Showing papers on "Charged particle published in 2006"

Scaling and suppression of anomalous heating in ion traps.

Abstract: We measure and characterize anomalous motional heating of an atomic ion confined in the lowest quantum levels of a novel rf ion trap that features moveable electrodes. The scaling of heating with electrode proximity is measured, and when the electrodes are cooled from 300 to 150 K, the heating rate is suppressed by an order of magnitude. This provides direct evidence that anomalous motional heating of trapped ions stems from microscopic noisy potentials on the electrodes that are thermally driven. These observations are relevant to decoherence in quantum information processing schemes based on trapped ions and perhaps other charge-based quantum systems.

Non-linear particle acceleration at non-relativistic shock waves in the presence of self-generated turbulence

Abstract: Particle acceleration at astrophysical shocks may be very efficient if magnetic scattering is self-generated by the same particles. This non-linear process adds to the non-linear modification of the shock due to the dynamical reaction of the accelerated particles on the shock. Building on a previous general solution of the problem of particle acceleration with arbitrary diffusion coefficients, we present here the first semi-analytical calculation of particle acceleration with both effects taken into account at the same time; charged particles are accelerated in the background of Alfven waves that they generate due to the streaming instability, and modify the dynamics of the plasma in the shock vicinity.

Understanding the self-assembly of charged nanoparticles at the water/oil interface

Abstract: We present a thermodynamic evaluation of the self-assembly of charged nanometer-sized particles at the water/oil interface. The chemical potentials of the nanoparticles in the bulk (aqueous) phase and at the water/oil interface are calculated taking into account interfacial energies, van der Waals interactions, and electrostatic repulsions. An isotherm of the interfacial particle density as a function of the surface charge density on the particles is obtained and compared with experimental results on gold and CdTe nanoparticles self-assembled at the water/heptane interface. Our model provides a semi-quantitative explanation for the spontaneous self-assembly of several types of metallic and semiconducting charged nanoparticles upon reduction of their surface charge.

Finite-size error in many-body simulations with long-range interactions.

Abstract: We discuss the origin of the finite-size error of the energy in many-body simulation of systems of charged particles and we propose a correction based on the random-phase approximation at long wavelengths. The correction is determined mainly by the collective charge oscillations of the interacting system. Finite-size corrections, both on kinetic and potential energy, can be calculated within a single simulation. Results are presented for the electron gas and silicon.

Electrostatic interactions in dissipative particle dynamics using the Ewald sums.

Abstract: The electrostatic interactions in dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations are calculated using the standard Ewald [Ann. Phys. 64, 253 (1921)] sum method. Charge distributions on DPD particles are included to prevent artificial ionic pair formation. This proposal is an alternative method to that introduced recently by Groot [J. Chem. Phys. 118, 11265 (2003)] where the electrostatic field was solved locally on a lattice. The Ewald method is applied to study a bulk electrolyte and polyelectrolyte-surfactant solutions. The structure of the fluid is analyzed through the radial distribution function between charged particles. The results are in good agreement with those reported by Groot for the same systems. We also calculated the radius of gyration of a polyelectrolyte in salt solution as a function of solution pH and degree of ionization of the chain. The radius of gyration increases with the net charge of the polymer in agreement with the trend found in static light scattering experiments of polystyrene sulfonate solutions.

A method to improve tracking and particle identification in TPCs and silicon detectors

Abstract: The measurement of the ionization by charged particles in a medium (gas or condensed) together with the measurement of their momentum or energy is used for tracking the particles and to determine their identity. For tracking the lateral extent of the ionization cloud should be known. For tracking and for charged particle identification (PID), one must understand that energy loss of particles, ionization and detector output are related, but not identical. In this paper, I discuss the relevant physics processes involved in PID and tracking and the stochastic nature of the energy loss mechanism. These calculations can be made with analytic and Monte Carlo methods. The expression dE/dx should be abandoned; it is never relevant to the signals in a particle-by-particle analysis. Specific terms such as energy loss, energy deposition, ionization and pulse height should be used instead. It is important that an accurate data analysis requires attention to track segmentation. I will show that properties of straggling functions for gases and thin silicon detectors are similar for equivalent absorber thicknesses and general conclusions given for one absorber will be valid for others. Thus, these techniques can be used in Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) and Silicon Drift Detectors. I will show how to use this formalism in the STAR and ALICE TPCs and describe how its use has improved the performance of the detector.

Charging of dust grains in a plasma with negative ions

Abstract: The effect of negative ions on the charging of dust particles in a plasma is investigated experimentally. A plasma containing a very low percentage of electrons is formed in a single-ended Q machine when SF6 is admitted into the vacuum system. The relatively cold Q machine electrons (Te≈0.2eV) readily attach to SF6 molecules to form SF6− negative ions. Calculations of the dust charge indicate that for electrons, negative ions, and positive ions of comparable temperatures, the charge (or surface potential) of the dust can be positive if the positive ion mass is smaller than the negative ion mass and if ϵ, the ratio of the electron to positive ion density, is sufficiently small. The Q machine plasma is operated with K+ positive ions (mass 39amu) and SF6− negative ions (mass 146amu), and also utilizes a rotating cylinder to dispense dust into the plasma column. Analysis of the current-voltage characteristics of a Langmuir probe in the dusty plasma shows evidence for the reduction in the (magnitude) of the ne...

Modeling of the heliospheric interface: multi-component nature of the heliospheric plasma

Abstract: We present a new model of the heliospheric interface - the region of the solar wind interaction with the local interstellar medium. This new model performs a multi-component treatment of charged particles in the heliosphere. All charged particles are divided into several co-moving types. The coldest type, with parameters typical of original solar wind protons, is considered in the framework of fluid approximation. The hot pickup proton components created from interstellar H atoms and heliospheric ENAs by charge exchange, electron impact ionization and photoionization are treated kinetically. The charged components are considered self-consistently with interstellar H atoms, which are described kinetically as well. To solve the kinetic equation for H atoms we use the Monte Carlo method with splitting of trajectories, which allows us 1) to reduce statistical uncertainties allowing correct interpretation of observational data; 2) to separate all H atoms in the heliosphere into several populations depending on the place of their birth and on the type of parent protons.

Detecting charging state of ultra-fine particles: instrumental development and ambient measurements

Abstract: . The importance of ion-induced nucleation in the lower atmosphere has been discussed for a long time. In this article we describe a new instrumental setup – Ion-DMPS – which can be used to detect contribution of ion-induced nucleation on atmospheric new particle formation events. The device measures positively and negatively charged particles with and without a bipolar charger. The ratio between "charger off" to "charger on" describes the charging state of aerosol particle population with respect to equilibrium. Values above one represent more charges than in an equilibrium (overcharged state), and values below unity stand for undercharged situation, when there is less charges in the particles than in the equilibrium. We performed several laboratory experiments to test the operation of the instrument. After the laboratory tests, we used the device to observe particle size distributions during atmospheric new particle formation in a boreal forest. We found that some of the events were clearly dominated by neutral nucleation but in some cases also ion-induced nucleation contributed to the new particle formation. We also found that negative and positive ions (charged particles) behaved in a different manner, days with negative overcharging were more frequent than days with positive overcharging.

Identification and classification of the formation of intermediate ions measured in boreal forest

Abstract: We have measured the size distributions of air ions (0.42-7.5 nm in diameter) with the Balanced Scanning Mo- bility Analyzer in boreal forest, in Southern Finland since spring 2003. The size range covers the size range of clus- ter ions (approximately 0.42-1.6 nm) and naturally charged nanometre aerosol particles (1.6-7.5 nm) or intermediate air ions. Based on the measurements from April 2003 to March 2006 we studied the characteristics of charged aerosol par- ticle formation by classifying each day either as a particle formation event, undefined or non-event day. The principal of the classification, as well as the statistical description of the charged aerosol particle formation events are given. We found in total 270 (26% of the analysed days) and 226 (22% of the analysed days) particle formation days for negative and positive intermediate ions, respectively. For negatively charged particles we classified 411 (40% of the analysed days) undefined and 348 (34% of the analysed days) non- event days whereas for positively charged particles 343 (33% of the analysed days) undefined and 460 (45% of the anal- ysed days) non-event days. The results were compared with the ordinary classification based on the Differential Mobility Particle Sizer (DMPS) measurements carried out at the same place. The above-presented values differed slightly from that found from the DMPS data, with a lower particle diameter of 3 nm. In addition, we have found the rain-induced inter- mediate ion bursts frequently. The rain effect was detected on 163 days by means of negative ions and on 105 days by positive ones. Another interesting phenomenon among the charged aerosol particles was the appearance and existence of intermediate ions during the snowfall. We observed this phenomenon 24 times with negatively charged particles and 21 times with positively charged ones during winter months (October-April). These intermediate air ions were seen dur- ing the snowfall and may be caused by ice crystals, although the origin of these intermediate ions is unclear at the mo- ment.

Heteroaggregation in Binary Mixtures of Oppositely Charged Colloidal Particles

Abstract: Heteroaggregation (or heterocoagulation) rate constants have been measured in mixtures of well-characterized colloidal particles of opposite charge with multiangle static and dynamic light scattering. This technique permits routine measurements of absolute heteroaggregation rate constants, also in the presence of homoaggregation. Particularly with multiangle dynamic light scattering, one is able to estimate absolute heteroaggregation rate constants accurately in the fast aggregation regime for the first time. Heteroaggregation rate constants have also been measured over a wide range of parameters, for example, ionic strength and different surface charge densities. Amidine latex particles, sulfate latex particles, and silica particles have been used for these experiments, and they were well characterized with respect to their charging and homoaggregation behavior. It was shown that heteroaggregation rate constants of oppositely charged particles increase slowly with decreasing ionic strength, and provided the surface charge is sufficiently large, the rate constant is largely independent of the surface charge. These trends can be well described with DLVO theory without adjustable parameters.

Formation and behaviour of nano/micro-particles in low pressure plasmas

Abstract: Systematic studies on formation and behaviour of particles in low-pressure plasmas have been carried out in silane capacitive high-frequency-discharges developing various in situ particle growth observation methods in the range of their size above sub-nanometres. Studies on charging characteristics of the particles and forces acting on them in the plasmas have greatly contributed to progress in particle growth. All the time evolutions of particle size and density observed until now have a common feature that the particles grow to large ones of micrometres in size through three phases: the initial growth phase up to a nanometre size, the rapid growth phase and the growth saturation phase. The growth in the rapid growth and growth saturation phases can be explained fairly well by the model of coagulation between the negatively charged particles and the positively charged ones of nanometre size. While some issues are still left to be solved, the growth processes in the initial growth phase can be understood by taking into account the relationship between the gas residence time and the growth time for the particles to grow up to nanometre size.

A novel Al2O3 fluorescent nuclear track detector for heavy charged particles and neutrons

Abstract: A novel Al2O3 fluorescent nuclear track detector (FNTD), recently developed by Landauer, Inc., has demonstrated sensitivity and functionality superior to that of existing nuclear track detectors. The FNTD is based on single crystals of aluminum oxide doped with carbon and magnesium, and having aggregate oxygen vacancy defects (Al2O3:C,Mg). Radiation-induced color centers in the new material have an absorption band at 620 nm and produce fluorescence at 750 nm with a high quantum yield and a short, 75 ± 5 ns, fluorescence lifetime. Non-destructive readout of the detector is performed using a confocal fluorescence microscope. Scanning of the three-dimensional spatial distribution of fluorescence intensity along the track of a heavy charged particle (HCP) permits reconstruction of particle trajectories through the crystal and the LET can be determined as a function of distance along the trajectory based on the fluorescence intensity. Major advantages of Al2O3:C,Mg FNTD over conventionally processed CR-39 plastic nuclear track detector include superior spatial resolution, a wider range of LET sensitivity, no need for post-irradiation chemical processing of the detector and the capability to anneal and reuse the detector. Preliminary experiments have demonstrated that the material possesses a low-LET threshold of <1 keV/μm, does not saturate at LET in water as high as 1800 keV/μm, and is capable of irradiation to fluences in excess of 106 cm−2 without saturation (track overlap).

Charged particle therapy apparatus and charged particle therapy system

Abstract: A charged particle therapy system is disclosed in which a hard switch for making a beam request of the accelerator side is installed in an irradiation room so that the accelerator side can start a desired beam irradiation preparation after depressing the hard switch. This arrangement allows the accelerator allocated time to be reduced, thereby improving the usage efficiency of the facilities by increasing the throughput with respect to patients.

Radiation sources based on laser-plasma interactions.

Abstract: Plasma waves excited by intense laser beams can be harnessed to produce femtosecond duration bunches of electrons with relativistic energies. The very large electrostatic forces of plasma density wakes trailing behind an intense laser pulse provide field potentials capable of accelerating charged particles to high energies over very short distances, as high as 1 GeV in a few millimetres. The short length scale of plasma waves provides a means of developing very compact high-energy accelerators, which could form the basis of compact next-generation light sources with unique properties. Tuneable X-ray radiation and particle pulses with durations of the order of or less than 5 fs should be possible and would be useful for probing matter on unprecedented time and spatial scales. If developed to fruition this revolutionary technology could reduce the size and cost of light sources by three orders of magnitude and, therefore, provide powerful new tools to a large scientific community. We will discuss how a laser-driven plasma wakefield accelerator can be used to produce radiation with unique characteristics over a very large spectral range.

Negative atmospheric ions and their potential role in ion-induced nucleation

Abstract: [1] Mass identified ion cluster distributions were measured under ambient atmospheric conditions and compared with model predictions based on laboratory ion cluster thermodynamics data. The results are shown from several days where atmospheric sulfur concentrations were high and thus ion-induced cluster growth was anticipated. Atmospheric gas phase sulfuric acid, temperature, relative humidity, SO2, mobility distributions of ions and small charged particles, and aerosol size distributions were also measured in support of the model calculations. The relative agreement of measurement and model for the first and second sulfuric acid clusters (HSO4−(H2SO4)m) for m = 1 and 2 is quite good but suggests that sulfuric acid clustering may not occur at the collision rate. Clusters for higher m values were not observed, which is also consistent with model predictions for the conditions under which measurements were performed. The lack of both observed and predicted large ion clusters is also consistent with the independent measurements of ion mobility distributions and particle size distributions, which showed similar numbers of positively and negatively charged ultrafine particles, suggesting that neither positive nor negative ion-induced nucleation processes were likely to have contributed significantly to observed new particle formation rates during this study. The relatively low observed concentrations of the bisulfate ion also suggest that the processes leading to the first sulfuric acid/bisulfate cluster (HSO4−H2SO4) may be more complicated than simple sulfuric acid clustering or exchange reactions. While nucleation was observed on some days, measurements suggest that ion-induced nucleation did not contribute significantly to new particle production or growth during these events. This does not rule out the possibility that ion-induced nucleation could contribute significantly to atmospheric new particle formation under very different atmosphere conditions such as in areas with much lower temperatures and higher ion concentrations.

Chemical characterization of individual, airborne sub-10-nm particles and molecules.

Abstract: A nanoaerosol mass spectrometer (NAMS) is described for real-time characterization of individual airborne nanoparticles. The NAMS includes an aerodynamic inlet, quadrupole ion guide, quadrupole ion trap, and time-of-flight mass analyzer. Charged particles in the aerosol are drawn through the aerodynamic inlet, focused through the ion guide, and captured in the ion trap. Trapped particles are irradiated with a high-energy laser pulse to reach the “complete ionization limit” where each particle is thought to be completely disintegrated into atomic ions. In this limit, the relative signal intensities of the atomic ions give the atomic composition. The method is first demonstrated with sucrose particles produced with an electrospray generator. Under the conditions used, the particle detection efficiency (fraction of charged particles entering the inlet that are subsequently analyzed) reaches a maximum of 10-4 at 9.5 nm in diameter and the size distribution of trapped particles has a geometric standard deviati...

Ionic-like Behavior of Oppositely Charged Nanoparticles

Abstract: Mixtures of oppositely charged nanoparticles of various sizes and charge ratios precipitate only at the point of electroneutrality. This phenomenonspecific to the nanoscale and reminiscent of threshold precipitation of ionsis a consequence of the formation of core-and-shell nanoparticle aggregates, in which the shells are composed of like-charged particles and are stabilized by efficient electrostatic screening.

Monte Carlo simulation of water radiolysis for low-energy charged particles.

Abstract: The paper describes the development of chemical modules simulating the prechemical and chemical stages of charged particle tracks in pure liquid water. These calculations are based on our physical track structure codes for electrons and ions (KURBUC, LEPHIST and LEAHIST) which provide the initial spatial distribution of H2O+, H2O* and subexcitation electrons at approximately 10(-15) s. We considered 11 species and 26 chemical reactions. A step-by-step Monte Carlo approach was adopted for the chemical stage between 10(-12) s and 10(-6) s. The chemistry codes enabled to simulate the non-homogeneous chemistry that pertains to electron, proton and alpha-particle tracks of various linear energy transfers (LET). Time-dependent yields of chemical species produced by electrons and ions of different energies were calculated. The calculated primary yields (G values at 10(-6) s) of 2.80 for OH and 2.59 for e(aq)- for 1 MeV electrons are in good agreement with the published values. The calculated G values at 10(-6) s for a wide range LETs from of 0.2 to 235 keV microm(-1) were obtained. The calculations show the LET dependence for OH and H2O2. The electron penetration ranges were calculated in order to discuss the role of low energy electrons.

Big bang nucleosynthesis with bound states of long-lived charged particles

Abstract: Charged particles ($X$) decaying after primordial nucleosynthesis are constrained by the requirement that their decay products should not change the light element abundances drastically. If the decaying particle is negatively charged (${X}^{\ensuremath{-}}$) then it will bind to the nuclei. We consider the effects of the decay of $X$ when bound to Helium-4 and show that this will modify the Lithium abundances.

Characterization of electrical discharge machining plasmas

Abstract: Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) is a well-known machining technique since more than fifty years. Its principle is to use the eroding effect on the electrodes of successive electric spark discharges created in a dielectric liquid. EDM is nowadays widely-used in a large number of industrial areas. Nevertheless, few studies have been done on the discharge itself and on the plasma created during this process. Further improvements of EDM, especially for micro-machining, require a better control and understanding of the discharge and of its interaction with the electrodes. In this work, the different phases of the EDM process and the properties of the EDM plasma have been systematically investigated with electrical measurements, with imaging and with time- and spatially-resolved optical emission spectroscopy. The pre-breakdown phase in water is characterized by the generation of numerous small hydrogen bubbles, created by electrolysis. Since streamers propagate more easily in a gaseous medium, these bubbles can facilitate the breakdown process. In oil, no bubbles are observed. Therefore, the breakdown mechanism in oil could be rather enhanced by particles present in the electrode gap. Fast pulses of current and light are simultaneously measured during the pre-breakdown. These pulses are characteristic of the propagation of streamers in the dielectric liquid. The pre-breakdown duration is not constant for given discharge parameters, but distributed following a Weibull distribution. This shows that the breakdown is of stochastic nature. After the breakdown, the plasma develops very rapidly ( 2·1018 cm-3 during the first microsecond). Then it decreases with time, remaining nevertheless above 1016 cm-3 after 50 μs. During the whole discharge, the density is slightly higher in the plasma center. The EDM plasma has such a high density because it is formed from a liquid, and because it is constantly submitted to the pressure imposed by the surrounding liquid. This extreme density produces spectra with strongly-broadened spectral lines, especially the Hα line, and with an important continuum. During the first microsecond when the density is at its maximum, spectral lines are so broadened that they are all merged into a continuum. The low temperature and the high density of the EDM plasma make it weakly non-ideal. Its typical coupling parameter Γ is indeed around 0.3, reaching 0.45 during the first microsecond. In this plasma, the Coulomb interactions between the charged particles are thus of the same order as the mean thermal energy of the particles, which produces coupling phenomena. Spectroscopic results confirm the non-ideality of the EDM plasma. The strong broadening and shift of the Hα line and its asymmetric shape and complex structure, the absence of the Hβ line, and the merging of spectral lines are typical of nonideal plasmas. The EDM plasma has thus extreme physical properties, and the physics involved is astonishingly complex.

Ion-acoustic dressed solitons in a dusty plasma

Abstract: Using the reductive perturbation method, equations for ion-acoustic waves governing the evolution of first- and second-order potentials in a dusty plasma including the dynamics of charged dust grains have been derived. The renormalization procedure of Kodama and Taniuti is used to obtain a steady state nonsecular solution of these equations. The variation of velocity and width of the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) as well as dressed solitons with amplitude have been studied for different concentrations and charge multiplicity of dust grains. The higher-order perturbation corrections to the KdV soliton description significantly affect the characteristics of the solitons in dusty plasma. It is found that in the presence of positively charged dust grains the system supports only compressive solitons. However, the plasma with negatively charged dust grains can support compressive solitons only up to a certain concentration of dust. Above this critical concentration of negative charge, the dusty plasma can support rarefactive solitons. An expression for the critical concentration of negatively charged dust in terms of charge and mass ratio of dust grains with plasma ions is also derived.

Bound states of helium atom in dense plasmas

Abstract: We have obtained the bound 1s21S, 1s2s1,3S, and 1s2p1,3P states energies of helium atom in dense plasma environments in accurate variation calculations. A screened Coulomb potential to represent the Debye model is used for the interaction between the charged particles. A correlated wave function consisting of a generalized exponential expansion has been used to take care of the correlation effect. The 1s21S, 1s2s1,3S, and 1s2p1,3P states energies along with the ionization potential, the energy splitting between the 1s2s3S, and 1s2s1S states, transition energies between the ground state and low-excited states of He estimated for various Debye lengths, are reported. The results show high degree of accuracy even under strong plasma conditions. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006

Charged-particle pseudorapidity distributions in Au+Au collisions at sNN=62.4 GeV

Abstract: The charged-particle pseudorapidity density for Au+Au collisions at {radical}(s{sub NN})=62.4 GeV has been measured over a wide range of impact parameters and compared to results obtained at other energies. As a function of collision energy, the pseudorapidity distribution grows systematically both in height and width. The midrapidity density is found to grow approximately logarithmically between BNL Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) energies and the top BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) energy. There is also an approximate factorization of the centrality and energy dependence of the midrapidity yields. The new results at {radical}(s{sub NN})=62.4 GeV confirm the previously observed phenomenon of ''extended longitudinal scaling'' in the pseudorapidity distributions when viewed in the rest frame of one of the colliding nuclei. It is also found that the evolution of the shape of the distribution with centrality is energy independent, when viewed in this reference frame. As a function of centrality, the total charged particle multiplicity scales linearly with the number of participant pairs as it was observed at other energies.