Multipole connector for accelerator magnet ends

Abstract

A method and apparatus for correcting harmonics (multipoles) in high energy particle accelerators using superconducting magnets using corrector rods adjacent to accelerator magnets. In such accelerators, superconducting coils are positioned around a non-magnetic beam tube with the magnetic coils designed to guide particles, such as protons, along the tube. Magnetic field non-uniformites in the form of multipoles (harmonics) will disrupt the beam guidance, causing particles to hit the tube walls and be lost, reducing accelerator efficiency. The negative effects of multipoles (harmonics) in such accelerators can be reduced or eliminated by positioning a selected number of pairs of carefully sized and dimensioned rods of magnetic material such as nickel or iron along the exterior of the beam tube or enclosing helium vessel near the magnet ends. The rods are equally spaced and lie parallel to the beam tube axis. The rods negate the field non-uniformities generated by the unavoidable multipoles generated by the magnetic coils. Where a number of magnets from different vendors, using somewhat different materials, etc., must be used together, often different sets of magnets have different harmonic characteristics. The tunable corrector rods will allow these manufacturing variations to be corrected in each set. The multipole harmonic effects for each set is measured through empirical tests, and the dimensions of the corrector rods are selected for use with that set.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.