In this present work, the affects of different transition metal halides (TiCl{sub 3}, VCl{sub 3}, ScCl{sub 3} and NiCl{sub 2}) on the sorption properties of the 1:1 molar ratio of LiNH{sub 2} to MgH{sub 2} are investigated. The modified mixtures were found to contain LiNH{sub 2}, MgH{sub 2} and LiCl. TGA results showed that the hydrogen desorption temperature was reduced with the modifier addition in this order: TiCl{sub 3}>ScCl{sub 3}>VCl{sub 3}>NiCl{sub 2}. Ammonia release was not significantly reduced resulting in a weight loss greater than the theoretical hydrogen storage capacity of the material. The isothermal sorption kinetics of the modified systems showed little improvement after the first dehydrogenation cycle over the unmodified system but showed drastic improvement in rehydrogenation cycles. XRD and Raman spectroscopy identified the cycled material to be composed of LiH, MgH{sub 2}, Mg(NH{sub 2}){sub 2} and Mg{sub 3}N{sub 2}.

This report summarizes the most important results of our effort to develop a new class of infrared spectrometers based on a novel broadband heterodyne design. Our results indicate that this approach could lead to a near-room temperature operation with performance limited only by quantum noise carried by the incoming signal. Using a model quantum-well infrared photodetector (QWIP), we demonstrated key performance features of our approach. For example, we directly measured the beat frequency signal generated by superimposing local oscillator (LO) light of one frequency and signal light of another through a spectrograph, by injecting the LO light at a laterally displaced input location. In parallel with the development of this novel spectrometer, we modeled a new approach to reducing detector volume though plasmonic resonance effects. Since dark current scales directly with detector volume, this ''photon compression'' can directly lead to lower currents. Our calculations indicate that dark current can be reduced by up to two orders of magnitude in an optimized ''superlens'' structure. Taken together, our spectrometer and dark current reduction strategies provide a promising path toward room temperature operation of a mid-wave and possibly long-wave infrared spectrometer.

We present a study of the D{sup +}{pi}{sup -}, D{sup 0}{pi}{sup +}, and D*{sup +}{pi}{sup -} systems in inclusive e{sup +}e{sup -} {yields} c{bar c} interactions in a search for new excited D meson states. We use a dataset, consisting of {approx}454 fb{sup -1}, collected at center-of-mass energies near 10.58 GeV by the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II asymmetric-energy collider. We observe, for the first time, candidates for the radial excitations of the D{sup 0}, D*{sup 0}, and D*{sup +}, as well as the L = 2 excited states of the D{sup 0} and D{sup +}, where L is the orbital angular momentum of the quarks.

We present a model of cosmic ray (CR) injection into the Galactic space based on recent {gamma}-ray observations of supernova remnants (SNRs) and pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi) and atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (ACTs). Steady-state (SS) injection of nuclear particles and electrons (e{sup -}) from the Galactic ensemble of SNRs, and electrons and positrons (e{sup +}) from the Galactic ensemble of PWNe are assumed, with their spectra deduced from {gamma}-ray observations and recent evolution models. The ensembles of SNRs and PWNe are assumed to share the same spatial distributions and the secondary CR production in dense molecular clouds interacting with SNRs is incorporated in the model. Propagation of CRs to Earth is calculated using GALPROP with 2 source distributions and 2 Galaxy halo sizes. We show that this observation-based model reproduces the positron fraction e{sup +}/(e{sup -} + e{sup +}) and antiproton-to-proton ratio ({bar p}/p) reported by PAMELA reasonably well without calling for new sources. Significant discrepancy is found, however, between our model and the e{sup -} + e{sup +} spectrum measured by Fermi below {approx} 20 GeV. Important quantities for Galactic CRs, including their energy injection, average lifetime, and mean gas density along their …

Environmental statistics provide a necessary means of comparing the properties of galaxies in different environments and a vital test of models of galaxy formation within the prevailing, hierarchical cosmological model. We explore counts-in-cylinders, a common statistic defined as the number of companions of a particular galaxy found within a given projected radius and redshift interval. Galaxy distributions with the same two-point correlation functions do not necessarily have the same companion count distributions. We use this statistic to examine the environments of galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Data Release 4. We also make preliminary comparisons to four models for the spatial distributions of galaxies, based on N-body simulations, and data from SDSS DR4 to study the utility of the counts-in-cylinders statistic. There is a very large scatter between the number of companions a galaxy has and the mass of its parent dark matter halo and the halo occupation, limiting the utility of this statistic for certain kinds of environmental studies. We also show that prevalent, empirical models of galaxy clustering that match observed two- and three-point clustering statistics well fail to reproduce some aspects of the observed distribution of counts-in-cylinders on 1, 3 and 6-h{sup -1}Mpc scales. All models …

We obtain a family of supersymmetric solutions of type IIB supergravity with dynamic SU(2) structure, which describe the local geometry near a stack of four D7-branes and one O7-plane wrapping a rigid four-cycle. The deformation to a generalized complex geometry is interpreted as a consequence of nonperturbative effects in the seven-brane gauge theory. We formulate the problem for seven-branes wrapping the base of an appropriate del Pezzo cone, and in the near-stack limit in which the four-cycle is flat, we obtain an exact solution in closed form. Our solutions serve to characterize the local geometry of nonperturbatively-stabilized flux compactifications.

A commercially fabricated diffuser purchased from Johnson-Matthey, Inc. was evaluated for performance characterization testing at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). Different impurities are often present in the feed streams of the process diffusers, but the effect of these impurities on the diffuser performance is currently unknown. Various impurities were introduced into the feed stream of the diffuser at various levels ranging from 0.5% to 10% of the total flow in order to determine the effect that these impurities have on the permeation of hydrogen through the palladium-silver membrane. The introduction of various impurities into the feed stream of the diffuser had a minimal effect on the overall permeation of hydrogen through the Pd-Ag membrane. Of the four impurities introduced into the feed stream, carbon monoxide (CO) was the only impurity that showed any evidence of causing a reduction in the amount of hydrogen permeating through the Pd-Ag membrane. The hydrogen permeation returned to its baseline level after the CO was removed from the feed stream. There were no lasting effects of the CO exposure on the ability of the membrane to effectively separate hydrogen from the non-hydrogen species in the gas stream under the conditions tested.

Two concerns were raised by the Government Accountability Office following the 2001 building contaminations via letters containing Bacillus anthracis (BA). These included the: 1) lack of validated sampling methods, and 2) need to use statistical sampling to quantify the confidence of no contamination when all samples have negative results. Critical to addressing these concerns is quantifying the probability of correct detection (PCD) (or equivalently the false negative rate FNR = 1 − PCD). The PCD/FNR may depend on the 1) method of contaminant deposition, 2) surface concentration of the contaminant, 3) surface material being sampled, 4) sample collection method, 5) sample storage/transportation conditions, 6) sample processing method, and 7) sample analytical method. A review of the literature found 17 laboratory studies that focused on swab, wipe, or vacuum samples collected from a variety of surface materials contaminated by BA or a surrogate, and used culture methods to determine the surface contaminant concentration. These studies quantified performance of the sampling and analysis methods in terms of recovery efficiency (RE) and not PCD/FNR (which left a major gap in available information). Quantifying the PCD/FNR under a variety of conditions is a key aspect of validating sample and analysis methods, and also for …

We study quiver gauge theories on D7-branes wrapped over vanishing holomorphic 4-cycles. We investigate how to incorporate O7-planes and/or flavor D7-branes, which are necessary to cancel anomalies. These theories are chiral, preserve four supercharges and exhibit very rich infrared dynamics. Geometric transitions and duality in the presence of O-planes are analyzed. We study the Higgs branch of these quiver theories, showing the emergence of fuzzy internal dimensions. This branch is related to noncommutative instantons on the divisor wrapped by the seven-branes. Our results have a natural application to the recently introduced F(uzz) limit of F-theory.

An experimental study was undertaken to investigate the corrosivity to carbon steel of the liquid-air interface of dilute simulated radioactive waste solutions. Open-circuit potentials were measured on ASTM A537 carbon steel specimens located slightly above, at, and below the liquid-air interface of simulated waste solutions. The 0.12-inch-diameter specimens used in the study were sized to respond to the assumed distinctive chemical environment of the liquid-air interface, where localized corrosion in poorly inhibited solutions may frequently be observed. The practical inhibition of such localized corrosion in liquid radioactive waste storage tanks is based on empirical testing and a model of a liquid-air interface environment that is made more corrosive than the underlying bulk liquid due to chemical changes brought about by absorbed atmospheric carbon dioxide. The chemical changes were assumed to create a more corrosive open-circuit potential in carbon in contact with the liquid-air interface. Arrays of 4 small specimens spaced about 0.3 in. apart were partially immersed so that one specimen contacted the top of the meniscus of the test solution. Two specimens contacted the bulk liquid below the meniscus and one specimen was positioned in the vapor space above the meniscus. Measurements were carried out for up to 16 …

The conclusions of the presentation are: (1) Confirmed Isomorphism; (2) Reproduced Sigmoidal Relationship Between Melting Temperature and Composition; (3) Tg Increased with Increasing 9T Content; (4) Thermal Stability Increased with Increasing 9T Content; (5) Crystallization Rate Increased Dramatically at 9T Contents Above 50 Mole %; and (6) Copolymers Possessing a 9T Content Exceeding 50 Mole % 9T Possess Very Desirable Thermal Properties That Rival Nylon 6,6.

The authors present a measurement of the branching fractions of the 22 decay channels of the B{sup 0} and B{sup +} mesons to {bar D}{sup (*)}D{sup (*)}K, where the D{sup (*)} and {bar D}{sup (*)} mesons are fully reconstructed. Summing the 10 neutral modes and the 12 charged modes, the branching fractions are found to be {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {bar D}{sup (*)}D{sup (*)}K) = (3.68 {+-} 0.10 {+-} 0.24)% and {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {bar D}{sup (*)}D{sup (*)}K) = (4.05 {+-} 0.11 {+-} 0.28)%, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The results are based on 429 fb{sup -1} of data containing 471 x 10{sup 6} B{bar B} pairs collected at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance with the BABAR detector at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

The nuclear fuel cycle generates a considerable amount of radioactive waste, which often includes nuclear fission products, such as strontium-90 ({sup 90}Sr) and cesium-137 ({sup 137}Cs), and actinides such as uranium (U) and plutonium (Pu). When released into the environment, large quantities of these radionuclides can present considerable problems to man and biota due to their radioactive nature and, in some cases as with the actinides, their chemical toxicity. Radionuclides are expected to decay at a known rate. Yet, research has shown the rate of elimination from an ecosystem to differ from the decay rate due to physical, chemical and biological processes that remove the contaminant or reduce its biological availability. Knowledge regarding the rate by which a contaminant is eliminated from an ecosystem (ecological half-life) is important for evaluating the duration and potential severity of risk. To better understand a contaminants impact on an environment, consideration should be given to plants. As primary producers, they represent an important mode of contamination transfer from sediments and soils into the food chain. Contaminants that are chemically and/or physically sequestered in a media are less likely to be bio-available to plants and therefore an ecosystem.

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By using three tunable wavelengths on different cones of laser beams on the National Ignition Facility, numerical simulations show that the energy transfer between beams can be tuned to redistribute the energy within the cones of beams most prone to backscatter instabilities. These radiative hydrodynamics and laser-plasma interaction simulations have been tested against large scale hohlraum experiments with two tunable wavelengths, and reproduce the hohlraum energetics and symmetry. Using a third wavelength provides a greater level of control of the laser energy distribution and coupling in the hohlraum, and could significantly reduce stimulated Raman scattering losses and increase the hohlraum radiation drive while maintaining a good implosion symmetry.

The study of the power density spectrum (PDS) of fluctuations in the X-ray flux from active galactic nuclei (AGN) complements spectral studies in giving us a view into the processes operating in accreting compact objects. An important line of investigation is the comparison of the PDS from AGN with those from galactic black hole binaries; a related area of focus is the scaling relation between time scales for the variability and the black hole mass. The PDS of AGN is traditionally modeled using segments of power laws joined together at so-called break frequencies; associations of the break time scales, i.e., the inverses of the break frequencies, with time scales of physical processes thought to operate in these sources are then sought. I analyze the Method of Light Curve Simulations that is commonly used to characterize the PDS in AGN with a view to making the method as sensitive as possible to the shape of the PDS. I identify several weaknesses in the current implementation of the method and propose alternatives that can substitute for some of the key steps in the method. I focus on the complications introduced by uneven sampling in the light curve, the development of a fit …