Origin of the 50 Hz harmonics in the transverse beam spectrum of the Large Hadron Collider

Abstract

Since the beginning of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) commissioning, spectral components at harmonics of the mains frequency (50 Hz) have been observed in the transverse beam spectrum. This paper presents an overview of the most important observations, collected during the latest physics operation of the LHC in 2018, which clearly indicates that the harmonics are the result of a real beam excitation rather than an instrumental feature. Based on these findings, potential sources of the perturbation are discussed and a correlation with noise originating from the magnets' power converters is presented. As many of these tones reside in the vicinity of the betatron tune, they can increase the diffusion of the particles in the distribution in the presence of non-linear effects, leading to proton losses and eventually to a lifetime reduction. A quantitative characterization of the machine noise spectrum, together with an understanding of the noise source is an essential ingredient to evaluate the impact of the 50 Hz harmonics on the future upgrade of the LHC, the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC). To this end, simulations with the single-particle tracking code, SixTrack, are employed, including a realistic noise spectrum as extracted from experimental observations. The methods and results of the tracking studies are reported and discussed in this paper.