First Simultaneous Acceleration of Multiple Charge States of Heavy Ion Beams in a Large-Scale Superconducting Linear Accelerator

Experimental studies of the simultaneous acceleration of three-charge-state $^{129}{\mathrm{Xe}}^{49+,50+,51+}$ beam from 17 to $180\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}/\mathrm{nucleon}$ in a superconducting linear accelerator are presented. The beam parameters for each individual- and multiple-charge-state beam were measured and compared with the particle tracking simulations. Detailed measurements were performed to characterize the multiple-charge-state beam's recombination after a second-order achromat and isopath 180\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} bending system. As a result of the recombination of three charge states in the six-dimensional phase space, the xenon beam intensity was increased by 2.5-fold compared to the single-charge-state beam. The results presented in the Letter fully validate the possibility to produce and utilize high-quality multiple-charge-state heavy-ion beams in a large-scale superconducting linac to increase the available beam power on an isotope production target.