Professor Brian Foster OBE, FRS

Abstract:

The European XFEL cw upgrade requires cavities with reduced surface resistance (high Q-values) for high duty cycle while maintaining high accelerating gradient for short-pulse operation. To improve on European XFEL performance, a recently discovered treatment is investigated: the so-called nitrogen infusion. The recent test results of the cavity-based R&D and the progress of the relevant infrastructure is presented. The aim of this approach is to establish a stable, reproducible recipe and to identify all key parameters for the process. Advanced surface analysis is carried out on cut-outs of cavities and samples treated together with cavities. Techniques used include SEM/EDX, TEM, XPS, XRR, GIXRD and TOF-SIMS. The aim of this approach is to establish a stable, reproducible recipe, to identify key parameters in the process and to understand the underlying processes of the material evolution, that result in the improved performance observed.

Abstract:

A detailed study of the near-surface structure and composition of Nb, the material of choice for superconducting radio-frequency accelerator (SRF) cavities, is of great importance in order to understand the effects of different treatments applied during cavity production. By means of surface-sensitive techniques such as grazing incidence diffuse x-ray scattering, x-ray reflectivity, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, single-crystalline Nb(100) samples were investigated in and ex situ during annealing in an ultrahigh vacuum as well as in nitrogen atmospheres with temperatures and pressures similar to the ones employed in real Nb cavity treatments. Annealing of Nb specimens up to 800   ° C in a vacuum promotes a partial reduction of the natural surface oxides ( Nb 2 O 5 , NbO 2 , and NbO) into NbO. Upon cooling to 120 ° C , no evidence of nitrogen-rich layers was detected after nitrogen exposure times of up to 48 h. An oxygen enrichment below the Nb-oxide interface and posterior diffusion of oxygen species towards the Nb matrix, along with a partial reduction of the natural surface oxides, was observed upon a stepwise annealing up to 250   ° C . Nitrogen introduction to the system at 250   ° C promotes neither N diffusion into the Nb matrix nor the formation of new surface layers. Upon further heating to 500   ° C in a nitrogen atmosphere, the growth of a new subsurface Nb x N y layer was detected. These results shed light on the composition of the near-surface region of Nb after low-temperature nitrogen treatments, which are reported to lead to a performance enhancement of SRF cavities.

Abstract:

This introductory article is a synopsis of the status and prospects of particle-beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA). Conceptual and experimental breakthroughs obtained over the last years have initiated a rapid growth of the research field, and increased maturity of underlying technology allows an increasing number of research groups to engage in experimental R&D.; We briefly describe the fundamental mechanisms of PWFA, from which its chief attractions arise. Most importantly, this is the capability of extremely rapid acceleration of electrons and positrons at gradients many orders of magnitude larger than in conventional accelerators. This allows the size of accelerator units to be shrunk from the kilometre to metre scale, and possibly the quality of accelerated electron beam output to be improved by orders of magnitude. In turn, such compact and high-quality accelerators are potentially transformative for applications across natural, material and life sciences.

Abstract:

The FLASHForward experimental facility is a high-performance test-bed for precision plasma wakefield research, aiming to accelerate high-quality electron beams to GeV-levels in a few centimetres of ionized gas. The plasma is created by ionizing gas in a gas cell either by a high-voltage discharge or a high-intensity laser pulse. The electrons to be accelerated will either be injected internally from the plasma background or externally from the FLASH superconducting RF front end. In both cases, the wakefield will be driven by electron beams provided by the FLASH gun and linac modules operating with a 10 Hz macro-pulse structure, generating 1.25 GeV, 1 nC electron bunches at up to 3 MHz micro-pulse repetition rates. At full capacity, this FLASH bunch-train structure corresponds to 30 kW of average power, orders of magnitude higher than drivers available to other state-of-the-art LWFA and PWFA experiments. This high-power functionality means FLASHForward is the only plasma wakefield facility in the world with the immediate capability to develop, explore and benchmark high-average-power plasma wakefield research essential for next-generation facilities. The operational parameters and technical highlights of the experiment are discussed, as well as the scientific goals and high-average-power outlook.

Abstract:

Charm production in charged current deep inelastic scattering has been measured for the first time in e±p collisions, using data collected with the ZEUS detector at HERA, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 358 pb−1. Results are presented separately for e+p and e−p scattering at a centre-of-mass energy of s = 318 GeV within a kinematic phase-space region of 200 GeV2 < Q2 < 60000 GeV2 and y < 0.9, where Q2 is the squared four-momentum transfer and y is the inelasticity. The measured cross sections of electroweak charm production are consistent with expectations from the Standard Model within the large statistical uncertainties.