Fluid hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen become metallic at 100 GPa (1 Mbar) pressures. Disorder is the primary reason for observing a metal at lower pressures in the fluid than expected for the ordered solid. This metallic transition is similar to those observed in fluid Cs and Rb by Hensel et al. All five undergo a Mott transition from a semiconducting to metallic fluid with the same electrical conductivities. In contrast, water is a proton conductor at pressures up to 200 GPa. Extreme conditions were achieved for {approx}100 ns with a reverberating shock wave generated with a two-stage light-gas gun.

Wet-etch figuring (WEF), a computer-controlled method for generating arbitrarily shaped optical surfaces using wet chemical etching, has been developed. This method uses applicator geometry and surface tension gradients (the Marangoni Effect) to define and confine the footprint of a wetted etchant zone on the surface. Capillary forces attach the flowing etchant solution to the underside of the optic being figured. No mechanical or thermal stresses or residues are applied to the optic by this process. This enables interferometric measurement of the glass thickness while surfacing, which then controls the placement and dwell time of the wetted zone. The result is a truly deterministic, closed-loop figuring process with a high degree of optical precision. This process can figure sub-millimeter thickness, large-aperture plates or sheets that are very difficult to finish by conventional methods. Automated linear and circular spot etching tools were used to demonstrate surfacing on 380 micron-thick glass sheets, to Strehl better than 0.8, as specified by data array or Zernike polynomials.

We find the annihilation rate of positronium (Ps) within silica sodalite. Positron density and the electronic density seen by positrons are compared with a semi-empirical ''free volume'' model.

A strong correlation is reported between gamma-ray burst (GRB) pulse lags and afterglow jet-break times for the set of bursts (seven) with known redshifts, luminosities, pulse lags, and jet-break times. This may be a valuable clue toward understanding the connection between the burst and afterglow phases of these events. The relation is roughly linear (i.e. doubling the pulse lag in turn doubles the jet break time) and thus implies a simple relationship between these quantities. We suggest that this correlation is due to variation among bursts of emitter Doppler factor. Specifically, an increased speed or decreased angle of velocity, with respect to the observed line-of-site, of burst ejecta will result in shorter perceived pulse lags in GRBs as well as quicker evolution of the external shock of the afterglow to the time when the jet becomes obvious, i.e. the jet-break time. Thus this observed variation among GRBs may result from a perspective effect due to different observer angles of a morphologically homogeneous populations of GRBs. Also, a conjecture is made that peak luminosities not only vary inversely with burst timescale, but also are directly proportional to the spectral break energy. If true, this could provide important information for explaining the …

We investigate the possibility that the CP violation due to the soft supersymmetry breaking terms in squark mixing can give significant contributions to the various $\gamma$ related parameters in B decays, different from those of the Standard Model. We derive the new limits on $(\delta^u_12)_LL,LR,RR$ and on $(\delta^d_23)_LL,LR,RR$ from the recent data on $D^0$--$\barD^0$ oscillation as well as those on $B_s^0$--$\barB_s^0$ oscillation. We show that, together with all the other constraints, the currents limits on these parameters still allow large contributions to the CP violating phases in $B_s^0$--$\bar{B_s}^0$ as well as $D^0$--$\barD^0$ oscillations which will modify some of the proposed measurements of $\gamma$ parameters in CP violating B decays. However, the current constraints already dictate that the one-loop squark mixing contributions to various B decay amplitudes cannot be competitive with that of the Standard Model (SM), at least for those B decay modes which are dominated the tree level amplitudes within the SM, and therefore they are not significant in contributing to CP asymmetries in the corresponding B decays.

Three peaks and two dips have been detected in the power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background from the BOOMERANG experiment, at {ell} {approx} 210, 540, 840 and {ell} {approx} 420, 750, respectively. Using model-independent analyses, we find that all five features are statistically significant and we measure their location and amplitude. These are consistent with the adiabatic inflationary model. We also calculate the mean and variance of the peak and dip locations and amplitudes in a large 7-dimensional parameter space of such models, which gives good agreement with the model-independent estimates, and forecast where the next few peaks and dips should be found if the basic paradigm is correct. We test the robustness of our results by comparing Bayesian marginalization techniques on this space with likelihood maximization techniques applied to a second 7-dimensional cosmological parameter space, using an independent computational pipeline, and find excellent agreement: {Omega}{sub tot} = 1.02{sub -0.05}{sup +0.06} vs. 1.04 {+-} 0.05, {Omega}{sub b}h{sup 2} = 0.022{sub -0.003}{sup +0.004} vs. 0.019{sub -0.004}{sup +0.005}, and n{sub s} = 0.96{sub -0.09}{sup +0.10} vs. 0.90 {+-} 0.08. The deviation in primordial spectral index n{sub s} is a consequence of the strong correlation with the optical depth.

In this paper we present a model for the short (< second) population of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In this model heated neutron stars in a close binary system near their last stable orbit emit neutrinos at large luminosities ({approx} 10{sup 53} ergs/sec). A fraction of these neutrinos will annihilate to form an e{sup +}e{sup -} pair plasma wind which will, in turn, expand and recombine to photons which make the gamma-ray burst. We study neutrino annihilation and show that a substantial fraction ({approx}1/2) of energy deposited comes from inter-star neutrinos, where each member of the neutrino pair originates from each neutron star. Thus, in addition to the annihilation of neutrinos blowing off of a single star, we have a new source of baryon free energy that is deposited between the stars. To model the e{sup +}e{sup -} pair plasma wind between stars, we do three-dimensional relativistic numerical hydrodynamic calculations. Preliminary results are also presented of new, fully general relativistic calculations of gravitationally attracting stars falling from infinity with no angular momentum. These simulations exhibit a compression effect.

We have performed high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) image simulations to qualitatively assess the visibility of various structural defects in ultra-thin gate oxides of MOSFET devices, and to quantitatively examine the accuracy of HRTEM in performing gate oxide metrology. Structural models contained crystalline defects embedded in an amorphous 16 {angstrom}-thick gate oxide. Simulated images were calculated for structures viewed in cross-section. Defect visibility was assessed as a function of specimen thickness and defect morphology, composition, size and orientation. Defect morphologies included asperities lying on the substrate surface, as well as ''bridging'' defects connecting the substrate to the gate electrode. Measurements of gate oxide thickness extracted from simulated images were compared to actual dimensions in the model structure to assess TEM accuracy for metrology. The effects of specimen tilt, specimen thickness, objective lens defocus and coefficient of spherical aberration (C{sub s}) on measurement accuracy were explored for nominal 10{angstrom} gate oxide thickness. Results from this work suggest that accurate metrology of ultra-thin gate oxides (i.e. limited to several per cent error) is feasible on a consistent basis only by using a C{sub s}-corrected microscope. However, fundamental limitations remain for characterizing defects in gate oxides using HRTEM, even with the new …

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Advances in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), turbulence modeling, and parallel computing have made feasible the development of codes that can simulate 3-D flows and heat transfer in realistic LWR fuel bundle geometries. Although no single existing RANS (Reynolds averaging of the Navier Stokes equations) turbulence model predicts a sufficiently wide range of flows with accuracy adequate for engineering needs, at this time for most flows the k-{epsilon} models seem to be the best choice. In Ref. 1, it was shown that in LWR fuel-bundle flows the predictions of these models for turbulence intensity are in significant disagreement with experimental measurements. The objective of this work was to assess the predictive power of the constant-coefficient Smagorinsky Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model, the simplest of the LES models, in a typical single-phase LWR fuel-bundle flow.

The interaction of strong shock waves, such as those generated by the explosion of supernovae with interstellar clouds, is a problem of fundamental importance in understanding the evolution and the dynamics of the interstellar medium (ISM) as it is disrupted by shock waves. The physics of this essential interaction is critical to understanding the evolution of the ISM, the mixing of interstellar clouds with the ISM and the viability of this mechanism for triggered star formation. Here we present the results of a series of new OMEGA laser experiments investigating the evolution of a high density sphere embedded in a low density medium after the interaction of a strong shock wave, thereby emulating the supernova shock-cloud interaction. The interaction is viewed from two orthogonal directions enabling visualization of the both the initial distortion of the sphere into a vortex ring as well as the onset of an azimuthal instability that ultimately results in the three-dimensional breakup of the ring. These studies augment previous studies [1,2] on the NOVA laser by enabling the full three-dimensional topology of the interaction to be understood. We show that the experimental results for the vortex ring are in remarkable agreement with the incompressible theory of …

An Achilles heel for the performance of thick-section, cylindrical fiber composite flywheels is the poor interlaminar properties of the material. Methods that have been used to minimize or eliminate radial tensile stresses include prestressing concentric cylinders and mass loading. There can also be significant interlaminar shear stresses at the edges of mass-loaded flywheels and in flywheels for high-power density applications where abrupt braking results in high torque levels. To specify adequate safety factors for thick-section flywheels used in these applications, the failure envelope and fatigue behavior under combined interlaminar stresses are required. Using a hollow cylindrical specimen, which was subjected to combined axial compression and torsion, results for fatigue and failure were generated for several flywheel material systems. Interlaminar compression resulted in significant enhancements to the interlaminar shear strength and results were compared to the predictions of proposed three-dimensional composite failure models. The interlaminar shear fatigue behavior of a carbodepoxy system was also studied and compression was found to greatly enhance fatigue life. The results demonstrate that radial compression stresses can yield improvements in the interlaminar shear strength and fatigue lifetimes of composite flywheel rotors.

The effect of cool flame partial oxidation on the detonation sensitivity of hydrocarbons was experimentally investigated. Sensitivity to detonation was quantified by measuring the detonation cell-size using the smoked-foil technique. A rich pentane oxygen mixture was preheated in a pebble bed before filling a heated glass detonation tube to sub-atmospheric pressure. Cool flame reaction, monitored by a thin K-type thermocouple, occurred in the detonation tube after a known time interval as determined by the tube temperature. The mixture was ignited by a weak spark and onset of detonation was monitored using a streak camera. A smoked foil was inserted in the far end of the tube (opposite to ignition) to permit the measurement of the cell size of a well-developed detonation. The results show that the cell pattern becomes very regular at high temperature but the average cell size practically does not change. However, when the mixture was detonated while undergoing the cool flame reaction, a significant reduction of the cell-size was obtained (as large as 50%). The sensitizing effect was found to occur only in the initial stage of the cool flame reaction. When the mixture was ignited a few hundreds of milliseconds after the beginning of the cool …

Parameterization of cumulus convection in general circulation model (GCM) has been recognized as one of the most important and complex issues in the model physical parameterizations. In earlier studies, most cumulus parameterizations were developed and evaluated using data observed over tropical oceans, such as the GATE (the Global Atmospheric Research Program's Atlantic Tropical Experiment) data. This is partly due to inadequate field measurements in the midlatitudes. In this study, we compare and evaluate a total of eight types of the state-of-the-art cumulus parameterizations used in fifteen Single-Column Models (SCM) under the summertime midlatitude continental conditions using the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) summer 1997 Intensive Operational Period (IOP) data, which covers several continental convection events. The purpose is to systematically compare and evaluate the performance of these cumulus parameterizations under summertime midlatitude continental conditions. Through the study we hope to identify strengths and weaknesses of these cumulus parameterizations that will lead to further improvements. Here, we briefly present our most interesting results. A full description of this study can be seen in Xie et al. (2001). The authors conclude that: (1) The SCM simulation errors are closely related to problems with model cumulus parameterizations. The schemes with …

Nitrogen concentrations far in excess of Sieverts' Law calculations and as high as 0.2 wt.% have been obtained in steel welds during arc welding. Such high concentrations of nitrogen in the weld metal can originate from a variety of sources, depending on the welding operation in question. One such mechanism involves the interaction between the surrounding atmosphere, which is about 80% nitrogen, and the plasma phase above the weld pool. Impingement of the surrounding atmosphere into the arc column, which is primarily composed of an inert shielding gas, can be due, in part, to insufficient shielding of the weld metal. In other cases, nitrogen can be purposefully added to the shielding gas to enhance the microstructural evolution of the weld metal. The mechanisms responsible for enhanced nitrogen concentrations are of significant interest. In both arc melting and welding operations, a plasma phase exists above the liquid metal. This plasma phase, which is composed of a number of different species not normally observed in gas-metal systems, significantly alters the nitrogen absorption reaction in liquid iron and steel. Monatomic nitrogen (N) is considered to be the species responsible for the observed enhancements in the nitrogen concentration. This role for monatomic nitrogen is …

The NIF Integrated Computer Control System (ICCS) application software uses a set of service frameworks that assures uniform behavior spanning the front-end processors (FEPs) and supervisor programs. This uniformity is visible both in the way each program employs shared services and in the flexibility it affords for attaching graphical user interfaces (GUIs). Uniformity of structure across applications is desired for the benefit of programmers who will be maintaining the many programs that constitute the ICCS. In this paper, the framework components that have the greatest impact on the application structure are discussed.

The increased use of object-oriented toolkits in large-scale scientific simulation presents new opportunities and challenges for the use of automatic (or algorithmic) differentiation (AD) techniques, especially in the context of optimization. Because object-oriented toolkits use well-defined interfaces and data structures, there is potential for simplifying the AD process. Furthermore, derivative computation can be improved by exploiting high-level information about numerical and computational abstractions. However, challenges to the successful use of AD with these toolkits also exist. Among the greatest challenges is balancing the desire to limit the scope of the AD process with the desire to minimize the work required of a user. They discuss their experiences in integrating AD with the PETSc, PVODE, and TAO toolkits and the plans for future research and development in this area.

We are conducting research into the direct electrochemical conversion of reactive carbons into electricity--with experimental evidence of total efficiencies exceeding 80% of the heat of combustion of carbon. Together with technologies for extraction of reactive carbons from broad based fossil fuels, direct carbon conversion addresses the objectives of DOE's ''21st Century Fuel Cell'' with exceptionally high efficiency (>70% based on standard heat of reaction, {Delta}H{sub std}), as well as broader objectives of managing CO{sub 2} emissions. We are exploring the reactivity of a wide range of carbons derived from diverse sources, including pyrolyzed hydrocarbons, petroleum cokes, purified coals and biochars, and relating their electrochemical reactivity to nano/microstructural characteristics.

A study was performed to elucidate the chemical-kinetic mechanism of combustion of toluene. A detailed chemical-kinetic mechanism for toluene was improved by adding a more accurate description of the phenyl + O{sub 2} reaction channels, toluene decomposition reactions and the benzyl + 0 reaction. Results of the chemical kinetic mechanism are compared with experimental data obtained from premixed and nonpremixed systems. Under premixed conditions, predicted ignition delay times are compared with new experimental data obtained in shock tube. Also, calculated species concentration histories are compared to experimental flow reactor data from the literature. Under nonpremixed conditions, critical conditions of extinction and autoignition were measured in strained laminar flows in the counterflow configuration. Numerical calculations are performed using the chemical-kinetic mechanism at conditions corresponding to those in the experiments. Critical conditions of extinction and autoignition are predicted and compared with the experimental data. Comparisons between the model predictions and experimental results of ignition delay times in shock tube, and extinction and autoignition in nonpremixed systems show that the chemical-kinetic mechanism predicts that toluene/air is overall less reactive than observed in the experiments. For both premixed and nonpremixed systems, sensitivity analysis was used to identify the reaction rate constants that control the …

A new code, named Hybrid Molecular Dynamics--Kinetic Monte Carlo (Hybrid MD/KMC), has been developed and employed to analyze possible growth pathways that lead to high molecular mass compounds. The Hybrid MD-KMC code combines the strengths of two common simulation methods: Kinetic Monte Carlo, and Molecular Dynamics. This code puts the two simulation procedures on an equal footing and involves alternating between MD and KMC steps during the simulation. The strength of this approach is that it provides information on the physical as well as chemical structure of soot precursors providing at the long term potential for information on particle characteristics such as density, porosity, and other physical properties. The Kinetic Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics simulation are used in conjunction with high-level quantum chemical calculations.

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Detailed chemical kinetic reaction mechanisms are developed for combustion of all nine isomers of heptane (C{sub 7}H{sub 16}), and these mechanisms are tested by simulating autoignition of each isomer under rapid compression machine conditions. The reaction mechanisms focus on the manner in which the molecular structure of each isomer determines the rates and product distributions of possible classes of reactions. The reaction pathways emphasize the importance of alkylperoxy radical isomerizations and addition reactions of molecular oxygen to alkyl and hydroperoxyalkyl radicals. A new reaction group has been added to past models, in which hydroperoxyalkyl radicals that originated with abstraction of an H atom from a tertiary site in the parent heptane molecule are assigned new reaction sequences involving additional internal H atom abstractions not previously allowed. This process accelerates autoignition in fuels with tertiary C-H bonds in the parent fuel. In addition, the rates of hydroperoxyalkylperoxy radical isomerization reactions have all been reduced so that they are now equal to rates of analogous alkylperoxy radical isomerizations, significantly improving agreement between computed and experimental ignition delay times in the rapid compression machine. Computed ignition delay times agree well with experimental results in the few cases where experiments have been carried out …

Deformation experiments performed in-situ in the transmission electron microscope have led to an increased understanding of dislocation dynamics. To illustrate the capability of this technique two examples will be presented. In the first example, the processes of work hardening in Mo at room temperature will be presented. These studies have improved our understanding of dislocation mobility, dislocation generation, and dislocation-obstacle interactions. In the second example, the interaction of matrix dislocations with grain boundaries will be described. From such studies predictive criteria for slip transfer through grain boundaries have been developed.

We have developed the Scaled Thermal Explosion Experiment (STEX) to provide a database of reaction violence from thermal explosion for explosives of interest. Such data are needed to develop, calibrate, and validate predictive capability for thermal explosions using simulation computer codes. A cylinder of explosive 25, 50 or 100 mm in diameter, is confined in a steel cylinder with heavy end caps, and heated under controlled conditions until reaction. Reaction violence is quantified through non-contact micropower impulse radar measurements of the cylinder wall velocity and by strain gauge data at reaction onset. Here we describe the test concept, design and diagnostic recording, and report results with HMX- and RDX-based energetic materials.