Accelerator R&D for Proton Drivers for Future Particle Accelerators

The future Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), which aims to resolve the neutrino mass hierarchy and measure CP violation, relies on a 40 kton liquid argon detector and a neutrino beam delivered from a multi-MW proton driver driving the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF), sited at Fermilab. The existing beamline has achieved 700 kW operation, with a new SRF linac and other upgrades expected to support 1.2 MW of beam power at 120 GeV. Eventual operation at 2 MW or greater is desired. Performance of the existing Linac and Booster is limited by beam loss driven by space charge. An accelerator R&D program has been started in an effort to overcome such limitations, and the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) is under construction with the goal of investigating space charge effects, beam halo formation, particle losses, beam instabilities, etc. The array of planned experiments will be discussed, as well as the current status of construction and commissioning.