Synchrotron radiation (SR) methods have been utilized with increasing frequency over the past several years to study topics in actinide science, ranging from those of a fundamental nature to those that address a specifically-targeted technical need. In particular, the emergence of microspectroscopic and fluorescence-based techniques have permitted investigations of actinide materials at sources of soft x-ray SR. Spectroscopic techniques with fluorescence-based detection are useful for actinide investigations since they are sensitive to small amounts of material and the information sampling depth may be varied. These characteristics also serve to simplify both sample preparation and safety considerations. Examples of investigations using these fluorescence techniques will be described along with their results, as well as the prospects for future investigations utilizing these methodologies.

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The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is a snapshot of the Universe some 400,000 years after the Big Bang. The pattern of anisotropies in the CMB carries a wealth of information about the fundamental parameters of cosmology. Extracting this information is an extremely computationally expensive endeavor, requiring massively parallel computers and software packages capable of exploiting them. One such package is the Microwave Anisotropy Dataset Computational Analysis Package (MADCAP) which has been used to analyze data from a number of CMB experiments. In this work, we compare MADCAP performance on the vector-based Earth Simulator (ES) and Cray X1 architectures and two leading superscalar systems, the IBM Power3 and Power4. Our results highlight the complex interplay between the problem size, architectural paradigm, interconnect, and vendor-supplied numerical libraries, while isolating the I/O file system as the key bottleneck across all the platforms.

Computational grids have the potential for solving large-scale scientific problems using heterogeneous and geographically distributed resources. However, a number of major technical hurdles must be overcome before this goal can be fully realized. One problem critical to the effective utilization of computational grids is efficient job scheduling. Our prior work addressed this challenge by defining a grid scheduling architecture and several job migration strategies. The focus of this study is to explore the impact of data migration under a variety of demanding grid conditions. We evaluate our grid scheduling algorithms by simulating compute servers, various groupings of servers into sites, and inter-server networks, using real workloads obtained from leading supercomputing centers. Several key performance metrics are used to compare the behavior of our algorithms against reference local and centralized scheduling schemes. Results show the tremendous benefits of grid scheduling, even in the presence of input/output data migration - while highlighting the importance of utilizing communication-aware scheduling schemes.

I'd like to welcome you to the Agent 2004 conference. As most of you are aware, this conference is the fifth in a series of meetings that began in 1999. A conference followed the next year in 2000. The 2001 conference was skipped because of some conflicts with other conferences, and the conferences have proceeded annually since then. We have the proceedings of the previous conferences available here on CDs. One CD has the proceedings from 1999, 2000, and 2002; the other contains last year's proceedings. The purpose of these conferences is to advance the state of the computational social sciences and to integrate the social sciences with the decision sciences and something that is traditionally known as the management sciences. Those of you in the operations/research area are familiar with the traditional school of modeling simulation that emerged from that scientific area. This conference will bring together a different group of people to talk about the topic of agent-based theories and simulations. This fifth agent conference is one of a group of conferences held annually around the country. Most of you are probably aware of the CASOS Conference held at Carnegie Mellon University, usually in July. UCLA holds the …

The synthesis and characterization of nickel (II) oxide aerogel materials prepared using the epoxide addition method is described. The addition of the organic epoxide propylene oxide to an ethanolic solution of NiCl{sub 2} 6H{sub 2}O resulted in the formation of an opaque light green monolithic gel and subsequent drying with supercritical CO{sub 2} gave a monolithic aerogel material of the same color. This material has been characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, elemental analysis, and nitrogen adsorption/desorption analysis. The results indicate that the nickel (II) oxide aerogel has very low bulk density (98 kg/m{sup 3} ({approx}98 %porous)), high surface area (413 m{sup 2}/g), and has a particulate-type aerogel microstructure made up of very fine spherical particles with an open porous network. By comparison, a precipitate of Ni{sub 3}(NO{sub 3}){sub 2}(OH){sub 4} is obtained when the same preparation is attempted with the common Ni(NO{sub 3}){sub 2} 6H{sub 2}O salt as the precursor. The implications of the difference of reactivity of the two different precursors are discussed in the context of the mechanism of gel formation via the epoxide addition method. The synthesis of nickel (II) oxide aerogel, using the epoxide addition method, is especially unique in our experience. It is …

A nondimensional model of the multifrequency radiation diffusion equation is derived. A single material, ideal gas, equation of state is assumed. Opacities are proportional to the inverse of the cube of the frequency. Inclusion of stimulated emission implies a Wien spectrum for the radiation source function. It is shown that the solutions are uniformly bounded in time and that stationary solutions are stable. The spatially independent solutions are asymptotically stable, while the spatially dependent solutions of the linearized equations approach zero.

I report here a redesign of the CKM RICH velocity spectrometers for use in a 1/4 GHz unseparated beam adapted to the KTeV beam line and detector hall at Fermilab (P940). The redesigns reported here comprise modest modification to the original designs for CKM(E921) to accommodate the change in beam flux, momentum, and momentum bite of the primary beam. The ultimate performance of the velocity spectrometer systems, as quantified by the missing mass squared resolution for K{sup +} {yields} {pi}{sup +} x{sup 0}, remains largely unchanged from the original design.

Background: Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer often self-administer complementary and alternative medicines to augment their conventional treatments, improve health, or prevent recurrence. Flor-Essence{reg_sign} Tonic is a complex mixture of herbal extracts used by cancer patients because of anecdotal evidence that it can treat or prevent disease. Methods: Female Sprague Dawley rats were given water or exposed to 3% or 6% Flor-Essence{reg_sign} beginning at one day of age. Mammary tumors were induced with a single oral 40 mg/kg/bw dose of dimethylbenz(a)anthracene at 50 days of age and sacrificed at 23 weeks. Rats were maintained on AIN-76A diet. Results: Control rats had palpable mammary tumor incidence of 51.0% at 19 weeks of age compared to 65.0% and 59.4% for the 3% and 6% Flor-Essence{reg_sign} groups respectively. Overall, no significant difference in time until first palpable tumor was detected among any of the groups. At necropsy, mammary tumor incidence was 82.5% for controls compared to 90.0% and 97.3% for rats consuming 3% and 6% Flor-Essence{reg_sign}, respectively. Mean mammary tumor multiplicity ({+-}SES) for the controls was 2.8 ({+-} 0.5) and statistically different from the 3% or 6% Flor- Essence{reg_sign} groups with 5.2 ({+-} 0.7), and 4.8 ({+-} 0.6), respectively (p{<=}0.01). As expected, …

With rapid developments in wireless sensor networks, there is a growing need for transceiver position estimation independent of GPS, which may not be available in indoor networks. Our approach is to use range estimates from time-of-flight (TOF) measurements, a technique well suited to large bandwidth physical links, such as in ultra-wideband (UWB) systems. In our UWB systems, pulse duration less than 200 psecs can easily be resolved to less than a foot. Assuming an encoded UWB physical layer, we first test positioning accuracy using simulations. We are interested in sensitivity to range errors and the required number of ranging nodes, and we show that in a high-precision environment, such as UWB, the optimal number of transmitters is four. Four transmitters with {+-}20ft. range error can locate a receiver to within one or two feet. We then implement these algorithms on an 802.11 wireless network and demonstrate the ability to locate a network access point to approximately 20 feet.

With Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron well underway, many computing challenges inherent to analyzing large volumes of data produced in particle physics research need to be met. We present the computing model within CDF designed to address the physics needs of the collaboration. Particular emphasis is placed on current development of a large O(1000) processor PC cluster at Fermilab serving as the Central Analysis Farm for CDF. Future plans leading toward distributed computing and GRID within CDF are also discussed.

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 made a preliminary study of a dimuon sample corresponding to 114 pb{sup -1} of data taken in Run II at the Tevatron. From this sample we have selected 157 {+-} 20 B{sub d} {yields} J/{psi}K{sub S}{sup 0} and 133 {+-} 17 B{sub s} {yields} J/{psi}{phi} decays. In a subset of the data we have measured the B{sup {+-}} lifetime in the J/{psi}K{sup {+-}} channel to be 1.76 {+-} 0.24 ps. We have implemented a jet-charge initial-flavor tag as well as a soft-muon tag, and we have measured the respective tagging powers to be (2.4 {+-} 1.7)% and (3.3 {+-} 1.8)%. Our conclusion from these studies is that we have made good progress towards understanding all ingredients required to make CP violation measurements in the B{sub d} and B{sub s} systems.

The importance of a Super-B Factory in the search for New Physics, in particular, due to CP-od phase(s) from physics beyond the Standard Model is surveyed. The first point to emphasize is that we know now how to directly measure all three angles of the unitarity triangle very cleanly, i. e. without theoretical assumptions with irreducible theory error {le} 1%; however this requires much more luminosity than is currently available at B-factories. Direct searches via penguin-dominated hadronic modes as well as radiative, pair-leptonic and semi-leptonic decays are also discussed. Null tests of the SM are stressed as these will play a crucial role especially if the effects of BSM phase(s) on B-physics are small.

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We present a mathematical model describing the thermodynamic behavior of shape memory alloy wires, as well as a computational technique to solve the resulting system of partial differential equations. The model consists of conservation equations based on a new Helmholtz free energy potential. The computational technique introduces a viscosity-based continuation method, which allows the model to handle dynamic applications where the temporally local behavior of solutions is desired. Computational experiments document that this combination of modeling and solution techniques appropriately predicts the thermally- and stress-induced martensitic phase transitions, as well as the hysteretic behavior and production of latent heat associated with such materials.

It has recently been reported that several high power, diode-pumped laser systems have been developed based on crystals of Yb:S-FAP [Yb{sup 3+}:Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F]. The Mercury Laser, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is the most prominent system using Yb:S-FAP and is currently producing 23J at 5 Hz in a 15 nsec pulse, based on partial activation of the system. In addition, a regenerative amplifier is being developed at Waseda University in Japan and has produced greater than 12 mJ with high beam quality at 50Hz repetition rate. Q-peak has demonstrated 16 mJ of maximum energy/output pulse in a multi-pass, diode side-pumped amplifier and ELSA in France is implementing Yb:S-FAP in a 985 nm pump for an EDFA, producing 250 mW. Growth of high optical quality crystals of Yb:S-FAP is a challenge due to multiple crystalline defects. However, at this time, a growth process has been developed to produce high quality 3.5 cm diameter Yb:S-FAP crystals and a process is under development for producing 6.5 cm diameter crystals.

Starting with two assumptions: (1) gamma-ray bursts originate from stellar death phenomena or so called ''collapsars'' and (2) that these bursts are quasi-universal, whereby the majority of the observed variation is due to our perspective of the jet, an integrated gamma-ray burst model is proposed. It is found that several of the key correlations in the data can be naturally explained with this simple picture and another possible correlation is predicted.

The lateral organization of lipids and membrane-associated proteins in biological membranes is often detected by fluorescence microscopy. Although extremely sensitive, fluorescent labels, particularly those attached to lipid molecules, may alter their physical properties.

Optical propagation modeling of the National Ignition Facility has been utilized extensively from conceptual design several years ago through to early operations today. In practice we routinely (for every shot) model beam propagation starting from the waveform generator through to the target. This includes the regenerative amplifier, the 4-pass rod amplifier, and the large slab amplifiers. Such models have been improved over time to include details such as distances between components, gain profiles in the laser slabs and rods, transient optical distortions due to the flashlamp heating of laser slabs, measured transmitted and reflected wavefronts for all large optics, the adaptive optic feedback loop, and the frequency converter. These calculations allow nearfield and farfield predictions in good agreement with measurements.

Perturbations on an interface driven by a strong blast wave grow in time due to a combination of Rayleigh-Taylor, Richtmyer-Meshkov, and decompression effects. In this paper, we present the first results from a computational study of such a system under drive conditions to be attainable on the National Ignition Facility. Using the multiphysics, AMR, higher order Godunov Eulerian hydrocode, Raptor, we consider the late nonlinear instability evolution for multiple amplitude and phase realizations of a variety of multimode spectral types. We show that compressibility effects preclude the emergence of a regime of self-similar instability growth independent of the initial conditions by allowing for memory of the initial conditions to be retained in the mix-width at all times. The loss of transverse spectral information is demonstrated, however, along with the existence of a quasi-self-similar regime over short time intervals. The initial conditions are shown to have a strong affect on the time to transition to the quasi-self-similar regime.

A series of coupled neutron-photon transport Monte-Carlo calculations was performed to estimate the roof shielding required to limit the skyshine dose to less than 1 mrem/y at the site boundary when conducting DT experiments with annual fusion yields up to 1200 MJ (4.2E20 neutrons/y). The NIF shielding design consists of many different components. The basic components include 10-cm-thick Al chamber with 40-cm-thick target chamber gunite shield having multiple penetrations, 1.83-m-thick concrete Target Bay walls, 1.37-m-thick concrete roof, and multiple concrete floors with numerous penetrations. Under this shielding configuration, the skyshine dose at the nearest site-boundary was calculated to be less than 0.2 mrem/y for all possible target illumination configurations. The potential dose at the site boundary would be about one-tenth of the cosmic neutron dose that we measured with bubble neutron detectors on board a commercial roundtrip flight from SF to Rochester. This incremental dose increase is well within the normal fluctuations (noise) of the natural background radiation in the Livermore area. The skyshine dose has no impact on the public. The skyshine dose trends at ground and elevated levels are plotted as a function of distance from 20 m to 1000 m from the center of the target bay. …

The solution of elliptic partial differential equations on composite overlapping grids using multigrid is discussed. An approach is described that provides a fast and memory efficient scheme for the solution of boundary value problems in complex geometries. The key aspects of the new scheme are an automatic coarse grid generation algorithm, an adaptive smoothing technique for adjusting residuals on different component grids, and the use of local smoothing near interpolation boundaries. Other important features include optimizations for Cartesian component grids, the use of over-relaxed Red-Black smoothers and the generation of coarse grid operators through Galerkin averaging. Numerical results in two and three dimensions show that very good multigrid convergence rates can be obtained for both Dirichlet and Neumann/mixed boundary conditions. A comparison to Krylov based solvers shows that the multigrid solver can be much faster and require significantly less memory.

The ab initio No-Core Shell Model (NCSM) has recently been expanded to include nucleon-nucleon (NN) and three-nucleon (3N) interactions at the three-body cluster level. Here it is used to predict binding energies and spectra of p-shell nuclei based on realistic NN and 3N interactions. It is shown that 3N force (3NF) properties can be studied in these nuclear systems. First results show that interactions based on chiral perturbation theory lead to a realistic description of {sup 6}Li.