Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Field Regulation at CERN, Poster 6

Last summer I interned at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, in Geneva, Switzerland. This physics research institution is home to the Large Hadron Collider, the largest particle collider in the world. During... [ view full abstract ]

Last summer I interned at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, in Geneva, Switzerland. This physics research institution is home to the Large Hadron Collider, the largest particle collider in the world. During my time at CERN, I conducted an investigation with another intern on magnetic field regulation with the end goal of improving magnetic field stability of magnets used in the particle accelerators and colliders. Field stability is extremely important within the accelerators to minimize uncertainty in the particle beams’ positions. The most prevalent method to regulate magnetic fields within magnets at CERN involves a negative feedback loop that stabilizes the electric current fed into the coils of the electromagnets. We conducted an experiment that used the actual magnetic field as an input to the feedback loop instead of the electric current. By using this more direct measurement of the field, we hypothesized that the negative feedback loop responsible for field stability would be improved. To do this, we installed a nuclear magnetic resonance teslameter, the most precise measurement method of magnetic field strength, inside of a test magnet. By converting the field strength measurements to corresponding electric current values for use with CERN’s existing regulation algorithms, we were able to show that the magnetic field is more stable using our new method of regulation. These results may be used in future experiments run at CERN that require improved magnetic field regulation for faster performance.