Segmented beryllium target for a 2 MW super beam facility

Abstract

The Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF, formerly the Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment) is under design as a next generation neutrino oscillation experiment, with primary objectives to search for CP violation in the leptonic sector, to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and to provide a precise measurement of θ_{23}. The facility will generate a neutrino beam at Fermilab by the interaction of a proton beam with a target material. At the ultimate anticipated proton beam power of 2.3 MW the target material must dissipate a heat load of between 10 and 25 kW depending on the target size. This paper presents a target concept based on an array of spheres and compares it to a cylindrical monolithic target such as that which currently operates at the T2K facility. Simulation results show that the proposed technology offers efficient cooling and lower stresses whilst delivering a neutrino production comparable with that of a conventional solid cylindrical target.