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We study the ultimate bounds on the sensitivity of a Bloch-oscillation atom interferometer where the external force is estimated from the measurement of the on-site atomic density. For external forces such that the energy difference between lattice sites is smaller than the tunneling energy, the atomic wave-function spreads over many lattice sites, increasing the separation between the occupied modes of the lattice and naturally enhancing the sensitivity of the interferometer. To investigate the applicability of this scheme we estimate the effect of uncontrolled fluctuations of the tunneling energy and the finite resolution of the atom detection. Our analysis shows that a horizontal lattice combined with a weak external force allow for high sensitivities. Therefore, this setup is a promising solution for compact devices or for measurements with high spatial resolution., 10 pages, 5 figures

The CERN Neutrinos to Gran Sasso (CNGS) beam facility uses two muon detector stations as on-line feed back for the quality control of the neutrino beam. The muon detector stations are assembled in a cross-shaped array to provide the muon intensity and the vertical and horizontal muon profiles. Each station is equipped with 42 ionisation chambers, which are originally designed as Beam Loss Monitors (BLMs) for the Large Hadron Collider(LHC). The response of the muon detectors during the CNGS run 2007 and possible reasons for a non-linear behaviour with respect to the beam intensity are discussed. Results of the CNGS run 2008 are shown: The modifications done during the shutdown 2007/08 were successful and resulted in the expected linear behaviour of the muon detector response.

The beam loss monitoring (BLM) system [1] of the LHC is one of the most critical elements for the protection of the LHC. It must prevent the super conducting magnets from quenches and the machine components from damages, caused by beam losses. Ionization chambers and secondary emission based beam loss detectors are used on several locations around the ring. The sensors are producing a signal current, which is related to the losses. This current will be measured by a tunnel electronic, which acquires, digitizes and transmits the data via an optical link to the surface electronic. The so called threshold comparator (TC) [2] collects, analyzes and compares the data with threshold table. It also gives a dump signal through the combiner card to the beam inter lock system (BIC). The usage of the system, for protection and tuning of the LHC and the scale of the LHC, imposed exceptional specification of the dynamic range and radiation tolerance. The input current dynamic range should allow measurements between 10pA and 1mA and it should also be protected to very high pulse of 1.5kV and its corresponding current. To cover this range, a current to frequency converter (CFC) is used in the tunnel card, which produces an output frequency of 0.05Hz at 10pA, and 5MHz at 1mA. In addition to the output frequency, the integrator output voltage is measured with a 12bit ADC to improve the resolution. The location of the CFC card next to the detector imposes the placement of the card in the LHC tunnel, exposing the card to radiation. The radiation tolerance was defined by assuming a 20 year operation period corresponding to 400Gy. A mixture of radiation tolerant Asics from the microelectronic group at CERN, and standard component was chosen to cope with these requirements.

The Beam Loss Monitoring (BLM) system is integrated in the active equipment protection system of the LHC. It determines the number of particles lost from the primary hadron beam by measuring the radiation field of the shower particles outside of the vacuum chamber. The LHC BLM system will use ionization chambers as its standard detectors but in the areas where very high dose rates are expected, the Secondary Emission Monitor (SEM) chambers will be additionally employed because of their high linearity, low sensitivity and fast response.The sensitivity of the SEM was modeled in Geant4 via the Photo-Absorption Ionization module together with custom parameterization of the very low energy secondary electron production. The prototypes were calibrated by proton beams. For the calibration of the BLM system the signal response of the ionization chamber is simulated in Geant4 for all relevant particle types and energies (keV to TeV range). The results are validated by comparing the simulations to measurements using protons, neutrons, photons and mixed radiation fields at various energies and intensities.

The beam loss monitoring system is one of the most critical elements for the protection of the LHC. It must prevent the super conducting magnets from quenches and the machine components from damages, caused by beam losses. Ionization chambers and secondary emission based detectors are used at several locations around the ring. The sensors are producing a signal current, which is related to the losses. This current will be measured by a tunnel card, which acquires, digitizes and transmits the data via an optical link to the surface electronic. The usage of the system, for protection and tuning of the LHC and the scale of the LHC, imposed exceptional specifications of the dynamic range and radiation tolerance. The input dynamic allows measurements between 10pA and 1mA and its protected to high pulse of 1.5kV and its corresponding current. To cover this range, a current to frequency converter in combination with an ADC is used. The integrator output voltage is measured with an ADC to improve the resolution. The radiation tolerance required the adaption of conceptional design and a stringent selection of the components.

The strategy for machine protection and quench prevention of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) is mainly based on the Beam Loss Monitoring (BLM) system. At each turn, there will be several thousands of data to record and process in order to decide if the beams should be permitted to continue circulating or their safe extraction is necessary. The BLM system can be sub-divided geographically to the tunnel and the surface building installations. In this paper the surface installation is explored, focusing not only to the parts used for the processing of the BLM data and the generation of the beam abort triggers, but also to the interconnections made with various other systems in order to provide the needed functionality.

The BLM (Beam Loss Monitoring) system has to prevent the superconducting magnets from being quenched and protect the machine components against damages making it one of the most critical elements for the protection of the LHC. The complete system consists of 3600 detectors, placed at various locations around the ring, tunnel electronics, which are responsible for acquiring, digitizing, and transmitting the data, and surface electronics, which receive the data via 2km optical data links, process, analyze, store, and issue warning and abort triggers. At those surface units, named BLMTCs, the backbone on each of them is an FPGA (field programmable gate array) which treats the loss signals collected from 16 detectors. It takes into account the beam energy and keeps 192 running sums giving loss durations of up to the last 84 seconds before it compares them with thresholds uniquely programmable for each detector. In this paper, the BLMTC's design is explored giving emphasis to the strategies followed in combining the data from the integrator and the ADC, and in keeping the running sums updated in a way that gives the best compromise between memory needs, computation, and approximation error.

Beam observation, emittance measurements and initial beam steering, are often achieved using scintillating or OTR (optical transition radiation) screens. In the CERN accelerators complex, this system is known as the BTV or MTV system. It consists of an observation camera, an illumination device and a vacuum tank provided of a view port containing the radiator. More than 100 such equipments, in several different flavours, are installed in the CPS complex, another 50 in the SPS complex and another 50 will be installed in the upcoming LHC. The newly developed electronics hardware consists of a single VME 64x card. This card is capable of controlling: all the different types of positioning mechanism for the screens, the adjustment of the illumination intensity, the different types of cameras (i.e. CCD or Vidicon tube) and the positioning of optical filters in front of the camera. Apart from the analogue video signal the card provides as output also the digitized image. A preserie of this new electronics has been installed and tested during the tests of the LHC beam transfer line TI8 last autumn. The production of 300 cards is now underway. These cards will be used for the complete renovation of the MTV system of the CPS complex [1] and for the installations in LHC and its transfer lines. In this contribution the new system is described with particular emphasis on the new VME card. The performances and limitations are also presented.

The beam loss monitoring (BLM) system of the LHC is one of the most critical elements for the protection of the LHC. It must prevent the super conducting magnets from quenches and the machine components from damages, caused by beam losses. It helps in the identification of the loss mechanism by measuring the loss pattern. Special detectors will be used for the setup and control of the collimators. Furthermore, it will be an important tool during machine setup and studies. The specification requirements of the BLM system include a very high reliability.

The monitoring and controlling of the beam transverse emittance is essential to allow high luminosity performances in a collider operation. The profile monitors in the LHC injection chain are exploited to determine their precision. A fit strategy was developed to reduce the fitting procedure error and make it negligible compared to instrumentation errors. The method proved to be robust against non-Gaussian tails and can estimate the fraction of non-Gaussian distributed beam intensity. The procedure was applied to the 2003 SPS Wire Scanner measurements with different kind of LHC type beams. The reproducibility of the six available monitors was determined by choosing one as a reference and making synchronized measurements. Several instrumental errors were discovered and corrected to the one per cent level. The demanding small LHC transverse emittances were determined under different beam conditions in terms of intensity, bunch spacing and length in the PS Booster, PS and SPS.

During the last two years of SPS operation, investigations were pursued on the ability of the SPS ionization profile monitor prototype to fulfill different tasks. It is now established that the instrument can be used for injection matching tuning, by turn to turn recording of the beam size after the injection. Other applications concern beam size measurements on beams ranging from an individual bunch to a nominal SPS batch foreseen for injection into the LHC (288 bunches). By continuously tracking throughout the SPS acceleration cycle from 26 GeV to 450 GeV the evolution of parameters associated to the beam size, it is possible to explain certain beam behaviour. Comparisons are also made at different beam currents and monitor gains with measurements made with the wire scanners. Data are presented and discussed, and the possible implementation of new features is suggested in order to further improve the consistency of the measurements.

At the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) a beam loss system will be used to prevent and protect superconducting magnets against coil quenches and coil damages. Ionisation chambers will be mounted outside the cryostat to measure the secondary shower particles caused by lost beam particles. Since the stored particle beam intensity is eight orders of magnitude larger than the lowest quench level and the losses should be detected with a relative error of two, the design and the location of the detectors have to be optimised. For that purpose a two-fold simulation was carried out. The longitudinal loss locations of the tertiary halo is investigated by tracking the halo through several magnet elements. These loss distributions are combined with simulations of the particle fluence outside the cryostat, which is induced by lost protons at the vacuum pipe. The base-line ionisation chamber has been tested at the PS Booster in order to determine the detector response at the high end of the dynamic range.

The performance of the SPS as LHC injector has been limited, with LHC-type beams, by the electron cloud multipacting for high bunch intensities (>6.0x10**10 protons/bunch). To study in detail the dependence of the electron cloud on the beam parameters (bunch intensity, filling pattern, filling factor...), three strip-detectors have been installed inside dipole corrector magnets. The measuring set-up was completed by shielded pick-ups and by an in-situ secondary electron yield detector installed in field-free regions. This paper presents the variation of the electron cloud activity as a function of the bunch intensity and bunch length, filling pattern and filling factor. The spatial and energy distributions of the electrons in the cloud were studied and the latter compared with results obtained with a conventional retarding field detector. Evidence of the scrubbing effect as a solution to reduce the electron cloud activity is shown in the SPS. Heat load estimations based on the electron cloud intensity and on their energy distributions are given as a function of the bunch intensity and filling factor. The results can be compared with independent direct calorimetric measurements. The implications for the LHC are discussed, in particular heat load extrapolations and a possible start up scenario.

In August 1999, high bunch intensities LHC-type beams were injected for the first time in the SPS inducing strong vacuum pressure rises, perturbations on the electrostatic pick-ups and beam instabilities. Evidences of the electron cloud phenomenon as the mechanism responsible for these instabilities are reviewed. This paper also presents the results obtained with several detectors installed in the SPS machine to improve the understanding of the electron cloud mechanism and refine the simulations. The spatial distributions of the electrons in the cloud are shown in presence of and without a dipole magnetic field. The effects of the beam intensity and filling pattern on the behaviour of the electron cloud are presented. The scrubbing effect is studied using an in-situ measurement of the secondary electron yields. Finally, the potential limitations due to the electron cloud in the SPS and the issues for the LHC are discussed. Possible remedies will be presented, i.e. nitrogen and argon glow discharges or new filling schemes.

Electron cloud effects presently limit the performances of the CERN SPS with LHC type beams [1] and are of concern for the LHC itself [2]. Electron multipacting in the SPS produces dramatic dynamic pressure increases and strong transverse instabilities [3]. In the LHC the electron cloud is expected to significantly increase the heat load in the cryogenics system. Estimates of these effects are based on computer simulations of the electron cloud build-up and of its spatial distribution in field free regions and in strong magnetic fields. The accuracy of such simulations is therefore a key issue for component design and for the definition of the operating strategies for the LHC. In 2001 a multi-strip detector has been installed in the SPS to study the electron cloud and to provide experimental data to validate the models and to better constrain their input parameters. After a description of the monitor characteristics and of its associated electronics an overview of its performance and of the results of the measurements conducted with different proton beam parameters are presented. The measurements are compared with simulation results. Possible monitor upgrades are also discussed.

At the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) a beam loss system will be installed in the arc, dispersion suppressor and the straight regions for a continuous surveillance of particle losses. These beam particles deposit their energy partially in the super-conducting coils leading to temperature increase, possible magnet quenches and damages. The primary and secondary halo of the beam is absorbed by the collimation system. The tertiary halo will be lost at aperture limits in the ring. Its loss distribution along the magnets has been studies. At the positions, where most of the beam losses are expected, simulations of the particle fluences outside the cryostat and induced by lost protons at the aperture have been performed with the Monte Carlo Code Geant 3.2.1. This allows determining the most suitable positions of the detectors, the needed number of monitors and the impact on the dynamic range of the detectors. The design of the beam loss monitor system is presented that meet the required sensitivity, dynamic range and time resolution.

The present note describes a machine development (MD) aimed to confirm experimentally the need for protection of the extraction wire septum ZS in SPS long straight section LSS6 during LHC operation. Single wires identical to the ones mounted on the extraction septum were fixed on a fast wire scanner and put into the beam path. The beam heated the wire until it broke after a measured number of turns. The maximum single shot intensity the septum wires could withstand was thus calculated and compared with simulation results.

At the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) a beam loss system will be installed for a continuous surveillance of particle losses. These beam particles deposit their energy in the super-conducting coils leading to temperature increase, possible magnet quenches and damages. Detailed simulations have shown that a set of six detectors outside the cryostats of the quadrupole magnets in the regular arc cells are needed to completely diagnose the expected beam losses and hence protect the magnets. To characterize the quench levels different loss rates are identified. In order to cover all possible quench scenarios the dynamic range of the beam loss monitors has to be matched to the simulated loss rates. For that purpose different detector systems (PIN-diodes and ionization chambers) are compared.

During the SPS run in the year 2000 further test measurements were performed with the rest gas monitor. First, profiles of single circulating proton bunches were measured and the bunch charge progressively reduced, in order to determine the smallest bunch intensity which can be scanned under the present operating conditions. The image detector in this case was a CMOS camera. Using a multi-anode strip photo-multiplier with fast read-out electronics, the possibility to record profiles on a single beam passage and on consecutive turns was also investigated. This paper presents the results of these tests and discusses the expected improvements for the operation in 2001. Moreover, the issue of micro channel plate ageing effects was tackled and a calibration system based on electron emission from a heating wire is proposed. The gained experience will be used for the specification of a new monitor with optimised design, to be operated both in the SPS and in the LHC.

This paper presents a summary of the facilities for beam interlocks and diagnostics to protect the CERN SPS machine. An overview of the existing systems is given, which are based on beam loss and beam current monitors and large beam position excursion in the horizontal plane. The later system mainly protects the system against a failure of the transverse damping system. The design for a new large excursion interlock for both transverse planes is also presented in some detail. For this system a digital approach is being taken to allow post-mortem analysis of the behaviour of the beam prior to the activation of the interlock.

The SPS luminescence monitor is the first device of this type to be used in a high energy accelerator, from 14 to 450 GeV, where up till now the light production was considered to be insufficient. It uses Nitrogen at pressures as low as 4 10-6 Pa as the scintillation medium. Light production, spectrum and decay times have been measured and compared with theory and existing low energy data. They are important factors for the design of such monitors for other machines, for example LHC.

The availability from the injectors of the proton beam required for the LHC era has allowed studying its transverse behaviour in the SPS. Profile and beam oscillation measurements evidenced the existence of strong transverse instabilities developing along the batch and inducing an emittance blow-up of increasing importance from the head to the tail of the batch. An intensity threshold, comparable to that observed for the development of the beam induced electron cloud, has been found for the onset of the above phenomena. The results of the measurements and their possible interpretation are presented.

The BI day have contributions from members of the operation group, the PS beam instrumentation group and the BI group itself. It presents the performance of the BI instruments and also the performance requirements, as stated by the operations group. It reflects more the measurements done with our instruments rather than their functionality.

In order to satisfy the tight emittance requirements of LHC, a non-intercepting beam profile monitor is needed in the SPS to follow the beam emittance evolution during the acceleration cycle from 26 to 450 GeV. Beyond 300 GeV, the synchrotron light monitor can be used. To cover the energy range from injection at 26 GeV to 300 GeV, a monitor based on the luminescence of gas injected in the vacuum chamber has been tested and has given interesting results. This monitor could also be used in LHC, where the same problem arises. Design and results are presented for the SPS monitor.

Bunch to bunch beam profile measurements provide a valuable tool to control the injection lines to the SPS. A fast profile monitor based on a 2.5 µm Mylar coated with Aluminium Optical Transition Radiation (OTR) radiator, has been developed, installed and tested in the transfer line between the PS and SPS. The OTR beam image is focused onto a fast Linear Multianode Photo Multiplier Tube and the associated electronics sample and store profiles every 25 ns. The paper describes the detector design, the electronic processing, and presents the results of different measurements made with bunches of 109-1011 protons at 26 GeV, and bunches of 106 Pb82 ions at 5.11 GeV/u.

The image obtained with the LEP synchrotron radiation telescopes deteriorates, giving multiple and deformed images, when the beam energy goes beyond 80 GeV at beam currents above 2 mA. This problem is due to the deformation of the light extracting beryllium mirror, by as little as 1 mm, and had been predicted at the design stage. To overcome this problem, several changes together with an adaptive optics set-up have been introduced. These essentially consist of a cylindrically deformable mirror to compensate the cylindrical deformation of the beryllium mirror and a movable detector to compensate the spherical deformation. Both components are continuously adjusted as a function of beam current and energy.

Beam loss detectors will play an important role in the protection of the superconducting LHC magnets. Different types of detectors have been tested in the SPS ring and secondary beam lines with a view to their possible use for this application. This paper describes the measurements made with: microcalorimeters at cryogenic temperatures, PIN diodes, ionisation chambers, scintillators, and ACEMs. Measurements made using proton beams showing their relative sensitivities, linearities in counting or analog mode and minimum detection level will be presented.

TRANSVERSE EMITTANCE PRESERVATION IS A MAJOR CONCERN OF THE LHC INJECTOR CHAIN. MINIMISATION OF THE BLOW-UP DUE TO MISMATCH AT INJECTION INTO THE SPS IS THEREFORE MANDATORY. WHILE THE TRANSVERSE POSITIONN OF THE BEAM IN THE SPS INJECTION LINE IS MONITORED BUNCH BY BUNCH BY AN OTR (OPTICAL TRANSITION RADIATION) SCREEN AND A FAST CCD (CHARGED COUPLED DEVICE) CAMERA, THE PHASE SPACE MATCHING AT INJECTION IS MONITORED BY AN OTR BASED MISMATCH MONITOR IN THE SPS RING. ORTHOGONAL TUNING KNOBS WERE DEVELOPED TO TUNE INDEPENDENTLY TWISS PARAMETERS, DISPERSION AND DISPERSION DERIVATIVE. IN THIS PAPER WE DESCRIBE THE MISMATCH CORRECTION MECHANISM AS WELL AS THE TWO MONITORING SYSTEMS. WE REPORT ON FIRST MEASUREMENTS WHICH WERE CARRIED OUT DURING THE 1998 SPS RUN.

In order to satisfy the stringent emittance requirements of LHC, betatron matching monitors, based on multiturn beam profile measurements, have been proposed for the SPS and LHC. A test monitor has been installed for evaluation in the CERN SPS first in 1996 and improved in 1997. It is based on an OTR screen and a fast beam profile acquisition system. It has been used with proton beams to assess the quality of the betatron matching from the PS to the SPS in 1998. Experience and results are presented.