Benchmarks of Energy Deposition Studies for Heavy-Ion Collimation Losses at the LHC

During some periods in its second physics run (2015-2018), the LHC has been operated with 208Pb⁸²⁺ ion beams at an energy of 6.37 ZTeV. The LHC is equipped with a betatron collimation system, which intercepts the transverse beam halo and protects sensitive equipment such as superconducting magnets against beam losses. However, hadronic fragmentation and electromagnetic dissociation of heavy ions in collimators generate off-rigidity particles, which can be lost in the downstream dispersion suppressor, putting the magnets at risk to quench. An accurate modelling of the beam-induced energy deposition in the collimation system and superconducting magnets is important for quantifying possible performance limitations arising from magnet quenches. In this paper, we compare FLUKA shower simulations against beam loss monitor measurements recorded during the 2018 208Pb⁸²⁺ run. In particular, we investigate fast beam loss events, which lead to recurring beam aborts in 2018 operation. Based on these studies, we assess the ability of the simulation model to reproduce the observed loss patterns in the collimation region and dispersion suppressor.