Remarkable advances have been made since rapid solidification was first introduced to the field of materials science and technology. New types of materials such as amorphous alloys and nanostructure materials have been developed as a result of rapid solidification techniques. While these advances are, in many respects, ground breaking, much remains to be discerned concerning the fundamental relationships that exist between a liquid and a rapidly solidified solid. The scope of the current dissertation involves an extensive set of experimental, analytical, and computational studies designed to increase the overall understanding of morphological selection, phase competition, and structural hierarchy that occurs under far-from equilibrium conditions. High pressure gas atomization and Cu-block melt-spinning are the two different rapid solidification techniques applied in this study. The research is mainly focused on Al-Si and Al-Sm alloy systems. Silicon and samarium produce different, yet favorable, systems for exploration when alloyed with aluminum under far-from equilibrium conditions. One of the main differences comes from the positions of their respective T{sub 0} curves, which makes Al-Si a good candidate for solubility extension while the plunging T{sub 0} line in Al-Sm promotes glass formation. The rapidly solidified gas-atomized Al-Si powders within a composition range of 15 to 50 …

Concurrency levels in large-scale, distributed-memory supercomputers are rising exponentially. Modern machines may contain 100,000 or more microprocessor cores, and the largest of these, IBM's Blue Gene/L, contains over 200,000 cores. Future systems are expected to support millions of concurrent tasks. In this dissertation, we focus on efficient techniques for measuring and analyzing the performance of applications running on very large parallel machines. Tuning the performance of large-scale applications can be a subtle and time-consuming task because application developers must measure and interpret data from many independent processes. While the volume of the raw data scales linearly with the number of tasks in the running system, the number of tasks is growing exponentially, and data for even small systems quickly becomes unmanageable. Transporting performance data from so many processes over a network can perturb application performance and make measurements inaccurate, and storing such data would require a prohibitive amount of space. Moreover, even if it were stored, analyzing the data would be extremely time-consuming. In this dissertation, we present novel methods for reducing performance data volume. The first draws on multi-scale wavelet techniques from signal processing to compress systemwide, time-varying load-balance data. The second uses statistical sampling to select a small …

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The renaissance of Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) and soft x-ray (SXR) optics in recent years is mainly driven by the desire of printing and observing ever smaller features, as in lithography and microscopy. This attribute is complemented by the unique opportunity for element specific identification presented by the large number of atomic resonances, essentially for all materials in this range of photon energies. Together, these have driven the need for new short-wavelength radiation sources (e.g. third generation synchrotron radiation facilities), and novel optical components, that in turn permit new research in areas that have not yet been fully explored. This dissertation is directed towards advancing this new field by contributing to the characterization of spatial coherence properties of undulator radiation and, for the first time, introducing Fourier optical elements to this short-wavelength spectral region. The first experiment in this dissertation uses the Thompson-Wolf two-pinhole method to characterize the spatial coherence properties of the undulator radiation at Beamline 12 of the Advanced Light Source. High spatial coherence EUV radiation is demonstrated with appropriate spatial filtering. The effects of small vertical source size and beamline apertures are observed. The difference in the measured horizontal and vertical coherence profile evokes further theoretical studies on …

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Authenticated two-party Diffie-Hellman key exchange allows two principals A and B, communicating over a public network, and each holding a pair of matching public/private keys to agree on a session key. Protocols designed to deal with this problem ensure A (B resp.)that no other principals aside from B (A resp.) can learn any information about this value. These protocols additionally often ensure A and B that their respective partner has actually computed the shared secret value. A natural extension to the above cryptographic protocol problem is to consider a pool of principals agreeing on a session key. Over the years several papers have extended the two-party Diffie-Hellman key exchange to the multi-party setting but no formal treatments were carried out till recently. In light of recent developments in the formalization of the authenticated two-party Diffie-Hellman key exchange we have in this thesis laid out the authenticated group Diffie-Hellman key exchange on firmer foundations.

An experimental study of the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) instability has investigated the effects of velocity gradients and kinetic effects on the saturation of ion-acoustic waves in a plasma. For intensities less than I < 1.5 x 10{sup 15} W cm{sup -2}, the SBS instability is moderated primarily by velocity gradients, and for intensities above this threshold, nonlinear trapping is invoked to saturate the instability. We report direct evidence of detuning of SBS by a velocity gradient which was achieved by directly measuring the frequency shift of the SBS driven acoustic wave relative to the local resonant acoustic frequency. Furthermore, a novel use of Thomson scattering has allowed us to gather direct evidence of kinetic effects associated with the SBS process. Specifically, a measured two-fold increase of the ion temperature has been linked with laser beam excitation of ion-acoustic waves to large amplitudes by the SBS instability. Ion-acoustic waves were excited to large amplitude with a 2{omega} 1.2-ns long interaction beam with intensities up to 5 x 10{sup 15} W cm{sup -2}. The local frequency, amplitude, and spatial range of these waves were measured with a 3{omega} 200ps Thomson-scattering probe beam. These detailed and accurate measurements in well-characterized plasma conditions …

This dissertation describes a direct measurement of the W boson total decay width, {Lambda}{sub W}, using the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The measurement uses an integrated luminosity of 177.3 pb{sup -1} data, collected during the 2002-2003 run. The width is determined from the shape of the transverse mass distribution, M{sub T}, by fitting the data in the tail region 100 < M{sub T} < 200 GeV. The result if {Lambda}{sub W} = 2.011 {+-} 0.093(stat) {+-} 0.107(syst) GeV.

Experiments and direct numerical simulations (DNS) have been performed to examine the effects of initial conditions on the dynamics of a Rayleigh-Taylor unstable mixing layer. Experiments were performed on a water channel facility to measure the interfacial and velocity perturbations initially present at the two-fluid interface in a small Atwood number mixing layer. The experimental measurements have been parameterized for use in numerical simulations of the experiment. Two- and three-dimensional DNS of the experiment have been performed using the parameterized initial conditions. It is shown that simulations implemented with initial velocity and density perturbations, rather than density perturbations alone, are required to match experimentally-measured statistics and spectra. Data acquired from both the experiment and numerical simulations are used to examine the role of initial conditions on the evolution of integral-scale, turbulence, and mixing statistics. Early-time turbulence and mixing statistics are shown to be strongly-dependent upon the early-time transition of the initial perturbation from a weakly-nonlinear to a strongly-nonlinear flow.

Magnetic monopoles are highly ionizing and curve in the direction of the magnetic field. A new dedicated magnetic monopole trigger at CDF, which requires large light pulses in the scintillators of the time-of-flight system, remains highly efficient to monopoles while consuming a tiny fraction of the available trigger bandwidth. A specialized offline reconstruction checks the central drift chamber for large dE/dx tracks which do not curve in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field. We observed zero monopole candidate events in 35.7 pb{sup -1} of proton-antiproton collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV. This implies a monopole production cross section limit {sigma} < 0.2 pb for monopoles with mass between 100 and 700 GeV, and, for a Drell-Yan like pair production mechanism, a mass limit m > 360 GeV.

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Lithium ion insertion into electrode materials is commonly used in rechargeable battery technology. The insertion implies changes in both the crystal structure and the electronic structure of the electrode material. Side-reactions may occur on the surface of the electrode which is exposed to the electrolyte and form a solid electrolyte interface (SEI). The understanding of these processes is of great importance for improving battery performance. The chemical and physical properties of water and alcohols are complicated by the presence of strong hydrogen bonding. Various experimental techniques have been used to study geometrical structures and different models have been proposed to view the details of how these liquids are geometrically organized by hydrogen bonding. However, very little is known about the electronic structure of these liquids, mainly due to the lack of suitable experimental tools. In this thesis examples of studies of lithium battery electrodes and liquid systems using soft x-ray emission spectroscopy will be presented. Monochromatized synchrotron radiation has been used to accomplish selective excitation, in terms of energy and polarization. The electronic structure of graphite electrodes has been studied, before and after lithium intercalation. Changes in the electronic structure upon lithiation due to transfer of electrons into the graphite …

This thesis presents evidence for the decay mode B{sup {+-}} {yields} {phi}K{sup {+-}} in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV using (120 {+-} 7)pb{sup -1} of data collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF). This signal is then used to measure the branching ratio relative to the decay mode B{sup {+-}} {yields} J/{psi}K{sup {+-}}. The measurement starts from reconstructing the two decay modes: B{sup {+-}} {yields} {phi}K{sup {+-}}, where {phi} {yields} K{sup +}K{sup -} and B{sup {+-}} {yields} J/{psi}K{sup {+-}}, where J/{psi} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -}. The measurement yielded 23 {+-} 7 B{sup {+-}} {yields} {phi}K{sup {+-}} events, and 406 {+-} 26 B{sup {+-}} {yields} J/{psi}K{sup {+-}} events. The fraction of B{sup {+-}} {yields} J/{psi}K{sup {+-}} events where the J/{psi} subsequently decayed to two muons (as opposed to two electrons) was found to be f{sub {mu}{mu}} = 0.839 {+-} 0.066. The relative branching ratio of the two decays is then calculated based on the equation: BR(B{sup {+-}} {yields} {phi}K{sup {+-}})/BR(B{sup {+-}} {yields} J/{psi}K{sup {+-}}) = N{sub {phi}K}/N{sub {psi}K} {center_dot}f{sub {mu}{mu}} BR(J/{psi} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -})/BR({phi} {yields} K{sup +}K{sup -}) {epsilon}{sub {mu}{mu}}K/{epsilon}KKK R({epsilon}{sub iso}). The measurement finds BR(B{sup {+-}} {yields} {phi}K{sup {+-}})/BR(B{sup {+-}} {yields} J/{psi}K{sup {+-}}) = 0.0068 …

This dissertation reports the results of a search for charged Higgs bosons in the decays of t{bar t} pairs produced in p{bar p} collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. The search is performed on a data sample recorded by the upgraded Collider Detector at Fermilab and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 193 pb{sup -1}. The search is based on the relative rates of events in the different t{bar t} decay channels. Results are obtained in the context of different models. In the context of the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM), for which they fully account for radiative and Yukawa coupling corrections, regions in the (m{sub H{sup {+-}}}, tan ({beta})) plane are excluded. In the Tauonic Higgs Model in which the charged Higgs is assumed to decay exclusively to {bar {tau}}, the BR(t {yields} H{sup +}b) is constrained to be less than 0.4 at 95% C.L. If no assumption is made on the charged Higgs decay, the BR(t {yields} H{sup +}b) is constrained to be less than 0.90 at 95% C.L. No evidence for charged Higgs production is found.

An analysis of completed decommissioning projects is used to construct predictive estimates for worker exposure to radioactivity during decommissioning activities. The preferred organizational method for the completed decommissioning project data is to divide the data by type of facility, whether decommissioning was performed on part of the facility or the complete facility, and the level of radiation within the facility prior to decommissioning (low, medium, or high). Additional data analysis shows that there is not a downward trend in worker exposure data over time. Also, the use of a standard estimate for worker exposure to radioactivity may be a best estimate for low complete storage, high partial storage, and medium reactor facilities; a conservative estimate for some low level of facility radiation facilities (reactor complete, research complete, pits/ponds, other), medium partial process facilities, and high complete research facilities; and an underestimate for the remaining facilities. Limited data are available to compare different decommissioning alternatives, so the available data are reported and no conclusions can been drawn. It is recommended that all DOE sites and the NRC use a similar method to document worker hours, worker exposure to radiation (person-rem), and standard industrial accidents, injuries, and deaths for all completed decommissioning …

In May 2000, the Cerro Grande Fire burned approximately 17,200 ha in north-central New Mexico as the result of an escaped prescribed burn initiated by Bandelier National Monument. The interaction of large-scale fires, vegetation, and elk is an important management issue, but few studies have addressed the ecological implications of vegetative succession and landscape heterogeneity on ungulate populations following large-scale disturbance events. Primary objectives of this research were to identify elk movement pathways on local and landscape scales, to determine environmental factors that influence elk movement, and to evaluate movement and distribution patterns in relation to spatial and temporal aspects of the Cerro Grande Fire. Data collection and assimilation reflect the collaborative efforts of National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Department of Energy (Los Alamos National Laboratory) personnel. Geographic positioning system (GPS) collars were used to track 54 elk over a period of 3+ years and locational data were incorporated into a multi-layered geographic information system (GIS) for analysis. Preliminary tests of GPS collar accuracy indicated a strong effect of 2D fixes on position acquisition rates (PARs) depending on time of day and season of year. Slope, aspect, elevation, and land cover type affected dilution of precision (DOP) values …

Single Particle Aerosol Mass Spectrometry (SPAMS) was evaluated as a real-time detection technique for single particles of high explosives. Dual-polarity time-of-flight mass spectra were obtained for samples of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane (RDX), and pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN); peaks indicative of each compound were identified. Composite explosives, Comp B, Semtex 1A, and Semtex 1H were also analyzed, and peaks due to the explosive components of each sample were present in each spectrum. Mass spectral variability with laser fluence is discussed. The ability of the SPAMS system to identify explosive components in a single complex explosive particle ({approx}1 pg) without the need for consumables is demonstrated. SPAMS was also applied to the detection of Chemical Warfare Agent (CWA) simulants in the liquid and vapor phases. Liquid simulants for sarin, cyclosarin, tabun, and VX were analyzed; peaks indicative of each simulant were identified. Vapor phase CWA simulants were adsorbed onto alumina, silica, Zeolite, activated carbon, and metal powders which were directly analyzed using SPAMS. The use of metal powders as adsorbent materials was especially useful in the analysis of triethyl phosphate (TEP), a VX stimulant, which was undetectable using SPAMS in the liquid phase. The capability of SPAMS to detect high explosives and CWA …

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The authors have presented the motivations in gathering doubly polarized data in the quasi-elastic, resonance and DIS domains. These data were used to calculate the extended GDH integral. The comparison of this quantity with the spin dependent forward Compton amplitude {bar S}{sub 1} is of particular importance for the unification of the two strong interaction descriptions (nucleonic/hadronic vs. partonic) because {bar S}{sub 1} is the first quantity theoretically calculable in the full Q{sup 2} domain of the strong interaction. Such a data taking was made possible because of three major technical achievements: (1) the beam of high duty cycle (100%), high current (up to 70 {micro}A) and high polarization (70%); (2) the {sup 3}He target of high density (above 10 atm) with a polarization of 35% and a length of 40 cm; and (3) the large acceptance (6 msr) and high resolution ({Delta}P/P {approx_equal} 10{sup {minus}4}) spectrometers. These features, available at Jefferson Lab, enabled them to achieve the highest luminosity in the world (about 10{sup 36} s{sup {minus}1} cm{sup {minus}2} with a current of 15 {micro}A) as far as polarized {sup 3}He targets are concerned. Consequently they were able to gather, in a rather short period of time (3 months), …