There has been a great deal of progress in recent years on the development of solid state and KrF lasers, light ion diodes, and heavy ion accelerators for use as drivers in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) facilities. Two relatively new entries in the ICF driver derby are the free electron laser (FEL) and the compact torus (CT). The status and remaining technological challenges of each potential driver are described. The author discusses driver performance criteria for various reactor applications and then gives his informed opinion in a qualitative rating of the six drivers for each application.

Combining direct and thermal power conversion results in a 52% gross plant efficiency with DT fuel and 68% with advanced DD fuel. We maximize the fraction of fusion-yield energy converted to kinetic energy in a liquid-lithium blanket, and use this energy directly with turbine generators to produce electricity. We use the remainder of the energy to produce electricity in a standard Rankine thermal power conversion cycle.

We examine the scaling of implosion symmetry, ablation pressure, and hydrodynamic efficiency with the wavelength of the laser, using a recent theoretical analysis of ablative laser driven implosions as a tool. Symmetrization by a hot atmosphere is most effective for long wavelength lasers, whereas ablation pressure and hydrodynamic efficiency are best for shorter laser wavelengths.

We have carried out further investigations of technical issues associated with using a compact torus (CT) accelerator as a driver for inertial confinement fusion (ICF). In a CT accelerator, a magnetically-confined torus-shaped plasma is compressed, accelerated and focused by two concentric electrodes. Here, we evaluate an accelerator point design with a capacitor bank energy of 9.2 MJ. Modeled by a O-D code, the system produces a xenon plasma ring with a radius of 0.73 cm, a velocity of 4 x 10/sup 7/ m/s, and a mass of 4.4 ..mu..g. The plasma ring energy available for fusion is 3.8 MJ, a 40% driver efficiency. Ablation and magnetic pressures of the point design, a due to CT acceleration, are analyzed. Pulsed-power switching limitations and driver cost analysis are also presented. Our studies confirm the feasibility of producing a ring to induce fusion with acceptable gain. However, some uncertainties must be resolved to establish viability.

Following our earlier study on the dynamics of low energy electron attachment to formic acid, we report the results of elastic low-energy electron collisions with formic acid. Momentum transfer and angular differential cross sections were obtained by performing fixed-nuclei calculations employing the complex Kohn variational method. We make a brief description of the technique used to account for the polar nature of this polyatomic target and compare our results with available experimental data.

The presence of several homologous series of porphyrins have been demonstrated in some oil shale rocks, shale oils, and petroleums. However, the application of microanalytical techniques (i.e., mass spectrometry and gas chromatography) to structure determination has been limited due to the low volatility of the porphyrin components. The authors report the synthesis of several novel Si(IV) etioporphyrin I derivatives and the effects that their various additional silicon ligands have on porphyrin volatility as measured by gas chromatography at normal pressure.

We present strange particle spectra and yields measured atmid-rapidity in sqrt text s=200 GeV proton-proton (p+p) collisions atRHIC. We find that the previously observed universal transverse mass(mathrm mT \equiv\sqrt mathrm p_T 2+\mathrm m2) scaling of hadronproduction in p+p collisions seems to break down at higher \mt and thatthere is a difference in the shape of the \mt spectrum between baryonsand mesons. We observe mid-rapidity anti-baryon to baryon ratios nearunity for Lambda and Xi baryons and no dependence of the ratio ontransverse momentum, indicating that our data do not yet reach thequark-jet dominated region. We show the dependence of the mean transversemomentum (\mpt) on measured charged particle multiplicity and on particlemass and infer that these trends are consistent with gluon-jet dominatedparticle production. The data are compared to previous measurements fromCERN-SPS, ISR and FNAL experiments and to Leading Order (LO) and Next toLeading order (NLO) string fragmentation model predictions. We infer fromthese comparisons that the spectral shapes and particle yields from $p+p$collisions at RHIC energies have large contributions from gluon jetsrather than quark jets.

The next generation of synchrotrons and free electron lasersrequires x-ray optical systems with extremely high-performance,generally, of diffraction limited quality. Fabrication and use of suchoptics requires highly accurate metrology. In the present paper, wediscuss a way to improve the performance of the Long Trace Profiler(LTP), a slope measuring instrument widely used at synchrotron facilitiesto characterize x-ray optics at high-spatial-wavelengths fromapproximately 2 mm to 1 m. One of the major sources of LTP systematicerror is the detector. For optimal functionality, the detector has topossess the smallest possible pixel size/spacing, a fast method ofshuttering, and minimal non-uniformity of pixel-to-pixel photoresponse.While the first two requirements are determined by choice of detector,the non-uniformity of photoresponse of typical detectors such as CCDcameras is around 2-3 percent. We describe a flat-field calibration setupspecially developed for calibration of CCD camera photo-response and darkcurrent with an accuracy of better than 0.5 percent. Such accuracy isadequate for use of a camera as a detector for an LTP with performance of~;0.1 microradian (rms). We also present the design details of thecalibration system and results of calibration of a DALSA CCD camera usedfor upgrading our LTP-II instrument at the ALS Optical MetrologyLaboratory.

The development of third generation light sources like theAdvanced Light Source (ALS) or BESSY II brought to a focus the need forhigh performance synchrotron optics with unprecedented tolerances forslope error and micro roughness. Proposed beam lines at Free ElectronLasers (FEL) require optical elements up to a length of one meter,characterized by a residual slope error in the range of 0.1murad (rms),and rms values of 0.1 nm for micro roughness. These optical elements mustbe inspected by highly accurate measuring instruments, providing ameasurement uncertainty lower than the specified accuracy of the surfaceunder test. It is essential that metrology devices in use at synchrotronlaboratories be precisely characterized and calibrated to achieve thistarget. In this paper we discuss a proposal for a Universal Test Mirror(UTM) as a realization of a high performance calibration instrument. Theinstrument would provide an ideal calibration surface to replicate aredundant surface under test of redundant figure. The application of asophisticated calibration instrument will allow the elimination of themajority of the systematic error from the error budget of an individualmeasurement of a particular optical element. We present the limitationsof existing methods, initial UTM design considerations, possiblecalibration algorithms, and an estimation of the expectedaccuracy.

Ga-acceptor nanowires were embedded in crystalline Si using focused-ion beams. The dc current-voltage characteristics of these wires after annealing are highly nonlinear at low temperatures, and a threshold voltage of less than 50 mV is observed independent of Ga+ dosage and implant beam overlap. These features suggest a Coulomb blockade transport mechanism presumably caused by a network of Ga precipitates in the substrate. This granular scenario is further supported by measurements of gated nanowires. Nanowires with metallic conductance at low temperatures could be achieved by reducing the current density of the focused-ion beams.

Accelerator-based neutron sources offer many advantages, in particular tunability of the neutron beam in energy and width to match the needs of the application. Using a recently constructed neutron beam line at the 88-Inch Cyclotron at LBNL, tunable high-intensity sources of quasi-monoenergetic and broad spectrum neutrons from deuteron breakup are under development for a variety of applications.

We present results of direct numerical simulations of impact of hypervelocity particle stream with a target. The stream of interest consists of submillimeter (30-300 micron) brittle ceramic particles. Current supercomputer capabilities make it possible to simulate a realistic size of streams (up to 20 mm in diameter and 500 mm in length) while resolving each particle individually. Such simulations make possible to study the damage of the target from synergistic effects of individual impacts. In our research we fixed the velocity distribution along the axis of the stream (1-4 km/s) and volume fraction of the solid material (1-10%) and study effects of particle size variation, particle and target material properties and surrounding air properties. We ran 3D calibration simulations with up to 10 million individual particles and conducted sensitivity studies with 2D cylindrically symmetric simulations. We used an Eulerian Godunov hydrocode with adaptive mesh refinement. The particles, target material and air are represented with volume-of-fluid approach. Brittle particle and target material has been simulated with pressure-dependent yield strength and Steinberg model has been used for metal targets. Simulations demonstrated penetration depth and a hole diameter similar to experimental observations and can explain the influence of parameters of the stream on …

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) requires optical diagnostics for measuring shock velocities in shock physics experiments. The nature of the NIF facility requires the alignment of complex three-dimensional optical systems of very long distances. Access to the alignment mechanisms can be limited, and any alignment system must be operator friendly. The Velocity Interferometer System for Any Reflector measures shock velocities, shock breakout times, and emission of 1- to 5-mm targets at a location remote to the NIF target chamber. Three optical systems using the same vacuum chamber port each have a total track of 21 meters. All optical lenses are on kinematic mounts or sliding rails, enabling pointing accuracy of the optical axis to be checked. Counter-propagating laser beams (orange and red) align these diagnostics to a listing of tolerances. Movable aperture cards, placed before and after lens groups, show the spread of alignment spots created by the orange and red alignment lasers. Optical elements include 1-in. to 15-in. diameter mirrors, lenses with up to 10.5-in. diameters, beamsplitters, etalons, dove prisms, filters, and pellicles. Alignment of more than 75 optical elements must be verified before each target shot. Archived images from eight alignment cameras prove proper alignment before each shot.

Strongly focused and monoenergetic charged-particle beams from modern accelerators and targets fabricated from quantities of isotopically enriched and stable materials are the essential components from many current nuclear physics experiments. Although a large body of this kind of experimental work requires substantial amounts of target material, an important subset of such experiments can be done with as little as a few ..mu..g of material. Experiments where charged particles or electrons can be focused on or transported to a detector are examples of accelerator-based studies which can be made with targets that contain relatively small amounts of material. For these kinds of studies, it then becomes possible to extend the domain of potential target materials to species which are very rare or which are unstable and undergo radioactive decay. At our laboratory during the last ten years, we have made targets for nuclear spectroscopy studies of /sup 152/Eu (13.4y), /sup 154/Eu (8.5y), /sup 249/Bk (320d), /sup 151/Sm (90y), and /sup 148/Gd (75y). We will report our experience with fabricating these and other kinds of stable targets and discuss our plans for preparing additional targets which offer interesting and exciting prospects for future nuclear research studies. 12 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.

A comparison was made of damage parameters for carbon, iron, and molybdenum irradiated in spectra for d-Li, spallation, and beam-plasma (d-t) neutron sources and a reference DEMO first wall spectrum. The transmutation results emphasize the need to define the neutron spectra at low energies; only the DEMO spectrum was so defined. The spallation spectra were also poorly defined at high neuron energies; they were too soft to produce the desired gas production rates. The treatments of neutron-induced displacement reactions were limited to below 20 MeV and transmutation reactions to below 50 MeV by the limited availability of calculational tools. Recommendations are given for further work to be performed under an international working group. 12 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs.

In this update lecture we focus on laser-driven instabilities in long scalelength underdense plasmas. Particular attention is given to some recent experiments on Raman scattering of intense laser light. Many important features are in accord with theoretical expectations. These features include a correlation of hot electron generation with Raman scattering, an increase in this scattering as the density scale length increases, and collisional suppression of the instability. Some challenging aspects of the growing data base as well as various deficiencies in the understanding are discussed. The role of the plasmon decay instability 2..omega../sub pe/, Brillouin, and filamentation instabilities is also briefly considered.

Here we report quasi-isentropic dynamic compression and thermodynamic characterization of solid, precompressed deuterium over an ultrafast time scale (< 100 ps) and a microscopic length scale (< 1 {micro}m). We further report a fast transition in shock wave compressed solid deuterium that is consistent with the ramp to shock transition, with a time scale of less than 10 ps. These results suggest that high-density dynamic compression of hydrogen may be possible on microscopic length scales.

FeMn/Fe/Co/Cu(1,1,10) films were grown epitaxially and investigated using the magneto-optic Kerr effect and photoemission electron microscopy. We found that FeMn/Fe/Co/Cu(1,1,10) exhibits the same properties as FeMn/Co/Cu(1,1,10) for the ferromagnetic phase of the face centered cubic (fcc) Fe film but a different property for the non-ferromagnetic phase of the fcc Fe film. This result indicates that the characteristic property reported in the literature for FeMn/Co/Cu(001) comes from the FeMn spin structure and is independent of the ferromagnetic layer.

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Gene families are growing rapidly, but standard methods for inferring phylogenies do not scale to alignments with over 10,000 sequences. We present FastTree, a method for constructing large phylogenies and for estimating their reliability. Instead of storing a distance matrix, FastTree stores sequence profiles of internal nodes in the tree. FastTree uses these profiles to implement neighbor-joining and uses heuristics to quickly identify candidate joins. FastTree then uses nearest-neighbor interchanges to reduce the length of the tree. For an alignment with N sequences, L sites, and a different characters, a distance matrix requires O(N^2) space and O(N^2 L) time, but FastTree requires just O( NLa + N sqrt(N) ) memory and O( N sqrt(N) log(N) L a ) time. To estimate the tree's reliability, FastTree uses local bootstrapping, which gives another 100-fold speedup over a distance matrix. For example, FastTree computed a tree and support values for 158,022 distinct 16S ribosomal RNAs in 17 hours and 2.4 gigabytes of memory. Just computing pairwise Jukes-Cantor distances and storing them, without inferring a tree or bootstrapping, would require 17 hours and 50 gigabytes of memory. In simulations, FastTree was slightly more accurate than neighbor joining, BIONJ, or FastME; on genuine alignments, FastTree's …

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We have studied the oxidation of carbon monoxide over a lanthanum substituted perovskite (La0.5Sr0.5CoO3-d) catalyst prepared by spray pyrolysis. Under the assumption of a first-order kinetics mechanism for CO, it has been found that the activation energy barrier of the reaction changes from 80 to 40 kJ mol-1 at a threshold temperature of ca. 320 oC. In situ XPS near-ambient pressure ( 0.2 torr) shows that the gas phase oxygen concentration over the sample decreases sharply at ca. 300 oC. These two observations suggest that the oxidation of CO undergoes a change of mechanism at temperatures higher than 300 oC.