The concept of sharing a high-power proton accelerator (proton driver) between neutrino production and other facilities such as a high-energy collider or a spallation neutron source is an attractive, cost-effective solution which is being studied in site-specific cases as part of accelerator upgrade plans at CERN and at the ISIS facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. Descriptions of these proton-driver scenarios will be given primarily in the context of the Neutrino Factory, but other neutrino production plans at CERN will also be noted.

In the neutrino factory, muons are produced by firing high-energy protons onto a target to produce pions. The pions decay to muons and pass through a capture channel known as the muon front end, before acceleration to 12.6 GeV. The muon front end comprises a variable frequency rf system for longitudinal capture and an ionization cooling channel. In this paper we detail recent improvements in the design of the muon front end.

We report on the effects of fs-laser desorption on the ion acceleration induced by the target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) mechanism. The experiment was performed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) using the 100 TW Callisto laser of the Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF). Thin metal foils (Au, Cu, and Al) with thicknesses ranging from 10 to $20\mu \mathrm{m}$ were irradiated by a variable number of low intensity ($\sim {10}^{12}\mathrm{W}/{\mathrm{cm}}^2$) laser pulses, the last one arriving 100 ms before the main pulse. With these short pulses water vapor and hydrocarbon contaminations could stepwise be removed from the target surface. Substantial modifications of the TNSA-ion energy spectra were observed such as diminished proton energy and intensity, the absence of low-charged ion states, increased particle numbers for ${\mathrm{C}}^{4+}$ and ${\mathrm{O}}^{6+}$ ions in the higher energetic part of their particle spectra as well as the acceleration of target ions. The controlled application of fs-laser desorption on the laser-ion acceleration thus strongly influences the ion spectra and offers the possibility of selecting a targeted range of ion species for the acceleration to higher energies due to the systematic removal of contamination layers.

A new halo formation mechanism and its mitigation scheme [D. Jeon, J. Stovall, A. Aleksandrov, J. Wei, J. Staples, R. Keller, L. Young, H. Takeda, and S. Nath, Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 5, 094201 (2002)] are verified experimentally through a series of emittance measurements performed during the drift tube linac tank 1 commissioning of the Spallation Neutron Source. This is a rare experiment evidence of a halo formation mechanism. As the simulation predicts, the emittance measurements clearly show a visible halo reduction as well as a significant rms emittance reduction when the proposed round beam optics is employed. The emittance measurement results are consistent with multiparticle simulations and also consistent with wire scanner results. These measurements serve as a valuable code benchmarking for a beam under an intense space charge effect.

The application of phase-retrieval algorithms to the reconstruction of the longitudinal bunch profile of an electron bunch from the spectrum of the coherent transition radiation (CTR) it produces is considered. The development of a new algorithm for this application, the Bubblewrap algorithm, is described. Tests with synthetic data show successful reconstruction of the longitudinal profile of single and double electron bunches, provided that the CTR spectrum is known over a sufficiently wide range. The application of the Bubblewrap algorithm to the reconstruction of laser-accelerated electron bunch profiles from experimental data is demonstrated. The results are shown to be consistent with estimates of the bunch length obtained by other methods.

A beam-monitor system for XFEL/SPring 8, “SACLA,” has been constructed. In order to maintain a stable self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) interaction, the straightness and overlap of the axes to within $3\mu \mathrm{m}$ between the electron beams and the radiated x rays for an undulator section of about 100 m length is necessary. This straightness means relative alignment to an experimental target sample. Furthermore, a temporal stability of 30 fs in order to maintain a constant peak beam current is also necessary to conduct stable SASE lasing. The monitor system was developed to satisfy these spatial and temporal stability and resolution criteria. The system comprises spatial monitors, such as cavity-type beam-position monitors and screen monitors, as well as temporal measurement instruments, such as current monitors, waveguide spectrometers, coherent synchrotron-radiation detectors, a streak camera, and an rf deflector. Commissioning of SACLA started from March 2011, and the monitors performed sufficient roles to tune the beams for lasing. The achieved overall performances of the system, including data acquisition, are: the beam position monitor has a spatial resolution of 600 nm in rms; the bunch-length monitors show ability to observe bunch lengths from 1 ns in an injector with velocity bunching to less than 30 fs after three-stage bunch compressors. The less than $3\mu \mathrm{m}$ spatial resolution of the screen monitor was also confirmed during practical beam operation. Owing to these fulfilled performances, such as the high spatial and temporal resolutions, stable lasing of SACLA has been achieved.

Ion beams (including protons) with low emittance and high space-charge intensity can be propagated with normal incidence through a sequence of thin metallic foils separated by vacuum gaps of order the characteristic transverse beam extent to transport/collimate the beam or to focus it to a small transverse spot. Energetic ions have sufficient range to pass through a significant number of thin foils with little energy loss or scattering. The foils reduce the (defocusing) radial electric self-field of the beam while not altering the (focusing) azimuthal magnetic self-field of the beam, thereby allowing passive self-beam focusing if the magnetic field is sufficiently strong relative to the residual electric field. Here we present an envelope model developed to predict the strength of this passive (beam generated) focusing effect under a number of simplifying assumptions including relatively long pulse duration. The envelope model provides a simple criterion for the necessary foil spacing for net focusing and clearly illustrates system focusing properties for either beam collimation (such as injecting a laser-produced proton beam into an accelerator) or for magnetic pinch focusing to a small transverse spot (for beam driven heating of materials). An illustrative example is worked for an idealization of a recently performed laser-produced proton-beam experiment to provide guidance on possible beam focusing and collimation systems. It is found that foils spaced on the order of the characteristic transverse beam size desired can be employed and that envelope divergence of the initial beam entering the foil lens must be suppressed to limit the total number of foils required to practical values for pinch focusing. Relatively modest proton-beam current at 10 MeV kinetic energy can clearly demonstrate strong magnetic pinch focusing achieving a transverse rms extent similar to the foil spacing ($20–50\mu \mathrm{m}$ gaps) in beam propagation distances of tens of mm. This is a surprisingly optimistic result since placing many foils per characteristic beam radius, which one might expect to be necessary to strongly attenuate the self-electric field, would likely result in excessive scattering and loss of focusing from the current neutralization due to the beam propagating too far through solid metal. Results from the envelope model are compared with particle-in-cell simulations to help clarify limits related to envelope-model idealizations. Possible degradations of focusing in situations where strong halo can be generated and where pulse duration is short are clarified.

The KEK digital accelerator (KEK-DA), which is a small-scale rapid-cycle induction synchrotron (IS), has commenced operation. A permanent magnet $x$-band electron cyclotron resonance ion source serves as the KEK-DA ion source and delivers various ions. A new Einzel lens beam chopper has been developed to provide the necessary pulse width of a few microseconds. The chopper is implemented by applying a rectangular pulse voltage generated by a solid-state Marx generator to the middle electrode of the Einzel lens. Momentum modulation at the bunch head and tail resulting from chopping in longitudinal direction has been observed. This intrinsic property of the chopped pulse has been clearly observed in a long drift (a free run in the circular ring) in KEK-DA.

In order to find electron sources of low emittance and high quantum efficiency, single tip cathodes with a microstructured surface are investigated. Emission currents up to 310 A were obtained, by combining a 2 ns, 50 kV accelerating voltage pulse with a 266 nm wavelength, picosecond (${\sigma }_t=6.2\mathrm{ps}$) laser delivering a few $\mu \mathrm{J}$ pulse energy. The multifilamentary cylindric ${\mathrm{Nb}}_3\mathrm{Sn}$ tip with a typical diameter of 0.8 mm provides quantum efficiencies up to 0.5%. The microstructured needle has also been tested in a combined diode-rf electron gun with 500 kV, 250 ns pulsed bias voltage as a first step towards reducing emittance-spoiling space-charge forces.

The principle of using multiple partial helical magnets to preserve the polarization of the proton beam during its acceleration was applied successfully to the alternating gradient synchrotron (AGS) which currently operates with two partial helical magnets. In this paper we further explore this idea by using four partial helical magnets placed symmetrically in the AGS ring. This provides many advantages over the present setup of the AGS, which uses two partial helical magnets. First, the symmetric placement of the four helical magnets and their relatively lower field of operation allows for better control of the AGS optics with reduced values of the beta functions especially near beam injection and allows both the vertical and horizontal tunes to be placed within the “spin tune gap,” therefore eliminating the horizontal and vertical intrinsic spin resonances of the AGS during the acceleration cycle. Second, it provides a wider spin tune gap. Third, the vertical spin direction during beam injection and extraction is closer to vertical. Although the spin tune gap, which is created with four partial helices, can also be created with a single or two partial helices, the high field strength of a single helical magnet which is required to generate such a spin tune gap makes the use of the single helical magnet impractical, and that of the two helical magnets rather difficult. In this paper we will provide results on the spin tune and on the optics of the AGS with four partial helical magnets, and compare them with those from the present setup of the AGS that uses two partial helical magnets. Although in this paper we specifically discuss the effect of the four partial helices on the AGS, this method which can eliminate simultaneously the vertical and horizontal intrinsic spin resonances is a general method and can be applied to any medium energy synchrotron which operates in similar energy range like the AGS and provides the required space to accommodate the four helices. In addition, the four partial helix solution is an optimum solution because it eliminates all the spin resonances for any synchrotron which operates in the same energy range as the AGS.

Flat beams feature unequal emittances in the horizontal and vertical phase space. Such beams were created successfully in electron machines by applying effective stand-alone solenoid fringe fields in the electron gun. Extension of this method to ion beams was proposed conceptually. The present paper is on the decoupling capabilities of an ion beam emittance transfer line. The proposed beam line provides a single-knob tool to partition the horizontal and vertical rms emittances, while keeping the product of the two emittances constant as well as the transverse rms Twiss parameters (${\alpha }_{x,y}$ and ${\beta }_{x,y}$) in both planes. It is shown that this single knob is the solenoid field strength.

Large-grain Nb has become a viable alternative to fine-grain Nb for the fabrication of superconducting radio-frequency cavities. In this contribution we report the results from a heat treatment study of a large-grain 1.5 GHz single-cell cavity made of “medium purity” Nb. The baseline surface preparation prior to heat treatment consisted of standard buffered chemical polishing. The heat treatment in the range $800–1400°\mathrm{C}$ was done in a newly designed vacuum induction furnace. $Q_0$ values of the order of $2\times {10}^{10}$ at 2.0 K and peak surface magnetic field ($B_p$) of 90 mT were achieved reproducibly. A $Q_0$ value of $(5\pm 1)\times {10}^{10}$ at 2.0 K and $B_p=90\mathrm{mT}$ was obtained after heat treatment at $1400°\mathrm{C}$. This is the highest value ever reported at this temperature, frequency, and field. Samples heat treated with the cavity at $1400°\mathrm{C}$ were analyzed by secondary ion mass spectrometry, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy dispersive x ray, point-contact tunneling, and x-ray diffraction, and revealed a complex surface composition which includes titanium oxide, increased carbon, and nitrogen content but reduced hydrogen concentration compared to a non-heat-treated sample.

A new design is presented for a superconducting-coil-based compact cyclotron, which has many practical benefits over conventional superconducting cyclotrons. Unlike in conventional superconducting cyclotrons, an iron yoke and poles have been avoided in this design and the azimuthally varying field is generated by superconducting sector coils. Housing the superconducting sector coils and circular coils in a single cryostat has resulted in an ultralight 25 MeV proton cyclotron weighing about 2000 kg. Further, the sector coils and the main coils are fed by independent power supplies, which allow flexibility of operation through on-line magnetic field trimming. The engineering considerations, focused on making the cyclotron ideally suited to medical applications, are described in detail.

We performed a high-power test of a new radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ II) for the J-PARC linac. RFQ II was developed as a spare RFQ because the operating J-PARC RFQ has suffered from a sparking problem. First, the conditioning of RFQ II was carried out; after 50 h of conditioning, RFQ II became very stable with a nominal power and duty of 330 kW and 3%, respectively. Next the thermal properties were measured because the resonant frequency of RFQ II is tuned by changing the temperature of the cooling water. The frequency response was measured and compared to finite-element method simulation results, confirming that the simple two-dimensional model reproduces the experimental data well. The differences in the field distribution with changes in the rf loading and the cooling-water temperature were also measured, and no serious field distortion was observed. Therefore, we conclude that RFQ II can perform well as a high-power rf cavity.

The final focus system of the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) features a crab cavity just before the final quadrupole doublet to ensure head-on collisions at the interaction point. A decrease in the expected luminosity with respect to the case without crossing angle has been recently observed in simulations for the CLIC baseline configuration. This effect is explained from the aberrations induced due to a $z$-dependent off-center horizontal orbit in the final focus sextupoles produced by the crab cavity. Three options to recover from this loss are explored. The effect of the longitudinal $E\mathrm{\text{−}}z$ correlation of the incoming beam from the linac is taken into account and its effect on the expected luminosity is evaluated.

We describe a modification to the finite-difference time-domain algorithm for electromagnetics on a Cartesian grid which eliminates numerical dispersion error in vacuum for waves propagating along a grid axis. We provide details of the algorithm, which generalizes previous work by allowing 3D operation with a wide choice of aspect ratio, and give conditions to eliminate dispersive errors along one or more of the coordinate axes. We discuss the algorithm in the context of laser-plasma acceleration simulation, showing significant reduction—up to a factor of 280, at a plasma density of ${10}^{23}{\mathrm{m}}^{-3}$—of the dispersion error of a linear laser pulse in a plasma channel. We then compare the new algorithm with the standard electromagnetic update for laser-plasma accelerator stage simulations, demonstrating that by controlling numerical dispersion, the new algorithm allows more accurate simulation than is otherwise obtained. We also show that the algorithm can be used to overcome the critical but difficult challenge of consistent initialization of a relativistic particle beam and its fields in an accelerator simulation.

We present the experimental results of femtosecond slicing an ultrarelativistic, high brightness electron beam with a collimator. In contrast to some qualitative considerations reported in Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 074801 (2004), we first demonstrate that the collimation process preserves the slice beam quality, in agreement with our theoretical expectations, and that the collimation is compatible with the operation of a linear accelerator in terms of beam transport, radiation dose, and collimator heating. Accordingly, the collimated beam can be used for the generation of stable femtosecond soft x-ray pulses of tunable duration, from either a self-amplified spontaneous emission or an externally seeded free electron laser. The proposed method also turns out to be a more compact and cheaper solution for electron slice diagnostics than the commonly used radio frequency deflecting cavities and has minimal impact on the machine design.

Using laser accelerated protons or ions for various applications—for example in particle therapy or short-pulse radiographic diagnostics—requires an effective method of focusing and energy selection. We derive an analytical scaling for the performance of a solenoid compared with a doublet/triplet as function of the energy, which is confirmed by TRACEWIN simulations. Generally speaking, the two approaches are equivalent in focusing capability, if parameters are such that the solenoid length approximately equals its diameter. The scaling also shows that this is usually not the case above a few MeV; consequently, a solenoid needs to be pulsed or superconducting, whereas the quadrupoles can remain conventional. It is also important that the transmission of the triplet is found only 25% lower than that of the equivalent solenoid. Both systems are equally suitable for energy selection based on their chromatic effect as is shown using an initial distribution following the RPA simulation model by Yan et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 135001 (2009].

An accurate description of noise levels is of crucial importance for the correct simulation of instability-driven processes, such as the density modulation of a long proton bunch traversing a plasma. To insure that the correct instability develops, a seed field must be larger than the cumulative shot noise. We develop an analytical theory of the noise field and compare it with multidimensional simulations. We find that the natural noise wakefield generated in a plasma by the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron bunches is very low, at the level of $10\mathrm{kV}/\mathrm{m}$. This fortunate fact eases the requirements on the seed. Our three-dimensional simulations show that even a few tens MeV electron bunch precursor of a very moderate intensity is sufficient to seed the proton bunch self-modulation in plasma.