After a 14 month shutdown accelerator modifications and upgrades are in place to allow us doubling of the Main Injector beam power. We will discuss the past MI high power operation and the current progress towards doubling the power.
During Nova operations it is planned to run the Fermilab Recycler in a 12 batch slip stacking mode. In preparation for this, measurements of the tune during a six batch injection and then as the beam is slipped by changing the RF frequency, but witho
ut a 7th injection, have been carried out in the Main Injector. The coherent tune shifts due to the changing beam intensity were measured and compared well with the theoretically expected tune shift. The tune shifts due to changing RF frequency, required for slip stacking, also compare well with the linear theory, although some nonlinear affects are apparent at large frequency changes. These results give us confidence that the expected tunes shifts during 12 batch slip stacking Recycler operations can be accommodated.
Fermilab Main Injector has been operating at high Beam Power levels since 2008 when multi-batch slip stacking became operational. In order to maintain and increase the beam power levels the localized beam loss due to beam left over in the injection k
icker gap during slip stacking needs to be addressed. A set of gap clearing kickers that kick any beam left in the injection gap to the beam abort have been built. The kickers were installed in the summer of 2009 and became operational in November of 2010. The kicker performance and its effect on the beam losses will be described.
