Optimizing Cell Contours for the NLC Linac Structure.

title: Modeling and design of an X-band rf photoinjector
abstract: A design for an X-band rf photoinjector that was developed jointly by SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is presented. The photoinjector is based around a 5.59 cell rf gun that has state-of-the-art features including: elliptical contoured irises; improved mode separation; an optimized initial half cell length; a racetrack input coupler; and coupling that balances pulsed heating with cavity fill time. Radio-frequency and beam dynamics modeling have been done using a combination of codes including PARMELA, HFSS, IMPACT-T, ASTRA, and the ACE3P suite of codes developed at SLAC. The impact of lower gradient operation, magnet misalignment, solenoid multipole errors, beam offset, mode beating, wakefields, and beam line symmetry have been analyzed and are described. Fabrication and testing plans at both LLNL and SLAC are discussed.

title: 50 MW X-BAND RF SYSTEM FOR A PHOTOINJECTOR TEST STATION AT LLNL
abstract: In support of X-band photoinjector development efforts at LLNL, a 50 MW test station is being constructed to investigate structure and photocathode optimization for future upgrades. A SLAC XL-4 klystron capable of generating 50 MW, 1.5 microsecond pulses will be the high power RF source for the system. Timing of the laser pulse on the photocathode with the applied RF field places very stringent requirements on phase jitter and drift. To achieve these requirements, the klystron will be powered by a state of the art, solid-state, high voltage modulator. The 50 MW will be divided between the photoinjector and a traveling wave accelerator section. A high power phase shifter is located between the photoinjector and accelerator section to adjust the phasing of the electron bunches with respect to the accelerating field. A variable attenuator is included on the input of the photoinjector. The distribution system including the various x-band components is being designed and constructed. In this paper, we will present the design, layout, and status of the RF system.

title: RF POWER SOURCES FOR LINEAR COLLIDERS
abstract: The next generation of linear colliders requires peak power sources of over 200 MW per meter at frequencies above 10 GHz at pulse widths of less than 100 nsec. Several power sources are under active development, including a conventional klystron with rf pulse compression, a relativistic klystron (RK) and a crossed-field amplifier. Power from one of these has energized a 0.5 meter two- section High Gradient Accelerator (HGA) and accelerated a beam at over 80 MeV meter. Results of tests with these experimental devices are presented here.

title: MANIFOLD DAMPING OF WAKEFIELDS IN HIGH PHASE ADVANCE LINACS FOR THE NLC
abstract: Earlier RDDS (Rounded Damped Detuned Structures) , designed, fabricated and tested at SLAC, in collaboration with KEK, have been shown to damp wakefields successfully. However, electrical breakdown has been found to occur in these structures and this makes them inoperable at the desired gradient. Recent results  indicate that lowering the group velocity of the accelerating mode reduces electrical breakdown events. In order to preserve the filling time of each structure a high synchronous phase advance (150 degrees as opposed to 120 used in previous NLC designs) has been chosen. Here, damping of the wakefield is analyzed. Manifold damping and interleaving of structure cell frequencies is discussed. These wakefields impose alignment tolerances on the cells and on the structure as a whole. Tolerance calculations are performed and these are compared with analytic estimations.

title: Measurements of Ultimate Accelerating Gradients in the SLAC Disk-Loaded Structure
abstract: The work reported here describes measurements made to study the maximum attainable accelerating gradients in a conventional SLAC disk-loaded accelerator section of the constant-gradient type running at 2856 MHz. The objective was to reach an accelerating gradient of at least 100 MV/m. The accelerating gradient at which the SLAC disk-loaded waveguide runs routinely is approx. 9 MV/m (36 MW tubes without SLED) and approx. 12 MV/m with SLED I (2.5 ..mu..sec pulse). To reach 100 MV/m in a conventional 3 m constant-gradient section, one would need a klystron with a peak power output of 900 MW. since such a tube is not available, we decided to use a short standing-wave section in which the resonant fields would be allowed to build up. The design criteria for this section, the fabrication, matching and tuning, the experimental set-up and the results are described below.

title: Dark Current Simulation for Linear Collider Accelerator Structures
abstract: The dynamics of field-emitted electrons in the traveling wave fields of a constant gradient (tapered) disk-loaded waveguide is followed numerically. Previous simulations have been limited to constant impedance (uniform) structures for sake of simplicity since only the fields in a unit cell is needed. Using a finite element field solver on a parallel computer, the fields in the tapered structure can now be readily generated. We will obtain the characteristics of the dark current emitted from both structure types and compare the two results with and without the effect of secondary electrons. The NLC and JLC detuned structures are considered to study if dark current may pose a problem for high gradient acceleration in the next generation of Linear Colliders.

title: How Close Are We To Detecting Earth-like Planets in the Habitable Zone Using the Radial Velocity Technique?
abstract: Discovering an Earth-like exoplanet in habitable zone is an important milestone for astronomers in search of extra-terrestrial life. While the radial velocity (RV) technique remains one the most powerful tools in detecting and characterizing exo-planetary sys- tems, we calculate the uncertainties in precision RV measurements considering stellar spectral quality factors, RV calibration sources, stellar noise and telluric contamination in different observational bandpasses and for different spectral types. We predict the optimal observational bandpass for different spectral types using the RV technique un- der a variety of conditions. We compare the RV signal of an Earth-like planet in the habitable zone (HZ) to the near future state of the art RV precision and attempt to answer the question: How close are we to detecting Earth-like planet in the HZ using the RV technique?

title: Signature of same-sign top pair production mediated by a non-universal $Z^\prime$ with QCD NLO accuracy at the LHC
abstract: We present a detailed study of the same-sign top pair production mediated by a non-universal $Z^\prime$ including production and decay at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the QCD next-to-leading order (NLO) level, using the narrow width approximation and helicity amplitudes method. We find that the QCD NLO corrections can loose the constraint on the model parameters and reduce the dependence of the total cross sections on the factorization scale significantly. We also study the signature and backgrounds of the process at the NLO level. In order to suppress the backgrounds, we further investigate the difference between the production rates of the positively and negatively charged dilepton at the LHC, and find that the same-sign dilepton signal of the new physics could be discovered more easily.

title: A New Scenario on X-ray Shallow Decay of Gamma-ray Bursts
abstract: In this Letter, we propose that a microphysical process takes a vital role in the shocked region in which the prompt emission of GRBs is emitted. The turbulent energy is included in the internal energy transferred by the kinetic energy of the shock. It dissipates through stochastic acceleration for the electrons to supply the early X-ray emission in the phase of shallow decay. We put the constraints on the time evolution of microphysical parameters. The early X-ray fluxes can be obtained by this scenario and these results are consistent with the Swift observation

title: Simulations of wake effects on a high-current electron beam at the KEKB injector linac