Legendary Sirius to Cede Site to Create SKIF Station

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Legendary Sirius to Cede Site to Create SKIF Station

Tomsk Polytechnic University has begun dismantling the Sirius synchrotron, the most powerful electron ring accelerator in the USSR at the time of its launch. The TPU press office explains what kind of installation it was, how it contributed to the development of nuclear physics, and why it is being dismantled now.

Photo of the Sirius synchrotron from the archives of the Museum of the History of Tomsk Polytechnic University

WHAT IS SIRIUS?

Sirius synchrotron is a ring electron accelerator of the USSR times. In the 60-70s of the last century, it was one of the ten largest synchrotrons in the world. It was the first-generation weak-focusing accelerator. Built and commissioned in 1965 with a total weight of about 240 tons, the 1.5 GeV synchrotron was located in Building 11 of the Tomsk Polytechnic Institute.
Photo of the Sirius synchrotron from the archives of the Museum of the History of Tomsk Polytechnic University"The Sirius synchrotron was designed and built at an institute affiliated with the Ministry of Higher Education of the RSFSR. Other accelerators of the same class, such as those in Yerevan and Kharkov, were constructed under the auspices of the State Committee for Atomic Energy, and the accelerator PAHRA with similar parameters was launched later at an academic institute in Moscow. Therefore, many problems concerning receipt and manufacture of accelerator parts were then solved by the reputation and connections of TPI Rector Alexander Vorobyov. As a physicist, he had a clear understanding of how important it was to create an accelerator of this class in Tomsk. The project could attract highly qualified manpower from other cities throughout Russia and boost the level of physics education at the institute. He proved to be right: physicists, graduates of Moscow State University, Voronezh, Rostov, Uzhgorod universities, and other scientists, moved to Tomsk to do research at Sirius," explains Alexander Potylitsyn, visiting professor at the Research School of High-Energy Physics of Tomsk Polytechnic University. From 1980 to 1995, he worked as head of the Laboratory No 11 at the Nuclear Physics Research Institute, performing research at the synchrotron.

WHAT WAS IT USED FOR?

The synchrotron was used for a range of fundamental research in charged particle acceleration physics, nuclear and elementary particle physics, and solid state physics. The first remarkable result with the synchrotron beam was the measurement of the π0 meson lifetime.

At that time, TPI established cooperation in science with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna). Every year, our students were sent there for internships and thesis defense. By joint effort, in 1970 a School for Young Scientists in Electromagnetic Physics was held in Tomsk, where renowned researchers, including Nobel laureate Pavel Cherenkov (for his discovery of the Vavilov-Cherenkov effect - ed. note), spoke as lecturers,

- Alexander Potylitsyn notes.In 1985, our physicists discovered parametric X-rays as a result of experiments at the Sirius synchrotron. A number of other research findings at the Sirius synchrotron, such as meson photogenesis, undulator emission, radiation in crystals, are still quoted in the scientific literature.
Photo of the Sirius synchrotron from the archives of the Museum of the History of Tomsk Polytechnic University

HOW ARE THINGS WITH SYRIUS NOW?

In 2008, the synchrotron was shut down. Firstly, it happened because the electron beam parameters were no longer in line with the global standard. Secondly, when designing the synchrotron, the energy intensity was not adequately addressed, which eventually led to exorbitant electricity costs.

"In the 60-80s of the last century, three synchrotrons of the same class operated in the world: in Italy (Frascati National Laboratory), in Japan (University of Tokyo) and at our Tomsk Polytechnic Institute. Soon afterwards, new emerging technology solutions triggered the construction of new accelerators. They significantly outperformed the parameters of these three synchrotrons. The synchrotron in Italy was decommissioned in the early 80's, followed by the one in Japan in 1998. They were replaced by up-to-date equipment," explains the scientist.

Sirius synchrotron in the initial stages of dismantlingTomsk Polytechnic University made a decision to dismantle the Sirius synchrotron following the results of a special committee of the Russian Ministry of Science and Education. The committee was inspecting the facility for a year and provided expert opinions on its technical obsolescence.

Some of the dismantled synchrotron parts will enrich the collection of the Museum of the History of Tomsk Polytechnic University. The rest will be disposed of. The proceeds will be allocated for renovation of the premises where the synchrotron was located.

WHAT IS COMING TO REPLACE IT?

The laboratory, where the synchrotron was located, will be used for the design of the MicroFocus beamline, one of the stations of the Siberian Ring Photon Source Station (SKIF). This is the first SKIF station in the internal numbering of the project and the third one to be launched. Due to its advanced X-ray beam focusing system it will examine micro-objects up to 200 nanometers in size, specializing in X-ray microscopy and microtomography combined with high resolution scanning X-ray fluorescence analysis and structural analysis of crystals under high pressure. The total weight of the future unit is more than 120 tons, and its estimated cost is more than 1 billion rubles.
Photo: SKIF Press Office"In the laboratory, we will be designing hutches, along with other things. These are special radiation shielding structures, where scientists stay during the experiment. They can reach up to 20 meters in length. So, the laboratory premises are exactly right for us. The creation of experimental equipment for SKIF should be completed in 2024. After that, small accelerators for research in radiation physics and nondestructive testing will be located here," adds Alexey Gogolev, head of the Division for Advanced Research at Tomsk Polytechnic University.