A beamline for fundamental neutron physics at TRIUMF

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new proton beamline at TRIUMF designed to produce ultracold neutrons for fundamental physics research, successfully operational with initial large-scale UCN production in Canada.

Contribution

It details the design, commissioning, and initial operation of a novel beamline for ultracold neutron production at TRIUMF, enabling advanced physics experiments.

Findings

Beamline successfully commissioned and operated at 10 microA.

First large-scale UCN production in Canada achieved.

Beam sharing implemented with a fast kicker system.

Abstract

This article describes the new primary proton beamline 1U at TRIUMF. The purpose of this beamline is to produce ultracold neutrons (UCN) for fundamental-physics experiments. It delivers up to 40 microA of 480 MeV protons from the TRIUMF cyclotron to a tungsten spallation target and uses a fast kicker to share the beam between the Center for Molecular and Materials Science and UCN. The beamline has been successfully commissioned and operated with a beam current up to 10 microA, facilitating first large-scale UCN production in Canada.