New target cryostat for experiments with negative muons

An experimental set-up, including a cryostat with temperature control and gas supply systems has been developed to study muon catalyzed fusion in mixtures of hydrogen and helium isotopes. The target body is made of aluminium with five kapton windows 55-135 μm thick. The working temperature range of the target is 21-300 K, the pressure is 0-10 atm. The coolant is either liquid helium or liquid nitrogen, according to the experimental conditions. The average consumption of liquid helium at a target temperature of 32 K is 0.6 l/h, providing 0.45 W of cooling power. The temperature control system ensures an accuracy of ±0.05 K in the temperature range 21-70 K. Hydrogen isotopes are purified by molecular sieves (CaA), helium isotopes by intermetallic compound ZrCrFe. (author)