Full Energy Range Research Articles

Design of a triggerless readout electronics system for CDEX-50

Direct detection of light-mass dark matter is a frontier topic in international physics research. The reduction of system threshold is important in order to improve the sensitivity of light-mass dark matter detection. The scientific goal of the China Dark Matter Experiment (CDEX) at Jinping Underground Laboratory in China is to detect WIMPs utilizing a high-purity germanium array detector. CDEX-10 achieved the most sensitive results in the 4 to 5 GeV/c 2 range. CDEX-50 aims to achieve an energy threshold of 100 eV, which significantly increases data bandwidth and complicates the implementation of noise reduction algorithms, thereby posing challenges to the readout electronics system. In this paper, a triggerless readout electronics system based on FPGA-GPU is designed for CDEX-50, which can achieve full energy range detection from 100 eV to 10 MeV. A verification prototype of a triggerless electronics system utilizing a Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detector has been developed to test the performance of high-bandwidth transmission and data processing. The results demonstrate that the bit error rate for the high-speed transmission link of the triggerless readout electronics system is below 1015. Furthermore, the FPGA-GPU transmission bandwidth, utilizing P2P DMA, achieves 100.2 Gbps, and the mean filter implemented on the GPU is capable of processing a 64 Gbps data stream in real-time. These results provide foundation for the design of the triggerless readout electronics system for CDEX-50.

High-transmission spectrometer for rapid resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering (rRIXS) maps.

The design and first results of a high-transmission soft X-ray spectrometer operated at the X-SPEC double-undulator beamline of the KIT Light Source are presented. As a unique feature, particular emphasis was placed on optimizing the spectrometer transmission by maximizing the solid angle and the efficiencies of spectrometer gratings and detector. A CMOS detector, optimized for soft X-rays, allows for quantum efficiencies of 90% or above over the full energy range of the spectrometer, while simultaneously offering short readout times. Combining an optimized control system at the X-SPEC beamline with continuous energy scans (as opposed to step scans), the high transmission of the spectrometer, and the fast readout of the CMOS camera, enable the collection of entire rapid resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering maps in less than 1 min. Series of spectra at a fixed energy can be taken with a frequency of up to 5 Hz. Furthermore, the use of higher-order reflections allows a very wide energy range (45 to 2000 eV) to be covered with only two blazed gratings, while keeping the efficiency high and the resolving power E/ΔE above 1500 and 3000 with low- and high-energy gratings, respectively.

Decay study of Be11 with an optical time-projection chamber

The β decay of one-neutron halo nucleus Be11 was investigated using the Warsaw Optical Time Projection Chamber (OTPC) detector to measure β-delayed charged particles. The results of two experiments are reported. In the first one, carried out in LNS Catania, the absolute branching ratio for β-delayed α emission was measured by counting incoming Be11 ions stopped in the detector and the observed decays with the emission of α particle. The result of 3.27(46)% is in good agreement with the literature value. In the second experiment, performed at the HIE-ISOLDE facility at CERN, bunches containing several hundreds of Be11 ions were implanted into the OTPC detector followed by the detection of decays with the emission of charged particles. The energy spectrum of β-delayed α particles was determined in the full energy range. It was analyzed in the R-matrix framework and was found to be consistent with the literature. The best description of the spectrum was obtained assuming that the two 3/2+ and one 1/2+ states in B11 are involved in the transition. The search for β-delayed emission of protons was undertaken. Only the upper limit for the branching ratio for this process of (2.2±0.6stat±0.6sys)×10−6 could be determined. This value is in conflict with the result published by Ayyad [] but does agree with the limit reported by Riisager []. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Performance of the electromagnetic and hadronic prototype segments of the ALICE Forward Calorimeter

We present the performance of a full-length prototype of the ALICE Forward Calorimeter (FoCal). The detector is composed of a silicon-tungsten electromagnetic sampling calorimeter with longitudinal and transverse segmentation (FoCal-E) of about 20X 0 and a hadronic copper-scintillating-fiber calorimeter (FoCal-H) of about 5λ int. The data were taken in various test beam campaigns between 2021 and 2023 at the CERN PS and SPS beam lines with hadron beams up to energies of 350 GeV, and electron beams up to 300 GeV. Regarding FoCal-E, we report a comprehensive analysis of its response to minimum ionizing particles across all pad layers, employing various operational modes including different pre-amplifier and bias voltage settings. The longitudinal shower profile of electromagnetic showers is measured with a layer-wise segmentation of 1X 0. As a projection to the performance of the final detector in electromagnetic showers, we demonstrate linearity in the full energy range, and show that the energy resolution fulfills the requirements for the physics needs. Additionally, the performance to separate two-showers events was studied by quantifying the transverse shower width. Regarding FoCal-H, we report a detailed analysis of the response to hadron beams between 60 and 350 GeV. The results are compared to simulations obtained with a Geant4 model of the test beam setup, which in particular for FoCal-E are in good agreement with the data. The energy resolution of FoCal-E was found to be lower than 3% at energies larger than 100 GeV. The response of FoCal-H to hadron beams was found to be linear, albeit with a significant intercept that is about factor 2 larger than in simulations. Its resolution, which is non-Gaussian and generally larger than in simulations, was quantified using the FWHM, and decreases from about 16% at 100 GeV to about 11% at 350 GeV. The discrepancy to simulations, which is particularly evident at low hadron energies, needs to be further investigated.

Neutron Total Cross Sections of 232Th, 237Np, 235,238U, and 239Pu from 3 to 230 MeV

Neutron total cross-section data for 232Th, 237Np, 235,238U, and 239Pu were measured over the energy range of a few MeV up to 230 MeV at the Weapons Neutron Research Facility of the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. The results for 235U, 237Np, and 239Pu are the first to be reported over this full energy range. Our data are compared to the ENDF/B-VIII.0 and JENDL-5 evaluations and to selected previous data sets. These results provide neutron cross sections with small statistical uncertainties and low systematic errors to improve theoretical modeling and data evaluation for these nuclei.

Simulations of laser-driven strong-field QED with Ptarmigan: Resolving wavelength-scale interference andγ-ray polarization

Accurate modeling is necessary to support precision experiments investigating strong-field QED phenomena. This modeling is particularly challenging in the transition between the perturbative and nonperturbative regimes, where the normalized laser amplitude a0 is comparable to unity and wavelength-scale interference is significant. Here, we describe how to simulate nonlinear Compton scattering, Breit–Wheeler pair creation, and trident pair creation in this regime, using the Monte Carlo particle-tracking code Ptarmigan. This code simulates collisions between high-intensity lasers and beams of electrons or γ rays, primarily in the framework of the locally monochromatic approximation. We benchmark our simulation results against full QED calculations for pulsed plane waves and show that they are accurate at the level of a few per cent, across the full range of particle energies and laser intensities. This work extends our previous results to linearly polarized lasers and arbitrary polarized γ rays.

The applicability study and validation of TULIP code for full energy range spectrum

NECP-SARAX is a neutronics analysis code system for advanced reactor developed by Nuclear Engineering Computational Physics Laboratory of Xi'an Jiaotong University. In past few years, improvements have been implemented in TULIP code which is the cross-section generation module of NECP-SARAX, including the treatment of resonance interface, considering the self-shielding effect in non-resonance energy range, hyperfine group method and nuclear library with thermal scattering law. Previous studies show that NECP-SARAX has high performance in both fast and thermal spectrum system analysis. The accuracy of TULIP code in fast and thermal spectrum system analysis is demonstrated preliminarily. However, a systematic verification and validation is still necessary. In order to validate the applicability of TULIP code for full energy range, 147 fast spectrum critical experiment benchmarks and 170 thermal spectrum critical experiment benchmarks were selected from ICSBEP and used for analysis. The keff bias between TULIP code and reference value is less than 300 pcm for all fast spectrum benchmarks. And that bias keeps within 200 pcm for thermal spectrum benchmarks with neutron-moderating materials such as polyethylene, beryllium oxide, etc. The numerical results indicate that TULIP code has good performance for the analysis of fast and thermal spectrum system.

Isotopic production cross sections in proton-16O and proton-12C interactions for energies from 10 MeV/u to 100 GeV/u

Proton interactions with16O or 12C nuclei are frequent nuclear interaction leading to secondary radiation in tissues for space radiationandcancer therapy with protons or ion beams. The fragmentation of these ionsby protons produces a large number of heavy ion (A > 4) target or projectile fragments often with high ionization density. Here we develop an analytical model of energy dependent proton-16O and proton-12C cross sections for isotopic nuclei production. Using experimental data and a 2nd order optical modelan accurate formula for the absorption cross section from <10 MeV/u to >10 GeV/u is obtained. The energy dependence of theelemental and isotopiccross sections is modeled as multiplicities scaled toabsorption cross section with average isotopic fractions estimated from experimental data. We show that this approach results in accurateanalytic formulae for isotopic fragmentation cross sections over the full energy range in hadron therapy and space radiation protection studies.

Mechanical and Thermal Analysis of an HTS Superconducting Magnet for an Achromatic Gantry for Proton Therapy

The mechanical and thermal analysis of the superconducting magnets, forming an innovative fixed-field bending section for use in a proton therapy gantry, is presented here. The design concept has a large momentum acceptance, covering the full proton energy range of 70 to 220 MeV with fixed field in the superconducting magnets, and uses a simple magnet geometry based on double-pancake high temperature superconductor coils. The main planned steps for the assembly and fabrication of the magnets are discussed. The mechanical analyses of the magnet, with emphasis on the stress state of the conductor during the powering of the magnet, is here described. The thermal analysis investigating the adequacy of the copper structure surrounding the conductor to extract the heat deposited in the conductor during powering is also discussed in detail.

Effect of Bias Stress in Inkjet-Printed Polymer Thin-Film Transistors: Generation and Annihilation of Subgap Density of States

Here, we report investigations of the effects of bias stress on the density of states (DOS) in polymer thin-film transistors (PTFTs). As the active channel layer, these PTFTs employed an inkjet-printed semiconducting film of P8T2Z-C12 [poly (tetryldodecyloctathiophene-alt-didodecyl bithiazole)]. In positive bias stress tests, the threshold voltage (VT) of the inkjet-printed PTFT shifted in the positive direction. However, this shift was largely recovered when the PTFT was released from the bias stress. We analyzed the effect of the bias stress manifested by the VT shift using the full energy range of the subgap DOS versus the duration of the bias stress, which we obtained by applying various DOS extraction techniques.

On the Energization of Pickup Ions Downstream of the Heliospheric Termination Shock by Comparing 0.52–55 keV Observed Energetic Neutral Atom Spectra to Ones Inferred from Proton Hybrid Simulations

We present an unprecedented comparison of ∼0.52–55 keV energetic neutral atom (ENA) heliosheath measurements, remotely sensed by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission and the Ion and Neutral Camera (INCA) on the Cassini mission, with modeled ENAs inferred from interstellar pickup protons that have been accelerated at the termination shock, using hybrid simulations, to assess the pickup ion energetics within the heliosheath. This is the first study to use hybrid simulations that are able to accurately model the acceleration of ions to tens of keV energies, which is essential in order to model ENA fluxes in the heliosheath, covering the full energy range observed by IBEX and CASSINI/INCA. The observed ENA intensities are an average value over the time period from 2009 to the end of 2012, along the Voyager 2 (V2) trajectory. The hybrid simulations upstream of the termination shock, where V2 crossed, are constrained by observations. We report an energy-dependent discrepancy between observed and simulated ENA fluxes, with the observed ENA fluxes being persistently higher than the simulated ones. Our analysis reveals that the termination shock may not accelerate pickup ions to sufficient energies to account for the observed ENA fluxes. We, thus, suggest that the further acceleration of these pickup ions is most likely occurring within the heliosheath, via additional physical processes like turbulence or magnetic reconnection. However, the redistribution of energy inside the heliosheath remains an open question.

A spatial and temporal characterisation of single proton acoustic waves in proton beam cancer therapy.

An in vivo range verification technology for proton beam cancer therapy, preferably in real-time and with submillimeter resolution, is desired to reduce the present uncertainty in dose localization. Acoustical imaging technologies exploiting possible local interactions between protons and microbubbles or nanodroplets might be an interesting option. Unfortunately, a theoretical model capable of characterising the acoustical field generated by an individual proton on nanometer and micrometer scales is still missing. In this work, such a model is presented. The proton acoustic field is generated by the adiabatic expansion of a region that is locally heated by a passing proton. To model the proton heat deposition, secondary electron production due to protons has been quantified using a semi-empirical model based on Rutherford's scattering theory, which reproduces experimentally obtained electronic stopping power values for protons in water within 10% over the full energy range. The electrons transfer energy into heat via electron-phonon coupling to atoms along the proton track. The resulting temperature increase is calculated using an inelastic thermal spike model. Heat deposition can be regarded as instantaneous, thus, stress confinement is ensured and acoustical initial conditions are set. The resulting thermoacoustic field in the nanometer and micrometer range from the single proton track is computed by solving the thermoacoustic wave equation using k-space Green's functions, yielding the characteristic amplitudes and frequencies present in the acoustic signal generated by a single proton in an aqueous medium. Wavefield expansion and asymptotic approximations are used to extend the spatial and temporal ranges of the proton acoustic field.

The Evolution of Lateral Dose Distributions of Helium Ion Beams in Air: From Measurement and Modeling to Their Impact on Treatment Planning

To start clinical trials with the first clinical treatment planning system supporting raster-scanned helium ion therapy, a comprehensive database of beam characteristics and parameters was required for treatment room-specific beam physics modeling at the Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center (HIT). At six different positions in the air gap along the beam axis, lateral beam profiles were systematically measured for 14 initial beam energies covering the full range of available energies at HIT. The 2D-array of liquid-filled ionization chambers OCTAVIUS from PTW was irradiated by a pencil beam focused at the central axis. With a full geometric representation of HIT’s monitoring chambers and beamline elements in FLUKA, our Monte Carlo beam model matches the measured lateral beam profiles. A second set of measurements with the detector placed in a water tank was used to validate the adjustments of the initial beam parameters assumed in the FLUKA simulation. With a deviation between simulated and measured profiles below ±0.8 mm for all investigated beam energies, the simulated profiles build part of the database for the first clinical treatment planning system for helium ions. The evolution of beamwidth was also compared to similar simulations of the clinically available proton and carbon beam. This allows a choice of treatment modality based on quantitative estimates of the physical beam properties. Finally, we investigated the influence of beamwidth variation on patient treatment plans in order to estimate the relevance and necessary precision limits for lateral beam width models.

First 80Se(n,γ) cross section measurement with high resolution in the full stellar energy range 1 eV - 100 keV and its astrophysical implications for the s-process

Most elements heavier than iron have been generated in the stellar media by means of neutron capture reactions, approximately half are produced by the slow neutron capture or s-process. Radiative neutron capture cross section measurements are of fundamental importance for the study of this mechanism. In this contribution we present a brief summary on the measurement and results for the 80Se(n,γ) cross-section. The experiment was carried out at CERN n_TOF EAR1 via the time of flight (ToF) technique, using four C6D6 scintillation detectors with very fast response. More than a hundred new resonances have been analyzed for the first time with a high accuracy. The MACS obtained at kT = 8 keV is 36% smaller than the recommended value in KADo-NiS. Some of the astrophysical implications of this result are elucidated in this contribution.

Very-high-frequency oscillations in the main peak of a magnetar giant flare.

Magnetars are strongly magnetized, isolated neutron stars1-3 with magnetic fields up to around 1015 gauss, luminosities of approximately 1031-1036 ergs per second and rotation periods of about 0.3-12.0 s. Very energetic giant flares from galactic magnetars (peak luminosities of 1044-1047 ergs per second, lasting approximately 0.1 s) have been detected in hard X-rays and soft γ-rays4, and only one has been detected from outside our galaxy5. During such giant flares, quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) with low (less than 150 hertz) and high (greater than 500 hertz) frequencies have been observed6-9, but their statistical significance has been questioned10. High-frequency QPOs have been seen only during the tail phase of the flare9. Here we report the observation of two broad QPOs at approximately 2,132 hertz and 4,250 hertz in the main peak of a giant γ-ray flare11 in the direction of the NGC 253 galaxy12-17, disappearing after 3.5 milliseconds. The flare was detected on 15 April 2020 by the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor instrument18,19 aboard the International Space Station, which was the only instrument that recorded the main burst phase (0.8-3.2 milliseconds) in the full energy range (50 × 103 to 40 × 106 electronvolts) without suffering from saturation effects such as deadtime and pile-up. Along with sudden spectral variations, these extremely high-frequency oscillations in the burst peak are a crucial component that will aid our understanding of magnetar giant flares.

Asymmetric electron localization in the single-photon dissociative ionization of H2

By numerically solving the non-Born-Oppenheimer time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ in which the dynamics is confined along the laser polarization direction, we study the electron localization in the single-photon dissociative ionization of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$. The single ionization of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ produces a free electron and ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}^{+}$, in whose later propagation the Coulomb field of the freed electron may excite ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}^{+}$ from the $1s{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{g}$ state to $2p{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{u}$ state. The mixture of these two states with opposite parities results in the asymmetric electron localization on the two nuclei after the dissociation of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}^{+}$. The simulation result shows that the bound electron prefers being located on the nucleus, which propagates oppositely to the freed electron. The asymmetry parameter is larger if the freed electron has lower energy. The simulation results agree with experimental measurements in the full energy range. This study indicates that the correlation between ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}^{+}$ and the freed electron can be important and offers a perspective of controlling electron localization in chemical reactions.

From local to nonlocal: higher fidelity simulations of photon emission in intense laser pulses

State-of-the-art numerical simulations of quantum electrodynamical (QED) processes in strong laser fields rely on a semiclassical combination of classical equations of motion and QED rates, which are calculated in the locally constant field approximation. However, the latter approximation is unreliable if the amplitude of the fields, a 0, is comparable to unity. Furthermore, it cannot, by definition, capture interference effects that give rise to harmonic structure. Here we present an alternative numerical approach, which resolves these two issues by combining cycle-averaged equations of motion and QED rates calculated in the locally monochromatic approximation. We demonstrate that it significantly improves the accuracy of simulations of photon emission across the full range of photon energies and laser intensities, in plane-wave, chirped and focused background fields.

New insights into correlated materials in the time domain—combining far-infrared excitation with x-ray probes at cryogenic temperatures

Modern techniques for the investigation of correlated materials in the time domain combine selective excitation in the THz frequency range with selective probing of coupled structural, electronic and magnetic degrees of freedom using x-ray scattering techniques. Cryogenic sample temperatures are commonly required to prevent thermal occupation of the low energy modes and to access relevant material ground states. Here, we present a chamber optimized for high-field THz excitation and (resonant) x-ray diffraction at sample temperatures between 5 and 500 K. Directly connected to the beamline vacuum and featuring both a Beryllium window and an in-vacuum detector, the chamber covers the full (2–12.7) keV energy range of the femtosecond x-ray pulses available at the Bernina endstation of the SwissFEL free electron laser. Successful commissioning experiments made use of the energy tunability to selectively track the dynamics of the structural, magnetic and orbital order of Ca2RuO4 and Tb2Ti2O7 at the Ru (2.96 keV) and Tb (7.55 keV) L-edges, respectively. THz field amplitudes up to 1.12 MV cm−1 peak field were demonstrated and used to excite the samples at temperatures as low as 5 K.

Full energy range primary radiation damage model

A full energy range primary radiation damage model is presented here. It is based on the athermal recombination corrected displacements per atom (arc-dpa) model but includes a proper treatment of the near threshold conditions for metallic materials. Both ab initio (AIMD) and classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are used here for various metals with body-centered cubic (bcc), face-centered cubic (fcc), and hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structures to validate the model. For bcc and hcp metals, the simulation results fit very well with the model. For fcc metals, although there are slight deviations between the model and direct simulation results, it is still a clear improvement on the arc-dpa model. The deviations are due to qualitative differences in the threshold energy surfaces of fcc metals with respect to bcc and hcp metals according to our classical MD simulations. We introduce the minimum threshold displacement energy (TDE) as a term in our damage model. We calculated minimum TDEs for various metal materials using AIMD. In general, the calculated minimum TDEs are in very good agreement with experimental results. Moreover, we noticed a discrepancy in the literature for fcc Ni and estimated the average TDE of Ni using both classical MD and AIMD. It was found that the average TDE of Ni should be \ensuremath{\sim}70 eV based on simulation and experimental data, not the commonly used literature value of 40 eV. The most significant implications of introducing this full energy range damage model will be for estimating the effect of weak particle-matter interactions, such as for \ensuremath{\gamma}- and electron-radiation-induced damage.

The dose magnifying glass quality assurance system for daily proton therapy range verification

Proton therapy has a distinct dosimetric advantage over conventional photon therapy due to its Bragg peak profile. This allows greater accuracy in dose delivery and dose conformation to the target, however it requires greater precision in setup, delivery and for quality assurance (QA) procedures. The AAPM TG 224 report recommends daily range and spot position checks with tolerance on the order of a millimetre. Daily QA systems must therefore be efficient for daily use and be capable of sub-millimetre precision however few suitable commercial systems are available. In this work, a compact, real-time daily QA system is optimised and characterised for proton range verification using an ad-hoc Geant4 simulation. The system is comprised of a monolithic silicon diode array detector embedded in a perspex phantom. The detector is orientated at an angular offset to the incident proton beam to allow range in perspex to be determined for flat proton fields. The accuracy of the system for proton range in perspex measurements was experimentally evaluated over the full range of clinical proton energies. The mean R 100, R 90 and R 80 ranges measured with the system were accurate within ±0.6 mm of simulated ranges in a perspex phantom for all energies assessed. This system allows real-time read-out of individual detector channels also making it appropriate for temporal beam delivery diagnostics and for spot position monitoring along one axis. The system presented provides a suitable, economical and efficient alternative for daily QA in proton therapy.