We used synthetic aperture radar interferograms to image ground subsidence that occurred over the Dixie Valley geothermal field during different time intervals between 1992 and 1997. Linear elastic inversion of the subsidence that occurred between April, 1996 and March, 1997 revealed that the dominant sources of deformation during this time period were large changes in fluid volumes at shallow depths within the valley fill above the reservoir. The distributions of subsidence and subsurface volume change support a model in which reduction in pressure and volume of hot water discharging into the valley fill from localized upflow along the Stillwater range frontal fault is caused by drawdown within the upflow zone resulting from geothermal production. Our results also suggest that an additional source of fluid volume reduction in the shallow valley fill might be similar drawdown within piedmont fault zones. Shallow groundwater flow in the vicinity of the field appears to be controlled on the NW by a mapped fault and to the SW by a lineament of as yet unknown origin.

We have developed a conceptual design for a 50 TW/20 J short-pulse laser for performing high-energy-density plasma physics experiments at the Nevada Terawatt Facility of the University of Nevada, Reno. The purpose of the laser is to develop proton and x-ray radiography techniques, to use these techniques to study z-pinch plasmas, and to study deposition of intense laser energy into both magnetized and unmagnetized plasmas. Our design uses a commercial diode-pumped Nd:glass oscillator to generate 3-nJ. 200-fs mode-locked pulses at 1059 m. An all-reflective grating stretcher increases pulse duration to 1.1 ns. A two-stage chirped-pulse optical parametric amplifier (OPCPA) using BBO crystals boosts pulse energy to 12 mJ. A chain using mixed silicate-phosphate Nd:glass increases pulse energy to 85 J while narrowing bandwidth to 7.4 nm (FWHM). About 50 J is split off to the laser target chamber to generate plasma while the remaining energy is directed to a roof-mirror pulse compressor, where two 21 cm x 42 cm gold gratings recompress pulses to {approx}350 fs. A 30-cm-focal-length off-axis parabolic reflector (OAP) focuses {approx}20 J onto target, producing an irradiance of 10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2} in a 10-{micro}m-diameter spot. This paper describes planned plasma experiments, system performance requirements, the laser …

Recent technological advances in high-throughput data collection allow for the study of increasingly complex systems on the scale of the whole cellular genome and proteome. Gene network models are required to interpret large and complex data sets. Rationally designed system perturbations (e.g. gene knock-outs, metabolite removal, etc) can be used to iteratively refine hypothetical models, leading to a modeling-experiment cycle for high-throughput biological system analysis. We use fuzzy logic gene network models because they have greater resolution than Boolean logic models and do not require the precise parameter measurement needed for chemical kinetics-based modeling. The fuzzy gene network approach is tested by exhaustive search for network models describing cyclin gene interactions in yeast cell cycle microarray data, with preliminary success in recovering interactions predicted by previous biological knowledge and other analysis techniques. Our goal is to further develop this method in combination with experiments we are performing on bacterial regulatory networks.

Alloy 22 (N06022) is the current candidate alloy to fabricate the external wall of the high level nuclear waste containers for the Yucca Mountain repository. It was of interest to study and compare the general and localized corrosion susceptibility of Alloy 22 in saturated NaF solutions ({approx} 1 M NaF) at 90 C. Standard electrochemical tests such as cyclic potentiodynamic polarization, amperometry, potentiometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used. Studied variables included the solution pH and the alloy microstructure (thermal aging). Results show that Alloy 22 is highly resistant to general and localized corrosion in pure fluoride solutions. Thermal aging is not detrimental and even seems to be slightly beneficial for general corrosion in alkaline solutions.

Effective spatial domain decomposition for discrete ordinate (Sn) neutron transport calculations has been critical for exploiting massively parallel architectures typified by the ASCI White computer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. A combination of geometrical and computational constraints has posed a unique challenge as problems have been scaled up to several thousand processors. Carefully scripted decomposition and corresponding execution algorithms have been developed to handle a range of geometrical and hardware configurations.

We present an improved analytical expression for the x-ray dynamic structure factor from a dense plasma which includes the effects of weakly bound electrons. This result can be applied to describe scattering from low to moderate Z plasmas, and it covers the entire range of plasma conditions that can be found in inertial confinement fusion experiments, from ideal to degenerate up to moderately coupled systems. We use our theory to interpret x-ray scattering experiments from solid density carbon plasma and to extract accurate measurements of electron temperature, electron density and charge state. We use our experimental results to validate various equation-of-state models for carbon plasmas.

The effect of stress-triaxiality on growth of a void in a three dimensional single-crystal face-centered-cubic (FCC) lattice has been studied. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using an embedded-atom (EAM) potential for copper have been performed at room temperature and using strain controlling with high strain rates ranging from 10{sup 7}/sec to 10{sup 10}/sec. Strain-rates of these magnitudes can be studied experimentally, e.g. using shock waves induced by laser ablation. Void growth has been simulated in three different conditions, namely uniaxial, biaxial, and triaxial expansion. The response of the system in the three cases have been compared in terms of the void growth rate, the detailed void shape evolution, and the stress-strain behavior including the development of plastic strain. Also macroscopic observables as plastic work and porosity have been computed from the atomistic level. The stress thresholds for void growth are found to be comparable with spall strength values determined by dynamic fracture experiments. The conventional macroscopic assumption that the mean plastic strain results from the growth of the void is validated. The evolution of the system in the uniaxial case is found to exhibit four different regimes: elastic expansion; plastic yielding, when the mean stress is nearly constant, but the stress-triaxiality …

The spheromak, with its simply connected geometry, holds promise as a less expensive fusion reactor. It has reasonably good plasma beta and can be formed and sustained in steady state with a magnetized coaxial plasma gun. The Sustained Spheromak Physics Experiment (SSPX) shown in Fig. 1 was constructed to investigate the key issues of magnetic field generation and energy confinement. In addition to the coaxial gun, nine magnetic field coils are utilized to shape the vacuum magnetic flux. This flexibility allows operation in many different regimes producing very different plasma characteristics. Pulse length is extended and magnetic field strength is increased. Improved surface conditioning produces plasmas with low impurity content, and higher electron temperature, T{sub e}. Electron heat transport within the separatrix is reduced by a factor of 4. The results strongly suggest the existence of closed flux surfaces even though the plasma is connected to the coaxial source. The CORSICA Grad-Shafranov 2-d equilibrium code with data from edge magnetic probes along with T {sub e} and electron density ne from Thomson scattering is used to calculate internal profiles: normalized current {gamma} = {mu}{sub 0}J/B, safety factor = q, ohmic heating, thermal energy density, and thermal diffusivity = {xi}{sub e}. …

Large-aperture laser-resistant mirrors are required for the construction of the National Ignition Facility, a 1.8 MJ laser. In order to fabricate the 1408 mirrors, a development program was started in 1994 to improve coating quality, manufacturing rate, and lower unit cost. New technologies and metrology tools were scaled to meter size for facilitization in 1999 at Spectra-Physics and the Laboratory of Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester. Pilot production, to fabricate 5-10% of each component, commenced in 2001 and full production rates were achieved in 2002. Coating production will be completed in 2008 with the coating of 460 m{sup 2} of high-damage-threshold precision coatings on 100 tons of BK7 glass with yields exceeding 90%.

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The National Ignition Facility (NIP) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a stadium-sized facility containing a 192-beam, 1.8-Megajoule, 500-Terawatt, ultraviolet laser system together with a 10-meter diameter target chamber with room for nearly 100 experimental diagnostics. NIF will be the world's largest and most energetic laser experimental system, providing a scientific center to study inertial confinement fusion and matter at extreme energy densities and pressures. NIF's energetic laser beams will compress fusion targets to conditions required for thermonuclear burn, liberating more energy than required to initiate the fusion reactions. Other NIF experiments will study physical processes at temperatures approaching 10{sup 8} K and 10{sup 11} bar, conditions that exist naturally only in the interior of stars, planets and in nuclear weapons. NIF has completed the first phases of its laser commissioning program. The first four beams of NIF have generated 106 kilojoules of infrared light exceeding design requirements. Operation of single beams at the second harmonic (531 nm) and third harmonic (351 nm) at greater than 10 kJ have also exceeded the performance criteria. NIFs target experimental systems are being commissioned and experiments have begun. This paper provides a detailed look the NIF laser systems, laser and optical performance …

Advances in transient collisional x-ray lasers have been demonstrated over the last 5 years as a technique for achieving tabletop soft x-ray lasers using 2-10 J of laser pump energy. The high peak brightness of these sources operating in the high output saturation regime, in the range of 10{sup 24}-10{sup 25} ph. mm{sup -2} mrad{sup -2} s-1 (0.1% BW){sup -1}, is ideal for many applications requiring high photon fluence in a single short burst. However, the pump energy required for these x-ray lasers is still relatively high and limits the x-ray laser repetition rate to 1 shot every few minutes. Higher repetition rate collisional schemes have been reported and show some promise for high output in the future. We report a novel technique for enhancing the coupling efficiency of the laser pump into the gain medium that could lead to enhanced x-ray inversion with a factor of ten reduction in the drive energy. This has been applied to the collisional excitation scheme for Ni-like Mo at 18.9 nm and x-ray laser output has been demonstrated. Preliminary results show lasing on a single shot of the optical laser operating at 10 Hz and with 70 mJ in the short pulse. Such …

Alloy 22 (N06022) is the material selected for the fabrication of the outer shell of the nuclear waste containers for the Yucca Mountain high-level nuclear waste repository site. A key technical issue in the Yucca Mountain waste package program has been the integrity of container weld joints. The currently selected welding process for fabricating and sealing the containers is the traditional gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) or TIG method. An appealing faster alternative technique is reduced pressure electron beam (RPEB) welding. Standard electrochemical tests were carried on GTAW and RPEB welds as well as on base metal to determine their relative corrosion behavior in SCW at 90 C (alkaline), 1 M HCl at 60 C (acidic) and 1 M NaCl at 90 C (neutral) solutions. Results show that for all practical purposes, the three tested materials had the electrochemical behavior in the three tested solutions.

Within collapsing protogalaxies, thermal instability leads to the formation of a population of cool fragments which are confined by the pressure of a residual hot background medium. The critical mass required for the cold clouds to become gravitationally unstable and to form stars is determined by both their internal temperature and external pressure. Massive first generation stars form in primordial clouds with sufficient column density to shield themselves from external UV photons emitted by nearby massive stars or AGNs. Less massive photoionized clouds gain mass due to ram pressure stripping by the residual halo gas. Collisions may also trigger thermal instability and fragmentation into cloudlets. While most cloudlets have substellar masses, the largest become self-gravitating and collapse to form protostellar cores without further fragmentation. The initial stellar mass function is established as these cores capture additional residual cloudlets. Energy dissipation from the mergers ensures that the cluster remains bound in the limit of low star formation efficiency. Dissipation also promotes the formation and retention of the most massive stars in the cluster center. On the scale of the protogalactic clouds, the formation of massive stars generates intense UV radiation which photoionizes gas and quenches star formation in nearby regions. As …

The pressure profile and plasma shape, parameterized by elongation ({kappa}), triangularity ({delta}), and squareness ({zeta}), strongly influence stability. In this study, ideal stability of single null and symmetric, double-null, advanced tokamak (AT) configurations is examined. All the various shapes are bounded by a common envelope and can be realized in the DIII-D tokamak. The calculated AT equilibria are characterized by P{sub 0}/{l_angle}P{r_brace} {approx} 2.0-4.5, weak negative central shear, high q{sub min} (>2.0), high bootstrap fraction, an H-mode pedestal, and varying shape parameters. The pressure profile is modeled by various polynomials together with a hyperbolic tangent pedestal, consistent with experimental observations. Stability is calculated with the DCON code and the resulting stability boundary is corroborated by GATO runs.

In January 2006, the Stardust mission will return the first samples from a solid solar-system body since Apollo, and the first samples of contemporary interstellar dust ever collected. Although sophisticated laboratory instruments exist for the analysis of Stardust samples, techniques for the recovery of particles and particle residues from aerogel collectors remain primitive. Here we describe our recent progress in developing techniques for extracting small volumes of aerogel, which we have called ''keystones,'' which completely contain particle impacts but minimize the damage to the surrounding aerogel collector. These keystones can be fixed to custom-designed micromachined silicon fixtures (so-called ''microforklifts''). In this configuration the samples are self-supporting, which can be advantageous in situations in which interference from a supporting substrate is undesirable. The keystones may also be extracted and placed onto a substrate without a fixture. We have also demonstrated the capability of homologously crushing these unmounted keystones for analysis techniques which demand flat samples.

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We present a simple method for compressing very large and regularly sampled scalar fields. Our method is particularly attractive when the entire data set does not fit in memory and when the sampling rate is high relative to the feature size of the scalar field in all dimensions. Although we report results for R{sup 3} and R{sup 4} data sets, the proposed approach may be applied to higher dimensions. The method is based on the new Lorenzo predictor, introduced here, which estimates the value of the scalar field at each sample from the values at processed neighbors. The predicted values are exact when the n-dimensional scalar field is an implicit polynomial of degree n-1. Surprisingly, when the residuals (differences between the actual and predicted values) are encoded using arithmetic coding, the proposed method often outperforms wavelet compression in an L{infinity} sense. The proposed approach may be used both for lossy and lossless compression and is well suited for out-of-core compression and decompression, because a trivial implementation, which sweeps through the data set reading it once, requires maintaining only a small buffer in core memory, whose size barely exceeds a single n-1 dimensional slice of the data.

Cracks can affect laser damage susceptibility in three ways. These are field intensification due to interference, enhanced absorption due to trapped material in the cracks, and increased mechanical weakness. Enhanced absorption is the most important effect.

Despite increasing attention paid to parallel I/O and the introduction of MPI-IO, there is limited, practical data to help guide a programmer in the choice of a good parallel write strategy in the absence of a parallel file system. In this study we experimentally evaluate several methods for implementing parallel computations that interleave a significant number of contiguous or strided writes to a local disk on Linux-based multiprocessor nodes. Using synthetic benchmark programs written with MPI and Pthreads, we have acquired detailed performance data for different application characteristics of programs running on dual processor nodes. In general, our results show that programs that perform a significant amount of I/O relative to pure computation benefit greatly from the use of threads, while programs that perform relatively little I/O obtain excellent results using only MPI. For a pure MPI approach, we have found that it is best to use two writing processes with mmap(). For Pthreads it is usually best to use write() for contiguous data and writev() for strided data. Codes that use mmap() tend to benefit from periodic syncs of the data of the data to the disk, while codes that use write() or writev() tend to have better performance …

Object-oriented NeuroSys (ooNeuroSys) is a collection of programs for simulating very large networks of biologically accurate neurons on distributed memory parallel computers. It includes two principle programs: ooNeuroSys, a parallel program for solving the large systems of ordinary differential equations arising from the interconnected neurons, and Neurondiz, a parallel program for visualizing the results of ooNeuroSys. Both programs are designed to be run on clusters and use the MPI library to obtain parallelism. ooNeuroSys also includes an easy-to-use Python interface. This interface allows neuroscientists to quickly develop and test complex neuron models. Both ooNeuroSys and Neurondiz have a design that allows for both high performance and relative ease of maintenance.

I present an outlook for the next twenty years in particle physics. I start with the big questions in our field, broken down into four categories: horizontal, vertical, heaven, and hell. Then I discuss how we attack the bigquestions in each category during the next twenty years. I argue for a synergy between many different approaches taken in our field.

The proposed SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) mission will have a two-meter class telescope delivering diffraction-limited images to an instrumented 0.7 square degree field in the visible and near-infrared wavelength regime. The requirements for the instrument suite and the present configuration of the focal plane concept are presented. A two year R&D phase, largely supported by the Department of Energy, is just beginning. We describe the development activities that are taking place to advance our preparedness for mission proposal in the areas of detectors and electronics.

Previously we showed how small admixtures of xenon (Xe) stabilize electron avalanches in liquid Argon (LAr). In the present work, we have measured the positive charge carrier mobility in LAr with small admixtures of Xe to be 6.4 x 10{sup -3} cm{sup 2}/Vsec, in approximate agreement with the mobility measured in pure LAr, and consistent with holes as charge carriers. We have measured the concentration of Xe actually dissolved in the liquid and compared the results with expectations based on the amount of Xe gas added to the LAr. We also have tested LAr doped with krypton to investigate the mechanism of avalanche stabilization.