PHENIX magnet system

Abstract The PHENIX magnet system is composed of three spectrometer magnets with warm iron yokes and water-cooled copper coils. The Central Magnet (CM) is energized by two pairs of concentric coils and provides a field around the interaction vertex that is parallel to the beam. This allows momentum analysis of charged particles in the polar angle range from 70° to 110°. The north and south Muon Magnets (MMN and MMS) use solenoid coils to produce a radial magnetic field for muon analysis. They each cover a pseudorapidity interval of 1.1–2.3 and full azimuth. The coils are wound on cylindrical surfaces at the end of large tapered pistons. Each of the three magnets provides a field integral of about 0.8 T -m. The physical and operating parameters of the magnets and their coils are given along with a description of the magnetic fields generated. The geometric, thermal and magnetic analysis leading to the coil design is discussed. The magnetic volumes of the PHENIX magnets are very large and complex, so a new technique was developed to map the fields based on surface measurements of a single field component using single axis Hall probes mounted on a rotating frame. A discussion of the performance of the CM during the first year of PHENIX running is given.