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Although we know that many supernovae are aspherical, the exact nature of their geometry is undetermined. Because all the supernovae we observe are too distant to be resolved, the ejecta structure can't be directly imaged, and asymmetry must be inferred from signatures in the spectral features and polarization of the supernova light. The empirical interpretation of this data, however, is rather limited--to learn more about the detailed supernova geometry, theoretical modeling must been undertaken. One expects the geometry to be closely tied to the explosion mechanism and the progenitor star system, both of which are still under debate. Studying the 3-dimensional structure of supernovae should therefore provide new break throughs in our understanding. The goal of this thesis is to advance new techniques for calculating radiative transfer in 3-dimensional expanding atmospheres, and use them to study the flux and polarization signatures of aspherical supernovae. We develop a 3-D Monte Carlo transfer code and use it to directly fit recent spectropolarimetric observations, as well as calculate the observable properties of detailed multi-dimensional hydrodynamical explosion simulations. While previous theoretical efforts have been restricted to ellipsoidal models, we study several more complicated configurations that are tied to specific physical scenarios. We explore clumpy …

Benchmark calculations for radiation transport coupled to a material temperature equation in a 1-D slab and 1-D spherical geometry binary random media are presented. The mixing statistics are taken to be homogeneous Markov statistics in the 1-D slab but only approximately Markov statistics in the 1-D sphere. The material chunk sizes are described by Poisson distribution functions. The material opacities are first taken to be constant and then allowed to vary as a strong function of material temperature. Benchmark values and variances for time evolution of the ensemble average of material temperature energy density and radiation transmission are computed via a Monte Carlo type method. These benchmarks are used as a basis for comparison with three other approximate methods of solution. One of these approximate methods is simple atomic mix. The second approximate model is an adaptation of what is commonly called the Levermore-Pomraning model and which is referred to here as the standard model. It is shown that recasting the temperature coupling as a type of effective scattering can be useful in formulating the third approximate model, an adaptation of a model due to Su and Pomraning which attempts to account for the effects of scattering in a stochastic …

This thesis encompasses two separate research projects. The first project, described in Chapter 2 was a project investigating the fatigue behavior of thermoset Fiber Composite (FC) sandwich wall ties. The second research project detailed in this thesis was a project studying the bond and tensile properties of FC rod and FC fibers.

This dissertation mainly focuses on the investigation of the cellular membrane trafficking of mesoporous silica nanoparticles. We are interested in the study of endocytosis and exocytosis behaviors of mesoporous silica nanoparticles with desired surface functionality. The relationship between mesoporous silica nanoparticles and membrane trafficking of cells, either cancerous cells or normal cells was examined. Since mesoporous silica nanoparticles were applied in many drug delivery cases, the endocytotic efficiency of mesoporous silica nanoparticles needs to be investigated in more details in order to design the cellular drug delivery system in the controlled way. It is well known that cells can engulf some molecules outside of the cells through a receptor-ligand associated endocytosis. We are interested to determine if those biomolecules binding to cell surface receptors can be utilized on mesoporous silica nanoparticle materials to improve the uptake efficiency or govern the mechanism of endocytosis of mesoporous silica nanoparticles. Arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) is a small peptide recognized by cell integrin receptors and it was reported that avidin internalization was highly promoted by tumor lectin. Both RGD and avidin were linked to the surface of mesoporous silica nanoparticle materials to investigate the effect of receptor-associated biomolecule on cellular endocytosis efficiency. The effect of ligand …

The kinetic, electronic and spectroscopic properties of two‐dimensional oxide‐supported catalysts were investigated in order to understand the role of charge transfer in catalysis. Pt/TiO{sub 2} nanodiodes were fabricated and used as catalysts for hydrogen oxidation. During the reaction, the current through the diode, as well as its I‐V curve, were monitored, while gas chromatography was used to measure the reaction rate. The current and the turnover rate were found to have the same temperature dependence, indicating that hydrogen oxidation leads to the non‐adiabatic excitation of electrons in Pt. A fraction of these electrons have enough energy to ballistically transport through Pt and overcome the Schottky barrier at the interface with TiO{sub 2}. The yield for this phenomenon is on the order of 10{sup ‐4} electrons per product molecule formed, similar to what has been observed for CO oxidation and for the adsorption of many different molecules. The same Pt/TiO{sub 2} system was used to compare currents in hydrogen oxidation and deuterium oxidation. The current through the diode under deuterium oxidation was found to be greater than under hydrogen oxidation by a factor of three. Weighted by the difference in turnover frequencies for the two isotopes, this would imply a chemicurrent …

The development of multilayer optics for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation has led to advancements in many areas of science and technology, including materials studies, EUV lithography, water window microscopy, plasma imaging, and orbiting solar physics imaging. Recent developments in femtosecond and attosecond EUV pulse generation from sources such as high harmonic generation lasers, combined with the elemental and chemical specificity provided by EUV radiation, are opening new opportunities to study fundamental dynamic processes in materials. Critical to these efforts is the design and fabrication of multilayer optics to transport, focus, shape and image these ultra-fast pulses This thesis describes the design, fabrication, characterization, and application of multilayer optics for EUV femtosecond and attosecond scientific studies. Multilayer mirrors for bandwidth control, pulse shaping and compression, tri-material multilayers, and multilayers for polarization control are described. Characterization of multilayer optics, including measurement of material optical constants, reflectivity of multilayer mirrors, and metrology of reflected phases of the multilayer, which is critical to maintaining pulse size and shape, were performed. Two applications of these multilayer mirrors are detailed in the thesis. In the first application, broad bandwidth multilayers were used to characterize and measure sub-100 attosecond pulses from a high harmonic generation source and …

One of the major motivators of this work is the Mercury Project, which is a 1 kW scalable diode-pumped solid-state laser system under development at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Major goals include 100 J pulses, 10% wallplug efficiency, 10 Hz repetition rate, and a 5 times diffraction limited beam. To achieve these goals the Mercury laser incorporates ytterbium doped Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F (S-FAP) as the amplifier gain medium. The primary focus of this thesis is a full understanding of the properties of this material which are necessary for proper design and modeling of the system. Ytterbium doped fluorapatites, which were previously investigated at LLNL, were found to be ideal candidate materials for a high power amplifier systems providing high absorption and emission cross sections, long radiative lifetimes, and high efficiency. A family of barium substituted S-FAP crystals were grown in an effort to modify the pump and emission bandwidths for application to broadband diode pumping and short pulse generation. Crystals of Yb{sup 3+}:Sr{sub 5-x}Ba{sub x}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F where x < 1 showed homogeneous lines offering 8.4 nm (1.8 times enhancement) of absorption bandwidth and 6.9 nm (1.4 times enhancement) of emission bandwidth. The gain saturation fluence of Yb:S-FAP …

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Resistivity measurements have been performed for electric characterization of the compounds Ba{sub 5}Sb{sub 3} and Ba{sub 5}Sb{sub 3}Cl, both with the Mn{sub 5}Si{sub 3} structure type, along with Ca{sub 5}Bi{sub 3} and Ca{sub 5}Bi{sub 3}F, both with the {beta}-Yb{sub 5}Sb{sub 3} structure type. These measurements were taken as a function of temperature using the four probe method on pressed polycrystalline pellets of the compounds. A sealed apparatus was developed for containing these air-sensitive compounds throughout the experiments. By a simple electron count, one extra electron in both Ba{sub 5}Sb{sub 3} and Ca{sub 5}Bi{sub 3} should occupy a conduction band, giving these compounds a metallic character. In the cases of Ba{sub 5}Sb{sub 3}Cl and Ca{sub 5}Bi{sub 3}F, the extra electron should bond to the halide, both filling the valence band and giving rise to semiconducting character. Ca{sub 5}Bi{sub 3}, Ca{sub 5}Bi{sub 3}F, and Ba{sub 5}Sb{sub 3}Cl were found to comply with the electron count prediction. Ba{sub 5}Sb{sub 3}, however, was found to be a semiconductor (E{sub g} = 0.30 eV) with a larger band gap than its corresponding chloride (E{sub g} = 0.09 eV).

The electrocatalysis of oxygen-transfer reactions is discussed in two parts. In Part I, the reduction of iodate (IO{sub 3}{sup {minus}}) is examined as an example of cathodic oxygen transfer. On oxide-covered Pt electrodes (PtO), a large cathodic current is observed in the presence of IO{sub 3}{sup {minus}} to coincide with the reduction of PtO. The total cathodic charge exceeds the amount required for reduction of PtO and IO{sub 3}{sup {minus}} to produce an adsorbed product. An electrocatalytic link between reduction of IO{sub 3}{sup {minus}} and reduction of PtO is indicated. In addition, on oxide-free Pt electrodes, the reduction of IO{sub 3}{sup {minus}} is determined to be sensitive to surface treatment. The electrocatalytic oxidation of CN{sup {minus}} is presented as an example of anodic oxygen transfer in Part II. The voltametric response of CN{sup {minus}} is virtually nonexistent at PbO{sub 2} electrodes. The response is significantly improved by doping PbO{sub 2} with Cu. Cyanide is also oxidized effectively at CuO-film electrodes. Copper is concluded to serve as an adsorption site for CN{sup {minus}}. It is proposed that an oxygen tunneling mechanism comparable to electron tunneling does not occur at the electrode-solution interface. The adsorption of CN{sup {minus}} is therefore considered to …

The reentrant cone approach to Fast Ignition, an advanced Inertial Confinement Fusion scheme, remains one of the most attractive because of the potential to efficiently collect and guide the laser light into the cone tip and direct energetic electrons into the high density core of the fuel. However, in the presence of a preformed plasma, the laser energy is largely absorbed before it can reach the cone tip. Full scale fast ignition laser systems are envisioned to have prepulses ranging between 100 mJ to 1 J. A few of the imperative issues facing fast ignition, then, are the conversion efficiency with which the laser light is converted to hot electrons, the subsequent transport characteristics of those electrons, and requirements for maximum allowable prepulse this may put on the laser system. This dissertation examines the laser-to-fast electron conversion efficiency scaling with prepulse for cone-guided fast ignition. Work in developing an extreme ultraviolet imager diagnostic for the temperature measurements of electron-heated targets, as well as the validation of the use of a thin wire for simultaneous determination of electron number density and electron temperature will be discussed.

Data are presented for the first time on exclusive Pomeron-Pomeron interactions which produce a neutral strange and neutral antistrange particle pair in a central system X. In this paper, the system, X, is identified as one of the following neutral combinations; K{sub s}{sup 0}K{sub s}{sup 0}, K{sub s}{sup 0}K{sup {plus minus}}{pi}{sup {minus plus}}, {Lambda}{sup 0}{bar {Lambda}}{sup 0}, {Lambda}{sup 0}{bar {Lambda}}{sup 0}*. These data were obtained in proton-proton collisions at {radical}s = 62 GeV at the CERN ISR. The triggering systems used to obtain these data are described, followed by a description of the data. The central system mass distributions are presented along with differential mass cross section estimates. A broad enhancement is seen in the K{sub s}{sup 0}K{sub s}{sup 0} system at a mass of 1.2 GeV, and is likely to have the quantum numbers J{sup PC} = 0{sup ++}. Total cross section estimates of 1.3 {plus minus} .64 {mu}b in the K{sub 2}{sup 0}K{sub s}{sup 0} system, . 44 {plus minus} .14 {mu}b in the K{sub s}{sup 0}K{sup {plus minus}}{pi}{sup {minus plus}} system, .20 {plus minus} .14 {mu}b in the {Lambda}{sup 0}{bar {Lambda}}{sup 0} system, and .13 {plus minus} .06 {mu}b in the {Lambda}{sup 0}{bar {Lambda}}{sup 0}* system are …

Results for the first measurement of the inclusive branching and CP asymmetry of the charmless 3-body decay B{sup +} {yields} K{sup +}{pi}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0} are presented. The analysis uses a data sample with an integrated luminosity of 429.0 fb{sup -1}, recorded by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric B Factory. This sample corresponds to 470.9 {+-} 2.8 million B{bar B} pairs. Measurements of the branching fractions (B) and CP asymmetries (A{sub CP}) of some of the intermediate resonances in the K{sup +}{pi}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0} Dalitz plot are also presented.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of hydrogen, has been applied to investigate silica-supported Group VIII monometallic and Group VIII-Group IB bimetallic catalysts and alumina- and silica-supported platinum-rhenium bimetallic catalysts. Two adsorbed states of hydrogen, i.e., irreversible and reversible hydrogen, on the surfaces of monometallic Ru, Pt, and Cu particles and bimetallic Ru-Group Ib, Pt-Group Ib, and Pt-Re particles were observed directly via proton NMR. The same amounts of the irreversible hydrogen adsorbed on pure Ru catalysts were measured by both proton NMR and the volumetric technique. The electronic environments on surfaces of monometallic catalysts are sensitive to changes in metal dispersion, state of adsorbed hydrogen, and residual chlorine. Surface compositions for the Ru--Cu and Pt--Cu bimetallic catalysts were determined by NMR of adsorbed hydrogen. 297 refs., 96 figs., 19 tabs.

High-purity and doped GaAs films have been grown by Liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE) for development of a blocked impurity band (BIB) detector for far-infrared radiation. The film growth process developed has resulted in the capability to grow GaAs with a net active impurity concentration below 1 x 10{sup 13} cm{sup -3}, ideal for the blocking layer of the BIB detector. The growth of n-type LPE GaAs films with donor concentrations below the metal-insulator transition, as required for the absorbing layer of a BIB detector, has been achieved. The control of the donor concentration, however, was found to be insufficient for detector production. The growth by LPE of a high-purity film onto a commercially grown vapor-phase epitaxial (VPE) n-type GaAs doped absorbing layer resulted in a BIB device that showed a significant reduction in the low-temperature dark current compared to the absorbing layer only. Extended optical response was not detected, most likely due to the high compensation of the commercially grown GaAs absorbing layer, which restricts the depletion width of the device.

An angle-resolved photoemission study of the normal and superconducting states in Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8} was performed. Measurements in the normal state show bands dispersing through the Fermi level from at least 350 meV below E{sub F}. The Fermi level crossings are consistant with local-density band calculation, including a point calculated to be of Bi-O character. Additional measurements were made where bands crossed the Fermi level between 100 and 250K, along with measurements on an adjacent Pt foil. The Fermi edges of both materials agree to within the noise. Below the Fermi level, the spectra show correlation effects on the form of an increased effective mass. The shape of the spectra can be explained by a lifetime-broadened photohole and secondary electrons. The effective inverse photohole lifetime is linear in energy. A superconducting gap has been measured at a number of points where there is density at the Fermi level in the normal state. By proper modeling, a gap of 24 meV was obtained for all these points, including points of Cu-O and Bi-O character respectively, according to band calculation. The lack of gap anisotropy in the basal plane suggests that pinning in this material is not d-wave pairing.

We have studied the interactions of water and perfluorodiethyl ether on Ru(100) in order to model the effects of surface structure and humidity on the bonding and decomposition of perfluoroalkyl ether lubricants with metal surfaces. In order to understand the interactions on Ru(100), we have first investigated the interactions of each of these adsorbates alone on the clean surface. The interactions of water with Ru(100) have been studied using both thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). From these studies we conclude that a small amount of water dissociates on this surface (5--10% of a monolayer), but water is adsorbed in a predominantly molecular form on this surface with an increasing degree of hydrogen-bonding with increasing coverage. The effects of hydrogen and oxygen coadsorption on the interactions of water with this surface have also been studied using TDS. Finally, the interactions of coadsorbed water and perfluorodiethyl ether on Ru(100) have been investigated using TDS.

Measurements of the normal state magnetic susceptibility {chi}(T) of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7}, Bi{sub 1.8}Pb{sub 0.2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8+{delta}}, and Bi{sub 2{minus}x}Pb{sub x}Sr{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 10+{delta}} (x = 0.2 and 0.25) were carried out. All {chi}(T) data show negative curvature below {approximately}2{Tc}. The data for YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7} are in excellent agreement with a new calculation of the superconducting fluctuation diamagnetism. From the analysis, we infer s-wave pairing and microscopic parameters are obtained. For {chi}(T) of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7}, part of the negative curvature is inferred to arise from the normal state background. We find a strong temperature dependent anisotropy {delta}{chi} {equivalent to} {chi}{sub c} {minus} {chi}{sub ab} and estimate the normal state spin contributions to {chi}(T). The heat capacity C(T) of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7} is reported for 0.4 K < T < 400 K in zero and 70 kG magnetic fields. In addition to the feature associated with the onset of the superconductivity at {Tc}, two anomalies in C(T) were observed near 74 K and 330 K, with another possible anomaly near 102 K; the temperatures at which they occur correlate with anomalies in {chi}(T) and ultransonic measurements. The occurrence of the anomaly at {approx …

The production of the neutral technicolor pseudo Goldstone bosons, P{sup 0}{prime}and P{sub 8}{sup 0}{prime}, at large transverse momentum in pp collisions, pp {yields} g(q)P{sup 0}{prime} (P{sub 8}{sup 0}{prime})X has been investigated in reactions at a high energy collider such as the SSC. The major two-body and three-body decay modes in tree diagrams are investigated in detail. The t{bar t} decay channel would dominate both the decays of P{sup 0}{prime} and P{sub 8}{sup 0}{prime} if it is allowed. Otherwise, gg and 3g will be the dominant decay modes unless the mass of the P{sup 0}{prime} and P{sub 8}{sup 0}{prime} are below 40 GeV, where b{bar b} becomes dominant. According to the QCD backgrounds, which we have also investigated in detail in this work, the signal for t{bar t} is much larger than the background and will be the ideal signal for detecting these bosons. However, in the absence of the t{bar t} channel, the {tau}{bar {tau}} mode can be used to identify P{sup 0}{prime} up to m{sub P} = 300 GeV in the transverse momentum range P{sub {perpendicular}} {approx lt} 100 GeV. Similarly, the b{bar b} decay mode can serve us a signal to identify P{sub 8}{sup 0}{prime} up to m{sub …

Results covering burn intensities in the nW to {mu}W/cm{sup 2} range, of dispersive hole growth kinetics are reported for Oxazine 720 in glycerol glasses and polyvinyl alcohol polymer films and their deuterated analogues. A theoretical model which employs a distribution function for the hole burning rate constant based upon a Gaussian distribution for the tunnel parameter is shown to accurately describe the kinetic data. This model incorporates the linear electron-phonon coupling. A method for calculating the nonphotochemical quantum yield is presented which utilizes the Gaussian distribution of tunnel parameters. The quantum yield calculation can be extended to determine a quantum yield as a function of hole depth. The effect of spontaneous hole filling is shown to be insignificant over the burn intensity range studied. Average relaxation rates for hole burning are {approximately}8 orders of magnitude greater than for hole filling. The dispersive kinetics of hole burning are observed to be independent over the temperature range of these experiments, 1.6 to 7.0 K. 6 refs., 20 figs., 1 tab.

Experimental and theoretical research conducted in two areas in the field of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is presented: (1) studies of the coherent quantum-mechanical control of the angular momentum dynamics of quadrupolar (spin I &gt; 1/2) nuclei and its application to the determination of molecular structure; and (2) applications of the long-range nuclear dipolar field to novel NMR detection methodologies.The dissertation is organized into six chapters. The first two chapters and associated appendices are intended to be pedagogical and include an introduction to the quantum mechanical theory of pulsed NMR spectroscopy and the time dependent theory of quantum mechanics. The third chapter describes investigations of the solid-state multiple-quantum magic angle spinning (MQMAS) NMR experiment applied to I = 5/2 quadrupolar nuclei. This work reports the use of rotary resonance-matched radiofrequency irradiation for sensitivity enhancement of the I = 5/2 MQMAS experiment. These experiments exhibited certain selective line narrowing effects which were investigated theoretically.The fourth chapter extends the discussion of multiple quantum spectroscopy of quadrupolar nuclei to a mostly theoretical study of the feasibility of enhancing the resolution of nitrogen-14 NMR of large biomolecules in solution via double-quantum spectroscopy. The fifth chapter continues to extend the principles of multiple quantum …

The reactive o-quinodimethanes, 1,2-dimethylene-1,2-dihydronaphthalene (9) and o-xylylene (1) were observed by flow {sup 1}H NMR spectroscopy at room temperature. The {sup 1}H NMR spectrum of 9 was obtained in the absence of precursor and dimers. However, the {sup 1}H NMR spectrum of the more reactive 1, generated in a similar manner from (o-((trimethylsilyl)methyl)benzyl)trimethylammonium iodide (5.) could be obtained only in the presence of its stable (4 + 2) and (4 + 4) dimers. The dimerization kinetics of 3-methyl- (5{prime}), 3,6-dimethyl- (11), 3-isopropyl- (12), and 3,6-diisoproply-1,2-xylylene (13) in acetonitrile (CH{sub 3}CN) were studied by stopped-flow UV-visible spectroscopy. Fluoride ion induced 1,2-elimination from 2-elimination from 2-trimethylsilylbenzocyclobutenyl-1 mesylate (26) was used to generate the reactive molecule benzocyclobutadiene (1{prime}) in CD{sub 3}CN, which was observed by flow {sup 1}H NMR spectroscopy at room temperature. The {sup 1}H NMR spectrum (in CD{sub 3}CN) of 1,2-dimethylene-1,2-dihydrothiophene (1{double prime}), obtained by fluoride ion induced 1,4-elimination from 3-(trimethylammoniummethyl)-2-(trimethylsilylmethyl)thiophene iodine was observed by flow {sup 1}H NMR spectroscopy at room temperature. The dimerization rate of 1{double prime} in CH{sub 3}CN, generated in the same manner, was measured by UV-visible spectroscopy. 166 refs., 7 figs., 7 tabs.

We describe studies of the decays of B mesons to final states {eta}K{sup *}(892), {eta}K{sup *}{sub 0}(S-wave), {eta}K{sup *}{sub 2}(1430), and {eta}'K based on data collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e{sup +}e{sup -} collier at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. We measure branching fractions and charge asymmetries for the decays B {yields} {eta}K{sup *}, where K{sup *} indicates a spin 0, 1, or 2 K{pi} system, making first observations of decays to final states {eta}K{sup *0}{sub 0}(S-wave), {eta}K{sup *+}{sub 0} (S-wave), and {eta}K{sup *0}{sub 2}(1430). We measure the time-dependent CP-violation parameters S and C for the decays B{sup 0} {yields} {eta}'K{sup 0}, observing CP violation in a charmless B decay with 5{sigma} significance considering both statistical and systematic uncertainties..