Nuclear uncertainties in the s-process simulation

The heavy elements in the Universe are formed during the s- and r-processes mainly in AGB stars and supernovae, respectively. Simulation of s- and r-nucleosynthesis critically depends on the neutron capture and weak decay rates for all the nuclei on the reaction chain. The present work analyzes systematically the neutron capture rates (cross sections) for the s-process nuclei, including ～3000 rates on ～200 nuclei. The network calculations for the constant temperature s-process have been performed using the different data sets selected as the nuclear inputs to investigate the uncertainties in the predicted s-abundances. We show that the available cross sections of neutron capture on many s-process nuclei still carry large uncertainties, which lead to low accuracy in the determination of s-process isotope abundances. We analyze the neutron capture cross section data for the same unique isobar nucleus accorded by year from previous work. Such an analysis indicates that the s-process has been studied for more than fifty years and there exist two research stages around 1976 and 2002, respectively. The needs and opportunities for future experiments and theoretical tools are highlighted to remove the existing shortcomings in the neutron capture rates.     

RF and field measurements of the SSC-LINAC RFQ

The 53.667 MHz continuous-wave heavy ion RFQ has been designed and manufactured for the SSC-LINAC project.This four-rod RFQ accelerates ions with maximum mass to charge ratio of 7 from 3.728 keV/u to 143 keV/u.Measurements have been carried out to check the RF performance of the cavity and the quality of the electric field.The S11 of the power coupler is adjusted to better than-44 dB,and the Q0 of the cavity is 6440.The quality of the electric field is evaluated by the perturbation method.The measurement procedure and data analysis will be discussed in detail.The error due to gravity of the perturbation bead has been corrected by averaging the fields in different quadrants.As a result,the unflatness of the electric field is±2.5%,and the dipole field component distributes from 0%to 20%in different longitudinal positions,which indicates the asymmetry of the quadrupole field.The unflatness of the quadrupole field distribution represents a good agreement with the simulation results.High power RF test and beam commissioning of the RFQ are on schedule in early 2014.     

Electron cooling experiments in CSR

The six species heavy ion beam was accumulated with the help of electron cooling in the main ring of Cooler Storage Ring of Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL-CSR). The ion beam accumulation dependence on the parameters of cooler was investigated experimentally. The 400 MeV/u ¹²C⁶⁺ and 200 MeV/u ¹²⁹Xe⁵⁴⁺ were stored and cooled in the experimental ring CSRe, and the cooling force was measured in different conditions.