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

ENSAR
The FP7 Integrating Activity on European Nuclear Science
and Applications Research, ENSAR, builds on the rich
experience and successes of the previous Integrated
Infrastructure Initiative EURONS (EUROpean Nuclear
Structure) in FP6. ENSAR is the integrating activity of
those European nuclear scientists that perform research
in three of the major subfields of nuclear physics: Nuclear
Structure, Nuclear Astrophysics and Applications of
Nuclear Science. It provides funding for Transnational
Access to European facilities, for new developments
within Joint research Activities and for Networking
Activities, all with the common aim of enhancing the
capabilities of the participating infrastructures.
Transnational Access
The core aim of ENSAR is, similar to EURONS, to provide
access to seven of the complementary world-class largescale
facilities: GANIL (F), GSI (D), jointly to INFN LNL and
LNS (I), JYFL (FI), KVI (NL), CERN-ISOLDE (CH) and ALTO
(F). These facilities provide stable and radioactive ion
beams of excellent quality ranging in energy from tens of
keV/u to a few GeV/u. The stable ion beams range from
protons to uranium. Radioactive ion beams are produced
using the two complementary methods of in-flight fragmentation
(IFF) and isotope separation on line (ISOL), so
that several hundred isotopes are available to the user.
The different species of ion beams and energies allow
addressing different aspects of nuclear structure, nuclear
astrophysics and of multidisciplinary and application
oriented research. These activities ensure a high-level
of socioeconomic impact.
Networking Activities
The six network activities of ENSAR have been set-up
with specific actions to strengthen the communities’
coherence regarding particular research topics, to pool
resources and to provide instruction courses to users,
to foster future cooperation towards achieving new
projects (high-intensity stable beams and EURISOL).
They promote foresight studies for new instrumentation
and methods, stimulate complementarity, ensure
a broad dissemination of results and stimulate multidisciplinary
and application-oriented research at the
research infrastructures.
Joint Research Activities
To enhance access to these facilities, the community has
defined seven JRAs dealing with novel and innovative
technologies to improve the operation of the facilities.
They are in general relevant to more than one facility and
rely on the strong participation of the European university
groups. These activities involve all facets of operation
of an accelerator facility starting with the improvement
of ECR ion sources to increase the beam intensity and
energy and of ISOL target technology. These activities
are supplemented by an activity to improve the lowenergy
beam preparation and manipulation of radioactive
ion beams (RIBs). Experimenting at Nuclear Physics
facilities requires development of new detection materials
and detection systems, general platforms for both
simulations of current and future detector set-ups and
the development of modern theoretical tools for describing
and interpreting experimental results. These aspects
are tackled by three specific JRAs. In addition, a key
JRA aims at integrating the laboratories in Central and
South-Eastern European countries into the European
landscape by developing novel technologies and methodologies
that could be used both at these laboratories
and elsewhere in Europe. These developments will give a
strong impetus to these emerging laboratories and their
communities and enhance their external use. Particular
importance is attributed to research work that might lead
to multidisciplinary or industrial applications.
SPIRIT
SPIRIT is an Integrating Activity funded by the European
Commission in Framework Programme 7. SPIRIT integrates
11 leading ion beam facilities from 6 European
Member States and 2 Associated States. Seven partners
provide Transnational Access to their facilities. Various
types of ions are supplied in an energy range from below
10 keV to more than 100 MeV for modification and analysis
of solid surfaces, interfaces, thin films and soft matter,
in particular on the nanometre scale. The techniques
cover materials, biomedical and environmental research
and technology, and are complementary to the existing
synchrotron and neutron radiation networks. The partners
offer highly complementary equipment and areas
of specialisation.
SPIRIT increases user access and the quality of
research by sharing best practice, balancing supply
and demand, harmonising procedures and extending
the services into new emerging fields and to new users
especially from the New Member States and industry.
An independent European user selection panel examines
proposals for Transnational Access applying a common
SPIRIT procedure. SPIRIT’s Networking Activities
include the development of common standards for
quality assessment; training and consultancy for user
researchers and foresight studies.
Joint Research Activities promote emerging fields
such as targeted single ion implantation for irradiation
of living cells; ion-beam based analysis with ultra-high
depth resolution; ion-based 3-D tomography, and chemical
and molecular imaging. Joint efforts are also made
to improve the systems for detection of ion-induced
secondary radiation and the associated software and
to develop means to reduce sample deterioration by the
analysing ion beam.
Perspectives of Nuclear Physics in Europe – NuPECC Long Range Plan 2010 | 55