The liquid-hydrogen absorber for MICE

V Bayliss,C Macwaters,J Boehm,T Bradshaw,A Nichols,D Summers,S Harrison,M Courthold,C Whyte,W Lau,P Warburton,K Long,M Hills,S Ishimoto,S Watson,A Kurup,P Hodgson,M Tucker

doi:10.1088/1757-899x/502/1/012150

Abstract

This paper describes the liquid hydrogen system constructed for The Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE); MICE was built at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to demonstrate the principle of muon beam phase-space reduction via ionization cooling. Muon beam cooling will be required at a future proton-derived neutrino factory or muon collider. Ionization cooling is achieved by passing the beam through an energy-absorbing material, such as liquid hydrogen, and then re-accelerating the beam using RF cavities. This paper describes the system creating the 22l of liquid hydrogen within the MICE beamline; the necessary safety engineering, the liquid hydrogen absorber and its associated cryogenic and gas systems are presented, along with its performance.

Highlights

The Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) [1] was built at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to demonstrate the principle of muon beam phase-space reduction via ionization cooling
Ionization cooling is achieved by passing the beam through an energy-absorbing material, such as liquid hydrogen, and re-accelerating the axial component of the beam using RF cavities
A system to safely condense hydrogen gas in a vessel with thin aluminium windows was designed, constructed and operated. This vessel was irradiated with a beam of muons in the MICE experiment at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL)

Summary

Introduction

The Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) [1] was built at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to demonstrate the principle of muon beam phase-space reduction via ionization cooling. For this purpose a complete system capable of safely condensing hydrogen gas in a vessel with thin aluminum windows was designed, constructed and operated [2]. This enabled the MICE collaboration to measure the loss of energy and change of trajectory of muons in liquid hydrogen.

Results

Conclusion