TECH-X CORPORATION — Department of Energy SBIR Phase I: The P5 subpanel of HEPAP has identified the energy, intensity and cosmic frontiers as key

Description

The P5 subpanel of HEPAP has identified the energy, intensity and cosmic frontiers as key themes for the next ten years of particle physics research. The intensity frontier is defined by use of intense particle beams to advance neutrino physics and to observe rare processes outside the standard model. The intensity frontier will be extended by Project X at Fermilab, which will deliver MW proton beams at energies ranging from 2.5 to 120 GeV. Order-of-magnitude increases in the peak and average beam power of next-generation hadron accelerators, required to further extend the intensity frontier, demand serious exploration of advanced concepts to minimize both beam loss and physical aperture. For example, the proton driver for a future neutrino factory or muon collider will require even higher intensity proton beams than Project X. Recent theoretical work has defined a promising approach to develop fundamental new designs of the magnetic optics for intense hadron beams in linear accelerators and storage rings, using strongly nonlinear fields to suppress space charge driven instabilities, while retaining integrability of the single particle motion to maximize dynamic aperture. The next logical step forward will be to discover a subset of nonlinear integrable lattices such that the space charge forces of an intense beam do not significantly damage the integrability of the underlying single-particle trajectories. This project will consider three very different types of highly nonlinear optics designs and, using both theoretical and numerical tools, will explore the effects of space charge forces on the single-particle and collective dynamics of intense beams, including various ways to minimize beam losses to the accelerator wall. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: As more US and international research funds are directed to the intensity frontier for high-energy physics, neutron source and waste transmutation applications, there is a significant opportunity for future research and development contracts. The expertise developed for this project will help Tech-X to compete for these opportunities, while contributing to important advances in the field of particle accelerator technology. US DOE facilities that could benefit in the future from the results of this work include Project X at Fermilab, the proton driver for a future neutrino factory or muon collider, major upgrades to the Spallation Neutron Source, and perhaps a future spallation-driven system for nuclear waste transmutation.