arXiv subjects

M. Shahzad

Publications and source records attributed to M. Shahzad.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Characterisation of Laser Wakefield Acceleration Efficiency with Octave Spanning Near-IR Spectrum Measurements

We report on experimental measurements of energy transfer efficiencies in a GeV-class laser wakefield accelerator. Both the transfer of energy from the laser to the plasma wakefield, and from the plasma to the accelerated electron beam were diagnosed by simultaneous measurement of the deceleration of laser photons and the acceleration of electrons as a function of plasma length. The extraction efficiency, which we define as the ratio of the energy gained by the electron beam to the energy lost by the self-guided laser mode, was maximised at $19\pm3$\% by tuning of the plasma density and length. The additional information provided by the octave-spanning laser spectrum measurement allows for independent optimisation of the plasma efficiency terms, which is required for the key goal of improving the overall efficiency of laser wakefield accelerators.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2021

Skyrmion-driven topological Hall effect in a Shastry-Sutherland magnet

The Shastry-Sutherland model and its generalizations have been shown to capture emergent complex magnetic properties from geometric frustration in several quasi-two-dimensional quantum magnets. Using an $sd$ exchange model, we show here that metallic Shastry-Sutherland magnets can exhibit a topological Hall effect driven by magnetic skyrmions under realistic conditions. The magnetic properties are modeled with competing symmetric Heisenberg and asymmetric Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya exchange interactions, while a coupling between the spins of the itinerant electrons and the localized moments describes the magnetotransport behavior. Our results, employing complementary Monte Carlo simulations and a novel machine learning analysis to investigate the magnetic phases, provide evidence for field-driven skyrmion crystal formation for an extended range of Hamiltonian parameters. By constructing an effective tight-binding model of conduction electrons coupled to the skyrmion lattice, we clearly demonstrate the appearance of the topological Hall effect. We further elaborate on the effects of finite temperatures on both magnetic and magnetotransport properties.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

The Michaelis-Menten-Stueckelberg Theorem

We study chemical reactions with complex mechanisms under two assumptions: (i) intermediates are present in small amounts (this is the quasi-steady-state hypothesis or QSS) and (ii) they are in equilibrium relations with substrates (this is the quasiequilibrium hypothesis or QE). Under these assumptions, we prove the generalized mass action law together with the basic relations between kinetic factors, which are sufficient for the positivity of the entropy production but hold even without microreversibility, when the detailed balance is not applicable. Even though QE and QSS produce useful approximations by themselves, only the combination of these assumptions can render the possibility beyond the "rarefied gas" limit or the "molecular chaos" hypotheses. We do not use any a priori form of the kinetic law for the chemical reactions and describe their equilibria by thermodynamic relations. The transformations of the intermediate compounds can be described by the Markov kinetics because of their low density ({\em low density of elementary events}). This combination of assumptions was introduced by Michaelis and Menten in 1913. In 1952, Stueckelberg used the same assumptions for the gas kinetics and produced the remarkable semi-detailed balance relations between collision rates in the Boltzmann equation that are weaker than the detailed balance conditions but are still sufficient for the Boltzmann $H$-theorem to be valid. Our results are obtained within the Michaelis-Menten-Stueckelbeg conceptual framework.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2006

Rare Particle Searches with the high altitude SLIM experiment

The search for rare particles in the cosmic radiation remains one of the main aims of non-accelerator particle astrophysics. Experiments at high altitude allow lower mass thresholds with respect to detectors at sea level or underground. The SLIM experiment is a large array of nuclear track detectors located at the Chacaltaya High Altitude Laboratory (5290 m a.s.l.). The preliminary results from the analysis of a part of the first 236 sq.m exposed for more than 3.6 y are here reported. The detector is sensitive to Intermediate Mass Magnetic Monopoles and to SQM nuggets and Q-balls, which are possible Dark Matter candidates.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2005

Search for massive rare particles with the SLIM experiment

The search for magnetic monopoles in the cosmic radiation remains one of the main aims of non-accelerator particle astrophysics. Experiments at high altitude allow lower mass thresholds with respect to detectors at sea level or underground. The SLIM experiment is a large array of nuclear track detectors at the Chacaltaya High Altitude Laboratory (5290 m a.s.l.). The results from the analysis of 171 m$^2$ exposed for more than 3.5 y are here reported. The completion of the analysis of the whole detector will allow to set the lowest flux upper limit for Magnetic Monopoles in the mass range 10$^5$ - 10$^{12}$ GeV. The experiment is also sensitive to SQM nuggets and Q-balls, which are possible Dark Matter candidates.

hep-ex↗