Multipacting in 1 . 5-GHz superconducting niobium cavities of the CEBAF shape ∗

We present definitive thermometric evidence of two-point multipacting in the CEBAF cavity shape, starting at Epk = 30 MV/m (at 1.5 GHz). With the aid of high speed thermometry, we were able to record fleeting multipacting events near the cavity equator. Short term electron bombardment eliminates the multipacting barrier. Numerical trajectory simulations presented here also confirm the experimental data. Although multipacting itself could be processed away and did not limit the cavity performance, it is shown that the quenches due to the electron bombardment increase the cavity’s residual resistance by creating and trapping magnetic flux.