Speaker
Tania Mendonca
(CERN, EN-STI-RBS Div. 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland)
Description
The isotope pair 6He/18Ne has been suggested as the baseline isotopes for the Beta beams project [1]. The production of these isotopes has been studied within the EURISOL-DS project, where a top-down approach provided the need for the production of about 6x10^13 6He and 1x10^13 18Ne per second which would lead to rates of 2.9x10^19 anti-νe and 1.1x10^19 νe over a running period of 2 and 8 years, respectively [2]. The production of 6He at the required rates was successfully validated using the isotope separation online (ISOL) method exploiting a solid neutron converter at 100-200 kW level [3]. On the other hand, the production of 18Ne using oxide targets was found to be more problematic.
A target unit designed for the production of the required rates of 18Ne for the Beta Beams project is presented. The target material consisted of a binary fluoride system, NaF:LiF (molar ratio 39:61), with melting point at 649ºC. The principle was tested online at CERN/ISOLDE using a static target unit. The production of ISOL beams of Ne were monitored as a function of the target temperature and proton beam intensity. Moreover, other low Z isotopes have been measured and an increase of two orders of magnitude on carbon isotopes has been observed.
The production of 18Ne from the NaF:LiF molten salt target contributes to the validation of a high power molten salt circulating loop, which will allow reaching the required high rates of this isotope for the beta beams. Rates of 10^13 18Ne/s are predicted, exploiting 1 MW, 160 MeV proton beam produced from an upgraded Linac4 at CERN, an useful rate for the foreseen beta beam facility [4]. Moreover, the influence of alternative proton drivers, such as a 250 MeV deuteron beam proposed during EURISOL-DS project [2], in the present design concept is discussed.
References
[1] P. Zuchelli, Phys. Lett. B 532, 166 (2002)
[2] Final Report of the EURISOL Design Study, J. Cornell Ed., GANIL (2009)
[3] T. Stora et al., Eur. Phys. Lett. 98, 32001 (2012)
[4] T. Stora, Proceedings of the Workshop “European Strategy for Future Neutrino Physics”, CERN Yellow Report 2012, CERN-2010-003, 110 (2010)
Primary author
Tania Mendonca
(CERN, EN-STI-RBS Div. 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland)
Co-authors
Dr
Daniel Heuer
(Laboratoire de Physique Subatomique et de Cosmologie, Université Joseph Fourier, CNRS/IN2P3, 53 rue des Martyrs, 38026 Grenoble, France)
Dr
Etam Noah
(University of Geneva, Section de Physique, DPNC – CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland)
Dr
Michel Allibert
(Laboratoire de Physique Subatomique et de Cosmologie, Université Joseph Fourier, CNRS/IN2P3, 53 rue des Martyrs, 38026 Grenoble, France)
Rastilav Hodak
(Department of Nuclear Physics and Biophysics, Comenius University, Mlynská dolina F1, SK-842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia)
Dr
Thierry Stora
(CERN, EN-STI-RBS Div. 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland)
Dr
Veronique Ghetta
(Laboratoire de Physique Subatomique et de Cosmologie, Université Joseph Fourier, CNRS/IN2P3, 53 rue des Martyrs, 38026 Grenoble, France)
