First partially stripped ions in the LHC (²⁰⁸Pb⁸¹⁺)

Abstract

The Gamma Factory initiative proposes to use partially stripped ion (PSI) beams as drivers of a new type of high intensity photon source. As part of the ongoing Physics Beyond Collider studies, initial beam tests with PSI beams have been executed at CERN. On 25 July 2018 lead ions with one remaining electron (208Pb81+) were injected and accelerated in the LHC for the first time. After establishing the injection and circulation of a few 208Pb81+ bunches, beam lifetimes of about 50 hours could be established at 6.5 TeV proton equivalent energy. This paper describes the setup of the beam tests and observations made.

Atomic Physics Studies at the Gamma Factory at CERN

“…The H‐like beam was further injected into the LHC, where it circulated for hours, from which the beam lifetime of over 40 hwas inferred. [ 3 ] The next crucial step is the proof‐of‐principle experiment [ 48 ] that should validate the entire GF concept.…”

“…Successful injection and storage of relativistic PSI was demonstrated at SPS and LHC, [2] with decay times of ≈40 h in the latter case. [3,4] We note that the atomic-, plasma-, and astrophysics communities typically refer to PSI as highly charged ions (HCI). [5][6][7] To avoid confusion, however, in this work we will use the term PSI as it is customary in the LHC community.…”

Gamma Factory for CERN initiative - progress report

“…Since then, the lifetimes of 129 Xe 39+ , 208 Pb 81+ and 208 Pb 80+ beams have been measured in the SPS. In particular, the lifetime of the hydrogen-like lead-ion beam in the SPS was 600 ± 30 s. Better vacuum levels in the LHC allowed to reach for this beam the lifetime of ∼ 40 h [16]. Those measurements allowed also to improve the numerical-simulation models and to make possible realistic predictions of the lifetimes for other PSI beams.…”

Expanding Nuclear Physics Horizons with the Gamma Factory

“…[3]) to nuclear physics and related fields (the subject of the present paper), to elementary‐particle physics and searches for physics beyond the standard model (SM). While the GF today is still a proposal, some of its key components such as the production and storage of partially stripped ions (PSI), for instance hydrogen‐ and helium‐like Pb and phosphorus‐like Xe, [ 4–6 ] have been already demonstrated experimentally in the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Moreover, the proof‐of‐principle experiment, [ 7 ] further discussed in Section 13, will demonstrate the full GF concept at SPS.…”