Finite slice analysis (FINA)-A general reconstruction method for velocity mapped and time-sliced ion imaging

Area of Science:

• * Physics
• * Computational Imaging
• * Spectroscopy

Background:

• * Reconstructing 3D particle distributions from 2D projections is a persistent challenge in ion imaging.
• * Current slice-imaging methods capture thin slices but retain significant out-of-plane information, blurring spectra and losing resolution.
• * Existing limitations hinder accurate analysis of slow recoiling products.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To develop a novel numerical method for removing out-of-plane elements from sliced ion images.
• * To reconstruct the central slice of a 3D particle distribution from limited-angle or incomplete data.
• * To assess the impact of finite slicing on recovered distributions.

Main Methods:

• * Developed the finite sliced analysis method using radial basis functions to model off-axis distribution elements.
• * Applied the method to reconstruct the underlying central slice of the 3D particle distribution.
• * Validated the approach using both synthetic and experimental ion imaging data.

Main Results:

• * The finite sliced analysis method successfully removes out-of-plane elements from sliced images.
• * Reconstruction of the central slice from 3D particle distributions was achieved with improved accuracy.
• * The method demonstrates effectiveness on arbitrarily sliced or unsliced data, without enforcing symmetry.

Conclusions:

• * The finite sliced analysis method offers a significant advancement in ion imaging data processing.
• * It overcomes limitations of current slice-imaging techniques, enhancing spectral resolution and accuracy.
• * This approach provides a versatile tool for analyzing 3D particle distributions in various experimental contexts.