Improving the Fermilab Booster Notching Efficiency, Beam Losses and Radiation Levels

A fast vertical 1.08-m long kicker (notcher) located in the Fermilab Booster Long-05 straight section is currently used to remove 3 out of 84 circulating bunches after injection to generate an abort gap. With the maximum magnetic field of 72.5 Gauss, it removes only 87% of the 3-bunch intensity at 400 MeV, with 75% loss on pole tips of the focusing Booster magnets, 11% on the Long-06 collimators, and 1% in the rest of the ring. We propose to improve the notching efficiency and reduce beam loss in the Booster by using three horizontal kickers in the Long-12 section. STRUCT calculations show that using horizontal notchers, one can remove up to 96% of the 3-bunch intensity at 400-700 MeV, directing 95% of it to a new beam dump at the Long-13 section. This fully decouples notching and collimation. The beam dump absorbs most of the impinging proton energy in its jaws. The latter are encapsulated into an appropriate radiation shielding that reduces impact on the machine components, personnel and environment to the tolerable levels. MARS simulations show that corresponding prompt and residual radiation levels can be reduced ten times compared to the current ones.