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At least 1,117 records · Page 62

Facility produced charge-exchange ions

These facility produced ions are created by charge-exchange collisions between neutral atoms and energetic thruster beam ions. The result of the electron transfer is an energetic neutral atom and an ion of only thermal energy. There are true charge-exchange ions produced by collisions with neutrals escaping from the ion thruster and being charge-exchange ionized before the neutral intercepts the tank wall. The facility produced charge-exchange ions will not exist in space and therefore, represent a source of error where measurements involving ion thruster plasmas and their density are involved. The quantity of facility produced ions in a test chamber with a 30 cm mercury ion thruster was determined.

Carruth, M. R., Jr.↗

Neon-20 depth-dose relations in water

The dose from heavy ion beams has been calculated using a one-dimensional transport theory and evaluated for 670 MeV/amu 20 Ne beams in water. The result is presented so as to be applicable to arbitrary ions for which the necessary interaction data are known. The present evaluation is based on thar Silberg-Tsao fragmentation parameters augmented with light fragment production from intranuclear cascades, recently calculated nuclear absorption cross sections, and evaluated stopping power data. Comparison with recent experimental data obtained at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory reveals the need for more accurate fragmentation data.

Wilson, J. W.↗

Planar techniques for fabricating X-ray diffraction gratings and zone plates

The state of current planar techniques in the fabrication of Fresnel zone plates and diffraction gratings is reviewed. Among the fabrication techniques described are multilayer resist techniques; scanning electron beam lithography; and holographic lithography. Consideration is also given to: X-ray lithography; ion beam lithography; and electroplating. SEM photographs of the undercut profiles obtained in a type AZ 135OB photoresistor by holographic lithography are provided.

Smith, H. I.↗

Use of particle beams for lunar prospecting

A key issue in choosing the appropriate site for a manned lunar base is the availability of resources, particularly oxygen and hydrogen for the production of water, and ores for the production of fuels and building materials. NASA has proposed two Lunar Scout missions that would orbit the Moon and use, among other instruments, a hard X-ray spectrometer, a neutron spectrometer, and a Ge gamma ray spectrometer to map the lunar surface. This passive instrumentation will have low resolution (tens of kilometers) due to the low signal levels produced by natural radioactivity and the interaction of cosmic rays and the solar wind with the lunar surface. This paper presents the results of a concept definition effort for a neutral particle beam lunar mapper probe. The idea of using particle beam probes to survey asteroids was first proposed by Sagdeev et al., and an ion beam device was fielded on the 1988 Soviet probe to the Mars moon Phobos. During the past five years, significant advances in the technology of neutral particle beams (NPB) have led to a suborbital flight of a neutral hydrogen beam device in the SDIO-sponsored BEAR experiment. An orbital experiment, the Neutral Particle Beam Far Field Optics Experiment (NPB-FOX) is presently in the preliminary design phase. The development of NPB accelerators that are space-operable leads one to consider the utility of these devices for probing the surface of the Moon using gamma ray, X-ray, and optical/UV spectroscopy to locate various elements and compounds. We consider the utility of the NPB-FOX satellite containing a 5-MeV particle beam accelerator as a probe in lunar orbit. Irradiation of the lunar surface by the particle beam will induce secondary and back scattered radiation from the lunar surface to be detected by a sensor that may be co-orbital with or on the particle beam satellite platform, or may be in a separate orbit. The secondary radiation is characteristic of the make-up of the lunar surface. The size of the spot irradiated by the beam is less than 1 km wide along the ground track of the satellite, resulting in the potential for high resolution. The fact that the probe could be placed in polar orbit would result in global coverage of the lunar surface. The orbital particle beam probe could provide the basis for selection of sites for more detailed prospecting by surface rovers.

Toepfer, A. J.↗

Some Aspects on the Mechanical Analysis of Micro-Shutters

An array of individually addressable micro-shutters is being designed for spectroscopic applications. Details of the design are presented in a companion paper. The mechanical design of a single shutter element has been completed. This design consists of a shutter blade suspended on a torsion beam manufactured out of single crystal silicon membranes. During operation the shutter blade will be rotated by 90 degrees out of the array plane. Thus, the stability and durability of the beams are crucial for the reliability of the devices. Structures were fabricated using focused ion beam milling in a FEI 620 dual beam machine, and subsequent testing was completed using the same platform. This allowed for short turn around times. We performed torsion and bending experiments to determine key characteristics of the membrane material. Results of measurements on prototype shutters were compared with the predictions of the numerical models. The data from these focused studies were used in conjunction with experiments and numerical models of shutter prototypes to optimize the design. In this work, we present the results of the material studies, and assess the mechanical performance of the resulting design.

Fettig, Rainer K.↗

Accelerator Tests of the KLEM Prototypes

The Kinematic Lightweight Energy Meter (KLEM) device is planned for direct measurement of the elemental energy spectra of high-energy (10(exp 11)-10(exp 16) eV) cosmic rays. The first KLEM prototype has been tested at CERN with 180 GeV pion beam in 2001. A modified KLEM prototype will be tested in proton and heavy ion beams to give more experimental data on energy resolution and charge resolution with KLEM method. The first test results are presented and compared with simulations.

Bashindzhagyan, G.↗

Numerical Simulation of Waves Driven by Plasma Currents Generated by Low-Frequency Alfven Waves in a Multi-Ion Plasma

When multi-ion plasma consisting of heavy and light ions is permeated by a low-frequency Alfven (LFA) wave, the crossed-electric-and-magnetic field (E x B), and the polarization drifts of the different ion species and the electrons could be quite different. The relative drifts between the charged-particle species drive waves, which energize the plasma. Using 2.5-dimensional (2.5-D) particle-in-cell simulations, we study this process of wave generation and its nonlinear consequences in terms of acceleration and heating plasma. Specifically, we study the situation for LFA wave frequency being lower than the heavy-ion cyclotron frequency in a multi-ion plasma. We impose such a wave to the plasma assuming that its wavelength is much larger than that of the waves generated by the relative drifts. For better understanding, the LFA-wave driven simulations are augmented by those driven by initialized ion beams. The driven high-frequency (HF) wave modes critically depend on the heavy ion density nh; for small values of nh, the lower hybrid (LH) waves dominate. On the other hand, for large nh a significantly enhanced level of waves occurs over a much broader frequency spectrum below the LH frequency and such waves are interpreted here as the ion Bernstein (IB) mode near the light ion cyclotron harmonics. Irrespective of the driven wave modes, both the light and heavy ions undergo significant transverse acceleration, but for the large heavy-ion densities, even the electrons are significantly accelerated in the parallel direction by the waves below the LH frequency. Even when the LFA wave drive is maintained, the ion heating leads to the cessation of HF wave excitation just after a few cycles of the former wave. On the basis of marginal stability seen in the simulations, an empirical relation for LFA wave amplitude, frequency and ion temperature is given.

Singh, Nagendra↗

Hybrid simulations of a tangential discontinuity-driven foreshock bubble formation in comparison with a hot flow anomaly formation

Hot flow anomalies (HFAs) and foreshock bubbles (FBs) are significant foreshock transients that can accelerate particles and disturb the magnetosphere-ionosphere system. Yet, their early formation mechanisms are still not fully understood. To investigate the formation of tangential discontinuity (TD)-driven FBs and HFAs, we use 2-D local hybrid simulations where a reflected or an injected warm foreshock ion beam can interact with a TD whose half-thickness is comparable to the ion inertial scale. We show that the foreshock ions perform a partial gyration within, or across, the TD. Bulk motion differences between partially-gyrating foreshock ions and fluid-electrons lead to the generation of currents. As the trigger, these foreshock-driven currents change the magnetic field topology around the TD and force the frozen-in solar wind plasma to redistribute along with the field lines, shaping the foreshock transient. This confirms a recently proposed kinetic formation model. The extent of the magnetic field direction change across the TD within the foreshock ion gyromotion determines the current profile and thus the type of foreshock transient that forms. For a thin TD, the foreshock ions generate a current that is much stronger on the upstream side than the downstream side, forming an FB with one upstream compressional boundary. For the same foreshock ion gyroradius and magnetic shear, a thick TD yields comparable foreshock-driven currents on the upstream and downstream sides, forming an HFA with two compressional boundaries. Our study suggests that the TD thickness is one of the factors that determine the formation of FBs and HFAs

Andrew Vu↗

Multi-Probe 24A Pre-Shot report

The Multi-Probe Radiography campaign will field a full day of experiments at the Omega EP laser facility. The day consists of shots alternating between Omega EP’s two short-pulse laser beams. The Backlighter beam will generate proton and deuteron beams from 500-800nm CH/CD film targets, and the Sidelighter beam will accelerate electrons to generate x-rays from 0.5mm x 25-50µm Ø Ta wire targets attached to Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) cones. The ion beams shots will optimize CD foil thickness (maximizing ion energy/yield) for the transparency regime for use as the pitcher in a pitcher catcher neutron-generation platform. Several shots will include a LiF catcher within the NTA and this feeds into future neutron radiography work. X-ray shots will be used to characterize the platform established in FY2020B via measurement of electron spectra with and without the Ta wire, and radiography will be conducted at varying laser energies. This will validate PIC electron acceleration modeling while also demonstrating potential for using the x-ray platform for imaging of thicker objects.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Performance evaluation of the SPES FEBIAD ion source

SPES (Selective Production of Exotic Species) is the Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facility that is currently in the installation phase at the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare in the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (LNL-INFN). The main purpose of the facility is to deliver neutron-rich radioactive beams with a range of mass between 60 and 160 amu produced as fission products originated within a Uranium Carbide (UC x ) target impinged by high energy protons (40–70 MeV). In the last few years, the SPES group and their collaborators have focused on multiple aspects: development of various ISOL targets, ion sources, a high-power beam dump, versatile Front-End designs, primary proton beam and RIB diagnostics, design of beam optic components, and remote target handling. The development and optimization of ionization sources represents one of the most important R&D activities. The collaboration between SPES and ISOLDE (CERN) groups has enabled the evaluation of the performances of a novel FEBIAD ion source taking advantage of the ISOLDE off-line Front-End. In this paper, the results of efficiency and transversal emittance measurements of the new SPES FEBIAD ion source are presented and discussed. Particular attention is dedicated to the description of the experimental setup and to the comparison of experimental data with simulation to promote the reproducibility of the experimental tests with other types of sources.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Fracture behavior of irradiation induced nanocrystalline UO 2 studied by in-situ mechanical testing in transmission electron microscopy

Uranium Dioxide (UO 2 ) is widely used as a fuel in current light water reactors (LWRs). Upon accumulation of radiation damage, LWR UO 2 fuel pellets start to develop a different microstructure at the pellet periphery when fuel burnup exceeds 45–50 GWd/tHM. The resulting porous, nanocrystalline microstructure is one of the most prominent microstructural changes occurring in such fuel. Its fracture mechanisms, which causes fuel fine fragmentation, could impact safety limits when the cladding breaches. Direct measurements of these properties are challenging, therefore a surrogate obtained via ion irradiation can be used. In this study, multiple microcantilevers were fabricated by focused ion beam from both fresh UO 2 and UO 2 irradiated with 84 MeV Xe 26+ ions to a peak dose of 1357 displacements per atom (dpa). Further, the irradiation produced a pseudo high burnup structure approximately 2 µm below the surface. In-situ nano-mechanical bending tests were conducted to investigate the fracture behavior and the effect of the surrogate UO 2 high burnup structure on local fracture properties. Fresh UO 2 fuel was observed to fracture in transgranular mode without nucleation or movement of dislocations. However, the Xe-irradiated nanocrystalline microcantilevers fractured along the grain boundaries, with no influence from the pre-existing micro-cracks in the microcantilever. Fracture toughness for this type of surrogate high burnup UO 2 structure is reported for the first time in literature. Both the fracture stress and toughness show degradation for UO 2 as a result of Xe-irradiation.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Quantitative investigation of surface structure and interatomic potential with impact-collision ion scattering spectroscopy

Helium ion beam interactions with materials have important implications for magnetic confinement fusion, material modification, and helium ion microscopy. These interactions depend on the precise physics of how helium ions channel into the materials, which can vary greatly based on the local crystalline orientation. Here, we performed a dedicated experiment to investigate helium ion channeling in a well-characterized tungsten single crystal. Time-of-flight impact-collision ion scattering spectroscopy was used to obtain multi-angle maps of the backscattering intensity for 3 keV He + → W(111). We found that the backscattering intensity profile arising from helium ion channeling could be well described by a shadow cone analysis. This analysis revealed that subsurface W atoms as deep as the ninth monolayer contributed to the backscattering intensity profile. Binary collision approximation simulations were performed with MARLOWE to model the experimental maps with sufficient accuracy to allow for quantitative comparisons using reliability factors. These quantitative comparisons were applied to investigate how the W lattice structure and He–W interatomic potential affect the multi-angle maps.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Precision Mass Measurement of the Proton Dripline Halo Candidate 22 Al

Here, we report the first mass measurement of the proton-halo candidate 22 Al performed with the low energy beam ion trap facility’s 9.4 T Penning trap mass spectrometer at facility for rare isotope beams. This measurement completes the mass information for the lightest remaining proton-dripline nucleus achievable with Penning traps. 22 Al has been the subject of recent interest regarding a possible halo structure from the observation of an exceptionally large isospin asymmetry [J. Lee et al ., Large isospin asymmetry in Si22/O22 Mirror Gamow-Teller transitions reveals the halo structure of 22 Al , Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 192503 (2020).]. The measured mass excess value of ME=18 092.5⁢(3) keV, corresponding to an exceptionally small proton separation energy of 𝑆𝑝=100.4⁢(8) keV, is compatible with the suggested halo structure. Our result agrees well with predictions from 𝑠⁢𝑑-shell USD Hamiltonians. While USD Hamiltonians predict deformation in the 22 Al ground state with minimal 1⁢𝑠 1/2 occupation in the proton shell, a particle-plus-rotor model in the continuum suggests that a proton halo could form at large quadrupole deformation. These results emphasize the need for a charge radius measurement to conclusively determine the halo nature.

binding energy↗

Measurements of the L-shell X-ray emission of fluorine-like europium

Measurements of the L-shell X-ray emission of fluorine-like europium ions (Eu 54+ ) were made under controlled laboratory conditions on the EBIT-I electron beam ion trap at Livermore using an X-ray calorimeter, extending such measurements to the middle of the rare earth elements. Comparing the calorimeter spectra with atomic data from the flexible atomic code, we have identified and analyzed several prominent n = 3 → n = 2 transitions, including one two-electron, one-photon core changing transition and one electric quadrupole transition. We find that the measured energies are typically up to several eV higher than predicted.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Transient ion neutralization by electrons.

The nonlinear initial-boundary-value problems describing the lateral neutralization of ion beams for the cases that (1) an auxiliary electric field accelerates the electrons into the ion space, and (2) the electrons are injected into the ion space at a prescribed current density are treated. Analytical solutions are derived which give the position and speed of the neutralization front as a function of time, and the temporal development of the electron density, velocity, and electric fields during the neutralization process.

Wilhelm, H. E.↗

Dynamics explorer data analysis

The project has shown unambiguously that auroral acceleration is caused by electric fields aligned parallel to the Earth's magnetic field. Evidence was shown of significant ion heating as ions are accelerated upwards in auroral electric fields. This heating is most likely caused by the two-stream instability. The fate of upward ion beams associated with auroral arcs is shown; they appear in the opposite hemisphere as dispersive ion precipitation events. Magnetic merging of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field occurs with both closed dayside magnetospheric field lines and open tail lobe field lines simultaneously nearly 30 percent of the time. The sunward flow in the dawnside plasma sheet is 20 percent smaller, on average, than in the duskside. The convection throat is displaced slightly more toward dawn for B sub y greater than 0 than for B sub y less than 0.

Reiff, Patricia H.↗

Multispectral observations of the Jovian aurora

This paper presents and analyzes images of the Jovian aurora gathered by the Hubble Space Telescope Faint Object Camera (FOC) and the ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC) to determine the function of energetic heavy ion precipitation in the inner magnetosphere and electron acceleration in the outer magnetosphere. Hubble data includes hydrogen auroral spectra and reduced images of Jupiter's north and south poles. One important result is that acceleration of electrons may be largely responsible for the discrete auroral emission features seen in the data set. ROSAT PSPC data presented includes a photon energy spectrum. A two line emission model is shown to produce the best fit to the data. The production of these emission lines occurs as a result of recombination lines that are produced from the slowing of the energetic ion beam as it enters the Jupiter upper atmosphere. It is noted that the observed energetic ion precipitation does not contain sufficient power to explain the observed ultraviolet aurora; it is therefore concluded that both electrons and ions play a role in the Jupiter auroral emissions, but that the bulk of the ultraviolet emissions comes from electron processes.

Source record↗

Evidence of Multiple Reconnection Lines at the Magnetopause from Cusp Observations

Recent global hybrid simulations investigated the formation of flux transfer events (FTEs) and their convection and interaction with the cusp. Based on these simulations, we have analyzed several Polar cusp crossings in the Northern Hemisphere to search for the signature of such FTEs in the energy distribution of downward precipitating ions: precipitating ion beams at different energies parallel to the ambient magnetic field and overlapping in time. Overlapping ion distributions in the cusp are usually attributed to a combination of variable ion acceleration during the magnetopause crossing together with the time-of-flight effect from the entry point to the observing satellite. Most "step up" ion cusp structures (steps in the ion energy dispersions) only overlap for the populations with large pitch angles and not for the parallel streaming populations. Such cusp structures are the signatures predicted by the pulsed reconnection model, where the reconnection rate at the magnetopause decreased to zero, physically separating convecting flux tubes and their parallel streaming ions. However, several Polar cusp events discussed in this study also show an energy overlap for parallel-streaming precipitating ions. This condition might be caused by reopening an already reconnected field line, forming a magnetic island (flux rope) at the magnetopause similar to that reported in global MHD and Hybrid simulations

flux transfer events↗