Early Career Scientist Participation in the Final Stage of IsoDAR R&D

IsoDAR will be the first high-intensity, proton-driven source to operate underground next to a multi-kiloton-scale detector. The experiment will run at Yemilab in South Korea, where it has received preliminary approval and caverns have been constructed. The novel source will produce unprecedented levels of neutrinos, neutrons, and photons for precision physics measurements of inverse beta decay, antineutrino elastic scattering and searches for rare particle searches. The heart of both IsoDAR which will delivers x10 more current than commercial machines. This project focuses on final steps in R&D for the cyclotron. Furthermore, with respect to broader impacts, the IsoDAR design makes feasible acceleration of deuterons, which is applicable for medical isotope production, especially Ac-225 that is in short supply and fusion materials testing. This grant supports students and a postdoc to participate in studies of a full-scale central region prototype of the cyclotron. Four projects will be pursued: 1) development of the beam diagnostics, training students on instrumentation; 2) establishment of machine-learning-feedback for tuning, training students in cutting edge coding; 3) establishing a new physics case from using beam timing, training students in analysis and phenomenology; and 4) modification to produce a D+ design, training the postdoc for a career that will include future developments in isotope production. Original work by the team that invented the IsoDAR cyclotron provides a firm foundation for this plan. This proposal maximizes the use of existing state-of-the-art equipment, most of which has been funded by previous NSF grants. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.