RAON


RAON is a South Korean particle physics laboratory within the Rare Isotope Science Project that is being constructed in the outskirts of Daejeon neighboring Sejong, South Korea by the Institute for Basic Science. It is expected to be finished by 2021.

Name

The name Rare isotope Accelerator complex for ON-line experiment or RAON, was selected through a contest open to the public in 2012. RAON comes from the Korean word 라온 meaning "happy" or "joyful". Among 639 entries, the winning name was actually Raonhaje meaning "happy tomorrow" but was shortened for easier pronunciation. RAON is also the name of their chemical element mascot with atomic number 41 and niobium written on the stomach.

Type

RAON is a heavy ion particle accelerator that will include both ISOL and IF methods, and aims to be the first to use both. The superconducting linear accelerator will have a maximum beam power of 400 kW, and projectile fragmentation will be powered by a 200 MeV/u uranium beam in the IF system. The ISOL system will have a H- cyclotron of 70 kW.
Due to the complexity of the project, RAON's researchers are working in collaboration with a number of other accelerator research groups, including CERN, Fermilab, TRIUMF, and Riken.
The cost is estimated at 1.4523 trillion KRW in which 460.2 billion KRW is for device construction, 635 billion KRW for facility construction, and 357.1 billion KRW for land purchase. The size of the site is 652,066 m2 with a total floor area of 130,144 m2. In additional to the primary accelerator site under construction in Shindong, RISP has the ISOL Off-line Test Facility in Yuseong-gu, Superconducting Radio Frequency test facility in KAIST's Munji Campus, and the Accelerator and ICT Building in Korea University Sejong Campus.

Research

Nuclear science

Research areas in the field of nuclear science include the study of the origin of elements and evolution of stars, nuclear force and structure, nuclear reactions, and nuclear science theory.
The group aims to develop an ultra-sensitive device for measuring the physical properties of muons, and study the properties of new materials, including semiconductors, nano-magnetic materials, high-temperature superconductors, and topological insulators.
In these fields, they aim to precisely measure rare isotope mass and develop atomic manipulation technology, develop micro-measurement technology for atomic structures, and find the precise measurements of basic physical constants.
Research the application of rare isotopes in cancer treatment.