DESIGN OF A 2.2 GEV ACCUMULATOR AND COMPRESSOR FOR A NEUTRINO FACTORY

Abstract

The proton driver for a neutrino factory must provide megawatts of beam power at a few GeV, with nonosecond long bunches each containing more than 1x1012 protons. Such beam powers are within reach of a high-energy linac, but the required time structure cannot be provided without accumulation and compression. The option of a linac-based 2.2 GeV proton driver has been studied at CERN, taking into account the space charge and stability problems which make beam accumulation and bunch compression difficult at such a low-energy. A solution featuring two rings of approximately 1 km circumference has been worked out and is described in this paper. The subjects deserving further investigation are outlined.