EuCARD wrap-up and beyond
Some key project figures. Image credit: EuCARD.
The EuCARD project was launched to join forces to improve the performance of European accelerator infrastructures. After 4 years of running, the project lived up to the expectations and achieved most of its ambitious goals. The work in EuCARD has been organized around scientific networks, transnational activities and joint research activities.
The Accelerating News newsletter, the series of scientific monographs on accelerator sciences and the roadmaps towards novel frontier accelerators are just a few examples of the outcomes of networking activities under the umbrella of the project. During the lifetime of the project, an out-of-contract networking activity has been successfully launched on laser plasma acceleration, contributing and supporting the AWAKE collaboration, which has gained relevant momentum since then. Two test facilities were open in EuCARD to transnational access: HiRadMat@SPS and MICE@STFC. The EC funding of these TA was mostly dedicated to the support of the new users’ visits and research in the facilities.
The joint research activities had the lion’s share in EuCARD. The highlights of these activities include: development of an innovative Nb3Sn magnet with a high-temperature superconducting YBCO insert for the first time in Europe; a smart collimator and cryocatcher, two-beam acceleration RF technologies, the active mechanical stabilization of magnets to a fraction of nanometer, ultra-precise beam monitoring, 20 fs scale synchronization and novel high gradient RF cavities for proton linacs, etc.
As EuCARD finished on 31st July, EuCARD-2 will build upon the success of EuCARD and push it into an even more innovative regime.
