Nigel Smith (Executive Director and CEO of TRIUMF, left) and Alain Schuhl (Deputy Director General for Science at CNRS) at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding establishing the IRL NPAT. Image: TRIUMF
Thomas Hortala
thomas.hortala@cnrs.fr
On 4 November 2024, the French research organization CNRS and TRIUMF, Canada's particle accelerator centre, signed a partnership agreement to create an international research laboratory (IRL). Named NPAT for ‘Nuclear Physics, Nuclear Astrophysics and Accelerator Technologies’, this laboratory will be based in Vancouver and will open its doors on 1 January 2025.
On 4 November 2024, a delegation from CNRS, the French Centre for Scientific Research, travelled to Vancouver (Canada) to sign an agreement with TRIUMF to create NPAT, a new international laboratory between CNRS Nucléaire & Particules and the Canadian institution. The new International Research Laboratory (IRL) will bring together the Canadian and French nuclear physics communities around two key themes in the field: research on ‘exotic’ nuclei to explore the mechanisms of nucleus cohesion, and research into nuclear astrophysics, which links extreme astrophysical objects such as neutron stars with the behaviour of nuclear matter. The IRL's field of investigation will also cover research and development on ion accelerators, the machines that underpin the synthesis of exotic nuclei.
For the past three years, CNRS Nucléaire & Particules has been forging close links with its main international partners through the structuring tool that is an international research laboratory. The creation of NPAT represents a new milestone in the strategic dialogue we are building with our prestigious partners, consolidating our already solid links with the key players in nuclear physics research on the North American continent », comments Christelle Roy, Director of CNRS Nucléaire & Particules.
The new IRL will draw on existing facilities at GANIL (a CNRS nuclear physics facility) and TRIUMF, which have long been dedicated to the study of exotic nuclei, to facilitate the construction and operation of innovative new instruments. More precisely, NPAT will exploit the synergies between the ISOL (Isotope separation online) facilities in both institutions. These tools, which include ISOLDE at CERN and SPIRAL1 at GANIL, make it possible to carry out precision manipulations such as mass spectrometry and laser spectroscopy, which will be the main focus of the DESIR facility currently under construction at GANIL. By joining forces with TRIUMF, North America's leading ISOL facility, the DESIR project will be able to benefit from exchanges with a similar infrastructure that has a proven track record in low-energy nuclear physics.
TRIUMF's management and the French delegation visit TRIUMF's facilities after the signing. Image: TRIUMF
The new international laboratory will facilitate advances in nuclear physics by informing the construction and operation of innovative instruments such as DESIR and the ARIEL photofission facility currently being built at TRIUMF as well as promoting the development of innovative ion accelerators and associated techniques. According to David Lunney, researcher at CNRS and future Director of NPAT, “These partnerships enable us to exchange good processes and know-how to achieve our research and development objectives. This is a valuable resource for both our engineers and our physicists”.
“This new initiative builds on decades of successful collaboration between TRIUMF and its international partners in France and around the globe,” said Nigel Smith, Executive Director and CEO of TRIUMF. “TRIUMF is home to world-leading isotope separation on-line infrastructure, and synergies a broad network of expertise and strong support from our national academic network and member universities. We look forward to continuing to build strong ties and explore research and innovation with our colleagues at CNRS.”
Located within TRIUMF, on the grounds of the University of British Columbia, NPAT will also provide a new home for French scientists in Canada. This new structure will consolidate already thriving collaborations between the two counties’ physics communities.
About CNRS
CNRS is France's largest research organisation, with more than 1,100 research laboratories in France and abroad. A multidisciplinary organisation, the CNRS is organised into 10 thematic institutes. CNRS Nucléaire & Particules (also known as IN2P3) is the CNRS institute dedicated to nuclear physics, particle physics and cosmology. Through its laboratories in France and abroad, CNRS Nucléaire & Particules is a leading international player, contributing to the large-scale transnational facilities required by its disciplines.
About TRIUMF
Established in 1968 in Vancouver, TRIUMF is Canada’s particle accelerator centre. The lab is a hub for discovery and innovation inspired by a half-century of ingenuity in answering some of nature's most challenging questions. From the hunt for the smallest particles in our universe and the origin of the elements that make up our world to carrying out work that advances quantum computers or helps cure cancer, TRIUMF is pushing frontiers in research, while training the next generation of leaders in science, medicine, and industry.
Contacts
CNRS Nuclear & Particles press contact: Thomas Hortala, thomas.hortala@cnrs.fr
CNRS researcher and NPAT co-director: David Lunney T +33 1 69 15 52 20 lunney@ijclab.in2p3.fr
TRIUMF press officer:Stu Shepherd (He, Him), Head, Communications, t 604.222.7528,sshepherd@triumf.ca
TRIUMF NPAT co-director: Dr. Rituparna Kanungo (she, her), Director, TRIUMF Physical Sciences Division, ritu@triumf.ca