We analyze the constraints on dimension-six {Delta}F = 1 effective operators in models respecting the MFV hypothesis, both in the one-Higgs doublet case and in the two-Higgs doublet scenario with large tan {beta}. The constraints are derived mainly from the b {yields} s inclusive observables measured at the B factories. The implications of these bounds in view of improved measurements in exclusive and inclusive observables in b {yields} s{ell}{sup +}{ell}{sup -} and s {yields} d{nu}{bar {nu}} transitions are discussed.

Understanding the effects of cold nuclear matter on J/psi production is a key requirement in order to interpret the J/psi suppression reported in heavy-ion collisions. Based on a Glauber model, the J/psi-nucleon inelastic cross section is determined from a statistical analysis of J/psi world data on nuclear targets. The global fit of all data gives sigmaJ/psiN = 3.4 +/- 0.2 mb, significantly smaller than previous estimates, yet the chi2 of the fit is pretty large, chi2/ndf = 1.5. A similar value, sigmaJ/psiN = 3.5 +/- 0.2 +/- 1.7 mb, is obtained when the De Florian-Sassot modifications of the nuclear parton densities are included in the analysis, although we emphasize that the present uncertainties on gluon (anti)shadowing do not allow for a precise determination of sigmaJ/psiN. Finally, the possible energy dependence of the J/psi-nucleon inelastic cross section is investigated within this framework. No significant energy dependence of the J/psi-N interaction is observed.

The primary goal of the BaBar and Belle experiments is to overconstrain the CKM Unitarity Triangle. Measurements of the angles of this triangle, known as {beta}, {alpha}, and {gamma} (or {phi}{sub 1}, {phi}{sub 2}, and {phi}{sub 3}) give insight into the Standard Model description of CP violation in the quark sector. BaBar and Belle have recorded almost 1 ab{sup -1} combined, and have measured {beta} to high precision. Measurements of {alpha} and {gamma} are less precise at present, but both experiments are rapidly accumulating data and developing new analysis techniques, and measurements of these angles will continue to provide useful constraints on the Standard Model description of CP violation in the years to come.

None

Research on a large-area, cost-effective Muon Telescope Detector (MTD) has been carried out for RHIC and for next generation detectors at future QCD Lab. We utilize state-of-the-art multi-gap resistive plate chambers with large modules and long readout strips in detector design. The results from cosmic ray and beam test will be presented to address intrinsic timing and spatial resolution for a Long-MRPC. The prototype performance of a novel muon telescope detector at STAR will be reported, including muon identification capability, timing and spatial resolution.

A proof-of-principle electron electric dipole moment (e-EDM)experiment using slow cesium atoms, nulled magnetic fields, and electricfield quantization has been performed. With the ambient magnetic fieldsseen by the atoms reduced to less than 200 pT, an electric field of 6MV/m lifts the degeneracy between states of unequal lbar mF rbar and,along with the low (approximately 3 m/s) velocity, suppresses thesystematic effect from the motional magnetic field. The low velocity andsmall residual magnetic field have made it possible to induce transitionsbetween states and to perform state preparation, analysis, and detectionin regions free of applied static magnetic and electric fields. Thisexperiment demonstrates techniques that may be used to improve the e-EDMlimit by two orders of magnitude, but it is not in itself a sensitivee-EDM search, mostly due to limitations of the laser system.

None

We present a comprehensive wavelength survey of Fe L-shell X-ray lines between 7 and 11 {angstrom} measured using flat crystal spectrometers and the EBIT-I and EBIT-II electron beam ion traps at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. This survey includes all significant emission lines produced by over 200 n {yields} 2 transitions in Fe XIX-XXIV, with n = 4-10. The identification and assignment of transitions are made with the help of detailed theoretical modeling using the Flexible Atomic Code (FAC).

A simple method to estimate the atomic degree Hessian matrixof a nanosystem is presented. The estimated Hessian matrix, based on themotif decomposition of the nanosystem, can be used to accelerate abinitio atomic relaxations with speedups of 2 to 4 depending on the sizeof the system. In addition, the programing implementation for using thismethod in a standard ab initio package is trivial.

The sensitivity for identification of high-Z objects in elemental form in the massive cargo of intermodal containers with continuous bremsstrahlung radiation depends critically on discriminating the weak signal from uncollided photons from the very intense flux of scattered radiations that penetrate the cargo. We propose that this might be accomplished by rejection of detected events with E {le} 2-3 MeV that contain the majority of multiply-scattered photons along with a correction for single-scattered photons at higher energies. Monte Carlo simulations of radiographs with a 9-MeV bremsstrahlung spectrum demonstrate that rejection of detected events with E {le} 3 MeV removes the majority of signals from scattered photons emerging through cargo with Z {le} 30 and areal densities of at least 145 g cm{sup -2}. With analytical estimates of the single-scattered intensity at higher energies, accurate estimates of linear attenuation coefficients for shielded and unshielded uranium spheres with masses as small as 0.08 kg are found. The estimated maximum dose is generally so low that reasonable order tomography of interesting portions of a container should be possible.

A new method has been applied to the determination of neutron nonelastic cross sections for iron {sup 56}Fe and lead {sup 208}Pb for energies between 5 and 26 MeV. These data have estimated errors of only a few percent and do not suffer from the ambiguities encountered in earlier nonelastic data. We attempt to fit these high precision data using both a semiclassical single phase shift model (nuclear Ramsauer model) as well as a recent global optical model that well reproduces a wide body of neutron scattering observables. At the 5% uncertainty level, both models produce satisfactory fits. However, neither model gives satisfactory fits to these new precise data. We conclude that fitting precise data, i.e., data with errors of approximately 2% or less, may require a nuclear mass dependence of radii that reflects structure effects such as shell closures.

We study the scaling behavior of the entanglement entropy of two dimensional conformal quantum critical systems, i.e. systems with scale invariant wave functions. They include two-dimensional generalized quantum dimer models on bipartite lattices and quantum loop models, as well as the quantum Lifshitz model and related gauge theories. We show that, under quite general conditions, the entanglement entropy of a large and simply connected sub-system of an infinite system with a smooth boundary has a universal finite contribution, as well as scale-invariant terms for special geometries. The universal finite contribution to the entanglement entropy is computable in terms of the properties of the conformal structure of the wave function of these quantum critical systems. The calculation of the universal term reduces to a problem in boundary conformal field theory.

A tutorial introduction is given to some important physics and current challenges in laser plasma interactions. The topics are chosen to illustrate a few of John Dawson's many pioneering contributions to the physics and modeling of plasmas. In each case, a current frontier is also briefly discussed, including the .53{micro}m option for laser fusion, kinetic inflation of instability levels, and new regimes accessed with ultra-high power lasers.

Version 3 of the Hadley Centre Atmospheric Model (HadAM3) has been used to demonstrate one means of comparing a general circulation model with observations for a specific climate perturbation, namely the strong 1997/98 El Nino. This event was characterized by the collapse of the tropical Pacific's Walker circulation, caused by the lack of a zonal sea surface temperature gradient during the El Nino. Relative to normal years, cloud altitudes were lower in the western portion of the Pacific and higher in the eastern portion. HadAM3 likewise produced the observed collapse of the Walker circulation, and it did a reasonable job of reproducing the west/east cloud structure changes. This illustrates that the 1997/98 El Nino serves as a useful means of testing cloud-climate interactions in climate models.

Use of multiple backlighter foils and/or double-sided laser interaction geometry with backlit imaging can result in improved backlighter efficiency. An experimental comparison of backlighter intensity for Ti foils and Ti/Sc combination foils in both the one-sided and double-sided laser-interaction configuration is presented. Spectrally-integrated framing camera images show intensity contributions of front and rear backlighter surfaces for both foil types. Analysis of time-resolved x-ray spectra collected from foil targets show the relative contribution of Ti and Sc 2-1 He-like resonance lines to the total backlighter intensity.

BNL is responsible for the design and construction of the US Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) accumulator ring. Titanium Nitride (TiN) coating on the stainless steel vacuum chamber of the SNS accumulator ring is needed to reduce the secondary electron yield (SEY) and the undesirable resonant multiplication of electrons. The total SEY of TiN coated stainless steel material has been measured after coating samples were exposed to air and after electron and ion bombardment. We report here about TiN coating system setup at BNL and SEY measurements results at CERN, SLAC and KEK. We also present some simulation results of SNS accumulator ring electron-cloud effects using different SEY values.

High-resolution surveillance imaging with apertures greater than a few inches over horizontal or slant paths at optical or infrared wavelengths will typically be limited by atmospheric aberrations. With static targets and static platforms, we have previously demonstrated near-diffraction limited imaging of various targets including personnel and vehicles over horizontal and slant paths ranging from less than a kilometer to many tens of kilometers using adaptations to bispectral speckle imaging techniques. Nominally, these image processing methods require the target to be static with respect to its background during the data acquisition since multiple frames are required. To obtain a sufficient number of frames and also to allow the atmosphere to decorrelate between frames, data acquisition times on the order of one second are needed. Modifications to the original imaging algorithm will be needed to deal with situations where there is relative target to background motion. In this paper, we present an extension of these imaging techniques to accommodate mobile platforms and moving targets.

The luminosity of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has improved significantly [1] over the first three physics runs. A number of special rf techniques have been developed to facilitate higher luminosity. The techniques described herein include: an ultra low-noise rf source for the 197 MHz storage rf system, a frequency shift switch-on technique for transferring bunches from the acceleration to the storage system, synchronizing the rings during the energy ramp (including crossing the transition energy) to avoid incidental collisions, installation of dedicated 200 MHZ cavities to provide longitudinal Landau damping on the ramp, and the development of a bunch merging scheme in the Booster to increase the available bunch intensity from the injectors.

Localization of targets imbedded in a heterogeneous background medium is a common problem in seismic, ultrasonic, and electromagnetic imaging problems. The best imaging techniques make direct use of the eigenfunctions and eigenvalues of the array response matrix, as recent work on time-reversal acoustics has shown. Of the various imaging functionals studied, one that is representative of a preferred class is a time-domain generalization of MUSIC (MUltiple Signal Classification), which is a well-known linear subspace method normally applied only in the frequency domain. Since statistical stability is not characteristic of the frequency domain, a transform back to the time domain after first diagonalizing the array data in the frequency domain takes optimum advantage of both the time-domain stability and the frequency-domain orthogonality of the relevant eigenfunctions.

The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) requires a low noise rf source to ensure that beam lifetime during a store is not limited by the rf system. The beam is particularly sensitive to noise from power line harmonics. Additionally, the rf source must be flexible enough to handle the frequency jump required for rebucketing (transferring bunches from the acceleration to the storage rf systems). This paper will describe the design of a Direct Digital Synthesizer (DDS) based system that provides both the noise performance and the flexibility required.

Superovulation of female mice with exogenous gonadotrophins is routinely used for increasing the number of eggs ovulated by each female in reproductive and developmental studies. We report an unusual effect of superovulation on fertilization in mice. In vivo matings of superovulated T-stock females with B6C3F1 males resulted in a 2-fold reduction (P<0.001) in the frequencies of fertilized eggs compared to control B6C3F1 matings. In addition, {approx}22 hr after mating only 15% of fertilized eggs recovered in T-stock females had reached the metaphase stage of the first cleavage division versus 87% in B6C3F1 females (P < 0.0001). Matings with T-stock males did not improve the reproductive performance of T-stock females. To investigate the possible cause(s) for the impaired fertilization and zygotic development, the experiments were repeated using in vitro fertilization. Under these conditions, the frequencies of fertilized eggs were not different in superovulated T-stock and B6C3F1 females (51.7% {+-} 6.0 and 64.5% {+-}3.8, P=0.10). There was a 7-fold increase in the frequencies of fertilized T-stock eggs that completed the first cell cycle of development after in vitro versus in vivo fertilization. These results rule out an intrinsic deficiency of the T-stock oocyte as the main reason for the impaired fertility after …

We present within this paper a series of experiments, which yield new observations to further our understanding of the transient collisional x-ray laser medium. We use the recently developed technique of picosecond x-ray laser interferometry to probe the plasma conditions in which the x-ray laser is generated and propagates. This yields two dimensional electron density maps of the plasma taken at different times relative to the peak of the 600ps plasma-forming beam. In another experimental campaign, the output of the x-ray laser plasma column is imaged with a spherical multilayer mirror onto a CCD camera to give a two-dimensional intensity map of the x-ray laser output. Near-field imaging gives insights into refraction, output intensity and spatial mode structure. Combining these images with the density maps gives an indication of the electron density at which the x-ray laser is being emitted at (yielding insights into the effect of density gradients on beam propagation). Experimental observations coupled with simulations predict that most effective coupling of laser pump energy occurs when the duration of the main heating pulse is comparable to the gain lifetime ({approx}10ps for Ni-like schemes). This can increase the output intensity by more than an order of magnitude relative to …

Alloy 22 (UNS N06022) is the candidate material for the corrosion resistant, outer barrier of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste containers. One of the potential corrosion degradation modes of the container is uniform or passive corrosion. Therefore it is of importance to understand the stability of the oxide film, which will control the passive corrosion rate of Alloy 22. Many variables such as temperature, composition and pH of the electrolyte, applied potential, and microstructure and composition of the base metal would determine the thickness and composition of the oxide film. The purpose of this research work was to use electrochemical and surface analysis techniques to explore the influence of solution pH and applied potential on the characteristics of the oxide film formed on Alloy 22 and two experimental alloys containing differing amounts of chromium (Cr) and molybdenum (Mo). Results confirm that bulk metal composition is fundamental to the passive behavior and potential breakdown of the studied alloys. In these preliminary results, welded and non-welded Alloy 22 did not show differences in their anodic behavior.

We have designed and built a six-band multi-spectral NIR imaging system used in clinical testing on cancer patients. From our layered tissue model, we create blood volume and blood oxygenation images for patient treatment monitoring.