Measurements of the effect of collisions on transverse beam halo diffusion in the Tevatron and in the LHC

Beam-beam forces and collision optics can strongly affect beam lifetime, dynamic aperture, and halo formation in particle colliders. Extensive analytical and numerical simulations are carried out in the design and operational stage of a machine to quantify these effects, but experimental data is scarce. The technique of small-step collimator scans was applied to the Fermilab Tevatron collider and to the CERN Large Hadron Collider to study the effect of collisions on transverse beam halo dynamics. We describe the technique and present a summary of the first results on the dependence of the halo diffusion coefficient on betatron amplitude in the Tevatron and in the LHC.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Submitted to the Proceedings of the ICFA Mini-Workshop on Beam-beam Effects in Hadron Colliders (BB2013), Geneva, Switzerland, 18-22 March 201

Beam halo dynamics and control with hollow electron beams

Experimental measurements of beam halo diffusion dynamics with collimator scans are reviewed. The concept of halo control with a hollow electron beam collimator, its demonstration at the Tevatron, and its possible applications at the LHC are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, in Proceedings of the 52nd ICFA Advanced Beam Dynamics Workshop on High-Intensity and High-Brightness Hadron Beams (HB2012), Beijing, China, 17-21 September 201

Testing Beam-Induced Quench Levels of LHC Superconducting Magnets

In the years 2009-2013 the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has been operated with the top beam energies of 3.5 TeV and 4 TeV per proton (from 2012) instead of the nominal 7 TeV. The currents in the superconducting magnets were reduced accordingly. To date only seventeen beam-induced quenches have occurred; eight of them during specially designed quench tests, the others during injection. There has not been a single beam- induced quench during normal collider operation with stored beam. The conditions, however, are expected to become much more challenging after the long LHC shutdown. The magnets will be operating at near nominal currents, and in the presence of high energy and high intensity beams with a stored energy of up to 362 MJ per beam. In this paper we summarize our efforts to understand the quench levels of LHC superconducting magnets. We describe beam-loss events and dedicated experiments with beam, as well as the simulation methods used to reproduce the observable signals. The simulated energy deposition in the coils is compared to the quench levels predicted by electro-thermal models, thus allowing to validate and improve the models which are used to set beam-dump thresholds on beam-loss monitors for Run 2.Comment: 19 page

Testing the Properties of Beam-Dose Monitors for VHEE-FLASH Radiation Therapy

Very High Energy Electrons (VHEE) of 50 - 250 MeV are an attractive choice for FLASH radiation therapy (RT). Before VHEE-FLASH RT can be considered for clinical use, a reliable dosimetric and beam monitoring system needs to be developed, able to measure the dose delivered to the patient in real-time and cut off the beam in the event of a machine fault to prevent overdosing the patient. Ionisation chambers are the standard monitors in conventional RT; however, their response saturates at the high dose rates required for FLASH. Therefore, a new dosimetry method is needed that can provide reliable measurements of the delivered dose in these conditions. Experiments using 200 MeV electrons were done at the CLEAR facility at CERN to investigate the properties of detectors such as diamond beam loss detectors, GEM foil detectors, and Timepix3 ASIC chips. From the tests, the GEM foil proved to be the most promising

Simulations and measurements of beam losses on LHC collimators during beam abort failures

One of the main purposes of tracking simulations for collimation studies is to produce loss maps along the LHC ring, in order to identify the level of local beam losses during nominal and abnormal operation scenarios. The SixTrack program is the standard tracking tool used at CERN to perform these studies. Recently, it was expanded in order to evaluate the proton load on different collimators in case of fast beam failures. Simulations are compared with beam measurements at 4 TeV. Combined failures are assumed which provide worst-case scenarios of the load on tungsten tertiary collimators.peer-reviewe

Simulations and measurements of beam losses on LHC collimators during beam abort failures

One of the main purposes of tracking simulations for collimation studies is to produce loss maps along the LHC ring, in order to identify the level of local beam losses during nominal and abnormal operation scenarios. The SixTrack program is the standard tracking tool used at CERN to perform these studies. Recently, it was expanded in order to evaluate the proton load on different collimators in case of fast beam failures. Simulations are compared with beam measurements at 4 TeV. Combined failures are assumed which provide worst-case scenarios of the load on tungsten tertiary collimators.peer-reviewe

Measurement of χ c1 and χ c2 production with s√ = 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

The prompt and non-prompt production cross-sections for the χ c1 and χ c2 charmonium states are measured in pp collisions at s√ = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using 4.5 fb−1 of integrated luminosity. The χ c states are reconstructed through the radiative decay χ c → J/ψγ (with J/ψ → μ + μ −) where photons are reconstructed from γ → e + e − conversions. The production rate of the χ c2 state relative to the χ c1 state is measured for prompt and non-prompt χ c as a function of J/ψ transverse momentum. The prompt χ c cross-sections are combined with existing measurements of prompt J/ψ production to derive the fraction of prompt J/ψ produced in feed-down from χ c decays. The fractions of χ c1 and χ c2 produced in b-hadron decays are also measured