ACCELERATOR PHYSICS AND APPLICATIONS
Academic Year 2024/2025 - Teacher: DAVID MASCALIExpected Learning Outcomes
The course aims provide an in-depth knowledge of all the physics principles on which the functioning of particle accelerators is based; and also to show in detail the technology that allows these machines to be designed and constructed in fundamental physics laboratories as well as industry and hospitals. Applications of accelerators in fields other than nuclear and particle physics research will be discussed in details. Particular attention will be given to medical applications and for this reason physical knowledge relating to the interaction of radiation with matter will be given
Knowledge and understanding:
Critical understanding of the main concepts underlying the dynamics of the motion of electron and ion beams in circular and linear accelerators.
Understanding of the fundamental physical mechanisms involved in the application of electron, photon and ion beams in medical applications.
Ability to identify the essential elements of the phenomena related to the acceleration of particles and their production, in terms of order of magnitude and level of approximation necessary, be able to recognize and make the required approximations.
Ability to use the tool of analogy to apply known solutions in the field of particle-electromagnetic field interaction and plasma physics to new problems (problem solving) and different contexts of nuclear physics and its applications to medicine.
Learning ability:
Acquisition of adequate cognitive tools for the continuous updating of knowledge and the ability to access specialized literature both in the field of accelerator physics, plasmas and advanced medical techniques based on particle accelerators (Radiology, nuclear medicine and oncology radiation therapy) than in the field of clinical dosimetry.
Judgment autonomy:
Critical reasoning skills.
Ability to identify the most appropriate conceptual solutions for accelerators and their subsystems.
Ability to identify the fields of use and experimental results of different types of accelerators.
Communication skills:
Communication skills in the field of particle accelerators, plasma physics and applications to medicine
Ability to continue studying independently
The course offers, through the handouts of notes and the proposed bibliography, the possibility of independently continuing the study and deepening the steps that lead to the conceptual design of facilities based on particle accelerators, also with the aid of laboratory visits at the LNS of the INFN
Course Structure
Frontal lessons in the classroom or, if necessary, in remote mode
If the teaching is taught in mixed or remote mode, the necessary variations may be introduced with respect to what was previously declared, in order to respect the planned program and reported in the syllabus
A classroom tutorial is also planned for the in-depth study of FEM-type electromagnetic calculation suites (COMSOL, CST, HFSS) for the design of RF cavities, waveguides, photonic crystals
Required Prerequisites
Attendance of Lessons
Detailed Course Content
INTRO: EM FIELDS AND PARTICLES BEAMS PROPERTIES (6 hours)
Electric and magnetic fields; the electromagnetic field. Equations of motion of charged particles in magnetic fields. Short overview of special relativity: energy and momentum, energy in the center of mass in acceleration with a fixed target vs. colliders schemes. Laws and techniques of particle beams focusing. Acceleration theorem. Radio-frequency cavities. Systems for the production, guidance and transmission of electromagnetic waves.
Particle beam transport systems: equations of motion; Magnetic and electrostatic lenses; dipoles, quadrupoles and sextupoles; Selection in energy and charge; magnetic spectrometers.
Main characteristics of ion beams: emittance, brightness, luminosity.
PLASMAS & ION SOURCES (6 hours)
Plasma physics: Definition of plasma. Definition of plasma temperature. Debye shielding. Plasma oscillations. Characteristic parameters of plasmas. Collisional and non-collisional plasmas. Kinetic description of plasmas. Distribution function. Moments of the distribution function. Vlasov equation. Magnetic confinement. Main structures and configurations for magnetic confinement. Plasma ion sources: physical principles and technological characteristics.
PARTICLES ACCELERATORS: OPERATIVE PRINCPLES (16 hours)
Principles of operation and technology of the most popular particle accelerators:
- Electrostatic accelerators
- LINACS: operating principles, phase stability, focusing
- RFQ: operating principles, phase stability, focusing
- Cyclotrons: operating principles, phase stability, focusing
- Synchrotrons: operating principles, phase stability, focusing
- Dielectric Laser Accelerators: operating principles, phase stability, focusing
APPLICATION TO MEDICINE (8 hours)
Interaction of radiation and particles with matter: Introduction to dosimetry.
Clinical dosimetry of electron, photon and hadron beams. Clinical Dosimetry Detectors. Gas detectors, calorimeters, solid state, thermoluniscent and optical detectors. Absolute dosimetry of radiation from an X-ray tube (30 - 300 KVp). Basic elements of an X-ray tube. Quality checks on an X-ray tube. Dosimetric instrumentation. Parameters that characterize the beam. Determination of the absolute dose in water of a low and medium energy X-ray beam (30-300 KVp). Dosimetric Worksheet
Particle accelerators based on high power lasers: Eulerian and Lagrangian viewpoints. Strength agents. Formation of high temperature plasmas. Production of plasma waves and acceleration of electrons and ions in high temperature plasmas.
Application of the Accerators to medicine: Morphological and functional imaging; Imaging machines (CT, PET and MRI); production of radiopharmaceuticals; accelerators for radiotherapy with external beams (Cyclotrons, Linac and synchrotrons)
APPLICATIONS TO CULTURAL HERITAGE (4 hours)
Synchtrotrons and X-ray sources for elemental analysis, compact systems, analysis of manufacts.
LASER-PLASMA ACCELERATORS (4 hours)
High-power laser-based particle accelerators: Eulerian and Lagrangian points of view. Acting forces. Formation of plasmas at high temperatures. Production of plasma waves and acceleration of electrons and ions in high-temperature plasmas.
TUTORIAL (4 hours): use of FEM type calculation suites and electromagnetic design for accelerators (sources, RF cavities, waveguides), e.g. COMSOL, CST, HFSS
Textbook Information
P.J. Bryant, "Introduction to Transfer Lines and Circular Machines" CERN accellerators School, CERN 84-04 |
T. Wangler, Principles of RF Linear Accelerators, Chapter 1 (Wiley, New York, 1998). |
R. Geller, Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources and ECR Plasmas (Institute of Physics, Philadelphia, PA, 1996). |
B. Wolf, Handbook of Ion Sources (CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1995). R. Geller, Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources and ECR Plasmas (Institute of Physics, Philadelphia, PA, 1996).
|
M. Vretenar. Linear accelerators (2013). https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1303.6766 P.J. Bryant, "Introduction to Transfer Lines and Circular Machines" CERN accellerators School, CERN 84-04 |
R. Joel England et al., “Dielectric Laser Accelerators”, Rev. Mod. Phys. 86, 1337https://journals.aps.org/rmp/pdf/10.1103/RevModPhys.86.1337 |
J. J. Livingood, Principles of Cyclic Particle Accelerators(1961, D Van Nostrand Company)
V. L. Smirnov. The cyclotron and its modeling. Physics of Particles and Nuclei, Volume 52, Issue 5, p.913-996.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S106377962105004X |
Applications of Laser-Driven Particle Acceleration Edited ByPaul Bolton, Katia Parodi, Jörg Schreiber, https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429445101 |
CAS Cern Accelerator School, " Cyclotrons, linacs and Their application", 96-02 |
F.H. Attix "Introduction to Radiological Physics and Radiation Dosimetry" Wiley VCH |
Course Planning
| Subjects | Text References | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to relativity and main particle beams properties (4 hours) | |
| 2 | Particles equations of motion in electric and magnetic fields; emittance, brightness, brilliance, luminosity (4 hours) | P.J. Bryant, "Introduction to Transfer Lines and Circular Machines" CERN accellerators School, CERN 84-04 |
| 3 | Electromagnetism for particle accelerators: RF cavities, waveguides, etc (2 hours) | T. Wangler, Principles of RF Linear Accelerators, Chapter 1 (Wiley, New York, 1998). |
| 4 | Plasmas and Ion Sources: physics and technology (4 hours) | R. Geller, Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources and ECR Plasmas (Institute of Physics, Philadelphia, PA, 1996). |
| 5 | Detectors and diagnostics for ion sources | B. Wolf, Handbook of Ion Sources (CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1995).R. Geller, Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources and ECR Plasmas (Institute of Physics, Philadelphia, PA, 1996). |
| 6 | Linear Accelerators: RFQ and LINACs (4 hours) | M. Vretenar. Linear accelerators (2013). https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1303.6766 P.J. Bryant, "Introduction to Transfer Lines and Circular Machines" CERN accellerators School, CERN 84-04 |
| 7 | New linear accelerators: Dielectric Laser Accelerators (2 hours) | R. Joel England et al., “Dielectric Laser Accelerators”, Rev. Mod. Phys. 86, 1337https://journals.aps.org/rmp/pdf/10.1103/RevModPhys.86.1337 |
| 8 | Cyclotrons and Synchrotrons (4 hours) | J. J. Livingood, Principles of Cyclic Particle Accelerators (1961, D Van Nostrand Company) V. L. Smirnov. The cyclotron and its modeling. Physics of Particles and Nuclei, Volume 52, Issue 5, p.913-996. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S106377962105004X |
| 9 | Laser Acceleration: physics and technology (6 hours) | Applications of Laser-Driven Particle AccelerationEdited ByPaul Bolton, Katia Parodi, Jörg Schreiber, https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429445101 |
| 10 | Medical Applications (4 hours) | CAS Cern Accelerator School, " Cyclotrons, linacs and Their application", 96-02 |
| 11 | Radiation-Matter interaction; Dosimetry (4 hours) | F.H. Attix "Introduction to Radiological Physics and Radiation Dosimetry" Wiley VCH |
| 12 | Accelerators for Cultural Heritage (4 hours) | |
| 13 | Electromagnetic structures design: tutorial (4 hours) |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
Final oral exam. Through questions relating to qualifying points of the various parts of the program, the level of overall knowledge acquired by the candidate will be evaluated, and also his ability to critically address the topics studied and to relate the various parts of the program and the topics covered. The ability to report examples, language properties and clarity of presentation will also be evaluated.
Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises
Some questions - which do not constitute an exhaustive list but represent just some examples - asked during the exam are shown below:
- Operating principles of a cyclotron
- Operating principles of a synchrotron
- Operating principles of a linac
- Equation of motion of a charged particle in a cyclotron
- Equation of motion of a charged particle in a linac
- Stability and focusing of a particle beam in a circular machine
- Stability and focusing of a particle beam in a linear machine
- Sources for ions. Production of high temperature plasmas and plasma diagnostic systems
- Interaction of radiation with matter
- Detectors for clinical dosimetry
- Active and passive transport techniques for clinical beams of protons and ions
- Application of accelerators to medicine