The beam impedance and wakefield are quantities which describe the stability of charged particles in their trajectory within an accelerator. The stretched wire measurement technique is a method which estimates the beam impedance and wakefield. Definitions for the beam impedance, the wakefield, and the stretched wire measurement are presented. A pillbox resonator with circular beampipes is studied for its relatively simple profile and mode structure. Theoretical predictions and measurement data are presented for the interaction of various charged particle beams and center conductor geometries between the cavity and beampipe. Time domain predictions for the stretched wire measurement and wakefield are presented and are shown to be a linear interaction.

In this dissertation, a measurement of the partial decay width of the process Z{sup 0} {r_arrow} {tau}{sup +}{tau}{sup {minus}} using data collected during 1993 and 1994 at the OPAL detector at CERN is described. The cross sections of this process at three center-of-mass energies near the Z{sup 0} resonance were determined, and from a fit to those cross sections, the mass of the Z{sup 0}, its total decay width and its partial decay width into {tau}{sup +}{tau}{sup {minus}} final states were determined as M{sub Z} = 91.183 {+-} 0.020 GeV, {Lambda}{sub tot} = 2.514 {+-} 0.018 GeV and {Lambda}{sub {tau}{tau}} = 84.54 {+-} 0.59 MeV. Using published results for M{sub Z}, and {Lambda}{sub tot} with higher accuracy, a value for the partial decay width of {Lambda}{sub {tau}{tau}} = 84.02 {+-} 0.20 MeV was obtained. Further using published results for the decay width of the Z{sup 0} into quark pair final states, the invisible decay width of the Z{sup 0} was determined as {Lambda}{sub inv} = 496.9 {+-} 4.1 MeV, and the number of neutrino generations was determined as N{sub {nu}} = 2.974 {+-} 0.025(exp) {+-} 0.007 (m{sub top}, M{sub Higgs}). All results were found to be in good agreement with …

This doctoral dissertation is presented as three self-contained papers. An introductory chapter considers traditional spatio-temporal statistical methods used in the atmospheric sciences from a statistical perspective. Although this section is primarily a review, many of the statistical issues considered have not been considered in the context of these methods and several open questions are posed. The first paper attempts to determine a means of characterizing the semiannual oscillation (SAO) spatial variation in the northern hemisphere extratropical height field. It was discovered that the midlatitude SAO in 500hPa geopotential height could be explained almost entirely as a result of spatial and temporal asymmetries in the annual variation of stationary eddies. It was concluded that the mechanism for the SAO in the northern hemisphere is a result of land-sea contrasts. The second paper examines the seasonal variability of mixed Rossby-gravity waves (MRGW) in lower stratospheric over the equatorial Pacific. Advanced cyclostationary time series techniques were used for analysis. It was found that there are significant twice-yearly peaks in MRGW activity. Analyses also suggested a convergence of horizontal momentum flux associated with these waves. In the third paper, a new spatio-temporal statistical model is proposed that attempts to consider the influence of both …

Silicon-containing polymers have been a focus of synthesis and study in Dr. Barton`s group because of their chemistry and properties which are not offered by other systems or materials. For example, the polymer -[-SiMe{sub 2}C{triple_bond}C-]{sub n}-can be easily processed to films or fibers from melt or solution, and thermally converted to a SiC-containing ceramic in high yield at high temperature. In recent years, carbosilane dendritic polymers have been of great interests in many research groups. However, no synthesis of carbosilane dendrimers with functionalties both inside and outside the dendrimer has been reported. Functionality is very important in the synthesis of preceramic polymers. This thesis will be devoted to exploring several new organosilicon polymer systems.