Simulation of laser-driven,ablated plasma flows in collisionless shock experiments on OMEGA and the NIF

Experiments investigating the physics of interpenetrating, collisionless, ablated plasma flows have become an important area of research in the high-energy-density field. In order to evaluate the feasibility of designing experiments that will generate a collisionless shock mediated by the Weibel instability on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser, computer simulations using the Center for Radiative Shock Hydrodynamics (CRASH) radiation-hydrodynamics model have been carried out. This paper reports assessment of whether the experiment can reach the required scale size while maintaining the low interflow collisionality necessary for the collisionless shock to form. Comparison of simulation results with data from Omega experiments shows the ability of the CRASH code to model these ablated systems. The combined results indicate that experiments on the NIF are capable of reaching the regimes necessary for the formation of a collisionless shock in a laboratory experiment.     

Clathrate formation and dissociation in vapor/water/ice/hydrate systems in SBA-15, sol-gel and CPG porous media, as probed by NMR relaxation, novel protocol NMR cryoporometry, neutron scattering and ab initio quantum-mechanical molecular dynamics simulation

The Gibbs-Thomson effect modifies the pressure and temperature at which clathrates occur, hence altering the depth at which they occur in the seabed. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements as a function of temperature are being conducted for water/ice/hydrate systems in a range of pore geometries, including templated SBA-15 silicas, controlled pore glasses and sol-gel silicas. Rotator-phase plastic ice is shown to be present in confined geometry, and bulk tetrahydrofuran hydrate is also shown to probably have a rotator phase. A novel NMR cryoporometry protocol, which probes both melting and freezing events while avoiding the usual problem of supercooling for the freezing event, has been developed. This enables a detailed probing of the system for a given pore size and geometry and the exploration of differences between hydrate formation and dissociation processes inside pores. These process differences have an important effect on the environment, as they impact on the ability of a marine hydrate system to re-form once warmed above a critical temperature. Ab initio quantum-mechanical molecular dynamics calculations are also being employed to probe the dynamics of liquids in pores at nanometric dimensions.     

Biimidazol-2-yl–BF2 complexes

Nonfluorescent 4,4′,5,5′-tetramethyl- and 4,5,4′,5′-bistetramethylene biimidazol-2-yls 5 and 6 combined with boron trifluoride to give the tetramethyl and bistetramethylenebiimidazol-2-yl–BF₂ complexes 9 and 10 isolated as strongly fluorescent BF₃ salts, λ_f (dichloromethane): 377 nm Φ 0.93 and 386 nm Φ 0.90. Similarly, fluorescent bibenzimidazol-2-yl 7 , λ_f (ethanol), 370 nm Φ 0.14, gave a BF₂ complex 11 isolated as a BF₃ salt λ_f (ethanol), 417 nm Φ 0.68.     

Selection of solvent load and first-stage pressure to reduce interference effects in inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

In inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry the first-stage pressure and solvent characteristics can strongly influence spectral and nonspectroscopic interference effects. By manipulating the pressure and solvent load, one can regulate the degree of analyte signal suppression observed in the presence of high concentrations (> 10 mM) of concomitants. Importantly, the same operating conditions that eliminate the matrix effects maintain the analytical utility of the system. However, for some interferent-analyte combinations, the identity of the concomitant anion and subsequent pH of the solution determine whether the interference effects can be eliminated entirely. The first-stage pressure does not appear to significantly affect the oxide-ion and doubly charged ion ratios; the solvent characteristics are the dominant factors that dictate these ratios.     

Ideal laser-beam propagation through high-temperature ignition Hohlraum plasmas

We demonstrate that a blue (3omega, 351 nm) laser beam with an intensity of 2 x 10(15) W cm(-2) propagates nearly within the original beam cone through a millimeter scale, T(e)=3.5 keV high density (n(e)=5 x 10(20) cm(-3)) plasma. The beam produced less than 1% total backscatter at these high temperatures and densities; the resulting transmission is greater than 90%. Scaling of the electron temperature in the plasma shows that the plasma becomes transparent for uniform electron temperatures above 3 keV. These results are consistent with linear theory thresholds for both filamentation and backscatter instabilities inferred from detailed hydrodynamic simulations. This provides a strong justification for current inertial confinement fusion designs to remain below these thresholds.     

Anomalous optical constants of thin films

The explanation of anomalous optical constants in thin chemically distinct layers on substrates offered by Plumb is re-examined and extended. The model invokes the concept of the space charged boundary layer and treats the charge carrier population as a free-electron gas to derive the optical behaviour of thin surface films. The implication of the space charge means that the optical constants of a dielectric film on a metal will vary over a distance directly proportional to the dielectric constant of the film and inversly proportional to the concentration of the electrons at the metal/film interface. Similarly as the temperature increases this space charge region should extend to larger distances from the interface.     

The First in Vivo Observation of C–N Coupling in Mammalian Brain

[5-¹³C,¹⁵N]Glutamine, with ¹J(¹³C–¹⁵N) of 16 Hz, was observed in vivo in the brain of spontaneously breathing rats by ¹³C MRS at 4.7 T. The brain [5-¹³C]glutamine peak consisted of the doublet from [5-¹³C,¹⁵N]glutamine and the center [5-¹³C,¹⁴N]glutamine peak, resulting in an apparent triplet with a separation of 8 Hz. The time course of formation of brain [5-¹³C,¹⁵N]glutamine was monitored in vivo with a time resolution of 20–35 min. This [5-¹³C,¹⁵N]glutamine was formed by glial uptake of released neurotransmitter [5-¹³C]glutamate and its reaction with ¹⁵NH₃ catalyzed by the glia-specific glutamine synthetase. The neurotransmitter glutamate C5 was selectively¹³C-enriched by intravenous [2,5-¹³C]glucose infusion to ¹³C-label whole-brain glutamate C5, followed by [¹²C]glucose infusion to chase ¹³C from the small and rapidly turning-over glial glutamate pool, leaving ¹³C mainly in the neurotransmitter [5-¹³C]glutamate pool, which is sequestered in vesicles until release. Hence, the observed [5-¹³C,¹⁵N]glutamine arises from a coupling between ¹³C of neuronal origin and ¹⁵N of glial origin. Measurement of the rate of brain [5-¹³C,¹⁵N]glutamine formation provides a novel noninvasive method of studying the kinetics of neurotransmitter uptake into glia in vivo, a process that is crucial for protecting the brain from glutamate excitotoxicity.