We report the most restrictive direct limits on masses of fourth-generation down-type quarks b{prime}, and quark-like composite fermions (B or T{sub 5/3}), decaying promptly to tW{sup {-+}}. We search for a significant excess of events with two same-charge leptons (e, {mu}), several hadronic jets, and missing transverse energy. An analysis of data from p{bar p} collisions with an integrated luminosity of 2.7 fb{sup -1} collected with the CDF II detector at Fermilab yields no evidence for such a signal, setting mass limits m{sub b{prime}}, m{sub B} > 338 GeV/c{sup 2} and m{sub T{sub 5/3}} > 365 GeV/c{sup 2} at 95% confidence level.

This Letter presents the first results from the observations of LS I +61{sup o}303 using Large Area Telescope data from the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope between 2008 August and 2009 March. Our results indicate variability that is consistent with the binary period, with the emission being modulated at 26.6 {+-} 0.5 days. This constitutes the first detection of orbital periodicity in high-energy gamma rays (20 MeV-100 GeV, HE). The light curve is characterized by a broad peak after periastron, as well as a smaller peak just before apastron. The spectrum is best represented by a power law with an exponential cutoff, yielding an overall flux above 100 MeV of 0.82 {+-} 0.03(stat) {+-} 0.07(syst) 10{sup -6} ph cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}, with a cutoff at 6.3 {+-} 1.1(stat) {+-} 0.4(syst) GeV and photon index {Gamma} = 2.21 {+-} 0.04(stat) {+-} 0.06(syst). There is no significant spectral change with orbital phase. The phase of maximum emission, close to periastron, hints at inverse Compton scattering as the main radiation mechanism. However, previous very high-energy gamma ray (>100 GeV, VHE) observations by MAGIC and VERITAS show peak emission close to apastron. This and the energy cutoff seen with Fermi suggest that the link …

Surveys above 10 keV represent one of the the best resources to provide an unbiased census of the population of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). We present the results of 60 months of observation of the hard X-ray sky with Swift/BAT. In this timeframe, BAT detected (in the 15-55 keV band) 720 sources in an all-sky survey of which 428 are associated with AGN, most of which are nearby. Our sample has negligible incompleteness and statistics a factor of {approx}2 larger over similarly complete sets of AGN. Our sample contains (at least) 15 bona-fide Compton-thick AGN and 3 likely candidates. Compton-thick AGN represent a {approx}5% of AGN samples detected above 15 keV. We use the BAT dataset to refine the determination of the LogN-LogS of AGN which is extremely important, now that NuSTAR prepares for launch, towards assessing the AGN contribution to the cosmic X-ray background. We show that the LogN-LogS of AGN selected above 10 keV is now established to a {approx}10% precision. We derive the luminosity function of Compton-thick AGN and measure a space density of 7.9{sub -2.9}{sup +4.1} x 10{sup -5} Mpc{sup -3} for objects with a de-absorbed luminosity larger than 2 x 10{sup 42} erg s{sup -1}. …

Measured distribution coefficients (K{sub d} values) for environmental contaminants provide input data for performance assessments (PA) that evaluate physical and chemical phenomena for release of radionuclides from wasteforms, degradation of engineered components and subsequent transport of radionuclides through environmental media. Research efforts at SRNL to study the effects of formulation and curing variability on the physiochemical properties of the saltstone wasteform produced at the Saltstone Disposal Facility (SDF) are ongoing and provide information for the PA and Saltstone Operations. Furthermore, the range and distribution of plutonium K{sub d} values in soils is not known. Knowledge of these parameters is needed to provide guidance for stochastic modeling in the PA. Under the current SRS liquid waste processing system, supernate from F & H Tank Farm tanks is processed to remove actinides and fission products, resulting in a low-curie Decontaminated Salt Solution (DSS). At the Saltstone Production Facility (SPF), DSS is mixed with premix, comprised of blast furnace slag (BFS), Class F fly ash (FA), and portland cement (OPC) to form a grout mixture. The fresh grout is subsequently placed in SDF vaults where it cures through hydration reactions to produce saltstone, a hardened monolithic waste form. Variation in saltstone composition and …

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This report looks at the history, purpose, and current status of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The Texas Panhandle is regarded as the “Cattle Feeding Capital of the World”, producing 42% of the fed beef cattle in the United States within a 200-mile radius of Amarillo generating more than 5 million tons of feedlot manure /year. Apart from feedlots, the Bosque River Region in Erath County, just north of Waco, Texas with about 110,000 dairy cattle in over 250 dairies, produces 1.8 million tons of manure biomass (excreted plus bedding) per year. While the feedlot manure has been used extensively for irrigated and dry land crop production, most dairies, as well as other concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO’s), the dairy farms utilize large lagoon areas to store wet animal biomass. Water runoff from these lagoons has been held responsible for the increased concentration of phosphorus and other contaminates in the Bosque River which drains into Lake Waco—the primary source of potable water for Waco’s 108,500 people. The concentrated animal feeding operations may lead to land, water, and air pollution if waste handling systems and storage and treatment structures are not properly managed. Manure-based biomass (MBB) has the potential to be a source of green energy at large coal-fired power plants and on smaller-scale combustion systems at …

This report provides an overview of the United Nations (U.N.) Convention on the Rights of the Child's (CRC's) background and structure and examines evolving U.S. policy toward the CRC, including past and current Administration positions and congressional perspectives. It also highlights issues for the 112th Congress, including the CRC's possible impact on federal and state laws, U.S. sovereignty, parental rights, and U.S. family planning and abortion policy. In addition, the report addresses the effectiveness of CRC in protecting the rights of children internationally and its potential use as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy.

At the first stage of the ATF2 beam tuning, vertical beam size is usually bigger than 3 {micro}m at the IP. Beam waist measurements using wire scanners and a laser wire are usually performed to check the initial matching of the beam through to the IP. These measurements are described in this paper for the optics currently used ({beta}{sub x} = 4cm and {beta}{sub y} = 1mm). Software implemented in the control room to automate these measurements with integrated analysis is also described. Measurements showed that {beta} functions and emittances were within errors of measurements when no rematching and coupling corrections were done. However, it was observed that the waist in the horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) plane was abnormally shifted and simulations were performed to try to understand these shifts. They also showed that multiknobs are needed in the current optics to correct simultaneously {alpha}{sub x}, {alpha}{sub y} and the horizontal dispersion (D{sub x}). Such multiknobs were found and their linearity and orthogonality were successfully checked using MAD optics code. The software for these multiknobs was implemented in the control room and waist scan measurements using the {alpha}{sub y} knob were successfully performed.

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Indiana University’s SWIM activities have primarily been in three areas. All are completed, but we are continuing to work on two of them because refinements are useful to both DoE laboratories and the high performance computing community.

The uncertainty in setting the renormalization scale in finite-order perturbative QCD predictions using standard methods substantially reduces the precision of tests of the Standard Model in collider experiments. It is conventional to choose a typical momentum transfer of the process as the renormalization scale and take an arbitrary range to estimate the uncertainty in the QCD prediction. However, predictions using this procedure depend on the choice of renormalization scheme, leave a non-convergent renormalon perturbative series, and moreover, one obtains incorrect results when applied to QED processes. In contrast, if one fixes the renormalization scale using the Principle of Maximum Conformality (PMC), all non-conformal {l_brace}{beta}{sub i}{r_brace}-terms in the perturbative expansion series are summed into the running coupling, and one obtains a unique, scale-fixed, scheme-independent prediction at any finite order. The PMC renormalization scale {mu}{sub R}{sup PMC} and the resulting finite-order PMC prediction are both to high accuracy independent of choice of the initial renormalization scale {mu}{sub R}{sup init}, consistent with renormalization group invariance. Moreover, after PMC scale-setting, the n!-growth of the pQCD expansion is eliminated. Even the residual scale-dependence at fixed order due to unknown higher-order {l_brace}{beta}{sub i}{r_brace}-terms is substantially suppressed. As an application, we apply the PMC procedure to obtain …

As supercomputers become larger and more powerful, they are growing increasingly complex. This is reflected both in the exponentially increasing numbers of components in HPC systems (LLNL is currently installing the 1.6 million core Sequoia system) as well as the wide variety of software and hardware components that a typical system includes. At this scale it becomes infeasible to make each component sufficiently reliable to prevent regular faults somewhere in the system or to account for all possible cross-component interactions. The resulting faults and instability cause HPC applications to crash, perform sub-optimally or even produce erroneous results. As supercomputers continue to approach Exascale performance and full system reliability becomes prohibitively expensive, we will require novel techniques to bridge the gap between the lower reliability provided by hardware systems and users unchanging need for consistent performance and reliable results. Previous research on HPC system reliability has developed various techniques for tolerating and detecting various types of faults. However, these techniques have seen very limited real applicability because of our poor understanding of how real systems are affected by complex faults such as soft fault-induced bit flips or performance degradations. Prior work on such techniques has had very limited practical utility because …

The massive Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, caused extensive damage in northeastern Japan, including damage to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power installation, which resulted in the release of radiation. Concerns arose about the potential effects of this released radiation on the U.S. marine environment and resources.

We introduce a hybrid two-stage energy-recovery approach to sequester CO{sub 2} and produce geothermal energy at low environmental risk and low cost by integrating geothermal production with CO{sub 2} capture and sequestration (CCS) in saline, sedimentary formations. Our approach combines the benefits of the approach proposed by Buscheck et al. (2011b), which uses brine as the working fluid, with those of the approach first suggested by Brown (2000) and analyzed by Pruess (2006), using CO{sub 2} as the working fluid, and then extended to saline-formation CCS by Randolph and Saar (2011a). During stage one of our hybrid approach, formation brine, which is extracted to provide pressure relief for CO{sub 2} injection, is the working fluid for energy recovery. Produced brine is applied to a consumptive beneficial use: feedstock for fresh water production through desalination, saline cooling water, or make-up water to be injected into a neighboring reservoir operation, such as in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), where there is often a shortage of a working fluid. For stage one, it is important to find economically feasible disposition options to reduce the volume of brine requiring reinjection in the integrated geothermal-CCS reservoir (Buscheck et al. 2012a). During stage two, which begins as …

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The ultimate objective of this work was to eliminate approximately 30% of the machining performed in typical automotive engine and transmission plants by using thread forming fasteners in as-cast holes of aluminum and magnesium cast components. The primary issues at the source of engineers’ reluctance to implementing thread forming fasteners in lightweight castings are: * Little proof of consistency of clamp load vs. input torque in either aluminum or magnesium castings. * No known data to understand the effect on consistency of clamp load as casting dies wear. The clamp load consistency concern is founded in the fact that a portion of the input torque used to create clamp load is also used to create threads. The torque used for thread forming may not be consistent due to variations in casting material, hole size and shape due to tooling wear and process variation (thermal and mechanical). There is little data available to understand the magnitude of this concern or to form the basis of potential solutions if the range of clamp load variation is very high (> +/- 30%). The range of variation that can be expected in as-cast hole size and shape over the full life cycle of a …

Water management in Proton Exchange Membrane, PEM, Fuel Cells is challenging because of the inherent conflicts between the requirements for efficient low and high power operation. Particularly at low powers, adequate water must be supplied to sufficiently humidify the membrane or protons will not move through it adequately and resistance losses will decrease the cell efficiency. At high power density operation, more water is produced at the cathode than is necessary for membrane hydration. This excess water must be removed effectively or it will accumulate in the Gas Diffusion Layers, GDLs, between the gas channels and catalysts, blocking diffusion paths for reactants to reach the catalysts and potentially flooding the electrode. As power density of the cells is increased, the challenges arising from water management are expected to become more difficult to overcome simply due to the increased rate of liquid water generation relative to fuel cell volume. Thus, effectively addressing water management based issues is a key challenge in successful application of PEMFC systems. In this project, CFDRC and our partners used a combination of experimental characterization, controlled experimental studies of important processes governing how water moves through the fuel cell materials, and detailed models and simulations to improve …

Report concerning the controversy surrounding some states' requirements that voters provide photographic identification before casting a ballot.

The volumetric heating of a thin copper target has been studied with time resolved x-ray spectroscopy. The copper target was heated from a plasma produced using the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Compact Multipulse Terrawatt (COMET) laser. A variable spaced grating spectrometer coupled to an x-ray streak camera measured soft x-ray emission (800-1550 eV) from the back of the copper target to characterize the bulk heating of the target. Radiation hydrodynamic simulations were modeled in 2-dimensions using the HYDRA code. The target conditions calculated by HYDRA were post-processed with the atomic kinetics code CRETIN to generate synthetic emission spectra. A comparison between the experimental and simulated spectra indicates the presence of specific ionization states of copper and the corresponding electron temperatures and ion densities throughout the laser-heated copper target.

An efficient, cost-effective hydrogen storage system is a key enabling technology for the widespread introduction of hydrogen fuel cells to the domestic marketplace. Air Products, an industry leader in hydrogen energy products and systems, recognized this need and responded to the DOE 'Grand Challenge' solicitation (DOE Solicitation DE-PS36-03GO93013) under Category 1 as an industry partner and steering committee member with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in their proposal for a center-of-excellence on Carbon-Based Hydrogen Storage Materials. This center was later renamed the Hydrogen Sorption Center of Excellence (HSCoE). Our proposal, entitled 'Designing Microporous Carbons for Hydrogen Storage Systems,' envisioned a highly synergistic 5-year program with NREL and other national laboratory and university partners.

Photonic crystal waveguides are promising candidates for laser-driven accelerator structures because of their ability to confine a speed-of-light mode in an all-dielectric structure. Because of the difference between the group velocity of the waveguide mode and the particle bunch velocity, fields must be coupled into the accelerating waveguide at frequent intervals. Therefore efficient, compact couplers are critical to overall accelerator efficiency. We present designs and simulations of high-efficiency coupling to the accelerating mode in a three-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide from a waveguide adjoining it at 90{sup o}. We discuss details of the computation and the resulting transmission. We include some background on the accelerator structure and photonic crystal-based optical acceleration in general.

The proposed Saltstone Disposal Unit 6 (SDU6) is a larger structure than the SDU4 cells and larger than the disposal units (SDU2, SDU3, and SDU5) currently in use or under construction. The additional capacity provided by SDU6 is desired to reduce life cycle costs and support site accelerated closure goals. The larger size of the planned SDU6 could result in saltstone being placed in thinner lifts as the unit is filled. This study was performed to determine whether thinner layers of saltstone negatively impact the performance of the waste form. A larger number of cold joints could potentially result in increased drying, salt deposition, and surface oxidation. A matrix of samples was prepared to simulate thin pours ranging from 0.5 to 6 inches thick. Each sample was cured for at least 28 days prior to further characterization. Leachability results showed that there is no obvious impact of the number of grout layers on the Leachability Index values for Na and NO{sub 3}. The concentrations of Cr, NO{sub 2}, and C{sub 2}O{sub 4} were below detection limits for all of the leachates. No attempt was made to evaluate the oxidation of these samples since no measureable Cr was leached, although this …

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of River Protection (ORP) is responsible for the retrieval, treatment, immobilization, and disposal of Hanford's tank waste. Currently there are approximately 56 million gallons of highly radioactive mixed wastes awaiting treatment. A key aspect of the River Protection Project (RPP) cleanup mission is to construct and operate the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). The WTP will separate the tank waste into high-level and low-activity waste (LAW) fractions, both of which will subsequently be vitrified. The projected throughput capacity of the WTP LAW Vitrification Facility is insufficient to complete the RPP mission in the time frame required by the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order, also known as the Tri-Party Agreement (TPA), i.e. December 31, 2047. Therefore, Supplemental Treatment is required both to meet the TPA treatment requirements as well as to more cost effectively complete the tank waste treatment mission. In addition, the WTP LAW vitrification facility off-gas condensate known as WTP Secondary Waste (WTP-SW) will be generated and enriched in volatile components such as {sup 137}Cs, {sup 129}I, {sup 99}Tc, Cl, F, and SO{sub 4} that volatilize at the vitrification temperature of 1150 C in the absence of a continuous cold …