Construction and testing of an 11.4 GHz dielectric structure based travelling wave accelerator

One major challenge in constructing a dielectric loaded traveling wave accelerator powered by an external rf power source is the difficulty in achieving efficient coupling. In this paper, we report that we have achieved high efficiency broadband coupling by using a combination of a tapered dielectric section and a carefully adjusted coupling slot. We are currently constructing an 11.4 GHz accelerator structure loaded with a permitivity=20 dielectric. Bench testing has demonstrated a coupling efficiency in excess of 95% with bandwidth of 600 MHz. The final setup will be tested at high power at SLAC using an X-band klystron rf source

Radio Frequency Notch Filter Utilizing Fiber Optic Laser Diode Delay Line

A wide band, laser-diode/fiber-optic transmission line (FOL) has been developed which represents a potentially useful stochastic cooling notch filter element. Because of its small size and lack of need for sophisticated support equipment the FOL presents a viable alternative to both conventional and super conducting coaxial line notch filters. This note summarizes the characteristics of the FOL and of notch filter performance achieved with its use

Design and construction of a high charge and high current 1 - 1/2 cell L-band RF photocathode gun

The Argonne Wakefield Accelerator has been successfully commissioned and used for conducting wakefield experiments in dielectric loaded structures and plasmas. Although the initial wakefield experiments were successful, higher drive beam quality would substantially improve the wakefield accelerating gradients. In this paper we present a new 1-1/2 cell L-band photocathode RF gun design. This gun will produce 10-100 nC beam with 2-5 ps rms pulse length and normalized emittance less than 100 mm mrad. The final gun design and numerical simulations of the beam dynamics are presented

The role of electronic correlation in the Si(100) reconstruction: a quantum Monte Carlo study

Recent low-temperature scanning tunneling experiments have challenged the generally accepted picture of buckled silicon dimers as the ground state reconstruction of the Si(100) surface. Together with the symmetric dimer model of the surface suggested by quantum chemistry calculations on small clusters, these findings question our general understanding of electronic correlations at surfaces and its proper description within density functional theory. We present quantum Monte Carlo calculations on large cluster models of the symmetric and buckled surface, and conclude that buckling remains energetically more favorable even when the present-day best treatment of electronic correlation is employed.Comment: 5 pages, Revtex, 10 figure

Filters for stochastic cooling of longitudinal beam emittance

The shorted stub filter (SSF) has been used extensively to provide the electronics gain shaping for stochastic cooling of longitudinal beam emittance. The repetitive notch of this filter results from the cancellation of the incident signal by the reflected signal at frequencies where the cable electrical length equals an integer number of half wavelengths. Variations in notch depth of the SSF have been approximately compensated by a rather complicated system. Dispersion of the notch frequency resulting from variation of the phase velocity can also be approximately corrected using tuned imperfections in the shorted cable. Dispersion due to imperfections in the coaxial cable can be quite significant and can only be compensated for by costly construction techniques. This paper describes another type of notch filter. Although this filter has been mentioned previously, this analysis demonstrates the advantages of this filter in providing small notch dispersion and other properties necessary for stochastic cooling systems. Because this filter uses only forward signals, it is quite insensitive to imperfections in cables and components, and can therefore be constructed from commercially available components

Slot-coupled beam-signal-pickup development at Argonne National Laboratory

The overall performance of slot couplers, at least for frequenciees below 2 GHz, can probably not match that of stripline based pickups. A measured, typical coupling at 2 GHz correesponds to about 6 to 7 ohms/slot-pair and produces about 8/sup 0/ phase shift/slot on the TEM line. Suppose a 12 to 14 slot array were constructed with these parameters. It would have a total 90/sup 0/ phase shift at about 1.7 GHz, and the coupling would be about 80 ohms at 2.0 GHz. Such an array would be 30 cm long. In a 10 m long straight section, one could place perhaps 25 such modules. After power adding, the net coupling would be about 80 x ..sqrt..25 = 400 ohms. This is 75% of the value which can be obtained by stripline structures (e.g. the FNAL Tevatron-I design). On the other hand, stripline structures may be difficult to construct for, let's say, a 4 to 8 GHz band. Slot coupled devices may then prove to be the more attractive choice. Slot couplers for these higher frequencies will be the subject of our R and D program at this time in the future

Improvements to the APBS biomolecular solvation software suite

The Adaptive Poisson-Boltzmann Solver (APBS) software was developed to solve the equations of continuum electrostatics for large biomolecular assemblages that has provided impact in the study of a broad range of chemical, biological, and biomedical applications. APBS addresses three key technology challenges for understanding solvation and electrostatics in biomedical applications: accurate and efficient models for biomolecular solvation and electrostatics, robust and scalable software for applying those theories to biomolecular systems, and mechanisms for sharing and analyzing biomolecular electrostatics data in the scientific community. To address new research applications and advancing computational capabilities, we have continually updated APBS and its suite of accompanying software since its release in 2001. In this manuscript, we discuss the models and capabilities that have recently been implemented within the APBS software package including: a Poisson-Boltzmann analytical and a semi-analytical solver, an optimized boundary element solver, a geometry-based geometric flow solvation model, a graph theory based algorithm for determining p$K_a$ values, and an improved web-based visualization tool for viewing electrostatics

Observations of Microwave Continuum Emission from Air Shower Plasmas

We investigate a possible new technique for microwave measurements of ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) extensive air showers which relies on detection of expected continuum radiation in the microwave range, caused by free-electron collisions with neutrals in the tenuous plasma left after the passage of the shower. We performed an initial experiment at the AWA (Argonne Wakefield Accelerator) laboratory in 2003 and measured broadband microwave emission from air ionized via high energy electrons and photons. A follow-up experiment at SLAC (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center) in summer of 2004 confirmed the major features of the previous AWA observations with better precision and made additional measurements relevant to the calorimetric capabilities of the method. Prompted by these results we built a prototype detector using satellite television technology, and have made measurements indicating possible detection of cosmic ray extensive air showers. The method, if confirmed by experiments now in progress, could provide a high-duty cycle complement to current nitrogen fluorescence observations of UHECR, which are limited to dark, clear nights. By contrast, decimeter microwave observations can be made both night and day, in clear or cloudy weather, or even in the presence of moderate precipitation.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figure