Recommendations from the international scoping study for a neutrino factory

The International Scoping Study (ISS) - a one-year review set up in August 2005 - aimed to lay the foundation for a planned international design study (IDS) of a neutrino factory or super beam facility. The ultimate goal is the generation of intense beams of neutrinos for particle physics research, from the decay of muons in a system of particle accelerators. A team of experienced physicists were charged with assessing the status of neutrino factory work at the time in order to identify a fully self-consistent and viable accelerator scenario. Additional design work was carried out, and areas for immediate study and R&D were identified. The ISS report makes recommendations for all parts of a Neutrino Factory complex, ranging from a high intensity proton driver, through muon production and acceleration, to the design and orientation of the storage rings that direct the neutrino beams through the earth to far detectors. The paper outlines the work, explains the ISS proposals, and identifies the most urgent R&D.