Strong spin matching with and without snakes: a scheme for preserving polarization in large ring accelerators

The so-called strong spin matching is proposed as a localized compensation for spin-orbit coupling, producing spin transparency, not only globally for the ring as a whole but locally for each of its many subsections. Distortions of the spin motion will then accumulate to a lesser extent, and polarization will be more stable. The method amounts to looking for a resonant compensation of errors instead of merely avoiding resonant accumulation. It is shown how Siberian snakes can be used to obtain high energies. As an example, the method is applied to the SSC ring, and a preferred snake design is proposed. (author) 33 refs., 7 figs., 5 tabs