We discuss field activities designed to characterize seepage into an underground opening at the potential site for geologic storage of high-level radioactive waste (HLRW) at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and the use of these data for development and calibration of a model for predicting seepage into planned HLRW emplacement drifts. Air-injection tests were conducted to characterize the permeability of the fractured rock, and liquid-release tests (LRTs) were conducted and seepage monitored to characterize the seepage-relevant properties of the fractured rock. Both air-injection and liquid-release tests were performed in the same borehole intervals, located above the underground openings. For modeling, three-dimensional, heterogeneous permeability fields were generated, conditioned on the air-permeability data. The initial seepage data collected were used to calibrate the model and test the appropriateness of the modeling approach. A capillary-strength parameter and porosity were the model parameters selected for estimation by data inversion. However, due to the short-term nature of the initial data, the inversion process was unable to independently determine the capillary strength and porosity of the fractured rock. Subsequent seepage data collection focused on longer-term tests, a representative selection of which was used for data inversion. Field observations also played a key role by identifying factors such as …

Article discussing a resource efficient and scalable approach to routing in large communication networks.

In this study, we investigated the frictional behavior of both hydrogenated and hydrogen-free diamondlike carbon (DLC) films in high vacuum (10{sup -6} Pa) at room temperature. Water was also introduced into the vacuum chamber to elucidate its effects on DLC film tribology. The hydrogen-free DLC (also referred to as tetrahedral amorphous carbon, or ta-C) was produced by an arc-PVD process, and the highly hydrogenated DLC was produced by plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition. Tribological measurements of these films were made with a pin-on-disc machine with coated steel balls and coated steel discs in matched pairs under a 1 N load. The ball/disk pairs were rotated at sliding speeds in the range of 0.025-0.075 m/s. In vacuum, the steady-state friction coefficient of ta-C was of the order of 0.6 and the wear was severe, whereas for the highly hydrogenated film, friction was below 0.01, and in an optical microscope no wear could be detected. Adding water vapor to the sliding ta-C system in a vacuum chamber caused friction to decrease monotonically from 0.6 to {approx}0.05. In contrast, adding water vapor to the sliding DLC system caused the friction to increase linearly with pressure from 0.01 to 0.07. The results illustrate the importance of …

Folate is a water soluble vitamin required for optimal health, growth and development. It occurs naturally in various states of oxidation of the pteridine ring and with varying lengths to its glutamate chain. Folates function as one-carbon donors through methyl transferase catalyzed reactions. Low-folate diets, especially by those with suboptimal methyltransferase activity, are associated with increased risk of neural tube birth defects in children, hyperhomocysteinemic heart disease, and cancer in adults. Rapidly dividing (neoplastic) cells have a high folate need for DNA synthesis. Chemical analogs of folate (antifolates) that interfere with folate metabolism are used as therapeutic agents in cancer treatment. Although much is known about folate chemistry, metabolism of this vitamin in vivo in humans is not well understood. Since folate levels in blood and tissues are very low and methods to measure them are inadequate, the few previous studies that have examined folate metabolism used large doses of radiolabeled folic acid in patients with Hodgkin�s disease and cancer (Butterworth et al. 1969, Krumdieck et al. 1978). A subsequent protocol using deuterated folic acid was also insufficiently sensitive to trace a physiologic folate dose (Stites et al. 1997). Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is an emerging bioanalytical tool that overcomes …

The properties of the {Xi}(1530) resonance are investigated in the {Lambda}{sub c}{sup +} {yields} {Xi}{sup -}{pi}{sup +}K{sup +} decay process. The data sample was collected with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II asymmetric-energy e{sup +}e{sup -} collider operating at center of mass energies 10.58 and 10.54 GeV. The corresponding integrated luminosity is approximately 230 fb{sup -1}. The spin of the {Xi}(1530) is established to be 3/2. The existence of an S-wave amplitude in the {Xi}{sup -}{pi}{sup +} system is inferred, and its interference with the {Xi}(1530)0 amplitude provides the first clear demonstration of the Breit-Wigner phase motion expected for the {Xi}(1530). The P{sub 1}(cos {theta}{sub {Xi}{sup -}}) Legendre polynomial moment indicates the presence of a significant S-wave amplitude for {Xi}{sup -}{pi}{sup +} mass values above 1.6 GeV/c{sup 2}, and a dip in the mass distribution at approximately 1.7 GeV/c{sup 2} is interpreted as due to coherent addition of a {Xi}(1690){sup 0} contribution to this amplitude. This would imply J{sup P} = 1/2{sup -} for the {Xi}(1690). Attempts at fitting the {Xi}(1530){sup 0} lineshape yield unsatisfactory results, and this failure is attributed to interference effects associated with the amplitudes describing the K{sup +}{pi}{sup +} and/or {Xi}{sup -}K{sup +} systems.

A calculation was made of the time dependent charge state of a heavy projectile traversing a finite-temperature target. The calculation uses an average-atom model to integrate the rate equations.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports an applied superconductivity program entitled ''Superconductivity Program for Electric Power Systems.'' Activities within this program contribute to development of the high-temperature superconductor (HTS) technology needed for industry to proceed with the commercial development of electric power applications such as motors, generators, transformers, transmission cables, and current limiters. Research is conducted in three categories: wire development, systems technology development, and Superconductivity Partnership Initiative (SPI). Wire development activities are devoted to improving the critical current density (J{sub c}) of short-length HTS wires, whereas systems technology development focuses on fabrication of long-length wires, coils, and on magnets. The SPI activities are aimed at development of prototype products. Significant progress has been made in the development of (HTSs) for various applications: some applications have already made significant strides in the marketplace, while others are still in the developmental stages. For successful electric power applications, it is very important that the HTS be fabricated into long-length conductors that exhibit desired superconducting and mechanical properties. Several parameters of the PIT technique must be carefully controlled to obtain the desired properties. Long lengths of Bi-2223 tapes with respectable superconducting properties have been fabricated by a carefully designed thermomechanical treatment process. …

We describe the goals and research program leading to the Heavy Ion Integrated Research Experiment (IRE). We review the basic constraints which lead to a design and give examples of parameters and capabilities of an IRE. We also show design tradeoffs generated by the systems code IBEAM.

The authors have designed, built and operated two vacuum systems for the RFQ (Radio Frequency Quadrupole) in the APT/LEDA (Accelerator Production of Tritium/Low Energy Demonstration Accelerator)linac: a cryopump system for the RFQ cavity and a non-evaporable getter (NEG) pump system for the RF window system. They were designed to provide very high hydrogen pump speed (> 2 x 10{sup 4} L/s) and sorption capacity. Both systems underwent performance tests in mock assembly before the installation. This paper presents the mock test results of both vacuum systems. It also discusses the preliminary test results from the commissioning of the APT/LEDA RFQ.

Conventional cone jet algorithms arose from heuristic considerations of LO hard scattering coupled to independent showering. These algorithms implicitly assume that the final states of individual events can be mapped onto a unique set of jets that are in turn associated with a unique set of underlying hard scattering partons. Thus each final state hadron is assigned to a unique underlying parton. The Jet Energy Flow (JEF) analysis described here does not make such assumptions. The final states of individual events are instead described in terms of flow distributions of hadronic energy. Quantities of physical interest are constructed from the energy flow distribution summed over all events. The resulting analysis is less sensitive to higher order perturbative corrections and the impact of showering and hadronization than the standard cone algorithms.

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While the purpose of geologic storage in deep salineformations is to trap greenhouse gases underground, the potential existsfor CO2 to escape from the target reservoir, migrate upward alongpermeable pathways, and discharge at the land surface. In this paper, weevaluate the potential for such CO2 discharges based on the analysis ofnatural analogs, where large releases of gas have been observed. We areparticularly interested in circumstances that could generate sudden,possibly self enhancing release events. The probability for such eventsmay be low, but the circumstances under which they occur and thepotential consequences need to be evaluated in order to designappropriate site-selection and risk-managementstrategies. Numericalmodeling of hypothetical test cases is suggested to determine criticalconditions for large CO2 releases, to evaluate whether such conditionsmay be possible at designated storage sites, and, if applicable, toevaluate the potential impacts of such events as well as designappropriate mitigation strategies.

Understanding particle dynamics in the 'Twilight Zone' is critical to prediction of the ocean's carbon cycle. As part of the VERTIGO (VERtical Transformations In the Global Ocean) project, this rarely sampled regime extending from the base of the euphotic layer to 1000 m, was characterized by double-paired day/night Multiple Unit Large Volume in-situ Filtration System (MULVFS) deployments and by {approx}100 high-frequency CTD/transmissometer/turbidity sensor profiles. VERTIGO studies lasting three weeks, contrasted oligotrophic station ALOHA (22.75{sup o}N 158{sup o}W), sampled in June-July 2004, with a biologically productive location (47{sup o}N 161{sup o}E) near station K2 in the Oyashio, occupied July-August 2005. Profiles of major and minor particulate components (C{sub org}, N, P, Ca, Si, Sr, Ba, Mn) in <1, 1-51, and >51 {micro}m size fractions, in-water optics, neutrally buoyant sediment trap (NBST) fluxes, and zooplankton data were intercompared. MULVFS total C{sub org} and C-Star particle beam attenuation coefficient (C{sub P}) were consistently related at both sites with a 27 {micro}M m{sup -1} conversion factor. 26 At K2, C{sub P} profiles further showed a multitude of transient spikes throughout the water column and spike abundance profiles closely paralleled the double peaked abundance profiles of zooplankton. Also at K2, copepods contributed {approx}40% and 10%, …

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Fast magnetization dynamics in the micro- and nanometer regime are an interesting field of research. On these length scales magnetic structures can be designed to contain a single vortex or a single domain wall. Both size and speed of these patterns are of great interest in todays research for prospective non-volatile data storage devices. Especially the possibility to move domain-walls by spin-polarized current gained a lot of interest. Magnetic configurations can be imaged by soft X-ray magnetic microscopy with a spatial resolution down to 15 nm. By a stroboscopic pump and probe measurement scheme a temporal resolution below 100 ps is achieved. This provides the opportunity to directly image changes in magnetic domains and domain-wall motion. We image oscillations of a single domain wall in a confining potential in time steps of 200 ps by time resolved X-ray microscopy at the full-field soft X-ray transmission microscope at the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley (beamline 6.1.2). Domain walls are prepared in permalloy nanostructures with a restoring potential. The oscillation of a 180{sup o} domain wall is triggered by nanosecond current pulses. The spin-polarized current and the accompanying Oersted field can contribute to the motion of the wall. By analysis of the …

We analyze quark and gluon condensates in quantum chromodynamics. We suggest that these are localized inside hadrons, because the particles whose interactions are responsible for them are confined within these hadrons. This can explain the results of recent studies of gluon condensate contributions to vacuum correlators. We also give a general discussion of condensates in asymptotically free vectorial and chiral gauge theories.

This paper suggests a solution to the problem of some apparently excessive contributions to the cosmological constant from Standard-Model condensates.

This is a correction to an article. The affiliation of the first author was published incorrectly.

A current focus of our weapon headspace sampling work is the interpretation of the volatile chemical signatures that we are collecting. To help validate our interpretation we have been developing a laboratory-based material aging capability to simulate material decomposition chemistries identified. Key to establishing this capability has been the development of an automated approach to process, analyze, and quantify arrays of material combinations as a function of time and temperature. Our initial approach involves monitoring the formation and migration of volatile compounds produced when a material decomposes. This approach is advantageous in that it is nondestructive and provides a direct comparison with our weapon headspace surveillance initiative. Nevertheless, this approach requires us to identify volatile material residue and decomposition byproducts that are not typically monitored and reported in material aging studies. Similar to our weapon monitoring method, our principle laboratory-based method involves static headspace collection by solid phase microextraction (SPME) followed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). SPME is a sorbent collection technique that is ideally suited for preconcentration and delivery of trace gas-phase compounds for analysis by GC. When combined with MS, detection limits are routinely in the low- and sub-ppb ranges, even for semivolatile and polar compounds. To automate …

The assembly of an optical system requires the correction of aberrations in the entire imaging field by making selected rigid-body motions of the optical elements. We present a rigorous method for determining which adjustment motions, called compensators, to use for alignment. These compensators are found by employing techniques from linear algebra that choose the most independent vectors from a set which are interdependent. The method finds the smallest number of compensators to correct for misalignments of a given magnitude. As an example the method is applied to a four-mirror scanning ring-field EUV lithography system. It is shown that out of 32 degrees of freedom in the configuration of the optical elements, only eight compensators are required on the optics. By adjusting these compensators a misaligned configuration giving a 30 {lambda} wavefront error can be assembled to {lambda}/50 in the absence of measurement noise.

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AMTRAN, a one, two and three dimensional Sn neutron transport code with adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) has been parallelized with MPI over spatial domains and energy groups and with threads over angles. Block refined AMR is used with linear finite element representations for the fluxes, which are node centered. AMR requirements are determined by minimum mean free path calculations throughout the problem and can provide an order of magnitude or more reduction in zoning requirements for the same level of accuracy, compared to a uniformly zoned problem.

Silica aerogel consists of bonded silicon and oxygen joined into log strands, which are randomly linked together with pockets of air between them. Discovered in the 1930s, the material was thought to have little use outside of theoretical science. However, with the advent of greatly improved processing techniques, such as those developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, aerogels are on the verge of commercialization. This document describes the need for aerogels in the high-speed microelectronics industry, and state of the art processing techniques. Collaboration is welcomed in the endeavor.

The dynamics of an open quantum system can be described by a quantum operation: A linear, complete positive map of operators. Here, I exhibit a compact expression for the time reversal of a quantum operation, which is closely analogous to the time reversal of a classical Markov transition matrix. Since open quantum dynamics are stochastic, and not, in general, deterministic, the time reversal is not, in general, an inversion of the dynamics. Rather, the system relaxes toward equilibrium in both the forward and reverse time directions. The probability of a quantum trajectory and the conjugate, time reversed trajectory are related by the heat exchanged with the environment.