Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Electron Accelerators”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Measurements of high-energy radiation generation from laser-wakefield accelerated electron beams

Using high-energy (∼0.5 GeV) electron beams generated by laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), bremsstrahlung radiation was created by interacting these beams with various solid targets. Secondary processes generate high-energy electrons, positrons, and neutrons, which can be measured shot-to-shot using magnetic spectrometers, short half-life activation, and Compton scattering. Presented here are proof-of-principle results from a high-resolution, high-energy gamma-ray spectrometer capable of single-shot operation, and high repetition rate activation diagnostics. We describe the techniques used in these measurements and their potential applications in diagnosing LWFA electron beams and measuring high-energy radiation from laser-plasma interactions.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Electron acceleration at oblique angles via stimulated Raman scattering at laser irradiance >10 16 W cm –2 μm 2

The generation of hot, directional electrons via laser-driven stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is a topic of great importance in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) schemes. Little recent research has been dedicated to this process at high laser intensity, in which back, side, and forward scatter simultaneously occur in high energy density plasmas, of relevance to, for example, shock ignition ICF. In this paper, we present an experimental and particle-in-cell (PIC) investigation of hot electron production from SRS in the forward and near-forward directions from a single speckle laser of wavelength λ 0 = 1.053μm, peak laser intensities in the range I 0 = 0.2–1.0×10 17 Wcm –2 and target electron densities between ne = 0.3–1.6% n c , where n c is the plasma critical density. As the intensity and density are increased, the hot electron spectrum changes from a sharp cutoff to an extended spectrum with a slope temperature T = 34 ± 1 keV and maximum measured energy of 350 keV experimentally. Multidimensional PIC simulations indicate that the high energy electrons are primarily generated from SRS-driven electron plasma wave phase fronts with k vectors angled ~50° with respect to the laser axis. These results are consistent with analytical arguments that the spatial gain is maximized at an angle which balances the tendency for the growth rate to be larger for larger scattered light wave angles until the kinetic damping of the plasma wave becomes important. The efficiency of generated high energy electrons drops significantly with a reduction in either laser intensity or target electron density, which is a result of the rapid drop in growth rate of Raman scattering at angles in the forward direction.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

YOUNG SUPERNOVAE AS EXPERIMENTAL SITES FOR STUDYING THE ELECTRON ACCELERATION MECHANISM

Radio emissions from young supernovae ({approx}<1 year after the explosion) show a peculiar feature in the relativistic electron population at a shock wave, where their energy distribution is steeper than typically found in supernova remnants and than that predicted from the standard diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) mechanism. This has been especially established for the case for a class of stripped envelope supernovae (SNe IIb/Ib/Ic), where a combination of high shock velocity and low circumstellar material density makes it easier to derive the intrinsic energy distribution than in other classes of SNe. We suggest that this apparent discrepancy reflects a situation where the low energy electrons, before being accelerated by the DSA-like mechanism, are responsible for the radio synchrotron emission from young SNe, and that studying young SNe sheds light on the still-unresolved electron injection problem in the acceleration theory of cosmic rays. We suggest that the electron's energy distribution could be flattened toward high energy, most likely around 100 MeV, which marks a transition from inefficient to efficient acceleration. Identifying this feature will be a major advance in understanding the electron acceleration mechanism. We suggest two further probes: (1) millimeter/submillimeter observations in the first year after the explosion and (2) X-ray observations at about one year and thereafter. We show that these are reachable by ALMA and Chandra for nearby SNe.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

The acceleration of electrons at a spherical coronal shock in a streamer-like coronal field

We study the effect of large-scale coronal magnetic field on the electron acceleration at a spherical coronal shock using a test-particle method. The coronal field is approximated by an analytical solution with a streamer-like magnetic field featured by partially open magnetic field and a current sheet at the equator atop the closed region. It shows that the closed field plays the role of a trapping agency of shock-accelerated electrons, allowing for repetitive reflection and acceleration, therefore can greatly enhance the shock-electron acceleration efficiency. It is found that, with an ad hoc pitch-angle scattering, electron injected in the open field at the shock flank can be accelerated to high energies as well. In addition, if the shock is faster or stronger, a relatively harder electron energy spectrum and a larger maximum energy can be achieved.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

Terahertz radiation as a bunch diagnostic for laser-wakefield-accelerated electron bunches

Experimental results are reported from two measurement techniques (semiconductor switching and electro-optic sampling) that allow temporal characterization of electron bunches produced by a laser-driven plasma-based accelerator. As femtosecond electron bunches exit the plasma-vacuum interface, coherent transition radiation (at THz frequencies) is emitted. Measuring the properties of this radiation allows characterization of the electron bunches. Theoretical work on the emission mechanism is presented, including a model that calculates the THz wave form from a given bunch profile. It is found that the spectrum of the THz pulse is coherent up to the 200 {micro}m thick crystal (ZnTe) detection limit of 4 THz, which corresponds to the production of sub-50 fs (rms) electron bunch structure. The measurements demonstrate both the shot-to-shot stability of bunch parameters that are critical to THz emission (such as total charge and bunch length), as well as femtosecond synchronization among bunch, THz pulse, and laser beam.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Observations of Coherent Optical Transition Radiation Interference Fringes Generated by Laser Plasma Accelerator Electron Beamlets

We report initial observations of coherent optical transition radiation interferometry (COTRI) patterns generated by microbunched electrons from laser-driven plasma accelerators (LPAs). These are revealed in the angular distribution patterns obtained by a CCD camera with the optics focused at infinity, or the far-field, viewing a Wartski two-foil interferometer. The beam divergences deduced by comparison to results from an analytical model are sub-mrad, and they are smaller than the ensemble vertical beam divergences measured at the downstream screen of the electron spectrometer. The transverse sizes of the beamlet images were obtained with focus at the object, or near field, and were in the few-micron regime as reported by LaBerge et al. [8]. The enhancements in intensity are significant relative to incoherent optical transition radiation (OTR) enabling multiple cameras to view each shot. We present two-foil interferometry effects coherently enhanced in both the 100-TW LPA at 215 MeV energy at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and the PW LPA at 1.0-GeV energy at the University of Texas-Austin. A transverse emittance estimate is reported for a microbunched beamlet example generated within the plasma bubble.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2014

High-energy electron acceleration in the gas-puff Z-pinch plasma

The characteristics of hard x-ray generation were examined in the gas-puff z-pinch experiment. The experiment on reversing the voltage was conducted. In both of the positive and negative discharges, the x-ray was generated only from the anode surface, so it was considered that the electrons were accelerated by the induced electromagnetic force at the pinch time.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Nonlinear electron acceleration by oblique whistler waves: Landau resonance vs. cyclotron resonance

This paper is devoted to the study of the nonlinear interaction of relativistic electrons and high amplitude strongly oblique whistler waves in the Earth's radiation belts. We consider electron trapping into Landau and fundamental cyclotron resonances in a simplified model of dipolar magnetic field. Trapping into the Landau resonance corresponds to a decrease of electron equatorial pitch-angles, while trapping into the first cyclotron resonance increases electron equatorial pitch-angles. For 100 keV electrons, the energy gained due to trapping is similar for both resonances. For electrons with smaller energy, acceleration is more effective when considering the Landau resonance. Moreover, trapping into the Landau resonance is accessible for a wider range of initial pitch-angles and initial energies in comparison with the fundamental resonance. Thus, we can conclude that for intense and strongly oblique waves propagating in the quasi-electrostatic mode, the Landau resonance is generally more important than the fundamental one.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

ELECTRON ACCELERATION ASSOCIATED WITH SOLAR JETS

This paper investigates the solar source region of supra-thermal (few keV up to the MeV range) electron beams observed near Earth by combining in situ measurements of the three-dimensional Plasma and Energetic Particles experiment on the WIND spacecraft with remote-sensing hard X-ray observations by the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager. The in situ observations are used to identify events, and the hard X-ray observations are then searched for signatures of supra-thermal electrons radiating bremsstrahlung emission in the solar atmosphere. Only prompt events detected above 50 keV with a close temporal correlation between the flare hard X-ray emission and the electrons seen near Earth are selected, limiting the number of events to 16. We show that for 7 of these 16 events, hard X-ray imaging shows three chromospheric sources: two at the footpoints of the post-flare loop and one related to an apparently open field line. The remaining events show two footpoints (seven events, four of which show elongated sources possibly hiding a third source) or are spatially unresolved (two events). Out of the 16 events, 6 have a solar source region within the field of view of the Transition Region and Corona Explorer (TRACE). All events with TRACE data show EUV jets that have the same onset as the hard X-ray emission (within the cadence of tens of seconds). After the hard X-ray burst ends, the jets decay. These results suggest that escaping prompt supra-thermal electron events observed near Earth are accelerated in flares associated with reconnection between open and closed magnetic field lines, the so-called interchange reconnection scenario.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Low-energy (< 200 eV) electron acceleration by ULF waves in the plasmaspheric boundary layer: Van Allen Probes observation

Here, we report observational evidence of cold plamsmaspheric electron (< 200 eV) acceleration by ultra-low-frequency (ULF) waves in the plasmaspheric boundary layer on 10 September 2015. Strongly enhanced cold electron fluxes in the energy spectrogram were observed along with second harmonic mode waves with a period of about 1 minute which lasted several hours during two consecutive Van Allen Probe B orbits. Cold electron (<200 eV) and energetic proton (10-20 keV) bi-directional pitch angle signatures observed during the event are suggestive of the drift-bounce resonance mechanism. The correlation between enhanced energy fluxes and ULF waves leads to the conclusions that plasmaspheric dynamics is strongly affected by ULF waves. Van Allen Probe A and B, GOES 13, GOES 15 and MMS 1 observations suggest ULF waves in the event were strongest on the dusk-side magnetosphere. Measurements from MMS 1 contain no evidence of an external wave source during the period when ULF waves and injected energetic protons with a bump-on-tail distribution were detected by Van Allen Probe B. This suggests that the observed ULF waves were probably excited by a localized drift-bounce resonant instability, with the free energy supplied by substorm-injected energetic protons. The observations by Van Allen Probe B suggest that energy transfer between particle species in different energy ranges can take place through the action of ULF waves, demonstrating the important role of these waves in the dynamical processes of the inner magnetosphere.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

RF Sources for Electron Accelerators With a focus on high-duty-factor, low-to-moderate energy architectures

A charged particle, such as an electron or a proton, is accelerated through its interaction with either a static (DC) or time-varying (RF) electric field. The magnitude of the accelerating field, or gradient, is typically given in units of volts per meter; in charged-particle accelerators, fields are usually expressed as kV/m or MV/m. The energy of the accelerated particle is usually expressed in terms of electron volts, or eV. An electron starting at rest at ground potential, and accelerated to an electrode with a potential of 1 kV, will have an energy of 1 keV.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Evidence of electron acceleration around the reconnection X-point in a solar flare

Particle acceleration is one of the most significant features that are ubiquitous among space and cosmic plasmas. It is most prominent during flares in the case of the Sun, with which huge amounts of electromagnetic radiation and high-energy particles are expelled into the interplanetary space through acceleration of plasma particles in the corona. Though it has been well understood that energies of flares are supplied by the mechanism called magnetic reconnection based on the observations in X-rays and EUV with space telescopes, where and how in the flaring magnetic field plasmas are accelerated has remained unknown due to the low plasma density in the flaring corona. We here report the first observational identification of the energetic non-thermal electrons around the point of the ongoing magnetic reconnection (X-point), with the location of the X-point identified by soft X-ray imagery and the localized presence of non-thermal electrons identified from imaging-spectroscopic data at two microwave frequencies. Considering the existence of the reconnection outflows that carries both plasma particles and magnetic fields out from the X-point, our identified non-thermal microwave emissions around the X-point indicate that the electrons are accelerated around the reconnection X-point. Additionally, the plasma around the X-point was also thermally heated up to 10 MK. The estimated reconnection rate of this event is ∼0.017.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Electron acceleration in three-dimensional magnetic reconnection with a guide field

Kinetic simulations of 3D collisionless magnetic reconnection with a guide field show a dramatic enhancement of energetic electron production when compared with 2D systems. In the 2D systems, electrons are trapped in magnetic islands that limit their energy gain, whereas in the 3D systems the filamentation of the current layer leads to a stochastic magnetic field that enables the electrons to access volume-filling acceleration regions. The dominant accelerator of the most energetic electrons is a Fermi-like mechanism associated with reflection of charged particles from contracting field lines.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Efficient Nonthermal Ion and Electron Acceleration Enabled by the Flux-Rope Kink Instability in 3D Nonrelativistic Magnetic Reconnection

The relaxation of field-line tension during magnetic reconnection gives rise to a universal Fermi acceleration process involving the curvature drift of particles. However, the efficiency of this mechanism is limited by the trapping of energetic particles within flux ropes. Using 3D fully kinetic simulations, we demonstrate that the flux-rope kink instability leads to strong field-line chaos in weak-guide-field regimes where the Fermi mechanism is most efficient, thus allowing particles to transport out of flux ropes and undergo further acceleration. As a consequence, both ions and electrons develop clear power-law energy spectra that contain a significant fraction of the released energy. The low-energy bounds are determined by the injection physics, while the high-energy cutoffs are limited only by the system size. Furthermore, these results have strong relevance to observations of nonthermal particle acceleration in space and astrophysics.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Active Plasma Lensing for Relativistic Laser-Plasma-Accelerated Electron Beams

The compact, tunable, radially symmetric focusing of electrons is critical to laser-plasma accelerator (LPA) applications. Experiments are presented demonstrating the use of a discharge-capillary active plasma lens to focus 100-MeV-level LPA beams. The lens can provide tunable field gradients in excess of 3000 T/m, enabling cm-scale focal lengths for GeV-level beam energies and allowing LPA-based electron beams and light sources to maintain their compact footprint. For a range of lens strengths, excellent agreement with simulation was obtained.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2010

A Proposed High-Energy, Compact, Optical Electron Accelerator Based on Particle Acceleration by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

A new type of advanced accelerator is proposed that is capable of producing high-energy electron beams in a compact geometry, but does not require a high-power laser beam driver nor a linear accelerator. Moreover, it is capable of generating its own microbunched electron beam source and, thus, an electron gun is also not needed. Hence, this has the potential to enable development of compact, high-energy accelerators that are less complex and less costly.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗