We describe improvements to the Cheetah thermochemical-kinetics code's equilibrium solver to enable it to find a wider range of thermodynamic states. Cheetah supports a wide range of elements, condensed detonation products, and gas phase reactions. Therefore, Cheetah can be applied to a wide range of shock problems involving both energetic and non-energetic materials. An improve equation of state is also introduced. New experimental validations of Cheetah's equation of state methodology have been performed, including both reacted and unreacted Hugoniots.

We present the first results from a very deep Chandra X-ray observation of the core of the Perseus cluster of galaxies. A pressure map reveals a clear thick band of high pressure around the inner radio bubbles. The gas in the band must be expanding outward and the sharp front to it is identified as a shock front, yet we see no temperature jump across it; indeed there is more soft emission behind the shock than in front of it. We conclude that in this inner region either thermal conduction operates efficiently or the co-existing relativistic plasma seen as the radio mini-halo is mediating the shock. If common, isothermal shocks in cluster cores mean that we cannot diagnose the expansion speed of radio bubbles from temperature measurements alone. They can at times expand more rapidly than currently assumed without producing significant regions of hot gas. Bubbles may also be significantly more energetic. The pressure ripples found in earlier images are identified as isothermal sound waves. A simple estimate based on their amplitude confirms that they can be an effective distributed heat source able to balance radiative cooling.We see multiphase gas with about 10{sup 9}M{sub {circle_dot}} at a temperature of about …

A matrix formalism is developed to describe the spin dynamics in a synchrotron near a single depolarization resonance as the particle energy (and therefore its spin precession frequency) is varied in a prescribed pattern as a function of time such as during acceleration. This formalism is first applied to the case of crossing the resonance with a constant crossing speed and a finite total step size, and then applied also to other more involved cases when the single resonance is crossed repeatedly in a prescribed manner consisting of linear ramping segments or sudden jumps. How repeated crossings produce an interference behavior is discussed using the results obtained. For a polarized beam with finite energy spread, a spin echo experiment is suggested to explore this interference effect.

We introduce a new technique using resonant soft x-ray scattering for characterizing heterogeneous chemical structure at nanometer length scales in polymers, biological material, and other soft matter. Resonant enhancements bring new contrast mechanisms and increased sensitivity to bridge a gap between bond-specific contrast in chemical sensitive imaging and the higher spatial resolution of traditional small-angle scattering techniques. We illustrate sensitivity to chemical bonding with the resonant scattering near the carbon K edge from latex spheres of differing chemistry and sizes. By tuning to x-ray absorption resonances associated with particular carbon-carbon or carbon-oxygen bonds we can isolate the scattering from different phases in a 2-phase mixture. We then illustrate this increased scattering contrast with a study of the templating process to form nanometer scale pores in 100 nm thick polymer films.

Using 88.9 million B{bar B} events collected by the BABAR detector at the {Upsilon}(4S), they measure the branching fraction for the radiative penguin process B {yields} X{sub s}{gamma} from the sum of 38 exclusive final states. The inclusive branching fraction above a minimum photon energy E{sub {gamma}} > 1.9 GeV is {Beta}(b {yields} s{gamma}) = (3.27 {+-} 0.18(stat.){sub -0.40}{sup +0.55}(syst.){sub -0.09}{sup +0.04}(theory)) x 10{sup -4}. They also measure the isospin asymmetry between B{sup -} {yields} X{sub s{bar u}}{gamma} and {bar B}{sup 0} {yields} X{sub sd}{gamma} to be {Delta}{sub 0-} = -0.006 {+-} 0.058(stat.) {+-} 0.009(syst.) {+-} 0.024({bar B}{sup 0}/B{sup -}). The photon energy spectrum is measured in the B rest frame, from which moments are derived for different values of the minimum photon energy. They present fits to the photon spectrum and moments which give the heavy-quark parameters m{sub b} and {mu}{sub {pi}}{sup 2}. The fitted parameters are consistent with those obtained from semileptonic B {yields} X{sub c}{ell}{nu} decays, and are useful inputs for the extraction of |V{sub ub}| from measurements of semileptonic B {yields} X{sub u}{ell}{nu} decays.

The authors analyze the decay B{sup 0} {yields} K{sub S}{sup 0}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -} using a sample of 232 million {Upsilon}(4S) {yields} B{bar B} decays collected with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II asymmetric-energy B factory. A maximum likelihood fit finds the following branching fractions: {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} K{sup 0}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}) = (43.0 {+-} 2.3 {+-} 2.3) x 10{sup -6}, {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} f{sub 0}({yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -})K{sup 0}) = (5.5 {+-} 0.7 {+-} 0.5 {+-} 0.3) x 10{sup -6} and {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} K*{sup +}{pi}{sup -}) = (11.0 {+-} 1.5 {+-} 0.5 {+-} 0.5) x 10{sup -6}. For these results, the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third (if present) is due to the effect of interference from other resonances. They also measure the CP-violating charge asymmetry in the decay B{sup 0} {yields} K*{sup +}{pi}{sup -}, {Alpha}{sub K*{pi}} = -0.11 {+-} 0.14 {+-} 0.05.

Microbial degradation of chlorinated ethenes (CE) in rhizosphere soils was investigated at seepline areas impacted by CE plumes. Successful bioremediation of CE in rhizosphere soils is dependent on microbial activity, soil types, plant species, and groundwater CE concentrations. Seepline soils were exposed to trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) in the 10-50 ppb range. Greenhouse soils were exposed to 2-10 ppm TCE. Plants at the seepline were poplar and pine while the greenhouse contained sweet gum, willow, pine, and poplar. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analyses were performed to assess the microbial activity in rhizosphere soils. Biomass content was lowest in the nonvegetated control soil and highest in the Sweet Gum soil. Bacterial rhizhosphere densities, as measured by PLFA, were similar in different vegetated soils while fungi biomass was highly variable. The PLFA soil profiles showed diverse microbial communities primarily composed of Gram-negative bacteria. Adaptation of the microbial community to CE was determined by the ratio of {omega}7t/{omega}7c fatty acids. Ratios (16:1{omega}7v16:1{omega}7c and 18:l{omega}7t/18:1{omega}7c) greater than 0.1 were demonstrated in soils exposed to higher CE concentrations (10-50 ppm), indicating an adaptation to CE resulting in decreased membrane permeability. Ratios of cyclopropyl fatty acids showed that the vegetated control soil sample contained the …

The BaBar experiment at SLAC is designed to measure CP violation in the B meson system, however the very high statistics combined with the different e{sup +} and e{sup -} beam energies, the detector design and the open trigger allow a wide variety of spectroscopic measurements. We are beginning to tap this potential via several production mechanisms. Here we present recent results from initial state radiation, hadronic jets, few body B and D hadron decays, and interactions in the detector material. We also summarize measurements relevant to D{sub s} meson spectroscopy, pentaquarks and charmonium spectroscopy from multiple production mechanisms.

Enhanced electron trapping using plasma density down ramps as a method for improving the performance of laser injection schemes is proposed and analyzed. A decrease in density implies an increase in plasma wavelength, which can shift a relativistic electron from the defocusing to the focusing region of the accelerating wakefield, and a decrease in wake phase velocity, which lowers the trapping threshold. The specific method of two-pulse colliding pulse injector was examined using a three-dimensional test particle tracking code. A density down-ramp with a change of density on the order of tens of percent over distances greater than the plasma wavelength led to an enhancement of charge by two orders in magnitude or more, up to the limits imposed by beam loading. The accelerated bunches are ultrashort (fraction of the plasma wavelength, e.g., {approx}5 fs), high charge (>20 pC at modest injection laser intensity 10{sup 17} W/cm{sup 2}), with a relative energy spread of a few percent at a mean energy of {approx}25 MeV, and a normalized root-mean square emittance on the order 0.5 mm mrad.

In the past thirty years, the use of scientific computing has become pervasive in all disciplines: collection and interpretation of most experimental data is carried out using computers, and physical models in computable form, with various degrees of complexity and sophistication, are utilized in all fields of science. However, full prediction of physical and chemical phenomena based on the basic laws of Nature, using computer simulations, is a revolution still in the making, and it involves some formidable theoretical and computational challenges. We illustrate the progress and successes obtained in recent years in predicting fundamental properties of materials in condensed phases and at the nanoscale, using ab-initio, quantum simulations. We also discuss open issues related to the validation of the approximate, first principles theories used in large scale simulations, and the resulting complex interplay between computation and experiment. Finally, we describe some applications, with focus on nanostructures and liquids, both at ambient and under extreme conditions.

This paper discusses switch requirements from basic circuit analysis and the experimental setup, parameters, and results of an experiment to investigate the feasibility of UV laser triggering of up to 40 Blumlein lines in a very compact Stacked Blumlein Line System. In addition, the method of fabricating a very compact SBL transmission lines is presented. Then the behavior of the switch parameters in the stack when closure is initiated with a UV laser pulse is presented. Specifically, the time varying inductance and resistance of the laser initiated gas discharge channel is presented and compared with a circuit model to elucidate the switch performance.

The recent rise of ''computer-assisted'' and ''experimental'' mathematics raises intriguing questions as to the future role of computation in mathematics. These results also draw into question the traditional distinctions that have been drawn between formal proof and computationally-assisted proof. This article explores these questions in the context of the growing consensus among computer technologists that Moore's Law is likely to continue unabated for quite some time into the future, producing hardware and software much more powerful than what is available today.

The DARHT II accelerator at LANL is preparing a series of preliminary tests at the reduced voltage of 7.8 MeV. The transport hardware between the end of the accelerator and the final target magnet was shipped to LLNL and installed on ETA II. Using the ETA II beam at 5.2 MeV we completed a set of experiments designed reduce start up time on the DARHT II experiments and run the equipment in a configuration adapted to the reduced energy. Results of the beam transport using a reduced energy beam, including the kicker and kicker pulser system will be presented.

UmuD{sub 2} cleaves and removes its N-terminal 24 amino acids to form UmuD'{sub 2}, which activates UmuC for its role in UV-induced mutagenesis in E. coli. Cells with a non-cleavable UmuD exhibit essentially no UV-induced mutagenesis and are hypersensitive to killing by UV light. UmuD has been shown to bind to the beta processivity clamp (''beta'') of the replicative DNA polymerase, pol III. A possible beta-binding motif has been predicted in the same region of UmuD shown to be important for its interaction with beta. We performed alanine-scanning mutagenesis of this motif (14-TFPLF-18) in UmuD and showed that it has a moderate influence on UV-induced mutagenesis but is required for the cold sensitive phenotype caused by elevated levels of wild-type UmuD and UmuC. Surprisingly, the wild-type and the beta-binding motif variant bind to beta with similar K{sub d} values as determined by changes in tryptophan fluorescence. However, this data also implies that the single tryptophan in beta is in strikingly different environments in the presence of the wild-type versus the variant UmuD proteins, suggesting a distinct change in some aspect of the interaction with little change in its strength. Despite the fact that this novel UmuD variant is noncleavable, we …

This paper discusses the methods and materials being developed to package semi-insulating Silicon Carbide (SiC) in a high electric field, high current package while providing entrance for photo-conductive optical energy necessary for closure. The switch requirements and design goals are presented. The switch material package combination must enable a relatively large current and control the current density at the contacts and through the material while supporting a very high electric blocking field. The material parameters and methods of controlling the current density and the peak electric field in the region where the electrode separated from the SiC material are discussed. The mask design and Ohmic contact formation processes at the SiC--metal electrode interface as well as the methods used to bond the semiconductor contact to the electrode are discussed. In addition, images of package failures are presented and the direction being pursued for improving package performance is presented.

In laser beam alignment in addition to detecting position, one must also determine the rotation of the beam. This is essential when a commissioning new laser beam for National Ignition Facility located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. When the beam is square, the positions of the corners with respect to one another provides an estimate of the rotation of the beam. This work demonstrates corner detection in the presence or absence of a second order non-uniform illumination caused by a spatial mask. The Hough transform coupled with illumination dependent pre-processing is used to determine the corner points. We show examples from simulated and real NIF images.

The performance of the Eulerian gyrokinetic-Maxwell solver code GYRO is analyzed on five high performance computing systems. First, a manual approach is taken, using custom scripts to analyze the output of embedded wall clock timers, floating point operation counts collected using hardware performance counters, and traces of user and communication events collected using the profiling interface to Message Passing Interface (MPI) libraries. Parts of the analysis are then repeated or extended using a number of sophisticated performance analysis tools: IPM, KOJAK, SvPablo, TAU, and the PMaC modeling tool suite. The paper briefly discusses what has been discovered via this manual analysis process, what performance analyses are inconvenient or infeasible to attempt manually, and to what extent the tools show promise in accelerating or significantly extending the manual performance analyses.

Residential single family building practice currently ignores the losses of energy and water caused by the poor design of hot water systems. These losses include; the waste of water while waiting for hot water to get to the point of use; the wasted heat as water cools down in the distribution system after a draw; and the energy needed to reheat water that was already heated once before. Average losses of water are estimated to be 6.35 gallons (24.0 L) per day. (This is water that is rundown the drain without being used while waiting for hot water.) The amount of wasted hot water has been calculated to be 10.9 gallons (41.3L) per day. (This is water that was heated, but either is not used or issued after it has cooled off.) A check on the reasonableness of this estimate is made by showing that total residential hot water use averages about 52.6 gallons (199 L) per day. This indicates about 20 percent of average daily hot water is wasted.

None

SciDAC has had a major impact on computational beam dynamics and the design of particle accelerators. Particle accelerators--which account for half of the facilities in the DOE Office of Science Facilities for the Future of Science 20 Year Outlook--are crucial for US scientific, industrial, and economic competitiveness. Thanks to SciDAC, accelerator design calculations that were once thought impossible are now carried routinely, and new challenging and important calculations are within reach. SciDAC accelerator modeling codes are being used to get the most science out of existing facilities, to produce optimal designs for future facilities, and to explore advanced accelerator concepts that may hold the key to qualitatively new ways of accelerating charged particle beams. In this poster we present highlights from the SciDAC Accelerator Science and Technology (AST) project Beam Dynamics focus area in regard to algorithm development, software development, and applications.

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) diodes fabricated from InGaAsSb alloys lattice-matched to GaSb substrates are grown by Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (MOVPE). 0.53eV InGaAsSb TPV diodes utilizing front-surface spectral control filters have been tested in a vacuum cavity and a TPV thermal-to-electric conversion efficiency ({eta}{sub TPV}) and a power density (PD) of {eta}{sub TPV} = 19% and PD=0.58 W/cm{sup 2} were measured for T{sub radiator} = 950 C and T{sub diode} = 27 C. Recombination coefficients deduced from minority carrier measurements and the theory reviewed in this article predict a practical limit to the maximum achievable conversion efficiency and power density for 0.53eV InGaAsSb TPV. The limits for the above operating temperatures are projected to be {eta}{sub TPV} = 26% and PD = 0.75 W/cm{sup 2}. These limits are extended to {eta}{sub TPV} = 30% and PD = 0.85W/cm{sup 2} if the diode active region is bounded by a reflective back surface to enable photon recycling and a two-pass optical path length. The internal quantum efficiency of the InGaAsSb TPV diode is close to the theoretically predicted limits, with the exception of short wavelength absorption in GaSb contact layers. Experiments show that the open circuit voltage of the 0.53eV InGaAsSb TPV diodes …

In this paper the authors describe the approach to research, develop, and evaluate prototype middleware tools and architectures. The developed tools can be used by scientists to compose astronomical data analysis pipelines easily. They use the SuperMacho data pipelines as example applications to test the framework. they describe their experience from scheduling and running these analysis pipelines on massive parallel processing machines. they use MCR a Linux cluster machine with 1152 nodes and Luster parallel file system as the hardware test-bed to test and enhance the scalability of the tools.

DElight is a simulation engine for daylight and electric lighting system analysis in buildings. DElight calculates interior illuminance levels from daylight, and the subsequent contribution required from electric lighting to meet a desired interior illuminance. DElight has been specifically designed to integrate with building thermal simulation tools. This paper updates the DElight capability set, the status of integration into the simulation tool EnergyPlus, and describes a sample analysis of a simple model from the user perspective.

Experimental measurements of delayed fission-product gamma-ray transmission through low-enriched UO{sub 2} fuel pin lattices in an air medium were conducted at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Reactor Critical Facility (RCF). The RCF core consists of excess Special Power Excursion Reactor Test (SPERT) fuel pins, enriched to 4.81 weight percent {sup 235}U, clad in stainless steel. An experimental apparatus was constructed to hold various arrangements of fuel pin lattices. The arrangements consisted of a single activated source pin taken from the reactor core surrounded by inactive fuel pins in an air medium. A sodium-iodide detector and gamma-ray spectroscopy system was used to generate a pulse-height spectrum of the gamma-ray radiation for detector positions outside the lattice. The change in radiation intensity as the detector is rotated about the vertical axis of the lattice, the ''channeling effect,'' was measured. Experimental measurements of the channeling effect were performed for six arrangements; 3 x 3, 5 x 5, and 7 x 7 lattices, with both the comer position and center position containing the activated pin. The results of the measurements demonstrate that the gamma-ray radiation intensity can vary widely, as a function of angle, relative to the vertical axis of the lattice.