Stochastic cooling studies in RHIC

Emittance growth due to Intra-Beam Scattering significantly reduces the heavy ion luminosity lifetime in RHIC. Stochastic cooling of the stored beam could improve things considerably by counteracting IBS and preventing particles from escaping the rf bucket. High frequency bunched-beam stochastic cooling is especially challenging but observations of Schottky signals in the 4-8 GHz band indicate that conditions are favorable in RHIC. We report here on measurements of the longitudinal beam transfer function carried out with a pickup/kicker pair on loan from FNAL TEVATRON. Results imply that for ions a coasting beam description is applicable and we outline some general features of a viable momentum cooling system for RHIC.