M. M. Schauer

Experimental observations on the links between surface perturbation parameters and shock-induced mass ejection

We have assembled together our ejecta measurements from explosively shocked tin acquired over a period of about ten years. The tin was cast at 0.99995 purity, and all of the tin targets or samples were shocked to loading pressures of about 27 GPa, allowing meaningful comparisons. The collected data are markedly consistent, and because the total ejected mass scales linearly with the perturbations amplitudes they can be used to estimate how much total Sn mass will be ejected from explosively shocked Sn, at similar loading pressures, based on the surface perturbation parameters of wavelength and amplitude. Most of the data were collected from periodic isosceles shapes that approximate sinusoidal perturbations. Importantly, however, we find that not all periodic perturbations behave similarly. For example, we observed that sawtooth (right triangular) perturbations eject more mass than an isosceles perturbation of similar depth and wavelength, demonstrating that masses ejected from irregular shaped perturbatio...

The Los Alamos Trapped Ion Quantum Computer Experiment

The development and theory of an experiment to investigate quantum computation with trapped calcium ions is described. The ion trap, laser and ion requirements are determined, and the parameters required for quantum logic operations as well as simple quantum factoring are described.

Initial electron-beam results from the DARHT-II linear induction accelerator

The DARHT-II linear-induction accelerator has been successfully operated at 1.2-1.3 kA and 12.5-12.7 MeV to demonstrate the production and acceleration of an electron beam. Beam pulse lengths for these experiments were varied from 0.5 /spl mu/s to 1.2 /spl mu/s full-width half-maximum. A low-frequency inductance-capacitance (LC) oscillation of diode voltage and current resulted in an oscillation of the beam position through interaction with an accidental (static) magnetic dipole in the diode region. There was no growth in the amplitude of this oscillation after propagating more than 44 m through the accelerator, and there was no loss of beam current that could be measured. The results of these initial experiments are presented in this paper.

Beyond the Brillouin limit with the Penning Fusion Experiment

Several years ago, it was proposed that a dense non-neutral plasma could be produced in a Penning trap. Nonneutral plasmas have excellent confinement, and such a dense plasma might produce simultaneously high density and good confinement. Recently, this theoretical conjecture has been demonstrated in a small (3 mm radius) electron experiment, PFX (Penning Fusion Experiment). Densities up to 35 times the Brillouin density (limiting number density in a static trap) have been inferred from the observed strong (100:1) spherical focusing. Electrons are injected at low energy from a single pole of the sphere. A surprising observation is the self-organization of the system into a spherical state, which occurs precisely when the trap parameters are adjusted to produce a spherical well. This organization is caused by a bootstrapping mechanism which produces a hysteresis. Observations of energy-scattered electrons confirm the existence of a dense spherical focus.

Observation of power-law scaling for phase transitions in linear trapped ion crystals

We report an experimental confirmation of the power-law relationship between the critical anisotropy parameter and ion number for the linear-to-zigzag phase transition in an ionic crystal. Our experiment uses laser cooled calcium ions confined in a linear radio-frequency trap. Measurements for up to ten ions are in good agreement with theoretical and numeric predictions. Implications on an upper limit to the size of data registers in ion trap quantum computers are discussed.

Ejected particle size measurement using Mie scattering in high explosive driven shockwave experiments

We report on the development of a diagnostic to provide constraints on the size of particles ejected from shocked metallic surfaces. The diagnostic is based on measurements of the intensity of laser light transmitted through a cloud of ejected particles as well as the angular distribution of scattered light, and the analysis of the resulting data is done using the Mie solution. We describe static experiments to test our experimental apparatus and present initial results of dynamic experiments on Sn targets. Improvements for future experiments are briefly discussed.

Long-pulse beam stability experiments on the DARHT-II linear induction accelerator

When completed, the DARHT-II linear induction accelerator (LIA) will produce a 2-kA, 17-MeV electron beam in a 1600-ns flat-top pulse. In initial tests, DARHT-II accelerated beams with current pulse lengths from 500 to 1200 ns full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) with more than 1.2-kA, 12.5-MeV peak current and energy. Experiments have now been done with a /spl sim/1600-ns pulse length. These pulse lengths are all significantly longer than any other multimegaelectronvolt LIA, and they define a novel regime for high-current beam dynamics, especially with regard to beam stability. Although the initial tests demonstrated insignificant beam-breakup instability (BBU), the pulse length was too short to determine whether ion-hose instability would be present toward the end of a long, 1600-ns pulse. The 1600-ns pulse experiments reported here resolved these issues for the long-pulse DARHT-II LIA.

Electron equilibrium and confinement in a modified Penning trap and its application to Penning fusion

The Penning fusion concept is described. Recent theoretical work on eliminating limitations on thermonuclear gain (Q) associated with ion–ion collisions is reviewed. A critical issue identified is the demonstration of the desired spherical electron configuration. Constraints on the electron distribution function are derived. A small combined trap (majority electrons), PFX-I (Penning Fusion eXperiment-Ions) has been constructed to study these issues. PFX-I is described. Two diagnostics described for electrons are destructive dumping of trapped electrons and noninvasive optical detection of impact induced fluorescence. Initial results of PFX-I operation at applied voltages V0 up to 2 kV and magnetic fields B up to 1.14 T are described. Electron equilibrium is found to be consistent with trap filling to the space charge limit, with inventory proportional to V0 and independent of B. Electron confinement times range from 1 to 10 ms and are determined by neutral pressure. These results are interpreted and futur...

Electron Penning trap for the generation of high density non-neutral plasmas

We describe an experiment to produce high density pure electron plasmas in a cryogenic Penning trap. The apparatus and its operation are described in detail. A brief summary of data acquired to date and its interpretation are given. Possible uses and future work are mentioned.

First beam at DARHT-II

The second axis of the Dual Axis Radiographic HydroTest (DARHT) facility will provide up to four short (< 150 ns) radiation pulses for flash radiography of high-explosive driven implosion experiments. To accomplish this the DARHT-II linear induction accelerator (LIA) will produce a 2-kA electron beam with 18-MeV kinetic energy, constant to within /spl plusmn/ 0.5% for 2-/spl mu/s. A fast kicker will cleave four short pulses out of the 2-/spl mu/s flattop, with the bulk of the beam diverted into a dump. The short pulses will then be transported to the final-focus magnet, and focused onto a tantalum target for conversion to bremsstrahlung pulses for radiography. DARHT-II is a collaborative effort between the Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories of the University of California.