Articles about events that took place in Austin, Texas in April of 2005, including an in memoriam paragraph about John DeLorean.

Article about the launching of two game shows, "On the Cover" and "Balderdash," by PAX-TV.

For the past decade Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), have been developing and testing a stable, regional coda magnitude methodology for the determination of magnitude and yield. The motivation behind this research was to take advantage of the averaging nature of coda waves in support of monitoring small seismic events from a sparse regional seismic network (e.g., International Monitoring System (IMS) network). The methodology as described in Mayeda et al., (2003) has been successfully applied in a variety of tectonic settings where the assumption of a 1-D, radially symmetric path correction was sufficient. In general, this resulted in inter-station amplitude scatter that was 3-to-4 times smaller than the traditional approach using direct S, Lg and surface waves (0.02< f <8.0-Hz). However, in more laterally complex regions there is a need to extend this approach to account for smaller scale 2-D variations in structure, especially at frequencies above {approx}1-Hz. Recently, Phillips et al., (2003) have applied a 2-D approach to data in central Asia by assuming that the coda envelope amplitude could be idealized as if it were a direct wave. They performed a tomography to invert for Q along the path and through the …

Plasma polarization spectroscopy work done by our group since the 3rd US-Japan PPS Workshop is overviewed. Theoretically, the polarization dependence on various electron distribution functions for He-like, Ne-like, and Ni-like x-ray transitions for a wide range of Z has been investigated. In particular, this study was focused on the polarization dependence for monoenergetic and steep electron distribution functions. The diagnostically important spectral lines and features of K-, L-, and M-shell ions were identified which can be used in x-ray spectropolarimetry of plasma. Importance of polarization-sensitive LLNL Electron Beam Ion Trap data is emphasized. The results of the UNR polarization-sensitive Ti and Mo x-pinch experiments are discussed.

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The 'Kinetic Stabilizer' has been proposed as a means of MHD stabilizing an axisymmetric tandem mirror system. The K-S concept is based on theoretical studies by Ryutov, confirmed experimentally in the Gas Dynamic Trap experiment in Novosibirsk. In the K-S beams of ions are directed into the end of an 'expander' region outside the outer mirror of a tandem mirror. These ions, slowed, stagnated, and reflected as they move up the magnetic gradient, produce a low-density stabilizing plasma. At the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory we have been conducting theoretical and computational studies of the K-S Tandem Mirror. These studies have employed a low-beta code written especially to analyze the beam injection/stabilization process, and a new code SYMTRAN (by Hua and Fowler) that solves the coupled radial and axial particle and energy transport in a K-S TM. Also, a 'legacy' MHD stability code, FLORA, has been upgraded and employed to benchmark the injection/stabilization code and to extend its results to high beta values. The FLORA code studies so far have confirmed the effectiveness of the K-S in stabilizing high-beta (40%) plasmas with stabilizer plasmas the peak pressures of which are several orders of magnitude smaller than those of the confined plasma. …

Generation of S-waves from explosion sources continues to be an intriguing area of seismological research. Empirical studies document a general decrease in regional S-phase amplitudes (compared to P-phases) for explosions sources. Although decreased S-phase amplitude for explosive (compressional) sources is intuitive, a comprehensive physical understanding of the many mechanisms that contribute to S-phase excitation does not currently exist. Despite the success of many regional discriminant and magnitude methods that rely on decreased S-phase amplitude for explosion sources, instances remain where explosions produce anomalous S-phases amplitudes that confound regional methods. Scattering of the Rg phase is forwarded in several studies as an important mechanism for the generation of explosion S-waves. In this study we construct a 3-dimensional model of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and the surrounding region. Extensive databases of geologic information, including existing 3-dimensional models developed under past and ongoing NTS programs, are used in the construction of a local model. The detailed local model is merged into a regional model that extends several hundred kilometers from the NTS. In addition to deterministic geologic structure and topography we introduce stochastic variability along geologic contacts and within geologic units. Model roughness made possible by the stochastic perturbations enhances scattering, allowing …

A research effort was undertaken to determine the need for any changes to USNRC's seismic regulatory practice to reflect the move, in the earthquake engineering community, toward using expected displacement rather than force (or stress) as the basis for assessing design adequacy. The research explored the extent to which displacement based seismic design methods, such as given in FEMA 273, could be useful for reviewing nuclear power stations. Two structures common to nuclear power plants were chosen to compare the results of the analysis models used. The first structure is a four-story frame structure with shear walls providing the primary lateral load system, referred herein as the shear wall model. The second structure is the turbine building of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The models were analyzed using both displacement based (pushover) analysis and nonlinear dynamic analysis. In addition, for the shear wall model an elastic analysis with ductility factors applied was also performed. The objectives of the work were to compare the results between the analyses, and to develop insights regarding the work that would be needed before the displacement based analysis methodology could be considered applicable to facilities licensed by the NRC. A summary of the research …

Superconducting combined function magnets will be utilized for the 50GeV-750kW proton beam line for the J-PARC neutrino experiment and an R and D program has been launched at KEK. The magnet is designed to provide a combined function with a dipole field of 2.59 T and a quadrupole field of 18.7 T/m in a coil aperture of 173.4 mm. A single layer coil is proposed to reduce the fabrication cost and the coil arrangement in the 2-D cross-section results in left-right asymmetry. This paper reports the design study of the magnet.

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) requires that pulses from each of the 192 laser beams be positioned on target with an accuracy of 50 {micro}m rms. Beam quality must be sufficient to focus a total of 1.8 MJ of 0.351-{micro}m light into a 600-{micro}m-diameter volume. An optimally flat beam wavefront can achieve this pointing and focusing accuracy. The control system corrects wavefront aberrations by performing closed-loop compensation during laser alignment to correct for gas density variations. Static compensation of flashlamp-induced thermal distortion is established just prior to the laser shot. The control system compensates each laser beam at 10 Hz by measuring the wavefront with a 77-lenslet Hartmann sensor and applying corrections with a 39-actuator deformable mirror. The distributed architecture utilizes SPARC AXi computers running Solaris to perform real-time image processing of sensor data and PowerPC-based computers running VxWorks to compute mirror commands. A single pair of SPARC and PowerPC processors accomplishes wavefront control for a group of eight beams. The software design uses proven adaptive optic control algorithms that are implemented in a multi-tasking environment to economically control the beam wavefronts in parallel. Prototype tests have achieved a closed-loop residual error of 0.03 waves rms. aberrations, the spot size …

NSTX High Harmonic Fast Wave (HHFW) current drive discharges will require density control for acceptable efficiency. We have compared boronization on hot and cold surfaces, varying helium glow discharge conditioning (HeGDC) durations, and brief morning boronization with between discharge boronization for improving density control. Access to Ohmic H-modes was enabled by boronization on hot surfaces, however, the duration of the effectiveness of hot and cold boronization was comparable. A 15 min HeGDC between discharges was needed for reproducible L-H transitions. Brief morning boronization followed by a comparable duration of applied HeGDC restored and enhanced good conditions. Additional short boronizations between discharges did not improve plasma performance (reduced recycling, reduced impurity luminosities, earlier L-H transitions, longer plasma current flattops, higher stored energies) if conditions were already good. Between discharge boronization requires increases in the duty cycle due to the need for additional HeGDC to remove co-deposited D{sub 2}.

The Minimum Degree algorithm, one of the classical algorithms of sparse matrix computations, is widely used to order graphs to reduce the work and storage needed to solve sparse systems of linear equations. There has been extensive research involving practical implementations of this algorithm over the past two decades. However, little has been done to establish theoretical bounds on the computational complexity of these implementations. We study the Minimum Degree algorithm, and prove time complexity bounds for its widely used variants.

PVODE is a high-performance ordinary differential equation solver for the types of initial value problems (IVPs) that arise in large-scale computational simulations. often, one wants to compute sensitivities with respect to certain parameters in the IVP. They discuss the use of automatic differentiation (AD) to compute these sensitivities in the context of PVODE. Results on a simple test problem indicate that the use of AD-generated derivative code can reduce the time to solution over finite difference approximations.

Under the sponsorship of the U.S. DOE and DHS, we have developed a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model for simulating airflow and dispersion of chemical/biological agents released in the urban environment. Our model, FEM3MP, is based on solving the three-dimensional, time-dependent, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations on massively parallel computer platforms. The numerical algorithm uses the finite element method for accurate representation of complex building shapes and variable terrain, together with a semi-implicit projection method and modern iterative solvers for efficient time integration (Gresho and Chan, 1998). Physical processes treated in our code include turbulence modeling via the RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes) and LES (Large Eddy Simulation) approaches, atmospheric stability, aerosols, UV radiation decay, surface energy budget, and vegetative canopies, etc.

The new heavy ion synchrotron facility proposed by GSI will have two superconducting magnet rings in the same tunnel, with rigidities of 300T{center_dot}m and 10OT{center_dot}m. Fast ramp times are needed. These can cause problems of ac loss and field distortion in the magnets. For the high energy ring, a lm model dipole magnet has been built, based on the RHIC dipole design. This magnet was tested under boiling liquid helium in a vertical dewar. The quench current showed very little dependence on ramp rate. The ac losses, measured by an electrical method, were fitted to straight line plots of loss/cycle versus ramp rate, thereby separating the eddy current and hysteresis components. These results were compared with calculated values, using parameters which had previously been measured on short samples of cable. Reasonably good agreement between theory and experiment was found, although the measured hysteresis loss is higher than expected in ramps to the highest field levels.

We examine strong field atomic physics in a wavelength region (3-4 microns) where very little work has previously been done. The soft photon energy allows the exploration of one-electron atoms with low binding energies (alkali metals). We find that photoionization spectra differ from rare gas studies at shorter wavelengths due to more complex ion core potentials. Harmonic generation is studied, and we find that harmonic bandwidths are consistent with theory and the possibility of compression to pulse widths much shorter than that of the driving pulse. Harmonic yields in the visible and W are sufficient for a complete study of their amplitude and phase characteristics.

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A low-energy {gamma}{gamma} collider has been discussed in the context of a testbed for a {gamma}{gamma} interaction region at the Next Linear Collider(NLC). We consider the production of heavy mesons at such a testbed using Compton-backscattered photons and demonstrate that their production rivals or exceeds those by BELLE, BABAR or LEP where they are produced indirectly via virtual {gamma}{gamma} luminosities.

The anthrax letters event of 2001 has raised our awareness of the potential importance of non-biological measurements on samples of biological agents used in a terrorism incident. Such measurements include a variety of mass spectral, spectroscopic, and other instrumental techniques that are part of the current armamentarium of the modern materials analysis or analytical chemistry laboratory. They can provide morphological, trace element, isotopic, and other molecular ''fingerprints'' of the agent that may be key pieces of evidence, supplementing that obtained from genetic analysis or other biological properties. The generation and interpretation of such data represents a new domain of forensic science, closely aligned with other areas of ''microbial forensics''. This paper describes some major elements of the R&D agenda that will define this sub-field in the immediate future and provide the foundations for a coherent national capability. Data from chemical and physical analysis of BW materials can be useful to an investigation of a bio-terror event in two ways. First, it can be used to compare evidence samples collected at different locations where such incidents have occurred (e.g. between the powders in the New York and Washington letters in the Amerithrax investigation) or between the attack samples and those seized …

The production of a Higgs boson in association with a pair of e quarks will play a very important role at both hadron and lepton colliders. We review the status of theoretical predictions and their relevance to Higgs boson studies, with particular emphasis on the recently calculated NLO QCD corrections to the inclusive cross section for p{bar p}, pp {yields} t{bar t}h. We conclude by briefly discussing the case of exclusive b{bar b}h production and the potential of this process in revealing signals of new physics beyond the Standard Model.

The vertical impedances of the preliminary designs of National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) Mini Gap Undulators (MGU) are calculated by means of GdfidL code. The Transverse Mode Coupling Instability (TMCI) thresholds corresponding to these impedances are estimated using an analytically solvable model.

We combine AAVSO and VSS/RASNZ optical and Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer EUV light curves of dwarf novae in outburst to place constraints on the nature of dwarf nova outbursts. From the observed optical-EUV time delays of {approx} 0.75-1.5 days, we show that the propagation velocity of the dwarf nova instability heating wave is {approx} 3 km s{sup -1}.

Edward Teller was one of the great physicists of the twentieth century. His career began just after the key ideas of the quantum revolution of the 1920's were completed, opening vast areas of physics and chemistry to detailed understanding. Thus, his early work in theoretical physics focused on applying the new quantum theory to the understanding of diverse phenomena. These topics included chemical physics, diamagnetism, and nuclear physics. Later, he made key contributions to statistical mechanics, surface physics, solid state, and plasma physics. In many cases, the ideas in these papers are still rich with important ramifications.