Article on band engineering and magnetic doping of epitaxial graphene on SiC (0001).

Article discusses genomic and coexpression analyses predicting multiple genes involved in triterpene saponin biosynthesis in Medicago truncatula.

This work is at a relatively early stage, however it has been demonstrated that we can reliably probe basic network architectures using the MQ-NMR technique. The initial results are in good agreement with what is known from standard network theory and will serve as a basis for the study of progressively increasing structural complexity in Siloxane network systems.

The Main Injector Particle Production Experiment at Fermilab uses particle beams of charged pions, kaons, proton and anti-proton with beam momenta of 5 to 90 GeV/c and thin targets spanning the periodic table from (liquid) hydrogen to uranium to measure particle production cross sections in a full acceptance spectrometer with charged particle identification for particles from 0.1 to 120 GeV/c using Time Projection Chamber, Time of Flight, multicell Cherenkov, and Ring Imaging Cherenkov detectors and Calorimeter for neutrons. Particle production using 120 GeV/c protons from Main Injector on the MINOS target was also measured. We describe the physics motivation to perform such cross section measurements and highlight the impact of hadronic interaction data on neutrino physics. Recent results on forward neutron cross sections and analysis of MINOS target data are also presented.

We develop a model based on simulation and experiment that explains the behavior of solid-state laser-supported absorption fronts generated in fused silica during high intensity (up to 5GW/cm{sup 2}) laser exposure. We find that the absorption front velocity is constant in time and is nearly linear in laser intensity. Further, this model can explain the dependence of laser damage site size on these parameters. This behavior is driven principally by the temperature-activated deep sub band-gap optical absorptivity, free electron transport and thermal diffusion in defect-free silica for temperatures up to 15,000K and pressures < 15GPa. The regime of parameter space critical to this problem spans and extends that measured by other means. It serves as a platform for understanding general laser-matter interactions in dielectrics under a variety of conditions.

These lectures concern the properties of strongly interacting matter at very high energy density. I begin with the Color Glass Condensate and the Glasma, matter that controls the earliest times in hadronic collisions. I then describe the Quark Gluon Plasma, matter produced from the thermalized remnants of the Glasma. Finally, I describe high density baryonic matter, in particular Quarkyonic matter. The discussion will be intuitive and based on simple structural aspects of QCD. There will be some discussion of experimental tests of these ideas.

The recently developed code FREYA (Fission Reaction Event Yield Algorithm) generates large samples of complete fission events, consisting of two receding product nuclei as well as a number of neutrons and photons, all with complete kinematic information. Thus it is possible to calculate arbitrary correlation observables whose behavior may provide unique insight into the fission process. The presentation first discusses the present status of FREYA, which has now been extended up to energies where pre-equilibrium emission becomes significant and one or more neutrons may be emitted prior to fission. Concentrating on {sup 239}Pu(n,f), we discuss the neutron multiplicity correlations, the dependence of the neutron energy spectrum on the neutron multiplicity, and the relationship between the fragment kinetic energy and the number of neutrons and their energies. We also briefly suggest novel fission observables that could be measured with modern detectors.

The 2010 Gordon Conference on Single-Molecule Approaches to Biology focuses on cutting-edge research in single-molecule science. Tremendous technical developments have made it possible to detect, identify, track, and manipulate single biomolecules in an ambient environment or even in a live cell. Single-molecule approaches have changed the way many biological problems are addressed, and new knowledge derived from these approaches continues to emerge. The ability of single-molecule approaches to avoid ensemble averaging and to capture transient intermediates and heterogeneous behavior renders them particularly powerful in elucidating mechanisms of biomolecular machines: what they do, how they work individually, how they work together, and finally, how they work inside live cells. The burgeoning use of single-molecule methods to elucidate biological problems is a highly multidisciplinary pursuit, involving both force- and fluorescence-based methods, the most up-to-date advances in microscopy, innovative biological and chemical approaches, and nanotechnology tools. This conference seeks to bring together top experts in molecular and cell biology with innovators in the measurement and manipulation of single molecules, and will provide opportunities for junior scientists and graduate students to present their work in poster format and to exchange ideas with leaders in the field. A number of excellent poster presenters will be …

The Probabilistic Shock Threshold Criterion (PSTC) Project at LLNL develops phenomenological criteria for estimating safety or performance margin on high explosive (HE) initiation in the shock initiation regime, creating tools for safety assessment and design of initiation systems and HE trains in general. Until recently, there has been little foundation for probabilistic assessment of HE initiation scenarios. This work attempts to use probabilistic information that is available from both historic and ongoing tests to develop a basis for such assessment. Current PSTC approaches start with the functional form of the James Initiation Criterion as a backbone, and generalize to include varying areas of initiation and provide a probabilistic response based on test data for 1.8 g/cc (Ultrafine) 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) and LX-17 (92.5% TATB, 7.5% Kel-F 800 binder). Application of the PSTC methodology is presented investigating the safety and performance of a flying plate detonator and the margin of an Ultrafine TATB booster initiating LX-17.

A technique has been developed for measuring the properties of discharge-based plasma channels by monitoring the centroid location of a laser beam exiting the channel as a function of input alignment offset between the laser and the channel. The centroid position of low-intensity (<10{sup 14}Wcm{sup -2}) laser pulses focused at the input of a hydrogen-filled capillary discharge waveguide was scanned and the exit positions recorded to determine the channel shape and depth with an accuracy of a few %. In addition, accurate alignment of the laser beam through the plasma channel can be provided by minimizing laser centroid motion at the channel exit as the channel depth is scanned either by scanning the plasma density or the discharge timing. The improvement in alignment accuracy provided by this technique will be crucial for minimizing electron beam pointing errors in laser plasma accelerators.

Progress in the last few decades has left neutrino physics with several vexing issues. Among them are the following questions: (1) Why are lepton mixing angles so different from those in the quark sector? (2) What is the most probable range of the reactor mixing angle? (3) Is the atmospheric mixing angle maximal? (4) What is the number of fermion generations? These are some of the issues that neutrino science hopes to study; this article will explore these questions as part of a more general scientific landscape, and will discuss the part MiniBooNE might play in this exploration. We discuss the current state of measurements taken by MiniBooNE, and emphasize the uniqueness of neutrino oscillations as an important probe into the 'Windows on the Universe.'

Elucidation of geodynamic, geochemical, and shock induced processes is limited by challenges to accurately determine molecular fluid equations of state (EOS). High pressure liquid state reactions of carbon species underlie physiochemical mechanisms such as differentiation of planetary interiors, deep carbon sequestration, propellant deflagration, and shock chemistry. In this proceedings paper we introduce a versatile photoacoustic technique developed to measure accurate and precise speeds of sound (SoS) of high pressure molecular fluids and fluid mixtures. SoS of an intermediate boron oxide, HBO{sub 2} are measured up to 0.5 GPa along the 277 C isotherm. A polarized exponential-6 interatomic potential form, parameterized using our SoS data, enables EOS determinations and corresponding semi-empirical evaluations of >2000 C thermodynamic states including energy release from bororganic formulations. Our thermochemical model propitiously predicts boronated hydrocarbon shock Hugoniot results.

Although useful information can be gleaned from 2D and even 1D simulations of slapper type initiation systems, these systems are inherently three-dimensional and therefore require full 3D representation to model all relevant details. Further, such representation provides additional insight into optimizing the design of such devices from a first-principles perspective and can thereby reduce experimental costs. We discuss in this paper several ongoing efforts in modeling these systems, our pursuit of validation, and extension of these methods to other systems. Our results show the substantial dependence upon highly accurate global equations of state and resistivity models in these analyses.

We discuss our measurements of the chemical reaction propagation rate as a function of pressure. Materials investigated have included CL-20, HMX, TATB, and RDX crystalline powders, LX-04, Comp B, and nitromethane. The anomalous correspondence between crystal structure, including in some instances isostructural phase transitions, on pressure-dependant RPRs of TATB, HMX, Nitromethane, CL-20, and PETN have been elucidated using micro-IR and -Raman spectroscopies. Here we specifically highlight pressure-dependent physicochemical mechanisms affecting the deflagration rate of nitromethane and epsilon-CL-20. We find that pressure induced splitting of symmetric stretch NO{sub 2} vibrations can signal the onset of increasingly more rapid combustion reactions.

An anisotropic constitutive model for the long term dimensional stability of insensitive high explosives is proposed. Elastic, creep, thermal, and ratchet growth strains are developed. Pressure and temperature effects are considered. The constitutive model is implemented in an implicit finite element code and compared to a variety of experimental data.

Amorphous silicon nanowires (a-SiNWs) were prepared by electrospinning cyclohexasilane (Si{sub 6}H{sub 12}) admixed with polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) in toluene. Raman spectroscopy characterization of these wires (d {approx} 50-2000 nm) shows 350 C treatment yields a-SiNWs. Porous a-SiNWs are obtained using a volatile polymer.

An instrument has been developed to measure X-ray bang-time for inertial confinement fusion capsules; the time interval between the start of the laser pulse and peak X-ray emission from the fuel core. The instrument comprises chemical vapor deposited polycrystalline diamond photoconductive X-ray detectors with highly ordered pyrolytic graphite X-ray monochromator crystals at the input. Capsule bang-time can be measured in the presence of relatively high thermal and hard X-ray background components due to the selective band pass of the crystals combined with direct and indirect X-ray shielding of the detector elements. A five channel system is being commissioned at the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for implosion optimization measurements as part of the National Ignition Campaign. Characteristics of the instrument have been measured demonstrating that X-ray bang-time can be measured with {+-} 30ps precision, characterizing the soft X-ray drive to +/- 1eV or 1.5%.

We analyzed spectral data of Fe XXII and Ar XIV from laboratory sources in which the electron density varies by several orders of magnitude to help benchmark density-sensitive emission lines useful for astrophysics and to test the atomic models underlying the diagnostic line ratios. We found excellent agreement for Fe XXII, but poorer agreement for Ar XIV. A number of astrophysically important emission lines are sensitive to electron density in the EUV and soft X-ray regions. Lines from Fe XXII, for example, have been used in recent years as diagnostics of stellar coronae, such as the active variable AB Dor, Capella, and EX Hya (Sanz-Forcada et al. 2003, Mewe et al. 2001, Mauche et al. 2003). Here we report spectral data of Fe XXII and Ar XIV from laboratory sources in which the electron density is known from either K-shell density diagnostics (for electron beam ion traps) or from non-spectroscopic means (tokamaks), ranging from 5 x 10{sup 10} cm{sup -3} to 5 x 10{sup 14} cm{sup -3}. These measurements were used to test the atomic data underlying the density diagnostic line ratios, complementing earlier work (Chen et al. 2004).

Spun-cast films of polystyrene (PS) blended with polylactide (PLA) were visualized and characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and synchrotron-based X-ray photoemission electron microscopy (X-PEEM). The composition of the two polymers in these systems was determined by quantitative chemical analysis of near-edge X-ray absorption signals recorded with X-PEEM. The surface morphology depends on the ratio of the two components, the total polymer concentration, and the temperature of vacuum annealing. For most of the blends examined, PS is the continuous phase with PLA existing in discrete domains or segregated to the air?polymer interface. Phase segregation was improved with further annealing. A phase inversion occurred when films of a 40:60 PS:PLA blend (0.7 wt percent loading) were annealed above the glass transition temperature (Tg) of PLA.

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We discuss the results of SEM and TEM measurements with the BPRML test samples fabricated from a BPRML (WSi2/Si with fundamental layer thickness of 3 nm) with a Dual Beam FIB (focused ion beam)/SEM technique. In particular, we demonstrate that significant information about the metrological reliability of the TEM measurements can be extracted even when the fundamental frequency of the BPRML sample is smaller than the Nyquist frequency of the measurements. The measurements demonstrate a number of problems related to the interpretation of the SEM and TEM data. Note that similar BPRML test samples can be used to characterize x-ray microscopes. Corresponding work with x-ray microscopes is in progress.

Continuous, large-scale efforts to improve and develop third- and forth-generation synchrotron radiation light sources for unprecedented high-brightness, low emittance, and coherent x-ray beams demand diffracting and reflecting x-ray optics suitable for micro- and nano-focusing, brightness preservation, and super high resolution. One of the major impediments for development of x-ray optics with the required beamline performance comes from the inadequate present level of optical and at-wavelength metrology and insufficient integration of the metrology into the fabrication process and into beamlines. Based on our experience at the ALS Optical Metrology Laboratory, we review the experimental methods and techniques that allow us to mitigate significant optical metrology problems related to random, systematic, and drift errors with super-high-quality x-ray optics. Measurement errors below 0.2 mu rad have become routine. We present recent results from the ALS of temperature stabilized nano-focusing optics and dedicated at-wavelength metrology. The international effort to develop a next generation Optical Slope Measuring System (OSMS) to address these problems is also discussed. Finally, we analyze the remaining obstacles to further improvement of beamline x-ray optics and dedicated metrology, and highlight the ways we see to overcome the problems.

Recently, attention has been drawn towards black carbon aerosols as a likely short-term climate warming mitigation candidate. However the global and regional impacts of the direct, cloud-indirect and semi-direct forcing effects are highly uncertain, due to the complex nature of aerosol evolution and its climate interactions. Black carbon is directly released as particle into the atmosphere, but then interacts with other gases and particles through condensation and coagulation processes leading to further aerosol growth, aging and internal mixing. A detailed aerosol microphysical scheme, MATRIX, embedded within the global GISS modelE includes the above processes that determine the lifecycle and climate impact of aerosols. This study presents a quantitative assessment of the impact of microphysical processes involving black carbon, such as emission size distributions and optical properties on aerosol cloud activation and radiative forcing. Our best estimate for net direct and indirect aerosol radiative forcing change is -0.56 W/m{sup 2} between 1750 and 2000. However, the direct and indirect aerosol effects are very sensitive to the black and organic carbon size distribution and consequential mixing state. The net radiative forcing change can vary between -0.32 to -0.75 W/m{sup 2} depending on these carbonaceous particle properties. Assuming that sulfates, nitrates and secondary …

We overview the results of a broad US collaboration, including all DOE synchrotron labs (ALS, APS, BNL, NSLS-II, LLNL, LCLS), major industrial vendors of x-ray optics (InSync, Inc., SSG Precision Optronics-Tinsley, Inc., Optimax Systems, Inc.), and with active participation of HBZ-BESSY-II optics group, on development of a new generation slope measuring profiler -- the optical slope measuring system (OSMS). The desired surface slope measurement accuracy of the instrument is<50 nrad (absolute) that is adequate to the current and foreseeable future needs for metrology of x-ray optics for the next generation of light sources.