It is shown that recently published observations of angle- and polarization-dependent absorption of intense laser light are consistent with computer simulations of resonance absorption in a steepened plasma profile, with the additional assumption of a modestly rippled critical surface. About 10% absorption seems to be due to mechanisms not addressed in the simulations.

The continuum ..gamma..-ray spectrum following neutron emission in a (HI,xn) reaction consists of a high-energy tail, the statistical cascade, and a lower-energy bump, the yrast cascade, which contains most of the intensity and consists mostly of stretched E2 transitions. Thus, a good approximation to the average angular momentum carried by the ..gamma..-rays is 2N/sub ..gamma../-bar. Under favourable conditions, effective moments of inertia can be deduced for states up to the top of the ..gamma..-ray cascade. The maximum angular momentum in the cascades is probably limited by ..cap alpha..-emission for nuclei with A < 150 and by fission for those with A > 150. 17 figures.

Numerical methods are capable of solving very difficult problems in solid mechanics and gas dynamics. In the design of engineering structures, critical decisions are possible if the behavior of materials is correctly described in the calculation. Problems of current interest require accurate analysis of stress-strain fields that range from very small elastic displacement to very large plastic deformation. A finite difference program is described that solves problems over this range and in two and three space-dimensions and time. A series of experiments and calculations serve to establish confidence in the plasticity formulation. The program can be used to design high pressure systems where plastic flow occurs. The purpose is to identify material properties, strength and elongation, that meet the operating requirements. An objective is to be able to perform destructive testing on a computer rather than on the engineering structure. Examples of topical interest are given.

An attempt is made to discuss systematics of new particles and their spectroscopy in a simple manner. The main emphasis is on charm and SU(4), weak decays of charmed mesons, hadronic masses, and charmonium. (SDF)

The focus lens design for the 20-beam SHIVA laser fusion facility involves considerations of uniform and normal pellet illumination. The resulting requirements dictate tailored beam intensity profiles and vacuum-loaded thin lenses.

The techniques of stepwise laser excitation were applied to obtain Ryberg series in the lanthanides and in uranium. The methods employed circumvent many of the experimental difficulties inherent in conventional absorption spectrosopy of these heavy atoms with very complex spectra. The Rydberg series observed have allowed the determination of accurate ionization limits. The values in eV are: Ce, 5.5387(4);Nd, 5.5250(6); Sm, 5.6437(10); Eu, 5.6704(3); Gd, 6.1502(6); Tb, 5.8639(6); Dy, 5.9390(6); Ho, 6.0216(6); Er 6.1077(6); U, 6.1941(5). A comparison of the f/sup n/s/sup 2/-f/sup n/s ionization limits as a function of n with theoretical calculations is made.

We present a stable and convergent method for the computation of flows of DNA-laden fluids in microchannels with complex geometry. The numerical strategy combines a ball-rod model representation for polymers tightly coupled with a projection method for incompressible viscous flow. We use Cartesian grid embedded boundary methods to discretize the fluid equations in the presence of complex domain boundaries. A sample calculation is presented showing flow through a packed array microchannel in 2D.

The stability of lamellar interfaces in lamellar TiAl by straining at ambient temperatures has been investigated using in-situ straining techniques performed in a transmission electron microscope in order to obtain direct evidence to support the previously proposed creep mechanisms in refined lamellar TiAl based upon the interface sliding in association with the cooperative motion of interfacial dislocations. The results have revealed that both sliding and migration of lamellar interfaces can take place as a result of the cooperative motion of interfacial dislocations.

Significant progress in the development of burning plasma scenarios, steady-state scenarios at high fusion performance, and basic tokamak physics has been made by the DIII-D Team. Discharges similar to the ITER baseline scenario have demonstrated normalized fusion performance nearly 50% higher than required for Q = 10 in ITER, under stationary conditions. Discharges that extrapolate to Q {approx} 10 for longer than one hour in ITER at reduced current have also been demonstrated in DIII-D under stationary conditions. Proof of high fusion performance with full noninductive operation has been obtained. Underlying this work are studies validating approaches to confinement extrapolation, disruption avoidance and mitigation, tritium retention, ELM avoidance, and operation above the no-wall pressure limit. In addition, the unique capabilities of the DIII-D facility have advanced studies of the sawtooth instability with unprecedented time and space resolution, threshold behavior in the electron heat transport, and rotation in plasmas in the absence of external torque.

We present a crystal level model for thermo-mechanical deformation with phase transformation capabilities. The model is formulated to allow for large pressures (on the order of the elastic moduli) and makes use of a multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient. Elastic and thermal lattice distortions are combined into a single lattice stretch to allow the model to be used in conjunction with general equation of state relationships. Phase transformations change the mass fractions of the material constituents. The driving force for phase transformations includes terms arising from mechanical work, from the temperature dependent chemical free energy change on transformation, and from interaction energy among the constituents. Deformation results from both these phase transformations and elasto-viscoplastic deformation of the constituents themselves. Simulation results are given for the {alpha} to {epsilon} phase transformation in iron. Results include simulations of shock induced transformation in single crystals and of compression of polycrystals. Results are compared to available experimental data.

Nuclear materials were first used to end the World War II. They were produced and maintained during the cold war for global security reasons. In the succeeding 50 years since the Atoms for Peace Initiative, nuclear materials were produced and used in global civilian reactors and fuel cycles intended for peaceful purposes. The Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1970 established a framework for appropriate applications of both defense and civilian nuclear activities by nuclear weapons states and non-nuclear weapons states. As global inventories of nuclear materials continue to grow, in a diverse and dynamically changing manner, it is time to evaluate current and future trends and needed actions: what are the current circumstances, what has been done to date, what has worked and what hasn't? The aim is to identify mutually reinforcing programmatic directions, leading to global partnerships that measurably enhance international security. Essential elements are material protection, control and accountability (MPC&amp;A) of separated nuclear materials, interim storage, and geologic repositories for all nuclear materials destined for final disposal. Cooperation among key partners, such as the MPC&amp;A program between the U.S. and Russia for nuclear materials from dismantled weapons, is necessary for interim storage and final disposal of nuclear materials. Such …

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One of the major motivations driving recent interest in FFAGs is their use for the cost-effective acceleration of muons. This paper summarizes the progress in this area that was achieved leading up to and at the FFAG workshop at KEK from July 7-12, 2003. Much of the relevant background and references are also given here, to give a context to the progress we have made.

We are currently developing a component based, parallel visualization and graphical analysis tool for visualizing and analyzing data on two- and three-dimensional (20, 30) meshes. The tool consists of three primary components: a graphical user interface (GUI), a viewer, and a parallel compute engine. The components are designed to be operated in a distributed fashion with the GUI and viewer typically running on a high performance visualization server and the compute engine running on a large parallel platform. The viewer and compute engine are both based on the Visualization Toolkit (VTK), an open source object oriented data manipulation and visualization library. The compute engine will make use of parallel extensions to VTK, based on MPI, developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory in collaboration with the originators of P K . The compute engine will make use of meta-data so that it only operates on the portions of the data necessary to generate the image. The meta-data can either be created as the post-processing data is generated or as a pre-processing step to using VisIt. VisIt will be integrated with the VIEWS' Tera-Scale Browser, which will provide a high performance visual data browsing capability based on multi-resolution techniques.

Metallic films are grown with a sponge-like morphology in the as-deposited condition using planar magnetron sputtering. The morphology of the deposit is characterized by metallic continuity in three dimensions with continuous porosity on the sub-micron scale. The stabilization of the metallic sponge is directly correlated with a limited range for the sputter deposition parameters of working gas pressure and substrate temperature. This sponge-like morphology augments the features as generally understood in the classic zone models of growth for physical vapor deposits. Nickel coatings are deposited with working gas pressures up to 4 Pa and for substrate temperatures up to 1100 K. The morphology of the deposits is examined in plan and in cross-section with scanning electron microscopy. The parametric range of gas pressure and substrate temperature (relative to absolute melt point) for the deposition processing under which the metallic sponges are produced appear universal for many metals, as for example, including gold, silver, and aluminum.

Experimental data that exhibits a continuous-wave, second-harmonic intensity threshold (15 kW/cm{sup 2}) that causes two-photon nonlinear absorption which leads to time-dependent photochromic damage in periodically poled KTiOPO{sub 4} is presented and verified through a thermal dephasing model.

Our identification research for the past several years has focused on the problem of correctly discriminating small-magnitude explosions from a background of earthquakes, mining tremors, and other events. Small magnitudes lead to an emphasis on regional waveforms. The goal is to reduce the variance within the population of each type of event, while increasing the separation between the explosions and the other event types. We address this problem for both broad categories of seismic waves, body waves, and surface waves. First, we map out the effects of propagation and source size in advance so that they can be accounted for and removed from observed events. This can dramatically reduce the population variance. Second, we try to optimize the measurement process to improve the separation between population types. For body waves we focus on the identification power of the short-period regional phases Pn, Pg, Sn and Lg, and coda that can often be detected down to very small magnitudes. It is now well established that particular ratios of these phases, such as 6- to 8-Hz Pn/Lg, can effectively discriminate between closely located explosions and earthquakes. To extend this discrimination power over broad areas, we developed a revised Magnitude and Distance Amplitude …

Solid-state lasers have held great promise for the generation of high-average-power, high-quality output beams for a number of decades. However, the inherent difficulty of scaling the active solid-state gain media while continuing to provide efficient cooling has limited demonstrated powers to &lt;5kW. Even at the maximum demonstrated average powers, the output is most often delivered as continuous wave (CW) or as small energy pulses at high pulse repetition frequency (PRF) and the beam divergence is typically &gt;10X the diffraction limit. Challenges posed by optical distortions and depolarization arising from internal temperature gradients in the gain medium of a continuously cooled system are only increased for laser designs that would attempt to deliver the high average power in the form of high energy pulses (&gt;25J) from a single coherent optical aperture. Although demonstrated phase-locking of multiple laser apertures may hold significant promise for the future scaling of solid-state laser systems,1 the continuing need for additional technical development and innovation coupled with the anticipated complexity of these systems effectively limits this approach for near-term multi-kW laser operation outside of a laboratory setting. We have developed and demonstrated a new operational mode for solid-state laser systems in which the cooling of the gain …

Embedded gold and mechanical deformation in silica were used to investigate initiation of laser-induced damage at 3.55-nm (7.6 ns). The nanoparticle-covered surfaces were coated with between 0 and 500 nm of SiO{sub 2} by e-beam deposition. The threshold for observable damage and initiation site morphology for these ''engineered'' surfaces was determined. The gold nanoparticle coated surfaces with 500nm SiO{sub 2} coating exhibited pinpoint damage threshold of &lt;0.7 J/cm{sup 2} determined by light scattering and Nomarski microscopy. The gold nanoparticle coated surfaces with the 100nm SiO{sub 2} coatings exhibited what nominally appeared to be film exfoliation damage threshold of 19 J/cm{sup 2} via light scattering and Nomarski microscopy. With atomic force microscopy pinholes could be detected at fluences greater than 7 J/cm{sup 2} and blisters at fluences greater than 3 J/cm{sup 2} on the 100 nm-coated surfaces. A series of mechanical indents and scratches were made in the fused silica substrates using a nano-indentor. Plastic deformation without cracking led to damage thresholds of -25 J/cm{sup 2}, whereas indents and scratches with cracking led to damage thresholds of only {approx}5 J/cm{sup 2}. Particularly illuminating was the deterministic damage of scratches at the deepest end of the scratch, as if the scratch acted …

In filled PDMS based composites, such as M97XX stress cushions, significant mechanical reinforcement of the polymer component is obtained from hydrogen bonding between the silica filler surface hydroxyls and the siloxane polymer backbone. It is expected that these interactions are influenced by the amount and structure of interfacial water. We have chosen to investigate in detail the effect of chemisorbed and physisorbed water on the interfacial structure and dynamics in silica-filled PDMS-based composites. Toward this end, we have combined classical molecular dynamics simulations and experimental studies employing nanoindentation, temperature programmed desorption (TPD), Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analyses. Our TPD results suggest that moisture desorption and adsorption in M9787 can be approximated by the interaction of its silica constituents (Cab-0-Sil-M-7D and Hi-Sil-233) with moisture. Our experimental data also reveal that, in general, as heat-treated silica particles are exposed to moisture, chemisorbed states, then physisorbed states are gradually filled up in that order. Molecular modeling results suggest that the polymer-silica contact distance and the mobility of interfacial polymer chains significantly decreased as the hydration level at the interface was reduced. The reduced mobility of the PDMS chains in the interfacial domain reduced the bulk motional properties of …

The standing-wave electric-field profile within multilayer coatings is significantly perturbated by a nodular defect. The intensity, which is proportional to the electric field squared, is increased in the high index material by {&gt;=}3x at normal incidence and {&gt;=}12x at 45 degrees incidence angle. Therefore it is not surprising that nodular defects are initiation sites of laser-induced damage. In this study, the impact of reflectance-band centering and incident angle are explored for a 1 {micro}m diameter nodular defect seed overcoated with a 24 layer high-reflector constructed of quarter-wave thick alternating layers of hafnia and silica. The modeling was performed using a three-dimensional finite-element analysis code.

The NSF Center for Adaptive Optics (CfAO) is supporting research on advanced adaptive optics technologies. CfAO research activities include development and characterization of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) deformable mirror (DM) technology, as well as development and characterization of high-resolution adaptive optics systems using liquid crystal (LC) spatial light modulator (SLM) technology. This paper presents an overview of the CfAO advanced adaptive optics technology development activities including current status and future plans.

As part of the Dual Axis Radiography Hydrotest Facility, Phase II (DARHT II) multipulse Bremsstrahlung target, we have been performing an investigation of (1) the possible adverse effects of backstreaming ion emission from the Bremsstrahlung converter target and (2) maintaining sufficient target density to ensure dose in latter pulses. Theory predictions show that the first effect would primarily be manifested in the static focusing system as a rapidly varying x-ray spot. From experiments performed on ETA-II, we have shown that the first effect is not strongly present when the beam initially interacts with the target. Electron beam pulses delivered to the target after formation of a plasma are strongly affected, however. Secondly, we have performed studies of the effect of the time varying target density on dose and seek to demonstrate various techniques for maintaining that density. Measurements are presented of the target density as a function of time and are compared with our hydrodynamic models.

This project has built a unique historic database of regional distance nuclear explosion, earthquake, and mine-related digital broadband seismograms for the western United States (US). The emphasis is on data from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)-managed stations MNA, ELK, KNB and LAC that recorded many nuclear tests and nearby earthquakes in broadband digital form since 1980, along with a small number of earlier events that were digitized from tapes. Through the generous cooperation of Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) we have also included waveforms from their Leo Brady network (BMN, DWN, LDS, NEL,TON). In addition we include data from other open broadband stations in the western US with long operating histories and/or ties to the International Monitoring System (IMS) (e.g. PFO, YKA, CMB, NEW, DUG, ANMO, TUC). These waveforms are associated with a reconciled catalog of events and station response information to facilitate analysis. The goal is to create a high-quality database that can be used in the future to analyze fundamental regional monitoring issues such as detection, location, magnitude, and discrimination. In the first stage of the project, we collected six different regional network catalogs from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), to provide accurate independent location information for events …