The FRIB Program Advisory Committee (PAC) has peer-reviewed science proposals for experiments proposed to be conducted at FRIB. The experiments comprise exciting new research that was not possible prior to the completion of FRIB.
The PAC-recommended experiments align with national science priorities and span the four FRIB science areas: properties of rare isotopes; nuclear astrophysics; fundamental interactions; and applications for society, including in homeland security.
Additionally, they will utilize the full spectrum of FRIB’s capabilities: fast, stopped, and reaccelerated rare-isotope beams, use of all FRIB experimental areas, as well as all major FRIB instruments.
Given the high demand for FRIB, about 30% of the requested beam time was recommended for allocation of beam to the FRIB Laboratory Director. By the numbers, the PAC-recommended experiments represent (compared to the request):
- 33 (out of 85 requested) experiments
- 4,187 (out of 14,283) FRIB facility-use hours
- 500 (out of 632) individuals
- 23 (out of 25) countries represented
- 24 U.S. states
- 109 institutions
The full list of the PAC-recommended experiments is available here.
“The FRIB PAC is helping the facility to identify the most impactful proposals for beam time,” said Jens Dilling (Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Duke University) PAC chairperson. “The quality and variety remain exceptionally strong and based on the high demand for beam time, the community appreciates the word-leading capabilities that FRIB already provides at this stage. FRIB holds the promise to be leading the way in nuclear science enabled by fragmentation beams for years to come.”
The PAC is a group of international world-leading scientists who are highly regarded in the nuclear science community. Members of the third FRIB PAC (PAC3) met 15-17 January to peer-review each proposal in detail. The committee considered proposals based on scientific merit, consistent with U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC) policy for user facilities. Observers from the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics and the FRIB Users Organization Executive Committee also attended the meeting.
FRIB is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC) user facility, open to all interested researchers. Beam time for non-proprietary experiments is granted based on a merit review of proposals. There is no charge for users who are doing non-proprietary work, with the expectation that results are published. PAC-approved experiments are valid for a two-year period.
Michigan State University (MSU) operates the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) as a user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), with financial support from and furthering the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics. Hosting the most powerful heavy-ion accelerator, FRIB enables scientists to make discoveries about the properties of rare isotopes in order to better understand the physics of nuclei, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions, and applications for society, including in medicine, homeland security, and industry. User facility operation is supported by the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics as one of 28 DOE-SC user facilities.
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of today’s most pressing challenges. For more information, visit energy.gov/science.