Machine Protection and Operation for LHC

Abstract

Since 2010 the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the accelerator with the highest stored energy per beam, with a record of 140 MJ at a beam energy of 4 TeV, almost a factor of 50 higher than other accelerators. With such a high stored energy, machine protection aspects set the boundary conditions for operation during all phases of the machine cycle. Only the low-intensity commissioning beams can be considered as relatively safe. This document discusses the interplay of machine operation and machine protection at the LHC, from commissioning to regular operation.

25 pages, contribution to the 2014 Joint International Accelerator School: Beam Loss and Accelerator Protection, Newport Beach, CA, USA , 5-14 Nov 2014