Lab Directorate

Motivated by the need to harness the properties of renewable and biodegradable polymers for the design and manufacturing of multi-scale structures with complex geometries, we have employed our additive manufacturing platform that leverages molecular self-assembly for the production of metre-scale structures characterized by complex geometries and heterogeneous material composition. As a precursor material, we used chitosan, a chemically modified form of chitin, an abundant and sustainable structural polysaccharide. We demonstrate the ability to control concentration-dependent crystallization as well as the induction of the preferred orientation of the polymer chains through the combination of extrusion-based robotic fabrication and directional toolpathing. Anisotropy is demonstrated and assessed through high-resolution micro-X-ray diffraction in conjunction with finite element simulations. Using this approach, we can leverage controlled and user-defined small-scale propagation of residual stresses to induce large-scale folding of the resulting structures.

The ALS-U is the upgrade of the existing Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Advanced Light Source to a diffraction-limited soft x-ray light source. Here we present the lattice correction studies and commissioning simulations demonstrating that the proposed machine design can be expected to deliver the intended performance when realistic errors and perturbations are fully accounted for. Critical to this demonstration are the high-fidelity, realistic simulations of the beam-based alignment process (both in turn-by-turn mode during early commissioning and with stored beam) that are now made possible by the Toolkit for Simulated Commissioning. In addition to presenting a statistical performance analysis based on a large number of lattice error realizations, we also study the range of further improvements that can be obtained by fine-tuning the correction chain to individual error seeds, mimicking the approach one would follow once the machine is built.

The Advanced Light Source Upgrade (ALS-U) is a 4th generation diffraction-limited soft x-ray radiation source, consisting of a new accumulator ring (AR) and a new storage ring (SR). In both rings coupling-impedance driven instabilities need careful evaluation to ensure meeting the machine's high-performance goals. This paper presents the workflow followed in building the impedance models and the beam-stability analysis based on those models. We follow the commonly accepted approach of separating the resistive-wall and the geometric parts of the impedance; the former is obtained by analytical formulas, the latter by numerical electro-magnetic codes (primarily CST Studio software) with perfectly-conducting boundary conditions. Impedance budgets are established and pseudo-Green functions calculated to be used in beam dynamics studies. We also present various ways to cross-check simulation results for reliable impedance modeling. Finally, the crucial single-bunch instability current thresholds for various operation modes are determined and discussed.

The Advanced Light Source Upgrade will implement on axis single-train swap-out injection employing an accumulator between the booster and storage rings. The accumulator ring (AR) design is a twelve period triple-bend achromat that will be installed along the inner circumference of the storage-ring tunnel. A nonconventional injection scheme will be utilized for top-off off axis injection from the booster into the AR meant to accommodate a large ∼300 nm emittance beam into a vacuum-chamber with a limiting horizontal aperture radius as small as 8 mm. The scheme incorporates three dipole kickers distributed over three sectors, with two kickers perturbing the stored beam and the third affecting both the stored and the injected beam trajectories. This paper describes this "3DK"injection scheme and how it fits the AR's particular requirements. We describe the design and optimization process, and how we evaluated its fitness as a solution for booster-to-accumulator ring injection.

The ALS-U light source will implement on-axis single-train swap-out injection employing an accumulator between the booster and storage rings. The accumulator ring design is a twelve period triple-bend achromat that will be installed along the inner circumference of the storage-ring tunnel. A non-conventional injection scheme will be utilized for top-off off-axis injection from the booster into the accumulator ring meant to accommodate a large $\sim 300$~nm emittance beam into a vacuum-chamber with a limiting horizontal aperture radius as small as $8$ mm. The scheme incorporates three dipole kickers distributed over three sectors, with two kickers perturbing the stored beam and the third affecting both the stored and the injected beam trajectories. This paper describes this ``3DK'' injection scheme and how it fits the accumulator ring's particular requirements. We describe the design and optimization process, and how we evaluated its fitness as a solution for booster-to-accumulator ring injection.

The dual-phase xenon time projection chamber (TPC) is a powerful tool for direct-detection experiments searching for WIMP dark matter, other dark matter models, and neutrinoless double-beta decay. Successful operation of such a TPC is critically dependent on the ability to hold high electric fields in the bulk liquid, across the liquid surface, and in the gas. Careful design and construction of the electrodes used to establish these fields is therefore required. We present the design and production of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment's high-voltage electrodes, a set of four woven mesh wire grids. Grid design drivers are discussed, with emphasis placed on design of the electron extraction region. We follow this with a description of the grid production process and a discussion of steps taken to validate the LZ grids prior to integration into the TPC.

LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) is a second-generation direct dark matter experiment with spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering sensitivity above 1.4×10-48cm2 for a WIMP mass of 40GeV/c2 and a 1000days exposure. LZ achieves this sensitivity through a combination of a large 5.6t fiducial volume, active inner and outer veto systems, and radio-pure construction using materials with inherently low radioactivity content. The LZ collaboration performed an extensive radioassay campaign over a period of six years to inform material selection for construction and provide an input to the experimental background model against which any possible signal excess may be evaluated. The campaign and its results are described in this paper. We present assays of dust and radon daughters depositing on the surface of components as well as cleanliness controls necessary to maintain background expectations through detector construction and assembly. Finally, examples from the campaign to highlight fixed contaminant radioassays for the LZ photomultiplier tubes, quality control and quality assurance procedures through fabrication, radon emanation measurements of major sub-systems, and bespoke detector systems to assay scintillator are presented.

LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) is a next-generation dark matter direct detection experiment that will operate 4850 feet underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota, USA. Using a two-phase xenon detector with an active mass of 7 tonnes, LZ will search primarily for low-energy interactions with weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), which are hypothesized to make up the dark matter in our galactic halo. In this paper, the projected WIMP sensitivity of LZ is presented based on the latest background estimates and simulations of the detector. For a 1000 live day run using a 5.6-tonne fiducial mass, LZ is projected to exclude at 90% confidence level spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross sections above 1.4×10-48 cm2 for a 40 GeV/c2 mass WIMP. Additionally, a 5σ discovery potential is projected, reaching cross sections below the exclusion limits of recent experiments. For spin-dependent WIMP-neutron(-proton) scattering, a sensitivity of 2.3×10-43 cm2 (7.1×10-42 cm2) for a 40 GeV/c2 mass WIMP is expected. With underground installation well underway, LZ is on track for commissioning at SURF in 2020.

We describe the design and assembly of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment, a direct detection search for cosmic WIMP dark matter particles. The centerpiece of the experiment is a large liquid xenon time projection chamber sensitive to low energy nuclear recoils. Rejection of backgrounds is enhanced by a Xe skin veto detector and by a liquid scintillator Outer Detector loaded with gadolinium for efficient neutron capture and tagging. LZ is located in the Davis Cavern at the 4850’ level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, USA. We describe the major subsystems of the experiment and its key design features and requirements.