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ON THIS PAGE: Albert V. Crewe | Kwang-Je Kim | Riccardo Levi-Setti | Guy Savard | John P. Schiffer

Experimental Applied Physics and Experimental Nuclear Physics


The University of Chicago is a major center for interdisciplinary research in experimental applied physics and nuclear physics. Members of the Department of Physics are also working in some of these areas in close collaboration with researchers at Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. On campus, work is conducted within the Enrico Fermi Institute and the High Energy Physics Group. Research areas include:

  • Beam Physics: Investigation of particle and photon beams and their mutual interactions with the goal of developing novel accelerators or radiation devices. Phase-space evolution of synchrotron radiation beams and quantum particle beams. Classical and quantum analysis of self-amplified spontaneous emission for ultra-high brightness x-ray beams. Production of high-brightness electron beams. Radiative laser cooling of electron and ion beams. Optical stochastic cooling. Application of high power lasers to particle and radiation beam techniques. Related work by colleagues in the Argonne National Laboratory Advanced Photon Source.
  • Ion and Electron Microscopy: Development of high resolution scanning ion and electron microprobes, imaging microanalysis by secondary ion mass spectrometry, application of imaging microanalysis to study advanced ceramics, visualization of dynamic processes and of biological matter.
  • Nuclear Physics: Studies of the nuclear many-body system: Nuclear structure and interactions, non-nucleonic degrees of freedom in nuclei and phenomena requiring a quark description. Nuclear reactions in astrophysics, nuclear matter under extreme conditions, low energy experiments in fundamental interactions and symmetries. Work done in collaboration with members of the Physics Division at Argonne National Laboratory.

Albert V. Crewe

Ph.D., Liverpool, 1950
William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, Department of Physics, Enrico Fermi Institute.
Experimental physics, electron microscopy, biophysics, surface physics.

Development of high resolution electron microscopes, particularly scanning microscopes. Theoretical and experimental electron optics. Design of magnetic lenses and electron guns. Current emphasis is on the correction of spherical and chromatic aberrations which are the limiting factors in all present high performance instruments. A new type of corrector using magnetically focused electrostatic mirrors is now being tested, and the theory is being extended to full scale high performance systems. In addition we are exploring new concepts which will extend high resolution microscopy into the low energy arena (<1,000 volts).

  • A New Characterization of the Magnetic Lens. A.V. Crewe. Optik 89, 70, 1991.
  • Motion of Electrons in Tuned Fields: 2. Some Applications. A.V. Crewe. Ultramicroscopy 41, 279, 1992.
  • Limits of Electron Probe Formation. A.V. Crewe. J. Micr. 178 (1), 1995.
  • A Gapless Single-Pole Magnetic Lens for Low-Voltage SEM. A.V. Crewe and F.C. Tsai. Proceedings of Microscopy and Microanalysis. San Francisco Press, San Francisco, 1996.
  • Electron Focusing using Dipole Lenses. A.V. Crewe and D. Kielpinski. Optik 103, 167, 1996.
  • On Aberrations of Probe-Forming Electron Optics. A.V. Crewe and D. Kielpinski. Optik 105, 83, 1997.
  • The Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope. A. V. Crewe. In Handbook of Charged Particle Optics. Ed. Jon Orloff. CRC Press, New York, 1997.
  • A recipe for super-high resolution. A. V. Crewe. Optik 110, 303, 1999.
  • On the peculiarities of monopole and multipole focusing. A. V. Crewe. Optik in press.
updated 5/2001

Kwang-Je Kim

Ph.D., Maryland, 1970.
Associate Division Director, Accelerator Systems Division/Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory.
Professor (part time), Dept. of Physics, Enrico Fermi Institute.

GENERAL GOAL: Investigation of particle and photon beams and their mutual interactions with the goal of developing novel accelerators or radiation devices.

RECENT RESEARCH TOPICS: Manipulation of particle beams in 6-D phase-space to reduce the size and cost of x-ray free electron lasers. Development of an electron gun with high brightness electron beams with flat transverse profile which can replace large and expensive damping rings in future linear collider. Development of an intense Terahertz radiator based on a Smith-Purcell backward wave oscillator using scanning electron microscope beams.

  • P. Emma, Z. Huang, K.-J. Kim, and Ph. Piot, "Transverse-to-Longitudinal Emittance Exchange to Improve Performance of High-Gain Free Electron Laser", Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams, in print (October, 2006).
  • Ph. Piot, Y.-e Sun, and K.-J. Kim, "Photoinjector-generation of a flat electron beam with transverse emittance ratio of 100," Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 9, 031001 (2006).
  • V. Kumar and K.-J. Kim, "An Analysis of Smith-Purcell Free Electron Lasers", Physical Review E 73, 026501 (2006).
  • K.-J. Kim and A. M. Sessler, "Transverse-Longitudinal Phase Space Manipulation and Correlations", Proceedings of International Workshop on Beam Cooling and Related Topics, September 18-23, 2005, Galena, IL.
  • O.H. Kapp, Y.-e Sun, K.-J. Kim, and A.V. Crewe, "Modification of a scanning electron microscope to produce Smith-Purcell radiation," Rev. Sci. Instrum. 75(11), 4732 (2004).
  • K.-J. Kim, "Round-to-flat transformation of angular-momentum-dominated beams," PRST-AB 6, 104002 (2003).
  • Z. Huang and K.-J. Kim, "Formulas for Coherent Synchrotron Radiation Microbunching in a Bunch Compressor Chicane," PRST-AB 5, 074401 (2002).
  • C.-X. Wang and K.-J. Kim, "Linear Theory of Ionization Cooling in 6D Phase Space," Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 184801 (2002).
  • Z. Huang, K.-J. Kim, "Three-Dimensional Analysis of Harmonic Generation in High-Gain Free-Electron Lasers," Phys. Rev. E 62, 5, 7295-7305 (Nov. 2000).
  • K.-J. Kim and C.X. Wang, "Formulae for Transverse Ionization Cooling in Solenoidal Focusing Channels," Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 760 (2000).
  • K.-J. Kim, "The Equation of Motion of an Electron: a Debate in Classical and Quantum Physics", Nucl. Instr. Methods, A429, 1 (1999).
updated 10/2006

Riccardo Levi-Setti

Ph.D., Pavia, Italy, 1949.
Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Physics, Enrico Fermi Institute.
Experimental physics, ion microscopy, secondary ion mass spectrometry, ion-solid interaction.

A Scanning Ion Microprobe (UC-SIM) has been developed that performs Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) imaging microanalysis of materials in the sub-100 nm range of lateral resolution. The mass analysis of the secondary ions is carried out with a high performance magnetic sector chemical mass spectrometer. This by now renowned instrument continues to find unique application in the study of advanced ceramics, and in a range of biological studies. The ability to detect isotopes is of extreme value in cytogenetics, allowing the distribution of labeled nucleosides to be mapped in chromosomes. In collaboration with scientists of the Department of Medicine of our University, investigations are in progress on the role of divalent cations in the scaffold structure of human metaphase chromosomes. A study of the uptake of Ca at various stages of the cell cycle is being carried out using 44Ca as a tracer. Systematic studies of bone physiology continue also to be pursued in collaboration with researchers of the Department of Medicine of the University of Rochester, N.Y.

  • Advances in High Resolution SIMS Studies of BrdU-Labelled Human Metaphase Chromosomes. R. Levi-Setti, J. M. Chabala, K. Gavrilov, R. Espinosa III, and M.M. Le Beau. Cellular and Molecular Biology 42, 301, 1996.
  • Effects of Osteoclastic Resorption on Bone Surface Ion Composition. D.A. Bushinsky, K. Gavrilov, V.M. Stathopoulos, N.S. Krieger, J.M. Chabala, and R. Levi-Setti. Am. J. Physiol. 271 (Cell Physiol. 40), C1025, 1996.
  • Optimization of Chemical Reactions between Alumina/Silica Fibers and Aluminum-Magnesium Alloys during Composite Processing. W.S. Wolbach, S.R. Bryan, G.L. Shoemaker, T.W. Krucek, R.D. Maier, K.K. Soni, J.M. Chabala, R. Mogilevsky, and R. Levi-Setti. J. Material Research 32, 1953, 1997.
  • Dopant Distributions in Rare Earth-Doped Alumina. A.M. Thompson, K.K. Soni, H.M. Chan, M.P. Harmer, D.B. Williams, J.M. Chabala, and R. Levi-Setti. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 80, 373, 1997.
  • Paleontologia dell'Occhio. R. Levi-Setti, E.N.K. Clarkson, and G. Horváth. In Frontiere della Vita, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Vol. 1, 1998, p.365.
  • Silica and Magnesia Dopant Distributions in Alumina by High Resolution Scanning Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry. K.L. Gavrilov, S.J. Bennison, K.R. Mikeska, J.M. Chabala, and R. Levi-Setti. J. Am. Ceramic Soc. 82, 1001, 1999.
  • Silica and Magnesia Dopant Distributions in Alumina by High Resolution Scanning Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry. K.L. Gavrilov, S.J. Bennison, K.R. Mikeska, J.M. Chabala, and R. Levi-Setti. J. Am. Ceramic Soc. 82, 1001, 1999.
  • Grain Boundary Chemistry of Alumina by High-Resolution Imaging SIMS. K.L. Gavrilov, S.J. Bennison, K.R. Mikeska, and R. Levi-Setti. Acta Mater 47, 4031, 1999.
  • Cation-Chromatin Binding as shown by Ion Microscopy is Essential for the Structural Integrity of Chromosomes, R. Strick, P.L. Strissel, K. Gavrilov, and R. Levi-Setti. Journal of Cell Biology 155(6), 899, 2001. (Cover page and Editorial)
  • High-Resolution Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy Imaging, R. Levi-Setti and K.L. Gavrilov, Invited chapter for the Encyclopedia of Imaging Science and Technology, Ed. J. Hornak (J. Wiley & Sons, N.Y. 2002) Chapter 27, p. 477
updated 2/2003

Guy Savard

Ph.D., McGill, 1988.
Senior Scientist, Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory.
Professor (part time), Dept. of Physics, Enrico Fermi Institute.
Experimental physics, nuclear physics.

My current research is centered around low-energy tests of the Standard Model of electroweak interaction. These studies are performed on samples of radioactive ions captured in ion traps where they are available for high-precision experiments. New techniques developed by our group to efficiently capture short-lived isotopes of essentially any species in ion trap allow us to select isotopes with decay properties which enhance and isolate specific effects and hence increase our sensitivity to the physics of interest. The present experimental program is looking at a more precise determination of the weak vector coupling constant and a more precise test of CVC and the unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix. A related experiment currently in preparation will search for scalar currents outside the standard V-A form for the charged electroweak interaction using samples of trapped superallowed emitters.

The type of experiment I am performing would greatly benefit from a more intense and versatile source of radioactive ions, and such a source has been assessed a high priority for new construction in nuclear physics in the US. I am therefore also heavily involved in the R&D for such a facility, which will use a novel technical approach for the fast extraction of the radioactive species based on some of the technologies we developed for ion trapping. (The leading contender for this facility is Argonne National Laboratory, located a short distance from Chicago.) More information on the proposed radioactive beam facility (RIA).

  • Precise Half-life Measurement for the Superallowed 0+ to 0+ beta-emitter 74Rb: First Results from ISAC, the New Radioactive Beam Facility at TRIUMF. G.C. Ball et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 1454, 2001.
  • Precision Nuclear Measurements with Ion Traps. G. Savard and G. Werth. Ann. Rev. of Nucl. and Part. Sci. 50, 119, 2000.
  • High-Accuracy Mass Determination of Cesium and Barium Isotopes. F. Ames et al. Nucl. Phys. A651, 3, 1999.
  • Weak Interaction Studies with an On-line Penning Trap Mass Spectrometer. G. Savard et al. Nucl. Phys. A654, 961c, 1999.
  • Beta+ Decay Partial Half-Life of 54Mn and Cosmic Ray Chronometry. A.H. Wuosmaa et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 2085, 1998.
  • Ion trap technology at accelerator facilities. G. Savard. Nucl. Instr. & Meth. B126, 361, 1997.
  • Pionic fusion of heavy ions. D. Horn et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 2408, 1996.
  • 10C superallowed branching ratio and the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix unitarity. G. Savard et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 1521, 1995.
updated 5/2001

  John P. Schiffer

Ph.D., Yale, 1954.
Senior Physicist, Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory.
Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Physics, Enrico Fermi Institute.
Experimental physics, nuclear physics.

Search for simple symmetries in nuclear structure using heavy-ion reactions; understanding dynamics of interactions between nuclear systems.

Study of crystalline order, phase transitions, and degrees of freedom in confined ionic systems in ion beams and ion traps.

Search for exotic objects in nature; e.g., particles of integral charge but anomalous mass such as strangelets, electron-positron peaks observed in conjunction with very high electromagnetic fields, "17-keV" neutrinos, etc.

Measurement of nuclear properties that are important in the processes of nucleosynthesis, with particular attention to the breakout point from the hot CNO cycle that is crucial in producing elements heavier than oxygen, and to the properties of some of the nuclei that are the principal visible remnants of supernova explosions.

  • The 44Ti(a,p) Reaction and its Implication on the 44Ti Yield in Supernovae. A. Sonzogni et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 84,1651, 2000.
  • Temperature, Ordering, and Equilibrium with Time-Dependent Confining Forces. J. P. Schiffer et al. Proc. Nat. Ac. Sc. 97, 10697, 2000.
  • Nuclear Physics: The Core of Matter, The Fuel of Stars. Committee on Nuclear Physics, National Research Council. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1999.
  • Stellar Reactions with Short-Lived Nuclei: 17F(p,a)14O. B. Harss et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 3964, 1999.
  • Study of the 56Ni(d,p) Reaction and the Astrophysical 56Ni(p,g) Reaction Rate. K.E. Rehm et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 676, 1998.
  • Positron-Electron Correlations in Internal Pair Conversion. A.H. Wuosmaa et al. Phys. Rev. C57, R2794, 1998.
  • Sympathetic Crystallization of Trapped Ions. P. Bowe et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 2071, 1998.
updated 5/2001



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