Upgrade of the ATLAS 10 GHz ECRIS

A major renovation of the ATLAS 10 GHz ECRIS, which began operations in 1987, is in the planning and acquisition phase. The old two-stage source will be converted to a single stage design including a high gradient magnetic field, electron donor disk, large radial ports, and flexible modular design. Eight solenoid coils taken from the existing ECR will produce the axial mirror. The individual coils will be encased in an iron yoke that optimizes the magnetic field. Computer modeling of the field profile yields a minimum field along the axis of 3.0 kG with mirror ratios of 4.4 and 2.9. An open hexapole configuration consisting of Nd-Fe-B bars enclosed in an austenitic stainless steel housing will be placed in an aluminium plasma chamber that will be water cooled along the poles of the hexapole. The hexapole field at the chamber wall, 4 cm in radius, is expected to be 9.3 kG along the magnet poles and 5.7 kG along the center of the pole gaps, which are 2.4 cm wide. A 3D model produced from individual 2D field profiles was used to check the end effects of the hexapole. Based on the models this new field configuration is capable of supporting a second ECR resonance zone at 14 GHz, which may be implemented at a later date

High-Sensitivity Measurement of 3He-4He Isotopic Ratios for Ultracold Neutron Experiments

Research efforts ranging from studies of solid helium to searches for a neutron electric dipole moment require isotopically purified helium with a ratio of 3He to 4He at levels below that which can be measured using traditional mass spectroscopy techniques. We demonstrate an approach to such a measurement using accelerator mass spectroscopy, reaching the 10e-14 level of sensitivity, several orders of magnitude more sensitive than other techniques. Measurements of 3He/4He in samples relevant to the measurement of the neutron lifetime indicate the need for substantial corrections. We also argue that there is a clear path forward to sensitivity increases of at least another order of magnitude.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure

Stellar 36,38^{36,38}Ar(n,γ)37,39(n,\gamma)^{37,39}Ar reactions and their effect on light neutron-rich nuclide synthesis

The $^{36}$Ar$(n,\gamma)^{37}$Ar ($t_{1/2}$ = 35 d) and $^{38}$Ar$(n,\gamma)^{39}$Ar (269 y) reactions were studied for the first time with a quasi-Maxwellian ($kT \sim 47$ keV) neutron flux for Maxwellian Average Cross Section (MACS) measurements at stellar energies. Gas samples were irradiated at the high-intensity Soreq applied research accelerator facility-liquid-lithium target neutron source and the $^{37}$Ar/$^{36}$Ar and $^{39}$Ar/$^{38}$Ar ratios in the activated samples were determined by accelerator mass spectrometry at the ATLAS facility (Argonne National Laboratory). The $^{37}$Ar activity was also measured by low-level counting at the University of Bern. Experimental MACS of $^{36}$Ar and $^{38}$Ar, corrected to the standard 30 keV thermal energy, are 1.9(3) mb and 1.3(2) mb, respectively, differing from the theoretical and evaluated values published to date by up to an order of magnitude. The neutron capture cross sections of $^{36,38}$Ar are relevant to the stellar nucleosynthesis of light neutron-rich nuclides; the two experimental values are shown to affect the calculated mass fraction of nuclides in the region A=36-48 during the weak $s$-process. The new production cross sections have implications also for the use of $^{37}$Ar and $^{39}$Ar as environmental tracers in the atmosphere and hydrosphere.Comment: 18 pages + Supp. Mat. (13 pages) Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Development of a Novel Biology Laboratory Course for Incarcerated Students

Federal second chance Pell grants were recently made widely available to incarcerated students in the United States to fund undergraduate education. Piedmont Virginia Community College was a pilot site for this expansion and began full scale implementation of transfer-oriented associate degrees at three correctional centers in its service area. The college did not have a biology laboratory curriculum that would meet general education requirements and be feasible in a correctional center, where students do not have internet access or even reliable computer (word processing or spreadsheet) access and where materials are restricted for entry. This paper will serve to introduce the laboratory curriculum that was created to accompany a non-majors general biology laboratory course with materials that were pre-approved to pass through security screening in at least one local correctional facility. The lab manual (at this link) contains student information and instructions as well as a linked suite of files, photos, sample data, and instructions for any instructor to quickly deploy with just a USB flash drive and facility laptop (with no internet). Incarcerated PVCC students enrolled in this course benefit from a hands-on lab experience that mirrors the on-campus lab as much as possible. We hope that by publishing this laboratory manual, we might assist others in developing high-quality laboratory experiences for incarcerated students. Every student deserves a second chance

Discovery of underground argon with low level of radioactive 39Ar and possible applications to WIMP dark matter detectors

We report on the first measurement of 39Ar in argon from underground natural gas reservoirs. The gas stored in the US National Helium Reserve was found to contain a low level of 39Ar. The ratio of 39Ar to stable argon was found to be <=4x10-17 (84% C.L.), less than 5% the value in atmospheric argon (39Ar/Ar=8x10-16). The total quantity of argon currently stored in the National Helium Reserve is estimated at 1000 tons. 39Ar represents one of the most important backgrounds in argon detectors for WIMP dark matter searches. The findings reported demonstrate the possibility of constructing large multi-ton argon detectors with low radioactivity suitable for WIMP dark matter searches.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 2 table

Direct Observation of Hyperfine Quenching of the (2)3p0 Level in Helium-Like Nickel

Journals published by the American Physical Society can be found at http://publish.aps.org/We report a clear demonstration of the effect of hyperfine quenching of a forbidden transition by direct comparison of the lifetimes of the 2 3P0 level in the heliumlike isotopes Ni-61(26+) and Ni-58(26+). We find the quenched lifetime of the 2 3P0 level in Ni-61(26+) to be 470(50) ps. From this we deduce the 2 3P0-2 3P1 energy splitting to be 2.33(15) eV. We also report a measurement of the lifetime of the 2 3P2 level in Ni-58(26+), which is found to be 70(3) ps

A new 14 GHz Electron-Cyclotron-Resonance Ion Source (ECRIS) for the heavy ion accelerator facility ATLAS

A 14 GHz Electron-Cyclotron-Resonance Ion Source (ECRIS) has been designed and built at Argonne National Laboratory. The source is a modification of the AECR at Berkeley and incorporates the latest results from ECR developments to produce intense beams of highly charged ions, including an improved magnetic confinement of the plasma electrons with an axial mirror ratio of 3.5. The aluminum plasma chamber and extraction electrode as well as a biased disk on axis at the microwave injection side donates additional electrons to the plasma, making use of the large secondary electron yield from aluminum oxide. The source is capable of ECR plasma heating using two different frequencies simultaneously to increase the electron energy gain for the production of high charge states. The main design goal is to produce several e{mu}A of at least {sup 238}U{sup 35+} in order to accelerate the beam to coulomb-barrier energies without further stripping. First charge state distributions for gaseous elements have been measured and 210 e{mu}A {sup 16}O{sup 7+} has been achieved. A normalized 90% emittance from 0.1 to 0.2 {pi} mm{sm_bullet}mrad for krypton and oxygen beam has been found

Associations of physical activity levels with fatigue in people with inflammatory rheumatic disease in the LIFT trial

Objectives: The overall aim of the current study was to quantify physical activity levels in inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRDs) and to explore its role in fatigue.Methods: Secondary analysis of data from the Lessening the Impact of Fatigue in IRDs (LIFT) trial of the personalized exercise programme (PEP) intervention for fatigue. Participants with IRDs were recruited from 2017–2019 and the current analysis used the fatigue, measured by the chalder fatigue scale (CFS) and the fatigue severity scale (FSS), and accelerometer measured physical activity data collected at baseline and at 6 months follow up. Physical activity levels were quantified, associations with fatigue and effects of PEP investigated.Results: Of the 337 included participants, 195 (68.4%) did not meet the current recommendations for moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). In baseline cross-sectional analysis, many dimensions of physical activity were associated with fatigue. After mutual adjustment, overall physical activity (vector magnitude) was associated with CFS (-0.88(-0.12, -1.64)) and distribution of time spent at different activity intensity was associated with FSS (-1.16 (-2.01, -0.31)). Relative to usual care, PEP resulted in an increase in upright time, with trends for increases in step count and overall physical activity. People who increased overall physical activity (vector magnitude) more had greater improvements in CFS and FSS, whilst those that increased step count and MVPA more had greater improvements in FSS.Conclusion: Increasing physical activity is important for fatigue management in people with IRDs and further work is needed to optimize PEP to target the symptoms and impact of fatigue.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.Gov, NCT0324851