The Multipoles Factory: An Element of the LHC Control

The measurements performed at CERN on prototypes and first pre-series main dipole magnets confirm the need of an active control of the Large Hadron Collider to compensate the dynamic field changes during the proton beam injection and acceleration. This control requires in turn an accurate forecast of the magnetic field in the accelerator. We plan to predict the field on the basis of two elements: theoretical field models tailored through the accumulated knowledge of the main magnets during series tests, and an on-line measurement system running on few reference magnets tracking the LHC current cycle. Data coming from this "Multipoles Factory" will result from the fusion of the two sources. Based on this system we foresee to deliver calibration information for pre-defined accelerator cycles as well as real time information for the active control. In this paper we report the conceptual design of the system, and we discuss the features and performance of the models that we have developed for the field forecast

AMP kinase promotes Bcl6 expression in both mouse and human T cells

The transcription factor Bcl6 is a master regulator of follicular helper T (TFH) cells, and understanding the signaling pathway that induces Bcl6 and TFH cell differentiation is therefore critical. IL-2 produced during T cell activation inhibits Bcl6 expression but how TFH cells evade IL-2 inhibition is not completely understood. Here we show that Bcl6 is highly up-regulated in activated CD4 T cells following glucose deprivation (GD), and this pathway is insensitive to inhibition by IL-2. Similar to GD, the glucose analog 2-deoxyglucose (2DG) inhibits glycolysis, and 2DG induced Bcl6 expression in activated CD4 T cells. The metabolic sensor AMP kinase (AMPK) is activated when glycolysis is decreased, and the induction of Bcl6 by GD was inhibited by the AMPK antagonist compound C. Additionally, activation of AMPK by the drug AICAR caused Bcl6 up-regulation in activated CD4 T cells. When mice were immunized with KLH using AICAR as an adjuvant, there was a strong TFH–dependent enhancement of KLH-specific antibody (Ab) responses, and higher Bcl6 expression in TFH cells in vivo. Activation of AMPK strongly induced BCL6 and the up-regulation of TFH cell marker expression by human CD4 T cells. Our data reveal a major new pathway for TFH cell differentiation, conserved by both mouse and human T cells. Mature TFH cells are reported to have a lower metabolic state compared to TH1 cells. Our data indicates that decreased metabolism may be deterministic for TFH cell differentiation, and not simply a result of TFH cell differentiation

Loss and Dynamic Magnetic Field Measurements in LHC Dipoles

Knowledge of AC loss and dynamic magnetic field distortion in the main LHC dipoles is both important for the assessment of the accelerator performance and providing insight into the properties of assembled magnets. We measured the loss due to the current cycling in a few 1-meter long model dipoles, 15-meter long dipole prototypes and pre-series magnets. As expected the loss depends linearly on the rate of the current change. From the slope of this dependence, the contact resistance between the strands of the opposite layers of the cable, Rc, was evaluated for the inner winding of the dipole. We discuss the method to estimate the Rc value in the outer winding. The Rc value has been also derived independently from measurements of the magnetic field. For this, the ramp rate dependent component of the main field as well as of the harmonics has been measured. The main magnetic field measurements were performed using both stationary coils and Hall probes. Rotating coils were used to perform the harmonic measurements

Objective classification of fabric pilling based on the two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform

A number of methods for automated objective ratings of fabric pilling based on image analysis are described in the literature. The periodic structure of fabrics makes them suitable candidates for frequency domain analysis. We propose a new method of frequency domain analysis based on the two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform to objectively measure pilling intensity in sample images. We present a preliminary evaluation of the proposed method based on analysis of two series of standard pilling evaluation test images. The initial results suggest that the proposed method is feasible, and that the ability of the method to discriminate between levels of pilling intensity depends on the wavelet analysis scale being closely matched to the fabric interyarn pitch. We also present a heuristic method for optimal selection of an analysis wavelet and associated analysis scale. <br /

Persistent and Coupling Current Effects in the LHC Superconducting Dipoles

One of the main issues for the operation of the LHC accelerator at CERN is the field errors generated by persistent and coupling currents in the main dipoles at injection conditions, i.e., 0.54 T dipole field. For this reason we are conducting systematic magnetic field measurements to quantify the above effects and compare them to the expected values from measurement on strands and cables. We discuss the results in terms of DC effects from persistent current magnetization, AC effects with short time constant from strand and cable coupling currents, and long-term decay during constant current excitation. Average and spread of the measured field errors over the population of magnets tested are as expected or smaller. Field decay at injection, and subsequent snap-back, show for the moment the largest variation from magnet to magnet, with weak correlation to parameters that can be controlled during production. For this reason these effects are likely to result in the largest spread of field errors over the whole dipole production

Measurement and Analysis of the Field Quality of LHC Prototype and Pre-series Superconducting Dipoles

We report the main results of the magnetic field measurements performed on the full-size LHC superconducting dipoles tested at CERN since summer 1998. Main field strength and field errors are summarised. We discuss in detail the contributions related to the geometry of the collared coil, the assembled cold mass, cool-down effects, magnetisation of the superconducting cable and saturation effects at high field. Dynamic effects on field harmonics, such as the field decay during injection and field errors during current ramps, are assessed statistically

Atomically thin boron nitride: a tunnelling barrier for graphene devices

We investigate the electronic properties of heterostructures based on ultrathin hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) crystalline layers sandwiched between two layers of graphene as well as other conducting materials (graphite, gold). The tunnel conductance depends exponentially on the number of h-BN atomic layers, down to a monolayer thickness. Exponential behaviour of I-V characteristics for graphene/BN/graphene and graphite/BN/graphite devices is determined mainly by the changes in the density of states with bias voltage in the electrodes. Conductive atomic force microscopy scans across h-BN terraces of different thickness reveal a high level of uniformity in the tunnel current. Our results demonstrate that atomically thin h-BN acts as a defect-free dielectric with a high breakdown field; it offers great potential for applications in tunnel devices and in field-effect transistors with a high carrier density in the conducting channel.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure