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Stopping Muon
Beams--Muons, Inc, 552 N. Batavia Ave., Batavia,
IL 60510; 757-870-6943; www.muonsinc.com
Dr. Rolland P. Johnson, Principal
Investigator, rol@muonsinc.com
Dr. Rolland P. Johnson, Business
Official, rol@muonsinc.com
DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-07ER84824
Amount: $100,000
Physics
experiments often use low-energy beams of unstable particles that stop in a
target, in order to provide high sensitivity to rare processes while reducing
backgrounds. However, the stopping rate
in the target is limited by the kinematics of the production process and by multiple
scattering and energy straggling in the material used to slow the
particles. In practice, this means that
the event rates and sensitivity are limited.
Enlarging the target is not an option because this would compromise
performance and/or increase the cost of the detector. This project will demonstrate that beam
cooling can be used to improve the stopping of muon
beams. A six-dimensional beam cooling
technique will be developed, and simulation tools will be used to develop
designs that can stop many muons in a small
volume. As an example, a stopping muon beam design, using a helical cooling channel (HCC),
will be developed for a particular experiment to search for the direct
conversion of muons to electrons.
Commercial
Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: The
use of the HCC for stopping muon beams would provide
a new level of sensitivity for experimental physics, allowing the development
of muon colliders and
neutrino factories. Many applications of
intense stopping muon beams, such as spin-resonance
investigations and muon-catalyzed fusion, also would
benefit.