Commissioning of the CMS magnet

CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) is one of the large experiments for the LHC at CERN. The superconducting magnet for CMS has been designed to reach a 4 T field in a free bore of 6 in diameter and 12.5 in length with a stored energy of 2.6 GJ at full current. The flux is returned through a 10 000 t yoke comprising of five wheels and two end caps composed of three disks each. The magnet was designed to be assembled and tested in a surface hall, prior to be lowered at 90 in below ground, to its final position in the experimental cavern. The distinctive feature of the cold mass is the four-layer winding, made from a reinforced and stabilized NbTi conductor. The design and construction was carried out by CMS participating institutes through technical and contractual endeavors. Among them CEA Saclay, INFN Genova, ETH Zurich, Fermilab, ITEP Moscow, University of Wisconsin and CERN. The construction of the CMS Magnet, and of the coil in particular, has been completed last year. The magnet has just been powered to full field achieving electrical commissioning. After a brief reminder of the design and construction the first results of the commissioning are reported in this paper.