9417364 Middleton This award will support and maintain the negative-ion source and AMS development program at the University of Pennsylvania for a period of three years. The principal objective of the program are: (1) to extend the present studies of polyatomic and molecular ions that are currently underway with carbon and aluminum. In particular, to search for new double-negative clusters, utilizing the methods developed to detect and veridy double-negative clusters of carbon by acceleration in the tandem Van de Graaff accelerator. (2) to revise, expand, and prepare the Negative Ion Cookbook for formal publication. Much new data would be included on polyatomic and molecular ions and on the negative-ion signatures of some common compounds and minerals. (3) Continue to develop the triode source that is expected to produce an order of magnitude more current than the present high-intensity source. The availability of such a source will have impact in several fields including nuclear science where it should enable higher intensity relativistic heavy-ion beams to be accelerated in RHIC. (4) develop new techniques for accelerator mass spectroscopy (AMS). ***
