The Italian 'heart' of the new European research accelerator under construction in Sweden at the European Spallation Source (Ess) in Lund, which in 2025 will become the most powerful neutron source in the world, begins to beat: the first protons have passed through one of the fundamental components of the accelerator, the Drift Tube Linac 1 (Dtl1), made in Italy by researchers from the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (Infn).
Dtl is a linear accelerator consisting of a sequence of accelerating spaces that allow protons to gain energy each time they pass through it.
Accelerating spaces are alternated with tubes, where the particles simply drift, hence the name 'Drift Tube Linac'.
Overall, the linear accelerator of Ess will be composed of five Dtl that will accelerate the protons (produced by an ion source made in Italy at the INFN Southern National Laboratories) from 3.6 to 90 MeV, energy at which the protons they travel at about half the speed of light.
After being accelerated within the Dtl,
To date, the researchers working on the experiment have completed the installation of the first Dtl, where the first protons that have reached an energy of over 20 MeV have been accelerated.
When fully operational with all five components running, Ess's DTL will be the most powerful Linac Drift Tube in the world.
The five components of the Dtl were designed by researchers from the National Laboratories of Legnaro and the Turin Section of the Infn, who also coordinated all the phases relating to the testing and installation of the Dtl.
