Perspectives of Croatian experimental nuclear physics

Neven SoićDivision of experimental physics

Ruđer Bošković Institute

NuPECC meeting13. Jun 2008 Zagreb

Vision

• RBI: - multidisciplinary research institute dedicated to internationally

relevant basic research in physics, chemistry, biology and related science

- leading national research institution working in close collaboration with all other national institutions accomplishing synergy of national efforts in basic science and applications

- integral part of ERA – international collaborations

• DEP: - experimental research in particle and nuclear physics and their

inter-disciplinary applications including astrophysics - close collaboration with physics groups from national universities –

Faculty of Science at Uni of Zagreb, Uni of Split, Uni of Rijeka

Objectives

• to increase quality of nuclear physics research performed in Croatia, both basic and applications

• to increase international reputation and impact in collaborative projects

• to acquire experimental equipment for research at international and local facilities

• to set up facilities for building and testing of novel research equipment

• to enlarge number of research (sub)projects and experiments led by Croatian researchers

Present status

• RBI + Uni of Zagreb + Uni of Split groups • International collaborations - collaborations and experiments at CERN (CMS, ALICE, CAST, NA61,

OPERA), GSI, KVI Groningen, MAMI Mainz, GANIL, INFN-LNL, INFN-LNS, UCL Louvain-la-Neuve, ISOLDE, IPN Orsay, IReS Strasbourg, ANU Canberra, Oak Ridge USA

- main contribution in work power, knowledge and experience, no hardware contributions from Croatia

- extensive usage of international access through FP6 projects EURONS and HADRON PHYSICS

• Local accelerator facility - strong application research in collaboration with researchers worldwide - some nuclear physics experiments in collaboration with European

physicist (1 per 3 years) - educational activities: student practical works, diploma and PhD thesis

Recent activities• many IAEA projects, one of DEP largest at Tandem 200 k€ - new sputter source at the Tandem accelerator

• FP6 INCO project RBI-AF: 216 k€ - upgrade and renewal of 6MV Tandem accelerator

• FP7 REGPOT project CLUNA: 370 k€ - upgrade of silicon detector array and scattering chamber, neutron detector array - partners: Uni of Birmingham, INFN-LNS, Uni of Zagreb

• FP7 Infrastructure project HADRON PHYSICS 2: - RBI partner in few work packages (WP23 FTOF etc)

• FP7 Infrastructure project ENSAR: - RBI partner in JRA08 EWIRA

• FP7 Infrastructure project SPIRIT: - RBI partner in JRA ‘Improving Analysis’ and JRA ‘Extending Analysis’ - FZD Dresden, CNRS, KUL Leuven, JSI Ljubljana, UBW München, CEA, Uni of Surrey, ITN

Lisbon, UPMC Paris, ETH Zürich, RBI Zagreb

• Detector and electronics workshop at DEP: - FP7 REGPOT proposal WONDER (1 M€), application for national funds for large

equipment (130 k€) – particle phy+ nuclear phy + application groups

Future actions

• Increased funding from international sources will lead up to increased national funding

• Increased impact in international collaborations : 1) existing collaborations: contribution in hardware development, more

experiments and projects at European facilities as leaders 2) FAIR: involvement in CBM & NUSTAR, Croatia full partner ? 3) CERN: Croatia full partner ?• Increased usage of local accelerator facility: 1) 2 nuclear physics experiments/year in collaborations 2) beam test facility for equipment for European large scale facilities 3) increased usage for education of students and young researchers• Interdisciplinary research and applications: - further development of heavy ion beam techniques at local facility - AMS: 14C, 10Be etc.

Conclusion

• insufficient number of accelerator facilities for present needs in Europe provides opportunity for small facilities in East Europe (research, equipment development and testing, education)

• involvement in high-quality collaborative research at top accelerator facilities and quality of local resources provide required background for expansion of Croatian nuclear physics activities

• support and help from European nuclear physics community would be very appreciated and highly desirable