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The use of accelerated beams of electrons, protons or ions has furthered the development of nearly every scientific discipline. However, high-energy muon beams of equivalent quality have not yet been delivered. Muon beams can be created through the decay of pions produced by the interaction of a proton beam with a target. Such ‘tertiary’ beams have much lower brightness than those created by accelerating electrons, protons or ions. High-brightness muon beams comparable to those produced by state-of-the-art electron, proton and ion accelerators could facilitate the study of lepton–antilepton collisions at extremely high energies and provide well characterized neutrino beams1–6. Such muon beams could be realized using ionization cooling, which has been proposed to increase muon-beam brightness7,8. Here we report the realization of ionization cooling, which was confirmed by the observation of an increased number of low-amplitude muons after passage of the muon beam through an absorber, as well as an increase in the corresponding phase-space density. The simulated performance of the ionization cooling system is consistent with the measured data, validating designs of the ionization cooling channel in which the cooling process is repeated to produce a substantial cooling effect9–11. The results presented here are an important step towards achieving the muon-beam quality required to search for phenomena at energy scales beyond the reach of the Large Hadron Collider at a facility of equivalent or reduced footprint6., Ionization cooling, a technique that delivers high-brightness muon beams for the study of phenomena at energy scales beyond those of the Large Hadron Collider, is demonstrated by the Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment.

Linear accelerator 4 (Linac4) is designed to accelerate negative hydrogen ions for injection into the Proton Synchrotron Booster (PSB). It will become the source of proton beams for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) after the long shutdown in 2019–2020. Linac4 will accelerate H– ions, consisting of a hydrogen atom with an additional electron, to 160 MeV energy and then inject them into the PSB, which is part of the LHC injection chain. The new accelerator comprises an ion source and four types of accelerating structures. The particles are accelerated first to 3 MeV energy by a Radio-Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ), then to 50 MeV by three Drift Tube Linacs (DTL) tanks, then to 100 MeV by seven Cell-Coupled Drift Tube Linac (CCDTL) modules, and finally to 160 MeV by twelve Pi-Mode Structures (PIMS). A chopper line placed between the RFQ and the first DTL tank modulates the linac beam at the PSB injection frequency. Linac4 includes transfer and measurement lines up to the PSB injection, where the ions are stripped of their two electrons to leave only protons. Linac4 is 76 metres long and located 12 metres below ground. The first low-energy beams were produced in 2013 and after the commissioning of all accelerating structures the milestone energy of 160 MeV was reached in 2016. Linac4 will be connected to the PSB during the long shutdown of 2019–20, after which it will replace the 50 MeV Linac2 as source of protons for the LHC. The Linac4 is a key element in the project to increase the luminosity of the LHC during the next decade.

Muon beams of low emittance provide the basis for the intense, well-characterized neutrino beams necessary to elucidate the physics of flavor at a neutrino factory and to provide lepton-antilepton collisions at energies of up to several TeV at a muon collider. The international Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) aims to demonstrate ionization cooling, the technique by which it is proposed to reduce the phase-space volume occupied by the muon beam at such facilities. In an ionization-cooling channel, the muon beam passes through a material in which it loses energy. The energy lost is then replaced using rf cavities. The combined effect of energy loss and reacceleration is to reduce the transverse emittance of the beam (transverse cooling). A major revision of the scope of the project was carried out over the summer of 2014. The revised experiment can deliver a demonstration of ionization cooling. The design of the cooling demonstration experiment will be described together with its predicted cooling performance. Muon beams of low emittance provide the basis for the intense, well-characterised neutrino beams necessary to elucidate the physics of flavour at a neutrino factory and to provide lepton-antilepton collisions at energies of up to several TeV at a muon collider. The international Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) aims to demonstrate ionization cooling, the technique by which it is proposed to reduce the phase-space volume occupied by the muon beam at such facilities. In an ionization-cooling channel, the muon beam passes through a material in which it loses energy. The energy lost is then replaced using RF cavities. The combined effect of energy loss and re-acceleration is to reduce the transverse emittance of the beam (transverse cooling). A major revision of the scope of the project was carried out over the summer of 2014. The revised experiment can deliver a demonstration of ionization cooling. The design of the cooling demonstration experiment will be described together with its predicted cooling performance.

Tank1 of the Drift Tube Linac (DTL) of the Linac4 has been conditioned at the Linac4 tunnel. The tank was tuned for resonance at 352.2 MHz, and stable operation has been achieved with 725 µs long RF pulses at a repetition rate of 1 Hz. The maximum RF level that has been reached is 810 kW with a pulse width of 600 µs. Since this was the first RF structure exclusively conditioned in the Linac4 tunnel with the operation and control software of Linac4, some related issues and limitations had to be taken into account.

The potential for a superconducting proton linac (SPL) at CERN started to be seriously considered at the end of the 1990s. In the first conceptual design report (CDR), published in 2000 [1], most of the 352 MHz RF equipment from LEP was re-used in an 800 m long linac, and the proton beam energy was limited to 2.2 GeV. During the following years, the design was revisited and optimized to better match the needs of a high-power proton driver for neutrino physics. The result was a more compact (470 m long) accelerator capable of delivering 5 MW of beam power at 3.5 GeV, using state-of-the-art superconducting RF cavities at 704 MHz. It was described in a second CDR, published in 2006 [2]. Soon afterwards, when preparation for increasing the luminosity of the LHC by an order of magnitude beyond nominal became an important concern, a low-power SPL (LP-SPL) was studied as a key component in the renovation of the LHC injector complex. The combination of a 4 GeV LP-SPL injecting into a new 50 GeV synchrotron (PS2) was proposed to replace the ageing Linac2, PSB, and PS. In a later stage, if necessary for future physics programmes (neutrino production or generation of radioactive ion beams), the linac could be brought up to multimegawatt beam power by upgrading the cooling, the electrical infrastructure, and the power supplies. The construction of the low-energy front end of the LP-SPL started in 2008 as the Linac4 project [3], aimed at the replacement of Linac2, with the potential for being adapted later to the needs of a low-power or high-power SPL (HP-SPL). In parallel, the R&D on the superconducting linac continued, initially to refine the design of the LP-SPL and afterwards that of the HP-SPL. This report presents the design of the LP-SPL and the work accomplished in preparing a proposal for new LHC injectors with the support of the European Commission under the Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and in collaboration with multiple laboratories and institutions worldwide. The status of the R&D towards an HP-SPL is summarized.

The power coupler is a crucial element in the design of an RF cavity. Power from an RF source is transported towards the cavity by a waveguide and transferred into the cavity by means of a power coupler that is adapted to both the transport mode in the waveguide and the principal resonant mode in the cavity. In the case of Linac4, a rectangular half-height waveguide (WG) WR2300 is used and the connection from this WG to the cavity is achieved by iris coupling through an interconnecting waveguide (IWG) in the tank wall. In this note simulations and measurements on a prototype and studies on Tank1 of the Linac4 Drift Tube Linac (DTL) are discussed in order to define the dimensions of this IWG such that it optimises the power transfer into the cavity.

The prototype of the Linac4 Drift Tube Linac (DTL) has undergone low power measurements in order to verify the RF coupling and to adjust the post-coupler lengths based on bead-pull and spectrum measurements. Following the installation at the test stand, the cavity has been subjected to high power operation at Linac4 and SPL duty cycles. Saturation effects and multipacting have been observed and linked to X-ray emission. Voltage holding is reported in the presence of magnetic fields from permanent magnet quadrupoles (PMQ) installed in the first drift tubes.

The Linac4 normal-conducting linac is comprised of three sections, DTL, CCDTL and PIMS. It is designed to accelerate H-minus ions to a final energy of 160 MeV. The objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of accelerating deuterons in this linac for injection into the PS Booster.

The design of the Drift Tube Linac (DTL) for the new linear accelerator Linac4 at CERN has been made ready for production: H--ion beams of up to 40 mA average pulse current are to be accelerated from 3 to 50 MeV by three RF cavities operating at 352.2MHz and at duty cycles of up to 10%. In order to provide a margin for longitudinal matching from the chopper line, the longitudinal acceptance has been increased. The synchronous phase starts at -35 deg in Tank1 and ramps linearly to -24 deg over the tank while it went from -30 to -20 deg in the previous design. The accelerating gradient has been reduced to 3.1MV/m in Tank1 and increased to 3.3 MV/m in Tank2 and Tank3 for a better distribution of RF power between tanks that is compatible with a mechanical design. To make the transverse acceptance less sensitive to alignment and gradient errors, the focusing scheme is now FFDD over all 3 tanks. Design features that were demonstrated in earlier reports have been improved for series production. Results of high power RF tests of the DTL prototype equipped with permanent magnet quadrupoles (PMQs) are reported that test the voltage holding in the first gaps in presence of magnetic fields.

Linac4 Drift Tube Linac (DTL) cavities will be equipped with Post Couplers (PCs) for field stabilization. The study presented in this paper starts with the analysis of 2D and 3D simulations of post couplers in order to develop an equivalent circuit model which can explain the post coupler stabilization working principle and define a tuning strategy for DTL cavities. Simulations and equivalent circuit results have been verified by measurements on the Linac4 DTL prototypes at CERN.

Post Cou­plers (PC's) are de­vices used in order to re­duce the ef­fect of per­tur­ba­tions on the op­er­at­ing mode of a DTL, using the res­o­nant cou­pling sta­bi­liza­tion method. In this paper an equiv­a­lent cir­cuit for a DTL equipped with PC's is pre­sent­ed, to­geth­er with a 3D sim­u­la­tion anal­y­sis, which can ex­plain the post cou­pler sta­bi­liza­tion prin­ci­ple and de­fine a new tun­ing strat­e­gy for DTL cav­i­ties. The PC tun­ing pro­ce­dure based on the equiv­a­lent cir­cuit and on fre­quen­cy mea­sure­ments has been test­ed and val­i­dat­ed with mea­sure­ments on the Linac4 DTL alu­minum model.

The highest RF electric field in drift-tube linacs (DTLs) often occurs on the face of the first drift tube. Typically this drift tube contains a quadrupole focusing magnet whose fringing fields penetrate the face of the drift tube parallel to the RF electric fields in the accelerating gap. It has been shown that the threshold for RF breakdown in RF cavities may be reduced in the presence of a static magnetic field. This note offers a “rule of thumb” for picking the maximum “safe” surface electric field in DTLs based on these measurements.

The design and manufacturing of a 1 MW RF power coupler intended for the CERN Linac4 drift tube linac (DTL) prototype has been undertaken within the HIPPI framework. This HIPPI note summarizes the RF and thermo-mechanical design, describes the mechanical structure and reviews the results achieved at the end of this HIPPI task.

A one meter long hot prototype of the LINAC4 DTL, built in a collaboration with INFN Legnaro, was delivered to CERN in 2008. It was then copper plated at CERN is and is presently prepared for high-power testing at the CERN test stand in SM18. In this paper we present 2D/3D simulations and the first RF low-power measurements to verify the electromagnetic properties of the cavity and to tune it before the high-power RF tests. In particular, the influence of the post couplers was studied in order to guarantee stabilization of the accelerating field during operation. We present an equivalent circuit model of the DTL, together with a comparison of 3D simulations and measurement results for the hot model.

An analogous strategy as applied for the MSI septum magnets allows an optimisation of the installation of the MSD septa regarding magnet and chamber allocation. Even if the gain in aperture is small, of the order of half a millimetre, it is not negligible and- being essentially for free - should nevertheless be implemented.

The known aperture limits in the MSI septa, together with the magnet and vacuum chamber geometry measurement, allows an optimisation of the installation regarding magnet and chamber allocation. The improvements are small but significant, of the order of 0.4 mm from allocation of the magnets and 0.7 mm from sorting and orienting the chambers; however, these gains are essentially for free, and should be implemented, since the apertures in these magnets are tight.

The improved LHC collimation system required significant changes in the layout and design of the warm insertions. Requirements for collimation, optics, impedance, vacuum, and additional infrastructure are described and the adopted layout is presented. Various design principles have been explored during the re-design. Magnet positions and collimators were moved significantly, such that a good cleaning efficiency was maintained while impedance was reduced by almost a factor of two. Space for upgrades of the collimation system was reserved (metallic phase 2 collimators would allow for a better efficiency than originally achievable). Scrapers were allocated for beam shaping and diagnostics. The required infrastructure was specified, including a powerful cooling system for the collimators.

The program package ROXIE has been developed at CERN for the field computation of superconducting accelerator magnets and is used as an approach towards the integrated design of such magnets. It is also an example of fruitful international collaborations in software development.The integrated design of magnets includes feature based geometry generation, conceptual design using genetic optimization algorithms, optimization of the iron yoke (both in 2d and 3d) using deterministic methods, end-spacer design and inverse field calculation.The paper describes the version 8.0 of ROXIE which comprises an automatic mesh generator, an hysteresis model for the magnetization in superconducting filaments, the BEM-FEM coupling method for the 3d field calculation, a routine for the calculation of the peak temperature during a quench and neural network approximations of the objective function for the speed-up of optimization algorithms, amongst others.New results of the magnet design work for the LHC are given as examples.

The paper describes the use of genetic algorithms with the concept of niching for the optimal design of superconducting magnets for the Large Hadron Collider, LHC at CERN. The method provides the designer with a number of local optima which can be further examined with respect to objectives such as ease of coil winding, sensitivity to manufacturing tolerances and local electromagnetic force distribution. A 6 block dipole coil was found to have advantages compared to the standard 5 block version which was previously designed using deterministic optimization methods. Results were proven by a short model magnet recently built and tested at CERN.

This chapter introduces the main features of the ROXIE program which has been developed for the design of the superconducting magnets for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. The program combines numerical field calculation with a reduced vector-potential formulation, the application of vector-optimization methods, and the use of genetic as well as deterministic minimization algorithms. Together with the applied concept of features, the software is used as an approach towards integrated design of superconducting magnets. The main quadrupole magnet for the LHC, was chosen as an example for the integrated design process. (17 refs).