Measurements of quadrupole frequency shift in the SPS at 26 GeV/c

Measurements of the quadrupole frequency shift with intensity at 26 GeV/c using the peak detected signal were performed in the SPS from 1999 to monitor the evolution of the low-frequency longitudinal impedance [1]. While the large changes, first, due to the impedance reduction and then due to the re-installation of the MKE kickers,are easy to see, to observe small variations of impedance (as shielding or removal of a few kickers) much higher accuracy of measurements is required. This was difficult to achieve so far, mainly due to the insufficient reproducibility of the longitudinal parameters of the injected beam for different intensities as well as for different MDs. In this Note the important role of longitudinal emittance in addition to the bunch length is also revealed.