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Kirk, H

Publications and source records attributed to Kirk, H.

Status of Studies of Achromat-based 6D Ionization Cooling Rings for Muons

Six dimensional ionization cooling of muons is needed to achieve the necessary luminosity for a muon collider. If that cooling could occur over multiple turns in a closed ring, there would be significant cost savings over a single-pass cooling channel. We report on the status of a cooling ring with achromatic arcs. The achromatic design permits the design to easily switch between a closed ring and a snaking geometry on injection or extraction from the ring. The ring is designed with sufficient space in each superperiod for injection and extraction magnets. We describe the ring's lattice design, performance, and injection/extraction requirements.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Optimized Parameters for a Mercury Jet Target

A study of target parameters for a high-power, liquid mercury jet target system for a neutrino factory or muon collider is presented. Using the MARS code, we simulate particle production initiated by incoming protons with kinetic energies between 2 and 100 GeV. For each proton beam energy, we maximize production by varying the geometric parameters of the target: the mercury jet radius, the incoming proton beam angle, and the crossing angle between the mercury jet and the proton beam. The number of muons surviving through an ionization cooling channel is determined as a function of the proton beam energy. We optimize the mercury jet target parameters: the mercury jet radius, the incoming proton beam angle and the crossing angle between the mercury jet and the proton beam for each proton beam energy. The optimized target radius varies from about 0.4 cm to 0.6 cm as the proton beam energy increases. The optimized beam angle varies from 75 mrad to 120 mrad. The optimized crossing angle is near 20 mrad for energies above 5 GeV. These values differ from earlier choices of 67 mrad for the beam angle and 33 mrad for the crossing angle. These new choices for the beam parameters increase the meson production by about 20% compared to the earlier parameters. Our study demonstrates that the maximum meson production efficiency per unit proton beam power occurs when the proton kinetic energy is in the range of 5-15 GeV. Finally, the dependence on energy of the number of muons at the end of the cooling channel is nearly identical to the dependence on energy of the meson production 50 m from the target. This demonstrates that the target parameters can be optimized without the additional step of running the distribution through a code such as ICOOL that simulates the bunching, phase rotation, and cooling.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Studies of material properties under irradiation at BNL Linear Isotope Producer (BLIP)

Effects of proton beams irradiating materials considered for targets in high-power accelerator experiments have been under study using the Brookhaven National Laboratory's (BNL) 200 MeV Linac. The primary objectives of the study that includes a wide array of materials and alloys ranging between low and high-Z are to (a) observe changes in physio-mechanical properties which are important in maintaining high-power target functionality, (b) identify possible limits of proton flux or fluence above which certain material seize to maintain integrity, (c) study the role of material operating temperature in inducing or maintaining radiation damage reversal, and (d) correlate radiation damage effects of different species such as energetic protons and neutrons on materials by utilizing reactor and particle accelerator experience data. These objectives are specifically being addressed in the latest material irradiation study linked to the Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE). Observations on irradiation effects on materials considered for high-power targets and other beam intercepting elements, such as collimators, from past studies and preliminary observations of the ongoing LBNE study are presented in this paper.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

A Pion Production and Capture System for a 4 MW Target Station

A study of a pion production and capture system for a 4 MW target station for a neutrino factory or muon collider is presented. Using the MARS code, we simulate the pion production produced by the interaction of a free liquid mercury jet with an intense proton beam. We study the variation of meson production with the direction of the proton beam relative to the target. We also examine the influence on the meson production by the focusing of the proton beam. The energy deposition in the capture system is determined and the shielding required in order to avoid radiation damage is discussed. The exploration for the multiple proton beam entry directions relative to mercury jet in the 8GeV proton beam case demonstrates that an asymmetric layout is required in order to achieve the same beam/jet crossing angle at the jet axis. We find a correlation between the distance of beam relative to the jet and the meson production. The peak meson production is 8% higher than for the lowest case. The examination of the influence on the meson production by the focusing of the proton beam shows the meson production loss is negligible (<1%) for a beta function to be 0.3m or higher for the proton beam. By investigating the energy deposition in the target/capture system, we see that the bulk of 4-MW proton beam power is deposited in the water cooled tungsten-carbide (WC) shielding, the mercury jet and the capture beam pipe. In addition, high power deposition in the first superconducting coil causes an issue for its operation and life time. Enhanced shielding is necessary to lower the radiation damage.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

The US Muon Accelerator Program

An accelerator complex that can produce ultra-intense beams of muons presents many opportunities to explore new physics. A facility of this type is unique in that, in a relatively straightforward way, it can present a physics program that can be staged and thus move forward incrementally, addressing exciting new physics at each step. At the request of the US Department of Energy's Office of High Energy Physics, the Neutrino Factory and Muon Collider Collaboration (NFMCC) and the Fermilab Muon Collider Task Force (MCTF) have recently submitted a proposal to create a Muon Accelerator Program that will have, as a primary goal, to deliver a Design Feasibility Study for an energy-frontier Muon Collider by the end of a 7 year R&D program. This paper presents a description of a Muon Collider facility and gives an overview of the proposal.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗