Characterizing a proton beam with two different methods in beam halo experiments

In beam halo experiments, it is very important to correctly characterize the RFQ output proton beam. In order to simulate the beam dynamics properly, we must first know the correct initial beam parameters. We have used two different methods, quadrupole scans and multi-wire scanners to determine the transverse phase-space properties of the proton beam. The experimental data were analyzed by fitting to the 3-D nonlinear simulation code IMPACT. For the quadrupole scan method, we found that the RMS beam radius and the measured beam-core profiles agreed very well with the simulations. For the multi-wire scanner method, we choose the case of a matched beam. By fitting the IMPACT simulation results to the measured data, we obtained the Courant-Snyder parameters and the emittance of the beam. The difference between the two methods is about eight percent, which is acceptable in our experiments.     

Design and construction of the first prototype ionization chamber for CSNS and PA beam loss monitor （BLM） system

Design and construction of the first prototype ionization chamber for CSNS and Proton Accelerator （PA） beam loss monitor （BLM） system is reported. The low leakage current （〈0.1 pA）, good plateau （≈800 V） and linearity range up to 200 Roentgen/h are obtained in the first prototype. All of these give us good experience for further improving the ionization chamber construction.     

Design of a multi-cusp ion source for proton therapy

The permanent magnets of the discharge chamber in a multi-cusp proton source are studied and designed. The three electrode extraction system is adopted and simulated. A method to extract different amounts of current while keeping the beam emittance unchanged is proposed.     

通道靶对超强激光加速质子束的聚焦效应

发散角过大是制约超强激光与固体靶相互作用加速产生高能质子束应用的一个重大物理难题.本文提出了一种结构化的通道靶型,与超强激光相互作用可提高质子束的发散特性,通道壁上产生的横向电荷分离静电场可对质子有效聚焦.采用二维particle-in-cell粒子模拟程序对激光通道靶相互作用过程进行了研究,分析了加速质子束的性能特点.模拟结果表明,与传统平面靶相比,通道靶可以在不过多损失能量的情况下产生具有更好准直性的质子束,尤其当通道靶的直径与激光焦斑尺寸和质子源尺寸相当时,横向静电场能够有效聚焦质子束,并且可保证相对较高的激光能量利用率.     

Study on the Lorentz detuning and tuning of β=0.3, 352 MHz spoke cavity

The superconducting spoke cavity has been proposed to accelerate the proton in the low energy section of the high power proton linac for the Accelerator Driven Sub-critical System in China. In this paper, the basic geometric and RF parameters of a β=0.3, 352 MHz spoke cavity are given, and the Lorenz detuning and tuning are presented.     

Error analysis and lattice improvement for the C-ADS Injector- I

The injector Scheme- 1 （or Injector- I ） of the C-ADS linac is a 10 mA 10 MeV proton linac working in C／V mode. It is mainly comprised of a 3.2 MeV room-temperature 4-vane RFQ and twelve superconducting single-spoke cavities housed in a long cryostat. Error analysis including alignment and field errors, and static and dynamic ones for the illjector are presented. Based on detailed numerical simulations, an orbit correction scheme has been designed, which shows that with correction the rms residual orbit errors can be controlled within 0.3 mm and a beam loss rate of 1.7× 10-6 is obtained. To reduce the beam loss rate further, an improved lattice design for the superconducting spoke cavity section has been studied.     

DD proton spectrum for diagnosing the areal density of imploded capsules on Shenguang III prototype laser facility

The primary DD proton spectrum is used for diagnosing the fuel-shell areal density pR of imploded capsules on Shenguang Ⅲ （SG-Ⅲ） prototype laser facility for the first time. A charged particle spectrometer （CPS） with a CR39 nuclear track detector is used to measure the DD proton spectrum. The proton spectrum is determined from both the proton track and its size. A typical proton energy peak shift from 3.02 MeV to 2.6 MeV is observed in our experiment, which yields a maximum pR larger than 6 mg/cm2.     

Properties of the β-delayed proton decay of 146Ho

The proton-rich isotope 146Ho was produced via the fusion-evaporation reaction ^92Mo （^58Ni, 3p1n）. The β-delayed proton decay of 146Ho was studied by proton-γ coincidence measurements using a He-jet tape transport system. The γ-transitions in ^145Tb following the proton emissions were observed, and the β-delayed proton branching ratios to the final states in the grand-daughter nucleus ^145Tb were determined. According to the relative branching ratios, the ground-state spin of 146Ho has been proposed and the possible configuration discussed.     

Characteristics of the magnetic analysis system for a compact MPR-type spectrometer

The magnetic proton recoil（MPR）spectrometer is a novel diagnostic instrument with high perfor-mance for measurements of neutron spectra in inertial confinement fusion（ICF）experiments and high power fusion devices.A compact MPR-type spectrometer dedicated to the research of pulsed deuterium-tritium（DT）neutron spectroscopy of special experimental conditions is currently under design.Analyses of the main parameters and performance of the magnetic analysis system through 3-D particle transport calculations and MonteCarlo simulations and calibration of the system performance as a test using CR-39 solid track detector and α particle from 239pu and 226Ra radioactive sources are presented in this paper.The results indicate that the magnetic analysis system will achieve a detection efficiency level of 10-5-10-4 at an energy resolution of 1.5%-2.1%,and fulfills the design goals of the spectrometer.     

Study of a multi-wire proportional chamber with a cathode strip and delay-line readout

The design principle for a multi-wire proportional chamber with a cathode strip and delay-line readout is described. A prototype chamber of a size of 10 cm×10 cm was made together with the readout electronics circuit. A very clean signal with very low background noise was obtained by applying a transformer between the delay-line and the pre-amplifier in order to match the resistance. Along the anode wire direction a position resolution of less than 0.5 mm was achieved with a ^55Fe-5.9 keV X ray source. The simple structure, large effective area and high position resolution allow the application of a gas chamber of this kind to many purposes.     

Physical design of scanning gantry for proton therapy facility

A proton therapy facility based on a linac injector and a slow cycling synchrotron is proposed. To achieve effective treatment of cancer, a scanning gantry is required. The flexible transmission of beam and high beam position accuracy are the most basic requirements for a gantry. The designed gantry optics and scanning system are presented. Great efforts are put into studying the sensitivity of the beam position in the isocenter to the element misalignments. It shows that quadrupole shift makes the largest contribution and special attention should be paid to it.     

Pattern recognition and data mining software based on artificial neural networks applied to proton transfer in aqueous environments

In computational physics proton transfer phenomena could be viewed as pattern classification problems based on a set of input features allowing classification of the proton motion into two categories： transfer ＇occurred＇ and transfer ＇not occurred＇. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the use of artificial neural networks in the classification of proton transfer events, based on the feed-forward back propagation neural network, used as a classifier to distinguish between the two transfer cases. In this paper, we use a new developed data mining and pattern recognition tool for automating, controlling, and drawing charts of the output data of an Empirical Valence Bond existing code. The study analyzes the need for pattern recognition in aqueous proton transfer processes and how the learning approach in error back propagation （multilayer perceptron algorithms） could be satisfactorily employed in the present case. We present a tool for pattern recognition and validate the code including a real physical case study. The results of applying the artificial neural networks methodology to crowd patterns based upon selected physical properties （e.g., temperature, density） show the abilities of the network to learn proton transfer patterns corresponding to properties of the aqueous environments, which is in turn proved to be fully compatible with previous proton transfer studies.     

Proposal for muon and white neutron sources at CSNS

The China Spallation Neutron Source （CSNS） is a large scientific facility with the main purpose of serving multidisciplinary research on material characterization using neutron scattering techniques. The accelerator system is to provide a proton beam of 120 kW with a repetition rate of 25 Hz initially （CSNSⅠ）, progressively upgradeable to 240 kW （CSNS-Ⅱ） and 500 kW （CSNS-Ⅱ＇）. In addition to serving as a driving source for the spallation target, the proton beam can be exploited for serving additional functions both in fundamental and applied research. The expanded scientific application based on pulsed muons and fast neutrons is especially attractive in the overall consideration of CSNS upgrade options. A second target station that houses a muon-generating target and a fast-neutron-generating target in tandem, intercepting and removing a small part of the proton beam for the spallation target, is proposed. The muon and white neutron sources are operated principally in parasitic mode, leaving the main part of the beam directed to the spallation target. However, it is also possible to deliver the proton beam to the second target station in a dedicated mode for some special applications. Within the dual target configuration, the thin muon target placed upstream of the fast-neutron target will consume only about 5% of the beam traversed; the majority of the beam is used for fast-neutron production. A proton beam with a beam power of about 60 kW, an energy of 1.6 GeV and a repetition rate of 12.5 Hz will make the muon source and the white neutron source very attractive to multidisciplinary researchers.     

Photoproduction of Mesons off the Deuteron Quasifree and Coherent Processes

Photoproduction of mesons off the deuteron has been investigated at a tagged photon beam of the Bonn ELSA accelerator with the combined Crystal Barrel - TAPS electromagnetic calorimeter for incident photon energies up to 2.5 GeV. The mesons have been detected in coincidence with recoil protons, neutrons and deuterons. This allow the measurement of meson production reactions off the quasifree nucleons bound in the deutron, as well as the coherent production off the deuteron. The comparison of quasifree proton reactions to free proton reactions can confirm or invalidate possible nuclear effects on the extracted cross section reactions. Furthermore the isospin composition of a resonance can be estimated from the comparison of quasifree proton and neutron reactions. The quasifree photoproduction of the η＇ and π°η mesons off nucleons and the coherent photoproduction of π°η--pairs off the deuteron are discussed.     

Investigation of GEM-Micromegas detector on X-ray beam of synchrotron radiation

To reduce the discharge of the standard bulk Micromegas and GEM detectors, a GEM-Micromegas detector was developed at the Institute of High Energy Physics. Taking into account the advantages of the two detectors, one GEM foil was set as a preamplifier on the mesh of Micromegas in the structure and the CEM pream- plification decreased the working voltage of Micromegas to significantly reduce the effect of the discharge. At the same gain, the spark probability of the GEM-Micromegas detector can be reduced to a factor 0.01 compared to the standard Micromegas detector, and an even higher gain could be obtained. This paper describes the performance of the X-ray beam detector that was studied at 1W2B Laboratory of Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Finally, the result of the energy resolution under various X-ray energies was given in different working gases. This indicates that the GEM-Micromegas detector has an energy response capability in an energy range from 6 keV to 20 keV and it could work better than the standard bulk-Micromegas.     

Anti-plane problem analysis for icosahedral quasicrystals under shear loadings

The present paper is concerned with the longitudinal shear elasticity of three-dimensional icosahedral quasicrystals. By virtue of the Dugdale hypothesis along with the method of complex potential theory, it involves two defect problems of the icosahedral quasicrystals. The first one is the calculation of stress intensity factors and the size of the cohesive force zone in a half-infinite crack. Meanwhile, the crack tip tearing displacements can be exactly derived. The other is the demonstration of the generalized stress intensity factors induced by a sharp V-notch as an extension of a crack. The generalized E-integral around the notch tip gives the energy release rate when the V-notch degenerates into a crack. Apart from their own usefulness in carrying out some simplified crack analyses, the results obtained in this work can particularly serve as a basis for fracture mechanics of anti-plane defect problems of icosahedral quasicrystals.     

Beam based alignment of the SSRF storage ring

There are 140 beam position monitors （BPMs） in the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility （SSRF） storage ring used for measuring the closed orbit. As the BPM pickup electrodes are assembled directly on the vacuum chamber, it is important to calibrate the electrical center offset of the BPM to an adjacent quadrupole magnetic center. A beam based alignment （BBA） method which varies individual quadrupole magnet strength and observes its effects on the orbit is used to measure the BPM offsets in both the horizontal and vertical planes. It is a completely automated technique with various data processing methods. There are several parameters such as the strength change of the correctors and the quadrupoles which should be chosen carefully in real measurement. After several rounds of BBA measurement and closed orbit correction, these offsets are set to an accuracy better than 10 μm. In this paper we present the method of beam based calibration of BPMs, the experimental results of the SSRF storage ring, and the error analysis.     

Experiment to measure the Lamb shift in muonic hydrogen

The contribution of the root mean square (RMS) proton charge radius to the Lamb shift (2S–2P energy difference) in muonic hydrogen (μp) amounts to 2%. Apart from the uncertainty on this charge radius, theory predicts the Lamb shift with a precision on the ppm level. We are going to measure ΔE (2 S_1/2(F=1)–2 P_3/2(F=2)) in a laser resonance experiment to a precision of 30 ppm (i.e., 10% of the natural linewidth) and to deduce the RMS proton charge radius with 10⁻³ relative accuracy, 20 times more precise than presently known. The most important requirement for the feasibility of such an experiment, namely the availability of a sufficient amount of long lived metastable μp atoms in the 2S state, has been investigated in a recent experiment at PSI. Our analysis shows that in the order of one percent of all muons stopped in low pressure hydrogen gas form a long lived μp(2S) with a lifetime of the order of 1 μs. The technical realization of our experiment involves a new high intensity low energy muon beam, an efficient low energy muon entrance detector, a randomly triggered 3 stage laser system providing the 0.5 mJ, 7 ns laser pulses at 6.02 μm wavelength, and a combination of a xenon gas proportional scintillation chamber (GPSC) and a microstrip gas chamber (MSGC) with a CsI coated surface to detect the 2 keV X rays from theμp(2P → 1S) transition. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

带有质量分析系统的强流质子束低能传输线研究

强流质子源与低能传输线（LEBT）是作为CIADS注入器的超导强流质子直线加速器的关键前端系统。目前LEBT采用双螺线管匹配结构设计,并安装有限制锥,但仍然不能避免少量H₂+和H₃+进入后端加速装置,这对直线加速器长期运行稳定性与可靠性会产生一定影响。为此,在LEBT加入分析磁铁对混合束（H+,H+2,H₃+）进行分离再注入后端加速器腔体,将是一个有效的方案。本研究对经过带有30度分析磁铁的LEBT的强流质子束的束流品质进行了模拟与实验测量。结果表明,分析磁铁高阶磁场的影响使经过分析磁铁的强流质子束束流品质变差,并且该影响随着束流包络的增大而增大。这些结果为CIADS注入器的低能传输线设计提供了参考依据。High current proton source and the low energy beam transport(LEBT) are the key front-end systems for CIADS injector:high current proton linac accelerator. CIADS injector's LEBT adopts double solenoid matching structure, using a limit cone which can partially avoid H₂+ and H₃+ which injecting into the back-end linac accelerator may impact the long-term stability and reliability of the whole system. It will be an effective method to separate the hybrid ions (H+, H₂+, H₃+) by adding a dipole magnet at LEBT. In this article, we simulated and mesasured the high current proton beam quality behind the LEBT with a 30 degree dipole. The results show that the the proton beam quality is significantly effected by high-order magnetic fields of the dipole magnet, and the effect increases with the increase of the beam envelope. The achieved result is useful for the LEBT design of CIADS injector.