FFAG ACCELERATOR AS A NEW INJECTOR FOR THE BNL-AGS

It has been proposed recently to upgrade the Alternating-Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) to an average proton beam power of one MWatt at the top energy of 28 GeV. This is to be accomplished primarily by raising the AGS repetition rate from the present ∼ 1/3 to 2.5 pulses per second, and by a relatively modest increase of beam intensity from the present 0.7 to about 1.0 x 1014 protons per cycle. The present injector, the 1.5 GeV Booster, has a circumference a quarter of that of the AGS, and four successive beam pulses are required for a complete fill of the AGS. The filling time at injection is thus at least 0.5 seconds, and it ought to be eliminated if one desires to shorten the AGS cycle period. Moreover, holding the beam for such a long period of time during injection causes its quality to deteriorate and beam losses. This report is the summary of the results of a feasibility study of a 1.5 GeV Fixed-Field Alternating-Gradient (FFAG) Accelerator as a new possible injection to the AGS