Awakening the Potential of Plasma Acceleration
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Issue No. 35-36/2014 - Monday 25 August 2014 CERN Bulletin More articles at: http://bulletin.cern.ch AWAKENING THE POTENTIAL OF PLASMA ACCELERATION Civil engineering has begun for the new AWAKE experiment, which looks to push the SAFETY ON OUR ROADS boundaries of particle acceleration. This proof-of-principle experiment will harness the power It’s almost the end of August, and many of of wakefields generated by proton beams in plasma cells, producing accelerator gradients us are returning to CERN after a well-earned hundreds of times higher than those used in current RF cavities. rest. (Continued on page 2) In this issue NEWS Awakening the potential of plasma acceleration 1 Safety on our roads 1 LS1 Report: A highly choreographed ballet in the SPS 3 An iron hand in a velvet glove 4 Ready to don a white coat? 5 Discover POPSCIENCE on Researchers’ Night 6 First beam in Linac4 DTL 7 Behind the scenes of GS 7 Civil engineering works are currently ongoing at the AWAKE facility. Computer Security 8 Official news 9 Training 10 As one of CERN’s accelerator R&D Preparations are already underway, as CERN Take note 10 experiments, the AWAKE project is rather teams set out this summer to remake the Seminars 12 unique. Like all of CERN’s experiments, CNGS area into a home for AWAKE. “We have AWAKE is a collaborative endeavour with removed part of the proton beamline and institutes and organisations participating cleared the area upstream of the CNGS target around the world. “But unlike fixed-target to make way for the AWAKE installation, experiments, where the users take over including a laser and 10 metre plasma cell,” once CERN has delivered the facility, in explains Edda. “CNGS’s area downstream of AWAKE, the synchronised proton, electron and laser beams provided by CERN are an the target, however, has been left untouched. integral part of the experiment,” explains As it is radioactive, we constructed a new Edda Gschwendtner, CERN AWAKE project shielding wall in July so that the AWAKE leader. “So, of course, CERN’s involvement facility upstream can be a safe, supervised in the project goes well beyond providing working area for users.” infrastructure and services.” (Continued on page 2) Published by: CERN-1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland Tel. + 41 22 767 35 86 Printed by: CERN Printshop © 2014 CERN - ISSN: Printed version: 2077-950X Electronic version: 2077-9518 A word from the DG (Continued from page 1) LS1 REPORT: A HIGHLY CHOREOGRAPHED SAFETY ON OUR ROADS BALLET IN THE SPS For those with children, it’s time to prepare safe speeds. I wish we did not need to do should “promote and maintain a safe and them for school – and those of us who this, but it has been necessary as there healthy environment, following relevant drive often see signs to remind us that the have been many reports of unpleasant safety rules”. This is as true of driving at With only one short month left until beam, the SPS teams have been kept busy with powering schools are re-opening and that we should and dangerous, even life-threatening, CERN as of any other activity. So let’s show and operations tests. Alongside this demanding work, they have also successfully removed Meanwhile, elsewhere... take care. behaviour by drivers. some respect and keep our site safe. and replaced four key elements of the accelerator. At the LHC, the cooling of sector 1-2 is still Of course, we should all take care while I’d like to take this opportunity to remind Rolf Heuer in progress. The cooling of sector 5-6, which driving at any time, and this is just as true us all to drive with consideration and Since beginning their hardware-testing “Furthermore, they are big pieces of was next on the list, started at the end of at CERN as anywhere else. You may already respect for everyone who uses the CERN phase in early July, teams have been carrying equipment that take up the entire width of last week. The vacuum teams are currently have noticed that new “traffic-calming” site and shares the same thoroughfares – out Electrical Power Converter tests and a the tunnel. So coordinating which vehicles checking for any final leaks and carrying out measures have been set up near Restaurant pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike. wide range of start-up tests for the various and teams were where and synchronising sealing tests in various sectors. 2, to encourage drivers to slow down to The CERN Code of Conduct states that we equipment groups. Slotted amongst this their movements was vital.” busy schedule of tests were the final checks At the same time, the CSCM tests (Copper of the accelerator’s magnets and beam Although the SPS teams are well-versed at Stabilizer Continuity Measurement) are in dump. “There are three main types of magnet replacing magnets (swapping as many as four progress in sector 8-1, and will eventually faults and we found we had one of each: an magnets in a two-day short technical stop), be carried out throughout the machine. This (Continued from page 1) electrical fault (short circuit) in the magnet, a replacing the beam dump proved a tougher week the first power tests will begin in sector water leak (as the magnets are water cooled) challenge. As the dump is radioactive, the 6-7, which will therefore be the first sector AWAKENING THE POTENTIAL and a vacuum chamber leak,” says David length of transport had to be kept as short ready for beam. Electrical validation tests are McFarlane, the SPS technical coordinator as possible and moving the dump from the in progress throughout the machine, along OF PLASMA ACCELERATION from the Engineering Department. “On top tunnel to the radiation storage area could with instrumentation tests, particularly on of that, there was a problem with the main not take place if it rained! With this in mind, the beam loss sensors. All of the collimators, beam dump, which meant it also had to be the Operations team created detailed plans the kicker magnets and the beam replaced. In the end, rather than stopping the for the move, providing hourly updates and instrumentation in the straight sections of The AWAKE facility will also feature a clean and their expertise for the AWAKE facility, in tests for each move, we decided to replace all back-up solutions in case of rain. “It was like a the LHC are now installed and under vacuum. room for the laser, a dedicated area for the addition to a number of klystron elements four elements in one go. “ highly choreographed ballet - everything was electron source and two new tunnels for two for the electron source,” says Allen. However, well-timed and perfectly in synchronisation,” At the SPS, hardware tests revealed a new beamlines: one small tunnel to hold the modifying the PHIN electron source to fit the From 10 August to 12 August, the three confirms McFarlane. damaged TIDVG (Target Internal Dump laser beam (which ionises the plasma and needs of AWAKE will require considerable magnets and beam dump were removed Vertical Graphite). It has now successfully seeds the wakefields); and a second, larger work from CERN staff and collaboration and replaced with spares in the SPS tunnel. Despite these replacements, the SPS is still been replaced and the machine is ready tunnel that will be home to the electron members. “The logistics for this move were complex, on schedule to take beam from the PS in for testing of the power converters to beamline (the “witness beam” accelerated by as not only are the magnets and beam early September. The accelerator will be recommence, in advance of the restart in the plasma). These new tunnels are currently The experiment will be conducted in two dumps extremely heavy, the chariot and operational in October, providing beams to October. being carved out for the facility (see image). phases, the first starting in 2016. “We first lifting equipment used to move the items the North Area. need to prove that the plasma cell is creating is a whopping ten tonnes,” says McFarlane. Katarina Anthony While these works are ongoing, the AWAKE accelerating wakefields, showing that the self team at the Max Planck Institute for Physics in modulation is working and can be controlled,” Munich is preparing to move both equipment concludes Edda. “Once we have studied this and know-how to CERN. “In Munich, we are phenomenon in detail, we will then use the working with a 3-metre prototype of the wakefields to accelerate the electron witness plasma cell,” says Allen Caldwell, AWAKE beam. This will take us up to LS2, by which Spokesperson. “Our focus is on the science: time we hope to have a good assessment learning the properties of the plasma cell as of the potential of proton-driven plasma well as possible before we start with the ‘real acceleration.” thing’. For example, we need to ensure that the temperature of the plasma in the cell is Katarina Anthony uniform and that the laser induces reliable wakefields.” “In addition to this, we are also addressing a number of hardware issues,” adds Patric Muggli, AWAKE Physics and Experiment Coordinator. “For example, we are creating valves that allow the laser, proton and electron beams to enter the plasma cell. These need to be extremely fast but also durable, opening and closing an unprecedented 40,000 times in their lifetime.” Although new technology is being created for AWAKE, the experiment also re-uses existing equipment from CNGS and other CERN facilities: “The CLIC/CTF3 collaboration has agreed to provide their PHIN electron source 2 CERN Bulletin Issue No.