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Time-resolved soft x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is used to probe the non-steady-state evolution of the valence band electronic structure of laser heated ultra-thin (50 nm) metal foils and bulk semiconductors. Single-shot soft x-ray laser induced time-of-flight photoelectron spectroscopy with picosecond time resolution was used in combination with optical measurements of the disassembly dynamics that have shown the existence of a metastable liquid phase in fs-laser heated metal foils persisting 4-5 ps. This metastable phase is studied using a 527 nm wavelength 400 fs laser pulse containing 0.3-2.5 mJ laser energy focused in a large 500 x 700 {micro}m{sup 2} spot to create heated conditions of 0.2-1.8 x 10{sup 12} W cm{sup -2} intensity. The unique LLNL COMET compact tabletop soft x-ray laser source provided the necessary high photon flux, highly monoenergetic, picosecond pulse duration, and coherence for observing the evolution of changes in the valence band electronic structure of laser heated metals and semiconductors with picosecond time resolution. This work demonstrates the continuing development of a powerful new technique for probing reaction dynamics and changes of local order on surfaces on their fundamental timescales including phenomena such as non-thermal melting, chemical bond formation, intermediate reaction steps, and the existence of transient …

The morphology of Si{sub 1-Y} Ge{sub Y}:H films in the range of Y=0.23 to 0.9 has been studied by AFM. The films were deposited by Low Frequency (LF) PE CVD at substrate temperature T{sub s}=300 C and discharge frequency f=110 kHz from silane+germane mixture with and without, Ar and H{sub 2} dilution. The films were deposited on silicon and glass substrates. AFM images were taken and analyzed for 2 x 2 mm{sup 2} area. All the images demonstrated ''grain'' like structure, which was characterized by the height distribution function F(H) average roughness <H>, standard height deviation Rq, lateral correlation length L{sub c} area distribution function F(s), mean grain area <s>, diameter distribution function F(d), and mean grain diameter <d>. The roughness <H> of the films monotonically increases with Y for all dilutions, but more significantly in the films deposited without dilution. L{sub c} continuously grows with Y in the films deposited without dilution, while more complex behavior L{sub c}(Y) is observed in the films deposited with H- or Ar dilution. The sharpness of F(H) characterized by curtosis {gamma} depends on dilution and the sharpest F(H) are for the films deposited with Ar ({gamma}=5.30,Y=0.23) and without dilution ({gamma}=4.3, Y=0.45). Isothermal annealing …

A study of the anodic oxidation of vinyl ethylene carbonate (VEC) was conducted with post-mortem analysis of reaction products by ATR-FTIR and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The half-wave potential (E1/2) for oxidation of VEC is ca. 3.6 V producing a resistive film on the electrode surface. GPC analysis of the film on a gold electrode produced by anodization of a commercial Li-ion battery electrolyte containing 2 percent VEC at 4.1 V showed the presence of a high molecular weight polymer. IR analysis indicated polycarbonate with alkyl carbonate rings linked by aliphatic methylene and methyl branches.

Even though quantum chromodynamics is a broken conformal theory, the AdS/CFT correspondence has led to important insights into the properties of QCD. For example, as shown by Polchinski and Strassler, dimensional counting rules for the power-law falloff of hadron scattering amplitudes follow from dual holographic models with conformal behavior at short distances and confinement at large distances. We find that one also obtains a remarkable representation of the entire light-quark meson and baryon spectrum, including all orbital excitations, based on only one mass parameter. We also show how hadron light-front wavefunctions and hadron form factors in both the space-like and time-like regions can be predicted.

The RHIC polarized H-Jet measures the polarization of the RHIC proton beam via elastic scattering off a nuclear polarized atomic hydrogen beam. The atomic beam is produced by a dissociator, a beam forming system and sextupole magnets. Nuclear polarization is achieved by exchanging occupation numbers of hyperfine states using high frequency transitions. The polarization was measured using a modified form of a Breit-Rabi polarimeter including focusing magnets and another set of high frequency transitions. The sampling of a large part of the beam and low noise electronics made it possible to measure the polarization to a high degree of accuracy in a very short time period (1 min). Using this system, we measured no depolarization of the atomic beam due to the RF fields of the bunched proton beam. Time-of-Flight measurements were done using a fast chopper and a QMA at the position of the RHIC interaction point to determine the areal density of the atomic beam seen by the RHIC beam.

The results of atomic beam production studies are presented. Improved cooling of the atoms before jet formation in the dissociator cold nozzle apparently reduces the atomic beam velocity spread and improves beam focusing conditions. A carefully designed sextupole separating (and focusing) magnet system takes advantage of the high brightness source. As a result a record beam intensity of a 12.4 {center_dot} 10{sup 16} atoms/s was obtained within 10 mm acceptance at the collision point. The results of the polarization dilution factor measurements (by the hydrogen molecules at the collision point) are also presented.

We count the number of bound states of BPS black holes on local Calabi-Yau three-folds involving a Riemann surface of genus g. We show that the corresponding gauge theory on the brane reduces to a q-deformed Yang-Mills theory on the Riemann surface. Following the recent connection between the black hole entropy and the topological string partition function, we find that for a large black hole charge N, up to corrections of O(e^-N), Z_BH is given as a sum of a square of chiral blocks, each of which corresponds to a specific D-brane amplitude. The leading chiral block, the vacuum block, corresponds to the closed topological string amplitudes. The sub-leading chiral blocks involve topological string amplitudes with D-brane insertions at 2g-2 points on the Riemann surface analogous to the Omega points in the large N 2d Yang-Mills theory. The finite N amplitude provides a non-perturbative definition of topological strings in these backgrounds. This also leads to a novel non-perturbative formulation of c=1 non-critical string at the self-dual radius.

The predicted high pressure superionic phases of water and HF are investigated via ab initio molecular dynamics. These phases could potentially be achieved through either static compression with heating or through shock compression. We study water at densities of 2.0-3.0 g/cc (34-115 GPa) along the 2000K isotherm.We find that extremely rapid (superionic) diffusion of protons occurs in a fluid phase at pressures between 34 and 58 GPa. A transition to a stable body-centered cubic (bcc) O lattice with superionic proton conductivity is observed between 70 and 75 GPa, a much higher pressure than suggested in prior work. We find that all molecular species at pressures greater than 75 GPa are too short lived to be classified as bound states. Up to 95 GPa, we find a solid superionic phase characterized by covalent O-H bonding. Above 95 GPa, a transient network phase is found characterized by symmetric O-H hydrogen bonding with nearly 50% covalent character. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of HF were conducted at densities of 1.8-4.0 g/cc along the 900 K isotherm. According to our simulations, a unique form of (symmetric) hydrogen bonding could play a significant role in superionic conduction. Our work shows that superionic phases could be …

A coupled thermomechanical, thermal transport and segregation analysis of aluminum alloys solidifying on uneven surfaces is presented here. Uneven surfaces are modelled as sinusoids with different wavelengths and amplitudes. Effects of various coupling mechanisms between the solid-shell deformation, air-gap formation, heat transfer, fluid flow and segregation, near the mold-metal interface, are observed for different mold topographies during the early stages of solidification of an aluminum alloy. The role of inverse segregation, arising from shrinkage driven flow in the melt, melt superheat and varying mold surface topography on nucleation of air-gaps and evolution of stresses in the solidifying shell is examined. The numerical model consists of a volume-averaged solidification model coupled with a small-deformation model combining elasto-viscoplastic deformation in the solidifying shell with air-gap nucleation and imperfect contact at the metal/mold interface. Heat transfer at the mold-metal interface is either contact pressure or air-gap dependent and is modelled using the actual contact pressure or air-gap size obtained from the contact sub-problem at the metal-mold interface. Variation in heat transfer leads to variations in fluid flow, segregation and stresses developing in the solid and mushy-zone, which in turn affect the morphology of the growing solid-shell. A wavelength range that leads to a …

The big-headed turtle (Platysternon megacephalum) from east Asia is the sole living representative of a poorly-studied turtle lineage (Platysternidae). It has no close living relatives, and its phylogenetic position within turtles is one of the outstanding controversies in turtle systematics. Platysternon was traditionally considered to be close to snapping turtles (Chelydridae) based on some studies of its morphology and mitochondrial (mt) DNA, however, other studies of morphology and nuclear (nu) DNA do not support that hypothesis. We sequenced the complete mt genome of Platysternon and the nearly complete mt genomes of two other relevant turtles and compared them to turtle mt genomes from the literature to form the largest molecular dataset used to date to address this issue. The resulting phylogeny robustly rejects the placement of Platysternon with Chelydridae, but instead shows that it is a member of the Testudinoidea, a diverse, nearly globally-distributed group that includes pond turtles and tortoises. We also discovered that Platysternon mtDNA has large-scale gene rearrangements and possesses two, nearly identical, control regions, features that distinguish it from all other studied turtles. Our study robustly determines the phylogenetic placement of Platysternon and provides a well-resolved outline of major turtle lineages, while demonstrating the significantly greater …

Article on a computational study of the thermochemistry of bromine- and iodine-containing methanes and methyl radicals.

We show that the solid lower bound of about 10{sup -44}cm{sup 2} is obtained for the cross section between the supersymmetric dark matter and nucleon in a theory in which the supersymmetric fine-tuning problem is solved without extending the Higgs sector at the weak scale. This bound arises because of relatively small superparticle masses and a fortunate correlation that the two dominant diagrams for the dark matter detection always interfere constructively if the constraint from the b gamma {yields} s gamma measurements is obeyed. It is, therefore, quite promising in the present scenario that the supersymmetric dark matter is discovered before the LHC, assuming that the dark matter is the lightest supersymmetric particle.

Future energy scaling of high-energy chirped-pulse amplification systems will benefit from the capability to coherently tile diffraction gratings into larger apertures. Design and operation of a novel, accurate alignment diagnostics for coherently tiled diffraction gratings is required for successful implementation of this technique. An invariant diffraction direction and phase for special moves of a diffraction grating is discussed, allowing simplification in the design of the coherently tiled grating diagnostics. An analytical proof of the existence of a unique diffraction grating eigenvector for translational and rotational motion which conserves the diffraction direction and diffracted wave phase is presented.

In-situ x-ray diffraction was performed while annealing thin-film Au/Cu binary diffusion couples to directly observe diffusion at elevated temperatures. The temperature dependence of the interdiffusion coefficient was determined from isothermal measurements at 700 C, 800 C, and 900 C, where Cu and Au form a disordered continuous face centered cubic solid solution. Large differences in the lattice parameters of Au and Cu allowed the initial diffraction peaks to be easily identified, and later tracked as they merged into one diffraction peak with increased diffusion time. Initial diffusion kinetics were studied by measuring the time required for the Cu to diffuse through the Au thin film of known thickness. The activation energy for interdiffusion was measured to be 65.4 kJ/mole during this initial stage, which is approximately 0.4x that for bulk diffusion and 0.8x that for grain boundary diffusion. The low activation energy is attributed to the high density of columnar grain boundaries combined with other defects in the sputter deposited thin film coatings. As interdiffusion continues, the two layers homogenize with an activation energy of 111 kJ/mole during the latter stages of diffusion. This higher activation energy falls between the reported values for grain boundary and bulk diffusion, and may …

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We study Z2 orbifolds of M-theory in terms of E10. We find a simple relation between the Z2 action on E10 and the imaginary root that corresponds [hep-th/0401053]to the"twisted sector" branes. We discuss the connection between the Kac-Moody algebra DE10 and the"untwisted" sector, and we demonstrate how DE18 can describe both the untwisted and twisted sectors simultaneously.

The potential use of different iron phosphates as cathodematerials in lithium-ion batteries has recently been investigated.1 Oneof the promising candidates is LiFePO4. This compound has severaladvantages in comparison to the state-of-the-art cathode material incommercial rechargeable lithium batteries. Firstly, it has a hightheoretical capacity (170 mAh/g). Secondly, it occurs as mineraltriphylite in nature and is inexpensive, thermally stable, non-toxic andnon-hygroscopic. However, its low electronic conductivity (~;10-9 S/cm)results in low power capability. There has been intense worldwideresearch activity to find methods to increase the electronic conductivityof LiFePO4, including supervalent ion doping,2 introducingnon-carbonaceous network conduction3 and carbon coating, and theoptimization of the carbon coating on LiFePO4 particle surfaces.4Recently, the Li doped LiFePO4 (Li1+xFe1-xPO4) synthesized at ARL hasyield electronic conductivity increase up to 106.5 We studied electronicstructure of LiFePO4 and Li doped LiFePO4 by synchrotron based soft X-rayemission (XES) and X-ray absorption (XAS) spectroscopies. XAS probes theunoccupied partial density of states, while XES the occupied partialdensity of states. By combining XAS and XES measurements, we obtainedinformation on band gap and orbital character of both LiFePO4 and Lidoped LiFePO4. The occupied and unoccupied oxygen partial density ofstates (DOS) of LiFePO4 and 5 percent Li doped LiFePO4 are presented inFig. 1. Our experimental results clearly indicate …

A data acquisition technique and relevant program for suppression of one of the systematic effects, namely the ''ghost'' effect, of a second generation long trace profiler (LTP) is described. The ''ghost'' effect arises when there is an unavoidable cross-contamination of the LTP sample and reference signals into one another, leading to a systematic perturbation in the recorded interference patterns and, therefore, a systematic variation of the measured slope trace. Perturbations of about 1-2 {micro}rad have been observed with a cylindrically shaped X-ray mirror. Even stronger ''ghost'' effects show up in an LTP measurement with a mirror having a toroidal surface figure. The developed technique employs separate measurement of the ''ghost''-effect-related interference patterns in the sample and the reference arms and then subtraction of the ''ghost'' patterns from the sample and the reference interference patterns. The procedure preserves the advantage of simultaneously measuring the sample and reference signals. The effectiveness of the technique is illustrated with LTP metrology of a variety of X-ray mirrors.

Although most genes are conserved as one-to-one orthologs in different mammalian orders, certain gene families have evolved to comprise different numbers and types of protein-coding genes through independent series of gene duplications, divergence and gene loss in each evolutionary lineage. One such family encodes KRAB-zinc finger (KRAB-ZNF) genes, which are likely to function as transcriptional repressors. One KRAB-ZNF subfamily, the ZNF91 clade, has expanded specifically in primates to comprise more than 110 loci in the human genome, yielding large gene clusters in human chromosomes 19 and 7 and smaller clusters or isolated copies at other chromosomal locations. Although phylogenetic analysis indicates that many of these genes arose before the split between old world monkeys and new world monkeys, the ZNF91 subfamily has continued to expand and diversify throughout the evolution of apes and humans. The paralogous loci are distinguished by sequence divergence within their zinc finger arrays indicating a selection for proteins with different DNA binding specificities. RT-PCR and in situ hybridization data show that some of these ZNF genes can have tissue-specific expression patterns, however many KRAB-ZNFs that are near-ubiquitous could also be playing very specific roles in halting target pathways in all tissues except for a few, where …

The photoinjectors for future short wavelength high brightness accelerator driven light sources need to produce an electron beam with ultra-low emittance. At the DUVFEL facility at BNL, we studied the effect of longitudinally shaping the photocathode laser pulses on the electron beam dynamics. We report on measurements of the longitudinal phase space distributions and the time-resolved transverse beam parameters for both a Gaussian and a flat-top temporal laser pulse profile.

Matrix diffusion is an important mechanism for solutetransport in fractured rock. We recently conducted a literature survey onthe effective matrix diffusion coefficient, Dem, a key parameter fordescribing matrix diffusion processes at the field scale. Forty fieldtracer tests at 15 fractured geologic sites were surveyed and selectedfor study, based on data availability and quality. Field-scale Dem valueswere calculated, either directly using data reported in the literature orby reanalyzing the corresponding field tracer tests. Surveyed dataindicate that the effective-matrix-diffusion-coefficient factor FD(defined as the ratio of Dem to the lab-scale matrix diffusioncoefficient [Dem]of the same tracer) is generally larger than one,indicating that the effective matrix diffusion coefficient in the fieldis comparatively larger than the matrix diffusion coefficient at therock-core scale. This larger value could be attributed to the manymass-transfer processes at different scales in naturally heterogeneous,fractured rock systems. Furthermore, we observed a moderate trend towardsystematic increase in the emDFmDDF value with observation scale,indicating that the effective matrix diffusion coefficient is likely tobe statistically scale dependent. The FD value ranges from 1 to 10,000for observation scales from 5 to 2,000 m. At a given scale, the FD valuevaries by two orders of magnitude, reflecting the influence of differingdegrees of fractured rock heterogeneity at different …

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