arXiv subjects

N. Majernik

Publications and source records attributed to N. Majernik.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

First results from the E302 efficiency$\unicode{x2013}$instability experiment at the FACET-II facility

The beam-breakup (BBU) instability in plasma accelerators is seeded by a transverse offset between the driver and a trailing bunch. The BBU instability induces oscillations in the trailing bunch, which are detrimental to its beam quality. When the instability is large, assuming little mitigation from ion motion and energy spread, the beam suffers emittance growth, and charge can be kicked transversely out of the plasma channel. The detrimental effect on beam quality is substantially worse at high efficiencies, which places constraints on the achievable power efficiency in applications such as linear colliders, where maintaining the beam quality is required. In this paper, we present the first experimental signatures of the BBU instability in data taken in the E302 experiment at the FACET-II facility at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. We use a specific beam-optical setup and a novel method to probe for transverse instabilities on diagnostic screens downstream of a magnetic dipole spectrometer. We complement the analysis with full 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of the plasma interaction using similar driver and trailing bunch parameters on a simulated FACET-II spectrometer.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2025

Drive beam depletion with multi-Joule energy transfer in a plasma wakefield accelerator

A collider based on beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration will require the drive beam to transfer 10-100s of Joules to the plasma in each stage, with a drive-to-wake energy transfer efficiency exceeding 70%. Using an all-optical plasma source, we demonstrate significant progress towards these parameters, transferring at least 5.6 J from a 1.52 nC, 10 GeV electron beam to a $4.5\times 10^{16}\,\mathrm{cm^{-3}}$ hydrogen plasma while achieving at least $37\pm 3\%$ drive-to-wake energy transfer efficiency. We observe deceleration of some particles to less than 0.93 GeV with up to 90% of the charge participating in the interaction.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2024

A rotor-based multileaf collimator for beam shaping

We introduce a new style of multileaf collimator which employs rotors with angularly dependent radius to control the masking aperture: a rotor-based multileaf collimator (RMLC). Using a padlock-inspired mechanism, a single motor can set dozens of rotors, i.e. leaves, independently. This is especially important for an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) compatible MLC, since this reduces the number of actuators and vacuum feedthroughs required by more than an order of magnitude. This new RMLC will complement previous work employing a UHV compatible MLC with an emittance exchange beamline to create arbitrarily shaped beams on demand. A feed-forward control system which abstracts away the complexity of the RMLC operation, and is adaptable to real beamline conditions, is discussed and demonstrated in simulation.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2024

Compensating slice emittance growth in high brightness photoinjectors using sacrificial charge

Achieving maximum electron beam brightness in photoinjectors requires detailed control of the 3D bunch shape and precise tuning of the beam focusing. Even in state-of-the-art designs, slice emittance growth due to nonlinear space charge forces and partial nonlaminarity often remains non-negligible. In this work we introduce a new means to linearize the transverse slice phase space: a sacrificial portion of the bunch's own charge distribution, formed into a wavebroken shock front by highly nonlinear space charge forces within the gun, whose downstream purpose is to dynamically linearize the desired bunch core. We show that linearization of an appropriately prepared bunch can be achieved via strongly nonlaminar focusing of the sacrificial shock front, while the inner core focuses laminarly. This leads to a natural spatial separation of the two distributions: a dense core surrounded by a diffuse halo of sacrificial charge that can be collimated. Multi-objective genetic algorithm optimizations of the ultra-compact x-ray free electron laser (UCXFEL) injector employ this concept, and we interpret it with an analytic model that agrees well with the simulations. In simulation we demonstrate a final bunch charge of 100 pC, peak current $\sim 30$ A, and a sacrificial charge of 150 pC (250 pC total emitted from cathode) with normalized emittance growth of $<20$ nm-rad due to space charge. This implies a maximum achievable brightness approximately an order of magnitude greater than existing FEL injector designs.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2023

Single-shot, transverse self-wakefield reconstruction from screen images

A single-shot method to reconstruct the transverse self-wakefields acting on a beam, based only on screen images, is introduced. By employing numerical optimization with certain approximations, a relatively high-dimensional parameter space is efficiently explored to determine the multipole components of the transverse-wakefield topology up to desired order. The reconstruction technique complements simulations, which are able to directly describe the wakefield composition based on experimental conditions. The technique is applied to representative simulation results as a benchmark, and also to experimental data on wakefield observations driven in dielectric-lined structures.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2022

Beam shaping using an ultra-high vacuum multileaf collimator and emittance exchange beamline

We report the development of a multileaf collimator (MLC) for charged particle beams, based on independently actuated tungsten strips which can selectively scatter unwanted particles. The MLC is used in conjunction with an emittance exchange beamline to rapidly generate highly variable longitudinal bunch profiles. The developed MLC consists of 40 independent leaves that are 2 mm wide and can move up to 10 mm, and operates in an ultra high vacuum environment, enabled by novel features such as magnetically coupled actuation. An experiment at the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator, which previously used inflexible, laser-cut masks for beam shaping before an emittance exchange beamline, was conducted to test functionality. The experiment demonstrated myriad transverse mask silhouettes, as measured on a scintillator downstream of the MLC and the corresponding longitudinal profiles after emittance exchange, as measured using a transverse deflecting cavity. Rapidly changing between mask shapes enables expeditious execution of various experiments without the downtime associated with traditional methods. The many degrees of freedom of the MLC can enable optimization of experimental figures of merit using feed-forward control and advanced machine learning methods.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2021

Positron Driven High-Field Terahertz Waves in Dielectric Material

Advanced acceleration methods based on wakefields generated by high energy electron bunches passing through dielectric-based structures have demonstrated $>$GV/m fields, paving the first steps on a path to applications such as future compact linear colliders. For a collider scenario, it is desirable that, in contrast to plasmas, wakefields in dielectrics do not behave differently for positron and electron bunches. In this Letter, we present measurements of large amplitude fields excited by positron bunches with collider-relevant parameters (energy 20 GeV, and $0.7 \times 10^{10}$ particles per bunch) in a 0.4 THz, cylindrically symmetric dielectric structure. Interferometric measurements of emitted coherent Cerenkov radiation permit spectral characterization of the positron-generated wakefields, which are compared to those excited by electron bunches. Statistical equivalence tests are incorporated to show the charge-sign invariance of the induced wakefield spectra. Transverse effects on positron beams resulting from off-axis excitation are examined and found to be consistent with the known linear response of the DWA system. The results are supported by numerical simulations and demonstrate high-gradient wakefield excitation in dielectrics for positron beams.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2021

Multileaf Collimator for Real-Time Beam Shaping using Emittance Exchange

Emittance exchange beamlines employ transverse masks to create drive and witness beams of variable longitudinal profile and bunch spacing. Recently, this approach has been used to create advanced driver profiles and demonstrate record-breaking plasma wakefield transformer ratios [Roussel, R., et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 044802 (2020)], a crucial advancement for efficient witness acceleration. However, since the transverse masks are individually laser cut and installed into the UHV beamline, refinement of the beam profiles is not possible without replacing masks. Instead, this work proposes the use of a UHV compatible multileaf collimator as a beam mask. Such a device permits real-time adjustment of the electron distribution, permitting greater refinement in a manner highly synergistic with machine learning. Beam dynamics simulations have shown that a practically realizable multileaf collimator can offer resolution that is functionally equivalent to that offered by laser cut masks.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2021

Modeling Betatron Radiation Diagnostics for E-310 -- Trojan Horse

The E-310 experiment at the Facility for Advanced Accelerator Experimental Tests II (FACET-II) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory aims to demonstrate the creation of high brightness beams from a plasma photocathode. Betatron radiation will be measured by a Compton spectrometer, currently under development at UCLA, to provide single-shot, nondestructive beam diagnostics. We give a brief overview of this spectrometer as well as double differential spectrum reconstruction from the spectrometer image and beam parameter reconstruction from this double differential spectrum. We discuss three models for betatron radiation: an idealized particle tracking code which computes radiation from Liénard-Wiechert potentials, a quasi-static particle-in-cell (PIC) code which computes radiation from Liénard-Wiechert potentials, and a full PIC code which computes radiation using a Monte Carlo QED method. Spectra computed by the three models for a simple case are compared.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2020

An Ultra-Compact X-Ray Free-Electron Laser

In the field of beam physics, two frontier topics have taken center stage due to their potential to enable new approaches to discovery in a wide swath of science. These areas are: advanced, high gradient acceleration techniques, and x-ray free electron lasers (XFELs). Further, there is intense interest in the marriage of these two fields, with the goal of producing a very compact XFEL. In this context, recent advances in high gradient radio-frequency cryogenic copper structure research have opened the door to the use of surface electric fields between 250 and 500 MV/m. Such an approach is foreseen to enable a new generation of photoinjectors with six-dimensional beam brightness beyond the current state-of-the-art by well over an order of magnitude. This advance is an essential ingredient enabling an ultra-compact XFEL (UC-XFEL). In addition, one may accelerate these bright beams to GeV scale in less than 10 meters. Such an injector, when combined with inverse free electron laser-based bunching techniques can produce multi-kA beams with unprecedented beam quality, quantified by ~50 nm-rad normalized emittances. These beams, when injected into innovative, short-period (1-10 mm) undulators uniquely enable UC-XFELs having footprints consistent with university-scale laboratories. We describe the architecture and predicted performance of this novel light source, which promises photon production per pulse of a few percent of existing XFEL sources. We review implementation issues including collective beam effects, compact x-ray optics systems, and other relevant technical challenges. To illustrate the potential of such a light source to fundamentally change the current paradigm of XFELs with their limited access, we examine possible applications in biology, chemistry, materials, atomic physics, industry, and medicine which may profit from this new model of performing XFEL science.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2020

Resonant excitation of very high gradient plasma wakefield accelerators by optical-period bunch trains

Using a periodic electron beam bunch train to resonantly excite plasma wakefields in the quasi-nonlinear (QNL) regime has distinct advantages over employing a single, higher charge bunch. Resonant excitation in the QNL regime can produce plasma electron blowout using very low emittance beams with a small charge per pulse: the local density perturbation is extremely nonlinear, achieving total rarefaction, yet the resonant response of the plasma electrons at the plasma frequency is preserved. Such a pulse train, with inter-bunch spacing equal to the plasma period, can be produced via inverse free-electron laser bunching. To achieve resonance with a laser wavelength of a few microns, a high plasma density is used, with the attendant possibility of obtaining extremely large wakefield amplitude, near 1 TV/m for FACET-II parameters. In this article, we use particle-in-cell simulations to study the plasma response, the beam modulation evolution, and the instabilities encountered, that arise when using a bunching scheme to resonantly excite waves in a dense plasma.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2017

Single shot, double differential spectral measurements of inverse Compton scattering in linear and nonlinear regimes

Inverse Compton scattering (ICS) is a unique mechanism for producing fast pulses - picosecond and below - of bright X- to gamma-rays. These nominally narrow spectral bandwidth electromagnetic radiation pulses are efficiently produced in the interaction between intense, well-focused electron and laser beams. The spectral characteristics of such sources are affected by many experimental parameters, such as the bandwidth of the laser, and the angles of both the electrons and laser photons at collision. The laser field amplitude induces harmonic generation and importantly, for the present work, nonlinear red shifting, both of which dilute the spectral brightness of the radiation. As the applications enabled by this source often depend sensitively on its spectra, it is critical to resolve the details of the wavelength and angular distribution obtained from ICS collisions. With this motivation, we present here an experimental study that greatly improves on previous spectral measurement methods based on X-ray K-edge filters, by implementing a multi-layer bent-crystal X-ray spectrometer. In tandem with a collimating slit, this method reveals a projection of the double-differential angular-wavelength spectrum of the ICS radiation in a single shot. The measurements enabled by this diagnostic illustrate the combined off-axis and nonlinear-field-induced red shifting in the ICS emission process. They reveal in detail the strength of the normalized laser vector potential, and provide a non-destructive measure of the temporal and spatial electron-laser beam overlap.

physics.acc-ph↗