Considerations on the Effect of Magnet Yoke Dilution on Remanent Field at ELENA

The Extra Low Energy Antiproton ring (ELENA) is a small synchrotron constructed at CERN to decelerate antiprotons down to 100 keV and, thus, operated at very low magnetic fields. The CERN magnet group has carried out extensive investigations on accelerator magnets for very low fields, comprising theoretical studies and the construction of several prototype magnets, to ensure that the required field quality can be reached at these very low fields. In the course of this work, experimental investigations [1] led to the initially unexpected observation that dilution of the yoke, i.e. alternating laminations made of electric steel with thicker non-magnetic stainless steel laminations, increases the remnant field. An explanation for this behaviour has already been anticipated in a previous paper [2]. Here, we treat this specific topic in analytical detail. We come to the conclusion that magnet yoke thinning in most practical situations does not improve the field quality at very low field levels, but rather enhances the impact from hysteresis and remanence effects.