First measurement of the ratio B(t --> Wb)/B(t --> Wq) and associated limit on the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa element /V(tb)/

We present the first measurement of the ratio of branching fractions R identical withB(t-->Wb)/B(t-->Wq) from p_p collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.8 TeV. The data set corresponds to 109 pb(-1) of data recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab during the 1992-95 Tevatron run. We measure R = 0.94(+0.31)(-0.24)(stat+syst) or R>0.61 (0.56) at 90% (95)% C.L., in agreement with the standard model predictions. This measurement yields a limit on the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa quark mixing matrix element /V(tb)/ under the assumption of three generations and unitarity.     

Measurement of d sigma/dM and forward-backward charge asymmetry for high-mass Drell-Yan e(+)e(-) pairs from pp macro collisions at square root of s = 1.8 TeV

We report on a measurement of the mass dependence of the forward-backward charge asymmetry, A(FB), and production cross section d sigma/dM for e(+)e(-) pairs with mass M(ee)>40 GeV/c(2). The data sample consists of 108 pb(-1) of pp macro collisions at square root of s = 1.8 TeV taken by the Collider Detector at Fermilab during 1992-1995. The measured asymmetry and d sigma/dM are compared with the predictions of the standard model and a model with an extra Z' gauge boson.     

Parametric Transducers for the Advanced Cryogenic Resonant-Mass Gravitational Wave Detectors

It is shown that a large improvement in liquid helium and ultra-cryogenically cooled resonant-mass gravitational wave detectors can be achieved through improved parametric transducers using either low loss sapphire dielectric resonators or niobium re-entrant cavities. Performance is analysed in relation to the existing resonant bar antenna Niobe and to massive spherical detectors. Applied to Niobe, a millisecond burst sensitivity of order 10^–20 can be achieved, corresponding to a spectral strain sensitivity of 2 × 10^-22 Hz with a 50 Hz bandwidth. Applied to an ultra-cryogenic 117 tonne spherical detector made from CuAl, a spectral strain sensitivity of better than 2 ×10^-23/ Hz with a bandwidth of order 100 Hz can be achieved, which is close to the quantum limit. This sensitivity is comparable to that of advanced interferometer detectors at this frequency.     

Design and fabrication of diffractive elements for laser material processing applications

Diffractive optical elements have an important role to play in the provision of process adapted beam shaping for laser-materials processing applications. The design techniques and dominant methods of fabrication are described for intra-cavity and external beam shaping diffractive elements fabricated in a variety of dielectric and metallic materials for use with a wide range of laser sources. Theoretical and experimental examples are given in each section.     

Jacobi vector fields and the volume of tubes about curves in Sasakian space forms

Summary We solve explicitly the Jacobi equation on a Sasakian space form and use the solutions to consider explicit formulas for the volume of a geodesic sphere and the volume of a tube about a curve in such a manifold. We obtain some generalizations of H. Weyl's result on the volume of tubes.     

Sn-Ag-Cu Solder Joint Microstructure and Orientation Evolution as a Function of Position and Thermal Cycles in Ball Grid Arrays Using Orientation Imaging Microscopy

Thermally cycled plastic ball grid array (PBGA) packages with full arrays of 196 solder joints after various preconditions were examined to observe the microstructure evolution of Sn-Ag-Cu solder joints during aging and thermal cycling, focusing on Sn grain orientation. Each PBGA package was polished to obtain a plan-view cross-section of every solder joint, and characterized using both polarized optical microscopy and orientation imaging microscopy (OIM). By OIM observations, distribution maps were obtained based on Sn crystal c-axis orientations. Each precondition showed a characteristic distribution related to the combined thermal aging and thermal cycling history. This study on Sn grain orientation using OIM provides further understanding about deformation and microstructure evolution processes that occur during thermal cycling, and the impact of isothermal aging as a precondition.     

Search for heavy toplike quarks using lepton plus jets events in 1.96 TeV pp collisions

We present the results of a search for pair production of a new heavy toplike quark t' decaying to a W boson and another quark using the Collider Detector at Fermilab II detector in run II of the Tevatron pp collider. Using a data sample corresponding to 760 pb(-1) of integrated luminosity, we fit the observed spectrum of total transverse energy and reconstructed t' quark mass to a combination of standard model processes and t' pair production. We see no evidence for t't' production, and we infer a lower limit of 256 GeV/c(2) on the mass of the t' at 95% C.L. assuming standard strong couplings for the t'.