The activity concentration of Cesium-137 ({sup 137}Cs) and naturally-occurring Polonium-210 ({sup 210}Po) were measured in the muscle tissue, kidney and liver of Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) and bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) collected by native hunters from the Bering Sea. The mean {sup 137}Cs concentrations in muscle, liver and kidney of Pacific walrus were 0.07, 0.09 and 0.07 Bq kg{sup -1} (N= 5, wet weight), respectively, and 0.17, 0.10, and 0.17 Bq kg{sup -1} (N=2, wet weight), respectively, in bearded seal. In general, {sup 137}Cs tissue concentrations are significantly lower than those previously reported for mammals from other regions. By comparison, {sup 210}Po activity concentrations appear to be higher than those reported elsewhere but a larger variation. The mean {sup 210}Po concentration in the muscle tissue, liver and kidney of Pacific walrus (N=5, wet weight) were 28.7, 189, and 174 Bq kg{sup -1}, respectively. This compares with {sup 210}Po concentration values (N=2, wet weight) of 27, 207, and 68 Bq kg{sup -1} measured in the muscle tissue, liver and kidney, of bearded seal, respectively. Estimated bioaccumulation factors--as defined by the radionuclide concentration ratio between the target tissue to that in sea water--were two to three orders of magnitude higher for …

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Understanding the behavior of fractures and subsurface damage in the processes used during optic fabrication plays a key role in determining the final quality of the optical surface finish. During the early stages of surface preparation, brittle grinding processes induce fractures at or near an optical surface whose range can extend from depths of a few mm to hundreds of mm depending upon the process and tooling being employed. Controlling the occurrence, structure, and propagation of these sites during subsequent grinding and polishing operations is highly desirable if one wishes to obtain high-quality surfaces that are free of such artifacts. Over the past year, our team has made significant strides in developing a diagnostic technique that combines magnetorheological finishing (MRF) and scanning optical microscopy to measure and characterize subsurface damage in optical materials. The technique takes advantage of the unique nature of MRF to polish a prescribed large-area wedge into the optical surface without propagating existing damage or introducing new damage. The polished wedge is then analyzed to quantify subsurface damage as a function of depth from the original surface. Large-area measurement using scanning optical microscopy provides for improved accuracy and reliability over methods such as the COM ball-dimple technique. …

The addition of chromium and molybdenum to nickel creates alloys with exceptional corrosion resistance in a diverse range of environments. This study examines the complementary roles of Cr and Mo in Ni alloy passivation. Four nickel alloys with varying amounts of chromium and molybdenum were studied in 1 molar salt solutions over a broad pH range. The passive corrosion and breakdown behavior of the alloys suggests that chromium is the primary element influencing general corrosion resistance. The breakdown potential was nearly independent of molybdenum content, while the repassivation potential is strongly dependant on the molybdenum content. This indicates that chromium plays a strong role in maintaining the passivity of the alloy, while molybdenum acts to stabilize the passive film after a localized breakdown event.

Work is underway at LLNL to design and build a high-brightness mono-energetic source for fast neutron imaging. The approach being pursued will use a 7-MeV deuterium linac for producing high-energy neutrons via a D(d,n){sup 3}He reaction. To achieve a high-brightness neutron source, a windowless rotating aperture gas cell approach is being employed. Using a series of close-tolerance rotor and stator plates, a differential pumping assembly was designed and built that contains up to 3 atmospheres of deuterium gas in a 40-mm-long gas cell. Rarefaction of the gas due to beam-induced heating will be addressed by rapidly moving the gas across the beam channel in a cross flow tube. The design and fabrication process was guided by extensive 3D modeling of the hydrodynamic gas flow and structural dynamics of the assembly. Summaries of the modeling results, the fabrication of the rotating aperture system, and initial measurements of gas leakage are presented.

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To augment steady-state design calculations, dynamic models of three offgas systems that will be used in the Waste Treatment Plant now under construction at the Hanford Site were developed using Aspen Custom Modeler{trademark}. The offgas systems modeled were those for the High Level Waste (HLW) melters, Low Activity Waste (LAW) melters and HLW Pulse Jet Ventilation (PJV) system. The models do not include offgas chemistry but only consider the two major species in the offgas stream which are air and water vapor. This is sufficient to perform material and energy balance calculations that accurately show the dynamic behavior of gas pressure, temperature, humidity and flow throughout the systems. The models are structured to perform pressure drop calculations across the various unit operations using a combination of standard engineering calculations and empirical data based correlations for specific pieces of equipment. The models include process controllers, gas ducting, control valves, exhaust fans and the offgas treatment equipment. The models were successfully used to analyze a large number of operating scenarios including both normal and off-normal conditions.

We determined the cation distribution and ordering of Si, Al and Fe on the tetrahedral sites of a monoclinic low-sanidine from Itrongay, Madagascar, by combined neutron- and X-ray single-crystal diffraction. The cation distribution was determined by means of a simultaneous refinement using neutron- and X-ray data, as well as by combining scattering densities obtained from separate refinements with chemical data from a microprobe experiment. The two methods give the same results and show that Fe is fully ordered on T1, whereas Al shows a high degree of disorder. Based on this and previously published temperature-dependent X-ray data, we conclude that it is preferential ordering of Fe on T1 even at high temperature, rather than a high diffusion kinetics of Fe, which causes this asymmetry in ordering behavior between Al and Fe. The preferential ordering of Fe3+ relative to Al3+ in T1 is consistent with its 25 percent larger ionic radius.

A leading hypothesis to explain abrupt climate change during the last glacial cycle calls on fluctuations in the margin of the North American Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS), which may have routed freshwater between the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and North Atlantic, affecting North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) variability and regional climate. Paired measurements of {delta}O and Mg/Ca of foraminiferal calcite from GOM sediments reveal five episodes of LIS meltwater input from 28-45 thousand years ago (ka) that do not match the millennial-scale Dansgaard-Oeschger (D/O) warmings recorded in Greenland ice. We suggest that summer melting of the LIS may occur during Antarctic warming and likely contributed to sea-level variability during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3).

A reaction pathway is explored in which two cyclopenta groups combine on the zigzag edge of a graphene layer. The process is initiated by H addition to a five-membered ring, followed by opening of that ring and the formation of a six-membered ring adjacent to another five-membered ring. The elementary steps of the migration pathway are analyzed using density functional theory to examine the region of the potential energy surface associated with the pathway. The calculations are performed on a substrate modeled by the zigzag edge of tetracene. Based on the obtained energetics, the dynamics of the system are analyzed by solving the energy transfer master equations. The results indicate energetic and reaction-rate similarity between the cyclopenta combination and migration reactions. Also examined in the present study are desorption rates of migrating cyclopenta rings which are found to be comparable to cyclopenta ring migration.

Monte Carlo methods are frequently used for neutron and radiation transport. These methods have several advantages, such as relative ease of programming and dealing with complex meshes. Disadvantages include long run times and statistical noise. Monte Carlo photon transport calculations also often suffer from inaccuracies in matter temperature due to the lack of implicitness. In this paper we discuss the Monte Carlo algorithm as it is applied to neutron and photon transport, detail the differences between neutron and photon Monte Carlo, and give an overview of the ways the numerical method has been modified to deal with issues that arise in photon Monte Carlo simulations.

We have recently implemented polarization smoothing (PS) on one quad of the NIF laser. Specially cut KDP and DKDP crystals at 420 x 420 mm sizes were used to scramble the incident 351 nm laser polarization over the beam aperture. The intensity contrast deduced from the measured focal spot images for one of the NIF beams is in very good agreement with the expected contrast. KDP and DKDP crystals are known to produce considerable amount of transverse stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) when irradiated with large beams at {approx}1-2 GW/cm2. In order to measure the transverse SRS, we attached optical fibers on the side of one of the PS crystals. The KDP PS crystal showed > 1 J/cm2 side scattered SRS at irradiances of 1.2 GW/cm2. The DKDP (70% deuteration level) PS crystal showed significantly less SRS. Detailed analysis of the SRS scattering in the PS crystal is in progress.

Radiocarbon calibration curves are essential for converting radiocarbon dated chronologies to the calendar timescale. Prior to the 1980's numerous differently derived calibration curves based on radiocarbon ages of known age material were in use, resulting in ''apples and oranges'' comparisons between various records (Klein et al., 1982), further complicated by until then unappreciated inter-laboratory variations (International Study Group, 1982). The solution was to produce an internationally-agreed calibration curve based on carefully screened data with updates at 4-6 year intervals (Klein et al., 1982; Stuiver and Reimer, 1986; Stuiver and Reimer, 1993; Stuiver et al., 1998). The IntCal working group has continued this tradition with the active participation of researchers who produced the records that were considered for incorporation into the current, internationally-ratified calibration curves, IntCal04, SHCal04, and Marine04, for Northern Hemisphere terrestrial, Southern Hemisphere terrestrial, and marine samples, respectively (Reimer et al., 2004; Hughen et al., 2004; McCormac et al., 2004). Fairbanks et al. (2005), accompanied by a more technical paper, Chiu et al. (2005), and an introductory comment, Adkins (2005), recently published a ''calibration curve spanning 0-50,000 years''. Fairbanks et al. (2005) and Chiu et al. (2005) have made a significant contribution to the database on which the IntCal04 …

We report on the first demonstration of imaging microstructures with soft x-ray microscopy operating in reflection geometry. X-ray microscopy in reflection mode combines the high resolution available with x-ray optics, the ability to image thick samples, and to directly image surfaces and interfaces. Future experiments with this geometry will include tuning the incident angle to obtain depth resolution. In combination with XMCD as magnetic contrast mechanism this mode will allow studies of deep buried magnetic interfaces.

Performance assessment of the Yucca Mountain unsaturated zone (UZ) as the site for an underground repository of high-level radioactive waste relies on the crucial assumption that water percolation processes in the unsaturated zone can be approximated as a steady-state condition. Justification of such an assumption is based on temporal damping effects of several geological units within the unsaturated tuff formation. In particular, the nonwelded tuff of the Painbrush Group (PTn unit) at Yucca Mountain, because of its highly porous physical properties, has been conceptualized to have a significant capacity for temporally damping transient percolation fluxes. The objective of this study is to investigate these damping effects, using a three-dimensional (3-D) mountain-scale model as well as several one-dimensional (1-D) models. The 3-D model incorporates a wide variety of the updated field data for the highly heterogeneous unsaturated formation at Yucca Mountain. The model is first run to steady state and calibrated using field-measured data and then transient pulse infiltrations are applied to the model top boundary. Subsequent changes in percolation fluxes at the bottom of and within the PTn unit are examined under episodic infiltration boundary conditions. The 1-D model is used to examine the long-term response of the flow system …

We describe an exploratory optical design for the Narrow Field InfraRed Adaptive Optics (AO) System (NFIRAOS) Petite, a proposed adaptive optics system for the Thirty Meter Telescope Project. NFIRAOS will feed infrared spectrograph and wide-field imaging instruments with a diffraction limited beam. The adaptive optics system will require multi-guidestar tomographic wavefront sensing and multi-conjugate AO correction. The NFIRAOS Petite design specifications include two small 60 mm diameter deformable mirrors (DM's) used in a woofer/tweeter or multiconjugate arrangement. At least one DM would be a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) DM. The AO system would correct a 10 to 30 arcsec diameter science field as well as laser guide stars (LGS's) located within a 60 arcsec diameter field and low-order or tip/tilt natural guide stars (NGS's) within a 60 arcsec diameter field. The WFS's are located downstream of the DM's so that they can be operated in true closed-loop, which is not necessarily a given in extremely large telescope adaptive optics design. The WFS's include adjustable corrector elements which correct the static aberrations of the AO relay due to field position and LGS distance height.

A well-known effect in superconducting materials below their critical temperatures (T{sub c}) is the reduction to zero of their electrical resistivities. Concomitantly, the materials become perfect diamagnets for small fields. This effect, termed the Meissner Effect, allows for the direct measurement of the transition temperature (T{sub c}) by magnetic techniques such as the superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). A Paramagnetic Meissner Effect (PME), i.e., the unexpected observation of positive magnetic moment in a superconductor below its critical temperature during field cooling (FC), was first reported in 1989 by Svedlindh et al. (1). The origin of PME in high T{sub c} superconductors has been discussed by numerous investigators as possibly resulting from {pi}-junctions, d-wave behavior, giant vortex states, flux compression, or weak links. In conventional superconductors like Nb, the PME was ascribed to the inhomogeneous nature of such samples, whereby their surface is sufficiently different from the interior and becomes superconducting at a higher temperature than the interior on cooling, thereby trapping the magnetic flux. There remains significant controversy regarding the fundamental origin of the PME. Here, we show that the PME in two-phase and three-phase In-Sn alloys is a property resulting from the morphological distribution of the multiple phases. We …

General formulae for resistive-wall induced beam dilution are presented and then applied to the final beam delivery system of linear colliders. Criteria for the design of final beam delivery systems are discussed.

Nuclear structure of {sup 7}Be, {sup 8}B and {sup 7,8}Li is studied within the ab initio no-core shell model (NCSM). Starting from high-precision nucleon-nucleon (NN) interactions, wave functions of {sup 7}Be and {sup 8}B bound states are obtained in basis spaces up to 10 h bar{Omega} and used to calculate channel cluster form factors (overlap integrals) of the {sup 8}B ground state with {sup 7}Be+p. Due to the use of the harmonic oscillator (HO) basis, the overlap integrals have incorrect asymptotic properties. We fix this problem in two alternative ways. First, by a Woods-Saxon (WS) potential solution fit to the interior of the NCSM overlap integrals. Second, by a direct matching with the Whittaker function. The corrected overlap integrals are then used for the {sup 7}Be(p,{gamma}){sup 8}B S-factor calculation. We study the convergence of the S-factor with respect to the NCSM HO frequency and the model space size. Our S-factor results are in agreement with recent direct measurement data. We also test the spectroscopic factors and the corrected overlap integrals from the NCSM in describing the momentum distributions in knockout reactions with {sup 8}B projectiles. A good agreement with the available experimental data is also found, attesting the overall consistency …

First-principles total energy calculation based on the exact muffin-tin orbital and full potential linear muffin-tin orbital methods were used to calculate the equation of state and shear elastic constants of bcc V, Nb, and the V{sub 95}Nb{sub 05} disordered alloy as a function of pressure up to 6 Mbar. We found a mechanical instability in C{sub 44} and a corresponding softening in C at pressures {approx} 2 Mbar for V. Both shear elastic constants show softening at pressures {approx} 0.5 Mbar for Nb. Substitution of 5 at. % of V with Nb removes the instability of V with respect to trigonal distortions in the vicinity of 2 Mbar pressure, but still leaves the softening of C{sub 44} in this pressure region. We argue that the pressure induced shear instability (softening) of V (Nb) originates from the electronic system and can be explained by a combination of the Fermi surface nesting, electronic topological transition, and band Jahn-Teller effect.

The authors report on the search for the rare decays B{sup +} {yields} D{sup (*)+} K{sub s}{sup 0} in approximately 226 million {Upsilon}(4S) {yields} B{bar B} decays collected with the BABAR detector at the PEp-II asymmetric-energy B factory at SLAC. They do not observe any significant signal and they set 90% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions, {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} D{sup +}K{sup 0}) < 0.5 x 10{sup -5} and {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} D*{sup +} K{sup 0}) < 0.9 x 10{sup -5}.

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A laser ablation/ionization mass spectrometer system is described for the direct chemical analysis of solids. An Nd:YAG laser is used for ablation and ionization of the sample in a quadrupole ion trap operated in an ion-storage (IS) mode that is coupled with a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS). Single pulse experiments have demonstrated simultaneous detection of up to 14 elements present in glasses in the ppm range. However, detection of the components has produced non-stoichiometric results due to difference in ionization potentials and fractionation effects. Time-of-flight secondary ionization mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) was used to spatially map elemental species on the surface and provide further evidence of fractionation effects. Resolution (m/Dm) of 1500 and detection limits of approximately 10 pg have been achieved with a single laser pulse. The system configuration and related operating principles for accurately measuring low concentrations of isotopes are described.

In 2004, a research project--the New York City Urban Dispersion Program (NYC UDP)--was launched by the Department of Homeland Security with the goal to improve the permanent network of wind stations in and around New York City and to enhance the city's emergency response capabilities. Encompassing both field studies and computer modeling, one of the program's objectives is to improve and validate urban dispersion models using the data collected from field studies and to transfer the improved capabilities to NYC emergency agencies. The first two field studies were conducted in March and August 2005 respectively and an additional study is planned for the summer of 2006. Concurrently model simulations, using simple to sophisticated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models, have been performed to aid the planning of field studies and also to evaluate the performance of such models. Airflow and tracer dispersion in urban areas such as NYC are extremely complicated. Some of the contributing factors are complex geometry, variable terrain, coupling between local and larger scale flows, deep canyon mixing and updrafts/downdrafts caused by large buildings, street channeling and upstream transport, roof features, and heating effects, etc. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Homeland Security …