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We report on the quantitative nondestructive analysis of the natural isotopic abundances of hafnium and tungsten elements using nuclear resonance fluorescence. Metallic samples of hafnium and tungsten were irradiated to six quasi-monochromatic γ -ray beams generated by laser Compton scattering in the energy range of 2.4–3.2 MeV. Multiple nuclei were simultaneously excited at each of the six γ -ray beam energies. A high-purity germanium detector array detected deexcitations of the nuclei. In total, 51 transitions were unprecedentedly employed to estimate the isotopic abundances of heavy elements nondestructively. The estimated abundances of three hafnium isotopes and three tungsten isotopes are consistent with standard known natural abundances within the experimental uncertainties. The deviation from the standard values ranges from 0.18 % to 1.36 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A compact and portable gamma-ray spectrometer has been designed to diagnose different components of the inertial confinement fusion-relevant γ-ray spectrum with energies between ∼3.7–17.9 MeV. The system is designed to be as compact as possible for convenient transportation and fielding in diagnostic ports on the OMEGA laser, the National Ignition Facility, and other photon-source facilities. The system consists of a conversion foil for Compton scattering in front of four magnetic spectrometer "arms," each covering a different energy range and constructed out of cylindrical permanent magnet Halbach arrays. Monte Carlo simulations have been used to optimize and assess the performance of the conversion foil, and COSY INFINITY ion-optical simulations have been used to optimize the spectrometer magnets. The performance of the design is assessed for a simulated direct-drive γ-ray spectrum. Spanning its total γ-ray energy bandwidth and using a 1.7 mm thick boron conversion foil, the system's total energy resolution and efficiency are ∼ 15.8 % –4.5% and 5.4 × 10−7–3.7 × 10−7e−/γ, respectively, with room for improvement. Spectral γ-ray measurements will provide guidance to the inertial confinement fusion program toward achieving high-energy gain relevant to inertial fusion energy and enable new measurement capabilities for basic discovery science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel plasma mirror is proposed for realizing all-optical Compton scattering, and its performance is compared with that of planar and concave plasma mirrors. Compared to a planar mirror, a concave mirror augments the radiation energy, but it decreases the collimation of the emitted photon beam. With the aid of the increased pulse length of the reflected laser, our proposed plasma mirror boosts the radiation energy and simultaneously improving the collimation of the emitted radiation. The pulse length and radius of the reflected laser can be controlled by adjusting the parameters of the proposed plasma mirror. The dependences of the pulse length and radius on the mirror parameters have been demonstrated. The impact of non-ideal conditions encountered in real experiments on the proposed mechanism has been discussed, which precisely demonstrates the robustness of the proposed mechanism. Additionally, the required gas density for a wakefield accelerator is derived to achieve optimal scattering under the given plasma mirror configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray Compton scattering experiments along with parallel first-principles computations were carried out on LiNiO2 to understand the effects of W doping on this cathode material for Li-ion batteries. By employing high-energy x rays exceeding 100 keV, an insight is gained into the fate of the W valence electrons, which are adduced to undergo transfer to empty O 2p energy bands within the active oxide matrix of the cathode. The substitution of W for Ni is shown to increase the electronic conductivity and to enhance the total magnetization per Ni atom. Our study demonstrates that an analysis of line shapes of Compton scattered x rays in combination with theoretical modeling can provide a precise method for an atomic level understanding of the nature of the doping process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our Compton profile measurements of Ti and TiH2 using readily available hard X-ray radiation at 27.5 keV, detected by both a Hitachi Vortex silicon-drift detector and a high-resolution superconducting transition-edge sensor array, are found to be in excellent accord with state-of-the-art density functional theory based calculations. The spherically averaged difference between the Compton profiles of TiH2 and Ti is well described by an inverted parabola, supporting an itinerant behavior of the electron gas screening the protons in the Ti matrix. Our experimental approach, validated by two different detectors, extends the applicability of Compton scattering technique to the readily accessible hard x-ray regime (below 30 keV). Our study suggests possibilities for experiments at low-flux bending magnet synchrotron beamlines and paves the way for the development of tabletop Compton experiments with x-ray tubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-brilliance high-polarization γ rays based on Compton scattering are of great significance in broad areas, such as nuclear physics, high-energy physics, astrophysics, etc. However, the transfer mechanism of spin angular momentum in the transition from linear through weakly into strongly nonlinear processes is still unclear, which severely limits the simultaneous control of brilliance and polarization of high-energy γ rays. In this work, we clarify the transfer mechanism in the transition regions and put forward a clear way to efficiently manipulate the polarization of emitted photons. We find that to simultaneously generate high-energy, high-brilliance, and high-polarization γ rays, it is better to increase the laser intensity for the initially spin-polarized electron beam. However, for the case of employing the initially spin-nonpolarized electron beam, in addition to increasing laser intensity, it is also necessary to increase the energy of the electron beam. Because the γ photon polarization emitted through the single-photon absorption channel is mainly attributed to the spin transfer of laser photons, while in multi-photon absorption channels, the electron spin plays a major role. Moreover, we confirm that the signature of γ-ray polarization can be applied to observing the nonlinear effects (multi-photon absorption) of Compton scattering with moderate-intensity laser facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fully polarized Compton scattering from a beam of spin-polarized electrons is investigated in plane-wave backgrounds in a broad intensity region from the perturbative to the nonperturbative regimes. In the perturbative regime, polarized linear Compton scattering is considered for investigating polarization transfer from a single laser photon to a scattered photon, and in the high-intensity region, the polarized locally monochromatic approximation and locally constant field approximation are established and are employed to study polarization transfer from an incoming electron to a scattered photon. The numerical results suggest an appreciable improvement of about 10% in the scattering probability in the intermediate-intensity region if the electron's longitudinal spin is parallel to the laser rotation. The longitudinal spin of the incoming electron can be transferred to the scattered photon with an efficiency that increases with laser intensity and collisional energy. For collision between an optical laser with frequency ∼1 eV and a 10 GeV electron, this polarization transfer efficiency can increase from about 20% in the perturbative regime to about 50% in the nonperturbative regime for scattered photons with relatively high energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of the dead layer thickness and quenching factor of a plastic scintillator for use in ultracold neutron (UCN) experiments is described. Alpha spectroscopy was used to determine the thickness of a thin surface dead layer to be 630 ± 110 nm. The relative light outputs from the decay of 241Am and Compton scattering of electrons were used to extract Birks' law coefficient, yielding a kB value of 0.087 ± 0.003 mm/MeV, consistent with some previous reports for other polystyrene-based scintillators. The results from these measurements are incorporated into the simulation to show that an energy threshold of (∼9 keV) can be achieved for the UCNProBe experiment. This low threshold enables high beta particle detection efficiency and the indirect measurement of UCN. The ability to make the scintillator deuterated, accompanied by its relatively thin dead layer, gives rise to unique applications in a wide range of UCN experiments, where it can be used to trap UCN and detect charged particles in situ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The short wavelength operation of free-electron laser (FEL) oscillators is limited by the availability of high-reflectivity, thermally stable, and radiation-resistant FEL mirrors in the vacuum UV (VUV) wavelength. We report our recent work to extend the shortest lasing wavelength of the oscillator FEL to 168.6 nm using a storage ring FEL. This progress has been made possible by developing a new FEL configuration with substantially reduced undulator harmonic radiation on the FEL mirror, a thermally stable FEL optical cavity, and a new type of high-reflectivity fluoride-based multilayer coating with a protective capping layer. Using these fluoride-based mirrors, we have demonstrated storage ring FEL lasing from 168.6 to 179.7 nm with excellent beam stability. Employing this VUV FEL in Compton scattering, we have produced the first 120 MeV gamma rays at the High Intensity Gamma-ray Source (HIGS). Operating the HIGS in this new high-energy region will create many new opportunities for photonuclear physics research, in particular, the low-energy quantum chromodynamics research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate modeling is necessary to support precision experiments investigating strong-field QED phenomena. This modeling is particularly challenging in the transition between the perturbative and nonperturbative regimes, where the normalized laser amplitude a0 is comparable to unity and wavelength-scale interference is significant. Here, we describe how to simulate nonlinear Compton scattering, Breit–Wheeler pair creation, and trident pair creation in this regime, using the Monte Carlo particle-tracking code Ptarmigan. This code simulates collisions between high-intensity lasers and beams of electrons or γ rays, primarily in the framework of the locally monochromatic approximation. We benchmark our simulation results against full QED calculations for pulsed plane waves and show that they are accurate at the level of a few per cent, across the full range of particle energies and laser intensities. This work extends our previous results to linearly polarized lasers and arbitrary polarized γ rays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of multiple nonlinear Compton scattering on electrons in ultra-strong fields are described using analytic formulas similar to those in the theory of multiple bremsstrahlung. Based on these analytic formulas, a new pure quantum effect of multiple nonlinear Compton scattering called quantum peak splitting is identified: the electron peak splits into two when the average number of nonlinear Compton scatterings per electron passes a threshold of 5.1 and is below 9. Quantum peak splitting stems from the discreteness of quantum radiation reaction, with one of the split peaks being formed by electrons emitting zero to three times and the other by electrons emitting four or more times. This effect provides a new mechanism for the formation of electron peaks, imposes a new beamstrahlung limit on future colliders, and corrects the picture of quantum radiation reaction. Experiments can be performed on lasers with intensities ≳1021 W/cm2, which are reachable on PW-scale facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spin-polarized positron beams have widely been utilized in applications ranging from fundamental physical studies to material processing. Preparing highly polarized positron beams for accurate probing is a long-standing issue. Here, we put forward a method to produce ultra-relativistic polarized positrons with unprecedented purity in a femtosecond timescale employing a few-PW circularly polarized laser pulse. The fully spin-resolved QED Monte Carlo method is used for simulating the two successive QED processes during the interaction, i.e., nonlinear Compton scattering and nonlinear Breit–Wheeler pair production. As the photons emitted in a circularly polarized laser field are symmetrically polarized, the polarization of the intermediate gamma photon beam averages out to zero, which is advantageous for improving the polarization of positrons. Meanwhile, the moderate laser intensity suppresses the depolarization of the new-born positrons induced by radiation reaction effect. As a result, the polarization of the positrons can reach up to ≳ 90%, the highest among the laser-driven polarization schemes conceived hitherto. Furthermore, our method relaxes the requirement on laser intensity to few-PW level, offering a promising way of preparing polarized positrons with current-generation laser facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nanostructured NiBi3/α-Bi2O3 superconductor composite has been synthesized by the process of mechanical alloying through 19 h of high energy ball milling. The kinetics of formation is analyzed in detail by x-ray diffraction and the Rietveld method. A simple method is proposed to determine the crystallinity of the resulting sample by using the background Rietveld fitting that permits a quantitative analysis of the diffuse x-ray profile taking into account the air and Compton scattering. The diffuse scattering is attributed to the formation of a nanocluster of α-Bi2O3 which is confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and Raman measurements. The magnetic measurements show superconducting transition at around 4 K and the existence of NiBi3/α-Bi2O3 nanophases with a low irreversibility field at around 1.01 T at 2 K. Analysis of magnetic susceptibility and isothermal magnetic hysteresis of the NiBi3/α-Bi2O3 nanocomposite indicates the simultaneous existence of bulk superconductivity and ferromagnetism below 4 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray Compton scattering experiments along with parallel first-principles computations were carried out on LiNiO2 to understand the effects of W doping on this cathode material for Li-ion batteries. By employing high-energy x rays exceeding 100 keV, an insight is gained into the fate of the W valence electrons, which are adduced to undergo transfer to empty O 2p energy bands within the active oxide matrix of the cathode. The substitution of W for Ni is shown to increase the electronic conductivity and to enhance the total magnetization per Ni atom. Our study demonstrates that an analysis of line shapes of Compton scattered x rays in combination with theoretical modeling can provide a precise method for an atomic level understanding of the nature of the doping process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electron re-injection effect has revealed the great probability rate of photon generation due to the head-on collision between relativistic electrons and laser. We study the electron re-injection dynamics when the ultra-intense laser irradiates the near-critical-density plasma and successfully controls the photon radiation by means of the transversely tailored plasma. Starting from the relativistic corrected ponderomotive force, the critical strength of the laser field required by the refluxing effect is theoretically obtained. Then, the theoretical description of the wavefront formed by electron refluxing is given via plugging in the difference in the transverse phase velocity of the plasma wave. Simulation results display a curved surface of the refluxing electrons, which are in good agreement with the calculation results stemming from the physics model. The re-built phase space of the refluxing electrons illustrates that they gain energy mainly from the longitudinal electrostatic field on the re-injection path. Despite the energy of the refluxing electron being relatively low, it could radiate more photons via more efficient non-linear Compton scattering than the electron being accelerated in the positive direction. Furthermore, we employ a transverse density profile in the plasma and successfully achieve control of the electron re-injection effect and the properties of the resultant photons as well. Simulation results exhibit that overcritical electron beams are successively re-injected from the plasma density peaks. These backward electrons emit photons along the two maximal plasma densities as they collide with the laser pulse. Although the quality of the photons is not improved, their spatial distribution is changed, which is a big step toward manipulating light sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In all-optical Compton scattering driven by a multi-petawatt laser, it is critical to have accurate spatiotemporal synchronization between the ultrarelativistic electron bunch and the ultrahigh-intensity laser beam. Such a synchronization was realized by using two complementary optical setups. The first setup, used for the initial synchronization, recorded the spatial interferogram between the two femtosecond lasers used for a GeV electron beam production and an ultrahigh scattering laser beam. The second one, consisting of spatial and spectral interferometers, measured the time delay between the two laser beams in the range of 0–200 fs in real time. These monitoring systems played an essential role in conducting Compton scattering experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining the sequence of Compton scattering and photoelectric absorption events for a Compton camera system through timing information is difficult due to the finite timing resolution of radiation detectors. The conventional method compares the energies of two sequential events and determines the order of these events. The deep learning method can estimate the sequence of Compton scattering followed by the photoelectric effect better than the conventional method because it determines the sequence based on both energy and positional information of the radiation interaction. The initial information of the deep learning models is the position and energy information, and the input data are then processed in the nodes of the hidden layers. In this study, the performance of deep learning models for Compton sequence estimation and the effect of position information on these methods were investigated. The accuracies of the deep learning method and the conventional comparison method were compared. The weights connecting each node were analyzed to evaluate the effects of position and energy information to determine the Compton sequence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on numerical calculations in which a multi-petawatt γ-ray beam is generated using a novel configuration based on fully structured light irradiating an overdense plasma waveguide. We analyze how the relativistic laser pulse efficiently confines and accelerates plasma electrons to GeV-scale energies and drives a quasi-static field that induces magneto-bremsstrahlung radiation. Multiphoton Compton scattering of electrons in the intense part of the laser also occurs although the radiated energy-density is comparatively lower. The emitted γ-rays carry orbital angular momentum, are highly collimated, and account for upwards of 15% of the incident field energy in one particular case. A comparison of the laser-to-particle angular momentum and energy transfer efficiencies is made between the cases of irradiation by a circularly polarized Laguerre–Gauss mode and one type of full Poincaré beam, and it is found that the latter yields an order-of-magnitude enhancement. The essential characteristics of the interaction are validated with three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations that include quantum electrodynamical effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The positions of the figurative points on the triangular Gibbs phase diagram for the process of high-temperature synthesis of solid solutions LiyNi2−yO2 were determined for the first time using a combination of x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Compton scattering methods. The trajectory of the figurative point is built according to experimental data for temperatures of 650 and 750 °C. The ratios of the phases in equilibrium are found. It was established that, when the structure goes from rock salt to layered structures, the composition of the reagent mixture changes nonmonotonically: with an increase in the degree of ordering of the solid solution lattice, the sum molecular weight of the solid reagents increases. It has been shown experimentally that the combined use of XRD and Compton scattering makes it possible to carry out physicochemical analysis of the process and predict the final product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate that in a nonuniform plasma, the parametric decay instabilities of kinetic Alfvén waves could be quantitatively and qualitatively different from that in a uniform plasma. Specifically, the decay rate via ion Compton scattering is found to be enhanced, typically, by an order of magnitude. Furthermore, the parity of the decay kinetic Alfvén wave spectrum is broken, leading to finite net wave momentum transfer and, consequently, significant convective plasma transport with implications for confinement improvement. That localized absolutely unstable eigenmodes may be excited by a mode-converted pump wave is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dual-energy computed tomography and the Alvarez and Macovski [Phys. Med. Biol. 21, 733 (1976)] transmitted intensity (AMTI) model were used in this study to estimate the maps of density (ρ) and atomic number (Z) of mineralogical samples. In this method, the attenuation coefficients are represented [Alvarez and Macovski, Phys. Med. Biol. 21, 733 (1976)] in the form of the two most important interactions of X-rays with atoms that is, photoelectric absorption (PE) and Compton scattering (CS). This enables material discrimination as PE and CS are, respectively, dependent on the atomic number (Z) and density (ρ) of materials [Alvarez and Macovski, Phys. Med. Biol. 21, 733 (1976)]. Dual-energy imaging is able to identify sample materials even if the materials have similar attenuation coefficients at single-energy spectrum. We use the full model rather than applying one of several applied simplified forms [Alvarez and Macovski, Phys. Med. Biol. 21, 733 (1976); Siddiqui et al., SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2004); Derzhi, U.S. patent application 13/527,660 (2012); Heismann et al., J. Appl. Phys. 94, 2073-2079 (2003); Park and Kim, J. Korean Phys. Soc. 59, 2709 (2011); Abudurexiti et al., Radiol. Phys. Technol. 3, 127-135 (2010); and Kaewkhao et al., J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transfer 109, 1260-1265 (2008)]. This paper describes the tomographic reconstruction of ρ and Z maps of mineralogical samples using the AMTI model. The full model requires precise knowledge of the X-ray energy spectra and calibration of PE and CS constants and exponents of atomic number and energy that were estimated based on fits to simulations and calibration measurements. The estimated ρ and Z images of the samples used in this paper yield average relative errors of 2.62% and 1.19% and maximum relative errors of 2.64% and 7.85%, respectively. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the method accounts for the beam hardening effect in density (ρ) and atomic number (Z) reconstructions to a significant extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-destructive determination of lithium distribution in a working battery is key for addressing both efficiency and safety issues. Although various techniques have been developed to map the lithium distribution in electrodes, these methods are mostly applicable to test cells. Here, we propose the use of high-energy x-ray Compton scattering spectroscopy to measure the local lithium concentration in closed electrochemical cells. A combination of experimental measurements and parallel first-principles computations is used to show that the shape parameter S of the Compton profile is linearly proportional to lithium concentration and thus provides a viable descriptor for this important quantity. The merits and applicability of our method are demonstrated with illustrative examples of LixMn2O4 cathodes and a working commercial lithium coin battery CR2032. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An isotropic electromagnetic field in a plasma of thermalized electrons undergoes changes in energy as a result of Compton scattering and an Einstein–Hopf drag force on the electrons, eventually approaching a Bose–Einstein photon distribution at the electron temperature. The rate of change of field energy due to the combined effects of Compton scattering and the drag force is shown to be described by the Kompaneets equation for photon diffusion in frequency space. A similarity is noted between this approach and Einstein's derivation of the Planck spectrum based on the recoil of atoms as they absorb and emit radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methods to measure the polarization of x rays from highly charged heavy ions with a significantly higher accuracy than that of the existing technology are needed to explore relativistic and quantum electrodynamics effects, including the Breit interaction. We developed an Electron Beam Ion Trap Compton Camera (EBIT-CC), a new Compton polarimeter with pixelated multi-layer silicon, and cadmium telluride counters. The EBIT-CC detects the three-dimensional position of Compton scattering and photoelectric absorption, and thus, the degree of polarization of incoming x rays can be evaluated. We attached the EBIT-CC on the Tokyo Electron Beam Ion Trap (Tokyo-EBIT) in the University of Electro-Communications. An experiment was performed to evaluate its polarimetric capability through an observation of radiative recombination x rays emitted from highly charged krypton ions, which were generated by the Tokyo-EBIT. The CC of the EBIT-CC was calibrated for the ∼75 keV x rays. We developed event reconstruction and selection procedures and applied them to every registered event. As a result, we successfully obtained the polarization degree with an absolute uncertainty of 0.02. This uncertainty is small enough to probe the difference between the zero-frequency approximation and full-frequency-dependent calculation for the Breit interaction, which is expected for dielectronic recombination x rays of highly charged heavy ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A compact broadband Compton spectrometer is designed to measure the continuous spectrum of gamma-ray sources driven by an intense laser. The incident gamma rays are converted into electrons in low-Z materials by Compton scattering. Produced by a pair of stepped magnets, a weaker-front–stronger-rear nonuniform magnetic field in the electron magnetic spectrometer is used to spectrally resolve the scattered electrons, leading to a broadband gamma-ray spectral coverage of 2–20 MeV in a compact volume. Flat imaging-plate detectors are placed near the focused imaging points of the magnetic spectrometer to record the dispersed electrons, thereby achieving an optimal spectral resolution of 6%–13% in the energy range of 3–20 MeV. The spectrometer is used successfully to measure the gamma-ray spectrum generated by the high-energy electron beams produced by a femtosecond-laser-driven wakefield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the intrinsic energy resolution, the influence law of multiple Coulomb scattering, the radiation conversion efficiency, and other factors of the Compton radiation conversion target. Based on the essential principle of interaction between gamma rays and matter, the theoretical characteristics and transport law of Compton electrons are analyzed. Through a Monte Carlo simulation, the composition, energy, and angular distribution of electrons emitted from the target surface are calculated; the influence of target parameters, such as target material, thickness, and electron collection angle, on target performance is studied; and then the optimization method of target parameters is established. Finally, the main performance parameters of the Compton radiation conversion target are given. This research reveals how multiple Coulomb scattering angles relate to materials of different types and thicknesses, as well as to the optimal collection angle. A series of optimized parameters for the material, mass thickness, and corresponding energy resolution of radiation conversion target with different conversion efficiencies are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compton scattering imaging using high-energy synchrotron x rays allows the visualization of the spatiotemporal lithiation state in lithium-ion batteries probed in operando. Here, we apply this imaging technique to the commercial 18650-type cylindrical lithium-ion battery. Our analysis of the line shapes of the Compton scattering spectra taken from different electrode layers reveals the emergence of inhomogeneous lithiation patterns during the charge-discharge cycles. Moreover, these patterns exhibit oscillations in time where the dominant period corresponds to the timescale of the charging curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both the unoccupied and ground electronic states of graphite have been studied by electron energy-loss spectroscopy in a transmission electron microscope. Electron energy-loss near-edge structures of the K-edge of carbon have been investigated in detail for scattering angles from 0 to 2.8 mrad. The π* and σ* components were separated. The angular and energy dependences of the π* and σ* structures were in fair agreement with theory. Electron energy loss Compton spectra of graphite were recorded at scattering angles from 45 to 68 mrad. One Compton scattering spectrum was obtained in 1 min compared with several hours or days using photons. The contributions of core electrons were calculated by the exact Hartree-Slater method in the Compton scattering region. The electron Compton profile for graphite is in good agreement with other conventional Compton profile measurements, as well as with theory, thus establishing the validity of the technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetic Compton scattering of a Tb32Fe55O13 film was measured in order to investigate the microscopic magnetization processes (i.e., the spin moment, orbital moment, and element specific moments). The trend of the spin magnetic moment was the same as that of the total magnetic moment but opposite to the orbital magnetic moment. In the low magnetic field region, the magnetic moments were not perfectly aligned perpendicular to the film surface, and the perpendicular components were found to mainly arise from the magnetic moment of Tb. Oxygen atoms hinder long range magnetic interaction and hence also affect the magnetization process of the magnetic moments of Tb and Fe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a manageable approach to include, within the context of optical-data models of the dielectric response function, exchange and correlation (XC) effects in inelastic electron scattering, thus, going beyond the standard random-phase approximation (RPA). The many-body local-field correction in its static limit, G(q), is employed to incorporate XC effects to all orders in q at both the level of 'screening' and the level of 'scattering' by computing the so-called test-charge-test-charge (t-t), electron-test-charge (e-t), and electron-electron (e-e) dielectric functions. Some of the most used analytic approximations for G(q) are examined, ranging from the early Hubbard-like expressions to more recent parameterized formulations that satisfy some of the known asymptotic limits. The effect of the different G(q) models upon the inelastic scattering of low-medium energy electrons in condensed matter is examined using solid (amorphous) carbon as an example. It is shown that when XC corrections at all levels are considered, a net reduction of the inelastic scattering cross section by up to 20%-30% from the corresponding RPA value is obtained. Interestingly, a screened Hubbard approximation to G(q) reproduces (to a few %) the results of more accurate representations. Based on the present results, the controversial high-q asymptotic behaviour of G(q) is inconsequential to inelastic electron scattering in the examined energy range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binary interactions in relativistic plasma, such as Coulomb and Compton scattering as well as pair creation and annihilation are well known and studied in detail. Triple interactions, namely, relativistic bremsstrahlung, double Compton scattering, radiative pair production, and triple pair production and their inverse processes, are usually considered as emission processes in astrophysical problems, as well as in laboratory plasmas. Their role in plasma kinetics is fundamental [A. G. Aksenov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 125003 (2007)]. We present a new conservative scheme for computation of the Uehling–Uhlenbeck collision integral for all triple interactions in relativistic plasma based on direct integration of exact QED matrix elements. Reaction rates for thermal distributions are compared, where possible, with the corresponding analytic expressions, showing good agreement. Our results are relevant for quantitative description of relativistic plasmas out of equilibrium, both under astrophysical and laboratory conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distinctive features of a well-known NaI(Tl) scintillation detector, by virtue of its crystal size, are experimentally investigated by observing changes in parameters such as intrinsic efficiency (εi), photo-peak efficiency (εp), resolution, and response function to incident gamma photon energy. This study provides a better understanding for the choice of crystal size of the scintillation detector in Compton scattering experiments. The response function of the NaI(Tl) detector is in the form of an inverse matrix focusing on the retort of the crystal when gamma photons are incident upon it. The response function of the NaI(Tl) detector depends upon the distance between the source and the detector, composition of the material for the crystal itself, photo-fraction, solid angle, incident gamma energy, and geometry of the experimental setup. The factors responsible for broadening of full energy and backscattered peaks are discussed for present investigations. The observed results indicate that the resolution of the detector varies with the incident energy of gamma radiation, and it also depends upon the size of the crystal of the detector. Statistical fluctuations related with the scintillation mechanism are found to be responsible for broadening of instrumental line width (photo-peak). The signal-to-noise ratio and photo-fraction for different crystal sizes of the scintillation detector corrected for efficiency of the detector are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose to use a 10 petawatt (PW) laser irradiating onto a target with a concave surface, which can focus the laser beam and attain a more intense laser field, so as to increase both the yield and mean energy of emitted γ-rays. 2D particle-in-cell simulation results show that the peak electric field after the reflection of the laser from the target in this new scheme can reach ∼ 1.8 times as high as that in the plane target case. Such an enhanced laser field enables an increase in the number of hot electrons in front of the incident plane and raises the probability rate of generating high-energy γ-rays significantly by non-linear Compton scattering. As a result, 1.5 × 10 13 γ photons with a mean energy of 9.2 MeV are obtained. These photons mainly point toward two directions and distribute in pulses with the duration of each pulse of ∼ 400 as. A brightness as high as 3.6 × 10 25 photons / (mm 2 mrad 2 s 0.1 % BW) is obtained in one pulse. Compared to no positron observed for a plane target, a positron yield of 3.0 × 10 8 can be achieved in this new scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An application of magnetic Compton scattering to measure the depth dependence of spin-specific magnetization hysteresis (SSMH) loops in a Nd–Fe–B sintered magnet is presented herein. The depth dependence of SSMH was obtained by changing the position of x-rays with a vertical beam size of 10 μm. The results show that the surface deterioration area has a depth of 120 μm, where the magnetization begins to decrease gradually. In the internal region, we also observed decreased coercivity, which might be caused by the demagnetizing field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characteristic x rays generated by a collision between a tungsten target and relativistic electron beams generated from a compact electrostatic accelerator based on a Marx generator and a Blumlein pulse-forming line can induce transient ionizing radiation in electronics. While the decelerated electron beam is close to a collector out of range of an external magnetic field, Bremsstrahlung x rays occur at the same time. Compton scattering also occurs through secondary reaction interactions with quasi-stationary particles such as ejected inner shell electrons or photons. During a simulation, a semiconductor process is used to analyze the effects and processes of photocurrents derived from the flow of the drain current when transient pulses generated from the compact electrostatic accelerator are incident in the pMOSFET-AD420-based detector. The photocurrent induced from the detector is also measured by experimental results in comparison with a computer simulation, and a photocurrent detection experiment was then conducted with a high-pulse-current compact electrostatic accelerator. In addition, data pertaining to the irradiation dose rate and photon emission rate were obtained. In order to confirm the radiation pattern in the situation of Compton scattering, the ionizing radiation effect in the photosensitive phosphor was identified using a fluorescent lamp. During the experiment, a relativistic electron beam operating at high energy and current levels at a maximum of 1MeV-10 kA was utilized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beam energy of the circular electron–positron collider should be measured precisely to the order of 1 MeV, in order to decrease the uncertainty of the Higgs/W/Z bosons' mass measurement. For this purpose, a lepton bunch is extracted from the collider and collides with an Yttrium–Aluminum–Garnet laser pulse. After the inverse Compton scattering, the main beam and the scattered beam pass through an analytical magnetic field and are deflected to different angles. At the end of the drift beam pipes, the deflecting distances are detected with the spatial resolution of several microns. The systematic uncertainties caused by the detector arrangement, the magnetic field, the angle between the detector plane and the incident beam, and the synchrotron radiation are discussed in detail. The simulations of the statistical errors are given with a toy Monte Carlo sample. With some proper corrections, the beam energy uncertainty of the Higgs mode is around 2 MeV. Our method is applicable to different operating modes of the collider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With low-emittance synchrotron radiation rings, introducing accurate x-ray beams to a sample is difficult, and ensuring that the direction of the undulator beam is stable is essential. However, measuring the centroid of the undulator photon beam at the beamline front-end (FE) is difficult because the soft x-ray radiation is contaminated by the bending magnets upstream and downstream of the undulator. The x-ray beam position monitors (XBPMs), based on the interaction with the halo of undulator radiation, cannot estimate the centroid of the beam, and they cannot eliminate the effects of the bending magnets. To solve this problem, we have developed an energy-resolved beam-monitoring system for undulator radiation with the scattering from a diamond thin film deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in this study. An undulator x-ray beam is irradiated onto this film, and its elastic and Compton scattering are observed through a 50 μm-diameter pinhole. A beam spot is detected through a pinhole camera system using a direct-detection-type charge-coupled device camera with energy resolution. The peak of the first-order harmonic of the undulator radiation is selectively visualized to measure the centroid of the undulator radiation, as well as the spectrum. The proposed system using a CVD diamond film can provide accurate position information for a photon beam exiting the FE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied enhanced Smith–Purcell (SP) radiation produced by a self-bunched keV-order electron beam based on a W-band surface-wave oscillator. The self-bunched beam is generated in the process of the beam interaction with the surface-wave mode. The bunched beam contains the second harmonic of the surface wave that enhances the SP radiation. The observed radiation shows that the enhancement is limited when the interaction transitions from the Compton regime to the Raman regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser-plasma-based accelerators are now able to provide the scientific community with novel high-energy light sources that are essential to study high-energy density matter, inertial confinement fusion, astrophysical systems, and fundamental plasma physics. Due to the transient and high-density properties of these systems, it is essential to develop light sources that are in the hard x-ray energy range (0.01–1 MeV) and directional and have high yield, low divergence, and short duration (ps and sub-ps). In this work, we show that by using a Laser plasma accelerator, it is possible to generate a broadband (0.01–1 MeV) hard x-ray source that satisfies the previous requirements. A series of experiments were conducted on the Titan laser at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where a 10 nC electron beam in the 10–380 MeV energy range was generated through a laser plasma accelerator. The electrons generate x-rays via their betatron motion (few-30 keV) and hard x-rays through inverse Compton scattering (10–250 keV) and/or Bremsstrahlung (up to 1 MeV). Due to its unique characteristics, this source can be an important tool for many applications in large-scale international laser facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]