Proceedings of the 2017 course on vacuum for particle accelerators

The school held in Glumslov is the third CERN Accelerator School (CAS) dedicated to vacuum, after those in Platja de Aro (ES, 2006) and Snekersten (DK, 1999); its main aim was to provide new generation of ex-perts with a detailed update on ‘Vacuum for Particle Accelerators’ with focus on materials and methods. Even though the content of the three schools is comparable, the last had a completely new format. It was longer, ten days instead of a week, and integrated practical works on five essential subjects for vacuum technology: Monte-Carlo simulation, impedance calculation, vacuum mechanics, leak detection, and residual gas analysis. The students were divided in five groups; each group participated in all practical training; and a final assessment was presented on the last days of the event by each group. The maximum number of participants was limited to 74 students by the available infrastructure; unfortunately, several requests of enrolment could not be accepted. Six grants were kindly offered by industrial sponsors and, among them, four for students of CERN non-Members States. Thirty-six lecturers and practical-work assistants conveyed their enthusiasm and state-of-the-art experience in vacuum technology and its impact on acceleration operation. The quality of the teaching and practical work is the result of the wise advice that the International Programme Committee had been given during the year-long preparation. The hands-on training needed the transport of several vacuum set-ups, com- puters, and instrumentation from Geneva to Glumslöv; a fully charged lorry was necessary. However, a small detail was forgotten: the hotel was not equipped with a forklift. It was only thanks to the remarkable local organizing committee, in particular Carolina Ingvander and Karolin Lundberg, and their persuasive action that we could unload the lorry with the help of a local farmer armed with a tractor normally used for hay-ball transport. Among the visits in the local area, the most remarkable was the one at MAX IV, a brand-new synchrotron radiation facility that adopted innovative solutions for the vacuum system of the 3-GeV storage ring. Eshraq Al Dmour, Marek Grabski and Pedro Fernandes Tavares guided the students along the impressive accelerator, one of the most ambitious European scientific infrastructures. The organisation of the school was flawless thanks to the experienced support of Roger Bailey, Werner Herr and Barbara Strasser, the missed “last CAS dinosaur” as she referred to herself. We welcomed the presence of Delphine Rivoiron for her first of a long series CAS. The Baltic See and its rapidly changing colours, the gentle hills of the Skåne County, and professionalism of many people, including the farmer, contributed to the success of this school. Finally, at the end, everybody agreed that we could not wait again 11 years to share our passion for vacuum technology at CAS.