VESUVIO+: The Current Testbed for a Next-generation Epithermal Neutron Spectrometer

Abstract

We present an overview of ongoing developments in epithermal neutron spectroscopy using the VESUVIO+ beam line at the ISIS Facility. In its current incarnation, VESUVIO+ provides a suitable platform for further and much-needed progress in the judicious exploitation of epithermal neutrons at a pulsed spallation source, as well as constitutes a necessary milestone towards a next-generation station for Epithermal and Thermal Neutron Analysis, hereafter ETNA. In particular, we discuss recent improvements in capability relative to its predecessor VESUVIO. These include the concurrent use of mass-resolved neutron spectroscopy, transmission, and di ff raction to explore the properties of complex functional materials, as well as the implementation of techniques unique to pulsed neutron sources such as gamma-ray dopplerimetry and energy-resolved prompt-gamma activation analysis.