Partial Return Yoke for MICE

Abstract

The international Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) is a large scale experiment which is presently assembled at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Didcot, UK. The purpose of MICE is to demonstrate the concept of ionization cooling experimentally. Ionization cooling is an important accelerator concept which will be essential for future HEP experiments such as a potential Muon Collider or a Neutrino Factory. The MICE experiment will house up to 18 superconducting solenoids, all of which produce a substantial amount of magnetic flux. Recently it was realized that this magnetic flux leads to a considerable stray magnetic field in the MICE hall. This is a concern as technical equipment in the MICE hall may may be compromised by this. In July 2012 a concept called partial return yoke was presented to the MICE community, which reduces the stray field in the MICE hall to a safe level. This report summarizes the general concept, engineering considerations and the expected shielding performance.