517 research outputs found
The end-to-end testbed of the Optical Metrology System on-board LISA Pathfinder
LISA Pathfinder is a technology demonstration mission for the Laser
Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). The main experiment on-board LISA
Pathfinder is the so-called LISA Technology Package (LTP) which has the aim to
measure the differential acceleration between two free-falling test masses with
an accuracy of 3x10^(-14) ms^(-2)/sqrt[Hz] between 1 mHz and 30 mHz. This
measurement is performed interferometrically by the Optical Metrology System
(OMS) on-board LISA Pathfinder. In this paper we present the development of an
experimental end-to-end testbed of the entire OMS. It includes the
interferometer and its sub-units, the interferometer back-end which is a
phasemeter and the processing of the phasemeter output data. Furthermore,
3-axes piezo actuated mirrors are used instead of the free-falling test masses
for the characterisation of the dynamic behaviour of the system and some parts
of the Drag-free and Attitude Control System (DFACS) which controls the test
masses and the satellite. The end-to-end testbed includes all parts of the LTP
that can reasonably be tested on earth without free-falling test masses. At its
present status it consists mainly of breadboard components. Some of those have
already been replaced by Engineering Models of the LTP experiment. In the next
steps, further Engineering Models and Flight Models will also be inserted in
this testbed and tested against well characterised breadboard components. The
presented testbed is an important reference for the unit tests and can also be
used for validation of the on-board experiment during the mission
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Toolkit for simulated commissioning of storage-ring light sources and application to the advanced light source upgrade accumulator
We present a new accelerator toolbox (AT)-based toolkit for simulating the commissioning of light-source storage rings. The toolkit provides a framework for supporting high-level scripts to represent with realism the various procedures (e.g., orbit and optics correction, beam-based alignment, etc.) encountered during commissioning and is designed to mirror as closely as possible the reality as seen from the control room. Emphasis is placed on the inclusion of a comprehensive set of error sources and faithful modeling of beam diagnostics. The toolkit capabilities are demonstrated in an application to the recent design and commissioning studies of the Advanced Light Source Upgrade (ALS-U) Accumulator Ring, a short-time successful commissioning of which will be critical to the overall ALS-U project success
AMS measurements of cosmogenic and supernova-ejected radionuclides in deep-sea sediment cores
Samples of two deep-sea sediment cores from the Indian Ocean are analyzed
with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) to search for traces of recent
supernova activity around 2 Myr ago. Here, long-lived radionuclides, which are
synthesized in massive stars and ejected in supernova explosions, namely 26Al,
53Mn and 60Fe, are extracted from the sediment samples. The cosmogenic isotope
10Be, which is mainly produced in the Earths atmosphere, is analyzed for dating
purposes of the marine sediment cores. The first AMS measurement results for
10Be and 26Al are presented, which represent for the first time a detailed
study in the time period of 1.7-3.1 Myr with high time resolution. Our first
results do not support a significant extraterrestrial signal of 26Al above
terrestrial background. However, there is evidence that, like 10Be, 26Al might
be a valuable isotope for dating of deep-sea sediment cores for the past few
million years.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of the Heavy Ion Accelerator
Symposium on Fundamental and Applied Science, 2013, will be published by the
EPJ Web of conference
Assessment of the radiological impact of a decommissioning nuclear power plant in Italy
The assessment of the radiological impact of a decommissioning Nuclear Power
Plant is presented here through the results of an environmental monitoring
survey carried out in the area surrounding the Garigliano Power Plant. The
levels of radioactivity in soil, water, air and other environmental matrices
are shown, in which {\alpha}, {\beta} and {\gamma} activity and {\gamma}
equivalent dose rate are measured. Radioactivity levels of the samples from the
Garigliano area are analyzed and then compared to those from a control zone
situated more than 100 km away. Moreover, a comparison is made with a previous
survey held in 2001. The analyses and comparisons show no significant
alteration in the radiological characteristics of the area surroundings the
plant, with an overall radioactivity depending mainly from the global fallout
and natural sources
Assessment of the radiological impact of a decommissioning nuclear power plant in Italy
The assessment of the radiological impact of a decommissioning Nuclear Power
Plant is presented here through the results of an environmental monitoring
survey carried out in the area surrounding the Garigliano Power Plant. The
levels of radioactivity in soil, water, air and other environmental matrices
are shown, in which {\alpha}, {\beta} and {\gamma} activity and {\gamma}
equivalent dose rate are measured. Radioactivity levels of the samples from the
Garigliano area are analyzed and then compared to those from a control zone
situated more than 100 km away. Moreover, a comparison is made with a previous
survey held in 2001. The analyses and comparisons show no significant
alteration in the radiological characteristics of the area surroundings the
plant, with an overall radioactivity depending mainly from the global fallout
and natural sources.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, 2 table
Multiple dimensions of excessive daytime sleepiness
Background: In this study we investigated subjective measures of sleepiness and related our findings to dimensions of affect, fatigue, emotion, mood and quality of life based on a hypothetical multidimensional model of sleepiness. Methods: Patients referred to a sleep clinic were assessed regarding their excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), sleep complaints, routine and symptoms. Age, gender and body mass index (BMI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS), the Samn-Perelli fatigue Scale (SPS), the Global Vigor and Affect Scale (GVS and GAS, respectively), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-A and HADS-D, respectively), and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PAS and NAS, respectively) scores were recorded. Results: Fifty patients [25 male, 45.2 (18.7) years] completed the questionnaires. The ESS scores were positively correlated with SSS, SPS, HADS-A, HADS-D and NAS scores and negatively with GVS and GAS scores (P<0.05). The SPS (P<0.001) and HADS-A scores (P=0.002) were independently associated with the ESS scores (R2=0.532, adjusted R2 =0.4794, P<0.001). Conclusions: A model of sleepiness that assesses dimensions of fatigue and anxiety could explain the symptom of subjective sleepiness better than the isolated use of the ESS
Symmetric achromatic low-beta collider interaction region design concept
We present a new symmetry-based concept for an achromatic low-beta collider
interaction region design. A specially-designed symmetric Chromaticity
Compensation Block (CCB) induces an angle spread in the passing beam such that
it cancels the chromatic kick of the final focusing quadrupoles. Two such CCBs
placed symmetrically around an interaction point allow simultaneous
compensation of the 1st-order chromaticities and chromatic beam smear at the IP
without inducing significant 2nd-order aberrations to the particle trajectory.
We first develop an analytic description of this approach and explicitly
formulate 2nd-order aberration compensation conditions at the interaction
point. The concept is next applied to develop an interaction region design for
the ion collider ring of an electron-ion collider. We numerically evaluate
performance of the design in terms of momentum acceptance and dynamic aperture.
The advantages of the new concept are illustrated by comparing it to the
conventional distributed-sextupole chromaticity compensation scheme.Comment: 12 pages, 17 figures, to be submitted to Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beam
Relationship between 129I and 127I contents in bovine thyroid glands from Argentina
129I/127I ratios and iodine concentrations in bovine thyroids stemming from Argentina were determined by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and gas chromatography (GC), respectively. From these measurements, a relationship of the 129I/127I ratio with iodine content in the gland was obtained. A weak correlation between the two isotopes was found, suggesting that 129I re-emission from the ocean is not the only process for the 129I deposition in Argentina. Moreover, contributions to the total 129I inventory in the Southern hemisphere from both natural and anthropogenic sources were theoretically studied. Surface compartments present similar contribution from natural sources and nuclear explosions fallout.Fil: Negri, Agustin Eduardo. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez Niello, Jorge Oscar. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Wallner, A.. Universidad de Viena; AustriaFil: Arazi, Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; ArgentinaFil: Steier, P.. Universidad de Viena; Austri
Ultrasensitive search for long-lived superheavy nuclides in the mass range A=288 to A=300 in natural Pt, Pb, and Bi
Theoretical models of superheavy elements (SHEs) predict a region of increased stability around the proton and neutron shell closures of Z = 114 and N = 184. Therefore a sensitive search for nuclides in the mass range from A = 288 to A = 300 was performed in natural platinum, lead, and bismuth, covering long-lived isotopes of Eka-Pt (Ds, Z = 110), Eka-Pb (Z = 114), and Eka-Bi (Z = 115). Measurements with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) at the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA) established upper limits for these SHE isotopes in Pt, Pb, and Bi with abundances of <2×10-15, <5×10-14, and <5×10-13, respectively. These results complement earlier searches for SHEs with AMS at VERA in natural thorium and gold, which now amounts to a total number of 37 SHE nuclides having been explored with AMS. In none of our measurements was evidence found for the existence of SHEs in nature at the reported sensitivity level. Even though a few events were observed in the window for Ek293a-Bi, a particularly strong pileup background did not allow a definite SHE isotope identification. The present result sets limits on nuclides around the center of the island of stability, essentially ruling out the existence of SHE nuclides with half-lives longer than ∼150 million years
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