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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 361 records · Page 20
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Conceptual Design of a 20 T Hybrid Cos-Theta Di- pole Superconducting Magnet for Future High-Energy Particle Accelerators

High energy physics research will need more and more powerful circular accelerators in the next decades. It is therefore desirable to have dipole magnets able to produce the largest possible magnetic field, in order to keep the machine diameter within a reasonable size. A 20 T dipole is considered a desired achievement since it would allow the construction of an 80 km machine, able to circulate 100 TeV proton beams. In order to reach 20 T, a hybrid Low-Temperature Superconductor (LTS) - High-Temperature Superconductor (HTS) magnet is needed, since LTS technology is presently limited to ~16 T for accelerator magnet applications. In this paper, we present the design of a 6 layers 20 T hybrid dipole magnet using Nb3Sn (LTS) and Bi2212 (HTS). We show that it is possible to achieve this magnetic field with accelerator field quality, with sufficient margin on a realistic conductor, keeping the stresses within safe limit, avoiding conductor degradation

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS2014

High-Energy X-Ray Imaging of the Pulsar Wind Nebula MSH 15-52: Constraints on Particle Acceleration and Transport

We present the first images of the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) MSH 15−52 in the hard X-ray band (8 keV), as measured with the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). Overall, the morphology of the PWN as measured by NuSTAR in the 3-7 keV band is similar to that seen in Chandra high-resolution imaging. However, the spatial extent decreases with energy, which we attribute to synchrotron energy losses as the particles move away from the shock. The hard-band maps show a relative deficit of counts in the northern region toward the RCW 89 thermal remnant, with significant asymmetry. We find that the integrated PWN spectra measured with NuSTAR and Chandra suggest that there is a spectral break at 6 keV, which may be explained by a break in the synchrotron emitting electron distribution at approximately 200 TeV and/or imperfect cross calibration. We also measure spatially resolved spectra, showing that the spectrum of the PWN softens away from the central pulsar B1509−58, and that there exists a roughly sinusoidal variation of spectral hardness in the azimuthal direction. We discuss the results using particle flow models. We find non-monotonic structure in the variation with distance of spectral hardness within 50 of the pulsar moving in the jet direction, which may imply particle and magnetic-field compression by magnetic hoop stress as previously suggested for this source. We also present two-dimensional maps of spectral parameters and find an interesting shell-like structure in the N(sub H) map. We discuss possible origins of the shell-like structure and their implications.

individual objects: G320.4-1.2↗
NASA NTRS1993

The injection and acceleration of particles in oblique shocks - A unified Monte Carlo description

Important problems are discussed concerning the effects of shock geometry on the injection of thermal particles and the process of standard Fermi particle acceleration in general. In pursuit of a self-consistent model that simultaneously describes shock structure and particle acceleration in shocks of arbitrary obliquity, a Monte Carlo simulation developed for parallel shocks is generalized to address oblique geometries. Attention is given to initial results concerning the ways in which injection and acceleration efficiency varies with obliquity and Mach number.

Baring, Matthew G.↗
NASA NTRS1998

A Plasma Drag Hypervelocity Particle Accelerator (HYPER)

Current debris models are able to predict the growth of the space debris problem and suggest that spacecraft must employ armor or bumper shields for some orbital altitudes now and that the problem will become worse as a function of time. The practical upper limit to the velocity distribution is on the order of 40 km/s and is associated with the natural environment. The velocity distribution of the man-made component peaks at 9-10 km/s with maximum velocity in the 14-16 km/s range. Experience in space has verified that the "high probability of impact" particles are in the microgram to milligram range. These particles can have very significant effects on coatings, insulators, and thin metallic layers. The surface of thick materials becomes pitted and the local debris component is enhanced by ejecta from the impact events. In this paper, the HYPER facility is described which produces a reasonable simulation of the man-made space debris spectrum in a controlled environment. The facility capability is discussed in terms of drive geometry, energetics, velocity distribution, diagnostics, and projectile/debris loading. The facility has been used to study impact phenomena on Space Station Freedom's solar array structure, the calibration of space debris collectors, other solar array materials, potential structural materials for use in space, electrical breakdown in the space environment, and as a means of clarifying or duplicating the impact phenomena on surfaces which have been exposed in space.

Best, Steve R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Particle acceleration at shocks with surface ripples

The present treatment of superthermal-ion acceleration on the surface of a fast-mode hydromagnetic shock gives attention to (1) small-amplitude surface ripples characterized by width L and amplitude A that are large relative to the energetic-ion gyroradius, and (2) shocks which are on average quasi-perpendicular. An investigation is made of the effects of the confinement, evolving geometry, and finite shock curvature associated with the ripple, by integrating along the orbits of the proton test particles. As an upstream magnetic field line convects through the surface ripple, it intersects the shock at two points, thereby forming a temporary magnetic trap. Flux-line profiles and angular distributions in a given ripple differ substantially, depending on the path it takes through the ripple and its distance from the shock.

Decker, R. B.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Particle Acceleration in SN1006 Shock Waves

The FUSE data have been reduced, and a paper on the results is in progress. The main results have been presented in a poster at the January 2004 AAS meeting and an ApJ paper in press. The primary result is that the widths of the 0 VI lines in the NW filament are a bit less than the width expected if the oxygen kinetic temperature is 16 times the proton temperature (mass proportional heating). This is at variance with measurements of shocks in the heliosphere, where preferential heating of oxygen and other heavy species is observed. The paper discusses the theoretical implications for collisionless shock wave physics. A secondary result is that no O VI emission was observed from the NE filament. While the very different particle distribution in that region can partially account for the weakness of the O VI lines, the simplest interpretation is that the pre-shock density in the NE is less than 0.22 times the density in the NW.

Sonneborn, George↗
DOE OSTI2021

Microchip accelerators

Particle accelerators are among the most important scientific tools of the modern age. Major accelerator facilities, such as the 27-km-circumference Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, where the Higgs boson was recently discovered, allow scientists to uncover fundamental properties of matter and energy. But the particle energies needed to explore new regimes of physics have increased to the TeV scale and beyond, and accelerator facilities based on conventional technologies are becoming prohibitively large and costly. Further, even lower-energy, smaller-scale accelerators used in medicine and industry are often cumbersome devices; they can weigh several tons and cost millions of dollars.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRS2006

Multi-Spacecraft Observations of Interplanetary Shock Accelerated Particle Events

We use simultaneous measurements from the Wind and ACE spacecraft to determine the spatial properties of both interplanetary (IP) shocks and the shock-associated energetic particle events. We combine plasma, magnetic field and energetic particle data from ACE and Wind for 124 energetic storm particle (ESP) events from 1998 to 2003 and examine the spatial and temporal variations of these events in the Earth's vicinity. We find that even though the two spacecraft were occasionally separated by more than 400 RE, the plasma, field, and energetic particle time-intensity profiles during the events were very similar. In addition, we find that the ion composition and energy spectra in individual IP shock events are identical at the two spacecraft locations. We also use the fitted shock velocity along the normal from ACE and estimate the shock transit time to Wind location. In general, there is poor agreement between the estimated transit time and the actual measured transit time. Hence, our assumptions that a) the IP shock at 1 AU propagates radially, and/or b) the IP shock is spherically symmetric at 1 AU are not valid. In this paper, we will also study, for the first time, the anisotropy measurements of low-energy IP shock-associated ions at both ACE and Wind. We will then compare these new anisotropy analyses with locally measured shock parameters and identify possible signatures of different shock acceleration processes as predicted by the first-order Fermi and shock-drift models.

Ho, G. C.↗
DOE OSTI2021

An adaptive approach to machine learning for compact particle accelerators

Abstract Machine learning (ML) tools are able to learn relationships between the inputs and outputs of large complex systems directly from data. However, for time-varying systems, the predictive capabilities of ML tools degrade if the systems are no longer accurately represented by the data with which the ML models were trained. For complex systems, re-training is only possible if the changes are slow relative to the rate at which large numbers of new input-output training data can be non-invasively recorded. In this work, we present an approach to deep learning for time-varying systems that does not require re-training, but uses instead an adaptive feedback in the architecture of deep convolutional neural networks (CNN). The feedback is based only on available system output measurements and is applied in the encoded low-dimensional dense layers of the encoder-decoder CNNs. First, we develop an inverse model of a complex accelerator system to map output beam measurements to input beam distributions, while both the accelerator components and the unknown input beam distribution vary rapidly with time. We then demonstrate our method on experimental measurements of the input and output beam distributions of the HiRES ultra-fast electron diffraction (UED) beam line at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and showcase its ability for automatic tracking of the time varying photocathode quantum efficiency map. Our method can be successfully used to aid both physics and ML-based surrogate online models to provide non-invasive beam diagnostics.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evidence for flare-accelerated particles in large scale loops in the behind-the-limb gamma-ray solar flare of September 29, 2022

We report on the detection of the gamma-ray emission above 100 MeV from the solar flare of September 29, 2022, by Fermi LAT with simultaneous coverage in HXR by Solar Orbiter STIX. The Solar Orbiter-Earth separation was 178° at the time of the flare as seen from Earth, with Solar Orbiter observing the east limb. Based on STIX imaging, the flare was located 16° behind the eastern limb as seen from Earth. The STIX and GBM non-thermal emission and the LAT emission above 100 MeV all show similarly shaped time profiles, and the Fermi profiles peaked only 20 s after the STIX signal from the main flare site, setting this flare apart from all the other occulted flares observed by Fermi LAT. The radio spectral imaging based on the Nançay Radioheliograph and ORFEES spectrograph reveal geometries consistent with a magnetic structure that connects the parent active region behind the limb to the visible disk. We studied the basic characteristics of the gamma-ray time profile, in particular, the rise and decay times and the time delay between the gamma-ray and HXR peak fluxes. We compared the characteristics of this event with those of four Fermi LAT behind-the-limb flares and with an on-disk event and found that this event is strikingly similar to the impulsive on-disk flare. Based on multiwavelength observations, we find that the gamma-ray emission above 100 MeV originated from ions accelerated in the parent active region behind the limb and was transported to the visible disk via a large magnetic structure connected to the parent active region behind the limb. Our results strongly suggest that the source of the emission above 100 MeV from the September 29, 2022 flare cannot be the CME-driven shock.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Transversely pumped laser driven particle accelerator

We present a novel acceleration scheme capable of accelerating electrons and ions in an underdense plasma. Transversely Pumped Acceleration (TPA) uses multiple arrays of counter-propagating laser beamlets that focus onto a central acceleration axis. Tuning the injection timing and the spacing between the adjacent beamlets allows for precise control over the position and velocity of the intersection point of the counter-propagating beam arrays. This results in an accelerating structure that propagates orthogonal to the direction of laser propagation. We present the theory that sets the injection timing of the incoming pulses to accelerate electrons and ions with a tunable phase velocity plasma wave. Simulation results are also presented which demonstrate 1.12 GeV proton beams accelerated in 3.6 mm of plasma and electron acceleration gradients on the order of 1 TeV/m in a scheme that circumvents dephasing. This work has potential applications as a compact accelerator for medical physics and high energy physics colliders.

Laser-produced plasmas↗
DOE OSTI2022

Applications of machine learning to a compact magnetic spectrometer for high repetition rate, laser-driven particle acceleration

Accurately and rapidly diagnosing laser–plasma interactions is often difficult due to the time-intensive nature of the analysis and will only become more so with the rise of high repetition rate lasers and the desire to implement feedback on a commensurate timescale. Diagnostic analysis employing machine learning techniques can help address this problem while maintaining a high degree of accuracy. We report on the application of machine learning to the analysis of a scintillator-based electron spectrometer for experiments on high intensity, laser–plasma interactions at the Colorado State University Advanced Lasers and Extreme Photonics facility. Our approach utilizes a neural network trained on synthetic data and tested on experiments to extract the accelerated electron temperature. By leveraging transfer learning, we demonstrate an improvement in the neural network accuracy, decreasing the network error by 50%.

Swanson, K. K. (ORCID:0000000286880568)↗