Perspectives of Nuclear Physics in Europe - European Science ...

3. Research Infrastructures and Networking
and has welcomed recent studies of the possible integration
scenarios of ELENA into the existing complex, which
would minimise the disruption to the ongoing experiments
while also maximising the floor space available
for new experimental beam lines. These scenarios also
provide suffi cient space to allow for possible further
upgrades to ELENA, including in particular the possibility
of a slow extraction. The SPSC has recommended
that the potential for such a future upgrade option be
maintained in the detailed design of ELENA.
In light of the strong support expressed by the SPSC
to the ELENA proposal and its encouragement to proceed
towards a detailed TDR and full funding of the
project, CERN’s Research Board has in a fi rst step
acknowledged the scientific motivation for ELENA; it is
expected that a formal decision on the project will be
arrived at in the course of 2010.
INFN-LNL, Legnaro, Italy
The PIAVE accelerator at INFN-LNL in Legnaro.
LNL is one of the four national facilities funded by INFN
with the mission of providing research infrastructures for
nuclear physics research for Italian and foreign users.
The main research area is on nuclear structure and
reaction dynamics, using heavy ion beams provided
by the 15 MV Tandem and by the ALPI superconductive
LINAC, the latter either coupled to the Tandem or to the
heavy ion injector PIAVE. Applied and interdisciplinary
physics is also an important activity, making use mainly
of beams delivered by the 7 MV CN and 2 MV AN200
accelerators. Nuclear structure and reaction dynamics
studies at bombarding energies close to the Coulomb
barrier are based on dedicated instrumentation developed
during the last years, i.e. large γ arrays, magnetic
spectrometers and particle detector arrays. In nuclear
spectroscopy (for which the first built and extensively
used dedicated apparatus is GASP), investigations are
being performed on high spin physics, nuclear structure
at finite temperature, symmetry properties of nuclei, shell
stabilisation and quenching, both at the proton rich and
neutron rich side of the nuclear chart. The study of reaction
mechanisms are focused on near and sub-barrier
fusion reactions, elastic, inelastic and multinucleon transfer,
break-up processes, nuclear temperature studies at
low bombarding energies. Multi-nucleon transfer and
deep inelastic reactions are employed to investigate the
properties of neutron rich nuclei using stable beams. This
is achieved by coupling the large solid angle magnetic
spectrometer PRISMA to arrays for γ spectroscopy. In
this connection, the large γ array CLARA was used first;
it has recently been replaced by the AGATA demonstrator.
Via γ-particle coincidences new measurements were
performed providing information on excited states of
neutron rich nuclei, including in many cases their lifetimes.
These studies are probing effective interactions
and the collective and single particle properties of nuclear
systems by varying proton and neutron numbers. With
the AGATA demonstrator, a wide physics programme is
pursued, involving a large user community from Europe
and other parts of the world. The AGATA experimental
campaign at LNL will pave the way to future work at
radioactive ion beams facilities.
In connection with the study of nuclei at finite temperature
of the onset of multifragmentation (mostly
performed with the GARFIELD setup), there is also an
intense R&D activity related to the construction of new
detector arrays. In particular, within the FAZIA initiative,
every effort is made to improve the mass and charge
resolutions of silicon detectors through the study of
channeling effects.
With the long-term goal to study parity non-conservation
effects in heavy alkalis and finding possible
deviations from standard model predictions, a research
programme is being carried out to produce, via fusion
evaporation reactions, Fr isotopes, which are extracted
and delivered to a magneto-optical trap. Carrying out
measurements on a chain of isotopes and improving the
efficiency of the optical atom trap are the main aims prior
to performing precision parity test measurements.
At the smaller LNL accelerators, nuclear techniques
as for instance high-precision analysis and characterization
of materials via Rutherford backscattering or PIXE,
are presently used and will be further improved in the
forthcoming years. The research performed at LNL on
radio-biological effects is important also for its applications
in the study of cellular and molecular responses
to radiation. Increasing effort is being made regarding
tumour radiation therapy using neutrons, protons and
light ions. Studies are in progress to develop ad hoc mini
detectors with possible applications for Boron Neutron
Capture Therapy.
36 | Perspectives of Nuclear Physics in Europe – NuPECC Long Range Plan 2010