The development of inertial fusion as a power source will require achieving four principal milestones: ignition and propagating burn; high gain at low drive energy for the reactor driver; pulse repetition rates of a few Hz; and long-term reliability and economics of a reactor. To keep development time and costs to a minimum, these should be accomplished with as few major facilities as possible. A viable scenario for the Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) Program would include establishing the first milestone in a Nova Upgrade for ignition and gain and the latter three in an upgradable, low-power Engineering Test Facility (ETF)/Demonstration Power Plant (DPP), i.e. two major facilities. To be successful in as short a time as possible operations at the major facilities would have to be supported by off-line reactor driver and other reactor technology development efforts. These efforts would evaluate and prioritize the myriad of options available at present for power plant and subsystem concepts. This paper describes the elements of such a program that could make the first commercial power available in the decade of the 2020s and estimates the resources needed. This program would be carried out in phases with major go/no-go decision points before each large …

We discuss the generation of inhomogeneity in the baryon-number density during the cosmic quark-hadron phase transition. We use a simple model with thin-wall phase boundaries and ideal-gas equations of state. The nucleation of the phase transition introduces a new distance scale into the universe which will be the scale of the generated inhomogeneity. We review the estimate of this scale. During the transition baryon number is likely to collect onto a layer at the phase boundary. These layers may in the end be deposited as small regions of very high baryon density. 21 refs., 1 fig.

Significant progress has been made in the design and development of remotely operated breeder reactor fuel fabrication and support systems (e.g., analytical chemistry). These activities are focused by the Secure Automated Fabrication (SAF) Program sponsored by the Department of Energy to provide: a reliable supply of fuel pins to support US liquid metal cooled breeder reactors and at the same time demonstrate the fabrication of mixed uranium/plutonium fuel by remotely operated and automated methods.

We describe a fast contour descriptor algorithm and its application to a distributed supernova detection system (the Nearby Supernova Factory) that processes 600,000 candidate objects in 80 GB of image data per night. Our shape-detection algorithm reduced the number of false positives generated by the supernova search pipeline by 41% while producing no measurable impact on running time. Fourier descriptors are an established method of numerically describing the shapes of object contours, but transform-based techniques are ordinarily avoided in this type of application due to their computational cost. We devised a fast contour descriptor implementation for supernova candidates that meets the tight processing budget of the application. Using the lowest-order descriptors (F{sub 1} and F{sub -1}) and the total variance in the contour, we obtain one feature representing the eccentricity of the object and another denoting its irregularity. Because the number of Fourier terms to be calculated is fixed and small, the algorithm runs in linear time, rather than the O(n log n) time of an FFT. Constraints on object size allow further optimizations so that the total cost of producing the required contour descriptors is about 4n addition/subtraction operations, where n is the length of the contour.

Polymer Nanocomposites are an important class of nanomaterials with potential applications including but not limited to structural and cushion materials, electromagnetic and heat shields, conducting plastics, sensors, and catalysts for various chemical and bio processes. Success in most such applications hinges on molecular-level control of structure and assembly, and a deep understanding of how the overall morphology of various components and the interfaces between them affect the composite properties at the macroscale. The length and time-scales associated with such assemblies are prohibitively large for a full atomistic modeling. Instead we adopt a multiscale methodology in which atomic-level interactions between different components of a composite are incorporated into a coarse-grained simulation of the mesoscale morphology, which is then represented on a numerical grid and the macroscopic properties computed using a finite-elements method.

Obesity is increasing in an epidemic fashion in most countries and constitutes a public health problem by enhancing the risk for cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes. Owing to the increase in obesity, life expectancy may start to decrease in developed countries for the first time in recent history. The factors determining fat mass in adult humans are not fully understood, but increased lipid storage in already developed fat cells is thought to be most important. We show that adipocyte number is a major determinant for the fat mass in adults. However, the number of fat cells stays constant in adulthood in lean and obese and even under extreme conditions, indicating that the number of adipocytes is set during childhood and adolescence. To establish the dynamics within the stable population of adipocytes in adults, we have measured adipocyte turnover by analyzing the integration of {sup 14}C derived from nuclear bomb tests in genomic DNA. Approximately 10% of fat cells are renewed annually at all adult ages and levels of body mass index. Neither adipocyte death nor generation rate is altered in obesity, suggesting a tight regulation of fat cell number that is independent of metabolic profile …

Numerical tests are used to validate a practical estimatefor the optimal backward errors of linear least squares problems. Thissolves a thirty-year-old problem suggested by Stewart andWilkinson.

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Dissolution and precipitation rates of low defect Georgia kaolinite (KGa-1b) as a function of Gibbs free energy of reaction (or reaction affinity) were measured at 22 C and pH 4 in continuously stirred flow through reactors. Steady state dissolution experiments showed slightly incongruent dissolution, with a Si/Al ratio of about 1.12 that is attributed to the re-adsorption of Al on to the kaolinite surface. No inhibition of the kaolinite dissolution rate was apparent when dissolved aluminum was varied from 0 and 60 {micro}M. The relationship between dissolution rates and the reaction affinity can be described well by a Transition State Theory (TST) rate formulation with a Temkin coefficient of 2 R{sub diss} (mol/m{sup 2}s) = 1.15 x 10{sup -13} [1-exp(-{Delta}G/2RT)]. Stopping of flow in a close to equilibrium dissolution experiment yielded at solubility constant for kaolinite at 22 C of 10{sup 7.57}. Experiments on the precipitation kinetics of kaolinite showed a more complex behavior. One conducted using kaolinite seed that had previously undergone extensive dissolution under far from equilibrium conditions for 5 months showed a quasi-steady state precipitation rate for 105 hours that was compatible with the TST expression above. After this initial period, however, precipitation rates decreased by an …

Comprehensive test ban monitoring in terms of location and discrimination has progressed significantly in recent years. However, the characterization of sources and the estimation of low yields remains a particular challenge. As the recent Korean shot demonstrated, we can probably expect to have a small set of teleseismic, far-regional and high-frequency regional data to analyze in estimating the yield of an event. Since stacking helps to bring signals out of the noise, it becomes useful to conduct comparable analyses on neighboring events, earthquakes in this case. If these auxiliary events have accurate moments and source descriptions, we have a means of directly comparing effective source strengths. Although we will rely on modeling codes, 1D, 2D, and 3D, we will also apply a broadband calibration procedure to use longer periods (P>5s) waveform data to calibrate short-period (P between .5 to 2 Hz) and high-frequency (P between 2 to 10 Hz) as path specify station corrections from well-known regional sources. We have expanded our basic Cut-and-Paste (CAP) methodology to include not only timing shifts but also amplitude (f) corrections at recording sites. The name of this method was derived from source inversions that allow timing shifts between 'waveform segments' (or cutting the …

The chemical nature of copper and copper oxide (Cu{sub 2}O) surfaces in the presence of CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O at room temperature was investigated using ambient pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The studies reveal that in the presence of 0.1 torr CO{sub 2} several species form on the initially clean Cu, including carbonate CO{sub 3}{sup 2}, CO{sub 2}{sup {delta}-} and C{sup 0}, while no modifications occur on an oxidized surface. The addition of 0.1 ML Zn to the Cu results in the complete conversion of CO{sub 2}{sup {delta}-} to carbonate. In a mixture of 0.1 torr H{sub 2}O and 0.1 torr CO{sub 2}, new species are formed, including hydroxyl, formate and methoxy, with H{sub 2}O providing the hydrogen needed for the formation of hydrogenated species.

The electronic structure of cobalt nanocrystals suspended in liquid as a function of size has been investigated using in-situ x-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy. A sharp absorption peak associated with the ligand molecules is found that increases in intensity upon reducing the nanocrystal size. X-ray Raman features due to d-d and to charge-transfer excitations of ligand molecules are identified. The study reveals the local symmetry of the surface of {var_epsilon}-Co phase nanocrystals, which originates from a dynamic interaction between Co nanocrystals and surfactant + solvent molecules.

Accelerators are the largest and most costly scientific instruments of the Department of Energy, with uses across a broad range of science, including colliders for particle physics and nuclear science and light sources and neutron sources for materials studies. COMPASS, the Community Petascale Project for Accelerator Science and Simulation, is a broad, four-office (HEP, NP, BES, ASCR) effort to develop computational tools for the prediction and performance enhancement of accelerators. The tools being developed can be used to predict the dynamics of beams in the presence of optical elements and space charge forces, the calculation of electromagnetic modes and wake fields of cavities, the cooling induced by comoving beams, and the acceleration of beams by intense fields in plasmas generated by beams or lasers. In SciDAC-1, the computational tools had multiple successes in predicting the dynamics of beams and beam generation. In SciDAC-2 these tools will be petascale enabled to allow the inclusion of an unprecedented level of physics for detailed prediction.

Motivated by recent experiments, numerical simulations were performed of cylindrically converging shock waves. The converging shocks impinged upon a set of zero to sixteen regularly space obstacles. For more than two obstacles the resulting diffracted shock fronts formed polygonal shaped patterns near the point of focus. The maximum pressure and temperature as a function of number of obstacles were studied. The self-similar behavior of cylindrical, triangular and square-shaped shocks were also investigated.

Physical constraints such as power, leakage and pin bandwidth are currently driving the HPC industry to produce systems with unprecedented levels of concurrency. In these parallel systems, synchronization and memory operations are becoming considerably more expensive than before. In this work we study parallel matrix factorization codes and conclude that they need to be re-engineered to avoid unnecessary (and expensive) synchronization. We propose the use of multithreading combined with intelligent schedulers and implement representative algorithms in this style. Our results indicate that this strategy can significantly outperform traditional codes.

There is an ongoing disagreement regarding the aging of the shortfin mako due to a difference of interpretation in the periodic deposition of vertebral growth band pairs, especially for the larger size classes. Using analysis of length-month information, tagging data, and length-frequency analysis, concluded that two band pairs were formed in the vertebral centrum every year (biannual band-pair interpretation). Cailliet et al. (1983), however, presented growth parameters based on the common assumption that one band pair forms annually (annual band-pair interpretation). Therefore, growth rates obtained by Pratt & Casey (1983) were twice that of Cailliet et al. (1983) and could lead to age discrepancies of about 15 years for maximum estimated ages on the order of 30 from the annual band-pair interpretation. Serious consequences in the population dynamics could occur for this species if inputs are based on an invalid age interpretation. The latest Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Highly Migratory Species (HMS), for example, adopted the biannual band pair deposition hypothesis because it apparently fit the observed growth patterns best (Pacific Fishery Management Council 2003). However, the ongoing uncertainty about the aging of the shortfin mako was acknowledged and it was recommended that an endeavor to resolve this issue …

The oxygen potential of hypostoichiometric plutonia at temperatures from 1000 to 1200/sup 0/C has been measured as a function of the oxygen-to-plutonium ratio by a thermogravimetric procedure. These data have been used to calculate activity coefficients for plutonia dissolved in urania and in thoria.

A simple and potentially inexpensive method for removal of H/sub 2/S from noncondensible gases evolved in geothermal flash processes has been successfully tested on a small scale in the field. The method consists of scrubbing the noncondensible gases of H{sub 2}S with brine effluents which contain relatively high concentrations of Pb, Zn, and Fe such as those of the Salton Sea and Brawley Geothermal Fields in the Imperial Valley, California. For plant applications, noncondensibles including H{sub 2}S would be ejected from a surface steam condenser (necessary to minimize the volume of liquid in contact with H/sub 2/) and scrubbed with effluent brine just prior to preinjection clarification. The metal sulfide precipitates are removed in the clarification step and the noncondensibles, less H{sub 2}S, are vented as usual.

Power from inertial confinement fusion holds much promise for society. This paper points out many of the benefits relative to combustion of hydrocarbon fuels and fission power. Potential problems are also identified and put in perspective. The progress toward achieving inertial fusion power is described and results of recent work at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are presented. Key phenomenological uncertainties are described and experimental goals for the Nova laser system are given. Several ICF reactor designs are discussed.

The technique of in-situ wide angle diffraction has been used to study materials such as Si and Cu. We have extended our studies of shocked single crystal materials to include Fe (001) that is shock compressed by direct laser irradiation using the OMEGA and Janus lasers. A series of experiments was conducted in Fe at pressures above the Hugoniot Elastic Limit. Transient x-ray was used to record the response of multiple lattice planes simultaneously. This technique of wide-angle diffraction provides information on the lattice response both parallel and oblique to the shock propagation direction. In these experiments, compressions of up to 14% in the (002) planes were observed. Details on the experiments and analysis of the dynamic lattice compression will be presented.

Geophysical models are increasingly recognized as an important component of regional calibrations for seismic monitoring. The models can be used to predict geophysical measurements, such as body wave travel times, and can be derived from direct regional studies or even by geophysical analogy. While empirical measurements of these geophysical parameters might be preferred, in aseismic regions or regions without seismic stations, this data might not exist. In these cases, models represent a 'best guess' of the seismic properties in a region, which improves on global models such as the PREM (Preliminary Reference Earth Model) or the IASPEI (International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior) models. The model-based predictions can also serve as a useful background for the empirical measurements by removing trends in the data. To this end, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has developed the WENA model for Western Eurasia and North Africa. This model is constructed using a regionalization of several dozen lithospheric (crust and uppermost mantle) models, combined with the Laske sediment model and 3SMAC upper mantle. We have evaluated this model using a number of data sets, including travel times, surface waves, receiver functions, and waveform analysis. Similarly, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) …

Irradiation embrittlement in nuclear reactor pressure vessel steels results from the formation of a high number density of nanometer sized copper rich precipitates and sub-nanometer defect-solute clusters. We present positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) results to characterize the compositions and magnetic character of these defects in model A533B reactor pressure vessel steels. The results confirm the presence of copper-rich precipitates after irradiation. The measured orbital electron momentum spectra indicate the precipitates are alloyed with Mn and Ni. The copper precipitates larger than R {approx} 1.2 nm (from SANS measurements) are non-magnetic, which limits the possible Fe content of the precipitates to at most a few %. Notably, large vacancy clusters observed in neutron irradiated Fe-Cu alloys were not observed in the steels after irradiation.

Current plans for Extreme Adaptive Optics systems place challenging requirements on wave-front control. This paper focuses on control system dynamics, wave-front sensing and wave-front correction device characteristics. It may be necessary to run an ExAO system after a slower, low-order AO system. Running two independent systems can result in very good temporal performance, provided specific design constraints are followed. The spatially-filtered wave-front sensor, which prevents aliasing and improves PSF sensitivity, is summarized. Different models of continuous and segmented deformable mirrors are studied. In a noise-free case, a piston-tip-tilt segmented MEMS device can achieve nearly equivalent performance to a continuous-sheet DM in compensating for a static phase aberration with use of spatial filtering.

Recent technical advances have made it possible to obtain very useful spectroscopic information about simple molecules at temperatures and pressures exceeding 2000K and 10 GPa inside a diamond-anvil cell, which is well above any melting point for such systems. This is accomplished by obtaining vibrational spectra via Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy in conjunction with CW laser heating using a tungsten toroid as a laser target. By the simultaneous use of these techniques, vibrational spectra with relatively high signal to noise can be obtained despite the enormous thermal background generated by the incandescence of extremely hot laser heated material. Temperatures can be measured not only by fitting the Planck radiation to a graybody, but by the spectroscopic evidence of a Boltzmann distribution of molecules in their vibrationally excited quantum levels. Additionally, this technique allows for obtaining data at pressures and temperatures outside the region between the shock hugoniot and isentrope, complementing shock wave experiments.