Grant: Subatomic Physics Envelope - Project

TRIUMF, as Canada's National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics, has established itself as a center of excellence for accelerator science and technology. In particular, since the start of construction of the main cyclotron in 1969, TRIUMF has been one of the world's centers of expertise in fixed-field circulating accelerators. This expertise is in danger of dissipating with highly qualified staff approaching retirement age. Advanced Cyclotron Systems, Inc. (ACSI), a leading designer, manufacturer, and installer of cyclotrons, has recently formed a collaboration with TRIUMF. TRIUMF accelerator scientsits designed the original cyclotrons still being marketed by ACSI today. ACSI's primary interest in the collaboration is to have TRIUMF physicists generate new cyclotron designs that will benefit Canadians and provide export opportunities to the rest of the world. In 2009 TRIUMF initiated a graduate program in particle accelerator physics in collaboration with 3 local universities: University of British Columbia, University of Victoria and Simon Fraser University. This program is unique in Canada and has already attracted more than a dozen young Canadians to learn this emerging field of science and technology. This new generation will become a resource pool of highly qualified personnel for TRIUMF as well as for other scientific facilities and industries requiring particle accelerator expertise. Also over the past decade, compute power has increased substantially, making it now practical to fully understand the space charge limit of cyclotrons. This allows not only to design higher intensity cyclotrons for more efficient isotope production, but also to more fully optimize existing cyclotrons. We propose as project the exploration of the limits of cyclotrons. This project will also create a solid ground for training young particle physics researchers with the necessary skills to continue the research work that occurs at TRIUMF and enable Canada to remain in the forefront of cyclotron research. The application will request NSERC funds, annual approx. $40,000, to support research in cyclotron physics. As computing power increases, performance limitations of cyclotrons, such as space charge effects, and coupling caused by matching an externally injected ion beam to the cyclotron, become amenable to simulation. New simulation codes will be developed to calculate beam dynamics, design the cyclotron centre region and extraction system.