Following its launch in 2008 June, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi) began a sky survey in August. The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on Fermi in three months produced a deeper and better resolved map of the {gamma}-ray sky than any previous space mission. We present here initial results for energies above 100 MeV for the 205 most significant (statistical significance greater than {approx}10{sigma}) {gamma}-ray sources in these data. These are the best characterized and best localized point-like (i.e., spatially unresolved) {gamma}-ray sources in the early mission data.

The authors use (111 {+-} 1) million {Upsilon}(3S) and (89 {+-} 1) million {Upsilon}(2S) events recorded by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II B-factory at SLAC to perform a study of radiative transitions betwen bottomonium states using photons that have been converted to e{sup +}e{sup -} pairs by the detector material. They observe {Upsilon}(3S) {yields} {gamma}{chi}{sub b0,2}(1P) decay, make precise measurements of the branching fractions for {chi}{sub b1,2}(1P, 2P) {yields} {gamma}{Upsilon}(1S) and {chi}{sub b1,2}(2P) {yields} {gamma}{Upsilon}(2S) decays, and search for radiative decay to the {eta}{sub b}(1S) and {eta}{sub b}(2S) states.

High performance electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion sources, such as VENUS (Versatile ECR for Nuclear Science), produce large amounts of x-rays. By studying their energy spectra, conclusions can be drawn about the electron heating process and the electron confinement. In addition, the bremsstrahlung from the plasma chamber is partly absorbed by the cold mass of the superconducting magnet adding an extra heat load to the cryostat. Germanium or NaI detectors are generally used for x-ray measurements. Due to the high x-ray flux from the source, the experimental set-up to measure bremsstrahlung spectra from ECR ion sources is somewhat different than for the traditional nuclear physics measurements these detectors are generally used for. In particular the collimation and background shielding can be problematic. In this paper we will discuss the experimental set-up for such a measurement, the energy calibration and background reduction, the correction for detector efficiency, the shielding of the detector and collimation of the x-ray flux. We will present x-ray energy spectra and cryostat heating rates in dependence of various ion source parameters such as confinement fields, minimum B-field, rf power and heating frequency.

The structural reliability of many brittle materials such asstructural ceramics relies on the occurrence of intergranular, as opposedto transgranular, fracture in order to induce toughening by grainbridging. For a constant grain boundary strength and grain boundarytoughness, the current work examines the role of grain strength, graintoughness, and grain angle in promoting intergranular fracture in orderto maintain such toughening. Previous studies have illustrated that anintergranular path and the consequent grain bridging process can bepartitioned into five distinct regimes, namely: propagate, kink, arrest,stall and bridge. To determine the validity of the assumed intergranularpath, the classical penentration/deflection problem of a crack impingingon an interface is reexamined within a cohesive zone framework forintergranular and transgranular fracture. Results considering both modesof propagation, i.e., a transgranular and intergranular path, reveal thatcrack-tip shielding is a natural outcome of the cohesive zone approach tofracture. Cohesive zone growth in one mode shields the opposing mode fromthe stresses required for cohesive zone initiation. Although stablepropagation occurs when the required driving force is equivalent to thetoughness for either transgranular or intergranular fracture, the mode ofpropagation depends on the normalized grain strength, normalized graintoughness, and grain angle. For each grain angle, the intersection ofsingle path and multiple path solutions demarcates "strong" grains …

The SRS Environmental Laboratory analyzes water samples for environmental monitoring, including river water and ground water samples. A new, faster actinide and strontium 89/90 separation method has been developed and implemented to improve productivity, reduce labor costs and add capacity to this laboratory. This method uses stacked TEVA Resin{reg_sign}, TRU Resin{reg_sign} and Sr-Resin{reg_sign} cartridges from Eichrom Technologies (Darien, IL, USA) that allows the rapid separation of plutonium (Pu), neptunium (Np), uranium (U), americium (Am), curium (Cm) and thorium (Th) using a single multi-stage column combined with alpha spectrometry. By using vacuum box cartridge technology with rapid flow rates, sample preparation time is minimized. The method can be used for routine analysis or as a rapid method for emergency preparedness. Thorium and curium are often analyzed separately due to the interference of the daughter of Th-229 tracer, actinium (Ac)-225, on curium isotopes when measured by alpha spectrometry. This new method also adds a separation step using DGA Resin{reg_sign}, (Diglycolamide Resin, Eichrom Technologies) to remove Ac-225 and allow the separation and analysis of thorium isotopes and curium isotopes at the same time.

We present our approach to develop a predictive capability for hazards--thermal and nonshock impact--response of energetic material systems based on: (A) identification of relevant processes; (B) characterization of the relevant properties; (C) application of property data to predictive models; and (D) application of the models into predictive simulation. This paper focuses on the last two elements above, while a companion paper by Maienschein et al focuses on the first two elements. We outline models to describe the both the microscopic evolution of hot spots for detonation response and thermal kinetic models used to model slow heat environments. We show examples of application to both types of environments.

Isotopes of rutherfordium (258-261Rf) were produced in irradiations of 238U targets with 26Mg beams. Excitation functions were measured for the 4n, 5n and 6n exit channels. Production of 261Rf in the 3n exit channel with a cross section of 28+92-26 pb was observed. Alpha decay of 258Rf was observed for the first time with an alpha-particle energy of 9.05+-0.03 MeV and an alpha/total decay branching ratio of 0.31+-0.11. In 259Rf, the electron capture/total decay branching ratio was measured to be 0.15+-0.04. The measured half-lives for 258Rf, 259Rf and 260Rf were 14.7+1.2-1.0 ms, 2.5+0.4-0.3 s and 22.2+3.0-2.4 ms, respectively, in agreement with literature data. The systematics of the alpha decay Q values and of the partial spontaneous fission half-lives were evaluated for even-even nuclides in the region of the N = 152, Z = 100 deformed shell. The influence of the N = 152 shell on the alpha decay Q values for rutherfordium was observed to be similar to that of the lighter elements (96<_ Z<_ 102). However, the N = 152 shell does not stabilize the rutherfordium isotopes against spontaneous fission, as it does in the lighter elements (96<_ Z<_102).

We present our approach to develop a predictive capability for hazards -- thermal and non-shock impact -- response of energetic material systems based on: (A) identification of relevant processes; (B) characterization of the relevant properties; (C) application of property data to predictive models; and (D) application of the models into predictive simulation. This paper focuses on the first two elements above, while a companion paper by Nichols et al focuses on the final two elements. We outline the underlying mechanisms of hazards response and their interactions, and present our experimental work to characterize the necessary material parameters, including thermal ignition, thermal and mechanical properties, fracture/fragmentation behavior, deflagration rates, and the effect of material damage. We also describe our validation test, the Scaled Thermal Explosion Experiment. Finally, we integrate the entire collection of data into a qualitative understanding that is useful until such time as the predictive models become available.

Conditions which seed the self focussing of high-power broadband laser beams are determined by examining growth rates for plane-wave perturbations on a strong pump field as a function of frequency and angle. Measurements verifying predictions of growth based on the linearized stability analysis of Bespalov and Talanov extended to broadband fields are reported.

Welcome to the Eleventh Annual C.A.S.I.S. Workshop, a yearly event at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, presented by the Center for Advanced Signal & Image Sciences, or CASIS, and sponsored by the LLNL Engineering Directorate. Every November for the last 10 years we have convened a diverse set of engineering and scientific talent to share their work in signal processing, imaging, communications, controls, along with associated fields of mathematics, statistics, and computing sciences. This year is no exception, with sessions in Adaptive Optics, Applied Imaging, Scientific Data Mining, Electromagnetic Image and Signal Processing, Applied Signal Processing, National Ignition Facility (NIF) Imaging, and Nondestructive Characterization.

We describe a Monte Carlo solution for time dependent photon transport, in the difference formulation with the material in local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE), that is piecewise linear in its treatment of the material state variable. Our method employs a Galerkin solution for the material energy equation while using Symbolic Implicit Monte Carlo (SIMC) to solve the transport equation. In constructing the scheme, one has the freedom to choose between expanding the material temperature, or the equivalent black body radiation energy density at the material temperature, in terms of finite element basis functions. The former provides a linear treatment of the material energy while the latter provides a linear treatment of the radiative coupling between zones. Subject to the conditional use of a lumped material energy in the vicinity of strong gradients, possible with a linear treatment of the material energy, our approach provides a robust solution for time dependent transport of thermally emitted radiation that can address a wide range of problems. It produces accurate results in the diffusion limit.

Absorption spectra obtained from SmBr/sub 3/, SmBr/sub 2/, and Sm0Br were used in identifying the samarium species in several mixed-valence Sm(II/III) compounds produced by H/sub 2/ reduction of SmBr/sub 3/. The nature of the absorption of Sm0Br made it possible to detect even traces of Sm0Br in the Sm bromides.

We report the geometrical structure, vibrational, and excitation spectra of novel, fullerene - analog C{sub 48}(BN){sub 6} using density functional calculations. The lowest energy structure is one in which B-N bonding is present as boron and nitrogen occupy each of the twelve pentagons of the fullerene cage. The cluster is polar with a net dipole moment of 0.55 Debye, which indicates an enhanced tendency toward reactivity with other media. The excitation spectrum shows that the lowest transition of 1.75 eV is dipole-allowed. The optical gap of C{sub 48}(BN){sub 6} is redshifted by 1.17 eV relative to that of C{sub 60}, suggesting possible use as single-molecule fluorescent probes for various applications.

Article discusses how ammonium sulfate (AS) is of interest as an additive in stationary combustion plants for the simultaneous control of NOx (through selective noncatalytic reduction, SNCR) and deposition and corrosion (through sulfation of alkali chlorides). The results indicated that sulfur from ammonium sulfate is mainly released as SO3, even though SO2 is detected in increasing concentrations at temperatures above 1000 °C. This is the accepted manuscript version of the published article.

Article discusses how rate coefficients, k, for the gas-phase Cl + Furan-2,5-dione (C4H2O3, maleic anhydride) reaction were measured over the 15–500 torr (He and N2 bath gas) pressure range at temperatures between 283 and 323 K. An atmospheric degradation mechanism for C4H2O3 is proposed based on the observed product yields and theoretical calculations of ring-opening pathways and activation barrier energies at the CBS-QB3 level of theory. This is the accepted manuscript version of the published article.

Authors of the article suggest that the novelty of Intentional Model of Pedagogical Process Guidance (IMPPG) is the effectiveness use of Cognitive Trait Model to be aware of different traits of learner. This model has been experimented and assessed with tutors and students learning spreadsheet management in a first-year studying in applied license’s degree in Business English and applied license’s degree in Education.

Authors of the article address the measurable consequences of the network effect (NE) on time series generated by different parts of the brain, heart, and lung organ-networks (ONs), which are directly related to their inter-network and intra-network interactions. The authors assert that these same physiologic ONs have been shown to generate crucial event (CE) time series, and herein are shown ,using modified diffusion entropy analysis (MDEA) to have scaling indices with quasiperiodic changes in complexity, as measured by scaling indices, over time.

Article describes how plasmons associated with zero-dimensional (0D) metal nanoparticles and their synergistic interactions with excitons in two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors offer opportunities for remarkable spectral tunability not otherwise evident in the pristine parent materials, which necessitates an in-depth study elucidating the nature of the plasmonic and excitonic interactions, jointly referred to as plexcitons in order to understand the foundational aspects of the light–matter interactions in hybrid 0D–2D systems. The authors examine the plexcitonic interactions of van der Waals (vdWs) hybrid structures composed of 2D WSe2 and 0D Au nanoparticles (Au-NPs) in their spherical (Au-Sp) and bi-pyramidical (Au-BP) architectures, which demonstrates that geometry-mediated response of the AuNPs provides another degree of freedom to modulate the carrier photodynamics in WSe₂.

Article describes how symmetry breaking charge transfer is one of the important photo-events occurring in photosynthetic reaction centers that is responsible for initiating electron transfer leading to a long-lived charge-separated state and has been successfully employed in light-to-electricity converting optoelectronic devices. In this study, the authors report a newly synthesized, far-red absorbing and emitting BODIPY-dimer to undergo symmetry-breaking charge transfer leading to charge-separated states of appreciable lifetimes in polar solvents.

Article describes how the complexity of usage reporting for open access content continues to grow, particularly with content syndication to organizations such as ScienceDirect and ResearchGate, which deliver content across multiple platforms at an unprecedented scale. This paper brings together four different perspectives and walk through what is known, then start to unpack the questions for which they do not have answers.