SECAR: The Separator for Capture Reactions in Nuclear Astrophysics

The SEparator for CApture Reactions (SECAR) is a recoil separator currently under construction at the National Superconducting Laboratory (NSCL) and the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). It will be dedicated to measuring the reaction rates of astrophysically relevant capture reactions on isotopes of mass 15 to 65. SECAR consists of 8 dipoles, 15 quadrupoles, 3 hexapoles, 1 octopole and 2 Wien filters with stringent performance conditions. This presentation will focus on the methods and tools used to optimize beam transport and tuning through the separator. The magnet acceptance procedure used to ensure that the magnets that make up SECAR will be able to perform at the desired specifications, including testing for magnetic field reproducibility, will also be presented.