HHT experimental area
Technical contact: Dmitry Varentsov
HHT (High energy, High Temperature) is a unique experimental area at GSI designed for High Energy Density Physics (HEDP) experiments with intense ion beams delivered by SIS-18 heavy ion synchrotron. The HHT beam line is equipped with a strong Final Focus System which allows to focus intense beams of various ion species up to Uranium with ion energy 50 - 1000 MeV/u to a spot size of 0.15 - 2.5 mm diameter. The pulse duration is 100 - 1400 ns and different pulse time shapes are available (single bunch, four bunches, flat top).
Typically, for HEDP and for so-called warm dense matter (WDM) experiments a beam of 238U73+ ions with the energy 300-400 MeV/u is used. Presently, up to 4·109 ions is delivered by the SIS-18 synchrotron in 70 - 300 ns long bunches. Taking full advantage of the electron cooler of SIS-18, such intense uranium beams can be focused to a spot of less than 300 µm (FWHM) at the target. Assuming a solid metallic target, the specific energy deposition in the target material is from a few kJ/g to ~ 50 kJ/g. This correspond to temperatures of 1-10 eV and pressures in the multi-kbar to sub-Mbar range incuced in a solid density sample with mm²-size. The parameters of the ion beam available at HHT are given in the table above.
HHT offers intense ion beams for different research fields including:
- plasma physics (from EoS of ion-beam generated WDM to high-energy proton microscopy)
- atomic physics (ion-beam pumped excimer lasers, gas spectroscopy with heavy-ion excitation)
- nuclear and particle physics (design and tests of high-load production targets and beam dumps, diamond detector R&D)
- accelerator technology (diagnostics of powerful ion beams, beam-induced dynamic vacuum problem)
- aerospace technology (radiation hardness tests and anti-meteoroid protection of spacecraft elements)
There are over 20 laboratories and universities from 10 countries that are currently using the HHT area through different experimental collaborations.