Proton Dynamics Scenarios in the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) at Fermilab

TL;DR

This paper analyzes proton beam dynamics in Fermilab's IOTA accelerator, focusing on parameters, emittance growth, and lifetime estimates under different configurations to guide future experiments.

Contribution

It provides detailed estimates of beam lifetime and emittance growth due to various effects in two IOTA configurations, aiding experimental planning.

Findings

Projected beam lifetime less than 7 minutes at low intensity.

Fewer than 100,000 turns at high intensity due to space-charge effects.

Identified key contributions to emittance growth from residual gas, intra-beam scattering, and space-charge.

Abstract

The Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) at Fermilab provides a versatile platform for studying the interplay of space-charge, impedance, and non-linear optics in high-intensity hadron beams within synchrotrons and storage rings. This report examines the parameters and dynamics of 2.5 MeV proton beam operations in two configurations of the bare IOTA lattice (dipoles, quadrupoles, sextupoles, and rf cavity only): one for demonstrating Non-linear Integrable Optics with the Danilov-Nagaitsev magnet, and the other for use with electron cooling. We offer order-of-magnitude estimates of the transverse emittance growth rate as a function of beam intensity, highlighting contributions from residual gas scattering, intra-beam scattering, and space-charge effects. Under nominal conditions, the beam lifetime is projected to be less than 7 minutes at low intensity with the current vacuum quality, and fewer than 100,000 turns at high intensity due to strong space-charge effects. The calculations presented here will guide strategies to mitigate emittance growth and inform future IOTA experiments.