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

3. Research Infrastructures and Networking
Artist’s view of the European Spallation Source, ESSS, in Lund,
Sweden.
tinuous spallation source at the Paul Scherrer Institute
(PSI) in Villigen, Switzerland, where also a separate cold
neutron source is available, the research reactor FRM
II in Munich, Germany, as well as a number of smaller
reactors such as TRIGA systems at universities. CERN
operates the nTOF facility mainly for nuclear science.
Spallation sources have the advantage that they can
also provide muons, which enrich the possibilities to
perform condensed matter research with complementary
methods at one site and which, in principle, offer novel
possibilities such as combining muons with produced
radioactive isotopes to form radioactive muonic atoms,
where muonic x-rays may be used to derive nuclear
parameters.
Recently, the European Research Ministers have
decided to build jointly the ESFRI recommended
European Spallation Source Scandinavia (ESSS) in Lund.
Although the site has been decided, the machine concept
is still open. A multi MW proton beam will put the
facility in direct competition with the American Spallation
Neutron Source in Oak Ridge, USA. The options in Lund
are long or short pulses, where the long-pulse option
reduces the demands on the targets and the short-pulse
scenario would be more attractive for fundamental physics.
Presently the design options are being fixed and it
depends on the potential user community whether they
want to push for ultra cold muon stations, radioactive
isotope ports and muon beams.
3.1.4 Smaller-Scale Facilities
The European Large-Scale Facilities presented above
have been, and will be, of primary impact on nuclear
physics. Nonetheless, the contribution of Smaller-Scale
Facilities (SSFs) to almost all domains of nuclear physics,
and its applications, continues to be of great importance
as pointed out in various chapters of this Long Range
Plan. These Smaller-Scale Facilities, whether national
or regional, usually carry out a diverse research programme
in nuclear science and its applications and
are often strongly supported by national funding agencies,
because of their important role in education and
because novel technologies and methodologies are
being developed there to the benefit of the respective
countries.
The smaller-scale facilities in Europe comprise a large
set of installations, offering the European nuclear physics
community a large variety of stable beams, an impressive
number of unique instrumentation and the possibility to
carry out forefront research using those beams and various
experimental methods. A list of the most important
European smaller-scale facilities is given in the table
below, together with the accelerator specifications.
A number of the facilities listed in the table below
carry out activities devoted to both basic and applied
nuclear research. Most of the basic research carried out
at facilities providing ions at low energies is related to
nuclear structure and reaction, and nuclear astrophysics
problems. Usually the working environment at these facilities
allows developing novel experimental methods and
techniques and to perform measurements well integrated
in the scientific scope of the large-scale facilities. This
particularly applies to: 1) the Maier- Leibnitz- Laboratory,
GARCHING, 2) the Institute für Kernphysik, Universität
KÖLN, 3) the IFIN-HH at BUCHAREST, 4) the Institute of
Nuclear Research, ATOMKI, DEBRECEN, 5) the SAFE,
OSLO Cyclotron Laboratory, 6) the Nuclear Physics
Institute, NPI, REZ near PRAGUE, 7) the Heavy Ion
Laboratory, HIL, University of WARSAW, 8) the Rudjer
Boskovic Institute, RBI, ZAGREB, and 9) Demokritos
(NCSRD), ATHENS. The latter has also a facility producing
mono-energetic neutrons (with energies up to
14.5 MeV) with fluences ranging from 5x10 5 to 10 7 for
astrophysics experiments and applications.
With electrons and photons, very remarkable results
are obtained when specific aspects of nuclear structure
are investigated that correspond to nucleon configurations
preferably accessed by photon beams. This applies
to the research performed at the Institutes for Nuclear
Physics at the Technical Universities in DARMSTADT
and DRESDEN, and the Forschungszentrum Dresden,
FZD.
38 | Perspectives of Nuclear Physics in Europe – NuPECC Long Range Plan 2010