J. G. Power

Observations of microwave continuum emission from air shower plasmas

We investigate a possible new technique for microwave detection of cosmic-ray extensive air showers which relies on detection of expected continuum radiation in the microwave range, caused by free-electron collisions with neutrals in the tenuous plasma left after the passage of the shower. We performed an initial experiment at the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator laboratory in 2003 and measured broadband microwave emission from air ionized via high-energy electrons and photons. A follow-up experiment at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in the summer of 2004 confirmed the major features of the previous Argonne Wakefield Accelerator observations with better precision. Prompted by these results we built a prototype detector using satellite television technology and have made measurements suggestive of the detection of cosmic-ray extensive air showers. The method, if confirmed by experiments now in progress, could provide a high-duty cycle complement to current nitrogen fluorescence observations.

Radio frequency measurements of coherent transition and Cherenkov radiation: implications for high energy neutrino detection

We report on measurements of (11-18)-cm wavelength radio emission from interactions of 15.2 MeV pulsed electron bunches at the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator. The electrons were observed both in a configuration where they produced primarily transition radiation from an aluminum foil, and in a configuration designed for the electrons to produce Cherenkov radiation in a silica sand target. Our aim was to emulate the large electron excess expected to develop during an electromagnetic cascade initiated by an ultrahigh-energy particle. Such charge asymmetries are predicted to produce strong coherent radio pulses, which are the basis for several experiments to detect high-energy neutrinos from the showers they induce in Antarctic ice and in the lunar regolith. We detected coherent emission which we attribute both to transition and possibly Cherenkov radiation at different levels depending on the experimental conditions. We discuss implications for experiments relying on radio emission for detection of electromagnetic cascades produced by ultrahigh-energy neutrinos.

Observation of wakefield generation in left-handed band of metamaterial-loaded waveguide

We report on a design of a TM-mode based metamaterial-loaded waveguide. Network analyzer measurements demonstrated a left-handed propagation region for the TM11 mode at around 10 GHz. A beamline experiment was performed with the metamaterial-loaded waveguide. In this experiment, a 6 MeV electron beam passes through the waveguide and generates a wakefield via the Cherenkov radiation mechanism. We detected a signal in the left-handed frequency band at 10 GHz. This is an indirect demonstration of reverse Cherenkov radiation as predicted in the work of Veselago [Sov. Phys. Usp. 10, 509 (1968)] and discussed in the works of Lu et al. [Opt. Express 11, 723 (2003)], Averkov and Yakovenko [Phys. Rev. B 72, 205110 (2005)], and Tyukhtin et al. [IEEE, Proceedings of the PAC, 2007 (unpublished), pp. 4156–4158]. Cherenkov radiation in artificially constructed materials [metamaterials (MTMs)] can provide unusual engineered features that can be advantageous for particle detector design.

High-power RF tests on X-band dielectric-loaded accelerating structures

A joint Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)/Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) program is under way to investigate X-band dielectric-loaded accelerating (DLA) structures, using high-power 11.424-GHz radiation from the NRL Magnicon Facility. DLA structures offer the potential of a simple, inexpensive alternative to copper disk-loaded structures for use in high-gradient radio-frequency (RF) linear accelerators. A central purpose of our high-power test program is to find the RF breakdown limits of these structures. In this paper, we summarize the most recent tests results for two DLA structures loaded with different ceramics: alumina and Mg/sub x/Ca/sub 1-x/TiO/sub 3/ (MCT). No RF breakdown has been observed up to 5 MW of drive power (equivalent to 8 MV/m accelerating gradient), but multipactor was observed to absorb a large fraction of the incident microwave power. The latest experimental results on suppression of multipactor using a TiN coating on the inner surface of the dielectric are reported. Although we did not observe dielectric breakdown in the structure, breakdown did occur at the ceramic joint, where the electric field is greatly enhanced. Lastly, the MCT structure showed significantly less multipactor for the same level RF field.

High power radio frequency generation by relativistic beams in dielectric structures

We have studied the interaction of a high current electron beam with dielectric loaded waveguides as a source of electromagnetic radiation. A unique high current photoinjector-based electron linac was used to generate the drive beam for these experiments, and the fields generated were diagnosed using a trailing probe (witness) beam from a second photocathode gun. Traveling wave dielectric structures with luminal (vphase=c) frequencies of 15 and 20 GHz were used. The radio frequency power levels generated in these initial experiments were very large—up to 11 MW.

Wakefield generation in metamaterial-loaded waveguides

Metamaterials (MTMs) are artificial structures made of periodic elements and are designed to obtain specific electromagnetic properties. As long as the periodicity and the size of the elements are much smaller than the wavelength of interest, an artificial structure can be assigned a permittivity and permeability, just like natural materials. Metamaterials can be customized to have the permittivity and permeability desired for a particular application. When the permittivity and permeability are made simultaneously negative in some frequency range, the metamaterial is called double-negative or left-handed and has some unusual properties. For example, Cherenkov radiation (CR) in a left-handed metamaterial is backward; radiated energy propagates in the opposite direction to particle velocity. This property can be used to improve the design of particle detectors. Waveguides loaded with metamaterials are of interest because the metamaterials can change the dispersion relation of the waveguide significantly. Sl...

Generation of Relativistic Electron Bunches with Arbitrary Current Distribution via Transverse-to-Longitudinal Phase Space Exchange

We propose a general method for tailoring the current distribution of relativistic electron bunches. The technique relies on a recently proposed method to exchange the longitudinal phase space emittance with one of the transverse emittances. The method consists of transversely shaping the bunch and then converting its transverse profile into a current profile via a transverse-to-longitudinal phase-space-exchange beamline. We show that it is possible to tailor the current profile to follow, in principle, any desired distributions. We demonstrate, via computer simulations, the application of the method to generate trains of microbunches with tunable spacing and linearly-ramped current profiles. We also briefly explore potential applications of the technique.

The Argonne Wakefield Accelerator-overview and status

The Argonne Wakefield Accelerator (AWA) is a new facility for advanced accelerator research, with a particular emphasis on studies of high gradient (/spl sim/100 MeV/m) Wakefield acceleration. A novel high current short pulse L-Band photocathode gun and preaccelerator will provide 100 nC electron bunches at 20 MeV to be used as a drive beam, while a second high brightness gun will be used to generate a 5 MeV witness beam for Wakefield measurements. We present an overview of the various AWA systems, the status of construction, and initial commissioning results.<<ETX>>

Transformer Ratio Enhancement for Structure-Based Wakefield Acceleration

A limiting factor in the efficiency of wakefield accelerators is the fact that the transformer ratio R, the parameter that characterizes the energy transfer efficiency from the accelerating structure to the accelerated electron beam, is less than 2 for most technologically realizable beam‐structure configurations. We are planning an experiment to study transformer ratio enhancement in a 13.625 GHz dielectric wakefield structure driven by a ramped bunch train. In this paper we present an experimental program for the demonstration of this Enhanced Transformer Ratio Dielectric Wakefield Accelerator (ETR‐DWA).

Temporal Laser Pulse Shaping for RF Photocathode Guns: The Cheap and Easy way using UV Birefringent Crystals

We report experimental investigations into a new technique for achieving temporal laser pulse shaping for RF photocathode gun applications using inexpensive UV birefringent crystals. Exploiting the group velocity mismatch between the two different polarizations of a birefringent crystal, a stack of UV pulses can be assembled into the desired temporal pulse shape. The scheme is capable of generating a variety of temporal pulse shapes including: (i) flat‐top pulses with fast rise‐time and variable pulse duration. (ii) microbunch trains, and (iii) ramped pulse generation. We will consider two applications for beam generation at the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator (AWA) including a flat‐top laser pulse for low emittance production and matched bunch length for enhanced transformer ratio production. Streak camera measurements of the temporal profiles generated with a 2‐crystal set and a 4‐crystal set are presented.