Issues in risk assessment from solar particle events.

Uncertainties in risk assessment from solar particle events (SPE) include the role of high linear energy transfer (LET) secondary ions, the assessment of dose-rate effects as they relate to acute injury, the risk of cancer mortality and the modification of health effects due to the stress of spaceflight. We discuss several issues where new knowledge is required for improving estimates of radiation risk from SPE's. Secondary particles such as neutrons and low energy and charge ions (LZE) may dominate radiation risk behind a storm shelter and their biological effects are poorly understood, especially at low dose-rate. Dose-rate modulation of radiation response is also related to genetic pre-disposition an important determinant of radiation sensitivity. Molecular pathways that control cell death and tissue response have been elucidated in recent years and should provide new understanding of dose-rate effects for risk assessment. We consider some of these factors and discuss calculations using radiation transport codes, track structure models of energy deposition, and a molecular kinetics approach to model radiation response.     

Problems in the forecasting of solar particle events for manned missions.

Manned spacecraft will require a much improved ability to forecast solar particle events. The lead time required will depend on the use to which the forecast is put. Here we discuss problems of forecasting with the lead times of hours to weeks. Such forecasts are needed for scheduling and carrying out activities. Our present capabilities with these lead times is extremely limited. To improve our capability we must develop an ability to predict fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs). It is not sufficient to observe that a CME has already taken place since by that time it is already too late to make predictions with these lead times. Both to learn how to predict CMEs and to carry out forecasts on time scales of several days to weeks, observations of the other side of the Sun are required. We describe a low-cost space mission of this type that would further the development of an hours-to-weeks forecast capability.     

Regularities of solar energetic particle events and fluxes

Some regularities related to solar energetic proton (SEP) events and fluxes have been established. It is shown that the rate of SEP events is proportional to the Wolf numbers and that the distribution functions of SEP events related to both different levels and cycle phases, divided by the sums of Wolf numbers, are identical. It is concluded that extremely large SEP events may also occur in periods of minimum solar activity. This conclusion is confirmed by the experimental data obtained at the end of 2004 and in 2005.     

Extreme fluxes in solar energetic particle events: Methodological and physical limitations

In this study, all available data on the largest solar proton events (SPEs), or extreme solar energetic particle (SEP) events, for the period from 1561 up to now are analyzed. Under consideration are the observational, methodological and physical problems of energy-spectrum presentation for SEP fluxes (fluences) near the Earth's orbit. Special attention is paid to the study of the distribution function for extreme fluences of SEPs by their sizes. The authors present advances in at least three aspects: 1) a form of the distribution function that was previously obtained from the data for three cycles of solar activity has been completely confirmed by the data for 41 solar cycles; 2) early estimates of extremely large fluences in the past have been critically revised, and their values were found to be overestimated; and 3) extremely large SEP fluxes are shown to obey a probabilistic distribution, so the concept of an “upper limit flux” does not carry any strict physical sense although it serves as an important empirical restriction. SEP fluxes may only be characterized by the relative probabilities of their appearance, and there is a sharp break in the spectrum in the range of large fluences (or low probabilities). It is emphasized that modern observational data and methods of investigation do not allow, for the present, the precise resolution of the problem of the spectrum break or the estimation of the maximum potentialities of solar accelerator(s). This limitation considerably restricts the extrapolation of the obtained results to the past and future for application to the epochs with different levels of solar activity.     

Mean occurrence frequency and temporal risk analysis of solar particle events

The protection of astronauts from space radiation is required on future exploratory class and long-duration missions. For the accurate projections of radiation doses, a solar cycle statistical model, which quantifies the progression level within the cycle, has been developed. The resultant future cycle projection is then applied to estimate the mean frequency of solar particle events (SPEs) in the near future using a power law function of sunspot number. Detailed temporal behaviors of the recent large event and two historically large events of the August 1972 SPE and the November 1960 SPE are analyzed for dose-rate and cumulative dose equivalent at sensitive organs. Polyethylene shielded “storm shelters” inside spacecraft are studied to limit astronauts’ total exposure at a sensitive site within 10 cSv from a large event as a potential goal that fulfills the ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) requirement.     

Thermally evaporated Ag nanoparticle films for plasmonic enhancement in organic solar cells: effects of particle geometry

We report on the simple fabrication of Ag NP films via thermal evaporation and subsequent annealing. The NPs are formed on indium tin oxide electrodes, coated with PEDOT:PSS and implemented into PCPDTBT:PC70BM solar cells. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy are used to determine the size distributions and surface coverage of the NP film. We apply finite‐difference time‐domain techniques to model the optical properties of different nanoparticle films and compare this with the absorption properties of the organic active layer. The simulations demonstrate that the absorption and scattering efficiency of the particles are very sensitive to particle geometry. Solar cells prepared with window electrodes containing NP layers with less surface coverage, show a 14.8% improvement in efficiency. We discuss variations in the external quantum efficiency of the devices in terms of forward scattering and parasitic absorption losses induced by the NP layer. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Diagnostics of interplanetary and flaring plasmas in impulsive solar energetic particle events

Using instruments onboard the ACE and Wind spacecrafts, we study temporal evolution, spectra, and ionization states of Fe in the impulsive solar energetic particle (SEP) events of September 6, 1998 and May 1, 2000. Proton and electron intensities and anisotropies were used to constrain the particle mean free path in interplanetary space. The derived values were used to explain the observed energy and charge spectra of heavy ions. It is concluded that the sharp increase in the average charge of Fe ions in the range from 200 to 600 keV per nucleon observed in both events cannot be explained within the framework of the model of single-temperature source even if the effects of interplanetary propagation are taken into account. At least two acceleration regions with temperatures ～10⁶ and 10⁷ K should exist in the source.     

Buried emitter solar cell structures: Decoupling of metallisation geometry and carrier collection geometry of back contacted solar cells

We present a novel solar cell structure, the “buried emitter solar cell”. This concept is designed for decoupling the metallisation geometry from the geometry of the carrier collecting p–n junction in back‐contacted (and in particular back‐junction) solar cells without requiring electrical insulation by dielectric layers. The most prominent features of this device structure are a carrier collecting emitter that covers close to 100% of the total cell area and an effective electrical insulation between emitter and base metallisation via a p⁺–n⁺ junction. The experimental results presented in this paper report a 19.5% efficient “buried emitter solar cell”, where 50% of the solar cell's rear side exhibit a p⁺–n⁺ junction. This preparation technique implies covering a boron‐doped p‐type emitter with an n‐type surface layer that can be efficiently surface‐passivated by thermal oxidation. All structuring of this cell has been performed by laser processing without any photo‐lithography. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Improving spectroscopic line parameters by means of atmospheric spectra: Theory and example for water vapor and solar absorption spectra

Current atmospheric remote sensing experiments measuring high resolution spectra apply instruments of similar quality as the laboratory experiments that are especially equipped to derive spectroscopic parameters. We propose a method that uses high quality atmospheric spectra to improve the spectroscopic parameterization. It is an optimal estimation method that applies the uncertainty ranges given in current spectroscopic databases as a priori covariance and the residuals between the simulated and measured atmospheric spectra as new measurements. We test the method by updating the current HITRAN parameters of 49 mid-infrared water vapor lines (situated in 15 spectral windows between 795 and ) by the information present in high quality ground-based Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectra. We show that the application of a speed dependent Voigt line shape model is important. The updated water vapor parameterization, compared to the original one, leads to lower residuals, larger measurement information content, and better agreement between remotely sensed and coincident in situ water vapor profiles. Using the new line parameterization, a state-of-the-art ground-based FTIR system is able to monitor upper tropospheric water vapor amounts and middle/upper tropospheric HDO/H₂O ratios.     

Comment on the use of GOES solar proton data and spectra in solar proton dose calculations.

There is a need to understand the calibration and response of the GOES solar particle detectors since the GOES data are being used to evaluate high energy solar particle events. We share some of our experience in utilizing these data in the analysis of solar particle ground-level events (GLEs). For the 29 September 1989 event, we have evaluated the solar proton and alpha particle spectral characteristics throughout the event. The results show that the solar cosmic ray spectrum is extremely hard at low energies with the magnitude of the slope increasing with increasing energy and with time.     

IMP-8 observations of the spectra, composition, and variability of solar heavy ions at high energies relevant to manned space missions.

In more than 25 years of almost continuous observations, the University of Chicago's Cosmic Ray Telescope (CRT) on IMP-8 has amassed a unique database on high-energy solar heavy ions of potential relevance to manned spaceflight. In the very largest particle events, IMP-8/CRT has even observed solar Fe ions above the Galactic cosmic ray background up to approximately 800 MeV/nucleon, an energy sufficiently high to penetrate nearly 25 g/cm2 of shielding. IMP-8/CRT observations show that high-energy heavy-ion spectra are often surprisingly hard power laws, without the exponential roll-offs suggested by stochastic acceleration fits to lower energy measurements alone. Also, in many solar particle events the Fe/O ratio grows with increasing energy, contrary to the notion that ions with higher mass-to-charge ratios should be less abundant at higher energies. Previous studies of radiation hazards for manned spaceflight have often assumed heavy-ion composition and steeply-falling energy spectra inconsistent with these observations. Conclusions based on such studies should therefore be re-assessed. The significant event-to-event variability observed in the high-energy solar heavy ions also has important implications for strategies in building probabilistic models of solar particle radiation hazards.     

Spinors and multivectors as a unified tool for spacetime geometry and for elementary particle physics

From the definition of spinors as the minimal left (right) modules of multivectors (that is, of vectors and their outer products), we can construct a unified mathematical approach for the study of matter and its interaction fields, which are either defined as fields in the geometrical spacetime or considered as generators of the physical spacetime. It is also shown how matter and interaction fields can be represented either by spinor fields or by multivector fields, both types of fields carrying the same information as the traditional corresponding spinors, vectors, or tensors. Geometry is more transparent in one representation (multivector form), and physics is more obvious in the spinor representation. Our theory provides a unified and totally self-consistent representation of quarks (barions), leptons, and all their known interactions.     

用于全电磁粒子模拟的复杂建模及网格生成技术

基于Open CASCADE开源的计算机辅助几何设计类库,给出了全电磁粒子模拟中复杂模型构建技术及网格生成技术。介绍了Open CASCADE软件的基本特点;给出了基于Open CASCADE进行自主研发的用于全电磁粒子模拟的复杂模型构建软件EasyEMModeling的设计思想、程序框架及已具备的功能;基于Open CASCADE中的射线与几何体的求交算法,给出了Yee网格中共形描述3维复杂模型的共形网格生成技术;最后,给出了验证实例,证实了共形网格生成方法的正确性及有效性。     

Inclusive single particle spectra for change exchange reactions and the multi-regge model

From the multi-Regge model we compute the momentum spectrum of K^o in the reaction K⁺p→K^o+ anything. The calculation is performed without any approximation in the kinematics for the fragmentation as well as the pionisation graph. We only treat the ratio between the single and the double peripheral graph as a free parameter. Good agreement with the data at 8.2 GeV/c is obtained. From this model we predict the neutron spectrum in proton proton collisions, pp→n + anything.     

Quantum number effects in events with a charged particle of large transverse momentum: (II). Charge correlations in jets

Charge correlations of particles in an event with a large p_T triggering particle have been investigated applying a new method, which has been developed for non-diffractive inelastic hadronic events. The correlation length for charge compensation of the fragments of the hard scattered partons and of the spectators, respectively, are equal to that one in normal inelastic events. Part of the charge of the high p_T trigger particle is compensated by the soft particles of the “away jet”. These results support the idea that the rearrangement of quantum numbers in quark fragmentation shows a universal behaviour.     

Quantum number effects in events with a charged particle of large transverse momentum: (I). Leading particles in single and diquark jets

In an experiment performed with the SFM facility at the CERN ISR, we have studied events with a large-p_T particle (π⁺, π^-, K^-, p) produced at polar angle settings of 20° and 45°. The longitudinal momentum distributions of leading fragments in the spectator jet of the same rapidity hemisphere as the trigger are strongly correlated to the nature of the trigger particle involved. These distributions are compared with predictions from dimensional counting rules, if parton scattering via vector gluon exchange is assumed for the large-p_T process. Given slight modifications of the original counting rules, we observe a fair agreement. As to the fastest particle (jet leader) in the “away” jet, its average charge is about $\text{1}\text{3}$ independent of the charge of the trigger; this value is expected for the case of three valence quarks participating in the hard scattering process. From the analysis of the trigger jet we find ?⁰/π⁺ and ?⁰/π^- production ratios near unity at a value of the transverse momentum of about 2 GeV/c.     

A model for continuous particle spectra from light and heavy ion induced reactions

Starting from the Kalbach systematics for preequilibrium angular distributions a model for energy differential cross sections is derived which is based on the assumption of a temperature like distribution of the excitation energy. A discussion for the physical basis is given. The dependences of the temperature like model parameterT are discussed for data from light ion and heavy ion induced reactions.     

机器学习在大型粒子加速器中的应用回顾与展望

机器学习技术在近十几年发展迅猛,并被广泛地用于解决复杂的科学和工程问题。最近十年间,基于机器学习的粒子加速器相关研究也开始呈现出井喷式发展趋势。国际上许多加速器实验室开始尝试用机器学习和大数据技术处理加速器中的海量复杂数据,以期解决加速器及其子系统中的诸多物理和技术问题。不过,迄今为止,机器学习在加速器中的应用仍处于初步探索阶段,不同机器学习算法在解决具体加速器问题的效果及其适用范围尚待摸索,机器学习在实际加速器中的应用仍非常有限。因此,有必要对加速器领域中的机器学习研究做一个整体回顾和总结。将回顾机器学习在大型粒子加速器（以储存环加速器和直线加速器为主）中的加速器技术、束流物理以及加速器整体性能优化等研究方向中已取得的研究成果,并探讨机器学习在加速器领域的未来发展方向和应用前景。