arXiv subjects

C. Fallon

Publications and source records attributed to C. Fallon.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Spot size dependent shock wave, plume and ion expansion dynamics of laser produced YBCO plasma

The expansion dynamics of laser produced plasma plumes in gaseous atmospheres exhibit information on plasma-ambient gas interactions which result in plume splitting, shock formation, sharpening and confinement. We investigate laser spot size variation on shock wave, plume, and ion dynamics from laser produced YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) plasmas using fast photography and Langmuir probe diagnosis. Changes in plume geometry are observed with varying focal spot size. At smaller spot sizes, lateral expansion of the plume is found to be larger, and plume expansion is spherical, while at larger spot sizes plume expansion is more cylindrical. Shock front formation time, relative intensity, spatial extent and total charge yield (TCY) are all dependent on laser spot size. Total charge yield (TCY) increases as the spot area increases, but decreases beyond a certain value. The width of the ion velocity distribution and the peak velocity decrease with increasing spot size, demonstrate that ions corresponding to larger spot sizes are somewhat more monoenergetic.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2020

Construction and commissioning of CMS CE prototype silicon modules

As part of its HL-LHC upgrade program, the CMS Collaboration is developing a High Granularity Calorimeter (CE) to replace the existing endcap calorimeters. The CE is a sampling calorimeter with unprecedented transverse and longitudinal readout for both electromagnetic (CE-E) and hadronic (CE-H) compartments. The calorimeter will be built with $\sim$30,000 hexagonal silicon modules. Prototype modules have been constructed with 6-inch hexagonal silicon sensors with cell areas of 1.1~$cm^2$, and the SKIROC2-CMS readout ASIC. Beam tests of different sampling configurations were conducted with the prototype modules at DESY and CERN in 2017 and 2018. This paper describes the construction and commissioning of the CE calorimeter prototype, the silicon modules used in the construction, their basic performance, and the methods used for their calibration.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2020

The DAQ system of the 12,000 Channel CMS High Granularity Calorimeter Prototype

The CMS experiment at the CERN LHC will be upgraded to accommodate the 5-fold increase in the instantaneous luminosity expected at the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC). Concomitant with this increase will be an increase in the number of interactions in each bunch crossing and a significant increase in the total ionising dose and fluence. One part of this upgrade is the replacement of the current endcap calorimeters with a high granularity sampling calorimeter equipped with silicon sensors, designed to manage the high collision rates. As part of the development of this calorimeter, a series of beam tests have been conducted with different sampling configurations using prototype segmented silicon detectors. In the most recent of these tests, conducted in late 2018 at the CERN SPS, the performance of a prototype calorimeter equipped with ${\approx}12,000\rm{~channels}$ of silicon sensors was studied with beams of high-energy electrons, pions and muons. This paper describes the custom-built scalable data acquisition system that was built with readily available FPGA mezzanines and low-cost Raspberry PI computers.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2012

VLBA and Chandra Observations of Jets in FRI radio galaxies: Constraints on Jet Evolution

(ABRIDGED) We present here the results from new Very Long Baseline Array observations at 1.6 and 5 GHz of 19 galaxies of a complete sample of 21 UGC FRI radio galaxies. New Chandra data of two sources, viz., UGC00408 and UGC08433, are combined with the Chandra archival data of 13 sources. The 5 GHz observations of ten "core-jet" sources are polarization-sensitive, while the 1.6 GHz observations constitute second epoch total intensity observations of nine "core-only" sources. Polarized emission is detected in the jets of seven sources at 5 GHz, but the cores are essentially unpolarized, except in M87. Polarization is detected at the jet edges in several sources, and the inferred magnetic field is primarily aligned with the jet direction. This could be indicative of magnetic field "shearing" due to jet-medium interaction, or the presence of helical magnetic fields. The jet peak intensity $I_\nu$ falls with distance $d$ from the core, following the relation, $I_\nu\propto d^a$, where $a$ is typically -1.5. Assuming that adiabatic expansion losses are primarily responsible for the jet intensity "dimming", two limiting cases are considered: [1] the jet has a constant speed on parsec-scales and is expanding gradually such that the jet radius $r\propto d^0.4$; this expansion is however unobservable in the laterally unresolved jets at 5 GHz, and [2] the jet is cylindrical and is accelerating on parsec-scales. Accelerating parsec-scale jets are consistent with the phenomenon of "magnetic driving" in Poynting flux dominated jets. Chandra observations of 15 UGC FRIs detect X-ray jets in nine of them. The high frequency of occurrence of X-ray jets in this complete sample suggests that they are a signature of a ubiquitous process in FRI jets.

astro-ph.CO↗