REU Projects

Photofission

Photofission with Linearly Polarized Photons. (Dale, Cole, Starovoitova) We are commissioning an off-axis bremsstrahlung beam facility which produces a linearly-polarized photon beam in the energy range of 1 to 15 MeV with a polarization of 30%. We are investigating a new technique for detecting actinides, which takes advantage of the unique angular signature of neutrons resulting from photofission through linearly polarized photons. The student’s project will entail both the hardware and software associated with the VME data acquisition and the analysis of neutron detectors.

Drift Chambers

Drift Chamber Testing

(Forest, Cole, Dale) We are commissioning a facility for extracting one single electron from each LINAC pulse. Directing this electron onto a wire chamber allows us to uniquely characterize the tracking efficiency of the wire chamber on a wire-to-wire basis. The student’s project will entail the hardware and software associated with the VME data acquisition and the associated tracking efficiency analysis.

Clean Room construction

Class 5 Clean Room. (Cole, Forest, Dale) By June of 2009, we will have constructed a 25’ by 25’ by 10’ high clean room. The primary goal is to wire seven Region 1 Drift Chamber modules for the 12-GeV upgrade to Hall B of Jefferson Lab.

wire tension test stand

Before stringing these chambers, we will first need to construct a wire-tension monitor. The student will build, test, and calibrate a six-foot by three-foot coiled magnet. The resonant frequency of the alternating current in the probed wire bathed in a uniform magnetic field gives measure of the wire’s tension.

Positron Production

Jefferson Lab, a Department of Energy electron accelerator facility located in Virginia, is engaged in a positron production research and development project with ISU. Our goal is to develop a facility which will produce a nano-Amp positron beam at Jefferson Lab. A student working on this project would install and calibrate beam instrumentation devices which will be used to measure positron production efficiencies. These instruments measure the beam current and the profile of the electron distribution within the beam. The student would gain experiences in electronics, accelerator physics, and particle detectors.