Physics Division ORNL Index Search Comments Disclaimers
Rev: Thursday, 04-Oct-2001 14:26:49 EDT
Dear Colleagues,
From all indications, the FNPSNS Workshop held here in Oak Ridge last week was a great success. We have had very few cancellations due to the recent events, and we had a number of excellent presentations, followed by extensive discussions. The Workshop has achieved its purpose and my thanks go to all who have participated in it.
This message is to let you know about some of the conclusions of the Workshop, and also about some tentative decisions reached in the few days following the Workshop.
We have gathered a lot important material for the proposal to DOE. (We will propose that DOE fund a cold neutron facility at the SNS, and we need to turn this proposal in to DOE by the end of this calendar year, in order for it to be factored into the next budget cycle). The view graphs of all presentations made at the Workshop will be posted on a new web site dedicated to this activity, and access to them will be made available to all. I will let you know when this new web site is operational.
Plans were made immediately following the end of the Workshop for interactions with SNS staff and with others in order to generate beamline specifications and layouts, as well as initial cost estimates. Among those associated with this activity are Geoff Greene, Mike Snow, Vince Cianciolo, Charlie Hammett and Paul Koehler (to be confirmed). Others are more than welcome to participate in this activity. However, we will not be able to support such volunteer efforts financially. Please contact me if you are interested.
The proposal to DOE will consist of two components. In the first, we will request a "standard" beamline dedicated to fundamental physics studies with cold neutrons. This beamline will very probably be contained entirely within the SNS target hall. In the second component, we will request a beamline for the production of Ultra-Cold Neutrons. This beamline will very probably have to extend beyond the boundary of the target hall, and it will, therefore, have to have its own end-station building.
Tentative proposal writing assignments have been made. All drafts will be circulated within the proposal Working Group, and drafts may also be posted on the web for comments. The sections and persons responsible for them are indicated below:
Science Case: Chris Gould
Cost and Schedule: Mike Snow and Geoff Greene
Management Plan: Geoff Greene
Under the "Science Case", Chris will also be responsible for collecting all drafts relating to possible initial experiments to be performed at the SNS. These include (but are no limited to) the experiments that were described at the Workshop. One addition to these experiments that emerged from the Workshop is the possible implementation at the SNS of a new version of the EMIT experiment, and it is listed along with the other experiments below. As a starting point, the Workshop speakers have agreed to take responsibility for providing us with drafts (2 - 3 pages) describing the experiments that they have presented, and indicating why the SNS would be a great place to perform the experiments, or continue them. The experiments and persons responsible are as follows:
n + p to d + gamma (Seppo Pentilla et.al.)
Neutron Spin Rotation (Blayne Heckel et.al.)
Neutron Decay Correlations (Scott Wilburn et.al.)
Neutron Lifetime via Trapped UCN (Paul Huffman et.al.)
Neutron Electric Dipole Moment (Martin Cooper et.al.)
EMIT time reversal experiment(Fred Wietfeldt)
I will be responsible for the overall coordination of the proposal.
The following schedule for generating the proposal was presented at the Workshop, and has been confirmed subsequently.
End of October, 1st drafts are due. These include:
November
December
The IDT is formally required by SNS management, and provides the framework for management of activities not funded by the SNS project. At the Workshop, it was decided that we would regard the IDT essentially as a "User Group" and that it would be open to all. An Executive Committee of the IDT will be formed, presumably consisting of a person associated with each of the above possible experiments, plus others. The Executive Committee is expected to provide the "governance" of the IDT. A "Principal Investigator" will be designated, and he/she will act in the capacity of a "Spokesperson", and will be responsible to the IDT Executive Council. (Later, a Director of the Facility will be appointed, with line management responsibility within ORNL. This person may or may not be the same as the above "Principal Investigator".)
The above summarizes tentative decisions made at the Workshop regarding the IDT, as well as our current thinking. Please send us your comments concerning these plans. IMPORTANT: PLEASE SEND ME AN E-MAIL INDICATING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE A MEMBER OF THE IDT. As stated above, it is open to all. Also, please send me suggestions (names) for Executive Committee members and for the Principal Investigator (Spokesperson) of the IDT. If you have strong feelings as to how the initial Executive Committee should be designated (appointed, elected, etc.) please be sure to let me know. Once the initial structure is "jump-started", then formal Bylaws and rules can be adopted, reflecting more precisely the will of the community.
It is important for members of our community to sign up for the general SNS Users Group, SHUG. A web-based sign up system should be in place soon. I will let you know when web-based sign up is possible.
There was considerable discussion at the Workshop as to the whether or not the proposal to DOE should contain a separate request for an epithermal neutron beamline in addition to the cold neutron facilities. No conclusion was reached at the Workshop. Following the Workshop, we have made a decision NOT to include a request for epithermal neutrons in the cold neutron proposal, unless the DOE strongly urges us to do so.
I look forward to working with you on this exciting project, and to hearing from you soon.
Frank Plasil
|
Physics Division ORNL Index Search Comments Disclaimers Rev: Thursday, 04-Oct-2001 14:26:49 EDT |