Beam halo collimation in heavy ion synchrotrons

This paper presents a systematic study of the halo collimation of ion beams from proton up to uranium in synchrotrons. The projected Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research synchrotron SIS100 is used as a reference case. The concepts are separated into fully stripped (e.g., ^{238}U^{92+}) and partially stripped (e.g., ^{238}U^{28+}) ion collimation. An application of the two-stage betatron collimation system, well established for proton accelerators, is intended also for fully stripped ions. The two-stage system consists of a primary collimator (a scattering foil) and secondary collimators (bulky absorbers). Interaction of the particles with the primary collimator (scattering, momentum losses, and nuclear interactions) was simulated by using fluka. Particle-tracking simulations were performed by using mad-x. Finally, the dependence of the collimation efficiency on the primary ion species was determined. The influence of the collimation system adjustment, lattice imperfections, and beam parameters was estimated. The concept for the collimation of partially stripped ions employs a thin stripping foil in order to change their charge state. These ions are subsequently deflected towards a dump location using a beam optical element. The charge state distribution after the stripping foil was obtained from global. The ions were tracked by using mad–x

Residual activity induced by heavy ions and beam-loss criteria for heavy-ion accelerators

The paper presents results of FLUKA simulations of the residual activity induced by heavy ions in two target configurations representing: (1) a beam pipe of an accelerator and (2) a bulky accelerator structure like a magnet yoke or a coil. The target materials were stainless steel and copper representing the most common construction materials used for basic accelerator components. For these two materials, the inventory of the induced isotopes depends mainly on the target material and much less on the projectile species. Time evolution of the induced activity can be described by means of a generic curve that is independent from the projectile mass. Dependence of the induced residual activity on selected ion beam parameters was studied. The main goal of the study was establishing a scaling law expanding the existing proton beam-loss tolerance to heavy-ion beams. This scaling law enables specifying beam-loss criteria for projectile species from proton up to uranium at energies from 200  MeV/u up to 1  GeV/u

Commissioning of a gantry beamline with rotator at a synchrotron-based ion therapy center

This paper provides an overview of the worldwide first commissioning of a gantry beamline with a rotator at the MedAustron synchrotron-based proton/ion cancer therapy facility in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. The gantry beamline consists of the high energy beam transfer (HEBT) line and the gantry beam transport system. It transports the beam from the synchrotron to the gantry-room isocenter. The HEBT transports the beam from the synchrotron to the gantry entrance, which is the coupling point between the HEBT and the gantry. The rotator is one of the HEBT modules, thus it is an integral part of the gantry beamline. The MedAustron rotator is the worldwide first rotator system used to match slowly extracted asymmetric beams from the synchrotron to the rotating gantry. In this paper, main attention is paid to ion-optical and beam-alignment aspects of the beamline commissioning. A novel orbit-correction and beam-alignment technique has been developed specifically for the beamline with the rotator. While the theoretical concept of the rotator has existed for almost two decades, the MedAustron rotator is the first hardware implementation of this concept all over the world. The presented overview of the beamline commissioning includes a description of the principal technical solutions and main results of the first beam-transport measurements. Since the measured beam size and beam position agree well with theoretical predictions, one can conclude that the proof-of-concept of the rotator-matching has been successfully accomplished