2.4
Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
The activities of the Centre during the period 2000-01 are described below :
Super-conducting Cyclotron
The Super-conducting Cyclotron project made significant progress. The substructure work for the cyclotron building was completed and construction of the superstructure progressed. Machining of various parts of the main magnet frame was under progress. The super-conducting coil-winding set-up was installed and testing was done. The liquid helium plant was commissioned successfully at VECC. Solid modeling and fabrication of the components of RF cavity made progress. Various units of the RF electrical systems were under development and fabrication.
Heavy Ion Acceleration with VEC
ECR Heavy Ion Source and the analyzing system were tested and the mechanical engineering aspects relating to new low energy injection line were finalized.
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RadioactiveIon Beam Project
Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) project at VECC made significant progress. ECR to RFQ beam line design was finalized. Mechanical engineering design of the thick-target-surface-ioniser was undertaken. Theoretical calculations for thick target characterization for RIB were in process. Einzel lens for the ISOL beam-line was fabricated and assembled. Design of the RF pre-buncher reached an advanced stage. A bombarder power supply was fabricated and shipped to RIKEN, Japan for the "Two-Ion-Source" experiment at RIKEN.
Recovery and Analysis of Helium from Hot Springs
A new set of heat exchangers were fabricated and tested; Helium was isolated at site, and soil air samples were collected and helium concentrations were measured. Sampling of soil gases in grid was continued in E-W lineament between Gadhadharpur and Bahadurganj in the Bakreswar area. Detailed analysis of the soil gases were carried out.
Computer and Information Technology
For faster internet, a 512 kbps connectivity was commissioned. A high end computing server was finalized, and updation and development of the on-line data acquisition program was carried out. An off-line data analysis program also was updated. A fuzzy logic based control system was in progress. Research continued on image processing, pattern recognition, neural network, fuzzy database and related subjects.
Heavy Ion Experimental Facilities
The complete electronics scheme for the BaF array was finalized, and tests were carried out on certain components such as hybrid pre-amplifier chips, a prototype detector element and others. Prototype printed boards were fabricated, Prototype pre-amplifiers were tested and commercial electronics for the CsI (Tl) filter array was finalized. Another notable activity was the fabrication of the first phase of the modular scattering chamber.
Theoretical Physics Research
The temperature dependence of nuclear shape and pairing gap for Z=68 nuclei was studied. The relativistic mean field theory8 was further used to obtain the equation of state of finite nuclei in the Thomas Fermi approximation. Theoretical investigations were carried out to explore the possibility of using deep inelastic reactions for the production and study of unstable nuclei. A semi-classical Euler-Lagrange equation with stochastic exchange of nucleons was solved for this purpose. The halo structure of 17F was also explained.
Other activities included :
Studies on fission dynamics of hot nuclei, investigation of systematic dependence of fission width on temperature and spin of the fissioning nucleus, and studies on a hydro-dynamical model of ultra-relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions.
The possibility of the dominance of macroscopic heterotic strings in the early universe was theoretically explored. Another investigation related to gauge unification in the minimal supersymmetric standard model. Emission of high energy photons from matter, created in Pb+Pb collisions at CERN SPS energies, was considered in a (3+1) dimensional hydro-dynamical model.
The time evolution of the colour screening mass in high-energy nuclear collisions was calculated using the parton cascade model. Studies were conducted on the transverse momentum dependence of the survival probability of the directly produced J/psi at RHIC energies and photons at LHC energies.
Material Science Research
Zircaloy-2 and Zr-2.5%Nb samples were cold rolled and characterized by X-ray diffraction line profile analysis.
Experimental Nuclear Physics
Energetic heavy ion beams are now available for experiments from VEC after upgrading with an indigenously built ECR (electron cyclotron resonance) ion source. To ensure beam quality within the allowed limits of experimental constraints, some test experiments were initially conduc-ted.Fragment emission studies from different targets like Aluminium, Silicon, Niobium using 116 MeV Oxygen beams have been performed successfully.
Experimental Search for Quark Gluon Plasma
The Technical Design Report (TDR) of the Indian team, for the development of Photon Multiplicity Detector (PMD) for the ALICE experiment at LHC at CERN, was approved by the LHC Experiments Committee at CERN. Study of the main ALICE data acquisition system commenced. The technology for the fabrication of the honeycomb chambers developed at VECC, is expected to cut down the cost substantially.
The civil construction of a clean laboratory (class 100,000 th) continued.
Regional Radiation Medicine Centre
The upgraded Gamma cameras were functioning satisfactorily. The medical LINAC also gave satisfactory performance after its repair. AERB clearance is awaited for use of the machine for patient treatment.