https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/s10050-022-00863-y
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
The liquid-lithium target at the soreq applied research accelerator facility
1
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel
2
Soreq Nuclear Research Center, 81800, Yavne, Israel
Received:
31
August
2022
Accepted:
16
October
2022
Published online:
28
October
2022
Franz Käppeler and collaborators showed in the 1980’s that the Li(p, n)
Be reaction can be used to produce a flux of neutrons having a stellar-like energy distribution, closely similar to that contributing to the slow (s) neutron capture process in massive stars. The Liquid-Lithium Target (LiLiT) at Phase I of the Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF) was designed following the same physical principle. Owing to the high proton beam intensity of SARAF and the power dissipation of LiLiT, the facility provided a neutron intensity more than one order of magnitude higher than available with conventional solid Li targets. We review here our first collaboration with Franz Käppeler and his group, the LiLiT design and nuclear astrophysics research accomplished in recent years at the SARAF-LiLiT facility. An outlook to the research program with SARAF Phase II, currently in construction, is presented.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2022. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.