User community endorses FRIB completion, instrumentation as top priorities

26 August 2019

The 2019 Low Energy Community Meeting (LECM) was held 7-9 August at Duke University, hosted by the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory. More than 170 members of the low-energy nuclear physics community attended the meeting in Durham, North Carolina. 

LECM included plenary sessions and eleven working group sessions, in addition to the FRIB Theory Alliance (FRIB-TA) annual meeting held during two of the working group periods. Updates on the major user facilities, FRIB, the Association for Research and University Nuclear Accelerators (ARUNA) laboratories, FRIB-TA, and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics were presented alongside discussions of the science of neutron-star mergers, and the important topic of inclusion and diversity in the field. A pair of satellite workshops on the Gamma-Ray Tracking Array (GRETA) and the FRIB Decay Station (FDS) were also held.

The 2019 LECM meeting resulted in a set of resolutions accepted unanimously.

2019 LECM resolutions:

  • FRIB remains the top priority. The community eagerly anticipates the completion of FRIB and building of the instrumentation necessary to realize FRIB’s tremendous scientific potential. Progress on the key instruments GRETA and the Separator for Capture Reactions is proceeding well. A timely start of the High Rigidity Spectrometer is the community’s priority. Following the 2015 Long Range Plan, the FDS and the SOLenoid spectrometer Apparatus for ReactIon Studies project are necessary for the community to realize FRIB’s scientific opportunities.
  • Operation of the national user facilities the Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System and the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at optimal levels is fundamental to the health of the community. The ARUNA facilities are central to the low-energy science program, and their continued effective operation is crucial. The community strongly supports the continued funding of these facilities and associated research groups at both universities and national laboratories.
  • JINA has become an essential part of low-energy nuclear science, providing critical interdisciplinary connections and educational opportunities. The community strongly endorses continued support for JINA.
  • FRIB-TA is an essential component of the field. The bridge faculty and theory fellowship positions at universities and national laboratories help to grow capability in this important aspect of the community. LECM strongly endorses continued support of the FRIB-TA and its programs, including computational theory and related astrophysics.
  • The science case for an energy upgrade of FRIB to 400 MeV/u is extremely compelling and would significantly expand the science opportunities at FRIB, as outlined in the FRIB400 white paper.

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