PERLE kickoff meeting at Orsay
On 23rd and 24th February 2017 a two day workshop joining a number of laboratories and Universities met at LAL Orsay (Paris) to develop and possibly build a new, high current (15mA), high energy (450MeV), multi(3)turn powerful energy recovery linac for experiments (PERLE).
This innovative machine offers many immediate research opportunities: It can serve as a beam-based test bed for superconducting radiofrequncy technology and other advanced technologies. It also opens up opportunities for a unique physics programme with electron and photon beam-based low energy, high intensity experiments. Finally, it also meets the requirements for studies into the design principles of a potential future electron proton collider.
At the workshop, LAL Orsay declared its readiness to host and operate such a facility, which is layed out as a racetrack ERL configuration fitting to a suitable LAL hall. In a high level meeting between CERN, Daresbury, Jefferson Lab, Orsay and Novosibirsk the next steps were agreed upon in the development of PERLE. Talks were given about the relation to other ERL machines, between PERLE and the LHeC, as welll as on the PERLE footprint and the development of its various components, with the first element, a single and then 5-cell 802 MHz cavity, being built at Jlab in Collaboration with CERN.
The meeting was organised and chaired by Professor Max Klein, who also gave the opening talk, in collaboration with LAL Orsay director, Prof Achille Stocchi, Dr Oliver Bruening (CERN) and others. Daresbury Laboratory was represented by its director, Professor Susan Smith, and expert physicist Dr Boris Militsyn who described work on a DC photocathode suitable as the high current source for PERLE.
The PERLE Collaboration is currently about to publish the conceptual design report of the machine. The PERLE development follows recommendations by the LHeC International Advisory Committee and the CERN Directorate.
Further information can be found on the meeting website.