In this communication we present a generalization of the map formalism, introduced in [1] and [2], to the analysis of electron flux at the chamber wall with particular reference to the exploration of LHC conditioning scenarios.
The effects of electron clouds on positively-charged beams have been an active area of research in recent years at particle accelerators around the world. Transverse beam-size blow-up due to electron clouds has been observed in some machines, and is considered to be a major limiting factor in the development of higher-current, higher-luminosity electron-positron colliders. The leading proposed mechanism for beam blow-up is the excitation of a fast head-tail instability due to short-range wakes within the electron cloud. We present here observations of betatron oscillation sidebands in bunch-by-bunch spectra that may provide direct evidence of such head-tail motion in a positron beam.
Several indicators have pointed to the presence of an Electron Cloud (EC) in some of the CERN accelerators, when operating with closely spaced bunched beams. In particular, spurious signals on the pick ups used for beam detection, pressure rise and beam instabilities were observed at the Proton Synchrotron (PS) during the last stage of preparation of the beams for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), as well as at the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS). Since the LHC has started operation in 2009, typical electron cloud phenomena have appeared also in this machine, when running with trains of closely packed bunches (i.e. with spacings below 150ns). Beside the above mentioned indicators, other typical signatures were seen in this machine (due to its operation mode and/or more refined detection possibilities), like heat load in the cold dipoles, bunch dependent emittance growth and degraded lifetime in store and bunch-by-bunch stable phase shift to compensate for the energy loss due to the electron cloud. An overview of the electron cloud status in the different CERN machines (PS, SPS, LHC) will be presented in this paper, with a special emphasis on the dangers for future operation with more intense beams and the necessary countermeasures to mitigate or suppress the effect.
During the beam commissioning of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) with 150, 75, 50 and 25-ns bunch spacing, important electron-cloud effects, like pressure rise, cryogenic heat load, beam instabilities or emittance growth, were observed. A method has been developed to infer different key beam-pipe surface parameters by benchmarking simulations and pressure rise observed in the machine. This method allows us to monitor the scrubbing process (i.e. the reduction of the secondary emission yield as a function of time) in the regions where the vacuum-pressure gauges are located, in order to decide on the most appropriate strategies for machine operation. In this paper we present the methodology and first results from applying this technique to the LHC.
After a successful scrubbing run in the beginning of 2011, the LHC can be presently operated with high intensity proton beams with 50 ns bunch spacing. However, strong electron cloud effects were observed during machine studies with the nominal beam with 25 ns bunch spacing. In particular, fast transverse instabilities were observed when attempting to inject trains of 48 bunches into the LHC for the first time. An analysis of the turn-by-turn bunch-bybunch data from the transverse damper pick-ups during these injection studies is presented, showing a clear signature of the electron cloud effect. These experimental observations are reproduced using numerical simulations: the electron distribution before each bunch passage is generated with PyECLOUD and used as input for a set of HEADTAIL simulations. This paper describes the simulation method as well as the sensitivity of the results to the initial conditions for the electron build-up. The potential of this type of simulations and their clear limitations on the other hand are discussed.
An 805 MHz RF pillbox cavity has been designed and constructed to investigate potential muon beam acceleration and cooling techniques for a Muon Collider or Neutrino Factory. The cavity can operate in vacuum or under pressure to 100 atmospheres, at room temperature or in a liquid nitrogen bath at 77 K. The cavity has been designed for easy assembly and disassembly with bolted construction using aluminum seals. To perform vacuum and high pressure breakdown studies of materials and geometries most suitable for the collider or factory, the surfaces of the end walls of the cavity can be replaced with different materials such as copper, aluminum, beryllium, or molybdenum, and with different geometries such as shaped windows or grid structures. The cavity has been designed to fit inside the 5-Tesla solenoid in the MuCool Test Area at Fermilab. In this paper we present the vacuum conditioning results and discuss plans for testing in a 5-Tesla magnetic field. Additionally, we discuss the testing plan for beryllium (a material research has shown to be ideal for the collider or factory) end walls.