Superconducting accelerator magnet technology in the 21st century: A new paradigm on the horizon?

Abstract

Superconducting magnets for accelerators were first suggested in the mid-60's and have since become one of the major components of modern particle colliders. Technological progress has been slow but steady for the last half-century, based primarily on Nb-Ti superconductor. That technology has reached its peak with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Despite the superior electromagnetic properties of Nb 3 Sn and adoption by early magnet pioneers, it is just now coming into use in accelerators though it has not yet reliably achieved fields close to the theoretical limit. The discovery of the High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) in the late '80's created tremendous excitement, but these materials, with tantalizing performance at high fields and temperatures, have not yet been successfully developed into accelerator magnet configurations. Thanks to relatively recent developments in both Bi-2212 and REBCO, and a more focused international effort on magnet development, the situation has changed dramatically. Early optimism has been replaced with a reality that could create a new paradigm in superconducting magnet technology. Using selected examples of magnet technology from the previous century to define the context, this paper will describe the possible innovations using HTS materials as the basis for a new paradigm.

Implications of the strain irreversibility cliff on the fabrication of particle-accelerator magnets made of restacked-rod-process Nb3Sn wires

“…The expected application of Nb 3 Sn superconducting wires in the high-luminosity (HL) upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) facility is dictated by the need for magnetic-field intensities in the range of 11 to 13 T, required to increase the rate of particle collisions at the ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS) and CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) detectors of the LHC 1,2 . Such intensities are beyond the practical limits of Nb-Ti, which has been the main conductor for particle-accelerator technologies to date 3–5 . Tens of Nb 3 Sn dipoles and quadrupoles with large apertures will be constructed to replace the Nb-Ti magnets in the collimation system and beams’ interaction regions.…”

Higgs and BSM Physics at the Future Muon Collider

“…The developments necessary to build these bigger e + e − and pp machines, e.g., in superconductors technology [57,58], represent great challenges and might have enormous societal and technological impact. These advances are definitely worth a strong R&D program, as indicated by the recent update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics [59,60].…”

Higgs and BSM Physics at the future Muon Collider

“…The developments necessary to build these bigger e + e − and pp machines, e.g. in superconductors technology [59,60], represent great challenges and might have enormous societal and technological impact. These advances are definitely worth a strong R&D program, as indicated by the recent update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics [61,62].…”