One of the main challenges of the lattice design of synchrotrons, used as light sources or damping rings (DRs), is the minimization of the emittance. The optimal lattice configurations for achieving the absolute minimum emittance are the theoretical minimum emittance (TME) cells. This paper elaborates on the optimization strategy in order to further reduce the betatron emittance of a TME cell by using dipoles whose magnetic field varies longitudinally. Based on analytical results, the magnet design for the fabrication of variable bends with the optimal characteristics is discussed. In order to have a global understanding of all cell properties, an analytical approach for the theoretical minimum emittance cells with variable bends is elaborated. This approach is employed for the design optimization of the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) DRs. The margin gained in the emittance including IBS based on this new design strategy enables the removal of a number of TME cells from the existing arcs while still keeping the requirements of the collider. The reduction of the circumference is further enhanced by the use of optimized high-field wigglers. The optimization strategy followed for the CLIC DRs is explained in detail and the output parameters of the new design are presented.

Interest in studying power flow dynamics has grown in recent years, with new power flow diagnostics being developed at Sandia National Laboratories for the $Z$ Pulsed Power Facility. Presently, the only power flow loads that have been studied are cylindrical static or imploding loads that are driven by synchronous short pulse (100 ns rise time). Presented is a design that utilizes the dynamic materials properties program’s stripline geometry in a high voltage pulsed shaped (asymmetric asynchronous) driving mode. This design has exhibited repeatable current loss with a large time-varying inductance that is well matched to the machine at pulse initialization but which triples to high inductance in 800 ns. Evidence is presented that plasma not captured in the magnetohydrodynamic approximation and ill represented by any of our existing predictive pulsed power codes is adversely affecting load current delivery. The authors believe this design could be of great interest to the experimental and modeling communities for studying power flow dynamics.

A finite radius plasma is proposed to generate wakefields that can focus and accelerate positron beams in a plasma wakefield accelerator. The finite radius plasma reduces the restoring force acting on the plasma electrons forming the plasma wakefield, resulting in an elongation of the on-axis return point of the electrons and, hence, creating a long, high-density electron filament. This results in a region with accelerating and focusing fields for positrons, allowing for the acceleration and quality-preserving transport of high-charge positron beams.

A particle, which moves in a crystal experiences weak interactions with electrons and nuclei along with electromagnetic interaction. Measuring the polarization vector and the angular distribution of charged and neutral particles scattered by axes (planes) of an unbent (straight) crystal enables to obtain restrictions for the electromagnetic dipole moments value and for magnitudes of constants describing T-odd ($CP$-odd) interactions beyond the standard model. Spin precession of channeled particles in bent crystals at the LHC gives a unique possibility for measurement of constants determining T-odd ($CP$-odd) violating interactions of short-lived baryons and $\tau$-leptons with electrons and nuclei (nucleons), similarly to the possibility of measuring particles’ electric and magnetic moments. Methods to separate P-odd spin rotation from the MDM-caused and T-odd spin rotations are discussed.

TESLA cavities are used at the free-electron laser in Hamburg (FLASH) to accelerate electron bunches for generating intense free-electron laser beams. Two specially designed couplers mounted at both ends of each cavity damp the higher order modes (HOMs) excited by the beam in these cavities. By using a specific dipole mode signal extracted from these couplers, one can determine the transverse beam position as well as the dipole mode polarizations and center in each cavity. We introduce a new method based on fitting the dipole mode signal to correlate the dipole mode amplitude and phase to the measured beam position. With this method, the TESLA cavities can be used as HOM-based beam position monitors (HOMBPMs), delivering consistent results over several months, with a resolution better than $10\mu \mathrm{m}$ RMS. We implemented this method for a whole accelerating module for beam orbit monitoring. The method also delivers the polarization axes and the center of the dipole mode for all eight cavities in this module. Our measurements show that the cavities did not move inside the module within almost one year.

A technique is proposed for determining beam dimensions on a target by measuring two-dimensional angular distributions of the radiation for two distances between the crystal where the radiation is generated and a coordinate detector. The dimensions are determined from the results of a least squares method procedure with varying parameters, where the adjustable function is the distribution for a shorter distance and the fitting function is the convolution of the angular distribution at a greater distance with a two-dimensional Gaussian distribution whose parameters are uniquely related to the beam dimensions on the target and the distances between the crystal and the detector. The minimum measured beam sizes are about $50–60\mu \mathrm{m}$ for the parametric x-ray mechanism and an electron energy of less than 1 GeV and $10–15\mu \mathrm{m}$ for the mechanism of diffracted transition radiation and electrons with an energy above several GeV.

Superconducting rf cavities are used in particle accelerators to provide energy to the particle beam. Such cavities are mostly fabricated in niobium and often operated in superfluid helium. One of their limits of operation is the appearance of a local quench, initiated by a local field enhancement due to a defect, which leads to a normal conducting transition of the cavity. Localizing the quench area can be achieved with temperature mapping systems. Another method is the use of second sound wave propagation in superfluid helium. Measuring the time of propagation of these waves from quench location to special sensors, called oscillating superleak transducers (OSTs), and using their well-known velocity should allow trilateration. However, most of the experimental measurements on cavities show premature signals, i.e., the second sound signals arrive earlier on the OSTs than expected. This paper presents several quench experiments on cavities equipped with OSTs and temperature mapping quench detection systems. Two hypotheses can explain the observed premature signals. The first one assesses faster propagation in helium. An experimental setup has been developed for testing this hypothesis, where second sound is created by a localized heater in a controlled environment up to ${4.3\mathrm{kW}/\mathrm{cm}}^2$ and 2.8 J. Premature signals could not be verified in this setup. A second hypothesis based on a simple model including several processes in niobium and second sound propagation in helium is discussed. The model improves significantly the prediction of the times of arrival of the second sound waves. The overall study shows that the processes in niobium play a prominent role in the second sound detection for superconducting cavities.

Free electron lasers emit powerful and coherent radiation in a wide wavelength range extending to hard x-rays. This radiation is also characterized by a high degree of polarization that is generally linear and depends on the undulator properties. The possibility of controlling the polarization state of the radiation is an important option for free electron lasers that is critical for a large class of experiments. Such control can be achieved using variable polarization undulators or alternatively via the crossed polarized undulator scheme. We report the results of an extensive study for the characterization of the crossed-polarized undulator scheme in a number of different configurations. A simple model, based on Gaussian mode beam propagation, is presented and used to reproduce the experimental results obtained at the seeded free electron laser FERMI. A good agreement is found between the model and the experiment allowing us to understand the impact of the wavefront properties of the radiation coming from the consecutive undulators on the output radiation. The model is used not only for characterizing the control of the polarization but also for the control of the transverse mode.

Measurements of the soft x-ray, self-seeding spectrum at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) free-electron laser generally display a pedestal-like distribution around the central seeded wavelength. This pedestal limits the spectral purity and can negatively affect some user applications not employing a post-undulator monochromator. In this paper, we investigate the detailed experimental characteristics of both the amplified seed and its accompanying pedestal using data from a number of separate LCLS shifts over the 2015-2018 time period. We find that the amplified seed shows excellent wavelength stability and an exponential growth rate whose dependence upon energy detuning is consistent with theory. The pedestal’s spectral distribution and integrated strength vary strongly shot by shot, independent of electron beam energy jitter. Its shot-averaged strength relative to that of the seed grows at least linearly with $z$ and can approach values of 15% or more. The pedestal is comprised of two separate components: (1) normal self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) whose total strength is nominally insensitive to energy detuning and laser heater (LH) strength; (2) sideband-like emission whose strength positively correlates with that of the amplified seed and negatively with energy detuning and LH strength. We believe this latter, non-SASE component arises from comparatively long wavelength (i.e., $\lambda \sim 0.3–3\mu \mathrm{m}$) amplitude and phase modulations of the main seeded radiation line. Its shot to shot variability and LH sensitivity suggests an origin connected to growth of the longitudinal microbunching instability on the electron beam.

The technique of microbunched electron cooling (MBEC) is an attractive coherent cooling scheme with potential applications in future high-energy circular colliders. In our previous work, we analyzed the cooling of the energy spread using a one-dimensional (1D) technique that tracks the dynamics of microscopic fluctuations in the hadron and electron beams. In this paper, we extend this approach so that it covers the transverse emittance cooling as well. In order to do so, it is necessary to consider the betatron motion of the hadron beam and take into account effects of the momentum dispersion in the modulator and kicker regions. We derive relatively simple analytical expressions for the emittance and energy spread cooling times in terms of the various beam and lattice parameters, allowing us to perform fast optimization studies for an MBEC configuration. Verified through comparison with simulation, our theory can also incorporate features such as plasma amplification stages, which are crucial components of a realistic cooling system.

Coping with synchrotron radiation (SR) that originated at superconducting bending magnets is one of the major challenges in the design of the vacuum beam pipes of hadron colliders. In the case of the Future Circular hadron Collider (FCC-hh), similarly as for the LHC, a beam screen, operating at higher temperatures than the cold mass, has been designed in order to preserve the superconducting magnet cold bores from direct synchrotron irradiation. The quality of the beam screen vacuum can be severely compromised by the absorption of SR into its walls, enhancing the risk for numerous beam detrimental effects to arise. In order to experimentally study such effects and develop strategies for their minimization, a beam screen test bench experiment (BESTEX) has been conceived and installed in the Karlsruhe Research Accelerator storage ring at the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology. The BESTEX has been designed to explore photon stimulated desorption, photon reflectivity, photon heat loads, and photoelectron generation originated on beam screen prototypes under irradiation of the FCC-hh-like SR spectrum. A detailed description of the BESTEX, its commissioning, and its functionality is hereby presented.

The limits of performance of the European XFEL 3.9 GHz superconducting cavities were investigated. Most cavities exhibited high field Q slope, reaching the breakdown field at approximately $22\mathrm{MV}/\mathrm{m}$. We hypothesize that this limit is a feature of high frequency cavities and can be explained by a thermal model incorporating field dependent surface resistance. The results obtained from simulations were in good agreement with experimental data obtained at 2 K.

The generation of higher harmonics of intense lasers and associated attosecond pulses is a field of contemporary interest which promises a variety of applications ranging from the fundamental to applied sciences. In this work, we have probed the interaction of the intense ($\gtrsim {10}^{19}\mathrm{W}/{\mathrm{cm}}^2$) 248 nm laser with Deuterium clusters using classical molecular dynamics simulation. The Thomson scattered radiation emitted by the electrons is considered by using standard Liénard-Wiechert potentials. We have studied the angular distribution of the radiation emitted by electrons and observed that the ponderomotive force exerted by these highly intense laser pulses leaves a very distinct signature of the radiated energy along a particular direction, which in principle has its own diagnostic potential to directly measure the intensities of incident laser pulses. Furthermore, the interaction of lasers with intensities $\sim {10}^{19}–{10}^{21}\mathrm{W}/{\mathrm{cm}}^2$ with atomic clusters results in the attosecond burst of energy in form of electromagnetic radiations, which fall under the XUV to soft x-rays regime of electromagnetic spectrum. The parameters of the atomic clusters, e.g., size (number of atoms), atomic species, etc. can be easily controlled experimentally and these in turn, change the number of electrons participating in the interaction process and hence, the properties of Thomson scattered radiation can be tuned accordingly.

This paper presents the conceptual design of a high-voltage pulser intended to generate 30-T magnetic fields for magneto-inertial fusion experiments at the OMEGA facility. The pulser uses a custom capacitor bank and two externally triggered spark gaps to drive a multiturn coil. This new high-voltage pulser is capable of storing 10 times more energy than the previous system, using a higher charge voltage (from 20 to 30 kV) and a larger capacitance (from 1 to $5\mu \mathrm{F}$). Circuit simulations show that this pulser can deliver 100 kA into a 60-nH, $14\text{−}\mathrm{m}\mathrm{\Omega }$ coil with a rise time of $1\mu \mathrm{s}$. For a coil with two turns with an average coil diameter of 7.8 mm, this current translates into a 32-T peak magnetic field at coil center. This is a factor of 3 increase in the peak magnetic field compared to the present generator magnetic field capabilities.

As a source of heat load on cryogenic sections, the electron cloud is currently a major limitation to the intensity of some modern particle accelerators such as the LHC and its high luminosity upgrade at CERN. During LHC operation, conditioning of the copper beam pipe surface occurs, leading to a decrease of the cloud intensity. To understand the role of the different chemical surface components of air exposed copper in the electron conditioning process, air exposed copper samples as well as specific model surfaces produced in the laboratory, namely sputter-cleaned copper and carbon-free cuprous oxide (${\mathrm{Cu}}_2\mathrm{O}$), were conditioned by low energy electron irradiation. Conditioning of air exposed copper results in a decrease of the maximum secondary electron yield (SEY) below 1.1. Surface cleaning by electron stimulated desorption and carbon graphitization without increase of the carbon surface concentration are observed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. After conditioning, the maximum SEY of both sputter-cleaned copper and ${\mathrm{Cu}}_2\mathrm{O}$ remains higher than 1.1. No significant surface modification is observed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy during irradiation for these two surfaces. These results prove that neither an increase of the amount of surface carbon nor oxide modification is responsible for the SEY reduction observed during electron irradiation of air exposed copper. They confirm that graphitic carbon is required to decrease the maximum SEY of copper below 1.1.

The output power of a free electron laser (FEL) has extremely high variance even when all FEL parameter set points are held constant because of the stochastic nature of the self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) FEL process, drift of thousands of coupled parameters, such as thermal drifts, and uncertainty and time variation of the electron distribution coming off of the photo cathode and entering the accelerator. In this work, we demonstrate the application of automatic, model-independent feedback for the maximization of average pulse energy of the light produced by free electron lasers. We present experimental results from both the European x-ray free electron laser at DESY and from the Linac Coherent Light Source at SLAC. We demonstrate application of the technique on rf systems for automatically adjusting the longitudinal phase space of the beam, for adjusting the phase shifter gaps between the undulators, and for adjusting steering magnets between undulator sections to maximize the FEL output power. We show that we can tune up to 105 components simultaneously based only on noisy average bunch energy measurements.

The Large Hadron Collider at CERN is equipped with a collimation system to intercept potentially dangerous beam halo particles before they damage its sensitive equipment. The collimator settings are determined following a beam-based alignment procedure, in which the collimator jaws are moved towards the beam until losses appear in the beam loss monitors. When the collimator reaches the beam envelope, beam losses propagate mainly in the direction of the beam and are, therefore, also observed by other nearby beam loss monitors. This phenomenon is known as cross talk. Due to this, collimators are aligned sequentially to be able to identify which losses are generated by which collimator, such that any cross talk across beam loss monitors positioned close to each other is avoided. This paper seeks to quantify the levels of cross-talk observed by beam loss monitors when multiple collimators are moving, to be able to determine the actual beam loss signals generated by their corresponding collimators. The results obtained successfully predicted the amount of cross-talk observed for each of the cases tested in this study. This was then extended to predict loss map case studies and the proton impacts at each collimator by comparing them to simulations.