We examine the utility of very high redshift Type Ia supernovae for cosmology and systematic uncertainty control. Next generation space surveys such as the Supernova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) will obtain thousands of supernovae at z>1.7, beyond the design redshift for which the supernovae will be exquisitely characterized. We find that any z gtrsim 2 standard candles' use for cosmological parameter estimation is quite modest and subject to pitfalls; we examine gravitational lensing, redshift calibration, and contamination effects in some detail. The very high redshift supernovae - both thermonuclear and core collapse - will provide copious interesting information on star formation, environment, and evolution. However, the new observational systematics that must be faced, as well as the limited expansion of SN-parameter space afforded, does not point to high value for 1.7<z<3 SNe Ia in controlling evolutionary systematics relative to what SNAP can already achieve at z<1.7. Synergy with observations from JWST and thirty meter class telescopes afford rich opportunities for advances throughout astrophysics.

Although bulk silicon is not susceptible to fatigue,micron-scale silicon is. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explainthis surprising behavior although the issue remains contentious. Here wedescribe published fatigue results for micron-scale thin siliconfilms andfind that in general they display similar trends, in that lower cyclicstresses result in larger number of cycles to failure in stress-lifetimedata. We further show that one of two classes of mechanisms is invariablyproposed to explain the phenomenon. The first class attributes fatigue toa surface effect caused by subcritical (stable) cracking in thesilicon-oxide layer, e.g., reaction-layer fatigue; the second classproposes that subcritical cracking in the silicon itself is the cause offatigue in Si films. It is our contention that results to date fromsingle and poly crystalline silicon fatigue studies provide no convincingexperimentalevidence to support subcritical cracking in the silicon.Conversely, the reaction-layer mechanism is consistent with existingexperimental results, and moreover provides a rational explanation forthe marked difference in fatigue behavior of bulk and micron-scalesilicon.

This report addresses the effects of electrical anisotropy on the 3D inversion of single-well induction logging data when anisotropy is not considered. Of concern are possible artifacts that may lead to an incorrect interpretation of the formation about the borehole. Comparison is made of 3D isotropic inversion on a suite of model data, with and without anisotropy, consisting of an infinite layer and layer terminated at the borehole. In both cases, the layer dip (or well deviation) is varied. Inversion of the anisotropic data result in an overestimate of the layer conductivity, and the lateral extent of the layer about the borehole.

We present a set of new characteristic frequencies associated with accretion disks around compact objects. These frequencies arise from persistent rotating patterns in the disk that are finite in radial extent and driven purely by the gravity of the central body. Their existence depends on general relativistic corrections to orbital motion and, if observed, could be used to probe the strong gravity region around a black hole. We also discuss a possible connection to the puzzle of quasi-periodic oscillations.

Report which discusses issues related to the North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) including the level of involvement of the entities in using political and military actions to defend against terrorism and proliferation, the types of military forces necessary, the role of the EU in crisis management, the appropriateness of decision-making procedures to respond to emerging threats, and the role of other international institutions.

The axion remains, after nearly 30 years, the most compelling and elegant solution to the strong-CP problem, i.e. why this symmetry is protected in QCD in spite of CP violation elsewhere. The axion is expected to be extremely light, and possess extraordinarily feeble couplings to matter and radiation. Because of its small couplings, the axion has defied experimental confirmation and is unlikely to be discovered in conventional laboratory experiments (i.e. production-detection). Nevertheless, a sufficiently light axion would have been produced abundantly in the Big Bang and is an excellent candidate for the dark matter of the Universe. Through the axion's two-photon coupling, implying axion-photon mixing in an external electromagnetic field, galactic halo axions may be feasibly detected by their resonant conversion to RF photons in a microwave cavity permeated by magnetic field with current technology. Over the past decade experiments have already set interesting limits in mass and coupling; upgrades in progress to photon detection schemes at or below the standard quantum limit will soon enable definitive searches. Similarly, axions produced in the solar burning core might be detectable by their conversion to x-rays in a magnetic helioscope. Indeed current published limits already equal the best bounds on axion-photon coupling …

We present updated results on time-dependent CP asymmetries in fully reconstructed B{sup 0} {yields} D{sup (*){+-}}{pi}{sup {-+}} and B{sup 0} {yields} D{sup {+-}}{rho}{sup {-+}} decays in approximately 232 million {Upsilon}(4S) {yields} B{bar B} events collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B factory at SLAC. From a time-dependent maximum likelihood fit we obtain for the parameters related to the CP violation angle 2{beta} + {gamma}: a{sup D{pi}} = -0.010 {+-} 0.023 {+-} 0.007, c{sub lep}{sup D{pi}} = -0.033 {+-} 0.042 {+-} 0.012, a{sup D*{pi}} = -0.040 {+-} 0.023 {+-} 0.010, C{sub lep}{sup D*{pi}} = 0.049 {+-} 0.042 {+-} 0.015, a{sup D{rho}} = -0.024 {+-} 0.031 {+-} 0.009, c{sub lep}{sup D{rho}} = -0.098 {+-} 0.055 {+-} 0.018, where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. Using other measurements and theoretical assumptions, we interpret the results in terms of the angles of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa unitarity triangle and find |sin(2{beta}+{gamma})| > 0.64 (0.40) at 68% (90%) confidence level.

This month's issue has the following articles: (1) Science and Technology Help the Nation Counter Terrorism--Commentary by Raymond J. Juzaitis; (2) Imagers Provide Eyes to See Gamma Rays--Gamma-ray imagers provide increased radiation detection capabilities and enhance the nation's arsenal for homeland security; (3) Protecting the Nation's Livestock--Foot-and-mouth disease could devastate America's livestock; a new assay provides a rapid means to detect it; (4) Measures for Measures--Laboratory physicists combine emissivity and reflectivity to achieve highly accurate temperature measurements of metal foils; and (5) Looping through the Lamb Shift--Livermore scientists measured a small perturbation in the spectra of highly ionized uranium--the first measurement of the two-loop Lamb shift in a bound state.

This paper presents results of a study of the behavior of technetium-99 (Tc-99) during high level waste (HLW) processing operations at Savannah River Site (SRS). Its behavior during HLW processing is important to understand because Tc-99 can fractionate in the waste and appear in both the sludge and the salt tanks at SRS. It can also be soluble in groundwaters and thus is an important radionuclide that may dictate how much waste has to be removed from a tank to prepare it for permanent closure. The HLW processing steps considered in this study are: (1) The initial caustic neutralization of the acidic waste streams generated in the SRS canyons to prepare the waste for storage in the mild steel tanks in the SRS Tank Farm. Waste that is insoluble in caustic precipitates while soluble elements remain in the supernates. At SRS insoluble components are segregated into sludge tanks and soluble components into the salt tanks. (2) The operations in the SRS Tank Farm that wash the sludge in preparation for immobilization for permanent disposal. (3) The sludge immobilization process in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) that solidifies the solids into a stable borosilicate glass. The data in this study …

A unique electronics system has been built and tested for reading signals from the silicon-strip detectors of the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope mission. The system amplifies and processes signals from 884,736 36-cm long silicon strips in a 4 x 4 array of tower modules. An aggressive mechanical design fits the readout electronics in narrow spaces between the tower modules, to minimize dead area. This design and the resulting departures from conventional electronics packaging led to several fabrication challenges and lessons learned. This paper describes the fabrication processes and how the problems peculiar to this design were overcome.

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We present a survey of serendipitous extended X-ray sources and optical cluster candidates from the Chandra Multi-wavelength Project (ChaMP). Our main goal is to make an unbiased comparison of X-ray and optical cluster detection methods. In 130 archival Chandra pointings covering 13 square degrees, we use a wavelet decomposition technique to detect 55 extended sources, of which 6 are nearby single galaxies. Our X-ray cluster catalog reaches a typical flux limit of about {approx} 10{sup -14} erg s{sup -1} cm{sup -2}, with a median cluster core radius of 21''. For 56 of the 130 X-ray fields, we use the ChaMP's deep NOAO/4m MOSAIC g', r', and i' imaging to independently detect cluster candidates using a Voronoi tessellation and percolation (VTP) method. Red-sequence filtering decreases the galaxy fore/background contamination and provides photometric redshifts to z {approx} 0.7. From the overlapping 6.1 square degree X-ray/optical imaging, we find 115 optical clusters (of which 11% are in the X-ray catalog) and 28 X-ray clusters (of which 46% are in the optical VTP catalog). The median redshift of the 13 X-ray/optical clusters is 0.41, and their median X-ray luminosity (0.5-2 keV) is L{sub X} = (2.65 {+-} 0.19) x 10{sup 43} ergs s{sup -1}. …

Hundred-joule, kilowatt-class lasers based on diode-pumped solid-state technologies, are being developed worldwide for laser-plasma interactions and as prototypes for fusion energy drivers. The goal of the Mercury Laser Project is to develop key technologies within an architectural framework that demonstrates basic building blocks for scaling to larger multi-kilojoule systems for inertial fusion energy (IFE) applications. Mercury has requirements that include: scalability to IFE beamlines, 10 Hz repetition rate, high efficiency, and 10{sup 9} shot reliability. The Mercury laser has operated continuously for several hours at 55 J and 10 Hz with fourteen 4 x 6 cm{sup 2} ytterbium doped strontium fluoroapatite (Yb:S-FAP) amplifier slabs pumped by eight 100 kW diode arrays. The 1047 nm fundamental wavelength was converted to 523 nm at 160 W average power with 73% conversion efficiency using yttrium calcium oxy-borate (YCOB).

This report explains cleanup requirements for the transfer and reuse of properties on closed military bases, discusses property transfer status and cleanup costs on bases closed in prior rounds, and examines estimates of costs to clean up bases to be closed in the 2005 round to make these properties safe for civilian reuse.

This report explains cleanup requirements for the transfer and reuse of properties on closed bases, discusses property transfer status and cleanup costs on bases closed in prior rounds, and examines estimates of costs to clean up bases to be closed in the 2005 round to make these properties safe for civilian reuse.

This report discusses federal programs aimed at promoting farmers’ markets. Policy issues include the extent to which the programs contribute to the markets’ success, and the need if any for additional governmental support.

More than 90,000 U.S. horses were slaughtered for human food in 2005, mainly for European and Asian consumers. Congress voted to limit the use of FY2006 appropriated funds for such slaughter, but USDA anticipates that the practice will continue, funded by industry user fees. This report examines the debate, which has focused on the acceptability of horse slaughter, and how to care for and eventually dispose of such horses if they no longer went for human food.

The goal is to examine the dependence of the plastic flow direction as a function of strain increment for a generalized quadratic flow potential; and from that, extract a scheme for constructing a plastic flow direction for a more general class of yield and flow surfaces.

This report discusses policy options for Congress regarding gas prices. The high price of gasoline was an important consideration during the debate on major energy legislation, which ended August 8 as the President signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005, H.R. 6 (P.L. 109-58). However, prices continued to surge, spiking at the end of August when Hurricane Katrina shut down refining operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The continuing crisis renewed attention to some issues that were dropped or compromised in the debate over P.L. 109-58. A large number of factors combined to put pressure on gasoline prices, including increased world demand for crude oil and U.S. refinery capacity inadequate to supply gasoline to a recovering national economy. The war and continued violence in Iraq added uncertainty and a threat of supply disruption that added pressure particularly to the commodity futures markets.

At the Savannah River Site (SRS) the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) has been immobilizing SRS's radioactive high-level waste (HLW) sludge into a borosilicate glass for approximately nine years. Currently the DWPF is immobilizing HLW sludge in Macrobatch 4 (MB4). Each macrobatch is nominally five hundred thousand gallons of HLW and produces nominally five hundred stainless steel canisters two feet in diameter ten feet tall filled with the borosilicate glass. This paper presents results of the characterization of a sample of MB4 glass taken directly from the pour stream of the DWPF melter during the filling of the canister S02312. This canister was the 275th canister filled during immobilizing MB4. The purpose of the sample was to confirm that the leachability of the glass in a standard ASTM test was less than the leachability criterion set forth in the Waste Acceptance Product Specifications (WAPS) for vitrified waste forms for permanent disposal in a Federal geologic repository. The sample was sent to the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) for characterization.

The primary goal of this visit was to perform a joint assessment of the Renewable Energy and Water Desalination Center's (REWDC) program in radioactive waste management. The visit represented the fourth technical and scientific interaction with Libya under the DOE/NNSA Sister Laboratory Arrangement. Specific topics addressed during the visit focused on Action Sheet P-05-5, ''Radioactive Waste Management''. The Team, comprised of Mo Bissani (Team Lead), Robert Fischer, Scott Kidd, and Jim Merrigan, consulted with REWDC management and staff. The team collected information, discussed particulars of the technical collaboration and toured the Tajura facility. The tour included the waste treatment facility, waste storage/disposal facility, research reactor facility, hot cells and analytical labs. The assessment team conducted the first phase of Task A for Action Sheet 5, which involved a joint assessment of the Radioactive Waste Management Program. The assessment included review of the facilities dedicated to the management of radioactive waste at the Tourja site, the waste management practices, proposed projects for the facility and potential impacts on waste generation and management.

This poster, submitted for the CU Energy Initiative/NREL Symposium on October 3, 2006 in Boulder, Colorado, discusses the modeling, performance, cost, and financing of concentrating solar, photovoltaic, and solar heat systems.

Galactosylceramide (GalCer), a glycosphingolipid, is believed to exist in the extracellular leaflet of cell membranes in nanometer sized domains or rafts. The local clustering of GalCer within rafts is thought to facilitate the initial adhesion of certain viruses, including HIV-1 and bacteria to cells through multivalent interactions between receptor proteins (gp120 for HIV-1) and GalCer. Here we use atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study the effects of cholesterol on solid-phase GalCer domain microstructure and miscibility with a fluid lipid 1,2-Dilauroyl-sn-Glycero-3-Phosphocholine (DLPC), in supported lipid bilayers. Using ''slow cooled vesicle fusion'' to prepare the supported lipid bilayers, we were able to overcome the nonequilibrium effects of the substrate (verified by comparison to results for giant unilamellar vesicles, GUVs) and accurately quantify the dramatic effect of cholesterol on the GalCer domain surface area to perimeter ratio (AD/P) and DLPC-GalCer miscibility. We compare these results to a supported lipid bilayer system in which the bilayer is rapidly cooled (nonequilibrium conditions), ''quenched vesicle fusion'' and find that the microstructures are remarkably similar above a cholesterol mole fraction of approximately 0.06. We determined that GalCer domains were contained in one leaflet distal to the mica substrate through qualitative binding experiments with Trichosanthes kirilowii agglutinin (TKA), …