Preliminary FLUKA study of the proposed PSNF installation - A description of the implemented geometry with an analysis of some operational aspects

A recent experimental proposal in the form of a Memorandum has been discussed at the SPSC (SPS and PS experiments Committee) session of April 2011, with the objective of investigating anomalous nu_mu --> nu_e neutrino oscillations; this proposal has followed a letter of intent published in 2009. The proposed experiment would be a short-baseline neutrino experiment with two detectors placed at 120 m and 850 m from the secondary production target. In order to achieve the required beam parameters, it has been proposed to reactivate the discontinued PS neutrino facility, which was operational in the early 80s, located in the TT7 tunnel. The present note describes the implementation of the secondary beam production elements of the proposed PS Neutrino Facility within the FLUKA Monte Carlo code as well as the complete infrastructure of the TT7 tunnel; the note also contains a respective analysis of some critical aspects related to energy deposition in the beam line, of the ambient dose rate equivalent in public as well as in tunnel areas and gives preliminary propositions to mitigate certain weak points. A large effort has been dedicated to the implementation of the geometry, especially in view of using the results of the present work for future activities – should the PS Neutrino Facility be refurbished for operation - such as those related to the secondary beam performances and optimization, detailed radioprotection considerations, benchmarking, etc.