Neutron and Muon Beam Lines at the 3-GeV PS

Neutron Science

Neutron gives very important information of atomic structure and dynamics of material in microscopic scale, even of magnetic ones, which is indispensable to understand properties and functions of material, and leads to improvement of material's function and invention of new materials. The neutron facility in the Joint Project is a pulsed spallation neutron source and creates very intense neutrons in very wide range of energy from µeV to MeV region. Therefore, there are huge variety of application with neutron from the facility for studying materials, ranging from bio-molecules, organic/inorganic chemical molecules, medicines, food artifacts, ferro-electrics, magnets, semiconductors, superconductors, electric/fuel battery materials, glasses, amorphous, liquids to gases, and even for study on fundamental physics. It will be also used for diagnostic investigation of products of industry, and for archaeology purpose by using radiographic method.

Here, we demonstrate two scientific examples, which will be performed in the neutron facility of the Joint Project.

Crystal structure of a high-Tc superconductor YBa2Cu3O7

a. High-Tc superconductor

Superconductivity of oxide-high-Tc superconductor occurs in the two dimensional Cu-O2 plane. Hence, studies on the spin-spin correlation, charge-lattice interaction in the plane as well as crystal structure are indispensable to elucidate the mechanism.

Protein structure and water molecule

b. Structure and dynamics of bio-molecules

It has been understood that the function of protein is activated when its shape is unfolded in a water solution. This problem is called folding-unfolding property of protein. A certain kind of dynamics has also important role for the function. Neutron can study the mechanism of functionality of protein.