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EPJ A - Hadrons and Nuclei
Hadrons and Nuclei

EPJ A Highlight - A Liquid-Lithium Target for Nuclear Physics

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Published on 27 March 2019
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The free-surface LiLiT flow, photographed while bombarded by a ~ 3 kW continuous-wave proton beam from the SARAF linac. The liquid lithium jet, ~1.5 mm thick, forced-flown at a velocity of 2.5 m/s at ~ 195 °C and supported by a 0.5 mm thick stainless steel backing wall, serves both as a neutron producing target and the power beam dump. The target chamber pressure connected to the accelerator beam line is 1×10-6 mbar.

A liquid-lithium target (LiLiT) bombarded by a 1.5 mA, 1.92 MeV proton beam from the SARAF superconducting linac acts as a ~30 keV quasi-Maxwellian neutron source via the 7Li(p,n) reaction with the highest intensity (5×1010 neutrons/s) available todate. We activate samples relevant to stellar nucleosynthesis by slow neutron capture (s-process). Activation products are detected by α, β or γ spectrometry or by direct atom counting (accelerator mass spectrometry, atom-trap trace analysis). The neutron capture cross sections, corrected for systematic effects using detailed simulations of neutron production and transport, lead to experimental astrophysical Maxwellian averaged cross sections (MACS). A parallel effort to develop a LiLiT-based neutron source for cancer therapy is ongoing, taking advantage of the neutron spectrum suitability for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) and the high neutron yield available.

Michael Paul et al. (2019), Reactions along the astrophysical s-process path and prospects for neutron radiotherapy with the Liquid-Lithium Target (LiLiT) at the Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF), Eur. Phys. J. A 55: 44, DOI 10.1140/epja/i2019-12723-5

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David Blaschke, Silvia Leoni and Dario Vretenar
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ISSN (Electronic Edition): 1434-601X

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