Periodic Reporting for period 2 - HighNESS (Development of High Intensity Neutron Source at the European Spallation Source)
Période du rapport: 2022-04-01 au 2023-09-30
The future ESS source will be composed of a Liquid Deuterium moderator (LD2) and also of two additional sources: a dedicated VCN (Very Cold Neutron) moderator and an Ultra Cold Neutron (UCN) source.
The new instrumentations developed by the project that will use the new sources currently convey a neutron imaging instrument, a spin-echo instrument, two small-angle scattering instruments, and also the neutron-antineutron oscillation experiment NNBAR.
Developing a new generation of neutron scattering instruments like the ones that are designed in the HighNESS project will impact a diverse range of scientific applications like dynamics and structure of polymers, large bio-molecules, liquid metals, and manufacturing, to name but a few.
The societal impact of the performance improvements of instruments in condensed matter research will foster economic competitiveness through direct access for the industry supporting advanced manufacturing as well as through the exploration and development of novel efficient and smart materials. Neutron imaging and SANS can serve a wide range of industrial applications, like in the past for the optimization of particulate filters as well as fuel cells for the automotive industry. Neutron spin-echo can for example provide unique information in the development of batteries, being a key element in the move away from fossil fuel.
Regarding the fundamental physics possibilities, the NNBAR experiment will have a unique reach in sensitivity beyond any future and running collider experiment. The observation of neutron-antineutron conversions would be a discovery of Nobel Prize-winning significance and will have a direct impact on almost all the future lines of research in modern physics.
At the end of the project, the conceptual design report CDR of the upgrade of the ESS facility will be delivered.
With this upgrade, the ESS will become one of the most attractive places in the world to perform research with neutrons attracting the best scientific communities in the world and it will further establish the leadership of Europe in neutron science.