Low Gradient, Large Aperture IR Upgrade Options for the LHC compatible with Nb-Ti Magnet Technology

The paper presents three different layout and optics solutions for the upgrade of LHC insertions using Nb-Ti superconducting quadrupoles. Each solution is the outcome of different driving design criteria: a) a compact triplet using low gradient quadrupoles; b) a triplet using low gradient quadrupoles of modular design, and c) a layout minimizing the B-max while using modular magnets. The paper discusses the different strategies and design criteria for the three solutions. It also discusses their relative advantages and disadvantages and identifies outstanding studies that need to be addressed in order to develop the solutions further. All cases assume that the first quadrupole magnet requires a smaller minimum aperture and therefore, can feature a slightly larger gradient than the remaining final focus quadrupole magnets.