NICA cooling program
Grigory Trubnikov, Anatoly Sidorin, Nikolay Shurkhno
Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility (NICA) is the new experimental heavy-ion complex being constructed at Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna. Main purpose of the project is to provide experiment on colliding heavy ion beams (Au) for study of manifestation of hot and dense strongly interacting baryonic matter [theor.jinr.ru]. The construction of the accelerator complex is actively performed: production of elements of new 3.2 MeV/u heavy-ion linear accelerator (HILac) is now under completion, production of Booster synchrotron elements has been started. The New Test Facility for assembly and cold testing of superconducting magnets for NICA Booster, collider and SIS100 synchrotron (FAIR, Darmstadt) started to assemble and perform magnetic measurements of the first of series magnets [Trubnikov et al., 2014].
Beam cooling systems are suggested for application at NICA. The Booster equipped with 35 keV electron cooling system is intended for the storage of 197Au31+ ions to an intensity of about 4 *10^9 particles and the formation of the necessary beam emittance using the electron cooling system. Two beam cooling systems: stochastic and electron, are supposed to be used in the collider. Parameters of cooling systems, proposed scenario of collider operation, their design intended to achieve required average luminosity of the order of 10^27 cm^{-2} s1 at high energies are presented. Recent experimental results in stochastic cooling experiments achieved at Nuclotron which are of great practical interest for NICA collider operation are presented here and discussed.
CYBERNETICS AND PHYSICS, Vol. 3, No. 3. 2014, 137-146.