We present a new conceptual and optical design for the Next Linear Collider post-linac collimation system. Energy collimation and passive protection against off-energy beams are achieved in a system with large horizontal dispersion and vertical betatron functions. Betatron collimation is performed in a relatively low-beta (FODO-like) lattice in which only thin spoilers intercept particles near the beam core, while thick absorbers maintain a large stay-clear from the beam. Two possible schemes for the spoilers are considered: one in which the spoilers are capable of tolerating a certain number of damaging interceptions per collider run ("consumable" spoilers), and one in which the spoilers are potentially damaged on every machine pulse and are self-repairing ("renewable" spoilers). The collimation efficiency of the system is evaluated, considering both halo particles which are rescattered into the beam and muon secondaries which are passed to the interaction region. We conclude that the new design is a promising candidate for the NLC post-linac system.
Notes on the design of experiments and beam diagnostics with synchrotron light detected by a gated photomultiplier for the Fermilab superconducting electron linac and for the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA)
I develop the formalism that allows calculation of beam envelopes through a linear accelerator given its on-axis electric field. Space charge can naturally be added using Sacherer formalism. A complicating feature is that the reference particle's energy-time coordinates are not known a priori. Since first order matrix formalism applies to deviations from the reference particle, this means the reference particle's time and energy must be calculated simultaneously with the beam envelope and transfer matrix. The code TRANSOPTR is used to track envelopes for general elements whose infinitesimal tr…
Advanced linear accelerator design may use Optical Transition Radiation (OTR) screens to measure beam spot size; for instance, such screens are foreseen in plasma based accelerators (EuPRAXIA@SPARC_LAB) or Compton machines (Gamma Beam Source@ELI-NP). Optical Transition Radiation angular distribution strongly depends on beam energy. Since OTR screens are typically placed in several positions along the Linac to monitor the beam envelope, one may perform a distributed energy measurement along the machine. Furthermore, a single shot energy measurement can be useful in plasma accelerators to measur…
This report presents a design of a gantry for proton therapy based on the concept of adiabatic transition. The use of fixed-field alternating gradient magnets allows a large momentum acceptance and supports fast energy modulation. The optical performance of the gantry has been analysed using a beam tracking code. Several optimisations of the lattice and transition sections have been investigated to reduce size and ensure applicability to pencil beam scanning. Matching of the full energy range results in an increase in the size of the gantry, but reduces the weight and cost significantly compar…
The University of Maryland Electron Ring (UMER) has operated traditionally in the regime of strong space-charge dominated beam transport, but small-current beams are desirable to significantly reduce the direct (incoherent) space-charge tune shift as well as the tune depression. This regime is of interest to model space-charge effects in large proton and ion rings similar to those used in nuclear physics and spallation neutron sources, and also for nonlinear dynamics studies of lattices inspired on the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA). We review the definition of space-charge intensit…
The paper proposes a method of finding the beam loss locations in a linac. If the beam is scraped at an aperture limitation, moving its centroid with two dipole correctors located upstream and oscillating in sync produces a line at the corresponding frequency in spectra of current-sensitive devices downstream of the loss point. The phase of this signal contains information about the location of the beam loss. Similar lines appear also in the position signals of Beam Position Monitors (BPMs). The phases of the BPM position lines change monotonically (within each 2π) along the linac and can be u…
We report results of the beam commissioning and first operation of the 1.3 GHz superconducting RF electron linear accelerator at Fermilab Accelerator Science and Technology (FAST) facility. Construction of the linac was completed and the machine was commissioned with beam in 2017. The maximum total beam energy of about 300 MeV was achieved with the record energy gain of 250 MeV in the ILC-type SRF cryomodule. The photoinjector was tuned to produce trains of 200 pC bunches with a frequency of 3 MHz at a repetition rate of 1 Hz. This report describes the aspects of machine commissioning such as …
We describe a compact THz-pump and X-ray-probe beamline, based on an electron linac, for ultrafast time-resolved diffraction applications. Two high-energy electron ($γ>50$) bunches, $5~$ns apart, impinge upon a single-foil or a multifoil radiator and generate THz radiation and X-rays simultaneously. The THz pulse from the first bunch is synchronized to the X-ray beam of the second bunch by using an adjustable optical delay of THz pulse. The peak power of THz radiation from the multifoil radiator is estimated to be $0.14~$GW for a $200~$pC well-optimized electron bunch. GEANT4 simulations show …
We propose and demonstrate that a gamma-gamma collider with W_gg < 12 GeV can be added to the European XFEL with a minimal disruption to its main program. High-energy photons will be obtained by Compton scattering of 0.5 micron laser photons on the existing 17.5 GeV electron beams. Such a gamma-gamma collider would be an excellent place for the development and application of modern technologies: powerful lasers, optical cavities, superconducting linacs, and low-emittance electron sources -- as well as training the next generation of accelerator physicists and engineers. The physics program wou…
Negative hydrogen ions are often used for injecting protons from linacs to storage rings via charge-exchange injection. In this process, the two electrons are stripped by a foil or laser to produce protons which can be merged with an existing beam without significantly affecting its dynamics, allowing high intensities of protons to be accumulated. However, this capability comes with the drawback that the outer electron of an H$^-$ ion has a low binding energy and can easily be stripped away prior to injection. This paper addresses the following stripping mechanisms: interactions with residual …
The Proton Improvement Plan, Stage Two (PIP-II) is a program of upgrades proposed for the Fermilab injection complex, which central part is an 800 MeV, 2 mA CW SRF linac. A prototype of the PIP-II linac front end called PIP-II Injector Test (PIP2IT) is being built at Fermilab. As of now, a 15 mA DC, 30-keV H- ion source, a 2 m-long Low Energy Beam Transport (LEBT), a 2.1 MeV CW RFQ, followed by a 10 m Medium Energy Beam Transport (MEBT) have been assembled and commissioned. The MEBT bunch-by-bunch chopping system and the requirement of a low uncontrolled beam loss put stringent limitations on …
