Continuation of UK participation in the International Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment - Bridging Funds
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
The Neutrino Factory is a possible future accelerator facility that creates beams of neutrinos from the decays of muons in a storage ring. The neutrino beams from a Neutrino Factory would have the highest intensity and can be controlled with unprecedented accuracy. For these reasons, the Neutrino Factory has the potential to discover measurable differences between neutrino and antineutrino oscillations, which could be the key to understanding the puzzle of the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe. This phenomenon, known as CP violation, has been observed in the quark sector but has never been seen in the neutrino sector. A future Neutrino Factory would determine CP violation in the neutrino sector with the best possible accuracy. Furthermore, a Neutrino factory could be used as a first stage before the construction of a Muon Collider, which could be used to measure the properties of the Higgs boson with the ultimate precision, and could potentially reach energies of up to 6 GeV, in order to explore new physics phenomena at the highest energy frontier.
Both the Neutrino Factory and a Muon Collider rely on the acceleration of muons. To be able to create muon accelerator facilities, we require to reduce the size of the muon beam so that it may be accelerated. Since muons decay within 2 microseconds in their own rest frame, the only known way to reduce the phase space of the muon beam before the muons decay is to use the concept of ionisation cooling, in which the muons lose energy in an absorber such as liquid hydrogen or lithium hydride (LiH) and then recover the longitudinal component of the momentum by accelerating them using RF cavities. The international Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) is an engineering demonstration of the concept of ionisation cooling. This experiment is being built at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, in which a beam of muons will be cooled in a muon cooling cell consisting of three absorbers and two RF cavities inside the field of two focus coil magnets. The emittance of the beam is measured before and after the cooling channel using a scintillating fibre tracker inside a superconducting solenoid, and the muons are identified using time-of-flight detectors, a Cherenkov detector and a calorimeter system consisting of a scintillating fibre-lead pre-shower detector (named the KL) and a totally active scintillating detector, called the Electron Muon Ranger (EMR).
In this proposal we aim to perform measurements of emittance reduction, without RF cavities (MICE step IV) and perform the final demonstration of ionisation cooling with RF cavities. This proposal is a bid for 9 months funding from April to December 2016 in order to bridge the current MICE Step IV construction grant that ends in March 2016 and the final demonstration of ionisation cooling, expected to run until 2019.
Both the Neutrino Factory and a Muon Collider rely on the acceleration of muons. To be able to create muon accelerator facilities, we require to reduce the size of the muon beam so that it may be accelerated. Since muons decay within 2 microseconds in their own rest frame, the only known way to reduce the phase space of the muon beam before the muons decay is to use the concept of ionisation cooling, in which the muons lose energy in an absorber such as liquid hydrogen or lithium hydride (LiH) and then recover the longitudinal component of the momentum by accelerating them using RF cavities. The international Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) is an engineering demonstration of the concept of ionisation cooling. This experiment is being built at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, in which a beam of muons will be cooled in a muon cooling cell consisting of three absorbers and two RF cavities inside the field of two focus coil magnets. The emittance of the beam is measured before and after the cooling channel using a scintillating fibre tracker inside a superconducting solenoid, and the muons are identified using time-of-flight detectors, a Cherenkov detector and a calorimeter system consisting of a scintillating fibre-lead pre-shower detector (named the KL) and a totally active scintillating detector, called the Electron Muon Ranger (EMR).
In this proposal we aim to perform measurements of emittance reduction, without RF cavities (MICE step IV) and perform the final demonstration of ionisation cooling with RF cavities. This proposal is a bid for 9 months funding from April to December 2016 in order to bridge the current MICE Step IV construction grant that ends in March 2016 and the final demonstration of ionisation cooling, expected to run until 2019.
Planned Impact
1) The main impact of the Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) is its contribution to the worldwide Accelerator R&D programme. Techniques developed in MICE are essential for future high power proton facilities including the Neutrino Factory and the Muon Collider. These will benefit the worldwide accelerator industry, including the development of future RF cavities that can operate inside magnetic fields, the development of large superconducting technology that may be realised in a simpler and more cost-effective way, and the development of innovative instrumentation to operate at such facilities.
2) The training of accelerator physicists and engineers underpins the increasing use of accelerators in research and industry, including such disparate areas as medical treatment and diagnosis, security applications and power generation. MICE has trained over 67 STFC and university staff and students, including 22 PhD students (12 have graduated and are deploying their skills in industry, such as IT consultancy, the financial sector, IBM and defence industries), 16 post-doctoral and contract staff and 11 faculty (8 PDRA staff trained on the project have taken their expertise to other projects or to private industry). MICE has developed UK expertise in running a major project in the UK, with 4 STFC and 7 university staff playing senior roles in the project leadership. The expertise in university and STFC staff developed include: low frequency RF for future accelerators, large superconducting solenoids, novel liquid hydrogen handling systems and accelerator instrumentation.
3) The MICE project will benefit the following collaborations: the international MICE collaboration encompassing 34 institutions in 8 countries; the International Design Study for a Neutrino Factory (IDS-NF), (https://www.ids-nf.org/wiki/FrontPage) and the EC-funded EUROnu project (http://www.euronu.org/), the nuSTORM collaboration (http://arxiv.org/pdf/1206.0294v1.pdf) and the 'Proton Accelerators for Science and Innovation' (PASI) collaboration, (http://pasi.org.uk/Main_Page).
4) The MICE project is benefitting UK and international industry through engineering and construction partnerships: cryogenic engineering (AS Scientific), collaborative development of unusually large superconducting magnets with closed-circuit cooling with TESLA engineering (UK) and Wang NMR (USA), knowledge exchange in the development of the MICE target with TechVac, Multigrind Watford, ExcelPrecision and CCFE-Babcock, and knowledge exchange with UK industry in the manufacture of RF amplifier components, HT safety systems, high power, high frequency electrical contacts and specialist plating and joining methods.
5) The MICE project is active in the dissemination of its activities, with refereed journal and conference publications, a freely accessible archive record (http://www.mice.iit.edu/), organised outreach activities for school students, participation in the Annual Goldsmiths courses for A-level teachers, participation in the Particle Physics masterclasses, public events, such as the "Accelerator extravaganza" at RAL and the General Public Access Day at RAl (8 July 2015), 15 undergraduate, PGI and summer projects hosted by MICE, links to MSc in High Power RF Science and Engineering, publicity through Physics World and the CERN Courier, a prizewinning paper at the "SET for Britain" Meeting in 2009, and other public and media activities.
2) The training of accelerator physicists and engineers underpins the increasing use of accelerators in research and industry, including such disparate areas as medical treatment and diagnosis, security applications and power generation. MICE has trained over 67 STFC and university staff and students, including 22 PhD students (12 have graduated and are deploying their skills in industry, such as IT consultancy, the financial sector, IBM and defence industries), 16 post-doctoral and contract staff and 11 faculty (8 PDRA staff trained on the project have taken their expertise to other projects or to private industry). MICE has developed UK expertise in running a major project in the UK, with 4 STFC and 7 university staff playing senior roles in the project leadership. The expertise in university and STFC staff developed include: low frequency RF for future accelerators, large superconducting solenoids, novel liquid hydrogen handling systems and accelerator instrumentation.
3) The MICE project will benefit the following collaborations: the international MICE collaboration encompassing 34 institutions in 8 countries; the International Design Study for a Neutrino Factory (IDS-NF), (https://www.ids-nf.org/wiki/FrontPage) and the EC-funded EUROnu project (http://www.euronu.org/), the nuSTORM collaboration (http://arxiv.org/pdf/1206.0294v1.pdf) and the 'Proton Accelerators for Science and Innovation' (PASI) collaboration, (http://pasi.org.uk/Main_Page).
4) The MICE project is benefitting UK and international industry through engineering and construction partnerships: cryogenic engineering (AS Scientific), collaborative development of unusually large superconducting magnets with closed-circuit cooling with TESLA engineering (UK) and Wang NMR (USA), knowledge exchange in the development of the MICE target with TechVac, Multigrind Watford, ExcelPrecision and CCFE-Babcock, and knowledge exchange with UK industry in the manufacture of RF amplifier components, HT safety systems, high power, high frequency electrical contacts and specialist plating and joining methods.
5) The MICE project is active in the dissemination of its activities, with refereed journal and conference publications, a freely accessible archive record (http://www.mice.iit.edu/), organised outreach activities for school students, participation in the Annual Goldsmiths courses for A-level teachers, participation in the Particle Physics masterclasses, public events, such as the "Accelerator extravaganza" at RAL and the General Public Access Day at RAl (8 July 2015), 15 undergraduate, PGI and summer projects hosted by MICE, links to MSc in High Power RF Science and Engineering, publicity through Physics World and the CERN Courier, a prizewinning paper at the "SET for Britain" Meeting in 2009, and other public and media activities.
Publications
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Heidt C
(2016)
The Physics Program of MICE Step IV
in Nuclear and Particle Physics Proceedings
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Long K
(2016)
The status of the construction of MICE Step IV
in Nuclear and Particle Physics Proceedings
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Booth C
(2016)
The design and performance of an improved target for MICE
in Journal of Instrumentation
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
J-B. Lagrange Et Al.
(2016)
The MICE Demonstration of Muon Ionization Cooling
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Jean-Baptiste Lagrange Et Al.
(2016)
The MICE Demonstration of Muon Ionization Cooling
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Lagrange, J.B.
(2016)
The MICE Demonstration of Muon Ionization Cooling
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Dobbs A
(2016)
The reconstruction software for the MICE scintillating fibre trackers
in Journal of Instrumentation
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Adams D
(2016)
Pion contamination in the MICE muon beam
in Journal of Instrumentation
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Hunt Christopher
(2017)
Layout of the MICE Demonstration of Muon Ionization Cooling
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
C. Hunt Et Al.
(2017)
Layout of the MICE Demonstration of Muon Ionization Cooling
Description | We have developed and characterised an experiment designed to demonstrate that the size of a beam of muons can be controlled using a process known as ionization cooling. The data acquired during the operation of the experiment is being prepared for publication. Over the past year the seminal demonstration of ionisation cooling has been published in Nature. The result is important since it provides the basis on which future development of muon beams of high brightness can be developed. In addition it places Imperial and the UK in an excellent position of leadership in the field. |
Exploitation Route | CERN has initiated the formation of the International Muon Accelerator collaboration to pursue R&D towards the use of muon beams of high brightness for research in particle physics. The MICE results are import as a springboard for the development of the activities of the new International collaboration and place the UK at the forefront of the field. |
Sectors | Other |
URL | https://micewww.pp.rl.ac.uk/projects/mice/wiki/For_the_public |
Description | Development of proton and muon accelerators for science and innovation |
Organisation | STFC Laboratories |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Development of accelerators for pulsed high-power proton sources, study of beam loss in synchrotron, design of FFAG muon ring for neutrino cross section measurements. Development of beam delivered to MICE at RAL. Organisation of Proton Accelerators for Science and Innovation workshops. |
Collaborator Contribution | Provision of infrastructure and expertise in the above. Collaboration in organisation of the Proton Accelerator for Science and Innovation workshops. |
Impact | Joint proposals for research work. Joint publications, listed elsewhere. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Development of proton and muon accelerators for science and innovation |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Department | ISIS Neutron and Muon Source |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Development of accelerators for pulsed high-power proton sources, study of beam loss in synchrotron, design of FFAG muon ring for neutrino cross section measurements. Development of beam delivered to MICE at RAL. Organisation of Proton Accelerators for Science and Innovation workshops. |
Collaborator Contribution | Provision of infrastructure and expertise in the above. Collaboration in organisation of the Proton Accelerator for Science and Innovation workshops. |
Impact | Joint proposals for research work. Joint publications, listed elsewhere. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London |
Organisation | Imperial College London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | MICE beam line, dipping target and beam line, tracker and MICE Step I data analysis |
Organisation | International MICE Collaboration |
Country | Global |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Construction of, and control systems for the MICE target, construction of the MICE Muon Beam. Construction, commissioning with cosmics, of the MICE tracker. Analysis of data from the MICE experiment and preparation for publication. |
Collaborator Contribution | Contributions to the MICE dipping target, the decay solenoid and conventional magnet systems. Readout for the tracker and contributions to the commissioning. Development of algorithms for the analysis of MICE data and publication. |
Impact | Publications in refereed journals (2); many talks at international conferences. |
Description | Hands-on schools engagement programme at Neutrino 2016 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | School pupils were invited to activities at the Wohl Reachout Lab at Imperial for carious hands-on activities on astro-physics and particle physics. The event was organised in conjunction with the 2016 Neutrino conference in South Kensington. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | MICE mural, competition for schools |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Schools across the UK were contacted by Imperial Schools Liaison and the IoP Schools Liaison to invite entries for a mural to be painted on the MICE shielding wall. The schools were invited to events at RAL to promote the competition. Prizes for the winners were presented by Brian Cox and Art McDonald (Nobel Laureate) at the public lecture at the Neutrino 2016 conference in London. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Public Lecture at Neutrino 2016 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Brian Cox presented the public lecture to a packed audience (750, the maximum the Hall could accommodate) at the Neutrino 2016 conference in South Kensington in Jun2016. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Public engagement at the time of the publication of the seminal MICE demonstration of ionisation cooling in Nature |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Working with CERN, Fermilab, the STFC and others a press release was prepared to mark the publication of the seminal demonstration of ionisation cooling in Nature. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://micewww.pp.rl.ac.uk/projects/mice/wiki/For_the_public |