Docentship lecture: Magnets for particle accelerators

Chairperson: professor Mattias Klintenberg

Representative of the Docentship Committee: professor Carlos Perez de los Heros

Abstract:

Modern particle accelerators bring beams of charged particles to unimaginably high energies and then use these particle beams for scientific research. The movement of the particles in the accelerator is controlled by powerful electromagnets arranged in specific patterns. The magnetic field required to steer a particle is determined by its momentum: the higher the momentum, the stronger the magnetic field needed to bend the particle trajectory with a given radius of curvature. Future circular particle colliders will need magnets that are 50–100% stronger than those used today in order to reach the desired collision energy. Developing such magnets requires the collaboration of multiple disciplines: accelerator physics for understanding the effect of magnets on the particle beam, electromagnetism and electronics for the design, testing, and operation of the magnets, mechanical engineering for the assembly, cryogenics for cooling, radiation science for protection, materials science for developing suitable materials, and so on.

This lecture will introduce two main classes of accelerator magnets. Two different magnet technologies will be discussed: normal-conducting and superconducting magnets. We will examine what limits the different types. Finally, we will take a look at current research activities aimed at creating magnets with very strong fields for future particle colliders.

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The lecture is an obligatory teaching test for those applying for admittance as docent and it should be possible for students and others with basic academic education in the relevant field to follow it. The lecture lasts 40-45 minutes with subsequent discussion. The lecture will be given in Swedish.

Welcome!