• V. Mertens, I.V. Agapov, B. Goddard, M. Gyr, V. Kain, T. Kramer, M. Lamont, M. Meddahi, J.A. Uythoven, J. Wenninger
  CERN, Geneva

The LHC injection tests and first turn beam commissioning took place in late summer 2008, after detailed and thorough preparation. The beam commissioning of the downstream sections of the SPS-to-LHC transfer lines and the LHC injection systems is described. The details of the aperture measurements in the injection regions are presented together with the performance of the injection related equipment. The measured injection stability is compared to the expectations. The operational issues encountered are discussed.

• S.S. Gilardoni, D. Allard, M.J. Barnes, O.E. Berrig, A. Beuret, D. Bodart, P. Bourquin, R. Brown, M. Caccioppoli, F. Caspers, J.-M. Cravero, C.G.A. Dehavay, T. Dobers, M. Dupont, G. Favre, T. Fowler, F. Franchi, M. Giovannozzi, J. Hansen, M. Karppinen, C. Lacroix, E. Mahner, V. Mertens, J. Monteiro, R. Noulibos, E. Page, R. Principe, C. Rossi, L. Sermeus, R.R. Steerenberg, G. Vandoni, G. Villiger, Th. Zickler, C. de Almeida Martins
  CERN, Geneva

The implementation of new Multi-turn extraction at the CERN Proton Synchrotron required major hardware changes for the nearly 50-year old accelerator. The installation of new PFNs and refurbished kicker magnets for the extraction, new sextupole and octupole magnets, new power converters, together with an in-depth review of the machine aperture leading to the design of new vacuum chambers was required. As a result, a heavy programme of interventions had to be scheduled during the winter shut-down 2007-8. The newly installed hardware and its commissioning is presented and discussed in details.

• B. Goddard, I.V. Agapov, E. Carlier, L. Ducimetière, E. Gallet, M. Gyr, L.K. Jensen, O.R. Jones, V. Kain, T. Kramer, M. Lamont, M. Meddahi, V. Mertens, T. Risselada, J.A. Uythoven, J. Wenninger, W.J.M. Weterings
  CERN, Geneva

Initial commissioning of the LHC beam dump system with beam took place in August and September 2008. The preparation, setting-up and the tests performed are described together with results of the extractions of beam into the dump lines. Analysis of the first detailed aperture measurements of extraction channels and kicker performance derived from dilution sweep shapes are presented. The performance of the other equipment subsystems is summarised, in particular that of the dedicated dump system beam instrumentation.

• K. Fuchsberger, S.D. Fartoukh, B. Goddard, O.R. Jones, V. Kain, M. Meddahi, V. Mertens, J. Wenninger
  CERN, Geneva

The 3 km long TI 8 transfer line is used to transfer 450 GeV proton and ion beams from the SPS to LHC collider. As part of a detailed optics investigation program the chromaticity of the transfer line was measured. Kick response data of the transfer line was recorded for various extraction energy offsets in the SPS. The quadrupolar and sextupolar field errors over the whole transfer line dipoles, a systematic error of the main quadrupole strengths and the initial momentum error were estimated by a fit. Using the updated model, the chromaticity of the line was then calculated.

• M. Meddahi, I.V. Agapov, K. Fuchsberger, B. Goddard, W. Herr, V. Kain, V. Mertens, D.P. Missiaen, T. Risselada, J.A. Uythoven, J. Wenninger
  CERN, Geneva
• E. Gianfelice-Wendt
  Fermilab, Batavia

Funding: Work partly supported by Fermilab, operated by Fermi Research Alliance, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11359 with the United States Department of Energy

Through May to September 2008, further beam commissioning of the SPS to LHC transfer lines was performed. For the first time, optics and dispersion measurements were also taken in the last part of the lines, and into the LHC. Extensive trajectory and optics studies were conducted, in parallel with hardware checks. In particular dispersion measurements and their comparison with the beam line model were analysed in detail and led to propose the addition of a “dispersion-free” steering algorithm in the existing trajectory correction program.