Fokker-Planck-Based Acceleration for SN Equations with Highly Forward Peaked Scattering in Slab Geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patel, Japan

Short mean free paths are characteristic of charged particles. High energy charged particles often have highly forward peaked scattering cross sections. Transport problems involving such charged particles are also highly optically thick. When problems simultaneously have forward peaked scattering and high optical thickness, their solution, using standard iterative methods, becomes very inefficient. In this dissertation, we explore Fokker-Planck-based acceleration for solving such problems.

Dust particle injector for hypervelocity accelerators provides high charge-to-mass ratio

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berg, O. E.

1966-01-01

Injector imparts a high charge-to-mass ratio to microparticles and injects them into an electrostatic accelerator so that the particles are accelerated to meteoric speeds. It employs relatively large masses in the anode and cathode structures with a relatively wide separation, thus permitting a large increase in the allowable injection voltages.

Method of correcting eddy current magnetic fields in particle accelerator vacuum chambers

DOEpatents

Danby, G.T.; Jackson, J.W.

1990-03-19

A method for correcting magnetic field aberrations produced by eddy currents induced in a particle accelerator vacuum chamber housing is provided wherein correction windings are attached to selected positions on the housing and the windings are energized by transformer action from secondary coils, which coils are inductively coupled to the poles of electro-magnets that are powered to confine the charged particle beam within a desired orbit as the charged particles are accelerated through the vacuum chamber by a particle-driving rf field. The power inductively coupled to the secondary coils varies as a function of variations in the power supplied by the particle-accelerating rf field to a beam of particles accelerated through the vacuum chamber, so the current in the energized correction coils is effective to cancel eddy current flux fields that would otherwise be induced in the vacuum chamber by power variations (dB/dt) in the particle beam.

Method of correcting eddy current magnetic fields in particle accelerator vacuum chambers

DOEpatents

Danby, Gordon T.; Jackson, John W.

1991-01-01

A method for correcting magnetic field aberrations produced by eddy currents induced in a particle accelerator vacuum chamber housing is provided wherein correction windings are attached to selected positions on the housing and the windings are energized by transformer action from secondary coils, which coils are inductively coupled to the poles of electro-magnets that are powered to confine the charged particle beam within a desired orbit as the charged particles are accelerated through the vacuum chamber by a particle-driving rf field. The power inductively coupled to the secondary coils varies as a function of variations in the power supplied by the particle-accelerating rf field to a beam of particles accelerated through the vacuum chamber, so the current in the energized correction coils is effective to cancel eddy current flux fields that would otherwise be induced in the vacuum chamber by power variations in the particle beam.

Analytic Solution of the Electromagnetic Eigenvalues Problem in a Cylindrical Resonator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Checchin, Mattia; Martinello, Martina

Resonant accelerating cavities are key components in modern particles accelerating facilities. These take advantage of electromagnetic fields resonating at microwave frequencies to accelerate charged particles. Particles gain finite energy at each passage through a cavity if in phase with the resonating field, reaching energies even of the order of $TeV$ when a cascade of accelerating resonators are present. In order to understand how a resonant accelerating cavity transfers energy to charged particles, it is important to determine how the electromagnetic modes are exited into such resonators. In this paper we present a complete analytical calculation of the resonating fields formore » a simple cylindrical-shaped cavity.« less

The Role of Substorms in Storm-time Particle Acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daglis, Ioannis A.; Kamide, Yohsuke

The terrestrial magnetosphere has the capability to rapidly accelerate charged particles up to very high energies over relatively short times and distances. Acceleration of charged particles is an essential ingredient of both magnetospheric substorms and space storms. In the case of space storms, the ultimate result is a bulk flow of electric charge through the inner magnetosphere, commonly known as the ring current. Syun-Ichi Akasofu and Sydney Chapman, two of the early pioneers in space physics, postulated that the bulk acceleration of particles during storms is rather the additive result of partial acceleration during consecutive substorms. This paradigm has been heavily disputed during recent years. The new case is that substorm acceleration may be sufficient to produce individual high-energy particles that create auroras and possibly harm spacecraft, but it cannot produce the massive acceleration that constitutes a storm. This paper is a critical review of the long-standing issue of the storm-substorm relationship, or—in other words—the capability or necessity of substorms in facilitating or driving the build-up of the storm-time ring current. We mainly address the physical effect itself, i.e. the bulk acceleration of particles, and not the diagnostic of the process, i.e. the Dst index, which is rather often the case. Within the framework of particle acceleration, substorms retain their storm-importance due to the potential of substorm-induced impulsive electric fields in obtaining the massive ion acceleration needed for the storm-time ring current buildup.

Ionic charge state measurements during He(+)-rich solar particle events

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hovestadt, D.; Klecker, B.; Scholer, M.; Gloeckler, G.

1984-01-01

Ionic charge state measurements of carbon, oxygen, and iron in He(+)-rich energetic particle events are presented. The data have been obtained with the Max-Planck-Institut/University of Maryland sensor system on the ISEE 3 spacecraft. The ionic charge states cannot be explained in terms of a model in which the coronal temperature determines a charge equilibrium which is subsequently frozen-in nor in terms of charge exchange during transition through coronal matter after acceleration. It is concluded that the acceleration and probably also the injection process is biased against particles with high mass-to-charge ratios. The plasma injected into the acceleration process must consist of material of cold (not greater than 8.5 x 10 to the 4th K) as well as hot (2.5 x 10 to the 6th K) origin. The cold material must be more abundant than the hot material.

Resonant ion acceleration by plasma jets: Effects of jet breaking and the magnetic-field curvature.

PubMed

Artemyev, A V; Vasiliev, A A

2015-05-01

In this paper we consider resonant ion acceleration by a plasma jet originating from the magnetic reconnection region. Such jets propagate in the background magnetic field with significantly curved magnetic-field lines. Decoupling of ion and electron motions at the leading edge of the jet results in generation of strong electrostatic fields. Ions can be trapped by this field and get accelerated along the jet front. This mechanism of resonant acceleration resembles surfing acceleration of charged particles at a shock wave. To describe resonant acceleration of ions, we use adiabatic theory of resonant phenomena. We show that particle motion along the curved field lines significantly influences the acceleration rate. The maximum gain of energy is determined by the particle's escape from the system due to this motion. Applications of the proposed mechanism to charged-particle acceleration in the planetary magnetospheres and the solar corona are discussed.

On the Energy and Momentum of an Accelerated Charged Particle and the Sources of Radiation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eriksen, Erik; Gron, Oyvind

2007-01-01

We give a systematic development of the theory of the radiation field of an accelerated charged particle with reference to an inertial reference frame in flat spacetime. Special emphasis is given to the role of the Schott energy and momentum in the energy-momentum balance of the charge and its field. It is shown that the energy of the radiation…

A charged particle in a homogeneous magnetic field accelerated by a time-periodic Aharonov-Bohm flux

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kalvoda, T.; Stovicek, P., E-mail: stovicek@kmlinux.fjfi.cvut.cz

2011-10-15

We consider a nonrelativistic quantum charged particle moving on a plane under the influence of a uniform magnetic field and driven by a periodically time-dependent Aharonov-Bohm flux. We observe an acceleration effect in the case when the Aharonov-Bohm flux depends on time as a sinusoidal function whose frequency is in resonance with the cyclotron frequency. In particular, the energy of the particle increases linearly for large times. An explicit formula for the acceleration rate is derived with the aid of the quantum averaging method, and then it is checked against a numerical solution and a very good agreement is found.more » - Highlights: > A nonrelativistic quantum charged particle on a plane. > A homogeneous magnetic field and a periodically time-dependent Aharonov-Bohm flux. > The quantum averaging method applied to a time-dependent system. > A resonance of the AB flux with the cyclotron frequency. > An acceleration with linearly increasing energy; a formula for the acceleration rate.« less

A Theory for Self-consistent Acceleration of Energetic Charged Particles by Dynamic Small-scale Flux Ropes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

le Roux, J. A.; Zank, G. P.; Khabarova, O.; Webb, G. M.

2016-12-01

Simulations of charged particle acceleration in turbulent plasma regions with numerous small-scale contracting and merging (reconnecting) magnetic islands/flux ropes emphasize the key role of temporary particle trapping in these structures for efficient acceleration that can result in power-law spectra. In response, a comprehensive kinetic transport theory framework was developed by Zank et al. and le Roux et al. to capture the essential physics of energetic particle acceleration in solar wind regions containing numerous dynamic small-scale flux ropes. Examples of test particle solutions exhibiting hard power-law spectra for energetic particles were presented in recent publications by both Zank et al. and le Roux et al.. However, the considerable pressure in the accelerated particles suggests the need for expanding the kinetic transport theory to enable a self-consistent description of energy exchange between energetic particles and small-scale flux ropes. We plan to present the equations of an expanded kinetic transport theory framework that will enable such a self-consistent description.

A Simplified Model for the Acceleration of Cosmic Ray Particles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gron, Oyvind

2010-01-01

Two important questions concerning cosmic rays are: Why are electrons in the cosmic rays less efficiently accelerated than nuclei? How are particles accelerated to great energies in ultra-high energy cosmic rays? In order to answer these questions we construct a simple model of the acceleration of a charged particle in the cosmic ray. It is not…

A 2 MV Van de Graaff accelerator as a tool for planetary and impact physics research

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mocker, Anna; Bugiel, Sebastian; Srama, Ralf

Investigating the dynamical and physical properties of cosmic dust can reveal a great deal of information about both the dust and its many sources. Over recent years, several spacecraft (e.g., Cassini, Stardust, Galileo, and Ulysses) have successfully characterised interstellar, interplanetary, and circumplanetary dust using a variety of techniques, including in situ analyses and sample return. Charge, mass, and velocity measurements of the dust are performed either directly (induced charge signals) or indirectly (mass and velocity from impact ionisation signals or crater morphology) and constrain the dynamical parameters of the dust grains. Dust compositional information may be obtained via either time-of-flightmore » mass spectrometry of the impact plasma or direct sample return. The accurate and reliable interpretation of collected spacecraft data requires a comprehensive programme of terrestrial instrument calibration. This process involves accelerating suitable solar system analogue dust particles to hypervelocity speeds in the laboratory, an activity performed at the Max Planck Institut fuer Kernphysik in Heidelberg, Germany. Here, a 2 MV Van de Graaff accelerator electrostatically accelerates charged micron and submicron-sized dust particles to speeds up to 80 km s{sup -1}. Recent advances in dust production and processing have allowed solar system analogue dust particles (silicates and other minerals) to be coated with a thin conductive shell, enabling them to be charged and accelerated. Refinements and upgrades to the beam line instrumentation and electronics now allow for the reliable selection of particles at velocities of 1-80 km s{sup -1} and with diameters of between 0.05 {mu}m and 5 {mu}m. This ability to select particles for subsequent impact studies based on their charges, masses, or velocities is provided by a particle selection unit (PSU). The PSU contains a field programmable gate array, capable of monitoring in real time the particles' speeds and charges, and is controlled remotely by a custom, platform independent, software package. The new control instrumentation and electronics, together with the wide range of accelerable particle types, allow the controlled investigation of hypervelocity impact phenomena across a hitherto unobtainable range of impact parameters.« less

A 2 MV Van de Graaff accelerator as a tool for planetary and impact physics research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mocker, Anna; Bugiel, Sebastian; Auer, Siegfried; Baust, Günter; Colette, Andrew; Drake, Keith; Fiege, Katherina; Grün, Eberhard; Heckmann, Frieder; Helfert, Stefan; Hillier, Jonathan; Kempf, Sascha; Matt, Günter; Mellert, Tobias; Munsat, Tobin; Otto, Katharina; Postberg, Frank; Röser, Hans-Peter; Shu, Anthony; Sternovsky, Zoltán; Srama, Ralf

2011-09-01

Investigating the dynamical and physical properties of cosmic dust can reveal a great deal of information about both the dust and its many sources. Over recent years, several spacecraft (e.g., Cassini, Stardust, Galileo, and Ulysses) have successfully characterised interstellar, interplanetary, and circumplanetary dust using a variety of techniques, including in situ analyses and sample return. Charge, mass, and velocity measurements of the dust are performed either directly (induced charge signals) or indirectly (mass and velocity from impact ionisation signals or crater morphology) and constrain the dynamical parameters of the dust grains. Dust compositional information may be obtained via either time-of-flight mass spectrometry of the impact plasma or direct sample return. The accurate and reliable interpretation of collected spacecraft data requires a comprehensive programme of terrestrial instrument calibration. This process involves accelerating suitable solar system analogue dust particles to hypervelocity speeds in the laboratory, an activity performed at the Max Planck Institut für Kernphysik in Heidelberg, Germany. Here, a 2 MV Van de Graaff accelerator electrostatically accelerates charged micron and submicron-sized dust particles to speeds up to 80 km s-1. Recent advances in dust production and processing have allowed solar system analogue dust particles (silicates and other minerals) to be coated with a thin conductive shell, enabling them to be charged and accelerated. Refinements and upgrades to the beam line instrumentation and electronics now allow for the reliable selection of particles at velocities of 1-80 km s-1 and with diameters of between 0.05 μm and 5 μm. This ability to select particles for subsequent impact studies based on their charges, masses, or velocities is provided by a particle selection unit (PSU). The PSU contains a field programmable gate array, capable of monitoring in real time the particles' speeds and charges, and is controlled remotely by a custom, platform independent, software package. The new control instrumentation and electronics, together with the wide range of accelerable particle types, allow the controlled investigation of hypervelocity impact phenomena across a hitherto unobtainable range of impact parameters.

Hawking radiation of scalar particles from accelerating and rotating black holes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gillani, Usman A.; Rehman, Mudassar; Saifullah, K., E-mail: mani_precious2001@yahoo.com, E-mail: mudassar051@yahoo.com, E-mail: saifullah@qau.edu.pk

2011-06-01

Hawking radiation of uncharged and charged scalar particles from accelerating and rotating black holes is studied. We calculate the tunneling probabilities of these particles from the rotation and acceleration horizons of these black holes. Using this method we recover the correct Hawking temperature as well.

Computer modeling of test particle acceleration at oblique shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decker, Robert B.

1988-01-01

The present evaluation of the basic techniques and illustrative results of charged particle-modeling numerical codes suitable for particle acceleration at oblique, fast-mode collisionless shocks emphasizes the treatment of ions as test particles, calculating particle dynamics through numerical integration along exact phase-space orbits. Attention is given to the acceleration of particles at planar, infinitessimally thin shocks, as well as to plasma simulations in which low-energy ions are injected and accelerated at quasi-perpendicular shocks with internal structure.

Particle Accelerator Applications: Ion and Electron Irradiation in Materials Science, Biology and Medicine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rodriguez-Fernandez, Luis

2010-09-10

Although the developments of particle accelerators are devoted to basic study of matter constituents, since the beginning these machines have been applied with different purposes in many areas also. Today particle accelerators are essential instruments for science and technology. This work presents an overview of the main application for direct particle irradiation with accelerator in material science, biology and medicine. They are used for material synthesis by ion implantation and charged particle irradiation; to make coatings and micromachining; to characterize broad kind of samples by ion beam analysis techniques; as mass spectrometers for atomic isotopes determination. In biomedicine the acceleratorsmore » are applied for the study of effects by charged particles on cells. In medicine the radiotherapy by electron irradiation is widely used, while hadrontherapy is still under development. Also, they are necessary for short life radioisotopes production required in radiodiagnostic.« less

The charged particle accelerators subsystems modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Averyanov, G. P.; Kobylyatskiy, A. V.

2017-01-01

Presented web-based resource for information support the engineering, science and education in Electrophysics, containing web-based tools for simulation subsystems charged particle accelerators. Formulated the development motivation of Web-Environment for Virtual Electrophysical Laboratories. Analyzes the trends of designs the dynamic web-environments for supporting of scientific research and E-learning, within the framework of Open Education concept.

High-energy particle production in solar flares (SEP, gamma-ray and neutron emissions). [solar energetic particles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chupp, E. L.

1987-01-01

Electrons and ions, over a wide range of energies, are produced in association with solar flares. Solar energetic particles (SEPs), observed in space and near earth, consist of electrons and ions that range in energy from 10 keV to about 100 MeV and from 1 MeV to 20 GeV, respectively. SEPs are directly recorded by charged particle detectors, while X-ray, gamma-ray, and neutron detectors indicate the properties of the accelerated particles (electrons and ions) which have interacted in the solar atmosphere. A major problem of solar physics is to understand the relationship between these two groups of charged particles; in particular whether they are accelerated by the same mechanism. The paper reviews the physics of gamma-rays and neutron production in the solar atmosphere and the method by which properties of the primary charged particles produced in the solar flare can be deduced. Recent observations of energetic photons and neutrons in space and at the earth are used to present a current picture of the properties of impulsively flare accelerated electrons and ions. Some important properties discussed are time scale of production, composition, energy spectra, accelerator geometry. Particular attention is given to energetic particle production in the large flare on June 3, 1982.

Repulsive Effect for Unbound High Energy Particles Along Rotation Axis in Kerr-Taub-NUT Spacetime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Lu; Chen, Song-Bai

2018-04-01

We have investigated the acceleration of the unbound high energy particles moving along the rotation axis in the Kerr-Taub-NUT spacetime, and then study the dependence of the repulsive effects on the NUT charge for the particles in the spacetime. Whether the repulsive effects with the NUT charge become stronger depends on the Carter constant, the position and velocity of the particles themselves. We also present numerically the changes of the observable velocity and acceleration with the NUT charge for the unbound particles in the Kerr-Taub-NUT spacetime. Supported by the Scientific Research Fund of Hunan Provincial Education Department under Grant No. 17A124, and the Construct Program of Key Disciplines in Hunan Province

Demonstration of the hollow channel plasma wakefield accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gessner, Spencer J.

2016-09-17

A plasma wakefield accelerator is a device that converts the energy of a relativistic particle beam into a large-amplitude wave in a plasma. The plasma wave, or wakefield, supports an enormous electricfield that is used to accelerate a trailing particle beam. The plasma wakefield accelerator can therefore be used as a transformer, transferring energy from a high-charge, low-energy particle beam into a high-energy, low-charge particle beam. This technique may lead to a new generation of ultra-compact, high-energy particle accelerators. The past decade has seen enormous progress in the field of plasma wakefield acceleration with experimental demonstrations of the acceleration ofmore » electron beams by several gigaelectron-volts. The acceleration of positron beams in plasma is more challenging, but also necessary for the creation of a high-energy electron-positron collider. Part of the challenge is that the plasma responds asymmetrically to electrons and positrons, leading to increased disruption of the positron beam. One solution to this problem, first proposed over twenty years ago, is to use a hollow channel plasma which symmetrizes the response of the plasma to beams of positive and negative charge, making it possible to accelerate positrons in plasma without disruption. In this thesis, we describe the theory relevant to our experiment and derive new results when needed. We discuss the development and implementation of special optical devices used to create long plasma channels. We demonstrate for the first time the generation of meter-scale plasma channels and the acceleration of positron beams therein.« less

Heavy ion therapy: Bevalac epoch

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Castro, J.R.

1993-10-01

An overview of heavy ion therapy at the Bevelac complex (SuperHILac linear accelerator + Bevatron) is given. Treatment planning, clinical results with helium ions on the skull base and uveal melanoma, clinical results with high-LET charged particles, neon radiotherapy of prostate cancer, heavy charged particle irradiation for unfavorable soft tissue sarcoma, preliminary results in heavy charged particle irradiation of bone sarcoma, and irradiation of bile duct carcinoma with charged particles and-or photons are all covered. (GHH)

CLASHING BEAM PARTICLE ACCELERATOR

DOEpatents

Burleigh, R.J.

1961-04-11

A charged-particle accelerator of the proton synchrotron class having means for simultaneously accelerating two separate contra-rotating particle beams within a single annular magnet structure is reported. The magnet provides two concentric circular field regions of opposite magnetic polarity with one field region being of slightly less diameter than the other. The accelerator includes a deflector means straddling the two particle orbits and acting to collide the two particle beams after each has been accelerated to a desired energy. The deflector has the further property of returning particles which do not undergo collision to the regular orbits whereby the particles recirculate with the possibility of colliding upon subsequent passages through the deflector.

Calculation of longitudinal and transverse wake-field effects in dielectric structures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gai, W.

1989-01-01

The electro-magnetic radiation of a charged particle passing through a dielectric structure has many applications to accelerator physics. Recently a new acceleration scheme, called the dielectric wake field accelerator, has been proposed. It also can be used as a pick up system for a storage ring because of its slow wave characteristics. In order to study these effects in detail, in this paper we will calculate the wake field effects produced in a dielectric structure by a charged particle. 8 refs., 2 figs.

Electrostatic quadrupole focused particle accelerating assembly with laminar flow beam

DOEpatents

Maschke, A.W.

1984-04-16

A charged particle accelerating assembly provided with a predetermined ratio of parametric structural characteristics and with related operating voltages applied to each of its linearly spaced focusing and accelerating quadrupoles, thereby to maintain a particle beam traversing the electrostatic fields of the quadrupoles in the assembly in an essentially laminar flow through the assembly.

Electrostatic quadrupole focused particle accelerating assembly with laminar flow beam

DOEpatents

Maschke, Alfred W.

1985-01-01

A charged particle accelerating assembly provided with a predetermined ratio of parametric structural characteristics and with related operating voltages applied to each of its linearly spaced focusing and accelerating quadrupoles, thereby to maintain a particle beam traversing the electrostatic fields of the quadrupoles in the assembly in an essentially laminar flow throughout the assembly.

Piezoelectric particle accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kemp, Mark A.; Jongewaard, Erik N.; Haase, Andrew A.

2017-08-29

A particle accelerator is provided that includes a piezoelectric accelerator element, where the piezoelectric accelerator element includes a hollow cylindrical shape, and an input transducer, where the input transducer is disposed to provide an input signal to the piezoelectric accelerator element, where the input signal induces a mechanical excitation of the piezoelectric accelerator element, where the mechanical excitation is capable of generating a piezoelectric electric field proximal to an axis of the cylindrical shape, where the piezoelectric accelerator is configured to accelerate a charged particle longitudinally along the axis of the cylindrical shape according to the piezoelectric electric field.

Some astrophysical processes around magnetized black hole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kološ, M.; Tursunov, A.; Stuchlík, Z.

2018-01-01

We study the dynamics of charged test particles in the vicinity of a black hole immersed into an asymptotically uniform external magnetic field. A real magnetic field around a black hole will be far away from to be completely regular and uniform, a uniform magnetic field is used as linear approximation. Ionized particle acceleration, charged particle oscillations and synchrotron radiation of moving charged particle have been studied.

Acceleration of charged particles by crossed cyclotron waves, Resonant Moments Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ponomarjov, M.; Carati, D.

A mechanism for enhanced acceleration of charged particles in crossing radio frequency or micro waves propagating at different angles with respect to an external magnetic field is investigated. This mechanism consists in introducing low amplitude secondary waves in order to improve the parallel momentum transfer from the high amplitude primary wave to charged particles. The use of two parallel counter-propagating waves has recently been considered (Gell and Nakach, 1999) and numerical tests (Louies et al, 2001) have shown that the two-wave scheme may lead to higher averaged parallel velocity. On the other hand, it has been concluded that it may be more effective to accelerate electrons when the waves propagate obliquely to the external magnetic field (Karimabadi and Angelopoulos 1989, Cohen et al 1991). The idea considered here is similar although no constraint is imposed on the refraction indices of the primary and the secondary waves. The theoretical analysis of the acceleration mechanism is based on the Resonance Moments Method (RMM) in which moments of the velocity distribution are computed by using an averages over the resonant layers (RL)i only instead of a complete phase-space average. The quantities obtained using this approach, referred to as Resonant Moments (RM), suggest the existence of optimal angles of propagation for the primary and secondary waves as long as the maximization of the parallel flux of charged particles is considered. The fraction of charged particles that are close to the resonance conditions, that correspond to the RL, becomes then as important as the time these particles remain resonant. The secondary wave tends to maintain a pseudo-equilibrium velocity distribution by continuously re-filling the RL. Our suggestions are confirmed by direct numerical simulations for a populations of 105 relativistic electrons. The secondary wave yields a clear increase (up to one order of magnitude) of the average parallel velocity of the particles. It is a quite promising result since the amplitude of the secondary wave is ten times lower the one of the first wave. Qualitative results give one of the enhanced acceleration mechanisms of the charged particles (including relativistic electrons in planetary magnetospheres) by the crossed cyclotron waves in ambient magnetic field.

A new method to calculate the beam charge for an integrating current transformer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu Yuchi; Han Dan; Zhu Bin

2012-09-15

The integrating current transformer (ICT) is a magnetic sensor widely used to precisely measure the charge of an ultra-short-pulse charged particle beam generated by traditional accelerators and new laser-plasma particle accelerators. In this paper, we present a new method to calculate the beam charge in an ICT based on circuit analysis. The output transfer function shows an invariable signal profile for an ultra-short electron bunch, so the function can be used to evaluate the signal quality and calculate the beam charge through signal fitting. We obtain a set of parameters in the output function from a standard signal generated bymore » an ultra-short electron bunch (about 1 ps in duration) at a radio frequency linear electron accelerator at Tsinghua University. These parameters can be used to obtain the beam charge by signal fitting with excellent accuracy.« less

Acceleration modules in linear induction accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Shao-Heng; Deng, Jian-Jun

2014-05-01

The Linear Induction Accelerator (LIA) is a unique type of accelerator that is capable of accelerating kilo-Ampere charged particle current to tens of MeV energy. The present development of LIA in MHz bursting mode and the successful application into a synchrotron have broadened LIA's usage scope. Although the transformer model is widely used to explain the acceleration mechanism of LIAs, it is not appropriate to consider the induction electric field as the field which accelerates charged particles for many modern LIAs. We have examined the transition of the magnetic cores' functions during the LIA acceleration modules' evolution, distinguished transformer type and transmission line type LIA acceleration modules, and re-considered several related issues based on transmission line type LIA acceleration module. This clarified understanding should help in the further development and design of LIA acceleration modules.

Use of incomplete energy recovery for the energy compression of large energy spread charged particle beams

DOEpatents

Douglas, David R [Newport News, VA; Benson, Stephen V [Yorktown, VA

2007-01-23

A method of energy recovery for RF-base linear charged particle accelerators that allows energy recovery without large relative momentum spread of the particle beam involving first accelerating a waveform particle beam having a crest and a centroid with an injection energy E.sub.o with the centroid of the particle beam at a phase offset f.sub.o from the crest of the accelerating waveform to an energy E.sub.full and then recovering the beam energy centroid a phase f.sub.o+Df relative to the crest of the waveform particle beam such that (E.sub.full-E.sub.o)(1+cos(f.sub.o+Df))>dE/2 wherein dE=the full energy spread, dE/2=the full energy half spread and Df=the wave form phase distance.

Particle-in-cell/accelerator code for space-charge dominated beam simulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2012-05-08

Warp is a multidimensional discrete-particle beam simulation program designed to be applicable where the beam space-charge is non-negligible or dominant. It is being developed in a collaboration among LLNL, LBNL and the University of Maryland. It was originally designed and optimized for heave ion fusion accelerator physics studies, but has received use in a broader range of applications, including for example laser wakefield accelerators, e-cloud studies in high enery accelerators, particle traps and other areas. At present it incorporates 3-D, axisymmetric (r,z) planar (x-z) and transverse slice (x,y) descriptions, with both electrostatic and electro-magnetic fields, and a beam envelope model.more » The code is guilt atop the Python interpreter language.« less

High-energy particle acceleration in the shell of a supernova remnant.

PubMed

Aharonian, F A; Akhperjanian, A G; Aye, K-M; Bazer-Bachi, A R; Beilicke, M; Benbow, W; Berge, D; Berghaus, P; Bernlöhr, K; Bolz, O; Boisson, C; Borgmeier, C; Breitling, F; Brown, A M; Gordo, J Bussons; Chadwick, P M; Chitnis, V R; Chounet, L-M; Cornils, R; Costamante, L; Degrange, B; Djannati-Ataï, A; Drury, L O'C; Ergin, T; Espigat, P; Feinstein, F; Fleury, P; Fontaine, G; Funk, S; Gallant, Y A; Giebels, B; Gillessen, S; Goret, P; Guy, J; Hadjichristidis, C; Hauser, M; Heinzelmann, G; Henri, G; Hermann, G; Hinton, J A; Hofmann, W; Holleran, M; Horns, D; De Jager, O C; Jung, I; Khélifi, B; Komin, Nu; Konopelko, A; Latham, I J; Le Gallou, R; Lemoine, M; Lemière, A; Leroy, N; Lohse, T; Marcowith, A; Masterson, C; McComb, T J L; De Naurois, M; Nolan, S J; Noutsos, A; Orford, K J; Osborne, J L; Ouchrif, M; Panter, M; Pelletier, G; Pita, S; Pohl, M; Pühlhofer, G; Punch, M; Raubenheimer, B C; Raue, M; Raux, J; Rayner, S M; Redondo, I; Reimer, A; Reimer, O; Ripken, J; Rivoal, M; Rob, L; Rolland, L; Rowell, G; Sahakian, V; Saugé, L; Schlenker, S; Schlickeiser, R; Schuster, C; Schwanke, U; Siewert, M; Sol, H; Steenkamp, R; Stegmann, C; Tavernet, J-P; Théoret, C G; Tluczykont, M; Van Der Walt, D J; Vasileiadis, G; Vincent, P; Visser, B; Völk, H J; Wagner, S J

2004-11-04

A significant fraction of the energy density of the interstellar medium is in the form of high-energy charged particles (cosmic rays). The origin of these particles remains uncertain. Although it is generally accepted that the only sources capable of supplying the energy required to accelerate the bulk of Galactic cosmic rays are supernova explosions, and even though the mechanism of particle acceleration in expanding supernova remnant (SNR) shocks is thought to be well understood theoretically, unequivocal evidence for the production of high-energy particles in supernova shells has proven remarkably hard to find. Here we report on observations of the SNR RX J1713.7 - 3946 (G347.3 - 0.5), which was discovered by ROSAT in the X-ray spectrum and later claimed as a source of high-energy gamma-rays of TeV energies (1 TeV = 10(12) eV). We present a TeV gamma-ray image of the SNR: the spatially resolved remnant has a shell morphology similar to that seen in X-rays, which demonstrates that very-high-energy particles are accelerated there. The energy spectrum indicates efficient acceleration of charged particles to energies beyond 100 TeV, consistent with current ideas of particle acceleration in young SNR shocks.

Trapping of high-energy electrons into regime of surfatron acceleration by electromagnetic waves in space plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Erokhin, A. N.; Erokhin, N. S.; Milant'ev, V. P.

2012-05-15

The phenomenon of trapping of weakly relativistic charged particles (with kinetic energies on the order of mc{sup 2}) into a regime of surfatron acceleration by an electromagnetic wave that propagates in plasma across a weak external magnetic field has been studied using nonlinear numerical calculations based on a solution of the relativistic equations of motion. Analysis showed that, for the wave amplitude above a certain threshold value and the initial wave phase outside the interval favorable for the surfing regime, the trajectory of a charged particle initially corresponds to its cyclotron rotation in the external magnetic field. For the initialmore » particle energies studied, the period of this rotation is relatively short. After a certain number (from several dozen to several thousand and above) of periods of rotation, the wave phase takes a value that is favorable for trapping of the charged particle on its trajectory by the electromagnetic wave, provided the Cherenkov resonance conditions are satisfied. As a result, the wave traps the charged particle and imparts it an ultrarelativistic acceleration. In momentum space, the region of trapping into the regime of surfing on an electromagnetic wave turns out to be rather large.« less

Synergia: an accelerator modeling tool with 3-D space charge

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Amundson, James F.; Spentzouris, P.; /Fermilab

2004-07-01

High precision modeling of space-charge effects, together with accurate treatment of single-particle dynamics, is essential for designing future accelerators as well as optimizing the performance of existing machines. We describe Synergia, a high-fidelity parallel beam dynamics simulation package with fully three dimensional space-charge capabilities and a higher order optics implementation. We describe the computational techniques, the advanced human interface, and the parallel performance obtained using large numbers of macroparticles. We also perform code benchmarks comparing to semi-analytic results and other codes. Finally, we present initial results on particle tune spread, beam halo creation, and emittance growth in the Fermilab boostermore » accelerator.« less

Stochastic particle acceleration at shocks in the presence of braided magnetic fields.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirk, J. G.; Duffy, P.; Gallant, Y. A.

1996-10-01

The theory of diffusive acceleration of energetic particles at shock fronts assumes charged particles undergo spatial diffusion in a uniform magnetic field. If, however, the magnetic field is not uniform, but has a stochastic or braided structure, the transport of charged particles across the average direction of the field is more complicated. Assuming quasi-linear behaviour of the field lines, the particles undergo sub-diffusion on short time scales. We derive the propagator for such motion, which differs from the Gaussian form relevant for diffusion, and apply it to a configuration with a plane shock front whose normal is perpendicular to the average field direction. Expressions are given for the acceleration time as a function of the diffusion coefficient of the wandering magnetic field lines and the spatial diffusion coefficient of the charged particles parallel to the local field. In addition we calculate the spatial dependence of the particle density in both the upstream and downstream plasmas. In contrast to the diffusive case, the density of particles at the shock front is lower than it is far downstream. This is a consequence of the partial trapping of particles by structures in the magnetic field. As a result, the spectrum of accelerated particles is a power-law in momentum which is steeper than in the diffusive case. For a phase-space density f{prop.to}p^-s^, we find s=s_diff_[1+1/(2ρ_c_)], where ρ_c_ is the compression ratio of the shock front and s_diff_ is the standard result of diffusive acceleration: s_diff_=3ρ_c_/(ρ_c_-1). A strong shock in a monatomic ideal gas yields a spectrum of s=4.5. In the case of electrons, this corresponds to a radio synchrotron spectral index of α=0.75.

Charging of particles on a surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heijmans, Lucas; Nijdam, Sander

2016-09-01

This contribution focusses on the seemingly easy problem of the charging of micrometer sized particles on a substrate in a plasma. This seems trivial, because much is known about both the charging of surfaces near a plasma and of particles in the plasma bulk. The problem, however, becomes much more complicated when the particle is on the substrate surface. The charging currents to the particle are then highly altered by the substrate plasma sheath. Currently there is no consensus in literature about the resulting particle charge. We shall present both experimental measurements and numerical simulations of the charge on these particles. The experimental results are acquired by measuring the particle acceleration in an external electric field. For the simulations we have used our specially developed model. We shall compare these results to other estimates found in literature.

The acceleration of particles at propagating interplanetary shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prinsloo, P. L.; Strauss, R. D. T.

2017-12-01

Enhancements of charged energetic particles are often observed at Earth following the eruption of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) on the Sun. These enhancements are thought to arise from the acceleration of those particles at interplanetary shocks forming ahead of CMEs, propagating into the heliosphere. In this study, we model the acceleration of these energetic particles by solving a set of stochastic differential equations formulated to describe their transport and including the effects of diffusive shock acceleration. The study focuses on how acceleration at halo-CME-driven shocks alter the energy spectra of non-thermal particles, while illustrating how this acceleration process depends on various shock and transport parameters. We finally attempt to establish the relative contributions of different seed populations of energetic particles in the inner heliosphere to observed intensities during selected acceleration events.

Heating and Acceleration of Charged Particles by Weakly Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lynn, Jacob William

We investigate the interaction between low-frequency magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence and a distribution of charged particles. Understanding this physics is central to understanding the heating of the solar wind, as well as the heating and acceleration of other collisionless plasmas. Our central method is to simulate weakly compressible MHD turbulence using the Athena code, along with a distribution of test particles which feel the electromagnetic fields of the turbulence. We also construct analytic models of transit-time damping (TTD), which results from the mirror force caused by compressible (fast or slow) MHD waves. Standard linear-theory models in the literature require an exact resonance between particle and wave velocities to accelerate particles. The models developed in this thesis go beyond standard linear theory to account for the fact that wave-particle interactions decorrelate over a short time, which allows particles with velocities off resonance to undergo acceleration and velocity diffusion. We use the test particle simulation results to calibrate and distinguish between different models for this velocity diffusion. Test particle heating is larger than the linear theory prediction, due to continued acceleration of particles with velocities off-resonance. We also include an artificial pitch-angle scattering to the test particle motion, representing the effect of high-frequency waves or velocity-space instabilities. For low scattering rates, we find that the scattering enforces isotropy and enhances heating by a modest factor. For much higher scattering rates, the acceleration is instead due to a non-resonant effect, as particles "frozen" into the fluid adiabatically gain and lose energy as eddies expand and contract. Lastly, we generalize our calculations to allow for relativistic test particles. Linear theory predicts that relativistic particles with velocities much higher than the speed of waves comprising the turbulence would undergo no acceleration; resonance-broadening modifies this conclusion and allows for a continued Fermi-like acceleration process. This may affect the observed spectra of black hole accretion disks by accelerating relativistic particles into a quasi-powerlaw tail.

Acceleration and propagation of energetic charged particles in the inner heliosphere.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kallenrode, M. B.

1995-02-01

Both particle propagation and acceleration are intimately related to the strength of scattering. The author reviews some developments in our understanding of interplanetary propagation, in particular the dawn of a solution of the well-known discrepancy problem between mean free paths derived from quasi-linear theory and from fits to observational data. With this much improved understanding of particle scattering one can re-evaluate the understanding of particle acceleration at interplanetary shocks. Special attention is paid to the model of coupled hydrodynamic wave excitation and ion acceleration at shocks.

Collective electron driven linac for high energy physics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Seeman, J.T.

1983-08-01

A linac design is presented in which an intense ultrarelativistic electron bunch is used to excite fields in a series of cavities and accelerate charged particles. The intense electron bunch is generated in a simple storage ring to have the required transverse and longitudinal dimensions. The bunch is then transferred to the linac. The linac structure can be inexpensively constructed of spacers and washers. The fields in the cells resulting from the bunch passage are calculated using the program BCI. The results show that certain particles within the driving bunch and also trailing particles of any sign charge can bemore » accelerated. With existing electron storage rings, accelerating gradients greater than 16 MV/m are possible. Examples of two accelerators are given: a 30 GeV electron/positron accelerator useful as an injector for a high energy storage ring and 2) a 110 GeV per beam electron-positron collider.« less

9 GeV energy gain in a beam-driven plasma wakefield accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Litos, M.; Adli, E.; Allen, J. M.

2016-02-15

An electron beam has gained a maximum energy of 9 GeV per particle in a 1.3 m-long electron beam-driven plasma wakefield accelerator. The amount of charge accelerated in the spectral peak was 28.3 pC, and the root-mean-square energy spread was 5.0%. The mean accelerated charge and energy gain per particle of the 215 shot data set was 115 pC and 5.3 GeV, respectively, corresponding to an acceleration gradient of 4.0 GeV m -1 at the spectral peak. Moreover, the mean energy spread of the data set was 5.1%. Our results are consistent with the extrapolation of the previously reported energymore » gain results using a shorter, 36 cm-long plasma source to within 10%, evincing a non-evolving wake structure that can propagate distances of over a meter in length. Wake-loading effects were evident in the data through strong dependencies observed between various spectral properties and the amount of accelerated charge.« less

A Unified Computational Model for Solar and Stellar Flares

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allred, Joel C.; Kowalski, Adam F.; Carlsson, Mats

2015-01-01

We present a unified computational framework that can be used to describe impulsive flares on the Sun and on dMe stars. The models assume that the flare impulsive phase is caused by a beam of charged particles that is accelerated in the corona and propagates downward depositing energy and momentum along the way. This rapidly heats the lower stellar atmosphere causing it to explosively expand and dramatically brighten. Our models consist of flux tubes that extend from the sub-photosphere into the corona. We simulate how flare-accelerated charged particles propagate down one-dimensional flux tubes and heat the stellar atmosphere using the Fokker-Planck kinetic theory. Detailed radiative transfer is included so that model predictions can be directly compared with observations. The flux of flare-accelerated particles drives return currents which additionally heat the stellar atmosphere. These effects are also included in our models. We examine the impact of the flare-accelerated particle beams on model solar and dMe stellar atmospheres and perform parameter studies varying the injected particle energy spectra. We find the atmospheric response is strongly dependent on the accelerated particle cutoff energy and spectral index.

Indirect Charged Particle Detection: Concepts and a Classroom Demonstration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Childs, Nicholas B.; Horányi, Mihály; Collette, Andrew

2013-01-01

We describe the principles of macroscopic charged particle detection in the laboratory and their connections to concepts taught in the physics classroom. Electrostatic dust accelerator systems, capable of launching charged dust grains at hypervelocities (1-100 km/s), are a critical tool for space exploration. Dust grains in space typically have…

Introduction to Particle Acceleration in the Cosmos

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gallagher, D. L.; Horwitz, J. L.; Perez, J.; Quenby, J.

2005-01-01

Accelerated charged particles have been used on Earth since 1930 to explore the very essence of matter, for industrial applications, and for medical treatments. Throughout the universe nature employs a dizzying array of acceleration processes to produce particles spanning twenty orders of magnitude in energy range, while shaping our cosmic environment. Here, we introduce and review the basic physical processes causing particle acceleration, in astrophysical plasmas from geospace to the outer reaches of the cosmos. These processes are chiefly divided into four categories: adiabatic and other forms of non-stochastic acceleration, magnetic energy storage and stochastic acceleration, shock acceleration, and plasma wave and turbulent acceleration. The purpose of this introduction is to set the stage and context for the individual papers comprising this monograph.

Particle Acceleration via Reconnection Processes in the Supersonic Solar Wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zank, G. P.; le Roux, J. A.; Webb, G. M.; Dosch, A.; Khabarova, O.

2014-12-01

An emerging paradigm for the dissipation of magnetic turbulence in the supersonic solar wind is via localized small-scale reconnection processes, essentially between quasi-2D interacting magnetic islands. Charged particles trapped in merging magnetic islands can be accelerated by the electric field generated by magnetic island merging and the contraction of magnetic islands. We derive a gyrophase-averaged transport equation for particles experiencing pitch-angle scattering and energization in a super-Alfvénic flowing plasma experiencing multiple small-scale reconnection events. A simpler advection-diffusion transport equation for a nearly isotropic particle distribution is derived. The dominant charged particle energization processes are (1) the electric field induced by quasi-2D magnetic island merging and (2) magnetic island contraction. The magnetic island topology ensures that charged particles are trapped in regions where they experience repeated interactions with the induced electric field or contracting magnetic islands. Steady-state solutions of the isotropic transport equation with only the induced electric field and a fixed source yield a power-law spectrum for the accelerated particles with index α = -(3 + MA )/2, where MA is the Alfvén Mach number. Considering only magnetic island contraction yields power-law-like solutions with index -3(1 + τ c /(8τdiff)), where τ c /τdiff is the ratio of timescales between magnetic island contraction and charged particle diffusion. The general solution is a power-law-like solution with an index that depends on the Alfvén Mach number and the timescale ratio τdiff/τ c . Observed power-law distributions of energetic particles observed in the quiet supersonic solar wind at 1 AU may be a consequence of particle acceleration associated with dissipative small-scale reconnection processes in a turbulent plasma, including the widely reported c -5 (c particle speed) spectra observed by Fisk & Gloeckler and Mewaldt et al.

Particle acceleration via reconnection processes in the supersonic solar wind

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zank, G. P.; Le Roux, J. A.; Webb, G. M.

An emerging paradigm for the dissipation of magnetic turbulence in the supersonic solar wind is via localized small-scale reconnection processes, essentially between quasi-2D interacting magnetic islands. Charged particles trapped in merging magnetic islands can be accelerated by the electric field generated by magnetic island merging and the contraction of magnetic islands. We derive a gyrophase-averaged transport equation for particles experiencing pitch-angle scattering and energization in a super-Alfvénic flowing plasma experiencing multiple small-scale reconnection events. A simpler advection-diffusion transport equation for a nearly isotropic particle distribution is derived. The dominant charged particle energization processes are (1) the electric field induced bymore » quasi-2D magnetic island merging and (2) magnetic island contraction. The magnetic island topology ensures that charged particles are trapped in regions where they experience repeated interactions with the induced electric field or contracting magnetic islands. Steady-state solutions of the isotropic transport equation with only the induced electric field and a fixed source yield a power-law spectrum for the accelerated particles with index α = –(3 + M{sub A} )/2, where M{sub A} is the Alfvén Mach number. Considering only magnetic island contraction yields power-law-like solutions with index –3(1 + τ {sub c}/(8τ{sub diff})), where τ {sub c}/τ{sub diff} is the ratio of timescales between magnetic island contraction and charged particle diffusion. The general solution is a power-law-like solution with an index that depends on the Alfvén Mach number and the timescale ratio τ{sub diff}/τ {sub c}. Observed power-law distributions of energetic particles observed in the quiet supersonic solar wind at 1 AU may be a consequence of particle acceleration associated with dissipative small-scale reconnection processes in a turbulent plasma, including the widely reported c {sup –5} (c particle speed) spectra observed by Fisk and Gloeckler and Mewaldt et al.« less

Space experiments with particle accelerators (SEPAC): Description of instrumentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, W. W. L.; Roberts, W. T.; Reasoner, D. L.; Chappell, C. R.; Baker, B. B.; Burch, J. L.; Gibson, W. C.; Black, R. K.; Tomlinson, W. M.; Bounds, J. R.

1987-01-01

SEPAC (Space Experiments with Particle Accelerators) flew on Spacelab 1 (SL 1) in November and December 1983. SEPAC is a joint U.S.-Japan investigation of the interaction of electron, plasma, and neutral beams with the ionosphere, atmosphere and magnetosphere. It is scheduled to fly again on Atlas 1 in August 1990. On SL 1, SEPAC used an electron accelerator, a plasma accelerator, and neutral gas source as active elements and an array of diagnostics to investigate the interactions. For Atlas 1, the plasma accelerator will be replaced by a plasma contactor and charge collection devices to improve vehicle charging meutralization. This paper describes the SEPAC instrumentation in detail for the SL 1 and Atlas 1 flights and includes a bibliography of SEPAC papers.

Charged particle accelerator grating

DOEpatents

Palmer, Robert B.

1986-01-01

A readily disposable and replaceable accelerator grating for a relativistic particle accelerator. The grating is formed for a plurality of liquid droplets that are directed in precisely positioned jet streams to periodically dispose rows of droplets along the borders of a predetermined particle beam path. A plurality of lasers are used to direct laser beams into the droplets, at predetermined angles, thereby to excite the droplets to support electromagnetic accelerating resonances on their surfaces. Those resonances operate to accelerate and focus particles moving along the beam path. As the droplets are distorted or destroyed by the incoming radiation, they are replaced at a predetermined frequency by other droplets supplied through the jet streams.

Charged particle accelerator grating

DOEpatents

Palmer, R.B.

1985-09-09

A readily disposable and replaceable accelerator grating for a relativistic particle accelerator is described. The grating is formed for a plurality of liquid droplets that are directed in precisely positioned jet streams to periodically dispose rows of droplets along the borders of a predetermined particle beam path. A plurality of lasers are used to direct laser beams onto the droplets, at predetermined angles, thereby to excite the droplets to support electromagnetic accelerating resonances on their surfaces. Those resonances operate to accelerate and focus particles moving along the beam path. As the droplets are distorted or destroyed by the incoming radiation, they are replaced at a predetermined frequency by other droplets supplied through the jet streams.

Charged particle accelerator grating

DOEpatents

Palmer, Robert B.

1986-09-02

A readily disposable and replaceable accelerator grating for a relativistic particle accelerator. The grating is formed for a plurality of liquid droplets that are directed in precisely positioned jet streams to periodically dispose rows of droplets along the borders of a predetermined particle beam path. A plurality of lasers are used to direct laser beams into the droplets, at predetermined angles, thereby to excite the droplets to support electromagnetic accelerating resonances on their surfaces. Those resonances operate to accelerate and focus particles moving along the beam path. As the droplets are distorted or destroyed by the incoming radiation, they are replaced at a predetermined frequency by other droplets supplied through the jet streams.

Emitron: microwave diode

DOEpatents

Craig, G.D.; Pettibone, J.S.; Drobot, A.T.

1982-05-06

The invention comprises a new class of device, driven by electron or other charged particle flow, for producing coherent microwaves by utilizing the interaction of electromagnetic waves with electron flow in diodes not requiring an external magnetic field. Anode and cathode surfaces are electrically charged with respect to one another by electron flow, for example caused by a Marx bank voltage source or by other charged particle flow, for example by a high energy charged particle beam. This produces an electric field which stimulates an emitted electron beam to flow in the anode-cathode region. The emitted electrons are accelerated by the electric field and coherent microwaves are produced by the three dimensional spatial and temporal interaction of the accelerated electrons with geometrically allowed microwave modes which results in the bunching of the electrons and the pumping of at least one dominant microwave mode.

Accelerators for charged particle therapy: PAMELA and related issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peach, Ken

2014-05-01

Cancer is a dreadful disease that will affect one in three people at some point in their life; radiotherapy is used in more than half of all cancer treatment, and contributes about 40% to the successful treatment of cancer. Charged Particle Therapy uses protons and other light ions to deliver the lethal dose to the tumor while being relatively sparing of healthy tissue and, because of the finite range of the particles, is able to avoid giving any dose to vital organs. While there are adequate technologies currently available to deliver the required energies and fluxes, the two main technologies (cyclotrons and synchrotrons) have limitations. PAMELA (the Particle Accelerator for MEdicaLApplications) uses the newly-developed non-scaling Fixed Field Alternating Gradient accelerator concepts to deliver therapeutically relevant beams. The status of the development of the PAMELA conceptual design is discussed.

Particle acceleration at shocks in the presence of a braided magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirk, J. G.; Duffy, P.; Gallant, Y. A.

1997-05-01

The theory of first order Fermi acceleration at shock fronts assumes charged particles undergo spatial diffusion in a uniform magnetic field. If, however, the magnetic field is not uniform, but has a stochastic or braided structure, the transport of charged particles across the average direction of the field is more complicated. Assuming quasi-linear behaviour of the field lines, the particles undergo sub-diffusion ( ~ t^1/2) on short time scales. We investigate this process analytically, using a propagator approach, and numerically, with a Monte-Carlo simulation. It is found that, in contrast to the diffusive case, the density of particles at the shock front is lower than it is far downstream which is a consequence of the partial trapping of particles by structures in the magnetic field. As a result, the spectrum of accelerated particles is a power-law in momentum which is steeper than in the diffusive case. For a phase-space density f ~ p^-s, we find s =s_diff [1 + 1/(2rho_c)], where rho_c is the compression ratio of the shock front and s_diff is the standard result of diffusive acceleration:s_diff = 3rho_c/(rho_c - 1).

Near-horizon Structure of Escape Zones of Electrically Charged Particles around Weakly Magnetized Rotating Black Hole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopáček, Ondřej; Karas, Vladimír

2018-01-01

An interplay of magnetic fields and gravitation drives accretion and outflows near black holes. However, a specific mechanism is still a matter of debate; it is very likely that different processes dominate under various conditions. In particular, for the acceleration of particles and their collimation in jets, an ordered component of the magnetic field seems to be essential. Here we discuss the role of large-scale magnetic fields in transporting the charged particles and dust grains from the bound orbits in the equatorial plane of a rotating (Kerr) black hole and the resulting acceleration along trajectories escaping the system in a direction parallel to the symmetry axis (perpendicular to the accretion disk). We consider a specific scenario of destabilization of circular geodesics of initially neutral matter by charging (e.g., due to photoionization). Some particles may be set on escaping trajectories and attain relativistic velocity. The case of charged particles differs from charged dust grains by their charge-to-mass ratio, but the acceleration mechanism operates in a similar manner. It appears that the chaotic dynamics controls the outflow and supports the formation of near-horizon escape zones. We employ the technique of recurrence plots to characterize the onset of chaos in the outflowing medium. We investigate the system numerically and construct the basin-boundary plots, which show the location and the extent of the escape zones. The effects of black hole spin and magnetic field strength on the formation and location of escape zones are discussed, and the maximal escape velocity is computed.

Self focusing in a spatially modulated electrostatic field particle accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russman, F.; Marini, S.; Peter, E.; de Oliveira, G. I.; Rizzato, F. B.

2018-02-01

In the present analysis, we study the action of a three-dimensional (3D) modulated electrostatic wave over a charged particle. Meanwhile, the particle's velocity is smaller than the phase-velocity of the carrier, and the particle could be reflected by the potential or could pass through the potential with no significant change in the longitudinal velocity—and its dynamics could be described by a ponderomotive approximation. Otherwise, the particle is trapped by the potential and it is accelerated towards the speed of light, independently of the initial particle's phase—in this case, the ponderomotive approximation is no longer valid. During the acceleration process, numerical simulations show the particle is focused, simultaneously. These results suggest the accelerator proposed here is promising.

Force approach to radiation reaction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

López, Gustavo V., E-mail: gulopez@udgserv.cencar.udg.mx

The difficulty of the usual approach to deal with the radiation reaction is pointed out, and under the condition that the radiation force must be a function of the external force and is zero whenever the external force be zero, a new and straightforward approach to radiation reaction force and damping is proposed. Starting from the Larmor formula for the power radiated by an accelerated charged particle, written in terms of the applied force instead of the acceleration, an expression for the radiation force is established in general, and applied to the examples for the linear and circular motion ofmore » a charged particle. This expression is quadratic in the magnitude of the applied force, inversely proportional to the speed of the charged particle, and directed opposite to the velocity vector. This force approach may contribute to the solution of the very old problem of incorporating the radiation reaction to the motion of the charged particles, and future experiments may tell us whether or not this approach point is in the right direction.« less

Adiabatic description of capture into resonance and surfatron acceleration of charged particles by electromagnetic waves.

PubMed

Artemyev, A V; Neishtadt, A I; Zelenyi, L M; Vainchtein, D L

2010-12-01

We present an analytical and numerical study of the surfatron acceleration of nonrelativistic charged particles by electromagnetic waves. The acceleration is caused by capture of particles into resonance with one of the waves. We investigate capture for systems with one or two waves and provide conditions under which the obtained results can be applied to systems with more than two waves. In the case of a single wave, the once captured particles never leave the resonance and their velocity grows linearly with time. However, if there are two waves in the system, the upper bound of the energy gain may exist and we find the analytical value of that bound. We discuss several generalizations including the relativistic limit, different wave amplitudes, and a wide range of the waves' wavenumbers. The obtained results are used for qualitative description of some phenomena observed in the Earth's magnetosphere. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.

Diffusive Shock Acceleration and Reconnection Acceleration Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zank, G. P.; Hunana, P.; Mostafavi, P.; Le Roux, J. A.; Li, Gang; Webb, G. M.; Khabarova, O.; Cummings, A.; Stone, E.; Decker, R.

2015-12-01

Shock waves, as shown by simulations and observations, can generate high levels of downstream vortical turbulence, including magnetic islands. We consider a combination of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) and downstream magnetic-island-reconnection-related processes as an energization mechanism for charged particles. Observations of electron and ion distributions downstream of interplanetary shocks and the heliospheric termination shock (HTS) are frequently inconsistent with the predictions of classical DSA. We utilize a recently developed transport theory for charged particles propagating diffusively in a turbulent region filled with contracting and reconnecting plasmoids and small-scale current sheets. Particle energization associated with the anti-reconnection electric field, a consequence of magnetic island merging, and magnetic island contraction, are considered. For the former only, we find that (i) the spectrum is a hard power law in particle speed, and (ii) the downstream solution is constant. For downstream plasmoid contraction only, (i) the accelerated spectrum is a hard power law in particle speed; (ii) the particle intensity for a given energy peaks downstream of the shock, and the distance to the peak location increases with increasing particle energy, and (iii) the particle intensity amplification for a particular particle energy, f(x,c/{c}0)/f(0,c/{c}0), is not 1, as predicted by DSA, but increases with increasing particle energy. The general solution combines both the reconnection-induced electric field and plasmoid contraction. The observed energetic particle intensity profile observed by Voyager 2 downstream of the HTS appears to support a particle acceleration mechanism that combines both DSA and magnetic-island-reconnection-related processes.

Accelerator based epithermal neutron source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taskaev, S. Yu.

2015-11-01

We review the current status of the development of accelerator sources of epithermal neutrons for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), a promising method of malignant tumor treatment. Particular attention is given to the source of epithermal neutrons on the basis of a new type of charged particle accelerator: tandem accelerator with vacuum insulation and lithium neutron-producing target. It is also shown that the accelerator with specialized targets makes it possible to generate fast and monoenergetic neutrons, resonance and monoenergetic gamma-rays, alpha-particles, and positrons.

Edwin Mattison McMillan - Patents

Science.gov Websites

APPARATUS FOR ACCELERATING TO HIGH ENERGY ELECTRICALLY CHARGED PARTICLES - McMillan, E. M.; January 6, 1953 single phased systems heretofore utilized. US 2,933,442 ELECTRONUCLEAR REACTOR - McMillan, E. M reactor is described in which a very high-energy particle accelerator is employed with appropriate target

Energy-Dependent Ionization States of Shock-Accelerated Particles in the Solar Corona

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reames, Donald V.; Ng, C. K.; Tylka, A. J.

2000-01-01

We examine the range of possible energy dependence of the ionization states of ions that are shock-accelerated from the ambient plasma of the solar corona. If acceleration begins in a region of moderate density, sufficiently low in the corona, ions above about 0.1 MeV/amu approach an equilibrium charge state that depends primarily upon their speed and only weakly on the plasma temperature. We suggest that the large variations of the charge states with energy for ions such as Si and Fe observed in the 1997 November 6 event are consistent with stripping in moderately dense coronal. plasma during shock acceleration. In the large solar-particle events studied previously, acceleration occurs sufficiently high in the corona that even Fe ions up to 600 MeV/amu are not stripped of electrons.

Dynamical Generation of Quasi-Stationary Alfvenic Double Layers and Charge Holes and Unified Theory of Quasi-Static and Alfvenic Auroral Arc Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Y.; Lysak, R. L.

2015-12-01

Parallel E-fields play a crucial role for the acceleration of charged particles, creating discrete aurorae. However, once the parallel electric fields are produced, they will disappear right away, unless the electric fields can be continuously generated and sustained for a fairly long time. Thus, the crucial question in auroral physics is how to generate such a powerful and self-sustained parallel electric fields which can effectively accelerate charge particles to high energy during a fairly long time. We propose that nonlinear interaction of incident and reflected Alfven wave packets in inhomogeneous auroral acceleration region can produce quasi-stationary non-propagating electromagnetic plasma structures, such as Alfvenic double layers (DLs) and Charge Holes. Such Alfvenic quasi-static structures often constitute powerful high energy particle accelerators. The Alfvenic DL consists of localized self-sustained powerful electrostatic electric fields nested in a low density cavity and surrounded by enhanced magnetic and mechanical stresses. The enhanced magnetic and velocity fields carrying the free energy serve as a local dynamo, which continuously create the electrostatic parallel electric field for a fairly long time. The generated parallel electric fields will deepen the seed low density cavity, which then further quickly boosts the stronger parallel electric fields creating both Alfvenic and quasi-static discrete aurorae. The parallel electrostatic electric field can also cause ion outflow, perpendicular ion acceleration and heating, and may excite Auroral Kilometric Radiation.

Particle acceleration in pulsar magnetospheres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baker, K. B.

1978-01-01

The structure of pulsar magnetospheres and the acceleration mechanism for charged particles in the magnetosphere was studied using a pulsar model which required large acceleration of the particles near the surface of the star. A theorem was developed which showed that particle acceleration cannot be expected when the angle between the magnetic field lines and the rotation axis is constant (e.g. radial field lines). If this angle is not constant, however, acceleration must occur. The more realistic model of an axisymmetric neutron star with a strong dipole magnetic field aligned with the rotation axis was investigated. In this case, acceleration occurred at large distances from the surface of the star. The magnitude of the current can be determined using the model presented. In the case of nonaxisymmetric systems, the acceleration is expected to occur nearer to the surface of the star.

An Analysis of Conjugate Ground-based and Space-based Measurements of Energetic Electrons during Substorms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sivadas, N.; Semeter, J. L.

2015-12-01

Substorms within the Earth's magnetosphere release energy in the form of energetic charged particles and several kinds of waves within the plasma. Depending on their strength, satellite-based navigation and communication systems are adversely affected by the energetic charged particles. Like many other natural phenomena, substorms can have a severe economic impact on a technology-driven society such as ours. Though energization of charged particles is known to occur in the magnetosphere during substorms, the source of this population and its relation to traditional acceleration region dynamics, are not completely understood. Combining measurements of energetic charged particles within the plasmasheet and that of charged particles precipitated in to the ionosphere will provide a better understanding of the role of processes that accelerate these charged particles. In the current work, we present energetic electron flux measured indirectly using data from ground-based Incoherent Scatter Radar and that measured directly at the plasmasheet by the THEMIS spacecraft. Instances of low-altitude-precipitation observed from ground suggest electrons of energy greater than 300 keV, possibly arising from particle injection events during substorms at the magnetically conjugate locations in the plasmasheet. The differences and similarities in the measurements at the plasmasheet and the ionosphere indicate the role different processes play in influencing the journey of these energetic particles form the magnetosphere to the ionosphere. Our observations suggest that there is a lot more to be understood of the link between magnetotail dynamics and energetic electron precipitation during substorms. Understanding this may open up novel and potentially invaluable ways of diagnosing the magnetosphere from the ground.

Pondermotive acceleration of charged particles along the relativistic jets of an accreting blackhole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebisuzaki, T.; Tajima, T.

2014-05-01

Accreting blackholes such as miniquasars and active galactic nuclei can contribute to the highest energy components of intra- (˜1015 eV) galactic and extra-galactic components (˜1020 eV) of cosmic rays. Alfven wave pulses which are excited in the accretion disk around blackholes propagate in relativistic jets. Because of their highly non-linear nature of the waves, charged particles (protons, ions, and electrons) can be accelerated to high energies in relativistic jets in accreting blackhole systems, the central engine of miniquasars and active galactic nuclei.

Acceleration of a trailing positron bunch in a plasma wakefield accelerator

DOE PAGES

Doche, A.; Beekman, C.; Corde, S.; ...

2017-10-27

High gradients of energy gain and high energy efficiency are necessary parameters for compact, cost-efficient and high-energy particle colliders. Plasma Wakefield Accelerators (PWFA) offer both, making them attractive candidates for next-generation colliders. Here in these devices, a charge-density plasma wave is excited by an ultra-relativistic bunch of charged particles (the drive bunch). The energy in the wave can be extracted by a second bunch (the trailing bunch), as this bunch propagates in the wake of the drive bunch. While a trailing electron bunch was accelerated in a plasma with more than a gigaelectronvolt of energy gain, accelerating a trailing positronmore » bunch in a plasma is much more challenging as the plasma response can be asymmetric for positrons and electrons. We report the demonstration of the energy gain by a distinct trailing positron bunch in a plasma wakefield accelerator, spanning nonlinear to quasi-linear regimes, and unveil the beam loading process underlying the accelerator energy efficiency. A positron bunch is used to drive the plasma wake in the experiment, though the quasi-linear wake structure could as easily be formed by an electron bunch or a laser driver. Finally, the results thus mark the first acceleration of a distinct positron bunch in plasma-based particle accelerators.« less

Acceleration of a trailing positron bunch in a plasma wakefield accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Doche, A.; Beekman, C.; Corde, S.

High gradients of energy gain and high energy efficiency are necessary parameters for compact, cost-efficient and high-energy particle colliders. Plasma Wakefield Accelerators (PWFA) offer both, making them attractive candidates for next-generation colliders. Here in these devices, a charge-density plasma wave is excited by an ultra-relativistic bunch of charged particles (the drive bunch). The energy in the wave can be extracted by a second bunch (the trailing bunch), as this bunch propagates in the wake of the drive bunch. While a trailing electron bunch was accelerated in a plasma with more than a gigaelectronvolt of energy gain, accelerating a trailing positronmore » bunch in a plasma is much more challenging as the plasma response can be asymmetric for positrons and electrons. We report the demonstration of the energy gain by a distinct trailing positron bunch in a plasma wakefield accelerator, spanning nonlinear to quasi-linear regimes, and unveil the beam loading process underlying the accelerator energy efficiency. A positron bunch is used to drive the plasma wake in the experiment, though the quasi-linear wake structure could as easily be formed by an electron bunch or a laser driver. Finally, the results thus mark the first acceleration of a distinct positron bunch in plasma-based particle accelerators.« less

Resistive anode image converter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lampton, M. L.; Paresce, F. (Inventor)

1976-01-01

The invention of an apparatus for imaging soft X-ray and ultraviolet electromagnetic radiation and charged particles was described. The apparatus includes a pair of microchannel electron multiplier plates connected in a cascaded chevron configuration which intercepts an incident beam of radiation or charged particles. Incident photons or charged particles strike the front surface of the chevron configuration causing emission of electrons. The electrons are accelerated by a voltage gradient and strike the inner side walls of the individual channels, causing emission of secondary electrons. Accelerated and multiplied secondary electrons impinge upon a resistive anode after they transverse the chevron configuration. A pulse position circuit converts the magnitude or transit time of the currents flowing from the point of impact of the electrons on the resistive anode to four contact electrodes mounted on their periphery of the resistive anode into the spatial coordinates of electron impact.

Sequentially pulsed traveling wave accelerator

DOEpatents

Caporaso, George J [Livermore, CA; Nelson, Scott D [Patterson, CA; Poole, Brian R [Tracy, CA

2009-08-18

A sequentially pulsed traveling wave compact accelerator having two or more pulse forming lines each with a switch for producing a short acceleration pulse along a short length of a beam tube, and a trigger mechanism for sequentially triggering the switches so that a traveling axial electric field is produced along the beam tube in synchronism with an axially traversing pulsed beam of charged particles to serially impart energy to the particle beam.

REVIEWS OF TOPICAL PROBLEMS: Acceleration of cosmic rays by shock waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berezhko, E. G.; Krymskiĭ, G. F.

1988-01-01

Theoretical work on various processes by which shock waves accelerate cosmic rays is reviewed. The most efficient of these processes, Fermi acceleration, is singled out for special attention. A linear theory for this process is presented. The results found on the basis of nonlinear models of Fermi acceleration, which incorporate the modification of the structure caused by the accelerated particles, are reported. There is a discussion of various possibilities for explaining the generation of high-energy particles observed in interplanetary and interstellar space on the basis of a Fermi acceleration mechanism. The acceleration by shock waves from supernova explosions is discussed as a possible source of galactic cosmic rays. The most important unresolved questions in the theory of acceleration of charged particles by shock waves are pointed out.

Method for computationally efficient design of dielectric laser accelerator structures

DOE PAGES

Hughes, Tyler; Veronis, Georgios; Wootton, Kent P.; ...

2017-06-22

Here, dielectric microstructures have generated much interest in recent years as a means of accelerating charged particles when powered by solid state lasers. The acceleration gradient (or particle energy gain per unit length) is an important figure of merit. To design structures with high acceleration gradients, we explore the adjoint variable method, a highly efficient technique used to compute the sensitivity of an objective with respect to a large number of parameters. With this formalism, the sensitivity of the acceleration gradient of a dielectric structure with respect to its entire spatial permittivity distribution is calculated by the use of onlymore » two full-field electromagnetic simulations, the original and ‘adjoint’. The adjoint simulation corresponds physically to the reciprocal situation of a point charge moving through the accelerator gap and radiating. Using this formalism, we perform numerical optimizations aimed at maximizing acceleration gradients, which generate fabricable structures of greatly improved performance in comparison to previously examined geometries.« less

Numerical investigation of particle-blast interaction during explosive dispersal of liquids and granular materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pontalier, Q.; Lhoumeau, M.; Milne, A. M.; Longbottom, A. W.; Frost, D. L.

2018-05-01

Experiments show that when a high-explosive charge with embedded particles or a charge surrounded by a layer of liquid or granular material is detonated, the flow generated is perturbed by the motion of the particles and the blast wave profile differs from that of an ideal Friedlander form. Initially, the blast wave overpressure is reduced due to the energy dissipation resulting from compaction, fragmentation, and heating of the particle bed, and acceleration of the material. However, as the blast wave propagates, particle-flow interactions collectively serve to reduce the rate of decay of the peak blast wave overpressure. Computations carried out with a multiphase hydrocode reproduce the general trends observed experimentally and highlight the transition between the particle acceleration/deceleration phases, which is not accessible experimentally, since the particles are obscured by the detonation products. The dependence of the particle-blast interaction and the blast mitigation effectiveness on the mitigant to explosive mass ratio, the particle size, and the initial solid volume fraction is investigated systematically. The reduction in peak blast overpressure is, as in experiments, primarily dependent on the mass ratio of material to explosive, with the particle size, density, and initial porosity of the particle bed playing secondary roles. In the near field, the blast overpressure decreases sharply with distance as the particles are accelerated by the flow. When the particles decelerate due to drag, energy is returned to the flow and the peak blast overpressure recovers and reaches values similar to that of a bare explosive charge for low mass ratios. Time-distance trajectory plots of the particle and blast wave motion with the pressure field superimposed, illustrate the weak pressure waves generated by the motion of the particle layer which travel upstream and perturb the blast wave motion. Computation of the particle and gas momentum flux in the multiphase flow generated during explosive particle dispersal indicates that the particle momentum flux is the dominant term in the near field. Both the gas and particle loading must be taken into account when determining the damage to nearby structures following the detonation of a high-explosive charge surrounded by a material layer.

Numerical investigation of particle-blast interaction during explosive dispersal of liquids and granular materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pontalier, Q.; Lhoumeau, M.; Milne, A. M.; Longbottom, A. W.; Frost, D. L.

2018-04-01

Experiments show that when a high-explosive charge with embedded particles or a charge surrounded by a layer of liquid or granular material is detonated, the flow generated is perturbed by the motion of the particles and the blast wave profile differs from that of an ideal Friedlander form. Initially, the blast wave overpressure is reduced due to the energy dissipation resulting from compaction, fragmentation, and heating of the particle bed, and acceleration of the material. However, as the blast wave propagates, particle-flow interactions collectively serve to reduce the rate of decay of the peak blast wave overpressure. Computations carried out with a multiphase hydrocode reproduce the general trends observed experimentally and highlight the transition between the particle acceleration/deceleration phases, which is not accessible experimentally, since the particles are obscured by the detonation products. The dependence of the particle-blast interaction and the blast mitigation effectiveness on the mitigant to explosive mass ratio, the particle size, and the initial solid volume fraction is investigated systematically. The reduction in peak blast overpressure is, as in experiments, primarily dependent on the mass ratio of material to explosive, with the particle size, density, and initial porosity of the particle bed playing secondary roles. In the near field, the blast overpressure decreases sharply with distance as the particles are accelerated by the flow. When the particles decelerate due to drag, energy is returned to the flow and the peak blast overpressure recovers and reaches values similar to that of a bare explosive charge for low mass ratios. Time-distance trajectory plots of the particle and blast wave motion with the pressure field superimposed, illustrate the weak pressure waves generated by the motion of the particle layer which travel upstream and perturb the blast wave motion. Computation of the particle and gas momentum flux in the multiphase flow generated during explosive particle dispersal indicates that the particle momentum flux is the dominant term in the near field. Both the gas and particle loading must be taken into account when determining the damage to nearby structures following the detonation of a high-explosive charge surrounded by a material layer.

Charged Particle Therapy Steps Into the Clinical Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haberer, Th.

Beams of heavy charged particles like protons or carbon ions represent the ideal tool for the treatment of deep-seated, inoperable and radioresistant tumors. For more than 4 decades research with beams of charged particles has been performed. In total more than 40000 patients have been treated, mostly using protons being delivered by accelerators that were designed for basic research centers. In Berkeley, USA heavier particles like helium or neon ions were used to conduct clinical trials until 1992. Based on that somewhat limited technological standard and triggered by the promising results from Berkeley the first dedicated charged particle facilities were constructed. In order to maximally exploit the advantageous physical and radiobiological characteristics of these beams enormous effort was put into developing dynamic beam delivery techniques and tailoring the capabilities of the accelerators, the planning systems and the quality assurance procedures and equipment to the requirements resulting from these new treatment modalities. Active beam delivery systems integrated in rotating gantries, if necessary, will allow the production of superior dose distributions that precisely follow the medical prescription. The technological progress being made during the last 10 years defines the state of the art of the upcoming next-generation facilities for the clinical environment in Europe and Japan.

Search for optimal 3D wave launching configurations for the acceleration of charged particles in a magnetized plasma: Resonant Moments Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ponomarjov, Maxim; Carati, Daniele

2004-11-01

Three-dimensional electromagnetic wave configurations are proposed for accelerating charged particles in an external magnetic field. A primary wave responsible for the acceleration is coupled to a secondary wave generating the chaotic motion of the particles. The wave vectors and the magnetic field are not supposed to be co-planar and create a fully three dimensional system. This configuration produces faster acceleration with low amplitude. The idea considered here is similar to Refs. [1-2] although no constraint is imposed on the refraction indices. The theoretical analysis of the acceleration mechanism is based on the Resonance Moments Method (RMM) in which the velocity distribution and its moments are approximated by using an average over the resonant layers (RL)i only instead of a complete phase-space averages. The quantities obtained using this approach, referred to as Resonant Moments (RM), suggest the existence of optimal angles of propagation for the primary and secondary waves as long as the maximization of the parallel flux of charged particles is considered The secondary wave tends to maintain a pseudo-equilibrium velocity distribution by continuously re-filling the RL. Our suggestions are confirmed by direct numerical simulations of particle trajectories. The parameters for these simulations are relevant to magnetic plasma fusion experiments in electron cyclotron resonance heating and electron acceleration in planetary magnetospheres. Although measures of the distributions clearly show a departure from thermal equilibrium, the stochastization effect of the secondary wave yields a clear increase (up to one order of magnitude) of the average parallel velocity of the particles. It is a quite promising result since the amplitude of the secondary wave is ten times lower the one of the first wave. 1 H. Karimabadi and V. Angelopoulos, Phys. Rev. Lett., 62, 2342 (1989). 2 B. I. Cohen, R. H Cohen, W. M. Nevins, and T. D. Rognlien, Rev. Mod. Phys., 63, 949 (1991).

The Particle Adventure | Accelerators and Particle Detectors

Science.gov Websites

Electromagnetism Residual EM force What about the nucleus? Strong Color charge Quark confinement Quarks emit gluons Decaying to two photons Shortcomings of the first data Is this particle really the Higgs Boson? Does it

HIGH ENERGY PARTICLE ACCELERATOR

DOEpatents

Courant, E.D.; Livingston, M.S.; Snyder, H.S.

1959-04-14

An improved apparatus is presented for focusing charged particles in an accelerator. In essence, the invention includes means for establishing a magnetic field in discrete sectors along the path of moving charged particles, the magnetic field varying in each sector in accordance with the relation. B = B/ sub 0/ STAln (r-r/sub 0/)/r/sub 0/!, where B/sub 0/ is the value of the magnetic field at the equilibrium orbit of radius r/sub 0/ of the path of the particles, B equals the magnetic field at the radius r of the chamber and n equals the magnetic field gradient index, the polarity of n being abruptly reversed a plurality of times as the particles travel along their arcuate path. With this arrangement, the particles are alternately converged towards the axis of their equillbrium orbit and diverged therefrom in successive sectors with a resultant focusing effect.

Diagnostics of Particles emitted from a Laser generated Plasma: Experimental Data and Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costa, Giuseppe; Torrisi, Lorenzo

2018-01-01

The charge particle emission form laser-generated plasma was studied experimentally and theoretically using the COMSOL simulation code. The particle acceleration was investigated using two lasers at two different regimes. A Nd:YAG laser, with 3 ns pulse duration and 1010 W/cm2 intensity, when focused on solid target produces a non-equilibrium plasma with average temperature of about 30-50 eV. An Iodine laser with 300 ps pulse duration and 1016 W/cm2 intensity produces plasmas with average temperatures of the order of tens keV. In both cases charge separation occurs and ions and electrons are accelerated at energies of the order of 200 eV and 1 MeV per charge state in the two cases, respectively. The simulation program permits to plot the charge particle trajectories from plasma source in vacuum indicating how they can be deflected by magnetic and electrical fields. The simulation code can be employed to realize suitable permanent magnets and solenoids to deflect ions toward a secondary target or detectors, to focalize ions and electrons, to realize electron traps able to provide significant ion acceleration and to realize efficient spectrometers. In particular it was applied to the study two Thomson parabola spectrometers able to detect ions at low and at high laser intensities. The comparisons between measurements and simulation is presented and discussed.

Wake-field and space charge effects on high brightness beams calculations and measured results for the laser driven photoelectrons at BNL-ATF

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parsa, Z.

1993-05-01

We discuss the formalism used to study the effects of the interactions between the highly charged particles and the fields in the accelerating structure, including space charge and wake fields. Some of our calculations and numerical simulation results obtained for the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) high-brightness photoelectron beam at the Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) and the measured data at ATF are also included.

Accelerators for America's Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Mei

2016-03-01

Particle accelerator, a powerful tool to energize beams of charged particles to a desired speed and energy, has been the working horse for investigating the fundamental structure of matter and fundermental laws of nature. Most known examples are the 2-mile long Stanford Linear Accelerator at SLAC, the high energy proton and anti-proton collider Tevatron at FermiLab, and Large Hadron Collider that is currently under operation at CERN. During the less than a century development of accelerator science and technology that led to a dazzling list of discoveries, particle accelerators have also found various applications beyond particle and nuclear physics research, and become an indispensible part of the economy. Today, one can find a particle accelerator at almost every corner of our lives, ranging from the x-ray machine at the airport security to radiation diagnostic and therapy in hospitals. This presentation will give a brief introduction of the applications of this powerful tool in fundermental research as well as in industry. Challenges in accelerator science and technology will also be briefly presented

Signatures of particle acceleration at SN 1987A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaisser, T. K.; Stanev, Todor; Harding, Alice K.

1989-01-01

At least eight experiments are currently monitoring SN 1987A for photons or neutrinos with energies in the TeV range or higher. Observation of such signals would indicate that the supernova is the site of acceleration of charged particles to even higher energies. The way that the acceleration might occur is discussed, and the prospects for detection of such signals in light of current limits on power in the supernova from sources other than the nickel-cobalt-iron decay chain are evaluated. It is pointed out that signals of particle acceleration may show up in continuum MeV gamma rays as well as in the 100 MeV range.

Systems and methods of varying charged particle beam spot size

DOEpatents

Chen, Yu-Jiuan

2014-09-02

Methods and devices enable shaping of a charged particle beam. A modified dielectric wall accelerator includes a high gradient lens section and a main section. The high gradient lens section can be dynamically adjusted to establish the desired electric fields to minimize undesirable transverse defocusing fields at the entrance to the dielectric wall accelerator. Once a baseline setting with desirable output beam characteristic is established, the output beam can be dynamically modified to vary the output beam characteristics. The output beam can be modified by slightly adjusting the electric fields established across different sections of the modified dielectric wall accelerator. Additional control over the shape of the output beam can be excreted by introducing intentional timing de-synchronization offsets and producing an injected beam that is not fully matched to the entrance of the modified dielectric accelerator.

Trains of electron micro-bunches in plasma wake-field acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lécz, Zsolt; Andreev, Alexander; Konoplev, Ivan; Seryi, Andrei; Smith, Jonathan

2018-07-01

Plasma-based charged particle accelerators have been intensively investigated in the past three decades due to their capability to open up new horizons in accelerator science and particle physics yielding electric field accelerating gradient more than three orders of magnitudes higher than in conventional devices. At the current stage the most advanced and reliable mechanism for accelerating electrons is based on the propagation of an intense laser pulse or a relativistic electron beam in a low density gaseous target. In this paper we concentrate on the electron beam-driven plasma wake-field acceleration and demonstrate using 3D PiC simulations that a train of electron micro-bunches with ∼10 fs period can be generated behind the driving beam propagating in a density down-ramp. We will discuss the conditions and properties of the micro-bunches generated aiming at understanding and study of multi-bunch mechanism of injection. It is show that the periodicity and duration of micro-bunches can be controlled by adjusting the plasma density gradient and driving beam charge.

Fully implicit Particle-in-cell algorithms for multiscale plasma simulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chacon, Luis

The outline of the paper is as follows: Particle-in-cell (PIC) methods for fully ionized collisionless plasmas, explicit vs. implicit PIC, 1D ES implicit PIC (charge and energy conservation, moment-based acceleration), and generalization to Multi-D EM PIC: Vlasov-Darwin model (review and motivation for Darwin model, conservation properties (energy, charge, and canonical momenta), and numerical benchmarks). The author demonstrates a fully implicit, fully nonlinear, multidimensional PIC formulation that features exact local charge conservation (via a novel particle mover strategy), exact global energy conservation (no particle self-heating or self-cooling), adaptive particle orbit integrator to control errors in momentum conservation, and canonical momenta (EM-PICmore » only, reduced dimensionality). The approach is free of numerical instabilities: ω peΔt >> 1, and Δx >> λ D. It requires many fewer dofs (vs. explicit PIC) for comparable accuracy in challenging problems. Significant CPU gains (vs explicit PIC) have been demonstrated. The method has much potential for efficiency gains vs. explicit in long-time-scale applications. Moment-based acceleration is effective in minimizing N FE, leading to an optimal algorithm.« less

Design of asymmetric particles containing a charged interior and a neutral surface charge: comparative study on in vivo circulation of polyelectrolyte microgels.

PubMed

Chen, Kai; Xu, Jing; Luft, J Christopher; Tian, Shaomin; Raval, Jay S; DeSimone, Joseph M

2014-07-16

Lowering the modulus of hydrogel particles could enable them to bypass in vivo physical barriers that would otherwise filter particles with similar size but higher modulus. Incorporation of electrolyte moieties into the polymer network of hydrogel particles to increase the swelling ratio is a straightforward and quite efficient way to decrease the modulus. In addition, charged groups in hydrogel particles can also help secure cargoes. However, the distribution of charged groups on the surface of a particle can accelerate the clearance of particles. Herein, we developed a method to synthesize highly swollen microgels of precise size with near-neutral surface charge while retaining interior charged groups. A strategy was employed to enable a particle to be highly cross-linked with very small mesh size, and subsequently PEGylated to quench the exterior amines only without affecting the internal amines. Acidic degradation of the cross-linker allows for swelling of the particles to microgels with a desired size and deformability. The microgels fabricated demonstrated extended circulation in vivo compared to their counterparts with a charged surface, and could potentially be utilized in in vivo applications including as oxygen carriers or nucleic acid scavengers.

Modeling of Particle Acceleration at Multiple Shocks via Diffusive Shock Acceleration: Preliminary Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, L. Neergaard; Zank, G. P.

2013-01-01

Successful forecasting of energetic particle events in space weather models require algorithms for correctly predicting the spectrum of ions accelerated from a background population of charged particles. We present preliminary results from a model that diffusively accelerates particles at multiple shocks. Our basic approach is related to box models in which a distribution of particles is diffusively accelerated inside the box while simultaneously experiencing decompression through adiabatic expansion and losses from the convection and diffusion of particles outside the box. We adiabatically decompress the accelerated particle distribution between each shock by either the method explored in Melrose and Pope (1993) and Pope and Melrose (1994) or by the approach set forth in Zank et al. (2000) where we solve the transport equation by a method analogous to operator splitting. The second method incorporates the additional loss terms of convection and diffusion and allows for the use of a variable time between shocks. We use a maximum injection energy (E(sub max)) appropriate for quasi-parallel and quasi-perpendicular shocks and provide a preliminary application of the diffusive acceleration of particles by multiple shocks with frequencies appropriate for solar maximum (i.e., a non-Markovian process).

Optical Diagnostics for Plasma-based Particle Accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muggli, Patric

2009-05-01

One of the challenges for plasma-based particle accelerators is to measure the spatio-temporal characteristics of the accelerated particle bunch. ``Optical'' diagnostics are particularly interesting and useful because of the large number of techniques that exits to determine the properties of photon pulses. The accelerated bunch can produce photons pulses that carry information about its characteristics for example through synchrotron radiation in a magnet, Cherenkov radiation in a gas, and transition radiation (TR) at the boundary between two media with different dielectric constants. Depending on the wavelength of the emission when compared to the particle bunch length, the radiation can be incoherent or coherent. Incoherent TR in the optical range (or OTR) is useful to measure the transverse spatial characteristics of the beam, such as charge distribution and size. Coherent TR (or CTR) carries information about the bunch length that can in principle be retrieved by standard auto-correlation or interferometric techniques, as well as by spectral measurements. A measurement of the total CTR energy emitted by bunches with constant charge can also be used as a shot-to-shot measurement for the relative bunch length as the CTR energy is proportional to the square of the bunch population and inversely proportional to its length (for a fixed distribution). Spectral interferometry can also yield the spacing between bunches in the case where multiple bunches are trapped in subsequent buckets of the plasma wave. Cherenkov radiation can be used as an energy threshold diagnostic for low energy particles. Cherenkov, synchrotron and transition radiation can be used in a dispersive section of the beam line to measure the bunch energy spectrum. The application of these diagnostics to plasma-based particle accelerators, with emphasis on the beam-driven, plasma wakefield accelerator (PWFA) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory will be discussed.

Charged Particle Monitor on the Astrosat Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, A. R.; Patil, M. H.; Bhargava, Yash; Khanna, Rakesh; Hingar, M. K.; Kutty, A. P. K.; Malkar, J. P.; Basak, Rupal; Sreekumar, S.; Samuel, Essy; Priya, P.; Vinod, P.; Bhattacharya, D.; Bhalerao, V.; Vadawale, S. V.; Mithun, N. P. S.; Pandiyan, R.; Subbarao, K.; Seetha, S.; Sarma, K. Suryanarayana

2017-06-01

Charged Particle Monitor (CPM) on-board the Astrosat satellite is an instrument designed to detect the flux of charged particles at the satellite location. A Cesium Iodide Thallium (CsI(Tl)) crystal is used with a Kapton window to detect protons with energies greater than 1 MeV. The ground calibration of CPM was done using gamma-rays from radioactive sources and protons from particle accelerators. Based on the ground calibration results, energy deposition above 1 MeV are accepted and particle counts are recorded. It is found that CPM counts are steady and the signal for the onset and exit of South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) region are generated in a very reliable and stable manner.

Techniques for correcting velocity and density fluctuations of ion beams in ion inducti on accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woo, K. M.; Yu, S. S.; Barnard, J. J.

2013-06-01

It is well known that the imperfection of pulse power sources that drive the linear induction accelerators can lead to time-varying fluctuation in the accelerating voltages, which in turn leads to longitudinal emittance growth. We show that this source of emittance growth is correctable, even in space-charge dominated beams with significant transients induced by space-charge waves. Two correction methods are proposed, and their efficacy in reducing longitudinal emittance is demonstrated with three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations.

The mean ionic charge state of solar energetic Fe ions above 200 MeV per nucleon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tylka, A. J.; Boberg, P. R.; Adams, J. H., Jr.; Beahm, L. P.; Dietrich, W. F.; Kleis, T.

1995-01-01

We have analyzed the geomagnetic transmission of solar energetic Fe ions at approximately 200-600 MeV per nucleon during the great solar energetic particle (SEP) events of 1989 September-October. By comparing fluences from the Chicago charged-particle telescope on IMP-8 in interplanetary space and from NRL's Heavy Ions in Space (HIIS) experiment aboard the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) in low-Earth orbit, we obtain a mean ionic charge (Q(sub 3)) = 14.2 +/- 1.4. This result is significantly lower than (Q) observed at approximately 1 MeV per nucleon in impulsive, He-3 rich SEP events, indicating that neither acceleration at the flare site nor flare-heated plasma significantly contributes to the high-energy Fe ions we observe. But it agrees well with the (Q) observed in gradual SEP events at approximately 1 MeV per nucleon, in which ions are accelerated by shocks driven by fast coronal mass ejections, and hence shows that particles are accelerated to very high energies in this way. We also note apparent differences between solar wind and SEP charge state distributions, which may favor a coronal (rather than solar wind) seed population or may suggest additional ionization in the ambient shock-region plasma.

Modeling magnetic field amplification in nonlinear diffusive shock acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vladimirov, Andrey

2009-02-01

This research was motivated by the recent observations indicating very strong magnetic fields at some supernova remnant shocks, which suggests in-situ generation of magnetic turbulence. The dissertation presents a numerical model of collisionless shocks with strong amplification of stochastic magnetic fields, self-consistently coupled to efficient shock acceleration of charged particles. Based on a Monte Carlo simulation of particle transport and acceleration in nonlinear shocks, the model describes magnetic field amplification using the state-of-the-art analytic models of instabilities in magnetized plasmas in the presence of non-thermal particle streaming. The results help one understand the complex nonlinear connections between the thermal plasma, the accelerated particles and the stochastic magnetic fields in strong collisionless shocks. Also, predictions regarding the efficiency of particle acceleration and magnetic field amplification, the impact of magnetic field amplification on the maximum energy of accelerated particles, and the compression and heating of the thermal plasma by the shocks are presented. Particle distribution functions and turbulence spectra derived with this model can be used to calculate the emission of observable nonthermal radiation.

Study of Nonlinear Dynamics of Intense Charged Particle Beams in the Paul Trap Simulator Experiment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Hua

The Paul Trap Simulator Experiment (PTSX) is a compact laboratory device that simulates the nonlinear dynamics of intense charged particle beams propagating over a large distance in an alternating-gradient magnetic transport system. The radial quadrupole electric eld forces on the charged particles in the Paul Trap are analogous to the radial forces on the charged particles in the quadrupole magnetic transport system. The amplitude of oscillating voltage applied to the cylindrical electrodes in PTSX is equivalent to the quadrupole magnetic eld gradient in accelerators. The temporal periodicity in PTSX corresponds to the spatial periodicity in magnetic transport system. This thesismore » focuses on investigations of envelope instabilities and collective mode excitations, properties of high-intensity beams with significant space-charge effects, random noise-induced beam degradation and a laser-induced-fluorescence diagnostic. To better understand the nonlinear dynamics of the charged particle beams, it is critical to understand the collective processes of the charged particles. Charged particle beams support a variety of collective modes, among which the quadrupole mode and the dipole mode are of the greatest interest. We used quadrupole and dipole perturbations to excite the quadrupole and dipole mode respectively and study the effects of those collective modes on the charge bunch. The experimental and particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation results both show that when the frequency and the spatial structure of the external perturbation are matched with the corresponding collective mode, that mode will be excited to a large amplitude and resonates strongly with the external perturbation, usually causing expansion of the charge bunch and loss of particles. Machine imperfections are inevitable for accelerator systems, and we use random noise to simulate the effects of machine imperfection on the charged particle beams. The random noise can be Fourier decomposed into various frequency components and experimental results show that when the random noise has a large frequency component that matches a certain collective mode, the mode will also be excited and cause heating of the charge bunch. It is also noted that by rearranging the order of the random noise, the adverse effects of the random noise may be eliminated. As a non-destructive diagnostic method, a laser-induced- fluorescence (LIF) diagnostic is developed to study the transverse dynamics of the charged particle beams. The accompanying barium ion source and dye laser system are developed and tested.« less

Corrections to the Thomson cross section caused by relativistic effects and by the presence of the drift velocity of a classical charged particle in the field of a monochromatic plane wave

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perestoronin, A. V.

2017-03-01

An approach to the solution of the relativistic problem of the motion of a classical charged particle in the field of a monochromatic plane wave with an arbitrary polarization (linear, circular, or elliptic) is proposed. It is based on the analysis of the 4-vector equation of motion of the charged particle together with the 4-vector and tensor equations for the components of the electromagnetic field tensor of a monochromatic plane wave. This approach provides analytical expressions for the time-averaged square of the 4-acceleration of the charge, as well as for the averaged values of any quantities periodic in the time of the reference frame. Expressions for the integral power of scattered radiation, which is proportional to the time-averaged square of the 4-acceleration of the charge, and for the integral scattering cross section, which is the ratio of the power of scattered radiation to the intensity of incident radiation, are obtained for an arbitrary inertial reference frame. An expression for the scattering cross section, which coincides with the known results at the circular and linear polarizations of the incident waves and describes the case of elliptic polarization of the incident wave, is obtained for the reference frame where the charged particle is on average at rest. An expression for the scattering cross section including relativistic effects and the nonzero drift velocity of a particle in this system is obtained for the laboratory reference frame, where the initial velocity of the charged particle is zero. In the case of the circular polarization of the incident wave, the scattering cross section in the laboratory frame is equal to the Thompson cross section.

Charged particle beam scanning using deformed high gradient insulator

DOEpatents

Chen, Yu -Jiuan

2015-10-06

Devices and methods are provided to allow rapid deflection of a charged particle beam. The disclosed devices can, for example, be used as part of a hadron therapy system to allow scanning of a target area within a patient's body. The disclosed charged particle beam deflectors include a dielectric wall accelerator (DWA) with a hollow center and a dielectric wall that is substantially parallel to a z-axis that runs through the hollow center. The dielectric wall includes one or more deformed high gradient insulators (HGIs) that are configured to produce an electric field with an component in a direction perpendicular to the z-axis. A control component is also provided to establish the electric field component in the direction perpendicular to the z-axis and to control deflection of a charged particle beam in the direction perpendicular to the z-axis as the charged particle beam travels through the hollow center of the DWA.

Routes for the production of isotopes for PET with high intensity deuteron accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arias de Saavedra, F.; Porras, I.; Praena, J.

2018-04-01

Recent advances in accelerator science are opening new possibilities in different fields of physics. In particular, the development of compact linear accelerators that can provide charged particles of low-medium energy (few MeV) with high current (above mA) allows for the study of new possibilities in neutron production and for new routes for the production of radioisotopes. Keeping in mind how radioisotopes are actually produced in dedicated facilities, we have performed a study of alternative reactions to produce PET isotopes induced by low-energy deuterons. We have fitted the EXFOR cross sections data, used the fitted values of the stopping power by Andersen and Ziegler and calculated by numerical integration the production rate of isotopes for charged particles up to 20 MeV. The results for deuterons up to 3 MeV are compared with the ones from cyclotrons, which are able to provide higher energies to the charged projectiles but with lower intensities. Our results indicate that using linear accelerators may be a good alternative for producing PET isotopes, reducing the problem of neutron activation.

A linear accelerator for simulated micrometeors.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slattery, J. C.; Becker, D. G.; Hamermesh, B.; Roy, N. L.

1973-01-01

Review of the theory, design parameters, and construction details of a linear accelerator designed to impart meteoric velocities to charged microparticles in the 1- to 10-micron diameter range. The described linac is of the Sloan Lawrence type and, in a significant departure from conventional accelerator practice, is adapted to single particle operation by employing a square wave driving voltage with the frequency automatically adjusted from 12.5 to 125 kHz according to the variable velocity of each injected particle. Any output velocity up to about 30 km/sec can easily be selected, with a repetition rate of approximately two particles per minute.

The acceleration of charged particles in interplanetary shock waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pesses, M. E.; Decker, R. B.; Armstrong, T. P.

1982-01-01

Consideration of the theoretical and observational literature on energetic ion acceleration in interplanetary shock waves is the basis for the present discussion of the shock acceleration of the solar wind plasma and particle transport effects. It is suggested that ISEE data be used to construct data sets for shock events that extend continuously from solar wind to galactic cosmic ray energies, including data for electrons, protons, alphas and ions with Z values greater than 2.0, and that the temporal and spatial evolution of two- and three-dimensional particle distribution functions be studied by means of two or more spacecraft.

HEAVY ION LINEAR ACCELERATOR

DOEpatents

Van Atta, C.M.; Beringer, R.; Smith, L.

1959-01-01

A linear accelerator of heavy ions is described. The basic contributions of the invention consist of a method and apparatus for obtaining high energy particles of an element with an increased charge-to-mass ratio. The method comprises the steps of ionizing the atoms of an element, accelerating the resultant ions to an energy substantially equal to one Mev per nucleon, stripping orbital electrons from the accelerated ions by passing the ions through a curtain of elemental vapor disposed transversely of the path of the ions to provide a second charge-to-mass ratio, and finally accelerating the resultant stripped ions to a final energy of at least ten Mev per nucleon.

Mutation induction by charged particles of defined linear energy transfer.

PubMed

Hei, T K; Chen, D J; Brenner, D J; Hall, E J

1988-07-01

The mutagenic potential of charged particles of defined linear energy transfer (LET) was assessed using the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase locus (HGPRT) in primary human fibroblasts. Exponentially growing cultures of early passaged fibroblasts were grown as monolayers on thin mylar sheets and were irradiated with accelerated protons, deuterons or helium-3 ions. The mutation rates were compared with those generated by 137Cs gamma-rays. LET values for charged particles accelerated at the Radiological Research Accelerator Facility, using the track segment mode, ranged from 10 to 150 keV/micron. After irradiation, cells were trypsinized, subcultured and assayed for both cytotoxicity and 6-thioguanine resistance. For gamma-rays, and for the charged particles of lower LET, the dose-response curves for cell survival were characterized by a marked initial shoulder, but approximated to an exponential function of dose for higher LETs. Mutation frequencies, likewise, showed a direct correlation to LET over the dose range examined. Relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for mutagenesis, based on the initial slopes of the dose-response curves, ranged from 1.30 for 10 keV/micron protons to 9.40 for 150 keV/micron helium-3 ions. Results of the present studies indicate that high-LET radiations, apart from being efficient inducers of cell lethality, are even more efficient in mutation induction as compared to low-LET ionizing radiation. These data are consistent with results previously obtained with both rodent and human fibroblast cell lines.

Microparticle accelerator of unique design. [for micrometeoroid impact and cratering simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vedder, J. F.

1978-01-01

A microparticle accelerator has been devised for micrometeoroid impact and cratering simulation; the device produces high-velocity (0.5-15 km/sec), micrometer-sized projectiles of any cohesive material. In the source, an electrodynamic levitator, single particles are charged by ion bombardment in high vacuum. The vertical accelerator has four drift tubes, each initially at a high negative voltage. After injection of the projectile, each tube is grounded in turn at a time determined by the voltage and charge/mass ratio to give four acceleration stages with a total voltage equivalent to about 1.7 MV.

Symplectic multiparticle tracking model for self-consistent space-charge simulation

DOE PAGES

Qiang, Ji

2017-01-23

Symplectic tracking is important in accelerator beam dynamics simulation. So far, to the best of our knowledge, there is no self-consistent symplectic space-charge tracking model available in the accelerator community. In this paper, we present a two-dimensional and a three-dimensional symplectic multiparticle spectral model for space-charge tracking simulation. This model includes both the effect from external fields and the effect of self-consistent space-charge fields using a split-operator method. Such a model preserves the phase space structure and shows much less numerical emittance growth than the particle-in-cell model in the illustrative examples.

Symplectic multiparticle tracking model for self-consistent space-charge simulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Qiang, Ji

Symplectic tracking is important in accelerator beam dynamics simulation. So far, to the best of our knowledge, there is no self-consistent symplectic space-charge tracking model available in the accelerator community. In this paper, we present a two-dimensional and a three-dimensional symplectic multiparticle spectral model for space-charge tracking simulation. This model includes both the effect from external fields and the effect of self-consistent space-charge fields using a split-operator method. Such a model preserves the phase space structure and shows much less numerical emittance growth than the particle-in-cell model in the illustrative examples.

Particle beam injector system and method

DOEpatents

Guethlein, Gary

2013-06-18

Methods and devices enable coupling of a charged particle beam to a radio frequency quadrupole accelerator. Coupling of the charged particle beam is accomplished, at least in-part, by relying on of sensitivity of the input phase space acceptance of the radio frequency quadrupole to the angle of the input charged particle beam. A first electric field across a beam deflector deflects the particle beam at an angle that is beyond the acceptance angle of the radio frequency quadrupole. By momentarily reversing or reducing the established electric field, a narrow portion of the charged particle beam is deflected at an angle within the acceptance angle of the radio frequency quadrupole. In another configuration, beam is directed at an angle within the acceptance angle of the radio frequency quadrupole by the first electric field and is deflected beyond the acceptance angle of the radio frequency quadrupole due to the second electric field.

The X-Ray Emission of the Centaurus A Jet.

PubMed

Birk; Lesch

2000-02-20

The extended nonthermal X-ray emission of extragalactic jets like Centaurus A can only be explained by in situ particle acceleration. The only energy source in the entire jet region is the magnetic field. Magnetic reconnection can convert the free energy stored in the helical configuration to particle kinetic energy. In the collisionless magnetized jet plasma, the inertia-driven reconnection is operating in a highly filamentary magnetic flux rope, and this results in a continuously charged particle acceleration. The synchrotron radiation of these particles can cause the observed X-ray emission in Centaurus A.

Plasma particle simulation of electrostatic ion thrusters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peng, Xiaohang; Keefer, Dennis; Ruyten, Wilhelmus

1990-01-01

Charge exchange collisons between beam ions and neutral propellant gas can result in erosion of the accelerator grid surfaces of an ion engine. A particle in cell (PIC) is developed along with a Monte Carlo method to simulate the ion dynamics and charge exchange processes in the grid region of an ion thruster. The simulation is two-dimensional axisymmetric and uses three velocity components (2d3v) to investigate the influence of charge exchange collisions on the ion sputtering of the accelerator grid surfaces. An example calculation has been performed for an ion thruster operated on xenon propellant. The simulation shows that the greatest sputtering occurs on the downstream surface of the grid, but some sputtering can also occur on the upstream surface as well as on the interior of the grid aperture.

The Acceleration of Charged Particles at a Spherical Shock Moving through an Irregular Magnetic Field

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Giacalone, J.

We investigate the physics of charged-particle acceleration at spherical shocks moving into a uniform plasma containing a turbulent magnetic field with a uniform mean. This has applications to particle acceleration at astrophysical shocks, most notably, to supernovae blast waves. We numerically integrate the equations of motion of a large number of test protons moving under the influence of electric and magnetic fields determined from a kinematically defined plasma flow associated with a radially propagating blast wave. Distribution functions are determined from the positions and velocities of the protons. The unshocked plasma contains a magnetic field with a uniform mean andmore » an irregular component having a Kolmogorov-like power spectrum. The field inside the blast wave is determined from Maxwell’s equations. The angle between the average magnetic field and unit normal to the shock varies with position along its surface. It is quasi-perpendicular to the unit normal near the sphere’s equator, and quasi-parallel to it near the poles. We find that the highest intensities of particles, accelerated by the shock, are at the poles of the blast wave. The particles “collect” at the poles as they approximately adhere to magnetic field lines that move poleward from their initial encounter with the shock at the equator, as the shock expands. The field lines at the poles have been connected to the shock the longest. We also find that the highest-energy protons are initially accelerated near the equator or near the quasi-perpendicular portion of the shock, where the acceleration is more rapid.« less

Multi-species first-principles simulations of particle acceleration at shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caprioli, Damiano

Astrophysical shocks are known to be prominent sources of non-thermal particles and emission. In particular, strong shocks at supernova remnant blast waves are thought to accelerate Galactic cosmic rays (CRs) up to about 10^17eV via diffusive shock acceleration (DSA). The chemical composition of Galactic CRs, now measured with great accuracy by payloads and satellites, is reminiscent of that of the typical interstellar medium, although with some significant deviations. Observations reveal: 1) an electron/proton ratio of about 1% at about 10 GeV, (2) a general enhancement of the refractory elements relative to the volatile ones, (3) among the volatile elements, an enhancement of the heavier elements relative to the lighter ones, and (4) a discrepant hardening of CR nuclei heavier than hydrogen. Such peculiar trends contain precious information about the dependence of the acceleration process on the particle mass/charge ratio, a trend that has no theoretical counterpart in the DSA theory, yet. Building on our recent successes in modeling electron and proton DSA at non-relativistic astrophysical shocks via first-principles kinetic simulations, we will perform multispecies particle-in-cells simulations of such systems also including nuclei heavier than hydrogen, in order to investigate thermalization, injection, and acceleration of species with different mass/charge ratio. We will also analyze how the simulation outputs compare with the observed CR abundances, in order to build a model for DSA that accounts for the relative acceleration efficiency of energetic electrons, protons, and heavier ions. Finally, we will assess the possible contribution of accelerated heavy ions, especially helium, to the generation of magnetic turbulence via CR-driven instabilities - crucial to foster rapid particle energgization- and to the hadronic gamma-ray emission from young supernova remnants.

A new class of exact solutions of the Klein-Gordon equation of a charged particle interacting with an electromagnetic plane wave in a medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varró, Sándor

2014-01-01

Exact solutions are presented of the Klein-Gordon equation of a charged particle moving in a transverse monochromatic plasmon wave of arbitrary high amplitude, which propagates in an underdense plasma. These solutions are expressed in terms of Ince polynomials, forming a doubly infinite set, parametrized by discrete momentum components of the charged particle’s de Broglie wave along the polarization vector and along the propagation direction of the plasmon radiation. The envelope of the exact wavefunctions describes a high-contrast periodic structure of the particle density on the plasma length scale, which may have relevance in novel particle acceleration mechanisms.

Exploring the role of turbulent acceleration and heating in fractal current sheet of solar flares­ from hybrid particle in cell and lattice Boltzmann virtual test

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, B.; Lin, J.; Yuan, X.; Li, Y.; Shen, C.

2016-12-01

The role of turbulent acceleration and heating in the fractal magnetic reconnection of solar flares is still not clear, especially at the X-point in the diffusion region. At virtual test aspect, it is hardly to quantitatively analyze the vortex generation, turbulence evolution, particle acceleration and heating in the magnetic islands coalesce in fractal manner, formatting into largest plasmid and ejection process in diffusion region through classical magnetohydrodynamics numerical method. With the development of physical particle numerical method (particle in cell method [PIC], Lattice Boltzmann method [LBM]) and high performance computing technology in recently two decades. Kinetic simulation has developed into an effectively manner to exploring the role of magnetic field and electric field turbulence in charged particles acceleration and heating process, since all the physical aspects relating to turbulent reconnection are taken into account. In this paper, the LBM based lattice DxQy grid and extended distribution are added into charged-particles-to-grid-interpolation of PIC based finite difference time domain scheme and Yee Grid, the hybrid PIC-LBM simulation tool is developed to investigating turbulence acceleration on TIANHE-2. The actual solar coronal condition (L≈105Km,B≈50-500G,T≈5×106K, n≈108-109, mi/me≈500-1836) is applied to study the turbulent acceleration and heating in solar flare fractal current sheet. At stage I, magnetic islands shrink due to magnetic tension forces, the process of island shrinking halts when the kinetic energy of the accelerated particles is sufficient to halt the further collapse due to magnetic tension forces, the particle energy gain is naturally a large fraction of the released magnetic energy. At stage II and III, the particles from the energized group come in to the center of the diffusion region and stay longer in the area. In contract, the particles from non energized group only skim the outer part of the diffusion regions. At stage IV, the magnetic reconnection type nanoplasmid (200km) stop expanding and carrying enough energy to eject particles as constant velocity. Last, the role of magnetic field turbulence and electric field turbulence in electron and ion acceleration at the diffusion regions in solar flare fractural current sheet is given.

Radiation from Accelerating Electric Charges: The Third Derivative of Position

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butterworth, Edward

2010-03-01

While some textbooks appear to suggest that acceleration of an electric charge is both a necessary and sufficient cause for the generation of electromagnetic radiation, the question has in fact had an intricate and involved history. In particular, the acceleration of a charge in hyperbolic motion, the behavior of a charge supported against a gravitational force (and its implications for the Equivalence Principle), and a charge accelerated by a workless constraint have been the subject of repeated investigation. The present paper examines specifically the manner in which the third derivative of position enters into the equations of motion, and the implications this has for the emission of radiation. Plass opens his review article with the statement that ``A fundamental property of all charged particles is that electromagnetic energy is radiated whenever they are accelerated'' (Plass 1961; emphasis mine). His treatment of the equations of motion, however, emphasizes the importance of the occurrence of the third derivative of position therein, present in linear motion only when the rate of acceleration is increasing or decreasing. There appears to be general agreement that the presence of a nonzero third derivative indicates that this charge is radiating; but does its absence preclude radiation? This question leads back to the issues of charges accelerated by a uniform gravitational field. We will examine the equations of motion as presented in Fulton & Rohrlich (1960), Plass (1961), Barut (1964), Teitelboim (1970) and Mo & Papas (1971) in the light of more recent literature in an attempt to clarify this question.

Dissemination and support of ARGUS for accelerator applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The ARGUS code is a three-dimensional code system for simulating for interactions between charged particles, electric and magnetic fields, and complex structure. It is a system of modules that share common utilities for grid and structure input, data handling, memory management, diagnostics, and other specialized functions. The code includes the fields due to the space charge and current density of the particles to achieve a self-consistent treatment of the particle dynamics. The physic modules in ARGUS include three-dimensional field solvers for electrostatics and electromagnetics, a three-dimensional electromagnetic frequency-domain module, a full particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation module, and a steady-state PIC model.more » These are described in the Appendix to this report. This project has a primary mission of developing the capabilities of ARGUS in accelerator modeling of release to the accelerator design community. Five major activities are being pursued in parallel during the first year of the project. To improve the code and/or add new modules that provide capabilities needed for accelerator design. To produce a User's Guide that documents the use of the code for all users. To release the code and the User's Guide to accelerator laboratories for their own use, and to obtain feed-back from the. To build an interactive user interface for setting up ARGUS calculations. To explore the use of ARGUS on high-power workstation platforms.« less

Effect of polarization and focusing on laser pulse driven auto-resonant particle acceleration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sagar, Vikram; Sengupta, Sudip; Kaw, Predhiman

2014-04-15

The effect of laser polarization and focusing is theoretically studied on the final energy gain of a particle in the Auto-resonant acceleration scheme using a finite duration laser pulse with Gaussian shaped temporal envelope. The exact expressions for dynamical variables viz. position, momentum, and energy are obtained by analytically solving the relativistic equation of motion describing particle dynamics in the combined field of an elliptically polarized finite duration pulse and homogeneous static axial magnetic field. From the solutions, it is shown that for a given set of laser parameters viz. intensity and pulse length along with static magnetic field, themore » energy gain by a positively charged particle is maximum for a right circularly polarized laser pulse. Further, a new scheme is proposed for particle acceleration by subjecting it to the combined field of a focused finite duration laser pulse and static axial magnetic field. In this scheme, the particle is initially accelerated by the focused laser field, which drives the non-resonant particle to second stage of acceleration by cyclotron Auto-resonance. The new scheme is found to be efficient over two individual schemes, i.e., auto-resonant acceleration and direct acceleration by focused laser field, as significant particle acceleration can be achieved at one order lesser values of static axial magnetic field and laser intensity.« less

Diagnostic resonant cavity for a charged particle accelerator

DOEpatents

Barov, Nikolai

2007-10-02

Disclosed is a diagnostic resonant cavity for determining characteristics of a charged particle beam, such as an electron beam, produced in a charged particle accelerator. The cavity is based on resonant quadrupole-mode and higher order cavities. Enhanced shunt impedance in such cavities is obtained by the incorporation of a set of four or more electrically conductive rods extending inwardly from either one or both of the end walls of the cavity, so as to form capacitive gaps near the outer radius of the beam tube. For typical diagnostic cavity applications, a five-fold increase in shunt impedance can be obtained. In alternative embodiments the cavity may include either four or more opposing pairs of rods which extend coaxially toward one another from the opposite end walls of the cavity and are spaced from one another to form capacitative gaps; or the cavity may include a single set of individual rods that extend from one end wall to a point adjacent the opposing end wall.

50 Years of the Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF)

PubMed Central

Marino, Stephen A.

2017-01-01

The Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF) is in its 50th year of operation. It was commissioned on April 1, 1967 as a collaboration between the Radiological Research Laboratory (RRL) of Columbia University, and members of the Medical Research Center of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). It was initially funded as a user facility for radiobiology and radiological physics, concentrating on monoenergetic neutrons. Facilities for irradiation with MeV light charged particles were developed in the mid-1970s. In 1980 the facility was relocated to the Nevis Laboratories of Columbia University. RARAF now has seven beam lines, each having a dedicated irradiation facility: monoenergetic neutrons, charged particle track segments, two charged particle microbeams (one electrostatically focused to <1 μm, one magnetically focused), a 4.5 keV soft X-ray microbeam, a neutron microbeam, and a facility that produces a neutron spectrum similar to that of the atomic bomb dropped at Hiroshima. Biology facilities are available on site within close proximity to the irradiation facilities, making the RARAF very user friendly. PMID:28140790

Simulation of ASTROD I test mass charging due to solar energetic particles and interplanetary electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, L.; Dong, Y.; Bao, G.; Ni, W.-T.; Shaul, D. N. A.

2010-01-01

As ASTROD I travels through space, its test mass will accrue charge due to exposure of the spacecraft to high-energy particles. This test mass charge will result in Coulomb forces between the test mass and the surrounding electrodes. In earlier work, we have used the GEANT 4 toolkit to simulate charging of the ASTROD test mass due to cosmic-ray protons of energies between 0.1 and 1000 GeV at solar maximum and at solar minimum. Here we use GEANT 4 to simulate the charging process due to solar energetic particle events and interplanetary electrons. We then estimate the test mass acceleration noise due to these fluxes. The predicted charging rates range from 2247 e+/s to 47,055 e+/s, at peak intensity, for the four largest SEP events in September and October 1989. Although the noise due to charging exceeds the ASTROD I budget for the two larger events, it can be suppressed through continuous discharging. The acceleration noise during the two small events is well below the design target. The charging rate of the ASTROD I test mass due to interplanetary electrons in this simulation is about -11% of the cosmic-ray protons at solar minimum, and over -37% at solar maximum. In addition to the Monte Carlo uncertainty, an error of ±30% in the net charging rates should be added to account for uncertainties in the spectra, physics models and geometry implementations.

Ionic charge distributions of energetic particles from solar flares

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mullan, D. J.; Waldron, W. L.

1986-01-01

The effects which solar flare X-rays have on the charge states of solar cosmic rays is determined quantitatively. Rather than to characterize the charge distribution by temperature alone, it is proposed that the X-ray flux at the acceleration site also is used. The effects of flare X-rays are modeled mathematically.

Electrostatic plasma lens for focusing negatively charged particle beams.

PubMed

Goncharov, A A; Dobrovolskiy, A M; Dunets, S M; Litovko, I V; Gushenets, V I; Oks, E M

2012-02-01

We describe the current status of ongoing research and development of the electrostatic plasma lens for focusing and manipulating intense negatively charged particle beams, electrons, and negative ions. The physical principle of this kind of plasma lens is based on magnetic isolation electrons providing creation of a dynamical positive space charge cloud in shortly restricted volume propagating beam. Here, the new results of experimental investigations and computer simulations of wide-aperture, intense electron beam focusing by plasma lens with positive space charge cloud produced due to the cylindrical anode layer accelerator creating a positive ion stream towards an axis system is presented.

Particle Energization throughout the Heliosphere: Opportunities with IMAP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zank, Gary

2016-04-01

Understanding the radiation environment at the Earth and beyond is one of the critical elements in our developing Space Weather capabilities and strategy. Furthermore, the energization of charged particles in a collisionless plasma remains one of the compelling unsolved yet universal problems in space physics and astrophysics. The proposed instrumentation of IMAP enables two critical goals: 1) real-time monitoring of the radiation and plasma environment as part of a Space Weather capability, and 2) making coordinated simultaneous measurements of all the basic plasma parameters needed to develop a comprehensive and detailed understanding of fundamental particle energization processes. Since the session addresses the "Physics of particle acceleration", we will survey briefly the critical open problems associated with particle acceleration during quiet and active solar wind periods. At least three elements will be discussed. 1) Dissipative processes in the quiet solar wind and at shock waves. For the former, we discuss emerging ideas about the dissipation of turbulence via structures such as flux ropes and their role in possibly energizing charged particles during quiet times, especially in the vicinity of the heliospheric current sheet. In the latter, reflected ions play an essential role in dissipative processes at both quasi-perpendicular and quasi-parallel shocks. This in turn has consequences for the energization of particles, the generation of turbulence upstream and downstream of the shock, and the importance of a pre-existing suprathermal ion population. 2) What is the role of pre-existing energetic particles versus injection from a background thermal population of charged particles in the context of diffusive shock acceleration? Does the pre-existing suprathermal particle population play a fundamental role in the dissipation processes governing heliospheric shock, as suggested by the case of the heliospheric termination shock and pickup ions? 3) What is the primary acceleration mechanism for electrons in the solar wind during both quiet and active solar wind periods? Apparently stable energetic electron power law distributions are observed for quiet periods. Does the observed kappa distribution function for electrons and the electron heat flux play an important role in generating energetic particle distributions during quiet times? The observed characteristics of energetic electrons in the vicinity of interplanetary shocks are frequently quite different from those predicted from classical diffusive shock acceleration. Is another mechanism at work? IMAPs ability to simultaneously measure energetic particles from energies as low as ~2 keV, pickup ions, the interplanetary magnetic field, and thermal plasma distributions will provide important constraints on theory and modeling of particle energization throughout the heliosphere.

Electromagnetic fields and potentials generated by massless charged particles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Azzurli, Francesco, E-mail: francesco.azzurli@gmail.com; Lechner, Kurt, E-mail: lechner@pd.infn.it; INFN, Sezione di Padova, Via F. Marzolo, 8, 35131 Padova

2014-10-15

We provide for the first time the exact solution of Maxwell’s equations for a massless charged particle moving on a generic trajectory at the speed of light. In particular we furnish explicit expressions for the vector potential and the electromagnetic field, which were both previously unknown, finding that they entail different physical features for bounded and unbounded trajectories. With respect to the standard Liénard–Wiechert field the electromagnetic field acquires singular δ-like contributions whose support and dimensionality depend crucially on whether the motion is (a) linear, (b) accelerated unbounded, (c) accelerated bounded. In the first two cases the particle generates amore » planar shock-wave-like electromagnetic field traveling along a straight line. In the second and third cases the field acquires, in addition, a δ-like contribution supported on a physical singularity-string attached to the particle. For generic accelerated motions a genuine radiation field is also present, represented by a regular principal-part type distribution diverging on the same singularity-string. - Highlights: • First exact solution of Maxwell’s equations for massless charges in arbitrary motion. • Explicit expressions of electromagnetic fields and potentials. • Derivations are rigorous and based on distribution theory. • The form of the field depends heavily on whether the motion is bounded or unbounded. • The electromagnetic field contains unexpected Dirac-delta-function contributions.« less

New methods in WARP, a particle-in-cell code for space-charge dominated beams

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grote, D., LLNL

1998-01-12

The current U.S. approach for a driver for inertial confinement fusion power production is a heavy-ion induction accelerator; high-current beams of heavy ions are focused onto the fusion target. The space-charge of the high-current beams affects the behavior more strongly than does the temperature (the beams are described as being ``space-charge dominated``) and the beams behave like non-neutral plasmas. The particle simulation code WARP has been developed and used to study the transport and acceleration of space-charge dominated ion beams in a wide range of applications, from basic beam physics studies, to ongoing experiments, to fusion driver concepts. WARP combinesmore » aspects of a particle simulation code and an accelerator code; it uses multi-dimensional, electrostatic particle-in-cell (PIC) techniques and has a rich mechanism for specifying the lattice of externally applied fields. There are both two- and three-dimensional versions, the former including axisymmetric (r-z) and transverse slice (x-y) models. WARP includes a number of novel techniques and capabilities that both enhance its performance and make it applicable to a wide range of problems. Some of these have been described elsewhere. Several recent developments will be discussed in this paper. A transverse slice model has been implemented with the novel capability of including bends, allowing more rapid simulation while retaining essential physics. An interface using Python as the interpreter layer instead of Basis has been developed. A parallel version of WARP has been developed using Python.« less

Pico-coulomb charge measured at BELLA to percent-level precision using a Turbo-ICT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamura, K.; Mittelberger, D. E.; Gonsalves, A. J.; Daniels, J.; Mao, H.-S.; Stulle, F.; Bergoz, J.; Leemans, W. P.

2016-03-01

Precise diagnostics of picocoulomb level particle bunches produced by laser plasma accelerators (LPAs) can be a significant challenge. Without proper care, the small signals associated with such bunches can be dominated by a background generated by laser, target, laser-plasma interaction and particle induced radiation. In this paper, we report on first charge measurements using the newly developed Turbo-ICT for LPAs. We outline the Turbo-ICT working principle, which allows precise sub-picocoulomb measurements even in the presence of significant background signals. A comparison of the Turbo-ICT, a conventional integrating current transformer (ICT) and a scintillating screen (Lanex) was carried out at the Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator. Results show that the Turbo-ICT can measure sub-picocoulomb charge accurately and has significantly improved noise immunity compared to the ICT.

Means for the focusing and acceleration of parallel beams of charged particles. [Patent application

DOEpatents

Maschke, A.W.

1980-09-23

Apparatus for focusing beams of charged particles comprising planar arrays of electrostatic quadrupoles. The array may be assembled from a single component which comprises a support plate containing uniform rows of poles. Each pole is separated by a hole through the plate designed to pass a beam. Two such plates may be positioned with their poles intermeshed to form a plurality of quadrupoles.

Digital Signal Processing and Generation for a DC Current Transformer for Particle Accelerators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zorzetti, Silvia

2013-01-01

The thesis topic, digital signal processing and generation for a DC current transformer, focuses on the most fundamental beam diagnostics in the field of particle accelerators, the measurement of the beam intensity, or beam current. The technology of a DC current transformer (DCCT) is well known, and used in many areas, including particle accelerator beam instrumentation, as non-invasive (shunt-free) method to monitor the DC current in a conducting wire, or in our case, the current of charged particles travelling inside an evacuated metal pipe. So far, custom and commercial DCCTs are entirely based on analog technologies and signal processing, whichmore » makes them inflexible, sensitive to component aging, and difficult to maintain and calibrate.« less

SHEAR ACCELERATION IN EXPANDING FLOWS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rieger, F. M.; Duffy, P., E-mail: frank.rieger@mpi-hd.mpg.de, E-mail: peter.duffy@ucd.ie

Shear flows are naturally expected to occur in astrophysical environments and potential sites of continuous non-thermal Fermi-type particle acceleration. Here we investigate the efficiency of expanding relativistic outflows to facilitate the acceleration of energetic charged particles to higher energies. To this end, the gradual shear acceleration coefficient is derived based on an analytical treatment. The results are applied to the context of the relativistic jets from active galactic nuclei. The inferred acceleration timescale is investigated for a variety of conical flow profiles (i.e., power law, Gaussian, Fermi–Dirac) and compared to the relevant radiative and non-radiative loss timescales. The results exemplifymore » that relativistic shear flows are capable of boosting cosmic-rays to extreme energies. Efficient electron acceleration, on the other hand, requires weak magnetic fields and may thus be accompanied by a delayed onset of particle energization and affect the overall jet appearance (e.g., core, ridge line, and limb-brightening).« less

Relativistic extension of a charge-conservative finite element solver for time-dependent Maxwell-Vlasov equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Na, D.-Y.; Moon, H.; Omelchenko, Y. A.; Teixeira, F. L.

2018-01-01

Accurate modeling of relativistic particle motion is essential for physical predictions in many problems involving vacuum electronic devices, particle accelerators, and relativistic plasmas. A local, explicit, and charge-conserving finite-element time-domain (FETD) particle-in-cell (PIC) algorithm for time-dependent (non-relativistic) Maxwell-Vlasov equations on irregular (unstructured) meshes was recently developed by Moon et al. [Comput. Phys. Commun. 194, 43 (2015); IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 44, 1353 (2016)]. Here, we extend this FETD-PIC algorithm to the relativistic regime by implementing and comparing three relativistic particle-pushers: (relativistic) Boris, Vay, and Higuera-Cary. We illustrate the application of the proposed relativistic FETD-PIC algorithm for the analysis of particle cyclotron motion at relativistic speeds, harmonic particle oscillation in the Lorentz-boosted frame, and relativistic Bernstein modes in magnetized charge-neutral (pair) plasmas.

Observation of Dust Stream Formation Produced by Low Current, High Voltage Cathode Spots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foster, John E.

2004-01-01

Macro-particle acceleration driven by low current, high voltage cathode spots has been investigated. The phenomenon was observed to occur when nanometer and micrometer-sized particles in the presence of a discharge plasma were exposed to a high voltage pulse. The negative voltage pulse initiates the formation of multiple, high voltage, low current cathode spots which provides the mechanism of actual acceleration of the charged dust particles. Dust streams generated by this process were detected using laser scattering techniques. The particle impact craters observed at the surface of downstream witness badges were documented using SEM and light microscopy.

Energetic Particles: From Sun to Heliosphere - and vice versa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wimmer-Schweingruber, R. F.; Rodriguez-Pacheco, J.; Boden, S.; Boettcher, S. I.; Cernuda, I.; Dresing, N.; Drews, C.; Droege, W.; Elftmann, R.; Espinosa Lara, F.; Gomez-Herrero, R.; Heber, B.; Ho, G. C.; Klassen, A.; Kulkarni, S. R.; Mann, G. J.; Martin-Garcia, C.; Mason, G. M.; Panitzsch, L.; Prieto, M.; Sanchez, S.; Steinhagen, J.; Tammen, J.; Terasa, C.; Yu, J.

2016-12-01

Energetic particles in the heliosphere can be measured at their elevated energetic status after three processes: injection, acceleration, and transport. Suprathermal seed particles have speeds well above the fast magnetosonic speed in the solar wind frame of reference and can vary from location to location and within the solar activity cycle. Acceleration sites include reconnecting current sheets in solar flares or magnetspheric boundaries, shocks in the solar corona, heliosphere and a planetary obstacles, as well as planetary magnetospheres. Once accelerated, particles are transported from the acceleration site into and through the heliosphere. Thus, by investigating properties of energetic particles such as their composition, energy spectra, pitch-angle distribution, etc. one can attempt to distinguish their origin or injection and acceleration site. This in turn allows us to better understand transport effects whose underlying microphysics is also a key ingredient in the acceleration of particles. In this presentation we will present some clear examples which link energetic particles from their observing site to their source locations. These include Jupiter electrons, singly-charged He ions from CIRs, and 3He from solar flares. We will compare these examples with the measurement capabilities of the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) on Solar Orbiter and consider implications for the key science goal of Solar Orbiter and Solar Proble Plus - How the Sun creates and controls the heliosphere.

Energetic Particles: From Sun to Heliosphere - and vice versa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wimmer-Schweingruber, R. F.; Rodriguez-Pacheco, J.; Boden, S.; Boettcher, S. I.; Cernuda, I.; Dresing, N.; Drews, C.; Droege, W.; Espinosa Lara, F.; Gomez-Herrero, R.; Heber, B.; Ho, G. C.; Klassen, A.; Kulkarni, S. R.; Mann, G. J.; Martin-Garcia, C.; Mason, G. M.; Panitzsch, L.; Prieto, M.; Sanchez, S.; Terasa, C.; Eldrum, S.

2017-12-01

Energetic particles in the heliosphere can be measured at their elevated energetic status after three processes: injection, acceleration, and transport. Suprathermal seed particles have speeds well above the fast magnetosonic speed in the solar wind frame of reference and can vary from location to location and within the solar activity cycle. Acceleration sites include reconnecting current sheets in solar flares or magnetspheric boundaries, shocks in the solar corona, heliosphere and a planetary obstacles, as well as planetary magnetospheres. Once accelerated, particles are transported from the acceleration site into and through the heliosphere. Thus, by investigating properties of energetic particles such as their composition, energy spectra, pitch-angle distribution, etc. one can attempt to distinguish their origin or injection and acceleration site. This in turn allows us to better understand transport effects whose underlying microphysics is also a key ingredient in the acceleration of particles. In this presentation we will present some clear examples which link energetic particles from their observing site to their source locations. These include Jupiter electrons, singly-charged He ions from CIRs, and 3He from solar flares. We will compare these examples with the measurement capabilities of the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) on Solar Orbiter and consider implications for the key science goal of Solar Orbiter and Solar Proble Plus - How the Sun creates and controls the heliosphere.

Dark cosmic rays

DOE PAGES

Hu, Ping-Kai; Kusenko, Alexander; Takhistov, Volodymyr

2017-02-22

If dark matter particles have an electric charge, as in models of millicharged dark matter, such particles should be accelerated in the same astrophysical accelerators that produce ordinary cosmic rays, and their spectra should have a predictable rigidity dependence. Depending on the charge, the resulting “dark cosmic rays” can be detected as muon-like or neutrino-like events in Super-Kamiokande, IceCube, and other detectors. We present new limits and propose several new analyses, in particular, for the Super-Kamiokande experiment, which can probe a previously unexplored portion of the millicharged dark matter parameter space. Here, most of our results are fairly general andmore » apply to a broad class of dark matter models.« less

Modeling of Particle Acceleration at Multiple Shocks Via Diffusive Shock Acceleration: Preliminary Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, L. N.; Zank, G. P.

2013-12-01

Successful forecasting of energetic particle events in space weather models require algorithms for correctly predicting the spectrum of ions accelerated from a background population of charged particles. We present preliminary results from a model that diffusively accelerates particles at multiple shocks. Our basic approach is related to box models (Protheroe and Stanev, 1998; Moraal and Axford, 1983; Ball and Kirk, 1992; Drury et al., 1999) in which a distribution of particles is diffusively accelerated inside the box while simultaneously experiencing decompression through adiabatic expansion and losses from the convection and diffusion of particles outside the box (Melrose and Pope, 1993; Zank et al., 2000). We adiabatically decompress the accelerated particle distribution between each shock by either the method explored in Melrose and Pope (1993) and Pope and Melrose (1994) or by the approach set forth in Zank et al. (2000) where we solve the transport equation by a method analogous to operator splitting. The second method incorporates the additional loss terms of convection and diffusion and allows for the use of a variable time between shocks. We use a maximum injection energy (Emax) appropriate for quasi-parallel and quasi-perpendicular shocks (Zank et al., 2000, 2006; Dosch and Shalchi, 2010) and provide a preliminary application of the diffusive acceleration of particles by multiple shocks with frequencies appropriate for solar maximum (i.e., a non-Markovian process).

Shock waves raised by explosions in space as sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kichigin, Gennadiy

2015-03-01

The paper discusses the possibility of particle acceleration up to ultrahigh energies in the relativistic waves generated by various explosive processes in the interstellar medium. We propose to use the surfatron mechanism of acceleration (surfing) of charged particles trapped in the front of relativistic waves as a generator of high-energy cosmic rays (CRs). Conditions under which surfing in these waves can be made are studied thoroughly. Ultra-high-energy CRs (up to 10^20 eV) are shown to be obtained due to the surfing in the relativistic plane and spherical waves. Surfing is supposed to take place in nonlinear Langmuir waves excited by powerful electromagnetic radiation or relativistic beams of charged particles, as well as in strong shock waves generated by relativistic jets or spherical formations that expand fast (fireballs).

Analysis of a high brightness photo electron beam with self field and wake field effects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parsa, Z.

High brightness sources are the basic ingredients in the new accelerator developments such as Free-Electron Laser experiments. The effects of the interactions between the highly charged particles and the fields in the accelerating structure, e.g. R.F., Space charge and Wake fields can be detrimental to the beam and the experiments. We present and discuss the formulation used, some simulation and results for the Brookhaven National Laboratory high brightness beam that illustrates effects of the accelerating field, space charge forces (e.g. due to self field of the bunch), and the wake field (e.g. arising from the interaction of the cavity surfacemore » and the self field of the bunch).« less

Aberration of a negative ion beam caused by space charge effect.

PubMed

Miyamoto, K; Wada, S; Hatayama, A

2010-02-01

Aberrations are inevitable when the charged particle beams are extracted, accelerated, transmitted, and focused with electrostatic and magnetic fields. In this study, we investigate the aberration of a negative ion accelerator for a neutral beam injector theoretically, especially the spherical aberration caused by the negative ion beam expansion due to the space charge effect. The negative ion current density profiles with the spherical aberration are compared with those without the spherical aberration. It is found that the negative ion current density profiles in a log scale are tailed due to the spherical aberration.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Syphers, M. J.; Chattopadhyay, S.

An overview is provided of the currently envisaged landscape of charged particle accelerators at the energy and intensity frontiers to explore particle physics beyond the standard model via 1-100 TeV-scale lepton and hadron colliders and multi-Megawatt proton accelerators for short- and long- baseline neutrino experiments. The particle beam physics, associated technological challenges and progress to date for these accelerator facilities (LHC, HL-LHC, future 100 TeV p-p colliders, Tev-scale linear and circular electron-positron colliders, high intensity proton accelerator complex PIP-II for DUNE and future upgrade to PIP-III) are outlined. Potential and prospects for advanced “nonlinear dynamic techniques” at the multi-MW levelmore » intensity frontier and advanced “plasma- wakefield-based techniques” at the TeV-scale energy frontier and are also described.« less

Dissemination and support of ARGUS for accelerator applications. Technical progress report, April 24, 1991--January 20, 1992

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The ARGUS code is a three-dimensional code system for simulating for interactions between charged particles, electric and magnetic fields, and complex structure. It is a system of modules that share common utilities for grid and structure input, data handling, memory management, diagnostics, and other specialized functions. The code includes the fields due to the space charge and current density of the particles to achieve a self-consistent treatment of the particle dynamics. The physic modules in ARGUS include three-dimensional field solvers for electrostatics and electromagnetics, a three-dimensional electromagnetic frequency-domain module, a full particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation module, and a steady-state PIC model.more » These are described in the Appendix to this report. This project has a primary mission of developing the capabilities of ARGUS in accelerator modeling of release to the accelerator design community. Five major activities are being pursued in parallel during the first year of the project. To improve the code and/or add new modules that provide capabilities needed for accelerator design. To produce a User`s Guide that documents the use of the code for all users. To release the code and the User`s Guide to accelerator laboratories for their own use, and to obtain feed-back from the. To build an interactive user interface for setting up ARGUS calculations. To explore the use of ARGUS on high-power workstation platforms.« less

POLAR 5 - An electron accelerator experiment within an aurora. III - Evidence for significant spacecraft charging by an electron accelerator at ionospheric altitudes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacobsen, T. A.; Maynard, N. C.

1980-01-01

The POLAR 5 rocket experiment carried an electron accelerator on a 'daughter' payload which injected a 0.1 A beam of 10 keV electrons in a pulsed mode every 410 ms. With spin and precession, injections were made over a wide range of pitch angles. Measurements from a double probe electric field instrument and from particle detectors on the 'mother' payload and from a crude RPA on the 'daughter' payload are interpreted to indicate that the 'daughter' charges to a potential between several hundred volts and 1 kV. The neutralizing return current to the 'daughter' is shown to be asymmetrically distributed with the majority being collected from the direction of the beam. The additional electrons necessary to neutralize the daughter are thought to be produced and heated through beam-plasma interactions postulated by Maehlum et al. (1980) and Grandal et al. (1980) to explain the particle and optical measurements. Significant electric fields emanating from the charged 'daughter' and the beam are seen at distances exceeding 100 m at the 'mother' payload.

Electrostatic Charging and Particle Interactions in Microscopic Insulating Grains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Victor

In this thesis, we experimentally investigate the electrostatic charging as well as the particle interactions in microscopic insulating grains. First, by tracking individual grains accelerated in an electric field, we quantitatively demonstrate that tribocharging of same-material grains depends on particle size. Large grains tend to charge positively, and small ones tend to charge negatively. Theories based on the transfer of trapped electrons can explain this tendency but have not been validated. Here we show that the number of trapped electrons, measured independently by a thermoluminescence technique, is orders of magnitude too small to be responsible for the amount of charge transferred. This result reveals that trapped electrons are not responsible for same-material tribocharging of dielectric particles. Second, same-material tribocharging in grains can result in important long-range electrostatic interactions. However, how these electrostatic interactions contribute to particle clustering remains elusive, primarily due to the lack of direct, detailed observations. Using a high-speed camera that falls with a stream charged grains, we observe for the first time how charged grains can undergo attractive as well as repulsive Kepler-like orbits. Charged particles can be captured in their mutual electrostatic potential and form clusters via multiple bounces. Dielectric polarization effects are directly observed, which lead to additional attractive forces and stabilize "molecule-like" arrangements of charged particles. Third, we have developed a new method to study the charge transfer of microscopic particles based on acoustic levitation techniques. This method allows us to narrow the complex problem of many-particle charging down to precise charge measurements of a single sub-millimeter particle colliding with a target plate. By simply attaching nonpolar groups onto glass surfaces, we show that the contact charging of a particle is highly dependent on hydrophobicity. Charging between a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic surface is enhanced in a basic atmosphere and suppressed in an acidic one. Moreover, hydrophobicity is also found to play a key role in particle charging driven by an external electric field. These results strongly support the idea that aqueous-ion transfer is responsible for the particle contact charging phenomenon.

Nonlinear Monte Carlo model of superdiffusive shock acceleration with magnetic field amplification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bykov, Andrei M.; Ellison, Donald C.; Osipov, Sergei M.

2017-03-01

Fast collisionless shocks in cosmic plasmas convert their kinetic energy flow into the hot downstream thermal plasma with a substantial fraction of energy going into a broad spectrum of superthermal charged particles and magnetic fluctuations. The superthermal particles can penetrate into the shock upstream region producing an extended shock precursor. The cold upstream plasma flow is decelerated by the force provided by the superthermal particle pressure gradient. In high Mach number collisionless shocks, efficient particle acceleration is likely coupled with turbulent magnetic field amplification (MFA) generated by the anisotropic distribution of accelerated particles. This anisotropy is determined by fast particle transport, making the problem strongly nonlinear and multiscale. Here, we present a nonlinear Monte Carlo model of collisionless shock structure with superdiffusive propagation of high-energy Fermi accelerated particles coupled to particle acceleration and MFA, which affords a consistent description of strong shocks. A distinctive feature of the Monte Carlo technique is that it includes the full angular anisotropy of the particle distribution at all precursor positions. The model reveals that the superdiffusive transport of energetic particles (i.e., Lévy-walk propagation) generates a strong quadruple anisotropy in the precursor particle distribution. The resultant pressure anisotropy of the high-energy particles produces a nonresonant mirror-type instability that amplifies compressible wave modes with wavelengths longer than the gyroradii of the highest-energy protons produced by the shock.

Staged Z-pinch for the production of high-flux neutrons and net energy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wessel, Frank J.; Rahman, Hafiz Ur; Rostoker, Norman

A fusible target is embedded in a high Z liner, ohmically heated and then shock wave heated by implosion of an enveloping high Z liner. The target is adiabatically heated by compression, fusibly ignited and charged-particle heated as it is being ignited. A shock front forms as the liner implodes which shock front detaches from the more slowly moving liner, collides with the outer surface of the target, accelerates inward, rapidly heating the target, adiabatically compressing the target and liner and amplifying the current to converge the liner mass toward a central axis thereby compressing the target to a fusionmore » condition when it begins to ignite and produce charged particles. The charged particles are trapped in a large magnetic field surrounding the target. The energy of the charged particles is deposited into the target to further heat the target to produce an energy gain.« less

Optical trapping and rotation of airborne absorbing particles with a single focused laser beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Jinda; Li, Yong-qing

2014-03-01

We measure the periodic circular motion of single absorbing aerosol particles that are optically trapped with a single focused Gaussian beam and rotate around the laser propagation direction. The scattered light from the trapped particle is observed to be directional and change periodically at 0.4-20 kHz. The instantaneous positions of the moving particle within a rotation period are measured by a high-speed imaging technique using a charge coupled device camera and a repetitively pulsed light-emitting diode illumination. The centripetal acceleration of the trapped particle as high as ˜20 times the gravitational acceleration is observed and is attributed to the photophoretic forces.

Monte Carlo simulation of collisionless shocks showing preferential acceleration of high A/Z particles. [in cosmic rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ellison, D. C.; Jones, F. C.; Eichler, D.

1981-01-01

A collisionless quasi-parallel shock is simulated by Monte Carlo techniques. The scattering of all velocity particles from thermal to high energy is assumed to occur so that the mean free path is directly proportional to velocity times the mass-to-charge-ratio, and inversely proporational to the plasma density. The shock profile and velocity spectra are obtained, showing preferential acceleration of high A/Z particles relative to protons. The inclusion of the back pressure of the scattering particles on the inflowing plasma produces a smoothing of the shock profile, which implies that the spectra are steeper than for a discontinuous shock.

Assessment of velocity/trajectory measurement technologies during a particle capture event

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tanner, William G.; Maag, Carl R.; Alexander, W. M.; Stephenson, Stepheni

1994-01-01

Since the early 1960s, the means to measure the time of flight (TOF) of dust grain within a mechanical detection array has existed, first in the laboratory and then in space experiments. Laboratory hypervelocity dust particle accelerators have used electrostatic detection of charge on accelerated particles for TOF and particle mass detections. These laboratory studies have led to the development of ultra-thin-film sensors that have been used for TOF measurements in dust particle space experiments. The prototypes for such devices were ultra-thin-film capacitors that were used in the OGO series of satellites. The main goal of the experimental work to be described is the development of the capability to determine the velocity vector or trajectory of a dust grain traversing an integrated dust detection array. The results of these studies have shown that the capability of detecting the charge liberated by hypervelocity dust grains with diameters in the micrometer range can be detected. Based on these results, detection systems have been designed to provide a precise analysis of the physical and dynamic properties of micrometer and submicrometer dust grains, namely the design verification unit (DVU). Through unique combinations of in situ detection systems, direct measurements of particle surface charge, velocity, momentum, kinetic energy, and trajectory have been achieved. From these measurements, the remaining physical parameters of mass, size, and density can be determined.

Generating multi-GeV electron bunches using single stage laser wakefield acceleration in a 3D nonlinear regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, W.; Tzoufras, M.; Joshi, C.; Tsung, F. S.; Mori, W. B.; Vieira, J.; Fonseca, R. A.; Silva, L. O.

2007-06-01

The extraordinary ability of space-charge waves in plasmas to accelerate charged particles at gradients that are orders of magnitude greater than in current accelerators has been well documented. We develop a phenomenological framework for laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) in the 3D nonlinear regime, in which the plasma electrons are expelled by the radiation pressure of a short pulse laser, leading to nearly complete blowout. Our theory provides a recipe for designing a LWFA for given laser and plasma parameters and estimates the number and the energy of the accelerated electrons whether self-injected or externally injected. These formulas apply for self-guided as well as externally guided pulses (e.g. by plasma channels). We demonstrate our results by presenting a sample particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation of a 30fs, 200 TW laser interacting with a 0.75 cm long plasma with density 1.5×1018cm-3 to produce an ultrashort (10 fs) monoenergetic bunch of self-injected electrons at 1.5 GeV with 0.3 nC of charge. For future higher-energy accelerator applications, we propose a parameter space, which is distinct from that described by Gordienko and Pukhov [Phys. Plasmas 12, 043109 (2005)PHPAEN1070-664X10.1063/1.1884126] in that it involves lower plasma densities and wider spot sizes while keeping the intensity relatively constant. We find that this helps increase the output electron beam energy while keeping the efficiency high.

Electrical Engineering in Los Alamos Neutron Science Center Accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Silva, Michael James

The field of electrical engineering plays a significant role in particle accelerator design and operations. Los Alamos National Laboratories LANSCE facility utilizes the electrical energy concepts of power distribution, plasma generation, radio frequency energy, electrostatic acceleration, signals and diagnostics. The culmination of these fields produces a machine of incredible potential with uses such as isotope production, neutron spallation, neutron imaging and particle analysis. The key isotope produced in LANSCE isotope production facility is Strontium-82 which is utilized for medical uses such as cancer treatment and positron emission tomography also known as PET scans. Neutron spallation is one of the verymore » few methods used to produce neutrons for scientific research the other methods are natural decay of transuranic elements from nuclear reactors. Accelerator produce neutrons by accelerating charged particles into neutron dense elements such as tungsten imparting a neutral particle with kinetic energy, this has the benefit of producing a large number of neutrons as well as minimizing the waste generated. Utilizing the accelerator scientist can gain an understanding of how various particles behave and interact with matter to better understand the natural laws of physics and the universe around us.« less

Minimization of power consumption during charging of superconducting accelerating cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharyya, Anirban Krishna; Ziemann, Volker; Ruber, Roger; Goryashko, Vitaliy

2015-11-01

The radio frequency cavities, used to accelerate charged particle beams, need to be charged to their nominal voltage after which the beam can be injected into them. The standard procedure for such cavity filling is to use a step charging profile. However, during initial stages of such a filling process a substantial amount of the total energy is wasted in reflection for superconducting cavities because of their extremely narrow bandwidth. The paper presents a novel strategy to charge cavities, which reduces total energy reflection. We use variational calculus to obtain analytical expression for the optimal charging profile. Energies, reflected and required, and generator peak power are also compared between the charging schemes and practical aspects (saturation, efficiency and gain characteristics) of power sources (tetrodes, IOTs and solid state power amplifiers) are also considered and analysed. The paper presents a methodology to successfully identify the optimal charging scheme for different power sources to minimize total energy requirement.

Experiments testing macroscopic quantum superpositions must be slow

PubMed Central

Mari, Andrea; De Palma, Giacomo; Giovannetti, Vittorio

2016-01-01

We consider a thought experiment where the preparation of a macroscopically massive or charged particle in a quantum superposition and the associated dynamics of a distant test particle apparently allow for superluminal communication. We give a solution to the paradox which is based on the following fundamental principle: any local experiment, discriminating a coherent superposition from an incoherent statistical mixture, necessarily requires a minimum time proportional to the mass (or charge) of the system. For a charged particle, we consider two examples of such experiments, and show that they are both consistent with the previous limitation. In the first, the measurement requires to accelerate the charge, that can entangle with the emitted photons. In the second, the limitation can be ascribed to the quantum vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. On the other hand, when applied to massive particles our result provides an indirect evidence for the existence of gravitational vacuum fluctuations and for the possibility of entangling a particle with quantum gravitational radiation. PMID:26959656

Modulation of terrestrial ion escape flux composition /by low-altitude acceleration and charge exchange chemistry/

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, T. E.

1980-01-01

Motivated by recent observations of highly variable hot plasma composition in the magnetosphere, control of the ionospheric escape flux composition by low-altitude particle dynamics and ion chemistry has been investigated for an e(-), H(+), O(+) ionosphere. It is found that the fraction of the steady state escape flux which is O(+) can be controlled very sensitively by the occurrence of parallel or transverse ion acceleration at altitudes below the altitude where the neutral oxygen density falls rapidly below the neutral hydrogen density and the ionospheric source of O(+) tends to be rapidly converted by charge exchange to H(+). The acceleration is required both to overcome the gravitational confinement of O(+) and to violate charge exchange equilibrium so that the neutral hydrogen atmosphere appears 'optically' thin to escaping O(+). Constraints are placed on the acceleration processes, and it is shown that O(+) escape is facilitated by observed ionospheric responses to magnetic activity.

Transport calculations and accelerator experiments needed for radiation risk assessment in space.

PubMed

Sihver, Lembit

2008-01-01

The major uncertainties on space radiation risk estimates in humans are associated to the poor knowledge of the biological effects of low and high LET radiation, with a smaller contribution coming from the characterization of space radiation field and its primary interactions with the shielding and the human body. However, to decrease the uncertainties on the biological effects and increase the accuracy of the risk coefficients for charged particles radiation, the initial charged-particle spectra from the Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) and the Solar Particle Events (SPEs), and the radiation transport through the shielding material of the space vehicle and the human body, must be better estimated Since it is practically impossible to measure all primary and secondary particles from all possible position-projectile-target-energy combinations needed for a correct risk assessment in space, accurate particle and heavy ion transport codes must be used. These codes are also needed when estimating the risk for radiation induced failures in advanced microelectronics, such as single-event effects, etc., and the efficiency of different shielding materials. It is therefore important that the models and transport codes will be carefully benchmarked and validated to make sure they fulfill preset accuracy criteria, e.g. to be able to predict particle fluence, dose and energy distributions within a certain accuracy. When validating the accuracy of the transport codes, both space and ground based accelerator experiments are needed The efficiency of passive shielding and protection of electronic devices should also be tested in accelerator experiments and compared to simulations using different transport codes. In this paper different multipurpose particle and heavy ion transport codes will be presented, different concepts of shielding and protection discussed, as well as future accelerator experiments needed for testing and validating codes and shielding materials.

Indirect Charged Particle Detection: Concepts and a Classroom Demonstration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Childs, Nicholas B.; Horányi, Mihály; Collette, Andrew

2013-11-01

We describe the principles of macroscopic charged particle detection in the laboratory and their connections to concepts taught in the physics classroom. Electrostatic dust accelerator systems, capable of launching charged dust grains at hypervelocities (1-100 km/s), are a critical tool for space exploration. Dust grains in space typically have large speeds relative to the probes or satellites that encounter them. Development and testing of instruments that look for dust in space therefore depends critically on the availability of fast, well-characterized dust grains in the laboratory. One challenge for the experimentalist is to precisely measure the speed and mass of laboratory dust particles without disturbing them. Detection systems currently in use exploit the well-known effect of image charge to register the passage of dust grains without changing their speed or mass. We describe the principles of image charge detection and provide a simple classroom demonstration of the technique using soup cans and pith balls.

Synchronous acceleration with tapered dielectric-lined waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemery, F.; Floettmann, K.; Piot, P.; Kärtner, F. X.; Aßmann, R.

2018-05-01

We present a general concept to accelerate nonrelativistic charged particles. Our concept employs an adiabatically-tapered dielectric-lined waveguide which supports accelerating phase velocities for synchronous acceleration. We propose an ansatz for the transient field equations, show it satisfies Maxwell's equations under an adiabatic approximation and find excellent agreement with a finite-difference time-domain computer simulation. The fields were implemented into the particle-tracking program astra and we present beam dynamics results for an accelerating field with a 1-mm-wavelength and peak electric field of 100 MV /m . Numerical simulations indicate that a ˜200 -keV electron beam can be accelerated to an energy of ˜10 MeV over ˜10 cm with parameters of interest to a wide range of applications including, e.g., future advanced accelerators, and ultra-fast electron diffraction.

Accelerator science in medical physics.

PubMed

Peach, K; Wilson, P; Jones, B

2011-12-01

The use of cyclotrons and synchrotrons to accelerate charged particles in hospital settings for the purpose of cancer therapy is increasing. Consequently, there is a growing demand from medical physicists, radiographers, physicians and oncologists for articles that explain the basic physical concepts of these technologies. There are unique advantages and disadvantages to all methods of acceleration. Several promising alternative methods of accelerating particles also have to be considered since they will become increasingly available with time; however, there are still many technical problems with these that require solving. This article serves as an introduction to this complex area of physics, and will be of benefit to those engaged in cancer therapy, or who intend to acquire such technologies in the future.

A Charge Separation Study to Enable the Design of a Complete Muon Cooling Channel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yoshikawa, C.; Ankenbrandt, Charles M.; Johnson, Rolland P.

2013-12-01

The most promising designs for 6D muon cooling channels operate on a specific sign of electric charge. In particular, the Helical Cooling Channel (HCC) and Rectilinear RFOFO designs are the leading candidates to become the baseline 6D cooling channel in the Muon Accelerator Program (MAP). Time constraints prevented the design of a realistic charge separator, so a simplified study was performed to emulate the effects of charge separation on muons exiting the front end of a muon collider. The output of the study provides particle distributions that the competing designs will use as input into their cooling channels. We reportmore » here on the study of the charge separator that created the simulated particles.« less

Inductive and electrostatic acceleration in relativistic jet-plasma interactions.

PubMed

Ng, Johnny S T; Noble, Robert J

2006-03-24

We report on the observation of rapid particle acceleration in numerical simulations of relativistic jet-plasma interactions and discuss the underlying mechanisms. The dynamics of a charge-neutral, narrow, electron-positron jet propagating through an unmagnetized electron-ion plasma was investigated using a three-dimensional, electromagnetic, particle-in-cell computer code. The interaction excited magnetic filamentation as well as electrostatic plasma instabilities. In some cases, the longitudinal electric fields generated inductively and electrostatically reached the cold plasma-wave-breaking limit, and the longitudinal momentum of about half the positrons increased by 50% with a maximum gain exceeding a factor of 2 during the simulation period. Particle acceleration via these mechanisms occurred when the criteria for Weibel instability were satisfied.

Microwaves and particle accelerators: a fundamental link

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chattopadhyay, Swapan

2011-07-01

John Cockcroft's splitting of the atom and Ernest Lawrence's invention of the cyclotron in the first half of the twentieth century ushered in the grand era of ever higher energy particle accelerators to probe deeper into matter. It also forged a link, bonding scientific discovery with technological innovation that continues today in the twenty first century. The development of radar and high power vacuum electronics, especially microwave power tubes like the magnetrons and the klystrons in the pre-second world war era, was instrumental in the rapid development of circular and linear charged particle accelerators in the second half of themore » twentieth century. We had harnessed the powerful microwave radio-frequency sources from few tens of MHz to up to 90 GHz spanning L-band to W-band frequencies. Simultaneously in the second half of the twentieth century, lasers began to offer very first opportunities of controlling charged particles at smaller resolutions on the scale of wavelengths of visible light. We also witnessed in this period the emergence of the photon and neutron sciences driven by accelerators built-by-design producing tailored and ultra-bright pulses of bright photons and neutrons to probe structure and function of matter from aggregate to individual molecular and atomic scales in unexplored territories in material and life sciences. As we enter the twenty first century, the race for ever higher energies, brightness and luminosity to probe atto-metric and atto-second domains of the ultra-small structures and ultra-fast processes continues. These developments depend crucially on yet further advancements in the production and control of high power and high frequency microwaves and light sources, often intricately coupled in their operation to the high energy beams themselves. We give a glimpse of the recent developments and innovations in the electromagnetic production and control of charged particle beams in the service of science and society. (author)« less

Non-linear effects in bunch compressor of TARLA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yildiz, Hüseyin; Aksoy, Avni; Arikan, Pervin

2016-03-01

Transport of a beam through an accelerator beamline is affected by high order and non-linear effects such as space charge, coherent synchrotron radiation, wakefield, etc. These effects damage form of the beam, and they lead particle loss, emittance growth, bunch length variation, beam halo formation, etc. One of the known non-linear effects on low energy machine is space charge effect. In this study we focus on space charge effect for Turkish Accelerator and Radiation Laboratory in Ankara (TARLA) machine which is designed to drive InfraRed Free Electron Laser covering the range of 3-250 µm. Moreover, we discuss second order effects on bunch compressor of TARLA.

Single event burnout of high-power diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maier, K. H.; Denker, A.; Voss, P.; Becker, H.-W.

1998-12-01

High-power diodes might be damaged by a single particle of cosmic radiation. This particle has first to produce a secondary nucleus, that ionizes more densely, through a nuclear reaction with the silicon of the diode. A multiplication of the number of charge carriers, primarily produced by this nucleus, can occur and eventually lead to a break down. The onset of this charge carrier multiplication is investigated with accelerated heavy ions under well controlled conditions. Clear trends are revealed, but the process is not yet understood.

Design of a high-bunch-charge 112-MHz superconducting RF photoemission electron source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xin, T.; Brutus, J. C.; Belomestnykh, Sergey A.; Ben-Zvi, I.; Boulware, C. H.; Grimm, T. L.; Hayes, T.; Litvinenko, Vladimir N.; Mernick, K.; Narayan, G.; Orfin, P.; Pinayev, I.; Rao, T.; Severino, F.; Skaritka, J.; Smith, K.; Than, R.; Tuozzolo, J.; Wang, E.; Xiao, B.; Xie, H.; Zaltsman, A.

2016-09-01

High-bunch-charge photoemission electron-sources operating in a continuous wave (CW) mode are required for many advanced applications of particle accelerators, such as electron coolers for hadron beams, electron-ion colliders, and free-electron lasers. Superconducting RF (SRF) has several advantages over other electron-gun technologies in CW mode as it offers higher acceleration rate and potentially can generate higher bunch charges and average beam currents. A 112 MHz SRF electron photoinjector (gun) was developed at Brookhaven National Laboratory to produce high-brightness and high-bunch-charge bunches for the coherent electron cooling proof-of-principle experiment. The gun utilizes a quarter-wave resonator geometry for assuring beam dynamics and uses high quantum efficiency multi-alkali photocathodes for generating electrons.

Maintaining stable radiation pressure acceleration of ion beams via cascaded electron replenishment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, X. F.; Qiao, B.; Chang, H. X.; Zhang, W. L.; Zhang, H.; Zhou, C. T.; He, X. T.

2017-03-01

A method to maintain ion stable radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) from laser-irradiated thin foils is proposed, where a series of high-Z nanofilms are placed behind to successively replenish co-moving electrons into the accelerating foil as electron charging stations (ECSs). Such replenishment of co-moving electrons, on the one hand, helps to keep a dynamic balance between the electrostatic pressure in the accelerating slab and the increasing laser radiation pressure with a Gaussian temporal profile at the rising front, i.e. dynamically matching the optimal condition of RPA; on the other hand, it aids in suppressing the foil Coulomb explosion due to loss of electrons induced by transverse instabilities during RPA. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that a monoenergetic Si14+ beam with a peak energy of 3.7 GeV and particle number 4.8× {10}9 (charge 11 nC) can be obtained at an intensity of 7 × 1021 W cm-2 and the conversion efficiency from laser to high energy ions is improved significantly by using the ECSs in our scheme.

An ultra-thin Schottky diode as a transmission particle detector for biological microbeams.

PubMed

Grad, Michael; Harken, Andrew; Randers-Pehrson, Gerhard; Attinger, Daniel; Brenner, David J

2012-12-01

We fabricated ultrathin metal-semiconductor Schottky diodes for use as transmission particle detectors in the biological microbeam at Columbia University's Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF). The RARAF microbeam can deliver a precise dose of ionizing radiation in cell nuclei with sub-micron precision. To ensure an accurate delivery of charged particles, the facility currently uses a commercial charged-particle detector placed after the sample. We present here a transmission detector that will be placed between the particle accelerator and the biological specimen, allowing the irradiation of samples that would otherwise block radiation from reaching a detector behind the sample. Four detectors were fabricated with co-planar gold and aluminum electrodes thermally evaporated onto etched n-type crystalline silicon substrates, with device thicknesses ranging from 8.5 μm - 13.5 μm. We show coincident detections and pulse-height distributions of charged particles in both the transmission detector and the commercial detector above it. Detections are demonstrated at a range of operating conditions, including incoming particle type, count rate, and beam location on the detectors. The 13.5 μm detector is shown to work best to detect 2.7 MeV protons (H + ), and the 8.5 μm detector is shown to work best to detect 5.4 MeV alpha particles ( 4 He ++ ). The development of a transmission detector enables a range of new experiments to take place at RARAF on radiation-stopping samples such as thick tissues, targets that need immersion microscopy, and integrated microfluidic devices for handling larger quantities of cells and small organisms.

An ultra-thin Schottky diode as a transmission particle detector for biological microbeams

PubMed Central

Harken, Andrew; Randers-Pehrson, Gerhard; Attinger, Daniel; Brenner, David J.

2013-01-01

We fabricated ultrathin metal-semiconductor Schottky diodes for use as transmission particle detectors in the biological microbeam at Columbia University’s Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF). The RARAF microbeam can deliver a precise dose of ionizing radiation in cell nuclei with sub-micron precision. To ensure an accurate delivery of charged particles, the facility currently uses a commercial charged-particle detector placed after the sample. We present here a transmission detector that will be placed between the particle accelerator and the biological specimen, allowing the irradiation of samples that would otherwise block radiation from reaching a detector behind the sample. Four detectors were fabricated with co-planar gold and aluminum electrodes thermally evaporated onto etched n-type crystalline silicon substrates, with device thicknesses ranging from 8.5 μm – 13.5 μm. We show coincident detections and pulse-height distributions of charged particles in both the transmission detector and the commercial detector above it. Detections are demonstrated at a range of operating conditions, including incoming particle type, count rate, and beam location on the detectors. The 13.5 μm detector is shown to work best to detect 2.7 MeV protons (H+), and the 8.5 μm detector is shown to work best to detect 5.4 MeV alpha particles (4He++). The development of a transmission detector enables a range of new experiments to take place at RARAF on radiation-stopping samples such as thick tissues, targets that need immersion microscopy, and integrated microfluidic devices for handling larger quantities of cells and small organisms. PMID:24058378

High Energy Density Physics and Exotic Acceleration Schemes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cowan, T.; /General Atomics, San Diego; Colby, E.

2005-09-27

The High Energy Density and Exotic Acceleration working group took as our goal to reach beyond the community of plasma accelerator research with its applications to high energy physics, to promote exchange with other disciplines which are challenged by related and demanding beam physics issues. The scope of the group was to cover particle acceleration and beam transport that, unlike other groups at AAC, are not mediated by plasmas or by electromagnetic structures. At this Workshop, we saw an impressive advancement from years past in the area of Vacuum Acceleration, for example with the LEAP experiment at Stanford. And wemore » saw an influx of exciting new beam physics topics involving particle propagation inside of solid-density plasmas or at extremely high charge density, particularly in the areas of laser acceleration of ions, and extreme beams for fusion energy research, including Heavy-ion Inertial Fusion beam physics. One example of the importance and extreme nature of beam physics in HED research is the requirement in the Fast Ignitor scheme of inertial fusion to heat a compressed DT fusion pellet to keV temperatures by injection of laser-driven electron or ion beams of giga-Amp current. Even in modest experiments presently being performed on the laser-acceleration of ions from solids, mega-amp currents of MeV electrons must be transported through solid foils, requiring almost complete return current neutralization, and giving rise to a wide variety of beam-plasma instabilities. As keynote talks our group promoted Ion Acceleration (plenary talk by A. MacKinnon), which historically has grown out of inertial fusion research, and HIF Accelerator Research (invited talk by A. Friedman), which will require impressive advancements in space-charge-limited ion beam physics and in understanding the generation and transport of neutralized ion beams. A unifying aspect of High Energy Density applications was the physics of particle beams inside of solids, which is proving to be a very important field for diverse applications such as muon cooling, fusion energy research, and ultra-bright particle and radiation generation with high intensity lasers. We had several talks on these and other subjects, and many joint sessions with the Computational group, the EM Structures group, and the Beam Generation group. We summarize our groups' work in the following categories: vacuum acceleration schemes; ion acceleration; particle transport in solids; and applications to high energy density phenomena.« less

Multilayer Semiconductor Charged-Particle Spectrometers for Accelerator Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurov, Yu. B.; Lapushkin, S. V.; Sandukovsky, V. G.; Chernyshev, B. A.

2018-03-01

The current state of studies in the field of development of multilayer semiconductor systems (semiconductor detector (SCD) telescopes), which allow the energy to be precisely measured within a large dynamic range (from a few to a few hundred MeV) and the particles to be identified in a wide mass range (from pions to multiply charged nuclear fragments), is presented. The techniques for manufacturing the SCD telescopes from silicon and high-purity germanium are described. The issues of measuring characteristics of the constructed detectors and their impact on the energy resolution of the SCD telescopes and on the quality of the experimental data are considered. Much attention is given to the use of the constructed semiconductor devices in experimental studies at accelerators of PNPI (Gatchina), LANL (Los Alamos) and CELSIUS (Uppsala).

Field calculations, single-particle tracking, and beam dynamics with space charge in the electron lens for the Fermilab Integrable Optics Test Accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Noll, Daniel; Stancari, Giulio

2015-11-17

An electron lens is planned for the Fermilab Integrable Optics Test Accelerator as a nonlinear element for integrable dynamics, as an electron cooler, and as an electron trap to study space-charge compensation in rings. We present the main design principles and constraints for nonlinear integrable optics. A magnetic configuration of the solenoids and of the toroidal section is laid out. Singleparticle tracking is used to optimize the electron path. Electron beam dynamics at high intensity is calculated with a particle-in-cell code to estimate current limits, profile distortions, and the effects on the circulating beam. In the conclusions, we summarize themore » main findings and list directions for further work.« less

Collisionless Shocks and Particle Acceleration.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malkov, M.

2016-12-01

Collisionless shocks emerged in the 50s and 60s of the last century as an important branch of plasma physics and have remained ever since. New applications pose new challenges to our understanding of collisionless shock mechanisms. Particle acceleration in astrophysical settings, primarily studied concerning the putative origin of cosmic rays (CR) in supernova remnant (SNR) shocks, stands out with the collisionless shock mechanism being the key. Among recent laboratory applications, a laser-based tabletop proton accelerator is an affordable compact alternative to big synchrotron accelerators. The much-anticipated proof of cosmic ray (CR) acceleration in supernova remnants is hindered by our limited understanding of collisionless shock mechanisms. Over the last decade, dramatically improved observations were puzzling the theorists with unexpected discoveries. The difference between the helium/carbon and proton CR rigidity (momentum to charge ratio) spectra, seemingly inconsistent with the acceleration and propagation theories, and the perplexing positron excess in the 10-300 GeV range are just two recent examples. The latter is now also actively discussed in the particle physics and CR communities as a possible signature of decay or annihilation of hypothetical dark matter particles. By considering an initial (injection) phase of a diffusive shock acceleration mechanism, including particle reflection off the shock front - where an elemental similarity of particle dynamics does not apply - I will discuss recent suggestions of how to address the new data from the collisionless shock perspective. The backreaction of accelerated particles on the shock structure, its environment, and visibility across the electromagnetic spectrum from radio to gamma rays is another key aspect of collisionless shock that will be discussed.

Acceleration and evolution of a hollow electron beam in wakefields driven by a Laguerre-Gaussian laser pulse

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Guo-Bo; College of Science, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073; Chen, Min, E-mail: minchen@sjtu.edu.cn, E-mail: yanyunma@126.com

2016-03-15

We show that a ring-shaped hollow electron beam can be injected and accelerated by using a Laguerre-Gaussian laser pulse and ionization-induced injection in a laser wakefield accelerator. The acceleration and evolution of such a hollow, relativistic electron beam are investigated through three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. We find that both the ring size and the beam thickness oscillate during the acceleration. The beam azimuthal shape is angularly dependent and evolves during the acceleration. The beam ellipticity changes resulting from the electron angular momenta obtained from the drive laser pulse and the focusing forces from the wakefield. The dependence of beam ring radiusmore » on the laser-plasma parameters (e.g., laser intensity, focal size, and plasma density) is studied. Such a hollow electron beam may have potential applications for accelerating and collimating positively charged particles.« less

An Adiabatic Phase-Matching Accelerator

DOE PAGES

Lemery, Francois; Floettmann, Klaus; Piot, Philippe; ...

2018-05-25

We present a general concept to accelerate non-relativistic charged particles. Our concept employs an adiabatically-tapered dielectric-lined waveguide which supports accelerating phase velocities for synchronous acceleration. We propose an ansatz for the transient field equations, show it satisfies Maxwell's equations under an adiabatic approximation and find excellent agreement with a finite-difference time-domain computer simulation. The fields were implemented into the particle-tracking program {\\sc astra} and we present beam dynamics results for an accelerating field with a 1-mm-wavelength and peak electric field of 100~MV/m. The numerical simulations indicate that amore » $$\\sim 200$$-keV electron beam can be accelerated to an energy of $$\\sim10$$~MeV over $$\\sim 10$$~cm. The novel scheme is also found to form electron beams with parameters of interest to a wide range of applications including, e.g., future advanced accelerators, and ultra-fast electron diffraction.« less

Synchronous acceleration with tapered dielectric-lined waveguides

DOE PAGES

Lemery, Francois; Floettmann, Klaus; Piot, Philippe; ...

2018-05-25

Here, we present a general concept to accelerate non-relativistic charged particles. Our concept employs an adiabatically-tapered dielectric-lined waveguide which supports accelerating phase velocities for synchronous acceleration. We propose an ansatz for the transient field equations, show it satisfies Maxwell's equations under an adiabatic approximation and find excellent agreement with a finite-difference time-domain computer simulation. The fields were implemented into the particle-tracking program {\\sc astra} and we present beam dynamics results for an accelerating field with a 1-mm-wavelength and peak electric field of 100~MV/m. The numerical simulations indicate that amore » $$\\sim 200$$-keV electron beam can be accelerated to an energy of $$\\sim10$$~MeV over $$\\sim 10$$~cm. The novel scheme is also found to form electron beams with parameters of interest to a wide range of applications including, e.g., future advanced accelerators, and ultra-fast electron diffraction.« less

An Adiabatic Phase-Matching Accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lemery, Francois; Floettmann, Klaus; Piot, Philippe

2017-12-22

We present a general concept to accelerate non-relativistic charged particles. Our concept employs an adiabatically-tapered dielectric-lined waveguide which supports accelerating phase velocities for synchronous acceleration. We propose an ansatz for the transient field equations, show it satisfies Maxwell's equations under an adiabatic approximation and find excellent agreement with a finite-difference time-domain computer simulation. The fields were implemented into the particle-tracking program {\\sc astra} and we present beam dynamics results for an accelerating field with a 1-mm-wavelength and peak electric field of 100~MV/m. The numerical simulations indicate that amore » $$\\sim 200$$-keV electron beam can be accelerated to an energy of $$\\sim10$$~MeV over $$\\sim 10$$~cm. The novel scheme is also found to form electron beams with parameters of interest to a wide range of applications including, e.g., future advanced accelerators, and ultra-fast electron diffraction.« less

Particle-Charge Spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fuerstenau, Stephen; Wilson, Gregory R.

2008-01-01

An instrument for rapidly measuring the electric charges and sizes (from approximately 1 to approximately 100 micrometers) of airborne particles is undergoing development. Conceived for monitoring atmospheric dust particles on Mars, instruments like this one could also be used on Earth to monitor natural and artificial aerosols in diverse indoor and outdoor settings for example, volcanic regions, clean rooms, powder-processing machinery, and spray-coating facilities. The instrument incorporates a commercially available, low-noise, ultrasensitive charge-sensing preamplifier circuit. The input terminal of this circuit--the gate of a field-effect transistor--is connected to a Faraday-cage cylindrical electrode. The charged particles of interest are suspended in air or other suitable gas that is made to flow along the axis of the cylindrical electrode without touching the electrode. The flow can be channeled and generated by any of several alternative means; in the prototype of this instrument, the gas is drawn along a glass capillary tube (see upper part of figure) coaxial with the electrode. The size of a particle affects its rate of acceleration in the flow and thus affects the timing and shape of the corresponding signal peak generated by the charge-sensing amplifier. The charge affects the magnitude (and thus also the shape) of the signal peak. Thus, the signal peak (see figure) conveys information on both the size and electric charge of a sensed particle. In experiments thus far, the instrument has been found to be capable of measuring individual aerosol particle charges of magnitude greater than 350 e (where e is the fundamental unit of electric charge) with a precision of +/- 150 e. The instrument can sample particles at a rate as high as several thousand per second.

Software package for modeling spin-orbit motion in storage rings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zyuzin, D. V.

2015-12-01

A software package providing a graphical user interface for computer experiments on the motion of charged particle beams in accelerators, as well as analysis of obtained data, is presented. The software package was tested in the framework of the international project on electric dipole moment measurement JEDI (Jülich Electric Dipole moment Investigations). The specific features of particle spin motion imply the requirement to use a cyclic accelerator (storage ring) consisting of electrostatic elements, which makes it possible to preserve horizontal polarization for a long time. Computer experiments study the dynamics of 106-109 particles in a beam during 109 turns in an accelerator (about 1012-1015 integration steps for the equations of motion). For designing an optimal accelerator structure, a large number of computer experiments on polarized beam dynamics are required. The numerical core of the package is COSY Infinity, a program for modeling spin-orbit dynamics.

Reinventing the Accelerator for the High Energy Frontier

ScienceCinema

Rosenzweig, James [UCLA, Los Angeles, California, United States

2017-12-09

The history of discovery in high-energy physics has been intimately connected with progress in methods of accelerating particles for the past 75 years. This remains true today, as the post-LHC era in particle physics will require significant innovation and investment in a superconducting linear collider. The choice of the linear collider as the next-generation discovery machine, and the selection of superconducting technology has rather suddenly thrown promising competing techniques -- such as very large hadron colliders, muon colliders, and high-field, high frequency linear colliders -- into the background. We discuss the state of such conventional options, and the likelihood of their eventual success. We then follow with a much longer view: a survey of a new, burgeoning frontier in high energy accelerators, where intense lasers, charged particle beams, and plasmas are all combined in a cross-disciplinary effort to reinvent the accelerator from its fundamental principles on up.

Charged-particle stereotactic radiosurgery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyman, John T.; Fabrikant, Jacob I.; Frankel, Kenneth A.

1985-05-01

Charged-particle stereotactic radiosurgery is the technique of using accelerated atomic nuclei for the irradiation of a small volume target to a high dose in a short time interval. This is contrasted with conventional radiotherapy where large volumes are treated with many small fractions of photon or electron radiation over a multi-week period. The helium-ion beam used for charged-particle stereotactic radiosurgery at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory 184-inch Synchrocyclotron is described. This beam is being used for the treatment of inoperable, deep, intracranial arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Intracranial AVMs are collections of abnormal blood vessels in the brain that may represent a failure of vessels to mature properly and after a long period of slow growth they may produce clinically recognizable neurological symptoms. Based on our experience using narrow beams of helium ions for stereotactic radiosurgical treatment of AVM patients, the characteristics of the treatments are described. Improvements to the technique which are possible by the use of other charged particle beams are discussed.

Diffusive shock acceleration - Acceleration rate, magnetic-field direction and the diffusion limit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jokipii, J. R.

1992-01-01

This paper reviews the concept of diffusive shock acceleration, showing that the acceleration of charged particles at a collisionless shock is a straightforward consequence of the standard cosmic-ray transport equation, provided that one treats the discontinuity at the shock correctly. This is true for arbitrary direction of the upstream magnetic field. Within this framework, it is shown that acceleration at perpendicular or quasi-perpendicular shocks is generally much faster than for parallel shocks. Paradoxically, it follows also that, for a simple scattering law, the acceleration is faster for less scattering or larger mean free path. Obviously, the mean free path can not become too large or the diffusion limit becomes inapplicable. Gradient and curvature drifts caused by the magnetic-field change at the shock play a major role in the acceleration process in most cases. Recent observations of the charge state of the anomalous component are shown to require the faster acceleration at the quasi-perpendicular solar-wind termination shock.

Formation of Ultrarelativistic Electron Rings from a Laser-Wakefield Accelerator.

PubMed

Pollock, B B; Tsung, F S; Albert, F; Shaw, J L; Clayton, C E; Davidson, A; Lemos, N; Marsh, K A; Pak, A; Ralph, J E; Mori, W B; Joshi, C

2015-07-31

Ultrarelativistic-energy electron ring structures have been observed from laser-wakefield acceleration experiments in the blowout regime. These electron rings had 170-280 MeV energies with 5%-25% energy spread and ∼10  pC of charge and were observed over a range of plasma densities and compositions. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that laser intensity enhancement in the wake leads to sheath splitting and the formation of a hollow toroidal pocket in the electron density around the wake behind the first wake period. If the laser propagates over a distance greater than the ideal dephasing length, some of the dephasing electrons in the second period can become trapped within the pocket and form an ultrarelativistic electron ring that propagates in free space over a meter-scale distance upon exiting the plasma. Such a structure acts as a relativistic potential well, which has applications for accelerating positively charged particles such as positrons.

Linear particle accelerator with seal structure between electrodes and insulators

DOEpatents

Broadhurst, John H.

1989-01-01

An electrostatic linear accelerator includes an electrode stack comprised of primary electrodes formed or Kovar and supported by annular glass insulators having the same thermal expansion rate as the electrodes. Each glass insulator is provided with a pair of fused-in Kovar ring inserts which are bonded to the electrodes. Each electrode is designed to define a concavo-convex particle trap so that secondary charged particles generated within the accelerated beam area cannot reach the inner surface of an insulator. Each insulator has a generated inner surface profile which is so configured that the electrical field at this surface contains no significant tangential component. A spark gap trigger assembly is provided, which energizes spark gaps protecting the electrodes affected by over voltage to prevent excessive energy dissipation in the electrode stack.

Commissioning the GTA accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sander, O.R.; Atkins, W.H.; Bolme, G.O.

1992-09-01

The Ground Test Accelerator (GTA) is supported by the Strategic Defense command as part of their Neutral Particle Beam (NPB) program. Neutral particles have the advantage that in space they are unaffected by the earth`s magnetic field and travel in straight lines unless they enter the earth`s atmosphere and become charged by stripping. Heavy particles are difficult to stop and can probe the interior of space vehicles; hence, NPB can function as a discriminator between warheads and decoys. We are using GTA to resolve the physics and engineering issues related to accelerating, focusing, and steering a high-brightness, high-current H{sup -}more » beam and then neutralizing it. Our immediate goal is to produce a 24-MeV, 50mA device with a 2% duty factor.« less

Commissioning the GTA accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sander, O.R.; Atkins, W.H.; Bolme, G.O.

1992-01-01

The Ground Test Accelerator (GTA) is supported by the Strategic Defense command as part of their Neutral Particle Beam (NPB) program. Neutral particles have the advantage that in space they are unaffected by the earth's magnetic field and travel in straight lines unless they enter the earth's atmosphere and become charged by stripping. Heavy particles are difficult to stop and can probe the interior of space vehicles; hence, NPB can function as a discriminator between warheads and decoys. We are using GTA to resolve the physics and engineering issues related to accelerating, focusing, and steering a high-brightness, high-current H{sup -}more » beam and then neutralizing it. Our immediate goal is to produce a 24-MeV, 50mA device with a 2% duty factor.« less

Precision measurement of the weak charge of the proton.

PubMed

2018-05-01

Large experimental programmes in the fields of nuclear and particle physics search for evidence of physics beyond that explained by current theories. The observation of the Higgs boson completed the set of particles predicted by the standard model, which currently provides the best description of fundamental particles and forces. However, this theory's limitations include a failure to predict fundamental parameters, such as the mass of the Higgs boson, and the inability to account for dark matter and energy, gravity, and the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe, among other phenomena. These limitations have inspired searches for physics beyond the standard model in the post-Higgs era through the direct production of additional particles at high-energy accelerators, which have so far been unsuccessful. Examples include searches for supersymmetric particles, which connect bosons (integer-spin particles) with fermions (half-integer-spin particles), and for leptoquarks, which mix the fundamental quarks with leptons. Alternatively, indirect searches using precise measurements of well predicted standard-model observables allow highly targeted alternative tests for physics beyond the standard model because they can reach mass and energy scales beyond those directly accessible by today's high-energy accelerators. Such an indirect search aims to determine the weak charge of the proton, which defines the strength of the proton's interaction with other particles via the well known neutral electroweak force. Because parity symmetry (invariance under the spatial inversion (x, y, z) → (-x, -y, -z)) is violated only in the weak interaction, it provides a tool with which to isolate the weak interaction and thus to measure the proton's weak charge 1 . Here we report the value 0.0719 ± 0.0045, where the uncertainty is one standard deviation, derived from our measured parity-violating asymmetry in the scattering of polarized electrons on protons, which is -226.5 ± 9.3 parts per billion (the uncertainty is one standard deviation). Our value for the proton's weak charge is in excellent agreement with the standard model 2 and sets multi-teraelectronvolt-scale constraints on any semi-leptonic parity-violating physics not described within the standard model. Our results show that precision parity-violating measurements enable searches for physics beyond the standard model that can compete with direct searches at high-energy accelerators and, together with astronomical observations, can provide fertile approaches to probing higher mass scales.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sharif, M., E-mail: msharif.math@pu.edu.pk; Haider, Nida, E-mail: nida.haider12@gmail.com

We study the center-of-mass energy of the particles colliding in the vicinity of acceleration and event horizons of the Plebanski and Demianski class of black holes. We calculate the collision energy of uncharged particles in the center-of-mass frame that are freely falling along the equatorial plane of a charged accelerating and rotating black hole with an NUT parameter. This energy turns out to be infinite in the non-extremal case, while in the extremal case, it becomes infinitely large near the event horizon only if the particle has the critical angular momentum. We conclude that the center-of-mass energy depends on themore » rotation and the NUT parameter.« less

Non-linear effects in bunch compressor of TARLA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yildiz, Hüseyin, E-mail: huseyinyildiz006@gmail.com, E-mail: huseyinyildiz@gazi.edu.tr; Aksoy, Avni; Arikan, Pervin

2016-03-25

Transport of a beam through an accelerator beamline is affected by high order and non-linear effects such as space charge, coherent synchrotron radiation, wakefield, etc. These effects damage form of the beam, and they lead particle loss, emittance growth, bunch length variation, beam halo formation, etc. One of the known non-linear effects on low energy machine is space charge effect. In this study we focus on space charge effect for Turkish Accelerator and Radiation Laboratory in Ankara (TARLA) machine which is designed to drive InfraRed Free Electron Laser covering the range of 3-250 µm. Moreover, we discuss second order effects onmore » bunch compressor of TARLA.« less

Fundamentals of Radiation Physics

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-07-01

Sources of Ionizing Radiation Electrically generated • Charged particle accelerators • Van de Graaff generator , cyclotron linear accelerator ...Presented at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute Scientific Medical Effects of Ionizing Radiation Course July 28 through August 1, 2008...conducted once a year, focuses on the latest research about the medical effects of ionizing radiation to help clinicians, health physicists, and

Eccentric superconducting RF cavity separator structure

DOEpatents

Aggus, John R.; Giordano, Salvatore T.; Halama, Henry J.

1976-01-01

Accelerator apparatus having an eccentric-shaped, iris-loaded deflecting cavity for an rf separator for a high energy high momentum, charged particle accelerator beam. In one embodiment, the deflector is superconducting, and the apparatus of this invention provides simplified machining and electron beam welding techniques. Model tests have shown that the electrical characteristics provide the desired mode splitting without adverse effects.

The Origin Of Most Cosmic Rays: The Acceleration By E(parallel)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colgate, Stirling A.; Li, H.

2008-03-01

We suggest a universal view of the origin of almost all cosmic rays. We propose that nearly every accelerated CRs was initially part of the parallel current that maintains most all force-free, twisted magnetic fields. We point out the greatest fraction of the free energy of magnetic fields in the universe likely resides in force-free fields as opposed to force-bounded ones, because the velocity of twisting, the ponder motive force, is small compared to local Alven speed. We suggest that these helical fields and the particles that they accelerate are distributed nearly uniformly and consequently are near space-filling with some notable exceptions. Charged particles are accelerated by the E( parallel to the magnetic field B) produced by the dissipation of the free energy of these fields by the progressive diffusive loss of "run-away" accelerated current-carrying charged particles from the "core" of the helical fields. Such diffusive loss is first identified as reconnection, but instead potentiates a much larger irreversible loss of highly accelerated anisotropic run-away current carrier particles. We suggest, as in fusion confinement experiments, that there exists a universal, highly robust, diffusion coefficient, D, resulting in D 1% of Bohm diffusion, as has been found in all confinement experiments, possibly driven by drift waves and, or collision-less, tearing modes. The consequential current carrier loss along the resulting tangled field lines is sufficient to account for the energy, number and spectrum of nearly all CR acceleration, both galactic as well as extra galactic. The spectrum is determined by a loss fraction dn/n -dE/E where dn D E-3/2 resulting in dn/dE = E/E0-2.5 up to 1022 ev. Only mass accretion onto SMBHs can supply the energy necessary, 1060 ergs, to fill the IGM with a CR spectrum of Γ 2.6. (Supported by the DOE)

Why is solar cycle 24 an inefficient producer of high-energy particle events?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vainio, Rami; Raukunen, Osku; Tylka, Allan J.; Dietrich, William F.; Afanasiev, Alexandr

2017-08-01

Aims: The aim of the study is to investigate the reason for the low productivity of high-energy SEPs in the present solar cycle. Methods: We employ scaling laws derived from diffusive shock acceleration theory and simulation studies including proton-generated upstream Alfvén waves to find out how the changes observed in the long-term average properties of the erupting and ambient coronal and/or solar wind plasma would affect the ability of shocks to accelerate particles to the highest energies. Results: Provided that self-generated turbulence dominates particle transport around coronal shocks, it is found that the most crucial factors controlling the diffusive shock acceleration process are the number density of seed particles and the plasma density of the ambient medium. Assuming that suprathermal populations provide a fraction of the particles injected to shock acceleration in the corona, we show that the lack of most energetic particle events as well as the lack of low charge-to-mass ratio ion species in the present cycle can be understood as a result of the reduction of average coronal plasma and suprathermal densities in the present cycle over the previous one.

Particle therapy for noncancer diseases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bert, Christoph; Engenhart-Cabillic, Rita; Durante, Marco

2012-04-15

Radiation therapy using high-energy charged particles is generally acknowledged as a powerful new technique in cancer treatment. However, particle therapy in oncology is still controversial, specifically because it is unclear whether the putative clinical advantages justify the high additional costs. However, particle therapy can find important applications in the management of noncancer diseases, especially in radiosurgery. Extension to other diseases and targets (both cranial and extracranial) may widen the applications of the technique and decrease the cost/benefit ratio of the accelerator facilities. Future challenges in this field include the use of different particles and energies, motion management in particle bodymore » radiotherapy and extension to new targets currently treated by catheter ablation (atrial fibrillation and renal denervation) or stereotactic radiation therapy (trigeminal neuralgia, epilepsy, and macular degeneration). Particle body radiosurgery could be a future key application of accelerator-based particle therapy facilities in 10 years from today.« less

The converter mechanism of particle acceleration and the maximum energy of cosmic rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kocharovsky, Vl. V.; Aharonian, F. A.; Derishev, E. V.; Kocharovsky, V. V.

We consider the fundamental limits on the energy of particles accelerated by electromagnetic forces in various astrophysical objects [1]. We show that accelerator's parameters are strongly limited not only by the particle confinement in large-scale magnetic field or by the difference in electric potentials (generalized Hillas criterion) but also by the curvature and other types of radiative losses of accelerated particles. Optimization of these requirements in terms of accelerator's size and the magnetic field strength results in the ultimate lower limit on the overall source energy budget, which scales as the fifth power of attainable particle energy. It is demonstrated that the curvature gamma-rays accompanying the acceleration gives further restrictions for potential acceleration sites. We compare different acceleration mechanisms and show, that the converter mechanism, which we suggested earlier [2], is the least sensitive to the geometry of the magnetic field in accelerators and allows to reach cosmic-ray energies close to the fundamental limit. The converter mechanism works most efficiently in relativistic shocks or shear flows. It utilizes multiple conversions of charged particles into neutral ones (protons to neutrons and electrons/positrons to photons) and back by means of photon-induced reactions or inelastic nucleon- nucleon collisions. We discuss the properties of gamma-ray radiation, which accompanies acceleration of cosmic rays via the converter mechanism and can provide an evidence for the latter. 1. F.A. Aharonian, A.A. Belyanin, E.V. Derishev, V.V. Kocharovsky, and Vl.V. Kocharovsky, Phys. Rev. D 66, 023005 (2002). 2. E.V. Derishev, F.A. Aharonian, V.V. Kocharovsky, and Vl.V. Kocharovsky, Phys. Rev. D 68, 043003 (2003).

Measurements of particle emission from discharge sites in Teflon irradiated by high energy electron beams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hazelton, R. C.; Churchill, R. J.; Yadlowsky, E. J.

1979-01-01

Anomalous behavior of synchronous orbit satellites manifested by overall degradation of system performance and reduced operating life is associated with electrical discharges resulting from differential charging of the spacecraft surface by fluxes of high energy electrons. During a laboratory simulation silver-backed Teflon samples have been irradiated by electron beams having energies in the range 16-26 keV. Charged particles emitted from the resultant electrical discharges have been measured with a biased Faraday cup and retarding potential analyser. Measurements indicate the presence of two distinct fluxes of particles, the first being an early pulse (0-600ns) of high energy (about 7keV) electrons, while the second is a late pulse (1-5 microseconds) of low energy electrons (less than 1eV) and ions (70eV) leaving the discharge site as a quasi plasma. Calculations indicate an electrostatic field as the dominant accelerating mechanism for charged particles.

An experiment to study the nuclear component of primary cosmic rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paul, J. M.; Verma, S. D.

1971-01-01

An apparatus has been designed and is being fabricated to study the charge composition, fluxes, and energy spectra of light nuclei in the energy region from 1 GeV to 100 GeV. The apparatus essentially consists of an array of a large number of particle detectors operated in coincidence and serving as a charged particle telescope. A mosaic silicon semiconductor detector, a plastic scintillation counter and a lucite Cerenkov detector are used to measure the charges of the incident nuclei. Two one-inch thick CsI detectors are used to study low energy particles. An ionization spectrometer is utilized to measure primary energies in the 1 to 100 GeV energy interval. A gas Cerenkov counter is being designed to distinguish between electrons and protons. It is planned to calibrate the apparatus at an accelerator using particles of known energy.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tsoupas, Nicholaos

The acceleration process of charged particle beam often required the use of few acceleration stages to provide the beam with the desired energy. The extraction of the beam from one acceleration stage and the injection to the next, both require a special type of magnet which comes under the name septum magnet. Such a magnet generates a strong field in one region of space an a very low field in another region with two regions separated by a very thin material (septum).

Superstructure for high current applications in superconducting linear accelerators

DOEpatents

Sekutowicz, Jacek [Elbchaussee, DE; Kneisel, Peter [Williamsburg, VA

2008-03-18

A superstructure for accelerating charged particles at relativistic speeds. The superstructure consists of two weakly coupled multi-cell subunits equipped with HOM couplers. A beam pipe connects the subunits and an HOM damper is included at the entrance and the exit of each of the subunits. A coupling device feeds rf power into the subunits. The subunits are constructed of niobium and maintained at cryogenic temperatures. The length of the beam pipe between the subunits is selected to provide synchronism between particles and rf fields in both subunits.

Steady-State Ion Beam Modeling with MICHELLE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petillo, John

2003-10-01

There is a need to efficiently model ion beam physics for ion implantation, chemical vapor deposition, and ion thrusters. Common to all is the need for three-dimensional (3D) simulation of volumetric ion sources, ion acceleration, and optics, with the ability to model charge exchange of the ion beam with a background neutral gas. The two pieces of physics stand out as significant are the modeling of the volumetric source and charge exchange. In the MICHELLE code, the method for modeling the plasma sheath in ion sources assumes that the electron distribution function is a Maxwellian function of electrostatic potential over electron temperature. Charge exchange is the process by which a neutral background gas with a "fast" charged particle streaming through exchanges its electron with the charged particle. An efficient method for capturing this is essential, and the model presented is based on semi-empirical collision cross section functions. This appears to be the first steady-state 3D algorithm of its type to contain multiple generations of charge exchange, work with multiple species and multiple charge state beam/source particles simultaneously, take into account the self-consistent space charge effects, and track the subsequent fast neutral particles. The solution used by MICHELLE is to combine finite element analysis with particle-in-cell (PIC) methods. The basic physics model is based on the equilibrium steady-state application of the electrostatic particle-in-cell (PIC) approximation employing a conformal computational mesh. The foundation stems from the same basic model introduced in codes such as EGUN. Here, Poisson's equation is used to self-consistently include the effects of space charge on the fields, and the relativistic Lorentz equation is used to integrate the particle trajectories through those fields. The presentation will consider the complexity of modeling ion thrusters.

Particle confinement by a radially polarized laser Bessel beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laredo, Gilad; Kimura, Wayne D.; Schächter, Levi

2017-03-01

The stable trajectory of a charged particle in an external guiding field is an essential condition for its acceleration or for forcing it to generate radiation. Examples of possible guiding devices include a solenoidal magnetic field or permanent periodic magnet in klystrons, a wiggler in free-electron lasers, the lattice of any accelerator, and finally the crystal lattice for the case of channeling radiation. We demonstrate that the trajectory of a point-charge in a radially polarized laser Bessel beam may be stable similarly to the case of a positron that bounces back and forth in the potential well generated by two adjacent atomic planes. While in the case of channeling radiation, the transverse motion is controlled by a harmonic oscillator equation, for a Bessel beam the transverse motion is controlled by the Mathieu equation. Some characteristics of the motion are presented.

Radiation reaction on a classical charged particle: a modified form of the equation of motion.

PubMed

Alcaine, Guillermo García; Llanes-Estrada, Felipe J

2013-09-01

We present and numerically solve a modified form of the equation of motion for a charged particle under the influence of an external force, taking into account the radiation reaction. This covariant equation is integro-differential, as Dirac-Röhrlich's, but has several technical improvements. First, the equation has the form of Newton's second law, with acceleration isolated on the left hand side and the force depending only on positions and velocities: Thus, the equation is linear in the highest derivative. Second, the total four-force is by construction perpendicular to the four-velocity. Third, if the external force vanishes for all future times, the total force and the acceleration automatically vanish at the present time. We show the advantages of this equation by solving it numerically for several examples of external force.

Radiation reaction on a classical charged particle: A modified form of the equation of motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alcaine, Guillermo García; Llanes-Estrada, Felipe J.

2013-09-01

We present and numerically solve a modified form of the equation of motion for a charged particle under the influence of an external force, taking into account the radiation reaction. This covariant equation is integro-differential, as Dirac-Röhrlich's, but has several technical improvements. First, the equation has the form of Newton's second law, with acceleration isolated on the left hand side and the force depending only on positions and velocities: Thus, the equation is linear in the highest derivative. Second, the total four-force is by construction perpendicular to the four-velocity. Third, if the external force vanishes for all future times, the total force and the acceleration automatically vanish at the present time. We show the advantages of this equation by solving it numerically for several examples of external force.

Vacuum electron acceleration by coherent dipole radiation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Troha, A.L.; Van Meter, J.R.; Landahl, E.C.

1999-07-01

The validity of the concept of laser-driven vacuum acceleration has been questioned, based on an extrapolation of the well-known Lawson-Woodward theorem, which stipulates that plane electromagnetic waves cannot accelerate charged particles in vacuum. To formally demonstrate that electrons can indeed be accelerated in vacuum by focusing or diffracting electromagnetic waves, the interaction between a point charge and coherent dipole radiation is studied in detail. The corresponding four-potential exactly satisfies both Maxwell{close_quote}s equations and the Lorentz gauge condition everywhere, and is analytically tractable. It is found that in the far-field region, where the field distribution closely approximates that of a planemore » wave, we recover the Lawson-Woodward result, while net acceleration is obtained in the near-field region. The scaling of the energy gain with wave-front curvature and wave amplitude is studied systematically. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}« less

SMALL-SCALE MAGNETIC ISLANDS IN THE SOLAR WIND AND THEIR ROLE IN PARTICLE ACCELERATION. I. DYNAMICS OF MAGNETIC ISLANDS NEAR THE HELIOSPHERIC CURRENT SHEET

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Khabarova, O.; Zank, G. P.; Li, G.

2015-08-01

Increases of ion fluxes in the keV–MeV range are sometimes observed near the heliospheric current sheet (HCS) during periods when other sources are absent. These resemble solar energetic particle events, but the events are weaker and apparently local. Conventional explanations based on either shock acceleration of charged particles or particle acceleration due to magnetic reconnection at interplanetary current sheets (CSs) are not persuasive. We suggest instead that recurrent magnetic reconnection occurs at the HCS and smaller CSs in the solar wind, a consequence of which is particle energization by the dynamically evolving secondary CSs and magnetic islands. The effectiveness of themore » trapping and acceleration process associated with magnetic islands depends in part on the topology of the HCS. We show that the HCS possesses ripples superimposed on the large-scale flat or wavy structure. We conjecture that the ripples can efficiently confine plasma and provide tokamak-like conditions that are favorable for the appearance of small-scale magnetic islands that merge and/or contract. Particles trapped in the vicinity of merging islands and experiencing multiple small-scale reconnection events are accelerated by the induced electric field and experience first-order Fermi acceleration in contracting magnetic islands according to the transport theory of Zank et al. We present multi-spacecraft observations of magnetic island merging and particle energization in the absence of other sources, providing support for theory and simulations that show particle energization by reconnection related processes of magnetic island merging and contraction.« less

Cytogenetic effects of energetic ions with shielding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, T. C.; George, K. A.; Wu, H.; Miller, D.; Miller, J.

1998-11-01

In order to understand the effects of shielding on the induction of biological damages by charged particles, we conducted experiments with accelerated protons (250 MeV) and iron particles (1 GeV/u). Human lymphocytes in vitro were exposed to particle beams through polyethylene with various thickness, and chromosomal aberrations were determined using FISH technique. Dose response curves for chromosome aberrations were obtained and compared for various particle types. Experimental results indicated that for a given absorbed dose at the cell, the effectiveness of protons and iron particles in the induction of chromosomal aberrations was not significantly altered by polyethylene with thickness up to 30-cm and 15-cm respectively. Comparing with gamma rays, charged particles were very effective in producing complex chromosomal damages, which may be an important mechanism in alterating functions in non-dividing tissues, such as nervous systems.

Coupled-cavity drift-tube linac

DOEpatents

Billen, James H.

1996-01-01

A coupled-cavity drift-tube linac (CCDTL) combines features of the Alvarez drift-tube linac (DTL) and the .pi.-mode coupled-cavity linac (CCL). In one embodiment, each accelerating cavity is a two-cell, 0-mode DTL. The center-to-center distance between accelerating gaps is .beta..lambda., where .lambda. is the free-space wavelength of the resonant mode. Adjacent accelerating cavities have oppositely directed electric fields, alternating in phase by 180 degrees. The chain of cavities operates in a .pi./2 structure mode so the coupling cavities are nominally unexcited. The CCDTL configuration provides an rf structure with high shunt impedance for intermediate velocity charged particles, i.e., particles with energies in the 20-200 MeV range.

Coupled-cavity drift-tube linac

DOEpatents

Billen, J.H.

1996-11-26

A coupled-cavity drift-tube linac (CCDTL) combines features of the Alvarez drift-tube linac (DTL) and the {pi}-mode coupled-cavity linac (CCL). In one embodiment, each accelerating cavity is a two-cell, 0-mode DTL. The center-to-center distance between accelerating gaps is {beta}{lambda}, where {lambda} is the free-space wavelength of the resonant mode. Adjacent accelerating cavities have oppositely directed electric fields, alternating in phase by 180 degrees. The chain of cavities operates in a {pi}/2 structure mode so the coupling cavities are nominally unexcited. The CCDTL configuration provides an rf structure with high shunt impedance for intermediate velocity charged particles, i.e., particles with energies in the 20-200 MeV range. 5 figs.

Investigation of Microbunching Instabilities in Modern Recirculating Accelerators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tsai, Cheng

Particle accelerators are machines to accelerate and store charged particles, such as electrons or protons, to the energy levels for various scientific applications. A collection of charged particles usually forms a particle beam. There are three basic types of particle accelerators: linear accelerators (linac), storage-ring (or circular) accelerators, and recirculating accelerators. In a linac, particles are accelerated and pass through once along a linear or straight beamline. Storage-ring accelerators propel particles around a circular track and repetitively append the energy to the stored beam. The third type, also the most recent one in chronology, the recirculating accelerator, is designed tomore » accelerate the particle beam in a short section of linac, circulate the beam, and then either continue to accelerate for energy boost or decelerate it for energy recovery. The beam properties of a linac machine are set at best by the initial particle sources. For storage rings, the beam equilibria are instead determined by the overall machine design. The modern recirculating machines share with linacs the advantages to both accelerate and preserve the beam with high beam quality, as well as efficiently reuse the accelerating components. The beamline design in such a machine configuration can however be much more complicated than that of linacs. As modern accelerators push toward the high-brightness or high-intensity frontier by demanding particles in a highly charged bunch (about nano-Coulomb per bunch) to concentrate in an ever-decreasing beam phase space (transverse normalized emittance about 1 μm and relative energy spread of the order of 10^-5 in GeV beam energy), the interaction amongst particles via their self-generated electromagnetic fields can potentially lead to coherent instabilities of the beam and thus pose significant challenges to the machine design and operation. In the past decade and a half, microbunching instability (MBI) has been one of the most challenging issues for such high-brightness or high-intensity beam transport, as it would degrade lasing performance in the fourth-generation light sources, reduce cooling efficiency in electron cooling facilities, and compromise the luminosity of colliding beams in lepton or lepton-hadron colliders. The dissertation work will focus on the MBI in modern recirculating electron accelerators. It has been known that the collective interactions, the coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) and the longitudinal space charge (LSC) forces, can drive MBI. The CSR effect is a collective phenomenon in which the electrons in a curved motion, e.g. a bending dipole, emit radiation at a scale comparable to the micro-bunched structure of the bunch distribution. The LSC effect stems from non-uniformity of the charge distribution, acts as plasma oscillation, and can eventually accumulate an amount of energy modulation when the beam traverses a long section of a beamline. MBI can be seeded by non-uniformity or shot noise of the beam, which originates from granularity of the elementary charge. Through the aforementioned collective effects, the modulation of the bunch sub-structure can be amplified and, once the beam-wave interaction formed a positive feedback, can result in MBI. The problem of MBI has been intensively studied for linac-based facilities and for storage-ring accelerators. However, systematic studies for recirculation machines are still very limited and form a knowledge gap. Because of the much more complicated machine configuration of the recirculating accelerators than that of linacs, the existing MBI analysis needs to be extended to accommodate the high-brightness particle beam transport in modern recirculating accelerators. This dissertation is focused on theoretical investigation of MBI in such machine configuration in the following seven themes: (1) Development and generalization of MBI theory The theoretical formulation has been extended so as to be applicable to a general linear beamline lattice including horizontal and vertical transport bending elements, and beam acceleration or deceleration. These featured generalizations are required for MBI analysis in recirculation accelerators. (2) Construction of CSR impedance models In addition to the steady-state CSR interaction, it has been found that the exit transient effect (or CSR drift) can even result in more serious MBI in high-brightness recirculation arcs. The onedimensional free-space CSR impedances, especially the exit transients, are derived. The steady-state CSR impedance is also extended to non-ultrarelativistic beam energy for MBI analysis of low-energy merger sections in recirculating accelerators. (3) Numerical implementation of the derived semi-analytical formulation This includes the development of a semi-analytical Vlasov solver for MBI analysis, and also benchmarking of the solver against massive particle tracking simulations. (4) Exploration of multistage amplification behavior of CSR microbunching development The CSR-induced MBI acts as an amplifier, which amplifies the sub-bunch modulation of a beam. The amplification is commonly quantified by the amplification gain. A beam transport system can be considered as a cascaded amplifier. Unlike the two-stage amplification of four-dipole bunch compressor chicanes employed in linacs, the recirculation arcs, which are usually constituted by several tens of bending magnets, show a distinguishing feature of up to six-stage microbunching amplification for our example arc lattices. That is, the maximal CSR amplification gain can be proportional to the peak bunch current up to sixth power. A method to compare lattice performance has been developed in terms of gain coefficients, which nearly depend on the lattice properties only. This method has also proven to be an effective way to quantify the current dependence of the maximal (5) Control of CSR MBI in multibend transport or recirculation arcs The existing mitigation schemes of MBI mostly aim to linac-based accelerators and may not be practical to the recirculating accelerator facilities. Thus a set of conditions for suppression of CSR MBI was proposed and examined for example lattices from low (~100 MeV) to high (~1 GeV) energies. (6) Study of more aspects of microbunched structures in beam phase spaces For a cascaded amplifier in circuit electronics, the total amplification gain can be estimated as the product of individual gains. In a beam transport line of an accelerator, the (scalar) gain multiplication was examined and found to under-estimate the overall microbunching amplification. The concept of gain matrix was developed, which includes the density, energy and transverse-longitudinal modulations in a beam phase space, and used to analyze MBI for a proposed recirculating machine. Throughout the gain matrix approach, it reasonably gives the upper limit of spectral MBI gain curves. This extended analysis can be employed to study multi-pass recirculation. (7) Study of MBI for magnetized beams Driven by a recent energy-recovery-linac based cooler design for electron cooling at Jefferson Lab Electron-Ion Collider Project, the generalized theoretical formulation for MBI to a transversely coupled beam has been developed and applied to this study. A magnetized beam in general features non-zero canonical angular momentum, thus considered to be a transversely coupled beam. A novel idea of utilizing magnetized beam transport was proposed for improvement of cooling efficiency and possible mitigation of collective effects. A concern of MBI regarding this design was studied and excluded. The large transverse beam size associated with the beam magnetization is found to help suppress MBI via the transverse-longitudinal correlation.« less

Ultra-High Gradient Channeling Acceleration in Nanostructures: Design/Progress of Proof-of-Concept (POC) Experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shin, Young Min; Green, A.; Lumpkin, A. H.

2016-09-16

A short bunch of relativistic particles or a short-pulse laser perturbs the density state of conduction electrons in a solid crystal and excites wakefields along atomic lattices in a crystal. Under a coupling condition the wakes, if excited, can accelerate channeling particles with TeV/m acceleration gradients in principle since the density of charge carriers (conduction electrons) in solids n 0 = ~ 10 20 – 10 23 cm -3 is significantly higher than what can be obtained in gaseous plasma. Nanostructures have some advantages over crystals for channeling applications of high power beams. The dechanneling rate can be reduced andmore » the beam acceptance increased by the large size of the channels. For beam-driven acceleration, a bunch length with a sufficient charge density would need to be in the range of the plasma wavelength to properly excite plasma wakefields, and channeled particle acceleration with the wakefields must occur before the ions in the lattices move beyond the restoring threshold. In the case of the excitation by short laser pulses, the dephasing length is appreciably increased with the larger channel, which enables channeled particles to gain sufficient amounts of energy. This paper describes simulation analyses on beam- and laser (X-ray)-driven accelerations in effective nanotube models obtained from Vsim and EPOCH codes. Experimental setups to detect wakefields are also outlined with accelerator facilities at Fermilab and NIU. In the FAST facility, the electron beamline was successfully commissioned at 50 MeV and it is being upgraded toward higher energies for electron accelerator R&D. The 50 MeV injector beamline of the facility is used for X-ray crystal-channeling radiation with a diamond target. It has been proposed to utilize the same diamond crystal for a channeling acceleration POC test. Another POC experiment is also designed for the NIU accelerator lab with time-resolved electron diffraction. Recently, a stable generation of single-cycle laser pulses with tens of Petawatt power based on thin film compression (TFC) technique has been investigated for target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) and radiation pressure acceleration (RPA). The experimental plan with a nanometer foil is discussed with an available test facility such as Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP).« less

Ultra-high gradient channeling acceleration in nanostructures: Design/progress of proof-of-concept (POC) experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, Y. M.; Green, A.; Lumpkin, A. H.; Thurman-Keup, R. M.; Shiltsev, V.; Zhang, X.; Farinella, D. M.-A.; Taborek, P.; Tajima, T.; Wheeler, J. A.; Mourou, G.

2017-03-01

A short bunch of relativistic particles, or a short-pulse laser, perturb the density state of conduction electrons in a solid crystal and excite wakefields along atomic lattices in a crystal. Under a coupling condition between a driver and plasma, the wakes, if excited, can accelerate channeling particles with TeV/m acceleration gradients [1], in principle, since the density of charge carriers (conduction electrons) in solids n0 = 1020 - 1023 cm-3 is significantly higher than what was considered above in gaseous plasma. Nanostructures have some advantages over crystals for channeling applications of high power beams. The de-channeling rate can be reduced and the beam acceptance increased by the large size of the channels. For beam-driven acceleration, a bunch length with a sufficient charge density would need to be in the range of the plasma wavelength to properly excite plasma wakefields, and channeled particle acceleration with the wakefields must occur before the ions in the lattices move beyond the restoring threshold. In the case of the excitation by short laser pulses, the dephasing length is appreciably increased with the larger channel, which enables channeled particles to gain sufficient amounts of energy. This paper describes simulation analyses on beam- and laser (X-ray)-driven accelerations in effective nanotube models obtained from the Vsim and EPOCH codes. Experimental setups to detect wakefields are also outlined with accelerator facilities at Fermilab and Northern Illinois University (NIU). In the FAST facility, the electron beamline was successfully commissioned at 50 MeV, and it is being upgraded toward higher energies for electron accelerator R&D. The 50 MeV injector beamline of the facility is used for X-ray crystal-channeling radiation with a diamond target. It has been proposed to utilize the same diamond crystal for a channeling acceleration proof-of-concept (POC). Another POC experiment is also designed for the NIU accelerator lab with time-resolved electron diffraction. Recently, a stable generation of single-cycle laser pulses with tens of Petawatt power based on the thin film compression (TFC) technique has been investigated for target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) and radiation pressure acceleration (RPA). The experimental plan with a nanometer foil is discussed with an available test facility such as Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP).

Simulation of a cascaded longitudinal space charge amplifier for coherent radiation generation

DOE PAGES

Halavanau, A.; Piot, P.

2016-03-03

Longitudinal space charge (LSC) effects are generally considered as harmful in free-electron lasers as they can seed unfavorable energy modulations that can result in density modulations with associated emittance dilution. It was pointed out, however, that such \\micro-bunching instabilities" could be potentially useful to support the generation of broadband coherent radiation. Therefore there has been an increasing interest in devising accelerator beam lines capable of controlling LSC induced density modulations. In the present paper we augment these previous investigations by combining a grid-less space charge algorithm with the popular particle-tracking program elegant. This high-fidelity model of the space charge ismore » used to benchmark conventional LSC models. We then employ the developed model to optimize the performance of a cascaded longitudinal space charge amplifier using beam parameters comparable to the ones achievable at Fermilab Accelerator Science & Technology (FAST) facility currently under commissioning at Fermilab.« less

Particle acceleration in solar active regions being in the state of self-organized criticality.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vlahos, Loukas

We review the recent observational results on flare initiation and particle acceleration in solar active regions. Elaborating a statistical approach to describe the spatiotemporally intermittent electric field structures formed inside a flaring solar active region, we investigate the efficiency of such structures in accelerating charged particles (electrons and protons). The large-scale magnetic configuration in the solar atmosphere responds to the strong turbulent flows that convey perturbations across the active region by initiating avalanche-type processes. The resulting unstable structures correspond to small-scale dissipation regions hosting strong electric fields. Previous research on particle acceleration in strongly turbulent plasmas provides a general framework for addressing such a problem. This framework combines various electromagnetic field configurations obtained by magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) or cellular automata (CA) simulations, or by employing a statistical description of the field’s strength and configuration with test particle simulations. We work on data-driven 3D magnetic field extrapolations, based on a self-organized criticality models (SOC). A relativistic test-particle simulation traces each particle’s guiding center within these configurations. Using the simulated particle-energy distributions we test our results against observations, in the framework of the collisional thick target model (CTTM) of solar hard X-ray (HXR) emission and compare our results with the current observations.

Experimental Basis for IED Particle Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng-Johansson, J.

2009-03-01

The internally electrodynamic (IED) particle model is built on three experimental facts: a) electric charges present in all matter particles, b) an accelerated charge generates electromagnetic (EM) waves by Maxwell's equations and Planck energy equation, and c) source motion gives Doppler effect. A set of well-kwon basic particle equations have been predicted based on first-principles solutions for IED particle (e.g. J Phys CS128, 012019, 2008); the equations are long experimentally validated. A critical review of the key experiments suggests that the IED process underlies these equations not just sufficiently but also necessarily. E.g.: 1) A free IED electron solution is a plane wave ψ= Ce^i(kdX-φT) requisite for producing the diffraction fringe in a Davisson-Germer experiment, and of also all basic point-like attributes facilitated by a linear momentum kd and the model structure. It needs not further be a wave packet which produces not a diffraction fringe. 2)The radial partial EM waves, hence the total ψ, of an IED electron will, on both EM theory and experiment basis -not by assumption, enter two slits at the same time, as is requisite for an electron to interfere with itself as shown in double slit experiments. 3) On annihilation, an electron converts (from mass m) to a radiation energy φ without an acceleration which is externally observable and yet requisite by EM theory. So a charge oscillation of frequency φ and its EM waves must regularly present internal of a normal electron, whence the IED model.

Rapid electron beam accelerator (REBA-tron)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kapetanakos, C.A.; Sprangle, P.A.; Dialetis, D.

1986-03-05

This invention comprises a particle accelerator with a toroidal vacuum chamber, an injector for injecting a charged-paticle beam into the chamber and an exit port to extract the accelerated particle beam. A toroidal magnetic field to confine the beam in the chamber is generated by a set of coils with their axis along the minor axis of the chamber and by two twisted wires that carry current in the same direction wrapped around the chamber. The two twisted wires also generate a torsatron magnetic field that controls the minor radius of the beam. A time-varying magnetic field is generated bymore » two concentric cylindrical plates surrounding the chamber. A convoluted transmission line generates a localized electric field in the chamber to accelerate the beam.« less

Collective Temperature Anisotropy Instabilities in Intense Charged Particle Beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Startsev, Edward

2006-10-01

Periodic focusing accelerators, transport systems and storage rings have a wide range of applications ranging from basic scientific research in high energy and nuclear physics, to applications such as ion-beam-driven high energy density physics and fusion, and spallation neutron sources. Of particular importance at the high beam currents and charge densities of practical interest, are the effects of the intense self fields produced by the beam space charge and current on determining the detailed equilibrium, stability and transport properties. Charged particle beams confined by external focusing fields represent an example of nonneutral plasma. A characteristic feature of such plasmas is the non-uniformity of the equilibrium density profiles and the nonlinearity of the self fields, which makes detailed analytical investigation very difficult. The development and application of advanced numerical tools such as eigenmode codes [1] and Monte-Carlo particle simulation methods [2] are often the only tractable approach to understand the underlying physics of different instabilities familiar in electrically neutral plasmas which may cause a degradation in beam quality. Two such instabilities are the electrostatic Harris instability [2] and the electromagnetic Weibel instability [1], both driven by a large temperature anisotropy which develops naturally in accelerators. The beam acceleration causes a large reduction in the longitudinal temperature and provides the free energy to drive collective temperature anisotropy instabilities. Such instabilities may lead to an increase in the longitudinal velocity spread, which will make focusing the beam difficult, and may impose a limit on the beam luminosity and the minimum spot size achievable in focusing experiments. This paper reviews recent advances in the theory and simulation of collective instabilities in intense charged particle beams caused by temperature anisotropy. We also describe new simulation tools that have been developed to study these instabilities. The results of the investigations that identify the instability growth rates, levels of saturations, and conditions for quiescent beam propagation will also be discussed. [1] E.A. Startsev and R.C. Davidson, Phys.Plasmas 10, 4829 (2003). [2] E.A. Startsev, R.C. Davidson and H. Qin, Phys.Rev. ST Accel. Beams 8,124201 (2005).

Ion acceleration with a narrow energy spectrum by nanosecond laser-irradiation of solid target

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altana, C.; Lanzalone, G.; Mascali, D.; Muoio, A.; Cirrone, G. A. P.; Schillaci, F.; Tudisco, S.

2016-02-01

In laser-driven plasma, ion acceleration of aluminum with the production of a quasi-monoenergetic beam has occurred. A useful device to analyze the ions is the Thomson parabolas spectrometer, a well-known diagnostic that is able to obtain information on charge-to-mass ratio and energy distribution of the charged particles. At the LENS (Laser Energy for Nuclear Science) laboratory of INFN-LNS in Catania, experimental measures were carried out; the features of LENS are: Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with 2 J laser energy, 1064 nm fundamental wavelengths, and 6 ns pulse duration.

Ion acceleration with a narrow energy spectrum by nanosecond laser-irradiation of solid target

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Altana, C., E-mail: altana@lns.infn.it; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Catania, Via S. Sofia 64, 95123 Catania; Lanzalone, G.

2016-02-15

In laser-driven plasma, ion acceleration of aluminum with the production of a quasi-monoenergetic beam has occurred. A useful device to analyze the ions is the Thomson parabolas spectrometer, a well-known diagnostic that is able to obtain information on charge-to-mass ratio and energy distribution of the charged particles. At the LENS (Laser Energy for Nuclear Science) laboratory of INFN-LNS in Catania, experimental measures were carried out; the features of LENS are: Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with 2 J laser energy, 1064 nm fundamental wavelengths, and 6 ns pulse duration.

Cloud-based design of high average power traveling wave linacs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kutsaev, S. V.; Eidelman, Y.; Bruhwiler, D. L.; Moeller, P.; Nagler, R.; Barbe Welzel, J.

2017-12-01

The design of industrial high average power traveling wave linacs must accurately consider some specific effects. For example, acceleration of high current beam reduces power flow in the accelerating waveguide. Space charge may influence the stability of longitudinal or transverse beam dynamics. Accurate treatment of beam loading is central to the design of high-power TW accelerators, and it is especially difficult to model in the meter-scale region where the electrons are nonrelativistic. Currently, there are two types of available codes: tracking codes (e.g. PARMELA or ASTRA) that cannot solve self-consistent problems, and particle-in-cell codes (e.g. Magic 3D or CST Particle Studio) that can model the physics correctly but are very time-consuming and resource-demanding. Hellweg is a special tool for quick and accurate electron dynamics simulation in traveling wave accelerating structures. The underlying theory of this software is based on the differential equations of motion. The effects considered in this code include beam loading, space charge forces, and external magnetic fields. We present the current capabilities of the code, provide benchmarking results, and discuss future plans. We also describe the browser-based GUI for executing Hellweg in the cloud.

Wave-Particle Interactions and Particle Acceleration in Turbulent Plasmas: Hybrid Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kucharek, Harald; Pogorelov, Nikolai; Mueller, Hans; Gamayunov, Konstantin; Farrugia, Charles

2015-04-01

Wave-particle interactions and acceleration processes are present in all key regions inside and outside of the heliosphere. Spacecraft observations measure ion distributions and accelerated ion populations, which are the result of one or several processes. For instance STEREO measures energetic particles associated with interplanetary discontinuities and in the solar wind. Voyager and IBEX provide unique data of energetic particles from the termination shock and the inner and outer heliopause. The range of plasma conditions covered by observations is enormous. However, the physical processes causing particle acceleration and wave-particle interaction and determining the particle distributions are still unknown. Currently two mechanisms, the so-called pumping mechanism (Fisk and Gloeckler, 2010) and merging/contracting island (Fermo, Drake & Swisdak, 2010) are discussed as promising models. In order to determine these individual processes, numerical models or theoretical considerations are needed. Hybrid simulations, which include all kinetic processes self-consistently on the ion level, are a very proven, powerful tool to investigate wave-particle interaction, turbulence, and phase-space evolution of pickup and solar wind ions. In the framework of this study we performed 3D multi-species hybrid simulations for an ion/ion beam instability to study the temporal evolution of ion distributions, their stability, and the influence of self-generated waves. We investigated the energization of ions downstream of interplanetary discontinuities and shocks and downstream of the termination shock, the turbulence, and growth rate of instabilities and compared the results with theoretical predictions. The simulations show that ions can be accelerated downstream of collisionless shocks by trapping of charged particles in coherent wave fronts.

Inter-Agency Consultative Group for Space Science (IACG): Handbook of Missions and Payloads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

The ACE spacecraft design is based on the Charge Composition Explorer (CCE) built by Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and the Applied Physics Lab (APL) for the AMPTE program. ACE is designed as a spinning spacecraft with its spin axis aligned to the Earth-Sun axis. The ACE launch weight will be approx. 633 kg, including 105 kg of scientific instruments and 184 kg of propellant. Using a Delta-class expendable launch vehicle, ACE will be launched into an L1 libration point (240 R(sub e)) orbit. Telemetry will be 6.7 kbps average, using tape recorder storage with daily readout to DSN. The experiment power requirement is approximately 76 W nominal and 96 W peak. The prime objective of the ACE mission is: (1) to determine accurate elemental and isotropic abundances including solar matter, local interstellar matter and local galactic matter; (2) to study the origin of elements and evolutionary processing in galactic nucleosynthesis, galactic evolution, origin and evolution of the solar system; (3) to study coronal formation and solar-wind acceleration processes; and (4) to study particle acceleration and transport, including coronal shock acceleration, stochastic flare acceleration, interplanetary shock acceleration, and interstellar acceleration and propagation. To accomplish this objective, ACE will perform comprehensive and coordinated determinations of the elemental and isotopic composition of energetic nuclei accelerated on the Sun, in interplanetary space, and from galactic sources. These observations will span five decades in energy, from solar wind to galactic cosmic ray energies, and will cover the element range from H-1 to Zr-40. Comparison of these samples of matter will be used to study the origin and subsequent evolution of both solar system and galactic material by isolating the effects of fundamental processes that include nucleosynthesis, charged and neutral particle separation, bulk plasma acceleration, and the acceleration of suprathermal and high-energy particles.

Radio frequency quadrupole resonator for linear accelerator

DOEpatents

Moretti, Alfred

1985-01-01

An RFQ resonator for a linear accelerator having a reduced level of interfering modes and producing a quadrupole mode for focusing, bunching and accelerating beams of heavy charged particles, with the construction being characterized by four elongated resonating rods within a cylinder with the rods being alternately shorted and open electrically to the shell at common ends of the rods to provide an LC parallel resonant circuit when activated by a magnetic field transverse to the longitudinal axis.

Radio-frequency quadrupole resonator for linear accelerator

DOEpatents

Moretti, A.

1982-10-19

An RFQ resonator for a linear accelerator having a reduced level of interfering modes and producing a quadrupole mode for focusing, bunching and accelerating beams of heavy charged particles, with the construction being characterized by four elongated resonating rods within a cylinder with the rods being alternately shorted and open electrically to the shell at common ends of the rods to provide an LC parallel resonant circuit when activated by a magnetic field transverse to the longitudinal axis.

A Comprehensive Investigation and Coupler Design for Higher-Order Modes in the BNL Energy Recovery Linear Accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marques, Carlos

A next generation Energy Recovery Linac (ERL) is under development in the Collider-Accelerator Department at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). This ERL uses a superconducting radio frequency (SFR) cavity to produce an electric field gradient ideal to accelerate charged particles. As with many accelerators, higher-order modes (HOMs) can be induced by a beam of charged particles traversing the linear accelerator cavity. The excitation of these modes can result in problematic single and multi-bunch effects and also produce undesirable heat loads to the cryogenic system. Understanding HOM prevalence and structure inside the accelerator cavity is crucial for devising a procedure for extracting HOM power and promoting excellent beam quality. In this work, a method was created to identify and characterize HOMs using a perturbation technique on a copper (Cu) cavity prototype of the BNL3 linac and a double lambda/4 crab cavity. Both analyses and correlation between simulated and measured results are shown. A coaxial to dual-ridge waveguide HOM coupler was designed, constructed and implemented to extract power from HOMs simultaneously making an evanescent fundamental mode for the BNL3 cavity. A full description of the design is given along with a simulated analysis of its performance. Comparison between previous HOM coupler designs as well as correspondence between simulation and measurement is also given.

Liouville master equation for multielectron dynamics: Neutralization of highly charged ions near a LiF surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wirtz, Ludger; Reinhold, Carlos O.; Lemell, Christoph; Burgdörfer, Joachim

2003-01-01

We present a simulation of the neutralization of highly charged ions in front of a lithium fluoride surface including the close-collision regime above the surface. The present approach employs a Monte Carlo solution of the Liouville master equation for the joint probability density of the ionic motion and the electronic population of the projectile and the target surface. It includes single as well as double particle-hole (de)excitation processes and incorporates electron correlation effects through the conditional dynamics of population strings. The input in terms of elementary one- and two-electron transfer rates is determined from classical trajectory Monte Carlo calculations as well as quantum-mechanical Auger calculations. For slow projectiles and normal incidence, the ionic motion depends sensitively on the interplay between image acceleration towards the surface and repulsion by an ensemble of positive hole charges in the surface (“trampoline effect”). For Ne10+ we find that image acceleration is dominant and no collective backscattering high above the surface takes place. For grazing incidence, our simulation delineates the pathways to complete neutralization. In accordance with recent experimental observations, most ions are reflected as neutral or even as singly charged negative particles, irrespective of the charge state of the incoming ions.

Liouville master equation for multi-electron dynamics during ion-surface interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wirtz, L.; Reinhold, C. O.; Lemell, C.; Burgdorfer, J.

2003-05-01

We present a simulation of the neutralization of highly charged ions in front of a LiF(100) surface including the close-collision regime above the surface. Our approach employs a Monte-Carlo solution of the Liouville master equation for the joint probability density of the ionic motion and the electronic population of the projectile and the target surface. It includes single as well as double particle-hole (de)excitation processes and incorporates electron correlation effects through the conditional dynamics of population strings. The input in terms of elementary one- and two-electron transfer rates is determined from CTMC calculations as well as quantum mechanical Auger calculations. For slow projectiles and normal incidence, the ionic motion depends sensitively on the interplay between image acceleration towards the surface and repulsion by an ensemble of positive hole charges in the surface (``trampoline effect"). For Ne10+ ions we find that image acceleration dominates and no collective backscattering high above the surface takes place. For grazing incidence, our simulation delineates the pathways to complete neutralization. In accordance with recent experimental observations, most ions are reflected as neutrals or even as singly charged negative particles, irrespective of the charge state of the incoming ion.

Design of a high-bunch-charge 112-MHz superconducting RF photoemission electron source

DOE PAGES

Xin, T.; Brutus, J. C.; Belomestnykh, Sergey A.; ...

2016-09-01

High-bunch-charge photoemission electron-sources operating in a continuous wave (CW) mode are required for many advanced applications of particle accelerators, such as electron coolers for hadron beams, electron-ion colliders, and free-electron lasers (FELs). Superconducting RF (SRF) has several advantages over other electron-gun technologies in CW mode as it offers higher acceleration rate and potentially can generate higher bunch charges and average beam currents. A 112 MHz SRF electron photoinjector (gun) was developed at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) to produce high-brightness and high-bunch-charge bunches for the Coherent electron Cooling Proof-of-Principle (CeC PoP) experiment. Lastly, the gun utilizes a quarter-wave resonator (QWR) geometrymore » for assuring beam dynamics, and uses high quantum efficiency (QE) multi-alkali photocathodes for generating electrons.« less

Dynamics of charged particle motion in the vicinity of three dimensional magnetic null points: Energization and chaos

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gascoyne, Andrew, E-mail: a.d.gascoyne@sheffield.ac.uk

2015-03-15

Using a full orbit test particle approach, we analyse the motion of a single proton in the vicinity of magnetic null point configurations which are solutions to the kinematic, steady state, resistive magnetohydrodynamics equations. We consider two magnetic configurations, namely, the sheared and torsional spine reconnection regimes [E. R. Priest and D. I. Pontin, Phys. Plasmas 16, 122101 (2009); P. Wyper and R. Jain, Phys. Plasmas 17, 092902 (2010)]; each produce an associated electric field and thus the possibility of accelerating charged particles to high energy levels, i.e., > MeV, as observed in solar flares [R. P. Lin, Space Sci. Rev. 124,more » 233 (2006)]. The particle's energy gain is strongly dependent on the location of injection and is characterised by the angle of approach β, with optimum angle of approach β{sub opt} as the value of β which produces the maximum energy gain. We examine the topological features of each regime and analyse the effect on the energy gain of the proton. We also calculate the complete Lyapunov spectrum for the considered dynamical systems in order to correctly quantify the chaotic nature of the particle orbits. We find that the sheared model is a good candidate for the acceleration of particles, and for increased shear, we expect a larger population to be accelerated to higher energy levels. In the strong electric field regime (E{sub 0}=1500 V/m), the torsional model produces chaotic particle orbits quantified by the calculation of multiple positive Lyapunov exponents in the spectrum, whereas the sheared model produces chaotic orbits only in the neighbourhood of the null point.« less

Chemical Enhancements in Shock-Accelerated Particles: Ab initio Simulations.

PubMed

Caprioli, Damiano; Yi, Dennis T; Spitkovsky, Anatoly

2017-10-27

We study the thermalization, injection, and acceleration of ions with different mass/charge ratios, A/Z, in nonrelativistic collisionless shocks via hybrid (kinetic ions-fluid electrons) simulations. In general, ions thermalize to a postshock temperature proportional to A. When diffusive shock acceleration is efficient, ions develop a nonthermal tail whose extent scales with Z and whose normalization is enhanced as (A/Z)^{2} so that incompletely ionized heavy ions are preferentially accelerated. We discuss how these findings can explain observed heavy-ion enhancements in Galactic cosmic rays.

Induction Linacs and Free Electron Laser Amplifiers

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-03-20

accelerated and the effects of space - charge force is minimized. EMnTANCE-PRESERVING BEAMLINE The beamline (Fig. 5) is designed to preserve the good beam...electrons and pushes them right out of the way leaving a bare ion cloud. With relativistic beams in vacuum, their space charge defocusing is offset by the...suspect, on why charged particle beams cannot be used in space . Now it is a fairly straight- forward extrapolation, already mentioned in Lou Marguet’s

From Waves to Particle Tracks and Quantum Probabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falkenburg, Brigitte

Here, the measurement methods for identifying massive charged particles are investigated. They have been used from early cosmic ray studies up to the present day. Laws such as the classical Lorentz force and Einstein's relativistic kinematics were established before the rise of quantum mechanics. Later, it became crucial to measure the energy loss of charged particles in matter. In 1930, Bethe developed a semi-classical model based on the quantum mechanics of scattering. In the early 1930s, he and others calculated the passage of charged particles through matter including pair creation and bremsstrahlung. Due to missing trust in quantum electrodynamics, however, only semi-empirical methods were employed in order to estimate the mass and charge from the features of particle tracks. In 1932, Anderson inserted a lead plate into the cloud chamber in order to determine the flight direction and charge of the `positive electron'. In the 1940s, nuclear emulsions helped to resolve puzzles about particle identification and quantum electrodynamics. Later, the measurement theory was extended in a cumulative process by adding conservation laws for dynamic properties, probabilistic quantum formulas for resonances, scattering cross sections, etc. The measurement method was taken over from cosmic ray studies to the era of particle accelerators, and finally taken back from there to astroparticle physics. The measurement methods remained the same, but in the transition from particle to astroparticle physics the focus of interest shifted. Indeed, the experimental methods of both fields explore the grounds of `new physics' in complementary ways.

Efficient acceleration of neutral atoms in laser produced plasma

DOE PAGES

Dalui, M.; Trivikram, T. M.; Colgan, James Patrick; ...

2017-06-20

Recent advances in high-intensity laser-produced plasmas have demonstrated their potential as compact charge particle accelerators. Unlike conventional accelerators, transient quasi-static charge separation acceleration fields in laser produced plasmas are highly localized and orders of magnitude larger. Manipulating these ion accelerators, to convert the fast ions to neutral atoms with little change in momentum, transform these to a bright source of MeV atoms. The emittance of the neutral atom beam would be similar to that expected for an ion beam. Since intense laser-produced plasmas have been demonstrated to produce high-brightness-low-emittance beams, it is possible to envisage generation of high-flux, low-emittance, highmore » energy neutral atom beams in length scales of less than a millimeter. Here, we show a scheme where more than 80% of the fast ions are reduced to energetic neutral atoms and demonstrate the feasibility of a high energy neutral atom accelerator that could significantly impact applications in neutral atom lithography and diagnostics.« less

Achieving Stable Radiation Pressure Acceleration of Heavy Ions via Successive Electron Replenishment from Ionization of a High-Z Material Coating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, X. F.; Qiao, B.; Zhang, H.; Kar, S.; Zhou, C. T.; Chang, H. X.; Borghesi, M.; He, X. T.

2017-05-01

A method to achieve stable radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) of heavy ions from laser-irradiated ultrathin foils is proposed, where a high-Z material coating in front is used. The coated high-Z material, acting as a moving electron repository, continuously replenishes the accelerating heavy ion foil with comoving electrons in the light-sail acceleration stage due to its successive ionization under laser fields with Gaussian temporal profile. As a result, the detrimental effects such as foil deformation and electron loss induced by the Rayleigh-Taylor-like and other instabilities in RPA are significantly offset and suppressed so that stable acceleration of heavy ions are maintained. Particle-in-cell simulations show that a monoenergetic Al13 + beam with peak energy 3.8 GeV and particle number 1 010 (charge >20 nC ) can be obtained at intensity 1 022 W /cm2 .

Observation of excess flux for negative cosmic ray penetrating particles in bubble chamber "SKAT" for momentum range (30GeV/c

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bazhutov, Yu. N.; Baranov, D. S.

2001-08-01

There are presented the first results of the new heavy stable cosmic ray particles search in the bubble chamber "SKAT" (450 x 160 x 90 cm3 ), which was exposed in the neutrino beam of Serpukhov Accelerator during 1976 - 1992 years and was viewed along the horizontal direction so as the magnet field direction (MDM > 150 GeV/c). From looking over 1,270 stills (1 roll for April 23, 1979) it was selected 757 tracks of cosmic ray particles with zenith angle θ < 45°, track length - L > 50 cm and momentum P>2.0GeV/c. From this events there were constructed momentum spectrums for both negative and positive vertical cosmic ray penetrating particles in the (2.0 - 126) GeV/c range and calculated their charge ratio. For positive particles the momentum spectrum has normal shape in all studied range the same as for negative particles but only for momentum range (2.0 - 32) GeV/c and charge ratio for this range is normal and the same as for cosmic muons. But for momentum P>32GeV/c it was observed negative particles excess flux (~10-5 cm-2 s-1 sr-1 ) with changed charge ratio - R = 0.62 +/0.18 (˜>3.5σ) for momentum range (32GeV/c3σ) and for momentum range (3.6GeV/c107 cm2 ṡsṡsr); 2) the installation place must be on the Earth surface or small underground (< 100 m.w.e.); 3) it is desirable to use track detector for event and particle charge viewing. One of the largest Bubble Chamber "SKAT" (BC), operated from 1976 to 1992 on the Serpukhov Accelerator neutrino beam had satisfied to all these demands. Its operation on the neutrino beam could provide a small background from Accelerator fo r our researches. Accumulated ~ 4 x 2,000,000 stills inside ~ 4 x 1660 rolls during this long period were conserved until now and were ready to analysis. The large Bubble Chamber (450 x 160 x 90 cm3 ) had been placed in greatest magnetic field (17 kG) horizontally directed so as coaxial to it view of 4 stereo photo chambers. So near vertical penetrating cosmic rays could be registered the same as near horizontal neutrino beam events. Full "SKAT" exposition is S-T ~ 4ṡ109 cm2 ṡsṡsr , that is rather more demanded one. It provides us for charge and momentum (MDM > 150 GeV/c) measurements. BC had been placed on the Earth surface, but had large magnetic iron screen (d ~ 2500 g/cm2 = 25m.w.e., Fig.1).

Multi-gigaelectronvolt acceleration of positrons in a self-loaded plasma wakefield.

PubMed

Corde, S; Adli, E; Allen, J M; An, W; Clarke, C I; Clayton, C E; Delahaye, J P; Frederico, J; Gessner, S; Green, S Z; Hogan, M J; Joshi, C; Lipkowitz, N; Litos, M; Lu, W; Marsh, K A; Mori, W B; Schmeltz, M; Vafaei-Najafabadi, N; Walz, D; Yakimenko, V; Yocky, G

2015-08-27

Electrical breakdown sets a limit on the kinetic energy that particles in a conventional radio-frequency accelerator can reach. New accelerator concepts must be developed to achieve higher energies and to make future particle colliders more compact and affordable. The plasma wakefield accelerator (PWFA) embodies one such concept, in which the electric field of a plasma wake excited by a bunch of charged particles (such as electrons) is used to accelerate a trailing bunch of particles. To apply plasma acceleration to electron-positron colliders, it is imperative that both the electrons and their antimatter counterpart, the positrons, are efficiently accelerated at high fields using plasmas. Although substantial progress has recently been reported on high-field, high-efficiency acceleration of electrons in a PWFA powered by an electron bunch, such an electron-driven wake is unsuitable for the acceleration and focusing of a positron bunch. Here we demonstrate a new regime of PWFAs where particles in the front of a single positron bunch transfer their energy to a substantial number of those in the rear of the same bunch by exciting a wakefield in the plasma. In the process, the accelerating field is altered--'self-loaded'--so that about a billion positrons gain five gigaelectronvolts of energy with a narrow energy spread over a distance of just 1.3 metres. They extract about 30 per cent of the wake's energy and form a spectrally distinct bunch with a root-mean-square energy spread as low as 1.8 per cent. This ability to transfer energy efficiently from the front to the rear within a single positron bunch makes the PWFA scheme very attractive as an energy booster to an electron-positron collider.

Software package for modeling spin–orbit motion in storage rings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zyuzin, D. V., E-mail: d.zyuzin@fz-juelich.de

2015-12-15

A software package providing a graphical user interface for computer experiments on the motion of charged particle beams in accelerators, as well as analysis of obtained data, is presented. The software package was tested in the framework of the international project on electric dipole moment measurement JEDI (Jülich Electric Dipole moment Investigations). The specific features of particle spin motion imply the requirement to use a cyclic accelerator (storage ring) consisting of electrostatic elements, which makes it possible to preserve horizontal polarization for a long time. Computer experiments study the dynamics of 10{sup 6}–10{sup 9} particles in a beam during 10{supmore » 9} turns in an accelerator (about 10{sup 12}–10{sup 15} integration steps for the equations of motion). For designing an optimal accelerator structure, a large number of computer experiments on polarized beam dynamics are required. The numerical core of the package is COSY Infinity, a program for modeling spin–orbit dynamics.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hwang, Kilean; Qiang, Ji

A recirculating superconducting linear accelerator with the advantage of both straight and circular accelerator has been demonstrated with relativistic electron beams. The acceleration concept of a recirculating proton beam was recently proposed and is currently under study. In order to further support the concept, the beam dynamics study on a recirculating proton linear accelerator has to be carried out. In this paper, we study the feasibility of a two-pass recirculating proton linear accelerator through the direct numerical beam dynamics design optimization and the start-to-end simulation. This study shows that the two-pass simultaneous focusing without particle losses is attainable including fullymore » 3D space-charge effects through the entire accelerator system.« less

A Particle-in-cell scheme of the RFQ in the SSC-Linac

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Chen; He, Yuan; Lu, Yuan-Rong; Yuri, Batygin; Yin, Ling; Wang, Zhi-Jun; Yuan, You-Jin; Liu, Yong; Chang, Wei; Du, Xiao-Nan; Wang, Zhi; Xia, Jia-Wen

2010-11-01

A 52 MHz Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) linear accelerator (linac) is designed to serve as an initial structure for the SSC-Linac system (injector into Separated Sector Cyclotron). The designed injection and output energy are 3.5 keV/u and 143 keV/u, respectively. The beam dynamics in this RFQ have been studied using a three-dimensional Particle-In-Cell (PIC) code BEAMPATH. Simulation results show that this RFQ structure is characterized by stable values of beam transmission efficiency (at least 95%) for both zero-current mode and the space charge dominated regime. The beam accelerated in the RFQ has good quality in both transverse and longitudinal directions, and could easily be accepted by Drift Tube Linac (DTL). The effect of the vane error and that of the space charge on the beam parameters have been studied as well to define the engineering tolerance for RFQ vane machining and alignment.

Challenges/issues of NIS used in particle accelerator facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faircloth, Dan

2013-09-01

High current, high duty cycle negative ion sources are an essential component of many high power particle accelerators. This talk gives an overview of the state-of-the-art sources used around the world. Volume, surface and charge exchange negative ion production processes are detailed. Cesiated magnetron and Penning surface plasma sources are discussed along with surface converter sources. Multicusp volume sources with filament and LaB6 cathodes are described before moving onto RF inductively coupled volume sources with internal and external antennas. The major challenges facing accelerator facilities are detailed. Beam current, source lifetime and reliability are the most pressing. The pros and cons of each source technology is discussed along with their development programs. The uncertainties and unknowns common to these sources are discussed. The dynamics of cesium surface coverage and the causes of source variability are still unknown. Minimizing beam emittance is essential to maximizing the transport of high current beams; space charge effects are very important. The basic physics of negative ion production is still not well understood, theoretical and experimental programs continue to improve this, but there are still many mysteries to be solved.

Cellular and molecular analysis of mutagenesis induced by charged particles of defined linear energy transfer.

PubMed

Zhu, L X; Waldren, C A; Vannias, D; Hei, T K

1996-03-01

Mutation induction by charged particles of defined linear energy transfer (LET) and gamma rays was scored using human-hamster hybrid AL cells. The LET values for charged particles accelerated at the Radiological Research Accelerator Facility ranged from 10 keV/microm protons to 150 keV/microm 4He ions. The induced mutant fractions at both the S1 and HGPRT loci were dependent on the dose and LET. In addition, for each dose examined, the mutant yield at the S1 locus was 30-60 fold higher than at the corresponding HGPRT locus. To determine whether the mutation spectrum was comparably dependent on dose and LET, independent S1- and HGPRT- mutants induced by 150 keV/microm 4He ions and gamma rays were isolated, and their DNA was analyzed by both Southern blotting and multiplex PCR methods. While the majority of radiation-induced mutants showed deletions of varying sizes, the relative percentage of large deletions was found to be related to both the dose and LET of the radiation examined. Using a mutation system that can detect multilocus changes, results of the present study show that radiation-induced chromosomal loss can be in the millions of base pairs.

Cellular and molecular analysis of mutagenesis induced by charged particles of defined linear energy transfer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhu, L. X.; Waldren, C. A.; Vannias, D.; Hei, T. K.; Chatterjee, A. (Principal Investigator)

1996-01-01

Mutation induction by charged particles of defined linear energy transfer (LET) and gamma rays was scored using human-hamster hybrid AL cells. The LET values for charged particles accelerated at the Radiological Research Accelerator Facility ranged from 10 keV/microm protons to 150 keV/microm 4He ions. The induced mutant fractions at both the S1 and HGPRT loci were dependent on the dose and LET. In addition, for each dose examined, the mutant yield at the S1 locus was 30-60 fold higher than at the corresponding HGPRT locus. To determine whether the mutation spectrum was comparably dependent on dose and LET, independent S1- and HGPRT- mutants induced by 150 keV/microm 4He ions and gamma rays were isolated, and their DNA was analyzed by both Southern blotting and multiplex PCR methods. While the majority of radiation-induced mutants showed deletions of varying sizes, the relative percentage of large deletions was found to be related to both the dose and LET of the radiation examined. Using a mutation system that can detect multilocus changes, results of the present study show that radiation-induced chromosomal loss can be in the millions of base pairs.

"Light sail" acceleration reexamined.

PubMed

Macchi, Andrea; Veghini, Silvia; Pegoraro, Francesco

2009-08-21

The dynamics of the acceleration of ultrathin foil targets by the radiation pressure of superintense, circularly polarized laser pulses is investigated by analytical modeling and particle-in-cell simulations. By addressing self-induced transparency and charge separation effects, it is shown that for "optimal" values of the foil thickness only a thin layer at the rear side is accelerated by radiation pressure. The simple "light sail" model gives a good estimate of the energy per nucleon, but overestimates the conversion efficiency of laser energy into monoenergetic ions.

On the modulation of the Jovian decametric radiation by Io. I - Acceleration of charged particles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, R. A.; Goertz, C. K.

1978-01-01

A steady-state analysis of the current circuit between Io and the Jovian ionosphere is performed, assuming that the current is carried by electrons accelerated through potential double layers in the Io flux tube. The circuit analysis indicates that electrons may be accelerated up to energies of several hundred keV. Several problems associated with the formation of double layers are also discussed. The parallel potential drops decouple the flux tube from the satellite's orbital motion.

A Charge-Exchange Neutral Particle Analyzer for an Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Fusion Device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becerra, Gabriel; Kulcinski, Gerald; Santarius, John; Emmert, Gilbert

2013-10-01

An electrostatic energy analyzer for outgoing charge-exchange neutral particles has been designed and constructed for application on HELIOS, an inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) fusion device designed for advanced fuel studies. Ions are extracted from an external helicon plasma source and subsequently accelerated radially into an electrostatic potential well set up by a semi-transparent cathode grid inside the HELIOS spherical chamber. Analysis of fast neutrals produced by charge exchange between energetic ions and background gas yields information on primary ion energy spectra, as well as a quantitative measure of charge exchange as an energy loss mechanism in IEC devices. Preliminary data with helium is used to benchmark the two-charge-state helium formalism of VICTER, a numerical code on spherically convergent ion flow, as it relates to IEC operation with helium-3 fuel. Research supported by the Greatbatch Foundation.

Disk-accreting magnetic neutron stars as high-energy particle accelerators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamilton, Russell J.; Lamb, Frederick K.; Miller, M. Coleman

1994-01-01

Interaction of an accretion disk with the magnetic field of a neutron star produces large electromotive forces, which drive large conduction currents in the disk-magnetosphere-star circuit. Here we argue that such large conduction currents will cause microscopic and macroscopic instabilities in the magnetosphere. If the minimum plasma density in the magnetosphere is relatively low is less than or aproximately 10(exp 9)/cu cm, current-driven micro-instabilities may cause relativistic double layers to form, producing voltage differences in excess of 10(exp 12) V and accelerating charged particles to very high energies. If instead the plasma density is higher (is greater than or approximately = 10(exp 9)/cu cm, twisting of the stellar magnetic field is likely to cause magnetic field reconnection. This reconnection will be relativistic, accelerating plasma in the magnetosphere to relativistic speeds and a small fraction of particles to very high energies. Interaction of these high-energy particles with X-rays, gamma-rays, and accreting plasma may produce detectable high-energy radiation.

Accelerator-based epithermal neutron sources for boron neutron capture therapy of brain tumors.

PubMed

Blue, Thomas E; Yanch, Jacquelyn C

2003-01-01

This paper reviews the development of low-energy light ion accelerator-based neutron sources (ABNSs) for the treatment of brain tumors through an intact scalp and skull using boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). A major advantage of an ABNS for BNCT over reactor-based neutron sources is the potential for siting within a hospital. Consequently, light-ion accelerators that are injectors to larger machines in high-energy physics facilities are not considered. An ABNS for BNCT is composed of: (1) the accelerator hardware for producing a high current charged particle beam, (2) an appropriate neutron-producing target and target heat removal system (HRS), and (3) a moderator/reflector assembly to render the flux energy spectrum of neutrons produced in the target suitable for patient irradiation. As a consequence of the efforts of researchers throughout the world, progress has been made on the design, manufacture, and testing of these three major components. Although an ABNS facility has not yet been built that has optimally assembled these three components, the feasibility of clinically useful ABNSs has been clearly established. Both electrostatic and radio frequency linear accelerators of reasonable cost (approximately 1.5 M dollars) appear to be capable of producing charged particle beams, with combinations of accelerated particle energy (a few MeV) and beam currents (approximately 10 mA) that are suitable for a hospital-based ABNS for BNCT. The specific accelerator performance requirements depend upon the charged particle reaction by which neutrons are produced in the target and the clinical requirements for neutron field quality and intensity. The accelerator performance requirements are more demanding for beryllium than for lithium as a target. However, beryllium targets are more easily cooled. The accelerator performance requirements are also more demanding for greater neutron field quality and intensity. Target HRSs that are based on submerged-jet impingement and the use of microchannels have emerged as viable target cooling options. Neutron fields for reactor-based neutron sources provide an obvious basis of comparison for ABNS field quality. This paper compares Monte Carlo calculations of neutron field quality for an ABNS and an idealized standard reactor neutron field (ISRNF). The comparison shows that with lithium as a target, an ABNS can create a neutron field with a field quality that is significantly better (by a factor of approximately 1.2, as judged by the relative biological effectiveness (RBE)-dose that can be delivered to a tumor at a depth of 6cm) than that for the ISRNF. Also, for a beam current of 10 mA, the treatment time is calculated to be reasonable (approximately 30 min) for the boron concentrations that have been assumed.

Neutron energy determination with a high-purity germanium detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beck, Gene A.

1992-01-01

Two areas that are related to planetary gamma-ray spectrometry are investigated. The first task was the investigation of gamma rays produced by high-energy charged particles and their secondaries in planetary surfaces by means of thick target bombardments. The second task was the investigation of the effects of high-energy neutrons on gamma-ray spectral features obtained with high-purity Ge-detectors. For both tasks, as a function of the funding level, the experimental work was predominantly tied to that of other researchers, whenever there was an opportunity to participate in bombardment experiments at large or small accelerators for charged particles.

Coronal and interplanetary propagation, interplanetary acceleration, cosmic-ray observations by deep space network and anomalous component

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ng, C. K.

1986-01-01

The purpose is to provide an overview of the contributions presented in sessions SH3, SH1.5, SH4.6 and SH4.7 of the 19th International Cosmic Ray Conference. These contributed papers indicate that steady progress continues to be made in both the observational and the theoretical aspects of the transport and acceleration of energetic charged particles in the heliosphere. Studies of solar and interplanetary particles have placed emphasis on particle directional distributions in relation to pitch-angle scattering and magnetic focusing, on the rigidity and spatial dependence of the mean free path, and on new propagation regimes in the inner and outer heliosphere. Coronal propagation appears in need of correlative multi-spacecraft studies in association with detailed observation of the flare process and coronal magnetic structures. Interplanetary acceleration has now gone into a consolidation phase, with theories being worked out in detail and checked against observation.

Electro-gravity via geometric chrononfield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suchard, Eytan H.

2017-05-01

In De Sitter / Anti De Sitter space-time and in other geometries, reference sub-manifolds from which proper time is measured along integral curves, are described as events. We introduce here a foliation with the help of a scalar field. The scalar field need not be unique but from the gradient of the scalar field, an intrinsic Reeb vector of the foliations perpendicular to the gradient vector is calculated. The Reeb vector describes the acceleration of a physical particle that moves along the integral curves that are formed by the gradient of the scalar field. The Reeb vector appears as a component of an anti-symmetric matrix which is a part of a rank-2, 2-Form. The 2-form is extended into a non-degenerate 4-form and into rank-4 matrix of a 2-form, which when multiplied by a velocity of a particle, becomes the acceleration of the particle. The matrix has one U(1) degree of freedom and an additional SU(2) degrees of freedom in two vectors that span the plane perpendicular to the gradient of the scalar field and to the Reeb vector. In total, there are U(1) x SU(2) degrees of freedom. SU(3) degrees of freedom arise from three dimensional foliations but require an additional symmetry to exist in order to have a valid covariant meaning. Matter in the Einstein Grossmann equation is replaced by the action of the acceleration field, i.e. by a geometric action which is not anticipated by the metric alone. This idea leads to a new formalism that replaces the conventional stress-energy-momentum-tensor. The formalism will be mainly developed for classical physics but will also be discussed for quantized physics based on events instead of particles. The result is that a positive charge manifests small attracting gravity and a stronger but small repelling acceleration field that repels even uncharged particles that have a rest mass. Negative charge manifests a repelling anti-gravity but also a stronger acceleration field that attracts even uncharged particles that have rest mass. Preliminary version: http://sciencedomain.org/abstract/9858

Laboratory investigation of dust impacts induced signals on antennas in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rocha, J. R.; Collette, A.; Malaspina, D.; Gruen, E.; Sternovsky, Z.

2014-12-01

Recent observations of sharp voltage spikes by the WAVES electric field experiments onboard the twin STEREO spacecraft have been attributed to plasma clouds generated by the impact ionization of high velocity dust particles. The reported dust fluxes are much higher than those measured by dedicated dust detectors at 1 AU, which leads to the interpretation that the STEREO observations are due to nanometer-sized dust particles originating from the inner solar system and accelerated to high velocities by the solar wind magnetic field. However, this interpretation is based on a simplified model of coupling between the expanding plasma cloud from the dust impact and the WAVES electric field instrument. A series of laboratory measurements are performed to validate this model and to calibrate/investigate the effect of various impact parameters on the signals measured by the electric field instrument. The dust accelerator facility operating at the University of Colorado is used for the measurement with micron and submicron sized particles accelerated to 50 km/s. The first set of measurements was aimed at the understanding of the charge yield of impact-generated plasmas from common materials used on spacecraft, i.e. BeCu, germanium coated black Kapton, MLI, and solar cells. The measurements show that at 10 km/s these materials yield similar charge signals. At higher speeds (~50 km/s) the variation is with material increases. The impact charge is also found to depend on angle of incidence; the data suggest a maximum at 45 degrees. The second set of measurements investigates the variation of the induced dust signal with bias potential applied on the simulated spacecraft.

Production of .sup.64 Cu and other radionuclides using a charged-particle accelerator

DOEpatents

Welch, Michael J.; McCarthy, Deborah W.; Shefer, Ruth E.; Klinkowstein, Robert E.

2000-01-01

Radionuclides are produced according to the present invention at commercially significant yields and at specific activities which are suitable for use in radiodiagnostic agents such as PET imaging agents and radiotherapeutic agents and/or compositions. In the method and system of the present invention, a solid target having an isotopically enriched target layer electroplated on an inert substrate is positioned in a specially designed target holder and irradiated with a charged-particle beam. The beam is preferably generated using an accelerator such as a biomedical cyclotron at energies ranging from about 5 MeV to about 25 MeV. The target is preferably directly irradiated, without an intervening attenuating foil, and with the charged particle beam impinging an area which substantially matches the target area. The irradiated target is remotely and automatically transferred from the target holder, preferably without transferring any target holder subassemblies, to a conveyance system which is preferably a pneumatic or hydraulic conveyance system, and then further transferred to an automated separation system. The system is effective for processing a single target or a plurality of targets. After separation, the unreacted target material can be recycled for preparation of other targets. In a preferred application of the invention, a biomedical cyclotron has been used to produce over 500 mCi of .sup.64 Cu having a specific activity of over 300 mCi/.mu.g Cu according to the reaction .sup.64 Ni(p,n).sup.64 Cu. These results indicate that accelerator-produced .sup.64 Cu is suitable for radiopharmaceutical diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Cassini/MIMI Science Today and Tomorrow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitchell, D. G.

2014-12-01

Between Saturn Orbit Insertion in July 2004 and the present, the Magnetospheric IMaging Instrument (MIMI) on the Cassini spacecraft has measured electrons and ions (energies ~5 keV to over 10 MeV and energetic neutrals (energies ~5 - 200 keV) throughout Saturn's magnetosphere including Saturn's bow shock and magnetopause, plasma sheet, magnetotail, and cis-moon spaces. MIMI observations have included auroral acceleration, magnetotail reconnection, global and local-scale injection events, identifications of charged particle species,, dual and multiple periodicities associated with planetary rotation, and the seasonal variations of many of these phenomena. Most recent MIMI investigations have shown (1) short-period charged-particle oscillations (~1 hour) at high latitude are associated with similar magnetic field, radio, and aurora variations (2) quasi-periodic relativistic electron injection in Saturn's outer magnetosphere, (3) modeling of radiation belt particles to explain their distribution and energy spectrum, and to anticipate the population inside the D-ring, (4) continuing the imaging of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) from the heliosheath and beyond, (5) characterizing the interaction of Titan with the un-shocked solar wind, (6) deep tail observations supporting the "bowl model" of plasma sheet curvature, (7) asymmetries in the charged particles that are associated with a still-unexplained noon-midnight electric field, (8) local time variations in the energetic particle periodicities, (9) and signatures of satellite-magnetosphere interactions and their implications for both the body and the whole system. During the final sets of orbits of the Cassini Mission at Saturn (dubbed the Grand Finale, which includes the F-ring—periapsis outside the F-ring—and the Proximal Orbits—periapsis between the innermost D-ring and the atmosphere), MIMI will make the first-ever measurements of the innermost radiation belts of Saturn, detailed ENA imaging of charged particle acceleration above the high-latitude polar caps, composition of any energetic plasma between the rings and the ionosphere, and evidence for coupling between the rings, ionosphere, and magnetosphere.

Beam Size Measurement by Optical Diffraction Radiation and Laser System for Compton Polarimeter (in Chinese)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Chuyu

2012-12-31

Beam diagnostics is an essential constituent of any accelerator, so that it is named as "organs of sense" or "eyes of the accelerator." Beam diagnostics is a rich field. A great variety of physical effects or physical principles are made use of in this field. Some devices are based on electro-magnetic influence by moving charges, such as faraday cups, beam transformers, pick-ups; Some are related to Coulomb interaction of charged particles with matter, such as scintillators, viewing screens, ionization chambers; Nuclear or elementary particle physics interactions happen in some other devices, like beam loss monitors, polarimeters, luminosity monitors; Some measuremore » photons emitted by moving charges, such as transition radiation, synchrotron radiation monitors and diffraction radiation-which is the topic of the first part of this thesis; Also, some make use of interaction of particles with photons, such as laser wire and Compton polarimeters-which is the second part of my thesis. Diagnostics let us perceive what properties a beam has and how it behaves in a machine, give us guideline for commissioning, controlling the machine and indispensable parameters vital to physics experiments. In the next two decades, the research highlight will be colliders (TESLA, CLIC, JLC) and fourth-generation light sources (TESLA FEL, LCLS, Spring 8 FEL) based on linear accelerator. These machines require a new generation of accelerator with smaller beam, better stability and greater efficiency. Compared with those existing linear accelerators, the performance of next generation linear accelerator will be doubled in all aspects, such as 10 times smaller horizontal beam size, more than 10 times smaller vertical beam size and a few or more times higher peak power. Furthermore, some special positions in the accelerator have even more stringent requirements, such as the interaction point of colliders and wigglor of free electron lasers. Higher performance of these accelerators increases the difficulty of diagnostics. For most cases, intercepting measurements are no longer acceptable, and nonintercepting method like synchrotron radiation monitor can not be applied to linear accelerators. The development of accelerator technology asks for simutanous diagnostics innovations, to expand the performance of diagnostic tools to meet the requirements of the next generation accelerators. Diffraction radiation and inverse Compton scattering are two of the most promising techniques, their nonintercepting nature avoids perturbance to the beam and damage to the instrumentation. This thesis is divided into two parts, beam size measurement by optical diffraction radiation and Laser system for Compton polarimeter. Diffraction radiation, produced by the interaction between the electric field of charged particles and the target, is related to transition radiation. Even though the theory of diffraction radiation has been discussed since 1960s, there are only a few experimental studies in recent years. The successful beam size measurement by optical diffraction radiation at CEBAF machine is a milestone: First of all, we have successfully demonstrated diffraction radiation as an effective nonintercepting diagnostics; Secondly, the simple linear relationship between the diffraction radiation image size and the actual beam size improves the reliability of ODR measurements; And, we measured the polarized components of diffraction radiation for the first time and I analyzed the contribution from edge radiation to diffraction radiation.« less

Reference Cross Sections for Charged-particle Monitor Reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hermanne, A.; Ignatyuk, A. V.; Capote, R.; Carlson, B. V.; Engle, J. W.; Kellett, M. A.; Kibédi, T.; Kim, G.; Kondev, F. G.; Hussain, M.; Lebeda, O.; Luca, A.; Nagai, Y.; Naik, H.; Nichols, A. L.; Nortier, F. M.; Suryanarayana, S. V.; Takács, S.; Tárkányi, F. T.; Verpelli, M.

2018-02-01

Evaluated cross sections of beam-monitor reactions are expected to become the de-facto standard for cross-section measurements that are performed over a very broad energy range in accelerators in order to produce particular radionuclides for industrial and medical applications. The requirements for such data need to be addressed in a timely manner, and therefore an IAEA coordinated research project was launched in December 2012 to establish or improve the nuclear data required to characterise charged-particle monitor reactions. An international team was assembled to recommend more accurate cross-section data over a wide range of targets and projectiles, undertaken in conjunction with a limited number of measurements and more extensive evaluations of the decay data of specific radionuclides. Least-square evaluations of monitor-reaction cross sections including uncertainty quantification have been undertaken for charged-particle beams of protons, deuterons, 3He- and 4He-particles. Recommended beam monitor reaction data with their uncertainties are available at the IAEA-NDS medical portal http://www-nds.iaea.org/medical/monitor_reactions.html.

Coulomb-driven energy boost of heavy ions for laser-plasma acceleration.

PubMed

Braenzel, J; Andreev, A A; Platonov, K; Klingsporn, M; Ehrentraut, L; Sandner, W; Schnürer, M

2015-03-27

An unprecedented increase of kinetic energy of laser accelerated heavy ions is demonstrated. Ultrathin gold foils have been irradiated by an ultrashort laser pulse at a peak intensity of 8×10^{19}  W/  cm^{2}. Highly charged gold ions with kinetic energies up to >200  MeV and a bandwidth limited energy distribution have been reached by using 1.3 J laser energy on target. 1D and 2D particle in cell simulations show how a spatial dependence on the ion's ionization leads to an enhancement of the accelerating electrical field. Our theoretical model considers a spatial distribution of the ionization inside the thin target, leading to a field enhancement for the heavy ions by Coulomb explosion. It is capable of explaining the energy boost of highly charged ions, enabling a higher efficiency for the laser-driven heavy ion acceleration.

Cosmic Rays: "A Thin Rain of Charged Particles."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friedlander, Michael

1990-01-01

Discussed are balloons and electroscopes, understanding cosmic rays, cosmic ray paths, isotopes and cosmic-ray travel, sources of cosmic rays, and accelerating cosmic rays. Some of the history of the discovery and study of cosmic rays is presented. (CW)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Birn, J.; Battaglia, M.; Fletcher, L.

Using test particle studies in the electromagnetic fields of three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of magnetic reconnection, we study the energization of charged particles in the context of the standard two-ribbon flare picture in analogy to the standard magnetospheric substorm paradigm. In particular, we investigate the effects of the collapsing field (“collapsing magnetic trap”) below a reconnection site, which has been demonstrated to be the major acceleration mechanism that causes energetic particle acceleration and injections observed in Earth’s magnetotail associated with substorms and other impulsive events. We contrast an initially force-free, high-shear field (low beta) with low and moderate shear, finite-pressuremore » (high-beta) arcade structures, where beta represents the ratio between gas (plasma) and magnetic pressure. We demonstrate that the energization affects large numbers of particles, but the acceleration is modest in the presence of a significant shear field. Without incorporating loss mechanisms, the effect on particles at different energies is similar, akin to adiabatic heating, and thus is not a likely mechanism to generate a power-law tail onto a (heated or not heated) Maxwellian velocity distribution.« less

New exact solutions of the Dirac and Klein-Gordon equations of a charged particle propagating in a strong laser field in an underdense plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varró, Sándor

2014-03-01

Exact solutions are presented of the Dirac and Klein-Gordon equations of a charged particle propagating in a classical monochromatic electromagnetic plane wave in a medium of index of refraction nm<1. In the Dirac case the solutions are expressed in terms of new complex polynomials, and in the Klein-Gordon case the found solutions are expressed in terms of Ince polynomials. In each case they form a doubly infinite set, labeled by two integer quantum numbers. These integer numbers represent quantized momentum components of the charged particle along the polarization vector and along the propagation direction of the electromagnetic radiation. Since this radiation may represent a plasmon wave of arbitrary high amplitude, propagating in an underdense plasma, the solutions obtained may have relevance in describing possible quantum features of novel acceleration mechanisms.

High gradient lens for charged particle beam

DOEpatents

Chen, Yu-Jiuan

2014-04-29

Methods and devices enable shaping of a charged particle beam. A dynamically adjustable electric lens includes a series of alternating a series of alternating layers of insulators and conductors with a hollow center. The series of alternating layers when stacked together form a high gradient insulator (HGI) tube to allow propagation of the charged particle beam through the hollow center of the HGI tube. A plurality of transmission lines are connected to a plurality of sections of the HGI tube, and one or more voltage sources are provided to supply an adjustable voltage value to each transmission line of the plurality of transmission lines. By changing the voltage values supplied to each section of the HGI tube, any desired electric field can be established across the HGI tube. This way various functionalities including focusing, defocusing, acceleration, deceleration, intensity modulation and others can be effectuated on a time varying basis.

Characterizing Neutron Diagnostics on the nTOF Line at SUNY Geneseo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrison, Hannah; Seppala, Hannah; Visca, Hannah; Wakwella, Praveen; Fletcher, Kurt; Padalino, Stephen; Forrest, Chad; Regan, Sean; Sangster, Craig

2016-10-01

Charged particle beams from SUNY Geneseo's 1.7 MV Tandem Pelletron Accelerator induce nuclear reactions that emit neutrons ranging from 0.5 to 17.9 MeV via 2H(d,n)3He and 11B(d,n)12C. This adjustable neutron source can be used to calibrate ICF and HEDP neutron scintillators for ICF diagnostics. However, gamma rays and muons, which are often present during an accelerator-based calibration, are difficult to differentiate from neutron signals in scintillators. To mitigate this problem, a new neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) line has been constructed. The nTOF timing is measured using the associated particle technique. A charged particle produced by the nuclear reaction serves as a start signal, while its associated neutron is the stop signal. Each reaction is analyzed event-by-event to determine whether the scintillator signal was generated by a neutron, gamma or muon. Using this nTOF technique, the neutron response for different scintillation detectors can be determined. Funded in part by a LLE contract through the DOE.

Relativistic Acceleration of Electrons Injected by a Plasma Mirror into a Radially Polarized Laser Beam.

PubMed

Zaïm, N; Thévenet, M; Lifschitz, A; Faure, J

2017-09-01

We propose a method to generate femtosecond, relativistic, and high-charge electron bunches using few-cycle and tightly focused radially polarized laser pulses. In this scheme, the incident laser pulse reflects off an overdense plasma that injects electrons into the reflected pulse. Particle-in-cell simulations show that the plasma injects electrons ideally, resulting in a dramatic increase of charge and energy of the accelerated electron bunch in comparison to previous methods. This method can be used to generate femtosecond pC bunches with energies in the 1-10 MeV range using realistic laser parameters corresponding to current kHz laser systems.

Singly charged energetic helium emitted in solar flares

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hovestadt, D.; Hoefner, H.; Klecker, B.; Scholer, M.; Gloeckler, G.; Ipavich, F. M.; Fan, C. Y.; Fisk, L. A.; Ogallagher, J. J.

1981-01-01

First direct charge state measurements of 0.41-1.05 MeV per nucleon helium accelerated at the sun reveal surprisingly large abundances of singly ionized helium, with typical He(+)/He(++) ratios between 0.04 and 0.21. This unexpected overabundance of He(+) was observed in each of the three large solar-flare particle events which occurred between 1978 August and 1979 October. The data were obtained with the Max-Planck-Institut/University of Maryland Experiment on board the ISEE-3 spacecraft. The observations suggest either strong coronal temperature inhomogeneities including cool regions of approximately 100,000 K or injection of 'cold' chromospheric/photospheric material into the flare acceleration region.

Three-dimensional simulations of ion acceleration from a foil irradiated by a short-pulse laser.

PubMed

Pukhov, A

2001-04-16

Using 3D particle-in-cell simulations we study ion acceleration from a foil irradiated by a laser pulse at 10(19) W/cm(2) intensity. At the front side, the laser ponderomotive force pushes electrons inwards, thus creating the electric field by charge separation, which drags the ions. At the back side of the foil, the ions are accelerated by space charge of the hot electrons exiting into vacuum, as suggested by Hatchett et al. [Phys. Plasmas 7, 2076 (2000)]. The transport of hot electrons through the overdense plasma and their exit into vacuum are strongly affected by self-generated magnetic fields. The fast ions emerge from the rear surface in cones similar to those detected by Clark et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 670 (2000)].

Experimental Basis for IED Particle Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng-Johansson, J.

2009-05-01

The internally electrodynamic (IED) particle model is built on three experimental facts: a) electric charges present in all matter particles, b) an accelerated charge generates electromagnetic (EM) waves by Maxwell's equations and Planck energy equation, and c) source motion gives Doppler effect. A set of well-kwon basic particle equations have been predicted based on first-principles solutions for IED particle (e.g. arxiv:0812.3951, J Phys CS128, 012019, 2008); the equations are long experimentally validated. A critical review of the key experiments suggests that the IED process underlies these equations not just sufficiently but also necessarily. E.g.: 1) A free IED electron solution is a plane wave ψ= Ce^i(kdX-φT) requisite for producing the diffraction fringe in a Davisson-Germer experiment, and of also all basic point-like attributes facilitated by a linear momentum kd and the model structure. It needs not further be a wave packet which produces not a diffraction fringe. 2)The radial partial EM waves, hence the total ψ, of an IED electron will, on both EM theory and experiment basis -not by assumption, enter two slits at the same time, as is requisite for an electron to interfere with itself as shown in double slit experiments. 3) On annihilation, an electron converts (from mass m) to a radiation energy φ without an acceleration which is externally observable and yet requisite by EM theory. So a charge oscillation of frequency φ and its EM waves must regularly present internal of a normal electron, whence the IED model.

Current Flow and Pair Creation at Low Altitude in Rotation-Powered Pulsars' Force-Free Magnetospheres: Space Charge Limited Flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Timokhin, A. N.; Arons, J.

2013-01-01

We report the results of an investigation of particle acceleration and electron-positron plasma generation at low altitude in the polar magnetic flux tubes of rotation-powered pulsars, when the stellar surface is free to emit whatever charges and currents are demanded by the force-free magnetosphere. We apply a new 1D hybrid plasma simulation code to the dynamical problem, using Particle-in-Cell methods for the dynamics of the charged particles, including a determination of the collective electrostatic fluctuations in the plasma, combined with a Monte Carlo treatment of the high-energy gamma-rays that mediate the formation of the electron-positron pairs.We assume the electric current flowing through the pair creation zone is fixed by the much higher inductance magnetosphere, and adopt the results of force-free magnetosphere models to provide the currents which must be carried by the accelerator. The models are spatially one dimensional, and designed to explore the physics, although of practical relevance to young, high-voltage pulsars. We observe novel behaviour (a) When the current density j is less than the Goldreich-Julian value (0 < j/j(sub GJ) < 1), space charge limited acceleration of the current carrying beam is mild, with the full Goldreich-Julian charge density comprising the charge densities of the beam and a cloud of electrically trapped particles with the same sign of charge as the beam. The voltage drops are of the order of mc(sup 2)/e, and pair creation is absent. (b) When the current density exceeds the Goldreich-Julian value (j/j(sub GJ) > 1), the system develops high voltage drops (TV or greater), causing emission of curvature gamma-rays and intense bursts of pair creation. The bursts exhibit limit cycle behaviour, with characteristic time-scales somewhat longer than the relativistic fly-by time over distances comparable to the polar cap diameter (microseconds). (c) In return current regions, where j/j(sub GJ) < 0, the system develops similar bursts of pair creation. These discharges are similar to those encountered in previous calculations by Timokhin of pair creation when the surface has a high work function and cannot freely emit charge. In cases (b) and (c), the intermittently generated pairs allow the system to simultaneously carry the magnetospherically prescribed currents and adjust the charge density and average electric field to force-free conditions. We also elucidate the conditions for pair creating beam flow to be steady (stationary with small fluctuations in the rotating frame), finding that such steady flows can occupy only a small fraction of the current density parameter space exhibited by the force-free magnetospheric model. The generic polar flow dynamics and pair creation are strongly time dependent. The model has an essential difference from almost all previous quantitative studies, in that we sought the accelerating voltage (with pair creation, when the voltage drops are sufficiently large; without, when they are small) as a function of the applied current.

A New Type of Plasma Wakefield Accelerator Driven By Magnetowaves

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Pisin; /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Taiwan, Natl. Taiwan U.; Chang, Feng-Yin

2011-09-12

We present a new concept for a plasma wakefield accelerator driven by magnetowaves (MPWA). This concept was originally proposed as a viable mechanism for the 'cosmic accelerator' that would accelerate cosmic particles to ultra-high energies in the astrophysical setting. Unlike the more familiar plasma wakefield accelerator (PWFA) and the laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) where the drivers, the charged-particle beam and the laser, are independently existing entities, MPWA invokes the high-frequency and high-speed whistler mode as the driver, which is a medium wave that cannot exist outside of the plasma. Aside from the difference in drivers, the underlying mechanism that excitesmore » the plasma wakefield via the ponderomotive potential is common. Our computer simulations show that under appropriate conditions, the plasma wakefield maintains very high coherence and can sustain high-gradient acceleration over many plasma wavelengths. We suggest that in addition to its celestial application, the MPWA concept can also be of terrestrial utility. A proof-of-principle experiment on MPWA would benefit both terrestrial and celestial accelerator concepts.« less

Laboratory investigation of dust impacts on antennas in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drake, K.; Gruen, E.; Malaspina, D.; Sternovsky, Z.

2013-12-01

We are performing calibration measurements in our laboratory using a dust accelerator to understand the mechanisms how dust impact generated plasma clouds couple into electric field antennas on spacecraft. The S/WAVES electric field instruments on board the twin STEREO spacecraft observed short duration (milliseconds), large amplitude (> 15 mV) voltage spikes associated with the impact of high velocity dust particles on the spacecraft [St. Cyr et al., 2009, MeyerVernet et al, 2009a, Zaslavsky et al., 2012]. These sharp spikes have been attributed to plasma clouds generated by the impact ionization of high velocity dust particles. The high count rate has lead to the interpretation that S/WAVES is detecting nanometer sized dust particles (nano-dust) generated in the inner solar system and accelerated to close to solar wind velocities before impacting the spacecraft at 1 AU. The S/WAVES nano-dust interpretation is currently based on an incomplete understanding of the charge generated from relevant materials and the coupling mechanism between the plasma cloud and the electric field instrument. Calibration measurements are performed at the dust accelerator facility at the University of Colorado to investigate the effect of various impact parameters on the signals measured by the electric field instrument. The dust accelerator facility allows experimental control over target materials, size (micron to sub-micron), and velocity (1-60 km/s) of impacting dust particles, geometry of the impact, the ';spacecraft' potential, and the presence or absence of photoelectrons, allowing each coupling factor to be isolated and quantified. As the first step in this effort, we measure the impact charge generation for materials relevant for the STEREO spacecraft.

Acceleration of low-energy protons and alpha particles at interplanetary shock waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scholer, M.; Hovestadt, D.; Ipavich, F. M.; Gloeckler, G.

1983-01-01

The low-energy protons and alpha particles in the energy range 30 keV/charge to 150 keV/charge associated with three different interplanetary shock waves in the immediate preshock and postshock region are studied using data obtained by the ISEE 3. The spatial distributions in the preshock and postshock medium are presented, and the dependence of the phase space density at different energies on the distance from the shock and on the form of the distribution function of both species immediately at the shock is examined. It is found that in the preshock region the particles are flowing in the solar wind frame of reference away from the shock and in the postshock medium the distribution is more or less isotropic in this frame of reference. The distribution function in the postshock region can be represented by a power law in energy which has the same spectral exponent for both protons and alpha particles. It is concluded that the first-order Fermi acceleration process can consistently explain the data, although the spectra of diffuse bow shock associated particles are different from the spectra of the interplanetary shock-associated particles in the immediate vicinity of the shock. In addition, the mean free path of the low energy ions in the preshock medium is found to be considerably smaller than the mean free path determined by the turbulence of the background interplanetary medium.

Biological effectiveness of accelerated particles for the induction of chromosome damage: track structure effects.

PubMed

George, Kerry A; Hada, Megumi; Chappell, Lori; Cucinotta, Francis A

2013-07-01

We have investigated how radiation quality affects the induction of chromosomal aberrations in human cells. Human lymphocytes were irradiated in vitro with various energies of accelerated high charge and energy (HZE) particles including oxygen, neon, silicon, titanium and iron. Chromosome damage was assessed using three-color FISH chromosome painting in chemically induced premature chromosome condensation samples collected at first cell division after irradiation. The LET values for these particles ranged from 30 to 195 keV/μm, and their energies ranged from about 55 MeV/u to more than 1,000 MeV/u. The 89 and 142 MeV/u neon particles produced the most simple-type reciprocal exchanges per unit dose. For complex-type exchanges, 64 MeV/u neon and 450 MeV/u iron were equally effective and induced the greatest amount of complex damage. Track structure models predict that at a fixed value of LET, particles with lower charge number (Z) will have a higher biological effectiveness compared to particles with a higher Z, and that a saturation cross section will be observed for different radiation qualities. Our results are consistent with model expectations within the limitation of experimental error, and provide the most extensive data that have been reported on the radiation quality dependences of chromosomal aberrations. © 2013 by Radiation Research Society

On the acceleration of charged particles at relativistic shock fronts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirk, J. G.; Schneider, P.

1987-01-01

The diffusive acceleration of highly relativistic particles at a shock is reconsidered. Using the same physical assumptions as Blandford and Ostriker (1978), but dropping the restriction to nonrelativistic shock velocities, the authors find approximate solutions of the particle kinetic equation by generalizing the diffusion approximation to higher order terms in the anisotropy of the particle distribution. The general solution of the transport equation on either side of the shock is constructed, which involves the solution of an eigenvalue problem. By matching the two solutions at the shock, the spectral index of the resulting power law is found by taking into account a sufficiently large number of eigenfunctions. Low-order truncation corresponds to the standard diffusion approximation and to a somewhat more general method described by Peacock (1981). In addition to the energy spectrum, the method yields the angular distribution of the particles and its spatial dependence.

Particle acceleration in relativistic magnetic flux-merging events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyutikov, Maxim; Sironi, Lorenzo; Komissarov, Serguei S.; Porth, Oliver

2017-12-01

Using analytical and numerical methods (fluid and particle-in-cell simulations) we study a number of model problems involving merger of magnetic flux tubes in relativistic magnetically dominated plasma. Mergers of current-carrying flux tubes (exemplified by the two-dimensional `ABC' structures) and zero-total-current magnetic flux tubes are considered. In all cases regimes of spontaneous and driven evolution are investigated. We identify two stages of particle acceleration during flux mergers: (i) fast explosive prompt X-point collapse and (ii) ensuing island merger. The fastest acceleration occurs during the initial catastrophic X-point collapse, with the reconnection electric field of the order of the magnetic field. During the X-point collapse, particles are accelerated by charge-starved electric fields, which can reach (and even exceed) values of the local magnetic field. The explosive stage of reconnection produces non-thermal power-law tails with slopes that depend on the average magnetization . For plasma magnetization 2$ the spectrum power-law index is 2$ ; in this case the maximal energy depends linearly on the size of the reconnecting islands. For higher magnetization, 2$ , the spectra are hard, , yet the maximal energy \\text{max}$ can still exceed the average magnetic energy per particle, , by orders of magnitude (if is not too close to unity). The X-point collapse stage is followed by magnetic island merger that dissipates a large fraction of the initial magnetic energy in a regime of forced magnetic reconnection, further accelerating the particles, but proceeds at a slower reconnection rate.

Engineering survey planning for the alignment of a particle accelerator: part II. Design of a reference network and measurement strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Junqueira Leão, Rodrigo; Raffaelo Baldo, Crhistian; Collucci da Costa Reis, Maria Luisa; Alves Trabanco, Jorge Luiz

2018-03-01

The building blocks of particle accelerators are magnets responsible for keeping beams of charged particles at a desired trajectory. Magnets are commonly grouped in support structures named girders, which are mounted on vertical and horizontal stages. The performance of this type of machine is highly dependent on the relative alignment between its main components. The length of particle accelerators ranges from small machines to large-scale national or international facilities, with typical lengths of hundreds of meters to a few kilometers. This relatively large volume together with micrometric positioning tolerances make the alignment activity a classical large-scale dimensional metrology problem. The alignment concept relies on networks of fixed monuments installed on the building structure to which all accelerator components are referred. In this work, the Sirius accelerator is taken as a case study, and an alignment network is optimized via computational methods in terms of geometry, densification, and surveying procedure. Laser trackers are employed to guide the installation and measure the girders’ positions, using the optimized network as a reference and applying the metric developed in part I of this paper. Simulations demonstrate the feasibility of aligning the 220 girders of the Sirius synchrotron to better than 0.080 mm, at a coverage probability of 95%.

Introduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takayama, Ken; Briggs*, Richard J.

The motivation for the initial development of linear induction accelerators starting in the early 1960s came mainly from applications requiring intense electron pulses with beam currents and a charge per pulse above the range accessible to RF accelerators, and with particle energies beyond the capabilities of single stage pulsed-power diodes. The linear induction accelerators developed to meet these needs utilize a series of induction cells containing magnetic cores (torroidal geometry) driven directly by pulse modulators (pulsed power sources). This multistage "one-to-one transformer" configuration with non-resonant, low impedance induction cells accelerates kilo-Ampere-scale electron beam current pulses in induction linacs.

Whispering-Gallery-Mode Resonances: A New Way to Accelerate Charged Particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Żakowicz, Władysław

2005-09-01

Looking for future high energy accelerators we point at a very strong interaction between relativistic electrons and powerful electromagnetic fields existing in the vicinity of a dielectric cylinder in conditions of resonantly excited whispering gallery modes (WGM). A particular example of the WGM resonance, corresponding to angular index n=22, shows that the accelerating fields are almost 100 times stronger than these in the incident wave. That yields an acceleration rate of about 5GeV/m with the incident microwave radiation beam of the wavelength λ=1cm and a moderately high intensity of P=1MW/cm2.

The interaction of ultra-low-frequency pc3-5 waves with charged particles in Earth's magnetosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zong, Qiugang; Rankin, Robert; Zhou, Xuzhi

2017-12-01

One of the most important issues in space physics is to identify the dominant processes that transfer energy from the solar wind to energetic particle populations in Earth's inner magnetosphere. Ultra-low-frequency (ULF) waves are an important consideration as they propagate electromagnetic energy over vast distances with little dissipation and interact with charged particles via drift resonance and drift-bounce resonance. ULF waves also take part in magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling and thus play an essential role in regulating energy flow throughout the entire system. This review summarizes recent advances in the characterization of ULF Pc3-5 waves in different regions of the magnetosphere, including ion and electron acceleration associated with these waves.

Z-rich solar particle event characteristics 1972-1976

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zwickl, R. D.; Roelof, E. C.; Gold, R. E.; Krimigis, S. M.; Armstrong, T. P.

1978-01-01

It is found in the reported investigation that Z-rich solar particle events usually have large and prolonged anisotropies in addition to an extremely variable charge composition that varies not only from event to event but also throughout the event. These observations suggest that one can no longer regard the event-averaged composition of solar particle events at low energies as providing an unbiased global sample of the solar atmospheric composition. The variability from event to event and among classes of events is just too great. However, the tendency for the Z-rich events to be associated with both the low-speed solar wind at or just before the onset of solar wind streams and with active regions located in the western hemisphere, indicates that charge composition studies of solar particle events can yield a better knowledge of the flare acceleration process as well as the inhomogeneous nature of magnetic field structure and particle composition in the solar atmosphere.

Preshock region acceleration of implanted cometary H(+) and O(+)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gombosi, T. I.

1988-01-01

A self-consistent, three-fluid model of plasma transport and implanted ion acceleration in the unshocked solar wind is presented. The solar wind plasma is depleted by charge exchange with the expanding cometary exosphere, while implanted protons and heavy ions are produced by photoionization and charge transfer and lost by charge exchange. A generalized transport equation describing convection, adiabatic and diffusive velocity change, and the appropriate production terms is used to describe the evolution of the two cometary ion components, while the moments of the Boltzmann equation are used to calculate the solar wind density and pressure. The flow velocity is obtained self-consistently by combining the conservation equations of the three ion species. The results imply that second-order Fermi acceleration can explain the implanted spectra observed in the unshocked solar wind. Comparison of measured and calculated distribution indicates that spatial diffusion of implanted ions probably plays an important role in forming the energetic particle environment in the shock vicinity.

Selfsimilar time dependent shock structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beck, R.; Drury, L. O.

1985-08-01

Diffusive shock acceleration as an astrophysical mechanism for accelerating charged particles has the advantage of being highly efficient. This means however that the theory is of necessity nonlinear; the reaction of the accelerated particles on the shock structure and the acceleration process must be self-consistently included in any attempt to develop a complete theory of diffusive shock acceleration. Considerable effort has been invested in attempting, at least partially, to do this and it has become clear that in general either the maximum particle energy must be restricted by introducing additional loss processes into the problem or the acceleration must be treated as a time dependent problem (Drury, 1984). It is concluded that stationary modified shock structures can only exist for strong shocks if additional loss processes limit the maximum energy a particle can attain. This is certainly possible and if it occurs the energy loss from the shock will lead to much greater shock compressions. It is however equally possible that no such processes exist and we must then ask what sort of nonstationary shock structure develops. The ame argument which excludes stationary structures also rules out periodic solutions and indeed any solution where the width of the shock remains bounded. It follows that the width of the shock must increase secularly with time and it is natural to examine the possibility of selfsimilar time dependent solutions.

Selfsimilar time dependent shock structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beck, R.; Drury, L. O.

1985-01-01

Diffusive shock acceleration as an astrophysical mechanism for accelerating charged particles has the advantage of being highly efficient. This means however that the theory is of necessity nonlinear; the reaction of the accelerated particles on the shock structure and the acceleration process must be self-consistently included in any attempt to develop a complete theory of diffusive shock acceleration. Considerable effort has been invested in attempting, at least partially, to do this and it has become clear that in general either the maximum particle energy must be restricted by introducing additional loss processes into the problem or the acceleration must be treated as a time dependent problem (Drury, 1984). It is concluded that stationary modified shock structures can only exist for strong shocks if additional loss processes limit the maximum energy a particle can attain. This is certainly possible and if it occurs the energy loss from the shock will lead to much greater shock compressions. It is however equally possible that no such processes exist and we must then ask what sort of nonstationary shock structure develops. The ame argument which excludes stationary structures also rules out periodic solutions and indeed any solution where the width of the shock remains bounded. It follows that the width of the shock must increase secularly with time and it is natural to examine the possibility of selfsimilar time dependent solutions.

Permanent magnet edge-field quadrupole

DOEpatents

Tatchyn, R.O.

1997-01-21

Planar permanent magnet edge-field quadrupoles for use in particle accelerating machines and in insertion devices designed to generate spontaneous or coherent radiation from moving charged particles are disclosed. The invention comprises four magnetized rectangular pieces of permanent magnet material with substantially similar dimensions arranged into two planar arrays situated to generate a field with a substantially dominant quadrupole component in regions close to the device axis. 10 figs.

Permanent magnet edge-field quadrupole

DOEpatents

Tatchyn, Roman O.

1997-01-01

Planar permanent magnet edge-field quadrupoles for use in particle accelerating machines and in insertion devices designed to generate spontaneous or coherent radiation from moving charged particles are disclosed. The invention comprises four magnetized rectangular pieces of permanent magnet material with substantially similar dimensions arranged into two planar arrays situated to generate a field with a substantially dominant quadrupole component in regions close to the device axis.

Preferential enhancement of laser-driven carbon ion acceleration from optimized nanostructured surfaces

PubMed Central

Dalui, Malay; Wang, W.-M.; Trivikram, T. Madhu; Sarkar, Subhrangshu; Tata, Sheroy; Jha, J.; Ayyub, P.; Sheng, Z. M.; Krishnamurthy, M.

2015-01-01

High-intensity ultrashort laser pulses focused on metal targets readily generate hot dense plasmas which accelerate ions efficiently and can pave way to compact table-top accelerators. Laser-driven ion acceleration studies predominantly focus on protons, which experience the maximum acceleration owing to their highest charge-to-mass ratio. The possibility of tailoring such schemes for the preferential acceleration of a particular ion species is very much desired but has hardly been explored. Here, we present an experimental demonstration of how the nanostructuring of a copper target can be optimized for enhanced carbon ion acceleration over protons or Cu-ions. Specifically, a thin (≈0.25 μm) layer of 25–30 nm diameter Cu nanoparticles, sputter-deposited on a polished Cu-substrate, enhances the carbon ion energy by about 10-fold at a laser intensity of 1.2×1018  W/cm2. However, particles smaller than 20 nm have an adverse effect on the ion acceleration. Particle-in-cell simulations provide definite pointers regarding the size of nanoparticles necessary for maximizing the ion acceleration. The inherent contrast of the laser pulse is found to play an important role in the species selective ion acceleration. PMID:26153048

Auroral particles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evans, David S.

1987-01-01

The problems concerning the aurora posed prior to the war are now either solved in principle or were restated in a more fundamental form. The pre-war hypothesis concerning the nature of the auroral particles and their energies was fully confirmed, with the exception that helium and oxygen ions were identified as participating in the auroral particle precipitation in addition to the protons. The nature of the near-Earth energization processes affecting auroral particles was clarified. Charged particle trajectories in various electric field geometries were modeled. The physical problems have now moved from determining the nature and geometry of the electric fields, which accelerate charged particles near the Earth, to accounting for the existence of these electric fields as a natural consequence of the solar wind's interaction with Earth. Ultimately the reward in continuing the work in auroral and magnetospheric particle dynamics will be a deeper understanding of the subtleties of classical electricity and magnetism as applied to situations not blessed with well-defined and invariant geometries.

Exploring the Extreme Universe with the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, David J.; Digel, Seth W.; Racusin, Judith L.

2012-01-01

In ways similar to experiments in nuclear and particle physics, high-energy astrophysics usesgamma rays and energetic charged particles toprobe processes that involve large energy transfers.Since its launch in 2008, the international Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has been exploringnatural particle accelerators and the interactionsof high-energy particles in the universe. Withsources ranging from thunderstorms on Earth to galaxies and exploding stars in distant parts of the cosmos, the telescopes subjects of study are almostas diverse as were those of the scientist whose name it bears.

Plasma Accelerators Race to 10 GeV and Beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katsouleas, Tom

2005-10-01

This paper reviews the concepts, recent progress and current challenges for realizing the tremendous electric fields in relativistic plasma waves for applications ranging from tabletop particle accelerators to high-energy physics. Experiments in the 90's on laser-driven plasma wakefield accelerators at several laboratories around the world demonstrated the potential for plasma wakefields to accelerate intense bunches of self-trapped particles at rates as high as 100 GeV/m in mm-scale gas jets. These early experiments offered impressive gradients but large energy spread (100%) and short interaction lengths. Major breakthroughs have recently occurred on both fronts. Three groups (LBL-US, LOA-France and RAL-UK) have now entered a new regime of laser wakefield acceleration resulting in 100 MeV mono-energetic beams with up to nanoCoulombs of charge and very small angular spread. Simulations suggest that current lasers are just entering this new regime, and the scaling to higher energies appears attractive. In parallel with the progress in laser-driven wakefields, particle-beam driven wakefield accelerators are making large strides. A series of experiments using the 30 GeV beam of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) has demonstrated high-gradient acceleration of electrons and positrons in meter-scale plasmas. The UCLA/USC/SLAC collaboration has accelerated electrons beyond 1 GeV and is aiming at 10 GeV in 30 cm as the next step toward a ``plasma afterburner,'' a concept for doubling the energy of a high-energy collider in a few tens of meters of plasma. In addition to wakefield acceleration, these and other experiments have demonstrated the rich physics bounty to be reaped from relativistic beam-plasma interactions. This includes plasma lenses capable of focusing particle beams to the highest density ever produced, collective radiation mechanisms capable of generating high-brightness x-ray beams, collective refraction of particles at a plasma interface, and acceleration of intense proton beams from laser-irradiated foils.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING CHARGED PARTICLE MOTION

DOEpatents

Kerns, Q.A.

1959-08-01

An analog system for determining the motion of charged particles in three dimensional electrical fields is described. A model electrode structure is formed and potentials are applied to the electrodes to provide an analog of the field which is to be studied. To simulate charged particles within the model, conducting spheres are placed at points from which particle motion is to be traced. To free the spheres from gravitational attraction in order that they will be electrostatically accelerated through the model, the apparatus is suspended and dropped. During the pericd that the model is dropping the spheres move through the electrcde structure with a motion corresponding to that of particles in the real system. The model is photographed in the course of falling so that the instantaneous position of the spheres within the simulated field at selected times may be observed and measured. The device thus gives data of particles in the real system. The model is photographed in the course of falling so that the instantaneous position of the spheres within the simulated field at selected times may be observed and measured. The device thus gives data which frequently can otherwise be obtained only with a digital computer.

On improving the algorithm efficiency in the particle-particle force calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozynchenko, Alexander I.; Kozynchenko, Sergey A.

2016-09-01

The problem of calculating inter-particle forces in the particle-particle (PP) simulation models takes an important place in scientific computing. Such simulation models are used in diverse scientific applications arising in astrophysics, plasma physics, particle accelerators, etc., where the long-range forces are considered. The inverse-square laws such as Coulomb's law of electrostatic forces and Newton's law of universal gravitation are the examples of laws pertaining to the long-range forces. The standard naïve PP method outlined, for example, by Hockney and Eastwood [1] is straightforward, processing all pairs of particles in a double nested loop. The PP algorithm provides the best accuracy of all possible methods, but its computational complexity is O (Np2), where Np is a total number of particles involved. Too low efficiency of the PP algorithm seems to be the challenging issue in some cases where the high accuracy is required. An example can be taken from the charged particle beam dynamics where, under computing the own space charge of the beam, so-called macro-particles are used (see e.g., Humphries Jr. [2], Kozynchenko and Svistunov [3]).

Beam dynamics simulation of a double pass proton linear accelerator

DOE PAGES

Hwang, Kilean; Qiang, Ji

2017-04-03

A recirculating superconducting linear accelerator with the advantage of both straight and circular accelerator has been demonstrated with relativistic electron beams. The acceleration concept of a recirculating proton beam was recently proposed and is currently under study. In order to further support the concept, the beam dynamics study on a recirculating proton linear accelerator has to be carried out. In this paper, we study the feasibility of a two-pass recirculating proton linear accelerator through the direct numerical beam dynamics design optimization and the start-to-end simulation. This study shows that the two-pass simultaneous focusing without particle losses is attainable including fullymore » 3D space-charge effects through the entire accelerator system.« less

Rotation of a 1-GeV particle beam by a fan system of thin crystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Britvich, G. I.; Maisheev, V. A.; Chesnokov, Yu. A., E-mail: Yury.Chesnokov@ihep.ru

2016-10-15

The deflection of a 1-GeV charged particle beam by a system formed by fan-oriented thin silicon wafers has been studied theoretically and experimentally. Software has been developed for numerical simulation of a particle beam transmission through a fan crystal system. In the U-70 experiment on a proton beam, the particles were deflected by such a system through an angle exceeding 1 mrad. Thus, a new method has been demonstrated for rotating a particle beam, which can be used for creating accelerator beams for medical purposes.

Vecksler-Macmillan phase stability for neutral atoms accelerated by a laser beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mel'nikov, I. V.; Haus, J. W.; Kazansky, P. G.

2003-05-01

We use a Fokker-Planck equation to study the phenomenon of accelerating a neutral atom bunch by a chirped optical beam. This method enables us to obtain a semi-analytical solution to the problem in which a wide range of parameters can be studied. In addition it provides a simple physical interpretation where the problem is reduced to an analogous problem of charged particles accelerators, that is, the Vecksler-Macmillan principle of phase stability. A possible experimental scenario is suggested, which uses a photonic crystal fiber as the guiding medium.

Longitudinal density modulation and energy conversion in intense beams.

PubMed

Harris, J R; Neumann, J G; Tian, K; O'Shea, P G

2007-08-01

Density modulation of charged particle beams may occur as a consequence of deliberate action, or may occur inadvertently because of imperfections in the particle source or acceleration method. In the case of intense beams, where space charge and external focusing govern the beam dynamics, density modulation may, under some circumstances, be converted to velocity modulation, with a corresponding conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy. Whether this will occur depends on the properties of the beam and the initial modulation. This paper describes the evolution of discrete and continuous density modulations on intense beams and discusses three recent experiments related to the dynamics of density-modulated electron beams.

Editorial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khursheed, Anjam

2011-07-01

The Eighth International Conference on Charged Particle Optics (CPO-8) was held in Suntec City Convention Centre, Singapore, from 12 to 16 July 2010. This conference is held every 4 years, and is part of a conference series that was started in 1980, with the aim of bringing together three scientific communities in the charged particle optics area: accelerator optics, spectrometer optics, and electron optics. The purpose of such meetings is to encourage cross-fertilization between these different communities. The first meeting (1980) was held in Giessen, Germany, followed by conferences at Albuquerque (USA, 1986), Toulouse (France, 1990), Tsukuba (Japan, 1994), Delft (Netherlands, 1998), University of Maryland (USA, 2002), and in Cambridge (England, 2006).

Special purpose modes in photonic band gap fibers

DOEpatents

Spencer, James; Noble, Robert; Campbell, Sara

2013-04-02

Photonic band gap fibers are described having one or more defects suitable for the acceleration of electrons or other charged particles. Methods and devices are described for exciting special purpose modes in the defects including laser coupling schemes as well as various fiber designs and components for facilitating excitation of desired modes. Results are also presented showing effects on modes due to modes in other defects within the fiber and due to the proximity of defects to the fiber edge. Techniques and devices are described for controlling electrons within the defect(s). Various applications for electrons or other energetic charged particles produced by such photonic band gap fibers are also described.

Extracting lunar dust parameters from image charge signals produced by the Lunar Dust Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanley, J.; Kempf, S.; Horanyi, M.; Szalay, J.

2015-12-01

The Lunar Dust Experiment (LDEX) onboard the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is an impact ionization dust detector used to characterize the lunar dust exosphere generated by the impacts of large interplanetary particles and meteor streams (Horanyi et al., 2015). In addition to the mass and speed of these lofted particles, LDEX is sensitive to their charge. The resulting signatures of impact events therefore provide valuable information about not only the ambient plasma environment, but also the speed vectors of these dust grains. Here, impact events produced from LDEX's calibration at the Dust Accelerator Laboratory are analyzed using an image charge model derived from the electrostatic simulation program, Coulomb. We show that parameters such as dust grain speed, size, charge, and position of entry into LDEX can be recovered and applied to data collected during LADEE's seven-month mission.

Achieving Stable Radiation Pressure Acceleration of Heavy Ions via Successive Electron Replenishment from Ionization of a High-Z Material Coating.

PubMed

Shen, X F; Qiao, B; Zhang, H; Kar, S; Zhou, C T; Chang, H X; Borghesi, M; He, X T

2017-05-19

A method to achieve stable radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) of heavy ions from laser-irradiated ultrathin foils is proposed, where a high-Z material coating in front is used. The coated high-Z material, acting as a moving electron repository, continuously replenishes the accelerating heavy ion foil with comoving electrons in the light-sail acceleration stage due to its successive ionization under laser fields with Gaussian temporal profile. As a result, the detrimental effects such as foil deformation and electron loss induced by the Rayleigh-Taylor-like and other instabilities in RPA are significantly offset and suppressed so that stable acceleration of heavy ions are maintained. Particle-in-cell simulations show that a monoenergetic Al^{13+} beam with peak energy 3.8 GeV and particle number 10^{10} (charge >20  nC) can be obtained at intensity 10^{22}  W/cm^{2}.

Baryonic Force for Accelerated Cosmic Expansion and Generalized U1b Gauge Symmetry in Particle-Cosmology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Mehbub; Hao, Yun; Hsu, Jong-Ping

2018-01-01

Based on baryon charge conservation and a generalized Yang-Mills symmetry for Abelian (and non-Abelian) groups, we discuss a new baryonic gauge field and its linear potential for two point-like baryon charges. The force between two point-like baryons is repulsive, extremely weak and independent of distance. However, for two extended baryonic systems, we have a dominant linear force α r. Thus, only in the later stage of the cosmic evolution, when two baryonic galaxies are separated by an extremely large distance, the new repulsive baryonic force can overcome the gravitational attractive force. Such a model provides a gauge-field-theoretic understanding of the late-time accelerated cosmic expansion. The baryonic force can be tested by measuring the accelerated Wu-Doppler frequency shifts of supernovae at different distances.

Simulation of orientational coherent effects via Geant4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bagli, E.; Asai, M.; Brandt, D.; Dotti, A.; Guidi, V.; Verderi, M.; Wright, D.

2017-10-01

Simulation of orientational coherent effects via Geant4 beam manipulation of high-and very-high-energy particle beams is a hot topic in accelerator physics. Coherent effects of ultra-relativistic particles in bent crystals allow the steering of particle trajectories thanks to the strong electrical field generated between atomic planes. Recently, a collimation experiment with bent crystals was carried out at the CERN-LHC, paving the way to the usage of such technology in current and future accelerators. Geant4 is a widely used object-oriented tool-kit for the Monte Carlo simulation of the interaction of particles with matter in high-energy physics. Moreover, its areas of application include also nuclear and accelerator physics, as well as studies in medical and space science. We present the first Geant4 extension for the simulation of orientational effects in straight and bent crystals for high energy charged particles. The model allows the manipulation of particle trajectories by means of straight and bent crystals and the scaling of the cross sections of hadronic and electromagnetic processes for channeled particles. Based on such a model, an extension of the Geant4 toolkit has been developed. The code and the model have been validated by comparison with published experimental data regarding the deflection efficiency via channeling and the variation of the rate of inelastic nuclear interactions.

Energy broadening due to space-charge oscillations in high current electron beams. [SEPAC payload experiment on Spacelab 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katz, I.; Jongeward, G. A.; Parks, D. E.; Reasoner, D. L.; Purvis, C. K.

1986-01-01

During electron beam accelerator operation on Spacelab I, substantial fluxes of electrons were observed with energies greater than the initial beam energy. Numerical calculations are performed for the emission of an unneutralized, one-dimensional electron beam. These calculations show clearly that space charge oscillations, which are associated with the charge buildup on the emitter, strongly modify the beam and cause the returning beam particles to have a distribution of kinetic energies ranging from half to over twice the initial energy.

Investigation and Prediction of RF Window Performance in APT Accelerators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Humphries, S. Jr.

1997-05-01

The work described in this report was performed between November 1996 and May 1997 in support of the APT (Accelerator Production of Tritium) Program at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The goal was to write and to test computer programs for charged particle orbits in RF fields. The well-documented programs were written in portable form and compiled for standard personal computers for easy distribution to LANL researchers. They will be used in several APT applications including the following. Minimization of multipactor effects in the moderate {beta} superconducting linac cavities under design for the APT accelerator. Investigation of suppression techniques for electronmore » multipactoring in high-power RF feedthroughs. Modeling of the response of electron detectors for the protection of high power RF vacuum windows. In the contract period two new codes, Trak{_}RF and WaveSim, were completed and several critical benchmark etests were carried out. Trak{_}RF numerically tracks charged particle orbits in combined electrostatic, magnetostatic and electromagnetic fields. WaveSim determines frequency-domain RF field solutions and provides a key input to Trak{_}RF. The two-dimensional programs handle planar or cylindrical geometries. They have several unique characteristics.« less

Measuring asymmetry load pairs of top quarks-antitop in the final states dileptoniques from D0 and ATLAS detectors (in French)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chapelain, Antoine

Particle physics aims to give a coherent description of the nature and the behavior of elementary particles of matter. Particle accelerators (colliders) allow pushing back our know- ledge in this domain producing particles that cannot be observed by other means. This thesis work contributes to this research eld and focuses on the study of the top quark which is the latest brick of matter discovered and the heaviest known elementary particle. The property of the top quark studied here, the charge asymmetry of the top quark-antiquark pairs, has driven a lot of attention in 2011 because of measurements released bymore » Tevatron experiments. These measurements showed deviations with the predictions made in the framework of the standard model of particle physics. New measurements of the charge asymmetry performed at the Tevatron (with the D0 detector) and at the LHC (with the ATLAS detector) are presented in this thesis.« less

Non-destructive single-pass low-noise detection of ions in a beamline

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schmidt, Stefan; Institut für Kernchemie, Johannes Gutenberg–Universität Mainz, 55099 Mainz; Murböck, Tobias

2015-11-15

We have conceived, built, and operated a device for the non-destructive single-pass detection of charged particles in a beamline. The detector is based on the non-resonant pick-up and subsequent low-noise amplification of the image charges induced in a cylindrical electrode surrounding the particles’ beam path. The first stage of the amplification electronics is designed to be operated from room temperature down to liquid helium temperature. The device represents a non-destructive charge counter as well as a sensitive timing circuit. We present the concept and design details of the device. We have characterized its performance and show measurements with low-energy highlymore » charged ions (such as Ar{sup 13+}) passing through one of the electrodes of a cylindrical Penning trap. This work demonstrates a novel approach of non-destructive, low noise detection of charged particles which is, depending on the bunch structure, suitable, e.g., for ion traps, low-energy beamlines or accelerator transfer sections.« less

Space experiments with particle accelerators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Obayashi, T.; Kawashima, N.; Kuriki, K.; Nagatomo, M.; Ninomiya, K.; Sasaki, S.; Roberts, W. T.; Chappell, C. R.; Reasoner, D. L.; Garriott, O. K.;

The laser accelerator-another unicorn in the garden

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hand, L. N.

1981-07-01

Some proposed techniques for using laser beams to accelerate charged particles was reviewed. Two specific ideas for grating type accelerating structures are discussed. Speculations are presented about how a successful laser accelerator could be used in a multipass collider; a type of machine which would have characteristics intermediate between those of synchrotrons and linear (single pass) colliders. No definite conclusions about practical structures for laser accelerators are reached, but it is suggested that a serious effort be made to design a small prototype machine. Achieving a reasonable luminosity demands that the accelerator either be a cw machine or that laser peak power requirements to be much higher than those presently available. Use of superconducting gratings requires a wavelength in the sub-millimeter range.

A new type of accelerator for charged particle cancer therapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Edgecock, Rob

2013-04-19

Non-scaling Fixed Field Alternating Gradient accelerators (ns-FFAGs) show great potential for the acceleration of protons and light ions for the treatment of certain cancers. They have unique features as they combine techniques from the existing types of accelerators, cyclotrons and synchrotrons, and hence look to have advantages over both for this application. However, these unique features meant that it was necessary to build one of these accelerators to show that it works and to undertake a detailed conceptual design of a medical machine. Both of these have now been done. This paper will describe the concepts of this type ofmore » accelerator, show results from the proof-of-principle machine (EMMA) and described the medical machine (PAMELA).« less

Plasma inverse transition acceleration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xie, Ming

It can be proved fundamentally from the reciprocity theorem with which the electromagnetism is endowed that corresponding to each spontaneous process of radiation by a charged particle there is an inverse process which defines a unique acceleration mechanism, from Cherenkov radiation to inverse Cherenkov acceleration (ICA) [1], from Smith-Purcell radiation to inverse Smith-Purcell acceleration (ISPA) [2], and from undulator radiation to inverse undulator acceleration (IUA) [3]. There is no exception. Yet, for nearly 30 years after each of the aforementioned inverse processes has been clarified for laser acceleration, inverse transition acceleration (ITA), despite speculation [4], has remained the least understood,more » and above all, no practical implementation of ITA has been found, until now. Unlike all its counterparts in which phase synchronism is established one way or the other such that a particle can continuously gain energy from an acceleration wave, the ITA to be discussed here, termed plasma inverse transition acceleration (PITA), operates under fundamentally different principle. As a result, the discovery of PITA has been delayed for decades, waiting for a conceptual breakthrough in accelerator physics: the principle of alternating gradient acceleration [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. In fact, PITA was invented [7, 8] as one of several realizations of the new principle.« less

MMS Observation of Inverse Energy Dispersion in Shock Drift Acceleration Ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, S. H.; Sibeck, D. G.; Hwang, K. J.; Wang, Y.; Silveira, M. D.; Mauk, B.; Cohen, I. J.; Chu, C. S.; Mason, G. M.; Gold, R. E.; Burch, J. L.; Giles, B. L.; Torbert, R. B.; Russell, C. T.; Wei, H.

2016-12-01

The Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) on the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft observed bursts of energetic ions (50 keV-1000 keV) both in the foreshock and in the magnetosheath near the bow shock on December 6, 2015. Three species (protons, helium, and oxygen) exhibit inverse energy dispersions. Angular distributions for all three species indicate acceleration at the perpendicular bow shock. Acceleration that energizes the seed solar population by a factor of 2 and 4 is required for the protons and helium ions, respectively. The energy of the ions increases with θBn (the angle between the IMF and the local shock normal) since the induced electric field that energizes the charged particles increases as θBn increases towards 90°. We compare events upstream and downstream from the bow shock. We compare the MMS observations with those of the solar wind seed populations by the Ultra Low Energy Isotope Spectrometer (ULEIS) instrument on the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) mission and by the WIND 3-D Plamsa and Energetic Particle Experiment.

A magnetic field cloak for charged particle beams

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Capobianco-Hogan, K. G.; Cervantes, R.; Deshpande, A.

Shielding charged particle beams from transverse magnetic fields is a common challenge for particle accelerators and experiments. In this study, we demonstrate that a magnetic field cloak is a viable solution. It allows for the use of dipole magnets in the forward regions of experiments at an Electron Ion Collider (EIC) and other facilities without interfering with the incoming beams. The dipoles can improve the momentum measurements of charged final state particles at angles close to the beam line and therefore increase the physics reach of these experiments. In contrast to other magnetic shielding options (such as active coils), amore » cloak requires no external powering. We discuss the design parameters, fabrication, and limitations of a magnetic field cloak and demonstrate that cylinders made from 45 layers of YBCO high-temperature superconductor, combined with a ferromagnetic shell made from epoxy and stainless steel powder, shield more than 99% of a transverse magnetic field of up to 0.45 T (95% shielding at 0.5 T) at liquid nitrogen temperature. Lastly, the ferromagnetic shell reduces field distortions caused by the superconductor alone by 90% at 0.45 T.« less

A magnetic field cloak for charged particle beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capobianco-Hogan, K. G.; Cervantes, R.; Deshpande, A.; Feege, N.; Krahulik, T.; LaBounty, J.; Sekelsky, R.; Adhyatman, A.; Arrowsmith-Kron, G.; Coe, B.; Dehmelt, K.; Hemmick, T. K.; Jeffas, S.; LaByer, T.; Mahmud, S.; Oliveira, A.; Quadri, A.; Sharma, K.; Tishelman-Charny, A.

2018-01-01

Shielding charged particle beams from transverse magnetic fields is a common challenge for particle accelerators and experiments. We demonstrate that a magnetic field cloak is a viable solution. It allows for the use of dipole magnets in the forward regions of experiments at an Electron Ion Collider (EIC) and other facilities without interfering with the incoming beams. The dipoles can improve the momentum measurements of charged final state particles at angles close to the beam line and therefore increase the physics reach of these experiments. In contrast to other magnetic shielding options (such as active coils), a cloak requires no external powering. We discuss the design parameters, fabrication, and limitations of a magnetic field cloak and demonstrate that cylinders made from 45 layers of YBCO high-temperature superconductor, combined with a ferromagnetic shell made from epoxy and stainless steel powder, shield more than 99% of a transverse magnetic field of up to 0.45 T (95% shielding at 0.5 T) at liquid nitrogen temperature. The ferromagnetic shell reduces field distortions caused by the superconductor alone by 90% at 0.45 T.

A magnetic field cloak for charged particle beams

DOE PAGES

Capobianco-Hogan, K. G.; Cervantes, R.; Deshpande, A.; ...

2017-10-02

Shielding charged particle beams from transverse magnetic fields is a common challenge for particle accelerators and experiments. In this study, we demonstrate that a magnetic field cloak is a viable solution. It allows for the use of dipole magnets in the forward regions of experiments at an Electron Ion Collider (EIC) and other facilities without interfering with the incoming beams. The dipoles can improve the momentum measurements of charged final state particles at angles close to the beam line and therefore increase the physics reach of these experiments. In contrast to other magnetic shielding options (such as active coils), amore » cloak requires no external powering. We discuss the design parameters, fabrication, and limitations of a magnetic field cloak and demonstrate that cylinders made from 45 layers of YBCO high-temperature superconductor, combined with a ferromagnetic shell made from epoxy and stainless steel powder, shield more than 99% of a transverse magnetic field of up to 0.45 T (95% shielding at 0.5 T) at liquid nitrogen temperature. Lastly, the ferromagnetic shell reduces field distortions caused by the superconductor alone by 90% at 0.45 T.« less

Geomagnetic Field Distortion by a Solar Stream as a Mechanism for the Production of Polar Aurora and Electrojets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kern, J. W.

1961-01-01

This paper describes a mechanism for charge separation in the geomagnetically trapped radiation which may account for some observed phenomena associated with the polar aurora and the electrojet current systems. The following development is proposed: given that there exist eastward or westward longitudinal gradients in the geomagnetic field resulting from distortion of the geomagnetic field by solar streams, if the trapped radiation is adiabatic in character, radial drift separation of positive and negative charged particles must occur. It follows that, for bounded or irregular distributions of plasma number density in such an adiabatic - drift region, electric fields will arise. The origin of such electric fields will not arrest the drift separation of the charged particles, but will contribute to exponential growth of irregularities in the trapped plasma density. An adiabatic acceleration mechanism is described, which is based on incorporating the electrostatic energy of the particle in the energy function for the particle. Direct consequences of polarization of the geomagnetically trapped radiation will be the polar electrojet current systems and the polar aurora.

Optical ionization detector

DOEpatents

Wuest, C.R.; Lowry, M.E.

1994-03-29

An optical ionization detector wherein a beam of light is split so that one arm passes through a fiber optics and the other arm passes through a gas-filled region, and uses interferometry to detect density changes in a gas when charged particles pass through it. The gas-filled region of the detector is subjected to a high electric field and as a charged particle traverses this gas region electrons are freed from the cathode and accelerated so as to generate an electron avalanche which is collected on the anode. The gas density is effected by the electron avalanche formation and if the index or refraction is proportional to the gas density the index will change accordingly. The detector uses this index change by modulating the one arm of the split light beam passing through the gas, with respect to the other arm that is passed through the fiber optic. Upon recombining of the beams, interference fringe changes as a function of the index change indicates the passage of charged particles through the gaseous medium. 3 figures.

Optical ionization detector

DOEpatents

Wuest, Craig R.; Lowry, Mark E.

1994-01-01

An optical ionization detector wherein a beam of light is split so that one arm passes through a fiber optics and the other arm passes through a gas-filled region, and uses interferometry to detect density changes in a gas when charged particles pass through it. The gas-filled region of the detector is subjected to a high electric field and as a charged particle traverses this gas region electrons are freed from the cathode and accelerated so as to generate an electron avalanche which is collected on the anode. The gas density is effected by the electron avalanche formation and if the index or refraction is proportional to the gas density the index will change accordingly. The detector uses this index change by modulating the one arm of the split light beam passing through the gas, with respect to the other arm that is passed through the fiber optic. Upon recombining of the beams, interference fringe changes as a function of the index change indicates the passage of charged particles through the gaseous medium.

Van Allen Probe Charging During the St. Patrick's Day Event

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, L. Neergaard; Minow, J. I.

2015-01-01

The geomagnetic storms on and around March 17, 2015 marked the largest storms seen in the declining phase of the solar cycle to date. We use the Helium Oxygen Proton Electron (HOPE) mass spectrometer on board the Van Allen Probe - A and B satellites to study in detail the charging effects seen on these spacecraft during this time. Ion particle flux data provides information on the magnitude of the charging events using the ion line charging signature due to low energy ions accelerated by the spacecraft potential. Electron flux observations are used to correlate the charging environment with variations in spacecraft potential through the event. We also investigate the density and temperature of ions and electrons during the time of the charging event.

Stabilized radio-frequency quadrupole

DOEpatents

Lancaster, H.D.; Fugitt, J.A.; Howard, D.R.

1982-09-29

A long-vane stabilized radio frequency resonator for accelerating charged particles and including means defining a radio frequency resonator cavity, a plurality of long vanes mounted in the defining means for dividing the cavity into sections, and means interconnecting opposing ones of the plurality of vanes for stabilizing the resonator.

Stabilized radio frequency quadrupole

DOEpatents

Lancaster, Henry D.; Fugitt, Jock A.; Howard, Donald R.

1984-01-01

A long-vane stabilized radio frequency resonator for accelerating charged particles and including means defining a radio frequency resonator cavity, a plurality of long vanes mounted in the defining means for dividing the cavity into sections, and means interconnecting opposing ones of the plurality of vanes for stabilizing the resonator.

Coherent Structures and Chaos Control in High-Power Microwave and Charged-Particle Beam Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-31

34Equilibrium Theory of an Intense Elliptic Beam for High - Power Ribbon-Beam Klystron Applications," Proc. 2007 Part. Accel. Conf. p. 2316. Courant...34Equilibrium Theory of an Intense Elliptic Beam for High - Power Ribbon-Beam Klystron Applications," C. Chen and J. Zhou, Proc. 2007 Part. Accel. Conf. (2007...accelerator focusing systems. Over 600 high - power , high -efficiency klystrons , for example, may be needed to provide rf power for the acceleration

Transactions of the Second All-Union Conference on Charged Particle Accelerators (Moscow, 11-18 November 1970). Volume 2

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-10-09

to the interruption/discontinu.Lty into y - higher than transition energy. Discontinuity can be removed, for example, by the introduction to special...stable acceleration mode in acccrdance with theory ri], is arranged/located with the negative detuning of rescnator (when its frequency higher than...TRANSLATION IS A RENDITION OF THE ORIGI. NAL FOREIGN TEXT WITHOUT ANY ANALYTICAL OR EDITORIAL COMMENT. STATEMENTS OR THEORIES PREPARED BY: ADVOCATED OR

Summary of SLAC's SEY Measurement On Flat Accelerator Wall Materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Le Pimpec, F.; /PSI, Villigen /SLAC

The electron cloud effect (ECE) causes beam instabilities in accelerator structures with intense positively charged bunched beams. Reduction of the secondary electron yield (SEY) of the beam pipe inner wall is effective in controlling cloud formation. We summarize SEY results obtained from flat TiN, TiZrV and Al surfaces carried out in a laboratory environment. SEY was measured after thermal conditioning, as well as after low energy, less than 300 eV, particle exposure.

The dawn of the particle astronomy era in ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.

PubMed

Bauleo, Pablo M; Martino, Julio Rodríguez

2009-04-16

Cosmic rays are charged particles arriving at the Earth from space. Those at the highest energies are particularly interesting because the physical processes that could create or accelerate them are at the limit of our present knowledge. They also open the window to particle astronomy, as the magnetic fields along their paths are not strong enough to deflect their trajectories much from a straight line. The Pierre Auger Observatory is the largest cosmic-ray detector on Earth, and as such is beginning to resolve past observational disagreements regarding the origin and propagation of these particles.

Generation and acceleration of neutral atoms in intense laser plasma experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tata, Sheroy; Mondal, Angana; Sarkar, Shobhik; Ved, Yash; Lad, Amit D.; Pasley, John; Colgan, James; Krishnamurthy, M.

2017-10-01

The interaction of a high intensity (>=1018 W/cm2), high contrast (>=109), ultra-short (30fs) laser with solid targets generates a highly dense hot plasma. The quasi-static electric fields in such plasmas are well known for ion acceleration via the target normal sheath acceleration process. Under such conditions charge reduction to generate fast neutral atoms is almost inhibited. Improvised Thomson parabola spectrometry with improved signal to noise ratio has enabled us to measure the signals of fast neutral atoms and negative ions having energies in excess of tens of keV. A study on the neutralization of accelerated protons in plasma shows that the neutral atom to all particle ratio rises sharply from a few percent at the highest detectable energy to 50 % at 15 keV. Using usual charge transfer reactions the generation of neutral atoms can not be explained, thus we conjecture that the neutralization of the accelerated ions is not from the hot dense region of the plasma but neutral atom formation takes place by co-propagating ions with low energy electrons enhancing the effective neutral ratio.

Space Experiments with Particle Accelerators (SEPAC)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Obayashi, T.; Kawashima, N.; Kuriki, K.; Nagatomo, M.; Ninomiya, K.; Sasaki, S.; Ushirokawa, A.; Kudo, I.; Ejiri, M.; Roberts, W. T.

1982-01-01

Plans for SEPAC, an instrument array to be used on Spacelab 1 to study vehicle charging and neutralization, beam-plasma interaction in space, beam-atmospheric interaction exciting artificial aurora and airglow, and the electromagnetic-field configuration of the magnetosphere, are presented. The hardware, consisting of electron beam accelerator, magnetoplasma arcjet, neutral-gas plume generator, power supply, diagnostic package (photometer, plasma probes, particle analyzers, and plasma-wave package), TV monitor, and control and data-management unit, is described. The individual SEPAC experiments, the typical operational sequence, and the general outline of the SEPAC follow-on mission are discussed. Some of the experiments are to be joint ventures with AEPI (INS 003) and will be monitored by low-light-level TV.

Suppressing longitudinal double-layer oscillations by using elliptically polarized laser pulses in the hole-boring radiation pressure acceleration regime

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu Dong; Yan, X. Q.; Key Laboratory of High Energy Density Physics Simulation, Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871

It is shown that well collimated mono-energetic ion beams with a large particle number can be generated in the hole-boring radiation pressure acceleration regime by using an elliptically polarized laser pulse with appropriate theoretically determined laser polarization ratio. Due to the J Multiplication-Sign B effect, the double-layer charge separation region is imbued with hot electrons that prevent ion pileup, thus suppressing the double-layer oscillations. The proposed mechanism is well confirmed by Particle-in-Cell simulations, and after suppressing the longitudinal double-layer oscillations, the ion beams driven by the elliptically polarized lasers own much better energy spectrum than those by circularly polarized lasers.

Current flow and pair creation at low altitude in rotation-powered pulsars' force-free magnetospheres: space charge limited flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Timokhin, A. N.; Arons, J.

2013-02-01

We report the results of an investigation of particle acceleration and electron-positron plasma generation at low altitude in the polar magnetic flux tubes of rotation-powered pulsars, when the stellar surface is free to emit whatever charges and currents are demanded by the force-free magnetosphere. We apply a new 1D hybrid plasma simulation code to the dynamical problem, using Particle-in-Cell methods for the dynamics of the charged particles, including a determination of the collective electrostatic fluctuations in the plasma, combined with a Monte Carlo treatment of the high-energy gamma-rays that mediate the formation of the electron-positron pairs. We assume the electric current flowing through the pair creation zone is fixed by the much higher inductance magnetosphere, and adopt the results of force-free magnetosphere models to provide the currents which must be carried by the accelerator. The models are spatially one dimensional, and designed to explore the physics, although of practical relevance to young, high-voltage pulsars. We observe novel behaviour (a) When the current density j is less than the Goldreich-Julian value (0 < j/jGJ < 1), space charge limited acceleration of the current carrying beam is mild, with the full Goldreich-Julian charge density comprising the charge densities of the beam and a cloud of electrically trapped particles with the same sign of charge as the beam. The voltage drops are of the order of mc2/e, and pair creation is absent. (b) When the current density exceeds the Goldreich-Julian value (j/jGJ > 1), the system develops high voltage drops (TV or greater), causing emission of curvature gamma-rays and intense bursts of pair creation. The bursts exhibit limit cycle behaviour, with characteristic time-scales somewhat longer than the relativistic fly-by time over distances comparable to the polar cap diameter (microseconds). (c) In return current regions, where j/jGJ < 0, the system develops similar bursts of pair creation. These discharges are similar to those encountered in previous calculations by Timokhin of pair creation when the surface has a high work function and cannot freely emit charge. In cases (b) and (c), the intermittently generated pairs allow the system to simultaneously carry the magnetospherically prescribed currents and adjust the charge density and average electric field to force-free conditions. We also elucidate the conditions for pair creating beam flow to be steady (stationary with small fluctuations in the rotating frame), finding that such steady flows can occupy only a small fraction of the current density parameter space exhibited by the force-free magnetospheric model. The generic polar flow dynamics and pair creation are strongly time dependent. The model has an essential difference from almost all previous quantitative studies, in that we sought the accelerating voltage (with pair creation, when the voltage drops are sufficiently large; without, when they are small) as a function of the applied current. The 1D results described here characterize the dependence of acceleration and pair creation on the magnitude and sign of current. The dependence on the spatial distribution of the current is a multi-dimensional problem, possibly exhibiting more chaotic behaviour. We briefly outline possible relations of the electric field fluctuations observed in the polar flows (both with and without pair creation discharges) to direct emission of radio waves, as well as revive the possible relation of the observed limit cycle behaviour to microstructure in the radio emission. Actually modelling these effects requires the multi-dimensional treatment, to be reported in a later paper.

Experimental setup for the laboratory investigation of micrometeoroid ablation using a dust accelerator.

PubMed

Thomas, Evan; Simolka, Jonas; DeLuca, Michael; Horányi, Mihály; Janches, Diego; Marshall, Robert A; Munsat, Tobin; Plane, John M C; Sternovsky, Zoltan

2017-03-01

A facility has been developed to simulate the ablation of micrometeoroids in laboratory conditions. An electrostatic dust accelerator is used to generate iron particles with velocities of 10-70 km/s. The particles are then introduced into a chamber pressurized with a target gas, where the pressure is adjustable between 0.01 and 0.5 Torr, and the particle partially or completely ablates over a short distance. An array of biased electrodes above and below the ablation path is used to collect the generated ions/electrons with a spatial resolution of 2.6 cm along the ablating particles' path, thus allowing the study of the spatiotemporal evolution of the process. For completely ablated particles, the total collected charge directly yields the ionization coefficient of a given dust material-target gas combination. The first results of this facility measured the ionization coefficient of iron atoms with N 2 , air, CO 2 , and He target gases for impact velocities >20 km/s, and are reported by Thomas et al. [Geophys. Res. Lett. 43, 3645 (2016)]. The ablation chamber is also equipped with four optical ports that allow for the detection of the light emitted by the ablating particle. A multichannel photomultiplier tube system is used to observe the ablation process with a spatial and temporal resolution of 0.64 cm and 90 ns. The preliminary results indicate that it is possible to calculate the velocity of the ablating particle from the optical observations, and in conjunction with the spatially resolved charge measurements allow for experimental validation of ablation models in future studies.

Experimental setup for the laboratory investigation of micrometeoroid ablation using a dust accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Evan; Simolka, Jonas; DeLuca, Michael; Horányi, Mihály; Janches, Diego; Marshall, Robert A.; Munsat, Tobin; Plane, John M. C.; Sternovsky, Zoltan

2017-03-01

A facility has been developed to simulate the ablation of micrometeoroids in laboratory conditions. An electrostatic dust accelerator is used to generate iron particles with velocities of 10-70 km/s. The particles are then introduced into a chamber pressurized with a target gas, where the pressure is adjustable between 0.01 and 0.5 Torr, and the particle partially or completely ablates over a short distance. An array of biased electrodes above and below the ablation path is used to collect the generated ions/electrons with a spatial resolution of 2.6 cm along the ablating particles' path, thus allowing the study of the spatiotemporal evolution of the process. For completely ablated particles, the total collected charge directly yields the ionization coefficient of a given dust material-target gas combination. The first results of this facility measured the ionization coefficient of iron atoms with N2, air, CO2, and He target gases for impact velocities >20 km/s, and are reported by Thomas et al. [Geophys. Res. Lett. 43, 3645 (2016)]. The ablation chamber is also equipped with four optical ports that allow for the detection of the light emitted by the ablating particle. A multichannel photomultiplier tube system is used to observe the ablation process with a spatial and temporal resolution of 0.64 cm and 90 ns. The preliminary results indicate that it is possible to calculate the velocity of the ablating particle from the optical observations, and in conjunction with the spatially resolved charge measurements allow for experimental validation of ablation models in future studies.

Experimental Setup for the Laboratory Investigation of Micrometeoroid Ablation Using a Dust Accelerator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, Evan; Simolka, Jonas; DeLuca, Michael; Horanyi, Mihaly; Janches, Diego; Marshall, Robert A.; Munsat, Tobin; Plane, John M. C.; Sternovsky, Zoltan

2017-01-01

A facility has been developed to simulate the ablation of micrometeoroids in laboratory conditions. An electrostatic dust accelerator is used to generate iron particles with velocities of 10-70 kilometers. The particles are then introduced into a chamber pressurized with a target gas, where the pressure is adjustable between 0.01 and 0.5 Torr, and the particle partially or completely ablates over a short distance. An array of biased electrodes above and below the ablation path is used to collect the generated ions/electrons with a spatial resolution of 2.6 centimeters along the ablating particles path, thus allowing the study of the spatiotemporal evolution of the process. For completely ablated particles, the total collected charge directly yields the ionization coefficient of a given dust material-target gas combination. The first results of this facility measured the ionization coefficient of iron atoms with N2, air, CO2, and He target gases for impact velocities greater than 20 kilometers per second, and are reported by Thomas et al. The ablation chamber is also equipped with four optical ports that allow for the detection of the light emitted by the ablating particle. A multichannel photomultiplier tube system is used to observe the ablation process with a spatial and temporal resolution of 0.64 centimeters and 90 nanoseconds. The preliminary results indicate that it is possible to calculate the velocity of the ablating particle from the optical observations, and in conjunction with the spatially resolved charge measurements allow for experimental validation of ablation models in future studies.

Planetary magnetospheres: A comparative view

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dessler, A. J.

1976-01-01

There are eight large bodies in the solar system about which definite statements regarding the existence or nonexistence of a magnetic field of internal origin can now be made. Of these bodies (Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the Earth's Moon), only Venus and the Moon have negligible surface magnetic fields. By negligible is meant that the magnetic fields are so weak that they do not sensibly perturb the local solar wind. The other bodies provide an interesting zoo of magnetic field configurations and attendant charged particle behavior. Six of these bodies have magnetic fields, and two do not. Furthermore, of those which have magnetic fields, it appears that only that of Mars is ineffective in accelerating charged particles.

Advanced Channeling Technologies in Plasma and Laser Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dabagov, Sultan B.

2018-01-01

Channeling is the phenomenon well known in the world mostly related to the motion of the beams of charged particles in aligned crystals. However, recent studies have shown the feasibility of channeling phenomenology application for description of other various mechanisms of interaction of charged as well as neutral particle beams in solids, plasmas and electromagnetic fields covering the research fields from crystal based undulators, collimators and accelerators to capillary based X-ray and neutron optical elements. This brief review is devoted to the status of channeling-based researches at different centers within international and national collaborations. Present and future possible developments in channeling tools applied to electron interactions in strong plasma and laser fields will be analyzed.

Composition and energy spectra of low energy ions observed upstream of the earth's bow shock on ISEE-1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ipavich, F. M.; Galvin, A. B.; Gloeckler, G.; Hovestadt, D.; Klecker, B.; Scholer, M.; Fan, C. Y.; Fisk, L. A.; Ogallagher, J. J.

1980-01-01

The characteristics of eleven locally accelerated particle events in the energy range from 30 to 125 keV/Q observed upstream of the earth's bow shock have been determined, including composition, energy spectra, and intensity versus time profiles. The measurements were made with the Ultra Low Energy Charge Analyzer sensor on ISEE-1. The composition in these events is similar to that of the solar wind, with a He to proton ratio of 8% and a CNO to He ratio of 6%. The composition is reasonably constant only when evaluated at equal energy per charge. The energy spectra cannot be adequately fit by a single power law in energy; an exponential or Maxwellian in energy per charge gives a satisfactory representation of the spectra. The time-intensity profiles of these upstream events show an inverse velocity dispersion, which may provide clues to the responsible acceleration mechanism.

Beam trapping in high-current cyclic accelerators with strong-focusing fields. Memorandum report, January-December 1984

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sprangle, P.; Kapetanakos, C.A.

1985-03-06

In cyclic induction accelerators, the energy of the particles increases slowly in synchronism with the vertical (betatron) magnetic field. As a consequence of the slow acceleration, the charged particles must be confined by the weak-focusing magnetic field over long periods of time, and thus field errors, instabilities, and radiation losses can impose limitations on the acceleration process. These limitations can be substantially relaxed if the acceleration were to occur rapidly, say over a few microseconds. An appropriate name for such an accelerator is REBA-TRON (Rapid Electron Beam Accelerator). This paper considers a possible mechanism which could trap a high currentmore » electron beam in the strong focusing magnetic fields of the rebatron. We investigate a possible mechanism for trapping an intense relativistic electron beam confined by strong focusing fields. In our model the electron beam is assumed to be injected into torsatron fields off axis, near the chamber walls. The finite resistivity of the walls results in a drag force on the beam centroid which may cause the beam to spiral inward towards the axis of the chamber. We have analyzed this mechanism and obtained decay rates for the inward spiraling beam motion.« less

Lattice Gauge Theories Within and Beyond the Standard Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gelzer, Zechariah John

The Standard Model of particle physics has been very successful in describing fundamental interactions up to the highest energies currently probed in particle accelerator experiments. However, the Standard Model is incomplete and currently exhibits tension with experimental data for interactions involvingmore » $B$~mesons. Consequently, $B$-meson physics is of great interest to both experimentalists and theorists. Experimentalists worldwide are studying the decay and mixing processes of $B$~mesons in particle accelerators. Theorists are working to understand the data by employing lattice gauge theories within and beyond the Standard Model. This work addresses the theoretical effort and is divided into two main parts. In the first part, I present a lattice-QCD calculation of form factors for exclusive semileptonic decays of $B$~mesons that are mediated by both charged currents ($$B \\to \\pi \\ell \

Cylindrical Vector Beams for Rapid Polarization-Dependent Measurements in Atomic Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-12-05

www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-18-24-25035. 16. S. Tripathi and K. C. Toussaint, Jr., “Rapid Mueller matrix polarimetry based on parallelized...optical trapping [11], atom guiding [12], laser machining [13], charged particle acceleration [14,15], and polarimetry [16]. Yet despite numerous

Stabilized radio frequency quadrupole

DOEpatents

Lancaster, H.D.; Fugitt, J.A.; Howard, D.R.

1984-12-25

Disclosed is a long-vane stabilized radio frequency resonator for accelerating charged particles and including means defining a radio frequency resonator cavity, a plurality of long vanes mounted in the defining means for dividing the cavity into sections, and means interconnecting opposing ones of the plurality of vanes for stabilizing the resonator. 5 figs.

Physics Division annual review, 1 April 1975--31 March 1976. [ANL

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Garvey, G. T.

1976-01-01

An overview is given of Physics Division activities in the following areas: the heavy-ion booster; medium-energy physics; heavy-ion physics; low-energy charged-particle physics; accelerator operations; neutron physics; theoretical nuclear physics, and atomic and molecular physics. A bibliography of publications amounts to 27 pages. (RWR)

Pulse - Accelerator Science in Medicine

Science.gov Websites

the structure of biological molecules. They use the energy that charged particles emit when powerful than the sun and focused on a pinpoint. Deciphering the structure of proteins is key to understanding biological processes and healing disease. To determine a protein’s structure, researchers direct

Emittance study of a 28 GHz electron cyclotron resonance ion source for the Rare Isotope Science Project superconducting linear accelerator.

PubMed

Park, Bum-Sik; Hong, In-Seok; Jang, Ji-Ho; Jin, Hyunchang; Choi, Sukjin; Kim, Yonghwan

2016-02-01

A 28 GHz electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source is being developed for use as an injector for the superconducting linear accelerator of the Rare Isotope Science Project. Beam extraction from the ECR ion source has been simulated using the KOBRA3-INP software. The simulation software can calculate charged particle trajectories in three dimensional complex magnetic field structures, which in this case are formed by the arrangement of five superconducting magnets. In this study, the beam emittance is simulated to understand the effects of plasma potential, mass-to-charge ratio, and spatial distribution. The results of these simulations and their comparison to experimental results are presented in this paper.

Space-Charge Simulation of Integrable Rapid Cycling Synchrotron

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eldred, Jeffery; Valishev, Alexander

2017-05-01

Integrable optics is an innovation in particle accelerator design that enables strong nonlinear focusing without generating parametric resonances. We use a Synergia space-charge simulation to investigate the application of integrable optics to a high-intensity hadron ring that could replace the Fermilab Booster. We find that incorporating integrability into the design suppresses the beam halo generated by a mismatched KV beam. Our integrable rapid cycling synchrotron (iRCS) design includes other features of modern ring design such as low momentum compaction factor and harmonically canceling sextupoles. Experimental tests of high-intensity beams in integrable lattices will take place over the next several yearsmore » at the Fermilab Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) and the University of Maryland Electron Ring (UMER).« less

Particle Acceleration in a Statistically Modeled Solar Active-Region Corona

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toutounzi, A.; Vlahos, L.; Isliker, H.; Dimitropoulou, M.; Anastasiadis, A.; Georgoulis, M.

2013-09-01

Elaborating a statistical approach to describe the spatiotemporally intermittent electric field structures formed inside a flaring solar active region, we investigate the efficiency of such structures in accelerating charged particles (electrons). The large-scale magnetic configuration in the solar atmosphere responds to the strong turbulent flows that convey perturbations across the active region by initiating avalanche-type processes. The resulting unstable structures correspond to small-scale dissipation regions hosting strong electric fields. Previous research on particle acceleration in strongly turbulent plasmas provides a general framework for addressing such a problem. This framework combines various electromagnetic field configurations obtained by magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) or cellular automata (CA) simulations, or by employing a statistical description of the field's strength and configuration with test particle simulations. Our objective is to complement previous work done on the subject. As in previous efforts, a set of three probability distribution functions describes our ad-hoc electromagnetic field configurations. In addition, we work on data-driven 3D magnetic field extrapolations. A collisional relativistic test-particle simulation traces each particle's guiding center within these configurations. We also find that an interplay between different electron populations (thermal/non-thermal, ambient/injected) in our simulations may also address, via a re-acceleration mechanism, the so called `number problem'. Using the simulated particle-energy distributions at different heights of the cylinder we test our results against observations, in the framework of the collisional thick target model (CTTM) of solar hard X-ray (HXR) emission. The above work is supported by the Hellenic National Space Weather Research Network (HNSWRN) via the THALIS Programme.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hand, L.N.

Some proposed techniques for using laser beams to accelerate charged particles are reviewed. Two specific ideas for 'grating-type' accelerating structures are discussed. Speculations are presented about how a successful laser accelerator could be used in a 'multi-pass collider', a type of machine which would have characteristics intermediate between those of synchrotrons and linear (single-pass) colliders. No definite conclusions about practical structures for laser accelerators are reached, but it is suggested that a serious effort be made to design a small prototype machine. Achieving a reasonable luminosity demands that the accelerator either be a cw machine or that laser peak powermore » requirements be much higher than those presently available. Use of superconducting gratings requires a wavelength in the sub-millimeter range.« less

Engineering survey planning for the alignment of a particle accelerator: part I. Proposition of an assessment method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Junqueira Leão, Rodrigo; Raffaelo Baldo, Crhistian; Collucci da Costa Reis, Maria Luisa; Alves Trabanco, Jorge Luiz

2018-03-01

The performance of particle accelerators depends highly on the relative alignment between their components. The position and orientation of the magnetic lenses that form the trajectory of the charged beam is kept to micrometric tolerances in a range of hundreds of meters of the length of the machines. Therefore, the alignment problem is fundamentally of a dimensional metrology nature. There is no common way of expressing these tolerances in terms of terminology and alignment concept. The alignment needs for a certain machine is normally given in terms of deviations between the position of any magnet in the accelerator and the fitted line that relates the actual position of the magnets’ assembly. Root mean square errors and standard deviations are normally used interchangeably and measurement uncertainty is often neglected. Although some solutions have been employed successfully in several accelerators, there is no off-the-shelf solution to perform the alignment. Also, each alignment campaign makes use of different measuring instruments to achieve the desired results, which makes the alignment process a complex measurement chain. This paper explores these issues by reviewing the tolerances specified for the alignment of particle accelerators, and proposes a metric to assess the quality of the alignment. The metric has the advantage of fully integrating the measurement uncertainty in the process.

Fundamental space radiobiology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nelson, Gregory A.

2003-01-01

The unique feature of the space radiation environment is the dominance of high-energy charged particles (HZE or high LET radiation) emitted by the Sun and galactic sources, or trapped in the Van Allen radiation belts. These charged particles present a significant hazard to space flight crews, and accelerator-based experiments are underway to quantify the health risks due to unavoidable radiation exposure. There are three principal properties of charged particles that distinguish them from conventional radiation, i.e. gamma rays and x-rays. First, they have a defined range in matter rather than an exponential absorption profile. Second, they undergo nuclear reactions to produce secondary particles. Third, and most important, they deposit their energy along well-defined linear paths or tracks rather than diffuse fields. The structured energy deposition pattern interacts on multiple scales with the biological structures of DNA, cells and tissues to produce correlated patterns of damage that evade repair systems. Traditional concepts of dose and its associated normalization parameter, RBE (relative biological effectiveness), break down under experimental scrutiny, and probabilistic models of risk based on the number of particle traversals per cell may be more appropriate. Unique patterns of DNA damage, gene expression, mobilization of repair proteins, activation of cytokines and remodeling of cellular microenvironment are observed following exposure to high LET radiation. At low levels of exposure the communication of bioactive substances from irradiated to unirradiated "bystander" cells can amplify the damage and cause a significant deviation from linearity in dose vs. response relations. Under some circumstances, there is even a multigenerational delay in the expression of radiation-induced genetic damage (genomic instability) which is not strictly dose dependent. These issues and the experimental evidence derived from ground based experiments at particle accelerators are presented along with speculation about how modified inertial conditions might perturb homeostatic responses to radiation to further complicate risk assessment for space flight.

Plasmon-driven acceleration in a photo-excited nanotube

DOE PAGES

Shin, Young -Min

2017-02-21

A plasmon-assisted channeling acceleration can be realized with a large channel, possibly at the nanometer scale. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are the most typical example of nano-channels that can confine a large number of channeled particles in a photon-plasmon coupling condition. This paper presents a theoretical and numerical study on the concept of high-field charge acceleration driven by photo-excited Luttinger-liquid plasmons in a nanotube. An analytic description of the plasmon-assisted laser acceleration is detailed with practical acceleration parameters, in particular, with the specifications of a typical tabletop femtosecond laser system. Lastly, the maximally achievable acceleration gradients and energy gains within dephasingmore » lengths and CNT lengths are discussed with respect to laser-incident angles and CNT-filling ratios.« less

Effects of Background Pressure on Relativistic Laser-Plasma Interaction Ion Acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, Andrew; Orban, C.; Feister, S.; Ngirmang, G.; Smith, J. T.; Klim, A.; Frische, K.; Morrison, J.; Chowdhury, E.; Roquemore, W. M.

2016-10-01

Typically, ultra-intense laser-accelerated ion experiments are carried out under high-vacuum conditions and with a repetition rate up to several shots per day. Looking to the future there is a need to perform these experiments with a much larger repetition rate. A continuously flowing liquid target is more suitable than a solid target for this purpose. However liquids vaporize below their vapor pressure, and the experiment cannot be performed under high-vacuum conditions. The effects of this non-negligible high chamber pressure acceleration of charged particles is not yet well understood. We investigate this phenomena using Particle-in-Cell simulations, exploring the effect of the background pressure on the accelerated ion spectrum. Experiments in this regime are being performed at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. This research was sponsored by the Quantum and Non-Equilibrium Processes Division of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, under the management of Dr. Enrique Parra, Program Manager and significant support from the DOD HPCMP Internship Program.

High-Energy Cosmic Rays from Supernovae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morlino, Giovanni

Cosmic rays are charged relativistic particles that reach the Earth with extremely high energies, providing striking evidence of the existence of effective accelerators in the Universe. Below an energy around ˜ 1017 eV, cosmic rays are believed to be produced in the Milky Way, while above that energy, their origin is probably extragalactic. In the early 1930s, supernovae were already identified as possible sources for the galactic component of cosmic rays. After the 1970s this idea has gained more and more credibility, thanks to the development of the diffusive shock acceleration theory, which provides a robust theoretical framework for particle energization in astrophysical environments. Afterward, mostly in recent years, much observational evidence has been gathered in support of this framework, converting a speculative idea in a real paradigm. In this chapter the basic pillars of this paradigm will be illustrated. This includes the acceleration mechanism, the nonlinear effects produced by accelerated particles onto the shock dynamics needed to reach the highest energies, the escape process from the sources, and the transportation of cosmic rays through the Galaxy. The theoretical picture will be corroborated by discussing several observations which support the idea that supernova remnants are effective cosmic ray factories.

Diagnostic Development for E-Beam Excited Air Channels. Microwave Cavity Reflection Interferometer for Single-Pulse Transient Conductivity Measurements

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-04-01

for two applications important to the development of charged particle beam propagation studies. The first application is to measure the decay of...at Los Alamos4 and the Medea accelerator at McDonnell- Douglas Research Laboratory.5 The second application is to measure the conductivity generated...for the first time. For slightly higher rep-rate accelerators such as Medea or PHERMEX, it will improve the accuracy of the results by eliminating pulse

The concept of coupling impedance in the self-consistent plasma wake field excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fedele, R.; Akhter, T.; De Nicola, S.; Migliorati, M.; Marocchino, A.; Massimo, F.; Palumbo, L.

2016-09-01

Within the framework of the Vlasov-Maxwell system of equations, we describe the self-consistent interaction of a relativistic charged-particle beam with the surroundings while propagating through a plasma-based acceleration device. This is done in terms of the concept of coupling (longitudinal) impedance in full analogy with the conventional accelerators. It is shown that also here the coupling impedance is a very useful tool for the Nyquist-type stability analysis. Examples of specific physical situations are finally illustrated.

Radiobiological research at JINR's accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krasavin, E. A.

2016-04-01

The half-a-century development of radiobiological studies at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) is reviewed on a stage-by-stage basis. With the use of the institute's accelerators, some key aspects of radiation biology have been settled, including the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of various types of ionizing radiation with different physical characteristics; radiation-induced mutagenesis mechanisms, and the formation and repair of genetic structure damage. Practical space radiobiology problems that can be solved using high-energy charged particles are discussed.

Space charge effects for multipactor in coaxial lines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sorolla, E., E-mail: eden.sorolla@xlim.fr; Sounas, A.; Mattes, M.

2015-03-15

Multipactor is a hazardous vacuum discharge produced by secondary electron emission within microwave devices of particle accelerators and telecommunication satellites. This work analyzes the dynamics of the multipactor discharge within a coaxial line for the mono-energetic electron emission model taking into account the space charge effects. The steady-state is predicted by the proposed model and an analytical expression for the maximum number of electrons released by the discharge presented. This could help to link simulations to experiments and define a multipactor onset criterion.

Increasing Costs, Competition May Hinder U.S. Position of Leadership in High Energy Physics.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-09-16

achieving that objective; and the level of funding needed should be examined in light of the program’s needs and importance relative to other basic sciences...by an accelerator, in effect, provide a " light " for the physicist 1/One electron volt is the amount of energy gained by a parti- cle of unit charge...the light emit- ted by a charged particle passing through that detector. Each of these detectors has properties which make it especially suitable for

Electrospray Charging of Minerals: Surface Chemistry and Applications to High-Velocity Microparticle Impacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daly, T.; Call, S.; Austin, D. E.

2010-12-01

Electrospray is a soft ionization technique commonly used to charge large biomolecules; it has, however, also been applied to inorganic compounds. We are extending this technique to mineral microparticles. Electrospray-charged mineral microparticles are interesting in the context of surface science because surface chemistry dictates where and how charge carriers can bond to mineral surfaces. In addition, using electrospray to charge mineral particles allows these particles to be electrostatically accelerated as projectiles in high- and hyper-velocity impacts. Since current techniques for producing high- and hyper-velocity microparticle impacts are largely limited to metal or metal-coated projectiles, using minerals as projectiles is a significant innovation. Electrospray involves three steps: creation of charged droplets containing solute/particles, evaporation and bifurcation of droplets, and desolvation of the solute/particles. An acidified solution is slowly pumped through a needle in a strong DC field, which causes the solution to break into tiny, charged droplets laden with protons. Solvent evaporates from the electrosprayed droplets as they move through the electric field toward a grounded plate, causing the charge on the droplet to increase relative to its mass. When the electrosprayed droplet’s charge becomes such that the droplet is no longer stable, it bifurcates, and each of the resulting droplets carries some of the original droplet’s charge. Evaporation and bifurcation continues until the solute particle is completely desolvated. The result is a protonated solute molecule or particle. We built an instrument that electrosprays particles into vacuum and measures them using an image charge detector. Mineral microparticles were prepared by grinding natural mineral samples to ~2 µm diameter. These microparticles are then added to a 4:1 methanol:water solution to create a 0.005% w/v suspension. The suspension is electrosprayed into vacuum, where the charge detector measures the electrosprayed mineral particles’ speed and charge. Quartz microparticles have been successfully electrosprayed. Variation in quartz microparticles’ charge as a function of pH is being evaluated. In addition, we are studying how to completely desolvate electrosprayed mineral particles. Desolvation is not trivial and often requires more than the passive passage of the droplets from the needle to the grounded plate and into vacuum. We are testing two desolvation methods: a heated beam tube and a heated capillary. Preliminary data suggests we have achieved complete desolvation with a hot beam tube. Although quartz’s surface chemistry is rather unique, successful electrospray of quartz microparticles strongly suggests that other minerals may also be electrosprayed. We are preparing olivine samples for electrospray. In addition, an instrument that creates high-velocity microparticle impacts using electrospray-charged mineral microparticles is being developed. This instrument will not only permit minerals to be used as projectiles, but also allows direction characterization of chemical speciation occurring during microparticle impacts.

Delta-Doped CCDs as Detector Arrays in Mass Spectrometers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nikzad, Shouleh; Jones, Todd; Jewell, April; Sinha, Mahadeva

2007-01-01

In a conventional mass spectrometer, charged particles (ions) are dispersed through a magnetic sector onto an MCP at an output (focal) plane. In the MCP, the impinging charged particles excite electron cascades that afford signal gain. Electrons leaving the MCP can be read out by any of a variety of means; most commonly, they are post-accelerated onto a solid-state detector array, wherein the electron pulses are converted to photons, which, in turn, are converted to measurable electric-current pulses by photodetectors. Each step in the conversion from the impinging charged particles to the output 26 NASA Tech Briefs, February 2007 current pulses reduces spatial resolution and increases noise, thereby reducing the overall sensitivity and performance of the mass spectrometer. Hence, it would be preferable to make a direct measurement of the spatial distribution of charged particles impinging on the focal plane. The utility of delta-doped CCDs as detectors of charged particles was reported in two articles in NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 22, No. 7 (July 1998): "Delta-Doped CCDs as Low-Energy-Particle Detectors" (NPO-20178) on page 48 and "Delta- Doped CCDs for Measuring Energies of Positive Ions" (NPO-20253) on page 50. In the present developmental miniature mass spectrometers, the above mentioned miniaturization and performance advantages contributed by the use of delta-doped CCDs are combined with the advantages afforded by the Mattauch-Herzog design. The Mattauch- Herzog design is a double-focusing spectrometer design involving an electric and a magnetic sector, where the ions of different masses are spatially separated along the focal plane of magnetic sector. A delta-doped CCD at the focal plane measures the signals of all the charged-particle species simultaneously at high sensitivity and high resolution, thereby nearly instantaneously providing a complete, high-quality mass spectrum. The simultaneous nature of the measurement of ions stands in contrast to that of a scanning mass spectrometer, in which abundances of different masses are measured at successive times.

A Study of Fermi Acceleration of Suprathermal Solar Wind Ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freeman, Theodore James

The Wind spacecraft has observed numerous sunward bursts of ~2 MeV ions upstream of the Earth's bow shock. The bursts typically last several minutes at the highest energies, but they can last for tens of minutes at intermediate energies (tens to hundreds of keV). The MeV ions are not protons or alpha particles, and are probably oxygen ions. There are two possible sources of these particles: Fermi acceleration of solar wind ions, and ring current particles which have escaped from the Earth's magnetosphere. In this dissertation, Wind observations and numerical particle simulations of Fermi acceleration are presented which demonstrate that suprathermal solar wind O6+ ions are the most likely source of these bursts. Since the Fermi mechanism accelerates all ions to approximately the same ratio of energy to charge, H+ and He2+ ions are accelerated to much lower energies than O6+ ions. In this model, suprathermal ions are reflected between the bow shock and rotations in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) upstream of the shock, gaining energy due to the relative motion of the reflecting magnetic structures. Each burst either coincides with or is closely followed by a large IMF rotation. By using measured magnetic field data, the timing of the bursts detected by Wind is precisely reproduced in the simulation. The energy spectra observed by Wind are also reproduced by adding H+ , He2+ , and O6+ fluxes together, and assuming that there is an increase of ~2 orders of magnitude in the high energy tail of the solar wind oxygen distribution. An enhancement of this order of magnitude in CNO group ions was measured by the ion composition experiment on Wind in association with these bursts. An examination of the magnetospheric escape model shows that while escaping O+ ions can account for some features of the data, such as the longer bursts of intermediate energy ions, it cannot account for the short duration ~2 MeV bursts themselves, because O+ ions scatter diffusively in the solar wind. This study concludes by predicting that ion composition and charge state measurements will show these bursts to be solar wind O6+ ions.

Design and performance of a high resolution, low latency stripline beam position monitor system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apsimon, R. J.; Bett, D. R.; Blaskovic Kraljevic, N.; Burrows, P. N.; Christian, G. B.; Clarke, C. I.; Constance, B. D.; Dabiri Khah, H.; Davis, M. R.; Perry, C.; Resta López, J.; Swinson, C. J.

2015-03-01

A high-resolution, low-latency beam position monitor (BPM) system has been developed for use in particle accelerators and beam lines that operate with trains of particle bunches with bunch separations as low as several tens of nanoseconds, such as future linear electron-positron colliders and free-electron lasers. The system was tested with electron beams in the extraction line of the Accelerator Test Facility at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) in Japan. It consists of three stripline BPMs instrumented with analogue signal-processing electronics and a custom digitizer for logging the data. The design of the analogue processor units is presented in detail, along with measurements of the system performance. The processor latency is 15.6 ±0.1 ns . A single-pass beam position resolution of 291 ±10 nm has been achieved, using a beam with a bunch charge of approximately 1 nC.

Characterizing ICF Neutron Diagnostics on the nTOF line at SUNY Geneseo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simone, Angela; Padalino, Stephen; Turner, Ethan; Ginnane, Mary Kate; Dubois, Natalie; Fletcher, Kurtis; Giordano, Michael; Lawson-Keister, Patrick; Harrison, Hannah; Visca, Hannah; Sangster, Craig; Regan, Sean

2014-10-01

Charged particle beams from the Geneseo 1.7 MV tandem Pelletron accelerator produce nuclear reactions that emit neutrons in the range of 0.5 to 17.9 MeV via the d(d,n)3He and 11B(d,n)12C reactions. The neutron energy and flux can be adjusted by controlling the accelerator beam current and potential. This adjustable neutron source makes it possible to calibrate ICF and HEDP neutron scintillator diagnostics. However, gamma rays which are often present during an accelerator-based calibration are difficult to differentiate from neutron signals in scintillators. To identify neutrons from gamma rays and to determine their energy, a permanent neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) line is being constructed. By detecting the scintillator signal in coincidence with an associated charged particle (ACP) produced in the reaction, the identity of the neutron can be known and its energy determined by time of flight. Using a 100% efficient surface barrier detector to count the ACPs, the absolute efficiency of the scintillator as a function of neutron energy can be determined. This is done by determining the ratio of the ACP counts in the singles spectrum to coincidence counts for matched solid angles of the SBD and scintillator. Funded in part by a LLE contract through the DOE.

Magnetic Reconnection and Particle Acceleration in the Solar Corona

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neukirch, Thomas

Reconnection plays a major role for the magnetic activity of the solar atmosphere, for example solar flares. An interesting open problem is how magnetic reconnection acts to redistribute the stored magnetic energy released during an eruption into other energy forms, e.g. gener-ating bulk flows, plasma heating and non-thermal energetic particles. In particular, finding a theoretical explanation for the observed acceleration of a large number of charged particles to high energies during solar flares is presently one of the most challenging problems in solar physics. One difficulty is the vast difference between the microscopic (kinetic) and the macro-scopic (MHD) scales involved. Whereas the phenomena observed to occur on large scales are reasonably well explained by the so-called standard model, this does not seem to be the case for the small-scale (kinetic) aspects of flares. Over the past years, observations, in particular by RHESSI, have provided evidence that a naive interpretation of the data in terms of the standard solar flare/thick target model is problematic. As a consequence, the role played by magnetic reconnection in the particle acceleration process during solar flares may have to be reconsidered.

Section on Supernova Remnants and Cosmic Rays of the White Paper on the Status and Future of Ground-Based Gamma-Ray Astronomy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pohl, M.; /Iowa State U.; Abdo, Aous A.

This is a report on the findings of the SNR/cosmic-ray working group for the white paper on the status and future of ground-based gamma-ray astronomy. The white paper is an APS commissioned document, and the overall version has also been released and can be found on astro-ph. This detailed section of the white paper discusses the status of past and current attempts to observe shell-type supernova remnants and diffuse emission from cosmic rays at GeV-TeV energies. We concentrate on the potential of future ground-based gamma-ray experiments to study the acceleration of relativistic charged particles which is one of the mainmore » unsolved, yet fundamental, problems in modern astrophysics. The acceleration of particles relies on interactions between energetic particles and magnetic turbulence. In the case of SNRs we can perform spatially resolved studies in systems with known geometry, and the plasma physics deduced from these observations will help us to understand other systems where rapid particle acceleration is believed to occur and where observations as detailed as those of SNRs are not possible.« less

Role of lower hybrid waves in ion heating at dipolarization fronts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greco, A.; Artemyev, A.; Zimbardo, G.; Angelopoulos, V.; Runov, A.

2017-05-01

One of the important sources of hot ions in the magnetotail is the bursty bulk flows propagating away from the reconnection region and heating the ambient plasma. Charged particles interact with nonlinear magnetic field pulses (dipolarization fronts, DFs) embedded into these flows. The convection electric fields associated with DF propagation are known to reflect and accelerate ambient ions. Moreover, a wide range of waves is observed within/near these fronts, the electric field fluctuations being dominated by the lower hybrid drift (LHD) instability. Here we investigate the potential role of these waves in the further acceleration of ambient ions. We use a LHD wave emission profile superimposed on the leading edge of a two-dimensional model profile of a DF and a test particle approach. We show that LHD waves with realistic amplitudes can significantly increase the upper limit of energies gained by ions. Wave-particle interaction near the front is more effective in producing superthermal ions than in increasing the flux of thermal ions. Comparison of test particle simulations and Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms observations show that ion acceleration by LHD waves is more important for slower DFs.

Internally electrodynamic particle model: Its experimental basis and its predictions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zheng-Johansson, J. X., E-mail: jxzj@iofpr.or

2010-03-15

The internally electrodynamic (IED) particle model was derived based on overall experimental observations, with the IED process itself being built directly on three experimental facts: (a) electric charges present with all material particles, (b) an accelerated charge generates electromagnetic waves according to Maxwell's equations and Planck energy equation, and (c) source motion produces Doppler effect. A set of well-known basic particle equations and properties become predictable based on first principles solutions for the IED process; several key solutions achieved are outlined, including the de Broglie phase wave, de Broglie relations, Schroedinger equation, mass, Einstein mass-energy relation, Newton's law of gravity,more » single particle self interference, and electromagnetic radiation and absorption; these equations and properties have long been broadly experimentally validated or demonstrated. A conditioned solution also predicts the Doebner-Goldin equation which emerges to represent a form of long-sought quantum wave equation including gravity. A critical review of the key experiments is given which suggests that the IED process underlies the basic particle equations and properties not just sufficiently but also necessarily.« less

Internally electrodynamic particle model: Its experimental basis and its predictions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng-Johansson, J. X.

2010-03-01

The internally electrodynamic (IED) particle model was derived based on overall experimental observations, with the IED process itself being built directly on three experimental facts: (a) electric charges present with all material particles, (b) an accelerated charge generates electromagnetic waves according to Maxwell’s equations and Planck energy equation, and (c) source motion produces Doppler effect. A set of well-known basic particle equations and properties become predictable based on first principles solutions for the IED process; several key solutions achieved are outlined, including the de Broglie phase wave, de Broglie relations, Schrödinger equation, mass, Einstein mass-energy relation, Newton’s law of gravity, single particle self interference, and electromagnetic radiation and absorption; these equations and properties have long been broadly experimentally validated or demonstrated. A conditioned solution also predicts the Doebner-Goldin equation which emerges to represent a form of long-sought quantum wave equation including gravity. A critical review of the key experiments is given which suggests that the IED process underlies the basic particle equations and properties not just sufficiently but also necessarily.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pang, Xiaoying; Rybarcyk, Larry

HPSim is a GPU-accelerated online multi-particle beam dynamics simulation tool for ion linacs. It was originally developed for use on the Los Alamos 800-MeV proton linac. It is a “z-code” that contains typical linac beam transport elements. The linac RF-gap transformation utilizes transit-time-factors to calculate the beam acceleration therein. The space-charge effects are computed using the 2D SCHEFF (Space CHarge EFFect) algorithm, which calculates the radial and longitudinal space charge forces for cylindrically symmetric beam distributions. Other space- charge routines to be incorporated include the 3D PICNIC and a 3D Poisson solver. HPSim can simulate beam dynamics in drift tubemore » linacs (DTLs) and coupled cavity linacs (CCLs). Elliptical superconducting cavity (SC) structures will also be incorporated into the code. The computational core of the code is written in C++ and accelerated using the NVIDIA CUDA technology. Users access the core code, which is wrapped in Python/C APIs, via Pythons scripts that enable ease-of-use and automation of the simulations. The overall linac description including the EPICS PV machine control parameters is kept in an SQLite database that also contains calibration and conversion factors required to transform the machine set points into model values used in the simulation.« less

Fake ballistics and real explosions: field-scale experiments on the ejection and emplacement of volcanic bombs during vent-clearing explosive activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taddeucci, J.; Valentine, G.; Gaudin, D.; Graettinger, A. H.; Lube, G.; Kueppers, U.; Sonder, I.; White, J. D.; Ross, P.; Bowman, D. C.

2013-12-01

Ballistics - bomb-sized pyroclasts that travel from volcanic source to final emplacement position along ballistic trajectories - represent a prime source of volcanic hazard, but their emplacement range, size, and density is useful to inverse model key eruption parameters related to their initial ejection velocity. Models and theory, however, have so far focused on the trajectory of ballistics after leaving the vent, neglecting the complex dynamics of their initial acceleration phase in the vent/conduit. Here, we use field-scale buried explosion experiments to study the ground-to-ground ballistic emplacement of particles through their entire acceleration-deceleration cycle. Twelve blasts were performed at the University at Buffalo Large Scale Experimental Facility with a range of scaled depths (burial depth divided by the cubic root of the energy of the explosive charge) and crater configurations. In all runs, ballistic analogs were placed on the ground surface at variable distance from the vertical projection of the buried charge, resulting in variable ejection angle. The chosen analogs are tennis and ping-pong balls filled with different materials, covering a limited range of sizes and densities. The analogs are tracked in multiple high-speed and high-definition videos, while Particle Image Velocimetry is used to detail ground motion in response to the buried blasts. In addition, after each blast the emplacement position of all analog ballistics was mapped with respect to the blast location. Preliminary results show the acceleration history of ballistics to be quite variable, from very short and relatively simple acceleration coupled with ground motion, to more complex, multi-stage accelerations possibly affected not only by the initial ground motion but also by variable coupling with the gas-particle mixture generated by the blasts. Further analysis of the experimental results is expected to provide new interpretative tools for ballistic deposits and better hazard assessment, with particular emphasis for the case of vent-opening eruptions driven by explosive gas expansion beneath loose debris.

Adding high time resolution to charge-state-specific ion energy measurements for pulsed copper vacuum arc plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Koichi; Han, Liang; Zhou, Xue; Anders, André

2015-08-01

Charge-state-resolved ion energy-time distributions of pulsed Cu arc plasma were obtained by using direct (time-dependent) acquisition of the ion detection signal from a commercial ion mass-per-charge and energy-per-charge analyzer. We find a shift of energies of Cu2+, Cu3+ and Cu4+ ions to lower values during the first few hundred microseconds after arc ignition, which is evidence for particle collisions in the plasma. The generation of Cu+ ions in the later part of the pulse, measured by the increase of Cu+ signal intensity and an associated slight reduction of the mean charge state, points to charge exchange reactions between ions and neutrals. At the very beginning of the pulse, when the plasma expands into vacuum and the plasma potential strongly fluctuates, ions with much higher energy (over 200 eV) are observed. Early in the pulse, the ion energies observed are approximately proportional to the ion charge state, and we conclude that the acceleration mechanism is primarily based on acceleration in an electric field. This field is directed away from the cathode, indicative of a potential hump. Measurements by a floating probe suggest that potential structures travel, and ions moving in the traveling field can gain high energies up to a few hundred electron-volts. Later in the pulse, the approximate proportionality is lost, which is related to increased smearing out of different energies due to collisions with neutrals, and/or to a change of the acceleration character from electrostatic to ‘gas-dynamic’, i.e. dominated by pressure gradient.

SSS-A spacecraft and experiment description.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Longanecker, G. W.; Hoffman, R. A.

1973-01-01

The scientific objectives of the Explorer-45 mission are discussed. The primary objective is the study of the ring current responsible for the main phase of magnetic storms. Closely associated with this objective is the determination of the relationship between magnetic storms, substorms, and the acceleration of charged particles in the magnetosphere. Further objectives are the measurement of a wide range of proton, electron and alpha-particle energies, and studies of wave-particle interactions responsible for particle transport and loss in the inner magnetosphere. The orbital parameters, the spacecraft itself, and some of its unique features, such as the data handling system, which is programmable from the ground, are described.

Radio imaging of the very-high-energy gamma-ray emission region in the central engine of a radio galaxy.

PubMed

Acciari, V A; Aliu, E; Arlen, T; Bautista, M; Beilicke, M; Benbow, W; Bradbury, S M; Buckley, J H; Bugaev, V; Butt, Y; Byrum, K; Cannon, A; Celik, O; Cesarini, A; Chow, Y C; Ciupik, L; Cogan, P; Cui, W; Dickherber, R; Fegan, S J; Finley, J P; Fortin, P; Fortson, L; Furniss, A; Gall, D; Gillanders, G H; Grube, J; Guenette, R; Gyuk, G; Hanna, D; Holder, J; Horan, D; Hui, C M; Humensky, T B; Imran, A; Kaaret, P; Karlsson, N; Kieda, D; Kildea, J; Konopelko, A; Krawczynski, H; Krennrich, F; Lang, M J; LeBohec, S; Maier, G; McCann, A; McCutcheon, M; Millis, J; Moriarty, P; Ong, R A; Otte, A N; Pandel, D; Perkins, J S; Petry, D; Pohl, M; Quinn, J; Ragan, K; Reyes, L C; Reynolds, P T; Roache, E; Roache, E; Rose, H J; Schroedter, M; Sembroski, G H; Smith, A W; Swordy, S P; Theiling, M; Toner, J A; Varlotta, A; Vincent, S; Wakely, S P; Ward, J E; Weekes, T C; Weinstein, A; Williams, D A; Wissel, S; Wood, M; Walker, R C; Davies, F; Hardee, P E; Junor, W; Ly, C; Aharonian, F; Akhperjanian, A G; Anton, G; Barres de Almeida, U; Bazer-Bachi, A R; Becherini, Y; Behera, B; Bernlöhr, K; Bochow, A; Boisson, C; Bolmont, J; Borrel, V; Brucker, J; Brun, F; Brun, P; Bühler, R; Bulik, T; Büsching, I; Boutelier, T; Chadwick, P M; Charbonnier, A; Chaves, R C G; Cheesebrough, A; Chounet, L-M; Clapson, A C; Coignet, G; Dalton, M; Daniel, M K; Davids, I D; Degrange, B; Deil, C; Dickinson, H J; Djannati-Ataï, A; Domainko, W; Drury, L O'C; Dubois, F; Dubus, G; Dyks, J; Dyrda, M; Egberts, K; Emmanoulopoulos, D; Espigat, P; Farnier, C; Feinstein, F; Fiasson, A; Förster, A; Fontaine, G; Füssling, M; Gabici, S; Gallant, Y A; Gérard, L; Gerbig, D; Giebels, B; Glicenstein, J F; Glück, B; Goret, P; Göhring, D; Hauser, D; Hauser, M; Heinz, S; Heinzelmann, G; Henri, G; Hermann, G; Hinton, J A; Hoffmann, A; Hofmann, W; Holleran, M; Hoppe, S; Horns, D; Jacholkowska, A; de Jager, O C; Jahn, C; Jung, I; Katarzyński, K; Katz, U; Kaufmann, S; Kendziorra, E; Kerschhaggl, M; Khangulyan, D; Khélifi, B; Keogh, D; Kluźniak, W; Kneiske, T; Komin, Nu; Kosack, K; Lamanna, G; Lenain, J-P; Lohse, T; Marandon, V; Martin, J M; Martineau-Huynh, O; Marcowith, A; Maurin, D; McComb, T J L; Medina, M C; Moderski, R; Moulin, E; Naumann-Godo, M; de Naurois, M; Nedbal, D; Nekrassov, D; Nicholas, B; Niemiec, J; Nolan, S J; Ohm, S; Olive, J-F; de Oña Wilhelmi, E; Orford, K J; Ostrowski, M; Panter, M; Paz Arribas, M; Pedaletti, G; Pelletier, G; Petrucci, P-O; Pita, S; Pühlhofer, G; Punch, M; Quirrenbach, A; Raubenheimer, B C; Raue, M; Rayner, S M; Renaud, M; Rieger, F; Ripken, J; Rob, L; Rosier-Lees, S; Rowell, G; Rudak, B; Rulten, C B; Ruppel, J; Sahakian, V; Santangelo, A; Schlickeiser, R; Schöck, F M; Schröder, R; Schwanke, U; Schwarzburg, S; Schwemmer, S; Shalchi, A; Sikora, M; Skilton, J L; Sol, H; Spangler, D; Stawarz, Ł; Steenkamp, R; Stegmann, C; Stinzing, F; Superina, G; Szostek, A; Tam, P H; Tavernet, J-P; Terrier, R; Tibolla, O; Tluczykont, M; van Eldik, C; Vasileiadis, G; Venter, C; Venter, L; Vialle, J P; Vincent, P; Vivier, M; Völk, H J; Volpe, F; Wagner, S J; Ward, M; Zdziarski, A A; Zech, A; Anderhub, H; Antonelli, L A; Antoranz, P; Backes, M; Baixeras, C; Balestra, S; Barrio, J A; Bastieri, D; Becerra González, J; Becker, J K; Bednarek, W; Berger, K; Bernardini, E; Biland, A; Bock, R K; Bonnoli, G; Bordas, P; Borla Tridon, D; Bosch-Ramon, V; Bose, D; Braun, I; Bretz, T; Britvitch, I; Camara, M; Carmona, E; Commichau, S; Contreras, J L; Cortina, J; Costado, M T; Covino, S; Curtef, V; Dazzi, F; De Angelis, A; De Cea del Pozo, E; Delgado Mendez, C; De los Reyes, R; De Lotto, B; De Maria, M; De Sabata, F; Dominguez, A; Dorner, D; Doro, M; Elsaesser, D; Errando, M; Ferenc, D; Fernández, E; Firpo, R; Fonseca, M V; Font, L; Galante, N; García López, R J; Garczarczyk, M; Gaug, M; Goebel, F; Hadasch, D; Hayashida, M; Herrero, A; Hildebrand, D; Höhne-Mönch, D; Hose, J; Hsu, C C; Jogler, T; Kranich, D; La Barbera, A; Laille, A; Leonardo, E; Lindfors, E; Lombardi, S; Longo, F; López, M; Lorenz, E; Majumdar, P; Maneva, G; Mankuzhiyil, N; Mannheim, K; Maraschi, L; Mariotti, M; Martínez, M; Mazin, D; Meucci, M; Miranda, J M; Mirzoyan, R; Miyamoto, H; Moldón, J; Moles, M; Moralejo, A; Nieto, D; Nilsson, K; Ninkovic, J; Oya, I; Paoletti, R; Paredes, J M; Pasanen, M; Pascoli, D; Pauss, F; Pegna, R G; Perez-Torres, M A; Persic, M; Peruzzo, L; Prada, F; Prandini, E; Puchades, N; Reichardt, I; Rhode, W; Ribó, M; Rico, J; Rissi, M; Robert, A; Rügamer, S; Saggion, A; Saito, T Y; Salvati, M; Sanchez-Conde, M; Satalecka, K; Scalzotto, V; Scapin, V; Schweizer, T; Shayduk, M; Shore, S N; Sidro, N; Sierpowska-Bartosik, A; Sillanpää, A; Sitarek, J; Sobczynska, D; Spanier, F; Stamerra, A; Stark, L S; Takalo, L; Tavecchio, F; Temnikov, P; Tescaro, D; Teshima, M; Torres, D F; Turini, N; Vankov, H; Wagner, R M; Zabalza, V; Zandanel, F; Zanin, R; Zapatero, J

2009-07-24

The accretion of matter onto a massive black hole is believed to feed the relativistic plasma jets found in many active galactic nuclei (AGN). Although some AGN accelerate particles to energies exceeding 10(12) electron volts and are bright sources of very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission, it is not yet known where the VHE emission originates. Here we report on radio and VHE observations of the radio galaxy Messier 87, revealing a period of extremely strong VHE gamma-ray flares accompanied by a strong increase of the radio flux from its nucleus. These results imply that charged particles are accelerated to very high energies in the immediate vicinity of the black hole.

Electron-Scale Measurements of Magnetic Reconnection in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burch, J. L.; Torbert, R. B.; Phan, T. D.; Chen, L.-J.; Moore, T. E.; Ergun, R. E.; Eastwood, J. P.; Gershman, D. J.; Cassak, P. A.; Argall, M. R.;

The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility for education and advanced diagnostics development for OMEGA, Z and the NIF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrasso, R.; Gatu Johnson, M.; Armstrong, E.; Han, H. W.; Kabadi, N.; Lahmann, B.; Orozco, D.; Rojas Herrera, J.; Sio, H.; Sutcliffe, G.; Frenje, J.; Li, C. K.; Séguin, F. H.; Leeper, R.; Ruiz, C. L.; Sangster, T. C.

2015-11-01

The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility utilizes a 135-keV linear electrostatic ion accelerator, a D-T neutron source and two x-ray sources for development and characterization of nuclear diagnostics for OMEGA, Z, and the NIF. The ion accelerator generates D-D and D-3He fusion products through acceleration of D ions onto a 3He-doped Erbium-Deuteride target. Fusion reaction rates around 106 s-1 are routinely achieved, and fluence and energy of the fusion products have been accurately characterized. The D-T neutron source generates up to 6 × 108 neutrons/s. The two x-ray generators produce spectra with peak energies of 35 keV and 225 keV and maximum dose rates of 0.5 Gy/min and 12 Gy/min, respectively. Diagnostics developed and calibrated at this facility include CR-39 based charged-particle spectrometers, neutron detectors, and the particle Time-Of-Flight (pTOF) and Magnetic PTOF CVD-diamond-based bang time detectors. The accelerator is also a vital tool in the education of graduate and undergraduate students at MIT. This work was supported in part by SNL, DOE, LLE and LLNL.

Space-Charge Waves and Instabilities in Intense Beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J. G.

1997-11-01

Advancced accelerator applications, such as drivers for heavy ion inertial fusion, high-intensity synchrotrons for spallation neutron sources, high energy boosters, free electron lasers, high-power microwave generators, etc., require ever-increasing beam intensity. An important beam dynamics issue in such beams is the collective behavior of charged particles due to their space charge effects. This includes the phenomena of space-charge waves and instabilities excited on beams by external perturbations. It is very crucial to fully understand these phenomena in order to develop advanced accelerators for various applications. At the University of Maryland we have been conducting experimental programs to study space-charge waves and longitudinal instabilities by employing low-energy, high-current, space-charge dominated electron beams. Localized perturbations on the beams are generated from a gridded electron gun. In a conducting transport channel focused by short solenoids, these perturbations evolve into space-charge waves propagating on the beams. The wave speed is measured and many beam parameters are determined with this technique. The reflection of space-charge waves at the shoulder of an initially rectangular beam bunch is also observed. In a resistive-wall channel focused by a uniform long solenoid, the space-charge waves suffer longitudinal instability. The properties of the instabilities are studied in detail in the long wavelength range. In this talk we review our experimental results on the waves and instabilities and compare with theory.

DEAD ZONE IN THE POLAR-CAP ACCELERATOR OF PULSARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Alexander Y.; Beloborodov, Andrei M.

We study plasma flows above pulsar polar caps using time-dependent simulations of plasma particles in the self-consistent electric field. The flow behavior is controlled by the dimensionless parameter {alpha} = j/c{rho}{sub GJ}, where j is the electric current density and {rho}{sub GJ} is the Goldreich-Julian charge density. The region of the polar cap where 0 < {alpha} < 1 is a {sup d}ead zone{sup -}in this zone, particle acceleration is inefficient and pair creation is not expected even for young, rapidly rotating pulsars. Pulsars with polar caps near the rotation axis are predicted to have a hollow-cone structure of radiomore » emission, as the dead zone occupies the central part of the polar cap. Our results apply to charge-separated flows of electrons (j < 0) or ions (j > 0). In the latter case, we consider the possibility of a mixed flow consisting of different ion species, and observe the development of two-stream instability. The dead zone at the polar cap is essential for the development of an outer gap near the null surface {rho}{sub GJ} = 0.« less

Mechanism for the acceleration and ejection of dust grains from Jupiter's magnetosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horanyi, M.; Morfill, G.; Gruen, E.

1993-01-01

The Ulysses mission detected quasi-periodic streams of high-velocity submicron-sized dust particles during its encounter with Jupiter. It is shown here how the dust events could result from the acceleration and subsequent ejection of small grains by Jupiter's magnetosphere. Dust grains entering the plasma environment of the magnetosphere become charged, with the result that their motion is then determined by both electromagnetic and gravitational forces. This process is modeled, and it is found that only those particles in a certain size range gain sufficient energy to escape the Jovian system. Moreover, if Io is assumed to be the source of the dust grains, its location in geographic and geomagnetic coordinates determines the exit direction of the escaping particles, providing a possible explanation for the observed periodicities. The calculated mass and velocity range of the escaping dust gains are consistent with the Ulysses findings.

Perfectly matched layers in a divergence preserving ADI scheme for electromagnetics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kraus, C.; ETH Zurich, Chair of Computational Science, 8092 Zuerich; Adelmann, A., E-mail: andreas.adelmann@psi.ch

For numerical simulations of highly relativistic and transversely accelerated charged particles including radiation fast algorithms are needed. While the radiation in particle accelerators has wavelengths in the order of 100 {mu}m the computational domain has dimensions roughly five orders of magnitude larger resulting in very large mesh sizes. The particles are confined to a small area of this domain only. To resolve the smallest scales close to the particles subgrids are envisioned. For reasons of stability the alternating direction implicit (ADI) scheme by Smithe et al. [D.N. Smithe, J.R. Cary, J.A. Carlsson, Divergence preservation in the ADI algorithms for electromagnetics,more » J. Comput. Phys. 228 (2009) 7289-7299] for Maxwell equations has been adopted. At the boundary of the domain absorbing boundary conditions have to be employed to prevent reflection of the radiation. In this paper we show how the divergence preserving ADI scheme has to be formulated in perfectly matched layers (PML) and compare the performance in several scenarios.« less

NASA missions studies magnetic space explosions

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Every day, invisible magnetic explosions are happening around Earth, on the surface of the sun and across the universe. These explosions, known as magnetic reconnection, occur when magnetic field lines cross, releasing stored magnetic energy. Such explosions are a key way that clouds of charged particles — plasmas — are accelerated throughout the universe. In Earth’s magnetosphere — the giant magnetic bubble surrounding our planet — these magnetic reconnections can fling charged particles toward Earth, triggering auroras. Read more: go.nasa.gov/2mnMtDm Video caption - In this simulation, a reconnection even pushes a blob of plasma toward Earth. The jet blown in the opposite direction wobbles due to the unstable conditions. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Yi-Hsin Liu/Joy Ng, producer

Mitigating chromatic effects for the transverse focusing of intense charged particle beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitrani, James; Kaganovich, Igor; Davidson, Ronald

2013-09-01

A final focusing scheme designed to minimize chromatic effects is discussed. Solenoids are often used for transverse focusing in accelerator systems that require a charged particle beam with a small focal spot and/or large energy density A sufficiently large spread in axial momentum will reduce the effectiveness of transverse focusing, and result in chromatic effects on the final focal spot. Placing a weaker solenoid upstream of a stronger final focusing solenoid (FFS) mitigates chromatic effects on transverse beam focusing. J.M. Mitrani et al., Nucl. Inst. Meth. Phys. Res. A (2013) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2013.05.09 This work was supported by DOE contract DE-AC02-09CH11466.

Modeling of the charge-state separation at ITEP experimental facility for material science based on a Bernas ion source.

PubMed

Barminova, H Y; Saratovskyh, M S

2016-02-01

The experiment automation system is supposed to be developed for experimental facility for material science at ITEP, based on a Bernas ion source. The program CAMFT is assumed to be involved into the program of the experiment automation. CAMFT is developed to simulate the intense charged particle bunch motion in the external magnetic fields with arbitrary geometry by means of the accurate solution of the particle motion equation. Program allows the consideration of the bunch intensity up to 10(10) ppb. Preliminary calculations are performed at ITEP supercomputer. The results of the simulation of the beam pre-acceleration and following turn in magnetic field are presented for different initial conditions.

Modeling of the charge-state separation at ITEP experimental facility for material science based on a Bernas ion source

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barminova, H. Y., E-mail: barminova@bk.ru; Saratovskyh, M. S.

2016-02-15

The experiment automation system is supposed to be developed for experimental facility for material science at ITEP, based on a Bernas ion source. The program CAMFT is assumed to be involved into the program of the experiment automation. CAMFT is developed to simulate the intense charged particle bunch motion in the external magnetic fields with arbitrary geometry by means of the accurate solution of the particle motion equation. Program allows the consideration of the bunch intensity up to 10{sup 10} ppb. Preliminary calculations are performed at ITEP supercomputer. The results of the simulation of the beam pre-acceleration and following turnmore » in magnetic field are presented for different initial conditions.« less

Results of heavy ion radiotherapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Castro, J.R.

1994-04-01

The potential of heavy ion therapy for clinical use in cancer therapy stems from the biological parameters of heavy charged particles, and their precise dose localization. Biologically, carbon, neon and other heavy ion beams (up to about silicon) are clinically useful in overcoming the radioresistance of hypoxic tumors, thus increasing biological effectiveness relative to low-LET x-ray or electron beams. Cells irradiated by heavy ions show less variation in cell-cycle related radiosensitivity and decreased repair of radiation injury. The physical parameters of these heavy charged particles allow precise delivery of high radiation doses to tumors while minimizing irradiation of normal tissues.more » Clinical use requires close interaction between radiation oncologists, medical physicists, accelerator physicists, engineers, computer scientists and radiation biologists.« less

The "Alfvén" proposal for the European Space Agency M5 Mission Call

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berthomier, M.; Fazakerley, A. N.

2017-12-01

The Alfvén mission objective is to elucidate the particle acceleration processes and their consequences for electromagnetic radiation and energy transport in strongly magnetised plasmas. The Earth's Auroral Acceleration Region is a unique laboratory for investigating these processes. The only way to distinguish between the models describing acceleration processes at the heart of Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling is to combine high-time resolution in situ measurements (as pioneered by FAST), multi-point measurements (as pioneered by CLUSTER), and auroral arc imaging in one mission. Charged particle acceleration in strongly magnetized plasmas requires the conversion of electromagnetic energy into magnetic-field-aligned particle kinetic energy. Alfvén will measure for the first time the occurrence and distribution of small scale parallel electric fields in space and time. In order to determine the relative efficiency of the different conversion mechanisms, Alfvén will also measure the corresponding particle energy fluxes locally and into the aurora. Alfvén will discover how electromagnetic radiation is generated in the acceleration region and how it escapes. Alfvén will make key measurements of Auroral Kilometric Radiation needed to test competing models of wave generation, mode conversion and escape from their source region. These will reveal the mode conversion processes and which information is ultimately carried by the polarization of radio waves reaching free space. Alfvén will discover the global impact of particle acceleration on the dynamic coupling between a magnetized object and its plasma environment. Dual spacecraft measurements offer the unique opportunity to unambiguously determine which part of the energy flowing into the ionosphere is eventually dissipated in this collisional plasma and which part is transmitted to outflowing ions of ionospheric origin. The Alfvén mission design involves use of two simple identical spacecraft, a comprehensive suite of inter-calibrated particles and fields instruments, cutting edge auroral imaging, easily accessible orbits that frequently visit the region of scientific interest and straightforward operations.

Plasma block acceleration based upon the interaction between double targets and an ultra-intense linearly polarized laser pulse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yanxia; Wang, Jiaxiang; Hora, Heinrich; Qi, Xin; Xing, Yifan; Yang, Lei; Zhu, Wenjun

2018-04-01

A new scheme of plasma block acceleration based upon the interaction between double targets and an ultra-intense linearly polarized laser pulse with intensity I ˜ 1022 W/cm2 is investigated via two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The targets are composed of a pre-target of low-density aluminium plasma and an overdense main-target of hydrogen plasma. Through intensive parameter optimization, we have observed highly efficient plasma block accelerations with a monochromatic proton beam peaked at GeVs. The underlying mechanism is attributed to the enhancement of the charge separation field due to the properly selected pre-target.

Ring-like spatial distribution of laser accelerated protons in the ultra-high-contrast TNSA-regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker, G. A.; Tietze, S.; Keppler, S.; Reislöhner, J.; Bin, J. H.; Bock, L.; Brack, F.-E.; Hein, J.; Hellwing, M.; Hilz, P.; Hornung, M.; Kessler, A.; Kraft, S. D.; Kuschel, S.; Liebetrau, H.; Ma, W.; Polz, J.; Schlenvoigt, H.-P.; Schorcht, F.; Schwab, M. B.; Seidel, A.; Zeil, K.; Schramm, U.; Zepf, M.; Schreiber, J.; Rykovanov, S.; Kaluza, M. C.

2018-05-01

The spatial distribution of protons accelerated from submicron-thick plastic foil targets using multi-terawatt, frequency-doubled laser pulses with ultra-high temporal contrast has been investigated experimentally. A very stable, ring-like beam profile of the accelerated protons, oriented around the target’s normal direction has been observed. The ring’s opening angle has been found to decrease with increasing foil thicknesses. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations reproduce our results indicating that the ring is formed during the expansion of the proton density distribution into the vacuum as described by the mechanism of target-normal sheath acceleration. Here—in addition to the longitudinal electric fields responsible for the forward acceleration of the protons—a lateral charge separation leads to transverse field components accelerating the protons in the lateral direction.

Ion sources for electric propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stuhlinger, E.

1971-01-01

Ion systems, which accelerate ions of Cs, Hg, or colloid particles by electrostatic fields, are furthest advanced and ready for application. Four kinds of ion sources have been developed: The contact ionization source for Cs as propellants, the electron bombardment source for Cs or Hg, the RF ionization source for Hg, and the hollow needle spray nozzle for colloidal glycerol particles. In each case, the ion beam must be neutralized by injection of electrons shortly behind the exit orifice to avoid adverse space charge effects.

Solar High-energy Astrophysical Plasmas Explorer (SHAPE). Volume 1: Proposed concept, statement of work and cost plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dennis, Brian R.; Martin, Franklin D.; Prince, T.; Lin, R.; Bruner, M.; Culhane, L.; Ramaty, R.; Doschek, G.; Emslie, G.; Lingenfelter, R.

1986-01-01

The concept of the Solar High-Energy Astrophysical Plasmas Explorer (SHAPE) is studied. The primary goal is to understand the impulsive release of energy, efficient acceleration of particles to high energies, and rapid transport of energy. Solar flare studies are the centerpieces of the investigation because in flares these high energy processes can be studied in unmatched detail at most wavelenth regions of the electromagnetic spectrum as well as in energetic charged particles and neutrons.

Investigation of ionization-induced electron injection in a wakefield driven by laser inside a gas cell

DOE PAGES

Audet, T. L.; Hansson, M.; Lee, P.; ...

2016-02-16

Ionization-induced electron injection was investigated experimentally by focusing a driving laser pulse with a maximum normalized potential of 1.2 at different positions along the plasma density profile inside a gas cell, filled with a gas mixture composed of 99%H 2+1%N 2. Changing the laser focus position relative to the gas cell entrance controls the accelerated electron bunch properties, such as the spectrum width, maximum energy, and accelerated charge. Simulations performed using the 3D particle-in-cell code WARP with a realistic density profile give results that are in good agreement with the experimental ones. Lastly, we discuss the interest of this regimemore » for optimizing the bunch charge in a selected energy window.« less

Study of Proton cutoffs during geomagnetically disturbed times

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanekal, S. G.; Looper, M. D.; Baker, D. N.; Blake, J. B.

2005-12-01

It is currently believed that solar energetic particles (SEP) may be accelerated at solar flares and/or at interplanetary shocks driven by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). CMEs also cause intense geomagnetic storms during which the geomagnetic field can be highly distorted.SEP fluxes penetrate the terrestrial magnetosphere and reach specific regions depending upon the geomagnetic field configuration. The cutoff latitude is a well defined latitude below which a charged particle of a given rigidity (momentum per unit charge) arriving from a given direction cannot penetrate. SEP cutoff location can therefore be potentially useful in determining the geomagnetic field configuration. This paper reports on the measurements of solar energetic proton cutoffs made by two satellites, SAMPEX and Polar during geomagnetically disturbed times. We study select SEP events and compare our measurements with cutoffs calculated by a charged particle tracing code which utilizes several currently used models of the geomagnetic field. The measured SEP proton cutoffs cover a wide range of rigidities and are obtained at high-altitudes by the HIST detector onboard Polar and at low-altitudes by the PET detctor onboard SAMPEX.

Particle Tracing Modeling with SHIELDS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woodroffe, J. R.; Brito, T. V.; Jordanova, V. K.

2017-12-01

The near-Earth inner magnetosphere, where most of the nation's civilian and military space assets operate, is an extremely hazardous region of the space environment which poses major risks to our space infrastructure. Failure of satellite subsystems or even total failure of a spacecraft can arise for a variety of reasons, some of which are related to the space environment: space weather events like single-event-upsets and deep dielectric charging caused by high energy particles, or surface charging caused by low to medium energy particles; other space hazards are collisions with natural or man-made space debris, or intentional hostile acts. A recently funded project through the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program aims at developing a new capability to understand, model, and predict Space Hazards Induced near Earth by Large Dynamic Storms, the SHIELDS framework. The project goals are to understand the dynamics of the surface charging environment (SCE), the hot (keV) electrons on both macro- and microscale. These challenging problems are addressed using a team of world-class experts and state-of-the-art physics-based models and computational facilities. We present first results of a coupled BATS-R-US/RAM-SCB/Particle Tracing Model to evaluate particle fluxes in the inner magnetosphere. We demonstrate that this setup is capable of capturing the earthward particle acceleration process resulting from dipolarization events in the tail region of the magnetosphere.

Technical Design Report for the FACET-II Project at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None, None

Electrons can “surf” on waves of plasma – a hot gas of charged particles – gaining very high energies in very short distances. This approach, called plasma wakefield acceleration, has the potential to dramatically shrink the size and cost of particle accelerators. Research at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has demonstrated that plasmas can provide 1,000 times the acceleration in a given distance compared with current technologies. Developing revolutionary and more efficient acceleration techniques that allow for an affordable high-energy collider has been the focus of FACET, a National User Facility at SLAC. FACET used part of SLAC’s two-mile-long linearmore » accelerator to generate high-density beams of electrons and their antimatter counterparts, positrons. Research into plasma wakefield acceleration was the primary motivation for constructing FACET. In April 2016, FACET operations came to an end to make way for the second phase of SLAC’s x-ray laser, the LCLS-II, which will use part of the tunnel occupied by FACET. FACET-II is a new test facility to provide the unique capability to develop advanced acceleration and coherent radiation techniques with high-energy electron and positron beams. FACET-II represents a major upgrade over current FACET capabilities and the breadth of the potential research program makes it truly unique.« less

Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter (ATIC) Balloon Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wefel, John P.; Guzik, T. Gregory

2001-01-01

During grant NAG5-5064, Louisiana State University (LSU) led the ATIC team in the development, construction, testing, accelerator validation, pre-deployment integration and flight operations of the Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter (ATIC) Balloon Experiment. This involved interfacing among the ATIC collaborators (UMD, NRL/MSFC, SU, MSU, WI, SNU) to develop a new balloon payload based upon a fully active calorimeter, a carbon target, a scintillator strip hodoscope and a pixilated silicon solid state detector for a detailed investigation of the very high energy cosmic rays to energies beyond 10(exp 14) eV/nucleus. It is in this very high energy region that theory predicts changes in composition and energy spectra related to the Supernova Remnant Acceleration model for cosmic rays below the "knee" in the all-particle spectrum. This report provides a documentation list, details the anticipated ATIC science return, describes the particle detection principles on which the experiment is based, summarizes the simulation results for the system, describes the validation work at the CERN SPS accelerator and details the balloon flight configuration. The ATIC experiment had a very successful LDB flight from McMurdo, Antarctica in 12/00 - 1/01. The instrument performed well for the entire 15 days. Preliminary data analysis shows acceptable charge resolution and an all-particle power law energy deposition distribution not inconsistent with previous measurements. Detailed analysis is underway and will result in new data on the cosmic ray charge and energy spectra in the GeV - TeV energy range. ATIC is currently being refurbished in anticipation of another LDB flight in the 2002-03 period.

The propulsive capability of explosives heavily loaded with inert materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loiseau, J.; Georges, W.; Frost, D. L.; Higgins, A. J.

2018-01-01

The effect of inert dilution on the accelerating ability of high explosives for both grazing and normal detonations was studied. The explosives considered were: (1) neat, amine-sensitized nitromethane (NM), (2) packed beds of glass, steel, or tungsten particles saturated with amine-sensitized NM, (3) NM gelled with PMMA containing dispersed glass microballoons, (4) NM gelled with PMMA containing glass microballoons and steel particles, and (5) C-4 containing varying mass fractions of glass or steel particles. Flyer velocity was measured via photonic Doppler velocimetry, and the results were analysed using a Gurney model augmented to include the influence of the diluent. Reduction in accelerating ability with increasing dilution for the amine-sensitized NM, gelled NM, and C-4 was measured experimentally. Variation of flyer terminal velocity with the ratio of flyer mass to charge mass (M/C) was measured for both grazing and normally incident detonations in gelled NM containing 10% microballoons by mass and for steel beads saturated with amine-sensitized NM. Finally, flyer velocity was measured in grazing versus normal loading for a number of explosive admixtures. The augmented Gurney model predicted the effect of dilution on accelerating ability and the scaling of flyer velocity with M/C for mixtures containing low-density diluents. The augmented Gurney model failed to predict the scaling of flyer velocity with M/C for mixtures heavily loaded with dense diluents. In all cases, normally incident detonations propelled flyers to higher velocity than the equivalent grazing detonations because of material velocity imparted by the incident shock wave and momentum/energy transfer from the slapper used to uniformly initiate the charge.

The propulsive capability of explosives heavily loaded with inert materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loiseau, J.; Georges, W.; Frost, D. L.; Higgins, A. J.

2018-07-01

The effect of inert dilution on the accelerating ability of high explosives for both grazing and normal detonations was studied. The explosives considered were: (1) neat, amine-sensitized nitromethane (NM), (2) packed beds of glass, steel, or tungsten particles saturated with amine-sensitized NM, (3) NM gelled with PMMA containing dispersed glass microballoons, (4) NM gelled with PMMA containing glass microballoons and steel particles, and (5) C-4 containing varying mass fractions of glass or steel particles. Flyer velocity was measured via photonic Doppler velocimetry, and the results were analysed using a Gurney model augmented to include the influence of the diluent. Reduction in accelerating ability with increasing dilution for the amine-sensitized NM, gelled NM, and C-4 was measured experimentally. Variation of flyer terminal velocity with the ratio of flyer mass to charge mass ( M/ C) was measured for both grazing and normally incident detonations in gelled NM containing 10% microballoons by mass and for steel beads saturated with amine-sensitized NM. Finally, flyer velocity was measured in grazing versus normal loading for a number of explosive admixtures. The augmented Gurney model predicted the effect of dilution on accelerating ability and the scaling of flyer velocity with M/ C for mixtures containing low-density diluents. The augmented Gurney model failed to predict the scaling of flyer velocity with M/ C for mixtures heavily loaded with dense diluents. In all cases, normally incident detonations propelled flyers to higher velocity than the equivalent grazing detonations because of material velocity imparted by the incident shock wave and momentum/energy transfer from the slapper used to uniformly initiate the charge.

MeV electron acceleration at 1kHz with <10 mJ laser pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salehi, Fatholah; Goers, Andy; Hine, George; Feder, Linus; Kuk, Donghoon; Kim, Ki-Yong; Milchberg, Howard

2016-10-01

We demonstrate laser driven acceleration of electrons at 1 kHz repetition rate with pC charge above 1MeV per shot using < 10 mJ pulse energies focused on a near-critical density He or H2 gas jet. Using the H2 gas jet, electron acceleration to 0.5 MeV in 10 fC bunches was observed with laser pulse energy as low as 1.3mJ . Using a near-critical density gas jet sets the critical power required for relativistic self-focusing low enough for mJ scale laser pulses to self- focus and drive strong wakefields. Experiments and particle-in-cell simulations show that optimal drive pulse duration and chirp for maximum electron bunch charge and energy depends on the target gas species. High repetition rate, high charge, and short duration electron bunches driven by very modest pulse energies constitutes an ideal portable electron source for applications such as ultrafast electron diffraction experiments and high rep. rate γ-ray production. This work is supported by the US Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

The charge spectrum of positive ions in a hydrogen aurora

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lynch, J.; Pulliam, D.; Leach, R.; Scherb, F.

1976-01-01

An auroral ion charge spectrometer was flown into a hydrogen aurora on a Javelin sounding rocket launched from Churchill, Manitoba. The instrument contained an electrostatic analyzer which selected particles with incident energy per unit charge up to 20 keV/charge and an 80-kV power supply which accelerated these ions onto an array of solid state detectors. Ions tentatively identified as H(+), He(+2), and O(+) were detected from 225 to 820 km in altitude. The experiment did not discriminate between H(+) and He(+), or between O(+), N(+), and C(+). Upper limits of highly charged heavy ion abundances have been set at 20% of the He(+2) and 0.15% of the H(+). It is concluded that both terrestrial and solar wind sources play significant roles in auroral ion precipitation.

Cinematographic investigations of the explosively driven dispersion and ignition of solid particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grégoire, Y.; Sturtzer, M.-O.; Khasainov, B. A.; Veyssière, B.

2014-07-01

We present results of an experimental study of blast wave propagation and particle dispersion induced by a free-field detonation of spherical charges made of a 125 g C-4 explosive surrounded by inert or reactive particles. Visualization of the flow was performed with a high-frame-rate video camera. Background oriented Schlieren (BOS) methods were adapted to process the images that allowed the detection of the shock waves. BOS analysis also revealed that particles form agglomerates, which may generate precursor perturbations on the recorded pressure signals. While inert glass particles notably delay the shock, the combustion of aluminium particles can accelerate it, especially if they are small atomized or flaked particles. When a mixture of inert glass particles with reactive particles is dispersed, the agglomerates are formed by coalescence of both materials.

New density estimation methods for charged particle beams with applications to microbunching instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terzić, Balša; Bassi, Gabriele

2011-07-01

In this paper we discuss representations of charge particle densities in particle-in-cell simulations, analyze the sources and profiles of the intrinsic numerical noise, and present efficient methods for their removal. We devise two alternative estimation methods for charged particle distribution which represent significant improvement over the Monte Carlo cosine expansion used in the 2D code of Bassi et al. [G. Bassi, J. A. Ellison, K. Heinemann, and R. Warnock, Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 12, 080704 (2009); PRABFM1098-440210.1103/PhysRevSTAB.12.080704G. Bassi and B. Terzić, in Proceedings of the 23rd Particle Accelerator Conference, Vancouver, Canada, 2009 (IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, 2009), TH5PFP043], designed to simulate coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) in charged particle beams. The improvement is achieved by employing an alternative beam density estimation to the Monte Carlo cosine expansion. The representation is first binned onto a finite grid, after which two grid-based methods are employed to approximate particle distributions: (i) truncated fast cosine transform; and (ii) thresholded wavelet transform (TWT). We demonstrate that these alternative methods represent a staggering upgrade over the original Monte Carlo cosine expansion in terms of efficiency, while the TWT approximation also provides an appreciable improvement in accuracy. The improvement in accuracy comes from a judicious removal of the numerical noise enabled by the wavelet formulation. The TWT method is then integrated into the CSR code [G. Bassi, J. A. Ellison, K. Heinemann, and R. Warnock, Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 12, 080704 (2009)PRABFM1098-440210.1103/PhysRevSTAB.12.080704], and benchmarked against the original version. We show that the new density estimation method provides a superior performance in terms of efficiency and spatial resolution, thus enabling high-fidelity simulations of CSR effects, including microbunching instability.

Irradiation of materials with short, intense ion pulses at NDCX-II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seidl, P. A.; Barnard, J. J.; Feinberg, E.; Friedman, A.; Gilson, E. P.; Grote, D. P.; Ji, Q.; Kaganovich, I. D.; Ludewigt, B.; Persaud, A.; Sierra, C.; Silverman, M.; Stepanov, A. D.; Sulyman, A.; Treffert, F.; Waldron, W. L.; Zimmer, M.; Schenkel, T.

2017-06-01

We present an overview of the performance of the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment-II (NDCX-II) accelerator at Berkeley Lab, and report on recent target experiments on beam driven melting and transmission ion energy loss measurements with nanosecond and millimeter-scale ion beam pulses and thin tin foils. Bunches with around 10^11 ions, 1-mm radius, and 2-30 ns FWHM duration have been created with corresponding fluences in the range of 0.1 to 0.7 J/cm^2. To achieve these short pulse durations and mm-scale focal spot radii, the 1.1 MeV He+ ion beam is neutralized in a drift compression section, which removes the space charge defocusing effect during final compression and focusing. The beam space charge and drift compression techniques resemble necessary beam conditions and manipulations in heavy ion inertial fusion accelerators. Quantitative comparison of detailed particle-in-cell simulations with the experiment play an important role in optimizing accelerator performance.

A model of the normal and null states of pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, P. B.

1981-12-01

A solvable three-dimensional polar cap model of pair creation and charged particle acceleration has been derived. There are no free parameters of significance apart from the polar surface magnetic flux density. The parameter determining the acceleration potential difference has been obtained by calculation of elementary nuclear and electromagnetic processes. Solutions of the model exist for both normal and null states of a pulsar, and the instability in the normal state leading to the normal to null transition has been identified. The predicted necessary condition for the transition is entirely consistent with observation.

A model of the normal and null states of pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, P. B.

A solvable three dimensional polar cap model of pair creation and charged particle acceleration is derived. There are no free parameters of significance apart from the polar surface magnetic flux density. The parameter CO determining the acceleration potential difference was obtained by calculation of elementary nuclear and electromagnetic processes. Solutions of the model exist for both normal and null states of a pulsar, and the instability in the normal state leading to the normal to null transition is identified. The predicted necessary condition for the transition is entirely consistent with observation.

Preparation of multilayer graphene sheets and their applications for particle accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tatami, Atsushi; Tachibana, Masamitsu; Yagi, Takashi; Murakami, Mutsuaki

2018-05-01

Multilayer graphene sheets were prepared by heat treatment of polyimide films at temperatures of up to 3000 °C. The sheets consist of highly oriented graphite layers with excellent mechanical robustness and flexibility. Key features of these sheets include their high thermal conductivity in the in-plane direction, good mechanical properties, and high carbon purity. The results suggest that the multilayer graphene sheets have great potential for charge stripping foils that persist even under the highest ion beam intensities irradiation and can be used for accelerator applications.

Azimuthal ULF Structure and Radial Transport of Charged Particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, A.; Elkington, S. R.

2015-12-01

The Van Allen radiation belts contain highly energetic particles which interact with a variety of plasma and MHD waves. Waves with frequencies in the ULF range are understood to play an important role in loss and acceleration of energetic particles. There is still much to be understood about the interaction between charged particles and ULF waves in the inner magnetosphere and how they influence particle diffusion. We investigate how ULF wave power distribution in azimuth affects radial diffusion of charged particles. Analytic treatments of the diffusion coefficients generally assume uniform distribution of power in azimuth but in situ measurements suggest otherwise. The power profiles obtained from in situ measurements will be used to conduct particle simulations to see how well do the simulated diffusion coefficients agree with diffusion coefficients estimated directly from in situ measurements. We also look at the ULF wave power distribution across different modes. In order to use in situ point measurements from spacecraft, it is typically assumed that all of the wave power exists in m=1 mode. How valid is this assumption? Do higher modes contain a major fraction of the total power? If yes, then under what conditions? One strategy is to use the obtained realistic azimuthal power profiles from in situ measurements (such as from the Van Allen Probes) to drive simulations and see how the power distributions across modes larger than one depends on parameters such as the level of geomagnetic activity.

Time effect of erosion by solid particle impingement on ductile materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rao, P. V.; Buckley, D. H.

1983-01-01

Erosion and morphological studies of several metals and alloys eroded by normal impingement jets of spherical glass beads and angular crushed-glass erodent particles were conducted. Erosion morphology (the width, depth, and width-depth ratio of the pit) was studied in order to fully investigate the effect of time on erosion rate. The eroded surfaces were studied with a scanning electron microscope, and surface profiles were measured with a profilometer. A large amount of experimental data reported in the literature was also analyzed in order to understand the effect of variables such as the type of device, the erodent particle size and shape, the impact velocity, and the abrasive charge on erosion-rate-versus-time curves. In the present experiments the pit-width-versus-time or pit-depth-versus-time curves were similar to erosion-versus-time curves for glass-bead impingement. The pit-depth-rate-versus-time curves were similar to erosion-rate-versus-time curves for crushed-glass impingement. Analysis of experimental data with two forms of glass resulted in four types of erosion-rate-versus-time curves: (1) incubation, acceleration, and steady-state periods (type I), (2) incubation, acceleration, deceleration, and steady-state periods (type III), (3) incubation, acceleration, peak rate, and deceleration periods (type IV), and (4) incubation, acceleration, steady-state, and deceleration periods (type V).

High altitude observations of Birkeland currents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, C. T.

1977-01-01

Several models of field-aligned currents (Birkeland currents) in the magnetosphere are discussed, and high altitude observations of these currents, carried out with the aid of highly eccentric earth-orbiting spacecraft of the OGO and IMP series, are reviewed. The essential roles of Birkeland currents are identified: they relieve charge imbalances, transmit stresses, and lead to particle acceleration anomalous resistivity.

Nonlinear, relativistic Langmuir waves in astrophysical magnetospheres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chian, Abraham C.-L.

1987-01-01

Large amplitude, electrostatic plasma waves are relevant to physical processes occurring in the astrophysical magnetospheres wherein charged particles are accelerated to relativistic energies by strong waves emitted by pulsars, quasars, or radio galaxies. The nonlinear, relativistic theory of traveling Langmuir waves in a cold plasma is reviewed. The cases of streaming electron plasma, electronic plasma, and two-streams are discussed.

Single-particle dynamics in a nonlinear accelerator lattice: attaining a large tune spread with octupoles in IOTA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Antipov, S. A.; Nagaitsev, S.; Valishev, A.

2017-04-01

Fermilab is constructing the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) as the centerpiece of the Accelerator R&D Program towards high-intensity circular machines. One of the factors limiting the beam intensity in present circular accelerators is collective instabilities, which can be suppressed by a spread of betatron frequencies (tunes) through the Landau damping mechanism or by an external damper, if the instability is slow enough. The spread is usually created by octupole magnets, which introduce the tune dependence on the amplitude and, in some cases, by a chromatic spread (tune dependence on particle's momentum). The introduction of octupoles usually lead to amore » resonant behavior and a reduction of the dynamic aperture. One of the goals of the IOTA research program is to achieve a high betatron tune spread, while retaining a large dynamic aperture using conventional octupole magnets in a special but realistic accelerator configuration. In this report, we present results of computer simulations of an electron beam in the IOTA by particle tracking and the Frequency Map Analysis. The results show that the ring's octupole magnets can be configured to provide a betatron tune shift of 0.08 (for particles at large amplitudes) with the dynamical aperture of over 20 beam sigma for a 150-MeV electron beam. The influence of the synchrotron motion, lattice errors, and magnet imperfections is insignificant for the parameters and levels of tolerances set by the design of the ring. The described octupole insert could be beneficial for suppression of space-charge induced instabilities in high intensity machines.« less

Flat electron beam sources for DLA accelerators

DOE PAGES

Ody, A.; Musumeci, P.; Maxson, J.; ...

2016-10-26

In this study we discuss the application of the flat beam transform to generate beams suitable for injection into slab-symmetric dielectric laser-driven accelerators (DLAs). A study of the focusing requirements to keep the particles within the tight apertures characterizing these accelerators shows the benefits of employing ultralow beam emittances. The slab geometry of the many dielectric accelerating structures strongly favors the use of flat beams with large ratio between vertical and horizontal emittances. We employ particle tracking simulations to study the application of the flat beam transform for two injector designs, a DC non relativistic photogun and a 1.6 cellmore » S-band RF photoinjector, obtaining in both cases emittance ratios between the horizontal and vertical plane in excess of 100 in agreement with simple analytical estimates. The 4 MeV RF photoinjector study-case can be directly applied to the UCLA Pegasus beamline and shows normalized emittances down to < 3 nm in the vertical dimension for beam charges up to 20 fC, enabling a two-stage DLA experiment.« less

ORBIT: A Code for Collective Beam Dynamics in High-Intensity Rings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holmes, J. A.; Danilov, V.; Galambos, J.; Shishlo, A.; Cousineau, S.; Chou, W.; Michelotti, L.; Ostiguy, J.-F.; Wei, J.

2002-12-01

We are developing a computer code, ORBIT, specifically for beam dynamics calculations in high-intensity rings. Our approach allows detailed simulation of realistic accelerator problems. ORBIT is a particle-in-cell tracking code that transports bunches of interacting particles through a series of nodes representing elements, effects, or diagnostics that occur in the accelerator lattice. At present, ORBIT contains detailed models for strip-foil injection, including painting and foil scattering; rf focusing and acceleration; transport through various magnetic elements; longitudinal and transverse impedances; longitudinal, transverse, and three-dimensional space charge forces; collimation and limiting apertures; and the calculation of many useful diagnostic quantities. ORBIT is an object-oriented code, written in C++ and utilizing a scripting interface for the convenience of the user. Ongoing improvements include the addition of a library of accelerator maps, BEAMLINE/MXYZPTLK; the introduction of a treatment of magnet errors and fringe fields; the conversion of the scripting interface to the standard scripting language, Python; and the parallelization of the computations using MPI. The ORBIT code is an open source, powerful, and convenient tool for studying beam dynamics in high-intensity rings.

Acceleration of the highest energy cosmic rays through proton-neutron conversions in relativistic bulk flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Derishev, E.; Aharonian, F.

We show that, in the presence of radiation field, relativistic bulk flows can very quikly accelerate protons and electrons up to the energies limited either by Hillas criterion or by synchrotron losses. Unlike the traditional approach, we take advantage of continuous photon-induced conversion of charged particle species to neutral ones, and vice versa (proton-neutron or electron-photon). Such a conversion, though it leads to considerable energy losses, allows accelerated particles to increase their energies in each scattering by a factor roughly equal to the bulk Lorentz factor, thus avoiding the need in slow and relatively inefficient diffusive acceleration. The optical depth of accelerating region with respect to inelastic photon-induced reactions (pair production for electrons and photomeson reactions for protons) should be a substancial fraction of unity. Remarkably, self-tuning of the optical depth is automatically achieved as long as the photon density depends on the distance along the bulk flow. This mechanism can work in Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs), microquasars, or any other object with relativistic bulk flows embedded in radiation-reach environment. Both GRBs and AGNs turn out to be capable of producing 1020 eV cosmic rays.

Synergy of Stochastic and Systematic Energization of Plasmas during Turbulent Reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pisokas, Theophilos; Vlahos, Loukas; Isliker, Heinz

2018-01-01

The important characteristic of turbulent reconnection is that it combines large-scale magnetic disturbances (δ B/B∼ 1) with randomly distributed unstable current sheets (UCSs). Many well-known nonlinear MHD structures (strong turbulence, current sheet(s), shock(s)) lead asymptotically to the state of turbulent reconnection. We analyze in this article, for the first time, the energization of electrons and ions in a large-scale environment that combines large-amplitude disturbances propagating with sub-Alfvénic speed with UCSs. The magnetic disturbances interact stochastically (second-order Fermi) with the charged particles and play a crucial role in the heating of the particles, while the UCSs interact systematically (first-order Fermi) and play a crucial role in the formation of the high-energy tail. The synergy of stochastic and systematic acceleration provided by the mixture of magnetic disturbances and UCSs influences the energetics of the thermal and nonthermal particles, the power-law index, and the length of time the particles remain inside the energy release volume. We show that this synergy can explain the observed very fast and impulsive particle acceleration and the slightly delayed formation of a superhot particle population.

Trigger, an active release experiment that stimulated auroral particle precipitation and wave emissions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holmgren, G.; Bostroem, R.; Kelley, M. C.; Kintner, P. M.; Lundin, R.; Fahleson, U. V.; Bering, E. A.; Sheldon, W. R.

1979-01-01

The experiment design, including a description of the diagnostic and chemical release payload, and the general results are given for an auroral process simulation experiment. A drastic increase of the field aligned charged particle flux was observed over the approximate energy range 10 eV to more than 300 keV, starting about 150 ms after the release and lasting about one second. The is evidence of a second particle burst, starting one second after the release and lasting for tens of seconds, and evidence for a periodic train of particle bursts occurring with a 7.7 second period from 40 to 130 seconds after the release. A transient electric field pulse of 200 mv/m appeared just before the particle flux increase started. Electrostatic wave emissions around 2 kHz, as well as a delayed perturbation of the E-region below the plasma cloud were also observed. Some of the particle observations are interpreted in terms of field aligned electrostatic acceleration a few hundred kilometers above the injected plasma cloud. It is suggested that the acceleration electric field was created by an instability driven by field aligned currents originating in the plasma cloud.

An improved limit on the charge of antihydrogen from stochastic acceleration.

PubMed

Ahmadi, M; Baquero-Ruiz, M; Bertsche, W; Butler, E; Capra, A; Carruth, C; Cesar, C L; Charlton, M; Charman, A E; Eriksson, S; Evans, L T; Evetts, N; Fajans, J; Friesen, T; Fujiwara, M C; Gill, D R; Gutierrez, A; Hangst, J S; Hardy, W N; Hayden, M E; Isaac, C A; Ishida, A; Jones, S A; Jonsell, S; Kurchaninov, L; Madsen, N; Maxwell, D; McKenna, J T K; Menary, S; Michan, J M; Momose, T; Munich, J J; Nolan, P; Olchanski, K; Olin, A; Povilus, A; Pusa, P; Rasmussen, C Ø; Robicheaux, F; Sacramento, R L; Sameed, M; Sarid, E; Silveira, D M; So, C; Tharp, T D; Thompson, R I; van der Werf, D P; Wurtele, J S; Zhmoginov, A I

2016-01-21

Antimatter continues to intrigue physicists because of its apparent absence in the observable Universe. Current theory requires that matter and antimatter appeared in equal quantities after the Big Bang, but the Standard Model of particle physics offers no quantitative explanation for the apparent disappearance of half the Universe. It has recently become possible to study trapped atoms of antihydrogen to search for possible, as yet unobserved, differences in the physical behaviour of matter and antimatter. Here we consider the charge neutrality of the antihydrogen atom. By applying stochastic acceleration to trapped antihydrogen atoms, we determine an experimental bound on the antihydrogen charge, Qe, of |Q| < 0.71 parts per billion (one standard deviation), in which e is the elementary charge. This bound is a factor of 20 less than that determined from the best previous measurement of the antihydrogen charge. The electrical charge of atoms and molecules of normal matter is known to be no greater than about 10(-21)e for a diverse range of species including H2, He and SF6. Charge-parity-time symmetry and quantum anomaly cancellation demand that the charge of antihydrogen be similarly small. Thus, our measurement constitutes an improved limit and a test of fundamental aspects of the Standard Model. If we assume charge superposition and use the best measured value of the antiproton charge, then we can place a new limit on the positron charge anomaly (the relative difference between the positron and elementary charge) of about one part per billion (one standard deviation), a 25-fold reduction compared to the current best measurement.

High contrast ion acceleration at intensities exceeding 10{sup 21} Wcm{sup −2}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dollar, F.; Zulick, C.; Matsuoka, T.

2013-05-15

Ion acceleration from short pulse laser interactions at intensities of 2×10{sup 21}Wcm{sup −2} was studied experimentally under a wide variety of parameters, including laser contrast, incidence angle, and target thickness. Trends in maximum proton energy were observed, as well as evidence of improvement in the acceleration gradients by using dual plasma mirrors over traditional pulse cleaning techniques. Extremely high efficiency acceleration gradients were produced, accelerating both the contaminant layer and high charge state ions from the bulk of the target. Two dimensional particle-in-cell simulations enabled the study of the influence of scale length on submicron targets, where hydrodynamic expansion affectsmore » the rear surface as well as the front. Experimental evidence of larger electric fields for sharp density plasmas is observed in simulation results as well for such targets, where target ions are accelerated without the need for contaminant removal.« less

A new possibility of low-Z gas stripper for high power uranium beam acceleration alternative to C-foil

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Okuno, H.; Hershcovitch, A.; Fukunishi, N.

2010-09-27

The RIKEN accelerator complex started feeding the next-generation exotic beam facility RIBF (RadioIsotope Beam Factory) with heavy ion beams from 2007 after the successful commissioning at the end of 2006. Many elaborating improvements increased the intensity of the various heavy ion beams from 2007 to 2010. However, the available beam intensity especially of uranium beam is far below our goal of 1 p{micro}A (6 x 10{sup 12} particle/s). In order to achieve it, upgrade programs are well in progress, including constructions of a new 28 GHz superconducting ECR ion source and a new injector linac. However, the most serious problemmore » of the charge stripper for uranium beam is still open although many elaborating R&D works for the problems. Equilibrium charge state in gas generally is much lower than that in carbon foil due to its density-effect. But gas stripper is free from the problems originated from its lifetime and uniformity in thickness. Such merits pushed us think about low-Z gas stripper to get higher equilibrium charge state even in gas. Electron loss and capture cross section of U ion beams in He gas were measured as a function of their charge state at 11, 14 and 15 MeV/u. The extracted equilibrium charge states from the cross point of the two lines of the cross sections were promisingly higher than those in N{sub 2} gas by more than 10. The plasma window is expected to be a key technology to solve the difficulty in accumulation of such thick as about 1 mg/cm{sup 2} of low-Z gas.« less

Coherent radiation of relativistic electrons in dielectric fibers in the millimeter wavelength range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naumenko, G. A.; Potylitsyn, A. P.; Bleko, V. V.; Soboleva, V. V.

2015-02-01

The generation of visible light by a relativistic electron beam in dielectric fibers was considered in X. Artru and C. Ray, Nucl. Inst. Meth. B 309, 4 (2013), where the characteristics of radiation induced in a fiber by the electromagnetic field of a relativistic charged particle were studied and it was emphasized that they differ from those in the traditional mechanisms of radiation such as transition and diffraction. We have experimentally studied the characteristics of such a radiation in the millimeter wavelength range. It has been shown that radiation can be generated through different mechanisms depending on the geometry of the position of a fiber with respect to the trajectory of the charged particle. Fibers have been shown to be promising for nondestructive diagnostics of accelerator beams.

Downstream energetic proton and alpha particles during quasi-parallel interplanetary shock events

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tan, L. C.; Mason, G. M.; Gloeckler, G.; Ipavich, F. M.

1988-01-01

This paper considers the energetic particle populations in the downstream region of three quasi-parallel interplanetary shock events, which was explored using the ISEE 3 Ultra Low Energy Charge Analyzer sensor, which unambiguously identifies protons and alpha particles using the electrostatic deflection versus residual energy technique. The downstream particles were found to exhibit anisotropies due largely to convection in the solar wind. The spectral indices of the proton and the alpha-particle distribution functions were found to be remarkably constant during the downstream period, being generally insensitive to changes in particle flux levels, magnetic field direction, and solar wind densities. In two of the three events, the proton and the alpha spectra were the same throughout the entire downstream period, supporting the prediction of diffusive shock acceleration theory.

Optimization of a ΔE - E detector for 41Ca AMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hosoya, Seiji; Sasa, Kimikazu; Matsunaka, Tetsuya; Takahashi, Tsutomu; Matsumura, Masumi; Matsumura, Hiroshi; Sundquist, Mark; Stodola, Mark; Sueki, Keisuke

2017-09-01

A series of nuclides (14C, 26Al, and 36Cl) was measured using the 12UD Pelletron tandem accelerator before replacement by the horizontal 6 MV tandem accelerator at the University of Tsukuba Tandem Accelerator Complex (UTTAC). This paper considers the modification of the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) measurement parameters to suit the current 6 MV tandem accelerator setup (e.g., terminal voltage, detected ion charge state, gas pressure, and entrance window material in detector). The Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS) was also used to simulate AMS measurement to determine the best conditions to suppress isobaric interference. The spectra of 41Ca and 41K were then successfully separated and their nuclear spectra were identified; the system achieved a background level of 41Ca/40Ca ∼ 6 ×10-14 .

The changing role of accelerators in radiation therapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hanson, W.F.

Conventional low energy x-rays have been used in radiation therapy since the turn of the century. Van de Graaff and Betatron accelerators changed the complexion of radiation therapy in the mid 1940's by providing significantly deeper penetrating photon beams and also providing therapeutic quality electron beams. The development of Cobalt-60 teletherapy in the mid 1950's suppressed the role of accelerators in radiation therapy for nearly 20 years. However, with the development of reliable isocentric rotating linear accelerators, accelerators are rapidly becoming the most popular conventional therapy devices. Following unfavorable clinical results with fast neutron therapy in the late 1930's andmore » early 1940's, the role of cyclotron produced fast neutrons is presently experiencing a renewal in radiation therapy. Several facilities are also experimenting with heavy charged particle beams for therapy.« less

Relativistic Electron Acceleration with Ultrashort Mid-IR Laser Pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feder, Linus; Woodbury, Daniel; Shumakova, Valentina; Gollner, Claudia; Miao, Bo; Schwartz, Robert; Pugžlys, Audrius; Baltuška, Andrius; Milchberg, Howard

2017-10-01

We report the first results of laser plasma wakefield acceleration driven by ultrashort mid-infrared laser pulses (λ = 3.9 μm , pulsewidth 100 fs, energy <20 mJ, peak power <1 TW), which enables near- and above-critical density interactions with moderate-density gas jets. We present thresholds for electron acceleration based on critical parameters for relativistic self-focusing and target width, as well as trends in the accelerated beam profiles, charge and energy spectra which are supported by 3D particle-in-cell simulations. These results extend earlier work with sub-TW self-modulated laser wakefield acceleration using near IR drivers to the Mid-IR, and enable us to capture time-resolved images of relativistic self-focusing of the laser pulse. This work supported by DOE (DESC0010706TDD, DESC0015516); AFOSR(FA95501310044, FA95501610121); NSF(PHY1535519); DHS.

Computational Meso-Scale Study of Representative Unit Cubes for Inert Spheres Subject to Intense Shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, Cameron; Najjar, Fady; Stewart, D. Scott; Bdzil, John

2012-11-01

Modern-engineered high explosive (HE) materials can consist of a matrix of solid, inert particles embedded into an HE charge. When this charge is detonated, intense shock waves are generated. As these intense shocks interact with the inert particles, large deformations occur in the particles while the incident shock diffracts around the particle interface. We will present results from a series of 3-D DNS of an intense shock interacting with unit-cube configurations of inert particles embedded into nitromethane. The LLNL multi-physics massively parallel hydrodynamics code ALE3D is used to carry out high-resolution (4 million nodes) simulations. Three representative unit-cube configurations are considered: primitive cubic, face-centered and body-centered cubic for two particle material types of varying impedance ratios. Previous work has only looked at in-line particles configurations. We investigate the time evolution of the unit cell configurations, vorticity being generated by the shock interaction, as well as the velocity and acceleration of the particles until they reach the quasi-steady regime. LLNL-ABS-567694. CSS was supported by a summer internship through the HEDP program at LLNL. FMN's work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility for Diagnostic Development for OMEGA, Z, and the NIF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, C. E.; Gatu Johnson, M.; Birkel, A.; Kabadi, N. V.; Lahmann, B.; Milanese, L. M.; Simpson, R. A.; Sio, H.; Sutcliffe, G. D.; Wink, C.; Frenje, J. A.; Li, C. K.; Seguin, F. H.; Petrasso, R. D.; Leeper, R.; Ruiz, C. L.; Sangster, T. C.

2016-10-01

The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility utilizes a 135-keV linear electrostatic ion accelerator, DT and DD neutron sources, and two x-ray sources for development and characterization of nuclear diagnostics for OMEGA, Z, and the NIF. The accelerator generates DD and D3He fusion products through the acceleration of D+ ions onto a 3He-doped Erbium-Deuteride target. Accurately characterized fusion product rates of around 106 s-1 are routinely achieved. The DT and DD neutron sources generate up to 6x108, and 1x107 neutrons/s, respectively. One x-ray generator is a thick-target W source with a peak energy of 225 keV and a maximum dose rate of 12 Gy/min; the other uses Cu, Mo, or Ti elemental tubes to generate x-rays with a maximum energy of 40 keV. Diagnostics developed and calibrated at this facility include CR-39-based charged-particle spectrometers, neutron detectors, and the particle Time-Of-Flight (pTOF) and Magnetic PTOF CVD-diamond-based bang time detectors. The accelerator is also a valuable hands-on tool for graduate and undergraduate education at MIT. This work was supported in part by the U.S. DoE, SNL, LLE and LLNL.

The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility for Diagnostic Development for OMEGA, Z, and the NIF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sio, H.; Gatu Johnson, M.; Birkel, A.; Doeg, E.; Frankel, R.; Kabadi, N. V.; Lahmann, B.; Manzin, M.; Simpson, R. A.; Parker, C. E.; Sutcliffe, G. D.; Wink, C.; Frenje, J. A.; Li, C. K.; Seguin, F. H.; Petrasso, R. D.; Leeper, R.; Hahn, K.; Ruiz, C. L.; Sangster, T. C.; Hilsabeck, T.

2017-10-01

The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility utilizes a 135-keV, linear electrostatic ion accelerator; DT and DD neutron sources; and two x-ray sources for development and characterization of nuclear diagnostics for OMEGA, Z, and the NIF. The accelerator generates DD and D3He fusion products through the acceleration of D+ ions onto a 3He-doped Erbium-Deuteride target. Accurately characterized fusion product rates of around 106 s- 1 are routinely achieved. The DT and DD neutron sources generate up to 6×108 and 1×107 neutrons/s, respectively. One x-ray generator is a thick-target W source with a peak energy of 225 keV and a maximum dose rate of 12 Gy/min; the other uses Cu, Mo, or Ti elemental tubes to generate x-rays with a maximum energy of 40 keV. Diagnostics developed and calibrated at this facility include CR-39-based charged-particle spectrometers, neutron detectors, and the particle Time-Of-Flight (pTOF) and Magnetic PTOF CVD-diamond-based bang time detectors. The accelerator is also a valuable hands-on tool for graduate and undergraduate education at MIT. This work was supported in part by the U.S. DoE, SNL, LLE and LLNL.

On the retention of high-energy protons and nuclei with charges Z or equal to 2 in large solar flares after the process of their acceleration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Volodichev, N. N.; Kuzhevsky, B. M.; Nechaev, O. Y.; Savenko, I. A.

1985-01-01

Data which suggest that the protons with energies of up to several GeV should be retained on the Sun after the process of their acceleration are presented. The protons are on the average retained for 15 min, irrespectively of the solar flare heliolatitude and of the accelerated particle energy ranging from 100 MeV to several GeV. It is suggested that the particles are retained in a magnetic trap formed in a solar active region. No Z or = 2 nuclei of solar origin during large solar flares. The absence of the 500 MeV/nucleon nuclei with Z or = 2 may be due to their retention in the magnetic trap which also retains the high-energy protons. During the trapping time the approx. 500 MeV/nucleon nuclei with Z or = 2 may escape due to nuclear interactions and ionization loss.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ody, A.; Musumeci, P.; Maxson, J.

In this study we discuss the application of the flat beam transform to generate beams suitable for injection into slab-symmetric dielectric laser-driven accelerators (DLAs). A study of the focusing requirements to keep the particles within the tight apertures characterizing these accelerators shows the benefits of employing ultralow beam emittances. The slab geometry of the many dielectric accelerating structures strongly favors the use of flat beams with large ratio between vertical and horizontal emittances. We employ particle tracking simulations to study the application of the flat beam transform for two injector designs, a DC non relativistic photogun and a 1.6 cellmore » S-band RF photoinjector, obtaining in both cases emittance ratios between the horizontal and vertical plane in excess of 100 in agreement with simple analytical estimates. The 4 MeV RF photoinjector study-case can be directly applied to the UCLA Pegasus beamline and shows normalized emittances down to < 3 nm in the vertical dimension for beam charges up to 20 fC, enabling a two-stage DLA experiment.« less

Hollow-Core Photonic Band Gap Fibers for Particle Acceleration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Noble, Robert J.; Spencer, James E.; /SLAC

Photonic band gap (PBG) dielectric fibers with hollow cores are being studied both theoretically and experimentally for use as laser driven accelerator structures. The hollow core functions as both a longitudinal waveguide for the transverse-magnetic (TM) accelerating fields and a channel for the charged particles. The dielectric surrounding the core is permeated by a periodic array of smaller holes to confine the mode, forming a photonic crystal fiber in which modes exist in frequency pass-bands, separated by band gaps. The hollow core acts as a defect which breaks the crystal symmetry, and so-called defect, or trapped modes having frequencies inmore » the band gap will only propagate near the defect. We describe the design of 2-D hollow-core PBG fibers to support TM defect modes with high longitudinal fields and high characteristic impedance. Using as-built dimensions of industrially-made fibers, we perform a simulation analysis of the first prototype PBG fibers specifically designed to support speed-of-light TM modes.« less

Microbeam studies of the sensitivity of structures within living cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Braby, L. A.

1992-01-01

Determining the biological effects of low doses of radiation with high linear energy transfer (LET) is complicated by the stochastic nature of charged-particle interactions. Populations of cells exposed to very low radiation doses contain a few cells which have been hit by a charged particle, while the majority of the cells receive no radiation damage. At somewhat higher doses, a few cells receive two or more events. Because the effects of damage produced by separate events can interact in the cell, we have had to make assumptions about the nature of these interactions in order to interpret the results of the experiments. Many of those assumptions can be tested if we can be sure of the number of charged-particle events which occur in individual cells, and correlate this number with the biological effect. We have developed a special irradiation facility at Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) to control the actual number of charged particle tracks that pass through cell nuclei. The beam from a 2 MeV tandem accelerator is collimated to approximately 5 microns. Cells, grown in special dishes with 1.5 microns thick plastic bottoms, are positioned so that the desired portion of the cell aligns with the collimator. A shutter in the beam line is opened and closed after the desired number of particle tracks has been counted. This approach can be used to investigate the effects of the interaction between irradiated and unirradiated cells in an organized system, as well as to study the effects of spatial and temporal distribution of radiation damage within single cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS).

Current Sheets in Pulsar Magnetospheres and Winds: Particle Acceleration and Pulsed Gamma Ray Emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arons, Jonathan

The research proposed addresses understanding of the origin of non-thermal energy in the Universe, a subject beginning with the discovery of Cosmic Rays and continues, including the study of relativistic compact objects - neutron stars and black holes. Observed Rotation Powered Pulsars (RPPs) have rotational energy loss implying they have TeraGauss magnetic fields and electric potentials as large as 40 PetaVolts. The rotational energy lost is reprocessed into particles which manifest themselves in high energy gamma ray photon emission (GeV to TeV). Observations of pulsars from the FERMI Gamma Ray Observatory, launched into orbit in 2008, have revealed 130 of these stars (and still counting), thus demonstrating the presence of efficient cosmic accelerators within the strongly magnetized regions surrounding the rotating neutron stars. Understanding the physics of these and other Cosmic Accelerators is a major goal of astrophysical research. A new model for particle acceleration in the current sheets separating the closed and open field line regions of pulsars' magnetospheres, and separating regions of opposite magnetization in the relativistic winds emerging from those magnetopsheres, will be developed. The currents established in recent global models of the magnetosphere will be used as input to a magnetic field aligned acceleration model that takes account of the current carrying particles' inertia, generalizing models of the terrestrial aurora to the relativistic regime. The results will be applied to the spectacular new results from the FERMI gamma ray observatory on gamma ray pulsars, to probe the physics of the generation of the relativistic wind that carries rotational energy away from the compact stars, illuminating the whole problem of how compact objects can energize their surroundings. The work to be performed if this proposal is funded involves extending and developing concepts from plasma physics on dissipation of magnetic energy in thin sheets of electric current that separate regions of differing magnetization into the domain of highly relativistic magnetic fields - those with energy density large compared to the rest mass energy of the charged particles - the plasma - caught in that field. The investigators will create theoretical and computational models of the magnetic dissipation - a form of viscous flow in the thin sheets of electric current that form in the magnetized regions around the rotating stars - using Particle in-Cell plasma simulations. These simulations use a large computer to solve the equations of motion of many charged particles - millions to billions in the research that will be pursued - to unravel the dissipation of those fields and the acceleration of beams of particles in the thin sheets. The results will be incorporated into macroscopic MHD models of the magnetic structures around the stars which determine the location and strength of the current sheets, so as to model and analyze the pulsed gamma ray emission seen from hundreds of Rotation Powered Pulsars. The computational models will be assisted by ``pencil and paper'' theoretical modeling designed to motivate and interpret the computer simulations, and connect them to the observations.

Timepix Device Efficiency for Pattern Recognition of Tracks Generated by Ionizing Radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leroy, Claude; Asbah, Nedaa; Gagnon, Louis-Guilaume; Larochelle, Jean-Simon; Pospisil, Stanislav; Soueid, Paul

2014-06-01

A hybrid silicon pixelated TIMEPIX detector (256 × 256 pixels with 55 μm pitch) operated in Time Over Threshold (TOT) mode was exposed to radioactive sources (241Am, 106Ru, 137Cs), protons and alpha-particles after Rutherford Backscattering on a thin gold foil of protons and alpha-particles beams delivered by the Tandem Accelerator of Montreal University. Measurements were also performed with different mixed radiation fields of heavy charged particles (protons and alpha-particles), photons and electrons produced by simultaneous exposure of TIMEPIX to the radioactive sources and to protons beams on top of the radioactive sources. All measurements were performed in vacuum. The TOT mode of operation has allowed the direct measurement of the energy deposited in each pixel. The efficiency of track recognition with this device was tested by comparing the experimental activities (determined from number of tracks measurements) of the radioactive sources with their expected activities. The efficiency of track recognition of incident protons and alpha-particles of different energies as a function of the incidence angle was measured. The operation of TIMEPIX in TOT mode has allowed a 3D mapping of the charge sharing effect in the whole volume of the silicon sensor. The effect of the bias voltage on charge sharing was investigated as the level of charge sharing is related to the local profile of the electric field in the sensor. The results of the present measurements demonstrate the TIMEPIX capability of differentiating between different types of particles species from mixed radiation fields and measuring their energy deposition. Single track analysis gives a good precision (significantly better than the 55 μm size of one detector pixel) on the coordinates of the impact point of protons interacting in the TIMEPIX silicon layer.

PIC code modeling of spacecraft charging potential during electron beam injection into a background of neutral gas and plasma, part 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koga, J. K.; Lin, C. S.; Winglee, R. M.

1989-01-01

Injections of nonrelativistic electron beams from an isolated equipotential conductor into a uniform background of plasma and neutral gas were simulated using a 2-D electrostatic particle code. The ionization effects on spacecraft charging are examined by including interactions of electrons with neutral gas. The simulations show that the conductor charging potential decreases with increasing neutral background density due to the production of secondary electrons near the conductor surface. In the spacecraft wake, the background electrons accelerated towards the charged spacecraft produce an enhancement of secondary electrons and ions. Simulations run for longer times indicate that the spacecraft potential is further reduced and short wavelength beam-plasma oscillations appear. The results are applied to explain the spacecraft charging potential measured during the SEPAC experiments from Spacelab 1.

The attainment of large accelerating gradients using near field synchrotron radiation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Decker, G.

1989-01-01

Lienard-Wiechert potentials are used to find the electromagnetic field everywhere in free space resulting from a point charge moving on a helical trajectory. The total power emitted as synchrotron radiation from a particle on a circular path is calculated. The point charge results are generalized to the case of a line charge, and formulae are presented which can easily be evaluated numerically. A useful gradient of 80 MeV/m per kA of peak driving beam current over a distance of 1 cm is calculated using two 5 MeV driving beams moving on 1 cm radius helical orbits with bunch length 1more » mm. 11 refs., 5 figs.« less

Electron beam injection into space plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumoto, H.

1985-12-01

Eight papers presented at the URSI Open Symposium on Active Experiments in Space Plasma on August 30-31, 1984 are reviewed. Consideration is given to in-space electron beam experiments studying means of controlling the electrical potential of low earth orbit vehicles and nonlinear wave excitation in the magnetosphere. The results from the Space Experiments with Particle Accelerators (SEPAC) flown on Spacelab-1 are described; the use of a computer to interpret the SEPAC wave-particle interaction and charge potential data is discussed. Two laboratory simulation experiments analyzing the beam-plasma discharge phenomenon are examined.

Observation of the thunderstorm-related ground cosmic ray flux variations by ARGO-YBJ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartoli, B.; Bernardini, P.; Bi, X. J.; Cao, Z.; Catalanotti, S.; Chen, S. Z.; Chen, T. L.; Cui, S. W.; Dai, B. Z.; D'Amone, A.; Danzengluobu; De Mitri, I.; D'Ettorre Piazzoli, B.; Di Girolamo, T.; Di Sciascio, G.; Feng, C. F.; Feng, Zhaoyang; Feng, Zhenyong; Gao, W.; Gou, Q. B.; Guo, Y. Q.; He, H. H.; Hu, Haibing; Hu, Hongbo; Iacovacci, M.; Iuppa, R.; Jia, H. Y.; Labaciren; Li, H. J.; Liu, C.; Liu, J.; Liu, M. Y.; Lu, H.; Ma, L. L.; Ma, X. H.; Mancarella, G.; Mari, S. M.; Marsella, G.; Mastroianni, S.; Montini, P.; Ning, C. C.; Perrone, L.; Pistilli, P.; Salvini, P.; Santonico, R.; Shen, P. R.; Sheng, X. D.; Shi, F.; Surdo, A.; Tan, Y. H.; Vallania, P.; Vernetto, S.; Vigorito, C.; Wang, H.; Wu, C. Y.; Wu, H. R.; Xue, L.; Yang, Q. Y.; Yang, X. C.; Yao, Z. G.; Yuan, A. F.; Zha, M.; Zhang, H. M.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, X. Y.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, J.; Zhaxiciren; Zhaxisangzhu; Zhou, X. X.; Zhu, F. R.; Zhu, Q. Q.; D'Alessandro, F.; ARGO-YBJ Collaboration

2018-02-01

A correlation between the secondary cosmic ray flux and the near-earth electric field intensity, measured during thunderstorms, has been found by analyzing the data of the ARGO-YBJ experiment, a full coverage air shower array located at the Yangbajing Cosmic Ray Laboratory (4300 m a. s. l., Tibet, China). The counting rates of showers with different particle multiplicities (m =1 , 2, 3, and ≥4 ) have been found to be strongly dependent upon the intensity and polarity of the electric field measured during the course of 15 thunderstorms. In negative electric fields (i.e., accelerating negative charges downwards), the counting rates increase with increasing electric field strength. In positive fields, the rates decrease with field intensity until a certain value of the field EFmin (whose value depends on the event multiplicity), above which the rates begin increasing. By using Monte Carlo simulations, we found that this peculiar behavior can be well described by the presence of an electric field in a layer of thickness of a few hundred meters in the atmosphere above the detector, which accelerates/decelerates the secondary shower particles of opposite charge, modifying the number of particles with energy exceeding the detector threshold. These results, for the first time to our knowledge, give a consistent explanation for the origin of the variation of the electron/positron flux observed for decades by high altitude cosmic ray detectors during thunderstorms.

Energy Spectra, Composition, and Other Properties of Ground-Level Events During Solar Cycle 23

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mewaldt, R. A.; COhen, C. M. S.; Labrador, A. W.; Leske, R. A.; Looper, M. D.; Haggerty, D. K.; Mason, G. M.; Mazur, J. E.; vonRosenvinge, T. T.

2012-01-01

We report spacecraft measurements of the energy spectra of solar protons and other solar energetic particle properties during the 16 Ground Level Events (GLEs) of Solar Cycle 23. The measurements were made by eight instruments on the ACE, GOES, SAMPBX, and STEREO spacecraft and extend from approximately 0.1 to approximately 500-700 MeV. All of the proton spectra exhibit spectral breaks at energies ranging from approximately 2 to approximately 46 MeV and all are well fit by a double power-law shape. A comparison of GLE events with a larger sample of other solar energetic particle (SEP) events shows that the typical spectral indices are harder in GLE events, with a mean slope of -3.18 at greater than 40 MeV/nuc. In the energy range 45 to 80 MeV/nucleon about approximately 50% of GLE events have properties in common with impulsive He-3-rich SEP events, including enrichments in Ne/O, Fe/O, Ne-22/Ne-20, and elevated mean charge states of Fe. These He-3 rich events contribute to the seed population accelerated by CME-driven shocks. An analysis is presented of whether highly-ionized Fe ions observed in five events could be due to electron stripping during shock acceleration in the low corona. Making use of stripping calculations by others and a coronal density model, we can account for events with mean Fe charge states of (Q(sub Fe) is approximately equal to +20 if the acceleration starts at approximately 1.24-1.6 solar radii, consistent with recent comparisons of CME trajectories and type-II radio bursts. In addition, we suggest that gradual stripping of remnant ions from earlier large SEP events may also contribute a highly-ionized suprathermal seed population. We also discuss how observed SEP spectral slopes relate to the energetics of particle acceleration in GLE and other large SEP events.

Hypervelocity Dust Impacts in Space and the Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horanyi, Mihaly; Colorado CenterLunar Dust; Atmospheric Studies (CCLDAS) Team

2013-10-01

Interplanetary dust particles continually bombard all objects in the solar system, leading to the excavation of material from the target surfaces, the production of secondary ejecta particles, plasma, neutral gas, and electromagnetic radiation. These processes are of interest to basic plasma science, planetary and space physics, and engineering to protect humans and instruments against impact damages. The Colorado Center for Lunar Dust and Atmospheric Studies (CCLDAS) has recently completed a 3 MV dust accelerator, and this talk will summarize our initial science results. The 3 MV Pelletron contains a dust source, feeding positively charged micron and sub-micron sized particles into the accelerator. We will present the technical details of the facility and its capabilities, as well as the results of our initial experiments for damage assessment of optical devices, and penetration studies of thin films. We will also report on the completion of our dust impact detector, the Lunar Dust Experiment (LDEX), is expected to be flying onboard the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission by the time of this presentation. LDEX was tested, and calibrated at our dust accelerator. We will close by offering the opportunity to use this facility by the planetary, space and plasma physics communities.

Laboratory investigation of dust impacts on antennas in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sternovsky, Zoltan; Malaspina, D.; Gruen, E.; Drake, K.

2013-10-01

Recent observations of sharp voltage spikes by the WAVES electric field experiments onboard the twin STEREO spacecraft have been attributed to plasma clouds generated by the impact ionization of high velocity dust particles. The reported dust fluxes are much higher than those measured by dedicated dust detectors at 1 AU, which leads to the interpretation that the STEREO observations are due to nanometer-sized dust particles originating from the inner solar system and accelerated to high velocities by the solar wind magnetic field. However, this interpretation is based on a simplified model of coupling between the expanding plasma cloud from the dust impact and the WAVES electric field instrument. A series of laboratory measurements are performed to validate this model and to calibrate/investigate the effect of various impact parameters on the signals measured by the electric field instrument. The dust accelerator facility operating at the University of Colorado is used for the measurement with micron and submicron sized particles accelerated to 50 km/s. The first set of measurements is performed to calibrate the impact charge generated from materials specific the STEREO spacecraft and will help to interpret electric field data.

Slow waves in microchannel metal waveguides and application to particle acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steinhauer, L. C.; Kimura, W. D.

2003-06-01

Conventional metal-wall waveguides support waveguide modes with phase velocities exceeding the speed of light. However, for infrared frequencies and guide dimensions of a fraction of a millimeter, one of the waveguide modes can have a phase velocity equal to or less than the speed of light. Such a metal microchannel then acts as a slow-wave structure. Furthermore, if it is a transverse magnetic mode, the electric field has a component along the direction of propagation. Therefore, a strong exchange of energy can occur between a beam of charged particles and this slow-waveguide mode. Moreover, the energy exchange can be sustained over a distance limited only by the natural damping of the wave. This makes the microchannel metal waveguide an attractive possibility for high-gradient electron laser acceleration because the wave can be directly energized by a long-wavelength laser. Indeed the frequency of CO2 lasers lies at a fortuitous wavelength that produces a strong laser-particle interaction in a channel of reasonable macroscopic size (e.g., ˜0.6 mm). The dispersion properties including phase velocity and damping for the slow wave are developed. The performance and other issues related to laser accelerator applications are discussed.

Weibel instability mediated collisionless shocks using intense laser-driven plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palaniyappan, Sasi; Huang, Chengkun; Gautier, Donald; Fernandez, Juan; Ma, Wenjun; Schreiber, Jorg; LANL Collaboration; LMU Team

2016-10-01

The origin of cosmic rays remains a long-standing challenge in astrophysics and continues to fascinate physicists. It is believed that ``collisionless shocks'' - where the particle Coulomb mean free path is much larger that the shock transition - are a dominant source of energetic cosmic rays. These shocks are ubiquitous in astrophysical environments such as gamma-ray bursts, supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebula and coronal mass ejections from the sun. Several spacecraft observations have revealed acceleration of charged particles, mostly electrons, to very high energies with in the shock front. There is now also clear observational evidence that supernova remnant shocks accelerate both protons and electrons. The understanding of the microphysics behind collisionless shocks and their particle acceleration is tightly related with nonlinear basic plasma processes and remains a grand challenge. In this poster, we will present results from recent experiments at the LANL Trident laser facility studying collisionless shocks using intense ps laser (80J, 650 fs - peak intensity of 1020 W/cm2) driven near-critical plasmas using carbon nanotube foam targets. A second short pulse laser driven protons from few microns thick aluminum foil is used to image the laser-driven plasma.

Accelerator-Based Studies of Heavy Ion Interactions Relevant to Space Biomedicine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, J.; Heilbronn, L.; Zeitlin, C.

1999-01-01

Evaluation of the effects of space radiation on the crews of long duration space missions must take into account the interactions of high energy atomic nuclei in spacecraft and planetary habitat shielding and in the bodies of the astronauts. These heavy ions (i.e. heavier than hydrogen), while relatively small in number compared to the total galactic cosmic ray (GCR) charged particle flux, can produce disproportionately large effects by virtue of their high local energy deposition: a single traversal by a heavy charged particle can kill or, what may be worse, severely damage a cell. Research into the pertinent physics and biology of heavy ion interactions has consequently been assigned a high priority in a recent report by a task group of the National Research Council. Fragmentation of the incident heavy ions in shielding or in the human body will modify an initially well known radiation field and thereby complicate both spacecraft shielding design and the evaluation of potential radiation hazards. Since it is impractical to empirically test the radiation transport properties of each possible shielding material and configuration, a great deal of effort is going into the development of models of charged particle fragmentation and transport. Accurate nuclear fragmentation cross sections (probabilities), either in the form of measurements with thin targets or theoretical calculations, are needed for input to the transport models, and fluence measurements (numbers of fragments produced by interactions in thick targets) are needed both to validate the models and to test specific shielding materials and designs. Fluence data are also needed to characterize the incident radiation field in accelerator radiobiology experiments. For a number of years, nuclear fragmentation measurements at GCR-like energies have been carried out at heavy ion accelerators including the LBL Bevalac, Saturne (France), the Synchrophasotron and Nuklotron (Dubna, Russia), SIS-18 (GSI, Germany), the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL AGS) and the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator (HIMAC) in Chiba, Japan. Until fairly recently most of these experiments were done to investigate fundamental problems in nuclear physics, but with the increasing interest in heavy charged particles on the part of the space flight, radiobiology and radiotherapy communities, an increasing number of experiments are being directed at these areas. Some of these measurements are discussed in references therein. Over the past several years, our group has taken cross section and fluence data at the AGS and HIMAC for several incident beams with nuclear charge, Z, between 6 and 26 at energies between 290 and 1050 MeV/nucleon. Iron (Z = 26) has been studied most extensively, since it is the heaviest ion present in significant numbers in the GCR. Targets have included tissue-equivalent and proposed shielding materials, as well as a variety of elemental targets for cross section measurements. Most of the data were taken along the beam axis, but measurements have been made off-axis, as well. Here we present selected data and briefly discuss some implications for spacecraft and planetary habitat design.

A two-dimensional particle-in-cell model of a dusty plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, B.; Cravens, T. E.; Armstrong, T. P.; Friauf, R. J.

1994-01-01

Dusty plasmas are present in comets, in the ring systems of the outer planets, and in the interstellar medium. A two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) model of a dusty plasma is presented in this paper. The PIC code is best suited for modeling the plasma-dust interaction for large grains, with diameters of the order of a centimeter. We have modeled the charging process for an individual dust grain and the associated potential pattern in the surrounding plasma. We have also considered the case of a large number of grains in a plasma, with intergrain separations of the order of the Debye length, and have shown that the plasma becomes depleted and the charge on a dust grain is reduced, as other workers in this field have predicted (cf. C. K. Goertz, 1989). We examine the electron and ion distribution functions in the vicinity of a charged grain and demonstrate that the ions near a grain have clearly been accelerated by the electrostatic potential.

Neurochemical differences in learning and memory paradigms among rats supplemented with anthocyanin-rich blueberry diets and exposed to acute doses of 56Fe particles

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The protective effects of anthocyanin-rich blueberries (BB) on brain health are well documented and are particularly important under conditions of high oxidative stress, which can lead to “accelerated aging.” One such scenario is exposure to space radiation, consisting of high-energy and -charge par...

Particle acceleration very near an x-line in a collisionless plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lyons, L. R.; Pridmore-Brown, D. C.

1995-01-01

In a previous paper, we applied a simplified model for particle motion in the vicinity of a magnetic X-line that had been introduced by Dungey. We used the model to quantitatively show that an electric force along an X-line can be balanced by the gyroviscous force associated with the off-diagonal elements of the pressure tensor. Distribution functions near the X-line were shown to be skewed in azimuth about the magnetic field and to include particles accelerated to very high energies. In the present paper, we apply the previous model and use the distribution functions to evaluate the energization that results from particle interactions with the X-line. We find that, in general, this interaction gives a spectrum of energized particles that can be represented by a Maxwellian distribution. A power-law, high-energy tail does not develop. The thermal energy, K, of the Maxwellian can be expressed simply in terms of the field parameters and particle mass and charge. It is independent of the thermal energy, K(sub i), of the particle distribution incident upon the region of the X-line, provided that K(sub i) is less than K. Significant energization is not found for K(sub i) is greater than K.

Preferential Heating and Acceleration of Heavy Ions in Impulsive Solar Flares

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kumar, Rahul; Gaspari, Massimo; Spitkovsky, Anatoly

2017-02-01

We simulate decaying turbulence in a homogeneous pair plasma using a three-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell method. A uniform background magnetic field permeates the plasma such that the magnetic pressure is three times larger than the thermal pressure and the turbulence is generated by counter-propagating shear Alfvén waves. The energy predominately cascades transverse to the background magnetic field, rendering the turbulence anisotropic at smaller scales. We simultaneously move several ion species of varying charge to mass ratios in our simulation and show that the particles of smaller charge to mass ratios are heated and accelerated to non-thermal energies at a faster rate.more » This is in accordance with the enhancement of heavy ions and a non-thermal tail in their energy spectrum observed in the impulsive solar flares. We further show that the heavy ions are energized mostly in the direction perpendicular to the background magnetic field, with a rate consistent with our analytical estimate of the rate of heating due to cyclotron resonance with the Alfvén waves, of which a large fraction is due to obliquely propagating waves.« less

Cosmic ray transport in astrophysical plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schlickeiser, R.

2015-09-15

Since the development of satellite space technology about 50 years ago the solar heliosphere is explored almost routinely by several spacecrafts carrying detectors for measuring the properties of the interplanetary medium including energetic charged particles (cosmic rays), solar wind particle densities, and electromagnetic fields. In 2012, the Voyager 1 spacecraft has even left what could be described as the heliospheric modulation region, as indicated by the sudden disappearance of low energy heliospheric cosmic ray particles. With the available in-situ measurements of interplanetary turbulent electromagnetic fields and of the momentum spectra of different cosmic ray species in different interplanetary environments, themore » heliosphere is the best cosmic laboratory to test our understanding of the transport and acceleration of cosmic rays in space plasmas. I review both the historical development and the current state of various cosmic ray transport equations. Similarities and differences to transport theories for terrestrial fusion plasmas are highlighted. Any progress in cosmic ray transport requires a detailed understanding of the electromagnetic turbulence that is responsible for the scattering and acceleration of these particles.« less

Beam dynamics simulation of HEBT for the SSC-linac injector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiao-Ni; Yuan, You-Jin; Xiao, Chen; He, Yuan; Wang, Zhi-Jun; Sheng, Li-Na

2012-11-01

The SSC-linac (a new injector for the Separated Sector Cyclotron) is being designed in the HIRFL (Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou) system to accelerate 238U34+ from 3.72 keV/u to 1.008 MeV/u. As a part of the SSC-linac injector, the HEBT (high energy beam transport) has been designed by using the TRACE-3D code and simulated by the 3D PIC (particle-in-cell) Track code. The total length of the HEBT is about 12 meters and a beam line of about 6 meters are shared with the exiting beam line of the HIRFL system. The simulation results show that the particles can be delivered efficiently in the HEBT and the particles at the exit of the HEBT well match the acceptance of the SSC for further acceleration. The dispersion is eliminated absolutely in the HEBT. The space-charge effect calculated by the Track code is inconspicuous. According to the simulation, more than 60 percent of the particles from the ion source can be transported into the acceptance of the SSC.

LIONs at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Constant, T.N.; Zdarko, R.W.; Simmons, R.H.

1998-01-01

The term LION is an acronym for Long Ionization Chamber. This is a distributed ion chamber which is used to monitor secondary ionization along the shield walls of a beam line resulting from incorrectly steered charged particle beams in lieu of the use of many discrete ion chambers. A cone of ionizing radiation emanating from a point source as a result of incorrect steering intercepts a portion of 1-5/8 inch Heliax cable (about 100 meters in length) filled with Argon gas at 20 psi and induces a pulsed current which is proportional to the ionizing charge. This signal is transmittedmore » via the cable to an integrator circuit whose output is directed to an electronic comparators, which in turn is used to turn off the accelerated primary beam when preset limits are exceeded. This device is used in the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) Beam Containment System (BCS) to prevent potentially hazardous ionizing radiation resulting from incorrectly steered beams in areas that might be occupied by people. This paper describes the design parameters and experience in use in the Final Focus Test Beam (FFTB) area of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.« less

Composition of Plasma Formed from Hypervelocity Dust Impacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, N.; Close, S.; Rymer, A. M.; Mocker, A.

2012-12-01

Dust impacts can occur on all solar system bodies but are especially prevalent in the case of the Saturnian moons that are near or within the dust torus produced by Enceladus's plumes. Depending on the mass and charge on these plume particles, they will be influenced by both gravitational and electrodynamic forces, resulting in a range of possible impact speeds on the moons. The plasma formed upon impact can have very different characteristics depending on impact speed and on the electric field due to surface charging at the impact point. Through recent tests conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics using a Van de Graaff dust accelerator, iron dust particles were electrostatically accelerated to speeds of 3-65 km/s and impacted on a variety of target materials including metallic and glassy surfaces. The target surfaces were connected to a biasing supply to represent surface charging effects. Because of the high specific kinetic energy of the dust particles, upon impact they vaporize along with part of the target surface and a fraction of this material is ionized forming a dense plasma. The impacts produced both positive and negative ions. We made measurements of the net current imparted by this expanding plasma at a distance of several centimeters from the impact point. By setting the bias of the target, we impose an electric field on the charge population, allowing a measurement of plasma composition through time of flight analysis. The figure shows representative measurements of the net current measured by a retarding potential analyzer (RPA) from separate 18 and 19 km/s impacts of 7 fg particles on a glassy surface that was negatively and positively biased, respectively. This target was an optical solar reflector donated by J. Likar of Lockheed Martin for these experiments. These results show that ions of both positive and negative charge can be formed through the mechanism of dust impacts, and has implications on the surface plasma environment at Enceladus and other airless bodies in the solar system. Measurements of net current from impact plasmas. The horizontal axis is normalized to particle mass based on time of flight. The red trace is from an impact on a positively biased surface, ejecting positive ions toward the sensor. The blue trace is from an impact on a negatively biased surface, ejecting electrons and negative ions toward the sensor. The first positive peak is from electrons causing secondary emission off the sensor. The subsequent negative peaks are from negative ions.

Solar Gamma Rays Above 8 MeV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crannell, C. J.; Crannell, H.; Ramaty, R.

1978-01-01

Processes which lead to the production of gamma rays with energy greater than 8 MeV in solar flares are reviewed and evaluated. Excited states produced by inelastic scattering, charge exchange, and spallation reactions in the abundant nuclear species are considered in order to identify nuclear lines which may contribute to the Gamma ray spectrum of solar flares. The flux of 15.11 MeV Gamma rays relative to the flux of 4.44 MeV Gamma rays from the de-excitation of the corresponding states in C12 is calculated for a number of assumed distributions of exciting particles. This flux ratio is a sensitive diagnostic of accelerated particle spectra. Other high energy nuclear levels are not so isolated as the 15.11 MeV state and are not expected to be so strong. The spectrum of Gamma rays from the decay of Pi dey is sensitive to the energy distribution of particles accelerated to energies greater than 100 MeV.

Efficient three-dimensional Poisson solvers in open rectangular conducting pipe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiang, Ji

2016-06-01

Three-dimensional (3D) Poisson solver plays an important role in the study of space-charge effects on charged particle beam dynamics in particle accelerators. In this paper, we propose three new 3D Poisson solvers for a charged particle beam in an open rectangular conducting pipe. These three solvers include a spectral integrated Green function (IGF) solver, a 3D spectral solver, and a 3D integrated Green function solver. These solvers effectively handle the longitudinal open boundary condition using a finite computational domain that contains the beam itself. This saves the computational cost of using an extra larger longitudinal domain in order to set up an appropriate finite boundary condition. Using an integrated Green function also avoids the need to resolve rapid variation of the Green function inside the beam. The numerical operational cost of the spectral IGF solver and the 3D IGF solver scales as O(N log(N)) , where N is the number of grid points. The cost of the 3D spectral solver scales as O(Nn N) , where Nn is the maximum longitudinal mode number. We compare these three solvers using several numerical examples and discuss the advantageous regime of each solver in the physical application.

Dusty Plasma Dynamics Near Surfaces in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colwell, Joshua E.; Robertson, S.; Horanyi, M.; Nahra, Henry (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

The investigation 'Dusty Plasma Dynamics Near Surfaces in Space' is an experimental and theoretical study of the dynamics of dust particles on airless bodies in the solar system in the presence of a photoelectron sheath generated by solar ultraviolet light impinging on the surface. Solar UV illumination of natural and manmade surfaces in space produces photoelectrons which form a plasma sheath near the surface. Dust particles on the surface acquire a charge and may be transported by electric fields in the photoelectron sheath generated by inhomogeneities in the surface or the illumination (such as shadows). The sheath itself has a finite vertical extent leading to (at least) an electric field normal to the illuminated surface. If dust particles are launched from the surface by some other process, such as meteoroid impact, or spacecraft activity on the surface, these grains become charged and move under the influence of gravity and the electric field. This can give rise to suspension of the particles above the surface, loss from the parent body entirely (if accelerated beyond escape velocity), and a different distribution of dust ejecta from what would be expected with purely gravitational dynamics.

Three-dimensional Čerenkov tomography of energy deposition from ionizing radiation beams.

PubMed

Glaser, Adam K; Voigt, William H A; Davis, Scott C; Zhang, Rongxiao; Gladstone, David J; Pogue, Brian W

2013-03-01

Since its discovery during the 1930s the Čerenkov effect (light emission from charged particles traveling faster than the local speed of light in a dielectric medium) has been paramount in the development of high-energy physics research. The ability of the emitted light to describe a charged particle's trajectory, energy, velocity, and mass has allowed scientists to study subatomic particles, detect neutrinos, and explore the properties of interstellar matter. However, to our knowledge, all applications of the process to date have focused on the identification of particles themselves, rather than their effect upon the surroundings through which they travel. Here we explore a novel application of the Čerenkov effect for the recovery of the spatial distribution of ionizing radiation energy deposition in a medium and apply it to the issue of dose determination in medical physics. By capturing multiple projection images of the Čerenkov light induced by a medical linear accelerator x-ray photon beam, we demonstrate the successful three-dimensional tomographic reconstruction of the imparted dose distribution.

Calculation of extracted ion beam particle distribution including within-extractor collisions from H-alpha Doppler shift measurements.

PubMed

Kim, Tae-Seong; Kim, Jinchoon; In, Sang Ryul; Jeong, Seung Ho

2008-02-01

Prototype long pulse ion sources are being developed and tested toward the goal of a deuterium beam extraction of 120 keV/65 A. The latest prototype source consists of a magnetic bucket plasma generator and a four-grid copper accelerator system with multicircular apertures of 568 holes. To measure the angular divergence and the ion species of the ion beam, an optical multichannel analyzer (OMA) system for a Doppler-shifted H-alpha lights was set up at the end of a gas-cell neutralizer. But the OMA data are very difficult to analyze due to a large background level on the top of the three energy peaks (coming from H(+), H(2) (+), and H(3) (+)). These background spectra in the OMA signals seem to result from partially accelerated ion beams in the accelerator. Extracted ions could undergo a premature charge exchange as the accelerator column tends to have a high hydrogen partial pressure from the unused gas from the plasma generator, resulting in a continuous background of partially accelerated beam particles at the accelerator exit. This effect is calculated by accounting for all the possible atomic collision processes and numerically summing up three ion species across the accelerator column. The collection of all the atomic reaction cross sections and the numerical summing up will be presented. The result considerably depends on the background pressure and the ion beam species ratio (H(+), H(2) (+), and H(3) (+)). This effect constitutes more than 20% of the whole particle distribution. And the energy distribution of those suffering from collisions is broad and shows a broad maximum in the vicinity of the half and the third energy region.

Issues for Simulation of Galactic Cosmic Ray Exposures for Radiobiological Research at Ground-Based Accelerators

PubMed Central

Kim, Myung-Hee Y.; Rusek, Adam; Cucinotta, Francis A.

2015-01-01

For radiobiology research on the health risks of galactic cosmic rays (GCR) ground-based accelerators have been used with mono-energetic beams of single high charge, Z and energy, E (HZE) particles. In this paper, we consider the pros and cons of a GCR reference field at a particle accelerator. At the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL), we have proposed a GCR simulator, which implements a new rapid switching mode and higher energy beam extraction to 1.5 GeV/u, in order to integrate multiple ions into a single simulation within hours or longer for chronic exposures. After considering the GCR environment and energy limitations of NSRL, we performed extensive simulation studies using the stochastic transport code, GERMcode (GCR Event Risk Model) to define a GCR reference field using 9 HZE particle beam–energy combinations each with a unique absorber thickness to provide fragmentation and 10 or more energies of proton and 4He beams. The reference field is shown to well represent the charge dependence of GCR dose in several energy bins behind shielding compared to a simulated GCR environment. However, a more significant challenge for space radiobiology research is to consider chronic GCR exposure of up to 3 years in relation to simulations with animal models of human risks. We discuss issues in approaches to map important biological time scales in experimental models using ground-based simulation, with extended exposure of up to a few weeks using chronic or fractionation exposures. A kinetics model of HZE particle hit probabilities suggests that experimental simulations of several weeks will be needed to avoid high fluence rate artifacts, which places limitations on the experiments to be performed. Ultimately risk estimates are limited by theoretical understanding, and focus on improving knowledge of mechanisms and development of experimental models to improve this understanding should remain the highest priority for space radiobiology research. PMID:26090339

Laser-driven beam lines for delivering intensity modulated radiation therapy with particle beams

PubMed Central

Hofmann, Kerstin M; Schell, Stefan; Wilkens, Jan J

2012-01-01

Abstract Laser-accelerated particles are a promising option for radiation therapy of cancer by potentially combining a compact, cost-efficient treatment unit with the physical advantages of charged particle beams. To design such a treatment unit we consider different dose delivery schemes and analyze the necessary devices in the required particle beam line for each case. Furthermore, we point out that laser-driven treatment units may be ideal tools for motion adaptation during radiotherapy. Reasons for this are the potential of a flexible gantry and the time structure of the beam with high particle numbers in ultrashort bunches. One challenge that needs to be addressed is the secondary radiation produced in several beam line elements. (© 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) PMID:22930653

Measurement of secondary particle production induced by particle therapy ion beams impinging on a PMMA target

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toppi, M.; Battistoni, G.; Bellini, F.; Collamati, F.; De Lucia, E.; Durante, M.; Faccini, R.; Frallicciardi, P. M.; Marafini, M.; Mattei, I.; Morganti, S.; Muraro, S.; Paramatti, R.; Patera, V.; Pinci, D.; Piersanti, L.; Rucinski, A.; Russomando, A.; Sarti, A.; Sciubba, A.; Senzacqua, M.; Solfaroli Camillocci, E.; Traini, G.; Voena, C.

2016-05-01

Particle therapy is a technique that uses accelerated charged ions for cancer treatment and combines a high irradiation precision with a high biological effectiveness in killing tumor cells [1]. Informations about the secondary particles emitted in the interaction of an ion beam with the patient during a treatment can be of great interest in order to monitor the dose deposition. For this purpose an experiment at the HIT (Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center) beam facility has been performed in order to measure fluxes and emission profiles of secondary particles produced in the interaction of therapeutic beams with a PMMA target. In this contribution some preliminary results about the emission profiles and the energy spectra of the detected secondaries will be presented.

A cosmic ray driven instability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dorfi, E. A.; Drury, L. O.

1985-01-01

The interaction between energetic charged particles and thermal plasma which forms the basis of diffusive shock acceleration leads also to interesting dynamical phenomena. For a compressional mode propagating in a system with homogeneous energetic particle pressure it is well known that friction with the energetic particles leads to damping. The linear theory of this effect has been analyzed in detail by Ptuskin. Not so obvious is that a non-uniform energetic particle pressure can addition amplify compressional disturbances. If the pressure gradient is sufficiently steep this growth can dominate the frictional damping and lead to an instability. It is important to not that this effect results from the collective nature of the interaction between the energetic particles and the gas and is not connected with the Parker instability, nor with the resonant amplification of Alfven waves.

Particle Acceleration in Active Galactic Nuclei

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, James A.

1997-01-01

The high efficiency of energy generation inferred from radio observations of quasars and X-ray observations of Seyfert active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is apparently achieved only by the gravitational conversion of the rest mass energy of accreting matter onto supermassive black holes. Evidence for the acceleration of particles to high energies by a central engine is also inferred from observations of apparent superluminal motion in flat spectrum, core-dominated radio sources. This phenomenon is widely attributed to the ejection of relativistic bulk plasma from the nuclei of active galaxies, and accounts for the existence of large scale radio jets and lobes at large distances from the central regions of radio galaxies. Reports of radio jets and superluminal motion from galactic black hole candidate X-ray sources indicate that similar processes are operating in these sources. Observations of luminous, rapidly variable high-energy radiation from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory show directly that particles are accelerated to high energies in a compact environment. The mechanisms which transform the gravitational potential energy of the infalling matter into nonthermal particle energy in galactic black hole candidates and AGNs are not conclusively identified, although several have been proposed. These include direct acceleration by static electric fields (resulting from, for example, magnetic reconnection), shock acceleration, and energy extraction from the rotational energy of Kerr black holes. The dominant acceleration mechanism(s) operating in the black hole environment can only be determined, of course, by a comparison of model predictions with observations. The purpose of the work proposed for this grant was to investigate stochastic particle acceleration through resonant interactions with plasma waves that populate the magnetosphere surrounding an accreting black hole. Stochastic acceleration has been successfully applied to the problem of ion and electron energization in solar flares, and is capable of accounting for a wide range of both neutral and charged particle emissions. It is also a component in diffusive shock acceleration, since pitch-angle scattering (which is necessary for multiple shock crossings) is accompanied by diffusion in momentum space, which in turn yields a net systematic energy gain; however, stochastic energization will dominate the first-order shock process only in certain parameter regimes. Although stochastic acceleration has been applied to particle energization in the lobes of radio galaxies, its application to the central regions of AGNs has only recently been considered, but not in detail. We proposed to systematically investigate the plasma processes responsible for stochastic particle acceleration in black hole magnetospheres along with the energy-loss processes which impede particle energization. To this end we calculated acceleration rates and escape time scales for protons and electrons resonating with Alfven waves, and for electrons resonating with whistlers. Assuming either a Kolmogorov or Kraichnan wave spectrum, accretion at the Eddington limit, magnetic field strengths near equipartition, and turbulence energy densities approx. 10% of the total magnetic field energy density, we find that Alfven waves accelerate protons to Lorentz factors approx, equals 10(exp 4) - 10(exp 6) before they escape from the system. Acceleration of electrons by fast mode and whistler waves can produce a nonthermal population of relativistic electrons whose maximum energy is determined by a competition with radiation losses.

Pulsar wind model for the spin-down behavior of intermittent pulsars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, L.; Tong, H.; Yan, W. M.

Intermittent pulsars are part-time radio pulsars. They have higher slow down rates in the on state (radio-loud) than in the off state (radio-quiet). This gives evidence that particle wind may play an important role in pulsar spindown. The effect of particle acceleration is included in modeling the rotational energy loss rate of the neutron star. Applying the pulsar wind model to the three intermittent pulsars (PSR B1931+24, PSR J1841–0500, and PSR J1832+0029) allows their magnetic fields and inclination angles to be calculated simultaneously. The theoretical braking indices of intermittent pulsars are also given. In the pulsar wind model, the densitymore » of the particle wind can always be the Goldreich-Julian density. This may ensure that different on states of intermittent pulsars are stable. The duty cycle of particle wind can be determined from timing observations. It is consistent with the duty cycle of the on state. Inclination angle and braking index observations of intermittent pulsars may help to test different models of particle acceleration. At present, the inverse Compton scattering induced space charge limited flow with field saturation model can be ruled out.« less

Pulsar Wind Model for the Spin-down Behavior of Intermittent Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, L.; Tong, H.; Yan, W. M.; Yuan, J. P.; Xu, R. X.; Wang, N.

2014-06-01

Intermittent pulsars are part-time radio pulsars. They have higher slow down rates in the on state (radio-loud) than in the off state (radio-quiet). This gives evidence that particle wind may play an important role in pulsar spindown. The effect of particle acceleration is included in modeling the rotational energy loss rate of the neutron star. Applying the pulsar wind model to the three intermittent pulsars (PSR B1931+24, PSR J1841-0500, and PSR J1832+0029) allows their magnetic fields and inclination angles to be calculated simultaneously. The theoretical braking indices of intermittent pulsars are also given. In the pulsar wind model, the density of the particle wind can always be the Goldreich-Julian density. This may ensure that different on states of intermittent pulsars are stable. The duty cycle of particle wind can be determined from timing observations. It is consistent with the duty cycle of the on state. Inclination angle and braking index observations of intermittent pulsars may help to test different models of particle acceleration. At present, the inverse Compton scattering induced space charge limited flow with field saturation model can be ruled out.

The Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gloeckler, G.; Geiss, J.; Balsiger, H.; Bedini, P.; Cain, J. C.; Fisher, J.; Fisk, L. A.; Galvin, A. B.; Gliem, F.; Hamilton, D. C.

1992-01-01

The Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS) on Ulysses is designed to determine uniquely the elemental and ionic-charge composition, and the temperatures and mean speeds of all major solar-wind ions, from H through Fe, at solar wind speeds ranging from 175 km/s (protons) to 1280 km/s (Fe(8+)). The instrument, which covers an energy per charge range from 0.16 to 59.6 keV/e in about 13 min, combines an electrostatic analyzer with postacceleration, followed by a time-of-flight and energy measurement. The measurements made by SWICS will have an impact on many areas of solar and heliospheric physics, in particular providing essential and unique information on: (1) conditions and processes in the region of the corona where the solar wind is accelerated; (2) the location of the source regions of the solar wind in the corona; (3) coronal heating processes; (4) the extent and causes of variations in the composition of the solar atmosphere; (5) plasma processes in the solar wind; (6) the acceleration of energetic particles in the solar wind; (7) the thermalization and acceleration of interstellar ions in the solar wind, and their composition; and (8) the composition, charge states, and behavior of the plasma in various regions of the Jovian magnetosphere.

Control of target-normal-sheath-accelerated protons from a guiding cone

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zou, D. B.; Institut für Theoretische Physik I, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225; Zhuo, H. B., E-mail: hongbin.zhuo@gmail.com

2015-06-15

It is demonstrated through particle-in-cell simulations that target-normal-sheath-accelerated protons can be well controlled by using a guiding cone. Compared to a conventional planar target, both the collimation and number density of proton beams are substantially improved, giving a high-quality proton beam which maintained for a longer distance without degradation. The effect is attributed to the radial electric field resulting from the charge due to the hot target electrons propagating along the cone surface. This electric field can effectively suppress the spatial spread of the protons after the expansion of the hot electrons.

Massive stars: privileged sources of cosmic-rays for interstellar astrochemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Becker, M.

2015-01-01

Massive stars can be considered as crucial engines for interstellar physics. They are indeed the main providers of UV radiation field, and constitute a substantial source of chemical enrichment. On their evolution time-scale (at most about 10 Myr), they typically stay close to their formation site, i.e. close to molecular clouds very rich in interstellar molecules. These stellar objects have also the property to be involved in particle acceleration processes leading to the production of high energy charged particles (cosmic-rays). After rejection in the interstellar medium, these particles will play a substantial role in processes such as those simulated in various facilities dedicated to experimental astrochemistry. This short contribution intends to put these particles, crucial for astrochemistry, in their adequate astrophysical context.

Foil Electron Multiplier

DOEpatents

Funsten, Herbert O.; Baldonado, Juan R.; Dors, Eric E.; Harper, Ronnie W.; Skoug, Ruth M.

2006-03-28

An apparatus for electron multiplication by transmission that is designed with at least one foil having a front side for receiving incident particles and a back side for transmitting secondary electrons that are produced from the incident particles transiting through the foil. The foil thickness enables the incident particles to travel through the foil and continue on to an anode or to a next foil in series with the first foil. The foil, or foils, and anode are contained within a supporting structure that is attached within an evacuated enclosure. An electrical power supply is connected to the foil, or foils, and the anode to provide an electrical field gradient effective to accelerate negatively charged incident particles and the generated secondary electrons through the foil, or foils, to the anode for collection.

Laboratory investigation of antenna signals from dust impacts on spacecraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sternovsky, Zoltan; Collette, Andrew; Malaspina, David M.; Thayer, Frederick

2016-04-01

Electric field and plasma wave instruments act as dust detectors picking up voltage pulses induced by impacts of particulates on the spacecraft body. These signals enable the characterization of cosmic dust environments even with missions without dedicated dust instruments. For example, the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft performed the first detection of dust particles near Uranus, Neptune, and in the outer solar system [Gurnett et al., 1987, 1991, 1997]. The two STEREO spacecraft observed distinct signals at high rate that were interpreted as nano-sized particles originating from near the Sun and accelerated to high velocities by the solar wind [MeyerVernet et al, 2009a, Zaslavsky et al., 2012]. The MAVEN spacecraft is using the antennas onboard to characterize the dust environment of Mars [Andersson et al., 2014] and Solar Probe Plus will do the same in the inner heliosphere. The challenge, however, is the correct interpretation of the impact signals and calculating the mass of the dust particles. The uncertainties result from the incomplete understanding of the signal pickup mechanisms, and the variation of the signal amplitude with impact location, the ambient plasma environment, and impact speed. A comprehensive laboratory study of impact generated antenna signals has been performed recently using the IMPACT dust accelerator facility operated at the University of Colorado. Dust particles of micron and submicron sizes with velocities of tens of km/s are generated using a 3 MV electrostatic analyzer. A scaled down model spacecraft is exposed to the dust impacts and one or more antennas, connected to sensitive electronics, are used to detect the impact signals. The measurements showed that there are three clearly distinct signal pickup mechanisms due to spacecraft charging, antenna charging and antenna pickup sensing space charge from the expanding plasma cloud. All mechanisms vary with the spacecraft and antenna bias voltages and, furthermore, the latter two mechanisms also vary with impact location relative to the antenna. The experimental results obtained are successfully used to improve the interpretation of existing data sets.

Analytical and Numerical Solutions of Generalized Fokker-Planck Equations - Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Prinja, Anil K.

The overall goal of this project was to develop advanced theoretical and numerical techniques to quantitatively describe the spreading of a collimated beam of charged particles in space, in angle, and in energy, as a result of small deflection, small energy transfer Coulomb collisions with the target nuclei and electrons. Such beams arise in several applications of great interest in nuclear engineering, and include electron and ion radiotherapy, ion beam modification of materials, accelerator transmutation of waste, and accelerator production of tritium, to name some important candidates. These applications present unique and difficult modeling challenges, but from the outset aremore » amenable to the language of ''transport theory'', which is very familiar to nuclear engineers and considerably less-so to physicists and material scientists. Thus, our approach has been to adopt a fundamental description based on transport equations, but the forward peakedness associated with charged particle interactions precludes a direct application of solution methods developed for neutral particle transport. Unique problem formulations and solution techniques are necessary to describe the transport and interaction of charged particles. In particular, we have developed the Generalized Fokker-Planck (GFP) approach to describe the angular and radial spreading of a collimated beam and a renormalized transport model to describe the energy-loss straggling of an initially monoenergetic distribution. Both analytic and numerical solutions have been investigated and in particular novel finite element numerical methods have been developed. In the first phase of the project, asymptotic methods were used to develop closed form solutions to the GFP equation for different orders of expansion, and was described in a previous progress report. In this final report we present a detailed description of (i) a novel energy straggling model based on a Fokker-Planck approximation but which is adapted for a multigroup transport setting, and (ii) two unique families of discontinuous finite element schemes, one linear and the other nonlinear.« less

Efficient production of high-energy nonthermal particles during magnetic reconnection in a magnetically dominated ion-electron plasma

DOE PAGES

Guo, Fan; Li, Xiaocan; Li, Hui; ...

2016-02-03

Magnetic reconnection is a leading mechanism for dissipating magnetic energy and accelerating nonthermal particles in Poynting-flux-dominated flows. We investigate nonthermal particle acceleration during magnetic reconnection in a magnetically dominated ion–electron plasma using fully kinetic simulations. For an ion–electron plasma with a total magnetization ofmore » $${\\sigma }_{0}={B}^{2}/(4\\pi n({m}_{i}+{m}_{e}){c}^{2})$$, the magnetization for each species is $${\\sigma }_{i}\\sim {\\sigma }_{0}$$ and $${\\sigma }_{e}\\sim ({m}_{i}/{m}_{e}){\\sigma }_{0}$$, respectively. We have studied the magnetically dominated regime by varying σe = 103–105 with initial ion and electron temperatures $${T}_{i}={T}_{e}=5-20{m}_{e}{c}^{2}$$ and mass ratio $${m}_{i}/{m}_{e}=1-1836$$. Our results demonstrate that reconnection quickly establishes power-law energy distributions for both electrons and ions within several (2–3) light-crossing times. For the cases with periodic boundary conditions, the power-law index is $$1\\lt s\\lt 2$$ for both electrons and ions. The hard spectra limit the power-law energies for electrons and ions to be $${\\gamma }_{{be}}\\sim {\\sigma }_{e}$$ and $${\\gamma }_{{bi}}\\sim {\\sigma }_{i}$$, respectively. The main acceleration mechanism is a Fermi-like acceleration through the drift motions of charged particles. When comparing the spectra for electrons and ions in momentum space, the spectral indices sp are identical as predicted in Fermi acceleration. We also find that the bulk flow can carry a significant amount of energy during the simulations. Finally, we discuss the implication of this study in the context of Poynting-flux dominated jets and pulsar winds, especially the applications for explaining nonthermal high-energy emissions.« less

Charged particle tracking through electrostatic wire meshes using the finite element method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Devlin, L. J.; Karamyshev, O.; Welsch, C. P., E-mail: carsten.welsch@cockcroft.ac.uk

Wire meshes are used across many disciplines to accelerate and focus charged particles, however, analytical solutions are non-exact and few codes exist which simulate the exact fields around a mesh with physical sizes. A tracking code based in Matlab-Simulink using field maps generated using finite element software has been developed which tracks electrons or ions through electrostatic wire meshes. The fields around such a geometry are presented as an analytical expression using several basic assumptions, however, it is apparent that computational calculations are required to obtain realistic values of electric potential and fields, particularly when multiple wire meshes are deployed.more » The tracking code is flexible in that any quantitatively describable particle distribution can be used for both electrons and ions as well as other benefits such as ease of export to other programs for analysis. The code is made freely available and physical examples are highlighted where this code could be beneficial for different applications.« less

Principles of Induction Accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briggs*, Richard J.

The basic concepts involved in induction accelerators are introduced in this chapter. The objective is to provide a foundation for the more detailed coverage of key technology elements and specific applications in the following chapters. A wide variety of induction accelerators are discussed in the following chapters, from the high current linear electron accelerator configurations that have been the main focus of the original developments, to circular configurations like the ion synchrotrons that are the subject of more recent research. The main focus in the present chapter is on the induction module containing the magnetic core that plays the role of a transformer in coupling the pulsed power from the modulator to the charged particle beam. This is the essential common element in all these induction accelerators, and an understanding of the basic processes involved in its operation is the main objective of this chapter. (See [1] for a useful and complementary presentation of the basic principles in induction linacs.)

Beam efflux measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Komatsu, G. K.; Stellen, J. M., Jr.

1976-01-01

Measurements have been made of the high energy thrust ions, (Group I), high angle/high energy ions (Group II), and high angle/low energy ions (Group IV) of a mercury electron bombardment thruster in the angular divergence range from 0 deg to greater than 90 deg. The measurements have been made as a function of thrust ion current, propellant utilization efficiency, bombardment discharge voltage, screen and accelerator grid potential (accel-decel ratio) and neutralizer keeper potential. The shape of the Group IV (charge exchange) ion plume has remained essentially fixed within the range of variation of the engine operation parameters. The magnitude of the charge exchange ion flux scales with thrust ion current, for good propellant utilization conditions. For fixed thrust ion current, charge exchange ion flux increases for diminishing propellant utilization efficiency. Facility effects influence experimental accuracies within the range of propellant utilization efficiency used in the experiments. The flux of high angle/high energy Group II ions is significantly diminished by the use of minimum decel voltages on the accelerator grid. A computer model of charge exchange ion production and motion has been developed. The program allows computation of charge exchange ion volume production rate, total production rate, and charge exchange ion trajectories for "genuine" and "facilities effects" particles. In the computed flux deposition patterns, the Group I and Group IV ion plumes exhibit a counter motion.

High-Altitude Particle Acceleration and Radiation in Pulsar Slot Gaps

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muslimov, Alex G.; Harding, Alice K.

2004-01-01

We explore the pulsar slot gap (SG) electrodynamics up to very high altitudes, where for most relatively rapidly rotating pulsars both the standard small-angle approximation and the assumption that the magnetic field lines are ideal stream lines break down. We address the importance of the electrodynamic conditions at the SG boundaries and the occurrence of a steady-state drift of charged particles across the SG field lines at very high altitudes. These boundary conditions and the cross-field particle motion determine the asymptotic behavior of the scalar potential at all radii from the polar cap (PC) to near the light cylinder. As a result, we demonstrate that the steady-state accelerating electric field, E(sub ll), must approach a small and constant value at high altitude above the PC. This E(sub ll) is capable of maintaining electrons moving with high Lorentz factors (approx. a few x 10(exp 7)) and emitting curvature gamma-ray photons up to nearly the light cylinder. By numerical simulations, we show that primary electrons accelerating from the PC surface to high altitude in the SG along the outer edge of the open field region will form caustic emission patterns on the trailing dipole field lines. Acceleration and emission in such an extended SG may form the physical basis of a model that can successfully reproduce some pulsar high-energy light curves.

The Challenge of Incorporating Charged Dust in the Physics of Flowing Plasma Interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Y.; Russell, C. T.; Ma, Y.; Lai, H.; Jian, L.; Toth, G.

2013-12-01

The presence of two oppositely charged species with very different mass ratios leads to interesting physical processes and difficult numerical simulations. The reconnection problem is a classic example of this principle with a proton-electron mass ratio of 1836, but it is not the only example. Increasingly we are discovering situations in which heavy, electrically charged dust particles are major players in a plasma interaction. The mass of a 1mm dust particle is about 2000 proton masses and of a 10 mm dust particle about 2 million proton masses. One example comes from planetary magnetospheres. Charged dust pervades Enceladus' southern plume. The saturnian magnetospheric plasma flows through this dusty plume interacting with the charged dust and ionized plume gas. Multiple wakes are seen downstream. The flow is diverted in one direction. The field aligned-current systems are elsewhere. How can these two wake features be understood? Next we have an example from the solar wind. When asteroids collide in a disruptive collision, the solar wind strips the nano-scale charged dust from the debris forming a dusty plasma cloud that may be over 106km in extent and containing over 100 million kg of dust accelerated to the solar wind speed. How does this occur, especially as rapidly as it appears to happen? In this paper we illustrate a start on understanding these phenomena using multifluid MHD simulations but these simulations are only part of the answer to this complex problem that needs attention from a broader range of the community.

The hot plasma environment and floating potentials of an electron-beam-emitting rocket in the ionosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arnoldy, R. L.; Winckler, J. R.

1981-01-01

The plasma environment surrounding the Echo III accelerator payload is examined with an extensive array of particle sensors. Suprathermal electrons are produced isotropically around the payload during the gun firings and decay away in approximately 32 ms. The largest directional intensities of this component are observed at the higher altitudes. Quick echo electrons are also observed to produce suprathermal electrons when they encounter the payload. The hot electrons surrounding the accelerator payload during gun injections bring sufficient charge to the payload to neutralize it provided the loss of charge by secondary production on the payload skin is small. Since the hot population exists for tens of milliseconds after the gun turnoff, it results in driving the payload up to 4 volts negative during this time. Quick echo electrons creating suprathermal electrons around the payload also drive the payload to a few volts negative.

iQIST v0.7: An open source continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo impurity solver toolkit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Li

2017-12-01

In this paper, we present a new version of the iQIST software package, which is capable of solving various quantum impurity models by using the hybridization expansion (or strong coupling expansion) continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo algorithm. In the revised version, the software architecture is completely redesigned. New basis (intermediate representation or singular value decomposition representation) for the single-particle and two-particle Green's functions is introduced. A lot of useful physical observables are added, such as the charge susceptibility, fidelity susceptibility, Binder cumulant, and autocorrelation time. Especially, we optimize measurement for the two-particle Green's functions. Both the particle-hole and particle-particle channels are supported. In addition, the block structure of the two-particle Green's functions is exploited to accelerate the calculation. Finally, we fix some known bugs and limitations. The computational efficiency of the code is greatly enhanced.

An investigation of the generation and properties of laboratory-produced ball lightning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oreshko, A. G.

2015-06-01

The experiments revealed that ball lightning is a self-confining quasi-neutral in a whole plasma system that rotates around its axis. Ball lightning has a structure of a spherical electric domain, consisting of a kernel with excess negative charge and an external spherical layer with excess positive charge. The excess of charges of one sort and the lack of charges of the other sort in the kernel or in the external spherical layer significantly reduces the possibility of electron capture by means of an electric field, created by the nearest ions and leads to a drastic slowdown of recombination process. Direct proof has been obtained that inside of ball lightning - in an external spherical layer that rotates around the axis - there is a circular current of sub-relativistic particles. This current creates and maintains its own poloidal magnetic field of ball lightning, i.e. it carries out the function of magnetic dynamo. The kernel of ball lightning is situated in a region with minimum values of induction of the magnetic field. The inequality of positive and negative charges in elements of ball lightning also significantly reduces losses of the charged plasma on bremsstrahlung. Ball lightning generation occurs in a plasmic vortex. The ball lightning energy in the region of its generation significantly differs from the ball lightning energy, which is drifting in space. The axial component of kinetic energy of particles slightly exceeds 100 keV and the rotational component of the ions energy is a bit greater than 1 MeV. Ball lightning is `embedded' in atmosphere autonomous accelerator of charged particles of a cyclotron type due to self-generation of strong crossed electric and magnetic fields. A discussion of the conditions of stability and long-term existence of ball lightning is given.

ACCELERATOR TARGET POSITIONER AND CONTROL CIRCUIT THEREFOR

DOEpatents

Stone, K.F.; Force, R.J.; Olson, W.W.; Cagle, D.S.

1959-12-15

An apparatus is described for inserting and retracting a target material with respect to the internal beam of a charged particle accelerator and to circuitry for controlling the timing and motion of the target placement. Two drive coils are mounted on the shaft of a target holder arm and disposed within the accelerator magnetic field with one coil at right angles to the other. Control circuitry alternately connects each coil to a current source and to a varying shorting resistance whereby the coils interchangeably produce driving and braking forces which swing the target arm within a ninety degree arc. The target is thus moved into the beam and away from it at high speeds and is brought to rest after each movement without whiplash or vibration.

Stable quasi-monoenergetic ion acceleration from the laser-driven shocks in a collisional plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhadoria, Shikha; Kumar, Naveen; Keitel, Christoph H.

2017-10-01

Effect of collisions on the shock formation and subsequent ion acceleration from the laser-plasma interaction is explored by the means of particle-in-cell simulations. In this setup, the incident laser pushes the laser-plasma interface inside the plasma target through the hole-boring effect and generates hot electrons. The propagation of these hot electrons inside the target excites a return plasma current, leading to filamentary structures caused by the Weibel/filamentation instability. Weakening of the space-charge effects due to collisions results in the shock formation with a higher density jump than in a collisionless plasma. This results in the formation of a stronger shock leading to a stable quasi-monoenergetic acceleration of ions.

Towards Attosecond High-Energy Electron Bunches: Controlling Self-Injection in Laser-Wakefield Accelerators Through Plasma-Density Modulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tooley, M. P.; Ersfeld, B.; Yoffe, S. R.; Noble, A.; Brunetti, E.; Sheng, Z. M.; Islam, M. R.; Jaroszynski, D. A.

2017-07-01

Self-injection in a laser-plasma wakefield accelerator is usually achieved by increasing the laser intensity until the threshold for injection is exceeded. Alternatively, the velocity of the bubble accelerating structure can be controlled using plasma density ramps, reducing the electron velocity required for injection. We present a model describing self-injection in the short-bunch regime for arbitrary changes in the plasma density. We derive the threshold condition for injection due to a plasma density gradient, which is confirmed using particle-in-cell simulations that demonstrate injection of subfemtosecond bunches. It is shown that the bunch charge, bunch length, and separation of bunches in a bunch train can be controlled by tailoring the plasma density profile.

High-intensity pulsed beam source with tunable operation mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nashilevskiy, A. V.; Kanaev, G. G.; Ezhov, V. V.; Shamanin, V. I.

2017-05-01

The report presents the design of an electron and an ion pulsed accelerator. The powerful high-voltage pulse generator of the accelerator and the vacuum bushing insulator is able to change the polarity of the output voltage. The low-inductance matching transformer provides an increase in the DFL output impedance by 4 times. The generator based on a high voltage pulse transformer and a pseudo spark switch is applied for DFL charging. The high-impedance magnetically insulated focusing diode with Br magnetic field and the “passive” anode was used to realize the ion beam generation mode. The plasma is formed on the surface of the anode caused by an electrical breakdown at the voltage edge pulse; as a result, the carbon ion and proton beam is generated. This beam has the following parameters: the current density is about 400 A/cm2 (in focus): the applied voltage is up to 450 kV. The accelerator is designed for the research on the interaction of the charged particle pulsed beams with materials and for the development of technological processes of a material modification.

Femtosecond dynamics of energetic electrons in high intensity laser-matter interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pompili, R.; Anania, M. P.; Bisesto, F.; Botton, M.; Castellano, M.; Chiadroni, E.; Cianchi, A.; Curcio, A.; Ferrario, M.; Galletti, M.; Henis, Z.; Petrarca, M.; Schleifer, E.; Zigler, A.

2016-10-01

Highly energetic electrons are generated at the early phases of the interaction of short-pulse high-intensity lasers with solid targets. These escaping particles are identified as the essential core of picosecond-scale phenomena such as laser-based acceleration, surface manipulation, generation of intense magnetic fields and electromagnetic pulses. Increasing the number of the escaping electrons facilitate the late time processes in all cases. Up to now only indirect evidences of these important forerunners have been recorded, thus no detailed study of the governing mechanisms was possible. Here we report, for the first time, direct time-dependent measurements of energetic electrons ejected from solid targets by the interaction with a short-pulse high-intensity laser. We measured electron bunches up to 7 nanocoulombs charge, picosecond duration and 12 megaelectronvolts energy. Our ’snapshots’ capture their evolution with an unprecedented temporal resolution, demonstrat- ing a significant boost in charge and energy of escaping electrons when increasing the geometrical target curvature. These results pave the way toward significant improvement in laser acceleration of ions using shaped targets allowing the future development of small scale laser-ion accelerators.

Irradiation of materials with short, intense ion pulses at NDCX-II

DOE PAGES

Seidl, P. A.; Barnard, J. J.; Feinberg, E.; ...

2017-05-31

Abstract We present an overview of the performance of the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment-II (NDCX-II) accelerator at Berkeley Lab, and report on recent target experiments on beam-driven melting and transmission ion energy loss measurements with nanosecond and millimeter-scale ion beam pulses and thin tin foils. Bunches with around 10 11ions, 1 mm radius, and 2–30 ns full width at half maximum duration have been created with corresponding fluences in the range of 0.1–0.7 J/cm 2. To achieve these short pulse durations and mm-scale focal spot radii, the 1.1 MeV [megaelectronvolt (10 6eV)] He +ion beam is neutralized in a driftmore » compression section, which removes the space charge defocusing effect during final compression and focusing. The beam space charge and drift compression techniques resemble necessary beam conditions and manipulations in heavy ion inertial fusion accelerators. Quantitative comparison of detailed particle-in-cell simulations with the experiment plays an important role in optimizing accelerator performance.« less

Irradiation of materials with short, intense ion pulses at NDCX-II

DOE PAGES

Seidl, P. A.; Barnard, J. J.; Feinberg, E.; ...

2017-05-31

Here, we present an overview of the performance of the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment-II (NDCX-II) accelerator at Berkeley Lab, and report on recent target experiments on beam-driven melting and transmission ion energy loss measurements with nanosecond and millimeter-scale ion beam pulses and thin tin foils. Bunches with around 10 11 ions, 1 mm radius, and 2–30 ns full width at half maximum duration have been created with corresponding fluences in the range of 0.1–0.7 J/cm 2. To achieve these short pulse durations and mm-scale focal spot radii, the 1.1 MeV [megaelectronvolt (10 6 eV)] He + ion beam is neutralizedmore » in a drift compression section, which removes the space charge defocusing effect during final compression and focusing. The beam space charge and drift compression techniques resemble necessary beam conditions and manipulations in heavy ion inertial fusion accelerators. In conclusion, quantitative comparison of detailed particle-in-cell simulations with the experiment plays an important role in optimizing accelerator performance« less

Irradiation of materials with short, intense ion pulses at NDCX-II

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Seidl, P. A.; Barnard, J. J.; Feinberg, E.

Abstract We present an overview of the performance of the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment-II (NDCX-II) accelerator at Berkeley Lab, and report on recent target experiments on beam-driven melting and transmission ion energy loss measurements with nanosecond and millimeter-scale ion beam pulses and thin tin foils. Bunches with around 10 11ions, 1 mm radius, and 2–30 ns full width at half maximum duration have been created with corresponding fluences in the range of 0.1–0.7 J/cm 2. To achieve these short pulse durations and mm-scale focal spot radii, the 1.1 MeV [megaelectronvolt (10 6eV)] He +ion beam is neutralized in a driftmore » compression section, which removes the space charge defocusing effect during final compression and focusing. The beam space charge and drift compression techniques resemble necessary beam conditions and manipulations in heavy ion inertial fusion accelerators. Quantitative comparison of detailed particle-in-cell simulations with the experiment plays an important role in optimizing accelerator performance.« less

Indirectly sensing accelerator beam currents for limiting maximum beam current magnitude

DOEpatents

Bogaty, J.M.; Clifft, B.E.; Bollinger, L.M.

1995-08-08

A beam current limiter is disclosed for sensing and limiting the beam current in a particle accelerator, such as a cyclotron or linear accelerator, used in scientific research and medical treatment. A pair of independently operable capacitive electrodes sense the passage of charged particle bunches to develop an RF signal indicative of the beam current magnitude produced at the output of a bunched beam accelerator. The RF signal produced by each sensing electrode is converted to a variable DC voltage indicative of the beam current magnitude. The variable DC voltages thus developed are compared to each other to verify proper system function and are further compared to known references to detect beam currents in excess of pre-established limits. In the event of a system malfunction, or if the detected beam current exceeds pre-established limits, the beam current limiter automatically inhibits further accelerator operation. A high Q tank circuit associated with each sensing electrode provides a narrow system bandwidth to reduce noise and enhance dynamic range. System linearity is provided by injecting, into each sensing electrode, an RF signal that is offset from the bunching frequency by a pre-determined beat frequency to ensure that subsequent rectifying diodes operate in a linear response region. The system thus provides a large dynamic range in combination with good linearity. 6 figs.

Indirectly sensing accelerator beam currents for limiting maximum beam current magnitude

DOEpatents

Bogaty, John M.; Clifft, Benny E.; Bollinger, Lowell M.

1995-01-01

A beam current limiter for sensing and limiting the beam current in a particle accelerator, such as a cyclotron or linear accelerator, used in scientific research and medical treatment. A pair of independently operable capacitive electrodes sense the passage of charged particle bunches to develop an RF signal indicative of the beam current magnitude produced at the output of a bunched beam accelerator. The RF signal produced by each sensing electrode is converted to a variable DC voltage indicative of the beam current magnitude. The variable DC voltages thus developed are compared to each other to verify proper system function and are further compared to known references to detect beam currents in excess of pre-established limits. In the event of a system malfunction, or if the detected beam current exceeds pre-established limits, the beam current limiter automatically inhibits further accelerator operation. A high Q tank circuit associated with each sensing electrode provides a narrow system bandwidth to reduce noise and enhance dynamic range. System linearity is provided by injecting, into each sensing electrode, an RF signal that is offset from the bunching frequency by a pre-determined beat frequency to ensure that subsequent rectifying diodes operate in a linear response region. The system thus provides a large dynamic range in combination with good linearity.

Biological Effects of Particles with Very High Energy Deposition on Mammalian Cells Utilizing the Brookhaven Tandem Van de Graaff Accelerator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saha, Janapriya; Cucinotta, Francis A.; Wang, Minli

2013-01-01

High LET radiation from GCR (Galactic Cosmic Rays) consisting mainly of high charge and energy (HZE) nuclei and secondary protons and neutrons, and secondaries from protons in SPE (Solar Particle Event) pose a major health risk to astronauts due to induction of DNA damage and oxidative stress. Experiments with high energy particles mimicking the space environment for estimation of radiation risk are being performed at NASA Space Radiation Laboratory at BNL. Experiments with low energy particles comparing to high energy particles of similar LET are of interest for investigation of the role of track structure on biological effects. For this purpose, we report results utilizing the Tandem Van de Graaff accelerator at BNL. The primary objective of our studies is to elucidate the influence of high vs low energy deposition on track structure, delta ray contribution and resulting biological responses. These low energy ions are of special relevance as these energies may occur following absorption through the spacecraft and shielding materials in human tissues and nuclear fragments produced in tissues by high energy protons and neutrons. This study will help to verify the efficiency of these low energy particles and better understand how various cell types respond to them.

Sharp plasma pinnacle structure based on shockwave for an improved laser wakefield accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Ming; Zhang, Zhijun; Wang, Wentao; Liu, Jiansheng; Li, Ruxin

2018-07-01

We created a sharp plasma pinnacle structure for localized electron injection and controlled acceleration in a laser wakefield accelerator. The formation of this shockwave-based pinnacle structure was investigated using aerodynamic theory. Details and scaling laws for the shockwave angle, shock position, shock width, and density ratio were experimentally and theoretically presented. Such work is crucial to yielding an expected plasma density distribution in a laser–plasma experiment but has had little discussion in the literature. Compared with the commonly used shock downramp structure, the particle-in-cell simulations demonstrated that the e beam injected in the created pinnacle structure could be accelerated to higher energy with much smaller root-mean-square relative energy spread. Moreover, this study indicated that the beam charge and transverse emittance can be tuned by the shock angle.

Prolonged electron accelerations at a high-Mach-number, quasi-perpendicular shock

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumoto, Y.; Amano, T.; Kato, T.; Hoshino, M.

2016-12-01

Elucidating acceleration mechanisms of charged particles have been of great interests in laboratory, space, and astrophysical plasmas. Among other mechanisms, a collision-less shock is thought as an efficient particle accelerator. The idea has been strengthened by radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray observations of astrophysical objects such as supernova remnant shocks, where it has been indicated that protons and electrons are efficiently accelerated to TeV energies at such very strong shock waves. Efficient electron accelerations at high-Mach-number shocks was also suggested recently by in-situ measurements at the Saturn's bow shock. Motivated by these circumstances, laboratory experiments using high-power laser facilities emerge to provide a new platform to tackle these problems.Numerical simulations have revealed that electrons can be efficiently heated and accelerated via so-called the shock surfing acceleration mechanism in which electron-scale Buneman instability played key roles. Recently, Matsumoto et al. [2015] proposed a stochastic acceleration mechanism by turbulent reconnection in the shock transition region through excitation of the ion Weibel instability. In order to deal with the two different acceleration mechanisms in a self-consistent system, we examined 3D PIC simulations of a quasi-perpendicular, high-Mach-number shock. We successfully followed a long term evolution in which two different acceleration mechanisms coexist in the 3D shock structure. The Buneman instability is strongly excited ahead of the shock front in the same manner as have been found in 2D simulations. The surfing acceleration is found to be very effective in the present 3D system. In the transition region, the ion-beam Weibel instability generated strong magnetic field turbulence in 3D space. Energetic electrons, which initially experienced the surfing acceleration, undergo pitch-angle diffusion by interacting with the turbulent fields and thus stay in the upstream regions. The ion Weibel turbulence is essentially the key to prolonged acceleration processes which can produce relativistic particles with energies more than 1000 times the initial kinetic energy. We present how such relativistic electrons are produced during traveling in the 3D shock structure.

Explosive X-point collapse in relativistic magnetically dominated plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyutikov, Maxim; Sironi, Lorenzo; Komissarov, Serguei S.; Porth, Oliver

2017-12-01

The extreme properties of the gamma-ray flares in the Crab nebula present a clear challenge to our ideas on the nature of particle acceleration in relativistic astrophysical plasma. It seems highly unlikely that standard mechanisms of stochastic type are at work here and hence the attention of theorists has switched to linear acceleration in magnetic reconnection events. In this series of papers, we attempt to develop a theory of explosive magnetic reconnection in highly magnetized relativistic plasma which can explain the extreme parameters of the Crab flares. In the first paper, we focus on the properties of the X-point collapse. Using analytical and numerical methods (fluid and particle-in-cell simulations) we extend Syrovatsky's classical model of such collapse to the relativistic regime. We find that the collapse can lead to the reconnection rate approaching the speed of light on macroscopic scales. During the collapse, the plasma particles are accelerated by charge-starved electric fields, which can reach (and even exceed) values of the local magnetic field. The explosive stage of reconnection produces non-thermal power-law tails with slopes that depend on the average magnetization . For sufficiently high magnetizations and vanishing guide field, the non-thermal particle spectrum consists of two components: a low-energy population with soft spectrum that dominates the number census; and a high-energy population with hard spectrum that possesses all the properties needed to explain the Crab flares.

Implementation of a hybrid particle code with a PIC description in r–z and a gridless description in ϕ into OSIRIS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Davidson, A., E-mail: davidsoa@physics.ucla.edu; Tableman, A., E-mail: Tableman@physics.ucla.edu; An, W., E-mail: anweiming@ucla.edu

2015-01-15

For many plasma physics problems, three-dimensional and kinetic effects are very important. However, such simulations are very computationally intensive. Fortunately, there is a class of problems for which there is nearly azimuthal symmetry and the dominant three-dimensional physics is captured by the inclusion of only a few azimuthal harmonics. Recently, it was proposed [1] to model one such problem, laser wakefield acceleration, by expanding the fields and currents in azimuthal harmonics and truncating the expansion. The complex amplitudes of the fundamental and first harmonic for the fields were solved on an r–z grid and a procedure for calculating the complexmore » current amplitudes for each particle based on its motion in Cartesian geometry was presented using a Marder's correction to maintain the validity of Gauss's law. In this paper, we describe an implementation of this algorithm into OSIRIS using a rigorous charge conserving current deposition method to maintain the validity of Gauss's law. We show that this algorithm is a hybrid method which uses a particles-in-cell description in r–z and a gridless description in ϕ. We include the ability to keep an arbitrary number of harmonics and higher order particle shapes. Examples for laser wakefield acceleration, plasma wakefield acceleration, and beam loading are also presented and directions for future work are discussed.« less

Electron and ion acceleration in relativistic shocks with applications to GRB afterglows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warren, Donald C.; Ellison, Donald C.; Bykov, Andrei M.; Lee, Shiu-Hang

2015-09-01

We have modelled the simultaneous first-order Fermi shock acceleration of protons, electrons, and helium nuclei by relativistic shocks. By parametrizing the particle diffusion, our steady-state Monte Carlo simulation allows us to follow particles from particle injection at non-relativistic thermal energies to above PeV energies, including the non-linear smoothing of the shock structure due to cosmic ray (CR) backpressure. We observe the mass-to-charge (A/Z) enhancement effect believed to occur in efficient Fermi acceleration in non-relativistic shocks and we parametrize the transfer of ion energy to electrons seen in particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. For a given set of environmental and model parameters, the Monte Carlo simulation determines the absolute normalization of the particle distributions and the resulting synchrotron, inverse Compton, and pion-decay emission in a largely self-consistent manner. The simulation is flexible and can be readily used with a wide range of parameters typical of γ-ray burst (GRB) afterglows. We describe some preliminary results for photon emission from shocks of different Lorentz factors and outline how the Monte Carlo simulation can be generalized and coupled to hydrodynamic simulations of GRB blast waves. We assume Bohm diffusion for simplicity but emphasize that the non-linear effects we describe stem mainly from an extended shock precursor where higher energy particles diffuse further upstream. Quantitative differences will occur with different diffusion models, particularly for the maximum CR energy and photon emission, but these non-linear effects should be qualitatively similar as long as the scattering mean-free path is an increasing function of momentum.

Scaling of the Propulsive Capability of Aluminized Gelled Nitromethane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loiseau, Jason; Higgins, Andrew; Frost, David; Zhang, Fan

2017-06-01

It is well accepted that small mass fractions (<20%) of micron-scale aluminum particles added to a high explosive can react quickly and with sufficient exothermicity to improve metal-acceleration ability (AA) relative to an equal volume of only the base explosive. In order for the aluminum to increase AA, exothermicity must more than offset losses in gas-production and from heating and accelerating the solid particle in the flow. Furthermore, particles must react promptly to deliver this energy prior to loss in driving pressure with product expansion or acoustic decoupling from the driven material. For these reasons many aluminized formulations exhibit slight or no increase in AA ability. Furthermore, AA ability is typically studied using the cylinder test, which specifies a fixed, heavy copper wall. In the present study the authors have used symmetric sandwiches of flyer plates of varying thicknesses to examine how charge scaling and plate acceleration timescales influence the enhancement in AA for different mass fractions and sizes of aluminum particles. Nitromethane gelled with 4% Poly(methyl methacrylate) by mass was used as the base explosive. 3M K1 microballoons were added at a mass fraction of 0.5% to sensitize the mixture. Mass fraction of aluminum was varied between 10% and 40% and particle size was varied from 2 μm to 100 μm. For small mass fractions of alumimum, an enhancement in AA was observed for all particle sizes and flyer configurations and indicated an onset of reaction very close to the sonic plane of the detonation wave.

Proceedings of the workshop on B physics at hadron accelerators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McBride, P.; Mishra, C.S.

1993-12-31

This report contains papers on the following topics: Measurement of Angle {alpha}; Measurement of Angle {beta}; Measurement of Angle {gamma}; Other B Physics; Theory of Heavy Flavors; Charged Particle Tracking and Vertexing; e and {gamma} Detection; Muon Detection; Hadron ID; Electronics, DAQ, and Computing; and Machine Detector Interface. Selected papers have been indexed separately for inclusion the in Energy Science and Technology Database.

Achieving Stable Radiation Pressure Acceleration of Heavy Ions via Successive Electron Replenishment from Ionization of a High-Z Material Coating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, X. F.; Qiao, B.; Chang, H. X.; Kar, S.; Zhou, C. T.; Borghesi, M.; He, X. T.

2016-10-01

Generation of monoenergetic heavy ion beams aroused more scientific interest in recent years. Radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) is an ideal mechanism for obtaining high-quality heavy ion beams, in principle. However, to achieve the same energy per nucleon (velocity) as protons, heavy ions undergo much more serious Rayleigh-Taylor-like (RT) instability and afterwards much worse Coulomb explosion due to loss of co-moving electrons. This leads to premature acceleration termination of heavy ions and very low energy attained in experiment. The utilization of a high-Z coating in front of the target may suppress the RT instability and Coulomb explosion by continuously replenishing the accelerating heavy ion foil with co-moving electrons due to its successive ionization under laser fields with Gaussian temporal and spatial profiles. Thus stable RPA can be realized. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional particles-in-cell simulations with dynamic ionization show that a monoenergetic Al13+ beam with peak energy 4.0GeV and particle number 1010 (charge > 20nC) can be obtained at intensity 1022 W/cm2. Supported by the NSF, Nos. 11575298 and 1000-Talents Program of China.

Material science as basis for nuclear medicine: Holmium irradiation for radioisotopes production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Usman, Ahmed Rufai; Khandaker, Mayeen Uddin; Haba, Hiromitsu; Otuka, Naohiko

2018-05-01

Material Science, being an interdisciplinary field, plays important roles in nuclear science. These applications are seen in weaponry, armoured vehicles, accelerator structure and development, semiconductor detectors, nuclear medicine and many more. Present study presents the applications of some metals in nuclear medicine (radioisotope production). The charged-particle-induced nuclear reactions by using cyclotrons or accelerators have become a very vital feature of the modern nuclear medicine. Realising the importance of excitation functions for the efficient production of medical radionuclides, some very high purity holmium metals are generally prepared or purchased for bombardment in nuclear accelerators. In the present work, various methods to obtain pure holmium for radioisotope production have been discussed while also presenting details of our present studies. From the experimental work of the present studies, some very high purity holmium foils have been used in the work for a comprehensive study of residual radionuclides production cross-sections. The study was performed using a stacked-foil activation technique combined with γ-ray spectrometry. The stack was bombarded with 50.4 MeV alpha particle beam from AVF cyclotron of RI Beam Factory, Nishina Centre for Accelerator-Based Science, RIKEN, Japan. The work produced thulium radionuclides useful in nuclear medicine.