Implementing a gas jet target inside the solenoidal spectrometer HELIOS

 The benefits of using a solenoidal spectrometer to study nuclear reactions in inverse kinematics include improved effective energy resolution through the elimination of kinematic compression. However, target-induced effects, such as the energy loss of the beam and reaction products, can limit solenoidal spectrometers  from achieving this idealised resolution. Solid targets and gas cells possess a number of inherent issues, related to energy loss and significant background reactions, which have a detrimental effect on the energy and angular resolution that can be achieved. The Jet Experiments in Nuclear Structure and Astrophysics (JENSA) system is a windowless supersonic gas jet target able to provide localised densities of over 5x10¹⁸ atoms/cm², with significantly fewer contaminants and less energy and angle straggling than many traditional targets. Here we present the first steps towards implementing a gas jet target similar to JENSA inside the solenoidal spectrometer HELIOS at Argonne National Laboratory, with preliminary gas flow tests performed using a prototype setup at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.