🍾 ESS accelerator starts with 542 meters proton beam

• For the first time, protons have been accelerated all the way from the ion source to the beam dump, a distance of 542.5 meters in the 600-meter-long accelerator tunnel.
• The facility now functions as an integrated system and demonstrates that the accelerator works according to plans.
• The next step will be to shoot the proton beam all the way to the beam target to produce neutrons for scientific experiments.

Years of work reach results

Bottles of prosecco were opened in the control room at 15:21, despite the otherwise prevailing alcohol ban. The ESS facility in Lund has achieved an important milestone when the proton beam was transported 542.5 meters through the accelerator to the so-called beam dump for the first time. This shows that the accelerator functions as an integrated system from source to dump.

The construction of the research facility has been ongoing for over ten years. The result is the culmination of years of design, manufacturing, testing, installation and integration. It represents an important step toward delivering high-energy proton beams to the target where neutrons for scientific experiments will be produced.

Ciprian Plostinar, head of the accelerator division, explains that beam commissioning is a major integration point where all technical systems, infrastructure, controls and processes must work effectively together. Control room staff, engineers, physicists and technicians have worked around the clock to make this possible.

ESS will be the world's most powerful neutron source and as a giant microscope for studying various materials. Researchers will use the facility to understand the origin of the universe, develop new batteries and understand diseases. Others will investigate what has gone wrong in the manufacturing of ball bearings or generators for wind turbines.

The facility functions as a science highway where researchers can travel toward different goals. When protons crash against the tungsten wheel, neutrons are generated through spallation. The neutrons are then directed to various scientific instruments where researchers can study materials at the atomic and molecular level.

From safety review to success

The commissioning process began in February with a rigorous safety readiness review. In March, the system permit was granted, followed by beam authorization.

Commissioning began with a low-power probe beam and proceeded step by step along the 600-meter linac and beam transport system. Beam stops and diagnostics in the normal conducting and superconducting linac sections provided intermediate checkpoints to safely validate each part of the accelerator.

Technical specifications

The ESS accelerator and beam transport system is 600 meters long and will accelerate protons to 96 percent of the speed of light. It includes superconducting accelerating structures cooled by a helium cryoplant operating at 2 Kelvin.

Protons are generated at the ion source and sent through the linear accelerator toward a rotating tungsten target station. When the high-energy protons collide with the heavy metal target, neutrons are released through a process called spallation. The neutrons are then guided to various experimental stations where researchers can study materials at the atomic and molecular level.

Next phase toward scientific operation

The facility will now be test-operated day and night for six weeks at low energy. The next step will be to test-run the accelerator all the way to the beam target - a large wheel in tungsten that rotates in a vacuum tank. The accelerator will ultimately deliver proton beams of up to 5 MW of power to the target.

ESS is financed by thirteen European countries with Sweden and Denmark as host countries. Sweden accounts for approximately one-third of the costs. The facility is Sweden's largest and most expensive research project ever and is expected to be in full operation in 2028.

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