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Hydrogen embrittlement in metals (HE) is a serious challenge for the use of high strength materials in engineering practice and a major barrier to the use of hydrogen for global decarbonization. Here we describe the factors and variables that determine HE susceptibility and provide an overview of the latest understanding of HE mechanisms. We discuss hydrogen uptake and how it can be managed. We summarize hydrogen trapping and the techniques used for its characterization. We also review literature that argues that hydrogen trapping can be used to decrease HE susceptibility. We discuss the future research that is required to advance the understanding of HE and hydrogen trapping and to develop HE-resistant alloys.

Intermetallic phases in a recently developed Al-Li-Cu-Mg alloy have been investigated to understand their roles in the initiation and propagation processes of intergranular corrosion. Corrosion initiation involves trenching formation in the Al matrix adjacent to the large particles of Al7Cu2(Fe, Mn) phases. These phases containing Li are electrochemically active and susceptible to self-dissolution via a de-alloying mechanism during corrosion process. The subsurface particles of Al7Cu2(Fe, Mn) and Al20Cu2Mn3 phases act as the internal cathodes for continuous corrosion propagation along the particle-matrix interface and the associated grain boundaries. Corrosion propagation along the particle-matrix interface was facilitated by the anodic dissolution of the surrounding Al matrix due to the micro-galvanic interaction with the cathodic intermetallic phases. In addition, T1 (Al2CuLi) precipitates and the isolated particles of Al7Cu2(Fe, Mn) and Al20Cu2Mn3 phases were dissolved along the path of corrosion propagation. The dissolved metal ions were redeposited through the network of crevice.

Chip-scale atomic devices built around micro-fabricated alkali vapor cells are at the forefront of compact metrology and atomic sensors. We demonstrate a micro-fabricated vapor cell that is actively-pumped to ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) to achieve laser cooling. A grating magneto optical trap (GMOT) is incorporated with the 4 mm-thick Si/glass vacuum cell to demonstrate the feasibility of a fully-miniaturized laser cooling platform. A two-step optical excitation process in rubidium is used to overcome surface-scatter limitations to the GMOT imaging. The unambiguous miniaturization and form-customizability made available with micro-fabricated UHV cells provide a promising platform for future compact cold-atom sensors., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

We utilize two-photon high-precision microwave spectroscopy of $ng\rightarrow(n+2)g$ transitions to precisely measure the high-angular-momentum $g$-series quantum defect of $^{85}$Rb. Samples of cold Rydberg atoms in the $ng$ state are prepared via a three-photon optical excitation combined with controlled electric-field mixing and probed with 40-$\mu$s-long microwave interaction pulses. The leading systematic uncertainty arises from DC Stark shifts, which is addressed by a cancellation of background electric fields in all three dimensions. From our measurements and an analysis of systematic uncertainties from DC and AC Stark shifts, van der Waals interactions, and microwave frequency calibration, we obtain $\delta_0=0.0039990(21)$ and $\delta_2=-0.0202(21)$. We discuss our results in context with recent work elsewhere, as well as applications towards precision measurement., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables

We develop and study quantum and semi-classical models of Rydberg-atom spectroscopy in amplitude-modulated optical lattices. Both initial- and target-state Rydberg atoms are trapped in the lattice. Unlike in any other spectroscopic scheme, the modulation-induced ponderomotive coupling between the Rydberg states is spatially periodic and perfectly phase-locked to the lattice trapping potentials. This leads to a novel type of sub-Doppler mechanism, which we explain in detail. In our exact quantum model, we solve the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation in the product space of center-of-mass (COM) momentum states and the internal-state space. We also develop a perturbative model based on the band structure in the lattice and Fermi's golden rule, as well as a semi-classical trajectory model in which the COM is treated classically and the internal-state dynamics quantum-mechanically. In all models we obtain the spectrum of the target Rydberg-state population versus the lattice modulation frequency, averaged over the initial thermal COM momentum distribution of the atoms. We investigate the quantum-classical correspondence of the problem in several parameter regimes and exhibit spectral features that arise from vibrational COM coherences and rotary-echo effects. Applications in Rydberg-atom spectroscopy are discussed., Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures

We investigate a solid-state, reversible, alkali-ion battery (AIB) capable of regulating the density of alkali atoms in a vacuum system used for the production of laser-cooled atoms. The cold-atom sample can be used with in-vacuum chronoamperometry as a diagnostic for the voltage-controlled electrochemical reaction that sources or sinks alkali atoms into the vapor. In a combined reaction-diffusion-limited regime, we show that the number of laser-cooled atoms in a magneto-optical trap can be increased both by initially loading the AIB from the vapor for longer, and by using higher voltages across the AIB when atoms are subsequently sourced back into the vapor. The time constants associated with the change in atom number in response to a change in AIB voltage are in the range of 0.5 s - 40 s. The AIB alkali reservoir is demonstrated to survive oxidization during atmospheric exposure, simplifying reservoir loading prior to vacuum implementation as a replacement for traditional resistively-heated dispensers. The AIB capabilities may provide an improved atom number stability in next-generation atomic clocks and sensors, while also facilitating fast loading and increased interrogation times., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures

A comprehensive study of three-photon electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT) and absorption (EIA) on the rubidium cascade $5S_{1/2} \rightarrow 5P_{3/2}$ (laser wavelength 780~nm), $5P_{3/2} \rightarrow 5D_{5/2}$ (776~nm), and $5D_{5/2}\rightarrow 28F_{7/2}$ (1260~nm) is performed. The 780-nm probe and 776-nm dressing beams are counter-aligned through a Rb room-temperature vapor cell, and the 1260-nm coupler beam is co- or counter-aligned with the probe beam. Several cases of EIT and EIA, measured over a range of detunings of the 776-nm beam, are studied. The observed phenomena are modeled by numerically solving the Lindblad equation, and the results are interpreted in terms of the probe-beam absorption behavior of velocity- and detuning-dependent dressed states. To explore the utility of three-photon Rydberg EIA/EIT for microwave electric-field diagnostics, a sub-THz field generated by a signal source and a frequency quadrupler is applied to the Rb cell. The 100.633-GHz field resonantly drives the $28F_{7/2}\leftrightarrow29D_{5/2}$ transition and causes Autler-Townes splittings in the Rydberg EIA/EIT spectra, which are measured and employed to characterize the performance of the microwave quadrupler.

Vibrational branching ratios in the B$^2\Sigma^+$ -- X$^2\Sigma^+$ and A$^2\Pi$ -- X$^2\Sigma^+$ optical-cycling transitions of BaH molecules are investigated using measurements and {\it ab initio} calculations. The experimental values are determined using fluorescence and absorption detection. The observed branching ratios have a very sensitive dependence on the difference in the equilibrium bond length between the excited and ground state, $\Delta r_e$: a 1 pm (.5\%) displacement can have a 25\% effect on the branching ratios but only a 1\% effect on the lifetime. The measurements are combined with theoretical calculations to reveal a preference for a particular set of published spectroscopic values for the B$^2\Sigma^+$ state ($\Delta r_e^{B-X}$ = +5.733 pm), while a larger bond-length difference ($\Delta r_e^{B-X} = 6.3-6.7$ pm) would match the branching-ratio data even better. By contrast, the observed branching ratio for the A$^2\Pi_{3/2}$ -- X$^2\Sigma^+$ transition is in excellent agreement with both the {\it ab initio} result and the spectroscopically measured bond lengths. This shows that care must be taken when estimating branching ratios for molecular laser cooling candidates, as small errors in bond-length measurements can have outsize effects on the suitability for laser cooling. Additionally, our calculations agree more closely with experimental values of the B$^2\Sigma^+$ state lifetime and spin-rotation constant, and revise the predicted lifetime of the H$^2\Delta$ state to 9.5 $\mu$s.

We demonstrate a novel way to form and deplete a vapor-cell magneto-optic trap (MOT) using a reversible, solid-state alkali-metal source (AMS) via an applied polarized voltage. Using ~100 mW of electrical power, a trapped-atom number of 5x10^6 has been achieved starting from near zero and the timescales of the MOT formation and depletion of ~1 s. This fast, reversible, and low power alkali-atom source is desirable in both tabletop and portable cold-atom systems. The core technology of this device should translate readily to other alkali and alkaline-earth elements that could find a wide range of uses in cold-atom systems and instruments., Comment: 7 pages

In this paper we are consider radiating solitary wave solutions of coupled regularised Boussinesq equations. This type of solution consists of a leading solitary wave with a small-amplitude co-propagating oscillatory tail, and emerges from a pure solitary wave solution of a symmetric reduction of the full system. We construct an asymptotic solution, where the leading order approximation in both components is obtained as a particular solution of the regularised Boussinesq equations in the symmetric case. At the next order, the system uncouples into two linear non-homogeneous ordinary differential equations with variable coefficients, one correcting the localised part of the solution, which we find analytically, and the other describing the co-propagating oscillatory tail. This latter equation is a fourth-order ordinary differential equation and is solved approximately by two different methods, each exploiting the assumption that the leading solitary wave has a small amplitude, and thus enabling an explicit estimate for the amplitude of the oscillating tail. These estimates are compared with corresponding numerical simulations., Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures

We present an approach to testing the gravitational redshift effect using the RadioAstron satellite. The experiment is based on a modification of the Gravity Probe A scheme of nonrelativistic Doppler compensation and benefits from the highly eccentric orbit and ultra-stable atomic hydrogen maser frequency standard of the RadioAstron satellite. Using the presented techniques we expect to reach an accuracy of the gravitational redshift test of order $10^{-5}$, a magnitude better than that of Gravity Probe A. Data processing is ongoing, our preliminary results agree with the validity of the Einstein Equivalence Principle., Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters A

Fingering convection (or thermohaline convection) is a weak yet important kind of mixing that occurs in stably-stratified stellar radiation zones in the presence of an inverse mean-molecular-weight gradient. Brown et al. (2013) recently proposed a new model for mixing by fingering convection, which contains no free parameter, and was found to fit the results of direct numerical simulations in almost all cases. Notably, however, they found that mixing was substantially enhanced above their predicted values in the few cases where large-scale gravity waves, followed by thermo-compositional layering, grew spontaneously from the fingering convection. This effect is well-known in the oceanographic context, and is attributed to the excitation of the so-called "collective instability". In this work, we build on the results of Brown et al. (2013) and of Traxler et al. (2011b) to determine the conditions under which the collective instability may be expected. We find that it is only relevant in stellar regions which have a relatively large Prandtl number (the ratio of the kinematic viscosity to the thermal diffusivity), $O(10^{-3})$ or larger. This implies that the collective instability cannot occur in main sequence stars, where the Prandtl number is always much smaller than this (except in the outer layers of surface convection zones where fingering is irrelevant anyway). It could in principle be excited in regions of high electron degeneracy, during He core flash, or in the interiors of white dwarfs. We discuss the implications of our findings for these objects, both from a theoretical and from an observational point of view., Comment: To be published in ApJ

Jupiter's atmosphere has been observed to be depleted in helium (Yatm~0.24), suggesting active helium sedimentation in the interior. This is accounted for in standard Jupiter structure and evolution models through the assumption of an outer, He-depleted envelope that is separated from the He-enriched deep interior by a sharp boundary. Here we aim to develop a model for Jupiter's inhomogeneous thermal evolution that relies on a more self-consistent description of the internal profiles of He abundance, temperature, and heat flux. We make use of recent numerical simulations on H/He demixing, and on layered (LDD) and oscillatory (ODD) double diffusive convection, and assume an idealized planet model composed of a H/He envelope and a massive core. A general framework for the construction of interior models with He rain is described. Despite, or perhaps because of, our simplifications made we find that self-consistent models are rare. For instance, no model for ODD convection is found. We modify the H/He phase diagram of Lorenzen et al. to reproduce Jupiter's atmospheric helium abundance and examine evolution models as a function of the LDD layer height, from those that prolong Jupiter's cooling time to those that actually shorten it. Resulting models that meet the luminosity constraint have layer heights of about 0.1-1 km, corresponding to ~10,-20,000 layers in the rain zone between ~1 and 3-4.5 Mbars. Present limitations and directions for future work are discussed, such as the formation and sinking of He droplets., Comment: accepted to MNRAS, 21 pages, 17 figures

An allowed E1-M1 excitation scheme creates optical access to the ${^1S_0} \rightarrow {^3P_0}$ clock transition in group II type atoms. This method does not require the hyperfine mixing or application of an external magnetic field of other optical clock systems. The advantages of this technique include a Doppler-free excitation scheme and increased portability with the use of vapor cells. We will discuss technical mechanisms of a monochromatic excitation scheme for a hot E1-M1 clock and briefly discuss a bichromatic scheme to eliminate light shifts. We determine the optimal experimental parameters for Hg, Yb, Ra, Sr, Ba, Ca, Mg, and Be and calculate that neutral Hg has ideal properties for a hot, portable frequency standard.

In response to increasing calls for the reform of the undergraduate science curriculum for life science majors and pre-medical students (Bio2010, Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians, Vision & Change), an interdisciplinary team has created NEXUS/Physics: a repurposing of an introductory physics curriculum for the life sciences. The curriculum interacts strongly and supportively with introductory biology and chemistry courses taken by life sciences students, with the goal of helping students build general, multi-discipline scientific competencies. In order to do this, our two-semester NEXUS/Physics course sequence is positioned as a second year course so students will have had some exposure to basic concepts in biology and chemistry. NEXUS/Physics stresses interdisciplinary examples and the content differs markedly from traditional introductory physics to facilitate this. It extends the discussion of energy to include interatomic potentials and chemical reactions, the discussion of thermodynamics to include enthalpy and Gibbs free energy, and includes a serious discussion of random vs. coherent motion including diffusion. The development of instructional materials is coordinated with careful education research. Both the new content and the results of the research are described in a series of papers for which this paper serves as an overview and context., Comment: 12 pages

We have developed a set of laboratories and hands on activities to accompany a new two-semester interdisciplinary physics course that has been successfully developed and tested in two small test classes of students at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) in 2012-2013. We have designed the laboratories to be taken accompanying a reformed course in the student's second year, with calculus, biology, and chemistry as prerequisites. This permits the laboratories to include significant content on physics relevant to cellular scales, from chemical interactions to random motion and charge screening in fluids. We also introduce the students to research-grade equipment and modern physics analysis tools in contexts relevant to biology, while maintaining the pedagogically valuable open-ended laboratory structure of reformed laboratories. Preliminary student results from these two small test classes are discussed., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures

We consider the initial-value problem for the regularized Boussinesq-Ostrovsky equation in the class of periodic functions. Validity of the weakly-nonlinear solution, given in terms of two counter-propagating waves satisfying the uncoupled Ostrovsky equations, is examined. We prove analytically and illustrate numerically that the improved accuracy of the solution can be achieved at the time scales of the Ostrovsky equation if solutions of the linearized Ostrovsky equations are incorporated into the asymptotic solution. Compared to the previous literature, we show that the approximation error can be controlled in the energy space of periodic functions and the nonzero mean values of the periodic functions can be naturally incorporated in the justification analysis.

We present optical and infrared monitoring data of SN 2012hn collected by the Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey for Transient Objects (PESSTO). We show that SN 2012hn has a faint peak magnitude (MR ~ -15.7) and shows no hydrogen and no clear evidence for helium in its spectral evolution. Instead, we detect prominent Ca II lines at all epochs, which relates this transient to previously described 'Ca-rich' or 'gap' transients. However, the photospheric spectra (from -3 to +32 d with respect to peak) of SN 2012hn show a series of absorption lines which are unique, and a red continuum that is likely intrinsic rather than due to extinction. Lines of Ti II and Cr II are visible. This may be a temperature effect, which could also explain the red photospheric colour. A nebular spectrum at +150d shows prominent CaII, OI, CI and possibly MgI lines which appear similar in strength to those displayed by core-collapse SNe. To add to the puzzle, SN 2012hn is located at a projected distance of 6 kpc from an E/S0 host and is not close to any obvious starforming region. Overall SN 2012hn resembles a group of faint H-poor SNe that have been discovered recently and for which a convincing and consistent physical explanation is still missing. They all appear to explode preferentially in remote locations offset from a massive host galaxy with deep limits on any dwarf host galaxies, favouring old progenitor systems. SN 2012hn adds heterogeneity to this sample of objects. We discuss potential explosion channels including He-shell detonations and double detonations of white dwarfs as well as peculiar core-collapse SNe., Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, accepted to MNRAS on 14/10/2013

There is a consensus that Type-Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) arise from the thermonuclear explosion of white dwarf stars that accrete matter from a binary companion. However, direct observation of SN Ia progenitors is lacking, and the precise nature of the binary companion remains uncertain. A temporal series of high-resolution optical spectra of the SN Ia PTF 11kx reveals a complex circumstellar environment that provides an unprecedentedly detailed view of the progenitor system. Multiple shells of circumsteller are detected and the SN ejecta are seen to interact with circumstellar material (CSM) starting 59 days after the explosion. These features are best described by a symbiotic nova progenitor, similar to RS Ophiuchi., Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures. In press

We consider a weakly nonlinear solution of the Cauchy problem for the regularised Boussinesq equation, which constitutes an extension of the classical d'Alembert's formula for the linear wave equation. The solution is given by a simple and explicit formula, expressed in terms of two special functions solving the initial-value problems for two Korteweg-de Vries equations. We test the formula by considering several examples with `exactly solvable initial conditions' and their perturbations. Explicit analytical solutions are compared with the results of direct numerical simulations., Comment: Article in press, IMA Journal of Applied Mathematics (2012)

We consider the initial-value problem for a system of coupled Boussinesq equations on the infinite line for localised or sufficiently rapidly decaying initial data, generating sufficiently rapidly decaying right- and left-propagating waves. We study the dynamics of weakly nonlinear waves, and using asymptotic multiple-scales expansions and averaging with respect to the fast time, we obtain a hierarchy of asymptotically exact coupled and uncoupled Ostrovsky equations for unidirectional waves. We then construct a weakly nonlinear solution of the initial-value problem in terms of solutions of the derived Ostrovsky equations within the accuracy of the governing equations, and show that there are no secular terms. When coupling parameters are equal to zero, our results yield a weakly nonlinear solution of the initial-value problem for the Boussinesq equation in terms of solutions of the initial-value problems for two Korteweg-de Vries equations, integrable by the Inverse Scattering Transform. We also perform relevant numerical simulations of the original unapproximated system of Boussinesq equations to illustrate the difference in the behaviour of its solutions for different asymptotic regimes.

We examine the degree of 5f electron localization in URu2Si2 using spin-orbit sum rule analysis of the U N4,5 (4d \to 5f) edge. When compared to {\alpha}-U metal, US, USe, and UTe, which have increasing localization of the 5f states, we find that the 5f states of URu2Si2 are more localized, although not entirely. Spin-orbit analysis shows that intermediate coupling is the correct angular momentum coupling mechanism for URu2Si2 when the 5f electron count is between 2.6 and 2.8. These results have direct ramifications for theoretical assessment of the hidden order state of URu2Si2, where the degree of localization of the 5f electrons and their contribution to the Fermi surface are critical., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures

We report nonresonant inelastic x-ray scattering from the semi-core 5d levels of several actinide compounds. Dipole-forbidden, high-multipole features form a rich bound-state spectrum dependent on valence electron configuration and spin-orbit and Coulomb interactions. Cross-material comparisons, together with the anomalously high Coulomb screening required for agreement between atomic multiplet theory and experiment, demonstrate sensitivity to the neighboring electronic environment, such as is needed to address long-standing questions of electronic localization and bonding in 5f compounds., Comment: LA-UR 09-07829

In comparison to 3d or 4f metals, magnetism in actinides remains poorly understood due to experimental complications and the exotic behavior of the 5f states. In particular, plutonium metal is most especially vexing. Over the last five decades theories proposed the presence of either ordered or disordered local moments at low temperatures. However, experiments such as magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity, nuclear magnetic resonance, specific heat, and elastic and inelastic neutron scattering show no evidence for ordered or disordered magnetic moments in any of the six phases of plutonium. Beyond plutonium, the magnetic structure of other actinides is an active area of research given that temperature, pressure, and chemistry can quickly alter the magnetic structure of the 5f states. For instance, curium metal has an exceedingly large spin polarization that results in a total moment of about 8 Bohr magneton/atom, which influences the phase stability of the metal. Insight in the actinide ground state can be obtained from core-level x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). A sum rule relates the branching ratio of the core-level spectra measured by XAS or EELS to the expectation value of the angular part of the spin-orbit interaction., Comment: 32 pages, 8 figs, Mittelwihr 2008, Magnetism and Synchrotron Radiation

Specific velocities of particles circulating in a storage ring can lead to betatron resonances at which static perturbations of the particles' orbit yield large transverse (betatron) oscillations. We have observed betatron resonances in an ultracold-atom storage ring by direct observation of betatron motion. These resonances caused a near-elimination of the longitudinal dispersion of atomic beams propagating at resonant velocities, an effect which can improve the performance of atom interferometric devices. Both the resonant velocities and the strength of the resonances were varied by deliberate modifications to the storage ring., Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. Also available at http://physics.berkeley.edu/research/ultracold

We have produced Bose-Einstein condensates in a ring-shaped magnetic waveguide. The few-millimeter diameter non-zero bias ring is formed from a time-averaged quadrupole ring. Condensates which propagate around the ring make several revolutions within the time it takes for them to expand to fill the ring. The ring shape is ideally suited for studies of vorticity in a multiply-connected geometry and is promising as a rotation sensor., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

Polarization-dependent phase-contrast imaging is used to spatially resolve the magnetization of an optically trapped ultracold gas. This probe is applied to Larmor precession of degenerate and nondegenerate spin-1 $^{87}$Rb gases. Transverse magnetization of the Bose-Einstein condensate persists for the condensate lifetime, with a spatial response to magnetic field inhomogeneities consistent with a mean-field model of interactions. Rotational symmetry implies that the Larmor frequency of a spinor condensate be density-independent, and thus suitable for precise magnetometry with high spatial resolution. In comparison, the magnetization of the noncondensed gas decoheres rapidly., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures