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155 records · Page 9

Special issue on aluminium plasmonics

Plasmonics is a rapidly growing field that takes advantage of the intense and confined electromagnetic fields that appear near metallic nanostructures illuminated at frequencies near their surface plasmon resonances. As plasmonics continues to develop, it faces the need to find new materials supporting well-defined surface plasmon resonances in different frequency ranges. In the visible and near-infrared ranges the noble metals, most typically gold and silver, exhibit relatively low losses. This is why they are quite ubiquitous in plasmonics literature. However it is somewhat ironic to see that a non-noble metal, aluminium, the metal upon which surface plasmons where first evidenced in the 1950s, is now reappearing after fifty years of near oblivion as one of the 'hottest' materials for plasmonics. Several reasons explain the return of aluminium to the centre stage. First, aluminium exhibits good plasmonic properties in the ultraviolet and deep ultraviolet—a spectral range where gold and silver no longer behave as metals. Second, aluminium is cheap and widely available (Al is the third most abundant element in the earth's crust), criteria of paramount importance when discussing industry-related applications. It is furthermore compatible with complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology. In conclusion, this is why an ever-increasing number of papers report new advances on aluminium plasmonics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Development, construction and tests of the Mu2e electromagnetic calorimeter mechanical structures

The “muon-to-electron conversion” (Mu2e) experiment at Fermilab will search for the charged lepton flavour violating neutrino-less coherent conversion of a muon into an electron in the field of an aluminum nucleus. The observation of this process would be the unambiguous evidence of the existence of physics beyond the standard model. Mu2e detectors comprise a straw-tracker, an electromagnetic calorimeter and an external veto for cosmic rays. In particular, the calorimeter provides excellent electron identification, a fast calorimetric online trigger, and complementary information to aid pattern recognition and track reconstruction. The detector has been designed as a state-of-the-art crystal calorimeter and employs 1348 pure Cesium Iodide (CsI) crystals readout by UV-extended silicon photosensors and fast front-end and digitization electronics. A design consisting of two identical annular matrices (named “disks”) positioned at the relative distance of 70 cm downstream the aluminum target along the muon beamline satisfies the Mu2e physics requirements. The hostile Mu2e operational conditions, in terms of radiation levels (total expected ionizing dose of 12 krad and a neutron fluence of 5 × 10$^{10}$ n/cm$^{2}$ @ 1 MeV$_{eq}$ (Si)/y), magnetic field intensity (1 T) and vacuum level (10$^{-4}$ Torr) have posed tight constraints on scintillating materials, sensors, electronics and on the design of the detector mechanical structures and material choice. The support structure of each 674 crystal matrix is composed of an aluminum hollow ring and parts made of open-cell vacuum-compatible carbon fiber. The photosensors and front-end electronics for the readout of each crystal are inserted in a machined copper holder and make a unique mechanical unit. The resulting 674 mechanical units are supported by a machined plate of vacuum-compatible plastic material. The plate also integrates the cooling system made of a network of copper lines flowing a low temperature radiation-hard fluid and placed in thermal contact with the copper holders to constitute a low resistance thermal bridge. The data acquisition electronics are hosted in aluminum custom crates positioned on the external lateral surface of the disks. The crates also integrate the electronics cooling system as lines running in parallel to the front-end system. In this paper we report on the calorimeter mechanical structure design, the mechanical and thermal simulations that have determined the design technological choices, and the status of component production, quality assurance tests and plans for assembly at Fermilab.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Quasicontinuum γ decay of Zr 91 , 92 : Benchmarking indirect ( n , γ ) cross section measurements for the s process

Here, nuclear level densities (NLDs) and γ-ray strength functions (γSFs) have been extracted from particle-γ coincidences of the 92 Zr(p,p´γ) 92 Zr and 92 Zr (p,dγ) 91 Zr reactions using the Oslo method. The new 91,92 Zr γSF data, combined with photonuclear cross sections, cover the whole energy range from Eγ ≈ 1.5 MeV up to the giant dipole resonance at Eγ ≈ 17 MeV. The wide-range γSF data display structures at Eγ ≈ 9.5 MeV, compatible with a superposition of the spin-flip M1 resonance and a pygmy E1 resonance. Furthermore, the γSF shows a minimum at Eγ ≈ 2–3 MeV and an increase at lower γ-ray energies. The experimentally constrained NLDs and γSFs are shown to reproduce known (n,γ) and Maxwellian-averaged cross sections for 91,92 Zr using the TALYS reaction code, thus serving as a benchmark for this indirect method of estimating (n,γ) cross sections for Zr isotopes.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Implementation of an impurity diagnostic suite on the Pegasus-III experiment

A suite of diagnostics used to assess impurity content and dynamics has been updated, upgraded, and installed on the Pegasus-III Experiment. Typical plasma parameters during local helicity injection start-up are τ shot ~10 ms, n e ~ 1 × 10 19 m –3 , and T e ~ 50 eV. The deployed diagnostics are compatible with this modest temperature and density regime and provide species identification, source localization, and estimation of radiation losses. Impurity species are determined by recording time-evolving, single line-of-sight spectra at 1.25 kfps using a SPRED (Survey, Poor Resolution, Extended Domain) vacuum ultraviolet spectrometer. SPRED is equipped with 450 g/mm grating, giving a spectral resolution of 0.33 nm and a spectral range from ~10 to 110 nm, useful to identify light impurity species in this temperature and density range. An absolutely calibrated spectrometer that collects light from the plasma at R tan = 15.9 cm and Δt ≥ 2 ms is used as a visible survey spectrometer and for continuum measurements. The radiated power from the plasma is estimated with a photodiode-based diagnostic. Two 16-channel absolute extreme ultraviolet diode arrays are placed behind pinhole apertures, resulting in 32 lines of sight at Z = 0, with a spatial resolution of 2–3 cm and a time response of 60 kHz. A photometrically calibrated collinear D α /near infrared filtered photodiode-based system measures the D α emission and around 1040 nm. All these instruments have been designed to suppress electromagnetic interference from megawatt-class switching power supplies.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Rationalizing the suitability of rhodamines as chromophores in dye-sensitized solar cells: A systematic molecular design study

Here, rhodamines are chromophores that are employed in many dye applications. Their strong optical absorption in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum renders them attractive dye candidates for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). However, they have not yet been systematically tested in DSCs as single- or co-sensitizers. Recent advances in concerted experimental and computational workflows involving molecular design protocols can afford a better understanding of the molecular origins of the optoelectronic properties in these sensitizers. Herein, we examine the suitability of rhodamines R560 (1), R575 (2), R590 (3), R610 (4), R620 (5), R640 (6), and R3B (7) as chromophores in co-sensitized DSCs. Our study follows a stepwise approach. Initially, structural and optical properties of the dyes are investigated by experimental and computational methods to reveal structure-property relationships and other useful features for DSC applications. Subsequently, 1-7 are investigated at the dye···TiO 2 interface, both by calculations of dye-adsorption onto the surface of a modeled (TiO 2 ) 9 cluster, and by experimental studies of dye-adsorption on TiO 2 . For that purpose, a selection of rhodamine dyes are paired together (1 and 5) and (1 and 7) for co-sensitization, among which 5 is also co-adsorbed with a fluorescein dye in order to explore chemical compatibility factors. The best dye candidates are identified from the findings of these adsorption studies in terms of dye aggregation, anchoring modes, and panchromatic response. Despite their promising dye…TiO 2 adsorption and optical prospects, our results show that rhodamines lack a suitable intramolecular charge transfer pathway for dye-to-TiO 2 electron injection to occur, thus precluding their photovoltaic function as DSC dyes. Our results are then assessed against ostensibly disparate reports of rhodamines performing successfully in DSC devices; this comparison necessitated the internal reproduction of previously reported co-sensitization experiments on 2 with the industrial standard reference dye, N3. We achieve reconciliation between our results and those in the literature by reasoning that while rhodamines cannot deliver photovoltaic function in DSCs in their own right, they can either act to facilitate or deplete the photovoltaic output of a DSC indirectly by affecting the TiO 2 adsorption prospects of a photovoltaic-active dye with which a rhodamine is co-sensitized.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Intergalactic magnetic fields and gamma-ray observations of extreme TeV blazars

The intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF) in cosmic voids can be indirectly probed through its effect on electromagnetic cascades initiated by a source of teraelectronvolt (TeV) gamma-rays, such as active galactic nuclei (AGNs). AGNs that are sufficiently luminous at TeV energies, 'extreme TeV blazars', can produce detectable levels of secondary radiation from inverse Compton scattering of the electrons in the cascade, provided that the IGMF is not too large. We review recent work in the literature that utilizes this idea to derive constraints on the IGMF for three TeV-detected blazars, 1ES 0229+200, 1ES 1218+304, and RGB J0710+591, and we also investigate four other hard-spectrum TeV blazars in the same framework. Through a recently developed, detailed, three-dimensional particle-tracking Monte Carlo code, incorporating all major effects of QED and cosmological expansion, we research the effects of major uncertainties, such as the spectral properties of the source, uncertainty in the ultraviolet and far-infrared extragalactic background light, undersampled very high energy (energy ≥100 GeV) coverage, past history of gamma-ray emission, source versus observer geometry, and the jet AGN Doppler factor. The implications of these effects on the recently reported lower limits of the IGMF are thoroughly examined to conclude that the presently available data are compatible with a zero-IGMF hypothesis.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Development of Optical Fiber-Based Sensors for Nuclear Microreactor Structural Health Monitoring

This report provides an experimental assessment of two different optical fiber–based acoustic sensors that are being investigated for application in nuclear microreactors to enhance structural health monitoring capabilities. Optical fibers are resilient in high-temperature and high-radiation environments, have a small sensor footprint, are immune to electromagnetic interference, and are capable of spatially distributed sensing. The two sensors investigated here are (1) Fabry–Pérot Cavities (FPCs) between two copper-coated fibers, embedded in nickel capillary tubes and (2) type-I fiber Bragg grating (FBG) arrays contained within metal capillary tubes. These sensors can be interrogated using low-coherence interferometry or swept wavelength interferometry, respectively, to measure the resonant frequencies of the components or systems to which these sensors are bonded. The FPC developed herein has been subjected to temperatures up to nearly 800°C while tack-welded to a tubular test specimen. Even at the highest temperatures, the measured resonant frequencies compared well with those obtained using an accelerometer that was bonded to an unheated portion of the specimen. The FBG array was tested in multiple bonding configurations to a tubular test specimen, all at room temperature, with the understanding that high temperature (i.e., type II) FBGs could be used to obtain similar data at high temperatures; the FBG array data were validated with noncontact laser vibrometry, which is being used at Los Alamos National Laboratory to relate acoustic signatures to component stresses and/or structural defects. The goal of this work is to identify the most promising techniques that are also compatible with operation in a microreactor environment.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Intrinsic nonlocality of spin- and polarization-resolved probabilities in strong-field quantum electrodynamics

Spin and polarization are central to precision tests of fundamental physics and for interpreting radiation from astrophysical sources and ultraintense laser-matter experiments. Here, focusing on the fundamental process of nonlinear Compton scattering, we demonstrate that a key assumption underlying current strong-field quantum electrodynamics models, i.e., that emission can be treated as an instantaneous random event sampled from a local differential rate, is inconsistent once emission angles, electron spin, and/or photon polarization are resolved. Namely, even in strictly constant and uniform fields , the resulting fully differential distribution is sign indefinite, yielding negative inferred probabilities. The physical reason is that the photon emission probability builds up over a finite length of the electron trajectory, the formation region, during which the electron direction changes by roughly the same small angle that defines the radiation cone. Therefore, we put forward a new method where we integrate over this formation region analytically to obtain a physically consistent electron spin and photon polarization model. We show that the implementation of our model is compatible with existing Monte Carlo and particle-in-cell workflows. Simulations of a GeV-class electron-laser collision accessible at current petawatt facilities and of emission in a pulsarlike magnetic field are shown to reveal spin and polarization patterns that differ even qualitatively from state-of-the-art local models. In particular, our new model predicts substantial angle-dependent circular photon polarization where the well-known collinear-emission approach yields none, and a pronounced helicity bias in the recoiling electrons absent from current predictions. These findings have direct implications for upcoming strong-field QED experiments and for interpreting polarized radiation from extreme astrophysical environments.

astrophysical electromagnetic fields↗

FAR-INFRARED LUMINOUS SUPERNOVA REMNANT Kes 17

We present the results of infrared (IR; 2.5-160 {mu}m) observations of the supernova remnant (SNR) Kes 17 based on the data obtained with the AKARI and Spitzer satellites. We first detect bright continuum emission of its western shell in the mid- and far-IR wavebands together with its near-IR molecular line emission. We also detect hidden mid-IR emission of its southern shell after subtraction of the background emission in this region. The far-IR luminosity of the western shell is {approx}8100 L{sub sun}, which makes Kes 17 one of the few SNRs of significant far-IR emission. The fittings of the spectral energy distribution indicate the existence of two dust components: {approx}79 K (hot) and {approx}27 K (cold) corresponding to the dust masses of {approx}6.2 x 10{sup -4} M{sub sun} and {approx}6.7 M{sub sun}, respectively. We suggest that the hot component represents the dust emission of the material swept up by the SNR to its western and southern boundaries, compatible with the distribution of radio continuum emission overlapping the mid-IR emission in the western and southern shells. The existence of hot ({approx}2000 K), shocked dense molecular gas revealed by the near-IR molecular line emission in the western shell, on the other hand, suggests that the cold dust component represents the dust emission related to the interaction between the SNR and nearby molecular gas. The excitation conditions of the molecular gas appear to be consistent with those from shocked, clumpy admixture gas of different temperatures. We discuss three possibilities for the origin of the bright far-IR emission of the cold dust in the western shell: the emission of dust in the inter-clump medium of shocked molecular clouds, the emission of dust in evaporating flows of molecular clouds engulfed by hot gas, and the emission of dust of nearby molecular clouds illuminated by radiative shocks.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

GAS AND DUST IN A SUBMILLIMETER GALAXY AT z = 4.24 FROM THE HERSCHEL ATLAS

We report ground-based follow-up observations of the exceptional source, ID 141, one of the brightest sources detected so far in the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey cosmological survey. ID 141 was observed using the IRAM 30 m telescope and Plateau de Bure interferometer (PdBI), the Submillimeter Array, and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment submillimeter telescope to measure the dust continuum and emission lines of the main isotope of carbon monoxide and carbon ([C I] and [C II]). The detection of strong CO emission lines with the PdBI confirms that ID 141 is at high redshift (z = 4.243 {+-} 0.001). The strength of the continuum and emission lines suggests that ID 141 is gravitationally lensed. The width ({Delta}V{sub FWHM} {approx} 800 km s{sup -1}) and asymmetric profiles of the CO and carbon lines indicate orbital motion in a disk or a merger. The properties derived for ID 141 are compatible with an ultraluminous (L{sub FIR} {approx} (8.5 {+-} 0.3) x 10{sup 13} {mu}{sup -1}{sub L} L{sub sun}, where {mu}{sub L} is the amplification factor), dense (n {approx} 10{sup 4} cm{sup -3}), and warm (T{sub kin} {approx} 40 K) starburst galaxy, with an estimated star formation rate of (0.7-1.7) x 10{sup 4} {mu}{sup -1}{sub L} M{sub sun} yr{sup -1}. The carbon emission lines indicate a dense (n {approx} 10{sup 4} cm{sup -3}) photon-dominated region, illuminated by a far-UV radiation field a few thousand times more intense than that in our Galaxy. In conclusion, the physical properties of the high-z galaxy ID 141 are remarkably similar to those of local ultraluminous infrared galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Extension of PENELOPE to protons: Simulation of nuclear reactions and benchmark with Geant4

Purpose: Describing the implementation of nuclear reactions in the extension of the Monte Carlo code (MC) PENELOPE to protons (PENH) and benchmarking with Geant4.Methods: PENH is based on mixed-simulation mechanics for both elastic and inelastic electromagnetic collisions (EM). The adopted differential cross sections for EM elastic collisions are calculated using the eikonal approximation with the Dirac–Hartree–Fock–Slater atomic potential. Cross sections for EM inelastic collisions are computed within the relativistic Born approximation, using the Sternheimer–Liljequist model of the generalized oscillator strength. Nuclear elastic and inelastic collisions were simulated using explicitly the scattering analysis interactive dialin database for {sup 1}H and ICRU 63 data for {sup 12}C, {sup 14}N, {sup 16}O, {sup 31}P, and {sup 40}Ca. Secondary protons, alphas, and deuterons were all simulated as protons, with the energy adapted to ensure consistent range. Prompt gamma emission can also be simulated upon user request. Simulations were performed in a water phantom with nuclear interactions switched off or on and integral depth–dose distributions were compared. Binary-cascade and precompound models were used for Geant4. Initial energies of 100 and 250 MeV were considered. For cases with no nuclear interactions simulated, additional simulations in a water phantom with tight resolution (1 mm in all directions) were performed with FLUKA. Finally, integral depth–dose distributions for a 250 MeV energy were computed with Geant4 and PENH in a homogeneous phantom with, first, ICRU striated muscle and, second, ICRU compact bone.Results: For simulations with EM collisions only, integral depth–dose distributions were within 1%/1 mm for doses higher than 10% of the Bragg-peak dose. For central-axis depth–dose and lateral profiles in a phantom with tight resolution, there are significant deviations between Geant4 and PENH (up to 60%/1 cm for depth–dose distributions). The agreement is much better with FLUKA, with deviations within 3%/3 mm. When nuclear interactions were turned on, agreement (within 6% before the Bragg-peak) between PENH and Geant4 was consistent with uncertainties on nuclear models and cross sections, whatever the material simulated (water, muscle, or bone).Conclusions: A detailed and flexible description of nuclear reactions has been implemented in the PENH extension of PENELOPE to protons, which utilizes a mixed-simulation scheme for both elastic and inelastic EM collisions, analogous to the well-established algorithm for electrons/positrons. PENH is compatible with all current main programs that use PENELOPE as the MC engine. The nuclear model of PENH is realistic enough to give dose distributions in fair agreement with those computed by Geant4.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗