Emittance growth due to Intra-Beam Scattering significantly reduces the heavy ion luminosity lifetime in RHIC. Stochastic cooling of the stored beam could improve things considerably by counteracting IBS and preventing particles from escaping the rf bucket. High frequency bunched-beam stochastic cooling is especially challenging but observations of Schottky signals in the 4-8 GHz band indicate that conditions are favorable in RHIC. We report here on measurements of the longitudinal beam transfer function carried out with a pickup/kicker pair on loan from FNAL TEVATRON. Results imply that for ions a coasting beam description is applicable and we outline some general features of a viable momentum cooling system for RHIC.

During Run-8, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) provided collisions of spin-polarized proton beams at two interaction regions. Physics data were taken with vertical orientation of the beam polarization, which in the "Yellow" RHIC ring was significantly lower than in previous years. We present recent developments and improvements as well as the luminosity and polarization performance achieved during Run-8, and we discuss possible causes of the not as high as previously achieved polarization performance of the "Yellow" ring.

This year (2008) deuterons and gold ions were collided in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) for the first time since 2003. The setup and performance of the collider for the 2008 run is reviewed with a focus on improvements that have led to an order of magnitude increase in luminosity over that achieved in the 2003 run.

Intra-beam scattering (IBS) is the limiting factor of the luminosity lifetime for Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) operation with heavy ions. Over the last few years the process of IBS was carefully studied in RHIC with dedicated IBS measurements and their comparison with the theoretical models. A new lattice was recently designed and implemented in RHIC to suppress transverse IBS growth, which lowered the average arc dispersion by about 20% [1]. This lattice became operational during RHIC Run-8. We review the IBS suppression mechanism, IBS measurements before and after the lattice change, and comparisons with predictions.

An intra-beam scattering (IBS) is the limiting factor of the luminosity lifetime for RHIC operating with heavy ions. In order to suppress the IBS we designed and implemented new lattice with higher betatron tunes. This lattice had been developed during last three years and had been used for gold ions in yellow ring of the RHIC during d-Au part of the RHIC Run-8. The use of this lattice allowed both significant increases in the luminosity lifetime and the luminosity levels via reduction of beta-stars in the IPS. In this paper we report on the development, the tests and the performance of IBS-suppression lattice in RHIC, including the resulting increases in the peak and the average luminosity. We also report on our plans for future steps with the IBS suppression.

h a b e a m scattering (IBS) is the limiting factor of the luminosity lifetime for Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) operation with heavy ions. Over the last few years the process of IBS was carefblly studied in RHIC with dedicated IBS measurements and their comparison with the theoretical models. A new lattice was recently designed and implemented in RHIC to suppress transverse IBS growth, which lowered the average arc dispersion by about 20% [l]. This lattice became operational during RHIC Run-8. We review the IBS suppression mechanism, IBS measurements before and after the lattice change, and comparisons with predictions.

This year (2008) deuterons and gold ions were col- lided in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) for the first time since 2003. The setup and performance of the collider for the 2008 run is reviewed with a focus on improvements that have led to an order of magnitude increase in luminosity over that achieved in the 2003 run.

Collider Accelerator Department at BNL is in the final stages of developing the 20-MeV R and D energy recovery linac with super-conducting 2.5 MeV RF gun and single-mode super-conducting 5-cell RF linac. This unique facility aims to address many outstanding questions relevant for high current (up to 0.5 A of average current), high brightness energy-recovery linacs with novel ZigZag-type merger. Recent development in the R and D ERL plans include gun and 5-cell cavity (G5) test and possibility of using R and D ERL for proof-of-principle test of Coherent Electron Cooling at RHIC.

Tune feedback was first implemented in RHIC in 2002, as a specialist activity. The transition of the tune feedback system to full operational status was impeded by dynamic range problems, as well as by overall loop instabilities driven by large coupling. The dynamic range problem was solved by the CERN development of the Direct Diode Detection Analog Front End [1]. Continuous measurement of all projections of the betatron eigenmodes made possible the world's first implementation of coupling feedback during beam acceleration [2,3], resolving the problem of overall loop instabilites. Simultaneous tune and coupling feedbacks were utilized as specialist activities for ramp development during the 2006 RHIC run. At the beginning of the 2007 RHIC run there remained two obstacles to making these feedbacks fully operational in RHIC - chromaticity measurement and control, and the presence of strong harmonics of the power line frequency in the betatron spectrum [4]. We report on progress in tune, coupling, and chromaticity measurement and feedback, and discuss the relevance of our results to LHC commissioning.

The RHIC polarized proton run (Run-6) in 2006 started on February 1 and continued for 21 weeks. The Run-6 included the machine operation at different beam energies and with different orientation of beam polarization at the collision points. The machine operation at 100GeV and 31.2 GeV provided physics data of polarized proton collisions to the STAR, PHENIX and BRAHMS experiments. Record levels of the luminosity (up to 3.5 10(31) cm(-2) s(-1) peak) and proton beam polarization (up to 65%) were achieved during the 100GeV operation. The beam polarization was preserved during the acceleration by using Siberian Snakes, based on helical magnets. The polarization orientation at STAR and PHENIX experiments was controlled with helical spin rotators. During different stages of the run the physics data were provided with longitudinal, vertical and horizontal orientations of the beam polarization at the collision points. Total luminosity integrals of 45 pb(-1) at 100 GeV and 0.35 pb(-1) at 31.2 GeV were delivered to the experiments.

After the last successful RHIC Au-Au run in 2004 (Run-4), RHIC experiments now require significantly enhanced luminosity to study very rare events in heavy ion collisions. RHIC has demonstrated its capability to operate routinely above its design average luminosity per store of 2times1026 cm-2 s-1. In Run-4 we already achieved 2.5 times the design luminosity in RHIC. This luminosity was achieved with only 40% of the total possible number of bunches filled, and with beta* = 1 m. However, the goal is to reach 4 times the design luminosity, an average of 8times1026 cm-2 s-1, by reducing the beta* value and increasing the number of bunches to the accelerator maximum of 111. In addition, the average time at store was expected to be increased by a factor of 1.1 to about 60% of calendar time. We present an overview of the changes that increased the instantaneous luminosity, luminosity lifetime and integrated luminosity of RHIC Au-Au operations during Run-7 even though the goal of 60% time at store could not be reached.

The relativistic heavy ion collider (RHIC) as the first high energy polarized proton collider was designed to provide polarized proton collisions at a maximum beam energy of 250 GeV. It has been providing collisions at a beam energy of 100 GeV since 2001. Equipped with two full Siberian snakes in each ring, polarization is preserved during the acceleration from injection to 100 GeV with careful control of the betatron tunes and the vertical orbit distortions. However, the intrinsic spin resonances beyond 100 GeV are about a factor of two stronger than those below 100 GeV making it important to examine the impact of these strong intrinsic spin resonances on polarization survival and the tolerance for vertical orbit distortions. Polarized protons were accelerated to the record energy of 250 GeV in RHIC with a polarization of 46% measured at top energy in 2006. The polarization measurement as a function of beam energy also shows some polarization loss around 136 GeV, the first strong intrinsic resonance above 100 GeV. This paper presents the results and discusses the sensitivity of the polarization survival to orbit distortions.

The physics interest in a luminosity upgrade of RHIC requires the development of a cooling-frontier facility. Detailed calculations were made of electron cooling of the stored RHIC beams. This has been followed by beam dynamics simulations to establish the feasibility of creating the necessary electron beam. The electron beam accelerator will be a superconducting Energy Recovery Linac (ERL). An intensive experimental R&D program engages the various elements of the accelerator, as described by 24 contributions to the 2007 PAC.

THis article presents a beam-based method to check RHIC arc sextupole polarities using local horizontal orbit three-bumps at injection energy. We use 11 bumps in each arc, each covering two SFs (focusing sextupoles) and one SD (defocusing sextupole). If there are no wrong sextupole polarities, the tune shifts from bump to bump and the tune shift patterns from arc to arc should be similar. Wrong sextupole polarities can be easily identified from mismatched signs or amplitudes of tune shifts from bump to bump and/or from arc to arc. Tune shifts in both planes during this study were tracked with a high-resolution base-band tunemeter (BBQ) system. This method was successfully used to the sextupole polarity check in RHIC blue and yellow rings in the RHIC 2006 and 2007 runs.

The ERL Prototype project is currently under development at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. The ERL is expected to demonstrate energy recovery of high- intensity beams with a current of up to a few hundred milliamps, while preserving the emittance of bunches with a charge of a few nanocoulombs produced by a high- current SRF gun. To successfully accomplish this task the machine will include beam diagnostics that will be used for accurate characterization of the three dimensional beam phase space at the injection and recirculation energies, transverse and longitudinal beam matching, orbit alignment, beam current measurement, and machine protection. This paper outlines requirements on the ERL diagnostics and describes its setup and modes of operation.

The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) is designed to provide collisions of high energy polarized protons for the quest of understanding the proton spin structure. Polarized proton collisions at a beam energy of 100 GeV have been achieved in RHIC since 2001. Recently, polarized proton beam was accelerated to 250 GeV in RHIC for the first time. Unlike accelerating unpolarized protons, the challenge for achieving high energy polarized protons is to fight the various mechanisms in an accelerator that can lead to partial or total polarization loss due to the interaction of the spin vector with the magnetic fields. We report on the progress of the RHIC polarized proton program. We also present the strategies of how to preserve the polarization through the entire acceleration chain, i.e. a 200 MeV linear accelerator, the Booster, the AGS and RHIC.