Fermilab R&D program in medium energy electron cooling

Fermilab began an R&D program in medium energy electron cooling in April 1995 with the object of cooling 8 GeV antiprotons in a new 3.3 km permanent magnet storage ring (Recycler) to be built in the same tunnel as the Main Injector (MI). The MI is to be completed in 1998, and it is planned to install the Recycler by the end of 1997 to reduce interference during the final rush of MI installation. Although the Recycler will employ stochastic cooling initially, its potential for contributing and order of magnitude to Tevatron collider luminosity is tied to electron cooling. The short time scale and Fermilabʹs limited familiarity with low energy electron beams has given rise to a two-phase development plan. The first phase is to build a cooling system based on an electron beam of ≥200 mA before the year 2000. The second phase of about three years is planned to reach an electron current of 2 A or more. This report describes the general scheme for high luminosity collider operation as well as the R&D plan and progress to date.