EuPRAXIA-DN Fellow, Farhana Thesni, recently completed a four-week secondment at INFN-LNF, Frascati, Italy. During this period, she collaborated with Riccardo Pompili in the SPARC Group and focused on the alignment of permanent magnet quadrupoles (PMQs). The alignment involved ensuring the magnetic axes of three PMQs in a triplet were properly aligned, followed by the alignment of two triplets within the vacuum chamber located before and after the Plasma Wakefield Acceleration module. This process was meticulously performed using the stretched wire method, analyzing wire vibrations with an optical system comprising lenses and mirrors.
As part of her secondment, Farhana also simulated a lead collimator in GEANT4, which forms a critical component of an extraction system designed to extract and transport an accelerated, highly divergent witness bunch while removing the driver. In this simulation, she studied the interaction of a high-energy electron beam with the lead collimator and obtained the energy distribution of secondary particles at the collimator's exit.
Farhana's time at INFN-LNF offered opportunities for collaboration with fellow PhD students and researchers at SPARC_Lab, enhancing her understanding of the technical aspects of particle accelerators. The secondment also provided hands-on experience in beam control, while discussions with experienced researchers, including Martina Carillo, broadened her understanding of plasma acceleration.
Currently, Farhana is based at the Cockcroft Institute, where she is working on “Laser-Driven Proton Beam Therapy”. She highlighted how her secondment at INFN-LNF was important in shaping her research journey and helping her grow as a researcher. The insights and skills gained during this experience will undoubtedly influence her future research and career path.
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