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TRIUMF is
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
's national
particle accelerator A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to very high speeds and energies, and to contain them in well-defined beams. Large accelerators are used for fundamental research in particle ...
centre. It is considered Canada's premier
physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
laboratory, and consistently regarded as one of the world's leading
subatomic In physical sciences, a subatomic particle is a particle that composes an atom. According to the Standard Model of particle physics, a subatomic particle can be either a composite particle, which is composed of other particles (for example, a prot ...
physics research centers. Owned and operated by a consortium of universities, it is on the south campus of one of its founding members, the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. It houses the world's largest
cyclotron A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest O. Lawrence in 1929–1930 at the University of California, Berkeley, and patented in 1932. Lawrence, Ernest O. ''Method and apparatus for the acceleration of ions'', filed: Janu ...
, a source of 520 MeV protons, which was named an IEEE Milestone in 2010. Its accelerator-focused activities involve particle physics, nuclear physics,
nuclear medicine Nuclear medicine or nucleology is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear imaging, in a sense, is "radiology done inside out" because it records radiation emitting ...
, materials science, and detector and accelerator development. Over 500 scientists, engineers, technicians, tradespeople, administrative staff, postdoctoral fellows, and students work at the site. It attracts over 1000 national and international researchers every year, and has generated over $1 billion in economic activity over the last decade. To develop TRIUMF's research priorities, physicists based at the facility and the university follow the
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; french: Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada, CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering rese ...
's (NSERC) long-range plan for subatomic physics. TRIUMF also has over 50 international agreements for collaborative research. Asteroid 14959 TRIUMF is named in honour of the laboratory.


History

TRIUMF was founded in 1968 by
Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...
, the University of British Columbia, and the
University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...
to meet research needs that no single university could provide. The original acronym, based on ''TRI University Meson Facility'', is no longer used, reflecting its current state as a consortium of 19 member and associate universities across
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Since its inception as a local university facility, it has evolved into a national laboratory while maintaining strong ties to Canadian universities' research programs. Its related fields of study have expanded from nuclear physics to include particle physics, molecular and materials science, nuclear medicine, and accelerator research and development. TRIUMF's 520 MeV cyclotron was officially commissioned on February 9, 1976 by
Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...
, the 15th
Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...
, who said, "I don't really know what a cyclotron is, but I am certainly very happy Canada has one." Before the Riken SRC (superconducting ring cyclotron) was built, TRIUMF was the world's largest cyclotron in terms of weight and beam or magnetic field radius. The Riken SRC is now heavier than the TRIUMF cyclotron, but TRIUMF has the largest beam radius and largest vacuum tank. Riken's magnetic field covers from 3.5 m to 5.5 m radius with maximum beam radius of about , while TRIUMF's field goes from 0 to about 320 inches radius with maximum beam radius of 310 inches, as it requires a lower magnetic field to reduce EM stripping.


Laboratory directors

TRIUMF has had eight directors of its operations: * John Warren – 1968–1971 *
John Reginald Richardson John Reginald Richardson (1912 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – 25 November 1997 in Fremont, California) was a Canadian-American physicist and one of the dominant figures in cyclotron development. His many achievements include participation in the ...
– 1971–1976 * Jack Sample – 1976–1981 *
Erich Vogt Erich Wolfgang Vogt, (November 12, 1929 - February 19, 2014) was a Canadian physicist. Born into a pacifist Mennonite family in Steinbach, Manitoba Vogt received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1951 and a Master of Science degree in 1952 from th ...
– 1981–1994 *
Alan Astbury Alan Astbury (1934–2014) was a Canadian physicist, emeritus professor at the University of Victoria, and director of the Tri-Universities Meson Facility (TRIUMF) laboratory. Early life and education He was born in Crewe, England, to Jane and ...
– 1994–2001 * Alan Shotter – 2001–2007 * Nigel S. Lockyer – 2007–2013 * Jonathan A. Bagger – 2014–2020 * Nigel Smith – 2021–Present


Historic timeline

1965 – BC nuclear physicists agree on meson facility 1968 – John Warren becomes first director of TRIUMF 1969 – TRIUMF holds opening ceremony 1970 – Ground-breaking ceremony 1971 – Cyclotron assembly begins, Reginald Richardson becomes director of TRIUMF 1974 – Cyclotron produces its first beam 1975 – Proton science program initiated, first polarized proton beam, first μSR experiment at TRIUMF 1976 – Pierre Elliot Trudeau's official dedication, Dr. Erich Vogt becomes an Officer of the Order of Canada, Jack Sample becomes director of TRIUMF 1977 – Medium-resolution spectrometer MRS in operation, first Ph.Ds using TRIUMF beams 1978 – Neutron activation analysis started, AECL/Nordion agreement for medical isotope production, first production of Iodine-123 on Beamline 4A for distribution in Canada 1979 – First new pion/muon beamline M13, pion cancer therapy program initiated 1980 – PET camera construction begins (2nd in Canada), TPC built to study rare decas (1st used in an experiment) 1981 – KAON Factory studies initiated, Erich Vogt becomes director of TRIUMF 1982 – Isotope pipeline to UBC hospital installed, completion of n-p and p-p program, AECL Commercial Products ships first isotopes from TRIUMF 1983 – PET dedicated by the Queen, first commercial cyclotron on site, first isotope separation on-line (ISOL) study 1985 – First purpose-built surface muon channel, NSERC funds HERA beamline at the DESY Lab in Germany 1986 – Contribution to 50 MeV beamline to HERA on behalf of Canada 1987 – Yamasaki awarded Imperial Medal (μSR cited), TISOL facility produces first radioactive beam, University of Manitoba and Université de Montréal become associate members, TRIUMF becomes Canada's national meson facility 1988 – EBCO makes first 30 MeV medical cyclotron, KAON Factory project-definition study funded, University of Toronto becomes an associate member 1989 – NRC adds Tech Transfer to TRIUMF mandate, University of Regina becomes an associate member 1990 – TR-30 installed, ISACI(isotope accelerator) design begins 1991 – Buckyballs studied by μSR, Second arm spectrometer SASP completed 1992 – Rob Kiefl wins Herzberg Medal for MuSR studies, TISOL Red Giant 12C(α,γ) 1993 – Atom trapping begins at TRIUMF, TR-13 medical cyclotron installed 1994 – Alan Astbury becomes director of TRIUMF, ATLAS and LHC involvement at CERN initiated 1995 – Ocular melanoma treatment begins, TRINAT first traps atoms, HERMES detector components to HERA, commercial radiation effect testing with protons begin 1996 – BaBar central wire chamber construction approved 1997 – ISAC-I civil construction begins, TWIST approved, SNO involvement begins, DRAGON experiment proposed 1998 – First beam from ISAC-I, Carleton University and Queens University become associate members, BaBar central wire chamber delivered, NSERC funds DRAGON 1999 – World's highest proton beam current ISOL (isotope online) facility, lifetime measurements of 37-K at ISAC, TRIUMF becomes Canada's National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics 2000 – Carleton University becomes a full member, McMaster University becomes an associate member, ISAC-II approved, ISAC-I accelerates first stable beam, CSI awarded for new
PET A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...
, 8π spectrometer moved to TRIUMF 2001 – ISAC first accelerated rare-isotopes, first ISAC-I PRL, TUDA and DRAGON commissioned 2002 – Initial TIGRESS funding, TITAN development begins 2003 – University of Guelph becomes associate member, ISAC-II building opened, LHC magnets delivered to Geneva, Switzerland, ATLAS Tier-1 first CPUs received 2004 – University of Toronto becomes a full member, Saint Mary's University becomes an associate member, Seaborg Award to Don Fleming for pioneering work in muonium, charge radius of 11Li measured, T2K collaboration with J-PARC begins, Synergy Award for collaboration between TRIUMF and Nordion 2005 – 100th patient treated for ocular melanoma, TUDA 21Na(ρ,ρ')21Na results published, Jean-Michel Poutissou awarded Legion of Honour (France), first muon decay results from TWIST experiment 2006 – DRAGON 26Al(ρ,γ)27Si results published 2007 – Université de Montréal becomes a full member, Synergy Award for collaboration between TRIUMF and D-PACE, Nigel Lockyer becomes director of TRIUMF, first ISAC-II experiment 11Li(ρ,t)9Li measurement with MAYA, mass measurement of 11Li (shortest-lived and lightest ion ever measured in Penning trap) 2008 – TUDA measurement of 18F(ρ,α)15O, TRIUMF forms AAPS (Advanced Applied Physics Solutions) with CECR Research and development partnership with VECC Laboratory, Kolkata, India begins, Mass measurement of 6He (lightest ever so measured) 2009 – TIGRESS fully operational, new Nordion/TRIUMF radio-chemistry R&D initiative, TWIST obtains final results on muon decay, M9 beam line upgrade completed 2010 – ARIEL (Advanced Rare IsotopE Laboratory) project begins, first actinide target at ISAC 2011 – TRIUMF sets a world record for isotope production 2015 – A TRIUMF-led multidisciplinary consortium is awarded the
NSERC The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; french: Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada, CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering rese ...
Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering for their outstanding collaboration in realizing a solution for the safe and reliable production of the critical medical isotope
technetium-99m Technetium-99m (99mTc) is a metastable nuclear isomer of technetium-99 (itself an isotope of technetium), symbolized as 99mTc, that is used in tens of millions of medical diagnostic procedures annually, making it the most commonly used medical ra ...
using cyclotrons. The consortium includes
physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
,
chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
, and
nuclear medicine Nuclear medicine or nucleology is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear imaging, in a sense, is "radiology done inside out" because it records radiation emitting ...
experts from TRIUMF, the
BC Cancer Agency BC Cancer is part of the Provincial Health Services Authority in British Columbia, Canada. Facilities BC Cancer's first cancer treatment centre (then known as the British Columbia Cancer Institute) officially opened in Vancouver on November 5, ...
, the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC), the
Lawson Health Research Institute Lawson Health Research Institute is a large hospital-based research institute located in London, Ontario, Canada. Lawson is the research institute of London Health Sciences Centre and ''St. Joseph's Health Care London'' and works in partnership w ...
, and the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
2018 – TRIUMF Celebrates its bicentennial, 50-years of operations, since receiving first funding. 2020 – TRIUMF becomes an incorporated entity. TRIUMF Inc. is a not-for-profit registered charity.


Canadian university partners

TRIUMF is owned and operated as a joint venture by a consortium of 21 universities, including 14 full and 7 associate members. The member universities consist of the
University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
, the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
,
Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...
,
University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...
,
University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...
,
Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...
, Queen's University,
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
,
University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...
, University of Waterloo and
York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
. The associate universities consist of the
University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...
,
McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...
,
University of Northern British Columbia The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) is a small, research-intensive public university in British Columbia, Canada. The main campus is located in Prince George, with additional campuses located in Prince Rupert, Terrace, Quesnel, and ...
,
University of Regina The University of Regina is a public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchew ...
,
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
, Saint Mary's University,
Université de Sherbrooke The University of Sherbrooke ( French: Université de Sherbrooke) (UdS) is a large public French-language university in Quebec, Canada with campuses located in Sherbrooke and Longueuil, a suburb of Montreal approximately west of Sherbrooke. It ...
, the
University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gr ...
, and Western University.


Organizational structure

TRIUMF is organized into four divisions that focus on varying aspects of research and operations: * The Accelerator Division, responsible for the operation, maintenance, and upgrades required for all of the 520 MeV Cyclotron, ISAC, and TR-13 facilities. It is also responsible for the design, construction and commissioning of future on-site accelerators, and provides support for external accelerator projects. * The Engineering Division, responsible for the engineering, design and fabrication of mechanical, structural and electronic components, and for electrical and mechanical services and site maintenance. * The Physical Sciences Division, responsible for scheduling experiments approved by the Experimental Evaluation Committee (EEC), and for the design, installation, operation and maintenance of components, systems and subsystems for all experimental operations at the site. It is also responsible for the coordination of infrastructure support for external programs. * The Life Sciences Division, responsible for the support of projects approved by the Life Science Projects Evaluation Committee (LSPEC), and provides support for collaborations with the Pacific Parkinson's Research Centre (PPRC),
BC Cancer Agency BC Cancer is part of the Provincial Health Services Authority in British Columbia, Canada. Facilities BC Cancer's first cancer treatment centre (then known as the British Columbia Cancer Institute) officially opened in Vancouver on November 5, ...
(BCCA),
Nordion Nordion Inc., a Sotera Health company, is a health science company that provides Cobalt-60 used for sterilization and treatment of disease (radiotherapy). Nordion is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with facilities in Vancouver, Briti ...
and other university faculties relying on radio-tracers from TRIUMF for their research. It is also responsible for the design, installation, operation and maintenance of components, systems and subsystems for the radioisotope production and processing facilities for tracers to be used in research projects both at TRIUMF and other laboratories. TRIUMF's nuclear medicine department is part of this division. The Office of the Director, supported by the Deputy Directors of Research and Operations, has general oversight for: * The facility's administrative departments, including accounting and finance, environmental health and safety, general administration and security, human resources, procurement, quality assurance, strategic planning, communications and outreach, and supply chain management * The Applied Technology Group, consisting of several work teams including Isotope production, cyclotron operations, and technical support, which focuses on the production of radioactive isotopes for use by the medical isotope division of BWX Technologies (formerly Nordion), which are ultimately deployed in the development of drugs and diagnosis and treatment of disease. Additionally, TRIUMF Innovations''
(link to website)
is TRIUMF's commercialization arm, linking its laboratories activities with tangible business and commercialization opportunities
Established in 2017
it replaced Advanced Applied Physics Solutions, Inc. (AAPS), TRIUMF's previous commercialization entity.


Experiments

As TRIUMF has selectively applied its expertise to other areas of research, and to the generation of entrepreneurial opportunities, its core program of nuclear, particle and accelerator physics has expanded to cover key areas in life, molecular and materials sciences.


Main cyclotron and proton beam lines

At the heart of TRIUMF is the 520 MeV cyclotron that produces the primary proton beams. A large fraction of the TRIUMF program relies on these beams, including the ISAC, the Centre for Molecular and Materials Science programs in μSR and β-NMR, and the Proton Treatment Facility. The operation of the main cyclotron has enabled TRIUMF to acquire the expertise to operate the three medical cyclotrons for Nordion and the TR-13 medical cyclotron used to produce medical isotopes, and assist companies to exploit commercial opportunities for the sale of cyclotron and other accelerator technologies.


The 520 MeV cyclotron

TRIUMF produces negatively charged hydrogen ions (H: 1 proton, 2 electrons) from an ion source. The ions are transported through an evacuated electrostatic beam line containing elements to focus and steer the beam over 60m to the cyclotron. The 520 MeV (million electron volts) variable energy cyclotron accelerates these ions with a high frequency alternating electric field and uses a massive six-sector magnet to confine the beam in an outward spiral trajectory. Inserting a very thin graphite extraction foil strips, or removes, the electrons from the H ion while allowing the proton to pass through. The proton, because it is a positively charged particle, is deflected in the outward direction due to the magnetic field and is directed to a proton beam line. The accelerating process takes approximately 0.3 ms before the proton achieves three-quarters the speed of light. The success of TRIUMF's programs depends on the ability to deliver protons from the cyclotron reliably. Typically, the cyclotron, although over 35 years old, averages an up-time of greater than 90% (2000–2007), with the 15-year average just under 90%. Typically the beam is delivered for about 5,000 hours per year with one major (three month) and one minor (one month) maintenance periods. The cyclotron beam properties and capabilities have improved over the years as a result of systems upgrades and the fundamental infrastructure providing the magnetic and electrical fields and the RF
resonator A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior. That is, it naturally oscillates with greater amplitude at some frequencies, called resonant frequencies, than at other frequencies. The oscillations in a resonator ...
s as well as the vacuum vessel will serve TRIUMF for many more years.


The Four Proton Beamlines

TRIUMF has four independent extraction probes with various sizes of foils to provide protons simultaneously to up to four beam lines. Because of the high energy of the proton beam, these
beamline In accelerator physics, a beamline refers to the trajectory of the beam of particles, including the overall construction of the path segment (guide tubes, diagnostic devices) along a specific path of an accelerator facility. This part is either ...
s use magnetic rather than electrostatic focusing and steering elements. ;Beamline 1A (BL1A) : can deliver 180 to 500 MeV protons to two target systems. The beam power ranges from 50 to 75 kW. The first target, T1, services three experimental channels. The second target, T2, services two μSR experimental channels. Downstream of T2 is a 500 MeV facility used to produce strontium isotopes for medical-imaging generators as well as the Thermal Neutron Facility (TNF). ;Beamline 1B : separates off BL1 at the edge of the cyclotron vault and provides international users with the Proton Irradiation Facility (PIF) that is used for radiation testing of electronic circuits, for example, mimicking space radiation for testing computer chips. ;Beamline 1U (BL1U) : shares the proton beam with beamline 1A and is designed to divert up to 20 kW of its beam power onto a
spallation Spallation is a process in which fragments of material (spall) are ejected from a body due to impact or stress. In the context of impact mechanics it describes ejection of material from a target during impact by a projectile. In planetary p ...
source for
ultracold neutrons Ultracold neutrons (UCN) are free neutrons which can be stored in traps made from certain materials. The storage is based on the reflection of UCN by such materials under any angle of incidence. Properties The reflection is caused by the cohe ...
, which can be used to study fundamental properties of the neutron. ;Beamline 2A (BL2A) : capable of providing 475 to 500 MeV proton beams at up to 50 kW to the ISAC target facility that produces rare-isotope ion beams for a host of Canadian and international experiments. ;Beamline 2C (BL2C) : used for the Proton Therapy Program to treat choroidal melanomas (eye tumours) and proton irradiation to produce strontium isotopes, which are chemically processed and then used for medical imaging generators. This beam line also has the flexibility to provide protons of lower energy for PIF users. The energy range for this line is 70 to 120 MeV. ;Beamline 4 North (BL4N) : (expected completion 2017), will be a new 500 MeV beamline used for the proposed expansion of ISAC with a specialized actinide target.


ISAC and ARIEL facilities for rare-isotope beams

The ISAC and ARIEL (under construction) facilities produces and uses heavy ion beams to produce short-lived isotopes for study. Proton beam from the main accelerator is used as a driver beam at ISAC via beamline BL2A and one of the two ARIEL target stations via beamline BL4N (under construction) to produce beams of exotic
isotopes Isotopes are two or more types of atoms that have the same atomic number (number of protons in their nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemical element), and that differ in nucleon numbers (mass numbers) ...
which are further accelerated using
linear accelerators A linear particle accelerator (often shortened to linac) is a type of particle accelerator that accelerates charged subatomic particles or ions to a high speed by subjecting them to a series of oscillating electric potentials along a linear beam ...
. The second target station at ARIEL uses an electron beam from the TRIUMF elinac as a driver beam. Several experiments study the properties and structure of these exotic isotopes along with their
nucleosynthesis Nucleosynthesis is the process that creates new atomic nuclei from pre-existing nucleons (protons and neutrons) and nuclei. According to current theories, the first nuclei were formed a few minutes after the Big Bang, through nuclear reactions in ...
. Between ISAC-I and ISAC-II, many experiments can be completed.


ISAC-I facility

In the ISAC-I facility, 500 MeV protons at up to 100 μA can be steered onto one of two production targets to produce radioactive isotopes. The isotopes pass through a heated tube to a source where they are ionized, accelerated off the source's high-voltage platform at up to 60 kV and sent through a mass separator to select the ion beam of choice. The beam is transported in the low-energy beam transport (LEBT) electrostatic beam line and sent via a switch-yard to either the low-energy experimental area or to a series of room-temperature accelerating structures to the ISAC-I medium-energy experimental area. Experiments at ISAC-I include:


=8π spectrometer

= A microscope used to examine the behaviour of atomic nuclear produced, which are collected at the centre of 8pi where they undergo radioactive decay. The main component of the 8π spectrometer are the Hyper-pure Germanium detectors used to observe gamma rays emitted from excited states of daughter nuclei.


=DRAGON

= The Detector of Recoils And Gammas Of Nuclear Reactions (DRAGON) is an apparatus designed to measure the rates of nuclear reactions important in astrophysics, particularly nucleosynthesis reactions which occur in the explosives environments of nova, supernova, and x-ray bursters.


=Laser spectroscopy

= The Collinear Fast-Beam Laser Spectroscopy (CFBS) experiment at TRIUMF is designed to exploit the high beam-intensity and radioisotope-production capability of TRIUMF's ISAC facility, as well as modern ion-trap beam-cooling techniques, in order to measure the hyperfine energy levels and isotope shifts of short-lived isotopes using laser spectroscopy.


=TITAN

= TRIUMF's Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear Science (TITAN) measures the mass of short-lived isotopes with high precision. Radioactive isotopes from ISAC are sent to TITAN to undergo cooling, charge-breeding and trapping. The entire process occurs in about 10 milliseconds, allowing radioactive isotopes with short half lives to be studied.


=TRINAT

= TRINAT, TRIUMF's Neutral Atom Trap, holds a cluster of neutral atoms suspended in a very small space, in high vacuum, allowing for the study of decay products of radioactive atoms.


ISAC-II facility

The rare-isotope beams produced in the ISAC-II facility are transported in the low-energy beam transport (LEBT) electrostatic beam line and sent via a switch-yard to either the low-energy experimental area or to a series of room-temperature accelerating structures in the ISAC-I medium-energy experimental area. For high-energy delivery, the drift tube linac (DTL) beam is deflected north along an S-bend transfer line to the ISAC-II superconducting linear accelerator (SC-linac) for acceleration above the Coulomb barrier (5–11 MeV/u). TRIUMF began developing superconducting accelerator technology in 2001 and is now a leader in the field with a demonstrated accelerating gradient (at low beta) significantly above other operating facilities. Experiments at ISAC-II include:


=EMMA

= The ElectroMagnetic Mass Analyzer (EMMA) (completion date 2016) is a recoil mass spectrometer for TRIUMF's ISAC-II facility. ISAC-II will provide intense beams of radioactive ions with masses up to 150 atomic mass units to international scientists studying nuclear structure and nuclear astrophysics. The energies of these beams will depend on the specific nuclei being accelerated, but typical top speeds will range from 10–20% of the speed of light.


=HERACLES

= Formerly known as the Chalk River/Laval array, HERACLES consists of 150 scintillators detectors covering almost 4-pi. It was used in over a dozen of experiments in the last ten years for multi-fragmentation studies at intermediate energies (10 to 100 MeV/A).


=TIGRESS

= The TRIUMF-ISAC Gamma-Ray Escape Suppressed Spectrometer (TIGRESS) is a state-of-the art new gamma-ray spectrometer designed for a broad program of nuclear physics research with the accelerated radioactive ion beams provided by the ISAC-II superconducting linear accelerator.


ISAC-I/II

The experiments listed below utilize both facilities.


=TUDA

= A general purpose facility for studying nuclear reactions of astrophysical significance with solid state detectors.


=TACTIC

= An
ionization chamber The ionization chamber is the simplest type of gas-filled radiation detector, and is widely used for the detection and measurement of certain types of ionizing radiation, including X-rays, gamma rays, and beta particles. Conventionally, the term ...
with full track reconstruction capabilities for studying reactions of astrophysical importance.


=DSL

= TRIUMF's
Doppler Shift The Doppler effect or Doppler shift (or simply Doppler, when in context) is the change in frequency of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the wave source. It is named after the Austrian physicist Christian Doppler, who d ...
Lifetimes facility, which is an experimental setup for the measurement of the lifetimes of excited states of nuclei.


ATLAS Canadian Tier-1 Data Centre

The
ATLAS experiment ATLAS is the largest general-purpose particle detector experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a particle accelerator at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Switzerland. The experiment is designed to take advantage ...
at the
Large Hadron Collider The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle collider. It was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008 in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists and hundred ...
(LHC) at
CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gene ...
uses proton-proton collisions at the highest energy ever achieved in the laboratory to look for the
Higgs Boson The Higgs boson, sometimes called the Higgs particle, is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics produced by the quantum excitation of the Higgs field, one of the fields in particle physics theory. In the Stand ...
, the particle central to the current model of how subatomic particles attain mass. ATLAS will also search for phenomena "beyond the standard model" of particle physics such as
supersymmetry In a supersymmetric theory the equations for force and the equations for matter are identical. In theoretical and mathematical physics, any theory with this property has the principle of supersymmetry (SUSY). Dozens of supersymmetric theories e ...
, extra dimensions, and quark compositeness. The ATLAS detector will observe the particles emerging from the roughly 900 million proton-proton collisions per second and, although fast electronics will filter the events so that only those most likely to be of interest will be recorded, ATLAS will produce 3.5–5.0 petabytes of data per year (one petabyte is one million gigabytes). In addition, secondary data sets will be produced that could double the amount of data produced. In order to analyze this enormous amount of information, CERN is coordinating an international network of large high-performance computing centres that are linked by
grid computing Grid computing is the use of widely distributed computer resources to reach a common goal. A computing grid can be thought of as a distributed system with non-interactive workloads that involve many files. Grid computing is distinguished from co ...
tools so that they act as one huge system. This network is called the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG). The Canadian Tier-1 Data Centre, located at TRIUMF, works with nine of the other ATLAS Tier-1 centres in the world to process the raw data produced by the experiment. In addition, Tier-2 centres located in universities, both in Canada and abroad, are used to further process the results of the Tier-1 analysis and extract groundbreaking physics results from the data. The Tier-2 centres will also be the primary sites for computer simulations of ATLAS, which is an integral part of the data analysis.


Centre for Molecular and Materials Science

TRIUMF uses subatomic particles as probes of materials structure at the Centre for Molecular and Materials Science (CMMS). The chief techniques are μSR and β-NMR.


μSR

TRIUMF utilizes a technique called μSR, a powerful probe into materials like semiconductors, magnets and superconductors. Beams of positive
muon A muon ( ; from the Greek letter mu (μ) used to represent it) is an elementary particle similar to the electron, with an electric charge of −1 '' e'' and a spin of , but with a much greater mass. It is classified as a lepton. As wi ...
s are created with their spins lined up in the same direction. When these beams are shot into a material, the muons' spins precess (wobble like a top) around the local magnetic fields in the material. The unstable muons soon decay into
positron The positron or antielectron is the antiparticle or the antimatter counterpart of the electron. It has an electric charge of +1 '' e'', a spin of 1/2 (the same as the electron), and the same mass as an electron. When a positron collides ...
s; since these antielectrons tend to be emitted in the direction of the muons' spin, μSR scientists can examine how the internal magnetic fields of different materials have affected the muons' spins by observing the directions in which the positrons are emitted.


β-NMR

β detected NMR is an exotic form of
nuclear magnetic resonance Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a physical phenomenon in which nuclei in a strong constant magnetic field are perturbed by a weak oscillating magnetic field (in the near field) and respond by producing an electromagnetic signal with a ...
(NMR) in which the
nuclear spin In atomic physics, the spin quantum number is a quantum number (designated ) which describes the intrinsic angular momentum (or spin angular momentum, or simply spin) of an electron or other particle. The phrase was originally used to describe th ...
precession Precession is a change in the orientation of the rotational axis of a rotating body. In an appropriate reference frame it can be defined as a change in the first Euler angle, whereas the third Euler angle defines the rotation itself. In othe ...
signal is detected through the
beta decay In nuclear physics, beta decay (β-decay) is a type of radioactive decay in which a beta particle (fast energetic electron or positron) is emitted from an atomic nucleus, transforming the original nuclide to an isobar of that nuclide. For ...
of a radioactive nucleus. The central question to be studied is how the local electronic and magnetic properties near an interface or surface of new materials (e.g.,. a high Tc superconductor) differ from those of the bulk.


Detector development

TRIUMF uses its expertise gained from the development of detectors for particle and nuclear physics, in collaboration with Canadian universities, to support advanced detector development, including for molecular and materials sciences and nuclear medicine. TRIUMF's Science and Technology Department designs and constructs complete detector systems including mechanics, services, front end electronics, digital signal processing and data acquisition.


Nuclear medicine laboratories

The core of the TRIUMF nuclear medicine program is
Positron Emission Tomography Positron emission tomography (PET) is a functional imaging technique that uses radioactive substances known as radiotracers to visualize and measure changes in Metabolism, metabolic processes, and in other physiological activities including bl ...
or PET imaging, a technique whereby tiny amounts of radioactive nuclei known as radioisotopes are combined with certain bio-molecules and injected into the body. The biomolecules can be "traced" by imaging the decay products (two photons produced by the decay of the radioactive nucleus via the emission of a positron) outside the body. PET allows the concentration of positron-labeled compounds to be determined quantitatively in space and time within the living body. PET is more sensitive than any other human imaging method, such as
MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...
or CT, especially for the detection of cancer. The PET program facilities at TRIUMF include cyclotron systems for the production of radioisotopes, chemistry labs for the synthesis of radiopharmaceuticals and quality control labs. TRIUMF currently uses the TR-13 medical cyclotron and target systems for the production of 18F, 11C, and 13N. Radiopharmaceutical production facilities include the small modular clean room at the cyclotron for the synthesis of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). for BCCA as well as three chemistry annex labs for production and development of radiopharmaceuticals used in brain research and other programs at UBC. Pacific Parkinson's Research Centre (PPRC) is a joint TRIUMF/UBC program studying central nervous system disorders. Approximately 80% of the studies are related to
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
, and the remainder are related to mood disorders and
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
. The program has explored the origins, progression, and therapies of the disease as well as the complications arising from therapy using molecular imaging as the primary tool. The Functional Imaging Program at the BCCA is a collaboration among the agency, TRIUMF, UBC, and the
BC Children's Hospital British Columbia Children's Hospital is a medical facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority. It specializes in health care for patients from birth to 16 years of age (possibly l ...
. Capital acquired through the BC Provincial Health Services Authority Emerging Technologies Fund allowed purchase of the province's first hybrid PET/CT scanner in 2004. The clinical PET/CT program, located at BCCA's Vancouver Centre, was enabled by TRIUMF supplying 18F, the positron emitting radionuclide used in production of 18F-
fluorodeoxyglucose 18F.html" ;"title="sup>18F">sup>18Fluorodeoxyglucose ( INN), or fluorodeoxyglucose F 18 (USAN and USP), also commonly called fluorodeoxyglucose and abbreviated 18F.html" ;"title="sup>18F">sup>18FDG, 2- 18F.html" ;"title="sup>18F">sup>18FDG or ...
(FDG). FDG, as a marker of
glucose metabolism Carbohydrate metabolism is the whole of the biochemical processes responsible for the metabolic formation, breakdown, and interconversion of carbohydrates in living organisms. Carbohydrates are central to many essential metabolic pathways. Plants ...
, is the tracer used in oncologic PET imaging, a diagnostic study which has become a standard of care in the management of many cancer types.


Proton and neutron irradiation facilities

Beginning in 1995, TRIUMF has built up several
beamline In accelerator physics, a beamline refers to the trajectory of the beam of particles, including the overall construction of the path segment (guide tubes, diagnostic devices) along a specific path of an accelerator facility. This part is either ...
s that provide low-intensity, energetic proton and neutron beams to simulate radiation exposures either in space or terrestrial environments. Even at low intensity, several minutes of exposure in these beams can correspond to years of operation in space, air, or ground so that accelerated testing of electronics can be carried out. These TRIUMF facilities, PIF & NIF, have since become recognized as premier test sites for space-radiation effects using protons and, with the capability of using these protons to produce a neutron-energy spectrum similar to that found at aircraft altitudes and at ground level, testing with neutrons is also possible. A large fraction of the proton users are Canadian space-related companies such as
MDA Corporation MDA Ltd. is a Canadian space technology company headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, that provides geointelligence, robotics & space operations, and satellite systems. History MDA (formerly MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates) was founde ...
, while neutron use is primarily by international companies for avionics, microelectronics and communications equipment, such as
The Boeing Company The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
or
Cisco Systems, Inc Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
. Additionally, one of the beamlines was used for the cancer treatment of
ocular melanoma Uveal melanoma is a type of eye cancer in the uvea of the eye. It is traditionally classed as originating in the iris, choroid, and ciliary body, but can also be divided into class I (low metastatic risk) and class II (high metastatic risk). Symp ...
at the Proton Therapy Centre which was operated in conjunction with the BC Cancer Agency and the UBC Department of Ophthalmology. Before proton treatment became available, the most common course of action was removal of the eye. Other possible treatments included surgical removal of the tumour (which has severe limitations), or implanting a radioactive disk on the wall of the eye under the tumour for some days. These alternatives were unsuitable for large tumours, and could damage sensitive parts of the eye, often resulting in loss of vision. After proton therapy, however, patients can retain useful vision. The protons enter the eye at a carefully controlled energy, and come to rest at a precise, predictable distance inside. They deposit their energy of motion (
kinetic energy In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion. It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its accele ...
) in a very narrow layer, destroying living cells in that layer. Because the beam of protons is so concentrated and deposits its energy so predictably, we can successfully destroy a tumour while better preserving the other nearby parts of the eye. The proton therapy program at TRIUMF was discontinued in 2019.


External scientific collaborations

TRIUMF is also involved in the development and construction of detectors and equipment for larger particle physics experiments located all over the world.


ALPHA

The international
ALPHA Collaboration The Antiproton Decelerator (AD) is a storage ring at the CERN laboratory near Geneva. It was built from the Antiproton Collector (AC) to be a successor to the Low Energy Antiproton Ring (LEAR) and started operation in the year 2000. Antiproto ...
, focused on trapping
antihydrogen Antihydrogen () is the antimatter counterpart of hydrogen. Whereas the common hydrogen atom is composed of an electron and proton, the antihydrogen atom is made up of a positron and antiproton. Scientists hope that studying antihydrogen may shed l ...
with experiments based at
CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gene ...
, includes members from TRIUMF. The ALPHA-Canada team, led by TRIUMF research scientist Dr. Makoto C. Fujiwara, was recognized with the 2013
NSERC The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; french: Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada, CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering rese ...
John C. Polanyi Award for their work with the ALPHA team at CERN in understanding
antimatter In modern physics, antimatter is defined as matter composed of the antiparticles (or "partners") of the corresponding particles in "ordinary" matter. Antimatter occurs in natural processes like cosmic ray collisions and some types of radioac ...
. The Canadian team included over a dozen scientists and students working in
plasma Plasma or plasm may refer to: Science * Plasma (physics), one of the four fundamental states of matter * Plasma (mineral), a green translucent silica mineral * Quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter in quantum chromodynamics Biology * Blood pla ...
, atomic,
condensed matter Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the su ...
,
particle In the Outline of physical science, physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscule in older texts) is a small wikt:local, localized physical body, object which can be described by several physical property, physical or chemical property, chemical ...
,
detector A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...
, and
accelerator physics Accelerator physics is a branch of applied physics, concerned with designing, building and operating particle accelerators. As such, it can be described as the study of motion, manipulation and observation of relativistic charged particle beams ...
, from the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
(UBC),
Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...
(SFU), the
University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...
,
York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
, and TRIUMF.


KEK

TRIUMF has a longstanding collaborative relationship with Japan's
KEK , known as KEK, is a Japanese organization whose purpose is to operate the largest particle physics laboratory in Japan, situated in Tsukuba, Ibaraki prefecture. It was established in 1997. The term "KEK" is also used to refer to the laboratory ...
, which was further enhanced in December, 2015 when it was announced that each organization would be establishing branch offices at the other's respective institution to facilitate the advancement of their physics research activities.


Large Hadron Collider

TRIUMF accelerator physicists, engineers, and technical personnel have unique expertise for the design and construction of critical parts of the accelerator, such as assembling the liquid
argon Argon is a chemical element with the symbol Ar and atomic number 18. It is in group 18 of the periodic table and is a noble gas. Argon is the third-most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere, at 0.934% (9340 ppmv). It is more than twice as abu ...
end cap
calorimeter A calorimeter is an object used for calorimetry, or the process of measuring the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes as well as heat capacity. Differential scanning calorimeters, isothermal micro calorimeters, titration calorimete ...
s for the ATLAS detector. As well, TRIUMF was involved in the construction and procurement of several magnets and power supplies for the LHC itself. The resulting accelerator contributions were a necessary part of the Canadian investment in the project. TRIUMF is also home to the ATLAS-Canada Tier-1 Data Centre, funded by the
Canada Foundation for Innovation The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI; french: Fondation canadienne pour l'innovation, ''FCI'') is an independent not-for-profit organization that invests in research facilities and equipment in Canada's universities, colleges, research hospital ...
. This centre will pre-process the raw data from the experiment prior to analysis by Canadian and foreign researchers. It will also provide domestic detector experts access to raw data for detailed calibration and monitoring.


SNO

TRIUMF first became actively involved in the
Sudbury Neutrino Observatory The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) was a neutrino observatory located 2100 m underground in Vale's Creighton Mine in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The detector was designed to detect solar neutrinos through their interactions with a large t ...
(SNO) when the project needed engineering help. TRIUMF's Design Office and Machine Shop built key components of the detector. Moreover, TRIUMF scientists were involved in the project which was honored with the 2015
Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...
and the 2016
Fundamental Physics Prize The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics is one of the Breakthrough Prizes, awarded by the Breakthrough Prize Board. Initially named Fundamental Physics Prize, it was founded in July 2012 by Russia-born Israeli entrepreneur, venture capita ...
for the discovery of neutrino oscillation.


SNOLAB

TRIUMF is involved with a number of projects at
SNOLAB SNOLAB is a Canadian underground science laboratory specializing in neutrino and dark matter physics. Located 2 km below the surface in Vale's Creighton nickel mine near Sudbury, Ontario, SNOLAB is an expansion of the existing facilities con ...
. Notable examples include the Helium and Lead Observatory (HALO)
supernova A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when ...
neutrino A neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter ) is a fermion (an elementary particle with spin of ) that interacts only via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass ...
detector which is part of the SuperNova Early Warning System (SNEWS) and Dark Matter Experiment using Argon Pulse-shape discrimination (DEAP) the most sensitive
weakly interacting massive particle Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) are hypothetical particles that are one of the proposed candidates for dark matter. There exists no formal definition of a WIMP, but broadly, a WIMP is a new elementary particle which interacts via gra ...
(WIMP) detector to date.


T2K

TRIUMF is part of the
T2K T2K ("Tōkai, Ibaraki, Tokai to Kamioka, Gifu, Kamioka") is a particle physics experiment studying the neutrino oscillations, oscillations of the accelerator neutrinos. The experiment is conducted in Japan by the international cooperation of about 5 ...
(
Tokai Tōkai ( 東海, literally ''East Sea'') in Japanese may refer to: * Tōkai region, a subregion of Chūbu * Tōkai, Ibaraki, a village, also known as "Tokaimura" (Tokai-village) * Tōkai, Aichi, a city * Tōkai University, a private university in T ...
-to-
Kamioka is a Cities of Japan, city located in Gifu Prefecture, Gifu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 24,726, and a population density of 31 persons per km2, in 8,905 households. The total area of the city was . The official ''kanji'' f ...
)
neutrino A neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter ) is a fermion (an elementary particle with spin of ) that interacts only via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass ...
oscillation experiment in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. TRIUMF is involved in constructing a
time projection chamber In physics, a time projection chamber (TPC) is a type of particle detector that uses a combination of electric fields and magnetic fields together with a sensitive volume of gas or liquid to perform a three-dimensional reconstruction of a particl ...
and fine-grained detectors composed of plastic scintillators for the T2K ''near detector'', to measure the properties of the neutrino beam at its production site in Tokai before it travels 295 km to Kamioka, over which distance neutrino oscillations are expected to take place.


TRIUMF Users' Group

The TRIUMF Users Group (TUG) is an international community of scientists and engineers with a special interest in the use of the TRIUMF facility. Its purpose is: * to provide a formal means for exchange of information relating to the development and use of the facility; * to advise members of the entire TRIUMF organization of projects and facilities available; * to provide an entity responsive to the representations of its members for offering advice and counsel to the TRIUMF management on operating policy and facilities. Any qualified scientist can join the users group. The group's interests are looked after by an elected committee (TRIUMF Users' Executive Committee or TUEC). Part of TUEC's responsibilities is to organize meetings on behalf of the membership were necessary. At least one meeting, the annual general meeting (AGM), is held each year near the beginning of December. A link to the TUG website is listed in the external links below.


See also

*
Canadian government scientific research organizations Expenditures by federal and provincial organizations on scientific research and development accounted for about 10% of all such spending in Canada in 2006. These organizations are active in natural and social science research, engineering research, ...
*
Canadian university scientific research organizations Expenditures by Canadian universities on scientific research and development accounted for about 40% of all spending on scientific research and development in Canada in 2006. Research in the natural and social sciences in Canada, with a few importa ...
*
Canadian industrial research and development organizations Expenditures by Canadian corporations on research and development accounted for about 50% of all spending on scientific research and development in Canada in 2007. In the corporate sector research and development tends to focus on the creation or ...


References


External links


TRIUMF home page

TRIUMF Users' Group (TUG)TRIUMF guide for regular and potential experimenters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Triumf International research institutes Physics institutes Research institutes in Canada Particle physics facilities Nuclear research institutes Organizations established in 1968 Organizations based in Vancouver 1968 establishments in British Columbia Institutes associated with CERN