In this paper, we present a construction of the compact form of the exceptional Lie group F4 by exponentiating the corresponding Lie algebra f4. We realize F4 as the automorphisms group of the exceptional Jordan algebra, whose elements are 3 x 3 Hermitian matrices with octonionic entries. We use a parametrization which generalizes the Euler angles for SU(2) and is based on the fibration of F4 via a Spin(9) subgroup as a fiber. This technique allows us to determine an explicit expression for the Haar invariant measure on the F4 group manifold. Apart from shedding light on the structure of F4 and its coset manifold OP2 = F4/Spin(9), the octonionic projective plane, these results are a prerequisite for the study of E6, of which F4 is a (maximal) subgroup.

During the last 50 years, a large amount of information on radionuclide accumulators or ''sentinel-type'' organisms in the environment has been published. Much of this work focused on the risks of food-chain transfer of radionuclides to higher organisms such as reindeer and man. However, until the 1980's and 1990's, there has been little published data on the radiocesium ({sup 134}Cs and {sup 137}Cs) accumulation by mushrooms. This presentation will consist of a review of the published data for {sup 134,137}Cs accumulation by mushrooms in nature. This review will discuss the aspects that promote {sup 134,137}Cs uptake by mushrooms and focus on mushrooms that demonstrate a large propensity for use in the environmental biomonitoring of radiocesium contamination. It will also provide descriptions of habitats for many of these mushrooms and discuss on how growth media and other conditions relate to Cs accumulation.

The present report begins with a brief survey of recent hypervalent iron chemistry and mentions two previously reported ferrate papers funded by the DOE/BES grant. The focus is then shifted to the seven publications acknowledging support of the grant that have not been reported since the last Progress Report, DOE/ER/14340-9, was prepared. These papers deal with: (a) the successful use of an ATR element in a stopped-flow infrared spectrometer, (b) the rationalization of a depolarization of a LiClO4 solution in polyethylene oxide high polymer, (c) an analysis of several coupled ultrasonic relaxations observed in solutions of pentoses undergoing isomerization, (d) the combination of ultrasonic absorption and Raman scattering measurements to elucidate zinc thiocyanate solutions in water, (e) the use of NMR to determine stability constants when LiClO4:12-crown-4 is dissolved in acetonitrile and in methanol, (f) the possible existence of triple ions in low permittivity solutions, and (g) the properties of a high surface area ceria aerogel. Collectively, these papers illustrate advantages of bringing several modern experimental techniques to bear on complex chemical systems.

Warped string compactifications, characterized by the nonsingular behavior of the metric in the infrared (IR), feature departures from the usual anti?de Sitter warped extra dimensions. We study the implications of the smooth IR cutoff for Randall-Sundrum- (RS-)type models. We find that the phenomenology of the Kaluza-Klein gravitons (including their masses and couplings) depends sensitively on the precise shape of the warp factor in the IR. In particular, we analyze the warped deformed conifold, find that the spectrum differs significantly from that of RS, and present a simple prescription (a mass-gap ansatz) that can be used to study the phenomenology of IR modifications to 5D warped extra dimensions.