ISIS-II update

ISIS, the spallation Neutron and Muon source at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK, uses a 50 Hz, 800 MeV proton rapid cycling synchrotron (RCS) to provide an average beam power of 0.2 MW to its two fixed targets. Whilst demand to answer fundamental questions in materials science is growing, access to neutron research methods is expected to become more limited in Europe as reactor-based sources close. In answer to this, detailed studies for a new major pulsed neutron facility, ISIS-II, are now under way. Fixed-Field Alternating gradient accelerators (FFAs), accumulator rings (ARs) and rapid cycling synchrotrons are being considered to provide the required MW beam power for this new facility. Progress on all three accelerator options will be summarised, and relevant experimental results demonstrating beam stacking at the KURNS FFA will be presented. (author)