R. V. Pivin

Development of the Low Energy Particle Toroidal Accumulator project

The Low Energy Particle Toroidal Accumulator (LEPTA), a positron storage ring with electron cooling, was constructed and put in operation at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna). The storage ring is a generator of directed beams of ortho-positronium (o-Ps) produced upon the recombination of the beam of positrons circulating in the storage ring with a single-pass electron beam. In 2004 the storage ring was put in operation with the circulating electron beam. The source of positrons of the positron injector was tested with a new radioactive source delivered from South Africa. The positron trap was put in operation for electrons. The electron cooling system was tested with a pulsed electron beam. The progress in commissioning LEPTA is described in this paper.

Testing prototypes of high-temperature superconducting current leads of cryogenic stand for testing magnetic elements of the NICA accelerating complex

In the Laboratory of High Energies at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, as part of the NICA-MPD [1] project, tests of two prototypes of HTSC current leads prepared at ASIPP institute (Hefei, China) have been performed [2, 3] to measure electric and heat parameters and to search for structural and physical drawbacks. Based on the experimental results, necessary changes are made in the structure of HTSC current leads of the testing stand for the magnetic element testing of the NICA accelerating complex and its basic setups: the Nuclotron, Booster, and Collider.

Superconducting shield for solenoid of electron cooling system

Ensuring the high homogeneity of a magnetic field in the straight solenoid of an electron cooling system is a very important task. In the electron cooling system of the collider in the NICA project, it is planned to use superconducting solenoids for the generation of a longitudinal magnetic field. Using of the superconducting shield is proposed to achieve the required homogeneity of the magnetic field in the cooling section. This article discusses the design of the superconducting shield and presents experimental and numerical studies into the homogeneity of the magnetic field in solenoids with the superconducting shield.

Storage ring with longitudinal magnetic field LEPTA (Stellatron)

The project of the Low Energy Particle Toroidal Accumulator (LEPTA) is dedicated to the construction of a positron storage ring with electron cooling of positrons circulating in the ring. Such a specific feature of LEPTA automatically enables it to be a generator of positronium (Ps) atoms, which appear in the recombination of positrons with cooling electrons inside the cooling section of the ring. The project has the following goals: particle dynamics in the modified betatron, electron cooling with a circulating beam, positronium generation in flight, positronium physics, and feasibility of antihydrogen generation in flight. All key elements of the ring—the kicker, electron beam injection system, helical quadrupole, septum magnet—have been tested, and the expected design parameters have been achieved for these elements. The construction of LEPTA has been completed, and the circulating electron beam has been achieved. This paper discusses the issues of particle dynamics in such an accelerator, the results of numerical simulation and experimental findings of the research into beam dynamics, measurement of betatron number and beam lifetime.

Vacuum systems of linear accelerators of the NICA injection complex

The NICA project, which includes several accelerators of charged particles, is under construction in the Laboratory of High Energy Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), Dubna. Obtaining the required vacuum conditions is one of the key points in implementing the project, because reaching the required ion lifetime at all stages of particle acceleration is what determines the effective luminosity of the experiments in the long run. Currently, modernization of the vacuum system of the injection complex of the LU-20 linear accelerator of light ions, one of oldest accelerators in the JINR, is being carried out and the new HILAC linear accelerator for the acceleration of gold ions in the collider mode of the NICA complex is being installed. At the end parts of the linear accelerators, the residual gas pressure must be approximately 10–5 Pa, which is determined by the maximum amplitude of the RF electric field used for the acceleration of ions.

High-voltage electron cooler project for NICA collider

A high-voltage electron cooling system (ECS) with electron energy reaching 2.5 MeV for the NICA collider is being designed at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. The ECS is being developed in correspondence with the available experience in manufacturing similar systems from around the world. The main feature of this design is the use of two cooling electron beams (one beam per collider ring); electrons are accelerated and decelerated by a common high-voltage generator. A conceptual project of high-voltage ECS has been developed. The cooler consists of three tanks filled with SF6 gas under pressure. Two of them contain electron-beam forming systems; each system consists of two electron guns, two electron collectors, and accelerating-decelerating tubes placed in a longitudinal magnetic field generated by a solenoid. The third tank contains a high-voltage generator based on the voltage-multiplying circuit.

Booster synchrotron of NICA accelerator complex

NICA is a new accelerator complex being constructed at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research; the main task of this complex is to perform collider experiments for ion beams up to uranium with energies of up to 3.5 × 3.5 GeV/nucleon. This complex includes an electron string ion source, a 6 MeV/nucleon linear accelerator, a booster, the Nuclotron, and a collider with an average luminosity of 1027 cm2 s−1. The main tasks of the booster are to accumulate up to 4 × 109 197Au32+ ions, to accelerate to 600 MeV/nucleon (sufficient enough energy for completely stripping nuclei), to reduce the requirements of vacuum conditions for the Nuclotron, and to form the necessary beam emittance using an electron cooling system. The specific features of the NICA booster and the requirements for the basic systems of the synchrotron and their parameters are presented in this paper.

Positron injector for LEPTA

The low energy positron injector for the Low Energy Particle Toroidal Accumulator (LEPTA) accumulator was assembled at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR). Key elements of the injector have been tested. The cryogenic source of slow positrons was tested with a test isotope 22Na of the initial activity of 0.8 MBk. A continuous slow positron beam intensity of 5.8 × 103 particle per second with an average energy of 1.2 eV and a spectrum width of 1 eV has been obtained. The achieved moderator efficiency is about 1%. The accumulation process in the positron trap was investigated with electron flux. The lifetime of the electrons in the trap, τlife ≥ 80 s and capture efficiency ɛ ∼ 0.4, were obtained. The maximum number of accumulated particles was N exper = 2 × 108 at the initial flux of 5 × 106 electrons s−1.

Numerical Simulation of Particle Dynamics in a Storage Ring by Using Betacool Program

The BETACOOL program, developed by electron cooling group of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), is a set of algorithms based on common format of input and output files. The program is oriented toward simulation of the ion beam dynamics in a storage ring in the presence of cooling and heating effects. The version presented in this report includes three basic algorithms: simulation of root-mean-square (rms) parameters of the particle distribution function evolving in time, simulation of the distribution function evolution using the Monte Carlo method, and a tracking algorithm based on a molecular dynamics technique. The general processes investigated with the program are intrabeam scattering in the ion beam, electron cooling, and interaction with residual gas and an internal target.

Perspectives of LEPTA

The Low Particle Toroidal Accumulator (LEPTA) project is under development at JINR. The ring assembling is completed. The test experiments with circulating electron beam are in progress and the results are presented. Assembling and test of the positron injector is started. The program of experiment on directed o‐Ps flux generated at LEPTA is listed in the report. The first experiment that is under preparation presently has the goal to measure p‐Ps life time by interference of ortho‐ and para‐ states of Ps in magnetic field.