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At least 55 records · Page 3

Temporal profile measurements of relativistic electron bunch based on wakefield generation

A complete characterization of the time-resolved longitudinal beam phase space is important to optimize the final performances of an accelerator, and in particular this is crucial for Free Electron Laser (FEL) facilities. In this study we propose a novel method to characterize the profile of a relativistic electron bunch by passively streaking the beam using its self-interaction with the transverse wakefield excited by the bunch itself passing off-axis through a dielectric-lined or a corrugated waveguide. Results of a proof-of-principle experiment at the SwissFEL Injector Test Facility are discussed.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Conjugate echoes of artificially injected electron beams detected optically by means of new image processing

Artificial auroral streaks were detected following two upward injections of energetic electrons (38 keV and 26 keV) from the Echo 4 rocket-borne electron accelerator. Newly developed image processing techniques are used to detect and describe the streaks. It is found that the potential of the payload remained below 1 kV during 45 mA injections at an altitude of 210 km. The echo streaks show little dispersion in time or space, suggesting that the portion of the beam returning to the northern hemisphere loss cone remained collimated and nearly monoenergetic. There was, however, a 70 percent loss in the return flux. The causes of this loss are discussed.

Hallinan, Thomas J.↗

Following the dynamics of matter with femtosecond precision using the X-ray streaking method

X-ray Free Electron Lasers (FELs) can produce extremely intense and very short pulses, down to below 10 femtoseconds (fs). Among the key applications are ultrafast time-resolved studies of dynamics of matter by observing responses to fast excitation pulses in a pump-probe manner. Detectors with sufficient time resolution for observing these processes are not available. Therefore, such experiments typically measure a sample's full dynamics by repeating multiple pump-probe cycles at different delay times. This conventional method assumes that the sample returns to an identical or very similar state after each cycle. Here we describe a novel approach that can provide a time trace of responses following a single excitation pulse, jitter-free, with fs timing precision. We demonstrate, in an X-ray diffraction experiment, how it can be applied to the investigation of ultrafast irreversible processes.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Faraday rotation study of plasma bubbles in GeV wakefield accelerators

We visualize plasma bubbles driven by 0.67 PW laser pulses in a plasma of density ne≈5×1017cm−3 by imaging Faraday rotation patterns imprinted on linearly polarized probe pulses of wavelength λpr=1.05 μm and duration τpr=2 or 1 ps that cross the bubble's path at right angles. When the bubble captures and accelerates tens to hundreds of pC of electron charges, we observe two parallel streaks of length cτpr straddling the drive pulse propagation axis, separated by ∼45 μm, in which probe polarization rotates by 0.3° to more than 5° in opposite directions. Accompanying simulations show that they result from Faraday rotation within portions of dense bubble side walls that are pervaded by the azimuthal magnetic field of accelerating electrons during the probe transit across the bubble. Analysis of the width of the streaks shows that quasi-monoenergetic high-energy electrons and trailing lower energy electrons inside the bubble contribute distinguishable portions of the observed signals, and relativistic flow of sheath electrons suppresses Faraday rotation from the rear of the bubble. The results demonstrate favorable scaling of Faraday rotation diagnostics to 40× lower plasma density than previously demonstrated.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Diagnostic for determining the mix in inertial confinement fusion capsule hotspot

A diagnostic is developed for determining the hotspot mix in inertial confinement fusion experiments. A multi-channel pinhole camera measures Bremsstrahlung emissions from implosion capsules ranging from 6 keV to 30 keV and records an image of the hotspot. Meanwhile, a planar crystal spectrometer measures Ar line emissions used to deduce the electron density of the hotspot. An X-ray streaked camera records the burn duration. With the Bremsstrahlung spectrum, electron density, hotspot volume, and burn duration, the mix quantity is determined by solving a pair of linear equations. This inferred mix amount has an uncertainty due to the uncertainty of the electron density, but with the help of the measured neutron product, the most likely mix quantity value can be determined. This technique is applied to experimental images to infer the quantity of CH ablator mix into the hotspot.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Single-shot 35 fs temporal resolution electron shadowgraphy

We obtain single-shot time-resolved shadowgraph images of the electromagnetic fields resulting from the interaction of a high intensity ultrashort laser pulse with a metal surface. Using a high brightness relativistic electron beam and a high streaking speed radiofrequency deflector, we report <35 fs temporal resolution enabling a direct visualization of the retarded-time dominated field evolution which follows the laser-induced charge emission. A model including the finite signal propagation speed well reproduces the data and yields measurements of fundamental parameters in short pulse laser-matter interaction such as the amount of emitted charge and the emission time scale.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Data reduction through optimized scalar quantization for more compact neural networks

Raw data generation for several existing and planned large physics experiments now exceeds TB/s rates, generating untenable data sets in very little time. Those data often demonstrate high dimensionality while containing limited information. Meanwhile, Machine Learning algorithms are now becoming an essential part of data processing and data analysis. Those algorithms can be used offline for post processing and post data analysis, or they can be used online for real time processing providing ultra low latency experiment monitoring. Both use cases would benefit from data throughput reduction while preserving relevant information: one by reducing the offline storage requirements by several orders of magnitude and the other by allowing ultra fast online inferencing with low complexity Machine Learning models. Moreover, reducing the data source throughput also reduces material cost, power and data management requirements. In this work we demonstrate optimized nonuniform scalar quantization for data source reduction. This data reduction allows lower dimensional representations while preserving the relevant information of the data, thus enabling high accuracy Tiny Machine Learning classifier models for online fast inferences. We demonstrate this approach with an initial proof of concept targeting the CookieBox, an array of electron spectrometers used for angular streaking, that was developed for LCLS-II as an online beam diagnostic tool. We used the Lloyd-Max algorithm with the CookieBox dataset to design an optimized nonuniform scalar quantizer. Optimized quantization lets us reduce input data volume by 69% with no significant impact on inference accuracy. When we tolerate a 2% loss on inference accuracy, we achieved 81% of input data reduction. Finally, the change from a 7-bit to a 3-bit input data quantization reduces our neural network size by 38%.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Electron-irradiation-induced Cr segregation in Fe-Cr model alloy pre-implanted with hydrogen ions

Highlights: • Streaks appeared in the diffraction patterns of hydrogen-implanted Fe-Cr alloy after electron irradiation in an HVEM. • A kind of needle-like Cr precipitates give rise to the streaks. • The streaks are explained reasonably by shape effect of precipitates. - Abstract: Reduced activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steels are widely accepted as the candidate structural materials for fusion reactors. To gain knowledge about Cr behaviour of these steels in such environments, Fe-Cr binary alloys have to be investigated. In this study, Fe-10 at.% Cr ferritic model alloy pre-implanted with hydrogen ions was electron-irradiated in a high voltage electron microscope (HVEM) at the temperature ranging from 300 °C to 600 °C. Streaks were observed in the diffraction patterns in the model alloy after electron irradiation at 450–550 °C and explained reasonably by shape effect. The analysis of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals that the observed streaks are induced by a kind of needle-like precipitates with the directions along <100>. The dependence of the length and density of the precipitates on the temperature were studied. In addition, contrast experiments were conducted with pure Fe and Fe-10 at.% Cr alloy with and without hydrogen ion implantation, respectively. After electron irradiation, no streak was observed in the hydrogen-implanted pure Fe and Fe-10 at.% Cr alloy without the hydrogen implantation. Therefore, it is assumed that the needle-like precipitates could be the complex of Cr and H, which segregate and precipitate along <100> direction.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Development of a Platform at the Matter in Extreme Conditions End Station for Characterization of Matter Heated by Intense Laser-Accelerated Protons

High intensity short-pulse lasers have made possible the generation of energetic proton beams, unlocking numerous applications in high energy density science. One such application is uniform and isochoric heating of materials to the warm dense matter (WDM) state. We have developed a new experimental platform to simultaneously create and probe warm dense matter at the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) end station at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). The short pulse optical laser (delivering up to 1 J in 45 fs) and the ultra-bright LCLS x-ray laser with tunable frequency respectively deliver high power required to heat materials to WDM and precision-timed high-resolution x-rays to probe them. The laser-accelerated proton beam driven from a flat 1.5 μm Cu foil was first measured then directed to a secondary sample of Al or polypropylene, typically 300-400 μm away. The time evolution of the sample electron temperature was measured using streaked optical pyrometry, where we observed a peak temperature of 0.9 0.15 eV on the rear surface of an Al sample heated by the proton beam. Here, the simulations using the hybrid-PIC code LSP and the rad-hydro code HELIOS show that a measured proton beam can heat Al to approximately 4 eV and polypropylene to 1 eV if instead focused by a hemispherical Cu target. Through additional LSP simulations, we anticipate creating hotter warm dense matter states (20 eV) by increasing the laser energy to 10 J and keeping the other laser parameters fixed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Measurement and simulation of the temperature evolution of a short pulse laser heated buried layer target

Short pulse laser heated buried layers experiments have been performed on the Orion laser facility to study the time-resolved emission characteristics of plasmas with mass densities ≥ 1 g/cc and electron temperatures > 500 eV. Our streak camera measurements focused on the K-shell emission lines of He-like and H-like aluminum from a buried aluminum layer. The data were analyzed by comparison to synthetic spectra generated with the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) radiation transfer code Cretin, which yielded maximum temperatures of nearly 800 eV at near solid density. The time precise history of the temperature evolution was reproduced with a 1-D radiation hydrodynamic code; however, the known effect of lateral transport of energy out of the focal spot made exacting agree with theory difficult. Furthermore, we have observed densities of ≥ 1 g/cc and temperatures of > 500 eV using the 1-D analysis, which supports the idea that the aluminum plasma is locally hotter than inferred from our spatially integrating measurements and that modeling requires the inclusion of 2-dimensional effects.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

A Monte Carlo technique to model performance of streak camera-based time-resolving x-ray spectrometers

A Monte Carlo technique has been developed to simulate the expected signal and the statistical noise of x-ray spectrometers that use streak cameras to achieve the time resolution required for ultrafast diagnostics of laser-generated plasmas. The technique accounts for statistics from both the photons incident on the streak camera’s photocathode and the electrons emitted by the photocathode travelling through the camera’s electron optics to the sensor. We use the technique to optimize the design of a spectrometer, which deduces the temporal history of electron temperature of the hotspot in an inertial confinement fusion implosion from its hard x-ray continuum emission spectra. The technique is general enough to be applied to any instrument using an x-ray streak camera.

Stoupin, S. (ORCID:0000000226225270)↗

Direct reconstruction of isolated XUV or soft x-ray attosecond pulses from high-harmonic generation streaking spectra

Characterization of an isolated attosecond pulse (IAP) in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) or soft x-ray (SXR) region is essential for its applications. Here we propose to retrieve an IAP in the time domain directly through the modulation of high-harmonic generation (HHG) spectra in the presence of a time-delayed intense few-cycle infrared or mid-infrared laser. The retrieval algorithm is derived based on the strong-field approximation and an extended quantitative rescattering model. We show that both isolated XUV pulses with a narrow spectral bandwidth and isolated SXR pulses with a broad bandwidth can be well characterized through the HHG streaking spectra. Such an all-optical method for characterizing the IAP differs from the commonly used approach based on the streaked photoelectron spectra that would require electron spectrometers. We check the robustness of the retrieval method by changing the dressing laser or by adjusting the steps of time delay. We also show that the XUV pulse can be accurately retrieved by treating the HHG streaking spectra calculated from solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for single atoms as the ‘experimental’ data.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Angular streaking of betatron X-rays in a transverse density gradient laser-wakefield accelerator

In a plasma with a transverse density gradient, laser wavefront tilt develops gradually due to phase velocity differences in different plasma densities. The wavefront tilt leads to a parabolic trajectory of the plasma wakefield and hence the accelerated electron beam, which leads to an angular streaking of the emitted betatron radiation. In this way, the temporal evolution of the betatron X-ray spectra will be converted into angular “streak,” i.e., having a critical energy-angle correlation. An analytical model for the curved trajectory of a laser pulse in a transverse density gradient is presented. This gives the deflection angle of the electron beam and the betatron X-rays as a function of the plasma and laser parameters, and it was verified by particle-in-cell simulations. This angular streaking could be used as a single-shot diagnostic technique to reveal the temporal evolution of betatron X-ray spectra and hence the electron acceleration itself.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Initial Observations of Micropulse Elongation of Electron Beams in a SCRF Accelerator

Commissioning at the SCRF accelerator at the Fermilab Accelerator Science and Technology (FAST) Facility has included the implementation of a versatile bunch-length monitor located after the 4-dipole chicane bunch compressor for electron beam energies of 20-50 MeV and integrated charges in excess of 10 nC. The team has initially used a Hamamatsu C5680 synchroscan streak camera to assess the effects of space charge on the electron beam bunch lengths. An Al-coated Si screen was used to generate optical transition radiation (OTR) resulting from the beam’s interaction with the screen. The chicane bypass beamline allowed the measurements of the bunch length without the compression stage at the downstream beamline location using OTR and the streak camera. We have observed electron beam bunch lengths from 5 to 16 ps (sigma) for micropulse charges of 60 pC to 800 pC, respectively. We also report a compressed sub-ps micropulse case.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Applying Thomson scattering to diagnosing turbulent density and velocity fluctuations in a gas-puff z-pinch

The electron plasma wave feature (EPW) in the time-resolved Thomson scattering spectrum is used to obtain the local electron density in imploding high energy density gas-puff z-pinch plasmas. The optical setup was optimized to allow the relatively weak EPW feature obtained from 1 MA imploding neon gas-puff z-pinches to be seen above the continuum emission as well as the brighter ion acoustic wave (IAW) feature. Using a frequency-doubled Nd:YLF laser (E = 10 J, λ = 526.5 nm, Δt= 2.3 ns, spot size ~ 250 μm) and two visible light streak cameras, we determined the average electron density in the imploding plasma sheath 40 ns prior to stagnation to be n e = 2.5 × 10 18 /cm 3 . At pinch time, it reached n e = 1.7 × 10 19 /cm 3 . Here, the electron temperature during implosion measured via the IAW (approximately 50 eV) was four times lower than the implosion electron temperature measured via the EPW (approximately 200 eV), assuming that neither feature is affected by turbulent fluctuations in the plasma. In order for the electron temperatures inferred from the EPW and IAW spectral features to be self-consistent, we find that it is necessary to include velocity fluctuations in the analysis of the IAW feature peaks and corresponding density fluctuation in the peak widths of the EPW feature.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Ionization Waves During the Subnanosecond Breakdown Initiated by Runaway Electrons in High-Pressure Nitrogen and Air

The experimental investigations of a subnanosecond breakdown initiated by runaway electrons in air and nitrogen at the pressures within 0.013–0.4 MPa are performed. The temporal development patterns of the discharge plasma glow in different regions of the discharge gap are registered with a fast photodiode, a four-channel ICCD-camera, and an ultrafast streak camera. It is shown that the breakdown occurs in the form of ionization waves propagating from the electrode with a small radius of curvature. It is found that a runaway electron beam behind the anode foil at the nitrogen and air pressure ~0.1 MPa is detected with the collector at the point of time corresponding to the maximum gap voltage.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗