High throughput data streaming of individual longitudinal electron bunch profiles in a storage ring with single-shot electro-optical sampling

The development of fast detection methods for comprehensive monitoring of electron bunches is a prerequisite to gain comprehensive control over the synchrontron emission in storage rings with their MHz repetition rate. Here, we present a proof-of-principle experiment with at detailed description of our implementation to detect the longitudinal electron bunch profiles via single-shot, near-field electro-optical sampling at the Karlsruhe Research Accelerator (KARA). Our experiment is equipped with an ultra-fast line array camera providing a high-throughput MHz data stream. We characterize statistical properties of the obtained data set and give a detailed description for the data processing as well as for the calculation of the charge density profiles, which where measured in the short-bunch operation mode of KARA. Finally, we discuss properties of the bunch profile dynamics on a coarse-grained level on the example of the well-known synchrotron oscillation.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Fast Mapping of Terahertz Bursting Thresholds and Characteristics at Synchrotron Light Sources

Dedicated optics with extremely short electron bunches enable synchrotron light sources to generate intense coherent THz radiation. The high degree of spatial compression in this so-called low-alpha optics entails a complex longitudinal dynamics of the electron bunches, which can be probed studying the fluctuations in the emitted terahertz radiation caused by the micro-bunching instability ("bursting"). This article presents a "quasi-instantaneous" method for measuring the bursting characteristics by simultaneously collecting and evaluating the information from all bunches in a multi-bunch fill, reducing the measurement time from hours to seconds. This speed-up allows systematic studies of the bursting characteristics for various accelerator settings within a single fill of the machine, enabling a comprehensive comparison of the measured bursting thresholds with theoretical predictions by the bunched-beam theory. This paper introduces the method and presents first results obtained at the ANKA synchrotron radiation facility.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, to be published in Physical Review Accelerators and Beam

Simultaneous Detection of Longitudinal and Transverse Bunch Signals at a Storage Ring

To understand and control the dynamics in the longitudinal phase space, time-resolved measurements of different bunch parameters are required. For a reconstruction of this phase space, the detector systems have to be synchronized. This reconstruction can be used e.g. for studies of the micro-bunching instability. It occurs if the interaction of the bunch with its own radiation leads to the formation of sub-structures on the longitudinal bunch profile. These sub-structures can grow rapidly -- leading to a sawtooth-like behaviour of the bunch. At KARA, we use a fast-gated intensified camera for energy spread studies, Schottky diodes for coherent synchrotron radiation studies as well as electro-optical spectral decoding for longitudinal bunch profile measurements. For a synchronization, a hardware synchronization scheme is used which compensates for eventual hardware delays. In this paper, the different experimental setups and their synchronization are discussed and first results of synchronous measurements are presented

Fast mapping of terahertz bursting thresholds and characteristics at synchrotron light sources

Dedicated optics with extremely short electron bunches enable synchrotron light sources to generate intense coherent THz radiation. The high degree of spatial compression in this so-called low-α$_{c}$ optics entails a complex longitudinal dynamics of the electron bunches, which can be probed studying the fluctuations in the emitted terahertz radiation caused by the microbunching instability (“bursting”). This article presents a “quasi-instantaneous” method for measuring the bursting characteristics by simultaneously collecting and evaluating the information from all bunches in a multibunch fill, reducing the measurement time from hours to seconds. This speed-up allows systematic studies of the bursting characteristics for various accelerator settings within a single fill of the machine, enabling a comprehensive comparison of the measured bursting thresholds with theoretical predictions by the bunched-beam theory. This paper introduces the method and presents first results obtained at the ANKA synchrotron radiation facility

Rotation of planet-harbouring stars

The rotation rate of a star has important implications for the detectability, characterisation and stability of any planets that may be orbiting it. This chapter gives a brief overview of stellar rotation before describing the methods used to measure the rotation periods of planet host stars, the factors affecting the evolution of a star's rotation rate, stellar age estimates based on rotation, and an overview of the observed trends in the rotation properties of stars with planets.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures: Invited review to appear in 'Handbook of Exoplanets', Springer Reference Works, edited by Hans J. Deeg and Juan Antonio Belmont

Self-Organization of Muscle Cell Structure and Function

The organization of muscle is the product of functional adaptation over several length scales spanning from the sarcomere to the muscle bundle. One possible strategy for solving this multiscale coupling problem is to physically constrain the muscle cells in microenvironments that potentiate the organization of their intracellular space. We hypothesized that boundary conditions in the extracellular space potentiate the organization of cytoskeletal scaffolds for directed sarcomeregenesis. We developed a quantitative model of how the cytoskeleton of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes organizes with respect to geometric cues in the extracellular matrix. Numerical results and in vitro assays to control myocyte shape indicated that distinct cytoskeletal architectures arise from two temporally-ordered, organizational processes: the interaction between actin fibers, premyofibrils and focal adhesions, as well as cooperative alignment and parallel bundling of nascent myofibrils. Our results suggest that a hierarchy of mechanisms regulate the self-organization of the contractile cytoskeleton and that a positive feedback loop is responsible for initiating the break in symmetry, potentiated by extracellular boundary conditions, is required to polarize the contractile cytoskeleton

Shared genetic background between children and adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by age-inappropriate symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity that persist into adulthood in the majority of the diagnosed children. Despite several risk factors during childhood predicting the persistence of ADHD symptoms into adulthood, the genetic architecture underlying the trajectory of ADHD over time is still unclear. We set out to study the contribution of common genetic variants to the risk for ADHD across the lifespan by conducting meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies on persistent ADHD in adults and ADHD in childhood separately and jointly, and by comparing the genetic background between them in a total sample of 17,149 cases and 32,411 controls. Our results show nine new independent loci and support a shared contribution of common genetic variants to ADHD in children and adults. No subgroup heterogeneity was observed among children, while this group consists of future remitting and persistent individuals. We report similar patterns of genetic correlation of ADHD with other ADHD-related datasets and different traits and disorders among adults, children, and when combining both groups. These findings confirm that persistent ADHD in adults is a neurodevelopmental disorder and extend the existing hypothesis of a shared genetic architecture underlying ADHD and different traits to a lifespan perspective