Development of the Low Energy Particle Toroidal Accumulator project

The Low Energy Particle Toroidal Accumulator (LEPTA), a positron storage ring with electron cooling, was constructed and put in operation at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna). The storage ring is a generator of directed beams of ortho-positronium (o-Ps) produced upon the recombination of the beam of positrons circulating in the storage ring with a single-pass electron beam. In 2004 the storage ring was put in operation with the circulating electron beam. The source of positrons of the positron injector was tested with a new radioactive source delivered from South Africa. The positron trap was put in operation for electrons. The electron cooling system was tested with a pulsed electron beam. The progress in commissioning LEPTA is described in this paper.