The European Spallation Source (ESS), presently under construction in Lund,
Sweden, is a multidisciplinary international laboratory that will operate the
world's most powerful pulsed neutron source. Supported by a 3M Euro Research
and Innovation Action within the EU Horizon 2020 program, a design study
(HighNESS) is now underway to develop a second neutron source below the
spallation target. Compared to the first source, located above the spallation
target and designed for high cold and thermal brightness, the new source will
provide higher intensity, and a shift to longer wavelengths in the spectral
regions of cold (2 /- 20 {\AA}), very cold (VCN, 10 /- 120 {\AA}), and ultra
cold (UCN, > 500 {\AA}) neutrons. The core of the second source will consist of
a large liquid deuterium moderator to deliver a high flux of cold neutrons and
to serve secondary VCN and UCN sources, for which different options are under
study. The features of these new sources will boost several areas of condensed
matter research and will provide unique opportunities in fundamental physics.
Part of the HighNESS project is also dedicated to the development of future
instruments that will make use of the new source and will complement the
initial suite of instruments in construction at ESS. The HighNESS project
started in October 2020. In this paper, the ongoing developments and the
results obtained in the first year are described.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, 14th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear
Applications of Accelerators, November 30 to December 4, 2021, Washington, D