Effect of Bohm potential on a charged gas

Bohm's interpretation of Quantum Mechanics leads to the derivation of a Quantum Kinetic Equation (QKE): in the present work, propagation of waves in charged quantum gases is investigated starting from this QKE. Dispersion relations are derived for fully and weakly degenerate fermions and bosons (these latter above critical temperature), and the differences underlined. Use of a kinetic equation permits investigation of "Landau-type" damping: it is found that the presence of damping in fermion gases is dependent upon the degree of degeneracy, whereas it is always present in boson gases. In fully degenerate fermions a phenomenon appears that is akin to the "zero sound" propagation.Comment: 11 pages, no figures, pdf forma

Growth and equilibrium size of water droplets in air

A model is presented to describe the growth in time of the average water drop in supersaturated air, and predict their radius at equilibrium. Many previous works consider the growth of an isolated drop, whereas in the present work the effect of the presence of a large number of drops, with the ensuing depletion in water content in the surrounding air, is considered: it is shown that the effect of depletion is crucial to obtain the equilibrium radius. Preliminary results, obtained under some simplifying assumptions, are presented: expressions accounting for this depletion effect are given for the time evolution of the liquid-water temperature and of the number of water molecules in the drop and drop radius near equilibrium, and for their asymptotic equilibrium values

Analysis of unmitigated large break loss of coolant accidents using MELCOR code

In the framework of severe accident research activity developed by ENEA, a MELCOR nodalization of a generic Pressurized Water Reactor of 900 MWe has been developed. The aim of this paper is to present the analysis of MELCOR code calculations concerning two independent unmitigated large break loss of coolant accident transients, occurring in the cited type of reactor. In particular, the analysis and comparison between the transients initiated by an unmitigated double-ended cold leg rupture and an unmitigated double-ended hot leg rupture in the loop 1 of the primary cooling system is presented herein. This activity has been performed focusing specifically on the in-vessel phenomenology that characterizes this kind of accidents. The analysis of the thermal-hydraulic transient phenomena and the core degradation phenomena is therefore here presented. The analysis of the calculated data shows the capability of the code to reproduce the phenomena typical of these transients and permits their phenomenological study. A first sequence of main events is here presented and shows that the cold leg break transient results faster than the hot leg break transient because of the position of the break. Further analyses are in progress to quantitatively assess the results of the code nodalization for accident management strategy definition and fission product source term evaluation

Plasmonic lenses for tunable ultrafast electron emitters at the nanoscale

Simultaneous spatiotemporal confinement of energetic electron pulses to femtosecond and nanometer scales is a topic of great interest in the scientific community, given the potential impact of such developments across a wide spectrum of scientific and industrial applications. For example, in ultrafast electron scattering, nanoscale probes would enable accurate maps of structural dynamics in materials with nanoscale heterogeneity, thereby leading to an understanding of the role of boundaries and defects on macroscopic properties. On the other hand, advances in this field are mostly limited by the brightness and size of the electron source. We present the design, fabrication, and optical characterization of bullseye plasmonic lenses for next-generation ultrafast electron sources. Using electromagnetic simulations, we examine how the interplay between light-plasmon coupling, plasmon propagation, dispersion, and resonance governs the properties of the photoemitted electron pulse. We also illustrate how the pulse duration and strength can be tuned by geometric design and predict that sub-10-fs pulses with nanoscale diameter can be achieved. We then fabricate lenses in gold films and characterize their plasmonic properties using cathodoluminescence spectromicroscopy, demonstrating suitable plasmonic behavior for ultrafast nanoscale photoemission

Beam diagnostics for charge and position measurements in ELI-NP GBS

The advanced source of Gamma-ray photons to be built in Bucharest (Romania), as part of the ELI-NP European Research Infrastructure, will generate photons by Compton back-scattering in the collision between a multi-bunch electron beam and a high intensity recirculated laser pulse. An S-Band photoinjector and the following C-band Linac at a maximum energy of 720MeV, under construction by an European consortium (EurogammaS) led by INFN, will operate at 100Hz repetition rate with trains of 32 electron bunches, separated by 16ns and a 250pC nominal charge. The different BPMs and current transformers used to measure transverse beam position and charge along the LINAC are described. Design criteria, production status and bench test results of the charge and position pickups are reported in the paper, together with the related data acquisition systems

Monte-Carlo simulation with FLUKA for liquid and solid targets

Introduction Monte-Carlo simulations can be used to assess isotope production on small medical cyclotrons. These simulations calculate the particle interactions with electric and magnetic fields, as well as the nuclear reactions. The results can be used to predict both yields and isotopic contaminations and can aid in the optimum design of target material and target geometry [1,2]. FLUKA is a general-purpose tool widely used in many applications from accelerator shielding to target design, calorimetry, activation, dosimetry, detector design, neutrino physics, or radiotherapy [3,4]. In this work, we applied the Monte-Carlo code FLUKA to determine the accuracy of predicting yields of various isotopes as compared to experimental yields. Material and Methods The proton beam collimation system, as well as the liquid and solid target of the TR13 cyclotron at TRIUMF, has been modeled in FLUKA. The proton beam parameters were initially taken from the cyclotron design specifications and were optimized against experimental measurements from the TR13. Data from irradiations of different targets and with different beam currents were collected in order to account for average behavior, see FIG. 1. Yields for a pencil proton beam as well as a beam spread out in direction and energy have been calculated and have been compared to experimental results obtained with the TR13. Results and Conclusion The reactions listed in TABLE 1 were assessed. For most reactions a good agreement was found in the comparison between experimental and simulated saturation yield. TABLE 1 only shows the yields simulated with a proton beam with a spread in both direction and energy. In most cases, the simulated yield is slightly larger or comparable. Only the calculated yield for 55Co was significantly lower by a factor of 4.2. This is still a good agreement considering that FLUKA was originally a high-energy physics code. It may indicate that the FLUKA internal cross-section calculation for this isotope production needs some optimization. In summary, we conclude that FLUKA can be used as a tool for the prediction of isotope production as well as for target design

Plasmonic lenses for tunable ultrafast electron emitters at the nanoscale

Simultaneous spatiotemporal confinement of energetic electron pulses to femtosecond and nanometer scales is a topic of great interest in the scientific community, given the potential impact of such developments across a wide spectrum of scientific and industrial applications. For example, in ultrafast electron scattering, nanoscale probes would enable accurate maps of structural dynamics in materials with nanoscale heterogeneity, thereby leading to an understanding of the role of boundaries and defects on macroscopic properties. On the other hand, advances in this field are mostly limited by the brightness and size of the electron source. We present the design, fabrication, and optical characterization of bullseye plasmonic lenses for next-generation ultrafast electron sources. Using electromagnetic simulations, we examine how the interplay between light-plasmon coupling, plasmon propagation, dispersion, and resonance governs the properties of the photoemitted electron pulse. We also illustrate how the pulse duration and strength can be tuned by geometric design and predict that sub-10-fs pulses with nanoscale diameter can be achieved. We then fabricate lenses in gold films and characterize their plasmonic properties using cathodoluminescence spectromicroscopy, demonstrating suitable plasmonic behavior for ultrafast nanoscale photoemission