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A novel set of superconducting main precession coils has been built and installed in the Jülich-neutron spin-echo (J-NSE) spectrometer at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) in Garching. These unique new coils comprise a field-integral optimizing field shape, fringe field compensation, and high stability. They yield an enhancement of a factor of 2.5 in the intrinsic field-integral homogeneity, i.e., the resolution. The coil concept has been developed for the ESSENSE instrument proposal for the European Spallation Source. We report on the construction of and on the first results from the new superconducting neutron spin-echo spectrometer at the MLZ in Garching where the coils are the main part of a refurbishment of the J-NSE spectrometer after twenty years of operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the characterization of the positron beam provided at the open beam port of the NEPOMUC facility at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) Garching. The absolute positron flux of the primary beam at 400 eV and 1 keV kinetic energy and of the remoderated beam at 5, 12 and 22 eV were determined. Energy-dependent intensities in the range of ( 1 – 5 ) · 10 8 e + / s and ( 2 – 6 ) · 10 7 e + / s have been observed for the primary and remoderated beam, respectively. We attribute the significant losses for the primary beam, in comparison with the expected value, to the non-adiabatic positron guiding in the beam line. We also measured the longitudinal energy distribution of the remoderated beam, yielding an energy spread below 3.3 eV. The mean transverse energy of the remoderated beam, determined from measurements in different final magnetic fields, was found to be below 1.3 eV. These results are likely to apply to the NEPOMUC beam delivered to other user stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use incoherent quasielastic neutron scattering to study the atomic dynamics of gold in a eutectic Au81Si19 melt. Despite the glass-forming nature of this system, the gold self-diffusivity displays an Arrhenius behavior with a low activation energy characteristic of simple liquids. At high temperatures, long-range transport of gold atoms is well described by hydrodynamic theory with a simple exponential decay of the self-correlation function. On cooling towards the melting temperature, structural relaxation crosses over to a highly stretched exponential behavior. This suggests the onset of a heterogeneous dynamics, even in the equilibrium melt, and is indicative of a very fragile liquid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following demand from the user community regarding the possibility of improving the experimental resolution, the dedicated high-intensity/extended Q-range SANS diffractometer KWS-2 of the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Center in Garching was equipped with a double-disc chopper with a variable opening slit window and time-of-flight (TOF) data acquisition option. The chopper used in concert with a dedicated high-intensity velocity selector enables the tuning at will of the wavelength resolution Δλ/λ within a broad range, from 20% (standard) down to 2%, in a convenient and safe manner following pre-planned or spontaneous decisions during the experiment. The new working mode is described in detail, and its efficiency is demonstrated on several standard samples with known properties and on a completely new crystallizable copolymer system, which were investigated using both the conventional (static) and TOF modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] A “detector trap” inside a Penning trap magnet is developed for the future MATS facility. [•] A direct, in situ observation of nuclear decays of mass-separated isotopes becomes feasible. [•] A novel type of recoil-distance experiment is envisaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Novel tensile rigs have been designed and manufactured at the research reactor Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II, Garching near Munich). Besides tensile and compressive stress, also torsion can be applied. The unique Eulerian cradle type design (ω, χ, and φ axis) allows orienting the stress axis with respect to the scattering vector. Applications of these tensile rigs at our neutron diffractometers enable various investigations of structural changes under mechanical load, e.g. crystallographic texture evolution, stress-induced phase transformations or lattice expansion, and the anisotropy of mechanical response. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the course of the licensing procedure of the ‘Forschungsneutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz’, i.e. the new 20MW high-flux research reactor FRM II in Garching near Munich, extensive test irradiations have been performed to qualify the U3Si2–Al dispersion fuel with a relatively high density of highly enriched uranium (93wt% of 235U) up to very high fission densities. Two of the three FRM II type fuel plates used in the irradiation tests contained U3Si2–Al dispersion fuel with HEU densities of 3.0gU/cm3 or 1.5gU/cm3 (‘homogeneous plates’) and one plate had two adjacent zones of either density (‘mixed plate’). They were irradiated in the French MTR reactors SILOE and OSIRIS in the years before 2002. The local plate thickness was measured on certain tracks along the plates during interruptions of the irradiation. The maximum fission density obtained in the U3Si2 fuel particles was 1.4×1022 f/cm3 and 1.1×1022 f/cm3 in the 1.5gU/cm3 and 3.0gU/cm3 fuel zones, respectively. In the course of the irradiations, the plate thickness increased monotonically and approximately linearly, leading to a maximum plate thickness swelling of 14% and 21% and a corresponding volume increase of the fuel particles of 106% and 81%, respectively. Our results are discussed and compared with the data from the literature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Isotope production for medical and technical applications, silicon doping and testing of automotive components for higher quality - the neutron source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) was designed not only for scientific research, but also for industrial applications. About 30 percent of the neutrons are used by customers from industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]