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At least 1,279 records · Page 71
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DOE OSTI2024

High-gradient performance of a prototype accelerator cavity for a 3 GeV proton radiography booster

This paper reports the design, fabrication, and results of the high-gradient conditioning and testing for a two-cell, π -mode, standing wave normal-conducting prototype booster cavity for the proposed 3 GeV proton linac upgrade at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. Increasing the energy of proton beam from the existing 800 MeV to 3 GeV will improve resolution of the proton radiography by up to 10 times. The proposed energy boost can be achieved with a compact normal-conducting high-gradient radio-frequency (rf) linac section. The C-band section of the booster linac was designed with optimized-shaped copper accelerator cavities with distributed rf coupling. A short two-cell test prototype structure was designed for the frequency of 5.712 GHz, fabricated, and tested at the C-band Engineering Research Test Facility in New Mexico (CERF-NM) at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The maximum klystron power coupled into the test structure was 8.3 MW with 1 μ s pulse length and 100 Hz repetition rate. The breakdown probabilities were recorded as functions of the accelerating gradient and peak surface fields. Operation of the test cavity at accelerating gradients of up to 100 MV / m was demonstrated. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Efficient Nonthermal Ion and Electron Acceleration Enabled by the Flux-Rope Kink Instability in 3D Nonrelativistic Magnetic Reconnection

The relaxation of field-line tension during magnetic reconnection gives rise to a universal Fermi acceleration process involving the curvature drift of particles. However, the efficiency of this mechanism is limited by the trapping of energetic particles within flux ropes. Using 3D fully kinetic simulations, we demonstrate that the flux-rope kink instability leads to strong field-line chaos in weak-guide-field regimes where the Fermi mechanism is most efficient, thus allowing particles to transport out of flux ropes and undergo further acceleration. As a consequence, both ions and electrons develop clear power-law energy spectra that contain a significant fraction of the released energy. The low-energy bounds are determined by the injection physics, while the high-energy cutoffs are limited only by the system size. Furthermore, these results have strong relevance to observations of nonthermal particle acceleration in space and astrophysics.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quantum Nature of Dielectric Laser Accelerators

Dielectric laser accelerators (DLAs) hold great promise for producing economic and compact on-chip radiation sources. On-chip DLAs benefit from fabrication capabilities of the silicon industry and from breakthroughs in silicon-photonic nanostructures to enhance the interaction between particles and laser fields. Seemingly unrelated recent advances in the quantum interactions of electrons and light have raised interest in the underlying classical-quantum correspondence principle at the foundations of electron acceleration. Here, we present the observation of the underlying quantum nature of DLAs: observing quantized peaks in the electron-energy spectra. Our findings demonstrate quasi-phase-matching between an electron wave function and a light wave, which also demonstrates the role of the quantum wave function in the inverse Smith-Purcell effect. We harness the capabilities of an ultrafast transmission electron microscope (UTEM) to maintain a long electron-light interaction length extending over hundreds of periods of the laser pulse, mediated by a silicon-photonic nanograting DLA. The UTEM is shown as a new platform for characterization of future DLA concepts. The results raise fundamental questions regarding the role of quantum mechanics in DLA design, and more generally about the prospects of manipulating particles’ quantum wave functions in accelerator physics.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Multi-GeV Electron Bunches from an All-Optical Laser Wakefield Accelerator

We present the first demonstration of multi-GeV laser wakefield acceleration in a fully optically formed plasma waveguide, with an acceleration gradient as high as 25 GeV/m . The guide was formed via self-waveguiding of < 15 J, 45 fs (< ~ 300 TW) pulses over 20 cm in a low-density hydrogen gas jet, with accelerated electron bunches driven up to 5 GeV in quasimonoenergetic peaks of relative energy width as narrow as ~ 15 % , with divergence down to ~ 1mrad and charge up to tens of picocoulombs. Energy gain is inversely correlated with on-axis waveguide density in the range Ne0 = (1.3 – 3.2) x 10 17 cm –3 . We find that shot-to-shot stability of bunch spectra and charge are strongly dependent on the pointing of the injected laser pulse and gas jet uniformity. We also observe evidence of pump depletion-induced dephasing, a consequence of the long optical guiding distance.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

GPU-accelerated multitiered iterative phasing algorithm for fluctuation X-ray scattering

The multitiered iterative phasing (MTIP) algorithm is used to determine the biological structures of macromolecules from fluctuation scattering data. It is an iterative algorithm that reconstructs the electron density of the sample by matching the computed fluctuation X-ray scattering data to the external observations, and by simultaneously enforcing constraints in real and Fourier space. This paper presents the first ever MTIP algorithm acceleration efforts on contemporary graphics processing units (GPUs). The Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) programming model is used to accelerate the MTIP algorithm on NVIDIA GPUs. The computational performance of the CUDA-based MTIP algorithm implementation outperforms the CPU-based version by an order of magnitude. Furthermore, the Heterogeneous-Compute Interface for Portability (HIP) runtime APIs are used to demonstrate portability by accelerating the MTIP algorithm across NVIDIA and AMD GPUs.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Field Quality Measurement of a 4.2-m-Long Prototype Low- $\beta$ Nb $_3$ Sn Quadrupole Magnet During the Assembly Stage for the High-Luminosity LHC Accelerator Upgrade Project

The U.S. High-Luminosity LHC Accelerator Upgrade Project, in collaboration with CERN, is developing Nb 3 Sn quadrupole magnets (MQXFA) to be installed at the interaction region of the LHC. The project will deliver 20 MQXFA magnets in 10 cold masses. These magnets need to meet the stringent requirements on field quality at the nominal operating current. Compared to the mature NbTi accelerator magnet technology, achieving excellent field quality can be challenging for Nb 3 Sn magnets. To help track, understand, and allow effective correction of geometric field errors, field quality measurements at room temperature during the MQXFA assembly stage was planned for the project. The measurements also intend to evaluate the magnetic axis and twist angle along the magnet aperture. We report the first measurement on a prototype MQXFA magnet using a recently developed measurement system. The magnetic axis and twist angle met the acceptance criteria. Further development needs for the room-temperature measurements were discussed. Here, we expect that statistics obtained from such measurements throughout the project will provide insight into future applications of high-performance Nb 3 Sn accelerator magnets.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Ionizing radiation effects in SONOS-based neuromorphic inference accelerators

Here, we evaluate the sensitivity of neuromorphic inference accelerators based on Silicon-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon (SONOS) charge trap memory arrays to total ionizing dose (TID) effects. Data retention statistics were collected for 16 Mbit of 40 nm SONOS digital memory exposed to ionizing radiation from a Co-60 source, showing good retention of the bits up to the maximum dose of 500 krad(Si). Using this data, we formulate a rate-equation-based model for the TID response of trapped charge carriers in the ONO stack, and predict the effect of TID on intermediate device states between ‘program’ and ‘erase’. This model is then used to simulate arrays of low-power, analog SONOS devices that store 8-bit neural network weights and support in situ matrix-vector multiplication. We evaluate the accuracy of the irradiated SONOS-based inference accelerator on two image recognition tasks – CIFAR-10 and the challenging ImageNet dataset – using state-of-the-art convolutional neural networks, such as ResNet-50. We find that across the datasets and neural networks evaluated, the accelerator tolerates a maximum TID between 10 krad(Si) and 100 krad(Si), with deeper networks being more susceptible to accuracy losses due to TID.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2016

A system for monitoring the radiation effects of a proton linear accelerator

The system for real-time monitoring of radioactivity of a high-current proton linear accelerator detects secondary neutron emission from proton beam losses in transport channels and measures the activity of radionuclides in gas and aerosol emissions and the radiation background in the environment affected by a linear accelerator. The data provided by gamma, beta, and neutron detectors are transferred over a computer network to the central server. The system allows one to monitor proton beam losses, the activity of gas and aerosol emissions, and the radiation emission level of a linear accelerator in operation.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Pulsed ion hall accelerator for investigation of reactions between light nuclei in the astrophysical energy range

The factors defining the constraints on the current characteristics of the magnetically insulated ion diode (IDM) are considered. The specific current parameters close to the maximum possible ones are obtained for the particular IDM-40 design assigned for acceleration of light ions and investigation of nuclear reactions with small cross sections in the astrophysical energy range (2–40 keV) in the entrance channel. It is experimentally demonstrated that the chosen optimal operation conditions for IDM-40 units provide high stability of the parameters (energy distribution and composition of accelerated particle beams, degree of neutralization) of the accelerated particle flux, which increases during the working pulse.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Development of an Accelerator-Based Epithermal Neutron Source for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy

The paper presents a review of the current state of development of accelerator-based epithermal neutron sources for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), a promising method for the treatment of malignant tumors. Special attention is paid to an epithermal neutron source based on a new type of accelerator of charged particles: a tandem accelerator with vacuum insulation and a lithium neutron-producing target.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2019

ORNL D-Li Fusion Neutron Facility - Accelerator Systems Cost Report

Several past design studies were reviewed and an analysis of alternatives completed to assess the range of accelerator parameters and accelerating structure types that can potentially meet the requirements of a 125-mA, 40-MeV, D-Li Fusion Neutron Facility. The design studies reviewed included past LANL designs for IFMIF and designs based on the use of modified versions of the LANL LEDA. Also reviewed were the past IFMIF-EVEDA design iterations that explored several options for the main linac including the use of an Alvarez DTL, interdigital accelerating structures, and a superconducting RF half-wave resonator {SCRF HWR) based main linac.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

New accelerator capabilities with the high-gradient C-band [Slides]

LANSCE accelerator upgrades: Applications such as pRad desire higher proton beam energy. Material science at LANL will benefit from powerful directional high repetition rate X-ray sources. As it considers itself to be the NNSA accelerator laboratory, LANL should play role in developing compact accelerators for various national security missions.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

LANSCE Accelerator Modernization Project (LAMP) Overview [Slides]

LANSCE is based on a high-current 800 MeV proton accelerator capable of delivering 1 MW of beam power to the central target area. The LANSCE accelerator provides beam simultaneously to 5 separate experimental areas. LANSCE operates with 650 µs RF macro pulses at 120 Hz. Within this macro pulse several different beam timing patterns are utilized. LANSCE also accelerates H + and H – simultaneously. LANSCE celebrated 50 years of beam delivery in 2022.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Pulse Length Monitor for Breakdown Diagnostics in THz and Mm-Wave Accelerators

The development of novel high-gradient accelerating structures operating at THz frequencies is critical for future free-electron lasers and TeV scale linear colliders. To reach high energies with reasonable length requires high accelerating gradients of ~100 MV/m. The main limitation to reaching these high-energy gradients is the vacuum RF breakdown phenomenon, which disrupts normal accelerator operations. For stable operations and to understand the breakdown microscopic dynamics, a new device capable of detecting the breakdown occurrences is required. In this paper, we provide the design of a pulse length monitor based on an analog to digital converter for fast signal digitization without the need to use high-speed digitizers to be used in a commercial mm-wave heterodyne spectrometer.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Simulation of a Next Generation Plasma Accelerator

Supercomputer simulations of plasma-based accelerators typically use a “moving window” to restrict the simulation area to a “small” region of interest that encompasses the laser beam and the portion of wakefield that accelerates the electron beam. In this simulation, a laser beam (red and blue disks) propagating through an under-dense plasma displaces electrons, creating a wake that supports very high electric fields, or “wakefield” (pale blue and yellow), that can be used to accelerate a short electron beam (white) to high-energy over a very short distance. While the simulation box is spatially much smaller, the number of time steps that are required to simulate the crossing of the laser through the plasma is still very large, typically over a million. (Credit: Jean-Luc Vay/Berkeley Lab)

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Polarization-Dependent Self-Injection by Above Threshold Ionization Heating in a Laser Wakefield Accelerator

Here, we report on the experimental observation of a decreased self-injection threshold by using laser pulses with circular polarization in laser wakefield acceleration experiments in a nonpreformed plasma, compared to the usually employed linear polarization. A significantly higher electron beam charge was also observed for circular polarization compared to linear polarization over a wide range of parameters. Theoretical analysis and quasi-3D particle-in-cell simulations reveal that the self-injection and hence the laser wakefield acceleration is polarization dependent and indicate a different injection mechanism for circularly polarized laser pulses, originating from larger momentum gain by electrons during above threshold ionization. This enables electrons to meet the trapping condition more easily, and the resulting higher plasma temperature was confirmed via spectroscopy of the XUV plasma emission.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Experimental design of a W-band corrugated waveguide for wakefield acceleration studies

Radiofrequency (RF) structures in the sub-terahertz (sub-THz) regime are of interest for applications in structure wakefield acceleration due to their compact size and potential for high gradients. Here, we present the design, fabrication, and experimental setup of a metallic corrugated waveguide at 110 GHz, optimized for the 42 MeV electron beam parameters at the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator (AWA). The emittance exchange (EEX) beamline at AWA was used to perform longitudinal bunch shaping for two cases: (1) a high decelerating gradient experienced by a single drive electron bunch about 250 μm long; (2) a high transformer ratio using a two-bunch train consisting of a triangularly shaped drive bunch followed by a long witness bunch to probe the wakefield. Preliminary experimental results are presented, and data analysis is ongoing.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Vacuum acceleration of electrons in a dynamic laser pulse

A planar laser pulse propagating in vacuum can exhibit an extremely large ponderomotive force. This force, however, cannot impart net energy to an electron: As the pulse overtakes the electron, the initial impulse from its rising edge is completely undone by an equal and opposite impulse from its trailing edge. Here we show that planar-like “flying focus” pulses can break this symmetry, imparting relativistic energies to electrons. The intensity peak of a flying focus—a moving focal point resulting from a chirped laser pulse focused by a chromatic lens—can travel at any subluminal velocity, forward or backward. As a result, an electron can gain enough momentum in the rising edge of the intensity peak to outrun and avoid the trailing edge. Accelerating the intensity peak can further boost the momentum gain. Furthermore, theory and simulations demonstrate that these dynamic intensity peaks can backwards accelerate electrons to the MeV energies required for radiation and electron diffraction probes of high-energy-density materials.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗