Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams have achieved a significant milestone in the study of isotopes.
In their latest experiment, they accelerated a high-power uranium beam. They delivered a record 10.4 kilowatts of continuous beam power to a target.
This breakthrough is highly relevant in current scenarios when researchers worldwide require a uranium primary beam to study rare isotopes.
Uranium, a critical element
Uranium is the heaviest naturally occurring element and is difficult to accelerate. It is heavy, and its complex atomic structure makes it difficult to control. However, uranium is essential for scientific research.
When a uranium beam hits a target, it fragments or undergoes fission. This produces a wide array of rare isotopes, which are unstable versions of elements with varying numbers of neutrons.
“Establishing the acceleration of a uranium beam with unprecedented power is a crucial milestone for FRIB. The achievement opens a new avenue of research with rare isotopes,” said the researchers.
Impressive outcomes
Interestingly, the result of this experiment was highly impressive. Within just 8 hours of operation with the high-power uranium beam, FRIB scientists made a remarkable discovery.
They produced and identified three isotopes that had never been observed before: gallium-88, arsenic-93, and selenium-96. This rapid success highlights the potential of FRIB’s cutting-edge technology.
“The high-power uranium beam required the stable operation of all accelerator devices at the highest accelerating gradients,” added the press release.
Technological challenges
The team also faced challenges in achieving this record-breaking beam power. It required the seamless operation of FRIB’s entire accelerator facility.
This includes a new superconducting linear accelerator composed of 324 resonators within 46 cryomodules. These cryomodules are kept at extremely low temperatures to enable the efficient acceleration of the ions.
Another key component is a newly developed liquid-lithium stripper. This device strips electrons from the uranium ions, increasing their charge and allowing for more effective acceleration.
Beyond these major components, a host of other innovations were crucial. These include a specialized Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) ion source to produce the uranium ions, a unique heavy-ion Radio-Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) to focus and bunch the ions and a high-power target and beam dump to handle the intense beam.
Besides, “researchers developed new techniques to set up the simultaneous acceleration of three charge states of uranium after stripping with liquid-lithium film. This approach achieved the record-high power for uranium,” the researchers emphasized.
Enhancing the understanding of the universe
FRIB’s this milestone can revolutionize our understanding of the universe at the most fundamental level.
“This achievement creates a foundation for providing the heaviest ion beams for creating rare isotopes. It extends scientific reach into unexplored regions of the nuclear landscape,” concluded the press release.
Rare isotopes provide crucial clues about the processes that create elements in stars and supernovae. Moreover, they also help scientists better their understanding of nuclear structures.
Notably, scientists from Japan and South Korea also participated in this experiment.
