MRI: Acquisition of a Helium Ion Source Upgrade for the Edwards Accelerator Laboratory at Ohio University

MRI：俄亥俄大学爱德华兹加速器实验室升级氦离子源

• 批准号: 1827893
• 负责人: Zach Meisel
• 金额: $ 18.7万
• 依托单位: Ohio University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-01 至 2020-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1827893&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; Helium; Ion; Source

Intense beams of atomic nuclei are essential for studies in fundamental and applied research. These ion beams can be used to reproduce and study the nuclear reactions occurring in stars and stellar explosions, characterize nuclear reactions of interest for nuclear energy and national security, and assist in the development of novel materials via ion beam analysis. Such experiments are performed at the Edwards Accelerator Laboratory (EAL) at Ohio University, where helium nuclei play a particularly important role as helium-induced nuclear reactions are ubiquitous in nature and applications. This award provides the funds to acquire an upgrade to the EAL's helium ion source which will substantially increase operational reliability and will greatly expand measurement capabilities.The EAL is a low energy nuclear physics facility with world-unique research capabilities. Experiments in the laboratory rely on light-ion beams accelerated by a 4.5 MV Pelletron, where beams are used at various target stations for charged-particle, gamma-ray, and neutron spectroscopy. This award supports the acquisition of an RF charge-exchange ion source, known as the Alphatross, from the National Electrostatics Corporation. The Alphatross provides a factor of eight improvement compared to currently achievable helium beam intensities and a factor of two reduction in gas consumption. This will enable several important measurements to be performed that were previously out of reach due to limited intensities or excessive helium-3 costs. The anticipated improvement in ion source reliability would provide additional benefits, such as more efficient operations for collaborators visiting from external institutions, a more consistent experience for the many undergraduate and graduate students who are trained on the accelerator, and increased throughput of experiments.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

原子核的强束对于基础研究和应用研究是必不可少的。这些离子束可用于再现和研究恒星和恒星爆炸中发生的核反应，表征核能和国家安全感兴趣的核反应，并通过离子束分析协助开发新材料。这些实验在俄亥俄州大学的爱德华兹加速器实验室（EAL）进行，氦核在其中扮演着特别重要的角色，因为氦诱导的核反应在自然界和应用中无处不在。该奖项提供资金用于升级EAL的氦离子源，这将大幅提高运行可靠性并大大扩展测量能力。EAL是一座具有世界独特研究能力的低能核物理设施。实验室中的实验依赖于由4.5 MV Pelletron加速的轻离子束，其中束用于带电粒子，伽马射线和中子光谱学的各种目标站。该奖项支持从国家静电公司收购射频电荷交换离子源，称为Alphatross。与目前可实现的氦束强度相比，Alphatross提供了8倍的改进，并减少了2倍的气体消耗。这将使几个重要的测量能够进行，以前由于有限的强度或过高的氦-3成本而无法实现。离子源可靠性的预期改善将提供额外的好处，例如来自外部机构的合作者的更有效的操作，许多接受加速器培训的本科生和研究生的更一致的体验，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值进行评估，被认为值得支持和更广泛的影响审查标准。