Cation- and vacancy-ordering in Li_xCoO_2

Using a combination of first-principles total energies, a cluster expansion technique, and Monte Carlo simulations, we have studied the Li/Co ordering in LiCoO_2 and Li-vacancy/Co ordering in CoO_2. We find: (i) A ground state search of the space of substitutional cation configurations yields the (layered) CuPt structure as the lowest-energy state in the octahedral system LiCoO_2 (and CoO_2), in agreement with the experimentally observed phase. (ii) Finite temperature calculations predict that the solid-state order- disorder transitions for LiCoO_2 and CoO_2 occur at temperatures (~5100 K and ~4400 K, respectively) much higher than melting, thus making these transitions experimentally inaccessible. (iii) The energy of the reaction E(LiCoO_2) - E(CoO_2) - E(Li) gives the average battery voltage V of a Li_xCoO_2/Li cell. Searching the space of configurations for large average voltages, we find that CuPt (a monolayer superlattice) has a high voltage (V=3.78 V), but that this could be increased by cation randomization (V=3.99 V), partial disordering (V=3.86 V), or by forming a 2-layer Li_2Co_2O_4 superlattice along (V=4.90 V).Comment: 12 Pages, RevTeX galley format, 5 figures embedded using epsf Phys. Rev. B (in press, 1998

Analytic fluid theory of beam spiraling in high-intensity cyclotrons

Using a two-dimensional fluid description, we investigate the nonlinear radial-longitudinal dynamics of intense beams in isochronous cyclotrons in the nonrelativistic limit. With a multiscale analysis separating the time scale associated with the betatron motion and the slower time scale associated with space-charge effects, we show that the longitudinal-radial vortex motion can be understood in the frame moving with the charged beam as the nonlinear advection of the beam by the E×B velocity field, where E is the electric field due to the space charge and B is the external magnetic field. This interpretation provides simple explanations for the stability of round beams and for the development of spiral halos in elongated beams. By numerically solving the nonlinear advection equation for the beam density, we find that it is also in quantitative agreement with results obtained in particle-in-cell simulations

Dual arc penning ion source gas flow experiments

Support gas, when added directly to an arc or admitted to an auxiliary chamber of a two-arc chamber ion source, increases the beam intensity for multicharged ions such as /sup 16/O/sup 5 +/. To clarify the mechanism of this intensity increase, gas flow rates from the auxiliary chamber to the main chamber have been measured by using the ORIC cyclotron as a mass spectrometer. The results show that only about three percent of the gas admitted to the auxiliary chamber reaches the main chamber. One can then infer that the improved operation probably results from the stabilizing effect of heating the common cathodes with the auxiliary arc and/or the more favorable distribution of the support gas to the part of the main arc close to the cathodes

Advanced Hydrotest Facility (AHF) large bore quadrupole focusing magnet system

The Advanced Hydrotest Facility (AHF) at Los Alamos will provide proton radiography of large-scale, dynamic events. The large bore (Case II) quadrupole focusing magnets are a subsystem in this facility, consisting of four complete imaging lines with a total of eight imaging plates and 52 quadrupole magnets. Each large bore quadrupole has an inner winding diameter of 660 mm and provides a gradient of 10.4 T/m with a 300 mm field of view. Each magnet is a two-layer saddle, contained by a three cm steel shell. The conductor is a Rutherford cable, soldered into a C-shaped copper channel. The magnets are cooled by the forced-flow of two-phase helium through coolant pipes. Since the winding must absorb bursts of 0.35 J/kg irradiation, both NbTi and Nb{sub 3}Sn designs are being considered