Space Charge-dominated Beam Research Articles

Simulation Dosimetry Studies for FLASH Radiation Therapy (RT) with Ultra-High Dose Rate (UHDR) Electron Beam

FLASH-radiotherapy (RT) presents great potential as an alternative to conventional radiotherapy methods in cancer treatment. In this paper, we focus on simulation studies for a linear particle accelerator injector design using the ASTRA code, which permits beam generation and particle tracking through electromagnetic fields. Space charge-dominated beams were selected with the aim of providing an optimized generated beam profile and accelerator lattice with minimized emittance. The main results of the electron beam and ultra-high dose rate (UHDR) simulation dosimetry studies are reported for the FLASH mode radiobiological treatment. Results for the percentage depth dose (PDD) at electron beam energies of 5, 7, 15, 25, 50, 100 MeV and 1.2 GeV for Poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA) and water phantom vs. the penetration depth are presented. Additionally, the PDD transverse profile was simulated for the above energies, delivering the beam to the phantom. The simulation dosimetry results provide an UHDR electron beam under the conditions of the FLASH-RT. The performance of the beam inside the phantom and the dose depth depends on the linear accelerator beam’s energy and stability.

Scope of the locally cold beam model

The locally cold beam model is applied to analyze space charge-dominated beams. It is closely connected to the emittance compensation technique. The model implies the following assumptions: (i) thermal slice emittance equals zero, (ii) beam is monoenergetic, (iii) bunch length in the particle rest frame is much bigger than its transverse size, and (iv) charge distribution in each slice is always homogeneous. In real beams, all these hypotheses are violated more or less. In this connection, the question on the scope of the model is vital. The effect of the violation of the mentioned hypotheses on the results obtained with the model has been considered. The scope of the model has been determined. It appears to be much wider than it seems at a glance.

Matched and equipartitioned design method for modern high-intensity radio frequency quadrupole accelerators

A new design method—Matched and equipartitioned (EP) design method—has been proposed for radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) dynamics design, on the considerations of preventing emittance growth and halo formation in high-intensity linacs by means of keeping beam envelope matched and energy balance within the beam, as well as avoiding structure resonances [R.A. Jameson, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. NS-28 (1981) 2408; R.A. Jameson et al., Scaling and optimization in high-intensity linear accelerators, LA-CP-91-272, Los Alamos National Laboratory, July 1991 (introduction of LINACS design code); R.A. Jameson, AIP Conf. Proc. 279 (1992) 969; R.A. Jameson, An approach to fundamental study of beam loss minimization, in: Y.K. Batygin (Ed.), AIP Conference Proceedings, vol. 480, Space Charge Dominated Beam Physics for Heavy Ion Fusion, Saitama, Japan, December 1998]. As there are more than three parameters for a linear accelerator, but only three equations (two envelope equations and an EP equation) are available to design the structural parameters of the RFQ accelerator around the beam, therefore the others have to be determined by additional rules. Following these equations and rules, a new RFQ design code named MATCHDESIGN has been written at Peking University. Three example designs are generated by this code and their simulation results have been compared with a conventional RFQ, which had proved the feasibilities and merits of the new method.

Generation of high power cw laser light at 257 nm for laser cooling of intense 24 Mg + beams at the ESR

We report on the generation of 750 mW cw laser radiation at a wavelength of 257 nm obtained by frequency doubling the green Ar+ line in a Brewster-cut BBO crystal placed in the spherical focus of an external ring resonator. The system is optimized for laser cooling studies of intense 83.7 MeV 21Mg+ ion beams at the ESR dedicated to the investigation of space charge-dominated beams.