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The Southern Europe Thomson Backscattering Source for Applied Research (STAR) is a compact hard Xray source designed by INFN, for advanced applied materials-science research. It is funded by Progetto MaTeRiA, a partnership between the University of Calabria and CNISM (Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Scienze fisiche della Materia). The machine has been installed at the University of Calabria (UNICAL); the X-ray beam is produced using the Thomson Back-scattering process, where relativistic electron bunches, accelerated by a 60 MeV Linear Accelerator (LINAC), interact with very short photon pulses, produced a by a 30 mJ@5 ps IR (Infrared) Pulsed Laser. The EPICS-based command/control system (ComConS) of the STAR machine has been designed and currently is under commissioning, using state of the art technologies and making extensive use of COTS hardware and software, assuring full control and supervision of the whole machine and all relevant subsystems: Beam diagnostics, Magnets power supplies, RF devices, Laser systems, Vacuum subsystem, Machine Protection System, Personnel Protection System and Trigger and Timing system. A growth potential has been considered since design phase, in order to take into account any future expansions of the control system during the lifecycle of the facility, without impact on the performance. Scalability of systems is also a crucial issue. The current design allows to generate tunable collimated monochromatic X-rays in the range between 10 and 200 keV. Possible future evolution will be to obtain a machine to generate higher energy X-ray beams, towards the MeV. The control system from both SW and HW points of view has to accommodate this need, as well as operating the machine for a long lifecycle.

We present an analysis of the FEL performances of several working points belonging to three different classes of electron beams driven by the same infrastructure: two high flux working points are relevant to the operation with a linac up to 1 GeV, while both LWFA and PWFA beams have been considered at this same energy for low charge operation. Soft X rays in single spike mode with fluxes up to 10 12 electrons per shot have been found.

Emergency Siren Recognition (ESR) is an important issue for automotive safety. We are interested in the early recognition of ambulance sirens in urban scenarios, where noise can be produced by a wide variety of sources and represents an impediment to the perception of alarm sounds by drivers. In this paper, we propose a deep convolutional neural network based on the U-Net encoding path for the ESR task. To overcome the problem of audio acquisition, an algorithm has been implemented to generate a synthetic dataset that reproduces the sound of a siren in multiple urban traffic contexts. We perform emergency sound recognition to identify the presence of the alerting sound using spectrogram-like features. Our experimental evaluations demonstrate that our ESR approach has achieved excellent performance both in mono-scenarios and multi-scenarios at very low SNRs, also in conditions unseen during training thanks to a large amount of training data.

A seeded FEL driven by a linac based on super conducting cavities, generating 108–1010 coherent photons per shot at 2–5 keV with 0.2–1 MHz of repetition rate, can address the need of a source devoted to fine analysis of matter using the linear spectroscopy technique. The seeding scheme described hereafter is a multi-stage cascade upshifting the radiation frequency by a factor 20–40. The x-ray range can be achieved with a seed constituted by a coherent flash in the extreme ultraviolet range provided by an FEL oscillator operating at 12–14 nm. The whole chain of x-ray generation is described by means of start-to-end three-dimensional simulations.

Kilovoltage rotational radiotherapy of breast cancer has been proposed as an alternative procedure to the conventional breast radiotherapy with 6 MeV photon beams. The use of orthovoltage X-ray tubes rotating around the breast, instead of conventional medical linear accelerators, would allow for significant reduction of acquisition and management costs. However, the employment of an X-ray tube limits the maximum available photon flux: a synchrotron radiation source could provide a high dose rate, but its clinical use is prevented by the size of such a source. In this work, we propose the use of the BriXS twin Compton pulsed X-ray source as a compact alternative to the synchrotron radiation source, for kilovoltage radiotherapy of breast cancer. This proposed source presents a footprint of 40 m × 20 m, and the X-ray spectrum presents a mean energy of 88 keV with a suitable photon flux. The dose distribution in a simulated radiotherapy session was computed via a Monte Carlo software based on the Geant4 simulation toolkit. The study focused on the skin dose ratio, i.e. the percent ratio between the dose to the skin and that to the tumor volume in the modelled breast. A low skin dose allows for a suitable sparing of skin tissue during radiotherapy. For a cylindrical model breast with a diameter of 140 mm embedding a spherical simulated lesion with a diameter of 10 mm placed at the rotational axis of the cylinder, the calculated skin-to-tumor dose ratio was as low as 7%.

Acta physica Polonica / B / Proceedings supplement 13(4), 645 (2020). doi:10.5506/APhysPolBSupp.13.645, Published by Inst. of Physics, Jagellonian Univ., Cracow

MariX is a research infrastructure conceived for multi-disciplinary studies, based on a cutting-edge system of combined electron accelerators at the forefront of the world-wide scenario of X-ray sources. The generation of X-rays over a large photon energy range will be enabled by two unique X-ray sources: a Free Electron Laser and an inverse Compton source, called BriXS (Bright compact X-ray Source). The X-ray beam provided by BriXS is expected to have an average energy tunable in the range 20–180 keV and intensities between 1011 and 1013 photon/s within a relative bandwidth Δ E / E = 1 –10 % . These characteristics, together with a very small source size ( ~ 20 μ m) and a good transverse coherence, will enable a wide range of applications in the bio-medical field. An additional unique feature of BriXS will be the possibility to make a quick switch of the X-ray energy between two values for dual-energy and K-edge subtraction imaging. In this paper, the expected characteristics of BriXS will be presented, with a particular focus on the features of interest to its possible medical applications.

We present a design study of an innovative scheme to generate high rep rate (MHz-class) GeV electron beams by adopting a two-pass two-way acceleration in a superconducting (SC) linac operated in continuous wave (CW) mode. The electron beam is accelerated twice by being reinjected in opposite direction of propagation into the linac after the first passage. Acceleration in opposite directions is accomplished thanks to standing waves supported in rf cavities. The task of recirculating the electron beam when it leaves the linac after first pass is performed by a bubble-shaped arc compressor composed by a sequence of double bend achromat. In this paper we address the main issues inherent to the two-pass acceleration process and the preservation of the electron beam quality parameters (emittance, energy spread, peak current) required to operate x-ray free electron lasers (FEL) with low jitters in the amplitude, spectral and temporal domain, as achieved by operating in seeding and/or oscillator mode a CW FEL up to 1 MHz rep rate. Detailed start-to-end simulations are shown to assess the capability of this new scheme to double the electron beam energy as well as to compress the electron bunch length from picoseconds down to tens of femtoseconds. The advantage of such a scheme is to halve the requested linac length for the same final electron beam energy, which is typically in the few GeV range, as needed to drive an x-ray FEL. The AC power to supply the cryogenic plant is also significantly reduced with respect to a conventional single-pass SC linac for the same final energy. We are reporting also x-ray FEL simulations for typical values of wavelengths of interest (in the 200 eV--8 keV photon energy range) to better illustrate the potentiality of this new scheme.

We propose an innovative method to shift the transversal position of the focal point of an optical cavity keeping it actively frequency stabilized. Our cavity is a 4 mirrors bow-tie cavity and the spatial shift of the resonant mode is obtained by properly rotating the two curved mirrors by piezo actuators. This method allows us to move the transversal position of the cavity focal point of 135 µm in a time of 50 ms, keeping the resonance condition of the cavity by means of the Pound–Drever–Hall technique. We propose to use this technique for the generation of 2-color X-rays via Inverse Compton Scattering (ICS). This technique exploits the large average power stored in the high finesse cavity by shifting the laser beam with respect to the electron beam trajectory, hence controlling the spatial superposition of the electron and photon beams in the interaction region. Arranging two cavities assembled one on top of the other, with different collision angle with the electron beam, allows the generation of X-ray bursts of different energies just by swiftly moving the two cavities, switching the two focal points onto the electron beam trajectory, thus activating in sequence two different ICS spectral lines .

Present availability of high brilliance photon beams as those produced by X-ray Free Electron Lasers in combination with intense TeV proton beams like those available at SPS, LHC or in the future at FCC, makes possible to conceive the production of TeV-class photons by Compton back-scattering of keV photons carried by the FEL radiation pulse. We present here the study of spectra and fluxes of the TeV-class photons, which are collimated in the typical 1/ γ forward angle with respect to the propagation of the proton beam ( γ is the proton beam relativistic factor). Using a room-temperature Linac based X-ray FEL delivering radiation pulses at 100 Hz up to 6 keV photon energy (implying a Linac electron beam energy in the 5–8 GeV range), fluxes of tens photons/s are achievable. It is also shown that a proper control of proton beam emittance and focusing at the interaction point is crucial to assure a reasonable energy spread of the photons emitted within an angle smaller than 1/ γ . Moreover, due to the reasonably small proton recoil, the back-scattering is actually in the Thomson regime, therefore the back-scattered photons retain the same polarization of the incident FEL beam (that is typically linear, but can be made circular too) even using unpolarized protons. The life-time of the proton beam circulating in the main ring is not affected at all by the interaction with the FEL beam due to the small number of Compton back-scattering events generated (maximum of 1 per bunch collision).

We present a study of an innovative scheme to generate high repetition rate (MHz-class) GeV electron beams by adopting a two-pass two-way acceleration in a super-conducting Linac operated in Continuous Wave (CW) mode. The beam is accelerated twice in the Linac by being re-injected, after the first pass, in opposite direction of propagation. The task of recirculating the electron beam is performed by an arc compressor composed by 14 Double Bend Achromat (DBA). In this paper, we study the main issues of the two-fold acceleration scheme, the electron beam quality parameters preservation (emittance, energy spread), together with the bunch compression performance of the arc compressor, aiming to operate an X-ray Free Electron Laser. The requested power to supply the cryogenic plant and the RF sources is also significantly reduced w.r.t a conventional one-pass SC Linac for the same final energy.

There is a strong demand for small foot-print high-flux hard X-rays machines in order to enable a large variety of science activities and serve a multidisciplinary user community. For this purpose, two compact Inverse Compton Sources (ICSs) are currently being developed in Italy. The most recent one is the Bright and Compact X-ray Source (BriXS) which has recently been proposed to produce very energetic X-rays (up to 180 keV) and high photon flux (up to 1013 photons/s with expected bandwidth of 1-10%). BriXS will be installed in Milan and it will enable advanced large area radiological imaging applications to be conducted with mono-chromatic X-rays, as well as allowing basic fundamental science of matter and health sciences at both pre- and clinical levels. Based on an energy-recovery linac (ERL) scheme and superconducting technology, BriXS will operate in CW regime with an unprecedented electron beam repetition rate of 100 MHz. The second Italian ICS light source is the Southern Europe Thomson back-scattering source for Applied Research (STAR) which is currently installed at the University of Calabria (UniCal). STAR is a compact machine that has been designed to produce monochromatic and tunable, ps-long, polarized X-ray beams in the range 40-140 keV with a photon flux up to 1010 photons/s and energy bandwidth below 10%. The electron beam injector is based on normal-conducting technology in S-Band with a repetition rate up to 100 Hz.

The need of a fs-scale pulsed, high repetition rate, X-ray source for time-resolved fine analysis of matter (spectroscopy and photon scattering) in the linear response regime is addressed by the conceptual design of a facility called MariX (Multi-disciplinary Advanced Research Infrastructure for the generation and application of X-rays) outperforming current X-ray sources for the declared scope. MariX is based on the original design of a two-pass two-way superconducting linear electron accelerator , equipped with an arc compressor, to be operated in CW mode (1 MHz). MariX provides FEL emission in the range 0.2–8 keV with 1 0 8 photons per pulse ideally suited for photoelectric effect and inelastic X-ray scattering experiments. The accelerator complex includes an early stage that supports an advanced inverse Compton source of very high-flux hard X-rays of energies up to 180 keV that is well adapted for large area radiological imaging, realizing a broad science programme and serving a multidisciplinary user community, covering fundamental science of matter and application to life sciences, including health at preclinical and clinical level.

We report on the optical commissioning of the high power laser beam circulator (LBC) for the high brightness Compton {\gamma}-ray source Extreme Light Infrastructure for Nuclear Physics. Tests aiming at demonstrating the optical performances of the LBC have been realized with a low-power pulsed laser-beam system and without electron beam. We show that, with the developed alignment and synchronization methods coming from the LBC design study presented in the Dupraz et al. paper [1], the LBC enhances the laser-beam power available at the interaction point (IP) by a factor in excess of 25. This corresponds to a potential of bringing the average laser-beam power in excess of 1 kW when the LBC is injected with the interaction point laser-beam pulse energy of 400 mJ at 100 Hz., Comment: 26 pages, 37 figures

We report on simulation results relevant both for EuPRAXIA@SPARC LAB [1] and EuPRAXIA [2] showing how to boost a high brightness electron bunch, delivered by a conventional accelerator at 500 MeV, up to 5 GeV and more by external injection in a laser driven plasma wave. Beam slice quality is preserved along acceleration and the bunch is shown to be able to drive a Free Electron Laser at 1 Å wavelength. We also show two methods to evaluate global bunch parameters, one for energy spread, the other for emittance, allowing to exclude particles in halos and tails in a consistent way. Both methods are easily implemented in computational codes, are statistically robust and failure free.

The MariX FEL is a compact GeV-class X-ray source exploiting a two-pass two-way acceleration in a Super-Conducting linac operated in continuous wave mode. A key component of this peculiar machine layout is the Bubble Arc Compressor (BAC), a 300 m long beamline consisting of 14 “Double Bend Achromat” cells and a bidirectional quadrupole focusing channel, which allows the beam to make a U-turn while it is being compressed to greatly increase its brightness and peak current. In this paper we present the performance of the BAC of MariX and the solutions we adopted to solve the main issues that the beam dynamics encounters in a line of this kind. We show the beam dynamics in the BAC matching line which is designed to operate on beams propagating in both directions, considering the anti-symmetric quadrupole focusing behavior. We study the Coherent Synchrotron Radiation (CSR) emission in the BAC showing a scheme that preserves the low emittance granting also a linear compression in presence of strong CSR effects. Lastly, we present a strategy to correct the residual dispersion-based beam tilt that is introduced by the CSR kick and would otherwise spoil the FEL emission. Further, the projected emittance is minimized cancelling the dispersive contributions.

The MariX project (Multi-disciplinary Advanced Infra-structure for Research with X-rays) is a free electron laser (FEL) light source proposed by the INFN-Milan. It will produce highly coherent X-rays, in the range 0.2-8 keV, with ultra-short pulses (10-50 fs) and a repetition rate up to 1MHz. At the same time, MariX will host a compact monochromatic X-ray source, called BriXS (Bright and compact X-ray Source), by using an inverse-Compton scattering scheme, with energies up to 180 keV and a repetition rate of 100 MHz (continuous-wave CW operation) that will generate fluxes up to 1013 photons per second. In this paper, the Radio-Frequency (RF) and beam dynamics designs of the electron injector for the MariX-FEL project are presented. The choice of the main devices, such as the electron gun and the accelerating linear accelerators, as well as the main parameters for CW operation are discussed in detail.

Plasma driven particle accelerators represent the future of compact accelerating machines and Free Electron Lasers are going to benefit from these new technologies. One of the main issue of this new approach to FEL machines is the design of the transfer line needed to match of the electron-beam with the magnetic undulators. Despite the reduction of the chromaticity of plasma beams is one of the main goals, the target of this line is to be effective even in cases of beams with a considerable value of chromaticity. The method here explained is based on the code GIOTTO [1] that works using a homemade genetic algorithm and that is capable of finding optimal matching line layouts directly using a full 3D tracking code., 9 Pages, 4 Figures. A related poster was presented at EAAC 2017

In this paper, we report results of simulations, in the framework of both EuPRAXIA \cite{Walk2017} and EuPRAXIA@SPARC\_LAB \cite{Ferr2017} projects, aimed at delivering a high brightness electron bunch for driving a Free Electron Laser (FEL) by employing a plasma post acceleration scheme. The boosting plasma wave is driven by a tens of \SI{}{\tera\watt} class laser and doubles the energy of an externally injected beam up to \GeV{1}. The injected bunch is simulated starting from a photoinjector, matched to plasma, boosted and finally matched to an undulator, where its ability to produce FEL radiation is verified to yield $O(\num{e11})$ photons per shot at \nm{2.7}., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures

International audience; Formal and experimental studies of Fabry-Perot cavities operating in burst mode are conducted in the context of Compton scattering. A dedicated optimization procedure for their use in this context is described for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. Provided that the number of bunches in the electron-beam train and their time separation are known, the parameters related to the optical system are chosen to maximize the ratio of the total intracavity laser-beam energy used for collisions to the total input laser beam seeded into the cavity operated in burst mode. A good qualitative agreement is obtained between the model and the experimental data. It is shown by studying the upgrade of an existing machine, STAR. Here a new optical system with increased performance without a large increase in complexity is obtained. This result paves the way towards future designs of high-flux, high-quality, low cost and compact x-ray facilities based on Compton scattering.

On the wake of the results obtained so far at the SPARC_LAB test-facility at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati (Italy), we are currently investigating the possibility to design and build a new multi-disciplinary user-facility, equipped with a soft X-ray Free Electron Laser (FEL) driven by a ∼ 1 GeV high brightness linac based on plasma accelerator modules. This design study is performed in synergy with the EuPRAXIA design study. In this paper we report about the recent progresses in the on going design study of the new facility. On the wake of the results obtained so far at the SPARC\_LAB test-facility at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati (Italy), we are currently investigating the possibility to design and build a new multi-disciplinary user-facility, equipped with a soft X-ray Free Electron Laser (FEL) driven by a $\sim$1 GeV high brightness linac based on plasma accelerator modules. This design study is performed in synergy with the EuPRAXIA design study. In this paper we report about the recent progresses in the on going design study of the new facility.

At the SPARC_LAB facility of INFN-LNF we are installing a transport lines for ultra-short electron bunches and another for ultra-intense laser pulses, generated by the SPARC photo-injector and by the FLAME laser in a synchronized fashion at the tens of fs level, to co-propagate inside a hydrogen filled glass capillary, in order to perform acceleration of the electron bunch by a plasma wave driven by the laser pulse. The main aim of this experiment is to demonstrate that a high brightness electron beam can be accelerated by a plasma wave without any significant degradation of its quality. Motivations of the technical choices are made and expected performances are reported.

Plasma acceleration is the new frontier in particle beam accelerators. Using the strong electric fields inside a plasma it is possible to achieve accelerating gradients orders of magnitude larger with respect to current technologies. Different schemes, using completely different approaches, have been proposed and several already tested, producing beams of energy up to several GeV. Regardless of the technique used for acceleration a precise determination of the output beam parameters is mandatory for the fine tuning of the process. The measurement of these parameters, in particular the beam distribution in transverse and longitudinal phase space, is not trivial, mainly due to the large energy spread and to the tight focusing of these beams or to the background noise produced in the plasma channel. We illustrate the main problems related to the diagnostic of this kind of beams and some of the proposed or already realized solutions

Coronary angiography is clinically used worldwide to diagnose diseases of coronary arteries. Despite its effectiveness, this technique is quite invasive and it is associated with significant risks due to the arterial catheterisation needed to inject the contrast agent. A valid alternative is using the K-edge subtraction (KES) method, which is based on the subtraction of two images acquired at energies bracketing the K-edge of the contrast element. The enhanced sensitivity of KES allows the intravenous injection of the contrast agent, thus reducing the risks of catheterisation. This technique can be effectively implemented by using intense and quasi-monochromatic x-ray beams. Synchrotron radiation has been proven to work well for this purpose, but its cost and size prevent a widespread clinical application. Inverse Compton sources are among the most promising innovative sources of intense and quasi-monochromatic x-rays. These sources are intrinsically more compact than those based on synchrotron radiation. In this work, the potential application of inverse Compton radiation to KES angiography is investigated. To this purpose, after a short review of the physics behind the inverse Compton process, an analytical framework is described. The proposed model is based on the application of the KES algorithm to calculate the SNR of details inside a suitable mathematical phantom. That allowed us to identify the characteristics of an inverse Compton source required for KES imaging. In particular, it was estimated that a photon fluence of 108 ph mm-2 is necessary to detect signals of clinical interest. Novel sources based on inverse Compton promise to achieve this requirement with an acquisition time of few hundreds of ms. This feature, together with compactness, broad two-dimensional radiation field, absence of harmonic contamination and the ability to deliver high photon fluxes also at high energies, makes this kind of sources promising for KES angiography and other diagnostic applications.

The EXIN project is under development within the SPARC_LAB facility of the National Laboratory of Frascati (LNF-INFN). This project aims to accelerate pre-existing electron bunches with high brightness by exploiting the wakefield plasma acceleration technique, while preserving the initial brightness. The wakefield is excited inside a dielectric capillary by high intensity laser pulses produced by the FLAME laser interacting with a gas. In this work, we present numerical simulations in order to optimize energy coupling between our laser with super-Gaussian transverse profile and a dielectric capillary. Moreover, an overview of the experimental layout will be given.

The ELI-NP Gamma Beam Source (GBS) is now under construction in Magurele–Bucharest (RO). Here an advanced source of gamma photons with unprecedented specifications of brilliance ( > 10 21 ), monochromaticity (0.5%) and energy tunability (0.2–19.5 MeV) is being built, based on Inverse Compton Scattering in the head-on configuration between an electron beam of maximum energy 750 MeV and a high quality high power ps laser beam. These requirements make the ELI-NP GBS an advanced and challenging gamma ray source. The electron beam dynamics analysis and control regarding the machine sensitivity to the possible jitter and misalignments are presented. The effects on the beam quality are illustrated providing the basis for the alignment procedure and jitter tolerances.

In a recent paper [14] , a scheme for inserting and extracting high brightness electron beams to/from a plasma based acceleration stage was presented and proved to be effective with an ideal bi-Gaussian beam, as could be delivered by a conventional photo-injector. In this paper, we extend that study, assessing the method stability against some jitters in the properties of the injected beam. We find that the effects of jitters in Twiss parameters are not symmetric in results; we find a promising configuration that yields better performances than the setting proposed in [14] . Moreover we show and interpret what happens when the beam charge profiles are modified.

The SPARC_LAB Thomson source is a compact X-ray source based on the Thomson backscattering process presently under its second phase of commissioning at the LNF. The electron beam energy ranges between 30 and 150 MeV, the electrons collide head-on with the Ti:Sapphire FLAME laser pulse the energy of which ranges between 1 and 5 J with pulse lengths in the 25 fs–10 ps range, this provides an X-ray energy tunability in the range of 20–500 keV, with the further capability to generate strongly non-linear phenomena and to drive diffusion processes due to multiple and plural scattering effects. The experimental results of the obtained X-ray radiation are presented.

A systematic study of the polarization of x-gamma rays produced in Thomson and Compton scattering is presented, in both classical and quantum schemes. Numerical results and analytical considerations let us to establish the polarization level as a function of acceptance, bandwidth and energy. Few sources have been considered: the SPARC_LAB Thomson device, as an example of a x-ray Thomson source, ELI-NP, operating in the gamma range. Then, the typical parameters of a beam produced by a plasma accelerator has been analyzed. In the first case, with bandwidths up to 10%, a contained reduction ($l10%$) in the average polarization occurs. In the last case, for the nominal ELI-NP relative bandwidth of $5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1{0}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$, the polarization is always close to 1. For applications requiring larger bandwidth, however, a degradation of the polarization up to 30% must be taken into account. In addition, an all optical gamma source based on a plasma accelerated electron beam cannot guarantee narrow bandwidth and high polarization operational conditions required in nuclear photonics experiments.

A new technique, named “laser comb”, was tested during the last SPARC run. It is able to produce electron pulse trains with a charge of some hundreds pC, a repetition rate of some terahertz, and a sub-picosecond length. This technique is based on the velocity bunching configuration of the SPARC injector. It can be useful to drive pump and probe free-electron laser experiments, to generate coherent excitation of plasma waves in plasma accelerators, and to produce narrow band terahertz radiation. In this paper, we describe the experimental results achieved so far and provide a comparison with simulations.

A 250-TW laser system (FLAME - Frascati laser for acceleration and multidisciplinary experiments) is now in its commissioning phase in a new laboratory at LNF-INFN in the framework of the PLASMONX (Plasma acceleration and monochromatic X-ray generation) project. The laser will deliver < 25 fs duration pulses with an energy up to 6J, at a 10Hz repetition rate. An ad hoc target area has also been designed and is currently being set up, allowing the first test experiments of electron laser wakefield acceleration to be carried out over the next few months in a safe, radiation-protected environment. An overview of the main features of the laser system and target area is given, along with a survey of the design and set-up of the self-injection test experiment, which is expected to reach the production of sub-GeV electron bunches. © 2010 Taylor and Francis.

A new laser chirping prescription is derived by means of the phase-stationary method for an incident Gaussian laser pulse in conjunction with a Lienard-Wiechert calculation of the scattered radiation flux and spectral brilliance. This particularly efficient laser chirp has been obtained using the electric field of the laser and for electrons and radiation on axis. The frequency modulation is somewhat reduced with respect to that proposed in the previous literature, allowing the application of this procedure to lasers with larger values of the parameter a0. Numerical calculations have been performed using mildly focused and narrow bandwidth laser pulses, confirming a larger efficiency of the chirp prescription here introduced. The chirp efficiency has been analysed as a function of the laser parameter and focusing.A new laser chirping prescription is derived by means of the phase-stationary method for an incident Gaussian laser pulse in conjunction with a Lienard-Wiechert calculation of the scattered radiation flux and spectral brilliance. This particularly efficient laser chirp has been obtained using the electric field of the laser and for electrons and radiation on axis. The frequency modulation is somewhat reduced with respect to that proposed in the previous literature, allowing the application of this procedure to lasers with larger values of the parameter a0. Numerical calculations have been performed using mildly focused and narrow bandwidth laser pulses, confirming a larger efficiency of the chirp prescription here introduced. The chirp efficiency has been analysed as a function of the laser parameter and focusing.

Purpose The development of compact sources of high brilliance, mono-chromatic, tunable X-rays with energy in the range 30–150 keV is a topical research field; applications in radiodiagnostics are foreseen. The aim of this work is to propose the use of a compact source based on X-ray Compton back-scattering (also known as Inverse Compton Source, ICS) developed within the MariX/BriXS project [1] , for kilovoltage rotational radiotherapy dedicated to the breast. Methods The proposed source is based on a modified Tigner scheme of push-and-pull twin Super-Conducting Energy Recovery Linacs, just wrapped on itself in order to halve the overall length of the machine. The ICS source was simulated by using the code CAIN and the output X-ray photon beam was obtained. The anticipated performances are a flux up to 1013 photons/s within 5% bandwidth, coming in radiation pulses a few psec long at a repetition rate up to 100 MHz, fully tunable in the 20–150 keV energy range with full control of polarization and adjustable bandwidth in the range 0.5–10%. The simulated X-ray spectrum was used as an input of a previously validated Monte Carlo Geant4 code to calculate the dose distribution in a 50/50 breast phantom during a rotational radiotherapy scan. The pendant breast was modelled as a cylinder of 14 cm diameter and 9 cm height irradiated over 360 deg at 88 keV average energy and a 1-cm tumor was simulated at the isocenter. Results The dose distribution obtained with the kilovoltage beam generated by the ICS source shows that it is possible to perform a partial breast irradiation with dose levels to the target and to the skin, compatible with clinical treatments using conventional linacs. Conclusions We proposed the application of a Compton back-scattering X-ray source for kilovoltage rotational radiotherapy for breast cancer. The technique could be useful for partial breast irradiation with or without injection of a dose enhancement agent, for radiosurgery of small size breast tumors.

In this paper we discuss recent results in the design configuration and modelling of the PLASMON-X project aimed at the development of an innovative, high-gradient acceleration with super-intense and ultra-short laser pulses, and a tuneable, hard X/γ-ray source, based upon Thomson scattering of optical photons by energetic electrons. Both experiments require very high power, ultra-short laser pulses in combination with very bright and short electron bunches generated either by conventional acceleration (LINAC) or by laser-driven, self injection acceleration in plasmas. The main issues concerning the integrated use of unique laser and linear accelerator installations, and the complementary use of all-optical configurations will be briefly examined.

The interaction between a very high-brightness electron beam and a relativistically intense optical laser pulse produces X-rays via coherent Thomson back scattering with FEL collective amplification. The phenomenon is, however, very selective, so that the characteristics of both electron and laser beam must satisfy tight requirements in terms of beam current, emittance, energy spread and laser amplitude stability within the pulse. The three-dimensional equations governing the radiation phenomena have been studied in both linear and non-linear regime and solved numerically for the particularly interesting values of wavelengths of 1 A, 1 and 12 nm. The performance of the collective Thomson source has been compared with that of an equivalent static undulator. A set of scaling laws ruling the phenomenon is also presented.

We present the architecture and some applications of a genetic algorithm developed for solving problems in beam dynamics of high brightness beams, where highly non-linear behaviour of the beam characteristics are optimized through a multi-dimensional variation technique based on genetic evolution criteria.

A recent breakthrough in laser-plasma accelerators, based upon ultrashort high-intensity lasers, demonstrated the generation of quasi-monoenergetic GeV-electrons. With future Petawatt lasers ultra-high beam currents of ~100 kA in ~10 fs can be expected, allowing for drastic reduction in the undulator length of free-electron-lasers (FELs). We present a discussion of the key aspects of a table-top FEL design, including energy loss and chirps induced by space-charge and wakefields. These effects become important for an optimized table-top FEL operation. A first proof-of-principle VUV case is considered as well as a table-top X-ray-FEL which may open a brilliant light source also for new ways in clinical diagnostics., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in Appl. Phys. B

A 3-dimensional time-domain simulation of X-ray produced by a laser wakefield accelerated electron beam was performed in order to know its properties like intensity, spectrum, divergence and coherence. Particular attention was paid to the coherence around the acceleration axis. The broad spectrum of betatron radiation (1–10 keV) leads to a short coherence length. Nevertheless we observe that under particular detection condition the spatial coherence has a characteristic enlargement. We give a simplified interpretation of this effect in terms of phase shift of the electric field on a virtual detector. Moreover we describe a near field scattering technique to characterize the betatron radiation. This diagnostics will be used to map the transverse spatio-temporal coherence of X-ray radiation in the laser wakefield accelerator under development at Frascati National Laboratories (LNF).

Collective effects in the radiation emission via Thomson back-scattering of an intense optical laser pulse by high brightness electron beams are analyzed. The micro-bunching of the electron beam on the scale of the wavelength of the emitted radiation and the consequent free-electron-laser instability may significantly enhance the number of photons emitted. Scaling-laws of the radiation properties, both in the collective and incoherent spontaneous regimes versus laser and electron beam parameters are discussed in the framework of the one-dimensional model.

SPARC-X is a two branch project consisting in the SPARC test facility dedicated to the development and test of critical subsystems such as high brightness photoinjector and a modular expandable undulator for SASE-FEL experiments at 500 nm with seeding, and the SPARK facility aiming at generation of high brilliance coherent radiation in the 1.5-13 nm range, based on the achieved expertise. The projects are supported by MIUR (Research Department of Italian Government) and Regione Lazio. SPARC has completed the commissioning phase of the photoinjector in November 2006. The achieved experimental results are here summarized together with the status of the second phase commissioning plans. The SPARK project is based on the generation of ultra high peak brightness electron beams at the energy of 1 and 2 GeV generating radiation in the 1.5-13 nm range. The construction is at the moment planned in two steps starting with a 1 GeV Linac. The project layout including both RF-compression and magnetic chicane techniques has been studied.

In this paper we resurrect an idea originally proposed by Serafini[1] in 1992 for an RF photocathode gun capable of operating simultaneously at the fundamental frequency and a higher frequency harmonic. Driving the gun at two frequencies with the proper field ratio and relative phase produces a beam with essentially no rf emittance and a linear longitudinal phase space distribution. Such a gun allows a completely new range of operating parameters for controlling space charge emittance growth. In addition, the linear longitudinal phase space distribution aids in bunch compression. This paper will compare results of simulations for the two-frequency gun with the standard rf gun, and the unique properties of the two-frequency gun will be discussed.

The design of the Linac Coherent Light Source assumes that a low-emittance, 1-nC, 10-ps beam will be available for injection into the 15-GeV linac. The proposed rf photocathode injector that will provide a 150-MeV beam with rms normalized emittances of 1 mm in both the transverse and longitudinal dimensions is based on a 1.6-cell S-band rf gun that is equipped with an emittance compensating solenoid. The booster accelerator is positioned at the beam waist coinciding with the first emittance maximum and is provided with an accelerating gradient of ~25 MeV/m, i.e., the "new working point." The uv pulses required for cathode excitation will be generated by tripling the output of a Ti:sapphire laser system consisting of a highly stable cw mode-locked oscillator and two bow-tie amplifiers pumped by a pair of Q-switched Nd:YAG lasers. The large bandwidth of the Ti:sapphire system accommodates the desired temporal pulse shaping. Details of the design and the supporting simulations are presented., Comment: 13 pages (double spaced), 4 figures, contributed to The 23rd International Free Electron Laser Conference, Darmstadt, Germany, 20-24 August 2001

We present a simple and new scheme for producing two-colour Thomson/Compton radiation with the possibility of controlling separately the polarization of the two different colours, based on the interaction of one single electron beam with two light pulses that can come from the same laser setup or from two different lasers and that collide with the electrons at different angle. One of the most interesting cases for medical applications is to provide two X-ray pulses across the iodine K -edge at 33.2 keV. The iodine is used as contrast medium in various imaging techniques and the availability of two spectral lines accross the K -edge allows one to produce subtraction images with a great increase in accuracy.

The two-dimensional single shot transverse coherence of the Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission of the SPARC-LAB Free-Electron Laser was measured through the statistical analysis of a speckle field produced by heterodyning the radiation beam with a huge number of reference waves, scattered by a suspension of particles. In this paper we report the measurements and the evaluation of the transverse coherence along the SPARC-LAB undulator modules. The measure method was demonstrated to be precise and robust, it does not require any a priori assumptions and can be implemented over a wide range of wavelengths, from the optical radiation to the x-rays.

At the SPARC_LAB facility of INFN-LNF we are installing two transport lines for ultra-short electron bunches and an ultra- intense laser pulses, generated by the SPARC photo-injector and by the FLAME laser in a synchronized fashion at the tens of f s level, to co-propagate inside a hydrogen filled glass capillary, in order to perform acceleration of the electron bunch by a plasma wave driven by the laser pulse. The main aim of this experiment is to demonstrate that a high brightness electron beam can be accelerated by a plasma wave without any significant degradation of its quality. Motivations of the technical choices made and expected performances are reported.

A new kind of nonresonant optical recirculator, dedicated to the production of $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ rays by means of Compton backscattering, is described. This novel instrument, inspired by optical multipass systems, has its design focused on high flux and very small spectral bandwidth of the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray beam. It has been developed to fulfill the project specifications of the European Extreme Light Infrastructure ``Nuclear Pillar,'' i.e., the Gamma Beam System. Our system allows a single high power laser pulse to recirculate 32 times synchronized on the radio frequency driving accelerating cavities for the electron beam. Namely, the polarization of the laser beam and crossing angle between laser and electrons are preserved all along the 32 passes. Moreover, optical aberrations are kept at a negligible level. The general tools developed for designing, optimizing, and aligning the system are described. A detailed simulation demonstrates the high efficiency of the device.

We report on the design of the rf photoinjector of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). The rf photoinjector is required to produce a single 150 MeV bunch of {approximately}1 nC and {approximately}100 A peak current at a repetition rate of 120 Hz with a normalized rms transverse emittance of {approximately}1 {pi} mm-mrad. The design employs a 1.6-cell S-band rf gun with an optical spot size at the cathode of a radius of {approximately}1 mm and a pulse duration with an rms sigma of {approximately}3 ps. The peak rf field at the cathode is 150 MV/m with extraction 57 {degree} ahead of the rf peak. A solenoidal field near the cathode allows the compensation of the initial emittance growth by the end of the injection linac. Spatial and temporal shaping of the laser pulse striking the cathode will reduce the compensated emittance even further. Also, to minimize the contribution of the thermal emittance from the cathode surface, while at the same time optimizing the quantum efficiency (QE), the laser wavelength for a Cu cathode should be tunable around 260 nm. Following the injection linac the geometric emittance simply damps linearly with energy growth. PARMELA simulations show that this design willmore » produce the desired normalized emittance, which is about a factor of two lower than has been achieved to date in other systems. In addition to low emittance, we also aim for laser amplitude stability 1% in the UV and a timing jitter in the electron beam of 0.5 ps rms, which will lead to less than 10% beam intensity fluctuation after the electron bunch is compressed in the main linac.« less

In this paper we provide an analytical description for the transverse dynamics of relativistic, space-chargedominated beams undergoing strong acceleration, such as those typically produced by rf photoinjectors. These beams are chiefly characterized by a fast transition, due to strong acceleration, from the nonrelativistic to the relativistic regime in which the initially strong collective plasma effects are greatly diminished. However, plasma oscillations in the transverse plane are still effective in significantly perturbing the evolution of the transverse phase space distribution, introducing distortions and longitudinal-transverse correlations that cause an increase in the rms transverse emittance of the beam as a whole. The beam envelope evolution is dominated by such effects and not by the thermal emittance, and so the beam flow can be considered quasilaminar. The model adopted is based on the rms envelope equation, for which we find an exact particular analytical solution taking into account the effects of linear space-charge forces, external focusing due to applied as well as ponderomotive RF forces, acceleration, and adiabatic damping, in the limit that the weak nonlaminarity due to the thermal emittance may be neglected. This solution represents a special mode for beam propagation that assures a secularly diminishing normalized rms emittance and it represents the fundamental operating condition of a space-charge-compensated RF photoinjector. The conditions for obtaining emittance compensation in a long, integrated photoinjector, in which the gun and linac sections are joined, as well as in the case of a short gun followed by a drift and a booster linac, are examined. @S1063-651X~97!10706-1#

We analyze the nonlinear classical effects of the $\mathrm{X}/\ensuremath{\gamma}$ radiation produced by Thomson/Compton sources. We confirm the development of spectral fringes of the radiation on axis, which comports broadening, shift, and deformation of the spectrum. For the nominal parameters of the SPARC-LAB Thomson scattering and of the European Proposal for the gamma source ELI-NP, however, the radiation, when collected in the suitable acceptance angle, does not reveal many differences from that predicted by the linear model and the nonlinear redshift is subdominant with respect to the quantum recoil. An experiment aimed to the study of the nonlinearities is proposed on the SPARC-LAB source.

Laser-based electron sources are attracting strong interest from the conventional accelerator community due to their unique characteristics in terms of high initial energy, low emittance, and significant beam current. Extremely strong electric fields (up to hundreds of $\mathrm{GV}/\mathrm{m}$) generated in the plasma allow accelerating gradients much higher than in conventional accelerators and set the basis for achieving very high final energies in a compact space. Generating laser-driven high-energy electron beam lines therefore represents an attractive challenge for novel particle accelerators. In this paper we show that laser-driven electrons generated by the nowadays consolidated TW laser systems, when leaving the interaction region, are subject to a very strong, normalized emittance worsening which makes them quickly unusable for any beam transport. Furthermore, due to their intrinsic beam characteristics, controlling and capturing the full beam current can only be achieved improving the source parameters.