Announcement of the J-PARC MLF
2019B General Use (Short Term) Proposal Round Call for Proposals

[CLOSED]
Announcement of the J-PARC MLF
2019B General Use (Short Term) Proposal Round Call for Proposals

The CROSS is pleased to announce the opening of the 2019B General Use (Short Term) proposal round from Friday 17 May 2019.

Researchers wishing to conduct experiments at any of the MLF neutron beamlines during 2019B （November 2019 – March 2020） are invited to submit proposals via the J-PARC Proposal Submission System by the following deadline:

1. Deadline

17:00 Friday, 7 June, 2019 (Japan Standard Time)

* Demand on the Proposal Submission System is typically very high on the closing day. You are strongly recommended to submit your proposal well in advance of the deadline.

2. How to submit

Submit via the J-PARC Proposal Submission System
Refer to the “MLF Experiment Proposal Application Guidance“

Note

• Use the latest version of “Research Plan” (ver. 2019B) of the application form
• Obtain the consent of the person before registering him/her as a collaborator (The proposal may be rejected for the reason that a collaborator’s name is written without his/her consent.)
• It is recommended to consult the instrument scientist prior to proposal submission on the sample environment, experiment condition, etc. (list of instrument scientists)
• Please write the application form in Enlgish. (Application written in Japanese is accepted limited to P7 Industrial Applications and P9 New User Promotion.)

3. Experiment period and estimation of beam time

Experiment period

November 2019 – March 2020

Estimation of beamtime

Estimate the beamtime with beam power of 500 kW.

4. Eligibility to apply

1. Researchers belonging to a university, private company, public research institute, etc.
2. Graduate students (masters and PhD students)

*With regard to applicants belonging to the organizations listed in the Foreign End User List of METI or the nationals of non-NPT countries, eligibility to apply is decided in consultation with MEXT etc.

Instructions for the proposal by a graduate student

• Graduate students intending to make an application as a Principal Investigator are required to contact the instrument scientists before submitting the proposal.
• Enter “Graduate Student” in the field of the applicant’s job title.
• The applicant’s academic supervisor must be registered as a Collaborator. In the field of job title, add “AS” after his/her job title.
• An academic staff member of the applicant’s university, which includes his/her academic supervisor and a research collaborator, is required to attend and supervise the experiment (experiment supervisor). The experiment supervisor must be included as a Collaborator. In the field of job title, add “ES” after his/her job title.
• Please note that graduate students are not eligible for the experiment supervisor.
• If the proposal is approved, the academic supervisor is required to submit the specified pledge for implementing the experiment.

5. Instruments available in 2019B

Neutron Instruments

Neutron Diffraction

• BL11 PLANET – High-Pressure Neutron Diffractometer – Public Beamline
• BL18 SENJU – Extreme Environment Single-Crystal Neutron Diffractometer – Public Beamline

Inelastic Neutron Scattering

• BL01 4SEASONS – 4D-Space Access Neutron Spectrometer – Public Beamline
• BL02 DNA – Biomolecular Dynamics Spectrometer – Public Beamline

SANS and Neutron Reflectometry

• BL15 TAIKAN – Small and Wide Angle Neutron Scattering Instrument – Public Beamline
• BL17 SHARAKU – Polarized Neutron Reflectometer – Public Beamline

Other Neutron Instruments

• BL22 RADEN – Energy Resolved Neutron Imaging System – Public Beamline

6. Choose the review field

Please choose the appropriate category from the list below. The proposal is reviewed by the subcommittee of the category.

Neutron

• P1 Materials Science and Engineering
• P2 Energy Science and High-Pressure Science
• P3 Soft Matter, Biomaterials and Liquids
• P4 Magnetism and Strongly Correlated Electron Systems Elastic Scattering
• P5 Magnetism and Strongly Correlated Electron Systems Inelastic Scattering
• P6 Fundamental and Nuclear Physics, Instrumentation, Imaging
• P7 Industrial Applications（※1）
• P8　–
• P9 New User Promotion（※2）

List of keywords for each sub-committee.

（※1）Application for P7 “Industrial Applications” is limited to the proposals from PIs belonging to private companies.
（※2）Application for P9 “New User Promotion” is limited to the proposals for which pre-application has been submitted.

7. Evaluation criteria

• Submitted proposals are assessed and selected based on the evaluation criteria.
• The scientific value of the proposal and the appropriateness of the requested beamtime will be taken into consideration when deciding the beamtime.

8. Please Note

1. The use of samples including nuclear fuel materials/elements as a sample is prohibited. Only RI samples permitted by the MLF may be used.
2. Be sure to consult the instrument scientist prior to proposal submission if special sample environment (magnet etc.) is required. (more information)
3. Users who intend to bring in electrical equipment whose power output rating is 7.5kW and above/7.5kVA and above or equipment whose current rating is 30A and above must include the detailed equipment specifications in the research plan.
4. Experiment is not allowed to be implemented if it is attended only by students (including graduate students).

9. Element Strategy Initiative and Complementary Use

Again in the 2019B proposal round, applicants will be asked to indicate if their research has affinity with the Japanese national priority research areas as identified in the Elements Strategy Initiative. Similarly, applicants will be asked if their proposed research includes, or is likely to include in the future, the complementary use of other major research facilities such as, but not limited to, synchrotron radiation sources (SPring-8, SACLA, PF etc.), supercomputer (K computer etc.), or other quantum beam facilities. If either of the above applies to your proposal, please indicate by marking the relevant check box and adding a brief description as requested. The data is used only to survey current trends in research proposals at the MLF.

10. Charge for use

• For Non-Proprietary Use, charge for use is exempted by publishing the results.
• Proprietary Use Charge is 2,983,000 JPY / day

11. Publication of results (Non-Proprietary Use)

1. Within 60 days after the end of the proposal term of your experiment, the PI (except those of proprietary proposals) is required to submit an Experimental Report. (deadline of report is here) These reports will be open to public on the J-PARC Web site.
2. Intent to Publish: As a condition of performing nonproprietary research, the J-PARC MLF requires users to publish results from their research within 3 years after the completion of the experiment. Authorship of publications based on research from the facility should reflect the normal considerations of recognizing collaborations. It is also important to take into account the considerable efforts of the instrument scientists in their role of designing, constructing, and/or operating the instrument and related facilities. Proprietary users are not required to publish.
3. The assessment of proposals will take into account whether Experiment Reports for previous beamtime allocations have been submitted as required.

12. Disclosure of information

The web publication of the extract of the approved and conducted proposals shall contain the following information. (Non-proprietary Use, Proprietary Use)

Post-Proposal Review

Proposal number, PI’s name, Affiliation, Nationality of the PI’s affiliation, Beamline number, Assigned beamtime.

Post-Research

Title of Proposal, Allocated beamtime

13. Contact Us

J-PARC Center Users’ Office
For Non-Proprietary Use: j_proposal[at]ml.j-parc.jp
For Proprietary Use: j_proposal_p[at]ml.j-parc.jp
For General Questions: jimurisoku[at]ml.j-parc.jp
Please replace “[at]” with “@”