Study on gamma response function of E J301 organic liquid scintillator with GEANT4 and FLUKA

The gamma response function is required for energy calibration of EJ301 （5 cm in diameter and 20 cm in height） organic liquid scintillator detector by means of gamma sources. The GEANT4 and FLUKA Monte Carlo simulation packages were used to simulate the response function of the detector for standard 22Na, 60Co, 137Cs gamma sources. The simulated results showed a good agreement with experimental data by incorporating the energy resolution function to simulation codes. The energy resolution and the position of the maximum Compton electron energy were obtained by comparing measured light output distribution with simulated one. The energy resolution of the detector varied from 21.2% to 12.4% for electrons in the energy region from 0.341 MeV to 1.12 MeV. The accurate position of the maximum Compton electron energy was determined at the position 81% of maximum height of Compton edges distribution. In addition, the relation of the electron energy calibration and the effective neutron detection thresholds were described in detail. The present results indicated that both packages were suited for studying the gamma response function of EJ301 detector.     

Correction of PMT position effect for a lead-scintillating fiber electromagnetic calorimeter

The position effect of the photoelectron multiplier tube (PMT) of the electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) of Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02 (AMS-02) has been studied with beam-test data. The reconstructed deposited energy in a layer versus incidence position in the cell can be described by Gaussian distribution, maximum and minimum value can be obtained when the particle passes across the center and the edge of a cell respectively. The distribution can be used to correct the effect of incidence position on energy reconstruction. Much better energy resolution was acquired be got with the correction, for 100 GeV electrons, energy resolution improved from 3% to 2%.     

Leptonic Origin of TeV Gamma-Ray Emission from Crab Nebula

We study the nonthermal emission of the Crab nebula in the bands from radio to TeV γ-ray on a simplified timedependent injection model. In this model, relativistic electrons in the Crab nebula consists of two components and their injected spectrum is a broken power law with different indices and a break energy. The relativistic electrons emit nonthermal photons through synchrotron and inverse Compton scattering off soft photon fields inside the nebula. The resulting spectrum calculated with the model is well consistent with the observed data ranging from radio to very high energy γ-rays for the Crab nebula, where the emission from radio to medium γ-rays is from electron＇s synchrotron emission, whereas the emission above ～ 100 MeV primarily comes from the inverse Compton scattering of the relativistic electrons on synchrotron photons.     

Study on spatial resolution of micromegas as a neutron detector under condition of high neutron flux and γ ray background

In this paper Micromegas has been designed to detect neutrons. The simulation of the spatial resolution of Micromegas as neutron detector is carried out by GEANT4 toolkit. The neutron track reconstruction method based on the time coincidence technology is employed in the present work. The influence of the flux of incident 14 MeV neutron and high gamma background on the spatial resolution is carefully studied. Our results show that the spatial resolution of the detector is sensitive to the neutron flux, but insensitive to the intensity of γ background if the neutron track reconstruction method proposed by our group is used. The γ insensitivity makes it possible for us to use the Micromegas detector under condition which has high γ-rays background.     

Monte Carlo simulation of prompt γ-ray spectra from depleted uranium under D-T neutron irradiation and electron recoil spectra in a liquid scintillator detector

To overcome the problem of inefficient computing time and unreliable results in MCNP5 calculation, a two-step method is adopted to calculate the energy deposition of prompt γ-rays in detectors for depleted uranium spherical shells under D-T neutron irradiation. In the first step, the γ-ray spectrum for energy below 7 MeV is calculated by MCNP5 code; secondly, the electron recoil spectrum in a BC501 A liquid scintillator detector is simulated based on EGSnrc Monte Carlo Code with the γ-ray spectrum from the first step as input. The comparison of calculated results with experimental ones shows that the simulations agree well with experiment in the energy region 0.4–3 MeV for the prompt γ-ray spectrum and below 4 MeVee for the electron recoil spectrum. The reliability of the two-step method in this work is validated.     

ATPF—a dedicated proton therapy facility

A proton therapy facility based on a linac injector and a slow-cycling synchrotron is proposed. To obtain good treatments for different cancer types, both the spot scanning method and the double-scattering method are adopted in the facility, whereas the nozzles include both gantry and fixed beam types. The proton accelerator chain includes a synchrotron of 250 MeV in maximum energy, an injector of 7 MeV consisting of an RFQ and a DTL linac, with a repetition rate of 0.5 Hz. The slow extraction using the third-order resonance and together with the RFKO method is considered to be a good method to obtain a stable and more-or-less homogenous beam spill. To benefit the spot scanning 200 between 60 MeV and 230 MeV. A new method method, the extraction energy can be as many as about - the emittance balancing technique of using a solenoid or a quadrupole rotator is proposed to solve the problem of unequal emittance in the two transverse planes with a beam slowly extracted from a synchrotron. The facility has been designed to keep the potential to be upgraded to include the carbon therapy in the future.     

Measurement of the response function and the detection effciency of an organic liquid scintillator for neutrons between 1 and 30 MeV

The light output function of a φ50.8 mm×50.8 mm BC501A scintillation detector was measured in the neutron energy region of 1 to 30 MeV by fitting the pulse height （PH） spectra for neutrons with the simulations from the NRESP code at the edge range. Using the new light output function, the neutron detection effciency was determined with two Monte-Carlo codes, NEFF and SCINFUL. The calculated effciency was corrected by comparing the simulated PH spectra with the measured ones. The determined effciency was verified at the near threshold region and normalized with a Proton-Recoil-Telescope （PRT） at the 8-14 MeV energy region.     

Properties of the β-Delayed Proton Decay of 147Er

The β-delayed proton decay of 147Er is studied experimentally using the 58 Ni＋92Mo reaction at a beam energy of 383 MeV. Based on a He-jet apparatus coupled with a tape transport system, the β-delayed proton radioactivities both from the vδl/2 ground state and the vh11/2 isomer in 147 Er are identified by proton-7 coincidence measurements. By analyzing the time distribution of the 4＋ → 2＋-γ transition in the grand-daughter nucleus 146Dy, a half-life of 1.6 ± 0.2s is determined for the Vh11/2 isomer in 147 Er. The half-life for the ground state of 147Er is estimated to be 3.2±1.2 s.     

Beam hardening correction for a cone-beam CT system and its effect on spatial resolution

In this paper, we present a beam hardening correction (BHC) method in three-dimension space for a cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) system in a mono-material case and investigate its effect on the spatial resolution. Due to the polychromatic character of the X-ray spectrum used, cupping and streak artifacts called beam hardening artifacts arise in the reconstructed CT images, causing reduced image quality. In addition, enhanced edges are introduced in the reconstructed CT images because of the beam hardening effect. The spatial resolution of the CBCT system is calculated from the edge response function (ERF) on different planes in space. Thus, in the CT images with beam hardening artifacts, enhanced ERFs will be extracted to calculate the modulation transfer function (MTF), obtaining a better spatial resolution that deviates from the real value. Reasonable spatial resolution can be obtained after reducing the artifacts. The 10% MTF value and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the point spread function with and without BHC are presented.     

Beam Line Design of Compact Laser Plasma Accelerator

A compact laser plasma accelerator that is a novel accelerator based on the interaction of ultra-intense laser and plasmas is being built now at Peking University. According to the results of experiments and numerical simulations, a beam line combining the advantages of quadrupole and analyzing magnets is designed to deliver proton beams with energy ranging from 1 to 44 MeV,energy spread within ±5% and 10~(6-8) protons per pulse.It turns out that the existence of space charge force of protons can be ignored for the increase of transverse and longitudinal envelopes even in the case of 109 protons in one pulse. To cope with the challenge to obtain a uniform distribution of protons at the final experiment target in laser acceleration, we manipulate the envelope beam waist in the Y direction to a proper position and obtain a relatively good distribution uniformity of protons with an energy spread of 0-±5%.     

High spin band structure in 139Nd

High-spin states in 139Nd nucleus have been reinvestigated with the reaction 128Te (16O, 5n) at a beam energy of 90 MeV. The level scheme has been expanded with spin up to 47/2 h. At the low spin states,the yrast collective structure built on the vh(-1)(11/2) multiplet shows a transitional shape with γ≈32° according to calculations of the triaxial rotor-plus-particle model. Three collective oblate bands with γ～-60° at the high spin states were identified for the first time. A band crossing is observed around hw ～0.4 MeV in one oblate band based on the 25/2- level.     

Spatial distribution of electron characteristic in argon rf glow discharges

The spatial distributions of the electron density and the mean electron energy of argon radio frequency (rf) glow discharge plasma in a plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) system have been investigated using an established movable Langmuir probe. The results indicate that in the axial direction the electron density tends to peak at midway between the two electrodes while the axial variation trend of mean electron energy is different from that of the electron density, the mean electron energy is high near the electrodes. And the mean electron energy near the cathode is much higher than that near the anode. This article focuses on the radial distribution of electron density and mean electron energy. A proposed theoretical model distribution agrees well with the experimental one: the electron density and the mean electron energy both increase from the centre of the glow to the edge of electrodes. This is useful for better understanding the discharge mechanism and searching for a better deposition condition to improve thin film quality.     

Latest results from GRAAL collaboration

The GRAAL experimental set-up consists of a polarized and tagged photon beam that covers an energy range from a minimum of 600 MeV up to a maximum of 1500 MeV, of a liquid Hydrogen or Deuterium target and of the 4π Lagrange detector optimized for photon detection. It allows the study of pseudo-scalar and vector meson photoproduCtion on the nucleon in the energy range corresponding to the second and the third resonance regions. In the following, the ∑ beam asymmetries in η and π0 photoproduction on quasi-free nucleon are shown. Also single and double polarization observables in K＋A photoproduction on free proton are shown; they are important to confirm the role of new or poorly known resonances in the 1900 MeV mass region.     

ATPF–a dedicated proton therapy facility

A proton therapy facility based on a linac injector and a slow-cycling synchrotron is proposed. To obtain good treatments for different cancer types, both the spot scanning method and the double-scattering method are adopted in the facility, whereas the nozzles include both gantry and fixed beam types. The proton accelerator chain includes a synchrotron of 250 MeV in maximum energy, an injector of 7 MeV consisting of an RFQ and a DTL linac, with a repetition rate of 0.5 Hz. The slow extraction using the third-order resonance and together with the RFKO method is considered to be a good method to obtain a stable and more-or-less homogenous beam spill. To benefit the spot scanning method, the extraction energy can be as many as about 200 between 60 MeV and 230 MeV. A new method – the emittance balancing technique of using a solenoid or a quadrupole rotator is proposed to solve the problem of unequal emittance in the two transverse planes with a beam slowly extracted from a synchrotron. The facility has been designed to keep the potential to be upgraded to include the carbon therapy in the future.     

Performance of a double sided silicon strip detector as a transmission detector for heavy ions

The performance of a double sided silicon strip detector （DSSSD）, which is used for the position and energy detection of heavy ions, is reported. The analysis shows that although the incomplete charge collection （ICC） and charge sharing （CS） effects of the DSSSD give rise to a loss of energy resolution, the position information is recorded without ambiguity. Representations of ICC/CS events in the energy spectra are shown and their origins are confirmed by correlation analysis of the spectra from both the junction side and ohmic side of the DSSSD.     

Strangeness by Thermal Model Simulation at RHIC

The local temperature effect on strangeness enhancement in relativistic heavy ion collisions is discussed in the framework of the thermal model in which the K^＋ /h^＋ ratio becomes smaller with increasing freeze-out temperature. Considering that most strangeness particles of final-state particles are from the kaon meson, the temperature effect may play a role in strangeness production in hot dense matter where a slightly different temperature distribution in different areas could be produced by jet energy loss. This phenomenon is predicted by thermal model calculation at RHIC energy. The /Ф ratio in central Au＋Au collisions at 200GeV from the thermal model depends on the freeze-out temperature obviously when γs is different. It should be one of the reasons why strangeness enhancements of and Ф are different though they include two strange quarks. These results indicate that thermodynamics is an important factor for strangeness production and the strangeness enhancement phenomenon.     

Monoenergetic electron parameters in a spheroid bubble model

A reliable analytical expression for the potential of plasma waves with phase velocities near the speed of light is derived.The presented spheroid cavity model is more consistent than the previous spherical and ellipsoidal models and it explains the mono-energetic electron trajectory more accurately,especially at the relativistic region.The maximum energy of electrons is calculated and it is shown that the maximum energy of the spheroid model is less than that of the spherical model.The electron energy spectrum is also calculated and it is found that the energy distribution ratio of electrons △E/E for the spheroid model under the conditions reported here is half that of the spherical model and it is in good agreement with the experimental value in the same conditions.As a result,the quasi-mono-energetic electron output beam interacting with the laser plasma can be more appropriately described with this model.     

表面复合速度对于锗的光电导光谱分布的影响(二)

The continuity equation of minority carriers in n-type germanium is solved for the stationary case, in which the volume recombination is assumed to be of the recombination-center type and the surface recombination is introduced in the boundary condition. An expression for the photoconductivity is obtained from this solution.By substituting the known absorption data and the volume lifetime of minority carrier in the sample into the expression of photoconductivity and by choosing suitable values of surface recombination velocity, photoconductive spectra are calculated and are compared with the experimental curves. The agreement is satisfactory for wave-lengths greater than 1.2 μ. Below 1.2 μ, the experimental curves fall well below the calculated curves. It is thought that other types of volume recombination may exist.The photoconductive spectra usually have a maximum outside the absorption edge. By measuring the relative height of the maximum, the surface recombination velocity can be obtained. This method is suitable for medium and large values of surface recombination velocity.The photoconductivity drops sharply on both sides of the maximum in case of large values of recombination velocity. In such cases, the energy gap of the semiconductor can be obtained in a simple way. For germanium the energy gap is 0.83 eV for direct transition and 0.635 eV for indirect transition.From this investigation, the energy gap of CdS is reestimated to be 2.53 eV and that of Cu₂O greater than 2.10 eV.     

Development of front-end readout electronics for silicon strip detectors

Front-end readout electronics have been developed for silicon strip detectors at our institute. In this system an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) ATHED is used to realize multi-channel energy and time measurements. The slow control of ASIC chips is achieved by parallel port and the timing control signals of ASIC chips are implemented with the CPLD. The data acquisition is carried out with a PXI-DAQ card. The software has a user-friendly GUI developed with LabWindows/CVI in the Windows XP operating system. The test results show that the energy resolution is about 1.14% for alpha at 5.48 MeV and the maximum channel crosstalk of the system is 4.60%. The performance of the system is very reliable and is suitable for nuclear physics experiments.     

Elastic behaviour of an edge dislocation near a sharp crack emanating from a semi-elliptical blunt crack

The interaction between an edge dislocation and a crack emanating from a semi-elliptic hole is dealt with. Utilizing the complex variable method, closed form solutions are derived for complex potentials and stress fields. The stress intensity factor at the tip of the crack and the image force acting on the edge dislocation are also calculated. The influence of the morphology of the blunt crack and the position of the edge dislocation on the shielding effect to the crack and the image force is examined in detail. The results indicate that the shielding or anti-shielding effect to the stress intensity factor increases acutely when the dislocation approaches the tip of the crack. The effect of the morphology of the blunt crack on the stress intensity factor of the crack and the image force is very significant.