The MuCool Experiment has been continuing to take data with 805 and 201 MHz cavities in the MuCool Test Area. The system uses rf power sources from the Fermilab Linac. Although the experimental program is primarily aimed at the Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE), we have been studying the dependence of rf limits on frequency, cavity material, high magnetic fields, gas pressure, coatings, etc. with the general aim of understanding the basic mechanisms involved. The 201 MHz cavity, essentially a prototype for the MICE experiment, was made using cleaning techniques similar to those employed for superconducting cavities and operates at its design field with very little conditioning.
A muon cooling channel calls for very high accelerating gradient RF structures to restore the energy lost by muons in the absorbers. The RF structures have to be operated in a strong magnetic field and thus the use of superconducting RF cavities is excluded. To achieve a high shunt impedance while maintaining a large enough aperture to accommodate a large transverse emittance muon beam, the cavity design adopted is a pillbox-like geometry with thin Be foils to terminate the electromagnetic field at the cavity iris. The possibility of using grids of thin-walled metallic tubes for the termination is also being explored. Many of the RF-related issues for muon cooling channels are being studied both theoretically and experimentally using an 805 MHz cavity that has a pillbox-like geometry with thin Be windows to terminate the cavity aperture. The design and performance of this cavity are reported here. High-power RF tests of the 805 MHz cavity are in progress at Lab G in Fermilab. The cavity has exceeded its design gradient of 30 MV m−1, reaching 34 MV m−1 without external magnetic field. No surface damage was observed at this gradient. The cavity is currently under conditioning at Lab G with an external magnetic field of 2.5 T. We also present here a 201 MHz cavity design for muon cooling channels. The proposed cavity design is also suitable for use in a proof-of-principle muon ionization cooling experiment.
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