Scientific
User Facilities
The Office of Science also oversees
the construction and operation of some of the
Nation's most advanced research and development
user facilities, located at these national laboratories
and universities. These state-of-the-art facilities
are shared with the science community worldwide
and contain some technologies and instrumentation
that are available nowhere else. They include
particle and nuclear physics accelerators, synchrotron
light sources, neutron scattering facilities,
supercomputers, and high-speed computer networks.
For example, the National Synchrotron Light
Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory is
the world's brightest continuous source of X-rays
and ultraviolet radiation for research. The
William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences
Laboratory at the Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory houses one of the world's most powerful
widebore nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers.
The Spallation Neutron Source, currently being
built at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will
provide the most intense pulsed neutron beams
in the world for scientific research and industrial
development.
Each year, the Office of Science facilities
are used by more than 18,000 researchers from
universities, other government agencies, and
private industry.
The major user facilities supported by the Office
of Science are listed below by program office:
Advanced
Scientific Computing Research
|
· Energy
Sciences Network (ESnet)
ESnet is a high-speed network serving
thousands of DOE scientists and collaborators
worldwide. A pioneer in providing high-bandwidth,
reliable connections, ESnet enables researchers
at national laboratories, universities
and other institutions to communicate
with each other using the collaborative
capabilities needed to address some of
the world's most important scientific
challenges. Managed and operated by the
ESnet staff at Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, ESnet provides direct connections
to all major DOE sites with high performance
speeds, as well as fast interconnections
to more than 100 other networks. Funded
principally by DOE's Office of Science,
ESnet services allow scientists to make
effective use of unique DOE research facilities
and computing resources, independent of
time and geographic location. ESnet is
funded by DOE’s Office of Science,
Advanced Scientific Computing Research
program to provide network and collaboration
services in support of the agency's research
missions. |
|
· Energy
Sciences Network (ESnet)
NERSC is a world leader in accelerating
scientific discovery through computation.
NERSC provides high-performance computing
tools and expertise that enable computational
science of scale, in which large, interdisciplinary
teams of scientists attack fundamental
problems in science and engineering that
require massive calculations and have
broad scientific and economic impacts.
Leading-edge computing platforms and services
make NERSC the foremost resource for large-scale
computation within DOE's Office of Science,
Advanced Scientific Computing Research
program. |
Basic Energy
Sciences
- Synchrotron
Radiation Light Sources
|
·
National
Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS)
NSLS, located at Brookhaven National Laboratory
in Upton, New York, is a national user
research facility funded by DOE’s
Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences
program. The NSLS operates two electron
storage rings: an X-Ray ring and a Vacuum
UltraViolet ring, which provide intense
light spanning the electromagnetic spectrum
from the infrared through x-rays. Each
year over 2500 scientists from universities,
industries, and government labs perform
research at the NSLS.
·
Stanford
Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL)
SSRL is located at the Stanford
Linear Accelerator Center, operated by
Stanford University for DOE. SSRL is a
national user facility that provides synchrotron
radiation, a name given to x-rays or light
produced by electrons circulating in a
storage ring at nearly the speed of light.
These extremely bright x-rays can be used
to investigate various forms of matter
ranging from objects of atomic and molecular
size to man-made materials with unusual
properties. The obtained information and
knowledge is of great value to society,
with impact in areas such as the environment,
future technologies, health, and national
security. SSRL is primarily supported
by DOE’s Office of Science, Basic
Energy Sciences and Biological and Environmental
Research programs.
·
Advanced
Light Source (ALS)
ALS at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
is a national user facility that generates
intense light for scientific and technological
research. As one of the world's brightest
sources of ultraviolet and soft x-ray
beams—and the world's first third-generation
synchrotron light source in its energy
range—the ALS makes previously impossible
studies possible. The facility welcomes
researchers from universities, industries,
and government laboratories around the
world. ALS is funded by the DOE's Office
of Science, Basic Energy Sciences program.
·
Advanced
Photon Source (APS)
The Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne
National Laboratory is a national synchrotron-radiation
light source research facility funded
by DOE’s Office of Science, Basic
Energy Sciences program. Using high-brilliance
x-ray beams from the APS, members of the
international synchrotron-radiation research
community conduct forefront basic and
applied research in the fields of material
science; biological science; physics;
chemistry; environmental, geophysical,
and planetary science; and innovative
x-ray instrumentation. |
- High-Flux
Neutron Sources
|
·
High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) Center
for Neutron Scattering
The HFIR Center, located at Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, is the highest flux
reactor-based source of neutrons for condensed
matter research in the U.S. The Center
is a national user facility funded by
DOE’s Office of Science, Basic Energy
Sciences program. Thermal and cold neutrons
produced by the HFIR are used to study
physics, chemistry, materials science,
engineering, and biology.
·
Intense
Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS)
IPNS, located at Argonne National Laboratory,
is a facility for research on condensed
matter. It is officially designated a
national collaborative research center,
serving the needs of universities, industry,
and other government laboratories. In
addition to encouraging, aiding and performing
neutron scattering research, IPNS staff
are engaged in advancing pulsed neutron
instrumentation, ancillary equipment and
technology, such as targets, moderators,
and detectors. The IPNS is funded by DOE’s
Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences
program.
·
Los
Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE)
The Manuel Lujan Jr. Neutron Scattering
Center (Lujan Center) at Los Alamos National
Laboratory provides an intense pulsed
source of neutrons to a variety of spectrometers
for neutron scattering studies. The Lujan
Center features instruments for measurement
of high-pressure and high-temperature
samples, strain measurement, liquid studies,
and texture measurement. The facility
has a long history and extensive experience
in handling actinide samples. A 30 Tesla
magnet is also available for use with
neutron scattering to study samples in
high-magnetic fields. The Lujan Center
is part of the Los Alamos Neutron Science
Center (LANSCE), which is comprised of
a high-power 800-MeV proton linear accelerator,
a proton storage ring, production targets
to the Lujan Center and the Weapons Neutron
Research facility, and a variety of associated
experiment areas and spectrometers for
national security research and civilian
research. |
- Electron
Beam Microcharacterization Centers
|
·
Center
for Microanalysis of Materials (CMM)
The CMM is a world-class facility characterized
by the entirety of its complementary array
of microstructural and microchemical instrumentation
in one location. It places emphasis on
in-situ materials science at the atomic
scale and has developed several unique
instruments permitting dynamic studies
in surface, interface, and thin film science
as well as deformation processes in aggressive
environments. CMM is one of four collaborative
research centers for electron beam microcharacterization
supported by DOE’s Office of Science,
Basic Energy Sciences program.
·
Electron
Microscopy Center (EMC) for Materials
Research
EMC, located at Argonne National Laboratory,
conducts materials research using advanced
microstructural characterization methods
and through the use of the microscope
Intermediate Voltage Electron Microscope.
Research by EMC personnel includes microscopy-based
studies in high Tc superconducting materials,
irradiation effects in metals and semiconductors,
phase transformations, and processing-related
structure and chemistry of interfaces
in thin films. EMC is one of four collaborative
research centers for electron beam microcharacterization
supported by DOE’s Office of Science,
Basic Energy Sciences program.
·
National
Center for Electron Microscopy (NCEM)
NCEM, at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
maintains world class capabilities in
atomic resolution electron microscopy.
The facility features several unique instruments,
complemented by strong expertise in computer
image simulation and analysis. The center
also maintains one-of-a-kind instruments
for imaging of magnetic materials, and
develops techniques and instrumentation
for dynamic in-situ experimentation. NCEM
is one of four collaborative research
centers for electron beam microcharacterization
supported by DOE’s Office of Science,
Basic Energy Sciences program.
·
Shared
Research Equipment (SHaRE) Program
ShaRE, located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
is a leading facility for the microscopy
and microanalysis of materials, with an
emphasis on analytical microscopy. ShaRE
maintains a suite of analytical electron
microscopes, atom probe field ion microscopes
and mechanical properties microprobes,
with particular application to the development
of alloys and structural ceramics, and
the study of interfacial segregation,
radiation effects, microtexture and residual
stress. SHaRE provides a unique resource
for atom probe field ion microscopy and
for the microcharacterization of radioactive
specimens on a routine basis. ShaRE is
one of four collaborative research centers
for electron beam microcharacterization
supported by DOE’s Office of Science,
Basic Energy Sciences program.
|
- Specialized
Single-Purpose Centers
|
·
Combustion
Research Facility (CRF)
CRF, located at Sandia National Laboratories,
is home to about 100 scientists, engineers,
and technologists who conduct basic and
applied research focused on improving
energy efficiency and reducing emissions
from the country's energy conversion and
utilization systems. The need for a thorough
and basic understanding of combustion
and combustion-related processes lies
at the heart of the research at the CRF.
CRF is funded by DOE’s Office of
Science, Basic Energy Sciences program.
·
Materials
Preparation Center (MPC)
MPC at the Ames Laboratory is a DOE user
facility sponsored by DOE’s Office
of Science, Basic Energy Sciences program.
MPC is recognized throughout the worldwide
research community for its unique capabilities
in the preparation, purification, and
characterization of rare earth, alkaline-earth,
and refractory metal materials.
·
James
R. Macdonald Laboratory (JMRL)
JMRL at Kansas State University operates
a 7-MV tandem accelerator, a 9-MV superconducting
linear accelerator (LINAC) and a cryogenic
electron beam ion source (CRYEBIS) for
the study of ion-atom collisions with
highly charged ions. The tandem can operate
as a stand-alone accelerator with six
dedicated beam lines. The LINAC is operated
as a booster accelerator to the tandem.
The tandem-LINAC combination has four
beam lines available. The CRYEBIS is a
stand-alone facility for studying collisions
with bare ions at low velocity. An ion-ion
collision facility using the CYREBIS and
a new ECR ion source are under development.
The laboratory has a variety of experimental
apparatus for atomic physics research.
These include recoil ion sources, Auger
electron spectrometers, X-ray spectrometers,
and a 45-inch-diameter scattering chamber.
The laboratory is available to users who
require the unique facilities of the laboratory
for atomic collision experiments. JMRL
is funded by DOE’s Office of Science,
Basic Energy Sciences program.
·
Pulse
Radiolysis Facility
The Pulse Radiolysis Facility within the
Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory at the
University of Notre Dame is based on a
2-100 ns electron pulse from an 8-MeV
linear accelerator. It is fully instrumented
for computerized acquisition of optical
and conductivity information on radiation
chemical intermediates having lifetimes
of 5 ns and longer. An excimer laser/dye
laser combination is available for use
at the pulse radiolysis facility for double-pulse
experiments involving photolysis of radiolytic
transients. Energies of ~400 mJ at 308
nm and ~50 mJ at various near-UV and visible
wavelengths are available. This facility
is funded by DOE’s Office of Science,
Basic Energy Sciences program. |
Biological
and Environmental Research
|
·
William
R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences
Laboratory (EMSL)
EMSL is a DOE national scientific user
facility located at Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory, funded by DOE’s
Office of Science, Biological and Environmental
Research program. As a national scientific
user facility and a research organization,
EMSL provides advanced resources to scientists
engaged in fundamental research on the
physical, chemical and biological processes
that underpin critical scientific issues,
conducts fundamental research in molecular
and computational sciences to achieve
a better understanding of biological and
environmental effects associated with
energy technologies—to provide a
basis for new and improved energy technologies,
and in support of DOE's other missions.
EMSL also educates scientists in the molecular
and computational sciences to meet the
demanding challenges of the future.
· Joint
Genome Institute (JGI)
JGI, established in 1997, is one of the
largest and most productive publicly funded
human genome sequencing institutes in
the world. JGI was founded by three DOE
national laboratories managed by the University
of California: Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence
Livermore national laboratories, and Los
Alamos National Laboratory, funded by
DOE’s Office of Science, Biological
and Environmental Research program. JGI
assumed a significant role in the effort
to determine the 3 billion letters ("base
pairs") worth of genetic text that
make up the human genome and currently
conducts genome sequencing programs that
include vertebrates, fungi, plants, bacteria,
and other single-celled microbes.
· Atmospheric
Radiation Measurement (ARM)
The ARM program maintains observation
sites in the Southern Great Plains, the
Tropical Western Pacific, and the North
Slope of Alaska, gathering data on solar
(incoming) and infrared (outgoing) radiation
to improve the modeling of clouds and
radiation in general circulation climate
models. This program is funded by DOE’s
Office of Science, Biological and Environmental
Research program.
· Free
Air CO2 Experiment (FACE)
FACE is a climate change research program
funded by DOE’s Office of Science,
Biological and Environmental Research
program. FACE technology provides a whole
ecosystem platform to study the effects
of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide
concentrations on terrestrial systems.
· Structural
Biology Center (SBC)
SBC operates a national user facility
for macromolecular crystallography at
Sector 19 of the Advanced Photon Source
at Argonne National Laboratory. The SBC
makes available to scientific community
two experimental stations: an insertion-device,
19ID, and a bending-magnet, 19BM and a
biochemistry laboratory. SBC beamlines
are well suited for a wide range of crystallographic
experiments. SBC receives support from
DOE’s Office of Science, Biological
and Environmental Research program. |
Fusion Energy
Science
|
· DIII-D
Tokamak Facility
DIII-D, located at General Atomics in
San Diego, California, is the largest
magnetic fusion facility in the U.S. and
is operated as a DOE national user facility.
DIII-D has been a major contributor to
the world fusion program over the past
decade in areas of plasma turbulence,
energy and particle transport, electron-cyclotron
plasma heating and current drive, plasma
stability, and boundary layers physics
using a “magnetic divertor”
to control the magnetic field configuration
at the edge of the plasma. DOE’s
Office of Science, Fusion Energy Sciences
program is a major supporter in the operation
of this facility.
· Alcator
C-Mod
Alcator C-Mod at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology is operated as a DOE national
user facility. Alcator C-Mod is a unique,
compact tokamak facility that uses intense
magnetic fields to confine high-temperature,
high-density plasmas in a small volume.
One of its unique features are the metal
(molybdenum) walls to accommodate high
power densities. Alcator C-Mod has made
significant contributions to the world
fusion program in the areas of plasma
heating, stability, and confinement of
high field tokamaks, which are important
integrating issues related to ignition
of burning of fusion plasma. DOE’s
Office of Science, Fusion Energy Sciences
program, is a significant contributor
to the operation of this facility.
· National
Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX)
NSTX is an innovative magnetic fusion
device that was constructed by the Princeton
Plasma Physics Laboratory in collaboration
with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
Columbia University, and the University
of Washington at Seattle. It is one of
the world’s two largest embodiments
of the spherical torus confinement concept.
Like DIII-D and Alcator C-Mod, NSTX is
also operated as a DOE national scientific
user facility. NSTX has a unique, nearly
spherical plasma shape that provides a
test of the theory of toroidal magnetic
confinement as the spherical limit is
approached. Plasmas in spherical torii
have been predicted to be stable even
when high ratios of plasma-to-magnetic
pressure and self-driven current fraction
exist simultaneously in the presence of
a nearby conducting wall bounding the
plasma. If these predictions are verified,
it would indicate that spherical torii
use applied magnetic fields more efficiently
than most other magnetic confinement systems
and could, therefore, be expected to lead
to more cost-effective fusion power systems
in the long term. DOE’s Office of
Science, Fusion Energy Sciences program
is the major contributor to the operation
of this facility. |
High
Energy Physics
|
· Tevatron
Collider
Tevatron is the world's highest-energy
particle accelerator. It is located and
managed by Fermi National Accelerator
Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois. The Tevatron,
four miles in circumference and originally
named the Energy Doubler when it began
operation in 1983, is the world's highest-energy
particle accelerator. Its 1,000 superconducting
magnets are cooled by liquid helium to
-268 degrees C (-450 degrees F). Its low-temperature
cooling system was the largest ever built
when it was placed in operation in 1983.
Two major components of the Standard Model
of Fundamental Particles and Forces were
discovered at Fermilab: the bottom quark
(May-June 1977) and the top quark (February
1995). In July 2000, Fermilab experimenters
announced the first direct observation
of the tau neutrino, the last fundamental
particle to be observed. Filling the final
slot in the Standard Model, the tau neutrino
set the stage for new discoveries and
new physics with the inauguration of Collider
Run II of the Tevatron in March 2001.
DOE’s Office of Science, High Energy
and Nuclear Physics program supports the
Tevatron Collider as well as 90 percent
of the federally funded research in high-energy
physics in the U.S.
· Main
Injector
The Main Injector, completed in 1999,
is an accelerator facility at Fermi National
Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois.
It accelerates particles and transfers
beams. It has four functions: (1) It accelerates
protons from 8 GeV to 150 GeV. (2) It
produces 120 GeV protons, which are used
for antiproton production (see picture
and text at bottom). (3) It receives antiprotons
from the Antiproton Source and increases
their energy to 150 GeV. (4) It injects
protons and antiprotons into the Tevatron.
Inside the Main Injector tunnel, physicists
have also installed an Antiproton Recycler
(green ring). It stores antiprotons that
return from a trip through the Tevatron,
waiting to be re-injected. The Main Injector
is supported by DOE’s Office of
Science, High Energy and Nuclear Physics
program.
· Booster
Neutrino (BooNE)
BooNE is a facility managed by at Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia,
Illinois. BooNE investigates the question
of neutrino mass by searching for neutrino
oscillations from muon neutrinos to electron
neutrinos. This is done by directing a
muon neutrino beam into the MiniBooNE
detector and looking for electron neutrinos.
This experiment is motivated by the oscillation
results reported by the LSND experiment
at Los Alamos. By changing the muon neutrino
beam into an anti-neutrino beam, BooNE
can explore oscillations from muon anti-neutrinos
to electron anti-neutrinos. A comparison
between neutrino and anti-neutrino results
will tell us about CP- and CPT-violation.
The BooNE collaboration consists of approximately
sixty-five physicists from 13 institutions
but is primarily supported by DOE’s
Office of Science, High Energy and Nuclear
Physics program.
· Neutrinos
at the Main Injector (NuMI)
NuMI is a facility at Fermi National Accelerator
Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, that
uses protons from the Main Injector accelerator
to produce a beam of neutrinos aimed at
the Soudan Mine in Northern Minnesota.
NuMI is supported by DOE’s Office
of Science, High Energy and Nuclear Physics
program.
· B-Factory
The B-Factory at Stanford Linear Accelerator
Center near Menlo Park, California, consists
of a portion of the 3.2 kilometer- (2-mile-)
long linear accelerator, a set of circular
storage rings for electrons and positrons,
and a large detector. At this facility,
beams of electrons and positrons will
collide nearly (but not quite) head-on
and make B mesons. The mesons, each containing
a bottom (or anti-bottom) quark will decay
after a short interval, providing information
about the mysterious CP-violation phenomenon.
B-Factory as well as the Stanford Linear
Accelerator Center are supported by DOE’s
Office of Science, High Energy and Nuclear
Physics program.
· Next
Linear Collider Test Accelerator (NLCTA
)
NLCTA at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
near Menlo Park, California, is a small
accelerator that is a prototype for the
Next Linear Collider (NLC) accelerator
design. This test facility has been run
using an NLC prototype klystron and has
produced electron bunch accelerations
that meet the NLC design criteria. Further
testing and prototyping is being carried
out to design and test efficient production
methods for such a structure. The NLCTA
is supported by DOE’s Office of
Science, High Energy and Nuclear Physics
program.
· Final
Focus Test Beam (FFTB)
FFTB facility at Stanford Linear Accelerator
Center near Menlo Park, California, was
built in 1993 by an international collaboration
and includes magnets and other beam elements
constructed in Russia, Japan, and Germany,
as well as the U.S. Its purpose is to
investigate the factors that limit the
size and stability of the beam at the
collision point for a linear collider.
Since the rate of collisions depends on
beam density, the ability to focus the
beam to a tiny size at the collision is
one of the critical parameters that will
determine the research capability of such
a facility. FFTB is supported by DOE’s
Office of Science, High Energy and Nuclear
Physics program.
· Accelerator
Test Facility (ATF)
ATF at Brookhaven National Laboratory
on Long Island in Upton, New York, is
a users facility dedicated for long-term
R&D in Physics of Beams. The ATF core
capabilities include a high-brightness
photoinjector electron gun, a 70 MeV linac,
high power lasers synchronized to the
electron beam to a picosecond level, four
beam lines (most with energy spectrometers)
and a sophisticated computer control system.
ATF users, from universities, national
labs and industry, are carrying out R&D
on Advanced Accelerator Physics and are
studying the interactions of high power
electromagnetic radiation and high brightness
electron beams, including laser acceleration
of electrons and Free-Electron Lasers.
Other topics include the development of
electron beams with extremely high brightness,
photo-injectors, electron beam and radiation
diagnostics and computer controls. ATF
is supported by DOE’s Office of
Science, High Energy and Nuclear Physics
program and Basic Energy Sciences program.
|
Nuclear Physics
|
· Relativistic
Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)
RHIC at Brookhaven National Laboratory
is a world-class scientific research facility
that began operation in 2000, following
10 years of development and construction.
Hundreds of physicists from around the
world use RHIC to study what the universe
may have looked like in the first few
moments after its creation. RHIC drives
two intersecting beams of gold ions head-on,
in a subatomic collision. What physicists
learn from these collisions may help us
understand more about why the physical
world works the way it does, from the
smallest subatomic particles, to the largest
stars. RHIC is supported by DOE’s
Office of Science, High Energy and Nuclear
Physics program.
· Continuous
Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF)
CEBAF at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator
Facility in Newport News, Virginia, supports
Jefferson Lab's main mission of nuclear
physics research. Based on superconducting
radio-frequency (SRF) accelerating technology,
CEBAF is the world's most advanced particle
accelerator for investigating the quark
structure of the atom's nucleus. CEBAF
is supported by DOE’s Office of
Science, High Energy and Nuclear Physics
program.
· Bates
Linear Accelerator Center
Bates Linear Accelerator Center is a university-based
facility for nuclear physics, operated
by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
for DOE’s Office of Science, High
Energy and Nuclear Physics program, as
a National User Facility. Over 200 physicists
from 52 institutions are currently involved
in active experiments at Bates. Bates
carries out frontier research in nuclear
physics with electron beams up to approximately
1 GeV in energy. Active areas of study
presently at Bates include determination
of the strange quark contribution to the
intrinsic magnetism of the proton (SAMPLE)
and a precise determination of the small
components of the transition of the nucleon
to its first excited state (OOPS). For
the future, a major new detector is under
construction to measure spin-dependent
electron scattering from polarized nuclei
(BLAST). In addition to carrying out research
in nuclear physics, Bates has educated
and trained a large number of students
and post-docs in nuclear physics over
the last twenty years.
· Holifield
Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (HRIBF)
HRIBF at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, began operation
in early 1997 providing accelerated radioactive
ion beams (RIBs) for research in nuclear
structure physics and nuclear astrophysics.
The HRIBF incorporates two previously
existing ORNL accelerators with a newly
constructed RIB injector system (high
voltage production target and ion source
platform together with two stages of mass
separation) into a coupled system for
the production and acceleration of radioactive
ions. The facility is based on the isotope
separator on-line (ISOL) method using
the k=100 Oak Ridge Isochronous Cyclotron
(ORIC) to provide intense light-ion (p,
d, ^3,4He) beams for production of radioactive
species and the 25 MV ORNL Tandem to accelerate
the RIBs to energies required for nuclear
physics research. HRIBF is supported by
DOE’s Office of Science, High Energy
and Nuclear Physics program.
· Argonne
Tandem Linear Accelerator System (ATLAS)
ATLAS is a national user facility at Argonne
National Laboratory in Argonne, Illinois.
ATLAS is the world's first heavy-ion accelerator
to use superconducting elements for beam
focusing and acceleration. Its superconducting
resonators make possible a continuous
beam. Traditional materials would produce
too much heat, requiring a pulsed beam.
Physicists from institutions across the
United States and more than a dozen foreign
countries participate in experiments at
the facility. Physicists from all over
the world use ATLAS to probe the structure
of the atomic nucleus by studying the
gamma rays and particles emitted when
ion beams smash into targets. The 500-foot-long
accelerator is capable of accelerating
ions (atoms stripped of one or more electrons)
of any element up to uranium to energies
as high as 17 million electron volts (MeV)
per nucleon - about 15 percent of the
speed of light. ATLAS staff currently
are investigating the possibility of accelerating
unstable (radioactive) atoms with a new
addition to ATLAS called the Rare Isotope
Accelerator. Beams of unstable ions would
be extremely valuable in a wide range
of studies, including nuclear astrophysics--the
field that attempts to understand the
origin and abundance of the elements that
make up all matter in the universe. ATLAS
is supported by DOE’s Office of
Science, High Energy and Nuclear Physics
program.
· Triangle
Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL)
TUNL is funded by DOE’s Office of
Science, High Energy and Nuclear Physics
program, with research faculty from three
major universities within the Research
Triangle area: Duke University, North
Carolina State University, and the University
of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Located
on the campus of Duke University in Durham,
North Carolina, behind the Physics department,
TUNL draws additional collaborators from
many universities in the southeast, as
well as from labs and universities across
the country and all over the world.
· Texas
A&M Cyclotron Institute
Texas A&M Cyclotron Institute is a
DOE university facility that is jointly
supported by DOE’s Office of Science,
High Energy and Nuclear Physics program,
and the State of Texas. It is a major
technical resource for the State and the
Nation. Internationally recognized for
its research contributions, the institute
provides the primary infrastructure support
for the University’s graduate programs
in nuclear chemistry and nuclear physics.
The Institute’s programs focus on
conducting basic research, educating students
in accelerator-based science and technology,
and providing technical capabilities in
a wide variety of applications in space
science, materials science, analytical
procedures, and nuclear medicine.
· University
of Washington Tandem Van de Graaff
The University of Washington tandem Van
de Graaff accelerator provides precisely
characterized proton beams for extended
running periods for research in fundamental
nuclear interactions and nuclear astrophysics.
The accelerator is part of the Center
for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics
(CENPA) at the University of Washington
in Seattle. CENPA supports a broad program
of experimental physics research, providing
a unique setting for the training and
education of graduate students in the
U.S., where they have the opportunity
to be involved in all aspects of low energy
nuclear research.
· The
Yale University Tandem Van de Graaff
The Wright Nuclear
Structure Laboratory (WNSL) at Yale University
in New Haven, Connecticut, houses a powerful
stand-alone tandem Van de Graaff accelerator,
capable of terminal voltages in excess
of 20 MV. There are active in-house research
programs in nuclear structure, nuclear
astrophysics, and relativistic heavy ion
physics. The nuclear structure group studies
the behavior of the atomic nucleus under
the induced stress of high angular momentum,
high excitation energies, or extreme ratios
of proton to neutron number. The nuclear
astrophysics program centers on the study
of the nuclear reactions involved in explosive
nucleosynthesis. The facility provides
a variety of stable beams for an extensive
suite of instruments that, along with
the opportunity for extended running times,
making possible detailed studies on symmetry,
collective structures, and evolution of
properties in nuclei and nuclear astrophysics.
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