Simulation of heat transfer and dissipation in targets used in nuclear astrophysics experiments

Abstract

This work presents time-dependent numerical calculations of heat generation and dissipation in targets used in high ion-beam current nuclear astrophysics experiments. The simulation is beneficial for choosing the thickness of targets, maximum ion-beam current and design setup for cooling of such targets. It is found that for the very thin target ($^{27}Al(p,p),^{12}C(p,p)$) heat generation inside target is relatively low and a fair amount of high current (few $\mu$A)can be used without any melting issue. But in case of thick targets ($^{27}Al(p,\gamma),^{12}C(p,\gamma)$) cooling became essential for the survival of reaction target.