Proton Area Expands
The Proton Experimental Area broke ground last week for a major addition to the experimental facilities there. Known as the "Pion Area," the new facility will be situated downstream of the existing Proton West experimental area. It will provide Fermilab with a major capability for experimentation with pion and anti-proton beams of intensities and of energies available at no other laboratory, and with an electron beam with excellent spot size, intensity, and purity at energies far above that available at electron machines.
According to Brad Cox, head of the Proton Area, Phase I of the construction will see completion in June of 1977 of the farthest end of the new laboratory to the middle; Phase II will include the targetting station, the portion adjacent to P-West. More than 50 superconducting magnets will be built for the line, similar to those being developed for the Energy Doubler.
The new area will receive particles of 500-1000 BeV and with intensities as high as 1014 protons per pulse at 500 BeV. In response to the growing ecperimental interest, it will be possible in the new area to study low cross sections which produce rare effects and particles such as the psi family.
