High Intensity Proton Accelerator Facility in Japan

Abstract

One of the frontiers of accelerator science is the path toward the highest beam power. Many new accelerators are based on this philosophy. In proton accelerators, the high beam power allows production of a variety of intense secondary particle beams such as kaons, neutrons , muons, neutrinos, antitprotons , and short-lived radioactive nuclear beams. In nuclear and particle physics, an example using these secondary beams is to measure rare processes such as neutrino oscillations and CP violations. In addition, sciences and technologies other than particle and nuclear physics can be carried out by using these secondary beams. These sciences and technologies include a) material and life sciences with neutron and muon beam, b) accelerator -driven nuclear transmutation of long-lived nuclides in nuclear waste, and others related to the various secondary particles. In order to realize these requirements, the new high intensity proton facility is under construction in Japan as a joint project of the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) and the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK). The location of the facility is the JAERI/Tokai site. The project has evolved from the Neutron Science Project (NSP) of JAERI and the Japan Hadron Facility (JHF) project of KEK. In Fig. 1, expected beam powers in the present facility are compared with those available in the world.