High resolution spectroscopy experiments with visible adaptive optics (AO) telescopes at Starfire Optical Range and Mt. Wilson have demonstrated that spectral resolution can be routinely improved by a factor of - 10 over the seeing-limited case with no extra light losses at visible wavelengths. With large CCDs now available, a very wide wavelength range can be covered in a single exposure. In the near future, most large ground-based telescopes will be equipped with powerful A0 systems. Most of these systems are aimed primarily at diffraction-limited operation in the near IR. An exciting new opportunity will thus open up for high resolution IR spectroscopy. Immersion echelle gratings with much coarser grooves being developed by us at LLNL will play a critical role in achieving high spectral resolution with a compact and low cost IR cryogenically cooled spectrograph and simultaneous large wavelength coverage on relatively small IR detectors. We have constructed a new A0 optimized spectrograph at Steward Observatory to provide R = 200,000 in the optical, which is being commissioned at the Starfire Optical Range 3.5m telescope. We have completed the optical design of the LLNL IR Immersion Spectrograph (LISPEC) to take advantage of improved silicon etching technology. Key words: adaptive …

This report is a guide to the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which includes funding for agencies and programs in four separate federal departments as well as smaller agencies and diverse programs.

We present six time-dependent B⁰_d mixing measurements of {Delta}m_d from the CDF Run I data. The CDF average is {Delta}m_d = .494^±.026_±.026(ps)^-1. We also present a measurement of the CP-violating asymmetry sin(2{beta}) using a sample of B⁰/{anti B}⁰ {yields} J/{psi} K⁰_s decays and report sin(2{beta}) = .79 ⁺⁴¹_-.44.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Army's progress toward its goal of fielding a digitized division by the end of 2000, focusing on: (1) the high-priority systems needed to accomplish the digitization fielding goal; (2) the acquisition status of these high-priority systems; and (3) any performance uncertainties that could confront the Army after its first digitized division is fielded."

Long range financial forecast provides information to help decision-makers plan for the future financial needs of Bexar County; takes current expenditure levels, known cost increases, one-time expenses and inflation, and forecasts the effects of these factors on the County's financial condition for fiscal years 1999 through 2003.

This report provides a select chronology of congressional and presidential actions and documents related to major budget events in calendar year 1999, covering the FY2000 budget. While the paper copy provides numerous Internet addresses, congressional offices can also use the Internet version of this report to access active links to appropriations and budget legislation, budget and economic data tables, pie charts, glossaries, selected testimony, publications, the President’s budget documents, and CRS products.

CAMAC is a Modular Instrumentation and Digital Interface System defined as a standardized instrumentation system for Computer Automated Measurement and Control. CAMAC hardware and software has been defined by the NIM Committee (National Instrumentation Methods Committee) of the US Department of Energy and the ESONE Committee (European Standards on Nuclear Electronics Committee) of European Laboratories. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory has for many years produced software packages that follow the ANSI/IEEE standard 758-1979 for a variety of computers, CAMAC controller interfaces, and operating systems. In order to enable the re-use of existing hardware and software, Fermilab now supports standard routine libraries and drivers for Windows NT 4.0 and the Linux operating systems for the Jorway 411s SCSI Bus CAMAC Driver[l] and the Jorway73A SCSI Bus CAMAC Crate Controller. A number of test stands and small experiments both on-site and off-site are using this software for their CAMAC data acquisition needs.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO determined for the 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1998 elections the total amount of contributions from gambling interests to: (1) federal candidates, including the total number of federal candidates that accepted those contributions; and (2) national political party committees, as well as separate totals for the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)."

We present a new preliminary combination of measurements of the parity-violation parameter A_b made by the SLD collaboration using various experimental techniques. The techniques differ in detail, but in general a sample of b anti-b events is selected or enhanced by using the topologically reconstructed mass of the separated vertices formed by decaying B hadrons. The direction of the b(anti-b) quark is signed by one of four final state tags: jet charge, vertex charge, leptons, or identified K⁼ from the b vertex. We account for statistical and systematic correlations between the four analyses to arrive at our combined result: A_b = 0.905 ± 0.017(stat) ± 0.020(syst).

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the President's Midsession Review and the implications of the President's proposals on fiscal policy and the federal budget."

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Bechtel Nevada operates and flies Daedalus multispectral scanners for funded project tasks at the Department of Energy's Remote Sensing Laboratory. Historically, processing and analysis of multispectral data has afforded scientists the opportunity to see natural phenomena not visible to the naked eye. However, only recently has a system, more specifically a Geometric Correction System, existed to automatically geo-reference these data directly into a Geographic Information (GIS) database. Now, analyses, performed previously in a nongeospatial environment, are integrated directly into an Arc/Info GIS. This technology is of direct benefit to environmental and emergency response applications.

We report highly efficient, low-threshold-current edge-emitting lasers where both the optical waveguide and lateral current confinement are achieved by lateral selective oxidation of AlGaAs. External differential quantum efficiency in excess of 95% and 40% wall-plug efficiency are demonstrated in 600 {micro}m-long devices without facet coatings. Shorter, 300-{micro}m-long, uncoated devices have <6 mA threshold currents. This high-performance is a combined result of placement of the oxide layers so as to achieve the minimum optical mode volume and bi-parabolic grading of the Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1{minus}x}As heteroepitaxy for minimum height/potential barriers, less than 15 meV, created by the wide-energy-gap layers required for selective wet oxidation. Since the initial development of wet AlGaAs oxidation methods, a number of oxidized edge-emitting laser concepts have been tried. The most successful of these have used lateral selective oxidation of AlGaAs layers between 100 and 300 nm thickness. These layers have been used as current restricting apertures or for both current restriction and lateral waveguiding. Use of an oxide layer above and below the laser active region offers the ability to create a self-aligned waveguide with current apertures on both sides of the pn-junction in a process requiring only one epitaxial growth step. Previous use apertures for these …

At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), we are working to help calibrate the 170 seismic stations that are part of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) monitoring network, in order to enhance the network's ability to locate small seismic events. These low magnitude events are likely to be recorded by only the closest of seismic stations, ranging from local to near teleseismic distances. At these distance ranges, calibration statistics become highly nonstationary, challenging us to develop more general statistical models for proper calibration. To meet the goals outlined above, we are developing a general nonstationary framework to accurately calibrate seismic travel-time predictions over the full distance range, from local, to regional, to teleseismic distances. The objective of this framework is to develop valid region-specific corrections for the Middle Fast, North Africa, and portions of the Soviet Union, to assess our progress towards meeting calibration goals, and to perform cost-benefit analysis for future calibrations. The framework integrates six core components essential to accurate calibration. First, is the compilation and statistical characterization of well located reference events, including aftershock sequences, mining explosions and rockbursts, calibration explosions, and teleseismically constrained events (Harris et al., SSA 1999; Hanley et al., SSA 1999). Second, is the …

The lifetimes of B{sup +} and B{sup 0} mesons have been measured using the entire sample of 550,000 hadronic Z{sup 0} decays collected by the SLD experiment at the SLC between 1993 and 1998. In this paper, we describe the inclusive analysis of the 350,000 hadronic Z{sup 0} decays collected in 1997-98 with the upgraded SLD vertex detector. In this data period, a high statistics sample of 30903 (20731) charged (neutral) vertices with good charge purity is obtained. The charge purity is enhanced by using the vertex mass, the SLC electron beam polarization (73% for 1997-8) and an opposite hemisphere jet charge technique. Combining the results of this data sample with the results from the earlier data yield the following preliminary values: {tau}{sub B{sup +}} = 1.623 {+-} 0.020(stat) {+-} 0.034(syst) ps, {tau}{sub B{sup +}} = 1.565 {+-} 0.021(stat) {+-} 0.043(syst) ps, {tau}{sub B{sup +}} = {tau}{sub B{sup 0}} = 1.037 {+-} {sub 0.024}{sup 0.025}(stat) {+-} 0.024(syst).

This report describes modeling of a scheme that uses continuous-wave (CW) lasers to ionize selected isotopes of krypton with high isotopic selectivity. The models predict that combining this ionization scheme with mass spectrometric measurement of the resulting ions can be the basis for ultra-sensitive methods to measure {sup 85}Kr in the presence of a 10{sup 11} excess of the stable krypton isotopes. Two experimental setups are considered in this model: the first setup is for krypton as a static gas, the second is for krypton in an atomic beam. In the static gas experiment, for a total krypton press of 10{sup {minus}4} torr and 10 W of power in the cavity, the model predicts a total krypton ion current of 4.6 x 10{sup 8} s{sup {minus}1} and for a {sup 85}Kr/Kr of 10{sup {minus}11} a {sup 85}Kr ion current of 3.5 s{sup {minus}1} or about 10,000 per hour. The atomic beam setup allowed higher isotopic selectivity; the model predicts a {sup 85}Kr ion current of 18 s{sup {minus}1} or 65,000 per hour.

Spent fuel from the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) is treated at the Fuel Conditioning Facility (FCF) located at Argonne National Laboratory-West (ANL-W). A number of sensitive nuclear material streams are present in the facility, which mainly include material in the input spent fuel, the element chopper, the electrorefiner, the cathode processor, and the casting furnace. Different types of measurements and calculations are performed in order to estimate the amount of material in those streams. There are three basic types of measurements: weight, elemental and isotopic fractions, and liquid level measurements. Materials in some streams are determined using validated models, which include the mass and composition of the input spent fuel. This paper describes the different streams of sensitive nuclear material for the facility, and the methods for their measurements or estimation as part of the MC&A system at FCF. It also describes the analytical and sampling uncertainties associated with those measurements and estimates, which are required for the facility variance propagation calculations.

In this study we analyze the feasibility of three dimensional (3D) electromagnetic (EM) imaging from a single borehole. The proposed logging tool consists of three mutually orthogonal magnetic dipole sources and multiple three component magnetic field receivers. A sensitivity analysis indicates that the most important sensor configuration for providing 3D geological information about the borehole consists of a transmitter with moment aligned parallel to the axis of the borehole, and receivers aligned perpendicular to the axis. The standard coaxial logging configuration provides the greatest depth of sensitivity compared to other configurations, but offers no information regarding 3D structure. Two other tool configurations in which both the source and receiver are aligned perpendicular to the borehole axis provide some directional information and therefore better image resolution, but not true 3D information. A 3D inversion algorithm has been employed to demonstrate the plausibility of 3D inversion using data collected with the proposed logging tool. This study demonstrates that an increase in image resolution results when three orthogonal sources are incorporated into the logging tool rather than a single axially aligned source.

The oxidative thermal aging of a crosslinked hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB)/isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) polyurethane rubber, commonly used as the polymeric binder matrix in solid rocket propellants, was studied at temperatures of RT to 125 C. We investigate changes in tensile elongation, mechanical hardening, polymer network properties, density, O{sub 2} permeation and molecular chain dynamics using a range of techniques including solvent swelling, detailed modulus profiling and NMR relaxation measurements. Using extensive data superposition and highly sensitive oxygen consumption measurements, we critically evaluate the Arrhenius methodology, which normally assumes a linear extrapolation of high temperature aging data. Significant curvature in the Arrhenius diagram of these oxidation rates was observed similar to previous results found for other rubber materials. Preliminary gel/network properties suggest that crosslinking is the dominant process at higher temperatures. We also assess the importance of other constituents such as ammonium perchlorate or aluminum powder in the propellant formulation.

The Software Configuration Management Plan (SCMP) provides the instructions for change control of the portable 500 cfm exhauster skids Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) software configuration.

Perfect knowledge of emission time for every neutron from a radionuclide allows identification of the material and estimation of the quantity present via nondestructive assay. In practice, the authors lack this perfect knowledge. Detector efficiency is less than unity, thermalized neutron arrival is delayed randomly, and neutron showers triggered by cosmic rays in the atmosphere add noise to the process. They compare two classes of statistical estimators capable of recovering characteristic parameters for radionuclides from this imperfect information: method of moments (the current standard) and maximum likelihood, which holds the advantage as the number of parameters to be estimated simultaneously increases.

The BTeV pixel trigger is a data acquisition system capable of finding tracks and vertices in real time in the BTeV pixel detector array. The trigger uses some 3000 processing elements (DSPs) arranged in three processing levels to handle a raw data rate of nearly 100 Gigabytes per second and bring the trigger rate down to 10 KHz. The trigger system has more than 6000 programmable elements, including Field Programmable Logic Arrays (FPGAs), microprocessors (DSPs, interface to the monitor and control tree through FPGAs), and others. Sumac (Serial Utility Monitor and Control tree) is used for configuring and monitoring of these devices. Its primary function is the downloading of FPGA bit streams, microprocessor programs, chip configurations, and test data. In addition, remote cpus and other devices can send messages and status back to the host. The Sumac system is capable of handling several thousand remote devices from a single host PC. Because it stores configuration data in local flash eeproms, it will be capable of achieving a complete system reboot in less than 1 second. The Sumac system is a tree hierarchy connected via high-speed serial links. Typically each board in the system will have a control node which accepts …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed federal and state efforts to prevent telephone slamming, which involves switching a consumer's telephone service from one telephone company to another, and cramming, which involves placing unauthorized charges on a consumer's telephone bill for services and products, focusing on the: (1) number of complaints about slamming and cramming received by state and federal authorities; (2) types of protections implemented by state and federal authorities to increase consumers' ability to protect themselves against slamming and cramming; and (3) state and federal enforcement actions taken against slamming and cramming violations since 1996, including the names of the companies or individuals most frequently subject to such actions."