The article describes the main achievements of the NUMEN project together with an updated and detailed overview of the related R&D activities and theoretical developments. NUMEN proposes an innovative technique to access the nuclear matrix elements entering the expression of the lifetime of the double beta decay by cross section measurements of heavy-ion induced Double Charge Exchange (DCE) reactions. Despite the two processes, namely neutrinoless double beta decay and DCE reactions, are triggered by the weak and strong interaction respectively, important analogies are suggested. The basic point is the coincidence of the initial and final state many-body wave-functions in the two types of processes and the formal similarity of the transition operators. First experimental results obtained at the INFN-LNS laboratory for the 40 Ca( 18 O, 18 Ne) 40 Ar reaction at 270 MeV, give encouraging indication on the capability of the proposed technique to access relevant quantitative information.The two major aspects for this project are the K800 Superconducting Cyclotron and MAGNEX spectrometer. The former is used for the acceleration of the required high resolution and low emittance heavy ion beams and the latter is the large acceptance magnetic spectrometer for the detection of the ejectiles. The use of the high-order trajectory reconstruction technique, implemented in MAGNEX, allows to reach the experimental resolution and sensitivity required for the accurate measurement of the DCE cross sections at forward angles. However, the tiny values of such cross sections and the resolution requirements demand beam intensities much larger than manageable with the present facility. The on-going upgrade of the INFN-LNS facilities in this perspective is part of the NUMEN project and will be discussed in the article.3

The important goal of adding to the bootstrap current a more flexible tool, capable of producing and controlling steady-state profiles with a high fraction of non-inductive plasma current, could be reached using the lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) effect. Experiments performed on FTU (Frascati Tokamak Upgrade) demonstrated that LHCD can occur at reactor-graded high plasma density, provided that the parametric instability (PI)-produced broadening of the spectrum launched by the antenna is reduced under proper operating conditions, capable of producing relatively high temperature in the outer region of plasma column. This condition was produced by operations that reduce particle recycling from the vessel walls, and enhance the gas fuelling in the core by means of fast pellet. New results of FTU experiments are presented documenting that the useful effect of temperature at the periphery, which reduces the LH spectral broadening and enhances the LH-induced hard-x ray emission level, occurs in a broader range of plasma parameters than in previous work. Modelling results show that a further tool for helping LHCD at a high density would be provided by electron cyclotron resonant heating of plasma periphery. New information is provided on the modelling, able determining frequencies, growth rates and LH spectral broadening produced by PI, which allowed assessing the new method for enabling LHCD at high densities. Further robustness is provided to theoretical and experimental fundaments of the method for LHCD at a high density.

This is the author's final version of the contribution published as: a b s t r a c t A growing interest of the scientific community towards multidisciplinary applications of laser-driven beams has led to the development of several projects aiming to demonstrate the possible use of these beams for therapeutic purposes. Nevertheless, laser-accelerated particles differ from the conventional beams typically used for multiscipilinary and medical applications, due to the wide energy spread, the angular divergence and the extremely intense pulses. The peculiarities of optically accelerated beams led to develop new strategies and advanced techniques for transport, diagnostics and dosimetry of the accelerated particles. In this framework, the realization of the ELIMED (ELI-Beamlines MEDical and multidisciplinary applications) beamline, developed by INFN-LNS (Catania, Italy) and that will be installed in 2017 as a part of the ELIMAIA beamline at the ELI-Beamlines (Extreme Light Infrastructure Beamlines) facility in Prague, has the aim to investigate the feasibility of using laser-driven ion beams for multidisciplinary applications. In this contribution, an overview of the beamline along with a detailed description of the main transport elements as well as the detectors composing the final section of the beamline will be presented.