A feasibility study of a neutrino source based on a muon storage ring

We present the results of a study commissioned by the Fermilab Director on the feasibility of an intense neutrino source, based on a muon storage ring . Muon colliders have been discussed as an alternate route to very high-ene rgy lepton colliders. As a by-product, such a collider would produce very i ntense neutrino beams because of the decaying muons circulating in the stor age ring. In a dedicated storage ring, these neutrino beams could be produc ed in long straight sections which would point towards long, medium or shor t baseline detectors, opening up a whole new class of neutrino physics expe riments because of the enormous neutrino flux that, in principle, could be achieved in such a facility as compared to more standard fixed target sourc es. Intense pion sources in combination with powerful emittance cooling str ategies for the comparatively large muon emittance are necessary to make th is type of neutrino source as well as a muon collider, feasible for a possi ble future high energy physics facility. The Neutrino Factory and Muon Coll ider collaboration studies the different subsystems being required and pres ently focuses on the layout of a neutrino source based on a 50 GeV Muon Sto rage Ring. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.