The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR), one of the largest international research facilities in the world is coming up at Darmstadt, Germany. About 3000 scientists from 50 countires will study the structure of matter and the evolution of the universe from the Big Bang to the present using this facility. The entire research activities at FAIR are subdivided into four experimental programs namely Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM), Nuclear Structure, Astrophysics and Reactions (NUSTAR), Atomic, Plasma Physics and Applications (APPA) and Antiproton Annihilation at Darmstadt (PANDA). The civil construction for the state of the art ring accelerator of 1,100 m circumference as well as the experimental and computational facilities is in full swing on 20 hectares of land.
Artist's impression of the FAIR showing the existing facility (GSI) at the left side
Latest construction site
India as the third largest contributor among the nine countries (others are France, Germany, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sweden and Slovenia) that are working as partners to build this facility has major roles to play. Indian companies will supply and design critical items such as ultra-stable power converters, co-axial power cables for powering the magnet, beam stoppers, ultra high vaccum chambers and superconducting magnets for the FAIR accelerator system. Indian scientists are also working in the CBM and NUSTAR experiments. In CBM, the major responsibiliy from Indian scientists is to build a Muon detection system based on Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology. In the NUSTAR experiment, Indians are involved in buidling high resolution gamma-ray spectrometer (Despec Germanium Array) and Modular Neutron Spectrometer.
Ultra High Vacuum Chambers for housing beam diagnostic equipment at FAIR. Challenges: very thin walls and upto seven flanges.
Stops very high intensity Uranium beams in an absorber equipped with propoer colling arrangements. It is designed in India and to be built by an Indian company.
These are the devices that energize the superconducting magnets of the accelerator. They need to be ultra stable in voltage and current.
These are polyimide foils (commonly known as Kapton) of 50 μm thickness sandwiched between two 5 μm thick copper layers on both sides. The foil has holes with 70 μm diameter and 140 μm pitch (distance between centres of two holes). When voltage of ~ 300 V is applied between these two copper layers, an electric field of ~ tens of kV/cm is generated inside these holes and they work as electron multiplier. Several of these foils are used to build particle detector.
As the GEM based detectors have very good position resolution, they can be used for medical imaging.
Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, Kolkata
Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore
Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur
Bose Institute, Kolkata
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai
Inter University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi
Aligarh Musslim University, Aligarh
Punjab University, Chandigarh
Rajasthan University, Jaipur
University of Kashmir, Srinagar
University of Calcutta, Kolkata
Benaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Indian Institute of Technology Indore
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai
Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
University of Delhi, Delhi
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar
University of North Bengal, Siliguri
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Gauhati University, Guwahati
Pune University, Pune
South Gujarat University
National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar
The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara
Magadh University, Bodhgaya
Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad
iDesign, Pune
Cadillac Filters Private Limited, Kolkata
Avasarala industries, Bangalore
Godrej Industries
RPG industries
Vacuum Techniques Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore
FAIR aims to create the extremely high densities found in the core of neutron stars, and it has planned the ‘Compressed Baryonic Matter’ (CBM) experiment. Among the other aims of FAIR are to conduct unique nuclear physics studies with radioactive ion beams, novel studies in hadron physics, including hadron spectroscopy (search for exotic particles like glueballs and determination of their properties), among other hadron studies; explore both neutron and proton-rich nuclei to understand the creation of heavy elements in supernova explosions etc., as well as unique studies in plasma physics, atomic physics, biology, materials science and nanotechnology.
This is an International project in which India is the third largest collaborating country. FAIR has shareholders from nine countries, namely, Germany, Finland, France, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden and India. The United Kingdom is an associate partner, while Czechia is aspirant partner. India has committed to contributing in building the advanced accelerator and detector systems for this highly advanced new-generation accelerator facility. All the above scientific goals are front-ranking fundamental questions in contemporary science. The Indian scientific community has deep interest in all these cutting-edge scientific goals of FAIR. The project is being funded jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) with DST acting as the nodal agency in executing the project. The Indo-FAIR Co-ordination Centre (IFCC), a project at Bose Institute, Kolkata, has been acting as the coordinating centre for implementation of this project from Indian side. For India, this is a big collaborative effort between national labs and Indian industry.
CBM muon Chambers (CBM-MuCh), where CBM stands for ‘Compressed Baryonic Matter’. The types of detectors used in MuCh are Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) and Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC).
Two: SIS100 and SIS300.
90% of the speed of light.
4 Kelvin
Intensity.
5-6 times.
Dr. Subhasis Chattopadhyay
Scientist (H+)
Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre,
1/AF, Bidhan Nagar,
Kolkata – 700064
Email: sub@vecc.gov.in
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