Final Technical Report on STTR Project DE-FG02-04ER86191 Hydrogen Cryostat for Muon Beam Cooling

The project was to develop cryostat designs that could be used for muon beam cooling channels where hydrogen would circulate through refrigerators and the beam-cooling channel to simultaneously refrigerate 1) high-temperature-superconductor (HTS) magnet coils, 2) cold copper RF cavities, and 3) the hydrogen that is heated by the muon beam. In an application where a large amount of hydrogen is naturally present because it is the optimum ionization cooling material, it was reasonable to explore its use with HTS magnets and cold, but not superconducting, RF cavities. In this project we developed computer programs for simulations and analysis and conducted experimental programs to examine the parameters and technological limitations of the materials and designs of Helical Cooling Channel (HCC) components (magnet conductor, RF cavities, absorber windows, heat transport, energy absorber, and refrigerant).The project showed that although a hydrogen cryostat is not the optimum solution for muon ionization cooling channels, the studies of the cooling channel components that define the cryostat requirements led to fundamental advances. In particular, two new lines of promising development were opened up, regarding very high field HTS magnets and the HS concept, that have led to new proposals and funded projects