The self-irradiation damage generated by alpha decay of plutonium results in the formation of lattice defects, helium, and uranium atoms. Over time, microstructural evolution resulting from the self-irradiation may influence the physical and mechanical properties of the material. In order to assess microstructural changes, we have developed and applied procedures for the specimen preparation, handling, and transmission electron microscopy characterization of Pu alloys. These transmission electron microscopy investigations of Pu-Ga alloys ranging in age up to 42-years old reveal the presence of nanometer-sized helium bubbles. The number density of bubbles and the average size have been determined for eight different aged materials.

The accuracy of Cartesian embedded boundary methods for the second order wave equation in general two-dimensional domains subject to Dirichlet boundary conditions is analyzed. Based on the analysis, we develop a numerical method where both the solution and its gradient are second order accurate. We avoid the small-cell stiffness problem without sacrificing the second order accuracy by adding a small artificial term to the Dirichlet boundary condition. Long-time stability of the method is obtained by adding a small fourth order dissipative term. Several numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the accuracy and stability of the method. The method is also used to solve the two-dimensional TM{sub z} problem for Maxwell's equations posed as a second order wave equation for the electric field coupled to ordinary differential equations for the magnetic field.

In the years 1998, 2000, and 2001, long-offset transientelectromagnetic (LOTEM) surveys were carried out at the active volcanoMerapi in Central Java. The measurements investigated the conductivitystructure of the volcanic edifice. Our area of interest, which is belowthe summit and the upper flanks, was investigated using horizontal andvertical magnetic field time derivative data from seventransmitter-receiver setups. Because of topography and athree-dimensional (3-D) underground structure, a 3-D interpretation isused. The method optimizes few parameters of a 3-D model by a stableleast squares joint inversion of the data, providing sufficientresolution capability. Reasonable data fits are achieved with anonhorizontally layered model featuring a very conductive basement belowdepths of 1.5 km. While hydrothermal alteration is also considered, wetentatively explain the high conductivities by aqueous solutions withrelatively high salt contents. A large magma body or a small superficialreservoir below Merapi's central volcanic complex, as discussed by otherauthors, cannot be resolved by the LOTEM data.

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Snow anomalies in the western United States (U.S.) have beenwidely investigated by many researchers due to its impact on wateravailability. This study focuses on how anomalous atmospheric circulationaffects snowpack accumulation in the western U.S. using observations andoutput from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) CommunityClimate Model version 3 (CCM3). Our results indicate that themid-latitude atmospheric circulation anomalies induced by the ElNino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) tend to drive winter precipitationshifts, leading to an anomalous snowpack distribution in the western U.S.The warm phase of ENSO produces increased snowpack in the Southwest,while the cold phase of ENSO generates increased snowpack in theNorthwest. Temperature has a secondary impact on the anomalous snowpackdistribution during ENSO episodes. Additionally, the non-linearatmospheric dynamics-related Pacific-North American (PNA) pattern isfound to strongly affect snow anomalies in the western U.S. independentfrom ENSO. The positive phase of the PNA pattern produces coldertemperature and stronger precipitation due to the lower pressure in theregion, leading to an above normal snowpack. Conversely, the negativephase of the PNA pattern generates warmer temperature and weakerprecipitation resulting from the higher pressure, producing a below thannormal snowpack in the western U.S. In general, the NCAR-CCM3 reproducesthe observed processes. However, model biases are identified andreported. The information provided in this …

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) andthe Center for Sustainable Development in the Americas (CSDA) conductedtechnical studies and organized two training workshops to developcapacity in Central America for the evaluation of climate changeprojects. This paper describes the results of two baseline case studiesconducted for these workshops, one for the power sector and one for thecement industry, that were devised to illustrate certain approaches tobaseline setting. Multiproject baseline emission rates (BERs) for themain Guatemalan electricity grid were calculated from 2001 data. Inrecent years, the Guatemalan power sector has experienced rapid growth;thus, a sufficient number of new plants have been built to estimateviable BERs. We found that BERs for baseload plants offsetting additionalbaseload capacity ranged from 0.702 kgCO2/kWh (using a weighted averagestringency) to 0.507 kgCO2/kWh (using a 10th percentile stringency),while the baseline for plants offsetting load-followingcapacity is lowerat 0.567 kgCO2/kWh. For power displaced from existing load-followingplants, the rate is higher, 0.735 kgCO2/kWh, as a result of the age ofsome plants used for meeting peak loads and the infrequency of their use.The approved consolidated methodology for the Clean Development Mechanismyields a single rate of 0.753 kgCO2/kWh. Due to the relatively smallnumber of cement plants in the region and the regional nature of …

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We report on atomic layer deposition of an {approx} 2-nm-thick ZnO layer on the inner surface of ultralow-density ({approx} 0.5% of the full density) nanoporous silica aerogel monoliths with an extremely large effective aspect ratio of {approx} 10{sup 5} (defined as the ratio of the monolith thickness to the average pore size). The resultant monoliths are formed by amorphous-SiO{sub 2}/wurtzite-ZnO nanoparticles which are randomly oriented and interconnected into an open-cell network with an apparent density of {approx} 3% and a surface area of {approx} 100 m{sup 2} g{sup -1}. Secondary ion mass spectrometry and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging reveal excellent uniformity and crystallinity of ZnO coating. Oxygen K-edge and Zn L{sub 3}-edge soft x-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy shows broadened O 2p- as well as Zn 4s-, 5s-, and 3d-projected densities of states in the conduction band.

We have developed a cleaning procedure for aluminum alloys for effective minimization of surface-adsorbed sub-micron particles and non-volatile residue. The procedure consists of a phosphoric acid etch followed by an alkaline detergent wash. To better understand the mechanism whereby this procedure reduces surface contaminants, we characterized the aluminum surface as a function of cleaning step using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). SERS indicates that phosphoric acid etching re-establishes a surface oxide of different characteristics, including deposition of phosphate and increased hydration, while the subsequent alkaline detergent wash appears to remove the phosphate and modify the new surface oxide, possibly leading to a more compact surface oxide. We also studied the zeta potential of <5 micron pure aluminum and aluminum alloy 6061-T6 particles to determine how surface electrostatics may be affected during the cleaning process. The particles show a decrease in the magnitude of their zeta potential in the presence of detergent, and this effect is most pronounced for particles that have been etched with phosphoric acid. This reduction in magnitude of the surface attractive potential is in agreement with our observation that the phosphoric acid etch followed by detergent wash results in a decrease in surface-adsorbed sub-micron particulates.

EUVE and the ROSAT WFC have left a tremendous legacy in astrophysics at EUV wavelengths. More recently, Chandra and XMM-Newton have demonstrated at X-ray wavelengths the power of high-resolution astronomical spectroscopy, which allows the identification of weak emission lines, the measurement of Doppler shifts and line profiles, and the detection of narrow absorption features. This leads to a complete understanding of the density, temperature, abundance, magnetic, and dynamic structure of astrophysical plasmas. However, the termination of the EUVE mission has left a gaping hole in spectral coverage at crucial EUV wavelengths ({approx}100-300 Angstroms), where hot (10{sup 5}-10{sup 8} K) plasmas radiate most strongly and produce critical spectral diagnostics. CHIPS will fill this hole only partially as it is optimized for diffuse emission and has only moderate resolution (R{approx}150). For discrete sources, we have successfully flown a follow-on instrument to the EUVE spectrometer (A{sub eff} {approx}1 cm{sup 2}, R {approx}400), the high-resolution spectrometer J-PEX (A{sub eff} {approx}3 cm{sup 2}, R {approx}3000). Here we build on the J-PEX prototype and present a strawman design for an orbiting spectroscopic observatory, APEX, a SMEX-class instrument containing a suite of 8 spectrometers that together achieve both high effective area (A{sub eff}>20 cm{sup 2}) and high …

Even without grand unification, proton decay can be a powerful probe of physics at the highest energy scales. Supersymmetric theories with conserved R-parity contain Planck-suppressed dimension 5 operators that give important contributions tonucleon decay. These operators are likely controlled by flavor physics, which means current and near future proton decay experiments might yield clues about the fermion mass spectrum. I present a thorough analysis of nucleon partial lifetimes in supersymmetric one-flavon Froggatt-Nielsen models with a single U(1)_X family symmetry which is responsible for the fermionic mass spectrum as well as forbidding R-parity violating interactions. Many of the models naturally lead to nucleon decay near present limits without any reference to grand unification.

We show that a gravitational interaction between the derivative of the Ricci scalar curvature and the baryon-number current dynamically breaks CPT in an expanding universe and, combined with baryon-number-violating interactions, can drive the universe towards an equilibrium baryon asymmetry that is observationally acceptable.

A simple analytic model allows prediction of rate constants and size effect behavior before a hydrocode run if size effect data exists. At infinite radius, it defines not only detonation velocity but also average detonation rate, pressure and energy. This allows the derivation of a generalized radius, which becomes larger as the explosive becomes more non-ideal. The model is applied to near-ideal PBX 9404, in-between ANFO and most non-ideal AN. The power of the pressure declines from 2.3, 1.5 to 0.8 across this set. The power of the burn fraction, F, is 0.8, 0 and 0, so that an F-term is important only for the ideal explosives. The size effect shapes change from concave-down to nearly straight to concave-up. Failure is associated with ideal explosives when the calculated detonation velocity turns in a double-valued way. The effect of the power of the pressure may be simulated by including a pressure cutoff in the detonation rate. The models allows comparison of a wide spectrum of explosives providing that a single detonation rate is feasible.

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The Lynx arc, with a redshift of 3.357, was discovered during spectroscopic follow-up of the z = 0.570 cluster RX J0848+4456 from the ROSAT Deep Cluster Survey. The arc is characterized by a very red R - K color and strong, narrow emission lines. Analysis of HST WFPC 2 imaging and Keck optical and infrared spectroscopy shows that the arc is an H II galaxy magnified by a factor of {approx} 10 by a complex cluster environment. The high intrinsic luminosity, the emission line spectrum, the absorption components seen in Ly{alpha} and C IV, and the restframe ultraviolet continuum are all consistent with a simple H II region model containing {approx} 10{sup 6} hot O stars. The best fit parameters for this model imply a very hot ionizing continuum (T{sub BB} {approx} 80, 000 K), high ionization parameter (log U {approx} -1), and low nebular metallicity (Z/Z{sub {circle_dot}} {approx} 0.05). The narrowness of the emission lines requires a low mass-to-light ratio for the ionizing stars, suggestive of an extremely low metallicity stellar cluster. The apparent overabundance of silicon in the nebula could indicate enrichment by past pair instability supernovae, requiring stars more massive than {approx}140M{sub {circle_dot}}.

We investigate the Butcher-Oemler effect using samples of galaxies brighter than observed frame K* + 1.5 in 33 clusters at 0.1 {approx}< z {approx}< 0.9. We attempt to duplicate as closely as possible the methodology of Butcher & Oemler. Apart from selecting in the K-band, the most important difference is that we use a brightness limit fixed at 1.5 magnitudes below an observed frame K* rather than the nominal limit of rest frame M(V ) = -20 used by Butcher & Oemler. For an early type galaxy at z = 0.1 our sample cutoff is 0.2 magnitudes brighter than rest frame M(V ) = -20, while at z = 0.9 our cutoff is 0.9 magnitudes brighter. If the blue galaxies tend to be faint, then the difference in magnitude limits should result in our measuring lower blue fractions. A more minor difference from the Butcher & Oemler methodology is that the area covered by our galaxy samples has a radius of 0.5 or 0.7 Mpc at all redshifts rather than R{sub 30}, the radius containing 30% of the cluster population. In practice our field sizes are generally similar to those used by Butcher & Oemler. We find the fraction of …

Recent results of W{gamma}, Z{gamma} and WW cross-section measurements in the electron and muon channels are reported from p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV recorded by the CDF and D0 collaborations. Total cross-sections and kinematic distributions are found to be consistent with Standard Model expectations.

The electron temperature gradient (ETG) mode is a likely contributor to electron thermal transport in tokamaks. The ETG modes are dominantly unstable for poloidal wavelengths shorter than the ion gyroradius (high-k) where the ion response is adiabatic. Thus, they do not directly produce ion thermal or momentum transport or particle transport. Two potential mechanisms whereby ETG modes could produce transport in these channels are explored in this paper: a nonlinear coupling between high-k ETG modes and ions at low-k and a direct coupling when ETG modes and ion temperature gradient (ITG) modes are unstable in overlapping wavenumber ranges. It will be shown that the particle and momentum transport required to match experiment is small compared to the ETG driven electron thermal transport. Even quasilinearly ETG modes can produce ion transport if the ITG and ETG modes are both unstable at low-k. The implications of this for transport will be explored at the quasilinear level. A new gyro-Landau-fluid (GLF) closure model has been constructed in order to build a transport model which can include the coupling between electron and ion modes including trapped particles. The first growth rate spectra from this model will be shown to give an accurate approximation to …

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The newly discovered exotic {Theta} baryon of mass 1540 MeV (and very small width) truly has a very low mass, if it is a pentaquark system of even parity. A schematic model in which the coherent interaction of u{bar s} and d{bar s} pairs leads to a very large residual (non-confining) attractive interaction is introduced. This collective vibrational model accounts for the mass and small decay width to the KN channel, but yields a significant coupling to the virtual K*N channel. The schematic model predicts an attractive {Theta}-nucleon interaction strong enough to bind a {Theta} particle to a nucleus in a state that is stable against decay via strong interactions. The discovery of {Theta}-nuclei could be a definitive proof that the {Theta} parity is even.

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy is a widely used method for determining the electronic configuration and local structure of dilute species with high sensitivity. In the dilute limit, and for thin films, the X-ray fluorescence signal is directly proportional to the atomic sub-shell absorption coefficient. However, for concentrated samples, the well-documented self-absorption effect often leads to the severe suppression of XANES (X-ray Absorption Near-Edge Structure) and EXAFS (Extended X-ray Absorption Fine-Structure) amplitudes. Thus to recover the real value of the sub-shell absorption coefficient, it is important to apply correction procedures to the measured fluorescence spectra. In this paper, we describe a new straightforward method to correct for self-absorption effects (the difference in the measured fluorescence signal compared to that of the true sub-shell photoabsorption coefficient) in XANES and EXAFS fluorescence measurements. Using a variety of sample and detector configurations, this method is used to extract the sub-shell absorption coefficient on elemental nickel and thick single-crystals of Gd{sub 3}Ga{sub 5}O{sub 12} and LaAlO{sub 3}.

The beam-beam interaction puts a strong limit on the luminosity of the high energy storage ring colliders. At the interaction points, the electromagnetic fields generated by one beam focus or defocus the opposite beam. This can cause beam blowup and a reduction of luminosity. An accurate simulation of the beam-beam interaction is needed to help optimize the luminosity in high energy colliders.

A simplified approach to treating the electron correlation energy is suggested in which only the alpha-beta component of the second order Moller-Plesset energy is evaluated, and then scaled by an empirical factor which is suggested to be 1.3. This scaled opposite spin second order energy (SOS-MP2) yields results for relative energies and derivative properties that are statistically improved over the conventional MP2 method. Furthermore, the SOS-MP2 energy can be evaluated without the 5th order computational steps associated with MP2 theory, even without exploiting any spatial locality. A 4th order algorithm is given for evaluating the opposite spin MP2 energy using auxiliary basis expansions, and a Laplace approach, and timing comparisons are given.

A variety of electron emission processes have been studied in detail for both atomic and molecular systems, using a highly efficient experimental system comprising two time-of-flight (TOF) rotatable electron energy analyzers and a 3rd generation synchrotron light source. Two examples are used here to illustrate the obtained results. Firstly, electron emissions in the HCL molecule have been mapped over a 14 eV wide photon energy range over the Cl 2p ionization threshold. Particular attention is paid to the dissociative core-excited states, for which the Auger electron emission shows photon energy dependent features. Also, the evolution of resonant Auger to the normal Auger decay distorted by post-collision interaction has been observed and the resonating behavior of the valence photoelectron lines studied. Secondly, an atomic system, neon, in which excitation of doubly excited states and their subsequent decay to various accessible ionic states has been studied. Since these processes only occurs via inter-electron correlations, the many body dynamics of an atom can be probed, revealing relativistic effects, surprising in such a light atom. Angular distribution of the decay of the resonances to the parity unfavored continuum exhibits significant deviation from the LS coupling predictions.