941 research outputs found
Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) in a Novel Molten Salt Aerosol System
In the pyrochemical separation of used nuclear fuel (UNF), fission product, rare earth, and actinide chlorides accumulate in the molten salt electrolyte over time. Measuring this salt composition in near real-time is advantageous for operational efficiency, material accountability, and nuclear safeguards. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been proposed and demonstrated as a potential analytical approach for molten LiClâKCl salts. However, all the studies conducted to date have used a static surface approach which can lead to issues with splashing, low repeatability, and poor sample homogeneity. In this initial study, a novel molten salt aerosol approach has been developed and explored to measure the composition of the salt via LIBS. The functionality of the system has been demonstrated as well as a basic optimization of the laser energy and nebulizer gas pressure used. Initial results have shown that this molten salt aerosolâLIBS system has a great potential as an analytical technique for measuring the molten salt electrolyte used in this UNF reprocessing technology
MEASUREMENT OF RARE EARTH AND URANIUM ELEMENTS USING LASER-INDUCED BREAKDOWN SPECTROSCOPY (LIBS) IN AN AEROSOL SYSTEM FOR NUCLEAR SAFEGUARDS APPLICATIONS
The primary objective of this research is to develop an applied technology and provide an assessment for remotely measuring and analyzing the real time or near real time concentrations of used nuclear fuel (UNF) elements in electrorefiners (ER). Here, Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) in UNF pyroprocessing facilities was investigated. LIBS is an elemental analysis method, which is based on the emission from plasma generated by focusing a laser beam into the medium. This technology has been reported to be applicable in solids, liquids (includes molten metals), and gases for detecting elements of special nuclear materials. The advantages of applying the technology for pyroprocessing facilities are: (i) Rapid real-time elemental analysis; (ii) Direct detection of elements and impurities in the system with low limits of detection (LOD); and (iii) Little to no sample preparation is required. One important challenge to overcome is achieving reproducible spectral data over time while being able to accurately quantify fission products, rare earth elements, and actinides in the molten salt. Another important challenge is related to the accessibility of molten salt, which is heated in a heavily insulated, remotely operated furnace in a high radiation environment within an argon gas atmosphere. This dissertation aims to address these challenges and approaches in the following phases with their highlighted outcomes:
1. Aerosol-LIBS system design and aqueous testing: An aerosol-LIBS system was designed around a Collison nebulizer and tested using deionized water with Ce, Gd, and Nd concentrations from 100 ppm to 10,000 ppm. The average %RSD values between the sample repetitions were 4.4% and 3.8% for the Ce and Gd lines, respectively. The univariate calibration curve for Ce using the peak intensities of the Ce 418.660 nm line was recommended and had an R2 value, LOD, and RMSECV of 0.994, 189 ppm, and 390 ppm, respectively. The recommended Gd calibration curve was generated using the peak areas of the Gd 409.861 nm line and had an R2, LOD, and RMSECV of 0.992, 316 ppm, and 421 ppm, respectively. The partial least squares (PLS) calibration curves yielded similar results with RMSECV of 406 ppm and 417 ppm for the Ce and Gd curves, respectively.
2. High temperature aerosol-LIBS system design and CeCl3 testing: The aerosol-LIBS system was transitioned to a high temperature and used to measure Ce in molten LiCl-KCl salt within a glovebox environment. The concentration range studied was from 0.1 wt% to 5 wt% Ce. Normalization was necessary due to signal degradation over time; however, with the normalization the %RSD values averaged 5% for the mid and upper concentrations studied. The best univariate calibration curve was generated using the peak areas of the Ce 418.660 nm line. The LOD for this line was 148 ppm with the RMSECV of 647 ppm. The PLS calibration curve was made using 7 latent variables (LV) and resulting in the RMSECV of 622 ppm. The LOD value was below the expected rare earth concentration within the ER.
3. Aerosol-LIBS testing using UCl3: Samples containing UCl3 with concentrations ranging from 0.3 wt% to 5 wt% were measured. The spectral response in this range was linear. The best univariate calibration curves were generated using the peak areas of the U 367.01 nm line and had an R2 value of 0.9917. Here, the LOD was 647 ppm and the RMSECV was 2,290 ppm. The PLS model was substantially better with a RMSECV of 1,110 ppm. The LOD found here is below the expected U concentrations in the ER. The successful completion of this study has demonstrated the feasibility of using an aerosol-LIBS analytical technique to measure rare earth elements and actinides in the pyroprocessing salt
Mesons from global Anti-de Sitter space
In the context of gauge/gravity duality, we study both probe D7-- and probe
D5--branes in global Anti-de Sitter space. The dual field theory is N=4 theory
on R x S^3 with added flavour. The branes undergo a geometrical phase
transition in this geometry as function of the bare quark mass m_q in units of
1/R with R the S^3 radius. The meson spectra are obtained from fluctuations of
the brane probes. First, we study them numerically for finite quark mass
through the phase transition. Moreover, at zero quark mass we calculate the
meson spectra analytically both in supergravity and in free field theory on R x
S^3 and find that the results match: For the chiral primaries, the lowest level
is given by the zero point energy or by the scaling dimension of the operator
corresponding to the fluctuations, respectively. The higher levels are
equidistant. Similar results apply to the descendents. Our results confirm the
physical interpretation that the mesons cannot pair-produce any further when
their zero-point energy exceeds their binding energy.Comment: 43 pages, 8 figures, references edited, few typos corrected, updated
to match the published versio
Application of the density matrix renormalization group method to finite temperatures and two-dimensional systems
The density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method and its applications
to finite temperatures and two-dimensional systems are reviewed. The basic idea
of the original DMRG method, which allows precise study of the ground state
properties and low-energy excitations, is presented for models which include
long-range interactions. The DMRG scheme is then applied to the diagonalization
of the quantum transfer matrix for one-dimensional systems, and a reliable
algorithm at finite temperatures is formulated. Dynamic correlation functions
at finite temperatures are calculated from the eigenvectors of the quantum
transfer matrix with analytical continuation to the real frequency axis. An
application of the DMRG method to two-dimensional quantum systems in a magnetic
field is demonstrated and reliable results for quantum Hall systems are
presented.Comment: 33 pages, 18 figures; corrected Eq.(117
Non-Equilibrium Field Dynamics of an Honest Holographic Superconductor
Most holographic models of superconducting systems neglect the effects of
dynamical boundary gauge fields during the process of spontaneous
symmetry-breaking. Usually a global symmetry gets broken. This yields a
superfluid, which then is gauged "weakly" afterwards. In this work we build
(and probe the dynamics of) a holographic model in which a local boundary
symmetry is spontaneously broken instead. We compute two-point functions of
dynamical non-Abelian gauge fields in the normal and in the broken phase, and
find non-trivial gapless modes. Our AdS3 gravity dual realizes a p-wave
superconductor in (1+1) dimensions. The ground state of this model also breaks
(1+1)-dimensional parity spontaneously, while the Hamiltonian is
parity-invariant. We discuss possible implications of our results for a wider
class of holographic liquids.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figures; v3: string theory derivation of setup added
(section 3.1), improved presentation, version accepted by JHEP; v2: paragraph
added to discussion, figure added, references added, typos correcte
Holographic Flavor Transport in Arbitrary Constant Background Fields
We use gauge-gravity duality to compute a new transport coefficient
associated with a number Nf of massive N=2 supersymmetric hypermultiplet fields
propagating through an N=4 SU(Nc) super-Yang-Mills theory plasma in the limits
of large Nc and large 't Hooft coupling, with Nf << Nc. We introduce a baryon
number density as well as arbitrary constant electric and magnetic fields,
generalizing previous calculations by including a magnetic field with a
component parallel to the electric field. We can thus compute all components of
the conductivity tensor associated with transport of baryon number charge,
including a component never before calculated in gauge-gravity duality. We also
compute the contribution that the flavor degrees of freedom make to the
stress-energy tensor, which exhibits divergences associated with the rates of
energy and momentum loss of the flavor degrees of freedom. We discuss two
currents that are free from these divergences, one of which becomes anomalous
when the magnetic field has a component parallel to the electric field and
hence may be related to recent study of charge transport in the presence of
anomalies.Comment: 27 page
Doped two orbital chains with strong Hund's rule couplings - ferromagnetism, spin gap, singlet and triplet pairings
Different models for doping of two-orbital chains with mobile
fermions and strong, ferromagnetic (FM) Hund's rule couplings stabilizing the
S=1 spins are investigated by density matrix renormalization group (DMRG)
methods. The competition between antiferromagnetic (AF) and FM order leads to a
rich phase diagram with a narrow FM region for weak AF couplings and strongly
enhanced triplet pairing correlations. Without a level difference between the
orbitals, the spin gap persists upon doping, whereas gapless spin excitations
are generated by interactions among itinerant polarons in the presence of a
level difference. In the charge sector we find dominant singlet pairing
correlations without a level difference, whereas upon the inclusion of a
Coulomb repulsion between the orbitals or with a level difference, charge
density wave (CDW) correlations decay slowest. The string correlation functions
remain finite upon doping for all models.Comment: 9pages, 9figure
Efficiency of symmetric targeting for finite-T DMRG
Two targeting schemes have been known for the density matrix renormalization
group (DMRG) applied to non-Hermitian problems; one uses an asymmetric density
matrix and the other uses symmetric density matrix. We compare the numerical
efficiency of these two targeting schemes when they are used for the finite
temperature DMRG.Comment: 4 pages, 3 Postscript figures, REVTe
Zero-variance principle for Monte Carlo algorithms
We present a general approach to greatly increase at little cost the
efficiency of Monte Carlo algorithms. To each observable to be computed we
associate a renormalized observable (improved estimator) having the same
average but a different variance. By writing down the zero-variance condition a
fundamental equation determining the optimal choice for the renormalized
observable is derived (zero-variance principle for each observable separately).
We show, with several examples including classical and quantum Monte Carlo
calculations, that the method can be very powerful.Comment: 9 pages, Latex, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Emergent Gauge Fields in Holographic Superconductors
Holographic superconductors have been studied so far in the absence of
dynamical electromagnetic fields, namely in the limit in which they coincide
with holographic superfluids. It is possible, however, to introduce dynamical
gauge fields if a Neumann-type boundary condition is imposed on the
AdS-boundary. In 3+1 dimensions, the dual theory is a 2+1 dimensional CFT whose
spectrum contains a massless gauge field, signaling the emergence of a gauge
symmetry. We study the impact of a dynamical gauge field in vortex
configurations where it is known to significantly affect the energetics and
phase transitions. We calculate the critical magnetic fields H_c1 and H_c2,
obtaining that holographic superconductors are of Type II (H_c1 < H_c2). We
extend the study to 4+1 dimensions where the gauge field does not appear as an
emergent phenomena, but can be introduced, by a proper renormalization, as an
external dynamical field. We also compare our predictions with those arising
from a Ginzburg-Landau theory and identify the generic properties of Abrikosov
vortices in holographic models.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, few comments added, version published in JHE
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