Facility upgrade for superheavy-element research at RIKEN

The RIKEN Nishina Center (RNC) executed an accelerator upgrade project for the heavy-ion linac (called RILAC). A superconducting RIKEN linear accelerator (SRILAC) and a new superconducting electron-cyclotron-resonance ion source (SC-ECRIS) to boost the final energy and intensity were constructed, aimed at synthesizing a new superheavy element, 119, through a hot fusion reaction. The project included the construction of a gas-filled recoil ion separator (GARIS-III) suitable for detecting the residues of the hot-fusion reaction. To avoid research interruption during the SRILAC construction period (2017–2019) and gain experience in hot-fusion reaction processes, GARIS-II located in the GARIS experimental hall in LINAC building was moved to the E6 experimental hall in Nishina building. Certain exploratory measurements were performed employing the beams accelerated by RILAC2 and the RIKEN ring cyclotron (RRC), which is a part of the existing accelerator complex of the radioactive isotope beam factory (RIBF). Further, commissioning experiments with the upgraded facility (SRILAC and GARIS-III) were performed. The upgrade project and its commissioning results are chronologically described in this article.