RADIABEAM TECHNOLOGIES, LLC — Department of Energy SBIR Phase I: Current accelerator technology has reached the limit in the intensity that can be produced

Description

Current accelerator technology has reached the limit in the intensity that can be produced, mostly due to the constrained beam dynamics of the conventional linear lattice. However, a novel concept has recently been developed that promises to significantly increase the practical limits on intensity: a nonlinear, integrable lattice that dramatically increases the stable phase space area in recirculating high intensity accelerators. The integrable optics lattice implies utilizing specifically-tailored non-linear components of the magneto-optics to enhance the dynamic aperture of circular machines by orders of magnitude. If successful, the integrable optics approach will have a disruptive impact on high intensity circular machine capabilities in high energy research, medical and industrial applications. A demonstration of this novel accelerator design, called the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator, has been proposed at Fermilab. In the Phase I of this project RadiaBeam Technologies will design, develop and test a prototype sector of the novel integrable optics magnet. If the project progresses into the Phase II, the full scale 2-meter integrable optics section will be engineered, fabricated, installed and aligned at Fermilab. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: The list of accelerator applications enabled by the integrable optics accelerator is impressive, with impact found in the areas from basic science to medicine. For example, a multi-MW proton driver is a potential workhorse in scientific applications in the intensity frontier, with applications such as: providing high fluxes of primary particles for muon production in the context of a muon collider and/or neutrino factory; spallation neutron production; transmutation of nuclear waste; and accelerator-driven sub-critical reactors. By taking part at such an early stage in the practical realization of this novel accelerator, RadiaBeam will be in a unique position to commercialize the technology.