Versatile inelastic neutron spectrometer (VINS) project for J-PARC

We have proposed a Versatile Inelastic Neutron Spectrometer (VINS) for the spallation neutron source at the Materials and Life Science Facility (MLF), Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). VINS is a direct-geometry Fermi chopper spectrometer designed to provide considerably high neutron flux with moderate energy and Q resolutions. VINS is characterized by its wide energy and Q range (0.5<ΔE<1000 meV and Q< 40 Å−1 at ΔE=1000 meV), enabled by an array of detectors covering large solid angle [−30°<2θ<130° horizontally and −30°<φ<30° vertically (2.8 Sr)]. Monte Carlo ray-tracing simulation estimates the sample position neutron flux as high as roughly 1×106 neutrons cm−2 s−1 for the ΔE/Ei∼5% mode at Ei=10 meV. With these wide E–Q coverage and high neutron flux, VINS will be one of the most efficient and versatile inelastic spectrometers at J-PARC. Target science ranges from conventional solid-state physics, such as highly correlated electron systems, frustrated magnets and relaxors, to rather interdisciplinary areas, exemplified by glasses, quasicrystals, polymers and liquids. A particular focus is placed on extreme sample environments; high magnetic-field and high-pressure environments are planned.