A Gamma Ray Detector Array for DRAGON at ISAC
A prime justification for the accelerated beams facility (ISAC) at TRIUMF is the study of radiative capture reactions using radioactive beams. Some key reactions for heavy-element synthesis during explosive burning in stars involve radioactive reactants of short half-lives. Table 1 lists some of these astrophysically-interesting reactions of the initial ISAC program. The limited intensity of radioactive beams and the small cross sections for capture reactions require a detection system which has both high efficiency for detection of reaction products and highly effective suppression of beam background. The DRAGON system has been designed for radioactive beam capture studies at ISAC; with support from NSERC, TRIUMF and agencies outside Canada, construction is under way on a windowless gas target, electromagnetic mass separator (EMS) and recoil ion detector for DRAGON. This request is for an economical addition to DRAGON, a compact array of gamma-ray detectors, which will enhance its ability to suppress background and should provide additional information of significance both in performing the experiment and in interpreting the results.
Journal: Submitted to NSERC, Sept. 1999
