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An electron beam experiences chromatic emittance growth in a plasma-based accelerator if it is not matched to the focusing force in the plasma wake. A ramped plasma density profile at the entrance and exit of the plasma source can control the focusing of the beam into and out of the plasma accelerator, limiting emittance growth. Here, we present a comprehensive, analytic theory to describe the transverse beam dynamics and emittance growth in a nearly arbitrary plasma ramp profile. For a given incoming beam, this theory can be used to determine the length of the ramp required to correctly focus the electron beam, the optimal location of the beam's vacuum focus, and the chromatic emittance growth in the ramp. In addition, the theory can be used to determine the effect that errors in the beam focusing and plasma profile have on the emittance of the beam. We illustrate two example ramps to demonstrate the theory: one that provides very fast focusing for beam matching, and one that is robust to errors in the plasma density profile.

Dark current can spoil witness bunch beam quality and acceleration efficiency in particle beam-driven plasma wakefield accelerators. In advanced schemes, hot spots generated by the drive beam or the wakefield can release electrons from higher ionization threshold levels in the plasma media. These electrons may be trapped inside the plasma wake and will then accumulate dark current, which is generally detrimental for a clear and unspoiled plasma acceleration process. Strategies for generating clean and robust, dark current free plasma wake cavities are devised and analyzed, and crucial aspects for experimental realization of such optimized scenarios are discussed.

Performance of the x-ray free electron laser Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) and the Facility for Advanced Accelerator Experimental Tests (FACET) is determined by the properties of their extremely short electron bunches. Multi-GeV electron bunches in both LCLS and FACET are less than 100 fs long. Optimization of beam properties and understanding of free-electron laser operation require electron beam diagnostics with time resolution of about 10 fs. We designed, built and commissioned a set of high frequency $X$-band deflectors which can measure the beam longitudinal space charge distribution and slice energy spread to better than 10 fs resolution at full LCLS energy (14 GeV), and with 70 fs resolution at full FACET energy (20 GeV). Use of high frequency and high gradient in these devices allows them to reach unprecedented performance. We report on the physics motivation, design considerations, operational configuration, cold tests, and typical results of the $X$-band deflector systems currently in use at SLAC.

2Although there is strong theoretical support that na-ture can be described by a grand uni ed theory (GUT) [1,2], there is currently no direct experimental evidence.One of the most powerful ways to test grand uni cationis to look for proton (or bound neutron) decay. MostGUTs have an unstable proton; in the absence of anobservation, setting experimental limits on the protonlifetime can provide useful constraints on the nature ofgrand uni ed theories. Observation, on the other hand,would be tantalizing evidence of new physics beyond theStandard Model.One of the more simple but interesting candidates forgrand uni cation is SO(10), where the Standard Model’sSU(3), SU(2), and U(1) are contained within the largergauge group. The class of models based on SO(10) uni- cation generally make predictions for neutrino massesand mixing that are broadly in accord with all knownneutrino mixing data [3, 4]. The minimal supersym-metric SO(10) model with a 126 Higgs eld describedin Ref. [3] is the particular motivation for the analysispresented here. In addition to predicting neutrino massand mixing in agreement with observations, it leaves R-parity unbroken, which guarantees the existence of stabledark matter. For some region of its allowed parameterspace, this model predicts that the dominant nucleon de-cay modes will be p! ˇ

A search for the dinucleon decay $pp\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{K}^{+}{K}^{+}$ has been performed using $91.6\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{kton}\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}\text{yr}$ data from Super-Kamiokande-I. This decay provides a sensitive probe of the $R$-parity-violating parameter ${{\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{112}}^{\ensuremath{'}\ensuremath{'}}$. A boosted decision tree analysis found no signal candidates in the data. The expected background was $0.28\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.19$ atmospheric neutrino induced events and the estimated signal detection efficiency was $12.6%\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}3.2%$. A lower limit of $1.7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{32}\text{ }\text{ }\text{years}$ has been placed on the partial lifetime of the decay $^{16}\mathrm{O}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{14}\mathrm{C}{K}^{+}{K}^{+}$ at 90% C.L. A corresponding upper limit of $7.8\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}9}$ has been placed on the parameter ${{\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{112}}^{\ensuremath{'}\ensuremath{'}}$.

Searches for a nucleon decay into a charged anti-lepton (e^+ or {\mu}^+) plus a light meson ({\pi}^0, {\pi}^-, {\eta}, {\rho}^0, {\rho}^-, {\omega}) were performed using the Super-Kamiokande I and II data. Twelve nucleon decay modes were searched for. The total exposure is 140.9 kiloton \cdot years, which includes a 91.7 kiloton \cdot year exposure (1489.2 live days) of Super-Kamiokande-I and a 49.2 kiloton \cdot year exposure (798.6 live days) of Super-Kamiokande-II. The number of candidate events in the data was consistent with the atmospheric neutrino background expectation. No significant evidence for a nucleon decay was observed in the data. Thus, lower limits on the nucleon partial lifetime at 90% confidence level were obtained. The limits range from 3.6 \times 10^31 to 8.2 \times 10^33 years, depending on the decay modes., Comment: 25 pages, 18 figures

Artículo escrito por un elevado número de autores, solo se referencian el que aparece en primer lugar, el nombre del grupo de colaboración, si le hubiere, y los autores pertenecientes a la UAM, The results of the third phase of the Super-Kamiokande solar neutrino measurement are presented and compared to the first and second phase results. With improved detector calibrations, a full detector simulation, and improved analysis methods, the systematic uncertainty on the total neutrino flux is estimated to be ± 2.1%, which is about two thirds of the systematic uncertainty for the first phase of Super-Kamiokande. The observed 8B solar flux in the 5.0 to 20 MeV total electron energy region is 2.32 ± 0.04 (stat.) ± 0.05 (sys.) x 10^6 cm^-2sec^-1, under the assumption of pure electron-flavor content, in agreement with previous measurements. A combined oscillation analysis is carried out using SK-I, II, and III data, and the results are also combined with the results of other solar neutrino experiments. The best-fit oscillation parameters are obtained to be sin^2 {\theta}12 = 0.30+0.02-0.01(tan^2 {\theta}12 = 0.42+0.04 -0.02) and {\Delta}m2_21 = 6.2+1.1-1.9 *10^-5eV^2. Combined with KamLAND results, the best-fit oscillation parameters are found to be sin^2 {\theta}12 = 0.31±0.01 (tan^2 {\theta}12 = 0.44±0.03) and {\Delta}m2_21 = 7.6 ± 0.2 x 10^-5 eV^2. The 8B neutrino flux obtained from global solar neutrino experiments is 5.3 ± 0.2 (stat + sys) x 10^6cm^-2s^-1, while the 8B flux becomes 5.1 ± 0.1 (stat +sys ) x 10^6cm^-2s^-1 by adding KamLAND result. In a three-flavor analysis combining all solar neutrino experiments, the upper limit of sin^2 {\theta}13 is 0.060 at 95% C.L.. After combination with KamLAND results, the upper limit of sin^2 {\theta}13 is found to be 0.059 at 95% C.L., The authors gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of the Kamioka Mining and Smelting Company. Super-K has been built and operated from funds provided by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. National Science Foundation. This work was partially supported by the Research Foundation of Korea (BK21 and KNRC), the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Science Foundation of China, and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Grants No. FPA2009- 13697-C04-02 and No. Consolider-Ingenio-2010/CPAN)

We report the development of a proton identification method for the Super-Kamiokande detector. This new tool is applied to the search for events with a single proton track, a high purity neutral current sample of interest for sterile neutrino searches. After selection using a neural network, we observe 38 events in the combined SK-I and SK-II data corresponding to 2285.1 days of exposure, with an estimated signal to background ratio of 1.6 to 1. Proton identification was also applied to a direct search for charged-current quasi-elastic (CCQE) events, obtaining a high precision sample of fully kinematically reconstructed atmospheric neutrinos, which has not been previously reported in water Cherenkov detectors. The CCQE fraction of this sample is 55%, and its neutrino (as opposed to anti-neutrino) fraction is 91.7+/-3%. We selected 78 mu-like and 47 e-like events in the SK-I and SK-II data set. With this data, a clear zenith angle distortion of the neutrino direction itself is reported in a sub-GeV sample of muon neutrinos where the lepton angular correlation to the incoming neutrino is weak. Our fit to nu_mu->nu_tau oscillations using the neutrino L/E distribution of the CCQE sample alone yields a wide acceptance region compatible with our previous results and excludes the no-oscillation hypothesis at 3 sigma., Comment: 23 pages, 22 figures. Corrected typos, replaced some figures. Version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

We have searched for proton decays via p-->e;{+}pi;{0} and p-->micro;{+}pi;{0} using data from a 91.7 kt.yr exposure of Super-Kamiokande-I and a 49.2 kt.yr exposure of Super-Kamiokande-II. No candidate events were observed with expected backgrounds induced by atmospheric neutrinos of 0.3 events for each decay mode. From these results, we set lower limits on the partial lifetime of 8.2 x 10;{33} and 6.6 x 10;{33} years at 90% confidence level for p-->e;{+}pi;{0} and p-->micro;{+}pi;{0} modes, respectively.