Optimizing the Mu2e Proton Beam Position on the Production Target

Mu2e is a flagship muon experiment, currently under construction at Fermilab. Its muon beam will be generated via a precise collision of 8 GeV protons with a tungsten production target. In order to maximize the number of muons, Mu2e must align the proton beam with the production target to within ±0.5 mm. However, the requirements of the target, and the conditions under which it will operate, make direct instrumentation of the production target unfeasible. Instead, we describe a system of multiwire proportional chambers (MWPC’s), which record how the beam evolves before and after interacting with the target. These MWPC’s will be used in a beam-scanning procedure during experiment start-up to optimize the beam-target alignment to ensure high muon yield and maximum target lifetime.