There has been a contract signed recently, under which researchers from the Department will develop the specification and prototypes of a system called Radio Frequency Protection Interlocks (RFPI), which task is to secure the correct operation of the proton accelerator section. The system is to detect emergency situations (exceeding alarm levels) and immediately generate a signal to block the operation of subsystems, leading to the shutdown of the accelerator section. The expected response time and activation of protections have been defined at the level of several hundred millionths of a second - says Prof. Wojciech Cichalewski, coordinator of the project at the Department.
The new accelerator complex named "Proton Improvement Plan II PIP-II", located in FermiLAB, will help the DUNE (Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment) project to reach the smallest building blocks of matter.
PIP-II is the first particle accelerator being built in the US with significant international partners from France, India, Italy, Poland, the UK and the US.