FINAL FRONTIER AT HANFORD TACKLING THE CENTRAL PLATEAU (open access)

FINAL FRONTIER AT HANFORD TACKLING THE CENTRAL PLATEAU

The large land area in the center of the vast Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site in southeast Washington State is known as 'the plateau'--aptly named because its surface elevations are 250-300 feet above the groundwater table. By contrast, areas on the 585-square mile Site that border the Columbia River sit just 30-80 feet above the water table. The Central Plateau, which covers an ellipse of approximately 70 square miles, contains Hanford's radiochemical reprocessing areas--the 200 East and 200 West Areas--and includes the most highly radioactive waste and contaminated facilities on the Site. Five 'canyons' where chemical processes were used to separate out plutonium (Pu), 884 identified soil waste sites (including approximately 50 miles of solid waste burial trenches), more than 900 structures, and all of Hanford's liquid waste storage tanks reside in the Central Plateau. (Notes: Canyons is a nickname given by Hanford workers to the chemical reprocessing facilities. The 177, underground waste tanks at Hanford comprise a separate work scope and are not under Fluor's management). Fluor Hanford, a DOE prime cleanup contractor at the Site for the past 12 years, has moved aggressively to investigate Central Plateau waste sites in the last few years, digging more than …
Date: March 4, 2008
Creator: MS, GERBER
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
A simple low-frequency BPM (open access)

A simple low-frequency BPM

None
Date: March 25, 2008
Creator: Heifets, S.; Novokhatski & Aleksandrov, A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Measurement of CP Violation in B0 to Phi K0, and of Branching Fraction and CP Violation in B0 to F0(980) K0(S) (open access)

Measurement of CP Violation in B0 to Phi K0, and of Branching Fraction and CP Violation in B0 to F0(980) K0(S)

The authors measure the time-dependent CP asymmetry parameters in B{sup 0} {yields} K{sup +}K{sup -}K{sup 0} based on a data sample of approximately 277 million B-meson pairs recorded at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II B-meson Factory at SLAC. They reconstruct two-body B{sup 0} decays to {phi}(1020)K{sub s}{sup 0} and {phi}(1020)K{sub L}{sup 0}. Using a time-dependent maximum-likelihood fit, they measure sin2{beta}{sub eff}({phi}K{sup 0}) = 0.48 {+-} 0.28 {+-} 0.10, and C({phi}K{sup 0}) = 0.16 {+-} 0.25 {+-} 0.09, where the first error is statistical, and the second is systematic. They also present measurements of the CP-violating asymmetries in the decay B{sup 0} {yields} f{sub 0}({yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -})K{sub s}{sup 0}. The results are obtained from a data sample of 209 x 10{sup 6} {Upsilon}(4S) {yields} B{bar B} decays, also collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B Factory at SLAC. From a time-dependent maximum-likelihood fit they measure the mixing-induced CP violation parameter S(f{sub 0}(980)K{sub S}{sup 0}) = - sin 2{beta}{sub eff}f{sub 0}(980)K{sub S}{sup 0} = -0.95{sub -0.23}{sup +0.32} {+-} 0.10 and the direct CP violation parameter C(f{sub 0}(980)K{sub S}{sup 0}) = - 0.24 {+-} 0.31 {+-} 0.15, where the first errors are statistical and …
Date: March 10, 2008
Creator: Kutter, Paul E.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
PointCloudExplore 2: Visual exploration of 3D gene expression (open access)

PointCloudExplore 2: Visual exploration of 3D gene expression

To better understand how developmental regulatory networks are defined inthe genome sequence, the Berkeley Drosophila Transcription Network Project (BDNTP)has developed a suite of methods to describe 3D gene expression data, i.e.,the output of the network at cellular resolution for multiple time points. To allow researchersto explore these novel data sets we have developed PointCloudXplore (PCX).In PCX we have linked physical and information visualization views via the concept ofbrushing (cell selection). For each view dedicated operations for performing selectionof cells are available. In PCX, all cell selections are stored in a central managementsystem. Cells selected in one view can in this way be highlighted in any view allowingfurther cell subset properties to be determined. Complex cell queries can be definedby combining different cell selections using logical operations such as AND, OR, andNOT. Here we are going to provide an overview of PointCloudXplore 2 (PCX2), thelatest publicly available version of PCX. PCX2 has shown to be an effective tool forvisual exploration of 3D gene expression data. We discuss (i) all views available inPCX2, (ii) different strategies to perform cell selection, (iii) the basic architecture ofPCX2., and (iv) illustrate the usefulness of PCX2 using selected examples.
Date: March 31, 2008
Creator: International Research Training Group Visualization of Large and Unstructured Data Sets, University of Kaiserslautern, Germany; Institute for Data Analysis and Visualization, University of California, Davis, CA; Computational Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA; Genomics Division, LBNL; Computer Science Department, University of California, Irvine, CA; Computer Science Division,University of California, Berkeley, CA et al.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Analyses of Oxyanion Materials by Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (open access)

Analyses of Oxyanion Materials by Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis

Prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA) has been used to analyze metal ion oxyanion materials that have multiple applications, including medicine, materials, catalysts, and electronics. The significance for the need for accurate, highly sensitive analyses for the materials is discussed in the context of quality control of end products containing the parent element in each material. Applications of the analytical data for input to models and theoretical calculations related to the electronic and other properties of the materials are discussed.
Date: March 24, 2008
Creator: Firestone, Richard B.; Perry, D. L.; English, G. A.; Firestone, R. B.; Leung, K. N.; Garabedian, G. et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Optical Switching in VO2 films by below-gap excitation (open access)

Optical Switching in VO2 films by below-gap excitation

We study the photo-induced insulator-metal transition in VO2, correlating threshold and dynamic evolution with excitation wavelength. In high-quality single crystal samples, we find that switching can only be induced with photon energies above the 670-meV gap. This contrasts with the case of polycrystalline films, where formation of the metallic state can also be triggered with photon energies as low as 180 meV, well below the bandgap. Perfection of this process may be conducive to novel schemes for optical switches, limiters and detectors, operating at room temperature in the mid-IR.
Date: March 14, 2008
Creator: Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita?di Brescia, Italy
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Lattice with Larger Momentum Compaction for the NLC Main Damping Rings (open access)

A Lattice with Larger Momentum Compaction for the NLC Main Damping Rings

Previous lattice designs for the Next Linear Collider Main Damping Rings [1] have met the specifications for equilibrium emittance, damping rate and dynamic aperture. Concerns about the effects of the damping wiggler on the beam dynamics [2] led to the aim of reducing the total length of the wiggler to a minimum consistent with the required damping rate, so high-field dipoles were used to provide a significant energy loss in the arcs. However, recent work has shown that the wiggler effects may not be as bad as previously feared. Furthermore, other studies have suggested the need for an increased momentum compaction (by roughly a factor of four) to raise the thresholds of various collective effects. We have therefore developed a new lattice design in which we increase the momentum compaction by reducing the field strength in the arc dipoles, compensating the loss in damping rate by increasing the length of the wiggler. The new lattice again meets the specifications for emittance, damping rate and dynamic aperture, while having the benefit of significantly higher thresholds for a number of instabilities.
Date: March 17, 2008
Creator: Woodley, M.; Raubenheimer, Tor O.; Wu, J.; Wolski, A. & /SLAC /LBL, Berkeley
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Workforce Development Advisory Team Mission, Goals, and Objectives (open access)

Workforce Development Advisory Team Mission, Goals, and Objectives

This report documents the creation of a mission, goals, and objectives for the New Mexico Workforce Development Advisory Team as part of the National Security Preparedness Project (NSPP), being performed by the Arrowhead Center of New Mexico State University under a DOE/NNSA grant. The goal of workforce development under the NSPP grant is to assess workforce needs in national security and implement strategies to develop the appropriate workforce. To achieve this goal, it will be necessary to involve the workforce development advisory team in determining the current status of the national security workforce and the educational efforts to train such a workforce. Strategies will be developed and implemented to address gaps and to make progress towards a strong, well-trained workforce available for current and future national security employers.
Date: March 31, 2008
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
BAE/Orion Hybrid Electric Buses at New York City Transit: A Generational Comparison (Revised) (open access)

BAE/Orion Hybrid Electric Buses at New York City Transit: A Generational Comparison (Revised)

Paper describes the evaluation of hybrid-electric transit buses purchased by New York City Transit (NYCT) in an order group of 200 (Gen II) and compares their performance to those of similar hybrid-electric transit buses purchased by NYCT in an order group of 125 (Gen I).
Date: March 1, 2008
Creator: Barnitt, R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Summary report on transportation of nuclear fuel materials in Japan : transportation infrastructure, threats identified in open literature, and physical protection regulations. (open access)

Summary report on transportation of nuclear fuel materials in Japan : transportation infrastructure, threats identified in open literature, and physical protection regulations.

This report summarizes the results of three detailed studies of the physical protection systems for the protection of nuclear materials transport in Japan, with an emphasis on the transportation of mixed oxide fuel materials1. The Japanese infrastructure for transporting nuclear fuel materials is addressed in the first section. The second section of this report presents a summary of baseline data from the open literature on the threats of sabotage and theft during the transport of nuclear fuel materials in Japan. The third section summarizes a review of current International Atomic Energy Agency, Japanese and United States guidelines and regulations concerning the physical protection for the transportation of nuclear fuel materials.
Date: March 1, 2008
Creator: Cochran, John Russell; Ouchi, Yuichiro (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan); Furaus, James Phillip & Marincel, Michelle K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Development of a Multi Megawatt Circulator for X Band (open access)

Development of a Multi Megawatt Circulator for X Band

Research is in progress on a TeV-scale linear collider that will operate at 5-10 times the energy of present-generation accelerators. This will require development of high power RF sources generating of 50-100 MW per source. Transmission of power at this level requires overmoded waveguide to avoid breakdown. In particular, the TE{sub 01} circular waveguide mode is currently the mode of choice for waveguide transmission at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in the Multimode Delay Line Distribution System (MDLDS). A common device for protecting an RF source from reflected power is the waveguide circulator. A circulator is typically a three-port device that allows low loss power transmission from the source to the load, but diverts power coming from the load (reflected power) to a third terminated port. To achieve a low loss, matched, three port junction requires nonreciprocal behavior. This is achieved using ferrites in a static magnetic field which introduces a propagation constant dependent on RF field direction relative to the static magnetic field. Circulators are currently available at X-Band for power levels up to 1 MW in fundamental rectangular waveguide; however, the next generation of RF sources for TeV-level accelerators will require circulators in the 50-100 MW range. Clearly, …
Date: March 24, 2008
Creator: Neilson, J.; Ives, L. & Tantawi, S. G.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Pyrrole Hydrogenation over Rh(111) and Pt(111) Single-Crystal Surfaces and Hydrogenation Promotion Mediated by 1-Methylpyrrole: A Kinetic and Sum-Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy Study (open access)

Pyrrole Hydrogenation over Rh(111) and Pt(111) Single-Crystal Surfaces and Hydrogenation Promotion Mediated by 1-Methylpyrrole: A Kinetic and Sum-Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy Study

Sum-frequency generation (SFG) surface vibrational spectroscopy and kinetic measurements using gas chromatography have been used to study the adsorption and hydrogenation of pyrrole over both Pt(111) and Rh(111) single-crystal surfaces at Torr pressures (3 Torr pyrrole, 30 Torr H{sub 2}) to form pyrrolidine and the minor product butylamine. Over Pt(111) at 298 K it was found that pyrrole adsorbs in an upright geometry cleaving the N-H bond to bind through the nitrogen evidenced by SFG data. Over Rh(111) at 298 K pyrrole adsorbs in a tilted geometry relative to the surface through the p-aromatic system. A pyrroline surface reaction intermediate, which was not detected in the gas phase, was seen by SFG during the hydrogenation over both surfaces. Significant enhancement of the reaction rate was achieved over both metal surfaces by adsorbing 1-methylpyrrole before reaction. SFG vibrational spectroscopic results indicate that reaction promotion is achieved by weakening the bonding between the N-containing products and the metal surface because of lateral interactions on the surface between 1-methylpyrrole and the reaction species, reducing the desorption energy of the products. It was found that the ring-opening product butylamine was a reaction poison over both surfaces, but this effect can be minimized by treating …
Date: March 4, 2008
Creator: Kliewer, Christopher J.; Bieri, Marco & Somorjai, Gabor A.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Synthesis Gas Production by Rapid Solar Thermal Gasification of Corn Stover (open access)

Synthesis Gas Production by Rapid Solar Thermal Gasification of Corn Stover

Biomass resources hold great promise as renewable fuel sources for the future, and there exists great interest in thermochemical methods of converting these resources into useful fuels. The novel approach taken by the authors uses concentrated solar energy to efficiently achieve temperatures where conversion and selectivity of gasification are high. Use of solar energy removes the need for a combustion fuel and upgrades the heating value of the biomass products. The syngas product of the gasification can be transformed into a variety of fuels useable with today?s infrastructure. Gasification in an aerosol reactor allows for rapid kinetics, allowing efficient utilization of the incident solar radiation and high solar efficiency.
Date: March 1, 2008
Creator: Perkins, C. M.; Woodruff, B.; Andrews, L.; Lichty, P.; Lancaster, B.; Weimer, A. W. et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Social Media's New Role in Emergency Management (open access)

Social Media's New Role in Emergency Management

As technology continues to evolve, emergency management organizations must adapt to new ways of responding to the media and public. This paper examines a brief overview of social media's new role in emergency management. This includes definitions of social media, the benefits of utilizing social media, examples of social media being used and finally a discussion of how agencies, such as Department of Energy national laboratories, can begin including social media in their emergency management plans.
Date: March 1, 2008
Creator: Huffman, Ethan & Prentice, Sara
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
A human breast cell model of pre-invasive to invasive transition (open access)

A human breast cell model of pre-invasive to invasive transition

A crucial step in human breast cancer progression is the acquisition of invasiveness. There is a distinct lack of human cell culture models to study the transition from pre-invasive to invasive phenotype as it may occur 'spontaneously' in vivo. To delineate molecular alterations important for this transition, we isolated human breast epithelial cell lines that showed partial loss of tissue polarity in three-dimensional reconstituted-basement membrane cultures. These cells remained non-invasive; however, unlike their non-malignant counterparts, they exhibited a high propensity to acquire invasiveness through basement membrane in culture. The genomic aberrations and gene expression profiles of the cells in this model showed a high degree of similarity to primary breast tumor profiles. The xenograft tumors formed by the cell lines in three different microenvironments in nude mice displayed metaplastic phenotypes, including squamous and basal characteristics, with invasive cells exhibiting features of higher grade tumors. To find functionally significant changes in transition from pre-invasive to invasive phenotype, we performed attribute profile clustering analysis on the list of genes differentially expressed between pre-invasive and invasive cells. We found integral membrane proteins, transcription factors, kinases, transport molecules, and chemokines to be highly represented. In addition, expression of matrix metalloproteinases MMP-9,-13,-15,-17 was up regulated …
Date: March 10, 2008
Creator: Bissell, Mina J; Rizki, Aylin; Weaver, Valerie M.; Lee, Sun-Young; Rozenberg, Gabriela I.; Chin, Koei et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Restoration of Weak Phase-Contrast Images Recorded With a High Degree of Defocus: The "Twin Image" Problem Associated With CTF Correction (open access)

Restoration of Weak Phase-Contrast Images Recorded With a High Degree of Defocus: The "Twin Image" Problem Associated With CTF Correction

Relatively large values of objective-lens defocus must normally be used to produce detectable levels of image contrast for unstained biological specimens, which are generally weak phase objects. As a result, a subsequent restoration operation must be used to correct for oscillations in the contrast transfer function (CTF) at higher resolution. Currently used methods of CTF-correction assume the ideal case in which Friedel mates in the scattered wave have contributed pairs of Fourier components that overlap with one another in the image plane. This"ideal" situation may be only poorly satisfied, or not satisfied at all, as the particle size gets smaller, the defocus value gets larger, and the resolution gets higher. We have therefore investigated whether currently used methods of CTF correction are also effective in restoring the single-sideband image information that becomes displaced (delocalized) by half (or more) the diameter of a particle of finite size. Computer simulations are used to show that restoration either by"phase flipping" or by multiplying by the CTF recovers only about half of the delocalized information. The other half of the delocalized information goes into a doubly defocused"twin" image of the type produced during optical reconstruction of an in-line hologram. Restoration with a Wiener filter …
Date: March 28, 2008
Creator: Downing, Kenneth H. & Glaeser, Robert M.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Search for Standard Model Higgs Boson Production in Association with a W Boson at CDF (open access)

Search for Standard Model Higgs Boson Production in Association with a W Boson at CDF

We present a search for standard model Higgs boson production in association with a W boson in proton-antiproton collisions (p{bar p} {yields} W{sup {+-}}H {yields} {ell}{nu}b{bar b}) at a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV. The search employs data collected with the CDF II detector which correspond to an integrated luminosity of approximately 1 fb{sup -1}. We select events consistent with a signature of a single lepton (e{sup {+-}}/{mu}{sup {+-}}), missing transverse energy, and two jets. Jets corresponding to bottom quarks are identified with a secondary vertex tagging method and a neural network filter technique. The observed number of events and the dijet mass distributions are consistent with the standard model background expectations, and we set 95% confidence level upper limits on the production cross section times branching ratio ranging from 3.9 to 1.3 pb for Higgs boson masses from 110 to 150 GeV/c{sup 2}, respectively.
Date: March 1, 2008
Creator: Aaltonen, T.; Phys., /Helsinki Inst. of; Adelman, J.; /Chicago U., EFI; Akimoto, T.; U., /Tsukuba et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Spent fuel sabotage test program, characterization of aerosol dispersal : interim final report. (open access)

Spent fuel sabotage test program, characterization of aerosol dispersal : interim final report.

This multinational, multi-phase spent fuel sabotage test program is quantifying the aerosol particles produced when the products of a high energy density device (HEDD) interact with and explosively particulate test rodlets that contain pellets of either surrogate materials or actual spent fuel. This program provides source-term data that are relevant to plausible sabotage scenarios in relation to spent fuel transport and storage casks and associated risk assessments. We present details and significant results obtained from this program from 2001 through 2007. Measured aerosol results include: respirable fractions produced; amounts, nuclide content, and produced particle size distributions and morphology; measurements of volatile fission product species enhanced sorption--enrichment factors onto respirable particles; and, status on determination of the spent fuel ratio, SFR, needed for scaling studies. Emphasis is provided on recent Phase 3 tests using depleted uranium oxide pellets plus non-radioactive fission product dopants in surrogate spent fuel test rodlets, plus the latest surrogate cerium oxide results and aerosol laboratory supporting calibration work. The DUO{sub 2}, CeO{sub 2}, plus fission product dopant aerosol particle results are compared with available historical data. We also provide a status review on continuing preparations for the final Phase 4 in this program, tests using individual short …
Date: March 1, 2008
Creator: Gregson, Michael Warren; Brockmann, John E.; Loiseau, Olivier (Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, France); Klennert, Lindsay A.; Nolte, Oliver (Fraunhofer Institut fur Toxikologie und Experimentelle Medizin, Germany); Molecke, Martin Alan et al.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Test of the consistency of various linearized semiclassical initial value time correlation functions in application to inelastic neutron scattering from liquid para-hydrogen (open access)

Test of the consistency of various linearized semiclassical initial value time correlation functions in application to inelastic neutron scattering from liquid para-hydrogen

The linearized approximation to the semiclassical initial value representation (LSC-IVR) is used to calculate time correlation functions relevant to the incoherent dynamic structure factor for inelastic neutron scattering from liquid para-hydrogen at 14 K. Various time correlations functions were used which, if evaluated exactly, would give identical results, but they do not because the LSC-IVR is approximate. Some of the correlation functions involve only linear operators, and others involve non-linear operators. The consistency of the results obtained with the various time correlation functions thus provides a useful test of the accuracy of the LSC-IVR approximation and its ability to treat correlation functions involving both linear and nonlinear operators in realistic anharmonic systems. The good agreement of the results obtained from different correlation functions, their excellent behavior in the spectral moment tests based on the exact moment constraints, and their semi-quantitative agreement with the inelastic neutron scattering experimental data all suggest that the LSC-IVR is indeed a good short-time approximation for quantum mechanical correlation functions.
Date: March 15, 2008
Creator: Miller, William; Liu, Jian & Miller, William H.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
High-Resolution UV Relay Lens for Particle Size Distribution Measurements Using Holography (open access)

High-Resolution UV Relay Lens for Particle Size Distribution Measurements Using Holography

Shock waves passing through a metal sample can produce ejecta particulates at a metal-vacuum interface. Holography records particle size distributions by using a highpower, short-pulse laser to freeze particle motion. The sizes of the ejecta particles are recorded using an in-line Fraunhofer holography technique. Because the holographic plate would be destroyed in this energetic environment, a high-resolution lens has been designed to relay the interference fringes to a safe environment. Particle sizes within a 12-mm-diameter, 5-mm-thick volume are recorded on holographic film. To achieve resolution down to 0.5 microns, ultraviolet (UV) light (in this case supplied by a tripled Nd:YAG laser) is needed. The design and assembly of a nine-element lens that achieves >2000 lp/mm resolution and operates at f/0.85 will be described. To set up this lens system, a doublet lens is temporarily attached that enables operation with 532-nm (green) light and 1100 lp/mm resolution. Thus, the setup and alignment is performed with green light, but the dynamic recording is done with UV light. During setup, the 532-nm beam provides enough focus shift to accommodate the placement of a resolution pattern outside the ejecta volume; this resolution pattern does not interfere with the calibrated wires and pegs surrounding the …
Date: March 1, 2008
Creator: Malone, Robert M.; Frogget, Brent C.; Kaufman, Morris I.; Tibbits, Aric; Capelle, Gene A.; Grover, Mike et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
B, D and K Decays (open access)

B, D and K Decays

The present report documents the results of Working Group 2: B, D and K decays, of the workshop on Flavor in the Era of the LHC, held at CERN from November 2005 through March 2007. With the advent of the LHC, we will be able to probe New Physics (NP) up to energy scales almost one order of magnitude larger than it has been possible with present accelerator facilities. While direct detection of new particles will be the main avenue to establish the presence of NP at the LHC, indirect searches will provide precious complementary information, since most probably it will not be possible to measure the full spectrum of new particles and their couplings through direct production. In particular, precision measurements and computations in the realm of flavor physics are expected to play a key role in constraining the unknown parameters of the Lagrangian of any NP model emerging from direct searches at the LHC. The aim of Working Group 2 was twofold: on one hand, to provide a coherent, up-to-date picture of the status of flavor physics before the start of the LHC; on the other hand, to initiate activities on the path towards integrating information on NP …
Date: March 7, 2008
Creator: Artuso, M.; Asner, D. M.; Ball, P.; Baracchini, E.; Bell, G.; Beneke, M. et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Quantitative comparison between Type Ia supernova spectra at low and high redshifts: A case study (open access)

Quantitative comparison between Type Ia supernova spectra at low and high redshifts: A case study

We develop a method to measure the strength of the absorption features in type Ia supernova (SN Ia) spectra and use it to make a quantitative comparisons between the spectra of type Ia supernovae at low and high redshifts. In this case study, we apply the method to 12 high-redshift (0.212 = z = 0.912) SNe Ia observed by the Supernova Cosmology Project. Through measurements of the strengths of these features and of the blueshift of theabsorption minimum in Ca ii H&K, we show that the spectra of the high-redshift SNe Ia are quantitatively similar to spectra of nearby SNe Ia (z< 0.15). One supernova in our high redshift sample, SN 2002fd at z = 0.279, is found to have spectral characteristics that are associated with peculiar SN 1991T/SN 1999aa-like supernovae.
Date: March 24, 2008
Creator: Supernova Cosmology Project
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electrode Materials with the Na0.44MnO2 Structure: Effect ofTitanium Substitution on Physical and Electrochemical Properties (open access)

Electrode Materials with the Na0.44MnO2 Structure: Effect ofTitanium Substitution on Physical and Electrochemical Properties

The physical and electrochemical properties of LixMnO2 and LixTi0.11Mn0.89O2 synthesized from precursors made by glycine-nitrate combustion (GNC) and solid-state synthesis methods (SS) are examined in this paper. The highest specific capacities in lithium cells are obtained for SS-LixMnO2 electrodes at low current densities, but GNC-LixTi0.11Mn0.89O2 electrodes show the best high rate performance. These results can be explained by changes in the voltage characteristics and differences in the particle morphologies induced by the Ti-substitution and synthesis method. Ti-substitution also results in a decrease in the electronic conductivity, but greatly improves the thermal properties and imparts dissolution resistance to the electrode. For these reasons, it is preferable to use LixTi0.11MnO0.89O2 in lithium battery configurations rather than LixMnO2. Suggestions for improving the electrochemical performance of the Ti-substituted variant are given based on the results described herein.
Date: March 10, 2008
Creator: Doeff, Marca M; Saint, Juliette A.; Doeff, Marca M & Wilcox, James D.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
On Sub-linear Convergence for Linearly Degenerate Waves in Capturing Schemes (open access)

On Sub-linear Convergence for Linearly Degenerate Waves in Capturing Schemes

A common attribute of capturing schemes used to find approximate solutions to the Euler equations is a sub-linear rate of convergence with respect to mesh resolution. Purely nonlinear jumps, such as shock waves produce a first-order convergence rate, but linearly degenerate discontinuous waves, where present, produce sub-linear convergence rates which eventually dominate the global rate of convergence. The classical explanation for this phenomenon investigates the behavior of the exact solution to the numerical method in combination with the finite error terms, often referred to as the modified equation. For a first-order method, the modified equation produces the hyperbolic evolution equation with second-order diffusive terms. In the frame of reference of the traveling wave, the solution of a discontinuous wave consists of a diffusive layer that grows with a rate of t{sup 1/2}, yielding a convergence rate of 1/2. Self-similar heuristics for higher order discretizations produce a growth rate for the layer thickness of {Delta}t{sup 1/(p+1)} which yields an estimate for the convergence rate as p/(p+1) where p is the order of the discretization. In this paper we show that this estimated convergence rate can be derived with greater rigor for both dissipative and dispersive forms of the discrete error. In …
Date: March 17, 2008
Creator: Banks, J W; Aslam, T & Rider, W J
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library