26 June 2003

Dear Colleague

I am seeking your help and advice as part of a CCLRC exercise to inform the planning process for the evolution of UK Synchrotron Science in the period to 2010.
This specific exercise is aimed at evaluating the impact on UK synchrotron science of different strategies for providing working synchrotron beamlines over this crucial period, which I am sure you will recognise is of great importance to the broad community of synchrotron users.

The Diamond Light Source (DLS) will open its first phase of beamlines in 2007. The baseline for this exercise is to assume that the Daresbury Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS) will continue operation until 2009, thus providing a 2-year overlap with DLS, or 2-year ‘bright period’. A range of alternative scenarios is also to be evaluated, namely SRS closure in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010. In other words the range of bright periods to be evaluated is –1, 0, +1, +2 and +3 years.

A joint CCLRC/DLS Science Migration Working Group has been charged with evaluating the impact of each of the above bright period scenarios on current and planned research programmes which utilise synchrotron radiation and it is in this capacity that we seek your help to provide information on key research programmes or topics which fall into this category.

For each topic the information we seek may be summarised as

• Current status and future prospects
  (an assessment of the international status of the UK work would be helpful here)
• Recent key publications
• Examples of significant research grant support or involvement in new or planned Research Centres in the UK
• Research programmes involving existing or planned European Networks
• Examples of developments required at the SRS, which would lead to an enhanced scientific outcome of one or more of the alternative bright period scenarios.

Much of the above information will be on research involving yourself directly, but please do include comments of a more general nature where possible.

Drawing on the above information, we ask for your views on the impact of the alternative bright period scenarios on each key research topic, which you mention. Further information on current beamline provision on SRS and on the planned beamlines on DLS is given in Appendix 2.

In formulating your response we would ask you to bear in mind (i) that the suite of beamlines available on the SRS for each scenario is likely to be reduced from that currently in operation, and therefore some comments on priorities for the SRS are appropriate, and (ii) that the 4th Generation Light Source (4GLS) could begin operation in 2010 and would have a considerable impact in areas using lower energy radiation. The current status of 4GLS is outlined in Appendix 3.

You are also invited to comment on the use of overseas SR facilities to cover any gaps in provision arising from specific bright period scenarios.

I realise that this request calls for additional effort from you at a very busy time, but I hope you will appreciate the importance of the exercise. We are trying to provide objective and verifiable evidence of the impact on UK Synchrotron Science of the range of bright period scenarios. This information will inform the decision making process.

I hope you will be able to respond by July 11th. Your input will be much appreciated.