Shimming systems are required to provide sufficient fieldhomogeneity for high resolution NMR. In certain specialized applications,such as rotating-field NMR and portable (ex-situ) NMR, permanentmagnet-based shimming systems can provide considerable advantages. Wepresent a simple two-dimensional shimming method based on harmoniccorrector rings which can provide arbitrary multipole order shimmingcorrections. Results demonstrate, for example, that quadrupolar ordershimming improves the linewidth by up to and order of magnitude. Anadditional order of magnitude reduction is in principle achievable byultilizing this shimming method for z-gradient correction and higherorder xy gradients.

Using a density functional theory based approach that treats the 5f electrons relativistically, a Pu electronic structure with zero net magnetic moment is obtained, where the 5f orbital and 5f spin moments cancel each other. By combining the spin and orbital specific densities of states with state, spin and polarization specific transition moments, it is possible to reconstruct the experimentally observed photoemission spectra from Pu. Extrapolating to a spin-resolving Fano configuration, it is shown how this would resolve the extant controversy over Pu electronic structure.

Energetic materials are unique for having a strong exothermic reactivity, which has made them desirable for both military and commercial applications. Energetic materials are commonly divided into high explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics. We will focus on high explosive (HE) materials here, although there is a great deal of commonality between the classes of energetic materials. Although the history of HE materials is long, their condensed-phase properties are poorly understood. Understanding the condensed-phase properties of HE materials is important for determining stability and performance. Information regarding HE material properties (for example, the physical, chemical, and mechanical behaviors of the constituents in plastic-bonded explosive, or PBX, formulations) is necessary for efficiently building the next generation of explosives as the quest for more powerful energetic materials (in terms of energy per volume) moves forward. In modeling HE materials there is a need to better understand the physical, chemical, and mechanical behaviors from fundamental theoretical principles. Among the quantities of interest in plastic-bonded explosives (PBXs), for example, are thermodynamic stabilities, reaction kinetics, equilibrium transport coefficients, mechanical moduli, and interfacial properties between HE materials and the polymeric binders. These properties are needed (as functions of stress state and temperature) for the development of improved micro-mechanical …

This simulation study shows how widely different model approaches can be adapted to model the evolution of the excavation disturbed zone (EDZ) around a heated nuclear waste emplacement drift in fractured rock. The study includes modeling of coupled thermal-hydrological-mechanical (THM) processes, with simplified consideration of chemical coupling in terms of time-dependent strength degradation or subcritical crack growth. The different model approaches applied in this study include boundary element, finite element, finite difference, particle mechanics, and elastoplastic cellular automata methods. The simulation results indicate that thermally induced differential stresses near the top of the emplacement drift may cause progressive failure and permeability changes during the first 100 years (i.e., after emplacement and drift closure). Moreover, the results indicate that time-dependent mechanical changes may play only a small role during the first 100 years of increasing temperature and thermal stress, whereas such time-dependency is insignificant after peak temperature, because decreasing thermal stress.

We consider the problem of generating a map between two triangulated meshes, M and M{prime}, with arbitrary and possibly differing genus. This problem has rarely been tackled in its generality. Early schemes considered only topological spheres. Recent algorithms allow inputs with an arbitrary number of tunnels but require M and M{prime} to have equal genus, mapping tunnel to tunnel. Other schemes which allow more general inputs are not guaranteed to work and the authors do not provide a characterization of the input meshes that can be processed successfully. Moreover, the techniques have difficulty dealing with coarse meshes with many tunnels. In this paper we present the first robust approach to build a map between two meshes of arbitrary unequal genus. We also provide a simplified method for setting the initial alignment between M and M{prime}, reducing reliance on landmarks and allowing the user to select 'landmark tunnels' in addition to the standard landmark vertices. After computing the map, we automatically derive a continuous deformation from M to M{prime} using a variational implicit approach to describe the evolution of non-landmark tunnels. Overall, we achieve a cross parameterization scheme that is provably robust in the sense that it can map M to …

We construct metastable configurations of branes and anti-branes wrapping 2-spheres inside local Calabi-Yau manifolds and study their large N duals. These duals are Calabi-Yau manifolds in which the wrapped 2-spheres have been replaced by 3-spheres with flux through them, and supersymmetry is spontaneously broken. The geometry of the non-supersymmetric vacuum is exactly calculable to all orders of the't Hooft parameter, and to the leading order in 1/N. The computation utilizes the same matrix model techniques that were used in the supersymmetric context. This provides a novel mechanism for breaking supersymmetry in the context of flux compactifications.

Passivity breakdown of 316L SS in the presence of aggressive Cl{sup -} and inhibitive NO{sub 3}{sup -} anions has been experimentally studied and the results have been interpreted in terms of the Point Defect Model (PDM). By introducing the competitive adsorption of Cl{sup -} and NO{sub 3}{sup -} into surface oxygen vacancies at the passive film/solution interface, the PDM yields a critical breakdown potential (V{sub c}) that is predicted to vary linearly with log[Cl{sup -}], or with log ([Cl{sup -}]/[NO{sub 3}{sup -}]) [1] when nitrate ions are present, which is shown in Fig. 1. The Point Defect Model also explains the fact that the slope of V{sub c} vs. log[Cl{sup -}] does not change in the presence of NO{sub 3}{sup -}, which is attributed to the quasi-equilibrium ejection of a cation from the barrier layer to form the vacancy pair V{sub M}V{sub O}{sup (2-{chi})} at the barrier layer/solution interface. The Point Defect Model predicts that measured V{sub c} increases linearly with the square root of voltage scan rate {nu}{sup 1/2} [1]. From this correlation, the critical, areal concentration of cation vacancies at the metal/barrier layer interface, {zeta}, has been estimated and found to be comparable to that calculated from the …

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) will routinely fire high energy shots (approaching 10 kJ per beamline) through the final optics, located on the target chamber. After a high fluence shot, exceeding 4J/cm2 at 351 nm wavelength, the final optics will be inspected for laser-induced damage. The FODI (Final Optics Damage Inspection) system has been developed for this purpose, with requirements to detect laser-induced damage initiation and to track and size it's the growth to the point at which the optic is removed and the site mitigated. The FODI system is the 'corner stone' of the NIF optic recycle strategy. We will describe the FODI system and discuss the challenges to make optics inspection a routine part of NIF operations.

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As part of the ongoing international DECOVALEX project, four research teams used five different models to simulate coupled thermal, hydrological, and mechanical (THM) processes near waste emplacement drifts of geological nuclear waste repositories. The simulations were conducted for two generic repository types, one with open and the other with back-filled repository drifts, under higher and lower postclosure temperatures, respectively. In the completed first model inception phase of the project, a good agreement was achieved between the research teams in calculating THM responses for both repository types, although some disagreement in hydrological responses is currently being resolved. In particular, good agreement in the basic thermal-mechanical responses was achieved for both repository types, even though some teams used relatively simplified thermal-elastic heat-conduction models that neglected complex near-field thermal-hydrological processes. The good agreement between the complex and simplified process models indicates that the basic thermal-mechanical responses can be predicted with a relatively high confidence level.

This paper presents an international, multiple-code, simulation study of coupled thermal, hydrological, and mechanical (THM) processes and their effect on permeability and fluid flow in fractured rock around heated underground nuclear waste emplacement drifts. Simulations were conducted considering two types of repository settings: (a) open emplacement drifts in relatively shallow unsaturated volcanic rock, and (b) backfilled emplacement drifts in deeper saturated crystalline rock. The results showed that for the two assumed repository settings, the dominant mechanism of changes in rock permeability was thermal-mechanically-induced closure (reduced aperture) of vertical fractures, caused by thermal stress resulting from repository-wide heating of the rock mass. The magnitude of thermal-mechanically-induced changes in permeability was more substantial in the case of an emplacement drift located in a relatively shallow, low-stress environment where the rock is more compliant, allowing more substantial fracture closure during thermal stressing. However, in both of the assumed repository settings in this study, the thermal-mechanically-induced changes in permeability caused relatively small changes in the flow field, with most changes occurring in the vicinity of the emplacement drifts.

We study the behavior of hydrogen-bonded systems under high-pressure and temperature. First principle calculations of formic acid under isotropic pressure up to 70 GPa reveal the existence of a polymerization phase at around 20 GPa, in support of recent IR, Raman, and XRD experiments. In this phase, covalent bonding develops between molecules of the same chain through symmetrization of hydrogen bonds. We also performed molecular dynamics simulations of water at pressures up to 115 GPa and 2000 K. Along this isotherm, we are able to define three different phases. We observe a molecular fluid phase with superionic diffusion of the hydrogens for pressure 34 GPa to 58 GPa. We report a transformation to a phase dominated by transient networks of symmetric O-H hydrogen bonds at 95-115 GPa. As in formic acid, the network can be attributed to the symmetrization of the hydrogen bond, similar to the ice VII to ice X transition.

By thermally cycling through their transformation temperature range, coarse-grained, polymorphic materials can be deformed superplastically, owing to the emergence of transformation mismatch plasticity (or transformation superplasticity) as a deformation mechanism. This mechanism is investigated under biaxial stress conditions during thermal cycling of unalloyed titanium, Ti-6Al-4V, and their composites (Ti/10 vol.% TiC{sub p}, Ti-6Al-4V/10 vol% TiC{sub p} and Ti-6Al-4V/5 vol.% TiB{sub w}). During gas-pressure dome bulging experiments, the dome height was measured as a function of forming time. Adapting existing models of biaxial doming to the case of transformation superplasticity where the strain-rate sensitivity is unity, we verify the operation of this deformation mechanism in all experimental materials, and compare the biaxial results to uniaxial thermal cycling results on the same materials. Finally, existing thickness distribution models are compared with experimentally measured profiles.

The BABAR and Belle collaborations have recently found evidence for mixing within the D meson system. We present some of the mixing search techniques used by BABAR and their status as of the beginning of the summer 2007. These have culminated in a measurement in the K{pi} decay final state of the D that is inconsistent with the no-mixing hypothesis with a significance of 3.9 standard deviations.

We measure the laminar deflagration rate of LX-17 (92.5 wt% TATB, 7.5 wt% Kel-F 800) at high pressure and temperature in a strand burner, thereby obtaining reaction rate data for prediction of thermal explosion violence. Simultaneous measurements of flame front time-of-arrival and temporal pressure history allow for the direct calculation of deflagration rate as a function of pressure. Additionally, deflagrating surface areas are calculated in order to provide quantitative insight into the dynamic surface structure during deflagration and its relationship to explosion violence. Deflagration rate data show that LX-17 burns in a smooth fashion at ambient temperature and is represented by the burn rate equation B = 0.2P{sup 0.9}. At 225 C, deflagration is more rapid and erratic. Dynamic deflagrating surface area calculations show that ambient temperature LX-17 deflagrating surface areas remain near unity over the pressure range studied.

The CPS Accel is a commercial PET camera based on a block detector with 64 LSO scintillator crystals (each 6.75 x 6.75 x 25 mm)read out with 4 photomultiplier tubes. The excellent timing resolution of LSO suggests that this camera might be used for time-of-flight (TOF) PET, thereby reducing the statistical noise significantly. Although the Accel achieves 3 ns coincidence resolution (a factor of two better than BGO-based PET cameras), its timing resolution is nearly an order of magnitude worse than that demonstrated with individual LSO crystals. This paper quantifies the effect on the timing of each component in the Accel timing chain to identify which components most limit the camera's timing resolution. The components in the timing chain are: the scintillator crystal, the photomultiplier tube (PMT), the constant fraction discriminator (CFD), and the time to digital converter (TDC). To measure the contribution of each component, we construct a single crystal test system with high-performance versions of these components. This system achieves 221 ps fwhm coincidence timing resolution, which is used as a baseline measurement. One of the high-performance components is replaced by a production component, the coincidence timing resolution is re-measured, and the difference between measurements is the contribution …

This paper describes the sealing performance testing and results of silver-plated inconel Spring Energized C-Rings used for tritium containment in radioactive shipping packagings. The test methodology used follows requirements of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) summarized in ASME Pressure Vessel Code (B&PVC), Section V, Article 10, Appendix IX (Helium Mass Spectrometer Test - Hood Technique) and recommendations by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) described in ANSI N14.5-1997. The tests parameters bound the predicted structural and thermal responses from conditions defined in the Code of Federal Regulations 10 CFR 71. The testing includes an evaluation of the effects of pressure, temperature, flange deflection, surface roughness, permeation, closure torque, torque sequencing and re-use on performance of metal C-Ring seals.

The time and momentum distributions of electron emission from a molecule during a single laser cycle are calculated by solving a two-dimensional time-dependent Schr{umlt o}dinger equation. The momentum distributions strongly depend on the orbital symmetry and orientation of the molecular axis. Field-induced internal dynamics of the molecule can shift electron emission and recollision times through a large part of the laser cycle, which leads to corresponding variations of high-harmonic emission times and to the appearance of even harmonics.

Galactic cosmic rays (CRs) are widely believed to be accelerated by shock waves associated with the expansion of supernova ejecta into the interstellar medium. A key issue in this long-standing conjecture is a theoretical prediction that the interstellar magnetic field can be substantially amplified at the shock of a young supernova remnant (SNR) through magnetohydrodynamic waves generated by cosmic rays. Here we report a discovery of the brightening and decay of X-ray hot spots in the shell of theSNRRXJ1713.723946 on a one-year timescale. This rapid variability shows that the X-rays are produced by ultrarelativistic electrons through a synchrotron process and that electron acceleration does indeed take place in a strongly magnetized environment, indicating amplification of the magnetic field by a factor of more than 100. The X-ray variability also implies that we have witnessed the ongoing shock-acceleration of electrons in real time. Independently, broadband X-ray spectrometric measurements of RXJ1713.723946 indicate that electron acceleration proceeds in the most effective ('Bohm-diffusion') regime. Taken together, these two results provide a strong argument for acceleration of protons and nuclei to energies of 1 PeV (10{sup 15} eV) and beyond in young supernova remnants.

A search for muon neutrinos from Kaluza-Klein dark matter annihilations in the Sun has been performed with the 22-string configuration of the IceCube neutrino detector using data collected in 104.3 days of live-time in 2007. No excess over the expected atmospheric background has been observed. Upper limits have been obtained on the annihilation rate of captured lightest Kaluza-Klein particle (LKP) WIMPs in the Sun and converted to limits on the LKP-proton cross-sections for LKP masses in the range 250 - 3000 GeV. These results are the most stringent limits to date on LKP annihilation in the Sun.

The results of mid-rapidity (0 < y < 0.8) neutral pion spectra over an extended transverse momentum range (1 < p{sub T} < 12 GeV/c) in {radical}s{sub NN} = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions, measured by the STAR experiment, are presented. The neutral pions are reconstructed from photons measured either by the STAR Barrel Electro-Magnetic Calorimeter (BEMC) or by the Time Projection Chamber (TPC) via tracking of conversion electron-positron pairs. Our measurements are compared to previously published {pi}{sup {+-}} and {pi}{sup 0} results. The nuclear modification factors R{sub CP} and R{sub AA} of {pi}{sup 0} are also presented as a function of p{sub T}. In the most central Au+Au collisions, the binary collision scaled {pi}{sup 0} yield at high p{sub T} is suppressed by a factor of about 5 compared to the expectation from the yield of p+p collisions. Such a large suppression is in agreement with previous observations for light quark mesons and is consistent with the scenario that partons suffer considerable energy loss in the dense medium formed in central nucleus-nucleus collisions at RHIC.

The extracellular matrix (ECM), once thought to solely provide physical support to a tissue, is a key component of a cell's microenvironment responsible for directing cell fate and maintaining tissue specificity. It stands to reason, then, that changes in the ECM itself or in how signals from the ECM are presented to or interpreted by cells can disrupt tissue organization; the latter is a necessary step for malignant progression. In this review, we elaborate on this concept using the mammary gland as an example. We describe how the ECM directs mammary gland formation and function, and discuss how a cell's inability to interpret these signals - whether as a result of genetic insults or physicochemical alterations in the ECM - disorganizes the gland and promotes malignancy. By restoring context and forcing cells to properly interpret these native signals, aberrant behavior can be quelled and organization re-established. Traditional imaging approaches have been a key complement to the standard biochemical, molecular, and cell biology approaches used in these studies. Utilizing imaging modalities with enhanced spatial resolution in live tissues may uncover additional means by which the ECM regulates tissue structure, on different length scales, through its pericellular organization (short-scale) and by biasing …

The last decade has seen a renaissance in inorganic scintillator development for gamma ray detection. Lead tungstate (PbWO4) has been developed for high energy physics experiments, and possesses exceptionally high density and radiation hardness, albeit with low luminous efficiency. Lutetium orthosilicate or LSO (Lu2SiO5:Ce) possesses a unique combination of high luminous efficiency, high density, and reasonably short decay time, and is now incorporated in commercial positron emission tomography (PET) cameras. There have been advances in understanding the fundamental mechanisms that limit energy resolution, and several recently discovered materials (such as LaBr3:Ce) possess energy resolution that approaches that of direct solid state detectors. Finally, there are indications that a neglected class of scintillator materials that exhibit near band-edge fluorescence could provide scintillators with sub-nanosecond decay times and high luminescent efficiency.

The past leaves the surprising experimental successes of the simple constituent quark model to be explained by QCD. The future opens the way to new insight into QCD from heavy flavor experiments.