Study of a Final Cooling Scheme for a Muon Collider Utilizing High-Field Solenoids

Within the accelerator physics community, there is much interest in the possible development of a future Muon Collider machine. Such a facility would have distinct advantages: due to the high mass of the colliding point-like particles ¿ the muons in the beam ¿ bending of the beam could be achieved without excess energy losses from synchrotron radiation. This feature would permit the beams to be recirculated, which in turn would enable the re-use of the RF and magnetic elements, thereby allowing a smaller machine foot print and lower civil engineering costs. A key challenge to the realization of a Muon Collider is the production of intense muon beams with small transverse emittances. This project will explore a system for delivering a muon beam with an emittance as low as 25 pi mm-mrad, sufficiently low to permit the operation of a high-luminosity Muon Collider. The approach is to stage the final steps of the cooling process with an array of high-field solenoids, culminating in a solenoid with a magnetic field in the 40-50T range. In Phase I, simulation tools will be used to demonstrate that this cooling system will achieve the desired final beam emittance. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: In addition to the application for a muon collider, the technology should find use in muon radiography for medical and homeland security applications. The use of intense sources of muons in condensed matter studies and in nanotechnology also should have potential commercial application.