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J-PARC Project Newsletter
_______ No.29 , July 2007_______
Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex under construction jointly
by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and
the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK)
http://j-parc.jp/index-e.html
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HEADLINES AND CONTENTS
1. <<Overview>>
THE THIRD REVIEW ON J-PARC BY THE GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE FINISHED.
USERS CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE AND J-PARC COUNCIL MEETINGS.
BUDGET REQUEST FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
COMPLETION OF TWO EXPERIMENTAL HALLS
2. <<Accelerator Group>>
THE BEAM COMMISSIONING OF THE RCS IS COMING SOON.
THE LINAC IS READY TO INJECT, WHILE THE RCS IS TRYING TO SOLVE THE
ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY ISSUE WITH ALL THE ACTIVE
ELEMENTS.
3. <<Control Group>>
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT IS BEING FOCUSED.
THE INTEGRATED TIMING SYSTEM WITH THE LINAC AND THE RCS HAS BEEN
COMPLETED.
4. <<Nuclear and Particle Physics Group>>
CONSTRUCTION OF REMAINING NEUTRINO FACILITY HAS BEEN STARTED
TEST OF TWO NEUTRINO HORNS HAS STARTED
HADRON EXPERIMENTAL HALL IS COMPLETED
5. << Exotic Nuclear Science Group >>
DIRECT MEASUREMENT OF THE ASTROPHYSICAL 8Li(d, t)7Li REACTION
REVEALED UNEXPECTEDLY LARGE REACTION CROSS SECTIONS.
A NEW GAS COUNTER FOR REACTION STUDIES WITH INTENSE RADIOACTIVE
NUCLEAR BEAMS (RNBs) HAS BEEN DEVELOPED.
6. <<Materials & Life Science Division (Neutron Facility) >>
ON APRIL 20, 2007, THE MATERIALS & LIFE SCIENCE EXPERIMENTAL FACILITY
( MLF ) BUILDING WAS COMPLETED IN ITS CONSTRUCTION.
7. <<Muon Science Group>>
INSTALLATION OF THE M2 LINE PILLOWSEAL ASSEMBLIES,
AND FUTA IRON SHIELD PLATES WERE COMPLETED
8. <<Nuclear Transmutation Group>>
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION WITH EUROPEAN PROJECT “EUROTRANS”
HAS BEEN LAUNCHED
9. <<Radiation Safety Group>>
THE LICENSE FOR THE 3GeV SYNCHROTRON WAS ISSUED BY MEXT
10. <<Announcement of Symposia and Meetings>>
11. <<Editorial Note>>
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1. <<Overview>> By Shoji NAGAMIYA
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THE THIRD REVIEW ON J-PARC BY THE GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE FINISHED.
A long review on the J-PARC by the Government Committee is
over. It started in early December and ended in the middle of June.
The final report was published recently.
The Committee held nine meetings plus a site tour. The following
are the major conclusions and recommendations:
1) The project is moving well, including the recent success of beam
acceleration in the Linac.
2) Linac energy recovery to 400 MeV must be started from the next
fiscal year.
3) Priority setting is required for the Phase 2 program. Concerning
the Phase 2 program on nuclear transmutation, reviews by the Atomic
Energy Commission will be needed.
4) An important milestone has been achieved for the operation of the
J-PARC by creating the J-PARC Center. After a few years of the
operation of the J-PARC, however, another review is needed to
investigate if a further improvement of the system is needed to
operate the J-PARC.
5) It is appropriate to set the beam-time charge free for those
scientific programs that are open to public. For a profit-oriented
work an appropriate beam-time fee has to be charged.
6) For any proposals to use the beams, the proposed mechanism to
collect and evaluate all proposals at the J-PARC Center is
appropriate.
7) The usage of the J-PARC by industries must be encouraged.
Mechanisms of how to encourage this usage, such as an invention of
a trial use of the J-PARC, must be developed at the J-PARC Center.
Employment of the coordinators to support industrial usage must be
considered.
8) The Committee understood the reason why a high operational cost
is needed to operate J-PARC. Further efforts in the cost reduction
are, however, still needed.
9) It is important to open the J-PARC facility to international users.
For the usage of the J-PARC by non-Japanese users, the
establishment of a user support system at the international level
is needed urgently. Also, reasonable living conditions for
non-Japanese users must be arranged soon by consulting local
village and local government.
10) The Committee desires that the J-PARC become the world center in
neutron science and particle and nuclear physics. Naturally, the
international branch of public relations must be established.
The J-PARC Center received seriously all recommendations and
comments described above. We will soon create action items and propose
them to appropriate committees and agencies.
USERS CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE AND J-PARC COUNCIL MEETINGS.
Immediately after the above recommendations were published, the
Users Consultative Committee meeting was held on June 18 and,
subsequently, the J-PARC Council Meeting on June 27. At the Users
Council meeting the J-PARC Center asked this Committee to start to
consider the Phase 2 project, in particular, setting priorities among
the Phase 2 programs. Also, we plan to ask this Committee to review
the status of our preparation work for the commissioning of the J-PARC
to user communities.
BUDGET REQUEST FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
Fiscal year of 2008 is an important year for us. The construction
of J-PARC Phase 1 will be completed during this fiscal year.
Significant operational money is also needed for this fiscal year. In
addition, the energy recovery for the Linac must be initiated from
JFY2008. Budget request from the J-PARC was first reviewed by both KEK
and JAEA and, then, it was discussed at the J-PARC Council. Finally,
the proposal was explained at the Ministry of Education, etc. and
Technology (MEXT), which is our funding agency. The budget request
will be reviewed within the MEXT soon before the submission to the
Ministry of Finance.
COMPLETION OF TWO EXPERIMENTAL HALLS
Two experimental halls were recently completed, the Materials and
Life Science Experimental Hall and the Hadron Experimental Hall. The only
remaining construction, which is underway, is the Neutrino
Beam Line.
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2. <<Accelerator Group>> by Yoshishige YAMAZAKI
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THE BEAM COMMISSIONING OF THE RCS IS COMING SOON.
THE LINAC IS READY TO INJECT, WHILE THE RCS IS TRYING TO SOLVE THE
ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY ISSUE WITH ALL THE ACTIVE
ELEMENTS.
It is our plan to start the beam commissioning of the 3-GeV
Rapid-Cycling Synchrotron ( RCS ) on September 19th. On June 29th, the
final beam test of the linac was finished to be ready for injecting the
beam to the RCS. The linac can inject many kinds of the beams to study
the beam characteristics of the RCS. In the RCS, all the magnets, all
the RF components, all the injection components have been installed
except for some septum magnets and steering magnet power supplies.
All the bending magnets, all the quadrupole magnets, the kickers and
the bumps have been powered to the 181-MeV injection and the 3-GeV
acceleration at a repetition rate of 25 Hz. The main issue which is being
solved is that of electromagnetic compatibility through the grounding.
In particular, the noise from the pulsing magnets on the beam position
monitor signals should be reduced far down below the signal level,
which is very low at the beginning stage of the beam commissioning.
The vacuum evacuation is ongoing section to section. The magnetic
field mapping of the septum magnets is at the final stage. Afterwards
they will be installed in the tunnel. The manufacturing of the power
supplies for the steering magnets will be a little late. Our staff is
at the factory where the power supplies are under fabrication. The
system test of the RCS will start in August with everything there.
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3. <<Control Group>> by Noboru YAMAMOTO
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SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT IS BEING FOCUSED.
THE INTEGRATED TIMING SYSTEM WITH THE LINAC AND THE RCS HAS BEEN
COMPLETED.
For the LINAC beam operations, many pieces of software based on
XAL/JCE were improved and newly developed, where XAL and JCE are a
Java class hierarchy representing an accelerator developed at SNS and
the J-PARC Commissioning Environment, respectively. The JCE, which
is developed by J-PARC, is the software development environment built
on top of XAL. A program to scan the RF phase of a cavity is one of them.
It automatically scans the RF phase of a designated klystron and
measures the beam energy by means of the time-of-flight method with two
FCTs ( fast current transformers ) nearby downstream of the
corresponding cavity. Then the software analyzes scanned data to find
optimized operating points. It is an important step toward automation
of the accelerator operation.
A timing system in the J-PARC realizes synchronization for the
equipment of three accelerators and four experimental facilities. As
for the LINAC part, the timing system has been working since the start
of LINAC commissioning in last November without major problems.
Recently, the RCS ( 3GeV Rapid Cycling Synchrotron ) timing system has
been connected with the LINAC timing system toward the start of beam
commissioning of the RCS in this autumn. The integrated system was
confirmed to work well as expected.
Software development for J-PARC MR ( 50GeV Main Ring ) is well in
progress including the device support programs for a function
generator, a real-time spectrum analyzer, an arbitrary wave form
generator, and others. These devices are equipped with GP-IB interface
or VXI-11 ( you may think of it as the Ethernet version of GP-IB ). The GDL
( GP-IB device Description Language ) tool from the KEKB project makes it
possible to develop device support software for these types of devices
quickly.
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4. <<Nuclear and Particle Physics Group>> by T.Tsukamoto and J.Imazato
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CONSTRUCTION OF REMAINING NEUTRINO FACILITY HAS BEEN STARTED
The Target Station (TS) construction is going on for installation
of the Helium vessel in August. Construction of the remaining neutrino
facility has been just started. Subsurface investigation for the down
stream half of the Decay Volume (DV) and the Neutrino Monitor (NM)
facility was carried out in the middle of June, and then preparation
for civil engineering is going on.
TEST OF TWO NEUTRINO HORNS HAS STARTED
The 3rd neutrino horn was delivered in March and a re-arrangement
of the test setup was done for the test with the 1st and 3rd horns connected
in series, which is the same configuration as in the TS. The test has been
started in June by 320kA pulse peak current which is same as for the
1st horn test. It will continue in this summer and then the test with
the real support frame and remote services will be done.
HADRON EXPERIMENTAL HALL IS COMPLETED
The Hadron Hall for the slow extraction beam experiments was
completed on June 29 and handed over to the particle and nuclear
physics division from the KEK construction department. The 60 m wide
and 56 m long hall is now connected to the switchyard which had
already been equipped with beamline magnets and is ready for the
installation of the primary A line. The target station T1, the
downstream collimator, and the beam dump are the developed high-power
components and also wait for installation. The primary line is
shielded by 10-m high 6~8-m thick concrete walls embedded partially
with iron blocks. The secondary lines of K1.8, K1.1 and KL will be
installed using the three slots cut beforehand in the walls. The first
proton beam delivery is planned in December '08 to the first
experiment at the Day-1 secondary beamline of K1.8BR.
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5. << Exotic Nuclear Science Group >> by Hiroari MIYATAKE
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DIRECT MEASUREMENT OF THE ASTROPHYSICAL 8Li(d, t)7Li REACTION
REVEALED UNEXPECTEDLY LARGE REACTION CROSS SECTIONS.
The nuclear reactions involving 8Li are thought to play important
roles for nucleosynthesis at an early stage of r-process and the
early universe. The excitation function of the 8Li(d, t) reaction has been
measured using a 8Li beam from TRIAC and the analysis has been
completed, so far. Unexpectedly large cross sections observed around
Ecm = 0.8 MeV result in roughly a ten times larger reaction rate than
the previous one. The abundance of elements heavier than lithium are now
studied based on this result with various models of the early universe.
A NEW GAS COUNTER FOR REACTION STUDIES WITH INTENSE RADIOACTIVE
NUCLEAR BEAMS (RNBs) HAS BEEN DEVELOPED.
A three dimensional position sensitive gas counter, GEM-MSTPC
( gas electron multiplier - multiple sampling and tracking
proportional chamber), has been developed under the collaboration of
the Osaka Electro-Communication University. A heavy-ion reaction with
RNB and counter gas can be detected with almost 100% efficiency, when
the RNB injects directly into this counter. The acceptable injection
rate will be increased up to 106 pps being 100 times higher than the
one at the previous MSTPC, since the segmented proportional wires
in the old MSTPC are replaced by GEM foils. An off-line test is in
progress at KEK.
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6. << Materials & Life Science Division (Neutron Facility) >>
by Yujiro
IKEDA
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ON APRIL 20, 2007, THE MATERIALS & LIFE SCIENCE EXPERIMENTAL FACILITY
( MLF ) BUILDING WAS COMPLETED IN ITS CONSTRUCTION.
In the proton beam transfer line from the 3-GeV synchrotron to
the materials and life science facility (MLF), accurate alignments
for all the magnets have been progressed by 50% to finalize
their installation positions. Shield blocks are being installed at the
ceiling parts of the proton-beam line tunnel in the MLF building,
which is the final installation work for the neutron source facility
construction. Mercury, volume of 1.5 m^3, was fed in the target
system and off-beam commissioning tests concerning mercury target
treatments and a handling of the moderator system are in progress. A
series of off-beam commissioning tests will be completed by the end of
FY 2007.
We successfully made contracts with companies to construct
Multi-disk Chopper Instrument, AMATERAS, synonym of Japanese god of
sun, and Engineering Diffractometer( stress analysis diffractometer ),
TAKUMI, synonym of craftsman. In order to reduce their construction
costs, we broke the specification into more than 20 key components,
such as shielding, guides, vacuum tank, detectors, data acquisition
electronics, framework software, data analysis software, sample
environment equipments etc. and made them into individual bits. Since
the beginning of JFY2007 in April very active real construction works
have been started with companies. Extended building constructions for
TAKUMI and Super High Resolution Powder Diffractometer, which has a
100m flight-path, have been started and are scheduled to be finished at
the end of this year. Construction for the Ibaraki Prefecture
instruments, Versatile Powder Diffractometer and Bio-molecule
Diffractometer are almost on schedule to be ready by the end of this
fiscal year, except for scintillation detector system for Bio-molecule
Diffractometer. We are developing a wave-shifting fiber
2D-scintillation detector system for it. Quite recently NEDO ( New
Energy Development Organization of the Ministry of Economy and
Industry ) has decided to provide construction costs for the Versatile
Total Scattering Diffractometer to study hydrogen storage materials
and fuel cells materials, and also the University of Tokyo has been
awarded a MEXT grant to construct high pressure equipment for neutron
scattering in J-PARC. Those will be constructed in two to three years.
A power capacitor bank for pulsed high field magnets has been
transferred and installed in the MLF experimental hall by Tohoku
University. They are aiming at producing more than 60T pulsed field
for neutron scattering. A Ni/Ti supermirror with a critical angle of
m = 6 and with a large area of 40cm x 10cm has been successfully deposited
using large-scale ion-beam instruments on a glass substrate for
neutron focusing devices.
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7. << Muon Science Group>> by Yasuhiro Miyake
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INSTALLATION OF THE M2 LINE PILLOWSEAL ASSEMBLIES,
AND FUTA IRON SHIELD PLATES WERE COMPLETED
We have been developing a KEK Muon model pillow seal for the
vacuum connection of the proton beam lines in the M2 line.
This allows us remote handling installation of beam-line components
from the maintenance area at 4m above the floor level . The
pillow is actuated by compressed air, achieving good vacuum by
additional differential pumping between the contact gap and enabling
smooth and precise remote installation by using pantograph mechanism
with guide rails and positioning pins. We have just completed
installation of 21 pillow seal assemblies ( 20 with 250 mm diameter,
and one with 360 mm ) of a set of gate valve assembly and two sets of
profile monitor chambers. At the moment, we have achieved a vacuum of
3*10^-4 Pa without any significant leaks in the M2 line. Also we have
just completed installation of iron-plate shields, so called "FUTA",
all over the M2 line at 2.5m above the beamline ( at 4m above the
floor line).
The FUTA plates consist of 50 iron plates with a thickness of
190 mm (eg. 450mm x 420 mm), about 100 plates with a thickness of
100mm ( eg. 3000mm x 230 mm), and 13 plates with a thickness of
210 mm( eg. 1000 mm x 1770 mm). Those plates were placed not only for
the purpose of shielding radiation toward the ceiling, but also for
the purpose of fixing the magnets and guide shields in place.
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8.<<Nuclear Transmutation Group >> By Hiroyuki Oigawa
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INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION WITH EUROPEAN PROJECT “EUROTRANS”
HAS BEEN LAUNCHED
International Collaboration with European Project for the R&D of
the Accelerator-Driven System ( ADS ), called “ EUROTRANS ”, started
recently by joining into the Consortium Agreement of EUROTRANS. The
collaboration covers a wide range of areas such as the design study of
ADS, the simulation experiment of ADS, the nuclear fuel for
transmutation of long-lived radioactive wastes, the materials and
technologies for lead-bismuth eutectic ( LBE ) as a spallation target
and subcritical reactor coolant, and the nuclear data for
transmutation. This collaboration is expected to be a basis to
establish an international roadmap for the ADS including the
Transmutation Experimental Facility in Phase-II of J-PARC.
As for the development of the LBE spallation target, the
post-irradiation test for specimens irradiated in SINQ Target-4 is
underway. Microstructure was observed for austenitic steel specimens
irradiated up to 20 DPA. Tiny He bubbles, whose size was a couple of
nanometers, were observed. Bubbles density investigation will give us
a value of void swelling, which is one of the design parameters for
the beam window of the spallation target.
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9. <<Radiation Safety Group>> by Taichi MIURA and Hiroshi NAKASHIMA
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THE LICENSE FOR THE 3GeV SYNCHROTRON WAS ISSUED BY MEXT
The license for the 3GeV synchrotron ( RCS ) was issued on
June 28, 2007, by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science
and Technology ( MEXT ). Together with this license, other
applications: the acceleration power increase in the LINAC and its
injection into the 3GeV RCS, the radiation controlled areas for
radioactive materials in the muon, hadron, and neutrino beam line
facilities, were also granted. Before accelerating beam in the 3GeV
RCS, an inspection by the Nuclear Safety Technology Center ( NUSTEC )
is compulsory: in the first inspection, items written in the
application ( shielding, radiation markings, fence, control system,
etc ) will be examined. Then the 3GeV RCS can be operated to achieve
about several tens percent of the beam power proposed in the application
to take the second inspection during the operation. Through these
processes the 3GeV RCS will receive the license for the formal
operation. The applications for the operation of the 50 GeV
synchrotron ( MR ) and the Materials and Life Science Facility ( MLF )
have been prepared to submit to MEXT in August. Several hearings were
held at the Ibaraki Prefecture Government and MEXT in the last two
months. On July 30, the Safety Deliberative Committee on Radiation
Safety of J-PARC is scheduled to meet to discuss the radiation safety
scheme.
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10. Announcement of Symposia and Meetings
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Conference/Workshop schedule related to accelerator controls
1) WAO07: 6th International Workshop on Accelerator Operations,
Sep, 24-28, 2007, Trieste, Italy http://www.elettra.trieste.it/wao07/
2) ICALEPCS2007:
Oct, 15-19, 2007, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
http://neutrons.ornl.gov/conf/icalepcs07/
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11. <<Editorial Note>>
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Editorial Board:
Masatoshi ARAI (chair): masatoshi.arai at j-parc.jp
Yujiro IKEDA: yujiro.ikeda at jaea.go.jp
Nobuo OUCHI: nobuo.ouchi at jaea.go.jp
Shinya SAWADA: shinya.sawada at kek.jp
Toshifumi TSUKAMOTO toshifumi.tsukamoto at kek.jp
English Editor: Dick Mischke mischke at triumf.ca
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