This study addresses the origin of the combined He-Ne-Ar-Xe noble gas isotopic variation in mantle derived oceanic basalts. High precision heavy noble gas compositions of basalts from the Rochambeau Rift along the Northwestern Lau Basin, the Gakkel Ridge, the Southeast Indian Ridge and the South Atlantic Ridge presented here confirms fundamental differences between the volatile constituents of the depleted mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) source and plume sources. We find that the depleted MORB mantle is characterized by systematically lower proportions of Pu-fission derived Xe than the Iceland plume and the Samoan-like plume sampled at the Rochambeau Rift. These two plume sources are associated with low radiogenic \(^{129}Xe/^{130}Xe\) ratios that are not attributable to recycled atmosphere and must sample ancient (4.45 Ga) volatile rich mantle reservoir that experienced a lower degree of mantle processing than the depleted MORB source. I report \(^{128}Xe/^{130}Xe\) ratios in excess with respect to the atmosphere in deeply erupting Gakkel lavas, similar to mantle derived volatiles in natural gas samples. Deconvolution of fission derived xenon isotopes indicate that natural gas samples and the Gakkel MORBs are derived from the same volatile depleted mantle reservoir. The radiogenic He isotopic composition, the low estimated ratio of Pu to U derived xenon isotopes, and the low \(^{129}Xe/^{130}Xe_E\) ratio found in the source of the West Volcanic Zone (WVZ) along the Gakkel Ridge indicates the presence of increased amounts of recycled atmospheric volatiles. I suggest that the low \(^{129}Xe/^{130}Xe\) ratio beneath the WVZ cannot be explained by sampling an ancient (>4.45 Ga) lithospheric mantle component that evolved in isolation from convection throughout Earth's history. Instead, the Xe isotopic composition may be consistent with the presence of subduction derived metasomatizing fluids with atmospheric heavy noble gases trapped in the sub-continental lithospheric mantle sampled along the ridge. Available Ne isotope MORB data and new high precision Ne data presented in this study (including basalts from the East Pacific Rise, the Galapagos Spreading Center, and the Juan de Fuca Ridge) allows me to construct a combined He-Ne isotope distribution and infer first order source mixing systematics in the upper mantle. / Earth and Planetary Sciences

The prospects for enhanced Positron Emission Tomography imaging using liquid xenon (LXe) gamma ray detectors had been examined. Monte-Carlo simulations using GEANT4 were performed and the results were used to study the expected performance of a small animal PET scanner in comparison with a simulated conventional small animal scanner (LSO Focus 120). A NEMA-like cylinder phantom and an image contrast phantom were simulated with both scanners to compare performance characteristics. A Compton reconstruction algorithm was developed for the LXe scanner, and its performance and limitations studied.

No description available.

High Harmonic Generation (HHG) enables the production of bursts of coherent soft x-rays with attosecond pulse duration. This process arrises from the nonlinear interaction between intense infrared laser pulses and an ionizing gas medium. Soft x-ray photons are used for spectroscopy of inner-shell electron correlation and exchange processes, and the availability of attosecond pulse durations will enable these processes to be resolved on their natural time scales. The maximum or cutoff photon energy in HHG increases with both the intensity as well as the wavelength of the driving laser. It is highly desirable to increase the harmonic cutoff as this will allow for the generation of shorter attosecond pulses, as well as HHG spectroscopy of increasingly energetic electronic transitions. While the harmonic cutoff increases with laser wavelength, there is a corresponding decrease in harmonic yield. The first part of this thesis describes the experimental measurement of the wavelength scaling of HHG efficiency, which we report as lambda^(-6.3) in xenon, and lambda^(-6.5) in krypton. To increase the HHG cutoff, we have developed a 1.8 um source, with stable carrier envelope phase and a pulse duration of <2 optical cycles. The 1.8 um wavelength allowed for a significant increase in the harmonic cutoff compared to equivalent 800 nm sources, while still maintaing reasonable harmonic yield. By focusing this source into neon we have produced 400 eV harmonics that extend into the x-ray water window. In addition to providing a source of photons for a secondary target, the HHG spectrum caries the signature of the electronic structure of the generating medium. In krypton we observed a Cooper minimum at 85 eV, showing that photoionization cross sections can be measured with HHG. Measurements in xenon lead to the first clear observation of electron correlation effects during HHG, which manifest as a broad peak in the HHG spectrum centred at 100 eV. This thesis also describes several improvements to the HHG experiment including the development of an ionization detector for measuring laser intensity, as well as an investigation into the role of laser mode quality on HHG phase matching and efficiency.

The prospects for enhanced Positron Emission Tomography imaging using liquid xenon (LXe) gamma ray detectors had been examined. Monte-Carlo simulations using GEANT4 were performed and the results were used to study the expected performance of a small animal PET scanner in comparison with a simulated conventional small animal scanner (LSO Focus 120). A NEMA-like cylinder phantom and an image contrast phantom were simulated with both scanners to compare performance characteristics. A Compton reconstruction algorithm was developed for the LXe scanner, and its performance and limitations studied.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University (Canada), 1991. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-02, Section: B, page: 0821.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University (Canada), 1995. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-12, Section: B, page: 6770. Adviser: G. J. Schrobilgen.

Thesis (M.S. in Physics)--Naval Postgraduate School, May 1966. / Thesis Advisor(s): Riggin, John D. "May 1966." Description based on title screen as viewed on June 2, 2010. DTIC Descriptor(s): Reactor Cores, Gases, Fission Products, Gases, Gamma Ray Spectra, Radioactive Isotopes, Krypton, Xenon. DTIC Identifier(s): AGN-201 Reactors. Author(s) subject terms: Reactor Gas, Xenon Gamma Spectrum, Krypton Gamma Spectrum. Includes bibliographical references (p. 36). Also available in print.

Univ., Diss., 2009--Kassel.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1984. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 211-215).