FRICTIONAL ACCUMULATION OF NEGATIVE MUONS AND ITS APPLICATION

A novel method is proposed for the efficient conversion of intermediat e energy negative muons into a low-energy muon beam. It is based on us ing an electric field to eject muons from a moderator consisting of a large number of thin carbon foils placed perpendicularly to the axis o f a high-field solenoid. High-energy muons are made to slow down withi n the moderator to an energy where further slowing down is inhibited b y the electric field acceleration between the foils. The muons accumul ate at low energy within the moderator hopping from one foil to the ne xt until they come out as a low-energy muon beam. The resulting phase compression factor exceeds 1000. Efficient initial injection of the mu ons into the moderator is obtained either by letting the muons enter i t in a direction opposite to the acceleration force or by producing th e muons within a magnetic trap containing the moderator. A practical c onfiguration based on the second scheme is presented. By implementing the method into the most intense muon production configurations a new pathway is opened that may ultimately compete with other schemes in th e selection of the optimal source for high-energy muon colliders.