One dimensional simulations of various initial average density aluminum foams (modeled as slabs of solid metal separated by low density regions) heated by volumetric energy deposition are conducted with a Lagrangian hydrodynamics code using a van der Waals equation of state (EOS). The resulting behavior is studied to facilitate the design of future warm dense matter (WDM) experiments at LBNL. In the simulations the energy deposition ranges from 10 to 30 kJ/g and from 0.075 to 4.0 ns total pulse length, resulting in temperatures from approximately 1 to 4 eV. We study peak pressures and temperatures in the foams, expansion velocity, and the phase evolution. Five relevant time scales in the problem are identified. Additionally, we present a method for characterizing the level of inhomogeneity in a foam target as it is heated and the time it takes for a foam to homogenize.

The Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment II (NDCX II) is an induction accelerator planned for initial commissioning in 2012. The final design calls for a {approx}3 MeV, {approx}30 A Li{sup +} ion beam, delivered in a bunch with characteristic pulse duration of 1 ns, and transverse dimension of order 1 mm. The purpose of NDCX II is to carry out experimental studies of material in the warm dense matter regime, and ion beam/hydrodynamic coupling experiments relevant to heavy ion based inertial fusion energy. In preparation for this new machine, we have carried out hydrodynamic simulations of ion-beam-heated, metallic solid targets, connecting quantities related to observables, such as brightness temperature and expansion velocity at the critical frequency, with the simulated fluid density, temperature, and velocity. We examine how these quantities depend on two commonly used equations of state.

We show that the fundamental time reversal invariant (TRI) insulator exists in 4 + 1 dimensions, where the effective field theory is described by the 4 + 1 dimensional Chern-Simons theory and the topological properties of the electronic structure is classified by the second Chern number. These topological properties are the natural generalizations of the time reversal breaking (TRB) quantum Hall insulator in 2 + 1 dimensions. The TRI quantum spin Hall insulator in 2 + 1 dimensions and the topological insulator in 3 + 1 dimension can be obtained as descendants from the fundamental TRI insulator in 4 + 1 dimensions through a dimensional reduction procedure. The effective topological field theory, and the Z{sub 2} topological classification for the TRI insulators in 2+1 and 3+1 dimensions are naturally obtained from this procedure. All physically measurable topological response functions of the TRI insulators are completely described by the effective topological field theory. Our effective topological field theory predicts a number of novel and measurable phenomena, the most striking of which is the topological magneto-electric effect, where an electric field generates a magnetic field in the same direction, with an universal constant of proportionality quantized in odd multiples of the fine …

The quantum Hall effect is usually observed when the two-dimensional electron gas is subjected to an external magnetic field, so that their quantum states form Landau levels. In this work we predict that a new phenomenon, the quantum anomalous Hall effect, can be realized in Hg{sub 1-y}Mn{sub y}Te quantum wells, without the external magnetic field and the associated Landau levels. This effect arises purely from the spin polarization of the Mn atoms, and the quantized Hall conductance is predicted for a range of quantum well thickness and the concentration of the Mn atoms. This effect enables dissipationless charge current in spintronics devices.

Spin Hall effect can be induced both by the extrinsic impurity scattering and by the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling in the electronic structure. The HgTe/CdTe quantum well has a quantum phase transition where the electronic structure changes from normal to inverted. We show that the intrinsic spin Hall effect of the conduction band vanishes on the normal side, while it is finite on the inverted side. This difference gives a direct mechanism to experimentally distinguish the intrinsic spin Hall effect from the extrinsic one.

The quantum spin Hall state is a topologically non-trivial insulator state protected by the time reversal symmetry. We show that such a state always leads to spin-charge separation in the presence of a {pi} flux. Our result is generally valid for any interacting system. We present a proposal to experimentally observe the phenomenon of spin-charge separation in the recently discovered quantum spin Hall system.

The excitation function for the 208Pb(52Cr, n)259Sg reaction has been measured using the Berkeley Gas-filled Separator at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 88-Inch Cyclotron. The maximum cross section of pb is observed at a center-of-target laboratory-frame energy of 253.0 MeV. In total, 25 decay chains originating from 259Sg were observed and the measured decay properties are in good agreement with previous reports. In addition, a partial excitation function for the 208Pb(52Cr, 2n)258Sg reaction was obtained, and an improved 258Sg half-life of ms was calculated by combining all available experimental data.