Instrumentation Status of the Low-β Magnet Systems at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

The low-β magnet systems are located in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) insertion regions around the four interaction points. They are the key elements in the beams focusing/defocusing process allowing proton collisions at luminosity up to 1034cm-2s-1. Those systems are a contribution of the US-LHC Accelerator project. The systems are mainly composed of the quadrupole magnets (triplets), the separation dipoles and their respective electrical feed-boxes (DFBX). The low-β magnet systems operate in an environment of extreme radiation, high gradient magnetic field and high heat load to the cryogenic system due to the beam dynamic effect. Due to the severe environment, the robustness of the diagnostics is primordial for the operation of the triplets. The hardware commissioning phase of the LHC was completed in February 2010. In the sake of a safer and more user-friendly operation, several consolidations and instrumentation modifications were implemented during this commissioning phase. This paper presents the instrumentation used to optimize the engineering process and operation of the final focusing/defocusing quadrupole magnets for the first years of operation.