2020 Physics/Theoretical Colloquium

 

Thursday, January 9th , 2020

3:45 – 4:45 p.m.

Rosen Auditorium (TA-53, Bldg. 001)

 

Refreshments at 3:15pm

 

Speaker:   Dr. Gus Sinnis

LANSCE User Facility Director, ALDPS

Los Alamos National Laboratory

 

“LANSCE A Center for Materials and Nuclear Research for 21st Century Deterrence”

Abstract: 

 

LANSCE is a NNSA Center for Materials and Nuclear Research.  In this presentation I will discuss LANSCE’s role in science-based stockpile stewardship and how we advance a predictive manufacturing and nuclear capability for the NNSA.  Our ability to characterize material properties as a function manufacturing process under a range of environmental conditions is key to  the design to manufacture effort by NNSA.  The ability to perform dynamic experiments with proton radiography has made LANSCE a center piece of high-explosive science.  Our plans to include dynamic plutonium experiments at pRad will greatly increase our importance to future mission.  And our ability to make precise energy dependent measurements of neutron cross-sections of relevance to weapon performance removes correlated errors in weapons’ codes and thereby increase our ability to predict performance beyond the range of previously tested designs.  Finally, I will discuss some recent problems we have encountered with the machine and plans that are under development to rebuild critical portions of the accelerator with more modern designs that will ensure our ability to deliver for NNSA mission into the foreseeable future.