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

3. Research Infrastructures and Networking
Based on recent cost estimates and the firm commitments
on funding of FAIR Member States, the new
Start Version is comprised of Modules 0 – 1 – 2 – 3, in
the following called the Modularised Start Version. This
Modularised Start Version provides for outstanding and
world-leading research programmes in all four scientific
areas. They will push the frontiers of our knowledge in
hadron, nuclear, atomic and applied physics far ahead,
with important implications also for other fields in science
such as cosmology, astrophysics, particle physics, and
technology. More than 2 500 scientists are involved in setting
up and later exploiting the Modularised Start Version.
It also provides a unique scientific and technological
environment for educating the next generations of students
and preparing them for careers in basic research
and industry. In view of tough international competition,
this is of great importance for all FAIR partners.
Modules 4 - 6 are scientifically highly desirable and
obvious upgrades of the Modularised Start Version, further
strengthening the long-term potential and scientific
viability of FAIR.
The international FAIR Convention was signed on
4/10/10 and the FAIR GmbH established on the same
day.
SPIRAL2 at GANIL, Caen, France
SPIRAL2 is a new European facility to be built at GANIL
laboratory in Caen, France. The project aims at delivering
stable and rare isotope beams with intensities not
yet available with present machines. SPIRAL2 together
with FAIR will reinforce the European leadership in the
field of nuclear physics based on exotic nuclei and as
such was selected for the ESFRI road-map.
The facility: The driver of the SPIRAL2 facility is a high
power, CW, superconducting LINAC, delivering up to
5 mA of deuterons at 40 MeV (200 kW, the highest power
ever delivered by this type of accelerator) directed on a
Carbon converter + Uranium target. Production of the
radioactive nuclear beams is based essentially on the
fast neutron induced fission of the uranium target. The
expected radioactive ion beams intensities in the mass
range between A=60 and A=140, reaching up to 10 10 particles
per second for some species, will be unique in the
world. These unstable beams will be available at energies
ranging between a few keV/nucleon at the DESIR facility
up to 20 MeV/nucleon (up to 9 MeV/nucleon for fission
fragments) at the existing GANIL experimental areas,
which will be enriched by a large number of next generation
detectors such as AGATA, PARIS and EXOGAM2 γ
arrays, GASPARD, HELIOS and FAZIA charged particle
detectors/arrays, NEDA neutron detector or the ACTAR
active target.
The SPIRAL2 LINAC will accelerate also high intensity
(up to 1 mA) heavy ions up to 14.5 MeV/nucleon. They will
be used to enlarge the range of exotic nuclei produced
by the ISOL method towards neutron-deficient nuclei or
very heavy nuclei produced by fusion evaporation, or
towards light neutron rich nuclei via transfer reactions.
The heavy-ion beams will also be used to produce inflight
a large palette of neutron deficient and very heavy
exotic nuclei with the Super Separator Spectrometer
(S3). The high neutron flux produced with the deuteron
beam at the Neutron For Science facility (NFS) will open
up a broad new field of research at GANIL with new
experimental possibilities for applications and reliable
nuclear data evaluation.
Scientific goals: The main goal of SPIRAL2 is to extend
the knowledge of the limit of existence and of the structure
of nuclei towards presently unexplored regions of
the nuclear chart, in particular in the medium and heavy
mass regions. The scientific programme proposes the
investigation of the most challenging nuclear and astrophysics
questions aiming at a deeper understanding of
the nature of matter. It also addresses many different
types of applications of nuclear physics of interest to the
society, such as nuclear energy and medicine, radiobiology
and materials science. This scientific programme,
elaborated by a team of six hundred specialists from all
over the world, will contribute to the physics of nuclei far
from stability, nuclear fission and fusion based on the
collection of unprecedented high precision detailed basic
nuclear data, to the production of rare radioisotopes for
medicine, to radiobiology and to materials science. The
SPIRAL2 project is also an intermediate step and essential
towards the building of EURISOL, the most advanced
nuclear physics research facility presently imaginable in
the world (based on the ISOL principle).
New legal status: The current discussions with international
partner countries would allow them to join
the ongoing construction of the base-line project and
associated detectors as well as the future operation
phase, turning the present GANIL into a fully international
legal entity. Up to now 15 MoUs, European associated
Laboratories (LEA) and International Associated
Laboratories (LIA) agreements have been signed with
major laboratories, institutions and ministries worldwide
(Japan, China, India, US, EU…). The transformation of
GANIL with SPIRAL2 into a fully international facility
is also the main goal of the ongoing EU FP7 SPIRAL2
Preparatory Phase contract (25 partners from 13 countries,
EU contribution of 3,9M€).
Timeline and status: The construction of SPIRAL2 is
expected to last about 7 years (2006-2014) and is separated
into two phases:
1. Linear accelerator with S3 and NFS experimental halls
- commissioning expected in 2012.
42 | Perspectives of Nuclear Physics in Europe – NuPECC Long Range Plan 2010