WEPAM1R2
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, USA
BNL, Upton, New York, USA
We discuss current advances and remaining challenges in demonstrating Coherent electron Cooling for 26.5 GeV/u ion beam circulating in Relativistic Heavy Ion Colder, RHIC. Since 2020, the CeC experiment utilizes a 4-cell Plasma Cascade micro-bunching Amplifier (PCA) with bandwidth of 20 THz. We report on results obtained during CeC last four years of CeC experiment, including measurements of ion imprint in electron beam, demonstration of high PCA gain and observation of recombination of electrons and Au ions. While we were unable to clearly established CeC cooling, we clearly observed weak regular electron cooling of 26.5 GeV/u ions - the record energy for electron cooling. We discuss challenges experienced during last runs, improvements to the CeC X system and our plans for demonstration of CeC cooling in near future.
