The Long Trace Profiler (LTP) is a useful optical metrology instrument for measuring the figure and slope error of cylindrical aspheres commonly used as synchrotron radiation (SR) optics. It is used extensively at a number of synchrotron radiation laboratories around the world. In order to improve SR beam line quality and resolution, the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) of China is developing a versatile LTP that can be used to measure both SR optics and more conventional ''normal'' optical surfaces. The optical metrology laboratories at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and NSRL are collaborating in developing a multiple functions LTP (LTP-MF). Characteristics of the LTP-MF are: a very compact and lightweight optical head, a large angular test range ({+-} 16 mad) and high accuracy. The LTP-MF can be used in various configurations: as a laboratory-based LTP, an in-situ LTP or penta-prism LTP, as an angle monitor, a portable LTP, and a small radius of curvature test instrument. The schematic design of the compact optical head and a new compact slide are introduced. Analysis of different measurements modes and systematic error correction methods are introduced.

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In 1999, we presented our plan to upgrade the adaptive optics (AO) system on the Lick Observatory Shane telescope (3m) from a prototype instrument pressed into field service to a facility instrument. This paper updates the progress of that plan and details several important improvements in the alignment and calibration of the AO bench. The paper also includes a discussion of the problems seen in the original design of the tip/tilt (t/t) sensor used in laser guide star mode, and how these problems were corrected with excellent results.

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We present depth-resolved positron 2D angular correlation of annihilation radiation (2DACAR) experiments on CdSe quantum dots in the diameter range from 2.5 to 6 nm, deposited as micrometer thin layers. The average radial distribution of the valence electron momentum density (EMD) of CdSe quantum dots has been extracted, which reveals a systematic dependence upon particle size. The quantum confinement related changes and their size scaling observable at the Jones zone momentum of {approx}0.8 a.u. seem to agree with the previous coincidence Doppler study. In addition, the average radial EMD shows an increase in the low-momentum range (<0.6 a.u.) and a reduction in the high-momentum range (>1.6 a.u.) with respect to that measured on a bulk CdSe single crystal. Possible origins of these are described. First-principles calculations based on the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker (KKR) method were performed to gain a better insight.

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Ions extracted from a solid surface or plasma by impact of an high intensity and high current electron beam can partially neutralize the beam space charge and change the focusing system. We have investigated ion emission computationally and experimentally. By matching PIC simulation results with available experimental data, our finding suggests that if a mix of ion species is available at the emitting surface, protons dominate the backstreaming ion effects, and that, unless there is surface flashover, ion emission is source limited. We have also investigated mitigation, such as e-beam cleaning, laser cleaning and ion trapping with a foil barrier. The temporal behavior of beam spot size with a foil barrier and a focusing scheme to improve foil barrier performance are discussed.

New results from studies of coplanar-grid CdZnTe (CZT) detectors are presented. The coplanar-grid detectors, were investigated by using a highly collimated X-ray beam available at Brookhaven's National Synchrotron Light Source and by applying a pulse-shape analysis. The coplanar-grid detector operates as a single-carrier device. Despite the fact that its operational principle is well known and has been investigated by many groups in the past, we found some new details that may explain the performance limits of these types of devices. The experimental results have been confirmed by extensive computer modeling.

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An important pulsed power system consideration is that they inherently generate fields and currents that can cause interference in other subsystems and diagnostics. Good pulsed power design, grounding and isolation practices can help mitigate these unwanted signals. During the laser commissioning shots for the NIF Early Light milestone at LLNL, measurements were made of the radiated field and conducted currents caused by the Power Conditioning System (PCS) modules with flash lamp load and the Plasma Electrode Pockels Cell (PEPC) driver. The measurements were made in the capacitor bay, laser bay, control room and target bay. The field measurements were made with B-dot and E-dot probes with bandwidth of about 100MHz. The current measurements were made with a clamp on probe with a bandwidth of about 20 MHz. The results of these measurements show fields and currents in the NIF Facility well below that required for interference with other subsystems. Currents on the target chamber from the pulsed power systems are well below the background noise currents.

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The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on MOLECULAR & IONIC CLUSTERS was held at Crowne Plaza from 2/19/2006 thru 2/24/2006. The Conference was well-attended with 89 participants (attendees list attached). The attendees represented the spectrum of endeavor in this field coming from academia, industry, and government laboratories, both U.S. and foreign scientists, senior researchers, young investigators, and students. In designing the formal speakers program, emphasis was placed on current unpublished research and discussion of the future target areas in this field. There was a conscious effort to stimulate lively discussion about the key issues in the field today. Time for formal presentations was limited in the interest of group discussions. In order that more scientists could communicate their most recent results, poster presentation time was scheduled. Attached is a copy of the formal schedule and speaker program and the poster program. In addition to these formal interactions, ''free time'' was scheduled to allow informal discussions. Such discussions are fostering new collaborations and joint efforts in the field.

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We are studying the flashover of vacuum insulators for applications where high voltage conditioning of the insulator and electrodes is not practical and for pulse lengths on the order of several microseconds. The study is centered about experiments performed with a 100-kV, 10-ms pulsed power system and supported by a combination of theoretical and computational modeling. The base line geometry is a cylindrically symmetric, +45{sup o} insulator between flat electrodes. In the experiments, flashovers or breakdowns are localized by operating at field stresses slightly below the level needed for explosive emissions with the base line geometry. The electrodes and/or insulator are then seeded with an emission source, e.g. a tuft of velvet, or a known mechanical defect. Various standard techniques are employed to suppress cathode-originating flashovers/breakdowns. We present the results of our experiments and discuss the capabilities of modeling insulator flashover.

The Lawrence Livermore (LLNL) and Los Alamos (LANL) National Laboratories of the U.S. Department of Energy perform high-energy physics experiments in an underground mine, the Ula complex, at the Nevada Test Site. The mine-operating contractor is Bechtel Nevada Corporation (BN). The peculiarity of this mine is that it is in an alluvium with an unconfined compressive strength of about 1 MPa, at a depth of 300m. So, the in-situ vertical stress is about 6 MPa. Two shafts mark the north and south boundaries of the Ula complex, the Ulh (brand new) and Ula (older) shafts respectively. Their centerlines are separated by a distance of 510 m. The east-west dimension of the complex currently is about 340 m. The drifts and chambers are horizontal and have a width up to 6.6 meters and a height up to 5.1 meters, with locally larger openings at the shaft stations. The drifts are excavated using an Alpine Miner and are taken in two steps, heading and bench, or full heading. At present, ground support is by means of 2.4 m to 5.1 m long rock bolts and wire mesh, that are covered by a 7.5 to 15-cm layer of steel-fiber reinforced shotcrete applied as …

The interaction between hydrothermal fluids and the rocks through which they migrate alters the earlier formed primary minerals and leads to the formation of secondary minerals, resulting in changes in the physical and chemical properties of the system. We have developed a comprehensive numerical simulator, TOUGHREACT, which considers nonisothermal multi-component chemical transport in both liquid and gas phases. A variety of subsurface thermo-physical-chemical processes is considered under a wide range of conditions of pressure, temperature, water saturation, and ionic strength. The code can be applied to problems in fundamental analysis of the hydrothermal systems and in the exploration of geothermal reservoirs including chemical evolution, mineral alteration, mineral scaling, changes of porosity and permeability, and mineral recovery from geothermal fluids.

This paper provides an overview of software interoperability as it relates to the energy simulation of buildings. The paper begins with a discussion of the difficulties in using sophisticated analysis tools like energy simulation at various stages in the building life cycle, and the potential for interoperability to help overcome these difficulties. An overview of the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), a common data model for supporting interoperability under continuing development by the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) is then given. The process of creating interoperable software is described next, followed by specific details for energy simulation tools. The paper closes with the current status of, and future plans for, the ongoing efforts to achieve software interoperability.

Understanding the structure and composition of energetic materials at the sub-micron level is imperative for the fundamental studies of hot-spot formation and structural composition of energetic materials. Using in situ high-temperature AFM we have observed the solid-solid phase transition of Octahydro-1,3,5,7,-tetrazocine, HMX, in real time. Massive surface reconstruction occurs during the 1st-order transition. The temperature induced increase in void space and surface roughness observed in the delta phase polymorph of HMX serve to increase the growth rate and volume of shock initiated hot spots and possibly reaction sensitivity. HMX exists in four solid phase polymorphs, labeled {alpha}, {beta}, {chi}, and {delta}. The phase conversion of the {beta} phase to the {delta} phase involves a major disruption of the crystal lattice. The energy required to bring about this change is a measurable quantity. Multiple thermal analysis techniques carried out simultaneously are preferable because the results are directly comparable. Thermal methods are dynamic techniques, where heating or cooling is applied to a sample, unless isothermal conditions are employed. Thermogravimetic Analysis, TGA, can be used to quantify decomposition components in a substance while Differential Thermal Analysis, DTA, can be used to measure the heat flow or the specific heat capacity, with respect to …

In experiments in which an explosive is subjected to two successive shocks ({approximately}2.5 and {approximately}6.0 GPa), detonation of the explosive is delayed. High compaction resulting from shock compression of an explosive probably results in the removal of voids from the material. To the extent that these voids comprise the hotspots in the material, the shock-compressed explosive might be expected to behave as a homogeneous material, and initiate more like a liquid explosive than like a normal solid PBX. While some evidence is available from the data record to support this idea that detonation develops in a homogeneous manner, predominant aspects of the data indicate heterogeneous development of detonation in the preshocked material.

Magnetic excitations of the spin-Peierls compound CuGeO{sub 3} under applied pressure of 2 GPa have been studied. The dispersion along the chain direction up to zone boundary has been obtained. The spin-Peierls gap energy increases to 4.2 meV and the zone boundary energy decreases to 14.1 meV. The pressure dependence of dispersion relation can be interpreted by the increase of the next-nearest-neighbor intra-chain interaction under applied pressure causing the increase of both the spin-Peierls gap energy and transition temperature.

The authors present a simple traffic micro-simulation model that models the effects of capacity cut-off, i.e. the effect of queue built-up when demand is exceeding capacity, and queue spillback, i.e. the effect that queues can spill back across intersections when a congested link is filled up. They derive the model`s fundamental diagrams and explain it. The simulation is used to simulate traffic on the emme/2 network of the Portland (Oregon) metropolitan region (20,000 links). Demand is generated by a simplified home-to-work assignment which generates about half a million trips for the AM peak. Route assignment is done by iterative feedback between micro-simulation and router. Relaxation of the route assignment for the above problem can be achieved within about half a day of computing time on a desktop workstation.

A new methodology for neural learning is presented, whereby only a single iteration is required to train a feed-forward network with near-optimal results. To this aim, a virtual input layer is added to the multi-layer architecture. The virtual input layer is connected to the nominal input layer by a specird nonlinear transfer function, and to the fwst hidden layer by regular (linear) synapses. A sequence of alternating direction singular vrdue decompositions is then used to determine precisely the inter-layer synaptic weights. This algorithm exploits the known separability of the linear (inter-layer propagation) and nonlinear (neuron activation) aspects of information &ansfer within a neural network.