OPTIMIZING RF LINACS AS DRIVERS FOR INVERSE COMPTON SOURCES: THE ELI-NP CASE

The design guide-lines of RF Linacs to fulfil the requirements of high spectral density Inverse Compton Sources for the photo-nuclear science are mostly taken from the expertise coming from high brightness electron Linacs driving X-ray FEL's. The main difference is the quest for maximum phase space density (instead of peak brightness), but many common issues and techniques are exploited, in order to achieve an optimum design and layout for the machine. A relevant example in this field is the design of the hybrid C-band multi-bunch RF Linacs for the ELI-NP Gamma Beam System, aiming at improving by two orders of magnitude the present state of the art in spectral density available for the gamma-ray beam produced

The future search for low-frequency axions and new physics with the FLASH resonant cavity experiment at Frascati National Laboratories

We present a proposal for a new experiment, the FINUDA magnet for Light Axion SearcH (FLASH), a large resonant-cavity haloscope in a high static magnetic field which is planned to probe new physics in the form of dark matter (DM) axions, scalar fields, chameleons, hidden photons, as well as high frequency gravitational waves (GWs). Concerning the QCD axion, FLASH will search for these particles as the DM in the mass range (0.49-1.49) ueV, thus filling the mass gap between the ranges covered by other planned searches. A dedicated Microstrip SQUID operating at ultra-cryogenic temperatures will amplify the signal. The frequency range accessible overlaps with the Very High Frequency (VHF) range of the radio wave spectrum and allows for a search in GWs in the frequency range (100-300) MHz. The experiment will make use of the cryogenic plant and magnet of the FINUDA experiment at INFN Frascati National Laboratories near Rome (Italy); the operations needed to restore the functionalities of the apparatus are currently underway. We present the setup of the experiment and the sensitivity forecasts for the detection of axions, scalar fields, chameleons, hidden photons, and GWs

RF deflector design and measurements for the longitudinal and transverse phase space characterization at SPARC

The six-dimensional beam phase space at the exit of a photoinjector can be completely characterized by means of an RF deflector and a dispersive system. In this paper we summarize the main features of the use of an RF deflector to measure aspects of the longitudinal and transverse phase space in an ultra-short electron beam. In particular we illustrate these measurements through the simulation of experiments currently under development at the SPARC photoinjector. We also discuss the design procedure followed to design the RF deflector for SPARC. This device is a five-cell structure operating on the pi mode at 2.856 GHz. Finally, we report and discuss the cold-test measurement results on a full scale aluminum prototype. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Design of the Diagnostic Stations for the ELI-NP Compton Gamma Source

A high brightness electron Linac is being built in the Compton Gamma Source at the ELI Nuclear Physics facility in Romania. To achieve the design luminosity, a train of 32 bunches, 16 ns spaced, with a nominal charge of 250 pC will collide with the laser beam in the interaction point. Electron beam spot size is measured with optical transition radiation (OTR) profile monitors. Furthermore, OTR angular distribution strongly depends on beam energy. Since OTR screens are typically placed in several positions along the Linac to monitor beam envelope, one may perform a distributed energy measurement along the machine. This will be useful, for instance, during the commissioning phase of the GBS in order to verify the correct functionality of the C-Band accelerating structures, due to the fact that there are OTR screens after each accelerating module. This paper deals with the studies of different optic configurations to achieve the field of view, resolution and accuracy in order to measure the energy of the beam. Several configurations of the optical detection line will be studied with simulation tools (e.g. Zemax)

Simulation of the transition radiation transport through an optic system

Optical Transition Radiation (OTR) screens are widely used for beam profile measurements. The radiation is emitted when a charged particle beam crosses the boundary between two media with different optical properties. The main advantages of OTR are the instantaneous emission process allowing fast single shot measurements (i.e. bunch by bunch measurements in a multi bunch machine), and the good linearity with the beam charge (if coherent effects can be neglected). Furthermore, OTR angular distribution strongly depends on beam energy. Since OTR screens are typically placed in several positions along the Linac to monitor beam envelope, one may perform a distributed energy measurement along the machine: this will be useful, for instance, during the commissioning phase of a machine. This paper deals with the studies of an algorithm to optimize the generation and the transport of the transition radiation through an optic system using the simulation tool Zemax. The algorithm, in combination with a particle tracking code (i.e. Elegant), will allow to simulate the radiation generated by a beam and, so, to take into account beam divergence and energy spread or chromatic effects in the optic system

Laser-Plasma Acceleration with FLAME and ILIL Ultraintense Lasers

We report on the development of radiation and electron sources based on laser-plasma acceleration for biomedical and nuclear applications, using both the table top TW laser at ILIL and the 220 TW FLAME laser system at LNF. We use the ILIL laser to produce wakefield electrons in a self-focusing dominated regime in a mm scale gas-jet to generate large, uniform beams of MeV electrons for electron radiography and radiobiology applications. This acceleration regime is described in detail and key parameters are given to establish reproducible and reliable operation of this source. We use the FLAME laser to drive laser-plasma acceleration in a cm-scale gas target to obtain stable production of >100 MeV range electrons to drive a Thomson scattering ɣ-ray source for nuclear applications

Beam Energy Measurements With a Optical Transition Radiation for the ELI-NP Compton Gamma Source

A high brightness electron LINAC is being built in the Compton Gamma Source at the ELI Nuclear Physics facility in Romania. To achieve the design luminosity, a train of 32 bunches, 16 ns spaced, with a nominal charge of 250 pC will collide with the laser beam in the interaction point at two electron beam energies, namely 280 MeV and 720 MeV. Electron beam spot size is measured with optical transition radiation (OTR) profile monitors. The paper deals with the possibility of using the OTR monitors to measure also beam energy along the machine; such measurements may help monitoring the accelerating sections performances, especially when the whole bunch train is being accelerated. We discuss the measurement principle, the expected accuracy and the main characteristic of the optical line to retrieve the angular distribution of the emitted radiation