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At least 1,675 records · Page 93

HERSCHEL GALACTIC PLANE SURVEY OF [N ii] FINE STRUCTURE EMISSION

We present the first large-scale high angular resolution survey of ionized nitrogen in the Galactic Plane through emission of its two fine structure transitions ([N ii]) at 122 and 205 μm. The observations were largely obtained with the PACS instrument onboard the Herschel Space Observatory. The lines of sight were in the Galactic plane, following those of the Herschel OTKP project GOT C+. Both lines are reliably detected at the 10{sup −8}–10{sup −7} Wm{sup −2} sr{sup −1} level over the range –60° ≤ l ≤ 60°. The rms of the intensity among the 25 PACS spaxels of a given pointing is typically less than one third of the mean intensity, showing that the emission is extended. [N ii] is produced in gas in which hydrogen is ionized, and collisional excitation is by electrons. The ratio of the two fine structure transitions provides a direct measurement of the electron density, yielding n(e) largely in the range 10–50 cm{sup −3} with an average value of 29 cm{sup −3} and N{sup +} column densities 10{sup 16}–10{sup 17} cm{sup −2}. [N ii] emission is highly correlated with that of [C ii], and we calculate that between 1/3 and 1/2 of the [C ii] emission is associated with the ionized gas. The relatively high electron densities indicate that the source of the [N ii] emission is not the warm ionized medium (WIM), which has electron densities more than 100 times smaller. Possible origins of the observed [N ii] include the ionized surfaces of dense atomic and molecular clouds, the extended low-density envelopes of H ii regions, and low-filling factor high-density fluctuations of the WIM.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Study of Electromagnetic Interactions in the MicroBooNE Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber

This thesis presents results on the study of electromagnetic (EM) activity in the MicroBooNE Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) neutrino detector. The LArTPC detector technology provides bubble-chamber like information on neutrino interaction final states, necessary to perform precision measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters. Accelerator-based oscillation experiments heavily rely on the appearance channel ! e to make such measurements. Identifying and reconstructing the energy of the outgoing electrons from such interactions is therefore crucial for their success. This work focuses on two sources of EM activity: Michel electrons in the 10-50 MeV energy range, and photons from 0 decay in the 30-300 MeV range. Studies of biases in the energy reconstruction measurement, and energy resolution are performed. The impact of shower topology at different energies is discussed, and the importance of thresholding and other reconstruction effects on producing an asymmetric and biased energy measurement are highlighted. This work further presents a study of the calorimetric separation of electrons and photons with a focus on the shower energy dependence of the separation power.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Discrete extrasolar X-ray sources.

Galactic X ray sources observed in EM spectrum high energy region, discussing hot plasma cloud thermal radiation and electrons synchrotron radiation as emission sources

Rossi, B. B.↗

Ultraviolet converter transients induced by electrons

The output of ultraviolet converters typically used in satellite astronomy was monitored during irradiation with electrons from a sealed SR-90 source which approximated the peak flux in earth's outer electron belt. The signal induced by irradiation was attributed to two mechanisms: (1) photoelectrons resulting from photons created in the MgF2 window and (2) the direct impact of electrons on the phosphor. For irradiation at about 1 x 10 to the 7th e/sq cm sec, these two effects produced signals which were, in order of magnitude, the same as those produced by an incident UV flux (254 nm) of 10 to the 8th and 10 to the 7th photons/sq cm sec, respectively. In addition, the induced signal was investigated as a function of electron energy by irradiating another converter with 0.4-1.8-MeV electrons from a Van de Graaff. These results suggest that the dominant contribution to the electron-induced signal is Cerenkov photon production in the MgF2 window.

Kernell, R. L.↗

Magnetic field-aligned particle precipitation

Magnetic field-aligned particle fluxes are a common auroral phenomenon. Precipitating field-aligned electrons are seen in the vicinity of auroral arcs as suprathermal bursts, as well as superimposed on the more isotropic inverted V electron precipitation. Electron distribution functions reveal two distinct source populations for the inverted V and field-aligned electron components, and also suggest possible acceleration mechanisms. The inverted V electrons are a hot, boundary plasma sheet population that gains the full parallel acceleration. The field-aligned component appears to originate from cold ionospheric electrons that may be distributed throughout the acceleration region. A turbulent parallel field might explain the apparent lifetime of cold electrons in the acceleration region.

Carlson, C. W.↗

Europa Missions: Generic Materials Test Methodology

This viewgraph presentation discusses: radiation fundamentals, radiation damage, how radiation dosage is determined, fluence testing approaches, ionization damage exposure, displacement damage exposure, Europa energy "bins", rationale for group flux (energy bins), electron/proton group fluences, electron beam exposure testing, proton sources, reactor exposures, gamma exposures, preliminary exposure findings, testing caveats, preliminary conclusions, internal discharge, and electron dose depth curves.

radiation↗

Plasma Parameters Controlled by a Movable Ion Sheath

It is shown that plasma parameters, such as the electron density, electron temperature, and plasma potential, in multidipole discharge plasma can be controlled by a negatively biased movable metal plate. Here, plasma is produced in the target region by a flux of energetic electrons coming from the source region of a double plasma device. Further, the thickness of the ion sheath formed in front of the biased metal plate varies depending on its axial position inside the cage.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

The polarization and directivity of solar-flare hard X-ray bremsstrahlung from a thermal source

The polarization and directivity of hard X-ray bremsstrahlung from a thermal source consisting of a region in which a thermal flux drives a pair of steel collisionless conduction fronts were evaluated. The conduction fronts are symmetrically driven from a central region, heated by the flare energy dissipation process. By comparing results with similar calculations based on a nonthermal thick-target electron beam model of the source, it was aimed to determine the degree to which the observed polarization and directivity of solar flare hard X-rays favor either model. Results which exhibit significant polarization and directivity of the hard X-ray radiation emitted by the source are produced by using Maxwellian electron-phase-space distribution functions modified to take into account a directional heat flux and a steady direct current in the X-ray source, and a fully relativistic treatment of the bremsstrahlung emission process. The results are consistent with solar hard X-ray anisotropy and polarization observations to date, although these observations are too crude to be conclusive.

Emslie, A. G.↗

Evaluation of Skyshine from an Accelerator Facility: Dependence on Distance and Angle

Neutron skyshine from Linac Coherent Light Source II 4 GeV electron beam operation at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory can contribute to prompt radiation exposure to the public at distances far beyond the accelerator tunnel housing. One of the shielding design requirements at SLAC is that the annual dose to a member of the public is no more than 0.05 mSv y -1 . Our work uses Monte Carlo code FLUKA to simulate the generation of neutrons from 4 GeVelectron beam losses on a thick copper target inside a generalized geometry of the Linac Coherent Light Source II Beam Transport Hall accelerator tunnel section. The effective dose from neutron skyshine was characterized as a function of both distance from the tunnel wall (up to 1 km away) and angle relative to the beam direction (between 0° and 180°). Furthermore, this new methodology for evaluating neutron skyshine dose is applicable to high-energy GeV-range electron accelerator facilities both at SLAC and elsewhere.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Bio-reduction of ferrihydrite-montmorillonite-organic matter complexes: Effect of montmorillonite and fate of organic matter

Organic matter (OM) is often associated with Fe (hydr)oxides such as ferrihydrite (Fh) in soils and sediments, forming binary Fh-OM complexes. Microbial reduction of Fh results in destabilization of the complexes and mineral/OM transformation. However, little is known about the role of clay minerals in such processes, despite their common co-existence with Fh and OM in natural environments. Here Fh-OM complexes were synthesized in the presence of montmorillonite (SWy-2), forming ternary Fh-(SWy-2)-OM complexes. A metal-reducing bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens was used to reduce Fh in the complexes under circumneutral pH and anoxic conditions with or without H 2 as extra electron donor. Various spectroscopy and mass spectrometry methods were used to monitor the progress of Fh bio-reduction and mineral/OM transformation. Results showed that G. sulfurreducens utilized mineral-bound OM as electron donor and/or carbon source to couple with Fh reduction. Relative to Fh-OM complex, Addition of SWy-2 to Fh-OM complex enhanced the bio-reduction extent of Fh by increasing the proportion of bioavailable OM that was weakly bound to SWy-2. However, its effect on the bio-reduction rate was variable. SWy-2 initially decreased the rate, because it spatially separated OM (electron donor) from Fh (electron acceptor). During later incubation, SWy-2 increased the reduction rate by sorbing biogenic Fe 2+ that would otherwise passivate the Fh and cell surfaces. Bio-reduction transformed mineral-bound OM to microbial products (e.g. necromass, extracellular polymeric substances), but organic compounds with aromatic structures, carboxyl groups and large molecular weight were more resistant to desorption and oxidation. The persistence of these compounds against bio-reduction induced transformation is likely due to their stronger binding with minerals and/or lower nominal oxidation states of carbon relative to other compounds. Our results provide new insights into the role of clay minerals in regulating biogeochemical cycling of solid-phase Fe and transformation of mineral-associated OM in anoxic soil environments.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Design and characterization of electron beam focusing for X-ray generation in novel medical imaging architecture

A novel electron beam focusing scheme for medical X-ray sources is described in this paper. Most vacuum based medical X-ray sources today employ a tungsten filament operated in temperature limited regime, with electrostatic focusing tabs for limited range beam optics. This paper presents the electron beam optics designed for the first distributed X-ray source in the world for Computed Tomography (CT) applications. This distributed source includes 32 electron beamlets in a common vacuum chamber, with 32 circular dispenser cathodes operated in space charge limited regime, where the initial circular beam is transformed into an elliptical beam before being collected at the anode. The electron beam optics designed and validated here are at the heart of the first Inverse Geometry CT system, with potential benefits in terms of improved image quality and dramatic X-ray dose reduction for the patient.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Power density calculation of spontaneous radiation emission from a finite emittance electron beam in planar undulators

We extend the angular power density formulae for spontaneous radiation emission from planar undulators to include finite emittance and angular misalignment of the electron beam. Then we calculate and compare power densities estimated from integral approach with Gaussian beam distribution and summation approach with macro-particle allocation covering particle beam phase space. After showing that both approaches converge to each other, we apply the macro-particle approach to study power absorbed and transmitted by various apertures at front end of 9-ID beamline at National Synchrotron Light Source-II for misaligned electron beam. Our analysis indicate that the electron beam misalignment could lead to unwarranted power deposition at tighter apertures that would have been otherwise difficult to account for during the aperture design/choice process.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Active region magnetic fields inferred from simultaneous VLA microwave maps, X-ray spectroheliograms, and magnetograms

The VLA maps at 6-cm wavelength discussed here are generated from observations of a solar active region (NOAA 2363) on March 29 and 30, 1980. The X-ray spectroheliograms were acquired for this region in the lines of O VIII, Ne IX, Mg XI, Si XIII, S XV, and Fe XXV. It is found that the peaks of X-ray and 6-cm emission do not coincide but that the sources in the two wavelength domains tend to overlap. These facts are seen as evidence for the existence of opacity mechanisms other than thermal bremsstrahlung. To quantify this assertion, differential emission measures are computed to derive densities and temperatures. Using these and calculated force-free magnetic fields from Kitt Peak magnetograms, an assessment is made of the mechanism of gyroresonance absorption at low harmonics of the electron gyrofrequency as the source of opacity responsible for the microwave features. It is concluded that large-scale currents must be present in the active region loops to account for the bright 6-cm sources far from sunspots.

Schmahl, E. J.↗

Spectroscopy of He–Ne afterglow plasma

The afterglow of pulsed low-current discharge in a He–Ne mixture is spectroscopically studied under conditions of competition between the processes of Ne{sub 2}{sup +} and HeNe{sup +} dissociative recombination with electrons, which are the sources of population of excited levels of neon atoms. The behavior of neon spectral lines in the wavelength range of 350–850 nm corresponding to the transitions from the levels of neon atoms of the 2p{sup 5}3p, 2p{sup 5}3d, 2p{sup 5}4p, 2p{sup 5}4d, 2p5{sup 5}s, 2p{sup 5}5d, 2p5{sup 6}s configurations are studied by the multichannel photoncounting method at electron density n{sub e} < 10{sup 11} cm{sup –3} and helium and neon pressures P{sub He} = 38 Torr and P{sub Ne} ≈ 10{sup -5}p{sub He} Distributions of recombination fluxes and population over excited states of the neon atom formed in the afterglow by homo- and heteronuclear ions are found. The data obtained show that vibrationally excited molecular ions make no noticeable contribution to the spectrum of decaying He–Ne plasma.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Why P/OF should look for evidences of over-dense structures in solar flare hard X-ray sources

White-light and hard X-ray (HXR) observations of two white-light flares (WLFs) show that if the radiative losses in the optical continuum are powered by fast electrons directly heating the WLF source, then the column density constraints imposed by the finite range of the electrons requires that the WLF consist of an over-dense region in the chromosphere, with density exceeding 10 to the 14th power/cu cm. Thus, we recommend that P/OF search for evidences of over-dense structures in HXR images obtained simultaneously with optical observations of flares.

Neidig, D. F.↗

Wavefront Preservation in Soft X-Ray Beamlines for the Advanced Light Source Upgrade

In the 4th generation of X-ray light sources, including Free-Electron Lasers (FEL) and Diffraction-Limited Storage Rings (DLSR), the emittance of the electron beam is small or negligible compared to the emittance of the photon beam produced by insertion devices, thus generating coherent beams of light. Over the next few years, several lightsource facilities will be built or upgraded to produce X-ray beams of unprecedented coherent flux. Delivering these exceptional beams to the sample chambers requires beamline optical systems that are designed to preserve the wavefront properties. Our goal in the Advanced Light Source upgrade project (ALS-U) is to create a new class of beamlines that reach diffraction-limited X-ray optical quality through tightly integrated, efficient optical systems, diagnostics, and adaptive mirrors, thus providing users with new scientific capabilities offered by coherent X-ray light interactions with matter. Herein we describe aspects of the beamlines’ design as they enter the project’s final design phase.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Mechanical and chemical effects of ion-texturing biomedical polymers

To determine whether sputter etching may provide substantial polymer surface texturing with insignificant changes in chemical and mechanical properties, an 8 cm beam diameter, electron bombardment, argon ion source was used to sputter etch (ion-texture process) nine biomedical polymers. The materials included silicone rubber, 32% carbon impregnated polyolefin, polyoxymethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, ultrahigh molecular weight (UHMW) polyethylene, UHMW polyethylene with carbon fibers (10%), and several polyurethanes (bioelectric, segmented, and cross linked). Ion textured microtensile specimens of each material except UHMW polyethylene and UHMW polyethylene with 10% carbon fibers were used to determine the effect of ion texturing on tensile properties. Scanning electron microscopy was used to determine surface morphology changes, and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis was used to analyze the near surface chemical changes that result from ion texturing. Ion energies of 500 eV with beam current densities ranging from 0.08 to 0.19 mA/sq cm were used to ion texture the various materials. Standard microtensile specimens of seven polymers were exposed to a saline environment for 24 hours prior to and during the tensile testing. The surface chemical changes resulting from sputter etching are minimal in spite of the often significant changes in the surface morphology.

Weigand, A. J.↗