| Paper | Title | Page |
|---|---|---|
| MOPLT146 | Trickle-charge: a New Operational Mode for PEP-II | 881 |
|
||
| In regular top-up-and-coast operation, PEP-II average luminosity is about 70…75% of the peak luminosity due to detector ramp-down and ramp-up times plus the time it takes to top-up both beams. We recently commissioned a new operational mode where the Low Energy Ring is injected continuously without ramping down the detector. The benefits?increased luminosity lifetime and roughly half the number of top-ups per shift?were expected to give an increase in delivered luminosity of about 15% at the same peak luminosity; this was confirmed in test runs. In routine trickle operation, however, it appears that the increase in delivered luminosity is more than twice that due to an increase in availability credited to the more stable operating conditions during trickle operation. In this paper we will present our operational experience as well as some of the diagnostics we use to monitor and maintain tuning of the machine in order to control injection background and protect the detector. Test runs are planned to extend trickle-charge operation to the High Energy Ring as well. |