Magnetization in superconducting corrector magnets and impact on luminosity-calibration scans in the Large Hadron Collider

Superconducting accelerator magnets have a nonlinear dependence of field on current due to the magnetization associated to the iron or to persistent currents in the superconducting filaments. This also gives rise to hysteresis phenomena that create a dependence of the field on the powering history. Magnetization effects are of particular importance for luminosity-calibration scans in the Large Hadron Collider, during which a small number of Nb–Ti superconducting orbit correctors are excited at low field and with frequent flipping of the sign of the current ramp. This paper focuses on the analysis of special measurements carried out to estimate these nonlinear effects under the special cycling conditions used in this luminosity scans. For standard powering cycles, we evaluate the effect of the main magnetization loop; for complex operational schemes, magnetization-branch transitions occur that depend on the details of the current cycle. The modelling of these effects is not included in the magnetic-field prediction software currently implemented in the LHC control system; here we present an approach to predict the transitions between the main magnetization branches. The final aim is to estimate the impact of magnetic hysteresis on the accuracy of luminosity-calibration scans.