Frequency modulated capture of cooled coasting ion beams

Transverse space charge effects in the Low Energy Ion Ring (LEIR) at CERN have been shown to be a major source of particle losses, which can be mitigated with a larger RMS longitudinal emittance. However, due to electron cooling during the injection plateau, the longitudinal density is very high prior to RF capture. In addition there is an uncontrolled cycle to cycle variation in the revolution frequency of the coasting beam on the flat bottom, which degrades the beam quality at capture. In this paper we show that applying an RF frequency modulation during the capture process allows both a controlled blow-up of the longitudinal emittance and a very good reproducibility in the longitudinal distribution, which in turn improves beam transmission through the machine.