We illustrate the use of the invariant spin field for describing permissible equilibrium spin distributions in high energy spin polarised proton beams.}
During the proton-anti proton collider run several experiments were carried out in order to understand the effect of the beam-beam interaction on backgrounds and lifetimes. In this talk a selection of these experiments will be presented. From these e
xperiments, the importance of relative beam sizes and tune ripple could be demonstrated.
We discuss polarizing a proton beam in a storage ring, either by selective removal or by spin flip of the stored ions. Prompted by recent, conflicting calculations, we have carried out a measurement of the spin flip cross section in low-energy electr
on-proton scattering. The experiment uses the cooling electron beam at COSY as an electron target. The measured cross sections are too small for making spin flip a viable tool in polarizing a stored beam. This invalidates a recent proposal to use co-moving polarized positrons to polarize a stored antiproton beam.
A system for online measurement of the transverse beam emittance was developed. It is named $^{4}$PrOB$varepsilon$aM (4-Profiler Online Beam Emittance Measurement) and was conceived to measure the emittance in a fast and efficient way using the multi
ple beam profiler method. The core of the system is constituted by four consecutive UniBEaM profilers, which are based on silica fibers passing across the beam. The $^{4}$PrOB$varepsilon$aM system was deployed for characterization studies of the 18~MeV proton beam produced by the IBA Cyclone 18 MeV cyclotron at Bern University Hospital (Inselspital). The machine serves daily radioisotope production and multi-disciplinary research, which is carried out with a specifically conceived Beam Transport Line (BTL). The transverse RMS beam emittance of the cyclotron was measured as a function of several machine parameters, such as the magnetic field, RF peak voltage, and azimuthal angle of the stripper. The beam emittance was also measured using the method based on the quadrupole strength variation. The results obtained with both techniques were compared and a good agreement was found. In order to characterize the longitudinal dynamics, the proton energy distribution was measured. For this purpose, a method was developed based on aluminum absorbers of different thicknesses, a UniBEaM detector, and a Faraday cup. The results were an input for a simulation of the BTL developed in the MAD-X software. This tool allows machine parameters to be tuned online and the beam characteristics to be optimized for specific applications.
In 2017, AWAKE demonstrated the seeded self-modulation (SSM) of a 400 GeV proton beam from the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN. The angular distribution of the protons deflected due to SSM is a quantitative measure of the process, which agrees
with simulations by the two-dimensional (axisymmetric) particle-in-cell code LCODE. Agreement is achieved for beam populations between $10^{11}$ and $3 times 10^{11}$ particles, various plasma density gradients ($-20 div 20%$) and two plasma densities ($2times 10^{14} text{cm}^{-3}$ and $7 times 10^{14} text{cm}^{-3}$). The agreement is reached only in the case of a wide enough simulation box (at least five plasma wavelengths).
Crystals with small thickness along the beam exhibit top performance for steering particle beams through planar channeling. For such crystals, the effect of nuclear dechanneling plays an important role because it affects their efficiency. We addresse
d the problem through experimental work carried out with 400 GeV/c protons at fixed-target facilities of CERN-SPS. The dependence of efficiency vs. curvature radius has been investigated and compared favourably to the results of modeling. A realistic estimate of the performance of a crystal designed for LHC energy including nuclear dechanneling has been achieved.