Feasibility of proton bunch compression in an operational high-power accelerator

A muon collider would require short, intense proton bunches to generate the initial muon beam. Preliminary designs assume the proton bunches are formed by charge-exchange injection from a linear accelerator into an accumulator ring, followed by longitudinal compression in a separate ring. We aim to experimentally study this compression scheme at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), which boasts a world-leading proton bunch intensity. The primary goal of these experiments is to benchmark simulations against turn-by-turn phase space measurements during the compression. Here, we describe the operating parameters of the SNS compared to the muon collider design, the capabilities of the current RF system, and the available beam diagnostics in the SNS accumulator ring. We also present initial simulations and experiments to judge the feasibility of the proposed research.