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At least 217 records · Page 12

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2013

Measuring uncertainty in dose delivered to the cochlea due to setup error during external beam treatment of patients with cancer of the head and neck

Purpose: To use Cone Beam CT scans obtained just prior to treatments of head and neck cancer patients to measure the setup error and cumulative dose uncertainty of the cochlea. Methods: Data from 10 head and neck patients with 10 planning CTs and 52 Cone Beam CTs taken at time of treatment were used in this study. Patients were treated with conventional fractionation using an IMRT dose painting technique, most with 33 fractions. Weekly radiographic imaging was used to correct the patient setup. The authors used rigid registration of the planning CT and Cone Beam CT scans to find the translational and rotational setup errors, and the spatial setup errors of the cochlea. The planning CT was rotated and translated such that the cochlea positions match those seen in the cone beam scans, cochlea doses were recalculated and fractional doses accumulated. Uncertainties in the positions and cumulative doses of the cochlea were calculated with and without setup adjustments from radiographic imaging. Results: The mean setup error of the cochlea was 0.04 ± 0.33 or 0.06 ± 0.43 cm for RL, 0.09 ± 0.27 or 0.07 ± 0.48 cm for AP, and 0.00 ± 0.21 or −0.24 ± 0.45 cm for SI with and without radiographic imaging, respectively. Setup with radiographic imaging reduced the standard deviation of the setup error by roughly 1–2 mm. The uncertainty of the cochlea dose depends on the treatment plan and the relative positions of the cochlea and target volumes. Combining results for the left and right cochlea, the authors found the accumulated uncertainty of the cochlea dose per fraction was 4.82 (0.39–16.8) cGy, or 10.1 (0.8–32.4) cGy, with and without radiographic imaging, respectively; the percentage uncertainties relative to the planned doses were 4.32% (0.28%–9.06%) and 10.2% (0.7%–63.6%), respectively. Conclusions: Patient setup error introduces uncertainty in the position of the cochlea during radiation treatment. With the assistance of radiographic imaging during setup, the standard deviation of setup error reduced by 31%, 42%, and 54% in RL, AP, and SI direction, respectively, and consequently, the uncertainty of the mean dose to cochlea reduced more than 50%. The authors estimate that the effects of these uncertainties on the probability of hearing loss for an individual patient could be as large as 10%.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

DOE OSTI2014

Quality indexes based on water measurements for low and medium energy x-ray beams: A theoretical study with PENELOPE

Purpose : To study the use of quality indexes based on ratios of absorbed doses in water at two different depths to characterize x-ray beams of low and medium energies. Methods : A total of 55 x-ray beam spectra were generated with the codes XCOMP5R and SPEKCALC and used as input of a series of Monte Carlo simulations performed with PENELOPE, in which the percentage depth doses in water and thek{sub Q,Q{sub 0}} factors, defined in the TRS-398 protocol, were determined for each beam. Some of these calculations were performed by simulating the ionization chamber PTW 30010. Results : The authors found that the relation betweenk{sub Q,Q{sub 0}} and the ratios of absorbed doses at two depths is almost linear. A set of ratios statistically compatible with that showing the best fit has been determined. Conclusions : The results of this study point out which of these ratios of absorbed doses in water could be used to better characterize x-ray beams of low and medium energies.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

DOE OSTI2014

Dual-energy cone-beam CT with a flat-panel detector: Effect of reconstruction algorithm on material classification

Purpose: Cone-beam CT (CBCT) with a flat-panel detector (FPD) is finding application in areas such as breast and musculoskeletal imaging, where dual-energy (DE) capabilities offer potential benefit. The authors investigate the accuracy of material classification in DE CBCT using filtered backprojection (FBP) and penalized likelihood (PL) reconstruction and optimize contrast-enhanced DE CBCT of the joints as a function of dose, material concentration, and detail size. Methods: Phantoms consisting of a 15 cm diameter water cylinder with solid calcium inserts (50–200 mg/ml, 3–28.4 mm diameter) and solid iodine inserts (2–10 mg/ml, 3–28.4 mm diameter), as well as a cadaveric knee with intra-articular injection of iodine were imaged on a CBCT bench with a Varian 4343 FPD. The low energy (LE) beam was 70 kVp (+0.2 mm Cu), and the high energy (HE) beam was 120 kVp (+0.2 mm Cu, +0.5 mm Ag). Total dose (LE+HE) was varied from 3.1 to 15.6 mGy with equal dose allocation. Image-based DE classification involved a nearest distance classifier in the space of LE versus HE attenuation values. Recognizing the differences in noise between LE and HE beams, the LE and HE data were differentially filtered (in FBP) or regularized (in PL). Both a quadratic (PLQ) and a total-variation penalty (PLTV) were investigated for PL. The performance of DE CBCT material discrimination was quantified in terms of voxelwise specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy. Results: Noise in the HE image was primarily responsible for classification errors within the contrast inserts, whereas noise in the LE image mainly influenced classification in the surrounding water. For inserts of diameter 28.4 mm, DE CBCT reconstructions were optimized to maximize the total combined accuracy across the range of calcium and iodine concentrations, yielding values of ∼88% for FBP and PLQ, and ∼95% for PLTV at 3.1 mGy total dose, increasing to ∼95% for FBP and PLQ, and ∼98% for PLTV at 15.6 mGy total dose. For a fixed iodine concentration of 5 mg/ml and reconstructions maximizing overall accuracy across the range of insert diameters, the minimum diameter classified with accuracy >80% was ∼15 mm for FBP and PLQ and ∼10 mm for PLTV, improving to ∼7 mm for FBP and PLQ and ∼3 mm for PLTV at 15.6 mGy. The results indicate similar performance for FBP and PLQ and showed improved classification accuracy with edge-preserving PLTV. A slight preference for increased smoothing of the HE data was found. DE CBCT discrimination of iodine and bone in the knee was demonstrated with FBP and PLTV at 6.2 mGy total dose. Conclusions: For iodine concentrations >5 mg/ml and detail size ∼20 mm, material classification accuracy of >90% was achieved in DE CBCT with both FBP and PL at total doses <10 mGy. Optimal performance was attained by selection of reconstruction parameters based on the differences in noise between HE and LE data, typically favoring stronger smoothing of the HE data, and by using penalties matched to the imaging task (e.g., edge-preserving PLTV in areas of uniform enhancement)

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

DOE OSTI2016

TH-CD-209-02: Beam Angle Optimization Incorporating Anatomical Heterogeneities for Pencil Beam Scanning Charged-Particle Therapy

Purpose: In charged particle therapy with pencil beam scanning (PBS), localization of the dose in the Bragg peak makes dose distributions sensitive to lateral tissue heterogeneities. Sensitivity of a PBS plan to lateral tissue heterogeneity can be reduced by selecting suitable beam angles. The purpose of this study is to establish a fast and accurate method of beam angle selection for PBS. Methods: The lateral tissue heterogeneity surrounding the path of respective pencil beams at a given angle was quantified with the heterogeneity number using effective density data of patients. To shorten the computation time, one dimensional dose calculation and optimization were conducted along the central axis of pencil beams originating from the scanning magnets. Calculation was performed for all fields with possible gantry and couch angles. The angles leading the minimum mean heterogeneity number was selected as the optimal beam angle. Three head and neck (H&N) cancer patients were used to evaluate our method. Dose distributions and their robustness to range and set up errors were evaluated for all tested angles, and their relation to their heterogeneity numbers were investigated. Results: Variety of heterogeneity number was clearly shown due to air cavities and bony structures in the patients. The mean value of heterogeneity number in all possible fields varied between 1.2 and 10.6 mm. By selecting a field with a lower mean value of heterogeneity number, target dose coverage and robustness of the fields were improved. Conclusion: We developed a computational method to determine a beam angle that leads good target coverage and robustness to setup errors. The developed stand-alone computation program is simple, fast, accurate and applicable for beam angle selection in PBS therapy.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2019

Generation of extreme-ultraviolet beams with time-varying orbital angular momentum

Light fields carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) provide powerful capabilities for applications in optical communications, microscopy, quantum optics, and microparticle manipulation. We introduce a property of light beams, manifested as a temporal OAM variation along a pulse: the self-torque of light. Although self-torque is found in diverse physical systems (i.e., electrodynamics and general relativity), it was not realized that light could possess such a property. We demonstrate that extreme-ultraviolet self-torqued beams arise in high-harmonic generation driven by time-delayed pulses with different OAM. We monitor the self-torque of extreme-ultraviolet beams through their azimuthal frequency chirp. Lastly, this class of dynamic-OAM beams provides the ability for controlling magnetic, topological, and quantum excitations and for manipulating molecules and nanostructures on their natural time and length scales.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

An experimental program with high duty-cycle polarized and unpolarized positron beams at Jefferson Lab

Positron beams, both polarized and unpolarized, are identified as important ingredients for the experimental programs at the next generation of lepton accelerators. In the context of the hadronic physics program at Jefferson Lab (JLab), positron beams are complementary, even essential, tools for a precise understanding of the electromagnetic structure of nucleons and nuclei, in both the elastic and deep-inelastic regimes. For instance, elastic scattering of polarized and unpolarized electrons and positrons from the nucleon enables a model independent determination of its electromagnetic form factors. Also, the deeply-virtual scattering of polarized and unpolarized electrons and positrons allows unambiguous separation of the different contributions to the cross section of the lepto-production of photons and of lepton-pairs, enabling an accurate determination of the nucleons and nuclei generalized parton distributions, and providing an access to the gravitational form factors of the energy-momentum tensor. Furthermore, positron beams offer the possibility of alternative tests of the Standard Model of particle physics through the search of a dark photon, the precise measurement of electroweak couplings, and the investigation of charged lepton flavor violation. This document discusses the perspectives of an experimental program with high duty-cycle positron beams at JLab.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Experimental Demonstration of Ion Beam Cooling with Pulsed Electron Beam

Cooling ion beams at high energy is presently considered for several ion colliders, in order to achieve high luminosities by enabling a significant reduction of emittance of hadron beams. Electron beam at cooling channel in a few to tens MeV can be accelerated by a RF/SRF linac, and thus using bunched electrons to cool bunched ions. To study such cooling process, the DC electron gun of EC35 cooler at the storage ring CSRm, IMP was modified by pulsing the grid voltage. A 0.07-3.5 micro-second pulse length with a repetition frequency of less than 250 kHz and synchronized with the ion revolution frequency was obtained. The first experimental demonstration of cooling of a coasting and bunched ion beam by a pulsed electron beam was carried out. Data analysis indicates the bunch length shrinkage and the momentum spread reduction of bunched 12C+6 ion beam as evidence of cooling. A longitudinal grouping effect of the coasting ion beam by the electron pulses has also been observed*. In this paper, we will present experimental results and comparison to the simulation modelling, particularly on the bunched electron cooling data after carefully analyzing the beam diagnostic signals.

Zhang, Yuhong↗

DOE OSTI2021

Superconducting RF Gun with High Current and the Capability to Generate Polarized Electron Beams

High-current low-emittance CW electron beams are indispensable for nuclear and high-energy physics fixed target and collider experiments, cooling high energy hadron beams, generating CW beams of monoenergetic X-rays (in FELs) and gamma-rays (in Compton sources). Polarization of electrons in these beams provides extra value by opening a new set of observables and frequently improving the data quality. We report on the upgrade of the unique and fully functional CW SRF 1.25 MeV SRF gun, built as part of the Coherent electron Cooling (CeC) project, which has demonstrated sustained CW operation with CsK2Sb photocathodes generating electron bunches with record-low transverse emittances and record-high bunch charge exceeding 10 nC. We propose to extend the capabilities of this system to high average current of 100 milliampere in two steps: increasing the current 30-fold at each step with the goal to demonstrate reliable long-term operation of the high-current low-emittance CW SRF guns. We also propose to test polarized GaAs photocathodes in the ultra-high vacuum (UHV) environment of the SRF gun, which has never been successfully demonstrated in RF accelerators.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2012

Beam-beam effects in RHIC

In this article we review the beam-beam effects in the polarized proton runs in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The operational observations, limitations, and the next luminosity goal are presented and discussed. With an upgraded polarized proton source, the proton bunch intensity will be increased from 1.7 × 10 11 up to 3.0 × 10 11 . To accommodate the large beam-beam tune spread in the current tune space between 2/3 and 7/10 and to compensate the nonlinear beam-beam resonance driving terms, head-on beam-beam compensation with electron lenses (e-lenses) is to be installed.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2012

Beam-Beam Effects in RHIC

In this article we review the beam-beam effects in the polarized proton runs in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The operational observations, limitations, and the next luminosity goal are presented and discussed. With an upgraded polarized proton source, the proton bunch intensity will be increased from 1.7 x 10 11 up to 3.0 x 10 11 . To accommodate the large beam-beam tune spread in the current tune space between 2/3 and 7/10 and to compensate the nonlinear beam-beam resonance driving terms, head-on beam-beam compensation with electron lenses (e-lenses) is to be installed.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2013

Beam-Beam Observations in RHIC

The relativistic heavy ion collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory has been in operation since 2000. Over the past decade the luminosity in the polarized proton (p-p) operations has increased by more than one order of magnitude. The maximum total beam-beam tune shift with two collisions has reached 0.018. The beam-beam interaction leads to large tune spread, emittance growth, and short beam and luminosity lifetimes. In this article, we review the beam-beam observations during the previous RHIC p-p runs. The mechanism for particle loss is presented. The intra-beam scattering (IBS) contributions to emittance and bunch length growths are calculated and compared with the measurements. In the end we will discuss current limits in the RHIC p-p operations and their solutions.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2013

Electron Cloud in Steel Beam Pipe vs Titanium Nitride Coated and Amorphous Carbon Coated Beam Pipes in Fermilab's Main Injector

This paper documents the use of four retarding field analyzers (RFAs) to measure electron cloud signals created in Fermilab’s Main Injector during 120 GeV operations. The first data set was taken from September 11, 2009 to July 4, 2010. This data set is used to compare two different types of beam pipe that were installed in the accelerator. Two RFAs were installed in a normal steel beam pipe like the rest of the Main Injector while another two were installed in a one meter section of beam pipe that was coated on the inside with titanium nitride (TiN). A second data run started on August 23, 2010 and ended on January 10, 2011 when Main Injector beam intensities were reduced thus eliminating the electron cloud. This second run uses the same RFA setup but the TiN coated beam pipe was replaced by a one meter section coated with amorphous carbon (aC). This section of beam pipe was provided by CERN in an effort to better understand how an aC coating will perform over time in an accelerator. The research consists of three basic parts: (a) continuously monitoring the conditioning of the three different types of beam pipe over both time and absorbed electrons (b) measurement of the characteristics of the surrounding magnetic fields in the Main Injector in order to better relate actual data observed in the Main Injector with that of simulations (c) measurement of the energy spectrum of the electron cloud signals using retarding field analyzers in all three types of beam pipe.

Backfish, Michael↗

NASA NTRS1982

Collimated beam manifold with the number of output beams variable at a given output angle

An optical manifold is described which transforms a collimated beam, such as a laser beam, into a plurality of parallel beams having uniform intensity or having a desired intensity ratio. The manifold comprises an optical substrate coated on its rear surface with a fully reflective layer and on its front surface with a partially reflecting layer having a reflectivity gradient. An input collimated beam entering the rear surface and impinging on the front surface is reflected, multiply between the front and rear surfaces producing a plurality of parallel beams that emerge from the front surface. The intensities of the emerging beams have a relationship that depends on the reflectivity of the front surface at the points where the beams emerge. By properly selecting the reflectivity gradient, the emerging beams have uniform intensity or a desired intensity ratio.

Campbell, C. W.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Electromagnetic electron beam instabilities - Hot, isotropic beams

This paper considers the linear theory of electromagnetic instabilities driven by an electron beam in a homogeneous, nonrelativistic, Vlasov plasma. The beam is relatively hot, isotropic in its own frame, and streams parallel or antiparallel to a magnetic field B. Numerical solutions of the full dispersion equation for propagation parallel or antiparallel to B are presented, and the linear properties of the whistler heat flux and electron beam firehose instabilities are exhibited and compared. Under a broad range of parmameters the former mode has the lower beam speed threshold, and the larger maximum growth rate. In addition, it is demonstrated that, for a sufficiently large relative beam density, relative beam temperature, and plasma beta the whistler heat flux instability has a much lower beam speed threshold than the electrostatic electron beam instability. The application of these instabilities to first-order Fermi acceleration of electrons at space plasma shocks is discussed.

Gary, S. P.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Optical profile determining apparatus and associated methods including the use of a plurality of wavelengths in the reference beam and a plurality of wavelengths in a reflective transit beam

An optical profile determining apparatus includes an optical detector and an optical source. The optical source generates a transmit beam including a plurality of wavelengths, and generates a reference beam including the plurality of wavelengths. Optical elements direct the transmit beam to a target, direct a resulting reflected transmit beam back from the target to the optical detector, and combine the reference beam with the reflected transmit beam so that a profile of the target is based upon fringe contrast produced by the plurality of wavelengths in the reference beam and the plurality of wavelengths in the reflected transmit beam.

Montgomery, Robert M.↗

DOE OSTI2012

Beam Loss Studies for the 2-MW LBNE Proton Beam Line

Severe limits are required for allowable beam loss during extraction and transport of a 2.3 MW primary proton beam for the Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) at Fermilab. Detailed simulations with the STRUCT and MARS codes have evaluated the impact of beam loss of 1.6e14 protons per pulse at 120 GeV, ranging from a single pulse full loss to sustained small fractional loss. It is shown that localized loss of a single beam pulse at 2.3 MW will result in a destructive event: beam pipe failu re, damaged magnets and high levels of residual radiation inside the tunnel. A sustained full beam loss would be catastrophic. Acceptable beam loss limits have been determined and robust solutions developed to enable efficient proton beam operation under these constraints.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Pulse Generator for Beam Deflector at the SNS Beam Test Facility

A new Beam Test Facility (BTF) has been built at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). It contains an ion source, Low Energy Beam Transport (LEBT) system, and a new Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) cavity. To determine the transmission losses of the ion beam through the RFQ, beam currents at RFQ input and output have to be measured. Input current measurements can be performed with an electrostatic deflector within the LEBT to displace the beam to a current pick up sensor located radially outward from the beam axis. A new pulse generator has been designed and built at the SNS to produce up to 6 kV pulses, with a pulse width of 1 to 10 usec at a repetition frequency of 10 Hz into the capacitive load to create the appropriate deflecting electrical field. This paper will review the beam deflector system; describe the new pulse generator and its performance, and present preliminary results of the beam transmission measurements.

Peplov, Vladimir↗

DOE OSTI2022

Radiation hardened beam instrumentations for multi-Mega-Watt beam facilities

The radiation hardened beam instrumentations workshop was held on February 3rd and 4th, 2022 to identify the technological challenges on the beam instrumentation for multi-Mega-Watt (MW) beam facilities. We invited a speaker from a high energy neutrino beam facility (CERN, Fermilab and J-PARC), a collider detector group (CERN and Fermilab), a neutron spallation source facility (ESS, J-PARC and SNS), and a rare-isotope beam facility (FRIB). Although, the operational beam parameter for each institution is unique due to their different physics goals, we realize that there is a common issue on the beam instrumentation. Therefore, it will be tackled by a collaborative R&D effort among facilities. We summarize an output from the workshop in the paper, and propose a possible R&D for the future radiation hardened beam instrumentations with a global effort.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗