Renovation of CERN Antiproton Production Target Area and Associated Design, Testing and R&D; Activities

In the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) Target Area antiprotons are produced by the collisions of 26 GeV/c proton beam with a fixed target. They are then collected by a 400 kA pulsed magnetic horn, momentum selected and injected into the AD facility. The area has been in operation since the 80s, keeping most of the equipment dating back to this period. A major upgrade is foreseen during the CERN's Long Shutdown 2 to guarantee the next decades of antiproton physics. Among other R&D; activities, three main systems are within the scope of this upgrade; (i) a new antiproton target design, pressurized-air-cooled and with a new core configuration based on the results from the HiRadMat27 experiment. (ii) Manufacturing of a set of new magnetic horns and testing them using a dedicated test bench replicating the real horn setup. (iii) Design of new target and horn's trolleys, which are responsible for their positioning as well as providing an efficient long term maintenance giving the high radioactivity of the area. This paper presents an overview of these and other critical activities associated to the renovation of the target area, including status and direction of the new proposed designs.