292 research outputs found
First hydrogen operation of NIO1: characterization of the source plasma by means of an optical emission spectroscopy diagnostic
NIO1 is a compact and flexible radiofrequency H- ion source, developed by
Consorzio RFX and INFN-LNL. Aim of the experimentation on NIO1 is the
optimization of both the production of negative ions and their extraction and
beam optics. In the initial phase of its commissioning, NIO1 was operated with
nitrogen, but now the source is regularly operated also with hydrogen. To
evaluate the source performances an optical emission spectroscopy diagnostic
was installed. The system includes a low resolution spectrometer in the
spectral range of 300-850 nm and a high resolution (50 pm) one, to study
respectively the atomic and the molecular emissions in the visible range. The
spectroscopic data have been interpreted also by means of a
collisional-radiative model developed at IPP Garching. Besides the diagnostic
hardware and the data analysis methods, the paper presents the first plasma
measurements across a transition to the full H mode, in a hydrogen discharge.
The characteristic signatures of this transition in the plasma parameters are
described, in particular the sudden increase of the light emitted from the
plasma above a certain power threshold.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. Contributed paper for the ICIS 2015 conference.
Accepted manuscrip
Rotating Convection in an Anisotropic System
We study the stability of patterns arising in rotating convection in weakly
anisotropic systems using a modified Swift-Hohenberg equation. The anisotropy,
either an endogenous characteristic of the system or induced by external
forcing, can stabilize periodic rolls in the K\"uppers-Lortz chaotic regime.
For the particular case of rotating convection with time-modulated rotation
where recently, in experiment, chiral patterns have been observed in otherwise
K\"uppers-Lortz-unstable regimes, we show how the underlying base-flow breaks
the isotropy, thereby affecting the linear growth-rate of convection rolls in
such a way as to stabilize spirals and targets. Throughout we compare
analytical results to numerical simulations of the Swift-Hohenberg equation
Beamlet scraping and its influence on the beam divergence at the BATMAN Upgrade test facility
For the ITER fusion experiment, two neutral beam injectors are required for plasma heating and current drive. Each injector supplies a power of about 17 MW, obtained from neutralization of 40 A (46 A), 1 MeV (0.87 MeV) negative deuterium (hydrogen) ions. The full beam is composed of 1280 beamlets, formed in 16 beamlet groups, and strict requirements apply to the beamlet core divergence (<7 mrad). The test facility BATMAN Upgrade uses an ITER-like grid with one beamlet group, which consists of 70 apertures. In a joint campaign performed by IPP and Consorzio RFX to better assess the beam optics, the divergence of a single beamlet was compared to a group of beamlets at BATMAN Upgrade. The single beamlet is measured with a carbon fiber composite tile calorimeter and by beam emission spectroscopy, whereas the divergence of the group of beamlets is measured by beam emission spectroscopy only. When increasing the RF power at low extraction voltages, the divergence of the beamlet and of the group of beamlets is continuously decreasing and no inflection point toward an overperveant beam is found. At the same time, scraping of the extracted ion beam at the second grid (extraction grid) takes place at higher RF power, supported by the absence of the normally seen linear behavior between the measured negative ion density in the plasma close to the extraction system and the measured extracted ion current. Beside its influence on the divergence, beamlet scraping needs to be considered for the determination of the correct perveance and contributes to the measured coextracted electron current
Seeing two faces together: preference formation in humans and rhesus macaques
Humans, great apes and old world monkeys show selective attention to faces depending on conspecificity, familiarity, and social status supporting the view that primates share similar face processing mechanisms. Although many studies have been done on face scanning strategy in monkeys and humans, the mechanisms influencing viewing preference have received little attention. To determine how face categories influence viewing preference in humans and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), we performed two eye-tracking experiments using a visual preference task whereby pairs of faces from different species were presented simultaneously. The results indicated that viewing time was significantly influenced by the pairing of the face categories. Humans showed a strong bias towards an own-race face in an Asian–Caucasian condition. Rhesus macaques directed more attention towards non-human primate faces when they were paired with human faces, regardless of the species. When rhesus faces were paired with faces from Barbary macaques
(Macaca sylvanus) or chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), the novel species’ faces attracted more attention. These results
indicate that monkeys’ viewing preferences, as assessed by a visual preference task, are modulated by several factors,
species and dominance being the most influential
Start of SPIDER operation towards ITER neutral beams
Heating Neutral Beam (HNB) Injectors will constitute the main plasma heating and current drive tool both in ITER and JT60-SA, which are the next major experimental steps for demonstrating nuclear fusion as viable energy source. In ITER, in order to achieve the required thermonuclear fusion power gain Q=10 for short pulse operation and Q=5 for long pulse operation (up to 3600s), two HNB injectors will be needed [1], each delivering a total power of about 16.5 MW into the magnetically-confined plasma, by means of neutral hydrogen or deuterium particles having a specific energy of about 1 MeV. Since only negatively charged particles can be efficiently neutralized at such energy, the ITER HNB injectors [2] will be based on negative ions, generated by caesium-catalysed surface conversion of atoms in a radio-frequency driven plasma source. A negative deuterium ion current of more than 40 A will be extracted, accelerated and focused in a multi-aperture, multi-stage electrostatic accelerator, having 1280 apertures (~ 14 mm diam.) and 5 acceleration stages (~200 kV each) [3]. After passing through a narrow gas-cell neutralizer, the residual ions will be deflected and discarded, whereas the neutralized particles will continue their trajectory through a duct into the tokamak vessels to deliver the required heating power to the ITER plasma for a pulse duration of about 3600 s. Although the operating principles and the implementation of the most critical parts of the injector have been tested in different experiments, the ITER NBI requirements have never been simultaneously attained. In order to reduce the risks and to optimize the design and operating procedures of the HNB for ITER, a dedicated Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) [4] has been promoted by the ITER Organization with the contribution of the European Union\u2019s Joint Undertaking for ITER and of the Italian Government, with the participation of the Japanese and Indian Domestic Agencies (JADA and INDA) and of several European laboratories, such as IPP-Garching, KIT-Karlsruhe, CCFE-Culham, CEA-Cadarache. The NBTF, nicknamed PRIMA, has been set up at Consorzio RFX in Padova, Italy [5]. The planned experiments will verify continuous HNB operation for one hour, under stringent requirements for beam divergence (< 7 mrad) and aiming (within 2 mrad). To study and optimise HNB performances, the NBTF includes two experiments: MITICA, full-scale NBI prototype with 1 MeV particle energy and SPIDER, with 100 keV particle energy and 40 A current, aiming at testing and optimizing the full-scale ion source. SPIDER will focus on source uniformity, negative ion current density and beam optics. In June 2018 the experimental operation of SPIDER has started
Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Austin: Enhanced oddball memory through differentiation, not isolation
Infants in Control: Rapid Anticipation of Action Outcomes in a Gaze-Contingent Paradigm
Infants' poor motor abilities limit their interaction with their environment and render studying infant cognition notoriously difficult. Exceptions are eye movements, which reach high accuracy early, but generally do not allow manipulation of the physical environment. In this study, real-time eye tracking is used to put 6- and 8-month-old infants in direct control of their visual surroundings to study the fundamental problem of discovery of agency, i.e. the ability to infer that certain sensory events are caused by one's own actions. We demonstrate that infants quickly learn to perform eye movements to trigger the appearance of new stimuli and that they anticipate the consequences of their actions in as few as 3 trials. Our findings show that infants can rapidly discover new ways of controlling their environment. We suggest that gaze-contingent paradigms offer effective new ways for studying many aspects of infant learning and cognition in an interactive fashion and provide new opportunities for behavioral training and treatment in infants
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