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G. Casati

Publications and source records attributed to G. Casati.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Negative ion density in the ion source SPIDER in Cs free conditions

The SPIDER experiment, operated at the Neutral Beam Test Facility of Consorzio RFX, Padua, hosts the prototype of the H-/D- ion source for the ITER neutral beam injectors. The maximization of the ion current extracted from the source and the minimization of the amount of co-extracted electrons are among the most relevant targets to accomplish. The Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy diagnostic measures the negative ion density in the source close to the plasma grid (the plasma-facing grid of the ion acceleration system), so to identify the source operational parameters that maximize the amount of negative ions which can be extracted. In this study SPIDER was operated in hydrogen and deuterium in Cs-free conditions, therefore negative ions were mostly produced by reactions in the plasma volume. This work shows how the magnetic filter field and the bias currents, present in SPIDER to limit the amount of co-extracted electrons, affect the density of negative ions available for extraction. The results indicate that the magnetic filter field in front of the acceleration system should be set between about 1.6 mT, condition that maximizes the density of available negative ions, and about 3.2 mT, condition that minimizes the ratio of electron current to ion current. The negative ion density also resulted to be maximized when the plasma grid and its surrounding bias plate was positively biased against the source body with a total current in the range 0 A÷100 A. The paper shows also how much, in Cs-free conditions, the electric fields in the acceleration system can affect the density of negative ions in the source, close to the plasma grid apertures.

physics.plasm-ph

Characterization of Cs-free negative ion production in the ion source SPIDER by Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy

The Neutral beam Injectors of the ITER experiment will be based on negative ion sources for the generation of beams composed by 1 MeV H/D particles. The prototype of these sources is currently under testing in the SPIDER experiment, part of the Neutral Beam Test Facility of Consorzio RFX, Padua, Italy. Among the targets of the experimentation in SPIDER, it is of foremost importance to maximize the beam current density extracted from the source acceleration system. The SPIDER operating conditions can be optimized thanks to a Cavity Ring-down Spectroscopy diagnostic, which is able to give line-integrated measurements of negative ion density in proximity of the acceleration system apertures. Regarding the diagnostic technique, this work presents a phenomenon of drift in ring down time measurements, which develops in a time scale of few hours. This issue may significantly affect negative ion density measurements for plasma pulses of 1 h duration, as required by ITER. Causes and solutions are discussed. Regarding the source performance, this paper presents how negative ion density is influenced by the RF power used to sustain the plasma, and by the magnetic filter field present in SPIDER to limit the amount of co-extracted electrons. In this study, SPIDER was operated in hydrogen and deuterium, in Cs-free conditions.

physics.plasm-ph

Characterization of cesium and H-/D- density in the negative ion source SPIDER

The Heating Neutral Beam Injectors (HNBs) for ITER will have to deliver 16.7 MW beams of H/D particles at 1 MeV energy. The beams will be produced from H-/D- ions, generated by a radiofrequency plasma source coupled to an ion acceleration system. A prototype of the ITER HNB ion source is being tested in the SPIDER experiment, part of the ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility at Consorzio RFX. Reaching the design targets for beam current density and fraction of coextracted electrons is only possible by evaporating cesium in the source, in particular on the plasma facing grid (PG) of the acceleration system. In this way the work function of the surfaces decreases, significantly increasing the amount of surface reactions that convert neutrals and positive ions into H-/D-. It is then of paramount importance to monitor the density of negative ions and the density of Cs in the proximity of the PG. Monitoring the Cs spatial distribution along the PG is also essential to guarantee the uniformity of the beam current. In SPIDER, this is possible thanks to the Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy (CRDS) and the Laser absorption Spectroscopy diagnostics (LAS), which provide line-integrated measurements of negative ion density and neutral, ground state Cs density, respectively. The paper discusses the CRDS and LAS measurements as a function of input power and of the magnetic and electric fields used to reduce the coextraction of electrons. Negative ion density data are in qualitative agreement with the analogous measurements in Cs-free conditions. In agreement with simulations, Cs density is peaked in the center of the source; a top/bottom non uniformity is also present. Several effects of plasma on Cs deposition and negative ion production are presented.

physics.plasm-ph

AGATA - Advanced Gamma Tracking Array

The Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) is a European project to develop and operate the next generation gamma-ray spectrometer. AGATA is based on the technique of gamma-ray energy tracking in electrically segmented high-purity germanium crystals. This technique requires the accurate determination of the energy, time and position of every interaction as a gamma ray deposits its energy within the detector volume. Reconstruction of the full interaction path results in a detector with very high efficiency and excellent spectral response. The realization of gamma-ray tracking and AGATA is a result of many technical advances. These include the development of encapsulated highly-segmented germanium detectors assembled in a triple cluster detector cryostat, an electronics system with fast digital sampling and a data acquisition system to process the data at a high rate. The full characterization of the crystals was measured and compared with detector-response simulations. This enabled pulse-shape analysis algorithms, to extract energy, time and position, to be employed. In addition, tracking algorithms for event reconstruction were developed. The first phase of AGATA is now complete and operational in its first physics campaign. In the future AGATA will be moved between laboratories in Europe and operated in a series of campaigns to take advantage of the different beams and facilities available to maximize its science output. The paper reviews all the achievements made in the AGATA project including all the necessary infrastructure to operate and support the spectrometer.

physics.ins-det

Comment on "Coherent Ratchets in Driven Bose-Einstein Condensates"

C. E. Creffield and F. Sols (Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 200601 (2009)) recently reported finite, directed time-averaged ratchet current, for a noninteracting quantum particle in a periodic potential even when time-reversal symmetry holds. As we explain in this Comment, this result is incorrect, that is, time-reversal symmetry implies a vanishing current.

cond-mat.quant-gas

Entanglement-induced Decoherence and Energy Eigenstates

Using recent results in the field of quantum chaos we derive explicit expressions for the time scale of decoherence induced by the system-environment entanglement. For a generic system-environment interaction and for a generic quantum chaotic system as environment, conditions are derived for energy eigenstates to be preferred states in the weak coupling regime. A simple model is introduced to numerically confirm our predictions. The results presented here may also help understanding the dynamics of quantum entanglement generation in chaotic quantum systems.

quant-ph

Stability of quantum motion in regular systems: a uniform semiclassical approach

We study the stability of quantum motion of classically regular systems in presence of small perturbations. Onthe base of a uniform semiclassical theory we derive the fidelity decay which displays a quite complexbehaviour, from Gaussian to power law decay $t^{-α}$ with $1 \le α\le 2$. Semiclassical estimates are given for the time scales separating the different decaying regions and numerical results are presented which confirm our theoretical predictions.

quant-ph

Uniform semiclassical approach to fidelity decay in the deep Lyapunov regime

We use the uniform semiclassical approximation in order to derive the fidelity decay in the regime of large perturbations. Numerical computations are presented which agree with our theoretical predictions. Moreover, our theory allows to explain previous findings, such as the deviation from the Lyapunov decay rate in cases where the classical finite-time instability is non-uniform in phase space.

quant-ph

Phonon modes in the Frenkel-Kontorova chain: exponential localization and the number theory properties of frequency bands

We study numerically phonon modes of the classical one-dimensional Frenkel-Kontorova chain, in the regime of pinned phase characterized by the phonon gap and devil's staircase, as well as by a large number of states (configurational excitations), which energy splitting from the ground state is exponentially small. We demonstrate, these states behave like disorder media: their phonon modes are {\it exponentially} localized, in contrast to the phonon modes in the ground state, where phonons are {\it prelocalized} only. We demonstrate also, the phonon frequency spectrum of the ground state has an hierarchical structure, a direct manifestation of hierarchical spatial structure, found for the ground state of the FK chain in our recent work.

cond-mat.dis-nn

Measurement and Information Extraction in Complex Dynamics Quantum Computation

We address the problem related to the extraction of the information in the simulation of complex dynamics quantum computation. Here we present an example where important information can be extracted efficiently by means of quantum simulations. We show how to extract efficiently the localization length, the mean square deviation and the system characteristic frequency. We show how this methods work on a dynamical model, the Sawtooth Map, that is characterized by very different dynamical regimes: from near integrable to fully developed chaos; it also exhibits quantum dynamical localization.

quant-ph

Quantum phase transition in the Frenkel-Kontorova chain: from pinned instanton glass to sliding phonon gas

We study analytically and numerically the one-dimensional quantum Frenkel-Kontorova chain in the regime when the classical model is located in the pinned phase characterized by the gaped phonon excitations and devil's staircase. By extensive quantum Monte Carlo simulations we show that for the effective Planck constant $\hbar$ smaller than the critical value $\hbar_c$ the quantum chain is in the pinned instanton glass phase. In this phase the elementary excitations have two branches: phonons, separated from zero energy by a finite gap, and instantons which have an exponentially small excitation energy. At $\hbar=\hbar_c$ the quantum phase transition takes place and for $\hbar>\hbar_c$ the pinned instanton glass is transformed into the sliding phonon gas with gapless phonon excitations. This transition is accompanied by the divergence of the spatial correlation length and appearence of sliding modes at $\hbar>\hbar_c$.

cond-mat

Statistical properties of eigenvalues for an operating quantum computer with static imperfections

We investigate the transition to quantum chaos, induced by static imperfections, for an operating quantum computer that simulates efficiently a dynamical quantum system, the sawtooth map. For the different dynamical regimes of the map, we discuss the quantum chaos border induced by static imperfections by analyzing the statistical properties of the quantum computer eigenvalues. For small imperfection strengths the level spacing statistics is close to the case of quasi-integrable systems while above the border it is described by the random matrix theory. We have found that the border drops exponentially with the number of qubits, both in the ergodic and quasi-integrable dynamical regimes of the map characterized by a complex phase space structure. On the contrary, the regime with integrable map dynamics remains more stable against static imperfections since in this case the border drops only algebraically with the number of qubits.

quant-ph

Controlling the energy flow in nonlinear lattices: a model for a thermal rectifier

We address the problem of heat conduction in 1-D nonlinear chains; we show that, acting on the parameter which controls the strength of the on site potential inside a segment of the chain, we induce a transition from conducting to insulating behavior in the whole system. Quite remarkably, the same transition can be observed by increasing the temperatures of the thermal baths at both ends of the chain by the same amount. The control of heat conduction by nonlinearity opens the possibility to propose new devices such as a thermal rectifier.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Fractal Spin Glass Properties of Low Energy Configurations in the Frenkel-Kontorova chain

We study numerically and analytically the classical one-dimensional Frenkel-Kontorova chain in the regime of pinned phase characterized by phonon gap. Our results show the existence of exponentially many static equilibrium configurations which are exponentially close to the energy of the ground state. The energies of these configurations form a fractal quasi-degenerate band structure which is described on the basis of elementary excitations. Contrary to the ground state, the configurations inside these bands are disordered.

cond-mat

A semiquantal approach to finite systems of interacting particles

A novel approach is suggested for the statistical description of quantum systems of interacting particles. The key point of this approach is that a typical eigenstate in the energy representation (shape of eigenstates, SE) has a well defined classical analog which can be easily obtained from the classical equations of motion. Therefore, the occupation numbers for single-particle states can be represented as a convolution of the classical SE with the quantum occupation number operator for non-interacting particles. The latter takes into account the wavefunctions symmetry and depends on the unperturbed energy spectrum only. As a result, the distribution of occupation numbers $n_s$ can be numerically found for a very large number of interacting particles. Using the model of interacting spins we demonstrate that this approach gives a correct description of $n_s$ even in a deep quantum region with few single-particle orbitals.

nlin.CD

Regular and Anomalous Quantum Diffusion in the Fibonacci Kicked Rotator

We study the dynamics of a quantum rotator kicked according to the almost-periodic Fibonacci sequence. A special numerical technique allows us to carry on this investigation for as many as $10^{12}$ kicks. It is shown that above a critical kick strength the excitation of the system is well described by regular diffusion, while below this border it becomes anomalous, and sub-diffusive. A law for the dependence of the exponent of anomalous sub-diffusion on the system parameters is established numerically. The analogy between these results and quantum diffusion in models of quasi-crystal and in the kicked Harper system is discussed.

cond-mat

Quantum Resonances and Regularity Islands in Quantum Maps

We study analytically as well as numerically the dynamics of a quantum map near a quantum resonance of an order q. The map is embedded into a continuous unitary transformation generated by a time-independent quasi-Hamiltonian. Such a Hamiltonian generates at the very point of the resonance a local gauge transformation described the unitary unimodular group SU(q). The resonant energy growth of is attributed to the zero Liouville eigenmodes of the generator in the adjoint representation of the group while the non-zero modes yield saturating with time contribution. In a vicinity of a given resonance, the quasi-Hamiltonian is then found in the form of power expansion with respect to the detuning from the resonance. The problem is related in this way to the motion along a circle in a (q^2-1)-component inhomogeneous "magnetic" field of a quantum particle with $q$ intrinsic degrees of freedom described by the SU(q) group. This motion is in parallel with the classical phase oscillations near a non-linear resonance. The most important role is played by the resonances with the orders much smaller than the typical localization length, q << l. Such resonances master for exponentially long though finite times the motion in some domains around them. Explicit analytical solution is possible for a few lowest and strongest resonances.

chao-dyn