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Overseas Facilities Helped Stranded Researchers to Carry Out Suspended Experiments due to the 2011 East Japan Earthquake
2 Dec, 2011
Due to the East Japan Earthquake which occurred in March 2011, Material and Life Science Experimental Facility (MLF) at Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) was forced to suspend scheduled experiments. Fortunately, some of the experimental proposals have been accepted to be performed in alternative research facilities; following the neutron experiments performed in September, some of the muon experiments were performed at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in England.
In RIKEN muon facility of RAL, 12 experimental proposals of MLF have been accepted. Since October 5, 2011, six experimental proposals have been performed: they are muon spin relaxation measurements*1 using port 2 (ARGUS spectrometer) of RIKEN/RAL beamline. The first experiment performed were a joint project of Shimomura-group (KEK-IMSS) and JAEA muon group, which was followed by experiments of Sugiyama-group (Toyota Central Research Lab.), a joint experiment of Kadono-group (KEK-IMSS) and Sato-group (U. Tokyo-ISSP), and an experiment of Ohishi-group (CROSS) continued to till Oct. 31.
These MLF experiments at RAL were fully technically supported by Muon Science Establishment (MUSE*2) of J-PARC. Associate Professor Shimomura (KEK-IMSS) reports "We are thankful for the help from RIKEN and RAL staffs, so that we were able to complete the planned measurements."The remaining six experiments will be performed later at RAL.
Dr. Hiroshi Nozaki (Toyota Central Research Lab.) and Associate Professor Kenji M. Kojima (KEK-IMSS) working on experimental setup at RIKEN/RAL.
Dr. Francis Pratt (ISIS, RAL explaining the data acquisition system to J-PARC users. From right to left: Associate Professor Nobumasa Funamori (U. Tokyo), Assistant Professor Tomoko Sato (Hiroshima U.) and Associate Professor Kenji M. Kojima (KEK-IMSS).
*1) Muon spin relaxation (μSR) measurement
Employing positive muons available from accelerator, the most sensitive magnetic probe. After implanting muon into the sample, magnetic order and fluctuation may be observed using the spin (magnetic dipole moment) of muon. Muons are implanted into the sample homogeneously. This technique is able to distinguish spacial homogeneity of the magnetism.
*2) MUSE
Muon Science Establishment of J-PARC. The facility which was established in 2008, delivering the world's strongest pulsed muon beam.