La neutrino factory del CERN e i problemi radiologici dell'annesso proton driver

The thesis, La Neutrino Factory del CERN e i problemi radiologici dell'annesso proton driver (CERN Neutrino Factory and the radiological problems of the annex proton driver), deals with the new particle accelerators for the post LHC (Large Hadron Collider) era. The first part of the work describes these innovative accelerators with particular emphasis on the muon collider which, producing μ+/μ− collisions in the 100 GeV energy range, should explore deeply the Higgs Boson physics. The second part of the thesis describes the three-step scenario proposed for the muon accelerators: Neutrino Factory, Higgs Factory and a collider with TeV C.M. energy. The third chapter explains how a Neutrino Factory works. In a Neutrino Factory the neutrino beam is generated by high-energy muons decaying in a storage ring. The muons are produced by pions generated in a target bombarded by an intense proton beam. In the CERN project, the proton beam is produced by a super conducting LINAC (with 75 Hz frequency and 2.2 GeV energy) and an accumulator and compressor rings. This complex of accelerators poses various radiological safety problems that require an accurate study on shielding of the various machines, targets and dumps, and on the activation of the various structures. The central part of the thesis assesses the radiological problems of the proton driver, first dealing with simplified models then with Monte Carlo simulation techniques. The last chapter of the thesis discusses the calculations made for the SPL shielding and for the beam transfer lines with the methods illustrated in the previous chapter in two ways: the empirical method and the FLUKA Monte Carlo Code.