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Abstract A high efficiency simulation method for propagation-based phase-contrast imaging, called directional macro-wavefront (DMWF), is developed with the aim of simulating high-energy phase-contrast imaging. This method takes both Monte Carlo and wave optical propagation into consideration. Traditional wave-optics-based simulation methods for phase-contrast imaging encounter unacceptable computational complexity when high-energy radiation is used. In contrast, this method effectively addresses this issue by using macro-wavefront integration. Several simulation examples using typical parameters of inverse Compton scattering sources are presented to illustrate the excellent energy adaptability and efficiency of the DMWF method. This method provides a more efficient approach for phase-contrast imaging simulations, which will drive the advancement of high-energy phase-contrast imaging.

Beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA) is a promising technique to generate high-energy electron bunches for future electron-positron colliders. Longitudinal shaping of high-charge drive beam is highly desired for achieving high-transformer ratio and loading high-charge witness beam. However, the existing shaping schemes either focused on relatively low-charge bunch shaping or accompanied with significant charge-loss rate (typically over 50%). In this paper, a coherent-synchrotron-radiation-free shaping scheme based on velocity modulation is proposed to generate a high-charge beam with a linearly ramped profile. A >10 kA-peak-current shaped beam containing >50 nC charge with a low charge-loss rate is demonstrated by a start-to-end simulation, and the tunabilities of the beam charge and the peak current, and the robustness of the proposed shaping scheme are also discussed. When loaded by a 3 nC witness beam, a >GV/m accelerating electric field with a transformer ratio larger than 4 can be achieved in a uniform plasma for the shaped drive beam, providing the possibility of high-transformer-ratio PWFA for a high-charge beam.

A light source project named very compact inverse Compton scattering gamma-ray source (VIGAS) is under development at Tsinghua University. VIGAS aims to generate monochromatic high-energy gamma rays by colliding 350-MeV electron beams with 400-nm laser photons within a 12-m beamline. To produce a high-energy electron beam in such a compact space, the system consists of an S-band high-brightness injector and six X-band high-gradient accelerating structures. The goal of the X-band structure is to operate at a high gradient of 80 MV/m. Therefore, we adopts the constant gradient traveling wave approach, where the iris from the first cell to the end cell is tapered. The structure has 72 cells, including 70 cells and 2 couplers, so we named it XT72. The frequency of XT72 is selected to 11.424 GHz, and the 2π/3 mode is adopted. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study covering the detailed design, fabrication, rf tuning, and high-power test results of the first XT72. Additionally, we compare the performance of this structure to that of the previous constant impedance structure. Our results demonstrate that the XT72 is capable of operating at an 80-MV/m gradient with a lower breakdown rate. This advancement paves the way for the development of VIGAS project and contributes to the wider application of X-band room-temperature high-gradient structures in compact accelerator facilities.

In this study, we propose a physical design of a compact all-optical terahertz (THz)-driven electron source. The 300-mm accelerator beamline, powered by a Joule-level laser system, can be easily integrated into the tabletop scale. A THz-driven electron gun, a tapered dielectric-loaded cylindrical waveguide, THz-driven bunch compressors, and permanent magnetic solenoids (PMSs) have been designed and optimized. Dynamic simulations show that the electron source can deliver 19 fC electron beams at 3 MeV, with a normalized transverse emittance of 0.079 π.mm.mrad. A minimum relative energy spread of 0.04% or a minimum root-mean-square (RMS) bunch length of 6.1 fs can be achieved. Sensitivity analysis shows that the THz-driven electron source can effectively work with a laser power jitter within 1.5%. Simulation studies also reveal the potential of the designed THz-driven electron source for achieving high-quality ultrafast electron diffraction (UED). Prototype THz-driven electron guns have been fabricated and are currently under testing, and more comprehensive results will be reported in future works.

Tsinghua University is currently developing a very-high-frequency electron gun that operates in continuous-wave (cw) mode at 216.667 MHz. This gun will serve as the beam source for the Shanghai high repetition rate XFEL and extreme light facility. The cavity profile has been optimized to minimize input power, peak surface electric field, and peak wall power density. The profile optimization also takes into account the suppression of multipacting effect. Additionally, thermal analysis has been performed to guide the design of water cooling channels in coordination with gun mechanical design. The fabrication of the gun has been completed, and the frequency and quality factor measured in cold test are in good agreement with simulation expectations. During high power conditioning, 75 kW cw radio frequency power was successfully fed into the gun, corresponding to a cathode gradient of 27 MV/m and a gun voltage of 780 keV. This operating gradient is currently the highest in the world for room-temperature VHF guns. Under this condition, the maximum dark current collected by the Faraday cup at the gun exit was 376 nA when the strength of the gun solenoid was scanned. To measure and optimize the beam quality, a test beamline was constructed. After preliminary optimization, the 95% projected transverse emittance was 0.161 mm mrad for 10 pC bunches with a bunch length of 0.49 mm rms, 0.429 mm mrad for 50 pC bunches with a bunch length of 1.15 mm rms, and 0.853 mm mrad for 100 pC bunches with a bunch length of 1.44 mm rms.

Pump-probe experiments using x-ray pulses or MeV ultrafast electrons as probes are important for studying ultrafast dynamic processes at the atomic level. Increasing demand is being focused on ultrashort x-ray pulses and electron pulses to research processes down to a few femtoseconds. Due to the limitation of the space charge force, only low charge electron bunches with critical synchronization can achieve such short pulses. A high-precision beam arrival-time monitor for the low charge is especially important. In this paper, a low Q_{l} cavity with high sensitivity is designed to measure the arrival time of charges below 1 pC. The pickup is particularly optimized with high R/Q at 4.76 GHz to provide the maximum signal, and the cold test results are in good agreement with the simulations. An IQ demodulation scheme is developed for the readout electronics. In the beam tests, the measured resolution of the beam arrival-time monitor is 33.46 fs at 0.5 pC.

Emittance is a key figure-of-merit for high brightness electron beams that enable the success of a broad range of modern accelerator-based instruments. With the successful implementation of the emittance compensation scheme and beam-shaping techniques to align each temporal beam slice in phase space, slice emittance starts to play a more dominating role in determining the beam quality. In this paper, we develop an approach, combining simulations and analytical calculations, to systematically study the evolution of the slice emittance in a very high frequency gun photoinjector, which is under intense R&D worldwide for driving the next generation continuous-wave accelerators. Our approach is capable of tracing various sources that introduce curvature in the transverse phase space, corresponding to the growth of the slice emittance. It is shown that nonlinear transverse space charge forces in the vicinity of cathodes and the spherical aberration of the focusing solenoid are the main sources of nonlinear forces, while in a long drift section space charge forces can actually compensate for nonlinear transverse position-momentum correlations and hence recover the emittance. We further demonstrate that the sources of nonlinearities can be controlled by tailoring the transverse beam density profile and the design of solenoid lenses.

Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1/KDM1A) has emerged as a promising therapeutic target for treating various cancers (such as breast cancer, liver cancer, etc.) and other diseases (blood diseases, cardiovascular diseases, etc.), owing to its observed overexpression, thereby presenting significant opportunities in drug development. Since its discovery in 2004, extensive research has been conducted on LSD1 inhibitors, with notable contributions from computational approaches. This review systematically summarizes LSD1 inhibitors investigated through computer-aided drug design (CADD) technologies since 2010, showcasing a diverse range of chemical scaffolds, including phenelzine derivatives, tranylcypromine (abbreviated as TCP or 2-PCPA) derivatives, nitrogen-containing heterocyclic (pyridine, pyrimidine, azole, thieno[3,2-b]pyrrole, indole, quinoline and benzoxazole) derivatives, natural products (including sanguinarine, phenolic compounds and resveratrol derivatives, flavonoids and other natural products) and others (including thiourea compounds, Fenoldopam and Raloxifene, (4-cyanophenyl)glycine derivatives, propargylamine and benzohydrazide derivatives and inhibitors discovered through AI techniques). Computational techniques, such as virtual screening, molecular docking and 3D-QSAR models, have played a pivotal role in elucidating the interactions between these inhibitors and LSD1. Moreover, the integration of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence holds promise in facilitating the discovery of novel LSD1 inhibitors. The comprehensive insights presented in this review aim to provide valuable information for advancing further research on LSD1 inhibitors.