https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-3899-x
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
Relaxation of axially confined 400 GeV/c protons to planar channeling in a bent crystal
1
Dipartimento di Fisica, INFN Sezione di Ferrara, Università di Ferrara, Via Saragat 1, 44122, Ferrara, Italy
2
Akhiezer Institute for Theoretical Physics, National Science Center “Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology”, Akademicheskaya Str., 1, Kharkov, 61108, Ukraine
3
V.N. Karazin Kharkov National University, Svobody Sq. 4, Kharkov, 61022, Ukraine
4
Università dell’Insubria, via Valleggio 11, 22100, Como, Italy
5
INFN Sezione di Milano Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 3, 20126, Milan, Italy
6
INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Viale dell’Università 2, 35020, Legnaro, Italy
7
Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131, Padua, Italy
8
INFN Sezione di Trieste, Via Valerio 2, 34127, Trieste, Italy
9
Research Institute for Nuclear Problems, Belarusian State University, Bobruiskaya street, 11, 220030, Minsk, Belarus
* e-mail: mazzolari@fe.infn.it
Received:
11
November
2015
Accepted:
14
January
2016
Published online:
16
February
2016
An investigation on the mechanism of relaxation of axially confined 400 GeV/c protons to planar channeling in a bent crystal was carried out at the extracted line H8 from CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. The experimental results were critically compared to computer simulations, showing a good agreement. We identified a necessary condition for the exploitation of axial confinement or its relaxation for particle beam manipulation in high-energy accelerators. We introduce the idea of using a short bent crystal, aligned with one of its main axis to the beam direction, as a beam steerer or a beam splitter with adjustable intensity in the field of particle accelerators. In particular, in the latter case, a complete relaxation from axial confinement to planar channeling takes place, resulting in beam splitting into the two strongest skew planar channels.
© The Author(s), 2016
