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The U.S. Department of Energy's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) construction project was completed at BNL in 1999, with the first data-taking runs in the summer of 2000. Since then the early measurements at RHIC have yielded a wealth of data, from four independent detectors, each with its international collaboration of scientists: BRAHMS, PHENIX, PHOBOS, and STAR [1]. For the first time, collisions of heavy nuclei have been carried out at colliding-beam energies that have previously been accessible only for high-energy physics experiments with collisions of ''elementary'' particles such as protons and electrons. It is at these high energies that the predictions of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the fundamental theory that describes the role of quarks and gluons in nuclear matter, come into play, and new phenomena are sought that may illuminate our view of the basic structure of matter on the sub-atomic scale, with important implications for the origins of matter on the cosmic scale. The RHIC experiments have recorded data from collisions of gold nuclei at the highest energies ever achieved in man-made particle accelerators. These collisions, of which hundreds of millions have now been examined, result in final states of unprecedented complexity, with thousands of produced particles radiating …

There is potential for earthquakes in the United Arab Emirates and in the Zagros mountains to cause structural damage and pose a threat to safety of people. Damaging effects from earthquakes can be mitigated by knowledge of the location and size of earthquakes, effects on construction, and monitoring these effects over time. Although a general idea of seismicity in the UAE may be determined with data from global seismic networks, these global networks do not have the sensitivity to record smaller seismic events and do not have the necessary accuracy to locate the events. A National Seismic Monitoring Observatory is needed for the UAE that consists of a modern seismic network and a multidisciplinary staff that can analyze and interpret the data from the network. A seismic network is essential to locate earthquakes, determine event magnitudes, identify active faults and measure ground motions from earthquakes. Such a network can provide the data necessary for a reliable seismic hazard assessment in the UAE. The National Seismic Monitoring Observatory would ideally be situated at a university that would provide access to the wide range of disciplines needed in operating the network and providing expertise in analysis and interpretation.

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The last underground nuclear tests were conducted by India and Pakistan in May 1998. Although the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty has not entered force, an International Monitoring System (IMS), established by the treaty is nearing completion. This system includes 170 seismic stations, a number of them originally established by IRIS. The station IRIS station NIL (Nilore, Pakistan) is close to a planned IMS primary station and recorded some very interesting seismograms from the May 18, 1998 Indian test. We carefully calibrated the path to NIL using a prior Mw 4.4 that occurred on April 4, 1995 about 110 km north of the Indian test site. We used joint epicentral location techniques along with teleseismic P waves and regional surface waves to fix the epicenter, depth, mechanism and moment of this event. From these we obtained a velocity model for the path to NIL and created explosion synthetic seismograms to compare with the data. Interestingly the observed Rayleigh waves are reversed, consistent with an implosion rather than an explosion source. The preferred explanation is that the explosion released tectonic stress near the source region, which can be modeled as a thrust earthquake of approximate Mw 4.0 plus a pure explosion. This …

Our DOE project is one of the efforts comprising the Vertical Transport and Mixing Program of the Environmental Sciences Division of the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in Department of Energy. We used ARPS to simulate flow in the Salt Lake Valley. We simulated the physical processes more accurately so that we can better understand the physics of flow in complex terrain and its effects at larger scales. The simulations provided evidence that atmospheric forcing interacts with the Jordan Narrows, the Traverse Range and other complex mountain terrain at the south end of the Salt Lake Valley to produce lee rotors, hydraulic jumps and other effects. While we have successfully used ARPS to simulate VTMX 2000 flows, we have also used observed data to test the model and identify some of its weaknesses. Those are being addressed in a continuation project supported by DOE.

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CVD diamond detector signals from Deuterium-Tritium implosions have been simulated in order to study the feasibility of measuring areal density using the ratio of downscattered to primary neutrons during the ignition campaign at the NIF. Simulated neutron spectra for three ''typical'' DT implosions were weighted with the CVD diamond sensitivity to obtain an estimated signal at several distances from the target chamber center. The 14 MeV peak was found to have an amplitude about three orders of magnitude larger than the down-scattered signal for the three spectra. At a target to detector distance of 17 m (just outside the target bay wall) and for a 1 cm{sup 2} wafer, signals are large enough to be recorded, well above any background and electronic noise. The uncertainty in the areal density measurement comes mainly from the uncertainty in the CVD diamond energy dependent sensitivity, the accuracy of the background simulation, and the effect of the saturation of both detector and electronics after the large 14 MeV peak. Nevertheless, the results found in this study are encouraging, and the remaining sources of uncertainty should now be addressed.

One of the most exciting scientific discoveries in the last decade of the twentieth century was the first detection of planets orbiting a star other than our own. By now more than 130 extrasolar planets have been discovered indirectly, by observing the gravitational effects of the planet on the radial velocity of its parent star. This technique has fundamental limitations: it is most sensitive to planets close to their star, and it determines only a planet's orbital period and a lower limit on the planet's mass. As a result, all the planetary systems found so far are very different from our own--they have giant Jupiter-sized planets orbiting close to their star, where the terrestrial planets are found in our solar system. Such systems have overturned the conventional paradigm of planet formation, but have no room in them for habitable Earth-like planets. A powerful complement to radial velocity detections of extrasolar planets will be direct imaging--seeing photons from the planet itself. Such a detection would allow photometric measurements to determine the temperature and radius of a planet. Also, direct detection is most sensitive to planets in wide orbits, and hence more capable of seeing solar systems resembling our own, since a …

This report is a primer that briefly describes the main avenues for foreign nationals living in the United State (legally or illegally) to become LPRs (Legal Permanent Residents).

The RIKEN BNL Research Center (RBRC) was established in April 1997 at Brookhaven National Laboratory. It is funded by the ''Rikagaku Kenkyusho'' (RIKEN, The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research) of Japan. The Center is dedicated to the study of strong interactions, including spin physics, lattice QCD, and RHIC physics through the nurturing of a new generation of young physicists. The RBRC has both a theory and experimental component. At present the theoretical group has 4 Fellows and 3 Research Associates as well as 11 RHIC Physics/University Fellows (academic year 2003-2004). To date there are approximately 30 graduates from the program of which 13 have attained tenure positions at major institutions worldwide. The experimental group is smaller and has 2 Fellows and 3 RHIC Physics/University Fellows and 3 Research Associates, and historically 6 individuals have attained permanent positions. Beginning in 2001 a new RIKEN Spin Program (RSP) category was implemented at RBRC. These appointments are joint positions of RBRC and RIKEN and include the following positions in theory and experiment: RSP Researchers, RSP Research Associates, and Young Researchers, who are mentored by senior RBRC Scientists. A number of RIKEN Jr. Research Associates and Visiting Scientists also contribute to the physics …

This report discusses how the 108th Congress considered, but ultimately did not reauthorize the federal adult education and literacy programs. Furthermore, the report covers what was passed specifically by the 108th Congress. The report largely examines the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) and its funding.

In passing the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458) in late 2004, Congress approved the most comprehensive reform of the U.S. Intelligence Community since its establishment over 50 years ago. Principal among enacted changes was the establishment of a new position of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to manage the Intelligence Community. Some observers have questioned whether the new statute provides the DNI the necessary authorities to effectively manage the Community.

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The agencies that implement the Endangered Species Act (ESA) regard the designation of critical habitat (CH) as providing only very limited benefits beyond those achieved through the listing of species and the avoidance of jeopardy to them. Several courts have now held that the relevant regulation and interpretation that result in this conclusion are erroneous and do not carry out the intent of Congress.

This report discusses projected agricultural imports and exports for FY2005, as well as legislation that deals with federal programs in support of agricultural exports and federal aid dedicated to farms and agricultural reform.

The upcoming 2005 round of military base closings has stimulated interest among potentially affected communities in how the bases to be selected for closure might be economically redeveloped to replace lost jobs. Environmental contamination can present a challenge to economic redevelopment if funding or technological constraints would limit the cleanup of the land to a degree that would be safe for its intended use. Most of the lands on bases closed under the previous four rounds have been cleaned up for their intended reuse, and have been transferred for redevelopment. However, some bases have yet to be cleaned up to an extent that would be adequate for the planned land use, presenting an obstacle to replacing lost jobs. Bases closed under the 2005 round could face similar delays in redevelopment, if a community’s preferred land use would necessitate a costly and time-consuming degree of cleanup. This report will be updated as events warrant.

The Corps estimates that this entire package of recommended activities would cost a total of $1,996 million. Included in this package are recommendations for immediate authorization ($1,123 million), further authorized investigation ($145 million), and projects that could be authorized in the future ($728 million). This CRS short report is limited to a summary of this Corps report and the next steps in implementation.

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