LANL, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
The LANSCE Accelerator facility currently utilizes four 800 MeV H− beams and one 100 MeV proton beam. Multi-beam operation requires careful control of accelerator tune to minimize beam losses. The most powerful 80 kW H− beam is accumulated in the Proton Storage Ring and is extracted to the Lujan Neutron Scattering Center facility for production of moderated neutrons with meV-keV energy. Another H− beam is delivered to the Weapon Neutron Research facility to create un-moderated neutrons in the keV - MeV energy range. The third H− beam is shared between the Proton Radiography Facility and the Ultra-Cold Neutron facility. The 23 kW proton beam is used for isotope production in the fields of medicine, nuclear physics, national security, environmental science and industry. Minimization of beam losses in the linac is achieved due to careful tuning of the beam in each section of the accelerator facility, imposing restrictions on amplitudes and phases of RF sections, control of H− beam stripping, and optimization of ion sources operation. This paper summarizes experimental results in accelerator operations and categorizes various sources of emittance growth and beam losses.
