Synchrotrons are a class of particle accelerators that also serve as colliders.
Synchrotron is a type of particle accelerator that can be used as a collider .
It is a device with multiple applications in which particles , subjected to the influence of a magnetic field , exhibit a circular orbital movement. Their acceleration , according to the theory, is the result of an electric field that is in tune with the orbital movement .
To better understand the relevance and particularities of synchrotrons , it is interesting to consider the ALBA synchrotron in Barcelona , whose funding is provided equally by the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of the Government of Spain . The latter organisation, for its part, invested more than seventeen million euros with the aim of improving the current state of the infrastructure and giving impetus to the development of a future project, conceived as ALBA II . It should not be overlooked that ALBA is a useful synchrotron for the industrial sector and the scientific field, since it is intended for R&D initiatives based on synchrotron light . In France , meanwhile, there is the ESRF , a multinational centre focused on synchrotron radiation , where an electron synchrotron is operated, reserved exclusively for scientific studies. Not long ago, this device was used to X-ray the famous Il Cannone , a violin that was once Niccolò Paganini 's favourite instrument.
History and evolution of the synchrotron
According to old records, the early synchrotrons were a derivation of the cyclotron . This is a type of circular accelerator capable of inducing charged subatomic particles to move in an increasingly faster, curved direction by using both a constant magnetic field and an electric field .
Focusing on the history and evolution of the synchrotron specifically, the figure of Leo Szilard regains relevance, a physicist who made enriching contributions to nuclear physics and molecular biology , in addition to having proposed the so-called principle of phase stability . This content was fundamental to begin designing a synchrotron . Vladimir Veksler and Edwin McMillan , specifically, proposed in 1945 the idea of generating an accelerator where the natural frequency of the electric field would vary depending on the increase in energy in the particle . Shortly afterwards, several scientists achieved an improved version of a cyclotron : an invention that received the name of synchronized cyclotron or synchrocyclotron .
Before the beginning of the 1950s, the Cosmotron was conceived, remembered as the first of the proton-based synchrotrons . At that time, the first electron synchrotron was also built. Over the years, larger and higher-energy synchrotrons appeared, and older ones could be adapted or reconfigured to position them as sources of synchrotron radiation .
Thanks to synchrotrons, subatomic particles, for example, can be studied in depth.
Components
A synchrotron comprises several components, starting from a particle source ( electrons , positrons , protons and antiprotons ). As the low energy prevents them from generating particle acceleration , this process is carried out in phases or stages, requiring the use of auxiliary accelerators . In principle, the acceleration of the particle beam is achieved by using a high voltage source that oscillates at radio frequency.
The particles are then injected into a LINAC (linear accelerator) , from where they reach a booster (or pre-accelerator), obtaining the final energy there, and being ready to be injected into the storage ring or main synchrotron .
The voltage supplied by vacuum tubes known as klystrons is applied to a collection of hollow-core structures known as radiofrequency cavities , whose function is also to maintain synchronization between the voltage stage for acceleration purposes and the frequency at which the particle beam circulates.
It should also be noted that modern synchrotron equipment uses magnetic elements. Each of the dipoles used to bend the path of the beam is identified as a bending magnet or a bending magnet . Sextupoles and quadrupoles are even used to ensure that the beam remains focused.
Each synchrotron beam line , finally, is essential for the radiation emitted by the particles to be transported to each sample to be analyzed or to instruments intended to adapt or change some property of the radiation .
The benefits of synchrotrons are used to add knowledge in different fields.
Synchrotron Applications
Synchrotrons have numerous applications . In principle, they are ideally suited for studying subatomic particles and analysing the properties of matter .
Techniques such as X-ray diffraction , spectroscopy , X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and electron microscopy can be complemented and exploited with synchrotron radiation to examine both organic and inorganic materials .
It is also constructive to know that synchrotron light is used to explore minerals and to carry out research and experiments in the field of medicine , for example.