Need to Create Regional Synchrotron Radiation Facilities
Sameen Ahmed Khan
Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
Email: rohelakhan@hotmail.com
Abstract
We address the theme of international collaborations based on accelerator sciences, citing examples of the European institutions, CERN and ESRF in particular. The progress of the Middle Eastern and the Armenian Synchrotrons are described briefly. The proposals for creation of Regional Synchrotron Radiation Facilities in Africa and Asia are presented, in some detail.
1. Introduction
Synchrotron radiation (SR) has matured into a vibrant tool in an amazingly diverse variety of science areas. The size of the synchrotron radiation user community and the range of the potential applications are growing rapidly. There are about seventy SR sources in various stages of operation, construction, or planning, in twenty-three countries: Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine and the USA [1-2].Let us examine the distribution of the SR facilities across major geographic regions. Europe has ten countries with synchrotrons. USA has twelve synchrotrons. In Asia there are thirty synchrotrons located in nine countries. Japan has seventeen, the highest figure for a single country. South America has one country with synchrotrons and Australia is planning its first synchrotron. The region of the Middle East has just been blessed as discussed in section 2 of this report. The continent of Africa has yet to have its first SR facility.
A comparison with the corresponding population distributions points to the need to create SR facilities in many of the countries to meet their research and development requirements. Most of the 188 countries, will not have SR sources of their own in the foreseeable future. This is due to the high costs (several hundred million US dollars) and, importantly, the technological expertise required to build such facilities. A possible way to fulfill their SR requirements is by creating Regional Synchrotron Radiation Facilities (RSRF), built and operated jointly by the participating countries. CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, in Geneva, has been providing one such means of international collaborations in Europe, since its inception in 1954. It is to be recalled that CERN brought together numerous scientists from countries that had fought each other during the two World Wars.
The related, and a more suitable example of the European joint initiatives, is the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility located in Grenoble, France. Conceived in 1975 and supported by seventeen participating countries, this 6.0 GeV synchrotron X-ray source is constantly pushing experimental possibilities to new limits. ESRF has a core membership of twelve European countries. Each is a corporate member and pays a percentage of the construction and operating costs of the facilities. Its construction began in 1988 and the first fifteen beam-lines were opened in 1994 [3]. ESRF is one of the three most powerful hard X-ray facilities and the other two are: the 8.0 GeV, SPring-8 in Japan and the 7.0GeV, Advanced Photon Source
The price of construction of ESRF was about 550 million US dollars and the current annual budget is seventy million US dollars. ESRF has forty beam-lines. The 3,000 scientists who use the facility each year carry out basic research in physics, chemistry, materials and life sciences.
Facilities similar to ESRF can also be built in other regions of the world. We shall briefly describe the progress of the forthcoming regional facilities, including the Middle East Synchrotron and the Armenian Synchrotron as well as the proposals to create such facilities on the continents of Africa and Asia.
2. Middle East Synchrotron
On 6 January 2003, King Abdullah of Jordan laid the cornerstone for the Middle East’s first synchrotron known as SESAME (Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East). The ceremony took place in the presence of the UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura, members of thJordanian government and international dignitaries including Werner Burkart, Deputy Director General of IAEA. Eight Founding Members have signed the statutes of SESAME and now form the SESAME Definite Council, which will provide the annual operating budget. The founding countries are Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, Palestine, and Turkey.
The SESAME Project was born in 1997 when Germany decided to decommission the fully functioning 800MeV BESSY-I synchrotron worth 60 million US dollars and give it to the Middle East [4-5]. The SESAME Project was put under the auspices of UNESCO in much the same way as UNESCO assisted with the creation of CERN. The Interim Council met nine times after its formation in 1999. SESAME's Interim Council has been transformed into the definite Council, with Herwig Schopper re-elected as president, and the two vice-presidents, Khaled Toukan of Jordan and Dinçer Ulkü of Turkey, also re-elected.
Several non-Middle Eastern countries that were observers to the Interim Council (Armenia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA) are expected to continue as Observers in the new Council. The remaining members of the Interim Council were: Greece, Morocco, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates who will also continue to participate. Kuwait is an Observer and Libya has requested to become one. More countries are expected to participate as members or observers.
BESSY-I was shipped to Jordan in June 2002, where it is being upgraded in the range of 2-2.5GeV. SESAME is located in Allaan, about 30 km from the capital Amman and is expected to promote science and foster international cooperation. Planned research programs include structural molecular biology, molecular environmental science, surface and interface science, micro-electromechanical devices, X-ray imaging, archaeological microanalysis, materials characterization, and medical applications. Annual operating costs will be about 3.5 million US dollars. Research programs are expected to start in 2007 [6-7].
In passing, we note that SESAME is not the only relocated synchrotron. Japan donated a 1.0 GeV synchrotron to Thailand. Thus, Asia-Pacific became the birthplace for the era of the relocated synchrotrons. The Siam Photon Source is Thailand’s first SR facility and is intended to serve scientists throughout Southeast Asia [8-9]. A Dutch accelerator and storage ring used for nuclear physics was moved to Dubna, to add to Russia’s Synchrotron capability. The original facility was located at the Institute of Nuclear Physics and High Energy Physics (NIKHEF) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This is the 1.2 GeV, Dubna Synchrotron Radiation Source (DELSY), located at the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna.
3. Armenian Synchrotron
Armenia was hoping to receive BESSY-I from Germany, but Jordan was chosen to host the facility with Armenia as first runner-up. Then, Armenia switched its status from a full Member to an Observer and launched a campaign to build its own synchrotron, the CANDLE Center for the Advancement of Natural Discoveries using Light Emission). CANDLE aims to build a 3.2GeV third-generation synchrotron from scratch in the Armenian capital Yerevan and is envisaged as an international regional facility. Americans of the Armenian descent have been very actively campaigning for the SR facility in Armenia and much of the credit for kindling CANDLE belongs to a 75-year-old Iraqi-born Armenian-American property magnate in New Jersey.
In 2002 the US Department of Energy awarded half a million US dollars for the preparation of a Technical Design Analysis report for the CANDLE project. This report is under review by the National Science Foundation in Washington. Assuming a positive response, CANDLE may receive up to 15 million US dollars in aid. If this funding is secured, construction can begin in 2004 and some of the planned fifty beamlines are expected to be operational by 2007. Construction of CANDLE is projected to cost 48 million US dollars, with annual operating costs of 4 million US dollars. When constructed, CANDLE will be the only facility of its kind within a 2000 km radius, serving numerous users from countries of the former Soviet Union, parts of Europe, the Middle East and
Asia [10].4. To Launch the African Synchrotron Radiation Program
The continent of Africa is the only region, which has yet to start its synchrotron program. However, there is an excellent network of laser programs across Africa. It would be relevant to mention the African, Laser, Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Sciences Network (LAM) operating under the directorship of Ahmadou Wagué. The LAM Network has 27 Regional Coordinators across Africa and International Contacts in 11 countries outside of Africa. The LAM has held six International Workshops on Laser Physics and its Applications, since May 1991. Another organization is the recently created African Laser Center (ALC). Both the organizations are working to promote the application of laser-based technologies in the fields ranging from environment to health care.
The countries supporting these programs include France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden and the USA. For more than a decade, there have been a series of international meetings held regularly across Africa, covering a variety of themes such as radiation physics, cyclotrons and their applications and positron beam techniques, to name a few. There are active and well organized research groups and networks in a broad range of disciplines across Africa, which can benefit immensely by the employment of synchrotrons.
The question is not whether Africa needs SR sources, but, rather, how to acquire these sources. It is essential to focus on the need to launch the African Synchrotron Radiation Programme (AfSRP), which shall assist in co-ordinating African participationin SESAME and other synchrotron facilities all over the world. At the same time an AfSRP can play a pivotal role in creating SR facilities in Africa [11-12].
5. Asian Synchrotron Radiation Facility - a proposal
Accelerator-based sciences in Asia are as old as the subject itself and can provide the much-needed vehicle for more intensive international collaborations.
The design, construction and operation of the numerous accelerators (including the thirty synchrotrons) have led to increased activity in Asia in the fields of particle physics, nuclear physics, materials and biological sciences. With strong economic growth over the last few decades, Asian countries have increasingly promoted accelerator-based sciences, leading to an increased collaboration among these countries to share resources and expertise.
This has resulted in the establishment of new Forums including the Asian Committee for Future Accelerators (ACFA) in 1996 [13], Asian Particle Accelerator Conferences (APAC) in 1998, Asian Accelerator Schools (AAS) in 1999 [2]. The other Forums include the Particle Accelerator Society of China (PASC) [14], Japanese Beam Physics Club (JBPC) [15], Particle Accelerator Society of India (PASI) and the Accelerator Meetings in India [16]. The release of the “GLC Roadmap Report”, during the ACFA Linear Collider Symposium on 12 February-2003 has been the most significant event in recent times. GLC is the proposed 500TeV Global Linear Collider, to be hosted by Japan [17].
With all the remarkable developments cited above the International Asian Facility is somewhat paradoxical [1-2]. Here, we shall focus on the need for the creation of an Asian Synchrotron Radiation Facility . The realization of large-scale projects such as the proposed ASRF can be analyzed by examining the following factors:
(a) Technological feasability
ASRF can start with one synchrotron. This is technically possible as several countries in Asia have the long experience and the expertise of building and running such facilities. In due course of time the ASRF may have more synchrotrons; Free Electron Lasers (FEL’s); and the related projects such as the Energy Recovery Linac (ERL), which is based exclusively on proven pieces of technology.(b) Financial Viability
Having realized the technological feasibility in Step-1, the next step is to explore the financial viability. The cost of constructing a facility similar to say, the 6.0 GeV ESRF is 550 million US dollars with annual operating costs of about sixty million US dollars. The total construction cost of the 7.0 GeV third-generation APS is 467 million US dollars and the 8.0 GeV SPring-8 is about one billion US dollars. Let us note, that the combined total GNP of the seventeen ESRF Member States is about 9 trillion US dollars, with net R&D allotment of about 190 billion US dollars. The corresponding figures for the thirteen ACFA Member Countries are 7 trillion US dollars and 145 billion US dollars respectively. In terms of percentages the ESRF member states are spending on an average over 2.10% of their GNP towards R&D.
When we compute the average percentage for ACFA member countries (minus Japan) it turns out to be 0.98%. This aspect of the expenditure on R&D has been recorded in Tables A and B. The required funds of one billion US dollars, for the proposed ASRF, can come from, by increasing the R&D allotment from 0.98% to 1.01%, an infinitesimal step towards international norms of the GNP formula (1.0% to 2.0% of their GNP towards R&D, this is discussed in detail in [18]). This is precisely the source, which can and has to generate, the funds for the ASRF.
If we include the statistics of Japan, the percentage figures for increasing the allotment towards R&D will be appreciably less. In these figures we have excluded Japan as it contributes more than half to the total GNP of the ACFA Member Countries and has the very high allotment of 2.8% towards R&D.
The primary funding for the ASRF should preferably come from other countries. We have focused on the ACFA countries in the analysis, only for convenience and significantly to demonstrate the feasibility of ASRF. In the process we have also recorded the low allotment towards R&D in most of the ACFA countries. Other countries should not miss the opportunity to participate in ACFA and the proposed ASRF.
6. Concluding Remarks and Future Outlook
In 2001 the Victorian Government (Australia) announced its decision to fund the construction of a synchrotron at the Monash University in Clayton, Victoria. The 3.0GeV BOOMERANG synchrotron facility is under the Australian Synchrotron Research Programme (ASRP) [19].South America has two synchrotrons, the 1.35GeV LNLS-I and the 2.0GeV LNLS-II, both in Brazil. In recent years there have been several meetings such as the “International Symposium on Utilization of Accelerators”, in Brazil. Such meetings can be used as platforms to launch the regional synchrotron radiation programs in South America and Central America respectively.
Finally a comment on the continent of Antarctica! Any plans for a synchrotron in Antarctica will necessarily have to pay due regards to the local environment. This has to wait till the advent of a compact/portable synchrotron. Such devices may be available in few decades, when we are able to produce energetic beams by exploiting alternate techniques to accelerate charged-particles.
The larger accelerator projects cannot be realized by single countries, and are thus a source of international collaborations. This is much more true for countries with smaller scientific and/or economic resources. ESRF and CERN are excellent examples of such collaborations. Countries from other regions should very closely examine these examples in their own perspective and work towards participating in the existing regional facilities and creating new ones where none exist.
Large laboratories not only lead to a better understanding of nature, but also pave the path for many technological and commercial spin-offs. Here, we shall cite just one example - the creation of the World Wide Web at CERN. This is one of the many examples of technology transfer from big-science laboratories to industry and finally to the public.
Such projects take a long time to mature. A pilot study for the proposed regional synchrotron radiation facilities (RSRF) should begin right away. The costs of construction are distributed over several years of planning and construction, and are to be shared by the participating countries via the GNP rule (pay in proportion to their GNP respectively) or any mutually convenient arrangement. CERN funding is based on the GNP rule whereas the ESRF is not.
As is well known, the required time for the conceptual study and planning is several years, before the actual ground breaking. This provides adequate time to the funding governments to reorient their expenditures, to enable the incremental funding of the proposed RSRF. Europe has done several such projects (ESRF; CERN to be counted in plural due to the long chain of projects; European Space Agency; European Science Foundation…).
The International Committee for Future Accelerators (ICFA) provides an excellent framework for collaborations and forums [20]. ICFA along with ACFA and its European counterpart ECFA (European Committee for Future Accelerators) provide very active forums to discuss and implement plans for further promoting collaborative accelerator-based science. Their primary purpose is to strengthen collaboration in accelerator-based science, to encourage future projects, and to make recommendations to governments. It would be meaningful to involve and utilize these organizations to expedite the creation of the proposed regional facilities.
The world is moving closer, economically, intellectually and scientifically. In a few years there will be not one but several regional SR facilities across the world. These could set a trend for several other disciplines such as High-Energy Physics, Space Exploration, Energy and Fusion Research, to name a few.
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