A growing trend in developing large and complex applications on today's Teraflop scale computers is to integrate stand-alone and/or semi-independent program components into a comprehensive simulation package. One example is the Community Climate System Model which consists of atmosphere, ocean, land-surface and sea-ice components. Each component is semi-independent and has been developed at a different institution. We study how this multi-component, multi-executable application can run effectively on distributed memory architectures. For the first time, we clearly identify five effective execution modes and develop the MPH library to support application development utilizing these modes. MPH performs component-name registration, resource allocation and initial component handshaking in a flexible way.

The production of defect-free mask blanks, and the development of techniques for inspecting and qualifying EUV mask blanks, remains a key challenge for EUV lithography. In order to ensure a reliable supply of defect-free mask blanks, it is necessary to develop techniques to reliably and accurately detect defects on un-patterned mask blanks. These inspection tools must be able to accurately detect all critical defects whilst simultaneously having the minimum possible false-positive detection rate. There continues to be improvement in high-speed non-actinic mask blank inspection tools, and it is anticipated that these tools can and will be used by industry to qualify EUV mask blanks. However, the outstanding question remains one of validating that non-actinic inspection techniques are capable of detecting all printable EUV defects. To qualify the performance of non-actinic inspection tools, a unique dual-mode EUV mask inspection system has been installed at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) synchrotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In high-speed inspection mode, whole mask blanks are scanned for defects using 13.5-nm wavelength light to identify and map all locations on the mask that scatter a significant amount of EUV light. In imaging, or defect review mode, a zone plate is placed in the reflected …

This study focuses on the ductility evaluation of low-temperature (100 and 200 C) aged U-6Nb alloy. The objective is to develop a ductility-based aging model to improve lifetime prediction for weapon components in the stockpile environment. Literature review shows that the work hardening n-value and the strain-rate hardening mvalue are the two most important metallurgical factors for the uniform and the post-uniform (necking) ductility control, respectively. Unfortunately, both n and m values of the U-6Nb alloy are lacking. The study shows that the total ductility of U-6Nb is dominated by the uniform ductility, which deteriorates in both 100 C and 200 C aging. Further analysis shows that the uniform ductility correlates well with the work hardening n-value of the later stage deformation in which dislocation-slip is the mechanism. The kinetics of the loss of uniform ductility and the associated reduction in work-hardening n-value in low temperature aging will be used for the development of a ductility-based aging model. The necking ductility appears to be a minor but significant factor in the total ductility of U-6Nb. It does not show a clear trend due to large data scatter. The uncertain nature of necking failure may always hinder a reliable measurement of …

In the field of composite energetic materials, properties such as ingredient distribution, particle size, and morphology affect both sensitivity and performance. Since the reaction kinetics of composite energetic materials are typically controlled by the mass transport rates between reactants, one would anticipate new and potentially exceptional performance from energetic nanocomposites. We have developed a new method of making nanostructured energetic materials, specifically explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics, using sol-gel chemistry. A novel sol-gel approach has proven successful in preparing nanostructured metal oxide materials. By introducing a fuel metal, such as aluminum, into the nanostructured metal oxide matrix, energetic materials based on thermite reactions can be fabricated. Two of the metal oxides are tungsten trioxide and iron(III) oxide, both of which are of interest in the field of energetic materials. Due to the versatility of the preparation method, binary oxidizing phases can also be prepared, thus enabling a potential means of controlling the energetic properties of the subsequent nanocomposites. Furthermore, organic additives can also be easily introduced into the nanocomposites for the production of nanostructured gas generators. The resulting nanoscale distribution of all the ingredients displays energetic properties not seen in its micro-scale counterparts due to the expected increase of mass transport …

We describe the design and operation of a spatially-filtered Raman/fluorescence spectrometer that incorporates a pulsed 532 nm laser excitation source and a synchronized and electronically gated CCD detector. This system permits the suppression of undesired continuous radiation from various sources by a factor of up to 50,000 providing the possibility of acquiring Raman signals at temperatures exceeding 5,000 K. We present performance comparisons of this system with that of a state-of-the-art conventional CW system using a 458 nm excitation source. We also demonstrate that the pulsed system is capable of suppressing an impurity-induced (single nitrogen defects) fluorescence in diamond, and further suggest that this capability can be used to suppress the stress-induced fluorescence in diamond that may appear at pressures near or above 150 GPa.

Article discussing low-coordinate chromium siloxides and the "box" [Cr(μ-Cl)(μ-OSiᵗBu₃)]₄, distorted trigonal [(ᵗBu₃SiO)₃Cr][Na(benzene)] and [(ᵗBu₃SiO)₃Cr][Na(dibenzo-18-c-6)], and trigonal (ᵗBu₃SiO)₃Cr.

Coupled climate models are large, multiphysics applications designed to simulate the Earth's climate and predict the response of the climate to any changes in the forcing or boundary conditions. The Community Climate System Model (CCSM) is a widely used state-of-art climate model that has released several versions to the climate community over the past ten years. Like many climate models, CCSM employs a coupler, a functional unit that coordinates the exchange of data between parts of climate system such as the atmosphere and ocean. This paper describes the new coupler, cpl6, contained in the latest version of CCSM,CCSM3. Cpl6 introduces distributed-memory parallelism to the coupler, a class library for important coupler functions, and a standardized interface for component models. Cpl6 is implemented entirely in Fortran90 and uses Model Coupling Toolkit as the base for most of its classes. Cpl6 gives improved performance over previous versions and scales well on multiple platforms.

The Compact Multipulse Terawatt (COMET) laser facility at LLNL was used to irradiate Al-coated 2 - 50 {micro}m Ti foils with {approx} 4 x 10{sup 18} W cm{sup -2}, 500 fs, 3-6 J laser pulses. Laser-plasma interactions on the front side of the target generate hot electrons with sufficient energy to excite inner-shell electrons in Ti, creating K{sub {alpha}} emission which has been measured using a focusing spectrometer with spatial resolution (FSSR-1D) aimed at the back surface of the targets. The spatial extent of the emission varies with target thickness, and the high spectral resolution ({lambda}/{Delta}{lambda} {approx} 3800) is sufficient to measure blue shifts in K{sub {alpha}} arising from ionization of near-solid Ti into the 3p subshell. A self-consistent-field model is used to spectroscopically diagnose thermal electron temperatures up to 40 eV in the strongly coupled Ti plasmas.

As nuclear industry continues marching from an expert-base support to more procedure-base support, it is important to revisit the total risk concept to criticality safety. A key objective of criticality safety is to minimize total criticality accident risk. The purpose of this paper is to assess key constituents of total risk concept pertaining to criticality safety from an operations support perspective and to suggest a risk-informed means of utilizing criticality safety resources for minimizing total risk. A PRA methodology was used to assist this assessment. The criticality accident history was assessed to provide a framework for our evaluation. In supporting operations, the work of criticality safety engineers ranges from knowing the scope and configurations of a proposed operation, performing criticality hazards assessment to derive effective controls, assisting in training operators, response to floor questions, surveillance to ensure implementation of criticality controls, and response to criticality mishaps. In a compliance environment, the resource of criticality safety engineers is increasingly being directed towards tedious documentation effort to meet some regulatory requirements to the effect of weakening the floor support for criticality safety. By applying a fault tree model to identify the major contributors of criticality accidents, a total risk picture is obtained …

Indirectly-driven double-shell implosions are being investigated as a possible noncryogenic path to ignition on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). In recent double-shell experiments, the inner shell trajectory was shown to exhibit a strong sensitivity to the temporal history of the M-band (2-5 keV) radiation emitted from the Au hohlraum wall. A large time-dependent discrepancy was observed between measurement and simulation of the x-ray flux in this range. In order to better characterize the radiation environment seen in these implosions, an experimental campaign was conducted on the Omega Laser. A number of diagnostics were used to measure both the temporal and spectral nature of the M-band flux. Results were obtained from an absolutely calibrated 12 channel filtered x-ray diode array (Dante) as well as two streaked crystal spectrometers and an absolutely calibrated time-integrated spectrometer (Henway). X-ray backlighting was also used to directly measure the effect of M-band radiation on the trajectory of the inner shell. The data from all diagnostics are shown to be in excellent agreement and provide a consistent picture of the M-band flux. These results are being used to constrain and improve the simulation of hohlraum-generated M-band radiation that will be necessary for the design of future double-shell …

We read with interest the paper by Michiels et al on the prediction of cancer with microarrays and the commentary by Ioannidis listing the potential as well as the limitations of this approach (February 5, p 488 and 454). Cancer is a disease characterized by complex, heterogeneous mechanisms and studies to define factors that can direct new drug discovery and use should be encouraged. However, this is easier said than done. Casti teaches that a better understanding does not necessarily extrapolate to better prediction, and that useful prediction is possible without complete understanding (1). To attempt both, explanation and prediction, in a single nonmathematical construct, is a tall order (Figure 1).

This paper presents a heuristic for guiding A* search for finding the shortest distance path between two vertices in a connected, undirected, and explicitly stored graph. The heuristic requires a small amount of data to be stored at each vertex. The heuristic has application to quickly detecting relationships between two vertices in a large information or knowledge network. We compare the performance of this heuristic with breadth-first search on graphs with various topological properties. The results show that one or more orders of magnitude improvement in the number of vertices expanded is possible for large graphs, including Poisson random graphs.

Lie group methods provide a valuable tool for examininginvariance and non-uniqueness associated with geophysical inverseproblems. The techniques are particularly well suited for the study ofnon-linear inverse problems. Using the infinitesimal generators of thegroup it is possible to move within the null space in an iterativefashion. The key computational step in determining the symmetry groupsassociated with an inverse problem is the singular value decomposition(SVD) of a sparse matrix. I apply the methodology to the eikonal equationand examine the possible solutions associated with a crosswelltomographic experiment. Results from a synthetic test indicate that it ispossible to vary the velocity model significantly and still fit thereference arrival times. the approach is also applied to data fromcorosswell surveys conducted before and after a CO2 injection at the LostHills field in California. The results highlight the fact that a faultcross-cutting the region between the wells may act as a conduit for theflow of water and CO2.

An attempt to confirm production of superheavy elements in the reaction of 48Ca beams with actinide targets has been performed using the 238U(48Ca,3n)283112 reaction. Two 48Ca projectile energies were used, that spanned the energy range where the largest cross sections have been reported for this reaction. No spontaneous fission events were observed. No alpha decay chains consistent with either reported or theoretically predicted element 112 decay properties were observed. The cross section limits reached are significantly smaller than the recently reported cross sections.