MD on UFOs at MKIs and MKQs

UFOs ("Unidentified Falling Objects") are expected to be one of the major known performance limitation of the LHC. In this MD, the production mechanism and the dynamics of UFOs at the injection kicker magnets (MKIs) and the tune kicker magnets (MKQs) were studied. This was done by pulsing the MKIs and MKQs on a gap in the partly filled machine. During the MD, in total 58 UFO-type beam loss patterns were observed directly after pulsing the MKIs. None were observed after pulsing the MKQs, which provides important input for possible mitigation strategies. The temporal and spatial distribution of the UFO events could be determined by using a dedicated BLM Study Buffer, the implications for the UFO dynamics are discussed.