Low-intensity beams for LHC commissioning from the CERN PS-Booster

A variety of low-intensity beams will be required for LHC commissioning. In contrast to the nominal LHC physics beam, these single-bunch beams are produced without longitudinal bunch splitting in the injector chain. Consequently, not only the transverse but also the longitudinal beam characteristics have already to be established in the CERN PS-Booster. The required intensities extend down to four orders of magnitude below the typical PS-Booster working range and the transverse emittances must be adjustable to vary the beam brightness over a large range. The different beam variants are briefly summarized and the specific techniques developed for their production, like low-voltage rf capture, and transverse and longitudinal shaving, are described. In particular, the choice of harmonic number and its consequences for operation and beam reproducibility are discussed. Finally, the performance achieved for the different beams is summarized.