IDR muon capture front end and variations

The (International Design Report) IDR neutrino factory scenario for capture, bunching, phase-energy rotation and initial cooling of μ's produced from a proton source target is explored. It requires a drift section from the target, a bunching section and a φ-(delta)E rotation section leading into the cooling channel. The rf frequency changes along the bunching and rotation transport in order to form the μ's into a train of equal-energy bunches suitable for cooling and acceleration. Optimization and variations are discussed. An important concern is rf limitations within the focusing magnetic fields; mitigation procedures are described. The method can be extended to provide muons for a μ+-μ- Collider; variations toward optimizing that extension are discussed.