Explore the vast range of titles available.

The main obstacle to the practical implementation of the dielectric wakefield acceleration (DWA) concept is the development of the beam breakup instability due to transverse dipole wakefields generated when the beam propagates off axis in the accelerating structure. One of the methods to suppress this instability is to elliptically shape the beam and accelerate it in a planar structure. Here, we report a detailed experimental investigation of the transverse dynamics of elliptical beams in planar dielectric structure with parameters mimicking future DWA modules. Both dipole and quadrupole wakefields’ effects on beam stability and projected emittance were studied. This study has highlighted the importance of counteracting quadrupole wakefields in future DWA implementations.

Fringe fields in multipole magnets can have a variety of effects on the linear and nonlinear dynamics of particles moving along an accelerator beam line. An accurate model of an accelerator must include realistic models of the magnet fringe fields. Fringe fields for dipoles are well understood and can be modeled at an early stage of accelerator design in such codes as mad8, madx, gpt or elegant. Existing techniques for quadrupole and higher order multipoles rely either on the use of a numerical field map, or on a description of the field in the form of a series expansion about a chosen axis. Usually, it is not until the later stages of a design project that such descriptions (based on magnet modeling or measurement) become available. Furthermore, series expansions rely on the assumption that the beam travels more or less on axis throughout the beam line; but in some types of machines (for example, Fixed Field Alternating Gradients or FFAGs) this is not a good assumption. Furthermore, some tracking codes, such as gpt, use methods for including space charge effects that require fields to vary smoothly and continuously along a beam line: in such cases, realistic fringe field models are of significant importance. In this paper, a method for constructing analytical expressions for multipole fringe fields is presented. Such expressions allow fringe field effects to be included in beam dynamics simulations from the start of an accelerator design project, even before detailed magnet design work has been undertaken. The magnetostatic Maxwell equations are solved analytically and a solution that fits all orders of multipoles is derived. Quadrupole fringe fields are considered in detail as these are the ones that give the strongest effects. The analytic expressions for quadrupole fringe fields are compared with data obtained from numerical modeling codes in two cases: a magnet in the high luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider inner triplet, and a magnet in the nonscaling FFAG EMMA. In both examples, the analytical expressions provide a good approximation to the numerical field maps.

In a fixed-field alternating-gradient (FFAG) accelerator, eliminating pulsed magnet operation permits rapid acceleration to synchrotron energies, but with a much higher beam-pulse repetition rate. Conceived in the 1950s, FFAGs are enjoying renewed interest, fuelled by the need to rapidly accelerate unstable muons for future high-energy physics colliders. Until now a ‘scaling’ principle has been applied to avoid beam blow-up and loss. Removing this restriction produces a new breed of FFAG, a non-scaling variant, allowing powerful advances in machine characteristics. We report on the first non-scaling FFAG, in which orbits are compacted to within 10 mm in radius over an electron momentum range of 12–18 MeV/c. In this strictly linear-gradient FFAG, unstable beam regions are crossed, but acceleration via a novel serpentine channel is so rapid that no significant beam disruption is observed. This result has significant implications for future particle accelerators, particularly muon and high-intensity proton accelerators. Rapid particle acceleration is possible using a fixed-field alternating-gradient machine—but ‘scaling’ in its design has been necessary to avoid beam blow-up and loss. The demonstration now of acceleration in such a machine without scaling has positive implications for future particle accelerators.

Fringe fields at the entrances and exits of multipole magnets can adversely affect the dynamics of particles in an accelerator, but there is also the possibility that fringe fields could be used to enhance accelerator performance. Design work could benefit from computational tools for constructing realistic models of multipole fringe fields at an early stage in the design process; and methods for relating the magnet geometry to the field shape and to the beam dynamics would also be of significant value. We explore novel techniques to produce magnet designs that satisfy specific requirements for the beam dynamics. Machine learning tools are used to link properties of the beam dynamics in the fringe fields to the magnet geometry in an efficient way.

When two developmental stages do not share the same ecological niche, the control of the niche shift through a change in developmental timing, referred to as ‘heterokairy’, can provide an adaptive advantage for the individual (e.g. if mortality risk is higher in the first niche). For endoparasitic species that develop inside another (host) species, mortality of the host may directly induce mortality risk for the parasite. Thus, endoparasitoid larvae should be selected for response to host predation. In this study, aphids previously parasitized by the endoparasitoid Endaphis fugitiva, Gagné and Muratori (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), were experimentally exposed to increased mortality risks. Both simulated attack and actual predator attacks against aphid hosts induced early emergence of the parasitoid larvae. Parasitoid emergence from the aphids occurred several minutes before the predator finished feeding on the aphid, allowing enough time for the parasitoid larvae to avoid direct predation. Predator-induced emergence produced significantly smaller parasitoid larvae than controls, but, interestingly, no effect on Endaphis adult size was found. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of induced emergence in an insect parasitoid, but we suggest that this mechanism might be at work in many other species where plasticity in development time allows the individual to perform an adaptive niche shift.

In high chromaticity circular accelerators, rapid decoherence of the betatron motion of a particle beam can make the measurement of lattice and bunch values, such as Courant-Snyder parameters and betatron amplitude, difficult. A method for reconstructing the momentum distribution of a beam from beam position measurements is presented. Further analysis of the same beam position monitor data allows estimates to be made of the Courant-Snyder parameters and the amplitude of coherent betatron oscillation of the beam. The methods are tested through application to data taken on the linear nonscaling fixed field alternating gradient accelerator, EMMA.

In a linear nonscaling fixed field alternating gradient accelerator, the large natural chromaticity of the machine results in a betatron tune that varies by several integers over the momentum range. Orbit correction is complicated by the consequent variation of the phase advance between lattice elements. Here we investigate how the correction of multiple closed orbit harmonics allows correction of both the closed orbit distortion and the accelerated orbit distortion over the momentum range.

Orbital period in a ring accelerator and time of flight in a linear accelerator depend on the amplitude of betatron oscillations. The variation is negligible in ordinary particle accelerators with relatively small beam emittance. In an accelerator for large emittance beams like muons and unstable nuclei, however, this effect cannot be ignored. We measured orbital period in a linear non-scaling fixed-field alternating-gradient accelerator, which is a candidate for muon acceleration, and compared it with the theoretical prediction. The good agreement between them gives important ground for the design of particle accelerators for a new generation of particle and nuclear physics experiments.

In the hours to weeks following traumatic spinal cord injuries （SCI）, biochemical processes are initiated that further damage the tissue within and surrounding the initial injury site： a process termed secondary injury. Acrolein, a highly reactive unsaturated aldehyde, has been shown to play a major role in the secondary injury by contributing significantly to both motor and sensory defi- cits. In particular, efforts have been made to eluddate the mechanisms of acrolein-mediated dam- age at the cellular level and the resulting paralysis and neuropathic pain. In this review, we will highlight the recent developments in the understanding of the mechanisms of acrolein in motor and sensory dysfunction in animal models of SCI. We will also discuss the therapeutic benefits of using acrolein scavengers to attenuate acrolein-mediated neuronal damage following SCI.

The compact linear accelerator for research and applications (CLARA) is an ultrabright electron beam test facility being developed at STFC Daresbury Laboratory. The ultimate aim of CLARA is to test advanced free electron laser (FEL) schemes that can later be implemented on existing and future short-wavelength FELs. In addition, CLARA is a unique facility to provide a high-quality electron beam to test novel concepts and ideas in a wide range of disciplines and to function as a technology demonstrator for a future United Kingdom x-ray FEL facility. CLARA is being built in three phases; the first phase, or front end (FE), comprises an S-band rf photoinjector, a linac, and an S-bend merging with the existing versatile electron linear accelerator beam line; the second phase will complete the acceleration to full beam energy of 250 MeV and also incorporate a separate beam line for use of electrons at 250 MeV; and the third phase will include the FEL section. The CLARA FE was commissioned during 2018, and the facility was later made available for user experiments. Significant advancements have been made in developing high-level software and a simulation framework for start-to-end simulations. The high-level software has been successfully used for unmanned rf conditioning and for characterization of the electron beam. This paper describes the design of the CLARA FE, performance of technical systems, high-level software developments, preliminary results of measured beam parameters, and plans for improvements and upgrades.