First β-beating measurement and optics analysis for the CERN Large Hadron Collider

Proton beams were successfully steered through the entire ring of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) on September the 10th of 2008. A reasonable lifetime was achieved for the counterclockwise beam, namely beam 2, after the radiofrequency capture of the particle bunch was established. This provided the unique opportunity of acquiring turn-by-turn betatron oscillations for a maximum of 90 turns right at injection. Transverse coupling was not corrected and chromaticity was estimated to be large. Despite this largely constrained scenario, reliable optics measurements have been accomplished. These measurements together with the application of new algorithms for the reconstruction of optics errors have led to the identification of a dominant error source.