Vol. 25 No. 1

Nuclear Physics NewsInternational

Volume 25, Issue 1January–March 2015

FEATURING:VECC Kolkata • Pear-Shaped Nuclei •

Accelerator Waste for Radioactive Ion Beams

10619127(2015)25(1)

Phy s i c s Maga z i n e s

Editor: Editor: Editors: Hannu Mutka, ILL Gabriele-‐Elisabeth Körner, NuPECC Ronald Frahm, Univ. of Wuppertal Michael C. Martin, ALS Motohiro Suzuki, SPring-‐8

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Vol. 25, No. 1, 2015, Nuclear Physics News 1

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Nuclear Physics NewsVolume 25/No. 1

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2 Nuclear Physics News, Vol. 25, No. 1, 2015

NuclearPhysicsNews

Cover Illustration: Inside of the RFQ at VECC Kolkata as seen from a view port – see article on page 5.

Volume 25/No. 1

ContentsEditorialBrief Overview of C12 and Its Activities

by Hideyuki Sakai ........................................................................................................................................ 3Laboratory PortraitVariable Energy Cyclotron Centre

by Alok Chakrabarti and Dinesh Kumar Srivastava ................................................................................... 5Feature ArticleDevelopments in the Studies of Pear-Shaped Nuclei and Their Impact on Searches for CP-Violation in Atoms

by Peter A. Butler and Lorenz Willmann ..................................................................................................... 12Facilities and MethodsThe Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF)

by Israel Mardor and Dan Berkovits ........................................................................................................... 16Exploitation of Accelerator Waste for Radioactive Ion Beams: A Nuclear Astrophysics Application

by A. StJ. Murphy, D. Schumann, and T. Stora ............................................................................................ 23Meeting ReportsBORMIO-2014: The Second Topical Workshop on Modern Aspects in Nuclear Structure

by Silvia Leoni ............................................................................................................................................. 302nd International Symposium on Science at J-PARC: Unlocking the Mysteries of Life, Matter, and the Universe

by Naohito Saito, Yukinobu Kawakita, and Yumiko Watanabe .................................................................... 32Zakopane Conference on Nuclear Physics, “Extremes of the Nuclear Landscape”

by Piotr Bednarczyk, Wojciech Królas, and Bartłomiej Szpak .................................................................... 33Fourth Joint Meeting of the Nuclear Physics Divisions of the American Physical Society and the Physical Society of Japan

by Richard Milner and Takaharu Otsuka .................................................................................................... 35News and ViewsA New Tool to Prepare Experiments with Stable Beams at European Nuclear Physics Facilities

by Ketel Turzó .............................................................................................................................................. 37In MemoriamIn Memoriam: Theo Mayer-Kuckuk (1927–2014)

by Jim Ritman.................................................................................................................................................. 38In Memoriam: Lowell Bollinger (1923–2014)

by Jerry Nolen, Richard Pardo, and John Schiffer ........................................................................................ 39

Calendar.......................................................................................................................................................... 40

editorial


When I served as the Chair of C12 from 2012 to 2014, I had the oppor-tunity to introduce the activities of IUPAP and C12 to the participants of the IUPAP-sponsored conferences. To my surprise, quite a few of the participants, particularly the younger audience, was not well informed of the activities of C12 or IUPAP. This concerns me, and I also believe I am partly responsible for this. Let me first describe briefly what IUPAP and C12 are, and then introduce some activities of C12 which may interest the nuclear physics community.

The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) is a non-governmental organization es-tablished in 1922 in Brussels with 13 member countries. Today the total number of member countries and so-cieties has increased to 60 (see http:// iupap.org/). The mission of IUPAP is “to assist in the worldwide develop-ment of physics, to foster international cooperation in physics, and to help in the application of physics toward solv-ing problems of concern to humanity.”

IUPAP comprises an Executive Council (the Council) and 18 active Commissions. The council oversees and administers the activities of IU-PAP, while each commission promotes the objectives of the Union within their areas of expertise and provides advice to IUPAP on the activities and needs of the subfields of physics they represent.

The Commission on Nuclear Phys-ics (C12) was established by IUPAP in 1960 as the twelfth commission to promote the exchange of information and views among the members of the international scientific community in

the general field of Nuclear Physics including applications.

Each commission consists of 14 members who are elected at the IU-PAP General Assembly (GA) held every three years based in principle, on the recommendation list made by the present commission. It is a rather complicated process, since each com-mission works independently to final-ize its preferred recommendation list of membership for the next term, but the number of elected members should also be adjusted to agree with the quota of each member country based on the member fees paid to IUPAP.

C12 holds annual meetings. Last year, with the generous support of GSI, it was held at the Hotel Johan-neshof, Egelsbach, Germany on July 12. Twelve C12 members attended the meeting. Most of the available time was spent on two subjects.

Candidate List of New C12 Members for the Term 2015–2017

The list of recommended candi-dates of 14 members was drawn up from the 19 candidates nominated by the national liaison committees of member countries, taking into consid-eration various aspects such as sub-field, geographical region, gender, etc. The officers (Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary) of C12 were also decided. Alinka Lepine-Szily was elected unanimously as the new Chair.

Prioritization List of Applications for IUPAP Conference Sponsorship in 2015

The prioritization list is usually drawn up in the following manner. The organizer of conference sends an

application to IUPAP through the IU-PAP homepage. Applications received by June 1 of the year are subject to re-view. One of the organizers is asked to attend the meeting to give a presenta-tion on their proposal. The proposal is reviewed from various angles such as international character and accessibil-ity, scientific program, composition of organizing committees, registration fee, budget, venue, and support for young researchers, as well as for par-ticipation from developing countries, inclusion of women, etc.

Recently, ‘inclusion of women’ has become a vital issue to be taken seri-ously by IUPAP. Let me quote from the conference policies: “It is the policy of IUPAP that all IUPAP sponsored con-ferences must include women on the organizing and program committees and as invited speakers. The applica-tion should include a list of the pro-gram committee with evidence that women are included, and the numbers of women invited speakers should be recorded in the conference report” (see http://iupap.org/sponsored-con-ferences/conference-policies/d). The statistics of the IUPAP-sponsored conferences reported by October 2014 are as follows: total participants 4491 (100%), women participants 1343 (31%) and women speakers 249 (18% of women participants). The result of each conference in the series will be traced and probably used at the time of approval decision for the future spon-sorship application.

Eight applications were submitted to the previous C12 meeting. They were reviewed and the prioritization list was finalized by votes. The In-ternational Nuclear Physics Confer-

The views expressed here do not represent the views and policies of NuPECC except where explicitly identified.

Brief Overview of C12 and Its Activities

editorial


ence (INPC 2016) proposed by Tony Thomas (Australia) was among them. It was unanimously decided as the fi rst priority for the pre-approval request to IUPAP, since the INPC is the fl agship conference of C12. INPC2016 will be held in Adelaide, South Australia, from 11–16 September 2016. Please mark your calendar and save the dates to attend the conference. The fi nalized list has been approved by the IUPAP Council and the Commission Chair meeting which can be found on the webpage (http://iupap.org/general-assembly/28th-general-assembly/).

One of the most important C12 activities is selection of candidates for the IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in Nuclear Physics. This prize cat-egory was established in 2005. Each commission is allowed to give three awards over the period of three years.

C12 has set up the timing of the award ceremony of the prize so that it will co-incide with INPC. The fi rst ceremony thus took place at INPC2007, held in Tokyo, where three awards were given to three recipients. Similarly, the sec-ond and the third award ceremonies were held at INPC2010 (Vancouver) and INPC2013 (Florence), respec-tively. A short description of the third ceremony can be found in volume 23, number 3, page 37 of Nuclear Physics News. The forth award ceremony will take place in Adelaide at INPC2016. A call for nomination for the IUPAP Young Scientist Prize will be an-nounced soon by the new C12 Chair. We strongly encourage the members to nominate eligible candidates.

C12 is an organization based on the bottom up system. Without the strong involvement of the community, it will

not be sustainable. With this editorial, I hope to attract more attention to the C12 activities and increase the mem-ber’s involvement with C12.

HIDEYUKI SAKAI

C12 Chair from 2012–2014

Read every issue for the latest:

Innovations

Facilities and Methods

Laboratory Portraits

News and Views

Meeting Reports

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Maureen Williams -‐ [email protected]

laboratory portrait


IntroductionVariable Energy Cyclotron Centre

(VECC) derives its name from the first variable energy Cyclotron in the coun-try that was built at Kolkata during the 1970s. This was the first major ac-celerator to be built in the country and marked the beginning of India’s effort toward developing medium-scale ac-celerators. With the Cyclotron coming to life in the late 1970s, India’s journey toward exploring the atomic nucleus made a vibrant start. This created for the first time in the country a group of physicists and engineers trained both in accelerator-based physics and also in accelerator design and construction. A good many of these people went on to contribute later in the develop-ment of research facilities at Indore, Mumbai, Delhi, and other places in the country. With more favorable gov-ernment grants in basic sciences that started flowing in from the beginning of the present century, VECC has taken up the task of building new and advanced accelerators, first a K 500 Superconducting Cyclotron and then an ISOL based Rare Ion Beam (RIB) facility, and also advanced detectors and detector arrays for carrying out forefront research in nuclear physics.

Side by side with the developmen-tal efforts at home, VECC opened a new avenue in the 1990s—that of expanding its activities beyond the national frontiers for pursuing ex-perimental nuclear physics programs at high energy in collaboration with CERN and at extremes of iso-spin with RIKEN, which would not have been possible using the available fa-cilities in the country. This trend has since then gained in strength and to-day VECC has collaborations with many international laboratories that include BNL, TRIUMF, GSI (FAIR),

FNL, and GANIL for accelerator de-velopment at home and for physics ex-periments using facilities abroad.

Accelerators at VECCThe K 130 room temperature Cy-

clotron has been built indigenously in the 1970s (Figure 1) following the design of Cyclotrons at Texas A&M University and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and has been delivering beams to the users since then. Until the late eighties, it was the only ma-jor accelerator for nuclear physics re-search in the country. The Cyclotron is still operating and delivering beams to a large number of user groups, both in-house as well as from all over the country. Initially for many years the Cyclotron delivered only light ion beams such as p, a, d to the users. In the late nineties, heavy-ion beams up to Argon were accelerated using a 6.4 GHz Electron Cyclotron Reso-nance (ECR) Ion Source injector, de-signed and built indigenously. During

2007–2009, a number of subsystems of the Cyclotron were upgraded for smooth and reliable operation. To meet the demand of the users for ion beams of heavier masses the 6.4 GHz ECRIS is now being replaced with a 14 GHz ECR ion source that has been designed and constructed in house. Also, an upgraded heavy-ion injection beam-line is presently under construc-tion. The Cyclotron, presently acceler-ating only light ions, is scheduled to deliver both light ions and heavy-ions up to Zn with higher beam intensities from early 2016.

Apart from the ECR ion source for heavy-ions, a high current proton ECR delivering 10 mA of protons has been designed and built. This activity has been taken up as a part of a R&D program aiming at the development of high current Proton Cyclotron in fu-ture and has led to a number of credi-ble publications. Also, a RF ion source delivering ion beam of about 2.5 µm in diameter for micro-machining has successfully been developed.

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre

Figure 1. The K130 Variable Energy Cyclotron at Kolkata.

laboratory portrait


The K 500 Superconducting Cyclo-tron at VECC (SCC; Figure 2) is simi-lar to the one operating at Texas A&M University. The Cyclotron was con-structed through largely indigenous efforts and commissioned in August 2009 with internal beams accelerated up to the extraction radius. Thereafter the extraction system was installed and efforts are now going on to extract the beam. The user facilities including a large scattering chamber measuring 2.2 m in length and 1 m in diameter (Figure 3) placed at the end of the zero degree experimental beam-line have been installed.

Apart from Cyclotrons, VECC is one of the DAE institutions participat-ing in the Indian Institutions-Fermilab Collaboration for the development of a high energy high current proton accelerator. VECC is involved in de-sign and development of β = 0.61, 650 MHz superconducting cavities. A 5 cell prototype cavity made of Cu has already been designed, fabricated, and tested with low power RF. There

are also a number of linear accelera-tors developed for the Rare Ion Beam (RIB) project that are described later in a separate section.

Facilities for Low Energy Nuclear Physics Research

The VEC Cyclotron has been from the beginning a national facility and scientists from different institutes and universities from all over the country have used the cyclotron for research that has led to about 50 Ph.D. theses. Although the major emphasis is on nuclear physics research, a good frac-tion of beam time has been allotted for research in radiochemistry, medical isotope production, materials science, analytical chemistry, and biology. In an article of this nature, it is not pos-sible to cover even a glimpse of wide range of experimental studies that have been carried out using the cyclo-tron. We would therefore talk about the recent detector developments and a few recent results.

Till about 2007, the nuclear physics research has been conducted with only a few detectors. In 2007 funds were provided for development of detector arrays to boost up nuclear physics re-search using the K 130 and the upcom-

Figure 2. The Superconducting Cyclotron with 0-degree beam-line leading to the experimental hall.

Figure 3. Detectors and experimental facilities for cyclotron-based experiments.

laboratory portrait


ing K 500 Cyclotrons. This has led to construction of three large detector ar-rays: one for measurement of high en-ergy gamma rays, named LAMBDA (Large Area Modular BaF2 Detector Array; Figure 3), one 4π Charge Par-ticle Detector Array (CPDA) compris-ing of high resolution Silicon strip detectors (dE & E) backed by CsI de-tectors primarily for studying nuclear reactions in and around Fermi energy, and a neutron time of flight array (Fig-ure 3). A high efficiency neutron multi-plicity detector named NMD (Neutron Multiplicity Detector; Figure 3) has also been built and tested off-line with 252Cf source. The same team is also involved in developing the prototype for the MONSTER (MOdular Neutron SpectromeTER) detector to be used at FAIR (Darmstadt, Germany) facility. The high energy experimental phys-ics group at VECC has undertaken the R&D intensive task of constructing the muon chamber for Compressed

Baryonic Matter studies at FAIR using state of the art GEM technology. The same group has developed Bakelite-based Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) detectors for the iron calorimeter for the India based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project and a prototype iron calorimeter that has been successfully tested.

The LAMBDA consists of 162 BaF2 detectors, which makes it one of the most powerful spectrometers in the world and the largest in the coun-try. The detector has already been used in a number of Cyclotron based exper-iments for the studies of Giant Dipole Resonance (GDR) widths at low ex-citations and isospin symmetry break-ing/restoration in GDR decays. In Fig-ure 4a is shown a typical measurement of variation of GDR width over a wide range of excitation and mass range using LAMBDA. In another study, the decay of Hoyle state in 12C has been investigated in detail (Figure 4b)

using the CPDA comprising of 24 tele-scopes. Another detector array, the In-dian National Gamma Array (INGA), deserves a special mention. INGA is a joint effort of all the three major ac-celerator laboratories in the country, namely the two Pelletron laboratories at Mumbai (BARC-TIFR) and New Delhi (IUAC) and VECC. The other two major contributing institutes are SINP and UGC-DAE-CSR, Kolkata. Typically INGA takes data for about a year or two at one center for one set of experiments and then moves to another center for new experiments. In the previous INGA campaign at VECC heavy-ion beams (O, Ne, Ar, etc.) were used. In 2015 INGA will again be installed in VECC but this time for experiments using light ion beams. The INGA collaboration has led to a good number of publications and Ph.D. theses. Apart from experi-ments using INGA, gamma spectros-copy studies using smaller arrays are also carried out by various users groups at VECC.

Among the other in-house facili-ties, the He-jet coupled Isotope Sepa-rator On-Line (ISOL) facility has been used for study of exotic nuclei in the nineties and later for RIB production studies. Recently the facility has been up-graded for collinear laser spectros-copy studies and is ready for carrying out experiments to measure atomic hyperfine splitting and isotopic shifts of exotic nuclei. Also, the construction of a Penning trap (Figure 3) is nearing completion, which would allow preci-sion mass measurements and decay of exotic nuclei.

Apart from nuclear physics experi-ments using the Cyclotron, scientists from VECC also collaborate in ex-periments using Pelletrons at IUAC, Delhi and BARC-TIFR, Mumbai and RIB facilities at RIKEN and GANIL. VECC group has established a novel technique for the measurement of

Figure 4. (a) Variation of GDR width with temperature in different mass region. Symbols are the data, dashed and solid lines represent theoretical predictions using themal shape flucutions model and critical temperature fluctuation model, respectively. (b) Dalitz Plot for the decay of Hoyle state studied in the reaction 4He + 12C. The events on the sides of the triangle correspond to sequential decay (12C* → 8Be + 4He → 3 4He), whereas the events in the central region (within the circle) correspond to direct decay (12C* → 3 4He).

laboratory portrait


beta-delayed protons using the RIPS facility in collaboration with scientists at RIKEN.

A good fraction of the Cyclotron beam time is used by groups engaged in the study of radiation damage of reactor materials and R&D studies on medical isotope production. Also, analytical chemists often use the Cy-clotron beam for trace element analy-sis and study of wear using a charged particle activation technique. Study of production of radioactive nuclei using different kinds of thick targets is an-other area of study for which the Cy-clotron beam is used.

Experimental High Energy Physics

VECC’s participation in high en-ergy physics experiments started with the search for Quark Gluon Plasma at SPS, CERN in the early nineties. The VEC group, in collaboration with a large number of collaborators from Indian universities, could achieve the marvelous feat of building in a short span the Photon Multiplicity Detector (PMD) for the WA 80/93 experiment and install the same at CERN. The PMD consisted of about 8,000 scintil-

lation pads with wavelength shifting plastic optical fi bers. The next PMD, a much improved and larger one con-sisting of 53,000 pads, was built for WA 98 experiments for the study of lead beam interactions. Subsequently for STAR experiments at RHIC and ALICE experiment at LHC, scintilla-tion pads were replaced by gas-based proportional counters, a new develop-ment, with modern readout electron-ics. PMD with 83,000 cells was used for STAR experiments while the PMD installed at LHC, CERN for ALICE experiments has a mind boggling 220,000 cells of proportional coun-ters (Figure 5). Measurement of pho-ton multiplicity at forward rapidity in gold-gold collisions at RHIC and Pb-Pb collisions at LHC has established the phenomenon of limiting fragmen-tation using photons for the fi rst time. Also, the analysis of photon-charged particle correlation data in experi-ments at RHIC tends to indicate the presence of non-equilibrium phenom-enon at these energies (200 GeV in center of mass). To analyze the large amount of data from ALICE experi-ment exceeding several peta-bytes per year, a Tier-2 GRID computing facil-

ity has been created at VECC in 2010, which has been operating with high effi ciency and availability since then.

Nuclear TheoryVECC has a highly vibrant and pro-

ductive theory group working in the fi eld of low, medium, and high energy nuclear physics. The studies in the low energy domain included calcula-tions of nuclear reaction rates in stellar environments and calculations of near barrier fusion cross-section from the viewpoint of synthesis of Super Heavy Nuclei. In the medium energy (Fermi energy and above up to a few GeV/u) domain, studies in nuclear multi-frag-mentation investigating the effects of symmetry energy and estimating the temperature and size of projectile-like fragments have been carried out. Stud-ies at high energies include prediction of elliptic fl ow of thermal photons fol-lowing the formation of Quark Gluon Plasma, estimating the effects of vis-cosity on heavy quarks propagating through Quark Gluon Plasma, study of isoscalar and isovector spectral func-tions in the hadronic medium at fi nite temperature, investigation of medium effects on thermal conductivity, bulk and shear viscosities in strongly inter-acting hadron matter, and estimation of contribution of hadronic matter to heavy fl avor suppression in heavy ion collisions. The theory group has to their credit a large number of publica-tions in international journals.

Rare Ion Beam (RIB) ActivitiesIt was in the late nineties that the

proposal to develop a Rare Ion Beam facility took shape at VECC. Given the R&D and highly challenging na-ture of the task involving design and development of advanced ion-sources, accelerators and detector systems, it was decided to proceed in steps and in a R&D mode aiming at developing capabilities (and blueprints) for the ul-timate construction of an internation-Figure 5. PMD in the ALICE setup at LHC, CERN.

laboratory portrait


ally competitive RIB facility in the country. To meet these objectives in a cost effective way, it was decided to use the existing K = 130 room temper-ature cyclotron as the driver accelera-tor and construct a modest ISOL type RIB facility around the same. The fa-cility planned is shown schematically in Figure 6. The scheme is to produce rare isotopes using a suitable target in alpha/proton induced nuclear reac-tions, ionize the reaction products in an ion source, mass separate the reac-tion products to choose the rare iso-tope of interest and then accelerate the same in a series of linear accelerators.

The project received funding for construction of accelerators in 2003 and again in 2007. This has led to in-digenous development of a number of linear accelerators (RFQ, IH Linacs, etc.; Figure 7), designed in collabo-ration with RIKEN, and facilities for ion beam–induced material science studies and laser spectroscopy stud-ies of exotic nuclei. Also, using a novel gas-jet recoil transport coupled ECR technique, a few radioactive ion beams such as 14O, 42K, 43K, 41Ar, and 111In have been produced. At the mo-

ment ion beams are accelerated to 415 MeV/u and the beam-line components and linacs for accelerating beams up to 1 MeV/u are getting ready to be in-stalled in a new annexe building that is nearing completion. Further accel-eration to 2 MeV/u has been planned using superconducting QWRs to be developed in collaboration with TRI-UMF Canada. The RIB activities in the way of designing and building ac-celerators, ion sources, targets, studies in quantum optics aiming at laser ion-ization, and ion beam–based material science have already led to about 60 publications in international journals and seven Ph.D. theses.

ANURIB—VECC’s Flagship Project in the Coming Decade

In 2012 VECC decided to take up the development of an internationally competitive RIB facility as the flag-ship project of the center. The project is named ANURIB—Advanced Na-tional facility for Unstable and Rare Isotope Beams. ANURIB will be a green-field project and will be built at VECC’s new 25-acre campus in New Town, Kolkata. An International

Advisory Committee (IAC) compris-ing of world experts in the field of accelerators and nuclear physics has been constituted by the Department of Atomic Energy to review the AN-URIB project proposal. The RIB pro-duction and acceleration scheme for ANURIB is shown in Figure 8.

A high power (100 kW CW) su-perconducting electron accelerator will be the main driver for ANURIB. The development of this accelera-tor is presently being pursued in col-laboration with TRIUMF and it will produce neutron-rich rare isotope beams through gamma-induced fis-sion of actinides. The development of actinide target, capable of handling a high power electron beam, is also be-ing pursued jointly with TRIUMF. A high current 50 MeV proton accelera-tor would be the second driver to be used for the production of proton-rich isotopes. A dedicated ECR ion-source as high current injector will produce intense beams of beta-stable isotopes that will be mass separated and accel-erated using the same set of accelera-tors. After the charge breeder and ini-tial acceleration in RFQ the beam will be accelerated to energy of around 7 MeV/u using room temperature linacs and superconducting Linac Boosters. Beyond 7 MeV/u, both stable and RI beams would be accelerated to about 100 MeV/u using a separated sector cyclotron.

ANURIB will be built in two phases. In Phase-1 (2014–2019) the physics and engineering design of the entire facility comprising of accelera-tors and experimental facilities will be completed and a detailed Technical Design Report (TDR) will be writ-ten and published. In Phase-1, apart from the TDR, construction of a part of the accelerator complex that can house the electron linac, the target and the low energy experimental facility will be completed. The low energy

K130 Vault

Target Ion SourceECRIS

L-3

1.0 MeV/u 2.0 MeV/u

Schematic of RIB facility at VECC

Figure 6. Schematic layout of the RIB facility at VECC.

laboratory portrait


experimental facility would comprise of state of the art devices such as the RFQ cooler and buncher, Multiple Reflection Time-of-Flight (MR-TOF) spectrometer, Penning traps, and laser spectroscopy set up. Funds have been made available for completion of most of the activities in Phase 1. In Phase 2 the construction of linear accelera-tors and the separated sector cyclo-tron, the experimental facilities with accelerated beams including a pro-jectile fragment separator would be built along with the Phase 2 building. The estimated time for completion of the entire project is 12 years but ex-periments would start in 2019 with the completion of Phase 1. The use of an electron driver for production of n-rich RI Beams, the neutron and the positron beam facilities, a combi-nation of both ISOL and PFS methods for production of RIBs, fragmentation

and fusion reactions with RI Beams leading to production of very n-rich and p-rich exotic nuclei, and availabil-ity of intense stable heavy-ion beams together would make ANURIB an in-ternationally competitive facility.

VECC and Societal ActivitiesSocietal activities have been a pri-

ority area for the center. For the DAE Medical Cyclotron facility at Kolkata that is going to fulfill the longstand-ing demand for SPECT isotopes (11C, 13N, 18F, 123I, 67Ga, etc.), VECC has taken up the task of implementation and operation of the facility that is being built around a 30 MeV, 500 µA Cyclotron (Cyclone-30). The build-ing to house the Cyclotron and other facilities is complete and soon the in-stallation of the Cyclotron and other facilities will start.

VECC has recently developed a software named Mounisara aimed at providing a low cost solution for communication between hearing and hearing impaired persons. This soft-ware converts text language to sign language automatically and has be-come very popular with schools/or-ganizations catering to deaf and mute children. VECC conducts science seminars at regular intervals for high school students and VECC scientists frequently visit schools and colleges to deliver lectures on various scientific topics of contemporary interest. Every year about 150 science and engineer-ing graduate students conduct their project work at VECC.

With the aim to make nuclear medicine facilities widely available to the common person at an affordable cost, a Regional Radiation Medicine Centre (RRMC) was set up at Kolkata

ECR ion source RFQ1 RFQ2

Linac 1-2 Linac3 Linac 4Figure 7. Accelerators in the RIB facility.

laboratory portrait


in 1989. The mainstay of nuclear im-aging at RRMC is the state of the art Dual Head Gamma Camera with CT and a facility for high dose Iodine-131 therapy for thyroid cancer patients was started in 2004. In-vivo non-imaging studies being performed at the RRMC include Thyroidal, Iodine-131 uptake studies, and nuclear hematological studies with Cr-51 labeled RBC, like total RBC mass estimation, RBC sur-vival, and Splenic RBC sequestration studies. RRMC is one of the very few centers in India performing these nu-clear hematological studies.

VECC—OrganizationalVECC is a research organization

under the Department of Atomic En-ergy involved in accelerator develop-

ment and basic research using accel-erators. VECC has staff strength of about 600 people, 200 of which are scientists and engineers involved in basic research and accelerator devel-opment. Being one of the Constituent Institutes (CI) of the Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI) at Mumbai, VECC conducts a PhD programme in Physics and Engineering sciences as well as Masters in Technology/Engi-neering Sciences under the guidance of VECC scientists who also hold a dual position of faculty at the insti-tute. HBNI is a deemed university and in VECC itself about 35 students are presently pursuing their Ph.D. Over the last five years, the average journal publication by VECC scientists per year has been about 130 with average citation per publication of 8.5.

Next phaseLINAC booster

Ring Cyclotron

Stripper

Stable Isotope Beam

LINAC

100 MeV/u

Nuclear structure, Elastic/ Inelastic scattering, Coulomb barrier physics, Super Heavy Elements

1.0 MeV/u

0.1 MeV/u

7 MeV/u

Nuclear Astrophysics

PFS

Studies on drip line & near drip

line nuclei

RIB

RIBSecondary

target

Exotic fragments

Schematic layout of ANURIB facility Advanced National Facility for Unstable and Rare Isotope Beams

Phase-11+ Ion Source 1+ RIB

Stable isotope

injection

Separator

ECR Ion Source

Material Science & biological studies with

stable & RIBs

High current Injector

n

Actinide Target SC electron LINAC50 MeV, 100 kW

e- �

Ta

e-

1.5 keV/u�+

n+ RIB

Radioactive Atoms

RFQ

Target

50 MeV proton driver

High resolution separator

Spectroscopy of r-process, n-rich exotic nuclei

RFQ Cooler + MR-TOF

Neutron Beam Facility

Low Energy Positron Facility

TRAP

LASER SPECTROSCOPY

LEEF

EFNA

FCB

LEEF: Low Energy Expt. FacilityEFNA: Expt. Facility for Nuclear AstrophysicsFCB: Facility for Coloumb Barrier physics

Accelerators

Experimental Facility

1+ Ion Source

Figure 8. Schematic layout of ANURIB facility.

Dinesh Kumar srivastava

VECC Kolkata

aloK ChaKrabarti

VECC Kolkata

feature article


Developments in the Studies of Pear-Shaped Nuclei and Their Impact on Searches for CP-Violation in AtomsPeter A. Butler1 And lorenz WillmAnn21Oliver Lodge Laboratory, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE, UK2Van Swinderen Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

The atomic nucleus is a many-body quantum system, and hence its shape is determined by the number of nucle-ons present in the nucleus and the interactions between them. The long-range correlations between valence nucle-ons distort the shape from spherical symmetry and the nucleus becomes deformed. In most of these cases, it is well established that the shape assumed has quadrupole deformation with axial and reflection symmetry; that is, the nucleus is shaped like a rugby ball (prolate deforma-tion) or as a flattened spheroid discus (oblate deformation). For certain combinations of protons and neutrons, it is ex-pected that the shape of nuclei can assume octupole defor-mation, corresponding to reflection asymmetry or a “pear-shape” in the intrinsic frame, either dynamically (octupole vibrations) or having a static shape (permanent octupole deformation).

Deformations of the nucleus have a direct influence on the energy levels in the atomic system, and the interactions of the electrons with the nucleus lead to minute changes in the atomic spectra. The use of heavy atoms in particular is very attractive for searches for new symmetry violating interactions in the nucleus. These interactions will manifest themselves in a measurable change of the atomic spectra that will scale stronger than the third power of the nuclear charge [1, 2]. Examples of symmetry violating interactions being investigated are atomic parity violation (P-violation) or searches for permanent electric dipole moments (CP-vi-olation). For the heaviest atoms, such as radium, investiga-tions of the atomic structure that will exploit these strong enhancements are currently underway [3–7].

CP-violation has been observed in the flavor-chang-ing sector, such as the decay of the neutral kaon and more recently in the decays of the B0 at LHCb, and can be accounted for within the Standard Model (SM). Any observation of a non-zero permanent electric dipole mo-ment (EDM) at the level of contemporary experimental sensitivity would indicate time-reversal (T) or equiva-lently charge–parity (CP) violation which is not included in the SM. The flavor-diagonal CP violation has not yet been observed, although many extensions of the SM

would give rise to measurable effects. These models are strongly motivated in order to account for the observed cosmological dominance of baryons over antibaryons [8]. However, experimental limits on EDMs constrain many of such extensions to the SM [9]. The Schiff moment (the electric-dipole distribution weighted by radius squared) is the lowest-order observable CP-violating nuclear mo-ment which can be observed in a neutral atom. Octupole-deformed nuclei with odd nucleon number A will have strongly enhanced nuclear Schiff moments owing to the presence of the large octupole collectivity and the occur-rence of nearly degenerate parity doublets that naturally arise if the deformation is static. The CP-violating Schiff moment induces an atomic EDM and the sensitivity of an EDM measurement to CP violation is strongly enhanced over non-octupole-enhanced systems such as 199Hg, cur-rently providing the most stringent limit for atoms, by a factor of 100–1,000 [10–12]. Essential in the interpreta-tion of such limits in terms of new physics is a detailed un-derstanding of the structure of these nuclei. Experimental programs are in place to measure EDMs in atoms of odd-A mass Rn and Ra isotopes in the octupole region [3, 4] but so far there is little direct information on octupole correla-tions in these nuclei.

Strong octupole correlations leading to pear shapes can arise when nucleons near the Fermi surface occupy states of opposite parity with orbital and total angular momentum differing by 3. This condition is met for proton number Z ~ 34, 56, and 88 and neutron number N ~ 34, 56, 88, and 134. The largest array of evidence for reflection asymmetry is seen at the values of Z ~ 88 and N ~134, where phenomena such as interleaved positive- and negative-parity rotational bands in even-even nuclei, parity doublets in odd-mass nuclei, and enhanced E1 transition moments have been observed [13]. Many theoretical approaches have been developed to describe the observed experimental features: shell-corrected liquid-drop models, mean-field approaches using various interactions, models that assume a-particle clustering in the nucleus, algebraic models and other semi-phenomenological approaches.

feature article


Experimental Evidence for Reflection AsymmetryThe observation, 60 years ago, of a low-lying 1– state

in 224Ra populated by a-decay led almost immediately to the suggestion that “this state may have the same intrinsic structure as the ground state and represents a collective dis-tortion in which the nucleus is pear-shaped” [14]. The en-ergy of this 1– state, while being the lowest observed of all nuclei, lies higher than that of the 2+ member of the ground state rotational band. Experiments to extend both positive and negative parity bands to higher spins using nuclear re-actions were carried out much later.

One of the most important indicators of reflection asym-metry is the behavior of the energy levels. Alternating nega-tive and positive parity states can arise in a number of ways from instability in the octupole degree of freedom. One limit is that the nucleus has permanent octupole deforma-tion, in which case the component of angular momentum aligned to the rotation axis of a state having positive parity, i+

x, or negative parity, i–x, is equal to the rotational angular

momentum, R. In this case the difference in aligned angular momentum, Δix = i–

x – i+x, at the same rotational frequency

ω, is equal to zero. The other limit is that the negative parity band arises from octupole vibrations of the rotating (quad-rupole) deformed system. Here the negative parity states are formed by coupling R to the angular momentum of the octupole phonon 3ħ. If the phonon angular momentum is aligned to the rotational angular momentum then the value of Δix is 3ħ. If the lowest negative parity band has K = 0 (and this seems to provide the most favorable situation for alignment of the phonon) then the resulting spectrum can give rise to an alternating sequence of negative and posi-tive parity states. This has been observed [15] in the case of Rn isotopes with A = 218–222, which are almost perfect octupole vibrators. On the other hand there are several ex-amples such as 222,224,226,228Ra and 224,226, 228, 230Th where the value of Δix tends to zero at low rotational frequencies [15], suggesting that these isotopes have static octupole de-formation.

E1 and E3 MomentsIn order to determine the shape of nuclei, the rotational

model can be used to connect the intrinsic deformation, which is not directly observable, to the electric charge mo-ments that arise from the non-spherical charge distribution. For quadrupole deformed nuclei, the typical experimental observables are the E2 transition moments that are related to the matrix elements connecting differing members of ro-tational bands in these nuclei, and E2 static moments that are related to diagonal matrix elements for a single state. If the nucleus does not change its shape under rotation, both

types of moments will vary with angular momentum but can be related to a constant intrinsic moment that charac-terizes the shape of the nucleus. For pear-shaped nuclei, there will be additionally E1 and E3 transition moments that connect rotational states having opposite parity. The E1 transitions can be enhanced because of the separation of the center-of-mass and center-of-charge, but their absolute values are small (<10–2 single particle units) and are domi-nated by single-particle and cancellation effects.

The E3 transition moment is collective in behavior (>10 single particle units) and is largely insensitive to single-particle effects, as it is generated by coherent contributions arising from the quadrupole-octupole shape. The E3 mo-ment is therefore an observable that should provide direct evidence for enhanced octupole correlations and, for de-formed nuclei, can be related to the intrinsic octupole defor-mation parameters. Twenty years ago Coulomb excitation (see next section) was applied to the detailed measurements of the octupole shape of 148Nd in the Z ~ 56, N ~ 88 region [16] and of 226Ra in the Z ~ 88 and N ~134 region [17], but measurements of other nuclei in the latter mass region have had to wait for the development of accelerated radioactive beams.

Recent E3 ExperimentsCoulomb excitation is an important tool for exploring

the collective behavior of deformed nuclei that gives rise to strong enhancement of the probability of transitions between states. Traditionally, this technique has been em-ployed by exciting targets of stable nuclei with accelerated ion beams of stable nuclei at energies below the Coulomb barrier, ensuring that the interaction is purely electromag-netic in character. Whereas E2, E1, and M1 transition prob-abilities dominate in the electromagnetic decay of nuclear states, and hence can be determined from measurements of the lifetimes of the states, E2 and E3 transition moments dominate the Coulomb excitation process allowing these moments to be determined from measurement of the cross-sections of the states, often inferred from the γ-rays that de-excite these levels. In exceptional cases, the Coulomb excitation technique has been applied to radioactive targets like 226Ra, which is sufficiently long-lived (half-life 1,600 yr) to produce a macroscopic sample. It is only compara-tively recently that the technique has been extended to the use of accelerated beams of radioactive nuclei such as those from the REX-ISOLDE facility at CERN.

Experiments have been carried out recently that used REX-ISOLDE to accelerate beams of radon and radium to bombard various targets in the MINIBALL [18] γ-ray spec-trometer. The measured values [19] of the E2 and E3 ma-

feature article


trix elements in 220Rn and 224Ra are all consistent with the geometric predictions expected from a rotating, deformed distribution of electric charge, although these data do not distinguish whether the negative-parity states arise from the projection of a quadrupole-octupole deformed shape or from an octupole oscillation of a quadrupole shape. Fig-ure 1 compares the experimental values of Qλ derived from the matrix elements connecting the lowest states for nuclei near Z = 88 and N = 134 measured by Coulomb excitation. It is striking that while the E2 moment increases by a factor of 6 between 208Pb and 234U, the E3 moment changes by only 50% in the entire mass region. Nevertheless, the larger Q3 values for 224Ra and 226Ra indicate an enhancement in octupole collectivity that is consistent with an onset of oc-tupole deformation in this mass region. On the other hand, 220Rn has similar octupole strength to 208Pb, 230,232Th and 234U, consistent with it being an octupole vibrator. In the case of a vibrator, the coupling of an octupole phonon to the ground state rotational band will give zero values for matrix elements such as <1–||E3||4+>, because an aligned octupole phonon would couple the 4+ state to a 7– state. Although the radioactive beam experiments do not have sensitivity to this quantity, this effect has been observed for 148Nd [16], consistent with behavior expected for an octupole vibrator. In contrast the intrinsic moment derived from the measured <1–||E3||4+> in 226Ra [17] is similar to that derived from the value of <0+||E3||3->, as expected for a static deformed system.

The values of Q3, deduced from the measured transition matrix elements, are plotted in Figure 2 as a function of Nand compared to various theoretical calculations. The trend of the experimental data is that the values decrease from a peak near 226Ra with decreasing N (or A). This is in marked

contrast to the predictions of the cluster model calculations [20]. It is also at variance with the Gogny HFB [21], Woods-Saxon macroscopic-microscopic [22], and relativistic Har-tree-Bogoliubov (mapped onto an IBM Hamiltonian) [23] mean-fi eld predictions of a maximum for 224Ra, although the agreement with the measurements for 220Rn and 224Ra by themselves is quite good. As can be seen, the relativis-tic mean fi eld calculations [24] predict that the maximum value of Q3 occurs for radium isotopes between A = 226 and 230, depending on the parameterization, and Skyrme Hartree-Fock calculations [25] predict that 226Ra has the largest octupole deformation, consistent with the data.

The recent measurements of Q3 values in 220Rn and 224Ra are also consistent with suggestions from the system-atic studies of energy levels [15] that the even-even iso-topes 218-222Rn and 220Ra have vibrational behavior while 222-228Ra have octupole-deformed character. The parity doubling condition that leads to enhancement of the Schiff moment is therefore unlikely to be met in 219,221Rn. On the other hand 223,225Ra, having parity doublets separated by ~50 keV, will have large enhancement of their Schiff mo-ments, provided that the states of opposite parity have the same intrinsic structure.

Summary and OutlookFuture experiments at the HIE-ISOLDE facility [26]

will study 222,228Ra and 222-226Rn, which should greatly enhance our knowledge of the systematic behavior of E3 moments in this mass region. Knowledge of the energy lev-els in the heavier even-even radon isotopes will also help us assess the likelihood of parity doubling in the odd-Anuclei. It is interesting to note that Gogny HFB calcula-tions predict [27] that Th and U isotopes with N = 134–136, already known to exhibit the characteristics of a rigid oc-tupole shape [15, 28], should have signifi cantly enhanced E3 transition strengths (70 Weisskopf units) (Figure 3). The predicted yields of these isotopes from the future FRIB fa-cility will be in principle suffi cient to measure the transi-tion strengths for isotopes such as 226Th and 228U. There are also plans to measure directly the low-lying structure of odd-mass Rn isotopes, from in-beam conversion-electron and γ-ray measurements following Coulomb excitation or from the decay of the astatine parent. These measurements are vital in order to identify the best candidates for the radon EDM program. More challenging is the measurement of the inter-band E3 matrix elements between the low-lying states in odd-mass nuclei, required for both radon and radium EDM programs. This will require advances in precision spectroscopy, such as the use of a helical orbit spectrometer in conjunction with cooled beams from a storage-ring.

Figure 1. The systematics of measured E2 and E3 intrinsic moments Qλ for λ → 0 transitions. See Table 2 in Ref. [19] for details.

feature article


The results provided for the B(E3) transition strength give guidance for the choice of the best candidates for symmetry violating effects in atomic systems, in particular searches for permanent electric dipole moments. The quan-titative evaluation of the sensitivity and the extraction of experimental limits are now possible. The case for radium is strong since the deformation for isotopes in the region of 220Ra to –228Ra is large, these isotopes are available in

large quantities and the atomic physics of this heavy al-kaline earth element is well understood. The fi rst steps in making experimental searches for EDMs that exploit these advantages have been taken.

References 1. M. A. Bouchiat and C. C. Bouchiat, Phys. Lett. B 48 (1974)

111. 2. P. G. H. Sandars, Phys. Lett. 14 (1965) 194. 3. J.R. Guest et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 98 (2007) 093001. 4. H. W. Wilschut et al., Nucl. Phys. A 844 (2010) 143c. 5. N. D. Scielzo et al., Phys. Rev. A 73 (2006) 010501(R). 6. W. L. Trimble et al., Phys. Rev. A 80 (2009) 054501. 7. B. Santra, Phys. Rev. A 90 (2014) 040501(R). 8. A. D. Sakharov, Pisma Zh. Eksp. Theor. Fiz. 5 (1967) 32. 9. J. Engel , M J. Ramsey-Musolf, and U. van Kolck Prog. Part.

Nucl. Phys. 71 (2013) 74.10. N. Auerbach, V.V. Flambaum, and V. Spevak, Phys. Lett. 76

(1996) 4316.11. J. Dobaczewski and J. Engel, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94 (2005)

232502.12. V. V. Flambaum, Phys. Rev. A 60 (1999) R2611.13. P. A. Butler and W. Nazarewicz, Rev. Mod. Phys. 68 (1996)

349.14. F. Asaro, F. Stephens, Jr., and I. Perlman, Phys. Rev. 92

(1953)1495.15. J. F. C. Cocks et al., Nucl. Phys. A 645 (1999) 61.16. R. W. Ibbotson et al., Nucl. Phys. A 619 (1997) 213.17. H. J. Wollersheim et al., Nucl. Phys. A 556 (1993) 261.18. N. Warr et al., Eur. Phys. J. A 49 (2013) 40.19. L. P. Gaffney et al., Nature 497 (2013) 199.20. T. M. Shneidman et al., Phys. Rev. C 67 (2003) 014313.21. L. M. Robledo and P. A. Butler, Phys. Rev. C 88 (2013)

051302(R).22. W. Nazarewicz et al., Nucl. Phys. A 429 (1984) 269.23. K. Nomura et al., Phys. Rev.C 89 (2014) 024312.24. K. Rutz et al., Nucl. Phys. A 590 (1995) 680.25. J. Engel et al., Phys. Rev. C 68 (2003) 025501.26. M Lindroos et al., Nucl. Instrum. Meth. B 266 (2008) 4687.27. L. M. Robledo and G. F Bertsch, Phys. Rev. C 84 (2011)

054302.28. P. T. Greenlees et al., J. Phys. G 24 (1998) L63.

Figure 3. Theoretical values [27] of B(E3:0+ → 3-) transi-tion strengths (in single particle units) versus A for various isotopes.

Figure 2. Values of Q3 for low-lying transitions as a func-tion of N. Measured [17, 19] values for λ → 0 transitions are compared to various theoretical models: cluster model [20], Gogny HFB with D1M parameterization [21], shell-corrected liquid drop models WS [22], relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov (mapped onto an IBM Hamiltonian) [23], rela-tivistic mean fi eld NL [24], and Skyrme HF SkO' [25].

lorenz WillmAnnPeter A. Butler

facilities and methods


The Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF)Introduction

Even after a century of research, major aspects of nuclear physics still remain unknown, especially away from the valley of stability, or that require precise measurement of ultra-rare phenomena. Exploring this terra-incognita may shed new light on the genesis of elements in the universe, and may provide an excellent probe to physics beyond the Standard Model of elementary particles.

New medium-high energy ion ac-celerators have been built or are under construction around the world in order to address these scientific challenges. As part of this global trend, Soreq Nuclear Research Center (SNRC) is constructing the Soreq Applied Re-search Accelerator Facility (SARAF) [1], a user facility that will be based on a state-of-the-art light ion (protons and deuterons), medium energy (40 MeV) high CW current (5mA) accelerator, to be completed by the beginning of the next decade. These cutting-edge speci-fications, with the proper target area instrumentation, will make SARAF one of the world’s most potent deu-teron, proton, and fast neutron sources.

Applied research and development at SARAF will include new nuclear medical treatments and pharmaceuti-cals, materials for more efficient and safer fission reactors and future fusion reactors, and accelerator-based neutron radiography and tomography, currently available mainly in research reactors.

In the following, we describe the research program at SARAF, the fore-seen complete facility (SARAF Phase II), and the existing and operational facility (SARAF Phase I), including its recent scientific achievements.

Research Program

Search for Beyond Standard Model Physics

Searches for physics beyond the Standard Model (SM) are carried at the high energy frontier, attained at particle colliders (e.g., the LHC), and at the high precision frontier, looking for deviations from SM predictions in low background environments, where high sensitivities to small effects can often be achieved [2].

In SARAF, we will explore the high precision frontier. We will pro-duce light exotic nuclei such as 6He, 8Li, 16N, and 17–23Ne in unprecedented amounts, trap them and measure their β-decay parameters with ultra-high accuracy, starting with β-ν correla-tions of 6He, 19Ne, and 23Ne, in search of beyond-SM tensor and scalar com-ponents of the b-decay [3].

Later SARAF upgrades will enable measuring more β-decay parameters of light exotic isotopes and direct high rate measurements of CP properties in the neutrino sector.

Nuclear AstrophysicsNeutron-induced reactions are re-

sponsible for stellar nucleosynthesis of the majority of heavy elements (A ≥ 56) and play an important role in Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) of light elements (A ≤ 7) [4].

In SARAF, we are measuring rele-vant neutron-induced Maxwellian-Av-eraged Cross Sections (MACS) with statistics that are ~50 times higher than available today [5], enabling ex-ploration of rare processes and resolu-tion of long standing puzzles, such as the “primordial 7Li problem” [6].

Future SARAF upgrades will en-able further nuclear astrophysics re-search by inverse kinematics reactions of exotic isotopes and precision mea-surements of neutron-rich fission frag-ments.

Exploration of Exotic NucleiPrecision measurements of nuclear

properties in light exotic isotopes can be compared to quantitative predic-tions of ab-initio calculations based on empirical interactions [7]. It is advan-tageous to study a chain of isotopes of the same element, e.g., the behavior of charge radii in weakly bound halo nuclei [8].

In SARAF, it will be possible to study with very high statistics exotic nuclei and unbound states, up to Z ~ 11 towards the proton drip-line, and up to Z ~ 4 towards the neutron drip-line. Such studies will be possible as part of the beyond-SM and nuclear as-trophysics programs described above.

High Energy Neutron Induced Cross-Sections

Only very limited data exist for neutron induced reactions above 14 MeV. For many cases both fission and (n,xn) cross-sections are unknown. Neutron-induced backgrounds are a significant concern for direct dark matter searches and neutrino-less double-β decay experiments [9].

SARAF will generate a very high flux of high energy neutrons, peaked at ~15 MeV and up to ~50 MeV. In the range ~10–30 MeV, SARAF flu-ence will be higher than in spallation sources (Figure 1). A future upgrade may include thin targets for quasi-mono-energetic neutron beams.



Neutron-Based Material ResearchMaterial testing is important for ac-

celerator driven systems (ADS), Gen-eration-IV fission reactors, and future fusion demonstrators.

For fusion reactors, a main risk is ~14 MeV neutron induced radiation damage, which prompted the launch of the International Fusion Material Irradiation Facility (IFMIF). SARAF will have a spectrum similar to IFMIF, with a local flux that is only a factor of 2 lower, enabling preliminary (yet significant) material studies (Table 2).

Specific SARAF plans, in col-laboration with JRC/IRMM, include measurement of the 235U prompt fis-sion neutron spectrum, due to dis-crepancies between microscopic and macroscopic data [10], and of the 209Bi(n,γ)210m,gBi cross-section needed for design and safety analysis of fission reactors and ADS.

Neutron-Based TherapyBoron Neutron Capture Therapy

(BNCT) is comprised of selectively de-livering 10B to tumor cells and irradiat-ing it with neutrons. The neutrons are absorbed by 10B(n,α)7Li, and the short

range (5–9 μm) α and 7Li deliver their dose mainly to the tumor cells [11].

In SARAF we initiated advanced Accelerator-based BNCT research and proof of technology [12]. We generate a high flux of epithermal neutrons at the range 1–200 keV, which can treat deeply seated tumors after being ther-malized in preceding tissue. SARAF will also enable research of ABNCT at deeper tissue depth, based on proton irradiation at ~30 MeV of a beryllium target.

Development of New Radiopharmaceuticals

Most worldwide used radiophar-maceuticals can be produced with protons or deuterons of 40 MeV or

less. Therefore, an accelerator such as SARAF is an excellent infrastructure for radiopharmaceuticals research, de-velopment, and production [13].

Deuteron beams will enable high yield of neutron deficient isotopes, since (d,2n) is usually more prolific than (p,n), especially for A > 100 [14], and neutron rich isotopes via (d,p), providing an alternative for nuclear reactors.

At SARAF we focus on develop-ment of irradiation targets that can withstand its high flux [15] and a study of imaging and therapy radiopharma-ceuticals that may be researched and developed at SARAF.

Accelerator-Based Neutron ImagingThermal neutron imaging is a well-

established non-destructive testing method for industrial uses. Since neu-trons have high reaction cross-sections with light elements, neutron imaging is complementary to X-ray imaging.

Most neutron imaging facilities are located at research reactors, and a hand-ful at spallation sources, such as NEU-TRA in PSI. SARAF aims to demon-strate that activities of a typical research reactor can be performed in medium energy high current ion accelerators. For that purpose, a thermal neutron im-ager suited for SARAF was designed, which includes a beryllium target, am-plifier and a D2O moderator [16].

We are further developing a fast neutron imager, unattainable at re-

Figure 1. Neutron spectra from 40 MeV deuterons on lithium and 1400 MeV protons on tungsten (ISOLDE). The spectra were measured and simulated 8 cm downstream the targets at 0° [1].

Table 1. SARAF accelerator top level specifications.

Parameter Value CommentIon Species Protons, Deuterons M/q ≤ 2Energy Range 5–40 MeV Variable energyCurrent Range 0.04–5 mA CW and PulsedOperation 6000 Hours/YearMaintenance Hands-on Low beam loss



search reactors, which enables good contrast over broad densities and atomic numbers. Studies were per-formed with a d-t neutron generator at SNRC [17] and at Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Braunschweig.

SARAF Description

Specifi cations and Anticipated OutputSARAF will be a user facility

based on a state-of-the-art accelerator; its top level specifi cations are given in Table 1.

Irradiation of light targets by deuterons at tens of MeV generates forward peaked neutrons at energy peaked around the beam energy di-vided by ~2.5. For example, irradia-tion of lithium by 40 MeV deuterons generates a forward neutron fl uence peaked at ~15 MeV, which in the energy range 10–30 MeV is locally higher by an order of magnitude than that obtained by irradiation of tung-sten by 1400 MeV protons (Figure 1).

This high fl ux of high energy neu-trons marks the specialty and com-petitiveness of SARAF. In Table 2 we compare the expected neutron output of SARAF with similar upcoming me-dium energy deuteron projects, SPI-RAL-II and IFMIF.

In addition to the direct use of the neutrons, we are planning to use them within a novel 2-stage target to produce exotic light ions. As shown in Figure 2, the neutrons are directed from a primary liquid lithium tar-get toward a BeO or B4C secondary target, seperating heat removal from isotope creation and extraction issues, and generating yields that are 3–4 or-ders of magnitude higher than avail-able today (Table 3).

This 2-stage irradiation concept has been tested and proved experi-mentally at ISOLDE, where a world record yield of 6He was measured, ~1.5 × 108 6He/sec [19].

Planned FacilityThe specifi cations of the SARAF

accelerator can be realized only by a superconducting RF linear accel-erator. Independently phased cavities are needed for variable energy and effi cient acceleration of several ion species. Superconducting cavities are needed for large beam apertures that moderate beam loss. The velocity range dictates the use of coaxial cavi-ties.

Layouts of the entire facility and the accelerator are given in Figure 3. The facility will include several irra-diation stations, operated sequentially, since the high beam current does not enable beam splitting. Radiation shielding will enable maintenance and experiment preparations in parallel to accelerator and other target stations operation.

Novel technologies are required to build an accelerator such as SARAF. Therefore, construction was divided into two phases.

Phase I was to characterize and prove said novel technologies. It con-sists of an Electron Cyclotron Resona-tor (ECR) ion source (EIS), a Low En-ergy Beam Transport (LEBT) section, a 176 MHz 4-rod RFQ, a Medium En-ergy Beam Transport (MEBT) section,

Table 2. Anticipated neutron output of SARAF, compared to SPIRAL-II and IF-MIF. Data were retrieved from Ref. [18].

Parameter IFMIF SPIRAL-II SARAFReaction (all at 40 MeV) d + Li d + C d + LiProjectile range in target [mm] 19.1 4.3 19.1Maximal beam current [mA] 2 × 125 5 5Beam spot on target [cm2] ~200 ~10 ~1Beam density on target [mA/cm2] 1 0.5 5Neutron production over 4π (n/d) ~0.07 ~0.03 ~0.07Neutron source intensity (n/sec) ~1017 ~1015 ~1015

Maximum neutron fl ux on the back-plate (0–60 MeV) [n/sec/cm2] ~1 × 1015 ~1 × 1014 ~5 × 1014

<En> on the back-plate [MeV] ~10 ~12 ~10

Figure 2. Schematic 3D drawing of the SARAF 2-stage irradiation target.



and a prototype superconducting mod-ule (PSM), housing six 176 MHz bulk Nb Half Wave Resonators (HWR) [1 and refs. therein] (Figure 3).

The completion of SARAF (Phase II) consists of adding more super-conducting modules with similar 176 MHz HWRs to reach 40 MeV, and constructing a target hall and the nec-essary irradiation stations.

SARAF Phase I Status and Results

Existing FacilityWe operate SARAF Phase I since

2010. As it is the fi rst high current pro-

ton/deuteron superconducting linac, each of our achievements has fur-ther stretched the world performance boundaries. We are the fi rst to demon-strate ion acceleration through HWR cavities, reaching the mA range for protons (CW) and deuterons (pulsed) [1], stable irradiation of liquid cooled solid metal targets (~30 μm of SS316) by up to 0.3 mA CW protons [20], and stable irradiation of a liquid lithium target by up to 1.2 mA CW protons, generating an unprecedented fl ux of neutrons [21].

Figure 4 shows the layout of SARAF Phase I and a photograph of

it. In addition to the accelerator com-ponents, Phase I includes a special di-agnostic plate (D-Plate) and two High Energy Beam Transport (HEBT) lines; at 0° for beam studies and solid target experiments and at a fi nite angle for high current experiments with novel targets.

Accelerator PerformanceTable 4 shows the present perfor-

mance of SARAF Phase I.The maximum combined energy

and CW current reached is 5.7 kW (3.6 MeV, 1.6 mA). Ongoing im-provements in the RF couplers are performed to increase the maximal power up to 8 kW by 2015. Deuteron acceleration is currently limited to pulsed operation due to power limita-tions in the RFQ [20].

Solid and Liquid Target IrradiationsAs an initial step toward produc-

tion of radiopharmaceuticals, we de-veloped safe irradiation of foils (e.g., ~30 μm), which can serve either as targets or windows for liquid targets [15]. 3.6 MeV protons at a current up to 0.3 mA CW were kept on a thin SS316 foil, cooled by liquid NaK, for

Figure 3. Left: Layout of SARAF, including the accelerator and irradiation targets. Right: Layout of the SARAF accelerator.

Table 3. Yields of several exotic light isotopes in the SARAF 2-stage irradia-tion target. Yields are for 40 MeV deuterons and a 800 cm3 cylindrical porous secondary target.

Secondarytarget Reaction Half life

[msec]Production yield

[1012 atoms/mA/sec]

BeO

9Be(n,α)6He 807 2.539Be(n,p)9Li 178 0.03316O(n,p)16N 7,130 0.9

B4C

11B(n,α)8Li 838 0.8711B(n,p)11Be 13,810 0.1412C(n,p)12B 20 0.2413C(n,p)13B 17 6.63 × 10–4



tens of hours, while safely sustaining accumulated radiation damage of up to 1 displacement per atom. The maxi-mum power density on the foil target was kept at 4 W/mm2 in order to limit its temperature to 500°C, below its strength failure [20].

For future production of exotic light isotopes such as 6He, 8Li, 16N, and 23Ne, using neutron-induced reac-tions, we irradiated a Lithium Fluoride Thick Target (LiFTiT) with 4.64 MeV deuterons, at a DC of 1% and an aver-age current of 1 mA. Unfolded spectra

of the generated neutrons are given in Figure 5 [22].

The most outstanding achievement of SARAF Phase I is the first irradia-tion by protons of our Liquid Lithium jet Target, LiLiT (Figure 6), and the generation of neutrons [21].

We successfully irradiated LiLiT with a 1.9 MeV, 1.2 mA (~2.5 kW/cm2 and ~0.5 MW/cm3 in the beam center) CW proton beam several times, in a stable and predictable manner. Neu-trons (~2 × 1010n/s having a peak en-ergy of ~27 keV) from the 7Li(p,n)7Be

reaction were detected with a fission-chamber detector and by gold activa-tion targets positioned in the forward direction. Spectra of neutrons and of prompt 478 keV gammas from 7Li(p,pʹ)7Li are shown in Figure 7.

LiLiT was used for generation of a stellar neutrons spectrum for measur-ing the MACS of 94Zr(n,γ)95Zr and 96Zr(n,γ)97Zr, relative to Au reference. Data is under analysis [23].

LiLiT and its subsequent upgrades are expected to be the ʻ̒ work horsesʼ̓ of SARAF, well suited for nuclear as-

Figure 4. Top: Layout of SARAF Phase I. Bottom: A photograph of SARAF Phase I.



trophysics experiments [23], feasibil-ity studies of accelerator-based BNCT [24], and high flux generation of high energy neutrons, which is the basis for most of the SARAF scientific program described above.

Summary and OutlookAs part of the global trend to build

new medium-high energy ion accel-erators for basic and applied nuclear physics research, SNRC is construct-ing SARAF, a new national scientific infrastructure in Israel to be completed by the beginning of the next decade.

Phase I of SARAF is already com-pleted and operational. Groundbreak-ing results in high current supercon-ducting accelerators and high power target irradiation have been achieved. Israeli and international scientists and

students perform excellent research and development at SARAF, which will be expanded via a new target room [20], to be completed by the be-ginning of 2016.

We continue to develop the SARAF scientific research program, and look forward to letters of intent and propos-als for Phase I and Phase II.

AcknowledgmentsThe work presented in this review

is supported by grants from the Pazy Foundation, German–Israeli Founda-tion, and Minerva Foundation. We gratefully acknowledge the SARAF team at SNRC and our scientific col-laborators M. Paul, G. Ron (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), and M. Hass (Weizmann Institute of Science).

Table 4. Present performance of the SARAF Phase I.Parameter Protons Deuterons

Energy (MeV) 4.0 5.6Current (mA) 2.0 0.4

Duty Cycle (%) 100 (CW) 10

Figure 5. High energy neutron spectra of LiFTiT, unfolded using the simula-tion code MCUNED (top) and liquid scintillator guess spectra (bottom). Spectra are normalized to 6 cm from the irradiation target. Reprinted from [22].

Figure 6. Left: A schematic drawing of the LiLiT as viewed from the neutron exit point. Middle: Schematic 3D and cross-section drawings of the LiLiT jet nozzle. Right: Photograph of LiLiT at SARAF.



References 1. D. Berkovits et al., Proceedings of

LINAC12 (2013) 100. 2. V. Cirigliano and M. J. Ramsey-Mu-

solf, arXiv:1304:0017. 3. M. Hass et al., J. Phys. Conf. Ser.

267 (2011) 012013; M. Hass et al., J. Phys. G35 (2008), 014042.

4. R. Reifarth et al., J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys. 41 (2014) 053101.

5. G. Feinberg et al., Nucl. Phys. A 827 (2009) 590c.

6. B. D. Fields, Annu. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 61 (2011) 47.

7. G. F. Bertsch et al., SciDAC Review 6 (2007) 42.

8. W. Nörtershäuser et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 102 (2009) 062503.

9. S. MacMullin et al., Phys. Rev. C85 (2012) 064614.

10. D. G. Madland and A. Ignatyuk, NEA/WPEC-9, OECD (2003).

11. T. E. Blue et al., J. Neuro-Oncol. 62 (2003) 19.

12. S. Halfon et al., Applied Radiation and Isotopes 67 (2009) S278.

13. Isotopes for the Nation’s Future–A long range plan, NSAC Isotopes Sub-committee (2009).

14. A. Hermanne et al., International Con-ference on Nuclear Data for Science and Technology (2007) 1355.

15. I. Silverman et al., Nucl. Inst. Meth. B261 (2007) 747; I. Silverman et al., Proceedings of APPACC13, Bruges (2013).

16. K. Lavie, M.Sc. Thesis, Ben-Gurion University (2005).

17. I. Sabo-Napadensky et al., JINST 7 (2012) C06005.

18. D. Ridikas et al., Internal Report DSM/DAPNIA/SPhN, CEA Saclay (2003).

19. T. Stora et al., EPL 98, 32001-p6 (2012).

20. L. Weissman et al., JINST 9 (2014) T05004.

21. S. Halfon et al., Rev. of Sci. Inst. 85 (2014) 056105.

22. T. Y. Hirsh, Ph.D. Thesis, Weizmann Institute of Science (2012); T. Y. Hirsh et al., J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 337 (2012) 012010.

23. G. Feinberg, Ph.D. Thesis, submitted to the Hebrew University at Jerusalem (2014).

24. S. Halfon, Ph.D. Thesis, Hebrew Uni-versity at Jerusalem (2014).

Israel Mardor and dan BerkovIts

Soreq NRC, Yavne, Israel

Figure 7. Left: Gamma spectrum from a 1.2 mA·h experiment with protons of 1.91 MeV. Right: Energy spectrum of neutron induced fission events measured in the fission chamber.

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IntroductionScience drives technology, and

technology enables science. Such is the case in accelerator-based nuclear phys-ics, where the scientific need to measure certain reactions has been the driving force behind the development of new beams, and in particular, radioactive ion beams. In turn, the availability of radioactive ion beams has enabled new areas of research to be explored. De-spite great advances, progress remains challenging. In most cases, significant development is required for each new beam at each individual facility. Par-ticularly challenging are cases in which chemistry inhibits the production and extraction of the ions from the source, when the intensities required are high, and when gaseous targets are required to probe the nuclear reactions. Some direct measurements of cross-sections for nuclear astrophysics provide the “perfect storm” to inhibit experimental progress.

Novel techniques are thus required, for example, the use of indirect re-actions, extrapolation from higher energies, and inference from mirror reactions and nuclei. Here we report on an innovative direct low-energy measurement of the 44Ti(a, p)47V reaction, of importance in core col-lapse supernovae. Forward kinemat-ics would require the construction of a target of 44Ti, made difficult by its 60 yr half-life, and difficulties encoun-tered in manufacture, while inverse ki-nematics implies the use of a helium gas target, and the development of a 44Ti beam, which, due to its low vola-tility, is challenging.

For this measurement, highly irra-diated facility waste material has been

processed to obtain a sample of 44Ti, and this has then been introduced in to a FEBIAD-type ion source. A first demonstration of the technique has resulted in a significant science result. Below we present details of the source material and its origin, the program to turn this (and other isotopes) into a useful resource, how a pure 44Ti beam was accelerated for the first time at REX-ISOLDE, CERN, at astrophysi-cally relevant energies, and then a brief discussion of the experiment and its preliminary result.

Beam Development

ERAWASTAt the Paul Scherrer Institute

(PSI, Villigen, Switzerland), one of the most powerful cyclotrons in the world is operated with a proton en-ergy of 590 MeV and a beam current of up to 2.3 mA. The protons hit a solid lead target to run the spallation neutron source (SINQ) with a power of more than 1 MW. Construction ma-terials, shielding, targets, collimators, beam dumps, and other components become—due to the intense particle fluxes—highly activated. It is manda-tory therefore to conduct careful ana-lytics to establish a reliable radionu-clide inventory should the need arise for dismantling, as well as for inter-mediate or final disposal.

The analytics of PSI accelerator waste has shown that rare exotic iso-topes such as 60Fe, 44Ti, 26Al, 7,10Be and many others are present in dif-ferent activated components in con-siderable amounts [1]. Based on the experimental results, the RadWaste-Analytics Group at PSI (Laboratory

for Radiochemistry and Environmen-tal Chemistry, Department of Biology and Chemistry) started an initiative called ERAWAST (Exotic Radionu-clides from Accelerator WAste for Science and Technology) as an inter-nationally concerted effort to reclaim radionuclides from activated compo-nents of particle accelerators for fu-ture use.

Today, the RadWasteAnalytics group at PSI owns a large repository of potential sample material, as well as a selection of isotopes that are ready for use. The samples that were used for the 44Ti experiment at CERN-ISOLDE have been acquired from the SINQ target-irradiation program (STIP) at PSI. This program aims to study fundamental mechanical prop-erties and radiation damage effects of materials under conditions repre-sentative for a high-power spallation source. The SINQ target itself con-sists of several steel or zircalloy rods filled with lead. Some of these rods are empty and can be filled with other materials foreseen for scientific study. Over 1,500 samples of different com-positions (Fe-, Al-, Zr-, Ni-, Ti-, W-, and Mo-based alloys) and their weld materials, placed at different positions within the target together with several neutron dose equivalent monitors (Al, Au, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, Nb, and Ti), have already been irradiated, typically for periods of two years and then cooled for at least 6 months. The specimens have then been prepared for a variety of extended material study proce-dures, for example, the investigation of mechanical properties and micro-structure. When the material investi-gations are complete, the samples are

Exploitation of Accelerator Waste for Radioactive Ion Beams: A Nuclear Astrophysics Application



no longer required and are, thus, avail-able for our purposes.

Samples of three different types of stainless steel from the STIP I pro-gram were selected and irradiated from 1998 to 1999. A subsequent cooling time of more than 10 years has allowed short-lived isotopes to de-cay, resulting in relatively low activity samples. This enables chemical sepa-ration to be performed without using hot cell equipment, making the entire procedure significantly easier.

In addition to the 44Ti desired for the ISOLDE experiment, and 60Co and 172Hf/172Lu as the main dose-rate determining by-products, the irradi-ated material contains considerable amounts of 53Mn and 26Al, two long-lived isotopes that are also of scien-tific interest for nuclear astrophysics. Moreover, stainless steel contains not only iron as matrix material, but also varying amounts of several other ele-ments, mainly chromium, tungsten, manganese, nickel, molybdenum, and vanadium, depending on the steel type. Therefore, a subsequent chemi-cal separation procedure has been de-veloped, providing pure fractions of

the three desired radionuclides 44Ti, 26Al, and 53Mn [2]. The principle can be explained using the schematic in Figure 1. Pieces of the samples seen in the photograph (top left) are dis-solved in aqua regia, and then undergo several separation steps consisting of a combination of precipitations and extractions. Details of these proce-dures are described in Ref. [2]. The further purification steps for the 53Mn and the 26Al fraction are not shown in the scheme. Finally, we obtained a titanium fraction with 100 MBq 44Ti, which contained only slight traces of 172Hf/172Lu, two radionuclides that could be separated out by mass sepa-ration in the follow-up experiment at CERN-ISOLDE.

Isotope Mass SeparationIsotope Mass Separation was first

introduced about 100 years ago to analyse chemically complex samples. These first studies were awarded a Nobel prize in chemistry in 1921 [3]. It was not long before this was also proposed as a purification tool to iso-late and study stable and radioactive isotope traces extracted from bulk

samples. It requires, besides the sam-ple itself, an oven to promote evapo-ration and release from the sample, an ion source to ionize the released traces, and an electromagnetic dipole to separate the different elements ac-cording to mass-to-charge ratios. A famous case was the use of the Calu-tron devices developed in the United States for the Manhattan project [4]. This concept was further evolved for the online extraction of exotic iso-topes at the Niels Bohr Institute in the 1950s, and has been extended for 50 years at ISOLDE at CERN (2014 is the 50th anniversary of the approval of the ISOLDE facility by CERN coun-cil). Today this is known as the ISOL method (Isotope mass Separation On-Line) [5].

The extension, presented here, of this approach for long lived isotopes is an interesting development of the Mass separation technique itself. The development of ISOL targets and ion source techniques traditionally aims to increase the intensity and purity of the produced beams, for instance, in finding ways to speed up the release process, preventing loss of exotic iso-topes with short half lives by radio-active decay. Here the aim is slightly different, since the half-lives of the isotopes under consideration are much longer than the typical characteristic times for ISOL physical extraction processes. The beam production op-timization deals with three factors: optimization of the molecular beam formation (since the titanium can be made more volatile when synthesized as a TiFx molecule), material com-patibility of the target and ion source unit, and finally appropriate types of ion source for ionization and beam formation.

Preliminary developments were undertaken to determine molecule for-mation of TiFx, x = 0–4, by evaporat-ing a TiNO3 precipitate in a reactive

Figure 1. Chemical separation scheme for the simultaneous extraction of 44Ti, 26Al, and 53Mn from proton-irradiated steel samples.



Figure 2. Above: Full mass spectrum of natTiNO3 salt released and ionized with a FEBIAD ion source in the pres-ence of a reactive CF4 gas. Right: Ex-tracted current of 48TiF3

+ (A = 105) during complete evaporation of a cali-brated natTiNO3 sample from a “mass marker” oven. An overall effi ciency of 4.8% was obtained.



CF4 atmosphere. The beam forma-tion was assessed with a FEBIAD ion source, of the VADIS type, showing that TiF3

+ is the most abundant fraction as seen on Figure 2. About 75% of the total Ti fraction was produced as TiF3

+, and an absolute efficiency of 4.8% was determined by complete evapo-ration of a known quantity of TiNO3. Finally, the 44Ti sample from PSI was shipped to CERN and introduced into an ISOLDE production unit in the class A laboratory, before the sched-uled beam time at REX-ISOLDE in 2012 shortly before the CERN-wide Long Shutdown 1 (Figure 3). A last important element to check was the possibility to cleave off the TiF3

+ ion in the Trap/Breeder stage of the REX-ISOLDE post-accelerator, in such a way as to provide a pure post-accel-erated 44Ti13+ beam and purify out any other contaminants present in the mass spectrum at A = 101, as shown on Figure 2. A post-accelerated beam of 2.16 MeV/A was delivered.

A Direct Low-Energy Measurement of the 44Ti(a, p)47V Reaction

The inevitable fate of a massive star is its own explosion. The subsequent extreme temperature and density trig-gers intense nucleosynthesis, and is thought to be a site of production for many of the heavy elements found throughout the Universe today. Of particular interest is the isotope 44Ti, as its decay powers the thermal emis-sion of supernova remnants (SNRs) on timescales of years to centuries, and it can, in principle, be used as a diagnostic of the underlying explosion mechanism.

44Ti beta decays to 44Sc and then to 44Ca, emitting first 68 and 78 keV X-rays, and then a 1.157 MeV g-ray, in de-excitations. These can be observed by satellite based observatories, for example, COMPTEL has observed the g-ray line from Cassiopeia-A [6] while BeppoSAX [7] and INTEGRAL [8] observed its X-ray emission. Most recently, a clear excess of X-rays in

the region of 68 to 78 keV has been observed by the INTEGRAL ISIB/ISGRI instrument [9] from supernova 1987a. The amount of 44Ti indicated by the observations, are, especially in the case of SN1987a, in tension with the production predicted in simula-tions of core collapses supernovae. In these environments, 44Ti is thought to be produced in what was, before the gravitational collapse, a silicon layer just above the core, in a process known as alpha-rich freeze out. In simulations it is difficult to eject more than 10–4 M of 44Ti, even assuming a wide range of progenitor models [10–12]. The most recent observation of 1987a suggests at least three times this mass to have been ejected.

Broadly, nuclear physics deter-mines the amount of 44Ti produced, while the dynamics of the explosion determines how much is ejected. Sen-sitivity studies of the nuclear phys-ics [11, 13] identify 44Ti(a, p)47V as the most important reaction, with a Gamow window reaching from 2 to 6 MeV [14]. Existing experimental con-straints come from a single work [15] in which the cross-section was mea-sured at four energies between 5.6 and 9 MeV in the center of mass. To fur-ther constrain the cross-section at low energies a new direct measurement of this reaction has been conducted using inverse kinematics, using the beam described here.

A schematic diagram of the ex-perimental set up is shown in Figure 4. The reaction target was a 2-cm long 4He-filled gas cell at a pressure of 50 Torr. Beam ions reached the tar-get by traversing an entrance window formed of a 12 mm diameter, 5.65- micron thick light-tight aluminum foil. Energy loss of the beam in this window meant the facility-delivered beam energy had to be significantly higher than the energy needed for the reaction being studied. An unwanted

Figure 3. 44TiF3+ beam delivered at 30 kV from ISOLDE in 2012, scheduled as

two consecutive periods from the same unit, and post-accelerated pure 44Ti13+ beam at 2.16 MeV/n delivered from REX-ISOLDE. An integrated 1.2 × 1012 and 8.6 × 1011 ions were delivered over the two periods.



contribution from fusion-evaporation reactions of the beam and entrance window were avoided by using as thin a window as possible, thus minimis-ing the initial beam energy. By design, beam ions were stopped in the exit foil of the gas cell, preventing direct exposure of downstream silicon detec-tors to beam flux, and allowing a more robust 15-micron window to be used. An additional benefit was that stopped ions became located at a well defined position, allowing a high-purity ger-manium detector, placed close by, to observe 1.157 MeV decay gamma rays. Counting of these allows an independent measurement of the ac-crued beam on target to be made.

Protons and alpha particles ema-nating from the gas cell were detected downstream in two “S2” design [16] segmented silicon detectors in a tele-scope configuration (70 micron front detector, 1 mm back detector), allow-ing DE-E particle identification. All heavier ions were stopped in the exit window. To be included in the analysis events were required to deposit equal energy (to within 100 keV) in the front

and back of each detector, and that the location of the event in the DE-detec-tor was spatially aligned with the loca-tion in the E-detector (±3 annular ring and ±1 azimuthal sector).

Figure 5 shows a comparison of DE-E experimental data, providing particle identification, from runs with the gas cell filled to runs with the gas cell opened to the vacuum of the chamber. The gas-in data consist of protons and alpha particles, while, un-surprisingly, the alpha particles are es-sentially absent in the gas-out data set. Analysis of the data has recently been published [17] and has shown that the protons are distributed into two main features, labeled A and B in Figure 5. These are consistent with elastic scat-tering of the beam with hydrogen on

Figure 4. Experimental set up for a direct measurement of the 44Ti(a, p)47V reac-tion at CERN-ISOLDE.

Figure 5. Particle identification spectra for (i) data taken with the gas cell filled with 50 Torr of helium and (ii) the gas cell evacuated. Features A and B are consistent with protons originating from elastic scattering of the 44Ti beam with hydrogen deposits in the inner (A) and outer (B) surfaces if the entrance window. The locus of data labeled C is consistent with alpha particles from elastic scat-tering of the 44Ti beam with helium ions in the gas.



the inner and outer faces of the gas cell entrance window, as may be ex-pected from water or oil deposits on the surfaces. Additionally the number of events in these features is consis-tent with the relative beam exposures for the gas-in and gas-out run periods. The Q-value of –0.41 MeV for the 44Ti(a, p)47V reaction, combined with the altered kinematics for scattering, result in protons from this reaction being expected at slightly higher ener-gies than from other sources. No obvi-ous feature is apparent at the expected energy. Given the measured yield of Rutherford scattered 44Ti(a, a)44Ti events, this already places the cross-section for the 44Ti(a, p)47V reaction below that which is expected at this energy [18]. A reduced destruction of 44Ti by this reaction would result in an increased 44Ti abundance—in agree-ment with the abundances of 44Ti so far observed in SN1987A and Cassi-opeia-A by COMPTEL, Beppo-SAX, and INTEGRAL.

The COMPTEL gamma-ray data also revealed the presence of a pre-viously unknown SNR located in the Vela region [19]. Assuming the dis-tance to be that of a possible optical counterpart at 200 pc, and a “standard” 44Ti yield of 5 × 10–5 solar masses, the suggested age for the remnant was ~700 years. Given the relative prox-imity, and the period in history, it has been noted that it is somewhat surpris-ing that no record of a supernova ex-plosion observation exists. However, if the yield of 44Ti is in fact higher, the implied age is significantly larger, placing with explosion to an earlier period of history from which a record of the event might more easily have been lost or not recorded.

ConclusionState-of-the-art ion beams enable

a wide range of scientific endeavors. However, the continuing desire to open

up new opportunities requires the de-velopment of further new techniques. One such new direction is described here, where long-lived radionuclides produced in neutron spallation studies have been recycled for application in an important nuclear astrophysics sce-nario. About 100 MBq of 44Ti was ex-tracted and separated at the Paul Scher-rer Institute, Switzerland. Inserted to an ion source and transported to CERN, a molecular ion beam was developed from the material, and then accelerated pure at REX-ISOLDE. Impinged upon a helium-filled gas cell, a new study of the 44Ti(a, p)47V reaction was con-ducted. This is a particularly important nuclear reaction to consider in the con-text of gamma-ray observations of su-pernovae. The new study may suggest an increase in the amounts of 44Ti pro-duced in models of the core collapse of massive stars, which would bring them in to closer agreement with recent sat-ellite observations. Other isotopes have also been extracted from highly irradi-ated components at PSI, and applica-tions in nuclear astrophysics and other areas are now possible.

AcknowledgmentsWe gratefully acknowledge the

hard work and support of personnel of the RadWasteAnalytics Group at PSI and the ISOLDE target and ion source development team at CERN. T. Stora thanks in particular L. Penescu for the first tests of TiF3

+ beam production at the offline separator and C. Seiffert for the preparation and support dur-ing the online run while D. Schumann thanks R. Dressler for assistance in the preparation of samples. A. StJ. Mur-phy recognizes funding support of the Science and Technologies Facilities Council (UK).

References 1. D. Schumann, M. Wohlmuther, P.

Kubik, H.-A. Synal, V. Alfimov, G.

Korschinek, G. Rugel, and T. Faester-mann, Radiochim. Acta 97 (3) (2009).

2. R. Dressler, M. Ayranov, D. Bem-merer, M. Bunka, Y. Dai, C. Le-derer, J. Fallis, A. StJ. Murphy, D. Schumann, T. Stora, T. Stowasser, and P. J. Woods. J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys. 39 (2012) 105201.

3. J. J. Thomson, Rays of positive elec-tricity and their application to chemi-cal analysis (Longman’s Green and Company, London, 1913).

4. H. DeWolf Smyth, Atomic Energy for Military Purposes: the Official Report on the Development of the Atomic Bomb under the Auspices of the United States Government, 1940–1945 (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1945).

5. O. Kofoed-Hansen and K. O. Nielsen, Phys. Rev. 82 (1951) 96.

6. A. F. Iyudin, R. Diehl, H. Bloemen, W. Hermsten, G. G. Lichti, D. Morris, J. Ryan, V. Schönfelder H. Steinle, M. Varendorff, C. De Vries, and C. Win-kler, Astron. Astrophys. 284 (1994) L1.

7. J. Vink, J. M. Laming, J. S. Kaastra, J. A. M. Bleeker, H. Bloemen, and U. Oberlack, Ap. J. 560 (2001) L79.

8. M. Renaud, J. Vink, A. Decourchelle, F. Lebrun, P. R. den Hartog, R. Terrier, C. Couvreur, J. Knödlseder, P. Martin, N. Prantzos, A. M. Bykov, and H. Bloemen, Ap. J. 647 (2006) L41.

9. S. A. Grebenev, A. A. Lutovinov, S. S. Tsygankov, and C. Winkler Nature 490 (2012) 373.

10. F. X. Timmes, S. E. Woosley, D. H. Hartmann, and R. D. Hoffman, Ap. J. 464 (1996) 332.

11. G Magkotsios, F. X. Timmes, A. L. Hungerford, C. L. Fryer, P. A. Young, and M. Wiescher, Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 191 (2010) 66.

12. C. Tur, A. Heger, and S. M. Austin, Ap. J. 718 (2010) 357.

13. L. S. The, D. D. Clayton, L. Jin, and B. S. Mayer, Astrophys. J. 504 (1998).

14. R. D. Hoffman, S. A. Sheets, J. T. Burke, N. D. Scielzo, T. Rauscher, E. B. Norman, S. Tumey, T. A. Brown, P. G. Grant, A. M. Hurst, L. Phair, M. A. Stoyer, T. Wooddy, J. L. Fisker, and D. Bleuel, Ap. J. 715 (2010) 1383.



15. A. A. Sonzogni, K. E. Rehm, I. Ah-mad, F. Borasi, D. L. Bowers, F. Brumwell, J. Caggiano, C. N. Davids, J. P. Greene, B. Harss, A. Heinz, D. Henderson, R. V. F. Janssens, C. L. Jiang, G. McMichael, J. Nolen, R. C. Pardo, M. Paul, J. P. Schiffer, R. E. Se-gel, D. Seweryniak, R. H. Siemssen, J. W. Truran, J. Uusitalo, I. Wieden-höver, and B. Zabransky, Phys. Rev. Lett. 84 (2000).

16. Micron Semiconductor Ltd., http://www.micronsemiconductor.co.uk

17. V. Margerin et al. Phys. Lett. B 731 (2014) 358–361.

18. T. Rauscher and F.-K. Thielemann, Stellar Evolution, Stellar Explosions and Galactic Chemical Evolution, edited by A. Mezzacappa (IOP, Bris-tol, 1998), p. 519; Atomic Data Nu-clear Data Tables 75 (2000) 1 and 79 (2001) 47.

19. A. F. Iyudin, V. Schönfelder, K. Ben-nett, H. Bloemen, R. Diehl, W. Herm-sen, G. C. lichti, R. D. van der Meu-len, J. Ryan, and C. Winkler, Nature Letters 396 (1998).

T. SToraCERN, Geneva, Switzerland

a. STJ. Murphy

Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics,

University of Edinburgh, UK

D. SchuMann,Laboratory of Radiochemstry and

Environmental Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute,

Villingen, Switzerland

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meeting reports


The Second Topical Workshop on Modern Aspects in Nuclear Structure (BORMIO-2014) was held in Bormio, Italy, from 19 to 22 February 2014 (Figure 1). It was jointly organized by Università degli Studi di Milano and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (sez. Milano), with local organiz-ers Angela Bracco, Franco Camera, Gianluca Colò, and Silvia Leoni. It was sponsored by Università degli Studi di Milano, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, and by the compa-nies CAEN, AMETEK/ORTEC, and Saint-Gobain.

This 2014 meeting was the second edition of the new series of Topical Workshops that are organized every second year in the month of February in Bormio, by the Nuclear Structure Group of Milano. The aim is to fo-cus, each time, on specific topics that are relevant for the nuclear structure community and related areas. While the first 2012 edition was devoted to “Advances in Nuclear Structure with Arrays including New Scintillator Detectors,” the 2014 edition focused on “Advances in Nuclear Structure at Extreme Conditions,” with a sci-

entific program with highlights from the most recent results from experi-ments with both stable and radioactive beams, their theoretical interpreta-tion and the physics perspectives. An overview of the international facili-ties was given and results from recent campaigns with state of the art detec-tion setups were presented: AGATA at Legnaro/GSI, GRETINA at MSU, ELIOS at Argonne, TIGRESS at TRIUMF, EXOGAM at GANIL/ILL-Grenoble, LAND/R3B at GSI, MINI-BALL at ISOLDE, EURICA, and DALI/DALI2 at RIKEN. In addition,

BORMIO-2014: The Second Topical Workshop on Modern Aspects in Nuclear Structure

Figure 1. Bormio-2014 workshop attendees.

meeting reports


activities in smaller laboratories were also discussed, contributing to under-line the variety and complementarity of the international Nuclear Structure activities around the world.

One-hundred and thirty-four par-ticipants registered for the workshop (20% more than in the fi rst 2012 edition), from 23 different countries within Europe, America, Asia, and Africa and a large fraction (34%) was given by Ph.D. students and post-Doc-toral researchers. The International Advisory Committee proposed 33 in-vited speakers and a total of 72 talks were presented during morning and afternoon sessions.

Being the present and future ion beam facilities a crucial aspect for the progress in nuclear structure physics, the workshop was preceded on 18 February by the open meeting of the SPIRAL2 International Coordination

Committee, organized by Adam Maj (IFJ, Krakow). During this meeting the most recent technical developments were discussed in connection with the construction of detection setups for the SPIRAL2 facility in GANIL, as for example the HpGe array AGATA/EXOGAM, the PARIS scintillator array, the NEDA neutron detector ar-ray, and so on. In addition, on Thurs-day, 20 February an informal open meeting was organized during the afternoon break by Fabiana Gramegna and Alberto Andrighetto (Legnaro National Laboratory, LNL-INFN) in view of the preparation of the Letter of Intent for the Italian SPES radio-active ion beam project at the Legn-aro National Laboratories (https://web.infn.it/spes/), providing the lat-est information and briefl y discuss on the physics content and detector systems.

During the Conference Dinner, on the 22nd, the two best talks of young speakers were rewarded with cash prizes kindly offered by the spon-sor, CAEN. They were assigned to Emanuela Cavallaro (LNS-INFN) and Philipp John (University of Padua and INFN) by an International Award Committee, composed of Maria Borge (CERN-ISOLDE), Alison Bruce (University of Brighton, UK), Maria Kmiecik (IFJ-PAN, Krakow), Marco Locatelli (CAEN, Italy), and Takaharu Otsuka (University of Tokyo, Japan) (Figure 2).

A few days after the end of the meet-ing, all oral presentations were made available on-line at the BORMIO-2014 workshop Web page (http://www.mi.infn.it/WSBormio-Milano2014/), contributing to disseminate the valu-able scientifi c content of the meeting.

The 3rd edition of this series will be held in Bormio in February 2016 and we look forward to welcoming you in 2016 to continue with a similar very lively, enjoyable, and inspiring atmo-sphere, and with the same enthusiasm, succesful response, and high quality scientifi c content that have character-ized the fi rst two editions.

SILVIA LEONI

Università degli Studi di Milano and INFN, Italy

Figure 2. The winners of the CAEN Best Young Speaker Award, Emanuela Cavallaro (LNS) and Philipp John (University of Padua and INFN), with the Award Committee and Angela Bracco, Chair of the Bormio-2014 Workshop.

meeting reports


After two postponements, due to the Eastern Japan Earthquake in 2011 and the radioactive material leak inci-dent at the Hadron Experimental Fa-cility of J-PARC (Japan Proton Accel-erator Research Complex) in 2013, the 2nd International Symposium on Sci-ence at J-PARC was convened in Tsu-kuba, Japan over the period of 12–16 July 2014 (Figure 1). The symposium aims to uniquely bring together scien-tists from a diverse range of research fields, particle and nuclear physics, materials and life sciences, accelera-tor physics as well as target technolo-gies. During the period, more than 800

participants attended the main part of the Symposium and associated events, such as public lectures on 12 July and the workshop on “Progress in Nuclear and Hadron Physics and Accelerator Related Sciences” on 16 July.

The main part of the Symposium featured 13 plenary talks, 124 oral presentations given in 30 parallel ses-sions, and 245 poster presentations. The plenary sessions were held each morning, providing an opportunity for symposium participants to learn about and discuss together the current sta-tus, impending challenges, and future possibilities across the full range of

research and technical projects under-way at J-PARC. The plenary talks pro-vided also a world perspective on these issues via the presentations by inter-national researchers and reports from major facilities around the world. In 30 parallel sessions, including a spe-cial session on Safety at J-PARC, par-ticipants were able to engage in lively discussions and robust debate while hearing about the latest developments and results from facilities around the world. In order to promote communi-cation between participants from dif-ferent areas of expertise and research interest, all posters were displayed in a

Figure 1. Attendees of the 2nd J-PARC Symposium.

2nd International Symposium on Science at J-PARC: Unlocking the Mysteries of Life, Matter, and the Universe

meeting reports


single session and in an open and eas-ily accessible space of the venue. Dis-cussion and interaction were aided by wine and cheese to create a convivial and collegiate atmosphere.

On 16 July, the Shoji Nagamiya Testimonial Workshop was held in recognition of a lifetime of research and his enormous contribution to the realization of the J-PARC project. His colleagues, former students, friends, and family gathered to discuss and celebrate progress in nuclear and had-ron physics and accelerator-related sciences over the past 40 years. The Workshop was an enjoyable and fit-

ting tribute to Professor Nagamiya and an inspiration to the next genera-tion of researchers who are now forg-ing new frontiers in physics on the firm foundation established by Shoji and his contemporaries.

The proceedings of this Sympo-sium will be published as a volume of JPS Conference Proceedings from the Physical Society of Japan in spring 2015. We extend our thanks to all who contributed to making the 2nd J-PARC Symposium an overwhelming success and look forward to hosting the 3rd In-ternational Symposium on Science at J-PARC in 2016. We encourage all our

colleagues and members of the user communities to attend and add to the growing international science profile of J-PARC.

Naohito Saito

J-PARC Center & Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies,

High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK)

YukiNobu kawakita

aNd Yumiko wataNabe

J-PARC Center & Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA)

Nuclear physicists from all over the world convened in Zakopane, Po-land from 31 August until 7 Septem-ber 2014 (Figure 1). The most recent

Zakopane Conference on Nuclear Physics was already the 49th in a long series of meetings, traditionally called the Zakopane Schools. The confer-

ence was organized by The Henryk Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sci-ences (IFJ PAN), Kraków and sup-

Zakopane Conference on Nuclear Physics, “Extremes of the Nuclear Landscape”

Figure 1. Attendees of the Zakopane Conference on Nuclear Physics 2014.

meeting reports


ported by the Committee of Physics and Office of International Relations of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

For over half a century scientists from the two Cracow institutions—the Institute of Physics of the Jagel-lonian University and the Institute of Nuclear Physics—meet regularly in Zakopane, a charming holiday resort at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. The goal of these meetings is to learn about and to discuss the latest issues in nuclear physics. The first Zakopane Schools were initiated by a group of young enthusiasts of physics gath-ered in an Advanced Study Group and were rather limited in number of participants. Over the years the School became a famous worldwide conference. Nowadays, the Zako-pane Conference on Nuclear Physics has the character of a biennial inter-national congress and is one of the major events in Poland related to low energy nuclear physics. Currently, the conference theme is “Extremes of the Nuclear Landscape” and it is a forum for reviewing progress in theory and experiment at the forefront of nuclear research, especially in what concerns the structure of exotic, unstable nu-clei. Furthermore, the conference gives an occasion to discuss the role of modern nuclear physics in under-standing of astrophysical processes and its influence on other disciplines. The aim of the Conference is also to increase the mutual communication of physicists representing various ar-eas of nuclear physics and to create opportunities for intense interaction between graduate students, young re-searchers, and senior scientists.

The 49th Zakopane Conference was attended by over 200 participants rep-resenting 25 countries. In the course of the meeting 42 invited lectures and 62 short seminars were delivered. In addition, 51 posters were presented at a dedicated poster session.

The scientific program was drawn up with a great help of the board of conveners consisting of outstand-ing researchers representing differ-ent domains of nuclear science. The following conveners proposed the invited speakers, selected short semi-nar contributions and organized the respective topical sessions: Dieter Ackermann: “Super-heavy Nuclei,” Angela Bracco: “Collective Excita-tion Modes,” Jolie Cizewski: “Direct Reaction Studies with Radioactive Ion Beams,” Bogdan Fornal: “Shell Structure at the Extremes of Nuclear Landscape,” Sydney Gales: “Beyond Nuclear Physics,” Witold Nazare-wicz: “Nuclear Theory,” Tohru Moto-bayashi: “New Results and Opportu-nities at RIB Facilities,” Berta Rubio: “Beta-decay Studies of Exotic Nu-clei,” John Simpson: “Nuclear Struc-ture at High Spins.”

The conference began by a wel-come address by professor Marek Jeżabek, the director of IFJ PAN, fol-lowed by a key-note talk presented by Bradley Sherrill from Michigan State University who gave an experimen-talist overview of the “Prospects for Exploring the Extremes of the Nuclear Landscape” and presented possibilities for reaching very neutron- and proton-rich nuclei at the next generation facil-ities. During the subsequent six work-ing days the curriculum proceeded with the topical sessions chaired by the conveners. At the “Nuclear Theory” session properties of neutron stars were discussed by Nicolas Chamel from Université Libre de Bruxelles, Stefano Gandolfi from Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Nils Paar from University of Zagreb. Derivation of the nuclear force, the nuclear mean field, and calculations of the structure of very heavy nuclei were subjects of talks delivered by Hans-Werner Ham-mer from TU Darmstadt, Richard Furnstahl from Ohio State University,

Gianluca Colo from University of Mi-lan and INFN, and Anatoli Afanasjev from Mississippi State University. At the “Nuclear Structure at High Spins” session the most recent theoretical and experimental views of very deformed nuclear shapes and the perspectives of further studies of states with very high spin and at large value of isospin were summarized by: Ingemar Ragnarsson from Lund University, Adam Maj from IFJ PAN Kraków, Eddie Paul from University of Liverpool, and Navin Alahari from GANIL. “New Results and Opportunities at Radioactive Ion Beam Facilities” were subjects of nu-merous presentations by: Magdalena Górska from GSI, Peter Doornenbal from RIKEN, Paweł Napiorkowski, from SLCJ Warszawa, Tomohiro Ue-saka from RIKEN, Marek Lewitowicz from GANIL, and Fabiana Gramegna from Legnaro. The lecturers sum-marized novel experimental research programs of the world leading labo-ratories as well as new methods and first results of nuclear spectroscopy with beams of unstable nuclei. Vari-ous aspects of “Collective Excitation Modes” such as Giant and Pygmy Dipole Resonances and GT transi-tion strengths studied via compound nucleus reactions, Coulomb excita-tion, and charge exchange reactions were discussed by Maria Kmiecik from IFJ PAN Kraków, Konstanze Boretzky from GSI Darmstadt, Fabio Crespi from University of Milan, and Remco Zegers from Michigan State University. Theory and experimental issues of “Direct Reaction Studies with Radioactive Ion Beams” were sum-marized by Jolie Cizewski from Rut-gers University, Wilton Catford from University of Surrey, and Kate Jones from University of Tennessee. Produc-tion, chemical separation, and gamma spectroscopy studies of the “Super-heavy Nuclei” were reviewed by Yuri Oganessian from JINR Dubna, Ko-

meeting reports


suke Morita from Kyushu University, Andreas Türler from Paul Scherrer In-stitute, and Dariusz Seweryniak from Argonne National Laboratory. “Shell Structure at the Extremes of Nuclear Landscape,” especially in neutron-rich semi magic nuclei, was discussed by Allan Wuosmaa from University of Connecticut, Robert Janssens from Argonne National Laboratory, and Silvia Leoni from University of Mi-lan. Attendees paid particular atten-tion to “Beta-decay Studies of Exotic Nuclei,” thanks to the talks by Berta Rubio from University of Valencia, Maria Borge from IEM Madrid, Van-dana Nanal from TIFR Mumbai, and Miguel Madurga from CERN Isolde. A variety of subjects summarized un-der the title “Beyond Nuclear Phys-ics” from astrophysics through high energy physics, high power laser in-duced nuclear excitations, and nuclear waste transmutation to nuclear medi-cine were covered in talks of Michel Spiro from CEA Saclay, Sydney Gales and Calin Ur from ELI-NP Bucharest-Magurele, and Sylvain David from

IPN Orsay. The aforementioned pro-gram was supplemented by a series of complementary sessions: “Nuclear Re-actions,” chaired by Krzysztof Rusek from SLCJ Warszawa and started by the talk of Valeriy Zagrebaev from JINR Dubna, “Super-heavy Nuclei and Fission,” chaired by Johann Bar-tel from IPHC Strasbourg, led by the talk of Adam Sobiczewski from NCBJ Warsaw and “Nuclear Struc-ture” chaired by Krzysztof Pomorski from UMCS Lublin, introduced with a talk of Bo Cederwall from KTH Stockholm. The invited talks in all the sessions were complemented with a number of shorter seminars selected from submitted abstracts. An impor-tant event of the conference program was a dedicated poster session that at-tracted great attention from all of the participants.

Before the conference came to its end Aleksander Wolszczan from Penn-sylvania State University presented in his closing talk a very inspiring but worrisome vision of “The astronomi-cal future of humankind.”

Traditionally, the conference was accomplished by a rather intense social program that included short hiking trips to the Tatra Mountains National Park, a conference excur-sion with rafting through the Duna-jec River gorge in the nearby Pieniny Mountains, and a barbeque evening at a regional style inn with live entertain-ment and a presentation of the moun-taineer folklore. At a farewell party, in a special ceremony, colleagues who attended the Conference for the first time joined the circle of the friends of Zakopane Conferences, which by now counts several hundred follow-ers. This large community of nuclear physicists will hopefully meet again at the next Zakopane Conference on Nuclear Physics in August 2016.

Piotr bedNarczYk,wojciech królaS,

and Bartłomiej Szpak

IFJ PAN, Cracow

Fourth Joint Meeting of the Nuclear Physics Divisions of the American Physical Society and the Physical Society of Japan

This five-day meeting took place on the 62 ocean-front acres of the Hil-ton Waikoloa Village on the Big Is-land of Hawaii on 7–11 October 2014 (Figure 1). Hawaii 2014 (HAW14) extended the highly successful series of joint meetings in Hawaii that origi-nated in 2001, and continued in 2005 and 2009. These important meetings serve to foster cooperation, collabora-tion, and the exchange of ideas among nuclear physicists from Japan, the United States, and other Pacific Rim

countries. Further, they provide an unusual opportunity for students from Japan and the United States to meet, interact, and discuss their visions of careers in nuclear physics. HAW14 attracted about 1,150 registrants, of which about the two thirds were from the United States and about one third from Japan.

HAW14 opened on Tuesday, 7 Oc-tober with ten workshops that attracted more than 600 participants. The sub-jects of the workshops spanned the re-

search frontiers across the entire field of nuclear physics and included ap-proximately 120 speakers. On Tuesday evening all conference attendees gath-ered for a welcome reception, where many old friends and colleagues from both countries met.

On Wednesday morning, formal meeting activities began with a ple-nary session that highlighted some im-portant activities and issues of current interest to nuclear physicists in Japan and the United States (Figure 2). The

meeting reports


Figure 1. An overview of the venue. The meeting took place in a building to the left behind tropical trees, while some other buildings can be seen. The mountain in the back is Mt. Mauna Loa, and the Pacifi c Ocean is to the right.

major impact of the highly successful RIKEN-BNL Research Center, a model for international collaboration, was de-scribed by Nicholas Samios. Hiroyoshi Sakurai presented the exciting science being carried out at the world-leading radioactive ion beam facility RIBF in Japan. Robert McKeown provided an overview of the recent discoveries and future prospects in electroweak nuclear physics. Naoto Sekimura, who is a nuclear engineering professor of the University of Tokyo, closed the plenary session with a presentation on the acci-dent report of the Atomic Energy Soci-ety of Japan on the Fukushima Daiichi accident.

The 70 parallel sessions of the HAW14 meeting took place from Wednesday evening through Saturday afternoon. There were 31 mini-sym-posia and 39 contributed sessions at HAW14. The subjects covered all areas of experimental and theoretical nuclear physics. The parallel sessions took place in the morning and evening to al-low the afternoons free for other activi-ties; for instance, community meetings.

The Committee on the Status of Women in Physics and the Physical So-ciety of Japan hosted a standing-room-only panel session on Wednesday afternoon with several speakers from

both countries. This was organized by Sherry Yennello and Atsuko Odawara.

The 17th Annual Conference Expe-rience for Undergraduates (CEU) pro-gram was organized by Warren Rogers and Takashi Nakamura, and the 132 undergraduate participants, including 10 from Japan, presented posters in a very crowded plenary session on Fri-day afternoon.

The HAW14 Luau on Friday eve-ning had more than 600 in attendance.

On Saturday afternoon, representa-tives of universities hosted an informal graduate school information session for interested students attending HAW14. This was well attended.

The program for HAW14 was orga-nized by the DNP/JPS Program Com-mittee under the chairmanship of John Wilkerson. The workshops were orga-nized by Ani Aprahamian and Hiro-kazu Tamura of the HAW14 Organiz-ing Committee. The overall HAW14 conference logistics was the responsi-bility of Complete Conference Coor-dinators, Inc. DNP Treasurer/Secretary Benjamin Gibson played a central role in all aspects of the organization and smooth running of HAW14.

The HAW14 conference was gen-erously supported by relevant com-munities, institutes, and the federal funding agencies in Japan and the United States. We are very pleased that the HAW14 has been very suc-cessful in all respects, and hope that this series of the unique meeting will continue with more success. We ex-press our sincere gratitude to those who have contributed to the organiza-tion of HAW14. Some more details of HAW14 can be found at http://web.mit.edu/lns/hawaii14/.

richard milNerMassachusetts Institute of

Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

takaharu otSukaThe University of Tokyo,

Tokyo, Japan

Figure 2. A scene from the plenary session with about one thousand attendees.

news and views


Good news for the experimental-ists using stable ion beams! A chart of beams is now available online

(http://u.ganil-spiral2.eu/chart-ecos/) (Figure 1).

This chart gathers beam data from eight European infrastructures: ALTO and GANIL in France, GSI in Ger-

many, IFJ and SLCJ in Poland, JYFL in Finland, and LNL and LNS in Italy. The chart is interactive, allowing the user to choose an isotope of interest as well as its energy and its intensity. It is then possible to see which infrastruc-ture produces the chosen beam.

A New Tool to Prepare Experiments with Stable Beams at European Nuclear Physics Facilities

This new tool was realized in the framework of the ECOS work pack-age of the FP7 European Project EN-SAR.

Ketel turzó

GANIL, France

Figure 1. The chart of stable beams as seen online.

in memoriam


The COSY Association of Net-working Universities (CANU et al.) is saddened by the death of their former chairman and honorary chairman Prof. Dr. Theo Mayer-Kuckuk.

Mayer-Kuckuk was born on 10 May 1927 in Rastatt. He studied phys-ics in Heidelberg and completed his doctorate in 1953 with Nobel laure-ate Walther Bothe implementing ex-perimental studies on the nuclear shell model. Until 1959, he worked as a research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics. From 1960 to 1961, he was a research fel-low at the California Institute of Tech-

nology (Caltech) in Pasadena. He then returned to Heidelberg where he completed his Habilitation in 196 2. In winter semester 1963/1964, Mayer-Kuckuk took over the position of interim professor at the Technische Universität München (TUM). From 1965 until his retirement in 1992, he was full professor and director of the Helmholtz-Institut für Strahlen- und Kernphysik of the Rheinische Fried-rich-Wilhelms University Bonn.

Mayer-Kuckuk initiated the con-struction of an isochronous cyclotron in Bonn and proposed the erection of the COSY cooler synchrotron at Forsc-hungszentrum Jülich. He encouraged the internationalization of this mod-ern research instrument and, together with colleagues at Jülich, very suc-cessfully led the project. In 1985, he founded the COSY Association of Networking Universities (CANU). At the same time, he played an active role on national and international commit-tees dedicated to promoting the fi eld of physics. Mayer-Kuckuk worked as a leading expert for physics for the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG, German Physical Society) and was a sought-after adviser for the Fed-

eral Ministry of Education and Re-search (BMBF), as well as an elected member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) and vice-president of the latter from 1984 to 1990.

In 1989, Mayer-Kuckuk was elected president of the DPG. He re-garded the unifi cation of the two phys-ical societies in East and West Ger-many as a historic task and devoted great efforts to restoring the DFG’s venue for scientifi c events in Berlin, the Magnus-Haus, to its former glory.

Mayer-Kuckuk was committed to university teaching. His lectures were the basis for two textbooks on atomic and nuclear physics, which proved very popular with both students and teaching staff.

His students and colleagues will continue to pay tribute to his aca-demic achievements. Prof. Dr. Mayer-Kuckuk will be remembered as a highly respected physicist and will remain indelibly associated with the COSY cooler synchrotron and the Nu-clear Physics Institute at Jülich.

JIM RITMAN

Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH

In Memoriam: Theo Mayer-Kuckuk (1927–2014)

Theo Mayer-Kuckuk

Send your upcoming event details to [email protected] for a free listing in the calendar section as well as on the NuPECC website.

in memoriam


Lowell Bollinger, a pioneer nuclear physics researcher and recipient of the Bonner Prize of the American Physi-cal society, died on 25 September 2014 at the age of 91 in Harpswell, Maine. Bollinger was brought up in India, educated at Oberlin College, spent some time working at the Air-craft Engine Research Laboratory in Cleveland, and then attended Cornell University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1951. His thesis research ad-visor was Giuseppe Cocconi, on one of the earliest underground cosmic ray measurements, observing muons 600-m deep in a salt mine.

Bollinger joined the Physics Divi-sion at Argonne National Laboratory in 1951 and during his long, distin-guished career, played an important role in many areas of nuclear and ac-celerator physics. Developing a fast chopper at the CP5 reactor, he did definitive work on the properties of neutron resonances and their capture widths, and pioneered gamma-ray spectroscopy, establishing systemat-ics in the decay of neutron resonances

and the characteristics of gamma-ray cascades in the de-excitation of com-pound nuclei. He was a delegate at the First Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva in 1955.

In 1963 he became director of the Argonne Physics Division, serving for over a decade. During this time he built up a strong research staff in the Division focused on nuclear phys-ics research—and Argonne remains a major center in nuclear physics to this day. Bollinger stepped down as director of the Division to lead a small group exploring the possible applica-tions of superconductivity to the ac-celeration of beams of nuclei. The re-sult was the first successful utilization of superconducting radio frequency technology for the acceleration of sub-relativistic particles aimed at investi-gations of nuclear structure.

The extremely high “Q” of a super-conducting resonator made phase and frequency control a challenge. One of the major accomplishments of Bol-linger’s group was the development of the combined use of a slow frequency-tuning system and a fast reactance sys-tem, to stabilize against vibrations and achieve the required synchronization of the RF fields to enable precisely controlled acceleration. Another was to develop a multi-stage harmonic buncher to shape the time profile of a dc beam to match the acceleration window of the linac. The hands-on in-volvement of Bollinger in all aspects of the development was crucial. Under his leadership, first a prototype (fund-ing was a patchwork, from a variety of sources), then a fully funded and successful accelerator, ATLAS, were constructed. ATLAS has evolved in its capabilities to become a major in-ternational user facility for nuclear

structure research with about 100 us-ers from outside the United States in the past year.

The pioneering work of Bollinger, Ken Shepard, and their coworkers was followed by a number of other nuclear physics facilities using low-beta RF superconductivity, at Florida State University, Kansas State, SUNY Stony Brook, the University of Wash-ington, and TRIUMF in North Amer-ica, as well as at Saclay (France), JAERI (Japan), the Inter-University Accelerator Center, New Delhi and the Tata Institute, Mumbai (India), and Canberra (Australia). This demonstra-tion of using Superconducting RF technology for accelerating sub-rel-ativistic particles continues to have a major influence on research facilities. It is currently being used in SPIRAL-2 at GANIL and HIE-ISOLDE at CERN and a major new facility for nuclear physics, under construction at Michi-gan State University, FRIB. It is also essential to the high-intensity linac in-jector project at Fermilab, and a num-ber of other proposed projects around the world including EURISOL, RISP (S. Korea), and the HIRF (China).

Bollinger’s citation accompany-ing the 1986 Tom W. Bonner Prize of the American Physical Society reads: “For his contributions to and leader-ship in the development of the super-conducting linear accelerator for the production of high-quality ion beams, a new technology that broadens the base for nuclear structure research.”

Jerry NoleN, richard Pardo, aNd JohN Schiffer

Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, USA

In Memoriam: Lowell Bollinger (1923–2014)

Lowell Bollinger

calendar


2015April 13–17

Saariselkä, Finland. 13th Nordic Meeting on Nuclear Physics

https://www.jyu.fi/fysiikka/en/nmnp2015

May 1–6Casta-Papiernicka, Slovakia.

Isospin, STructure, Reactions and energy Of Symmetry 2015 (ISTROS 2015)

http://istros.sav.sk/

May 11–15Grand Rapids, MI, USA. Inter-

national Conference on Electro-magnetic Isotope Separators and Related Topics (EMIS-2015)

http://frib.msu.edu/EMIS2015

May 12–15Legnaro, Italy. 5th International

Meeting of Union for Compact Ac-celerator-driven Neutron Sources, UCANS-V

https://agenda.infn.it/conferenceDisplay.py?confId=8734

May 18–22Chicago, IL, USA. 21st Inter-

national Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics (FB21)

http://fewbody21.us/

May 18–22York, UK. Nuclear Physics in As-

trophysics NPA VIIhttp://npa7.iopconfs.org/home

May 18–23Oslo, Norway. 5th Workshop on

Nuclear Level Density and Gamma Strength

http://tid.uio.no/workshop2015/

May 18–24Vail, CO, USA. 12th Conference

on the Intersections of Particle and Nuclear Physics (CIPANP2015)

http://cipanp2015.yale.edu/

May 18–25York, UK. Nuclear Physics in As-

trophysics NPA VIIhttp://npa7.iopconfs.org/home

May 25–29Urabandai, Fukushima, Japan.

5th International Conference on the Chemistry and Physics of the Trans-actinide Elements (TAN 15)

http://asrc.jaea.go.jp/conference/TAN15/

May 31–June 5New London, New Hampshire,

USA. Gordon Research Conference on Nuclear Chemistry

https://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?id=11762

June 7–12Hohenroda, Germany. EURO-

RIB2015http://www.gsi.de/eurorib-2015

June 7–13Victoria, BC, Canada. 6th Inter-

national Symposium on Symmetries in Subatomic Physics SSP 2015

http://ssp2015.triumf.ca/

June 8–12Budva, Montenegro. Third Inter-

national Conference on Radiation and Applications in Various Fields of Research (RAD 2015)

http://www.rad-conference.org/

June 14–19Portoroz, Slovenia. Nuclear Struc-

ture and Dynamicshttp://ol.ijs.si/nsd2015/

June 14–20Crete, Greece. 2015 Interna-

tional Conference on Applications of Nuclear Techniques CRETE15

http://www.crete13.org/

June 15–19Varenna, Italy. 14th Interna-

tional Conference on Nuclear Reac-tion Mechanisms

http://www.fluka.org/Varenna2015/

June 21–26Catania, Italy. 12th International

Conference on Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (NN2015)

http://www.lns.infn.it/link/nn2015

June 29–July 3Pisa, Italy. Chiral Dynamics 2015http://agenda.infn.it/event/cd2015

July 20–24Pisa, Italy. 30 years with RIBs

and beyondhttp://exotic2015.df.unipi.it/index_

file/slide0003.htm

July 28–30Liverpool, UK. Reflections on the

atomic nucleus http://ns.ph.liv.ac.uk/

Reflections2015

August 31–September 4Groningen, The Netherlands.

European Nuclear Physics Confer-ence (EuNPC 2015)

http://www.eunpc2015.org/

September 6–13Piaski, Poland. 34th Mazur-

ian Lakes Conference on Physics “Frontiers in Nuclear Physics”

http://www.mazurian.fuw.edu.pl/

September 14–19Kraków, Poland. 5th Interna-

tional Conference on “Collective Motion in Nuclei under Extreme Conditions” (COMEX5)

http://comex5.ifj.edu.pl/

September 27–October 3Kobe, Japan. Quark Matter 2015http://qm2015.riken.jp/

December 1–5Medellín, Colombia. The XI

Latin American Symposium on Nu-clear Physics and Applications

http://www.gfnun.unal.edu.co/LASNPAXI/

More information available in the Calendar of Events on the NuPECC website: http://www.nupecc.org/

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The University of Notre Dame The Jyväskylä Accelerator Laboratory

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Vol. 25 No. 1

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