The Basics
One of two electrostatic pre-accs accelerates H- ions to
750 keV.
The linac accelerates these ions to 400 MeV
The ions are injected over several (up to 12) turns into
the booster, and passed through a foil
to strip off the electrons.
The booster accelerates the protons from 400 MeV to 8
GeV.
The booster lattice is in an offset 15 Hz (line/4)
resonant circuit. This sets an overall
quantum of time for the whole accelerator (tick,
click, clink).
Instantaneous 15 Hz rep rate routinely achieved.
Average rep rate limited by
Power dissipation of ramped elements
Above ground radiation (safety issues)
Below ground radiation (activation issues)
Some numbers:
Historical high*: 3E12 ppp @2.5 Hz (3E16
pph)
Run II needs: 5E12 ppp @.7 Hz (1.3E16
pph)
BooNE+Run II: 5E12 ppp @5.7 Hz (1E17
pph)
NuMI + Run II: 5E12 ppp @3.2 Hz (6E16 pph)
*MR fixed target, back when life was cheap
Factor 8!
