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Introduction: In this work, we aim to explore numerically the behavior of beam energetic particles in the Divertor Tokamak Test (DTT), a superconductive device equipped with a Neutral Beam Injection (NBI) system capable of injecting neutrals up to 510 keV. Method: We explore beam ionization and beam slowing down for different DTT plasma scenarios. Numerical simulations are performed using the ASCOT suite of codes, including a wide-range scan of plasma density and beam injection energy. For different plasma conditions, we estimate shine-through losses, including the heat fluxes on the first wall thanks to dedicated particle tracing simulations. Orbits of newly-born fast ions are characterized by means of the constant of motion phase space, showing how trapped energetic particles' population and prompt losses change with plasma density and NBI energy. Results and discussion: Slowing down simulations show that NBI injection at 510 keV is well coupled to DTT plasmas. DTT NBI will be one of the sources of auxiliary ion heating, with an absorbed power ratio of up to ∼50% depending on plasma and beam parameters. At low plasma densities, energetic particle confinement is less efficient, and NBI power and/or energy reduction is expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) are about five times more likely to develop lung cancer than those without ILD. The presence of ILD in lung cancer patients complicates diagnosis and management, resulting in lower survival rates. Diagnostic and treatment procedures needed for cancer can increase the risk of acute exacerbation (AE), one of the most severe complications for these patients. Bronchoscopic techniques are generally considered safe, but they can trigger AE-ILD, particularly after cryoprobe biopsies. Surgical procedures for lung cancer, including lung biopsies and resections, carry an elevated risk of AE-ILD. Postoperative complications and mortality rates highlight the importance of meticulous surgical planning and postoperative care. Furthermore, cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, are all burdened by a risk of AE-ILD occurrence. Radiotherapy is important for managing both early-stage and advanced lung cancer, but it also poses risks. Stereotactic body radiation and particle beam therapies have varying degrees of safety, with the latter potentially offering a lower risk of AE. Percutaneous ablation techniques can help patients who are not eligible for surgery. However, these procedures may complicate ILD, and their associated risks still need to be fully understood, necessitating further research for improved safety. Overall, while advancements in lung cancer treatment have improved outcomes for many patients, the complexity of managing patients with concomitant ILD needs careful consideration and multidisciplinary assessment. This review provides a detailed evaluation of these risks, emphasizing the need for personalized treatment approaches and monitoring to improve patient outcomes in this challenging population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superconducting cyclotron can generate high-energy proton beams and are mainly used for radiation therapy of tumors and cancers. In the superconducting cyclotron SC200, the maximum magnetic induction intensity can typically reach up to 4.6 T, and the magnetic field accuracy is 1e-4. Hall probes are commonly used tools for measuring high-intensity magnetic fields. Through comprehensive consideration, this study selects the SENIS Low-Noise Teslameter 3MH5 and Hall probe C to measure the magnetic field. When the magnetic field exceeds the range of 2 T, the measurement accuracy of the Hall probe is less than 1e-4, and the Hall probe needs to be calibrated to improve its measurement accuracy. The Hall probes are calibrated using Swiss METROLAB PT2025 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) Tesla instrument and 1062 probe. Based on the calibration principle, a calibration system platform was built, test data were collected, and calibration curves were obtained. At the same time, the calibration data were analyzed through cross-validation experiments using the cubic polynomial fitting method. The results indicate that the test deviation range is from −0.1 g to 0.1 g, and the measurement accuracy can reach 1e-4. In summary, the Hall probe can accurately measure the magnetic field distribution of the superconducting cyclotron. It can provide accurate and important data for the calculation and analysis of particle beam dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionoacoustic tomography exploits the acoustic signal generated by the fast energy deposition along the path of pulsed particle beams to reconstruct with sub-mm precision the dose deposition, with promising envisioned applications in hadron therapy treatment monitoring. State-of-the-art ionoacoustic detectors mainly rely on single-channel sensors and time-of-flight measurements to provide 1D localization of the maximum dose deposition at the so-called Bragg peak. This work investigates the design challenges of multichannel sensors for ionoacoustic tomography in terms of their ability to accurately reconstruct the dose deposition of a 200 MeV clinical proton beam, highlighting the impact of the number of channels in the array and their directivity. A complete acoustic model of the sensors and environment has been developed and used to find an optimum tradeoff between accuracy, evaluated numerically through the gamma index, and hardware complexity due to higher channel numbers, thus minimizing the system-level power consumption of the detector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical turbidity and acoustic sensors have been widely used in laboratory experiments and field studies to investigate suspended particulate matter concentration over the last four decades. Both methods face a serious challenge as laboratory and in‐situ calibrations are usually required. Furthermore, in coastal and estuarine environments, the coexistence of mud and sand often results in multimodal particle size distributions, amplifying erroneous measurements. This paper proposes a new approach of combining a pair of optical turbidity‐acoustic sensors to estimate the total concentration and sediment composition of a mud/sand mixture in an efficient way without an extensive calibration. More specifically, we first carried out a set of 54 bimodal size regime experiments to derive empirical functions of optical‐acoustic signals, concentrations, and mud/sand fractions. The functionalities of these relationships were then tested and validated using more complex multimodal size regime experiments over 30 optical‐acoustic pairs of 5 wavelengths (420, 532, 620, 700, 852 nm) and six frequencies (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 MHz). In the range of our data, without prior knowledge of particle size distribution, combinations between optical wavelengths 620–700 nm and acoustic frequencies 4–6 MHz predict mud/sand fraction and total concentration with the variation <10% for the former and <15% for the later. The results also suggest that acoustic‐acoustic signals could be combined to produce meaningful information regarding concentration and mud/sand fraction, while no useful knowledge could be extracted from a combination of optical‐optical pairs. This approach therefore enables the robust estimation of suspended sediment concentration and composition, which is particularly practical in cases where calibration data is insufficient. Plain Language Summary: Crucial decisions to govern the development of an estuary, delta, or coastal zone often rely heavily on the knowledge of where sediment accumulates. Such knowledge primarily comes from long‐term, high‐frequency monitoring of the transport of mud and sand particles in the water column. Optical or acoustic sensors are usually used for this task. Optical/acoustic sensors emit a light/sound beam to the particles and then measure the strength of the reflecting signals to estimate the concentration of the suspension. Since particles with different shape, size, and density respond differently to the light/sound signals, intensive calibrations are required whenever there is a significant change in the water column, for example, during a tidal cycle, seasonal variations between summer and winter. To avoid these tedious calibrations processes, we experimentally show that combination of optical and acoustic sensors in one measurement will help to derive empirical functions which in turn allow us to estimate the ratio of mud/sand and total concentration. Key Points: A new approach of coupling uncalibrated optical and acoustic signals to predict mud/sand fraction and total concentration was proposedWe experimentally show that without knowledge of the suspension estimations of mud/sand ratio and concentration can be as accurate as 10%–15%The new approach is particularly useful in cases where calibration data is insufficient or impractical [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possibility of increasing the current density of a charged particle beam (focusing) by means of tapered glass channels without the use of external energy sources is actively translated into action today for positively charged ions. For electron beams, this possibility is not realized due to the lack of experimental data on the sliding interaction between electron beams and a dielectric surface. It is necessary to examine the compression of an electron beam by tapered capillaries depending on their geometrical parameters, as well as to study the temporal characteristics of the focusing process. In this work, the authors experimentally studied the compression of a 10 keV electron beam using a 15-mm-long tapered glass channel with an inlet-to-outlet inside diameter ratio of 1.15 mm/0.30 mm. The beam current density is shown to increase at the outlet of the capillary with the specified parameters by up to a factor of 2.7 for the position where the channel axis is parallel to that of the initial beam. This density increase is estimated for electrons that have lost no more than 1 keV of initial energy. It is also shown that the process of electron transmission by a tapered capillary is stable regardless of the orientation of the capillary with respect to the direction of the initial beam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dilute plasma is continuously maintained in the troposphere by ionising particle radiation from galactic cosmic rays and radon decay. Small ions in the 1–2 nm size range play an important role in atmospheric processes such as ion-induced nucleation of aerosol particles. Consequently there is a need for precise and robust instruments to measure small ions both for atmospheric observations and for laboratory experiments that simulate the atmosphere. Here we describe the design and performance of the Cluster Ion Counter (CIC, Airel OÜ), which simultaneously measures the number concentrations of positively- and negatively-charged ions and particles below 5 nm mobility diameter, with low noise and fast time response. The detection efficiency is above 80 % for ions and charged particles between 1.2 and 2.0 nm, and above 90 % between 2.0 and 3.0 nm. The ion concentrations measured by the CIC agree well with reference instruments. The noise level (1 σ of background measurements) is typically between 20 and 30 ions cm-3 at 1 Hz sampling rate and an air flow rate of 7 l min-1 per analyzer. The noise level improves when higher flow rates and longer sampling periods are used. The CIC responds rapidly with 1 s time resolution to pulses of ionisation produced in the CLOUD chamber by a CERN particle beam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relativistic charged particle beam can be used as a destructive beam weapon in space for debris removal tasks. The trajectories of charged particles are affected by both electric and magnetic forces in the Earth's magnetic field. In this paper, we firstly analyzed the correlation parameters of the charged particle beam as a weapon when it is propagated in the geomagnetic field. Then, the models were constructed based on COMSOL Multiphysics, and the IGRF model was adopted in the simulation. The gyroradius and the related uncertainty were analyzed by simulation of the charged particle transport in the geomagnetic field at different altitudes. The charged beam spot radius divergency was also simulated. The geomagnetic field can inhibite the diffusion of the electron beam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The joint use of hourly resolution sampling and analyses with accelerated ion beams such as Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) technique has allowed the measurement of hourly temporal patterns of particulate matter (PM) composition at many sites in different parts of the world. The demand within the scientific community for this type of analysis has been continuously increasing in recent years, but hourly resolution samplers suitable for PIXE analysis are now discontinued and/or suffer from some technical limitations. In this framework, a new hourly sampler, STRAS (Size and Time Resolved Aerosol Sampler), was developed for the collection of PM10, PM2.5 or PM1. It allows automatic sequential sampling of up to 168 hourly samples (1 week), it is mechanically robust, compact, and easily transportable. To increase PIXE sensitivity, each sample is concentrated on a small surface area on a polycarbonate membrane. The comparison between the elemental concentrations retrieved by STRAS samples and samples collected using a standard sequential sampler operated in parallel shows a very good agreement; indeed, if both the samplers use the same kind of membrane, the concentrations of all detected elements are in agreement within 10 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this work is to characterize the secondary neutron spectra produced by 1 GeV/u56Fe beam colliding with a thick cylindric aluminum target and to perform a quantitative comparison with simulated results obtained with Monte Carlo codes. The measurements were performed using extended-range Bonner sphere spectrometers at two positions (15° and 40°) with respect to the beam direction. The secondary radiation field was simulated using four Monte Carlo codes (FLUKA, MCNP6, Geant4 and PHITS) and several physical models of nuclei transport and interaction. Neutron and proton energy distributions were simulated for the experimental measurement positions. The simulated neutron spectra, together with data measured with Bonner sphere spectrometers, after carrying out the correction of the contributions induced by the secondary protons, were used as input for the MAXED spectrum unfolding code to obtain the measured neutron spectra. Unfolded neutron spectra were compared with simulated ones to carry out a quantitative analysis of the performance of the chosen Monte Carlo codes and their corresponding physical models. This comparison showed that, because of experimental uncertainties and physical models, there are no unique solutions for each measurement location, but a range of solutions where the true experimental neutron spectra probably lie. The results showed deviations between 4.23% and 8.42% for some simulated spectra. Regarding the total integral values of neutron fluence and ambient equivalent dose, the unfolded neutron spectra showed deviations lower than 2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We outline a method of beamed power for propulsion that utilizes relativistic electron beams. The physics of charged particle beam propagation in the space plasma environment is discussed and the long-range (> 100 AU) advantage of relativistic electron beams is emphasized. A preliminary statite-based beam emitter for powering probes to 0.1c is proposed and the challenges in beamed-power uses are explored. • The potential for a relativistic electron beam to have dramatically longer beam ranges than other forms of beam-driven propulsion is revealed • The propagation of the beam through the space plasma is discussed and areas for further work identified • It is shown that the longer range of the beam permits interstellar probes to be driven to relevant speeds above 0.1c with feasible power levels in the GW class for implementation. • The key remaining obstacle, the conversion from the electron beam to rocket thrust, is identified and some possible approaches discussed • A path to implementation, using plasma sailing to hover the beam platform near the sun, and thermoelectric power conversion to generate the power for the beam, is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space debris poses a great threat to space stations. When a collision hazard is detected, the space station's orbit should be adjusted. An alternative approach is to apply collision avoidance measures that consist in creating an external impact on the space debris object to change its orbit and increase the miss distance slightly. Such an impact can be carried out using a ground-based or orbital laser, through the use of nano-tugs thrusters, or by placing a cloud of particles in the path of the object. This study proposes to use the plume of a thruster of an active spacecraft called an Ion Beam Interceptor. When a potential collision is detected, the interceptor undocks from the space station, approaches the space debris object and directs an ion beam, which is generated by the spacecraft's thrusters, at it. Hitting into the surface of the object, the particles of the ion beam exert a force effect on it, which leads to the required change in the orbit. After the completion of the maneuver, the interceptor returns to the space station for refueling and servicing. The objective of the study is a preliminary assessment of the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach of protecting a space station from space debris impact using an active spacecraft. A mission profile of the space station protection is proposed. A series of numerical simulations are performed to determine mission parameters and fuel costs. Based on an analysis of the orbits of space objects located near the space station, the maximum angle between the orbital planes of the dangerous object and the station are determined at which it is advisable to use the Ion Beam Interceptor. The developed concept also allows to implement just-in-time collision avoidance measures for space debris objects whose orbital planes are close to the plane of the space station. • The concept of the Ion Beam Interceptor spacecraft designed to protect the space station from a predicted collision is developed. • A series of calculations were carried out to analyze the possibility of protecting the international space station from potentially dangerous objects. • The developed mission can be effectively used to protect the International Space Station from objects whose orbit is deviated from the station's orbit by no more than 0.23 rad. • The concept makes it possible to implement just-in-time collision avoidance measures for space debris objects in the above range of orbits in LEO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In various electron-optical and ion-beam devices and vacuum electronics installations, emission elements and units are used to extract and form beams of charged particles. Their focusing properties significantly affect the quality parameters and technical characteristics of the analytical devices and technological installations in which they are used. Due to the specificity of the initial conditions during the formation of the beams of charged particles in the area of charged particle extraction, the methods of studying single and conventional immersion electron lenses are not suitable for the high quality theoretical and numerical studies of the properties of immersion objectives. In this paper, theoretical and numerical studies were conducted on the problems in analyzing the focusing parameters of charged particles in emission elements and units when solving problems of designing and upgrading devices and installations of vacuum electronics. As a result of the studies, a theoretical method for studying cathode lenses with a curved optical axis was developed and options for solving problems in correcting aberrations of emission elements and units were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are numerous instabilities present in charged particle beams that undergo exponential growth and reach saturation. In various applications, such as free-electron lasers or micro-bunching light sources, achieving saturation is desirable. Conversely, there are applications where these instabilities are utilized as linear broad-band amplifiers for signals embedded in the charged beam. In the latter scenario, the saturation of an instability induces non-linear distortions in the imprinted signal, thereby limiting the useful range of such amplifiers. Accurate evaluation of these instabilities necessitates a complete and comprehensive modeling approach that includes shot noise within the beam. Unfortunately, such modeling is not always feasible or practical. In this paper, we introduce a methodology utilizing the frequency and bandwidth of the instability as key parameters. Through this, we derive an estimation for the range of linear instability growth. Our derivation is conducted in a model-independent manner, making it applicable to a broad spectrum of instabilities. To validate our approach, we employ established and thoroughly benchmarked simulations with a free electron laser (FEL) code as well as self-consistent 3-dimensional simulation of plasma-cascade instability using code SPACE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present theoretical estimates of the electrical charge and electrostatic surface potentials on debris objects orbiting in the LEO and GEO regions of the Earth's ionosphere. The estimates are obtained using analytic calculations based on an improved Orbital Motion Limited model as well as through numerical Particle-In-Cell simulations using the open-source SPIS code. A variety of shapes, sizes, and material compositions of the debris objects are considered, including HAMR objects with a high area-to-mass ratio and objects composed of insulating and conducting material patches. In the GEO region, we consider the charging arising from photo-emission effects and the impact of energetic charged particle beams associated with solar flares. We discuss the nature of the debris-induced collective excitations in the plasma and their potential use for debris detection. • Measurement of charge and surface potential on space debris in LEO and GEO regions. • Comparison of debris charging using OML theory and Particle-In-Cell simulations. • Collective excitations due to charged debris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma focus devices represent a class of hot and dense plasma sources that serve a dual role in fundamental plasma research and practical applications. These devices allow the observation of various phenomena, including the z-pinch effect, nuclear fusion reactions, plasma filaments, bursts, shocks, jets, X-rays, neutron pulses, ions, and electron beams. In recent years, considerable efforts have been directed toward miniaturizing plasma focus devices, driven by the pursuit of both basic studies and technological advancements. In this paper, we present the design and construction of a compact, portable pulsed plasma source based on plasma focus technology, operating at the ~2–4 Joule energy range for versatile applications (PF-2J: 120 nF capacitance, 6–9 kV charging voltage, 40 nH inductance, 2.16–4.86 J stored energy, and 10–15 kA maximum current at short circuit). The components of the device, including capacitors, spark gaps, discharge chambers, and power supplies, are transportable within hand luggage. The electrical characteristics of the discharge were thoroughly characterized using voltage and current derivative monitoring techniques. A peak current of 15 kiloamperes was achieved within 110 nanoseconds in a short-circuit configuration at a 9 kV charging voltage. Plasma dynamics were captured through optical refractive diagnostics employing a pulsed Nd-YAG laser with a 170-picosecond pulse duration. Clear evidence of the z-pinch effect was observed during discharges in a deuterium atmosphere at 4 millibars and 6 kilovolts. The measured pinch length and radius were approximately 0.8 mm and less than 100 μm, respectively. Additionally, we explore the potential applications of this compact pulsed plasma source. These include its use as a plasma shock irradiation device for analyzing materials intended for the first wall of nuclear fusion reactors, its capability in material film deposition, and its utility as an educational tool in experimental plasma physics. We also show its potential as a pulsed plasma thruster for nanosatellites, showcasing the advantages of miniaturized plasma focus technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced accelerator-based light sources such as free electron lasers (FEL) accelerate highly relativistic electron beams to generate incredibly short (10s of femtoseconds) coherent flashes of light for dynamic imaging, whose brightness exceeds that of traditional synchrotron-based light sources by orders of magnitude. FEL operation requires precise control of the shape and energy of the extremely short electron bunches whose characteristics directly translate into the properties of the produced light. Control of short intense beams is difficult due to beam characteristics drifting with time and complex collective effects such as space charge and coherent synchrotron radiation. Detailed diagnostics of beam properties are therefore essential for precise beam control. Such measurements typically rely on a destructive approach based on a combination of a transverse deflecting resonant cavity followed by a dipole magnet in order to measure a beam's 2D time vs energy longitudinal phase-space distribution. In this paper, we develop a non-invasive virtual diagnostic of an electron beam's longitudinal phase space at megapixel resolution (1024 × 1024) based on a generative conditional diffusion model. We demonstrate the model's generative ability on experimental data from the European X-ray FEL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emerging technique of neutral beam microscopy offers a non-perturbative way of imaging surfaces of various materials which cannot be studied using conventional microscopes. Current neutral beam microscopes use either diffractive focusing or pin-hole scanning to achieve spatial resolution, and are characterised by a strong dependence of the imaging time on the required resolution. In this work we introduce an alternative method for achieving spatial resolution with neutral atom beams which is based on manipulating the magnetic moments of the beam particles in a gradient field, and is characterised by a much weaker dependence of the imaging time on the image resolution. The validity of the imaging approach is demonstrated experimentally by reconstructing one dimensional profiles of the beam which are in good agreement with numerical simulation calculations. Numerical simulations are used to demonstrate the dependence of the signal to noise on the scan resolution and the topography of the sample, and assess the broadening effect due to the spread of velocities of the beam particles. The route towards implementing magnetic encoding in high resolution microscopes is discussed. An alternative approach for achieving resolution in neutral beam microscopes is presented. The reciprocal space approach involves magnetically manipulating the spin of the beam atoms to encode their position and offers favourable scaling of the measurement time with the image resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particle accelerators are complex systems that focus, guide, and accelerate intense charged particle beams to high energy. Beam diagnostics present a challenging problem due to limited non-destructive measurements, computationally demanding simulations, and inherent uncertainties in the system. We propose a two-step unsupervised deep learning framework named as Conditional Latent Autoregressive Recurrent Model (CLARM) for learning the spatiotemporal dynamics of charged particles in accelerators. CLARM consists of a Conditional Variational Autoencoder transforming six-dimensional phase space into a lower-dimensional latent distribution and a Long Short-Term Memory network capturing temporal dynamics in an autoregressive manner. The CLARM can generate projections at various accelerator modules by sampling and decoding the latent space representation. The model also forecasts future states (downstream locations) of charged particles from past states (upstream locations). The results demonstrate that the generative and forecasting ability of the proposed approach is promising when tested against a variety of evaluation metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) project aims to improve the performance of the LHC by increasing the proton–proton collision luminosity. New physics discoveries will be possible starting in 2027. The HL-LHC aims to improve the integrated luminosity by a factor of 10 concerning the current running LHC's design value. The HL-LHC project foresees delivering proton–proton collisions at 14 TeV CM (Center of Mass) energy providing the integrated luminosity to a value of 3 ab−1 for the ATLAS and CMS experiments, 50 fb−1 for LHCb, and 5 fb−1 for ALICE. The increased integrated luminosity for the above LHC experiments will provide the potential to discover rare processes while improving these measurements' signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio statistics. The ATLAS muon spectrometer has been upgraded to face the challenges of the luminosity at the HL-LHC run. The new sub-detectors are as follows: The New Small Wheel (NSW) has replaced the Cathode Strip Chambers (CSC) discs at the internal part of the ATLAS end cups. The new integrated small Monitored Drift Chambers (sMDT) with the Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) are installed at the outer end of the ATLAS BI (Barrel Inner) layer, in the barrel–endcap transition region, at 1.0 < |η| < 1.3, where η is the pseudo-rapidity (pseudo-rapidity η is a commonly used spatial coordinate describing the angle of a particle relative to the beam axis, defined as η = − l n t a n θ 2 , where θ is the angle between the vector momentum p → and the positive direction of the beam axis). The NSW is an innovative technological achievement, including the MicroMegas (MM) gas detectors in large areas and small-strip Thin Gap Chambers (sTGC), enabling high pT (high pT is the high value of the particles' transverse momentum versus the beam collision axis) trigger and muon detection. The muon reconstruction, the background rate, other spectrometer parameters, and the NSW performance are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electromagnetic scattering is a routine tool for rapid, non-contact characterization of particle media. In previous work, the interaction targets of scattering intensity, scattering efficiency, and extinction efficiency of Bessel pincer light-sheet beams were all aimed at dielectric spheres. However, most particles in nature are charged. Considering the boundary condition on a charged sphere, the beam shape coefficients (BSCs) ( p m n , q m n ) of the charged spherical particle illuminated by a Bessel pincer light-sheet beam are obtained. The extinction, scattering, and absorption efficiencies are derived under the generalized Lorenz–Mie theory (GLMT) framework. This study reveals the significant differences in scattering characteristics of Bessel pincer light-sheet beams on a charged particle compared to traditional beams. The simulations show a few apparent differences in the far-field scattering intensity and efficiencies between charged and natural spheres under the influence of dimensionless size parameters. As dimensionless parameters increase, the difference between the charged and neutral spheres decreases. The effects of refractive index and beam parameters on scattering, extinction, and absorption coefficients are different but tend to converge with increasing dimensionless parameters. When applied to charged spheres with different refractive indices, the scattering, extinction, and absorption efficiencies of Bessel pincer light-sheet beams change with variations in surface charge. However, once the surface charge reaches saturation, these efficiencies become stable. This study is significant for understanding optical manipulation and super-resolution imaging in single-molecule microbiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The selective control and manipulation of nanoparticles require developing and researching new methods for designing optical tweeters, mainly based on a photonic hooks (PHs) effect. This paper first proposes a tunable PH in which a structured beam illuminates an anisotropic cutting liquid crystal microcylinder based on the Finite-DifferenceTime-Domain (FDTD) method. The PHs generated by plane wave, Gaussian, and Bessel beam are analyzed and compared. The impact of beams and LC particle parameters on the PHs are discussed. Where the influence of the extraordinary refractive index ( n e ) on PHs is emphasized. Our results reveal that introducing birefringence can change the bending direction of PH. Besides, the maximum intensity of the PHs increases as n e increases regardless of the beam type. The PH generated by a plane wave has a higher maximum intensity and smaller FWHM than that generated by the Gaussian and Bessel beams. The smallest FWHM and maximum intensity of the PHs generated by the Gaussian falls between that generated by the plane wave and the Bessel beam. The PH generated by a Bessel beam has the minor maximum intensity and the largest FWHM. Still, it exceeds the diffraction limit and exhibits bending twice due to its self-recovery property. This paper provides a new way to modulate PH. This work offers novel theoretical models and the degree of freedom for the design of PHs, which is beneficial for the selective manipulation of nanoparticles. It has promising applications in Mesotronics and biomedicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern science is dependent on imaging on the nanoscale, often achieved through processes that detect secondary electrons created by a highly focused incident charged particle beam. Multiple types of measurement noise limit the ultimate trade-off between the image quality and the incident particle dose, which can preclude useful imaging of dose-sensitive samples. Existing methods to improve image quality do not fundamentally mitigate the noise sources. Furthermore, barriers to assigning a physically meaningful scale make the images qualitative. Here, we introduce ion count-aided microscopy (ICAM), which is a quantitative imaging technique that uses statistically principled estimation of the secondary electron yield. With a readily implemented change in data collection, ICAM substantially reduces source shot noise. In helium ion microscopy, we demonstrate 3x dose reduction and a good match between these empirical results and theoretical performance predictions. ICAM facilitates imaging of fragile samples and may make imaging with heavier particles more attractive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vibration is always present in our environment at some level. It can have a deleterious effect on all types of microscopes and should always be considered when installing a microscope in a facility. Some microscope manufacturers, particularly those who make charged electron or particle beam microscopes, have detailed vibration specifications; others do not. In this article we discuss sources of vibration, techniques for mitigating vibration, and some general rules about which types of vibration control to use based on the type of microscope being used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slits have been widely used in laser–plasma interactions as plasma optical components for generating high-harmonic light and controlling laser-driven particle beams. Here, we propose and demonstrate that periodic thin slits can be regarded as a new breed of optical elements for efficient focusing and guiding of intense laser pulse. The fundamental physics of intense laser interaction with thin slits is studied, and it is revealed that relativistic effects can lead to enhanced laser focusing far beyond the pure diffractive focusing regime. In addition, the interaction of an intense laser pulse with periodic thin slits makes it feasible to achieve multifold enhancement in both laser intensity and energy transfer efficiency compared with conventional waveguides. These results provide a novel method for manipulating ultra-intense laser pulses and should be of interest for many laser-based applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We utilize a Fourier transformation-based representation of Maxwell's equations to develop physics-constrained neural networks for electrodynamics without gauge ambiguity, which we label the Fourier–Helmholtz–Maxwell neural operator method. In this approach, both of Gauss's laws and Faraday's law are built in as hard constraints, as well as the longitudinal component of Ampère–Maxwell in Fourier space, assuming the continuity equation. An encoder–decoder network acts as a solution operator for the transverse components of the Fourier transformed vector potential, A ^ ⊥ (k , t) , whose two degrees of freedom are used to predict the electromagnetic fields. This method was tested on two electron beam simulations. Among the models investigated, it was found that a U-Net architecture exhibited the best performance as it trained quicker, was more accurate and generalized better than the other architectures examined. We demonstrate that our approach is useful for solving Maxwell's equations for the electromagnetic fields generated by intense relativistic charged particle beams and that it generalizes well to unseen test data, while being orders of magnitude quicker than conventional simulations. We show that the model can be re-trained to make highly accurate predictions in as few as 20 epochs on a previously unseen data set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In breast cancer radiation therapy, minimizing radiation-related risks and toxicity is vital for improving life expectancy. Tailoring radiotherapy techniques and treatment positions can reduce radiation doses to normal organs and mitigate treatment-related toxicity. This study entailed a dosimetric comparison of six different external beam whole-breast irradiation techniques in both supine and prone positions. We selected fourteen breast cancer patients, generating six treatment plans in both positions per patient. We assessed target coverage and organs at risk (OAR) doses to evaluate the impact of treatment techniques and positions. Excess absolute risk was calculated to estimate potential secondary cancer risk in the contralateral breast, ipsilateral lung, and contralateral lung. Additionally, we analyzed the distance between the target volume and OARs (heart and ipsilateral lung) while considering the treatment position. The results indicate that prone positioning lowers lung exposure in X-ray radiotherapy. However, particle beam therapies (PBTs) significantly reduce the dose to the heart and ipsilateral lung regardless of the patient's position. Notably, negligible differences were observed between arc-delivery and static-delivery PBTs in terms of target conformity and OAR sparing. This study provides critical dosimetric evidence to facilitate informed decision-making regarding treatment techniques and positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nasopharyngeal adenoid cystic carcinoma (NACC) is a relatively rare salivary gland tumor that is generally associated with poor outcomes. High-dose radiotherapy is a key treatment for patients with NACC. This study reported the long-term efficacy and safety of particle beam radiation therapy (PBRT) for NACC. Methods and materials: Twenty-six patients with nonmetastatic NACC who received definitive PBRT alone were included in this retrospective study. The majority of patients (92.3%) had locally advanced disease. Twenty-five (96.15%) patients received intensity-modulated proton radiotherapy (IMPT) followed by a carbon ion radiotherapy (CIRT) boost, and one patient received CIRT alone. Overall survival (OS), local control (LC), regional control (RC), and distant metastasis control (DMC) rates were calculated via the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: The median follow-up time was 46.95 months for the entire cohort. Seven patients experienced local recurrence, and one patient experience neck lymph node recurrence. The 3- and 4-year OS, LC, RC, and DMC rates were 100% and 91.7%, 92.3% and 84.6%, 95.8% and 87.8%, and 90.2% and 71.3%, respectively. A total of 91.3% of the patients achieved complete remission of gross tumors at 1 year after PBRT. Severe acute toxicity was observed in only two patients. A grade 4 decrease in visual acuity was observed in one patient with orbital apex invasion. No late grade 3 or 5 toxicity was observed. Conclusion: Definitive PBRT provided a satisfactory 4-year OS for patients with locally advanced NACC. The toxicity was acceptable and mild. Further follow-up is necessary to confirm the efficacy and safety of definitive PBRT for patients with NACC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces numerical advancements in an alternative design for the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) Beam Dump Facility (BDF) at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN). The design envisions a high-power operation target made of flowing liquid lead. The proposed BDF is a versatile facility for both beam-dump-like and fixed-target experiments. The target behavior is studied, assuming a proton beam with a momentum of 400 GeV/c, a pulse frequency of 1/7.2 Hz, and an average beam power of 355 kW. Using various Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes, we evaluate the behavior of liquid lead and predict the thermal stress on the target vessel induced by the pulsed heat source generated by the charged particle beam. The comparison increases the reliability of the results, investigating the dependencies on the CFD modeling approach. The beam is a volumetric heat source with data from the beam-lead interaction simulations provided by the European Laboratory for Particle Physics and obtained with a Monte Carlo code. Velocity field and stress profiles can enhance the design of the lead loop and verify its viability and safety when operated with a liquid metal target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: Particle beam therapy (PBT) was approved in April 2018 for head and neck malignancies and has since been introduced as a radical therapy for parotid malignancies. However, its prevalence and effectiveness in relation to surgical treatment have not been investigated. Methods: In this study, we evaluated 36 patients with parotid malignancy who underwent surgery (n = 26) or PBT (n = 10) and then analyzed the annual changes in the number of patients, survival rates, and clinical factors affecting prognosis. Results: Of the ten patients who opted for PBT, two and eight patients underwent PBT before and after 2018, respectively. There was a significant difference between these two groups of patients (p = 0.04). Of the ten patients who underwent PBT, five patients were recurrent cases; meanwhile, all twenty-six patients who underwent surgery were receiving initial treatment. Only one patient in each group had local recurrence after the treatment. Conclusions: The use of PBT as a radical therapy for parotid malignancies has been increasing since 2018, and patients with recurrent tumors tended to choose PBT. The outcome of the patients who underwent PBT did not seem to be inferior compared with those of the patients who underwent surgery. The histopathological type was a crucial issue in the outcomes of patients who underwent radical therapy for parotid malignancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we introduce the concept and construction of an innovative Digital Miniature Cathode Ray Magnetometer designed for the precise detection of magnetic fields. This device addresses several limitations inherent to magnetic probes such as D.C. offset, nonlinearity, temperature drift, sensor aging, and the need for frequent recalibration, while capable of operating in a wide range of magnetic fields. The core principle of this device involves the utilization of a charged particle beam as the sensitivity medium. The system leverages the interaction of an electron beam with a scintillator material, which then emits visible light that is captured by an imager. The emitted scintillation light is captured by a CMOS sensor. This sensor not only records the scintillation light but also accurately determines the position of the electron beam, providing invaluable spatial information crucial for magnetic field mapping. The key innovation lies in the combination of electron beam projection, CMOS imager scintillation-based detection, and digital image signal processing. By employing this synergy, the magnetometer achieves remarkable accuracy, sensitivity and dynamic range. The precise position registration enabled by the CMOS sensor further enhances the device's utility in capturing complex magnetic field patterns, allowing for 2D field mapping. In this work, the optimization of the probe's performance is tailored for applications related to the characterization of insertion devices in light sources, including undulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine learning deals with creating algorithms capable of learning from the provided data. These systems have a wide range of applications and can also be a valuable tool for scientific research, which in recent years has been focused on finding new diagnostic techniques for particle accelerator beams. In this context, SPARC_LAB is a facility located at the Frascati National Laboratories of INFN, where the progress of beam diagnostics is one of the main developments of the entire project. With this in mind, we aim to present the design of two neural networks aimed at predicting the spot size of the electron beam of the plasma-based accelerator at SPARC_LAB, which powers an undulator for the generation of an X-ray free electron laser (XFEL). Data-driven algorithms use two different data preprocessing techniques, namely an autoencoder neural network and PCA. With both approaches, the predicted measurements can be obtained with an acceptable margin of error and most importantly without activating the accelerator, thus saving time, even compared to a simulator that can produce the same result but much more slowly. The goal is to lay the groundwork for creating a digital twin of linac and conducting virtualized diagnostics using an innovative approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synchrotron is a circular particle accelerator used for high energy physics experiments, material and life science, as well as hadron cancer therapy. After acceleration to the desired energies, particle beams are commonly extracted from the synchrotron using the method of resonant slow extraction. The goal is to deliver a steady particle flux—referred to as spill—to experiments and treatment facilities over the course of seconds while slowly emptying the storage ring. Any uncontrolled intensity fluctuations in the spill are detrimental to the efficiency of beam usage, as they lead to detector pileups or detector interlocks, hindering experiments and cancer treatment. Among the most widely used extraction scheme in medical facilities is the Radio Frequency Knock Out (RF-KO) driven resonant slow extraction, where the stored beam is transversely excited with a radio frequency (RF) field and the spill intensity is controlled by the excitation signal strength. This article presents particle dynamics simulations of the RF-KO system with the focus on finding effective mechanism for minimizing the intensity fluctuations while maintaining a good extraction efficiency and other advantages of KO extraction. An improved beam excitation signal which optimizes these main objectives is found, and is rigorously compared experimentally with other commonly applied techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a 7 nm technology node and beyond, multi-beam mask fabrication based on charged particles has attracted attention widely and shows great advantages in terms of throughput. However, the heating effect during mask writing is a serious problem and makes deformation error. To address this issue, an accurate analysis of heating with multi-beam writing is necessary. In this study, the thermal effects of electron beams on a mask during writing time (exposure time and nonexposure time) were simulated with a finite element numerical method. The variation in the temperature field with two writing paths (S-shaped and E-shaped) was analyzed. A comparative analysis of the mask's deformation under different writing paths was conducted. Numerical research shows that the thermal analysis method in this study provides a guide for optimizing the process parameters of mask fabrication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, the optical properties of the azimuthally radially polarized beam (ARPB), a superposition of an azimuthally polarized beam and a radially polarized beam, which can be tuned to exhibit maximum chirality at a given energy density, are investigated. This condition is called "optimal chiral light" since it represents the maximum possible local chirality at a given energy density. The transverse fields of an ARPB dominate in the transverse plane but vanish on the beam axis, where the magnetic and electric fields are purely longitudinal, leading to an optical chirality density and an energy density that stem solely from the longitudinal field components on the beam axis, where the linear and angular momentum densities vanish. The ARPB does not have a phase variation around the beam axis and nonetheless exhibits a power flow around the beam axis that causes a longitudinal orbital angular momentum density. Herein, a concise notation for the ARPB is introduced and field quantities are provided, especially for the optimally chiral configuration. The ARPB shows promise for precise 1D chirality probing and enantioseparation of chiral particles along the beam axis, relying solely on its longitudinal electric and magnetic fields. Herein, a setup is provided to generate ARPBs with controlled chirality and orbital angular momentum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Chondrosarcoma is a rare malignant bone tumor. Particle beam therapy (PT) can concentrate doses to targets while reducing adverse events. A meta-analysis based on a literature review was performed to examine the efficacy of PT and photon radiotherapy for skull base chondrosarcoma. Methods: The meta-analysis was conducted using 21 articles published from 1990 to 2022. Results: After PT, the 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 94.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 91.0-96.2%) and 93.9% (95% CI: 90.6-96.1%), respectively, and the 3- and 5-year local control rates were 95.4% (95% CI: 92.0-97.4%) and 90.1% (95% CI: 76.8-96.0%), respectively. Meta-regression analysis revealed a significant association of PT with a superior 5-year OS rate compared to three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (p < 0.001). In the studies used in the meta-analysis, the major adverse event of grade 2 or higher was temporal lobe necrosis (incidence 1-18%, median 7%). Conclusion: PT for skull base chondrosarcoma had a good outcome and may be a valuable option among radiotherapy modalities. However, high-dose postoperative irradiation of skull base chondrosarcoma can cause adverse events such as temporal lobe necrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proton-proton collisions at the LHC generate a high-intensity collimated beam of neutrinos in the forward (beam) direction, characterised by energies of up to several TeV. The recent observation of LHC neutrinos by FASER ν and SND@LHC signifies that this previously overlooked particle beam is now available for scientific investigation. Here we quantify the impact that neutrino deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) measurements at the LHC would have on the parton distributions (PDFs) of protons and heavy nuclei. We generate projections for DIS structure functions for FASER ν and SND@LHC at Run III, as well as for the FASER ν 2, AdvSND, and FLArE experiments to be hosted at the proposed Forward Physics Facility (FPF) operating concurrently with the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC). We determine that up to one million electron-neutrino and muon-neutrino DIS interactions within detector acceptance can be expected by the end of the HL-LHC, covering a kinematic region in x and Q 2 overlapping with that of the Electron-Ion Collider. Including these DIS projections in global (n)PDF analyses, specifically PDF4LHC21, NNPDF4.0, and EPPS21, reveals a significant reduction in PDF uncertainties, in particular for strangeness and the up and down valence PDFs. We show that LHC neutrino data enable improved theoretical predictions for core processes at the HL-LHC, such as Higgs and weak gauge boson production. Our analysis demonstrates that exploiting the LHC neutrino beam effectively provides CERN with a "Neutrino-Ion Collider" without requiring modifications in its accelerator infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-resolution displacement detection can be achieved by analyzing the scattered light of the trapping beams from the particle in optical tweezers. In some applications where trapping and detecting beams must be separated, a detecting beam can be introduced for independent displacement measurement. However, the detecting beam focus possibly deviates from the center of the particle, which will affect the performance of displacement detection. Here, we detect the displacement of the particle by utilizing the forward scattered light of the detection beam from the particle. The effects of the lateral and axial offsets between the detection beam focus and the particle center on displacement detection are analyzed by the simulation and experiment. These results show that the lateral offsets will decrease the detection sensitivity and linear range. Moreover, it aggravates the crosstalk between the x-direction signal and the y-direction signal of the quadrant photodiode. Besides, the axial offsets also affect the detection sensitivity. More interestingly, an optimal axial offset can improve the sensitivity of displacement detection substantially. In addition, the influence of system parameters, such as particle radius a, numerical aperture of the condenser NAc, and numerical aperture of the objective NAo, on the optimal axial offset is also discussed. This work not only provides ideas for improving the performance of precision measurement by the method of forward scattered light detection but also expands the application of this method in fundamental physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electron vortices are usually embedded within different magnetic structures in space plasmas. The effects, including the nonideal electric field, energy dissipation and magnetic field, of electron vortices on these magnetic structures are still unclear. Utilizing the unprecedented high‐resolution data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission in the terrestrial magnetosheath, we statistically investigate these effects on magnetic structures. Both nonideal electric fields and energy dissipation have no obvious correlations with the scales of electron vortices. However, compared to the scales, stronger correlations are found between the vorticities of electron vortices and nonideal electric fields, and energy dissipation, respectively. Most of electron vortices have positive contributions to magnetic fields of magnetic structures, such as strengthening the decrease (or increase) of Bt for current sheets and magnetic holes (or flux ropes and magnetic peaks). Our results reveal that the electron vortices play an important role in the evolution of magnetic structures. Plain Language Summary: The magnetosheath exhibits various dynamical features such as heating and compression of the plasma, kinetic instabilities, particle beams and kinetic structures due to the highly dynamical environment in near‐Earth space. The electron vortices as the structure that manifests the in suit observations, including bipolar variations of electron velocity and large electron vorticity, have been revealed widely in the magnetosheath. However, the specific effects of electron vortices embedded within the magnetic structures on these magnetic structures are still unknown, especially in a statistical view. Thanks to the unprecedented high‐time resolution data of the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission in the magnetosheath, we investigated the effects, including the nonideal electric fields, energy dissipation and magnetic fields, of electron vortices on these magnetic structures. We find that the nonideal electric fields, energy dissipation inside the electron vortices is more significant than outside for most of magnetic structures, and more than half of electron vortices have positive effects on generating the measured magnetic field of these magnetic structures, which is helpful for understanding the subsequent evolution and interaction between them. Key Points: The effects of nonideal electric field, energy dissipation and magnetic field of electron vortices on magnetic structures have been studiedThe nonideal electric fields and energy dissipation are more correlated with the vorticities of electron vortices compared to their scalesMost of electron vortices have positive contributions to magnetic fields of magnetic structures [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bessel beams scattering of the fog particles were calculated by using the plane beams angle spectrum expansion method, and the effects of the topological charge and the half-conic angle of the Bessel beam on the differential scattering cross-section were analyzed by numerical calculation. Based on the scattering results of a single fog particle by a Bessel beam, by Monte Carlo method, the propagation characteristics of the Bessel beam in fogs with different visibility are simulated, and the effects of the wavelength, topological charge and semi-conic angle of the Bessel beam on transmissivity and reflectivity are analyzed. The studies show the self-healing ability of the Bessel beams, and the propagation distance of the Bessel beam is longer than that of the plane beams in fogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: A beam-expanding method that can achieve uniform proton beams for FLASH therapy is provided. FLASH proton therapy is widely considered in many labs. However, achieving a dose rate sufficient for FLASH is challenging, especially when using the scanning method. A beam uniformization process using a nonlinear magnet is employed to reduce the scanning time, supplemented by multi-energy extraction to enhance the dose rate. The impact of octupole fields, multipole field components, and step field on the transport line are tested. The nonlinear effect of the magnetic fields on the transverse motion of the particle beam is used to establish a uniform dose distribution at the target. Different schemes are investigated and the octupole approach was finally selected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we highlight that the interaction potential confining Dirac particles in a box must be invariant under the charge conjugation to avoid the Klein paradox, in which an infinite number of negative-energy particles are excited. Furthermore, we derive the quantization rules for a relativistic particle in a cylindrical box, which emulates the volume occupied by a beam of particles with a non-trivial aspect ratio. We apply our results to the evaluation of the quantum limit for emittance in particle accelerators. The developed theory allows the description of quantum beams carrying Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM). We demonstrate how the degeneracy pressure is such to increase the phase–space area of Dirac particles carrying OAM. The results dramatically differ from the classical evaluation of phase–space areas, that would foresee no increase in emittance for beams in a coherent state of OAM. We discuss the quantization of the phase–space cell's area for single Dirac particles carrying OAM, and, finally, provide an interpretation of the beam entropy as the measure of how much the phase–space area occupied by the beam deviates from its quantum limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The search for low-energy antideuterons in cosmic rays allows the addressing of fundamental physics problems testing for the presence of primordial antimatter and the nature of Dark Matter. The PHeSCAMI (Pressurized Helium Scintillating Calorimeter for AntiMatter Identification) project aims to exploit the long-living metastable states of the helium target for the identification of low-energy antideuterons in cosmic rays. A space-based pressurized helium calorimeter would provide a characteristic identification signature based on the coincident detection of a prompt scintillation signal emitted by the antideuteron energy loss during the slowing-down phase in the gas, and the (≈µs) delayed scintillation signal provided by the charged pions produced in the subsequent annihilation. The performance of a high-pressure (200-bar) helium scintillator prototype, tested in the INFN-TIFPA laboratory, will be summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma focus devices represent a class of hot and dense plasma sources that serve a dual role in fundamental plasma research and practical applications. These devices allow the observation of various phenomena, including the z-pinch effect, nuclear fusion reactions, plasma filaments, bursts, shocks, jets, X-rays, neutron pulses, ions, and electron beams. In recent years, considerable efforts have been directed toward miniaturizing plasma focus devices, driven by the pursuit of both basic studies and technological advancements. In this paper, we present the design and construction of a compact, portable pulsed plasma source based on plasma focus technology, operating at the ~2–4 Joule energy range for versatile applications (PF-2J: 120 nF capacitance, 6–9 kV charging voltage, 40 nH inductance, 2.16–4.86 J stored energy, and 10–15 kA maximum current at short circuit). The components of the device, including capacitors, spark gaps, discharge chambers, and power supplies, are transportable within hand luggage. The electrical characteristics of the discharge were thoroughly characterized using voltage and current derivative monitoring techniques. A peak current of 15 kiloamperes was achieved within 110 nanoseconds in a short-circuit configuration at a 9 kV charging voltage. Plasma dynamics were captured through optical refractive diagnostics employing a pulsed Nd-YAG laser with a 170-picosecond pulse duration. Clear evidence of the z-pinch effect was observed during discharges in a deuterium atmosphere at 4 millibars and 6 kilovolts. The measured pinch length and radius were approximately 0.8 mm and less than 100 μm, respectively. Additionally, we explore the potential applications of this compact pulsed plasma source. These include its use as a plasma shock irradiation device for analyzing materials intended for the first wall of nuclear fusion reactors, its capability in material film deposition, and its utility as an educational tool in experimental plasma physics. We also show its potential as a pulsed plasma thruster for nanosatellites, showcasing the advantages of miniaturized plasma focus technology.