MSS: a new way for high energy-resolution on any accelerator when using magnetic spectrometers

TL;DR

The paper introduces MSS, a novel method for achieving high energy-resolution in nuclear reaction studies using magnetic spectrometers across various accelerators, demonstrated with precise (p,12C) scattering data.

Contribution

MSS provides a new approach for high energy-resolution measurements that depend only on detector resolution, applicable to any accelerator type.

Findings

Achieved 10 keV energy resolution in (p,12C) elastic scattering.

Demonstrated precise energy control with a 20-step Energy Moderator.

Obtained excitation functions consistent with known nuclear data.

Abstract

An innovative approach: MSS - the Method of Spectra Superposition for high energy-resolution (Delta-E) studies on any accelerator of nuclear reactions at fixed targets by magnetic spectrometers, has been invented. For thin targets MSS provides a Delta-E which depends only on the detector's energy-resolution. The MSS can bring huge benefits to experiments with fixed targets at all types of accelerators and also on colliders. The MSS was used to get precise data with a Delta-E = 10 keV in (p,12C) elastic scattering for the energy region Ep 16 - 19.5 MeV at cyclotron U-150 of INP Ulugbek (Tashkent, AS of Uzbekistan) with a beam energy spread of about 200 keV. The proton energy control was performed with a 20-step Energy Moderator which provides Ep interval of 3.5 MeV without any energy-readjustment of cyclotron and all the ion optics of a 41-meter-long beam pipe. A multichannel Magnetic Spectrograph (Apelsin) was used as the nuclear reaction products detector. The particle-products were detected on focal planes of Apelsin by specially designed Coordinate-sensitive gas MWPCs with two particle counters in coincidence. The acquisition system was based on IBM PC online with a fast CAMAC branch custom-designed at PNPI (St-Petersburg INP, USSR) together with fast TDC modules and other fast electronics providing immediate selection and accumulation of events from the MWPCs. The Apelsin magnetic field was stabilized to 3 ppm by NMR-monitor system The obtained, with statistical error about 6%, excitation function (EF) of (p, 12C), with a resonance reach structure, is in precise agreement with thresholds and levels data [15-18].