Review of Heavy-ion Induced Desorption Studies for Particle Accelerators

During high-intensity heavy-ion operation of several particle accelerators worldwide, large dynamic pressure rises of orders of magnitude were caused by lost beam ions that impacted under grazing angle onto the vacuum chamber walls. This ion-induced desorption, observed, for example, at CERN, GSI, and BNL, can seriously limit the ion intensity, luminosity, and beam lifetime of the accelerator. For the heavyion program at CERN's Large Hadron Collider collisions between beams of fully stripped lead (208Pb82+) ions with a beam energy of 2.76 TeV/u and a nominal luminosity of 10**27 cm**-2 s**-1 are foreseen. The GSI future project FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) aims at a beam intensity of 10**12 uranium (238U28+) ions per second to be extracted from the synchrotron SIS18. Over the past years an experimental effort has been made to study the observed dynamic vacuum degradations, which are important to understand and overcome for present and future particle accelerators. The paper reviews the results obtained in several laboratories using dedicated test setups, the mitigation techniques found, and their implementation in accelerators

The Quadrupole Resonator, Design Considerations and Layout of a New Instrument for the RF Characterization of Superconducting Surface Samples

A disk-shaped superconducting sample is welded onto an Nb support cylinder and exposed to the magnetic RF field of a four-wire transmission line resonator. The fields on the cylinder wall decay in a c ut-off like fashion in such a way that they perturb the measurement very little. RF dissipation of the disk is determined by substitution with a d.c. heater on the back of the sample which is made to produce the same temperature rise, controlled by thermometers

Electron cloud detection and characterization in the CERN Proton Synchrotron

We describe a dedicated electron cloud experiment which was installed in the CERN Proton Synchrotron in 2007. The setup comprises shielded button-type pickups, a fast vacuum logging, a dipole magnet, and a stripline electrode to experimentally verify the beneficial effect of electron cloud clearing.The electron cloud effect was observed within the last milliseconds before ejection of the nominal LHC proton beam consisting of 72 bunches with 25 ns spacing. Measurements of electron flux at the wall and vacuum pressure are presented for a set of magnetic fields and bias voltages on the clearing electrode, showing that efficient electron cloud suppression can be obtained for appropriate clearing voltages but revealing an unexpectedly complex dependence on magnetic field and voltage

The CERN SPL Chopper Structure. A Status Report

In the framework of HIPPI, a study for a Superconducting Proton Linac is being carried out at CERN. An integral part of the medium energy line is the chopper, which has to establish the required time structure of the beam by cutting out selected bunches from the continuous bunch train coming out of the RFQ. Due to the bunch spacing of 2.84 ns a system rise and fall time of 2 ns is required. A slow wave structure matched to the beam speed of 0.08c was chosen as the most promising candidate. This structure was implemented as a meander line printed on a ceramic substrate. The mechanical design as well as technological issues are discussed. Furthermore, the results of comprehensive tests on the prototype are reported

Experimental Electron Cloud Studies in the CERN Proton Synchrotron

Indications for a beam-induced electron cloud build-up are observed since 2000 for the nominal LHC beam in the PS to SPS transfer line and during the last turns before ejection from the PS. A new electron cloud setup was designed, built, and installed in the PS. It contains shielded button-type pickups, a dipole magnet, a vacuum gauge, and a dedicated stripline electrode to experimentally verify the beneficial effect of electron cloud clearing electrodes. During the 2007 run, the electron cloud effect was also clearly observed in the PS and efficient electron cloud suppression has been obtained for negative and positive bias voltages on the clearing electrode. Here, we present electron cloud measurements with different filling patterns and bunch spacings in the PS

Comparison of Enamel and Stainless Steel Electron Cloud Clearing Electrodes Tested in the CERN Proton Synchrotron

During the 2007 run with the nominal LHC proton beam, electron cloud has been clearly identified and characterized in the PS using a dedicated setup with shielded button-type pickups. Efficient electron cloud suppression could be achieved with a stainless steel stripline-type electrode biased to negative and positive voltages up to ± 1 kV. For the 2008 run, a second setup was installed in straight section 84 of the PS where the stainless steel was replaced by a stripline composed of an enamel insulator with a resistive coating. In contrast to ordinary stripline electrodes this setup presents a very low beam coupling impedance and could thus be envisaged for long sections of high-intensity machines. Here, we present first comparative measurements with this new type of enamel clearing electrode using the nominal LHC beam with 72 bunches and 25 ns bunch spacing

Molecular desorption of stainless steel vacuum chambers irradiated with 4.2 MeV/u lead ions

In preparation for the heavy ion program of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, accumulation and cooling tests with lead ion beams have been performed in the Low Energy Antiproton Ring (LEAR). These tests have revealed that due to the unexpected large outgassing of the vacuum system, the dynamic pressure of the ring could not be maintained low enough to reach the required beam intensities. To determine the actions necessary to lower the dynamic pressure rise, an experimental program has been initiated for measuring the molecular desorption yields of stainless steel vacuum chambers by the impact of 4.2 MeV/u lead ions with the charge states +27 and +53. The test chambers were exposed either at grazing or at perpendicular incidence. Different surface treatments (glow-discharges, non-evaporable getter coating) are reported in terms of the molecular desorption yields for H2, CH4, CO, Ar and CO2. Unexpected large values of molecular yields per incident ion up to 2 104 molecules/ion have been observed. The reduction of the ion-induced desorption yield due to continuous bombardment with lead ions (beam cleaning) has been investigated for five different stainless steel vacuum chambers. The implications of these results for the vacuum system of the future Low Energy Ion Ring (LEIR) and possible remedies to reduce the vacuum degradation are discussed

The influence of PET and PBT contamination during transportation fuel production via pyrolysis

The pyrolysis of plastic waste is a promising method to reduce waste accumulation while it could provide value-added transportation fuels. The main goal of this study is to investigate the influence of PET and PBT contamination during plastic pyrolysis oil production utilizing HDPE, LDPE, PP, and PS mixtures as these plastics are good candidates for transportation fuel production via pyrolysis and distillation. Seven different waste blends were prepared and pyrolyzed in a laboratory-scale batch reactor equipped with reflux. Mass balance, gas analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and deposit formation were evaluated. It was concluded that by increasing the PET or PBT concentration in the initial solid waste mixtures, the oil production decreases while the amount of gases increases. Additionally, either PET or PBT generates operational difficulties due to they form deposits in piping system in form of benzoic acid. The maximum concentration of these plastic waste materials was 20% (PET) and 25% (PBT) in this study as further increase blocked the cross-section of piping, causing operational difficulties. Based on the obtained results the concentration of PET and PBT should be limited in waste mixtures when transportation fuel production is desired

Progression and Death as Competing Risks in Ovarian Cancer

Background: Progression of a cancer disease and dying without progression can be understood as competing risks. The Cause-Specific Hazards Model and the Fine and Gray model on cumulative incidences are common statistical models to handle this problem. The pseudo value approach by Andersen and Klein is also able to cope with competing risks. It is still unclear which model suits best in which situation.Methods: For a simulated dataset and a real data example of ovarian cancer patients who are exposed to progression and death the three models are examined. We compare the three models with regards to interpretation and modeling requirements.Results: In this study, the parameter estimates for the competing risks are similar from the Cause-Specific Hazards Model and the Fine and Gray model. The pseudo value approach yields divergent results which are heavily dependent on modeling details.Conclusions: The investigated approaches do not exclude each other but moreover complement one another. The pseudo value approach is an alternative that circumvents proportionality assumptions. As in all survival analyses, situations with low event rates should be interpreted carefully