A stochastic-hydrodynamic model of halo formation in charged particle beams

The formation of the beam halo in charged particle accelerators is studied in the framework of a stochastic-hydrodynamic model for the collective motion of the particle beam. In such a stochastic-hydrodynamic theory the density and the phase of the charged beam obey a set of coupled nonlinear hydrodynamic equations with explicit time-reversal invariance. This leads to a linearized theory that describes the collective dynamics of the beam in terms of a classical Schr\"odinger equation. Taking into account space-charge effects, we derive a set of coupled nonlinear hydrodynamic equations. These equations define a collective dynamics of self-interacting systems much in the same spirit as in the Gross-Pitaevskii and Landau-Ginzburg theories of the collective dynamics for interacting quantum many-body systems. Self-consistent solutions of the dynamical equations lead to quasi-stationary beam configurations with enhanced transverse dispersion and transverse emittance growth. In the limit of a frozen space-charge core it is then possible to determine and study the properties of stationary, stable core-plus-halo beam distributions. In this scheme the possible reproduction of the halo after its elimination is a consequence of the stationarity of the transverse distribution which plays the role of an attractor for every other distribution.Comment: 18 pages, 20 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. ST A

Short-term effects of focal muscle vibration on motor recovery after acute stroke: a pilot randomized sham-controlled study

Repetitive focal muscle vibration (rMV) is known to promote neural plasticity and long-lasting motor recovery in chronic stroke patients. Those structural and functional changes within the motor network underlying motor recovery occur in the very first hours after stroke. Nonetheless, to our knowledge, no rMV-based studies have been carried out in acute stroke patients so far, and the clinical benefit of rMV in this phase of stroke is yet to be determined. The aim of this randomized double-blind sham-controlled study is to investigate the short-term effect of rMV on motor recovery in acute stroke patients. Out of 22 acute stroke patients, 10 were treated with the rMV (vibration group–VG), while 12 underwent the sham treatment (control group–CG). Both treatments were carried out for 3 consecutive days, starting within 72 h of stroke onset; each daily session consisted of three 10-min treatments (for each treated limb), interspersed with a 1-min interval. rMV was delivered using a specific device (Cro®System, NEMOCO srl, Italy). The transducer was applied perpendicular to the target muscle's belly, near its distal tendon insertion, generating a 0.2–0.5 mm peak-to-peak sinusoidal displacement at a frequency of 100 Hz. All participants also underwent a daily standard rehabilitation program. The study protocol underwent local ethics committee approval (ClinicalTrial.gov NCT03697525) and written informed consent was obtained from all of the participants. With regard to the different pre-treatment clinical statuses, VG patients showed significant clinical improvement with respect to CG-treated patients among the NIHSS (p < 0.001), Fugl-Meyer (p = 0.001), and Motricity Index (p < 0.001) scores. In addition, when the upper and lower limb scales scores were compared between the two groups, VG patients were found to have a better clinical improvement at all the clinical end points. This study provides the first evidence that rMV is able to improve the motor outcome in a cohort of acute stroke patients, regardless of the pretreatment clinical status. Being a safe and well-tolerated intervention, which is easy to perform at the bedside, rMV may represent a valid complementary non-pharmacological therapy to promote motor recovery in acute stroke patients

Use of a micro-freeze dryer for the development of a freeze-drying process.

This paper deals with the use of a small-scale freeze-dryer where few vials are loaded, e.g. 19, each 10 mL, or 7, each 20 mL. The system has a metallic ring surrounding the batch of vials, in contact with the external ones: its temperature is manipulated independently from that of the shelf. Experiments were carried out using two sucrose solutions (5% and 10% w/w), aiming to verify the homogeneity of the batch, focusing on both product temperature and sublimation flux

Spherically symmetric solutions in f(R)-gravity via Noether Symmetry Approach

We search for spherically symmetric solutions of f(R) theories of gravity via the Noether Symmetry Approach. A general formalism in the metric framework is developed considering a point-like f(R)-Lagrangian where spherical symmetry is required. Examples of exact solutions are given.Comment: 17 pages, to appear in Class. Quant. Gra

Heavy Ion Driver With Non-Scaling FFAG.

We explore the possibility of using two non-scaling FFAG accelerators for a high power heavy-ion driver as an alternative to a superconducting Linac. Ions of Uranium 238 are accelerated to a kinetic energy of 400 MeVIu and a total power of 400 kWatt. Different modes of acceleration have been studied: at 1 and 10 kHz repetition rate, and for Continuous Wave production. The following is a summary of the study. More details of the study can be found in reference 2

Quantitative and Rapid DNA Detection by Laser Transmission Spectroscopy

Laser transmission spectroscopy (LTS) is a quantitative and rapid in vitro technique for measuring the size, shape, and number of nanoparticles in suspension. Here we report on the application of LTS as a novel detection method for species-specific DNA where the presence of one invasive species was differentiated from a closely related invasive sister species. The method employs carboxylated polystyrene nanoparticles functionalized with short DNA fragments that are complimentary to a specific target DNA sequence. In solution, the DNA strands containing targets bind to the tags resulting in a sizable increase in the nanoparticle diameter, which is rapidly and quantitatively measured using LTS. DNA strands that do not contain the target sequence do not bind and produce no size change of the carboxylated beads. The results show that LTS has the potential to become a quantitative and rapid DNA detection method suitable for many real-world applications

Tracker fields from nonminimally coupled theory

We extend the concept of quintessence to a flat nonminimally coupled scalar - tensor theories of gravity. By means of Noether's symmetries for the cosmological pointlike Lagrangian L, it is possible to exhibit exact solutions for a class of models depending on a free parameter s. This parameter comes out in the relationship existing between the coupling F(\phi) and the potential V(\phi) because of such a symmetry for L. When inverse power law potentials are taken in account, a whole family of exact solutions parametrized by such an s is proposed as a class of tracker fields, and some considerations are made about them.Comment: 17 pages, submitted to Physical Review

A direct kinematical derivation of the relativistic Sagnac effect for light or matter beams

The Sagnac time delay and the corresponding Sagnac phase shift, for relativistic matter and electromagnetic beams counter-propagating in a rotating interferometer, are deduced on the ground of relativistic kinematics. This purely kinematical approach allows to explain the ''universality'' of the effect, namely the fact that the Sagnac time difference does not depend on the physical nature of the interfering beams. The only prime requirement is that the counter-propagating beams have the same velocity with respect to any Einstein synchronized local co-moving inertial frame.Comment: 10 pages, 1 EPS figure, to appear in General Relativity and Gravitatio

LHC Optics Measurement with Proton Tracks Detected by the Roman Pots of the TOTEM Experiment

Precise knowledge of the beam optics at the LHC is crucial to fulfil the physics goals of the TOTEM experiment, where the kinematics of the scattered protons is reconstructed with the near-beam telescopes -- so-called Roman Pots (RP). Before being detected, the protons' trajectories are influenced by the magnetic fields of the accelerator lattice. Thus precise understanding of the proton transport is of key importance for the experiment. A novel method of optics evaluation is proposed which exploits kinematical distributions of elastically scattered protons observed in the RPs. Theoretical predictions, as well as Monte Carlo studies, show that the residual uncertainty of this optics estimation method is smaller than 0.25 percent.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, 5 figures, to be submitted to New J. Phy

Proton-proton elastic scattering at the LHC energy of {\surd} = 7 TeV

Proton-proton elastic scattering has been measured by the TOTEM experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at {\surd}s = 7 TeV in dedicated runs with the Roman Pot detectors placed as close as seven times the transverse beam size (sbeam) from the outgoing beams. After careful study of the accelerator optics and the detector alignment, |t|, the square of four-momentum transferred in the elastic scattering process, has been determined with an uncertainty of d t = 0.1GeV p|t|. In this letter, first results of the differential cross section are presented covering a |t|-range from 0.36 to 2.5GeV2. The differential cross-section in the range 0.36 < |t| < 0.47 GeV2 is described by an exponential with a slope parameter B = (23.6{\pm}0.5stat {\pm}0.4syst)GeV-2, followed by a significant diffractive minimum at |t| = (0.53{\pm}0.01stat{\pm}0.01syst)GeV2. For |t|-values larger than ~ 1.5GeV2, the cross-section exhibits a power law behaviour with an exponent of -7.8_\pm} 0.3stat{\pm}0.1syst. When compared to predictions based on the different available models, the data show a strong discriminative power despite the small t-range covered.Comment: 12pages, 5 figures, CERN preprin