During 1999, the U.S. Department of Energy, in conjunction with its nuclear laboratories, a national steering committee, and a panel of world experts, developed a roadmap for research, development, demonstration, and deployment of Accelerator-driven Transmutation of Waste (ATW). The ATW concept that was examined in this roadmap study was based on that developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) during the 1990s. The reference deployment scenario in the Roadmap was developed to treat 86,300 tn (metric tonnes initial heavy metal) of spent nuclear fuel that will accumulate through 2035 from existing U.S. nuclear power plants (without license extensions). The disposition of this spent nuclear reactor fuel is an issue of national importance, as is disposition of spent fuel in other nations. The U.S. program for the disposition of this once-through fuel is focused to characterize a candidate site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada for a geological repository for spent fuel and high-level waste. The ATW concept is being examined in the U.S. because removal of plutonium minor actinides, and two very long-lived isotopes from the spent fuel can achieve some important objectives. These objectives include near-elimination of plutonium, reduction of the inventory and mobility of long-lived radionuclides in the repository, …

The direct conversion of the electrical energy of charged fission fragments was examined early in the nuclear reactor era, and the first theoretical treatment appeared in the literature in 1957. Most of the experiments conducted during the next ten years to investigate fission fragment direct energy conversion (DEC) were for understanding the nature and control of the charged particles. These experiments verified fundamental physics and identified a number of specific problem areas, but also demonstrated a number of technical challenges that limited DEC performance. Because DEC was insufficient for practical applications, by the late 1960s most R&D ceased in the US. Sporadic interest in the concept appears in the literature until this day, but there have been no recent programs to develop the technology. This has changed with the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative that was funded by the U.S. Congress in 1999. Most of the previous concepts were based on a fission electric cell known as a triode, where a central cathode is coated with a thin layer of nuclear fuel. A fission fragment that leaves the cathode with high kinetic energy and a large positive charge is decelerated as it approaches the anode by a charge differential of several …

We are investigating the rules that govern protein-DNA interactions, using a statistical mechanics based formalism that is related to the Boltzmann Machine of the neural net literature. Our approach is data-driven, in which probabilistic algorithms are used to model protein-DNA interactions, given SELEX and phage data as input. Under the ''one-to-one'' model for interactions (i.e. one amino acid contacts one base), we can successfully identify the wild-type binding sites of EGR and MIG protein families. The predictions using our method are the same or better than that of methods existing in the literature, however our methodology offers the potential to capitalize in quantitative detail on more data as it becomes available.

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We present results at {beta} = 6.0 and 6.2 for the O(a) improvement and renormalization constants for bilinear operators using axial and vector Ward identities. We discuss the extraction of the mass dependence of the renormalization constants and the coefficients of the equation of motion operators.

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Through three examples the authors illustrate some of the concepts and ingredients required for pattern formation at mesoscopic scales. Two examples built on microscopic models where mesoscopic patterns emerge from homogeneous ground states driven into instability by external forcing. In contrast, the third example builds on a mesoscopic phenomenological Ginzburg-Landan type model of solid-solid structural phase transition. Here, mesoscopic textures emerge as a result of competing length scales arising from the constraints of elastic compatibility.

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We explore a new general-purpose heuristic for finding high-quality solutions to hard optimization problems. The method, called extremal optimization, is inspired by ''self-organized critically,'' a concept introduced to describe emergent complexity in many physical systems. In contrast to Genetic Algorithms which operate on an entire ''gene-pool'' of possible solutions, extremal optimization successively replaces extremely undesirable elements of a sub-optimal solution with new, random ones. Large fluctuations, called ''avalanches,'' ensue that efficiently explore many local optima. Drawing upon models used to simulate far-from-equilibrium dynamics, extremal optimization complements approximation methods inspired by equilibrium statistical physics, such as simulated annealing. With only one adjustable parameter, its performance has proved competitive with more elaborate methods, especially near phase transitions. Those phase transitions are found in the parameter space of most optimization problems, and have recently been conjectured to be the origin of some of the hardest instances in computational complexity. We will demonstrate how extremal optimization can be implemented for a variety of combinatorial optimization problems. We believe that extremal optimization will be a useful tool in the investigation of phase transitions in combinatorial optimization problems, hence valuable in elucidating the origin of computational complexity.

We infer the structure of the ZZ Ceti stars L 19-2 and GD 165 by comparing the observed periods with periods predicted from an extensive grid of evolutionary white dwarf models. The observed period structure of these two stars is similar, and the models for both stars have a helium layer mass of about 10{sup {minus}2}M* and a hydrogen layer mass of about 10{sup {minus}4}M*. The core of these models is 20:80 C/O that extends to 0.60 to 0.65M* with a linear ramp to pure carbon by 0.90M*. The differences in the observed effective temperature, log g, and periods imply different stellar masses for these two stars. L 19-2 has a favored stellar mass of 0.72M{circle_dot} and GD 165 has a favored stellar mass range of 0.65 to 0.68M*.

Meson spectra can be well approximated by a specific form of a nonlinear Regge trajectory which is consistent with a finite number of bound states. This may have important consequences for experiment, and may be a hint for the theory.

With new safeguards measures (under old and new authority) now available to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there will be fundamental changes in the manner IAEA safeguards are implemented, raising questions about their effectiveness in meeting expanded Agency safeguards objectives. In order to characterize the capability of various safeguards approaches in meeting their objectives, it will be necessary to fully understand what is involved in the new safeguards equation. Both old and new measures will be required to construct a comprehensive picture of a State's nuclear activities and capabilities, and they both have strengths and weaknesses. There are (for political and cost reasons) likely to be tradeoffs between the two types of measures. Significant differences among measures with respect to the probability of their detecting an anomaly, along with other characteristics, need be considered in this context. Given the important role of both types of measures in future approaches, their inherent differences with regard to their capabilities and limitations, and their potential impact on the credibility of safeguards, it will be essential to consider these measures systematically, independently, and in combination in any effectiveness evaluation. This paper will consider concepts and issues in addressing this need.

The authors consider glueball-(hybrid) meson mixing for the low-lying four pseudovector states. The h{sub 1}{prime}(1380) decays dominantly to K*K with some presence in {rho}{pi} and {omega}{eta}. The newly observed h{sub 1}(1600) has a D- to S-wave width ratio to {omega}{eta} which makes its interpretation as a conventional meson unlikely. They predict the decay pattern of the isopartner conventional or hybrid meson b{sub 1}(1650). A notably narrow s{bar s} partner h{sub 1}{prime}(1810) is predicted.

There are two sources of the factorial large-order behavior of a typical perturbative series. First, the number of the different Feynman diagrams may be large; second, there are abnormally large diagrams known as renormalons. It is well known that the large combinatorial number of diagrams is described by instanton-type solutions of the classical equations. The authors demonstrate that from the function-integral viewpoint the renormalons do not correspond to a particular configuration but manifest themselves as dilatation modes in the functional space.

This paper will describe the integrated, teaming approach and planning process utilized by the Tiger Team in the development of the IPMP. This paper will also serve to document the benefits derived from this implementation process.

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The region of validity of our previously derived series expansion for the pressure of an electron-ion system in powers of the electron charge is investigated. For the case of Hydrogen, we both assess the radius of convergence of the series, as a function of the de Broglie density, and cross-compare the results with those from the spherical cellular model. These methods more or less agree in an understandable way, and indicate that the region of validity lies well inside the one-phase region. We are then in a position to combine the series results with our experiential knowledge and thus extend our assessment to general values of Z. Also, as is well known, there is a region of high density and low temperature where the pressure and the internal energy are almost independent of temperature. For this region we may, for each density, use the highest temperature for which that independence holds (to the desired accuracy) and thus extend the series results.

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This paper describes image evaluation techniques used to standardize camera system characterizations. Key areas of performance include resolution, noise, and sensitivity. This team has developed a set of analysis tools, in the form of image processing software used to evaluate camera calibration data, to aid an experimenter in measuring a set of camera performance metrics. These performance metrics identify capabilities and limitations of the camera system, while establishing a means for comparing camera systems. Analysis software is used to evaluate digital camera images recorded with charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras. Several types of intensified camera systems are used in the high-speed imaging field. Electro-optical components are used to provide precise shuttering or optical gain for a camera system. These components including microchannel plate or proximity focused diode image intensifiers, electro-static image tubes, or electron-bombarded CCDs affect system performance. It is important to quantify camera system performance in order to qualify a system as meeting experimental requirements. The camera evaluation tool is designed to provide side-by-side camera comparison and system modeling information.

Electronic charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras equipped with image intensifiers are increasingly being used for radiographic applications. These systems may be used to replace film recording for static imaging, or at other times CCDs coupled with electro-optical shutters may be used for static or dynamic (explosive) radiography. Image intensifiers provide precise shuttering and signal gain. The authors have developed a set of performance measures to calibrate systems, compare one system to another, and to predict experimental performance. The performance measures discussed in this paper are concerned with image quality parameters that relate to resolution and signal-to-noise ratio.