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Low Energy Triton Beams for Astrophysical Studies — Requirements for the Tritium Systems of the Accelerator

B. Constantinescu

Fusion Science and Technology / Volume 28 / Number 3P2 / October 1995 / Pages 1317-1320

Design, Operation, and Maintenance of Tritium System / Proceedings of the Fifth Topical Meeting on Tritium Technology In Fission, Fusion, and Isotopic Applications Belgirate, Italy May 28-June 3, 1995 / dx.doi.org/10.13182/FST95-A30593

Opportunities for a triton induced nucleosynthesis program using low energy (0–500 keV) beams from dedicated small accelerators are presented. The program is necessary because the role of tritons in the process of light elements primordial nucleosynthesis, via 4He(t, γ)7Li, 7Li(t, n)9Be and 9Be(t,n)11B reactions, is an important discriminator for the two essential models of the Universe formation: standard (homogeneous) Big Bang model (SM) and inhomogeneous Big Bang model (IM). Some aspects concerning necessary experimental conditions - intense triton beams with high energy resolution, stability and reproducibility are briefly discussed. Accelerating intense triton beams imposes severe safety regulations. The intention to use for such a program the electrostatic accelerator, based on rotating disks-DISKTRON D400-4HVG, of the Bucharest Cyclotron Laboratory is presented. Technical requirements for the tritium systems of the accelerator are discussed in two variants: non-intense (<100 nA on the target) triton beams (tritium inventory up to 10 Ci) and intense (> 1µA on the target) triton beams (tritium inventory up to 11 kCi).