This thesis describes a measurement of a CP violating asymmetry in neutral B meson decays, B{sup 0} yields D{sup *0}h{sup 0}, where D{sup *0} is a charmed meson and h{sup 0} is a light meson, performed on data collected by the BABAR experiment at the SLAC asymmetric-energy electron-positron collider PEP-II.

The generation, motion, and interaction of dislocations play key roles during the plastic deformation process of crystalline solids. 3D Dislocation Dynamics has been employed as a mesoscale simulation algorithm to investigate the collective and cooperative behavior of dislocations. Most current research on 3D Dislocation Dynamics is based on the solutions available in the framework of classical isotropic elasticity. However, due to some degree of elastic anisotropy in almost all crystalline solids, it is very necessary to extend 3D Dislocation Dynamics into anisotropic elasticity. In this study, first, the details of efficient and accurate incorporation of the fully anisotropic elasticity into 3D discrete Dislocation Dynamics by numerically evaluating the derivatives of Green's functions are described. Then the intrinsic properties of perfect dislocations, including their stability, their core properties and disassociation characteristics, in newly discovered rare earth-based intermetallics and in conventional intermetallics are investigated, within the framework of fully anisotropic elasticity supplemented with the atomistic information obtained from the ab initio calculations. Moreover, the evolution and interaction of dislocations in these intermetallics as well as the role of solute segregation are presented by utilizing fully anisotropic 3D dislocation dynamics. The results from this work clearly indicate the role and the importance of …

Direct imaging of extrasolar planets is an important, but challenging, next step in planetary science. Most planets identified to date have been detected indirectly--not by emitted or reflected light but through the effect of the planet on the parent star. For example, radial velocity techniques measure the doppler shift in the spectrum of the star produced by the presence of a planet. Indirect techniques only probe about 15% of the orbital parameter space of our solar system. Direct methods would probe new parameter space, and the detected light can be analyzed spectroscopically, providing new information about detected planets. High contrast adaptive optics systems, also known as Extreme Adaptive Optics (ExAO), will require contrasts of between 10{sup -6} and 10{sup -7} at angles of 4-24 {lambda}/D on an 8-m class telescope to image young Jupiter-like planets still warm with the heat of formation. Contrast is defined as the intensity ratio of the dark wings of the image, where a planet might be, to the bright core of the star. Such instruments will be technically challenging, requiring high order adaptive optics with > 2000 actuators and improved diffraction suppression. Contrast is ultimately limited by residual static wavefront errors, so an extrasolar planet …

Injection of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) into saline aquifers has been proposed as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (geological carbon sequestration). Large-scale injection of CO{sub 2} will induce a variety of coupled physical and chemical processes, including multiphase fluid flow, fluid pressurization and changes in effective stress, solute transport, and chemical reactions between fluids and formation minerals. This work addresses some of these issues with special emphasis given to the physics of fluid flow in brine formations. An investigation of the thermophysical properties of pure carbon dioxide, water and aqueous solutions of CO{sub 2} and NaCl has been conducted. As a result, accurate representations and models for predicting the overall thermophysical behavior of the system CO{sub 2}-H{sub 2}O-NaCl are proposed and incorporated into the numerical simulator TOUGH2/ECO{sub 2}. The basic problem of CO{sub 2} injection into a radially symmetric brine aquifer is used to validate the results of TOUGH2/ECO2. The numerical simulator has been applied to more complex flow problem including the CO{sub 2} injection project at the Sleipner Vest Field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea and the evaluation of fluid flow dynamics effects of CO{sub 2} injection into aquifers. Numerical simulation results show that …

Polymeric materials have been prevalent in our everyday lives for quite a long time. Most of today's polymeric materials are derived from nonrenewable petroleum-based feedstocks. Instabilities in the regions where petroleum is drilled, along with an increased demand in petroleum, have driven the price of crude oil to record high prices. This, in effect, increases the price of petroleum-based polymeric materials, which has caused a heightened awareness of renewable alternatives for polymeric feedstocks. Cellulose, starch, proteins and natural oils have all been examined as possible polymeric feedstocks. Natural oils are commercially available on a large scale and are relatively cheap. It is projected that the U.S. alone will produce 21 billion pounds of soybean oil in the period 2008/2009. Natural oils also have the advantages of inherent biodegradability, low toxicity, high purity and ready availability. Most natural oils possess a triglyceride structure as shown in Figure 1. Most natural oils have a unique distribution of fatty acid side chains, along with varying degrees of unsaturation per triglyceride. Common fatty acid side chains in naturally occurring oils are palmitic acid (C16:0), a 16 carbon fatty acid with no unsaturation; stearic acid (C18:0), an 18 carbon fatty acid with no unsaturation; oleic …

High-resolution NMR spectra of samples with anisotropicbroadening are simplified to their isotropic spectra by fast rotation ofthe sample at the magic angle 54.7 circ. This dissertation concerns thedevelopment of novel Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) methodologies basedwhich would rotate the magnetic field instead of the sample, rotatingfield NMR. It provides an over of the NMR concepts, procedures, andexperiments needed to understand the methodologies that will be used forrotating field NMR. A simple two-dimensional shimming method based onharmonic corrector rings which can provide arbitrary multiple ordershimming corrections were developed for rotating field systems, but couldbe used in shimming other systems as well. Those results demonstrate, forexample, that quadrupolar order shimming improves the linewidth by up toan order of magnitude. An additional order of magnitude reduction is inprinciple achievable by utilizing this shimming method for z-gradientcorrection and higher order xy gradients. A specialized pulse sequencefor the rotating field NMR experiment is under development. The pulsesequence allows for spinning away from the magic angle and spinningslower than the anisotropic broadening. This pulse sequence is acombination of the projected magic angle spinning (p-MAS) and magic angleturning (MAT) pulse sequences. This will be useful to rotating field NMRbecause there are limits on how fast a field …

High-resolution NMR spectra of samples with anisotropicbroadening are simplified to their isotropic spectra by fast rotation ofthe sample at the magic angle 54.7 circ. This dissertation concerns thedevelopment of novel Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) methodologies basedwhich would rotate the magnetic field instead of the sample, rotatingfield NMR. It provides an over of the NMR concepts, procedures, andexperiments needed to understand the methodologies that will be used forrotating field NMR. A simple two-dimensional shimming method based onharmonic corrector rings which can provide arbitrary multiple ordershimming corrections were developed for rotating field systems, but couldbe used in shimming other systems as well. Those results demonstrate, forexample, that quadrupolar order shimming improves the linewidth by up toan order of magnitude. An additional order of magnitude reduction is inprinciple achievable by utilizing this shimming method for z-gradientcorrection and higher order xy gradients. A specialized pulse sequencefor the rotating field NMR experiment is under development. The pulsesequence allows for spinning away from the magic angle and spinningslower than the anisotropic broadening. This pulse sequence is acombination of the projected magic angle spinning (p-MAS) and magic angleturning (MAT) pulse sequences. This will be useful to rotating field NMRbecause there are limits on how fast a field …

The shrinking of IC devices has followed the Moore's Law for over three decades, which states that the density of transistors on integrated circuits will double about every two years. This great achievement is obtained via continuous advance in lithography technology. With the adoption of complicated resolution enhancement technologies, such as the phase shifting mask (PSM), the optical proximity correction (OPC), optical lithography with wavelength of 193 nm has enabled 45 nm printing by immersion method. However, this achievement comes together with the skyrocketing cost of masks, which makes the production of low volume application-specific IC (ASIC) impractical. In order to provide an economical lithography approach for low to medium volume advanced IC fabrication, a maskless ion beam lithography method, called Maskless Micro-ion-beam Reduction Lithography (MMRL), has been developed in the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The development of the prototype MMRL system has been described by Dr. Vinh Van Ngo in his Ph.D. thesis. But the resolution realized on the prototype MMRL system was far from the design expectation. In order to improve the resolution of the MMRL system, the ion optical system has been investigated. By integrating a field-free limiting aperture into the optical column, reducing the electromagnetic interference …

In recent years the study of stem and progenitor cells has moved to the forefront of research. Since the isolation of human hematopoietic stem cells in 1988 and the subsequent discovery of a self renewing population of multipotent cells in many tissues, many researchers have envisioned a better understanding of development and potential clinical usage in intractable diseases. Both these goals, however, depend on a solid understanding of the intracellular and extracellular forces that cause stem cells to differentiate to a specific cell fate. Many diseases of large scale cell loss have been suggested as candidates for stem cell based treatments. It is proposed that replacing the function of the damaged or defective cells by specific differentiation of stem or progenitor cells could treat the disease. Before cells can be directed to specific lineages, the mechanisms of differentiation must be better understood. Differentiation in vivo is an intensively complex system that is difficult to study. The goal of this research is to develop further understanding of the effects of soluble and extracellular matrix (ECM) cues on the differentiation of neural progenitor cells with the use of a simplified in vitro culture system. Specific research objectives are to study the differentiation …

Self-assembly is a powerful tool in forming structures with nanoscale dimensions. Self-assembly of macromolecules provides an efficient and rapid pathway for the formation of structures from the nanometer to micrometer range that are difficult, if not impossible to obtain by conventional lithographic techniques [1]. Depending on the morphologies obtained (size, shape, periodicity, etc.) these self-assembled systems have already been applied or shown to be useful for a number of applications in nanotechnology [2], biomineralization [3, 4], drug delivery [5, 6] and gene therapy [7]. In this respect, amphiphilic block copolymers that self-organize in solution have been found to be very versatile [1]. In recent years, polymer-micellar systems have been designed that are adaptable to their environment and able to respond in a controlled manner to external stimuli. In short, synthesis of 'nanoscale objects' that exhibit 'stimulus-responsive' properties is a topic gathering momentum, because their behavior is reminiscent of that exhibited by proteins [8]. By integrating environmentally sensitive homopolymers into amphiphilic block copolymers, smart block copolymers with self assembled supramolecular structures that exhibit stimuli or environmentally responsive properties can be obtained [1]. Several synthetic polymers are known to have environmentally responsive properties. Changes in the physical, chemical or biochemical environment of …

In solid state chemistry, numerous investigations have been attempted to address the relationships between chemical structure and physical properties. Such questions include: (1) How can we understand the driving forces of the atomic arrangements in complex solids that exhibit interesting chemical and physical properties? (2) How do different elements distribute themselves in a solid-state structure? (3) Can we develop a chemical understanding to predict the effects of valence electron concentration on the structures and magnetic ordering of systems by both experimental and theoretical means? Although these issues are relevant to various compound classes, intermetallic compounds are especially interesting and well suited for a joint experimental and theoretical effort. For intermetallic compounds, the questions listed above are difficult to answer since many of the constituent atoms simply do not crystallize in the same manner as in their separate, elemental structures. Also, theoretical studies suggest that the energy differences between various structural alternatives are small. For example, Al and Ga both belong in the same group on the Periodic Table of Elements and share many similar chemical properties. Al crystallizes in the fcc lattice with 4 atoms per unit cell and Ga crystallizes in an orthorhombic unit cell lattice with 8 atoms …

This dissertation describes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of protons performed in a precession field of 132 {micro}T. In order to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a pulsed 40-300 mT magnetic field prepolarizes the sample spins and an untuned second-order superconducting gradiometer coupled to a low transition temperature superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) detects the subsequent 5.6-kHz spin precession. Imaging sequences including multiple echoes and partial Fourier reconstruction are developed. Calculating the SNR of prepolarized SQUID-detected MRI shows that three-dimensional Fourier imaging yields higher SNR than slice-selection imaging. An experimentally demonstrated field-cycling pulse sequence and post-processing algorithm mitigate image artifacts caused by concomitant gradients in low-field MRI. The magnetic field noise of SQUID untuned detection is compared to the noise of SQUID tuned detection, conventional Faraday detection, and the Nyquist noise generated by conducting biological samples. A second-generation microtesla MRI system employing a low-noise SQUID is constructed to increase SNR. A 2.4-m cubic, eddy-current shield with 6-mm thick aluminum walls encloses the experiment to attenuate external noise. The measured noise is 0.75 fT Hz{sup -1/2} referred to the bottom gradiometer loop. Solenoids wound from 30-strand braided wire to decrease Nyquist noise and cooled by either liquid nitrogen or water polarize the …

Search engines, such as Google, assign scores to news articles based on their relevancy to a query. However, not all relevant articles for the query may be interesting to a user. For example, if the article is old or yields little new information, the article would be uninteresting. Relevancy scores do not take into account what makes an article interesting, which would vary from user to user. Although methods such as collaborative filtering have been shown to be effective in recommendation systems, in a limited user environment there are not enough users that would make collaborative filtering effective. I present a general framework for defining and measuring the ''interestingness'' of articles, called iScore, incorporating user-feedback including tracking multiple topics of interest as well as finding interesting entities or phrases in a complex relationship network. I propose and have shown the validity of the following: 1. Filtering based on only topic relevancy is insufficient for identifying interesting articles. 2. No single feature can characterize the interestingness of an article for a user. It is the combination of multiple features that yields higher quality results. For each user, these features have different degrees of usefulness for predicting interestingness. 3. Through user-feedback, a …

Hard, wear-resistant coatings of thin film borides based on AlMgB{sub 14} have the potential to be applied industrially to improve the tool life of cutting tools and pump vanes and may account for several million dollars in savings as a result of reduced wear on these parts. Past work with this material has shown that it can have a hardness of up to 45GPa and be fabricated into thin films with a similar hardness using pulsed laser deposition. These films have already been shown to be promising for industrial applications. Cutting tools coated with AlMgB{sub 14} used to mill titanium alloys have been shown to substantially reduce the wear on the cutting tool and extend its cutting life. However, little research into the thin film fabrication process using pulsed laser deposition to make AlMgB{sub 14} has been conducted. In this work, research was conducted into methods to optimize the deposition parameters for the AlMgB{sub 14} films. Processing methods to eliminate large particles on the surface of the AlMgB{sub 14} films, produce films that were at least 1m thick, reduce the surface roughness of the films, and improve the adhesion of the thin films were investigated. Use of a femtosecond laser …

Particle size effects and elemental fractionation in laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) are investigated with nanosecond and femtosecond laser ablation, differential mobility analysis, and magnetic sector ICP-MS. Laser pulse width was found to have a significant influence on the LA particle size distribution and the elemental composition of the aerosol and thus fractionation. Emission from individual particles from solution nebulization, glass, and a pressed powder pellet are observed with high speed digital photography. The presence of intact particles in an ICP is shown to be a likely source of fractionation. A technique for the online detection of stimulated elemental release from neural tissue using magnetic sector ICP-MS is described. Detection limits of 1 {micro}g L{sup -1} or better were found for P, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn in a 60 {micro}L injection in a physiological saline matrix.

The XRMS experiment on the Gd{sub 5}Ge{sub 4} system has shown that, below the Neel temperature, T{sub N} = 127 K, the magnetic unit cells is the same as the chemical unit cell. From azimuth scans and the Q dependence of the magnetic scattering, all three Gd sites in the structure were determined to be in the same magnetic space group Pnma. The magnetic moments are aligned along the c-axis and the c-components of the magnetic moments at the three different sites are equal. The ferromagnetic slabs are stacked antiferromagnetically along the b-direction. They found an unusual order parameter curve in Gd{sub 5}Ge{sub 4}. A spin-reorientation transition is a possibility in Gd{sub 5}Ge{sub 4}, which is similar to the Tb{sub 5}Ge{sub 4} case. Tb{sub 5}Ge{sub 4} possesses the same Sm{sub 5}Ge{sub 4}-type crystallographic structure and the same magnetic space group as Gd{sub 5}Ge{sub 4} does. The difference in magnetic structure is that Tb{sub 5}Ge{sub 4} has a canted one but Gd{sub 5}Ge{sub 4} has nearly a collinear one in the low temperature antiferromagnetic phase. The competition between the magneto-crystalline anisotropy and the nearest-neighbor magnetic exchange interactions may allow a 3-dimensional canted antiferromagnetic structure in Tb{sub 5}Ge{sub 4}. The spin-reorientation transition …

A search for the decay of the {tau} lepton to rare multi-pion final states is performed using the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e+e- collider. The analysis uses 232 fb-1 of data at center-of-mass energies on or near the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance. In the search for the {tau}- {yields} 3{pi}-2{pi}+2{pi}{sup 0}{nu}{sub {tau}} decay, we observe 10 events with an expected background of 6.5{sup +2.0}{sub -1.4} events. In the absence of a signal, we calculate the decay branching ratio upper limit {beta}({tau}- {yields} 3{pi}-2{pi}+2{pi}{sup 0}{nu}{sub {tau}}) < 3.4 x 10{sup -6} at the 90% confidence level. This is more than a factor of 30 improvement over the previously established limit. In addition, we search for the exclusive decay mode {tau}- {yields} 2{omega}{pi}-{nu}{sub {tau}} with the further decay of {omega} {yields} {pi}-{pi}+{pi}{sup 0}. We observe 1 event, expecting 0.4{sup +1.0}{sub -0.4} background events, and calculate the upper limit {beta}{tau}-{yields} 2{omega}{pi}-{nu}{sub {tau}} < 5.4 x 10{sup -7} at the 90% confidence level. This is the first upper limit for this mode.

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Enhanced field emission (EFE) presents the main impediment to higher acceleration gradients in superconducting niobium (Nb) radiofrequency cavities for particle accelerators. The strength, number and sources of EFE sites strongly depend on surface preparation and handling. The main objective of this thesis project is to systematically investigate the sources of EFE from Nb, to evaluate the best available surface preparation techniques with respect to resulting field emission, and to establish an optimized process to minimize or eliminate EFE. To achieve these goals, a scanning field emission microscope (SFEM) was designed and built as an extension to an existing commercial scanning electron microscope (SEM). In the SFEM chamber of ultra high vacuum, a sample is moved laterally in a raster pattern under a high voltage anode tip for EFE detection and localization. The sample is then transferred under vacuum to the SEM chamber equipped with an energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometer for individual emitting site characterization. Compared to other systems built for similar purposes, this apparatus has low cost and maintenance, high operational flexibility, considerably bigger scan area, as well as reliable performance. EFE sources from planar Nb have been studied after various surface preparation, including chemical etching and electropolishing, combined with ultrasonic …

Surface shape control techniques are applied to many diverse disciplines, such as adaptive optics, noise control, aircraft flutter control and satellites, with an objective to achieve a desirable shape for an elastic body by the application of distributed control forces. Achieving the desirable shape is influenced by many factors, such as, actuator locations, sensor locations, surface precision and controller performance. Building prototypes to complete design optimizations or controller development can be costly or impractical. This shortfall, puts significant value in developing accurate modeling and control simulation approaches. This thesis focuses on the field of adaptive optics, although these developments have the potential for application in many other fields. A static finite element model is developed and validated using a large aperture interferometer system. This model is then integrated into a control model using a linear least squares algorithm and Shack-Hartmann sensor. The model is successfully exercised showing functionality for various wavefront aberrations. Utilizing a verified model shows significant value in simulating static surface shape control problems with quantifiable uncertainties. A new dynamic model for a seven actuator deformable mirror is presented and its accuracy is proven through experiment. Bond graph techniques are used to generate the state space model of …

A capillary electrophoresis (CE) method is developed to determine both NAD{sup +} and NADH levels in a single cell, based on an enzymatic cycling reaction. The detection limit can reach down to 0.2 amol NAD{sup +} and 1 amol NADH on a home-made CE-LIF setup. The method showed good reproducibility and specificity. After an intact cell was injected into the inlet of a capillary and lysed using a Tesla coil, intracellular NAD{sup +} and NADH were separated, incubated with the cycling buffer, and quantified by the amount of fluorescent product generated. NADH and NAD{sup +} levels of single cells of three cell lines and primary astrocyte culture were determined using this method. Comparing cellular NAD{sup +} and NADH levels with and without exposure to oxidative stress induced by H{sub 2}O{sub 2}, it was found that H9c2 cells respond to the stress by reducing both cellular NAD{sup +} and NADH levels, while astrocytes respond by increasing cellular NADH/NAD{sup +} ratio.

The purpose of this research was to expand the chemiluminescence microscopy applications in live bacterial/mammalian cell imaging and to improve the detection sensitivity for ATP leaking or release events. We first demonstrated that chemiluminescence (CL) imaging can be used to interrogate single bacterial cells. While using a luminometer allows detecting ATP from cell lysate extracted from at least 10 bacterial cells, all previous cell CL detection never reached this sensitivity of single bacteria level. We approached this goal with a different strategy from before: instead of breaking bacterial cell membrane and trying to capture the transiently diluted ATP with the firefly luciferase CL assay, we introduced the firefly luciferase enzyme into bacteria using the modern genetic techniques and placed the CL reaction substrate D-luciferin outside the cells. By damaging the cell membrane with various antibacterial drugs including antibiotics such as Penicillins and bacteriophages, the D-luciferin molecules diffused inside the cell and initiated the reaction that produces CL light. As firefly luciferases are large protein molecules which are retained within the cells before the total rupture and intracellular ATP concentration is high at the millmolar level, the CL reaction of firefly luciferase, ATP and D-luciferin can be kept for a relatively …