An accurate physics simulation model is key to accelerator operation because all beam control and optimization algorithms require good understanding of the accelerator and its elements. For the AGS Booster, discrepancies between the real physical system and online simulation model have been a long-standing issue. Due to the lack of a reliable model, the current practice of beam control relies mainly on empirical tuning by experienced operators, which may be inefficient or sub-optimal. In this work, we investigate two main factors that can cause discrepancies between simulation and reality in the AGS Booster: magnet misalignments and magnet transfer functions. We developed a orbit response measurement script that collects real machine data in the Booster for model calibration. By matching simulated data with real data, we can develop a more accurate simulation model for future polarization optimizations, and build the foundation for a fully functional digital-twin.

The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) was designed for head-on collisions in the Interaction Regions. However, RHIC operation in recent years necessitated crossing angles to limit collisions to a narrow longitudinal vertex region, which created operating conditions with a large Piwinski angle (LPA). The angles were implemented by adjusting the shunt currents of four dipoles, the D0 and DX magnets, near the IP. The longitudinal bunch profile often deviates from Gaussian due to the utilization of high-order RF cavities, adding complexity to calculating luminosity reduction with crossing angle. This paper introduces two methods for implementing crossing angles, discusses resultant aperture concerns, conducts numerical calculations of luminosity reduction, and compares these findings with experimental observations.

For the 2024 100 GeV proton run at RHIC, the new sPHENIX detector will require a maximum amount of collisions within ±10 cm of its central Interaction Point (IP), and preferably few or no collisions outside this range. To maximize the collisions within the vertex, a large crossing angle of up to 2 mrad will be used, operating the Large Piwinski Angle (LPA) scheme. To compensate for the reduction in luminosity from the large Piwinski angle, a β=50 cm lattice has been designed and supported with dynamic aperture simulations. To further compensate the luminosity reduction, injector studies have been performed to support up to a 45% increase in the injected intensity relative to the previous 100 GeV run in 2015.1

The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) Run 23 program consisted of collisions of 100 GeV gold beams at two collision points for the first time since 2016; the sPHENIX collaboration used the beam to commission their new detector systems while STAR took physics data. Completion of sPHENIX construction pushed the start of the run to May, forcing the collider complex to operate over the summer months and incurring lower than normal availability due to heat and power dip related problems. Issues with dynamic pressure rise during acceleration through transition resulted in a slower ramp up of intensity compared to prior years. Finally, a failure of a warm-to-cold current lead interface in the valve box for the Main Magnet power supply forced the run to end. This paper will discuss the progress made by each experiment and the failure mode, repair and mitigation efforts in preparation for Run 24.

The Electron Ion Collider calls for polarized proton and helion beams on polarized electron beam collisions. To preserve polarization of polarized hadron beams, six full helical snakes will be installed. As there are currently 4 snakes in RHIC, the remaining two snakes will be made from existing rotator magnet coils. The rotator magnets are made from both right handed and left handed helicities. In order for a sufficient stock of spare coils, one snake will be made of left handed coils. Simulations using zgoubi show the left handed snake has sufficient range to provide the desired snake precession axes for helions and protons with the existing power supplies.

The Electron Ion Collider calls for collisions of helion beam on polarized electron beams. Polarized helions will be injected into the Hadron Storage Ring at |Gγ| = 49.5 and have a maximum energy corresponding to |Gγ| = 820. Simulations of helions in this energy range have been performed using zgoubi. These studies quantify the polarization transmission with six snakes and also categorize the lattice constraints.

Pairs of Siberian Snakes allow the avoidance of first-order spin resonances during energy ramping. However, a high density of first-order resonances correlates with the presence of higher-order resonances after the installation of snakes. Thus, one effective tactic of mitigating higher-order resonances is by weakening the surrounding first-order ones, equivalent to minimizing the spin-orbit coupling integrals. Such a proxy helps sidestep a multi-hour polarization transmission simulation for each lattice configuration. In a three-fold super-periodic ring, using 12 snakes is a sufficient condition for completely eliminating the spin-orbit coupling integrals at all energies and tunes. Since the HSR will only have up to 6 snakes, we opt to focus on suppressing the strongest first-order resonances instead of the whole spectrum. By varying the snake reflection axes and the betatron phase advance in two of the arcs, we search in a 7-dimensional lattice space for the weakest resonance structure using a variety of metrics and find the configuration with highest polarization transmission.

An accurate physics simulation model is key to accelerator operation because all beam control and optimization algorithms require good understanding of the accelerator and its elements. For the AGS Booster, discrepancies between the real physical system and online simulation model have been a long-standing issue. Due to the lack of a reliable model, the current practice of beam control relies mainly on empirical tuning by experienced operators, which may be inefficient or sub-optimal. In this work, we investigate two main factors that can cause discrepancies between simulation and reality in the AGS Booster: magnet misalignments and magnet transfer functions. We developed a orbit response measurement script that collects real machine data in the Booster for model calibration. By matching simulated data with real data, we can develop a more accurate simulation model for future polarization optimizations, and build the foundation for a fully functional digital-twin.