Design of a compact synchrotron for medical applications

An optimal design of a low energy (300 MeV) proton synchrotron for medical applications is addressed. The machine has the following properties: (1) The transition energy is higher than the targets final proton beam energy of 300 MeV; (2) the betatron tunes are chosen such that the machine is free of systematic resonances; (3) the machine can accommodate both slow and fast extraction systems; and (4) the machine can provide rapid cycling operations depending on the rf cavity voltage. Applications of this low energy synchrotron are discussed. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.