We present a measurement of the top quark pair production cross section in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV using approximately 1 fb{sup -1} of data collected with the D0 detector. We consider decay channels containing two high p{sub T} charged leptons where one lepton is identified as an electron or a muon while the other lepton can be an electron, a muon or a hadronically decaying {tau} lepton. For a mass of the top quark of 170 GeV, the measured cross section is 7.5{sub -1.0}{sup +1.0}(stat){sub -0.06}{sup +0.7}(syst){sub -0.5}{sup 0.6}(lumi) pb. Using {ell}{sub {tau}} events only, they measure: {sigma}{sub t{bar t}} x B(t{bar t} {yields} {ell}{sub {tau}}b{bar b}) = 0.13{sub -0.08}{sup +0.09}(stat){sub -0.06}{sup 0.06}(syst)+{sub -0.02}{sup +0.02}(lumi) pb. Comparing the measured cross section as a function of the mass of the top quark with a partial next-to-next-to leading order Quantum Chromodynamics theoretical prediction, we extract a mass of the top quark of 171.5{sub -8.8}{sup +9.9} GeV, in agreement with direct measurements.

On October 9, 2008, NREL hosted a workshop to provide an opportunity for external stakeholders to offer insights and recommendations on the design and functionality of DOE's planned Energy Systems Infrastructure Facility (ESIF). The goal was to ensure that the planning for the ESIF effectively addresses the most critical barriers to large-scale energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) deployment. This technical report documents the ESIF workshop proceedings.

In this work, computer simulations are used to determine the influence of edge conditions on the overall performance of mesa diodes under dark and illuminated conditions. In particular, we examine the effect of edge shape on the I-V characteristics of the diode.

MINOS is a long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment that uses two detectors separated by 734 km. The readout systems used for the two detectors are different and have to be independently calibrated. To verify and make a direct comparison of the calibrated response of the two readout systems, test beam data were acquired using a smaller calibration detector. This detector was simultaneously instrumented with both readout systems and exposed to the CERN PS T7 test beam. Differences in the calibrated response of the two systems are shown to arise from differences in response non-linearity, photomultiplier tube crosstalk, and threshold effects at the few percent level. These differences are reproduced by the Monte Carlo (MC) simulation to better than 1% and a scheme that corrects for these differences by calibrating the MC to match the data in each detector separately is presented. The overall difference in calorimetric response between the two readout systems is shown to be consistent with zero to a precision of 1.3% in data and 0.3% in MC with no significant energy dependence.

The Heavy-Ion Fusion Sciences Virtual National Laboratory is pursuing an approach to target heating experiments in the Warm Dense Matter regime, using space-charge-dominated ion beams that are simultaneously longitudinally bunched and transversely focused. Longitudinal beam compression by large factors has been demonstrated in the LBNL Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment (NDCX) experiment with controlled ramps and forced neutralization. The achieved peak beam current and energy can be used in experiments to heat targets and create warm dense matter. Using an injected 30 mA K{sup +} ion beam with initial kinetic energy 0.3 MeV, axial compression leading to {approx}50x current amplification and simultaneous radial focusing to beam radii of a few mm have led to encouraging energy deposition approaching the intensities required for eV-range target heating experiments. We discuss experiments that are under development to reach the necessary higher beam intensities and the associated beam diagnostics.

We report on our observations of light-activated passivation of silicon surfaces by iodine-ethanol solution.

This paper describes the current status of wind-diesel technology and its applications, the current research activities, and the remaining system technical and commercial challenges. System architectures, dispatch strategies, and operating experience from a variety of wind-diesel systems will be discussed, as well as how recent development to explore distributed energy generation solutions for wind generation can benefit from the performance experience of operating systems. The paper also includes a detailed discussion of the performance of wind-diesel applications in Alaska, where 10 wind-diesel stations are operating and additional systems are currently being implemented. Additionally, because this application represents an international opportunity, a community of interest committed to sharing technical and operating developments is being formed. The authors hope to encourage this expansion while allowing communities and nations to investigate the wind-diesel option for reducing their dependence on diesel-driven energy sources.

The MINOS experiment uses the intense NuMI beam created at Fermilab and two magnetized tracking calorimeters, one located at Fermilab and one located 735 km away at the Soudan Mine in Minnesota, to make precise measurements of {nu}{sub {mu}} disappearance oscillation parameters. We present recent results from the first two years of NuMI beam operations, including the precise measurement of the atmospheric neutrino oscillation parameters and the search for sterile neutrinos. Future prospects for MINOS will also be discussed, including an improved limit on the {theta}{sub 13} mixing angle by searching for {nu}{sub e} appearance in the {nu}{sub {mu}} beam.

We present new limits on resonant tb production in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV, using 1.9 fb{sup -1} of data recorded with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. We reconstruct a putative tb mass in events with a lepton, neutrino candidate, and two or three jets, and search for anomalous tb production as modeled by W{prime} {yields} tb. We set a new limit on a right-handed W{prime} with standard model-like coupling, excluding any mass below 800 GeV at 95% C.L. For any narrow W{prime}-like state with mass above 800 GeV, the cross-section is found to be less than 0.28 pb at 95% C.L. We also present an exclusion of the W{prime} coupling strength versus W{prime} mass.

We report the results of a search for associated production of charginos and neutralinos using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 fb{sup -1} collected with the D0 experiment during Run II of the Tevatron proton-antiproton collider. Final states containing three charged leptons and missing transverse energy are probed for a signal from supersymmetry with four dedicated trilepton event selections. No evidence for a signal is observed, and we set limits on the product of production cross section and leptonic branching fraction. Within minimal supergravity, these limits translate into bounds on m{sub 0} and m{sub 1/2} that are well beyond existing limits.

The Savannah River Site (SRS) will remove sludge as part of waste tank closure operations. Typically the bulk sludge is removed by mixing it with supernate to produce a slurry, and transporting the slurry to a downstream tank for processing. Experience shows that a residual heel may remain in the tank that cannot be removed by this conventional technique. In the past, SRS used oxalic acid solutions to disperse or dissolve the sludge heel to complete the waste removal. To better understand the actual conditions of oxalic acid cleaning of waste from carbon steel tanks, the authors developed and conducted an experimental program to determine its effectiveness in dissolving sludge, the hydrogen generation rate, the generation rate of other gases, the carbon steel corrosion rate, the impact of mixing on chemical cleaning, the impact of temperature, and the types of precipitates formed during the neutralization process. The test samples included actual SRS sludge and simulated SRS sludge. The authors performed the simulated waste tests at 25, 50, and 75 C by adding 8 wt % oxalic acid to the sludge over seven days. They conducted the actual waste tests at 50 and 75 C by adding 8 wt % oxalic …

We define a 0Day vulnerability to be any vulnerability, in deployed software, that has been discovered by at least one person but has not yet been publicly announced or patched. These 0Day vulnerabilities are of particular interest when assessing the risk to a system from exploit of vulnerabilities which are not generally known to the public or, most importantly, to the owners of the system. Using the 0Day definition given above, we analyzed the 0Day lifespans of 491 vulnerabilities and conservatively estimated that in the worst year there were on average 2500 0Day vulnerabilities in existence on any given day. Then using a small but intriguing set of 15 0Day vulnerability lifespans representing the time from actual discovery to public disclosure, we made a more aggressive estimate. In this case, we estimated that in the worst year there were, on average, 4500 0Day vulnerabilities in existence on any given day.

The Doppler feedback mechanism is a major contributor to the passive safety of gas-cooled, graphite-moderated High Temperature Reactors that use fuel based on TRISO particles. It follows that the correct prediction of the magnitude and time-dependence of this feedback effect is essential to the conduct of safety analyses for these reactors. Since the effect is directly dependent on the actual temperature reached by the fuel during transients, the underlying phenomena of heat transfer and temperature rise must be correctly predicted. This paper presents an improved model for the TRISO particle and its thermal behavior during transients. The improved approach incorporates an explicit TRISO heat conduction model to better quantify the time dependence of the temperature in the various layers of the TRISO particle, including its fuel central zone. There follows a better treatment of the Doppler Effect within said fuel zone. The new model is based on a 1-D analytic solution for composite media using the Green’s function technique. The modeling improvement takes advantage of some of the physical behavior of TRISO fuel under irradiation and includes a distinctive look at the physics of the neutronic Doppler Effect. The new methodology has been implemented within the coupled R-Z nodal diffusion …

In 2008, the Savannah River Site (SRS) began treatment of liquid radioactive waste from its Tank Farms. To treat waste streams containing {sup 137}Cs, {sup 90}Sr, and actinides, SRS developed the Actinide Removal Process (ARP) and the Modular Caustic Side Solvent Extraction Unit (MCU). The Actinide Removal Process contacts the waste with monosodium titanate (MST) to sorb strontium and select actinides. After MST contact, the process filters the resulting slurry to remove the MST (with sorbed strontium and actinides) and any entrained sludge. The filtrate is transported to the MCU to remove cesium. The solid particle removed by the filter are concentrated to {approx} 5 wt %, washed to reduce the concentration of dissolved sodium, and transported to the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) for vitrification. The authors conducted tests with 0.5 {micro} and 0.1 {micro} Mott sintered stainless steel crossflow filter at bench-scale (0.19 ft{sup 2} surface area) and pilot-scale (11.2 ft{sup 2}). The collected data supported design of the filter for the process and identified preferred operating conditions for the full-scale process (230 ft{sup 2}). The testing investigated the influence of operating parameters, such as filter pore size, axial velocity, transmembrane pressure, and solids loading, on filter flux, …

Experiment E949 at Brookhaven National Laboratory has observed three candidate events for the decay K{sup +} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{nu}{bar {nu}} in the pion momentum region 140 < P{sub {pi}} < 199 MeV/c in a exposure of 1.71 x 10{sup 12} stopped kaons with an estimated total background of 0.93 {+-} 0.17(stat.){sub -0.24}{sup +0.32}(syst.) events. Combination of this observation with previous results, assuming a pion spectrum as predicted by the standard model, produces a branching fraction of {beta} = (1.73{sub -1.05}{sup +1.15}) x 10{sup -10}. We also give the interpretation of the combined results for alternative model of the decay K{sup +} {yields} {pi}{sup +} + nothing.

One of the Design Basis Accidents (DBA) for a Pebble Bed Reactor has been identified as the “Safe shutdown earthquake with core conduction cooling to passive mode of Reactor Cavity Cooling System.” A new methodology to analyze this particular DBA has been developed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). During the seismic event the reactor core experiences the densification of the pebbles, which produce small reactivity insertions due to the effective fuel densification. In addition, a decrease in the active core height results in the relative withdrawal of the control rods, which are assumed to remain stationary during the transient. The methodology relies on the dynamic re-meshing of the core during the transient to capture the local packing fraction changes and their corresponding effects on temperature and reactivity. The core re-meshing methodology is based on the velocity profiles of the pebbles in the core, which were obtained with the INL’s pebble mechanics code PEBBLES. The methodology has been added to the coupled code system CYNOD-THERMIX-KONVEK. The reactor power calculation is further improved with the use of the new advanced TRISO fuel model to better approximate the temperatures in the fuel kernels. During the transient the core is brought back to …

We present the first direct measurement of the W production charge asymmetry as a function of the W boson rapidity y{sub W} in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV. We use a sample of W {yields} e{nu} events in data from 1 fb{sup -1} of integrated luminosity collected using the CDF II detector. In the region |y{sub W}| < 3.0, this measurement is capable of constraining the ratio of up and down quark momentum distributions in the proton more directly than in previous measurements of the asymmetry that are a function of the charged-lepton pseudorapidity.

The authors review the latest results on searches for physics beyond the Standard Model in the top quark sector at CDF Run II in a data sample with integrated luminosity up to 2.8 fb{sup -1}. Since its discovery, the top quark has appeared to be a very special object. It is distinguished by its large mass ({approx} 170 GeV) close to the scale of electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB), and a Yukawa coupling surprisingly close to one (0.98). Is the top quark mass generated by the Higgs mechanism as the Standard Model (SM) predicts, or does it play a more fundamental role in the EWSB? How would physics beyond the standard model (SM) affect top quark properties? Searches for new physics (NP) should provide answers to the many open questions left by the SM. In these proceedings they present the latest CDF results on the searches for exotic decay modes of the top quark, as well as the production and decay of new particles into final states with a top quark pair. The analyses of the Run II data are performed with approximately 30 times the statistics of the Run I top quark discovery.

The Tevatron chromaticity tracker (CT) has been successfully commissioned and is now operational. The basic idea behind the CT is that when the phase of the Tevatron RF is slowly modulated, the beam momentum is also modulated. This momentum modulation is coupled transversely via chromaticity to manifest as a phase modulation on the betatron tune. And so by phase demodulating the betatron tune, the chromaticity can be recovered. However, for the phase demodulation to be successful, it is critical that the betatron tune be a coherent signal that can be easily picked up by a phase detector. This is easily done because the Tevatron has a phase locked loop based tune tracker which coherently excites the beam at the betatron tune.

We present a measurement of the B{sub s}{sup 0} - B{sub s}{sup 0} oscillation frequency, {Delta}m{sub s}, using a combination of semi-leptonic and hadronic B{sub s} decay candidates selected from data collected by the D0 Experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron. We also present several results on CP violation, including an improved measurement of the B{sub s} CP-violating phase from a flavor-tagged analysis of B{sub s}{sup 0} {yields} J/{psi} + {phi} decays.

A search for pair production of the lightest supersymmetric partner of the top quark, {tilde t}{sub 1}, is performed in the lepton+jets channel using 0.9 fb{sup -1} of data collected by the D0 experiment. Kinematic differences between {tilde t}{sub 1}{bar {tilde t}}{sub 1} and the dominant top quark pair production background are used to separate the two processes. First limits from Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider for the scalar top quark decaying to a chargino and a b quark ({tilde t}{sub 1} {yields} {tilde {chi}}{sub 1}{sup +} b) are obtained for scalar top quark masses of 130-190 GeV and chargino masses of 90-150 GeV.

Superconducting (SC) technology is the only option for CW linacs and is also an attractive option for pulsed linacs. SC cavities are routinely used for proton and H{sup -} beam acceleration above 185 MeV. Successful development of SC cavities covering the lower velocity range (down to 0.03c) is a very strong basis for the application of SC structures in the front ends of high energy linacs. Lattice design and related high-intensity beam physics issues in a {approx}400 MeV linac that uses SC cavities will be presented in this talk. In particular, axially-symmetric focusing by SC solenoids provides strong control of beam space-charge and a compact focusing lattice. As an example, we discuss the SC front-end of the H{sup -} linac for the FNAL Proton Driver.

This paper describes our investigations on the formation of back contacts in screen-printed solar cells, and how most requirements of a good back contact can be met by a suitable process.

The Wind Powering America program produces a poster at the end of every calendar year that depicts new U.S. wind energy projects. The 2008 poster includes the following projects: Stetson Wind Farm in Maine; Dutch Hill Wind Farm in New York; Grand Ridge Wind Energy Center in Illinois; Hooper Bay, Alaska; Forestburg, South Dakota; Elbow Creek Wind Project in Texas; Glacier Wind Farm in Montana; Wray, Colorado; Smoky Hills Wind Farm in Kansas; Forbes Park Wind Project in Massachusetts; Spanish Fork, Utah; Goodland Wind Farm in Indiana; and the Tatanka Wind Energy Project on the border of North Dakota and South Dakota.