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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 37 records · Page 2

Disentanglement of electron dynamics and space-charge effects in time-resolved photoemission from h-BN/Ni(111)

We observe time-resolved and polarization dependent two-, three-, and four-photon transitions from a Ni(111) surface covered with a monolayer of hexagonal boron nitride. The spectra show features due to transitions involving two unoccupied intermediate states: the n=1 image potential state of Ni(111) and a boron nitride-related interface state. We use these transitions in order to track the effects of space-charge on the spectra in view of pump-probe experiments, at high excitations densities. A simple model is presented, which reproduces the measured energy shifts and broadenings in great detail, allowing the ultrafast dynamics and the space-charge effects to be disentangled. Moreover, owing to the high excitation densities an additional particular three-photon transition via both the interface state and a virtual intermediate state could be measured and identified. The polarization-dependent transient of this transition has successfully been simulated, allowing the lifetime of the involved intermediate state to be extracted from the data.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Luminescent tunable polydots: Charge effects in confined geometry

Long-lived soft nanoparticles, formed by conjugated polymers, constitute a new class of far-from-equilibrium responsive structures for nano-medicine. Tethering ionizable groups to the polymers enables functionality. However concurrently, the ionic groups perturb the delicate balance of interactions that governs these particles. Using fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, this study probed the effects of charged groups tethered to poly para phenylene ethynylene substituted by alkyl groups on the polymer conformation and dynamics in confined geometry. As a result, we find that the ionizable groups affect the entire shape of the polydots and impact the conformation and dynamics of the polymer.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Suppression of the vacuum space-charge effect in fs-photoemission by a retarding electrostatic front lens

The performance of time-resolved photoemission experiments at fs-pulsed photon sources is ultimately limited by the e–e Coulomb interaction, downgrading energy and momentum resolution. Here, we present an approach to effectively suppress space-charge artifacts in momentum microscopes and photoemission microscopes. A retarding electrostatic field generated by a special objective lens repels slow electrons, retaining the k-image of the fast photoelectrons. The suppression of space-charge effects scales with the ratio of the photoelectron velocities of fast and slow electrons. Fields in the range from -20 to 01100 V/mm for E kin = 100 eV to 4 keV direct secondaries and pump-induced slow electrons back to the sample surface. Ray tracing simulations reveal that this happens within the first 40 to 3 μm above the sample surface for E kin = 100 eV to 4 keV. An optimized front-lens design allows switching between the conventional accelerating and the new retarding mode. Time-resolved experiments at E kin = 107 eV using fs extreme ultraviolet probe pulses from the free-electron laser FLASH reveal that the width of the Fermi edge increases by just 30 meV at an incident pump fluence of 22 mJ/cm2 (retarding field -21 V/mm). For an accelerating field of +2 kV/mm and a pump fluence of only 5 mJ/cm 2 , it increases by 0.5 eV (pump wavelength 1030 nm). At the given conditions, the suppression mode permits increasing the slow-electron yield by three to four orders of magnitude. The feasibility of the method at high energies is demonstrated without a pump beam at E kin = 3830 eV using hard x rays from the storage ring PETRA III. The approach opens up a previously inaccessible regime of pump fluences for photoemission experiments.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Dimensional analysis on microscale gas breakdown with electric field nonuniformity and positive space charge effects

A dimensional method was employed to evaluate the microscale gas breakdown characteristics at atmospheric pressure, resulting in a universal breakdown curve applicable to different types of gases (e.g., Ar, Xe, Ne, and N2). As the gap distance decreases, the breakdown mode transitions from ion-induced secondary electron emission to the field emission regime. In the field emission regime, the positive space charge effect becomes more significant. We discovered that incorporating the positive space charge effect in the field emission regime can be achieved by modifying the local electric field enhancement factor β. Consequently, we propose an effective electric field enhancement factor, βeff, which scales linearly with β, to accurately reproduce the breakdown curve while considering the positive space charge effect. This proposed approach significantly simplifies the numerical model. Additionally, we examined the effects of gas pressure, gap distance, cathode properties (e.g., work function and secondary electron emission coefficient), and electric field nonuniformity.

Physics↗

Positive and negative contribution to birefringence in a family of carbonates: A Born effective charges analysis

It is an important topic to investigate the birefringence and reveal the contribution from ions to birefringence because it plays an important role in nonlinear optical materials. In this paper, the birefringence of carbonates with coplanar CO{sub 3} groups were investigated using the first-principles method. The results show that the lead carbonates exhibit relative large birefringence. After detailed investigate the electronic structures, and Born effective charges, the authors find out that anisotropic electron distribution in the CO{sub 3} groups and Pb atoms give positive contribution, while the negative contribution was found from fluorine atoms, meanwhile the Ca, Mg, and Cd atoms give very small contribution to birefringence. - Graphical abstract: Using the DFT and Born effective charges, the birefringence and the contribution of ions were investigated, the positive and negative contribution was found from Pb and F ions, respectively. - Highlights: • Optical properties and Born effective charges of carbonates are investigated. • Lead carbonates exhibit relative large birefringence. • Coplanar CO{sub 3} groups and Pb atoms give positive contribution. • F atoms give negative contribution. • Ca, Mg, and Cd atoms give very small contribution.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Influence of the contact potential and space-charge effect on the performance of a Stoffel-Johnson design electron source for inverse photoemission spectroscopy

By imaging the spatial intensity distribution of the electrons from a Stoffel-Johnson (SJ) type low energy electron source for inverse photoemission spectroscopy (IPES), we find that the focus is distorted when the beam current exceeds the limiting value due to space charge effect. The space charge effect and the contact potential difference suppress the beam current at low energies (<10 eV). In this work, we show that these limitations of the SJ source can be overcome by compensation of the contact potential difference between the cathode and the lens electrodes and an uniform well focused electron beam with the set kinetic energy can be obtained. The size of the electron beam is around 1 mm full width at half maximum over the whole energy range of 5 to 30 eV generally used for IPES. The compensation of the contact potential difference also enhances the beam current substantially at low energies (<10 eV) and uniform beam current is achieved for the whole energy range. We find that the drift in the electron beam position is sensitive to the lens electrode separation and it is about 1 mm over the whole energy range. By measuring the n = 1 image potential state on Cu(100), we show that the resolution is better when the cathode filament current is set to lower values.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Mitigation of space charge effects using electron column at IOTA ring

We investigate a novel method to mitigate space charge effects of high intensity proton beams propagating in circular accelerators by means of trapping and controlling electrons generated from beam-induced residual gas ionization. This compensation method uses Coulomb repulsion force between a proton beam and electrons to mitigate self-space charge effects of the beam if it passes through a plasma column. The transverse electron-proton (e-p) instability in the plasma column is well controlled by the longitudinal magnetic field of a solenoid magnet and the bias voltages on electrodes. In this report, we will show simulation results how to control distributions of electrons and ions as well as that of the proton beam inside the column.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Simulation of Multipacting with Space Charge Effect

Here, the electron multiplication on surfaces exposed to an oscillating electromagnetic field causes the phenomenon of multipacting, which can degrade significantly the performance of vacuum RF devices, especially accelerating cavities. It is a serious obstacle to be avoided for normal operation of particle accelerator and their RF components. Many types of room temperature and superconducting accelerating cavities are designed and produced at Fermilab for different projects. The extensive simulations of multipacting in the cavities with updated material properties and comparison of the simulation results with experimental data are routinely performed during electromagnetic design of the cavities. The new advanced computing capabilities made it possible to take the space charge effect into account in the multipacting simulations. The basic new features of multipacting process that appear due to the space charge effect are shown for the classic case of the parallel plates and discussed. As the first practical application of the multipacting simulations with space charge effect the study of multipacting in the low-beta and high-beta 650 MHz elliptical superconducting cavities is also presented.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Neural network potentials with effective charge separation for non-equilibrium dynamics of ionic solids: a ZnO case study

Developing neural network potentials (NNPs) accurate under non-equilibrium dynamics is challenging, as such systems require extensive sampling beyond equilibrium phases. Here we construct high-fidelity NNPs for zinc oxide (ZnO), a polymorphic ionic solid, using density functional theory (DFT) reference data. To efficiently capture transitional configurations, we combine enhanced-sampling molecular dynamics with empirical potentials, data distillation, and pretraining on short-range atomic energies (A-Train), followed by transfer learning with DFT-relabeled datasets. This hierarchical approach improves transferability across polymorphs and stress states. We further introduce effective charge separation, treating long-range Coulombic terms analytically while short-range residual interactions are learned by the NNP. The optimal effective charges fall in the range 0.5–1.0 q e , consistent with dielectric-screened values derived from formal charges but distinct from Bader estimates. Motivated by this observation, we propose a simple data-driven protocol in which effective charges are optimized by comparing DFT reference energies with explicit Coulomb calculations, without additional NNP training. This strategy improves accuracy and transferability in DFT-level predictions of energies, forces, and stress. Together, these results provide a practical charge-selection framework for robust NNP development in ionic solids, enabling reliable simulation of polymorphic phase transformations and non-equilibrium dynamics.

Chemistry↗

Mixing and space-charge effects in free-electron lasers

The present work revisits the subjects of mixing, saturation, and space-charge effects in free-electron lasers. Use is made of the compressibility factor, which proves to be a helpful tool in the related systems of charged beams confined by static magnetic fields. The compressibility allows to perform analytical estimates of the elapsed time until the onset of mixing, which in turn allows to estimate the saturated amplitude of the radiation field. In addition, the compressibility helps to pinpoint space-charge effects and the corresponding transition from Compton to Raman regimes.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Pump laser-induced space-charge effects in HHG-driven time- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy

With the advent of ultrashort-pulsed extreme ultraviolet sources, such as free-electron lasers or high-harmonic-generation (HHG) sources, a new research field for photoelectron spectroscopy has opened up in terms of femtosecond time-resolved pump-probe experiments. The impact of the high peak brilliance of these novel sources on photoemission spectra, so-called vacuum space-charge effects caused by the Coulomb interaction among the photoemitted probe electrons, has been studied extensively. However, possible distortions of the energy and momentum distributions of the probe photoelectrons caused by the low photon energy pump pulse due to the nonlinear emission of electrons have not been studied in detail yet. Here, we systematically investigate these pump laser-induced space-charge effects in a HHG-based experiment for the test case of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. Specifically, we determine how the key parameters of the pump pulse—the excitation density, wavelength, spot size, and emitted electron energy distribution—affect the measured time-dependent energy and momentum distributions of the probe photoelectrons. The results are well reproduced by a simple mean-field model, which could open a path for the correction of pump laser-induced space-charge effects and thus toward probing ultrafast electron dynamics in strongly excited materials.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Studies of Space Charge Effects in the Proposed CERN PS2

A new proton synchrotron, the PS2, is under design study to replace the current proton synchrotron at CERN for the LHC upgrade. Nonlinear space charge effects could cause significant beam emittance growth and particle losses and limit the performance of the PS2. In this paper, we report on studies of the potential space-charge effects at the PS2 using three-dimensional self-consistent macroparticle tracking codes, IMPACT, MaryLie/IMPACT, and Synergia. We will present initial benchmark results among these codes. Effects of space-charge on the emittance growth, especially due to synchrotron coupling, aperture sizes, initial painted distribution, and RF ramping scheme will also be discussed.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Negative space charge effects in photon-enhanced thermionic emission solar converters

In thermionic energy converters, electrons in the gap between electrodes form a negative space charge and inhibit the emission of additional electrons, causing a significant reduction in conversion efficiency. However, in Photon Enhanced Thermionic Emission (PETE) solar energy converters, electrons that are reflected by the electric field in the gap return to the cathode with energy above the conduction band minimum. These electrons first occupy the conduction band from which they can be reemitted. This form of electron recycling makes PETE converters less susceptible to negative space charge loss. While the negative space charge effect was studied extensively in thermionic converters, modeling its effect in PETE converters does not account for important issues such as this form of electron recycling, nor the cathode thermal energy balance. Here, we investigate the space charge effect in PETE solar converters accounting for electron recycling, with full coupling of the cathode and gap models, and addressing conservation of both electric and thermal energy. The analysis shows that the negative space charge loss is lower than previously reported, allowing somewhat larger gaps compared to previous predictions. For a converter with a specific gap, there is an optimal solar flux concentration. The optimal solar flux concentration, the cathode temperature, and the efficiency all increase with smaller gaps. For example, for a gap of 3 μm the maximum efficiency is 38% and the optimal flux concentration is 628, while for a gap of 5 μm the maximum efficiency is 31% and optimal flux concentration is 163.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Influence of image charge effect on exciton fine structure in an organic-inorganic quantum well material

We have investigated experimentally excitonic properties in organic-inorganic hybrid multi quantum well crystals, (C{sub 4}H{sub 9}NH{sub 3}){sub 2}PbBr{sub 4} and (C{sub 6}H{sub 5}−C{sub 2}H{sub 4}NH{sub 3}){sub 2}PbBr{sub 4}, by measuring photoluminescence, reflectance, photoluminescence excitation spectra. In these materials, the excitonic binding energies are enhanced not only by quantum confinement effect (QCE) but also by image charge effect (ICE), since the dielectric constant of the barrier layers is much smaller than that of the well layers. By comparing the 1s-exciton and 2s-exciton energies, we have investigated the influence of ICE with regard to the difference of the Bohr radius.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Space Charge Effects on Ion Mobility Spectrometry

We study the space charge limited maximal current density j″ of mobility-selected ions that can be transmitted in ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). Theory and experiments focus on differential mobility analyzers (DMAs), but are readily generalizable to other IMS devices. Repulsion between the ions in the cloud leads to beam spreading, with significant broadening once the ion number density n becomes comparable to the space charge saturation limit n{sub sat} = ε{sub o}E{sub o}/(eΔ). Δ is the distance traversed by the ions in the direction of an externally imposed electric field E{sub o}, and e is the charge on each ion. For ions of electrical mobility Z, j″ is then limited below j″{sub sat} = ZE{sub o}en{sub sat} = Zε{sub o}E{sub o}{sup 2}/Δ. A theory including diffusion and space charge effects is developed that reduces to Burgers’ exactly solvable equation. The theory is tested in experiments with room temperature electrosprays (ES) of 100 mM [ethyl{sub 3}N{sup +}-formate{sup −}] in methanol. This spray produces primarily a single ionic species at very high initial concentration n, which may be tuned above or below n{sub sat} by varying the distance from the ES emitter to the inlet slit of the DMA. Mobility-selected ion densities n > 3.10{sup 8} ions/cm{sup 3} are achieved, with n~n{sub sat}, and with drastically broadened mobility peak shapes having the approximate top hat-predicted shapes. However, the largest n values approaching n{sub sat} are not quantitatively measurable because the densest sprays do not fill the outlet slit length. .

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Space Charge Effects in Low Energy Magnetized Electron Beams

Magnetized electron cooling of the ion beam is one of the major approaches towards obtaining the required high luminosity in the proposed Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). To increase the cooling efficiency, a bunched electron beam with a high bunch charge and high repetition rate is required. However, these features can combine to enhance the collective interactions, such as the space charge effect. A magnetized electron beam was successfully generated at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) using a compact, 300 kV DC high voltage photo-gun with an inverted insulator geometry and bi-alkali antimonide photocathode. The beam magnetization was characterized using a modest diagnostic beamline to measure beam sizes, rotation angles, and normalized transverse emittance as a function of magnetic field at the photocathode, laser spot size, and gun high-voltage. Simultaneously, simulations were performed using the A Space Charge Tracking Algorithm (ASTRA) and General Particle Tracer (GPT) programs. Further, sustained high average current magnetized beam up to 28 mA was demonstrated, and the photocathode lifetime for different magnetized electron beam currents was investigated. In the second part of the project, the space charge effect in low-energy magnetized electron beams was studied and compared with GPT simulations. The high bunch charge studies showed evidence of space charge current limitations starting at 0.3 nC and limited the maximum delivered bunch charge to 0.7 nC. To reach the high bunch charge goal of a few nC, the existing DC photo-gun design was modified using CST Studio Suite’s electromagnetic field solver, and a way to cancel the beam deflection exerted by the non-symmetric nature of the inverted insulator photo-gun geometry was discovered. This thesis presents a detailed description of the generation, characterization, and simulation of high current, high bunch charge magnetized electron beams at JLab, as well as the modified photo-gun design. Together with measurements and simulations, the purpose of this thesis is to provide a solid background on the theoretical aspects and the experimental challenges associated with magnetized electron beams for accelerator applications.

Wijethunga, W M Sajini↗