Slow Extraction Efficiency Measurements at CERN SPS

The high efficiency of most slow extraction systems makes quantifying the exact amount of beam lost in the process extremely challenging. This is compounded by the lack of time structure in the extracted beam, as is typically required by the high-energy physics experiments, and the difficulty in accurately calibrating D.C. intensity monitors in the extraction line at count rates of ~ 10¹³ Hz. As a result, it is common for the extraction inefficiency to be measured by calibrating the beam loss signal induced by the slow extraction process itself. In this paper, measurements of the extraction efficiency performed at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron for the third-integer resonant slow extraction of 400 GeV protons over recent years will be presented and compared to expectation from simulation. The technique employed will be discussed along with its limitations and an outlook towards a future online extraction efficiency monitoring system will be given.