This proposal, from the University of Notre Dame, requests funds to develop a Preliminary Design for a two-accelerator facility underground at DUSEL. The goal for the Dakota Ion Accelerators for Nuclear Astrophysics (DIANA) facility is to address three long standing fundamental problems in nuclear astrophysics: Solar neutrino sources and the core metallicity of the sun, carbon-based nucleosynthesis, and neutron sources for the production of trans-Fe elements in stars.
The award, through a Cooperative Agreement with the University of Notre Dame, will fund the design of this facility intended to provide the identification of new observational signatures such as neutrinos from the sun and distant supernovae and is closely interwoven with underground neutrino physics. The use of underground low-energy accelerator facilities, as demonstrated by the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA) at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory in Italy, has pioneered the field, but at the same time has demonstrated enormous deficiencies in our knowledge of low-energy stellar reactions. The facility will host a large number of graduate student and postdoctoral researchers and users. Small-scale facilities such as DIANA are ideal to train future generations in many aspects of nuclear physics such as nuclear reaction physics, radiation shielding, detector techniques, data analysis, and material analysis. Training professionals in these areas is essential for the national needs in medicine, energy production, defense, industry, and government.
The Dual Ion Accelerator for Nuclear Astrophysics DIANA project aimed at the design of a novel state-of the art accelerator system for the measurement of nuclear reactions with very low cross sections that drive the evolution of stars and build the seed for the chemical evolution of our universe. The cosmic ray background handicaps the sensitivity for low cross section measurements. DIANA was therefore designed for an underground location for reducing the cosmic ray detector background. The project design is completed. A careful mapping of the cosmic ray background conditions have been performed for a number of undergrounds sites. The collaboration has identified the SURF laboratory at Homestake mine as best site in terms of accessibility, internal and structural support and costs. Presently a small accelerator is being installed at the 4500ft level of SURF for further testing. The DIANA project is a state of the art accelerator design that was developed in close collaboration with US national laboratories and the US based accelerator industry. The tests have demonstrated that the pproject is technically feasible. DIANA addresses fundamental scientific needs for the nuclear astrophysics community. A It is a project of high international visibility. Unfortunately due to funding constraints the project is presently on hold.
