A possible new light source for the UK
A project led by Jon Marangos from Imperial College London has been exploring the needs and opportunities presented by a new light source to complement what Diamond is currently providing to the UK community. Diamond News spoke to Gerd Materlik about Diamond’s involvement and to Jon Marangos to learn a bit more about the project and where it is up to.
What involvement does Diamond have in the project?
Gerd: “While operating and continuing to develop Diamond remains our top priority, we have a number of members of the technical team contributing to the design of the proposed new machine. This effort is led by Richard Walker, our Technical Director, who is the Source Manager for the project and involves, among others, Riccardo Bartolini, Diamond’s Head of Accelerator Physics. They are working closely with a team of people from STFC’s Accelerator Science and Technology Centre (ASTeC) at Daresbury and other STFC departments and university groups on the design of the facility.
“We are also involved on the science side, specifically Louise Johnson, former Life Sciences Director here and now a Diamond Fellow, who is one of the science coordinators for life sciences.”
How would the new light source differ from Diamond and would it replace it?
Gerd: “The new light source is an entirely different machine to the synchrotron. By producing ultra short pulses of highly coherent light, in other words high peak brightness, it will allow new kinds of experiments, exploring extremely fast processes in matter of all kinds. In this way, it complements the extremely high average brightness of Diamond, as well as the experimental capabilities of the Central Laser Facility."
So now to Jon, what’s been happening with the project so far?
Jon: “Everything began about a year ago when we started a wide consultation with the potential users to explore with them the applications for a high brightness short pulse light source covering the THz to soft X-ray range. Some very exciting new science has been identified. We have since tried to involve as many as possible in the project and we hope that many will take up our invitation to attend the next meeting on 24th April. We also hope that users of large-scale facilities such as Diamond will talk to colleagues so that attendance can be widened as much as possible.”
Why is the 24th April so important?
Jon: “Well, it’s all about making sure that we can be visionary in what we eventually propose and ensure the proposal is anchored in real needs. It’s often difficult to get busy scientists together in a room to discuss what their needs will be in 5-10 years but it’s really important they do so…The 24th will be an excellent opportunity for user community input before the project is submitted for international peer review, so it’s a good time to participate."
What if scientists cannot attend the session on 24th? How else can they input their views?
“If they cannot attend the session, the next best thing is to contact me or any of the science coordinators (listed on the website – www.newlightsource.org) who can ensure that their view is appropriately captured and fed into discussions.”
Timetable for the proposal for the new light source:
- 24th April – Community event at Royal Society, Carlton Place London.
- 1st International Technical Advisory Committee meeting in June.
- Outline facility design submitted for international peer review over the Summer.
STFC will consider the proposal and the peer review feedback and decide whether or not to take it forward to RCUK. For further information please visit www.newlightsource.org or contact Jon Marangos directly at jon.marangos@stfc.ac.uk