Time resolved dynamics of high intensity laser interactions with atomic clusters have been studied with both theoretical analysis and experiment. A short-pulse Ti:sapphire laser system, which could produce 50 mJ of energy in a 50 fs pulse, was built to perform these experiments. The laser used a novel single grating stretcher and was pumped, in part, by a custom Nd:YLF laser system, including 19 mm Nd:YLF amplifiers. It was found that there is an optimal pulse width to maximize absorption for a given cluster size. This optimal pulse width ranged from 400 fs for 85 A radius xenon clusters to 1.2 ps for 205 {angstrom} radius xenon clusters. Using a pump-probe configuration, the absorption of the probe radiation was observed to reach a maximum for a particular time delay between pump and probe, dependent on the cluster size. The delay for peak absorption was 800, 1400, and 2100 fs for 85 {angstrom}, 130 {angstrom}, and 170 {angstrom} radius xenon clusters respectively. Model calculations suggest that these effects are due to resonant heating of the spherical plasma in agreement with the hydrodynamic interpretation of cluster interactions. While this simple hydrodynamic code produces reasonable agreement with data, it does not include bulk …

The dissertation, titled ''Genetic Algorithms Applied to Nonlinear and Complex Domains'', describes and then applies a new class of powerful search algorithms (GAS) to certain domains. GAS are capable of solving complex and nonlinear problems where many parameters interact to produce a ''final'' result such as the optimization of the laser pulse in the interaction of an atom with an intense laser field. GAS can very efficiently locate the global maximum by searching parameter space in problems which are unsuitable for a search using traditional methods. In particular, the dissertation contains new scientific findings in two areas. First, the dissertation examines the interaction of an ultra-intense short laser pulse with atoms. GAS are used to find the optimal frequency for stabilizing atoms in the ionization process. This leads to a new theoretical formulation, to explain what is happening during the ionization process and how the electron is responding to finite (real-life) laser pulse shapes. It is shown that the dynamics of the process can be very sensitive to the ramp of the pulse at high frequencies. The new theory which is formulated, also uses a novel concept (known as the (t,t') method) to numerically solve the time-dependent Schrodinger equation Second, …

The dissertation, titled ''Genetic Algorithms Applied to Nonlinear and Complex Domains'', describes and then applies a new class of powerful search algorithms (GAS) to certain domains. GAS are capable of solving complex and nonlinear problems where many parameters interact to produce a final result such as the optimization of the laser pulse in the interaction of an atom with an intense laser field. GAS can very efficiently locate the global maximum by searching parameter space in problems which are unsuitable for a search using traditional methods. In particular, the dissertation contains new scientific findings in two areas. First, the dissertation examines the interaction of an ultra-intense short laser pulse with atoms. GAS are used to find the optimal frequency for stabilizing atoms in the ionization process. This leads to a new theoretical formulation, to explain what is happening during the ionization process and how the electron is responding to finite (real-life) laser pulse shapes. It is shown that the dynamics of the process can be very sensitive to the ramp of the pulse at high frequencies. The new theory which is formulated, also uses a novel concept (known as the (t,t') method) to numerically solve the time-dependent Schrodinger equation Second, …

Liquid film migration (LFM) in liquid phase sintering classically involves a large metastable liquid volume adjacent to solid, and migration occurs at an isolated solid-liquid (S-L) interface. Constitutional liquid film migration (CLFM), discovered in alloy 718, has major characteristics similar to those of LFM, except that the metastable liquid is from the constitutional liquation of precipitates on the grain boundary. The similarity between LFM and CLFM has led to the theory that coherency lattice strain responsible for LFM is also responsible for CLFM. The coherency strain hypothesis was tested in this study by evaluating whether the Hillert model of LFM would also apply for CLFM. Experimental results of CLFM in alloy 718 showed that migration velocity followed the trend predicted by the Hillert model. This indicates that the coherency strain hypothesis of LFM also applies for CLFM and that the coherency lattice strain responsible for LFM is also the driving force for CLFM.

In an effort to develop a more full characterization tool of shape memory alloys, a new technique is presented for the mechanical characterization of microactuators and applied to SMA thin films. A test instrument was designed to utilize a spring-loaded transducer in measuring displacements with resolution of 1.5 pm and forces with resolution of 0.2 mN. Employing an out-of-plane loading method for freestanding SMA thin films, strain resolution of 30{mu}{epsilon} and stress resolution of 2.5 MPa were achieved. This new testing method is presented against previous SMA characterization methods for purposes of comparison. Four mm long, 2 {micro}m thick NiTiCu ligaments suspended across open windows were bulk micromachined for use in the out-of-plane stress and strain measurements. The fabrication process used to micromachine the ligaments is presented step-by-step, alongside methods of fabrication that failed to produce testable ligaments. Static analysis showed that 63% of the applied strain was recovered while ligaments were subjected to tensile stresses of 870 MPa. In terms of recoverable stress and recoverable strain, the ligaments achieved maximum recovery of 700 MPa and 3.0% strain. No permanent deformations were seen in any ligament during deflection measurements. Maximum actuation forces and displacements produced by the 4 mm ligaments …

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Supernova (SN) 1987A focused attention on the critical role of hydrodynamic instabilities in the evolution of supernovae. To test the modeling of these instabilities, we are developing laboratory experiments of hydrodynamic mixing under conditions relevant to supernovae. Initial results were reported in J. Kane et al., Astrophys. J.478, L75 (1997) The Nova laser is used to shock two-layer targets, producing Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM) and Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instabilities at the interfaces between the layers, analogous to instabilities seen at the interfaces of SN 1987A. Because the hydrodynamics in the laser experiments at intermediate times (3-40 ns) and in SN 1987A at intermediate times (5 s-10{sup 4} s) are well described by the Euler equations, the hydrodynamics scale between the two regimes. The experiments are modeled using the hydrodynamics codes HYADES and CALE, and the supernova code PROMETHEUS, thus serving as a benchmark for PROMETHEUS. Results of the experiments and simulations are presented. Analysis of the spike and bubble velocities in the experiment using potential flow theory and a modified Ott thin shell theory is presented. A numerical study of 2D vs. 3D differences in instability growth at the O-He and He-H interface of SN 1987A, and the design for analogous laser experiments …

The major goal of this work is to provide a means to characterize the final structure of a metal that has solidified from a melt. The thermally controlled solidification of a binary alloy, nucleated at isolated sites, is described by the evolution of a probability distribution function (PDF). The relevant equation required for propagating the PDF is developed with variables for grain size and distance to nearest neighbor. The phenomena of nucleation, growth, and impingement of the grains are discussed, and used as the basis for developing rate equations that evolve the PDF. The complementary equations describing global heat and solute transfer are discussed, and coupled with the microstructure evolution equations for grain growth and PDF evolution. The full set of equations is solved numerically and results are compared with experimental data for the plutonium 1 weight percent gallium system. The three principal results of this work are: (1) The formulation of transient evolution equations for the PDF description of nucleation, growth, and impingement of a distribution of grain sizes and locations; (2) Solution of the equations to give a correlation for final average grain size as a function of material parameters, nucleation site density, and cooling rate; and (3) …

Coincidence cross sections and the structure functions R{sub L+TT},#2; R{sub T} and R{sub LT} have been obtained for the quasielastic #2;#3;{sup 16}O(#7;e,#2; e'p)#8; reaction with the proton knocked out from the #2;1p{sub 1/2}#2;#2;#4; and #2;1p{sub 3/2}#5;#2;#4; states in perpendicular kinematics. The nominal energy transfer #3;{omega} was 439#11; MeV#4; the nominal Q{sup 2}#4; was 0.8 (#7;GeV/#14;c){sup 2}#8;#4; and the kinetic energy of knocked-#15;out proton was 427#3;#16; MeV. The data was taken in Hall A#4; Je#17;erson Laboratory#4; using two high resolution spectrometers to detect electrons and protons respectively. Nominal beam energies 845#18; MeV#4;, #2;#19;1645#18; MeV#4; and #3;2445#18; MeV were employed. For each beam energy,#4; the momentum and angle of electron arm were #6;fixed,#4; while the angle between the proton momentum and the momentum transfer {vector #4;q} was varied to map out the missing momentum. R{sub LT} was separated out to ~350 MeV#14;/c in missing momentum. R{sub L+TT} and R{sub T} were separated out to #2;#3;~280 MeV/#14;c in missing momentum. R{sub L} and R{sub T} were separated at a missing momentum of #18;#3;52.5#18; MeV/#14;c for the data taken with hadron arm along #4;{vector q}. The measured cross sections and response functions agree with both relativistic and non#15;relativistic DWIA calculations employing spectroscopic factors between …

Numerical simulations of groundwater flow at Yucca Mountain, Nevada are used to investigate how the faulted hydrogeologic structure influences groundwater flow from a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository. Simulations are performed using a 3-D model that has a unique grid block discretization to accurately represent the faulted geologic units, which have variable thicknesses and orientations. Irregular grid blocks enable explicit representation of these features. Each hydrogeologic layer is discretized into a single layer of irregular and dipping grid blocks, and faults are discretized such that they are laterally continuous and displacement varies along strike. In addition, the presence of altered fault zones is explicitly modeled, as appropriate. The model has 23 layers and 11 faults, and approximately 57,000 grid blocks and 200,000 grid block connections. In the past, field measurement of upward vertical head gradients and high water table temperatures near faults were interpreted as indicators of upwelling from a deep carbonate aquifer. Simulations show, however, that these features can be readily explained by the geometry of hydrogeologic layers, the variability of layer permeabilities and thermal conductivities, and by the presence of permeable fault zones or faults with displacement only. In addition, a moderate water table gradient can result from …

In this thesis, the possibility of controlling low- and high-dimensional chaotic systems by periodically driving an accessible system parameter is examined. This method has been carried out on several numerical systems and the MST Reversed Field Pinch. The numerical systems investigated include the logistic equation, the Lorenz equations, the Roessler equations, a coupled lattice of logistic equations, a coupled lattice of Lorenz equations, the Yoshida equations, which model tearing mode fluctuations in a plasma, and a neural net model for magnetic fluctuations on MST. This method was tested on the MST by sinusoidally driving a magnetic flux through the toroidal gap of the device. Numerically, periodic drives were found to be most effective at producing limit cycle behavior or significantly reducing the dimension of the system when the perturbation frequency was near natural frequencies of unstable periodic orbits embedded in the attractor of the unperturbed system. Several different unstable periodic orbits have been stabilized in this way for the low-dimensional numerical systems, sometimes with perturbation amplitudes that were less than 5% of the nominal value of the parameter being perturbed. In high-dimensional systems, limit cycle behavior and significant decreases in the system dimension were also achieved using perturbations with frequencies …

The inner-shell photoionized x-ray lasing scheme is an attractive method for achieving x-ray lasing at short wavelengths, via population inversion following inner-shell photoionization (ISPI). This scheme promises both a short wavelength and a short pulse source of coherent x rays with high average power. In this dissertation a very complete study of the ISPI x-ray laser scheme is done concerning target structure, filter design and lasant medium. An investigation of the rapid rise time of x-ray emission from targets heated by an ultra-short pulse high-intensity optical laser was conducted for use as the x-ray source for ISPI x-ray lasing. Lasing by this approach in C at a wavelength of 45 {angstrom} requires a short pulse (about 50 fsec) driving optical laser with an energy of 1-5 J and traveling wave optics with an accuracy of {approximately} 15 {micro}m. The optical laser is incident on a high-Z target creating a high-density plasma which emits a broadband spectrum of x rays. This x-ray source is passed through a filter to eliminate the low-energy x rays. The remaining high-energy x rays preferentially photoionize inner-shell electrons resulting in a population inversion. Inner-shell photoionized x-ray lasing relies on the large energy of a K-{alpha} transition …

After introducing the subject of conjugated polymers, the thesis has three sections each containing a literature survey, results and discussion, conclusions, and experimental methods on the following: synthesis, characterization of electroluminescent polymers containing conjugated aryl, olefinic, thiophene and acetylenic units and their studies for use in light-emitting diodes; synthesis, characterization and study of conjugated polymers containing silole unit in the main chain; and synthesis, characterization and study of silicon-bridged and butadiene-linked polythiophenes.

Highly dispersed transition metal catalysts are used in numerous commercial processes such as hydrocarbon conversions. For example, the use of Pt supported on acidic alumina or silica-alumina for reforming of naphtha in the production of gasoline is well known. Another use of supported catalysts is in automobile emission control where supported Pt-Rh bimetallic catalysts are used. Supported Ru can be used in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis for the production of higher hydrocarbons from synthesis gas. While many of these catalyst systems have been in commercial operation for several decades there is still a lack of consensus regarding the exact role of the catalyst on a molecular level. In particular, little is known about the mechanisms operating on the catalyst surface at the high pressure and high temperature conditions typically used in commercial operations. This report contains the general introduction and conclusions and an appendix containing the operating instructions for a microcalorimeter. Three chapters have been processed separately. They are: the effect of K on the kinetics and thermodynamics of hydrogen adsorption on Ru/SiO{sub 2}; hydrogen adsorption states on silica supported Ru-Ag and Ru-Cu bimetallic catalysts investigated via microcalorimetry; a comparative study of hydrogen chemisorption on silica supported Ru, Rh, and Pt.

This report contains a general introduction which discusses solid-phase extraction and solid-phase micro-extraction as sample preparation techniques for high-performance liquid chromatography, which is also evaluated in the study. This report also contains the Conclusions section. Four sections have been removed and processed separately: silicalite as a sorbent for solid-phase extraction; a new, high-capacity carboxylic acid functionalized resin for solid-phase extraction; semi-micro solid-phase extraction of organic compounds from aqueous and biological samples; and the high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of drugs and metabolites in human serum and urine using direct injection and a unique molecular sieve.

This dissertation explores in large part the development of a few types of spectroscopic methods in the analysis of water. Methods for the determination of some of the most important properties of water like pH, metal ion content, and chemical oxygen demand are investigated in detail. This report contains a general introduction to the subject and the conclusions. Four chapters and an appendix have been processed separately. They are: chromogenic and fluorogenic crown ether compounds for the selective extraction and determination of Hg(II); selective determination of cadmium in water using a chromogenic crown ether in a mixed micellar solution; reduction of chloride interference in chemical oxygen demand determination without using mercury salts; structural orientation patterns for a series of anthraquinone sulfonates adsorbed at an aminophenol thiolate monolayer chemisorbed at gold; and the role of chemically modified surfaces in the construction of miniaturized analytical instrumentation.

Time variability analyses have been applied to data composed of event times of X-rays emitted from the binary system Cygnus X-1 to search for unique black hole signatures. The X-ray data analyzed was collected at ten microsecond time resolution or better from two instruments, the High Energy Astrophysical Observatory (HEAO) A-1 detector and the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (XTE) Proportional Counter Array (PCA). HEAO A-1 and RXTE/PCA collected data from 1977--79 and from 1996 on with energy sensitivity from 1--25 keV and 2--60 keV, respectively. Variability characteristics predicted by various models of an accretion disk around a black hole have been searched for in the data. Drop-offs or quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in the Fourier power spectra are expected from some of these models. The Fourier spectral technique was applied to the HEAO A-1 and RXTE/PCA data with careful consideration given for correcting the Poisson noise floor for instrumental effects. Evidence for a drop-off may be interpreted from the faster fall off in variability at frequencies greater than the observed breaks. Both breaks occur within the range of Keplerian frequencies associated with the inner edge radii of advection-dominated accretion disks predicted for Cyg X-1. The break between 10--20 Hz is also …

Gabor first proposed holography in 1948 as a means to experimentally record the amplitude and phase of scattered wavefronts, relative to a direct unscattered wave, and to use such a {open_quotes}hologram{close_quotes} to directly image atomic structure. But imaging at atomic resolution has not yet been possible in the way he proposed. Much more recently, Szoeke in 1986 noted that photoexcited atoms can emit photoelectron of fluorescent x-ray wavefronts that are scattered by neighboring atoms, thus yielding the direct and scattered wavefronts as detected in the far field that can then be interpreted as holographic in nature. By now, several algorithms for directly reconstructing three-dimensional atomic images from electron holograms have been proposed (e.g. by Barton) and successfully tested against experiment and theory. Very recently, Tegze and Faigel, and Grog et al. have recorded experimental x-ray fluorescence holograms, and these are found to yield atomic images that are more free of the kinds of aberrations caused by the non-ideal emission or scattering of electrons. The basic principles of these holographic atomic imaging methods are reviewed, including illustrative applications of the reconstruction algorithms to both theoretical and experimental electron and x-ray holograms. The author also discusses the prospects and limitations of these …

A conceptual management framework is developed and applied in a science and engineering organization located within a non-profit, public institution. The goal of this research is to select a set of projects whose combined contributions to the organization`s strategic interests satisfy sponsor desires and can be completed within existing time and resource constraints. The development of the rationale for project selection and implementation within the plutonium facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory is studied. This includes the integration of prioritization decision tools, optimization techniques, and advanced planning and scheduling tools. The Nuclear Materials Technology Division is the custodian of the plutonium facility, whose mission is to develop, demonstrate, and deploy technologies necessary to address the nation`s and world`s plutonium problems. This includes management of nuclear weapon stockpile components, stabilization of plutonium residues, clean-up of contaminated soils and facilities, support to non-proliferation and arms control initiatives, and the eventual disposition of surplus plutonium. In this study, projects are evaluated against selection criteria deemed to be of critical program importance. The Analytic Hierarchy Process is used to evaluate and rank the importance of the suite of candidate projects. Because individual projects may be of interest to a number of business sectors and …

This study sought to create a guideline to assist theological seminaries build a longitudinal database for institutional research. The study used the National Center for Higher Education Management (NCHEMS) data element dictionary as the base document for the study.

In the first part of this work, the author describes studies of donors in AlSb and in GaAs at large hydrostatic pressures, two materials in which the conduction band minimum is not parabolic, but has a camel`s back shape. These donors were found to display only one or two absorption lines corresponding to ground to bound excited state transitions. It is shown that due to the non-parabolic dispersion, camel`s back donors may have as few as one bound excited state and that higher excited states are auto-ionized. Thus, it is possible that transitions to these other states may be lost in the continuum. In the second part, calculations of mobilities in GaN and other group III-Nitride based structures were performed. GaN is interesting in that the carriers in nominally undoped material are thought to originate from impurities which have an ionization energy level resonant with the conduction band, rather than located in the forbidden gap. These donors have a short range potential associated with them which can be effective in scattering electrons in certain situations. It was found that effects of these resonant donors can be seen only at high doping levels in III-Nitride materials and in Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1{minus}x}N …

High-power, pulsed, coherent, far-infrared (FIR) radiation has many scientific applications, such as pump-probe studies of surfaces, liquids, and solids, studies of high-T{sub c} superconductors, biophysics, plasma diagnostics, and excitation of Rydberg atoms. Few sources of such FIR radiation currently exist. Superradiant undulator radiation produced at the SUNSHINE (Stanford UNiversity SHort INtense Electron-source) is such a FIR source. First proposed in the mm-wave spectral range by Motz, superradiant undulator radiation has been realized in the 45 {micro}m to 300 {micro}m spectral range by using sub-picosecond electron bunches produced by the SUNSHINE facility. The experimental setup and measurements of this FIR radiation are reported in this thesis. In addition, to being a useful FIR source, the superradiant undulator radiation produced at SUNSHINE is an object of research in itself. Measured superlinear growth of the radiated energy along the undulator demonstrates the self-amplification of radiation by the electron bunch. This superlinear growth is seen at 47 {micro}m to 70 {micro}m wavelengths. These wavelengths are an order of magnitude shorter than in previous self-amplification demonstrations.

In the first part of this dissertation, the variation of mean emitter depths with direction for core photoelectron emission from single crystals, including the effects of both isotropic inelastic scattering and single and multiple elastic scattering was theoretically studied. The mean emitter depth was found to vary by as much as ±30% with direction. In the second part of this dissertation, x-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) was used to study the structure and growth mechanisms of Cu films grown on a clean and an oxygen-precovered Ru(OOO1) surface. Experimental Cu 2p3/2 (E_kin = 556 eV) and Ru 3d (E_kin = 1205 eV) intensities were measured for Cu coverages from submonolayer up to several monolayer (ML) on the clean Ru(OOO1) surface. In addition, the O 1s (E_kin = 958 eV) intensity was measured for Cu grown on oxygen precovered Ru(OOO1). These XPD intensities have been analyzed using single scattering cluster (SSC) and multiple scattering cluster (MSC) models. The first Cu layer has been found to grow pseudomorphically on the Ru(OOO1) surface in agreement with prior studies of the Cu/Ru(OOO 1) system. Thus, the initial growth is layer-by-layer. For higher coverages, XPD shows that the short-range structure of the Cu films is fcc Cu(l …

Following, a review of experimental techniques, theory, and previous work, the results of local vibrational mode (LVM) spectroscopy on hydrogen-related complexes in several different semiconductors are discussed. Hydrogen is introduced either by annealing in a hydrogen ambient. exposure to a hydrogen plasma, or during growth. The hydrogen passivates donors and acceptors in semiconductors, forming neutral complexes. When deuterium is substituted for hydrogen. the frequency of the LVM decreases by approximately the square root of two. By varying the temperature and pressure of the samples, the microscopic structures of hydrogen-related complexes are determined. For group II acceptor-hydrogen complexes in GaAs, InP, and GaP, hydrogen binds to the host anion in a bond-centered orientation, along the [111] direction, adjacent to the acceptor. The temperature dependent shift of the LVMs are proportional to the lattice thermal energy U(T), a consequence of anharmonic coupling between the LVM and acoustical phonons. In the wide band gap semiconductor ZnSe, epilayers grown by metalorganic chemical vapor phase epitaxy (MOCVD) and doped with As form As-H complexes. The hydrogen assumes a bond-centered orientation, adjacent to a host Zn. In AlSb, the DX centers Se and Te are passivated by hydrogen. The second, third, and fourth harmonics of the …