The new vertical neutron beam line at the CERN n_TOF facility design and outlook on the performance

Weiss, C.; Chiaveri, E.; Girod, S.; Vlachoudis, V.; Aberle, O.; Barros, S.; Bergstroem, I.; Berthoumieux, E.; Calviani, M.; Guerrero, C.; Sabate Gilarte, M.; Tsinganis, A.; Andrzejewski, J.; Audouin, L.; Bacak, M.; Balibrea Correa, J.; Barbagallo, M.; Becares, V.; Beinrucker, C.; Belloni, F.; Becvar, F.; Billowes, J.; Bosnar, D.; Brugger, M.; Caamano, M.; Calvino, F.; Cano Ott, D.; Cerutti, F.; Colonna, N.; Cortes, G.; Cortes Giraldo, M. A.; Cosentino, L.; Damone, L.; Deo, K.; Diakaki, M.; Domingo Pardo, C.; Dupont, E.; Duran, I.; Dressler, R.; Fernandez Dominguez, B.; Ferrari, A.; Ferreira, P.; Finocchiaro, P.; Frost, R.; Furman, V.; Ganesan, S.; Gheorghe, A.; Glodariu, V.; Goebel, K.; Goncalves, I. F.; Gonzalez Romero, E.; Goverdovski, A.; Griesmayer, E.; Gunsing, F.; Harada, H.; Heftrich, T.; Heinitz, S.; Hernandez Prieto, A.; Heyse, J.; Jenkins, D. G.; Jericha, E.; Kadi, Y.; Kaeppeler, F.; Katabuchi, T.; Kavrigin, P.; Ketlerov, V.; Khryachkov, V.; Kimura, A.; Kivel, N.; Kokkoris, M.; Krticka, M.; Leal Cidoncha, E.; Lederer, C.; Leeb, H.; Lerendegui, J.; Licata, M.; Lo Meo, S.; Lopez, D.; Losito, R.; Macina, D.; Marganiec, J.; Martinez, T.; Massimi, C.; Mastinu, P. F.; Mastromarco, M.; Matteucci, F.; Mendoza, E.; Mengoni, A.; Milazzo, P. M.; Mingrone, F.; Mirea, M.; Montesano, S.; Musumarra, Agatino; Nolte, R.; Palomo Pinto, R.; Paradela, C.; Patronis, N.; Pavlik, A.; Perkowski, J.; Porras, I.; Praena, J.; Quesada, J. M.; Rauscher, T.; Reifarth, R.; Riego Perez, A.; Robles, M. S.; Rubbia, C.; Ryan, J.; Saxena, A.; Schillebeeckx, P.; Schmidt, S.; Schumann, D.; Selyshev, P.; Smith, G.; Stamatopoulos, A.; Steomegger, P.; Suryanarayana, S. V.; Tagliente, G.; Tain, J. L.; Tarifeno Saldivia, A.; Tassan Got, L.; Valenta, S.; Vannini, G.; Variale, V.; Vaz, P.; Ventura, A.; Vlastou, R.; Wallner, A.; Warren, S.; Weigand, M.; Wright, T.; Zugec, P.

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2015.07.027

At the neutron Lime-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN a new vertical beam line was constructed in 2014, in order to extend the experimental possibilities at this facility to an even wider range of challenging cross-section measurements of interest in astrophysics, nuclear technology and medical physics. The design of the beam line and the experimental hall was based on FLUKA Monte Carlo simulations, aiming at maximizing the neutron flux, reducing the beam halo and minimizing the background from neutrons interacting with the collimator or back-scattered in the beam dump. The present paper gives an overview on the design of the beam line and the relevant elements and provides an outlook on the expected performance regarding the neutron beam intensity, shape and energy resolution, as well as the neutron and photon backgrounds. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.