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A short course on off-beam cloud lidar is given. Specific topics addressed include: motivation and goal of off-beam cloud lidar; diffusion physics; numeric amalysis; and validity of the diffusion approximation. A demo of the process is included.
When two or more Doppler weather radar systems are monitoring the same region, the Doppler velocities can be combined to form a three-dimensional (3-D) wind vector field thus providing for a more intuitive analysis of the wind field. A real-time display of the 3-D winds can assist forecasters in predicting the onset of convection and severe weather. The data can also be used to initialize local numerical weather prediction models. Two operational Doppler Radar systems are in the vicinity of Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS); these systems are operated by the 45th Space Wing (45 SW) and the National Weather Service Melbourne, Fla. (NWS MLB). Dual-Doppler applications were considered by the 45 SW in choosing the site for the new radar. Accordingly, the 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS), NWS MLB and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration tasked the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) to investigate the feasibility of establishing dual-Doppler capability using the two existing systems. This study investigated technical, hardware, and software requirements necessary to enable the establishment of a dual-Doppler capability. Review of the available literature pertaining to the dual-Doppler technique and consultation with experts revealed that the physical locations and resulting beam crossing angles of the 45 SW and NWS MLB radars make them ideally suited for a dual-Doppler capability. The dual-Doppler equations were derived to facilitate complete understanding of dual-Doppler synthesis; to determine the technical information requirements; and to determine the components of wind velocity from the equation of continuity and radial velocity data collected by the two Doppler radars. Analysis confirmed the suitability of the existing systems to provide the desired capability. In addition, it is possible that both 45 SW radar data and Terminal Doppler Weather Radar data from Orlando International Airport could be used to alleviate any radar geometry issues at the NWS MLB radar, such as the "cone of silence" or beam blockage. In the event of a radar outage at one of the sites, the multi-radar algorithms would provide continuing coverage of the area through use of the data from the remaining operational radar sites. There are several options to collect, edit, synthesize and display dual-Doppler data sets. These options include commercial packages available for purchase and a variety of freeware packages available from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) for processing raw radar data. However, evaluation of the freeware packages revealed that they do not have sufficient documentation and configuration control to be certified for 45 SW use. Additionally, a TI data line must be installed/leased from the NWS MLB office and CCAFS to enable the receipt of NWS MLB raw radar data to use in the dual-Doppler synthesis. Integration of the TI data line into the Eastern Range infrastructure that will meet the security requirements necessary for 45 SW use is time-consuming and costly. Overall evaluation indicates that establishment of the dual-Doppler capability using the existing operational radar systems is desirable and feasible with no technical concerns. Installation of such a system represents a significant enhancement to forecasting capabilities at the 45 WS and at NWS MLB. However, data security and cost considerations must be evaluated in light of current budgetary constraints. In any case, gaining the dual-Doppler capability will provide opportunities for better visualization of the wind field and better forecasting of the onset of convection and severe weather events to support space launch operations at KSC and CCAFS.
The Proton Improvement Project-2 centers on building a new superconducting linear particle accelerator (Linac) at Fermilab. At the heart of the accelerator is the reference line, a critical system that defines the ideal path for the particle beam as it passes through magnets, RF cavities, and other beamline elements. Temperature stability is crucial for the reliable operation of RF components, such as mixers and filters. Fluctuations affect key performance parameters like conversion loss, isolation, and linearity. To mitigate any drift caused by ambient temperature changes, a heating plate assembly is utilized to maintain key components at a controlled temperature of 40°C. The system utilizes an aluminum 36”x36”x0.5” heat plate powered by a MOSFET-based control circuit, delivering approximately 460 W of thermal energy through a resistor array. Real-time temperature feedback is provided by a PT100 Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD), which interfaces with a Proportional–Integral–Derivative (PID) control algorithm to maintain closed-loop temperature regulation. The control signal actively modulates the gate voltage of an N channel MOSFET, dynamically adjusting power delivery in response to deviations from the temperature setpoint. Simulations and LTspice models validate the functionality and responsiveness of the circuit under varying conditions. The prototype has successfully demonstrated stable thermal control, paving the way for integration into the PIP-II infrastructure. The final design will feature an expanded resistor array, as well as communication with a PLC for continuous data acquisition and diagnostics. This work directly supports Fermilab’s broader mission by contributing to the stability and reliability of core accelerator systems, enhancing the precision of particle beam delivery for future physics experiments.
Physical thickness of a cloud layer, and sometimes multiple cloud layers, can be estimated from the time delay of off-beam returns from a pulsed laser source illuminating one side of the cloud layer. In particular, the time delay of light returning from the outer diffuse halo of light surrounding the beam entry point, relative to the time delay at beam center, determines the cloud physical thickness. The delay combined with the pulse stretch gives the optical thickness. The halo method works best for thick cloud layers, typically optical thickness exceeding 2, and thus compliments conventional lidar which cannot penetrate thick clouds. Cloud layer top and base have been measured independently over the ARM/SGP site using conventional laser ranging (lidar) and the top minus base thickness are compared with a cloud top halo estimate obtained from the NASA/Goddard THOR System (THOR = THickness from Offbeam Returns). THOR flies on the NASA P3, and measures the halo timings from several km above cloud top, at the same time providing conventional lidar cloud top height. The ARM/SGP micropulse lidar provides cloud base height for validation.
The transport of heavy ion beams in extended materials is a problem of interest in accelerator and space shielding, radiation therapy, and astrophysical and radiobiological studies. The beam particles change their energy and direction of motion through atomic/molecular collisions and undergo occasional radical transformation in nuclear collision. In health physics applications, a heavy ion beam of initially well defined radiation quality is transformed into a complex mixture of diverse quality components after passing through a modest amount of material. This transformation of radiation quality must be understood to adequately explain the biological response of tissue to heavy ion radiation. A theoretical/experimental program to define an ion beam and its products in extended matter is described.
Spectroscopic observations of optical emissions from the beam-plasma discharge (BPD) phenomenon were made with NASA's vacuum chamber facility, at the Johnson Space Center, configured to simulate the physical conditions of magnetospheric electron beam injection into the ionospheric/upper-atmospheric environment. Nonlinear N2 and N2(+) optical emission growth rates (with respect to incremental electron beam current values) were observed from the chamber gas during transition to the BPD state. For electron-beam currents (I) near the BPD transition value (I(sub c)), the band emissions from the chamber gas produced by relatively low energy (less than or equal to 50 eV) electrons interacting with N2 were anomalously more intense than those requiring higher energy (greater than 100 eV) electrons to excite them. For I more greater than I(sub c), the optical emissions increased linearly with I (as was the case for I less than I(sub c)) and their ratios decreased significantly from the peak values attained when I approximately equals I(sub c). These observations suggest that during BPD some of the energy of the primary electron beam is efficiently transferred, via wave-particle interactions, to local electrons produced through ionization of the chamber gas; the resulting suprathermal electrons provide an additional source of excitation for the relatively low energy states (A, B and C) of N2. Such nonlinear excitation of upper atmospheric gas may occur in certain auroral events wherein the current due to the precipitating electrons approaches a value close to I(sub c).
Cooling of beams of gold ions using electron bunches accelerated with radio-frequency systems was recently experimentally demonstrated in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Such an approach is new and opens the possibility of using this technique at higher energies than possible with electrostatic acceleration of electron beams. The challenges of this approach include generation of electron beams suitable for cooling, delivery of electron bunches of the required quality to the cooling sections without degradation of beam angular divergence and energy spread, achieving the required small angles between electron and ion trajectories in the cooling sections, precise velocity matching between the two beams, high-current operation of the electron accelerator, as well as several physics effects related to bunched-beam cooling. Here we report on the first demonstration of cooling hadron beams using this new approach.
Hadron spectroscopy is a valuable tool to experimentally investigate the low-energy, non-perturbative QCD regime, corresponding to the dominant manifestation of the strong force in Nature, in terms of hadrons that constitute the bulk of the visible mass of the Universe. In particular, the measurement of the mesons spectrum, searching for exotic states not compatible with the Quark Model, would provide access to the gluonic degrees of freedom that bind particles together. A broad program to study meson spectroscopy in the light quark sector started at Jefferson Laboratory during the previous 6-GeV period. The CLAS experiment in Hall B used a Bremmstrahlung tagged photon beam impinging on a proton target to provide the first measurement of many photoproduction reactions. Currently, in the 12-GeV era, the MesonEx experiment continues this physics effort, exploiting the larger beam energy and intensity. MesonEx employs low-Q2 electron scattering as a technique to produce an intense and highly energetic quasi-real photon beam. In the experiment, the low-angle scattered electron is measured in a dedicated detector, the Forward Tagger, in coincidence with final state hadrons measured in the CLAS12 spectrometer. In this talk, after discussing some selected results from the CLAS program, I'll present the ongoing MesonEx experiment, showing some preliminary results.
An optically recording velocity interferometer system has been used to measure acceleration histories and maximum velocities for laser-driven aluminum foil targets launched from the output face of optical fibers. Peak flyer velocities have been determined as a function of various parameters, including driving laser fluence, laser pulse duration and target thickness. The results at high fluences are consistent with a nearly constant efficiency of coupling optical energy into flyer kinetic energy and a small ablated mass fraction; however, the coupling efficiency falls off rapidly at fluences < 15 J-cm -2 . Measurement of the time delay between laser pulse arrival at the target and the onset of flyer motion have also been performed. Significant delays are observed at low fluences, arising from the increased time required for plasma formation at the fiber/foil interface under these conditions.
The effect of actuator dynamics on the control of beam flexure during nonlinear slewing of the SCOLE model is discussed. Two aspects of physical limitations on the regulation of beam flexure are similated, i.e., (1) a one foot travel limitation of displacement of proof-mass actuators; and (2) a time delay of 0.1 secs. in application of controls. The goal was to assess the magnitude of induced errors and, comparing the results to the ideal, and to determine how much flexure there is during slew and settling.
Nuclear physics experiments often require highly polarized electron beams to do precise measurements of the structure and size of nucleons and the nucleus, as well as for searches for physics beyond the standard model. Jefferson Lab?s electron source, with polarization near 90%, has been providing polarized electron beams for CEBAF for over two decades. Development is underway for polarized electron sources at MESA at Mainz and the Electron Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Lab, and there is potential for polarized electron beam in the future at facilities including the International Linear Collider, an electron upgrade at CERN, and the SuperKEKB collider in Japan. At Jefferson Lab there are even plans to make use of polarized electrons to make a polarized positron source for experimental nuclear physics. High polarization electron beams are generated using photoemission from strained superlattice GaAs based photocathodes, and photocathode lifetime is limited by the ionization of residual gas in the system, which is then accelerated into the photocathode. Extreme high vacuum (near 1x10-10 Pa) is required to operate the Jefferson Lab polarized electron source with an acceptable lifetime, and the upcoming projects will need various combinations of higher current, higher bunch charge and longer photocathode lifetimes. To meet the vacuum requirements for polarized electron sources, every component for a polarized electron source must be optimized, including chamber materials, pumps, bakeout procedure and the high voltage electrode geometry and processing. Each change in these components must be evaluated offline before being used in the accelerator, and effects on pressure are difficult to evaluate even using XHV-optimized hot filament ionization gauges. In fact, we do not get a final evaluation of system modifications until an electron source is built, installed and lifetime measurements are made over the course of months or years of operation. I will be discussing the evolution of vacuum in the Jefferson Lab polarized source system toward XHV pressures and discuss the characterization and limitations measured for commercially available XHV vacuum gauges. Finally, I?ll present the effect of system pressure on photocathode lifetime and highlight how XHV pressure standards can benefit the ongoing efforts to improve vacuum for the next generation of polarized electron sources.
Topology appears across condensed matter physics to describe a wide array of phenomena which could alter, augment, or fundamentally change the functionality of many technologies. Linking the basic science of topological materials to applications requires producing high-quality thin films. This will enable combining dissimilar materials while utilizing dimensionality, symmetry, and strain to create or control the electronic phase, as well as platforms to fabricate novel devices. Yet, one of the longstanding challenges in the field remains understanding and controlling the basic material properties of epitaxial thin films. Here, we discuss how understanding the fundamental properties of topological materials grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is key to deepening the knowledge of the basic physics, while developing a new generation of topological devices. A focus will be on the MBE growth of intrinsic materials, creation, and control of superconducting and magnetic topological phases. Addressing these questions in the coming decade will undoubtedly uncover many surprises as new materials are discovered and their growth as high-quality thin films is refined.
The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is an international, world-class experiment aimed at exploring fundamental questions about the universe that are at the forefront of astrophysics and particle physics research. DUNE will study questions pertaining to the preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early universe, the dynamics of supernovae, the subtleties of neutrino interaction physics, and a number of beyond the Standard Model topics accessible in a powerful neutrino beam. A critical component of the DUNE physics program involves the study of changes in a powerful beam of neutrinos, i.e., neutrino oscillations, as the neutrinos propagate a long distance. The experiment consists of a near detector, sited close to the source of the beam, and a far detector, sited along the beam at a large distance. This document, the DUNE Near Detector Conceptual Design Report (CDR), describes the design of the DUNE near detector and the science program that drives the design and technology choices. The goals and requirements underlying the design, along with projected performance are given. It serves as a starting point for a more detailed design that will be described in future documents.
A laser cooling apparatus that generates a cold beam of rubidium and cesium atoms at low pressure has been constructed as one of several intermediate products of a continuing program of research on laser cooling and atomic physics. Laser-cooled atomic beams, which can have temperatures as low as a microkelvin, have been used in diverse applications that include measurements of fundamental constants, atomic clocks that realize the international standard unit of time, atom-wave interferometers, and experiments on Bose-Einstein condensation. The present apparatus is a prototype of one being evaluated for use in a proposed microgravitational experiment called the Quantum Interferometric Test of Equivalence (QuITE). In this experiment, interferometric measurements of cesium and rubidium atoms in free fall would be part of a test of Einstein s equivalence principle. The present apparatus and its anticipated successors may also be useful in other experiments, in both microgravity and normal Earth gravity, in which there are requirements for dual-species atomic beams, low temperatures, and low pressures. The apparatus includes a pyramidal magneto-optical trap in which the illumination is provided by multiple lasers tuned to frequencies characteristic of the two atomic species. The inlet to the apparatus is located in a vacuum chamber that contains rubidium and cesium atoms at a low pressure; the beam leaving through the outlet of the apparatus is used to transfer the atoms to a higher-vacuum (lower-pressure) chamber in which measurements are performed. The pyramidal magneto-optical trap is designed so that the laser cooling forces in one direction are unbalanced, resulting in a continuous cold beam of atoms that leak out of the trap (see figure). The radiant intensity (number of atoms per unit time per unit solid angle) of the apparatus is the greatest of any other source of the same type reported to date. In addition, this is the first such apparatus capable of producing a slow, collimated beam that contains two atomic species at the same time.
We present a new design of highly specialized small storage rings for low energy polarized electron beams. The new design is based on the transparent spin methodology that cancels the spin precession due to the magnetic dipole moment at any energy while allowing for spin precession induced by the fundamental physics of interest to accumulate. The buildup of the vertical component of beam polarization can be measured using standard Mott polarimetry that is optimal at low electron energy. These rings can be used to measure the permanent electric dipole moment of the electron, relevant to CP violation and matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe, and to search for dark energy and ultra-light dark matter.
The SpinQuest experiment, including upgrades to SpinQuest designed to increase sensitivity to dark sector searches (commonly known as DarkQuest), utilizes the high-intensity 120 GeV proton beam delivered by the Fermilab Accelerator Complex to probe the inner structure of nucleons and search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. The SpinQuest beam is extracted from the Main Injector synchrotron at Fermilab in what is known as a slow spill . The slow spill involves a complex non-linear half-integer extraction method, which results in non-uniform beam behavior. SpinQuest observes spikes of very high intensity beam which can saturate detectors and reduce trigger efficiency, significantly impacting the experiment's sensitivity. In this project we address this challenge by developing an analysis framework to characterize the beam delivered to SpinQuest. By discovering trends within each spill and by comparing thousands of spills, we can better inform the Accelerator Division and improve the slow spill extraction. We have also begun a collaboration with the Accelerator Division in order to simulate the slow spill and improve the magnet ramp process controls which will improve the uniformity of the beam. These improvements will directly enhance the physics reach of SpinQuest/DarkQuest, increasing their sensitivity to key measurements such as the Sivers function and searches for new physics.
Abstract The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will be a powerful tool for a variety of physics topics. The high-intensity proton beams provide a large neutrino flux, sampled by a near detector system consisting of a combination of capable precision detectors, and by the massive far detector system located deep underground. This configuration sets up DUNE as a machine for discovery, as it enables opportunities not only to perform precision neutrino measurements that may uncover deviations from the present three-flavor mixing paradigm, but also to discover new particles and unveil new interactions and symmetries beyond those predicted in the Standard Model (SM). Of the many potential beyond the Standard Model (BSM) topics DUNE will probe, this paper presents a selection of studies quantifying DUNE’s sensitivities to sterile neutrino mixing, heavy neutral leptons, non-standard interactions, CPT symmetry violation, Lorentz invariance violation, neutrino trident production, dark matter from both beam induced and cosmogenic sources, baryon number violation, and other new physics topics that complement those at high-energy colliders and significantly extend the present reach.
Existing, competing theories for coronal and interplanetary type III solar radio bursts appeal to one or more of modulational instability, electrostatic (ES) decay processes, or stochastic growth physics to preserve the electron beam, limit the levels of Langmuir-like waves driven by the beam, and produce wave spectra capable of coupling nonlinearly to generate the observed radio emission. Theoretical constraints exist on the wavenumbers and relative sizes of the wave bandwidth and nonlinear growth rate for which Langmuir waves are subject to modulational instability and the parametric and random phase versions of ES decay. A constraint also exists on whether stochastic growth theory (SGT) is appropriate. These constraints are evaluated here using the beam, plasma, and wave properties (1) observed in specific interplanetary type III sources, (2) predicted nominally for the corona, and (3) predicted at heliocentric distances greater than a few solar radii by power-law models based on interplanetary observations. It is found that the Langmuir waves driven directly by the beam have wavenumbers that are almost always too large for modulational instability but are appropriate to ES decay. Even for waves scattered to lower wavenumbers (by ES decay, for instance), the wave bandwidths are predicted to be too large and the nonlinear growth rates too small for modulational instability to occur for the specific interplanetary events studied or the great majority of Langmuir wave packets in type III sources at arbitrary heliocentric distances. Possible exceptions are for very rare, unusually intense, narrowband wave packets, predominantly close to the Sun, and for the front portion of very fast beams traveling through unusually dilute, cold solar wind plasmas. Similar arguments demonstrate that the ES decay should proceed almost always as a random phase process rather than a parametric process, with similar exceptions. These results imply that it is extremely rare for modulational instability or parametric decay to proceed in type III sources at any heliocentric distance: theories for type III bursts based on modulational instability or parametric decay are therefore not viable in general. In contrast, the constraint on SGT can be satisfied and random phase ES decay can proceed at all heliocentric distances under almost all circumstances. (The contrary circumstances involve unusually slow, broad beams moving through unusually hot regions of the Corona.) The analyses presented here strongly justify extending the existing SGT-based model for interplanetary type III bursts (which includes SGT physics, random phase ES decay, and specific electromagnetic emission mechanisms) into a general theory for type III bursts from the corona to beyond 1 AU. This extended theory enjoys strong theoretical support, explains the characteristics of specific interplanetary type III bursts very well, and can account for the detailed dynamic spectra of type III bursts from the lower corona and solar wind.