Synchrotron-based Photonuclear Neutron Source for Energy, Medicine and Radiation Testing

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Auteurs principaux: Cammi, Antonio, Loi, Lorenzo, Missaglia, Andrea, Alesini, David, Braun, Hans Heinrich
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Cammi, Antonio
Loi, Lorenzo
Missaglia, Andrea
Alesini, David
Braun, Hans Heinrich
author_facet Cammi, Antonio
Loi, Lorenzo
Missaglia, Andrea
Alesini, David
Braun, Hans Heinrich
contents The global availability of high-intensity neutron sources is restricted by the prohibitive costs of spallation facilities and the decommissioning of aging research reactors, while compact accelerator-driven sources (CANS) are fundamentally limited by target power density and thermal-mechanical stress. Here, we introduce SYNERGY (SYnchrotron-driven NEutron source for Research, energy Generation and therapY), a paradigm-shifting architecture that overcomes these bottlenecks by decoupling charged-particle acceleration from neutron production. By utilizing a storage ring to drive external photoneutron targets via synchrotron radiation, this topological separation ensures targets interact exclusively with a continuous-wave (CW) photon beam, minimizing thermo-mechanical shocks and enabling beam powers exceeding 200 kW per beamline. Through a systematic parametric analysis cross-validated using OpenMC, MCNPX, and FLUKA, we demonstrate single-beamline neutron production rates from $2.8\times10^{14}$ n/s to $1.3\times10^{15}$ n/s. With an inherent multi-beamline capacity feeding up to 50 independent stations, the total facility intensity exceeds $6.0\times10^{16}$ n/s. By bridging the gap between laboratory and national-scale infrastructure, SYNERGY provides a high-intensity, multi-user platform for subcritical systems, medical isotope production, and boron neutron capture therapy.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_09172
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Synchrotron-based Photonuclear Neutron Source for Energy, Medicine and Radiation Testing
Cammi, Antonio
Loi, Lorenzo
Missaglia, Andrea
Alesini, David
Braun, Hans Heinrich
Accelerator Physics
Applied Physics
The global availability of high-intensity neutron sources is restricted by the prohibitive costs of spallation facilities and the decommissioning of aging research reactors, while compact accelerator-driven sources (CANS) are fundamentally limited by target power density and thermal-mechanical stress. Here, we introduce SYNERGY (SYnchrotron-driven NEutron source for Research, energy Generation and therapY), a paradigm-shifting architecture that overcomes these bottlenecks by decoupling charged-particle acceleration from neutron production. By utilizing a storage ring to drive external photoneutron targets via synchrotron radiation, this topological separation ensures targets interact exclusively with a continuous-wave (CW) photon beam, minimizing thermo-mechanical shocks and enabling beam powers exceeding 200 kW per beamline. Through a systematic parametric analysis cross-validated using OpenMC, MCNPX, and FLUKA, we demonstrate single-beamline neutron production rates from $2.8\times10^{14}$ n/s to $1.3\times10^{15}$ n/s. With an inherent multi-beamline capacity feeding up to 50 independent stations, the total facility intensity exceeds $6.0\times10^{16}$ n/s. By bridging the gap between laboratory and national-scale infrastructure, SYNERGY provides a high-intensity, multi-user platform for subcritical systems, medical isotope production, and boron neutron capture therapy.
title Synchrotron-based Photonuclear Neutron Source for Energy, Medicine and Radiation Testing
topic Accelerator Physics
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.09172