J-PARC Project Newsletter No.95, July 2024 dispatch
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J-PARC Project Newsletter
No.95, July 2024
Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex under joint operation by the
High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) and the Japan Atomic
Energy Agency (JAEA)
http://j-parc.jp/index-e.html
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HEADLINES AND CONTENTS
1. [Overview]
ACCELERATORS OF J-PARC ACHIEVED BIG MILESTONE
WORLD FIRST DEMONSTRATION OF COOLING AND ACCELERATION OF POSITIVE MUON
2. [Accelerator Division]
OPERATION STATUS OF THE ACCELERATORS;
ACHIEVED NEW RECORDS OF 800-KW BEAM POWER FOR THE NEUTRINO EXPERIMENT AND 80-KW FOR THE HADRON EXPERIMENT
3. [Particle and Nuclear Physics Division]
SUCCESSFUL OPERATION OF THE NEUTORINO BEAMLINE AT 800kW BEAM POWER AND T2K DATA TAKING WITH A FULLY UPGRADED NEAR DETECTOR
STATUS OF THE JSNS2 / JSNS2-II (SEARCH FOR STERILE NEUTRINOS AT J-PARC MLF, E56 / E82)
BEAM OPERATION WAS RESUMED AT THE HADRON EXPERIMENTAL FACILITY
STATUS OF THE COHERENT MUON TO ELECTRON TRANSITION (COMET)
STATUS OF THE MUON g-2/ ELECTRIC DIPOLE MOMENT (EDM) (E34)
4. [Materials and Life Science Division]
MLF OPERATED STABLY WITH THE EQUIVALENT TO 1MW FOR USER PROGRAM
NEUTRON EXPERIMENT PROPOSALS FOR 2024B ROUND
WORLD'S FIRST COOLING AND ACCELERATION OF MUON
5. [Nuclear Transmutation Division]
CONCEPTUAL STUDY OF POST IRRADIATION EXAMINATION (PIE) FACILITY AT J-PARC
6. [Safety Division]
J-PARC SAFETY DAY 2024 WAS HELD AND THE HADRON EXPERIMENTAL FACILITY INSPECTION WAS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED
7. [Information]
TOKAI-VILLAGE AND J-PARC JOINTLY TO HOLD THE J-PARC EXHIBITION
ANNOUNCEMENT OF J-PARC OPEN HOUSE 2024 ON SEPTEMBER 28TH
J-PARC SYMPOSIUM IS NOW OPEN FOR REGISTRATION
8. [Editorial Note]
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1. [Overview] by KOBAYASHI Takashi
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ACCELERATORS OF J-PARC ACHIEVED BIG MILESTONE
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J-PARC achieved another big milestone in beam power.
For the RCS/MLF, we achieved long-term stable operation at the design beam power of 1MW,
which is the world's highest intensity.
https://j-parc.jp/c/en/press-release/2024/05/31001348.html
For the neutrino facility, we achieved 800kW stable operation in June, which exceed original design power of 750kW, and is a big step to realize 1.3MW beam power for the Hyper-Kamiokande project. For the hadron experimental facility, 80kW stable operation was achieved, which is the highest slow extracted beam intensity currently running.
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WORLD FIRST DEMONSTRATION OF COOLING AND ACCELERATION OF POSITIVE MUON
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At the muon facility MUSE in MLF, positive muon cooling and acceleration has been achieved for the first time in the world. For more detail, please see the report in the MLF section and the following press release.
https://j-parc.jp/c/en/press-release/2024/05/23001341.html
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2. [Accelerator Division] by YAMAMOTO Kazami
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OPERATION STATUS OF THE ACCELERATORS; ACHIEVED NEW RECORDS OF 800-KW BEAM POWER FOR THE NEUTRINO EXPERIMENT AND 80-KW FOR THE HADRON EXPERIMENT
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We had a short maintenance period at the beginning of April, for the recovery work of the transformer-rectifier assembly of one of the Radio Frequency (RF) acceleration systems in the Rapid Cycling Synchrotron (RCS). After the recovery work, the beam power for the Material and Life Science Experimental Facility (MLF) was increased to 1 MW. However, due to the inflation of the electricity costs, we had to stop one RF cavity in the RCS to reduce the electricity consumption, limiting the beam power of the MLF to 800 kW in the 1.36 seconds fast operation cycle mode of the Main Ring (MR).
There were many troubles in the accelerator system in this period. The power supply of the dipole magnet in the RCS frequently stopped, but it recovered in mid-May. In the MR, one of the 96 dipole magnets caused a layer short inside the coil. It took two weeks for the replacement work. Furthermore, after that, the power supply for the extraction bump magnet malfunctioned, and the MR operation stopped for a week.
Although we had these troubles, we achieved some significant progresses. The output beam power reached new records of 800 kW for the Neutrino experiment and 80 kW for Hadron experiments, respectively. Also, the hadron experimental hall passed the facility inspection concerning the modification of the beamline. It is expected that these achievements will lead to further progress in neutrino and hadron experiments.
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3. [Particle and Nuclear Physics Division]
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SUCCESSFUL OPERATION OF THE NEUTORINO BEAMLINE AT 800 kW BEAM POWER AND T2K DATA TAKING WITH A FULLY UPGRADED NEAR DETECTOR (by ISHIDA Taku)
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Operation of the neutrino beamline resumed on June 6th. in neutrino mode at 710 kW. For the data taking this quarter, the fully upgraded near detector system has been in operation, and its first event was observed successfully on June 7th.
With this regard, Dr. Sara Bolognesi at CEA/Université Paris-Saclay has been awarded the 2024 silver medal of the CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) in the field of nuclear and particle physics, for contributions to the T2K experiment as analysis co-coordinator and in the development and delivery of new near detectors.
https://www.cnrs.fr/en/update/cnrs-announces-its-2024-silver-medals
In the neutrino near detector hall, a brand-new experiment, SUBMET, searching for fractionally charged particles (sub-millicharged particles:χs) produced by 30 GeV proton collisions on the neutrino production target 280m upstream started its three years of running period.
http://j-parc.jp/researcher/Hadron/en/pac_2107/pdf/P83_2021-07.pdf
As a result of the MR studies and beamline tuning, stable beamline operation at 800 kW was achieved and data taking for the T2K experiment has been going on. The experiment will continue until the morning of July 4th. after which the beamline will enter a summer maintenance period.
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STATUS OF THE JSNS2 / JSNS2-II (SEARCH FOR STERILE NEUTRINOS AT J-PARC MLF, E56 / E82) (by MARUYAMA Takasumi)
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The JSNS2 (E56) / JSNS2-II (E82) collaboration searches for neutrino oscillation with a short distance by sterile neutrinos at J-PARC MLF.
For JSNS2, the fourth long physics run has been successfully done from Dec-2023 to June-2024 using a single near detector located on the third floor of MLF. During this run, 1,57×1022 Proton-On-Target (POT) were accumulated for a total of 4.85×1022 POT during 2020-2024 corresponding to 43% of approved POT. Some new results were shown on the Neutrino 2024 conference.
For JSNS2-II, a new far detector is under construction. The J-PARC safety committee meeting on the liquid scintillator filling was held at the end of May, and the filling was approved by the committee. As the results, the liquid scintillator will be filled within a few months. JSNS2-II aims to start the data taking soon.
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BEAM OPERATION WAS RESUMED AT THE HADRON EXPERIMENTAL FACILITY (by TAKAHASHI Hitoshi)
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The Hadron Experimental Facility (HEF) has had three primary proton beam lines, "A-line", "B-line", and "C-line". The 30-GeV protons are slowly extracted from the Main Ring and transported through the A-line to the Hadron Hall. They are directed onto the production target to produce secondary beams such as pions and Kaons, which are then delivered to user experiments.
A part of the primary protons is separated off from the A-line to the B-line and provided directly for user experiments. The C-line is a beam line that branches off from the middle of the B-line and provides an 8-GeV proton beam for the COMET experiment. The C-line started operation last year.
After the implementation of measures to prevent fire recurrence, the 30-GeV beam operation in the HEF was resumed in April. During this beam time, the average power of the extracted primary proton beam was increased to 82 kW by shortening the spill repetition cycle from 5.2 s to 4.24 s. The facility inspection for the permission for modification of the radioisotope facility was performed on June 3rd and approved on June 4th. It was for the modification of the radiation shielding of the B-line due to the C-line construction. With the success of the inspection, all the modification on the B and C lines are now approved.
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STATUS OF THE COHERENT MUON TO ELECTRON TRANSITION (COMET) (by MIHARA Satoshi)
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The construction of the COMET facility is in progress. The capture solenoid magnet, which is used to collect pions and transport them to the beam transport magnet, has been completed, and final tests are currently being conducted by the manufacturer. The magnet will be delivered and installed in the COMET experiment area in July 2024. The construction of the detector solenoid magnet has also been completed and will be delivered in 2024, followed by cooling and excitation tests at J-PARC.
On-site detector construction and conditioning activities are increasing as we move toward the start of physics data acquisition in 2026. The Cylindrical Drift Chamber conditioning with the COMET trigger system is in progress. Assembly work for the Cylindrical Trigger Hodoscope (CTH) began at J-PARC in June. The first module of the cosmic-ray veto (CRV) detector has been set up and started long-term stability testing at J-PARC. More activities are anticipated in the coming months.
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STATUS OF THE MUON g-2/ ELECTRIC DIPOLE MOMENT (EDM) (E34) (by MIBE Tsutomu)
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The E34 collaboration aims for precision measurements of the muon anomalous magnetic moment and its electric dipole moment. The surface muon beam line is being extended to the muon cooling area for this experiment. At the muon S2 area, the collaboration has succeeded to demonstrate the acceleration of positive muon to 100 keV for the first time. The press release was issued on May 17. An international school on muon dipole moments and hadronic effects is scheduled on Sep 2-6 in KMI, Nagoya university. The seventh muon g-2 theory initiative workshop is scheduled on Sep 9-13 in KEK.
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4. [Materials and Life Science Division]
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NEUTRON SOURCE; MLF OPERATED STABLY WITH THE EQUIVALENT TO 1 MW FOR USER PROGRAM (by HARADA Masahide)
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MLF operated stably with a beam power equivalent to 1MW (the highest record) from April 8th. to May 29th. in 2024 and the press release was produced (https://www.j-parc.jp/c/en/press-release/2024/05/31001348.html). From May 29th., the beam power decreased to 900 kW due to a budget shortfall by caused by soaring electricity costs. Moreover, from June 5th., the beam power was further decreased to 830 kW due to a change of the accelerator mode of MR. The neutron source has been operating stably with an excellent facility availability of over 90 %.
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NEUTRON INSTRUMENT AND SCIENCE; NEUTRON EXPERIMENT PROPOSALS FOR 2024B ROUND (by NAKAMURA Mitsutaka)
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The call for proposal for round 2024B has been closed, and a total of 321 applications were submitted for neutron use including general proposals, one-year proposals, proprietary use, and priority proposals. Compared to the previous period, there was an increase of approximately 6% in the number of proposals this round. Almost half of the submissions were from foreign countries. The submitted proposals are currently in the review process.
The Neutron Science Section (NSS) is a member of the SAKURA-program, which is a bilateral collaboration between the European Spallation Source (ESS) and J-PARC. A joint workshop took place on June 10th. - 12th. We appreciate the significance of the program for exchanging ideas, staff, and techniques at a large facility.
Prof. Roger Eccleston the Director of ISIS neutron and muon source at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory visited MLF. The main idea of his visit was to facilitate future cooperation in the wide range of neutron/muon instrumentation and science. Several major items were identified as good candidates, and polarization neutron scheme was one of the ideas offered by the NSS.
Recent press releases from Neutron Science at MLF:
BL22 RADEN on Mar.14
"Experimental visualization of water/ice phase distribution at cold start for practical-sized polymer electrolyte fuel cells"
https://doi.org/10.1038/s44172-024-00176-6
BL03 iBIX on Mar. 18
"harge neutralization and β-elimination cleavage mechanism of family 42 L-rhamnose-α-1,4-D-glucuronate lyase revealed using neutron crystallography. "
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2024.105774
BL12 HRC on Apr. 1
"Multistep topological transitions among meron and skyrmion crystals in a centrosymmetric magnet"
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-024-02445-9
BL16 SOFIA on Apr. 12
"Organization of malonamides from the interface to the organic bulk phase"
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2024.124372
BL14 AMATERAS & BL18 SENJU on Apr. 26
"Antiferromagnetic ordering and chiral crystal structure transformation in Nd3Rh4Sn13"
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.109.134425
BL02 DNA on Apr. 26
"Surface proton hopping conduction mechanism dominant polymer electrolytes created by self-assembly of bicontinuous cubic liquid crystals. "
https://doi.org/10.1039/d4sc01211a
BL17 SHARAKU on May 16
"Interpenetration of Rubber and Silane Coupling Agent on an Inorganic Substrate Revealed by Spin-Contrast-Variation Neutron Reflectivity"
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.4c00963
BL09 SPICA on May 29
"High proton conduction by full hydration in highly oxygen deficient perovskite"
https://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D4TA01978D
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MUON SCIENCE FACILITY (MUSE); WORLD'S FIRST COOLING AND ACCELERATION OF MUON (by KAWAMURA Naritoshi)
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The facility has been operated smoothly in the 2024A period. We replaced some high-voltage generator boards in the S-line kicker magnet with new ones employing SiC MOS-FET as a countermeasure for the frequent trouble over these years. The new ones work without any problem so far, although the remaining old ones still cause trouble. We will do all remaining board replacements after evaluation of the new ones' operation.
There are two press releases: "Does antiferromagnetism in ruthenium oxide really exist? -Challenge against 'devil's proof' with muon and first-principles calculation." (https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.166702) and "World's first cooling and acceleration of muon" (https://www.kek.jp/en/press/worlds-first-cooling-and-acceleration-of-muon). We held a briefing session for the media on June 5th. about the topic of muon acceleration. More than 10 media attended resulting in publications in the newspapers and on the web news.
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5. [Nuclear Transmutation Division]by SAITO Shigeru
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CONCEPTUAL STUDY OF POST IRRADIATION EXAMINATION (PIE) FACILITY AT J-PARC
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JAEA has been developing accelerator-driven systems (ADS) for research and development of nuclear transmutation using accelerators in order to reduce the volume and hazardousness of high-level radioactive waste generated by nuclear power plants. In order to prepare the material irradiation database necessary for the design of ADS and to study the irradiation effects in lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) alloys, a proton irradiation facility is under consideration at J-PARC. In this proton irradiation facility, 250 kW proton beams will be injected into the LBE spallation target, and irradiation tests under LBE flow will be performed for candidate structural materials for ADS. Furthermore, semiconductor soft-error tests, medical RI production, and proton beam applications will be performed. Among these, post irradiation examination (PIE) of irradiated samples and separation and purification of medical RI, for instance Ac-225, will be carried out in the PIE facility to be constructed near the proton irradiation facility. In this PIE facility, PIE of the equipment and samples irradiated in other facilities in J-PARC will also be examined. The results of the conceptual study of this facility were summarized and published as a technical report [1]. This report describes the conceptual study of the PIE facility, including the items to be tested, the test flow, the facilities, the test equipment, etc., and the proposed layout.
https://jopss.jaea.go.jp/pdfdata/JAEA-Technology-2023-025.pdf
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6. [Safety Division] by NAKANE Yoshihiro
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J-PARC SAFETY DAY 2024
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The J-PARC Center had been holding "the J-PARC Safety Day" every year around May 23rd ., day on which a radioactive material leak incident occurred in 2013. The Safety Day in FY2024 was held on May 30th., and 352 staff members participated in the event through a hybrid format.
In the morning session, a safety information exchange meeting was held, case studies and activities related to fire prevention were reported from each section and discussed.
In the afternoon, a workshop session for fostering a safety culture was held. First, the Safety Contribution Award and the Good Practice Award were presented. Following this commendation session, the main talk "Prepare for large earthquakes by learning from the past" was given by Dr. FUKUWA Nobuo, Director of the Aichi/Nagoya Resilience Co-creation Center, in which he explained the need for the government and individuals to work together to reconsider how to respond to earthquakes. The session was closed with a screening of the documentary video "The Radioactive Material Leak Incident at J-PARC: How Society Viewed the Incident".
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FACILITY INSPECTION SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED
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The facility inspection of the Hadron Experimental Facility was conducted by the Radiation Management Institute, Inc. on June 3rd. .
The items inspected were the modification of the shielding structure of the primary proton beam line (BC line area) and the measurement of radiation dose rates at the facility.
The certificate of compliance was issued on June 4th..
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7. [Information]
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TOKAI-VILLAGE AND J-PARC JOINTLY TO HOLD THE J-PARC EXHIBITION
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Tokai-Village and J-PARC will jointly hold the J-PARC exhibition at "History and the Future Community House" in Tokai Village from July 20th to Sept 29th.
The exhibition is mainly for kids. For more detail,
[Summer temporary exhibition] science x Tokai-mura x J - PARC display-, make,-/ Tokai-mura where buying is made of" grain" (j-server.com)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_CkIUGJN9c/
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ANNOUNCEMENT OF J-PARC OPEN HOUSE 2024 ON SEPTEMBER 28th.
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On Saturday, September 28th., J-PARC will host an on-site Open House. There will be tours of massive experimental facilities and accelerators that explore the mysteries of the universe, matter, and life, as well as a Science Cafe and experimental craft workshops. For more information, check out the J-PARC website.
https://j-parc.jp/OPEN_HOUSE/2024/img/J-PARC_OPEN-HOUSE2024es.pdf
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J-PARC SYMPOSIUM IS NOW OPEN FOR REGISTRATION
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The 4th J-PARC symposium (J-PARC2024) will be held on October 14th. -18th., 2024, in Mito Japan. Scientific achievements and the future of J-PARC will be discussed. The registration and application for contributed poster presentations have started.
https://j-parc.jp/symposium/j-parc2024/
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8. [Editorial Note]
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Past issues are available from the link below.
http://j-parc.jp/c/en/topics/project-newsletter/index.html
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┃ Editorial Board:
┃ OGURI Hidetomo (Chair) : oguri.hidetomo[at]jaea.go.jp
┃ SHINTO Katsuhiro: shinto.katsuhiro[at]jaea.go.jp
┃ OZAWA Kyoichiro: ozawa[at]post.kek.jp
┃ AIZAWA Kyoko: akyouko[at]post.j-parc.jp
┃ TAKEI Hayanori: takei.hayanori[at]jaea.go.jp
┃ Jean-Michel POUTISSOU (English Editor) : jmp[at]triumf.ca
┃SEKI Eiko (Secretary) : seki.eiko[at]jaea.go.jp
┃ * Please replace "(at)" with "@" when you enter an email address.
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