LHC optics commissioning: A journey towards 1% optics control

Abstract

Since 2015 the LHC has been operating at 6.5 TeV. In 2016 the β-functions at the interaction points of ATLAS and CMS were squeezed to 0.4 m. This is below the design β∗=0.55 m at 7 TeV, and has been instrumental to surpass the design luminosity of 1034 cm-2 s-1. Achieving a lower than nominal β∗ has been possible thanks to the extraordinary performance of the LHC, in which the control of the optics has played a fundamental role. Even though the β-beating for the virgin machine was above 100%, corrections reduced the rms β-beating below 1% at the two main experiments and below 2% rms around the ring. This guarantees a safe operation as well as providing equal amount of luminosity for the two experiments. In this article we describe the recent improvements to the measurement, correction algorithms and technical equipment which allowed this unprecedented control of the optics for a high-energy hadron collider.