Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

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Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility
JLab logo white2.jpg
Motto “Exploring the nature of matter.”
Established 1984
Research type Nuclear physics
Budget US$72 million (2004)
Director Hugh E. Montgomery
Staff 675
Location Newport News, Virginia
Campus 214 acres (87 ha)
Operating agency
Jefferson Science Associates, LLC

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), commonly called Jefferson Lab or JLab, is a U.S. national laboratory located in Newport News, Virginia. Since June 1, 2006, it has been operated by Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, a joint venture between Southeastern Universities Research Association, Inc., and CSC Applied Technologies, LLC. Until 1996 it was known as the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF); this name is still commonly used for the main accelerator.

Aerial view of Jefferson Lab.

Founded in 1984, JLab employs over 675 people, and over 2,000 scientists from around the world have conducted research using the facility. Its stated mission is "to provide forefront scientific facilities, opportunities and leadership essential for discovering the fundamental structure of nuclear matter; to partner in industry to apply its advanced technology; and to serve the nation and its communities through education and public outreach."[1]


12GeV upgrade, currently under construction.

The laboratory's main research facility is the CEBAF accelerator, which consists of a polarized electron source and injector and a pair of superconducting RF linear accelerators 7/8-mile (1400 m) in length, connected to each other by two arc sections which contain steering magnets. As the electron beam makes up to five successive orbits, its energy is increased up to a maximum of 6 GeV. This leads to a design that appears similar to a racetrack, compared to the classical ring shaped accelerator shape found at sites such as CERN or Fermilab. Effectively, CEBAF is a linear accelerator, like SLAC at Stanford, that has been folded up to a tenth of its normal length.


The beam ends in three experimental halls, labelled Hall A, Hall B, and Hall C. Each hall contains a unique spectrometer to record the results of collision between the electron beam and a stationary target. This allows physicists to study the structure of the atomic nucleus, specifically the interaction of the quarks that make up protons and neutrons of the nucleus.

Particle behavior[edit]

Each time around the loop, the beam passes through each of the two LINAC accelerators, but through a different set of bending magnets. The electrons make up to five passes through the LINAC accelerators.

Collision event[edit]



12 GeV upgrade[edit]

As of June 2010, construction had begun on a $338 million upgrade to add an end station, Hall D, on the opposite end of the accelerator from the other three halls, as well as to double beam energy to 12 GeV. Concurrently, an addition to the Test Lab, (where the SRF cavities used in CEBAF and other accelerators used worldwide are manufactured) is being constructed.

As of May 2014, the upgrade had reached the point where a new record for beam energy was achieved, at 10.5 GeV, delivering beam to Hall D.[2]

Free electron laser[edit]

JLab houses the world's most powerful tunable free electron laser, with an output of over 14 kilowatts.




CODA is a set of software tools and recommended hardware that facilitate a data acquisition system for nuclear physics experiments. In nuclear and particle physics experiments, the particle tracks are digitized by the data acquisition system, but the detectors are capable of generating a large number of possible measurements, or "data channels".




  2. ^ Wed, 05/14/2014 - 2:22pm (2014-05-09). "Scientists unleash highest-energy beam ever at Jefferson Lab". Retrieved 2014-05-15. 
  3. ^

External links[edit]