A Possible Hybrid Cooling Channel for a Neutrino Factory

TL;DR

This paper proposes a hybrid muon cooling channel combining high-pressure gas-filled RF cavities and discrete absorbers, aiming to improve cooling efficiency for neutrino factories while addressing RF breakdown issues.

Contribution

It introduces a novel hybrid cooling channel design with simulation results showing comparable performance to existing vacuum-based channels.

Findings

Hybrid channel performance comparable to vacuum channels

Potential to prevent RF breakdown with high-pressure gas-filled cavities

Simulation results support feasibility of the approach

Abstract

A Neutrino Factory requires an intense and well-cooled (in transverse phase space) muon beam. We discuss a hybrid approach for a linear 4D cooling channel consisting of high-pressure gas-filled RF cavities- potentially allowing high gradients without breakdown- and discrete LiH absorbers to provide the necessary energy loss that results in the required muon beam cooling. We report simulations of the channel performance and its comparison with the vacuum case; we also briefly discuss technical and safety issues associated with cavities filled with high-pressure hydrogen gas. Even with additional windows that might be needed for safety reasons, the channel performance is comparable to that of the original, all-vacuum Feasibility Study 2a channel on which our design is based. If tests demonstrate that the gas-filled RF cavities can operate effectively with an intense beam of ionizing particles passing through them, our approach would be an attractive way of avoiding possible breakdown problems with a vacuum RF channel.