CERN, Geneva
University of Malta, Faculty of Engineering, Msida
The relation between field and current in each family of the Large Hadron Collider magnets is modeled with a set of empirical equations (FiDeL) whose free parameters are fitted on magnetic measurements. They take into account of residual magnetization, persistent currents, hysteresis, saturation, decay and snapback during initial part of the ramp. Here we give a first summary of the reconstruction of the magnetic field properties based on the beam observables (orbit, tune, coupling, chromaticity) and a comparison with the expectations based on the large set of magnetic measurements carried out during the 5-years-long production. The most critical issues for the machine performance in terms of knowledge of the relation magnetic field vs current are pinned out.
CERN, Geneva
The transfer lines from the SPS to the LHC, TI2 and TI8, with a total length of almost 6km are the longest ones in the world. For that reason even small systematic optics errors are not negligible because they add up and result in an injection mismatch in the LHC. Next to other lattice measurement methods Kick-response measurements were the most important sources of information during the early phases of beam commissioning of these transfer lines and the LHC ring. This measurement technique was used to verify orbit-corrector and BPM gains as well as to sort out optics errors. Furthermore fits to off-momentum kick response turned out to be an appropriate method to establish a model for systematic errors of the transfer line magnets. This paper shortly describes the tools and methods developed for the analysis of the taken data and presents the most important results of the analysis.
CERN, Geneva
MADX (Methodical Accelerator Design) is the de-facto standard software for modeling accelerator lattices at CERN. This feature-rich software package is implemented and maintained in the programming languages C and FORTRAN. Nevertheless the controls environment of modern accelerators at CERN, e.g. of the LHC, is dominated by JAVA applications. A lot of these applications, for example for lattice measurement and fitting, require a close interaction with the numerical models, which are all defined by the use of the proprietary MADX scripting language. To close this gap an API to MADX for the JAVA programming language (JMAD) was developed. Already the current implementation provides access to a large subset of the MADX capabilities (e.g. twiss-calculations, matching or querying and setting arbitrary model parameters) without any necessity to define the models in yet another environment. This paper describes shortly the design of this project as well as the current status and some usage examples.
CERN, Geneva
The mechanical aperture of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a critical parameter for the operation of the machine due to the high stored beam intensities in the superconducting environment. Betatron and momentum apertures must be therefore precisely measured and optimized. In this paper, we present the results of beam-based measurements of the LHC aperture. The experimental results are compared with the expectations from the as-built model of the LHC aperture, taking into account the optics imperfections of the superconducting magnets. The impact of these measurements on various aspects of the LHC operation are also discussed.
CERN, Geneva
Nominal beam parameters at 7TeV/c will only be reached after some years of operation, with each proton beam having a stored energy of 360MJ. However, a small fraction of this energy is sufficient to damage accelerator equipment or experiments in case of uncontrolled beam loss. The correct functioning of the machine protection systems is vital during the different operational phases already for initial operation. When operating the complex magnet system, with and without beam, safe operation relies on the protection and interlock systems for the superconducting circuits. For safe injection and transfer of beam from SPS to LHC, transfer line parameters are monitored, beam absorbers must be in the correct position and the LHC must be ready to accept beam. At the end of a fill and in case of failures beams must be properly extracted onto the dump blocks, for some failures within less than few hundred microseconds. Safe operation requires many systems: beam dumping system, beam interlocks, beam instrumentation, equipment monitoring, collimators and absorbers, etc. We describe the commissioning of the LHC machine protection system and the experience during the initial operation.
CERN, Geneva
DESY, Hamburg
The Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN with a peak energy of 450GeV is at the top of the LHC preaccelerator-complex. Apart from the LHC, SPS is with Tevatron the accelerator with the largest stored beam energy of up to 2.5MJ. The SPS has a known vulnerability to fast equipment failures that led to an uncontrolled loss of a high intensity beam in 2008, which resulted in major damage of a main dipole. The beam loss was caused by a fast tune decrease towards an integer resonance. Simulations and distinct experimental studies provide clear understanding of the beam dynamics at different SPS tune resonances. Diverging closed orbit oscillations, dispersion explosion and increased beta-beating are the driving effects that lead to a complete beam loss in as little as 3 turns (70μs). Dedicated experiments of fast failures of the main power converters reveal that the current interlock systems are much too slow for an adequate machine protection. To counteract the vulnerability of the SPS, current research focuses on a new fast position interlock system which is planned to become operational in 2010.
CERN, Geneva
The tilt mismatch between the LHC and its transfer lines arises from the use of combined horizontal and vertical bends. The mismatch gives rise to several subtle optical effects, including a coupling at injection into the LHC which depends on the phase of the oscillation amplitude at the injection point. This coupling was observed for the first time in 2008, and in 2009 dedicated measurements were made. The results are described and compared with the expectations, and the operational implications detailed.
CERN, Geneva
TRIUMF, Vancouver
In 2008, the SPS-to-LHC transfer line operation allowed for the first time to perform beam measurements in the last part of the lines and into the LHC. Beam parameters were measured and compared with expectation. Discrepancies were observed in the dispersion matching into the LHC, and also in the vertical phase advance along the line. In 2009, extensive theoretical and simulation work was performed in order to understand the possible sources of these discrepancies. This allowed establishing an updated model of the beam line, taking into account the importance of the full magnetic model, the limited dipole corrector strengths and the precise alignment of beam elements. During 2009, beam time was allocated in order to perform further measurements, checking and refining the optical model of the transfer line and LHC injection region and validating the different assumptions. Results of the 2009 optics measurements and comparison with the beam specification and model are presented.
CERN, Geneva
After the incident on the 19th September 2008 and more than one year without beam the commissioning of the LHC started again on November 20, 2009. Progress was rapid and collisions under stable beam conditions were established at 1.2 TeV within 3 weeks. In 2010 after qualification of the new quench protection system the way to 3.5 TeV was open and collisions were delivered at this energy after a month of additional commissioning. This paper describes the experiences and issues encountered during these first periods of commissioning with beam.
CERN, Geneva
Following the LHC injection tests of 2008, two injection tests took place in October and November 2009 as preparation for the LHC restart on November 20, 2009. During these injection tests beam was injected through the TI2 transfer line into sector 23 of ring 1 and through TI8 into the sectors 78, 67 and 56 of ring 2. The beam time was dedicated to injection steering, optics measurements and debugging of all the systems involved. Because many potential problems were sorted out in advance, these tests contributed to the rapid progress after the restart. This paper describes the experiences and issues encountered during these tests as well as related measurement results.
CERN, Geneva
The LHC deploys a comprehensive suite of beam-based feedbacks for safe and reliable machine operation. This contribution summarises the commissioning and early results of the LHC feedback control systems on orbit, tune, chromaticity, and energy. Their performance – strongly linked to the associated beam instrumentation, external beam perturbation sources and optics uncertainties – is evaluated and compared with the feedback design assumptions.
CERN, Geneva
ESRF, Grenoble
Following the analysis of the results obtained during the first year of beam commissioning of the CERN multi-turn extraction, a number of changes have been introduced in the beam manipulations performed in the CERN Proton Synchrotron. This includes a different control of the linear chromaticity, the setting of the non-linear magnets used to split the beam, and the longitudinal structure in the PS. The results obtained during the 2009 run are presented and discussed in detail, including the beam performance in both the PS and the SPS, as well as the optics measurements in the transfer line between the two circular machines.
CERN, Geneva
IN2P3 IPNL, Villeurbanne
INFN/LNL, Legnaro (PD)
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Milano
The CNGS facility (CERN Neutrinos to Gran Sasso) aims at directly detecting muon to tau neutrino oscillations. An intense muon-neutrino beam (1017 muon neutrinos/day) is generated at CERN and directed over 732km towards the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, LNGS, in Italy, where two large and complex detectors, OPERA and ICARUS, are located. CNGS is the first long-baseline neutrino facility in which the measurement of the oscillation parameters is performed by observation of the tau-neutrino appearance. The facility is approved for a physics program of five years with a total of 22.5·1019 protons on target. Having resolved successfully some initial issues that occurred since its commissioning in 2006, the facility had its first complete year of physics in 2008. By the end of the 2009 physics run the facility will have delivered in total more than 5·1019 protons on target corresponding to ~2-3 tau neutrino events in the OPERA detector. The experiences gained in operating this 500 kW neutrino beam facility along with highlights of the beam performance in 2008 and 2009 are discussed.