Status of MICE, the International Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment

The muon ionization cooling experiment (MICE) is a strategic R&D project

intending to demonstrate the only practical solution to prepare high

brilliance beams necessary for a neutrino factory or muon colliders.

MICE is under development at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (UK).

It comprises a dedicated beam line to generate a range of input emittance

and momentum, with time-of-flight and Cherenkov detectors to ensure a

pure muon beam. The emittance of the incoming beam is measured in the

upstream magnetic spectrometer with a sci-fiber tracker. A cooling cell

will then follow, alternating energy loss in Li-H absorbers and RF

acceleration. A second spectrometer identical to the first and a second

muon identification system measure the outgoing emittance.

In the 2010-11 run the beam and most detectors have been fully commissioned

and a first measurement of the emittance of a beam with particle physics

(time-of-flight) detectors has been performed. The analysis of these

data is now completed. The next steps of more precise

measurements, of emittance and emittance reduction (cooling), that are

to follow in 2012 and later, will also be outlined.