Beam-beam compensation in Tevatron: status report

The project of beam-beam compensation (BBC) in the Tevatron using electron beams has passed a successful first step in experimental studies. The first Tevatron electron lens (TEL) has been installed in the Tevatron, commissioned, and demonstrated the theoretically predicted shift of betatron frequencies of a high energy proton beam due to a high current low energy electron beam. After the first series of studies in March-April 2001 (total of 7 shifts), we achieved tuneshifts of 980 GeV protons of about dQ=+0.007 with some 3 A of the electron beam current while the proton lifetime was in the range of 10 hours (some 24 hours at the best). Future work will include diagnostics improvement, beam studies with antiprotons, and fabrication of the 2nd TEL.