We investigate rarefaction waves in nonlinear periodic systems with a 'softening' power-law relationship between force and displacement to understand the dynamic behavior of this class of materials. A closed form expression describing the shape of the strongly nonlinear rarefaction wave is exact for n = 1/2 and agrees well with the shape and width of the pulses resulting from discrete simulations. A chain of particles under impact was shown to propagate a rarefaction pulse as the leading pulse in initially compressive impulsive loading in the absence of dissipation. Compression pulses generated by impact quickly disintegrated into a leading rarefaction solitary wave followed by an oscillatory train. Such behavior is favorable for metamaterials design of shock absorption layers as well as tunable information transmission lines for scrambling of acoustic information.

Modern scientific datasets present numerous data management and analysis challenges. State-of-the- art index and query technologies such as FastBit can significantly improve accesses to these datasets by augmenting the user data with indexes and other secondary information. However, a challenge is that the indexes assume the relational data model but the scientific data generally follows the array data model. To match the two data models, we design a generic mapping mechanism and implement an efficient input and output interface for reading and writing the data and their corresponding indexes. To take advantage of the emerging many-core architectures, we also develop a parallel strategy for indexing using threading technology. This approach complements our on-going MPI-based parallelization efforts. We demonstrate the flexibility of our software by applying it to two of the most commonly used scientific data formats, HDF5 and NetCDF. We present two case studies using data from a particle accelerator model and a global climate model. We also conducted a detailed performance study using these scientific datasets. The results show that FastQuery speeds up the query time by a factor of 2.5x to 50x, and it reduces the indexing time by a factor of 16 on 24 cores.

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Small particles have been at the heart of nanoscience since the birth of the field and now stand ready to make significant contributions to the big challenges of energy, health and sustainability. Atomic clusters show exquisite size-dependent electronic and magnetic properties and offer a new level of control in catalyses, sensors and biochips; functionalised nanocrystals offer remarkable optical properties and diverse applications in electronic devices, solar energy, and therapy. Both areas are complemented by a raft of recent advances in fabrication, characterization, and performance of a diversity of nanomaterials from the single atom level to nanowires, nanodevices, and biologically-inspired nanosystems. The goal of the 2011 Gordon Conference is thus to continue and enhance the interdisciplinary tradition of this series and discuss the most recent advances, fundamental scientific questions, and emerging applications of clusters, nanocrystals, and nanostructures. A single conference covering all aspects of nanoscience from fundamental issues to applications has the potential to create new ideas and stimulate cross fertilization. The meeting will therefore provide a balance among the three sub-components of the conference, true to its title, with a selection of new topics added to reflect rapid advances in the field. The open atmosphere of a Gordon conference, emphasizing …

A superconducting RF accelerator test facility is currently under construction at Fermilab. The accelerator will consist of an electron gun, 40 MeV injector, beam acceleration section consisting of 3 TTF-type or ILC-type cryomodules, and multiple downstream beam lines for testing diagnostics and performing beam experiments. With 3 cryomodules installed this facility will initially be capable of generating an 810 MeV electron beam with ILC beam intensity. The facility can accommodate up to 6 cryomodules for a total beam energy of 1.5 GeV. This facility will be used to test SRF cryomodules under high intensity beam conditions, RF power equipment, instrumentation, and LLRF and controls systems for future SRF accelerators such as the ILC and Project-X. This paper describes the current status and overall plans for this facility.

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The cost and schedule of nuclear waste treatment and immobilization are greatly affected by the rate of glass production. Various factors influence the performance of a waste-glass melter. One of the most significant, and also one of the least understood, is the process of batch melting. Studies are being conducted to gain fundamental understanding of the batch reactions, particularly those that influence the rate of melting, and models are being developed to link batch makeup and melter operation to the melting rate. Batch melting takes place within the cold cap, i.e., a batch layer floating on the surface of molten glass. The conversion of batch to glass consists of various chemical reactions, phase transitions, and diffusion-controlled processes. These include water evaporation (slurry feed contains as high as 60% water), gas evolution, the melting of salts, the formation of borate melt, reactions of borate melt with molten salts and with amorphous oxides (Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}), the formation of intermediate crystalline phases, the formation of a continuous glass-forming melt, the growth and collapse of primary foam, and the dissolution of residual solids. To this list we also need to add the formation of secondary foam that originates from …