Status of the new fragment separator ACCULINNA-2 and first experiments

The start of operation of a new separator ACCULINNA-2 makes an important upgrade for the Radioactive-Ion Beam (RIB) research done at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (FLNR, JINR). Test results indicate that the separator meets the project specifications. Intensities obtained for the He-6,He-8, Li-9,Li-11, Be-12 RIBs are 15 times higher in comparison with the results achieved at the old separator ACCULINNA. An overview of the design, construction and commissioning studies of the ACCULINNA-2 separator is presented. The separator will be equipped with some key facilities: a cryogenic tritium target, zero degree spectrometer following the physical target bombarded by the RIBs, and with a neutron detector array, and the Time Projection Chamber (TPC). This opens a wide range of experimental possibilities. Overview is presented on the two first experiments devoted to the study of d + He-6 elastic scattering and search for a H-7 low-lying resonance state populated in the H-2 (He-8,He-3)H-7 reaction.