fusion and confirmed that the mRNA was successfully loaded into the exosomes. Analysis showed that over 98% of the mRNA was encapsulated, while the structural integrity and biological function of the exosomes were preserved.
Furthermore, the engineered exosomes demonstrated the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, one of the most difficult hurdles in drug delivery. Notably, the team observed a “homing” effect, where exosomes return to the type of cell they originated from, enabling targeted drug delivery to diseased tissues. This technology achieves efficient loading of large biomolecules without altering the exosomes themselves, opening the door to practical applications of exosome-based therapies in precision medicine.
The technique is highly adaptable to clinical environments, as it requires no specialized equipment or complex processing. It preserves exosome function while enabling the delivery of large payloads, offering broad potential for the treatment of intractable diseases, including neurological disorders, cancer, and autoimmune conditions. The team plans to conduct further safety evaluations for clinical translation and establish a mass production system for cubosomes.
This technology allows medical professionals to easily combine exosomes and therapeutic molecules at the clinical site, making it a meaningful step toward realizing personalized medicine.”
Dr. Hojun Kim of KIST
Dr. Hong Nam Kim added, “Because it enables precise drug delivery even in complex tissues such as the brain, it holds great potential for treating a wide range of diseases.”
Source:
National Research Council of Science & Technology
Journal reference:
Son, G., et al. (2025). Fusogenic lipid nanoparticles for rapid delivery of large therapeutic molecules to exosomes. Nature Communications. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59489-5.
HO CHI MINH – The number of dengue fever cases in the southern region in the first eight months of the year rose by 97 per cent compared to the figure for the entire year of 2024, according to the latest report of the Pasteur Institute in HCM City.
As of August 3, the southern region recorded more than 44,400 dengue cases and 11 dengue-related deaths compared to only 22,473 cases and seven deaths in the same period last year.
Around 70 per cent of the 11 reported deaths were adults.
The number of dengue cases in the south in the first six months of 2025 was equivalent to the entire year of 2024, said Dr. Lương Chấn Quang, head of the Institute’s Department of Disease Control and Prevention.
Test results of nearly 500 serum samples show that dengue virus serotype 2, also known as DENV-2, has been predominant since 2022, Quang said at a meeting on the response to dengue fever and infectious diseases held on Tuesday in HCM City.
DENV-2 often causes large outbreaks and has a higher rate of severe illness than other types, he said.
The rate of severe cases is currently at 2.3 per cent, equivalent to the average of many years. The mortality rate remains low at 0.027 per cent in adults and 0.021 per cent in children.
Regarding Chikungunya disease, no cases have been detected through surveillance systems in border provinces, he said.
However, there is a risk of the mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus entering Việt Nam. Chikungunya is spread by Aedes species mosquitoes, the same types of mosquitoes that spread dengue viruses.
As of August 3, the southern region recorded 36,141 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease and 11 deaths from hand, foot and mouth disease. The number of cases increased by 31.7 per cent compared to the same period last year.
It is forecast that hand, foot and mouth infections will increase at the beginning of the upcoming school year.
Meanwhile, the region recorded 38,850 measles cases and seven deaths over the period.
On 13 August, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shahbaz Sharif, announced that the Pakistan Army (PA) has officially raised a ‘Rocket Force Command’ under its umbrella.
The formation of ‘Army Rocket Force Command’ (ARFC) cements the PA’s multi-year effort to build its independent stand-off range precision-strike capability as not just a doctrine, but an organized element with its own command structure, concept of operations (CONOPS), requirements, and objectives.
While the announcement of the ARFC follows the reveal of the Fatah-IV, a subsonic ground-launched cruise missile (GLCM) with a range of 750 km, the work to form it likely dates back to 2021, when the PA began testing the indigenous Fatah-I guided multiple launch rocket system (GMLRS).
The original intent of the Fatah-I GMLRS was likely to augment the PA’s existing artillery capabilities with a longer-ranged guided rocket, complementing the A-100 already in service at that point. However, following Ukraine and Russia’s respective successes in deploying organized rocket-centric tactics since 2022 and – perhaps more importantly – the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) gradual evolution to using its strike capabilities for broader strategic purposes, the PA likely saw the need to build its own precision-strike element.
Where dedicated precision-strike differs from using guided artillery under the artillery paradigm is that the ARFC will use its munitions to achieve bigger tactical goals and, in aggregate, a strategic outcome rather than narrowly supporting a specific land maneuver. So, for example, where guided artillery would be used to neutralize an entrenched enemy position, ARFC will aim to deprecate air defences, threaten airfields or air bases, and, overall, deplete India’s broader warfighting.
One might be tempted to draw a parallel between the PA ARFC and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF). In some respects, the apparent similarities might be valid.
Watch: Taylor Swift appears in Travis and Jason Kelce’s podcast ‘New Heights’
Taylor Swift made her highly anticipated podcast debut on New Heights, hosted by boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce.
The pop superstar used the appearance to announce her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, and give some updates on her life since the Eras Tour, which spanned almost two years and five continents before ending in December.
More than 1.3 million tuned in live for the broadcast as Swift offered insights into her relationship with Travis, the hidden clues she plants in music for fans and even tidbits on her sourdough-bread baking.
It marked a change for the megastar, who tends not to give interviews, instead sharing updates on her life through song lyrics, which are dissected by obsessed fans.
The American football star brothers called Swift “Tay Tay” and ran through a list of her many awards.
Preview clips of the New Heights podcast went viral before her episode aired, including one where Swift pulled out her new album.
Here is some of what we learned from her appearance.
What we learned about the new album
Swift’s 12th studio studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, will be available on 3 October.
Its cover features the singer wearing a dress emblazoned with diamonds lying in turquoise green.
She is seen submerged in the water, with only her face and wrist above the surface.
The record was simultaneously made available for pre-order on her website, which started crashing as soon as the podcast began.
Swift explained that she wrote the album while on her Eras Tour and would frequently return to Sweden while performing concerts in Europe, in order to record it.
Wondery/Taylor Swift
“I was basically exhausted at this point in the tour, but I was so mentally stimulated and so excited to be creating,” she said.
Travis added: “Literally living the life of a showgirl.”
Swift went on to read out all 12 track names, including the title track featuring Sabrina Carpenter.
Travis said the album is “upbeat” and will make people dance. He called it a 180-degree turnabout from her last album, The Tortured Poets Department.
“Life is more upbeat,” Swift said in response, smiling and looking at Travis.
Swift said the album tells the story of “everything that was going on behind the curtain” of her time on tour.
Orange was chosen because it’s a colour she likes and felt energised by, she added.
Swift says the podcast ‘got me a boyfriend’
Near the beginning of the show, Swift was asked why she chose to appear on the podcast, which caters primarily to sports fans.
“This podcast got me a boyfriend,” she said, accusing Travis of using the broadcast as his “personal dating app” to connect with her.
Before they even met, Travis famously gushed on the podcast about attending one of Swift’s concerts and being disappointed when they couldn’t meet.
He talked about making her a beaded friendship bracelet, which were popular during the Eras Tour, and said he wanted to give her his phone number.
She said the clip, which went viral, felt almost like “he was standing outside of my apartment, holding a boom box saying, ‘I want to go on a date with you’”.
She said this was exactly the moment she had “been writing songs about, wanting to happen to me since I was a teenager”.
“It was wild, but it worked… He’s the good kind of crazy,” she said, calling her boyfriend “a human exclamation point”.
Poking fun at male sports fans
Sitting beside Travis, Swift teased the “male sports fans” in the audience.
“As we all know, you know, you guys have a lot of male sports fans that listen to your podcast,” she said.
“I think we all know that if there’s one thing that male sports fans want in their spaces and on their screens, it’s more of me,” she deadpanned, looking straight into the camera.
Swift’s appearance at Kansas City Chiefs games have caused a frenzy over the years. But some football fans weren’t happy.
She was booed when she appeared on the jumbotron screen at the Super Bowl last February, which drew social media posts from President Donald Trump.
Despite the criticism, Jason assured her she has been the “most requested guest on the podcast”.
Other recent guests on the show have included basketball stars Caitlin Clark, Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James, and actors Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, Bill Murray and Adam Sandler.
How she crafts her hidden ‘Easter eggs’
Swift also spoke about all the ways she uses Easter eggs – or secret messages to fans – to tease her music.
She said she has rules for these covert clues in her music and performances.
“I’m never going to plant an Easter egg that ties back to my personal life. It’s always going to go back to my music,” she said, joking that some fans are so good at decoding her that it’s almost gotten a bit “zodiac killer”.
The secret messages are “something that you don’t know I’m saying for a specific reason, but you’ll go back and be like, ‘Oh my God!’”
She said her favourite example was a speech she gave when she received an honorary doctorate.
“I put so many lyrical Easter eggs in that speech that when the Midnights album came out, after that, the fans were like, ‘The whole speech was an Easter egg!’”
She also spoke about her love of numbers and dates.
“I love math stuff,” she said, saying 13 was her favourite number.
Travis, she said, is “87” – the number he wears on his game jersey – and she noted that 13 plus 87 equals 100.
Some of her hidden messages are so complex, she said, they are crafted “upside down, backwards in Braille”.
Swift didn’t know about football – until Travis
Wondery/Taylor Swift
Swift said she knew nothing about football before their romance began.
“I didn’t know what a first down was,” or a “tight-end” (the position Travis plays), she said.
Swift said she appreciated Travis’ patience when they started dating and introducing her to his world.
She’s now personally invested, citing a moment where she found herself interested in a recent player trade.
Travis told her he will be “forever grateful” that she embraced his world “wholeheartedly”.
Taylor gets emotional speaking about album rights
In May this year, it was announced that she had bought the rights to her first six albums, ending a long-running battle over the ownership of her music.
After her original masters sold, she vowed to re-record all six albums, which became known as “Taylor’s Versions”.
Swift grew emotional as she explained the process by which she purchased her master recordings, after trying for a decade to secure the rights.
She said she was not interested in the financial rewards the albums would bring.
“I want this because it was my handwritten diary entries from my entire life,” she said.
She said her mother and brother had talked to Shamrock Capital, a Los Angeles-based investment firm, about purchasing her music.
When her mother called her, saying “You got your music,” she said: “I just very dramatically hit the floor. For real.”
“Bawling my eyes out, and just weeping.”
“This changed my life,” she continued.
Which version of her albums should fans listen to?
She also thanked loyal fans for listening to her re-recorded albums, saying they reacted to the dispute over rights to her music with the Western cowboy expression, “We ride at dawn”.
Swift also said it was through her fans that she was able to buy back her music.
“The reason I was able to purchase my music back is, they came to the Eras Tour,” she said.
Swift was also asked which versions of her albums her fans should listen to – now that she owns both versions.
“I think a lot of the vocals I did on the re-records were better than the original,” she said, adding she is especially fond of the remake of her 2012 album Red.
Sourdough bread baked with cat and chest hair
She and Travis spoke fondly about their love, describing how they bake sourdough bread together.
His dough winds up with chest hair in it, while hers has extra cat hair, she joked.
“I had never experienced something so mesmerising on stage, and then so real and beautiful in person,” said Travis.
Jason then joked that maybe he should leave, and give them some privacy, as Swift swooned.
“Yeah I think so, honestly,” Swift responded. “At this point, I think everyone should leave.”
While Swift has at times been shy about discussing her relationship in public, Travis has been more outspoken. Before the podcast aired, he told GQ in an interview: “I love being the happiest guy in the world.”
A public-private partnership between Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory has led to a new artificial intelligence (AI) approach that is faster at finding what’s known as “magnetic shadows” in a fusion vessel: safe havens protected from the intense heat of the plasma.
Known as HEAT-ML, the new AI could lay the foundation for software that significantly speeds up the design of future fusion systems. Such software could also enable good decision-making during fusion operations by adjusting the plasma so that potential problems are thwarted before they start.
“This research shows that you can take an existing code and create an AI surrogate that will speed up your ability to get useful answers, and it opens up interesting avenues in terms of control and scenario planning,” said Michael Churchill, co-author of a paper in Fusion Engineering and Design about HEAT-ML and head of digital engineering at PPPL.
Fusion, the reaction that fuels the sun and stars, could provide potentially limitless amounts of electricity on Earth. To harness it, researchers need to overcome key scientific and engineering challenges. One such challenge is handling the intense heat coming from the plasma, which reaches temperatures hotter than the sun’s core when confined using magnetic fields in a fusion vessel known as a tokamak. Speeding up the calculations that predict where this heat will hit and what parts of the tokamak will be safe in the shadows of other parts is key to bringing fusion power to the grid.
“The plasma-facing components of the tokamak might come in contact with the plasma, which is very hot and can melt or damage these elements,” said Doménica Corona Rivera, an associate research physicist at PPPL and first author on the paper on HEAT-ML. “The worst thing that can happen is that you would have to stop operations.”
PPPL amplifies its impact through public-private partnership
HEAT-ML was specifically made to simulate a small part of SPARC: a tokamak currently under construction by CFS. The Massachusetts company hopes to demonstrate net energy gain by 2027, meaning SPARC would generate more energy than it consumes.
Simulating how heat impacts SPARC’s interior is central to this goal and a big computing challenge. To break down the challenge into something manageable, the team focused on a section of SPARC where the most intense plasma heat exhaust intersects with the material wall. This particular part of the tokamak, representing 15 tiles near the bottom of the machine, is the part of the machine’s exhaust system that will be subjected to the most heat.
To create such a simulation, researchers generate what they call shadow masks. Shadow masks are 3D maps of magnetic shadows, which are specific areas on the surfaces of a fusion system’s internal components that are shielded from direct heat. The location of these shadows depends on the shape of the parts inside the tokamak and how they interact with the magnetic field lines that confine the plasma.
Creating simulations to optimize the way fusion systems operate
Originally, an open-source computer program called HEAT, or the Heat flux Engineering Analysis Toolkit, calculated these shadow masks. HEAT was created by CFS Manager Tom Looby during his doctoral work with Matt Reinke, now leader of the SPARC Diagnostic Team, and was first applied on the exhaust system for PPPL’s National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade machine.
HEAT-ML traces magnetic field lines from the surface of a component to see if the line intersects other internal parts of the tokamak. If it does, that region is marked as “shadowed.” However, tracing these lines and finding where they intersect the detailed 3D machine geometry was a significant bottleneck in the process. It could take around 30 minutes for a single simulation and even longer for some complex geometries.
HEAT-ML overcomes this bottleneck, accelerating the calculations to a few milliseconds. It uses a deep neural network: a type of AI that has hidden layers of mathematical operations and parameters that it applies to the data to learn how to do a specific task by looking for patterns. HEAT-ML’s deep neural network was trained using a database of approximately 1,000 SPARC simulations from HEAT to learn how to calculate shadow masks.
HEAT-ML is currently tied to the specific design of SPARC’s exhaust system; it only works for that small part of that particular tokamak and is an optional setting in the HEAT code. However, the research team hopes to expand its capabilities to generalize the calculation of shadow masks for exhaust systems of any shape and size, as well as the rest of the plasma-facing components inside a tokamak.
DOE supported this work under contracts DE-AC02-09CH11466 and DE-AC05-00OR22725, and it also received support from CFS.
