An experiment investigating the production of relativistic electrons from the interaction of ultrashort multi-terawatt laser pulses with an underdense plasma is presented. Electrons were accelerated to tens of MeV and the maximum electron energy increased as the plasma density decreased. Simulations have been performed in order to model the experiment. They show a good agreement with the trends observed in the experiment and the spectra of accelerated electrons could be reproduced successfully. The simulations have been used to study the relative contribution of the different acceleration mechanisms: plasma wave acceleration, direct laser acceleration and stochastic heating. The results show that in low density case (1 percent of the critical density) acceleration by laser is dominant mechanism. The simulations at high density also suggest that direct laser acceleration is more efficient that stochastic heating.

Accelerator optimization requires detailed study of many parameters, indicating the need for remote control and automated data acquisition systems. A control and data acquisition system based on a network of commodity PCs and applications with standards based inter-application communication is being built for the l'OASIS accelerator facility. This system allows synchronous acquisition of data at high (> 1 Hz) rates and remote control of the accelerator at low cost, allowing detailed study of the acceleration process.

Laser driven accelerators are capable of producing multi nC, multi MeV electron beams with transverse and longitudinal sizes on the order of microns. To investigate the transport of such electron bunches, a fast and fully relativistic space charge code which can handle beams with arbitrarily large energy spread has been developed. A 6-D macroparticle model for the beam is used to calculate the space charge fields at each time step. The collection of macroparticles is divided into longitudinal momentum bins, each with a small spread in relative momentum. The macroparticle distribution in each momentum bin is decomposed into ellipsoidal shells in position space. For each shell, an analytical expression for the electrostatic force in the bin rest frame is used. The total space charge force acting on one macroparticle in the lab frame is then the vector sum of the Lorentz-transformed forces from all the momentum bins. We have used this code to study the evolution of typical beams emerging from the plasma in the two most popular schemes, i.e., the self-modulated laser-wakefield-accelerator, where the laser pulse size is many times the plasma wavelength (L >> lr), and the colliding pulse laser-wakefield-accelerator regime where L-lr and two counter propagating laser …

We derive a nonlinear fuel optimal attitude control system (ACS) that drives the final state to the desired state according to a cost function that weights the final state angular error relative to the angular rate error. Control is achieved by allowing the pulse-width-modulated (PWM) commands to begin and end anywhere within a control cycle, achieving a pulse width pulse time (PWPT) control. We show through a MATLAB{reg_sign} Simulink model that this steady-state condition may be accomplished, in the absence of sensor noise or model uncertainties, with the theoretical minimum number of actuator cycles. The ability to analytically achieve near-zero drift rates is particularly important in applications such as station-keeping and sensor imaging. Consideration is also given to the fact that, for relatively small sensor and model errors, the controller requires significantly fewer actuator cycles to reach the final state error than a traditional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller. The optimal PWPT attitude controller may be applicable for a high performance kinetic energy kill vehicle.

This paper describes a technical approach to cost-effectively collect plume imagery of boosting targets using a novel micro-satellite based platform operating in low earth orbit (LEO). The plume collection Micro-satellite or PlueSat for short, will be capable of carrying an array of multi-spectral (UV through LWIR) passive and active (Imaging LADAR) sensors and maneuvering with a lateral divert propulsion system to different observation altitudes (100 to 300 km) and different closing geometries to achieve a range of aspect angles (15 to 60 degrees) in order to simulate a variety of boost phase intercept missions. The PlumeSat will be a cost effective platform to collect boost phase plume imagery from within 1 to 10 km ranges, resulting in 0.1 to 1 meter resolution imagery of a variety of potential target missiles with a goal of demonstrating reliable plume-to-hardbody handover algorithms for future boost phase intercept missions. Once deployed on orbit, the PlumeSat would perform a series phenomenology collection experiments until expends its on-board propellants. The baseline PlumeSat concept is sized to provide from 5 to 7 separate fly by data collects of boosting targets. The total number of data collects will depend on the orbital basing altitude and the accuracy in …

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a new missile guidance law for intercepting a missile during boost phase. Unlike other known missile guidance laws being used today, the new t-{Delta}v guidance law optimally trades an interceptor's onboard fuel capacity against time-to-go before impact. In particular, this guidance law allows a missile designer to program the interceptor to maximally impact a boosting missile before burnout or burn termination and thus negating its ability to achieve the maximum kinetic velocity. For an intercontinental range ballistic missile (ICBM), it can be shown that for every second of earlier intercept prior to burnout, the ICBM ground range is reduced by 350 km. Therefore, intercepting a mere 15 seconds earlier would result in amiss of 5,250 km from the intended target or approximately a distance across the continental US. This paper also shows how the t-{Delta}v guidance law can incorporate uncertainties in target burnout time, predicted intercept point (PIP) error, time-to-go error, and other track estimation errors. The authors believe that the t-{Delta}v guidance law is a step toward the development of a new and smart missile guidance law that would enhance the probability of achieving a boost phase intercept.

A Blumlein topology based high peak power, high repetition rate, and low beam impedance fast extraction kicker system for ORNL Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) is being developed at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The large magnet window size, large deflecting angle, low beam impedance termination and fast deflecting field rise time demand a very strong pulsed power source to drive the SNS extraction fast kicker magnet. This system consists of fourteen high voltage modulators and fourteen lumped kicker magnet sections. All modulators will be located in a service building outside the beam tunnel, which is a revised design requirement adopted in the mid 2000. The high current pulses generated by the high power modulators will be delivered through high voltage pulsed transmission cables to each kicker magnet sections. The designed output capacity of this system, is in multiple GVA. Its first article modulator has been constructed and is being tested. In this paper, we present the system overview, project status and the advantages of this new conceptual design.

Pulsed high power fast kickers are being used to change beam trajectories in particle accelerators. The fast rise and fall time of pulse waveform demands a transmission line structure for the kicker deflector design. The ideal design will be parallel metal plates. However, it uses very long straight sections to achieve the required deflection. In accelerators with constrained straight sections, high permeability materials such as ferrite have to be used to gain deflection efficiency. The transmission line kicker magnet is also referred as traveling wave kicker magnet. Its construction is based on distributed 1-C cells along the longitudinal direction. The magnetic cells and capacitive cells are interleaved to simulate the characteristic impedance of a transmission line to minimize pulse reflection, and provide adequate frequency bandwidth to transmit the kicker pulse with fast rise and fall time. The magnetic cells are usually made of ferrite ceramics, but the capacitive cells have been made with different materials. For traveling wave kickers with higher impedance, the parallel plate vacuum capacitor has been used in CERN and KEK design. Others have used ceramic capacitors, printed circuit boards, and high permittivity ceramics as the capacitive cell. The high dielectric material has the advantage of compactness …

This paper summarizes Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) approach to a proposed Technology Demonstration program for the development of a new class of miniature kill vehicles (MKVs), that they have termed Genius Sand (GS). These miniaturized kinetic kill vehicles offer new capabilities for boost phase intercept (BPI) missions, as well as midcourse intercepts and the defeat of advanced countermeasures. The specific GS MKV properties will depend on the choice of mission application and system architecture, as well as the level of coordinated or autonomous operations in these missions. In general the GS MKVs will mass from between 1 to 5 kilograms and have several hundred meters per second of {Delta}v and be capable of several g's of acceleration. Based on the results of their previous study effort, they believe that it is feasible to develop and integrate the required technologies into a fully functional GS MKV prototype within the scope of a three-year development effort. They will discuss some of the system architecture trades and applicable technologies that can be applied in an operational MKV system, as a guide to focus any technology demonstration program. They will present the results of a preliminary 6DOF analysis to determine the minimum capabilities …

A gas discharge switch EEV HX3002 is being evaluated at Brookhaven National Laboratory as a possible candidate of RHIC Beam Abort Kicker modulator main switch. At higher beam energy and higher beam intensity, the switch stability becomes very crucial. The hollow anode thyratron used in the existing system is not rated for long reverse current conduction. The reverse voltage arcing caused thyratron hold-off voltage de-rating has been the main limitation of the system operation. To improve the system reliability, a new type of gas discharge switch has been suggested by Marconi Applied Technology for its reverse conducting capability.

We have conducted particle-in-cell simulations of laser pulse propagation through neutral He, including the effects of tunneling ionization, within the parameter regime of the l'OASIS experiments [1,2] at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The simulations show the theoretically predicted [3] blue shifting of the laser frequency at the leading edge of the pulse. The observed blue shifting is in good agreement with the experimental data. These results indicate that such computations can be used to accurately simulate a number of important effects related to tunneling ionization for laser-plasma accelerator concepts, such as steepening due to ionization-induced pump depletion, which can seed and enhance instabilities. Our simulations show self-modulation occurring earlier when tunneling ionization is included then for a pre-ionized plasma.