Isochronicity correction in the CR storage ring

A challenge for nuclear physics is to measure masses of exotic nuclei up to the limits of nuclear existence which are characterized by low production cross-sections and short half-lives. The large acceptance Collector Ring (CR) [1] at FAIR [2] tuned in the isochronous ion-optical mode offers unique possibilities for measuring short-lived and very exotic nuclides. However, in a ring designed for maximal acceptance, many factors limit the resolution. One point is a limit in time resolution inversely proportional to the transverse emittance. But most of the time aberrations can be corrected and others become small for large number of turns. We show the relations of the time correction to the corresponding transverse focusing and that the main correction for large emittance corresponds directly to the chromaticity correction for transverse focusing of the beam. With the help of Monte-Carlo simulations for the full acceptance we demonstrate how to correct the revolution times so that in principle resolutions of Delta m/m = 10(-6) can be achieved. In these calculations the influence of magnet inhomogeneities and extended fringe fields are considered and a calibration scheme also for ions with different mass-to-charge ratio is presented. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.