The proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons (collectively known as weapons of mass destruction, or WMD) and the potential acquisition and use of WMD against the world by terrorists are extremely serious threats to international security. These threats are complex and interrelated. There are myriad routes to weapons of mass destruction--many different starting materials, material sources, and production processes. There are many possible proliferators--threshold countries, rogue states, state-sponsored or transnational terrorists groups, domestic terrorists, and even international crime organizations. Motives for acquiring and using WMD are similarly wide ranging--from a desire to change the regional power balance, deny access to a strategic area, or alter international policy to extortion, revenge, or hate. Because of the complexity of this threat landscape, no single program, technology, or capability--no silver bullet--can solve the WMD proliferation and terrorism problem. An integrated program is needed that addresses the WMD proliferation and terrorism problem from end to end, from prevention to detection, reversal, and response, while avoiding surprise at all stages, with different activities directed specifically at different types of WMD and proliferators. Radiation detection technologies are an important tool in the prevention of proliferation. A variety of new developments have enabled enhanced performance in …

The subject of ''Matter at Extreme Conditions'' encompasses a wide range of phenomena the thrust of which is to address the physical and chemical behaviors of materials exposed to ''abnormal'' conditions of high pressures, temperature extremes, or external fields. Recent advances in theoretical methodologies and first principle computational studies have predicted unusual properties and unraveled a few surprises when matter is subjected to such strains: a reversed and anomalous Doppler effects in shocked periodic media, the possible existence of low temperature liquid metallic state of hydrogen, and a superionic phase of water at high temperature and pressure. A unified approach from quantum mechanical principles allows for exploring such diverse and disparate subjects as ultracold plasmas in a strong magnetic field, and the dynamic aspects of Bose-Einstein condensates. These topics, which are aptly presented in this symposium, are but a few examples of interesting discoveries and methodologies in this active and exciting area of research. The development of reactive force fields from quantum mechanical principles for use in conjunction with molecular dynamics provide us with an invaluable tool for large-scale simulations to study the chemical transformations and decomposition products of complex organic systems at extreme conditions. Simulations implementing classical fields can …

The observed reduction in land surface radiation over the last several decades (1960-1990)---the so-called ''dimming effect''--- and the more recent evidence of a reversal in ''dimming'' over some locations beyond 1990 suggest several consequences on climate, notably on the hydrological cycle. Such a reduction in radiation should imply reduced surface temperature (Ts) and precipitation, which have not occurred. We have investigated the possible causes for the above climate features using a climate model coupled to a dynamic ocean model under natural and anthropogenic conditions. To isolate the aerosol influence on surface radiation trends, we have analyzed transient climate simulations from1960 to 2002 with and without anthropogenic aerosols. Based on a linear trend with aerosol effects included, the global mean change in the surface solar radiation absorbed over land is -0.021+-0.0033 Wm-2yr-1. Although the overall trend is negative, we do note a reversal in dimming after 1990, consistent with observations. Without aerosol effects, the surface solar radiation absorbed over land increases throughout 1960 to 2002, mainly due to the decrease in cloud cover associated with increased greenhouse warming. In spite of a simulated increase in Ts of 0.012 Kyr-1 for 1960 to 2002, the global mean latent heat flux and associated …

For decades the electron density of plasmas has been measured using optical interferometers. With the availability of good X-ray laser sources in the last decade interferometers have been extended into the wavelength range 14-47 nm, which has enabled researchers to probe even higher density plasmas. The data analysis assumes the index of refraction is due only to the free electrons, which makes the index less than one. Recent interferometer experiments in Al plasmas observed plasmas with index of refraction greater than one at 14 nm and brought into question the validity of the usual formula for calculating the index. In this paper we show how the anomalous dispersion from bound electrons can dominate the free electron contribution to the index of refraction in many plasmas and make the index greater than one or enhance the contribution to the index such that one would greatly overestimate the density of the plasma using interferometers. Using a new average-atom code we calculate the index of refraction in many plasmas at different temperatures for photon energies from 0 to 100 eV and compare against calculations done with OPAL. We also present examples of other plasmas that may have index of refraction greater than one …

We present spectra for 14 high-redshift (0.17 < z < 0.83) supernovae, which were discovered by the Supernova Cosmology Project as part of a campaign to measure cosmological parameters. The spectra are used to determine the redshift and classify the supernova type, essential information if the supernovae are to be used for cosmological studies. Redshifts were derived either from the spectrum of the host galaxy or from the spectrum of the supernova itself. We present evidence that these supernovae are of Type Ia by matching to spectra of nearby supernovae. We find that the dates of the spectra relative to maximum light determined from this fitting process are consistent with the dates determined from the photometric light curves, and moreover the spectral time-sequence for SNe Type Ia at low and high redshift is indistinguishable. We also show that the expansion velocities measured from blueshifted Ca H&K are consistent with those measured for low-redshift Type Ia supernovae. From these first-level quantitative comparisons we find no evidence for evolution in SNIa properties between these low- and high-redshift samples. Thus even though our samples may not be complete, we conclude that there is a population of SNe Ia at high redshift whose spectral …

The assessment of regional heart wall motion (local strain) can localize ischemic myocardial disease, evaluate myocardial viability and identify impaired cardiac function due to hypertrophic or dilated cardiomyopathies. The objectives of this research were to develop and validate a technique known as Hyperelastic Warping for the measurement of local strains in the left ventricle from clinical cine-MRI image datasets. The technique uses differences in image intensities between template (reference) and target (loaded) image datasets to generate a body force that deforms a finite element (FE) representation of the template so that it registers with the target image. To validate the technique, MRI image datasets representing two deformation states of a left ventricle were created such that the deformation map between the states represented in the images was known. A beginning diastoliccine-MRI image dataset from a normal human subject was defined as the template. A second image dataset (target) was created by mapping the template image using the deformation results obtained from a forward FE model of diastolic filling. Fiber stretch and strain predictions from Hyperelastic Warping showed good agreement with those of the forward solution. The technique had low sensitivity to changes in material parameters, with the exception of changes …

We completed the development of a method for preparing smooth vapor deposited polyimide (PI) up to 160 {micro}m thick for NIF target capsules. The process consists of two steps. The first step is vacuum chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of monomer species, pyromelletic dianhydride and oxidianaline, which react on the surface of a shell to form short chain oligomers of polyamic acid. In the second step solvent vapor exposure in a gas levitation apparatus swells and fluidizes the outer surface. Roughness in the outer fluid layer is reduced by surface-tension-driven flow. The shells are cured in the final smoothing step by heating to 300 C reacting the polyamic acid to polyimide. Recent experiments using x-ray radiography have allowed us to determine the depth of solvent penetration and the solvent concentration over a range of solvent exposure conditions. We found that the rate of penetration is a function of the solvent partial pressure in the flowing vapor stream. The concentration of solvent in the swollen layer is 0.45 g/cc and is independent of exposure conditions. Using the penetration information we were able to improve the smoothing process by increasing the solvent partial pressure. The optimized vapor smoothing process allowed us to consistently …

Transmission Electron Microscopy and x-ray diffraction were used to study compositional modulation in In{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x} N layers grown with compositions close to the miscibility gap. The samples (0.34 < x < 0.8) were deposited by molecular beam epitaxy using either a 200-nm-thick AlN or GaN buffer layer grown on a sapphire substrate. In the TEM imaging mode this modulation is seen as black/white fringes which can be considered as self-assembled thin quantum wells. Periodic compositional modulation leads to extra electron diffraction spots and satellite reflections in x-ray diffraction in the {theta}-2{theta} coupled geometry. The modulation period was determined using both methods. Larger modulation periods were observed for layers with higher In content and for those having larger mismatch with the underlying AlN buffer layer. Compositional modulation was not observed for a sample with x = 0.34 grown on a GaN buffer layer. Modulated films tend to have large 'Stokes shifts' between their absorption edge and photoluminescence peak.