A 10 MV FN tandem equipped with a variety of ion sources, beam lines and target stations constitutes one of the main facilities at TUNL. The associated polarized ion source is the most intense source of dc polarized H+ and D+ ions in the world. Unpolarized beams of protons and deuterons are available from a direct extraction negative ion source. A helium source produces 3He and 4He ion beams. Monoenergetic and polarized neutrons are produced via the polarization-transfer reactions 2H(d,n) 3He and 3H(p,n)3He. These beams are being used in a wide range of nuclear reaction studies including few-body reactions, radiative capture and polarized neutron induced reactions.
High-intensity positively charged polarized beams of up to 50 micro-A are available from the polarized ion source with energies between 40 keV and 680 keV. These beams are used for few-body reaction studies and radiative capture experiments. The extracted astrophysical S-factors are of paramount importance for the Standard Solar Model.At LEBAF measurements of cross sections relevant to Big Bang nucleosynthesis are also performed.
This facility consists of a 200 kV high-intensity proton accelerator and a 1 MV low-intensity Van de Graaff accelerator. The research at LENA is concentrated on studying nuclear physics relevant to stellar evolution and explosive burning.
The Double-Beta Decay Laboratory houses a unique double-beta decay experiment that has resulted in the first successful double-beta decay measurement at ground level. Future work at TUNL will use a segmented HP 76 Ge detector enriched to 85% in 76 Ge; the prototype for a much larger project devoted to study of neutrinoless double-beta decay, which is important for neutrino mass determinations.