Data acquisition system for the socal plane detector of the mass separator MASHA

The results of the development and the general information about the data acquisition system which was recently created at the MASHA setup (Flerov laboratory of nuclear reactions at Joint institute for nuclear research) are presented. The main difference from the previous system is that we use a new modern platform, National Instruments PXI with XIA multichannel high-speed digitizers (250 MHz 12 bit 16 channels). At this moment system has 448 spectrometric channels. The software and its features for the data acquisition and analysis are also described. The new DAQ system expands precision measuring capabilities of alpha decays and spontaneous fission at the focal plane position-sensitive silicon strip detector which, in turn, increases the capabilities of the setup in such a field as low-yield registration of elements.     

Facility for preparation of gas mixture in muon catalyzed fusion experiments

A facility is described that allows safe handling of high tritium gas activity as dozens kilocuries in a regular laboratory environment. It is used to make and deliver into the target a mixture of specific isotopic composition with the contamination requirement of 10^-7 v.f. for Z>1 elements, and recover it upon completion of operation. With this facility, efforts have been accomplished to investigate into the muon catalyzed fusion on two targets – liquid tritium and high-pressure tritium types. Also, the operation range was 0.1–120 MPa for pressure and 20–800 K for temperature and the amount of tritium used was about 100 kCi. The facility showed reliability in operation without indications of radiation beyond the safety level. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Measurement of quasi-isentropic compressibility of helium and deuterium at pressures of 1500–2000 GPa

The quasi-isentropic compressibility of helium and deuterium plasmas at pressures of up to 1500?C2000 GPa has been measured using devices with spherical geometry and an X-ray diagnostic complex comprising three betatrons and a multichannel imaging system with electro-optic gamma detectors. A deuterium density of 4.5 g/cm³ and a helium density of 3.8 g/cm³ have been obtained at pressures of 2210 and 1580 GPa, respectively. The internal energy of a deuterium plasma at the indicated pressure is about 1 MJ/cm³, which is about 100 times greater than the specific energy of condensed chemical explosives. Analysis of the obtained data shows that the degree of helium ionization under the achieved plasma compression parameters is about 0.9.     

Tritium Fuel Cycle for Muon-Catalyzed Intense Neutron Source (MC INS)

The paper presents a schematic design of a Tritium Fuel Cycle for Muon-Catalyzed Intense Neutron Source (MC INS) capable of producing 14 MeV neutrons. Based on the assumption that the fuel mixture should be used in a liquid phase different approaches are proposed to incorporate a DT cell (synthesizer) into the MC INS facility. Estimations of the total tritium inventory in the MC INS facility are given. The calculations of the DT cell operation temperature regime using the code FLOW-3D^(R) are presented. The capability to remove the thermal energy released in the DT cell of the proposed design is shown. The MC INS design is analyzed from the viewpoint of tritium safety requirements. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Measurement of the Temperature Dependence of the ddμ-Molecule Formation Rate in Dense Deuterium at Temperatures 300–800 K

Muon catalyzed fusion in deuterium was studied by the MCF collaboration at JINR phasotron. The measurements were carried out with a high-pressure deuterium target at the JINR phasotron in the temperature range 300–800 K at densities ≃0.5 LHD. The first experimental results for ddμ-molecule formation rate λ _ddμ in the temperature range 400–800 K with deuterium density 0.5 LHD are presented. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

RFNC-VNIIEF Tritium Technologies for Fundamental Science

The present paper reviews the research equipment and techniques previously and currently under development in RFNC-VNIIEF to perform studies in such fundamental areas as muon catalyzed fusion, exotic quantum systems at the stability boundary, measuring magnetic moment of neutrino, etc. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Calculation of equilibrium composition and establishing time in a mixture of three hydrogen isotopes

A mathematical model describing the kinetics of establishing equilibrium is developed. Equilibrium concentrations of isotopic molecules for gas mixtures used in muon catalyzed fusion research are calculated. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Measurement of the temperature dependence of the ddμ molecule formation rate in dense deuterium at temperatures of 85–790 K

Muon catalyzed fusion (MCF) in deuterium was studied by the MCF collaboration on the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research Phasotron. The measurements were carried out with a high-pressure deuterium target in the temperature range 85–790 K at densities of about 0.5 and 0.8 of the liquid hydrogen density. The first experimental results for the ddμ molecule formation rate λ _ddμ in the temperature range 400–790 K with a deuterium density of about 0.5 of the liquid hydrogen density are presented.     

High-Pressure Hydrogen Isotopes Sources Based on Vanadium Hydride

Equilibrium pressures of protium and deuterium desorption over a two-phase area of monohydride-vanadium dihydride were measured. Temperature measurement range was 300–635 K and the pressure range 1–500 MPa. Obtained temperature-dependences of fugacities within the given measurement range are: lgf(MPa) = −2152/T+ 6.6 and lgf(MPa) = −2575/T + 7.4 for protium and deuterium, respectively. The values of enthalpy and entropy for vanadium dihydride phase formation were calculated from obtained relations. Using expressions obtained for fugacities and literature data on hydrogen imperfection the pressures, which can be obtained with vanadium dihydride employed in thermodesorption hydrogen sources, were estimated. Taking into account that due to deterioration in strength properties of the used structural materials, the heating temperature of the load-bearing body is limited to ∼973 K, maximal calculated pressure, which can be obtained with such sources as ≈1820 MPa for protium and ≈2220 MPa for deuterium. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Investigation of the Parameters of Muon-Catalyzed Fusion in Double D/T Mixture at High Temperature and Density

Experiments on the study of the muon catalyzed fusion (μCF) process in a double D/T mixture of hydrogen isotopes in the temperature range 300–800 K at densities 0.3–0.5 LHD are performed at the JINR phasotron. The values of the effective μCF parameters (cycling rate λ _c , neutron yield Y _n , muon losses w) are obtained. Tentative dtμ-molecule formation rates on D₂ and DT molecules (λ _dtμ−d and λ _dtμ−t ) are obtained for different mixture temperatures and densities. The results obtained show that λ _dtμ−t increases with temperature, but its value is smaller than theoretical predictions. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.