Physics Procedia最新文献

All undergraduates in physics and astronomy should have access to significant research experiences. When given the opportunity to tackle challenging open-ended problems outside the classroom, students build their problem-solving skills in ways that better prepare them for the workplace or future research in graduate school. Accelerator-based research on fundamental nuclear and particle physics can provide a myriad of opportunities for undergraduate involvement in hardware and software development as well as “big data” analysis. The collaborative nature of large experiments exposes students to scientists of every culture and helps them begin to build their professional network even before they graduate. This paper presents an overview of my experiences - the good, the bad, and the ugly - engaging undergraduates in particle and nuclear physics research at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center.

Simple high-performing two-step technique for fabrication different functional plasmonic nanostructures including nanorods, separated and crossed nanorings, as well as more complex hybrid structures on both glass and silicon substrates was proposed. In this technique the noble metal film covering bulk glass or silicon substrates is irradiated by single tightly focused nanosecond laser pulse followed by slow polishing of the fabricated nanostructures by accelerated argon ion (Ar⁺) beam. Nanosecond laser pulse locally modifies its initial thickness of metal film through the initiation of ultrafast melting and subsequent hydrodynamic processes, while the following Ar⁺ polishing reveals only the features of its topography - plasmonic structures on the glass/Si substrate. We demonstrate that both the type and lateral size of the resulting functional plasmonic nanostructure are determined by the pulse energy, metal film thickness as well as the optical spot size, while subsequent Ar⁺ polishing allows varying the height of the resulting nanostructures. The proposed simple two-step high-throughput technique represents the next step towards direct lased-induced fabrication of complex functional plasmonic nanostructures and is well-suited for both large-scale fabrication of ordered arrays comprising hundreds of nanoelements and single nanostructure at a given point on the sample surface.

This paper summarizes efforts to characterize and qualify a computed radiography (CR) system for neutron radiography of irradiated nuclear fuel at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). INL has multiple programs that are actively developing, testing, and evaluating new nuclear fuels. Irradiated fuel experiments are subjected to a number of sequential post-irradiation examination techniques that provide insight into the overall behavior and performance of the fuel. One of the first and most important of these exams is neutron radiography, which provides more comprehensive information about the internal condition of irradiated nuclear fuel than any other non-destructive technique to date. Results from neutron radiography are often the driver for subsequent examinations of the PIE program. Features of interest that can be evaluated using neutron radiography include irradiation-induced swelling, isotopic and fuel-fragment redistribution, plate deformations, and fuel fracturing. The NRAD currently uses the foil-film transfer technique with film for imaging fuel. INL is pursuing multiple efforts to advance its neutron imaging capabilities for evaluating irradiated fuel and other applications, including conversion from film to CR image plates. Neutron CR is the current state-of-the-art for neutron imaging of highly-radioactive objects. Initial neutron radiographs of various types of nuclear fuel indicate that radiographs can be obtained of comparable image quality currently obtained using film. This paper provides neutron radiographs of representative irradiated fuel pins along with neutron radiographs of standards that informed the qualification of the neutron CR system for routine use. Additionally, this paper includes evaluations of some of the CR scanner parameters and their effects on image quality.

The quasi-dynamic water distribution and performance of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer at both a small fuel cell's anode and cathode was observed and quantitatively measured in the in-plane imaging geometry direction(neutron beam parallel to membrane and with channels parallel to the beam) by applying the neutron radiography principle at the neutron imaging facility (NIF) of NIST, Gaithersburg, USA. The test section had 6 parallel channels with an active area of 5 cm² and in-situ neutron radiography observation entails the liquid water content along the total length of each of the channels. The acquisition was made with a neutron cMOS-camera system with performance of 10 sec per frame to achieve a relatively good pixel dynamic range and at a pixel resolution of 10 x 10 μm². A relatively high S/N ratio was achieved in the radiographs to observe in quasi real time the water management as well as quantification of water / gas within the channels. The water management has been observed at increased steps (0.2A/cm²) of current densities until 2V potential has been achieved. These observations were made at 2 different water flow rates, at 3 temperatures for each flow rate and repeated for both the vertical and horizontal electrolyzer orientation geometries. It is observed that there is water crossover from the anode through the membrane to the cathode. A first order quantification (neutron scattering correction not included) shows that the physical vertical and horizontal orientation of the fuel cell as well as the temperature of the system up to 80 °C has no significant influence on the percentage water (∼18%) that crossed over into the cathode. Additionally, a higher water content was observed in the Gas Diffusion Layer at the position of the channels with respect to the lands.

The paper presents the method for processing of excitation-emission matrix of sea water and the allocation of the spectral characteristics of different types of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and phytoplankton cells in seawater. The method consists of identification of regularly observed fluorescence peaks of CDOM in marine waters of different type and definition of the spectral ranges, where the predominant influence of these peaks are observed.

This paper presents the light-induced effects in bismuth silicon and bismuth titanium oxide crystals associated both with the electron transitions into the conduction band and with the filling of shallow and deep traps, which determine the optical and electroconductive properties of these crystals. The dynamics of photoconductivity and light-induced absorption is analyzed under conditions of pulsed laser illumination at the wavelength of 532 nm. The possibility to describe the relaxation processes of a population for trapping levels with the use of two-exponential function is demonstrated. The photoconductivity dynamics is characterized by two relaxation times on the order of 100 ns and 10 μs, whereas for light-induced absorption the lifetimes about 10 μs and several days for short- and long-lived traps, respectively, have been obtained. Because of this, the relaxation transitions may be occurred both to the shallow trap centers with energy located close to the conduction band and to the deep-lying traps, which should be included into a diversified theoretical model adequately describing the light-induced phenomena in photorefractive sillenite-family crystals.

By the method of selective laser melting of powder materials nanostructured stainless steels 17-4PH, 316L, 321 were obtained. In all experiments the recorded hardness increase depending on the construction parameters. Obtained relationship of hardness increase with the carbon ratio, which explained by the chemical composition of the metal in the melting zone. It is suggested that the effect of hardness increase is associated with structural changes as to the formation and dissolution of hardening nanophases. Methods of metallography were performed in structural studies. Traces of interlayer segregation were detected inside the grains as turbulent eddies in the bands of different saturation tone caused by the migration of convective (mass transfer) metal atoms. It was visible signs of crystallization through the grain places the image (dendrite crystals). These facts revealed structural features suggest that the adhesion layers of melted powder was initiated by the colder layers and going mechanism epitaxy by coherently oriented groups of atoms from layers of melting.

A series of tests have been conducted at the Wood Hole Oceanographic Institution's National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass Spectrometry facility (NOSAMS) to investigate the effect of sample well geometry and cathode material on C⁻ extraction efficiency and beam currents. Ion current production tests were performed on aluminum cathodes that were prepared by drilling sample wells with various diameters (Ø), ranging from 0.50 mm to 1.50 mm, and depths ranging from 1.3 mm to 4.3 mm. Cathodes with sample well diameters of 1 mm and 0.75 mm had marginally better C⁻ current, while current for the larger sample wells was lower but more consistent. Depth tests showed an obvious difference in ion beam currents, with shallow wells outperforming the deeper wells. Efficiency tests were first conducted on Al cathodes to find an optimum diameter. Cathodes with Ø of 0.50 mm, 0.75 mm, and 1.00 mm were drilled to a depth of 2.3 mm, hand pressed with approximately 250 μg of Alfa Aesar graphite, and then run to exhaustion. The best performers were cathodes with Ø of 0.75 mm, measuring as much as 16.5% efficiency compared to 13% from the 0.50 mm and 15% from the 1.00 mm cathodes. Cathodes with Zn inserts were then prepared in the same manner, with a 0.75 mm diameter, and showed further improvement, increasing the ion source efficiency to as much as 27%.

The accelerator mass spectrometer was commissioned recently at the iThemba LABS 6 MV tandem accelerator. Improvements in the vacuum system, requiring procurement of cryo-pumps and the reducing the tank pressure of the N₂ + CO₂ insulation gas mixture below the level used for IBA measurements, were necessary. This resulted in the reduction of the nitrogen background and improved the resolution of ¹⁴C from ¹⁴N background in the ionisation chamber. The nitrogen was leaking to the stripping canal because of inadequate sealing. The analysing magnet was scaled to detect C³⁺ ions, at 3 MV terminal potential. The first sensible spectra allowed for the pin-pointing of many persistent issues. This resulted in measurements with a precision better than 1 pMC, and current blank levels correspond to 12 half-lives of ¹⁴C or ∼68000 years. The radiocarbon sample preparation laboratory has reached production status. A brief outlook of the work towards the implementation of the measurement and chemical preparation protocols for radionuclides ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al is also summarised in the conclusion

GODDESS is a coupling of the charged-particle detection system ORRUBA to the gamma-ray detector array Gammasphere. This coupling has been developed in order to facilitate the high-resolution measurement of direct reactions in normal and inverse kinematics with stable and radioactive beams. GODDESS has been commissioned using a beam of ¹³⁴Xe at 10 MeV/A, in a campaign of stable beam measurements. The measurement demonstrates the capabilities of GODDESS under radioactive beam conditions, and provides the first data on the single-neutron states in ¹³⁵Xe, including previously unobserved states based on the orbitals above the N=82 shell closure.