Instability studies at the CERN proton synchrotron during transition crossing

The CERN Proton Synchrotron (PS) routinely crosses transition energy at around 6 GeV in order to accelerate protons that are injected in the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) or transferred to users of fixed target experiments. Depending on the beam parameters and intensity, a fast vertical coherent instability occurs during transition crossing. The instability, characterized by beam losses and a frequency spectrum in the range of 500-900 MHz, represents an important intensity limitation for the neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) beam, and in general could represent a bottleneck for future high intensity beams. In order to better understand the nature and the source of the instability and to find possible mitigations, a dedicated measurement campaign took place. Parallel to the measurements, beam dynamics simulations have been performed to study the observed instability. In particular, single bunch effects have been simulated using the PS transverse beam coupling impedance model developed over recent years. In this paper we present the measurements results along with the obtained instability thresholds. Different beam configurations and stabilizing effects, such as the gamma jump scheme and the octupole-induced tune spread, are also considered. The measurements results are compared with simulations.