Beam-based analysis of day-night performance variations at the SLC linac

Diurnal temperature variations in the linac gallery of the Stanford Linear Collider (SLC) can affect the amplitude and phase of the rf used to accelerate the beam. The SLC employs many techniques for stabilization and compensation of these effects, but residual uncorrected changes still affect the quality of the delivered beam. This paper presents methods developed to monitor and investigate these errors through the beam response. Variations resulting from errors in the rf amplitude or phase can be distinguished by studying six different beam observables: betatron phase advance, oscillation amplitude growth, rms jitter along the linac, measurements of the beam phase with respect to the rf, changes in the required injection phase, and the global energy correction factor. By quantifying the beam response, an uncorrected variation of 14 degrees (S-band) during 28 degrees F temperature swings was found in the main rf drive line system between the front and end of the linac.