An investigation is being made into the feasibility of making a compact proton dielectric wall (DWA) accelerator for medical radiation treatment based on the high gradient insulation (HGI) technology. A small plasma device is used for the proton source. Using only electric focusing fields for transporting and focusing the beam on the patient, the compact DWA proton accelerator m system can deliver wide and independent variable ranges of beam currents, energies and spot sizes.

We describe a domain decomposition algorithm for use in several variants of the parallel adaptive meshing paradigm of Bank and Holst. This algorithm has low communication, makes extensive use of existing sequential solvers, and exploits in several important ways data generated as part of the adaptive meshing paradigm. We show that for an idealized version of the algorithm, the rate of convergence is independent of both the global problem size N and the number of subdomains p used in the domain decomposition partition. Numerical examples illustrate the effectiveness of the procedure.

As the world moves into the 21st century, the possibility of greater reliance on nuclear energy will impose additional technical requirements to prevent proliferation. In addition to proliferation resistant reactors, a careful examination of the various possible fuel cycles from cradle to grave will provide additional technical and nonproliferation challenges in the areas of conversion, enrichment, transportation, recycling and waste disposal. Radiation detection technology and information management have a prominent role in any future global regime for nonproliferation. As nuclear energy and hence nuclear materials become an increasingly global phenomenon, using local technologies and capabilities facilitate incorporation of enhanced monitoring and detection on the regional level. Radiation detection technologies are an important tool in the prevention of proliferation and countering radiological/nuclear terrorism. A variety of new developments have enabled enhanced performance in terms of energy resolution, spatial resolution, passive detection, predictive modeling and simulation, active interrogation, and ease of operation and deployment in the field. For example, various gamma ray imaging approaches are being explored to combine spatial resolution with background suppression in order to enhance sensitivity many-fold at reasonable standoff distances and acquisition times. New materials and approaches are being developed in order to provide adequate energy resolution in …

Frequency upconversion of laser-generated photons by inverse Compton scattering for applications such as nuclear spectroscopy and gamma-gamma collider concepts on the future ILC would benefit from an increase of average source brightness. The primary obstacle to higher average brightness is the relatively small Thomson scattering cross section. It has been proposed that this limitation can be partially overcome by use of laser pulse recirculation. The traditional approach to laser recirculation entails resonant coupling of low-energy pulse train to a cavity through a partially reflective mirror. Here we present an alternative, passive approach that is akin to 'burst-mode' operation and does not require interferometric alignment accuracy. Injection of a short and energetic laser pulse is achieved by placing a thin frequency converter, such as a nonlinear optical crystal, into the cavity in the path of the incident laser pulse. This method leads to the increase of x-ray/gamma-ray energy proportional to the increase in photon energy in frequency conversion. Furthermore, frequency tunability can be achieved by utilizing parametric amplifier in place of the frequency converter.

The incorporation of silver into the diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings has shown excellent potential in various applications; therefore the surface and tribological properties of silver-containing DLC thin films deserve to be investigated. In this study we have deposited silver-containing hydrogenated and hydrogen-free DLC coatings by plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (PIII-D) methods. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nano-scratch tests were used to study the surface and tribological properties. The silver incorporation had only slight effects on hydrogenated DLC coatings. However, the incorporation of silver has significant effect on hydrogen-free DLC of smoothing the surface and increasing the surface energy. Those effects have been illustrated and explained in the context of experimental results.

The dielectric wall accelerator (DWA) is a compact induction accelerator structure that incorporates the accelerating mechanism, pulse forming structure, and switch structure into an integrated module. The DWA consists of stacked stripline Blumlein assemblies, which can provide accelerating gradients in excess of 100 MeV/meter. Blumleins are switched sequentially according to a prescribed acceleration schedule to maintain synchronism with the proton bunch as it accelerates. A finite difference time domain code (FDTD) is used to determine the applied acceleration field to the proton bunch. Particle simulations are used to model the injector as well as the accelerator stack to determine the proton bunch energy distribution, both longitudinal and transverse dynamic focusing, and emittance growth associated with various DWA configurations.

Ge Blocked Impurity Band (BIB) photoconductors have the potential to replace stressed Ge:Ga photoconductors for far-infrared astronomical observations. A novel planar BIB device has been fabricated in which ion-implanted boron is used to form the blocking and absorbing layers of necessary purity and compensation. The effect of doping in the infrared active layer on the far-infrared photoconductive response has been studied, and the optimum doping concentration is found to be {approx} 4 x 10{sup 16} cm{sup -3}. Devices doped near this concentration show good blocking characteristics with low dark currents. The spectral response extends to {approx} 45 cm{sup -1}, clearly showing the formation of an impurity band. Under low background testing conditions these devices attain a responsivity of 0.12 A/W and NEP of 5.23 x 10{sup -15} W/Hz{sup -1/2}.

The accurate detection and removal of insect clutter from millimeter wavelength cloud radar (MMCR) returns is of high importance to boundary layer cloud research (e.g., Geerts et al., 2005). When only radar Doppler moments are available, it is difficult to produce a reliable screening of insect clutter from cloud returns because their distributions overlap. Hence, screening of MMCR insect clutter has historically involved a laborious manual process of cross-referencing radar moments against measurements from other collocated instruments, such as lidar. Our study looks beyond traditional radar moments to ask whether analysis of recorded Doppler spectra can serve as the basis for reliable, automatic insect clutter screening. We focus on the MMCR operated by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program at its Southern Great Plains (SGP) facility in Oklahoma. Here, archiving of full Doppler spectra began in September 2003, and during the warmer months, a pronounced insect presence regularly introduces clutter into boundary layer returns.

We present an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) discretization of the equations of resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) on unstructured hexahedral grids. The method is formulated using an operator-split approach with three distinct phases: electromagnetic diffusion, Lagrangian motion, and Eulerian advection. The resistive magnetic dynamo equation is discretized using a compatible mixed finite element method with a 2nd order accurate implicit time differencing scheme which preserves the divergence-free nature of the magnetic field. At each discrete time step, electromagnetic force and heat terms are calculated and coupled to the hydrodynamic equations to compute the Lagrangian motion of the conducting materials. By virtue of the compatible discretization method used, the invariants of Lagrangian MHD motion are preserved in a discrete sense. When the Lagrangian motion of the mesh causes significant distortion, that distortion is corrected with a relaxation of the mesh, followed by a 2nd order monotonic remap of the electromagnetic state variables. The remap is equivalent to Eulerian advection of the magnetic flux density with a fictitious mesh relaxation velocity. The magnetic advection is performed using a novel variant of constrained transport (CT) that is valid for unstructured hexahedral grids with arbitrary mesh velocities. The advection method maintains the divergence free nature of the …

A new energy store, the Compensated Pulsed Alternator (CPA), promises to be a cost effective substitute for capacitors to drive flashlamps that pump large Nd:glass lasers. Because the CPA is large and discrete, it will be necessary that it drive many parallel flashlamp circuits, presenting a problem in equal current distribution. Current division to +- 20% between parallel flashlamps has been achieved, but this is marginal for laser pumping. A method is presented here that provides equal current sharing to about 1%, and it includes fused protection against short circuit faults. The method was tested with eight parallel circuits, including both open-circuit and short-circuit fault tests.

We have developed a rail-gun plasma source to produce a plasma of 10/sup 12/cm/sup -3/ particle density and project it with a velocity of 3.9 cm/..mu..s. This device will be used in a output spatial filter of Nova to project a critical density plasma across an optical beam path and block laser retroreflected light. The object of this paper is to describe the design of a pulser appropriate to the Shiva laser fusion facility, and to describe the preliminary design of a higher current prototype pulser for Nova the laser fusion research facility under construction at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.

The Compensated Pulsed Alternator (CPA) is a large rotating machine that will convert mechanical, rotationally stored energy into a single electrical impulse of very high power. It is being optimized for driving flashlamps in the very large NOVA Nd:glass laser system. The machine is a rotary flux compression device, and for maximum performance, it requires start-up current. We report upon a circuit that will provide this current and that will also assist in triggering the flashlamps. This circuit has been tested with a 200 kilojoule capacitor bank and it is now being tested with a small 200 kilojoule CPA. Large Nove-size machines will require output energies in excess of 5 megajoules. We also present empirically tested formulae that will assist in matching the Nova flashlamp load to any given size CPA machine.

At the Lawrence Livermore Laboraory, major emphasis has been placed upon the development of large, ND:glass laser systems in order to address the basic physics issues associated with light driven fusion targets. A parallel program is directed toward the development of lasers which exhibit higher efficiencies and shorter wavelengths and are thus more suitable as drivers for fusion power plants. This paper discusses the pulse power technology which has been developed to meet the near and far term needs of the laser fusion program at Livermore.

The issue of predicting social impacts that could result from the construction and use of new roadways is one that faces, or will face, many communities in the U.S. and throughout the world. Where road development takes place in a scenic area, especially one that is dependent on tourist trade, the nature of the secondary land conversion that often accompanies road construction is especially important. We have assessed the social impacts likely to accompany construction of a scenic parkway in a rural area abutting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In this paper, we share the substantive findings of that study as well as our methodological observations on the challenges of projecting impacts in an area that has no planning or zoning, a situation that is common to many rural areas. We also discuss how we dealt with the fact that the major effects of the project would not begin until nearly 15 years in the future, when construction is completed and the roadway is opened to traffic. In order to predict land use patterns at the completion of roadway construction, we studied plat maps, which accurately reflect changing ownership patterns before such changes become apparent on the ground. We …

Ultra low outgassing rates would be highly advantageous in accelerators and storage rings, such as the Next Linear Collider (NLC), where an outgassing rate of <10{sup -12} Torr liter/sec/cm{sup 2} could eliminate the need for costly distributed pumping. Measuring such low outgassing rates at room temperature has many difficulties. However, by inspection of Fick's law, it can be seen that thermal desorption is proportional to outgassing rate. It is commonly observed that the outgas rate doubles approximately every 15 C for temperatures under 100 C. By measuring outgassing rate versus temperature and time and extrapolating back to room temperature we can measure outgassing rates that would otherwise be difficult to make. To produce a reliable measurement also requires the total surface area under study to be approximately an order of magnitude greater than the area of the measurement chamber walls. To accomplish this, 27 plates of 5083 aluminum were placed in the measurement chamber. This technique will be the basis for future investigation of outgassing rates of other sample plates fabricated with different machining and cleaning techniques.

An explosive molecule is a metastable chemical species that reacts exothermically given the correct stimulus. Impacting an explosive with a shock wave is a ''wake-up call'' or ''trigger'' which compresses and heats the molecule. The energy deposited by the shock wave must be distributed to the vibrational modes of the explosive molecule before chemical reaction can occur. If the shock pressure and temperature are high enough and last long enough, exothermic chemical decomposition can lead to the formation of a detonation wave. For gaseous, liquid, and perfect single crystal solid explosives, after an induction time, chemical reaction begins at or near the rear boundary of the charge. This induction time can be calculated by high pressure, high temperature transition state theory. A ''superdetonation'' wave travels through the preshocked explosive until it overtakes the initial shock wave and then slows to the steady state Chapman-Jouguet (C-J) velocity. In heterogeneous solid explosives, initiation of reaction occurs at ''hot spots'' created by shock compression. If there is a sufficient number of large and hot enough ''hot spots,'' these ignition sites grow creating a pressure pulse that overtakes the leading shock front causing detonation. Since the chemical energy is released well behind the leading …

The second axis accelerator of the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test (DARHT-II) facility will produce a 2-kA, 20-MeV, 2-{micro}s output electron beam with a design goal of less than 1000 {pi} mm-mrad normalized transverse emittance. In order to meet this goal, both the beam breakup instability (BBU) and transverse ''corkscrew'' motion (due to chromatic phase advance) must be limited in growth. Using data from recent experimental measurements of the transverse impedance of actual DARHT-II accelerator cells by Briggs et al., they have used the LLNL BREAKUP code to predict BBU and corkscrew growth in DARHT-II. The results suggest that BBU growth should not seriously degrade the final achievable spot size at the x-ray converter, presuming the initial excitation level is of the order 100 microns or smaller. For control of corkscrew growth, a major concern is the number of ''tuning'' shots needed to utilize effectively the ''tuning-V'' algorithm. Presuming that the solenoid magnet alignment falls within spec, they believe that possibly as few as 50-100 shots will be necessary to set the dipole corrector magnet currents. They give some specific examples of tune determination for a hypothetical set of alignment errors.

Domain walls in random-field Ising magnets can be investigated in groundstates into which walls are induced by prepared boundary conditions. We outline recent progress, and new results on (domain wall) wetting in random field systems. This is studied in fixed disorder configurations in the presence of an external field, which is varied.

An all solid-state kicker pulser for a proton radiography system has been designed. Multiple solid-state modulators stacked in an inductive-adder configuration are utilized in this kicker pulser design. Each modulator is comprised of multiple metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) which quickly switch the energy storage capacitors across a magnetic induction core. Metglas is used as the core material to minimize loss. Voltage from each modulator is inductively added by a voltage summing stalk. A circuit model of a prototype inductive adder kicker pulser modulator has been developed to predict the performance of the pulser modulator. The modeling results are compared with experimental data.

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Interleaved ionization electrode geometries offer the possibility of efficient rejection of near-surface events. The CDMS collaboration has recently implemented this interleaved approach for the charge and phonon readout for our germanium detectors. During a recent engineering run, the detectors were found to lose ionization stability quickly. This paper summarizes studies done in order to determine the underlying cause of the instability, as well as possible running modes that maintain stability without unacceptable loss of livetime. Additionally, results are shown for the new version IZIP mask which attempts to improve the overall stability of the detectors.

We present the report of the hadronic working group of the BOOST2010 workshop held at the University of Oxford in June 2010. The first part contains a review of the potential of hadronic decays of highly boosted particles as an aid for discovery at the LHC and a discussion of the status of tools developed to meet the challenge of reconstructing and isolating these topologies. In the second part, we present new results comparing the performance of jet grooming techniques and top tagging algorithms on a common set of benchmark channels. We also study the sensitivity of jet substructure observables to the uncertainties in Monte Carlo predictions.

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