Progress of MICE, the International Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment

Ionization Cooling is the only practical solution to preparing high

brilliance muon beams for a neutrino factory or muon collider. The

muon ionization cooling experiment (MICE) is under development at the

Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (UK) by an international collaboration.

The muon beam line has been commissioned and, for the first time,

measurements of beam emittance with particle physics detectors have

been performed.

The remaining apparatus is currently under construction. First results

with a liquid-hydrogen absorber will be produced in 2013; a couple

of years later a full cell of a representative ionization cooling

channel, including RF re-acceleration, will be in operation. The design

offers opportunities to observe cooling with various absorbers and

several optics configurations. Results will be compared with detailed

simulations of cooling channel performance to ensure full understanding

of the cooling process.