Effects of high solenoidal magnetic fields on rf accelerating cavities

We have measured the effects of high (0–4.5 T) magnetic fields on the operating conditions of 805 MHz accelerating cavities, and discovered that the maximum accelerating gradient drops as a function of the axial magnetic field. While the maximum gradient of any cavity is governed by a number of factors including conditioning, surface topology and materials, we argue that J×B forces within the emitters are the mechanism for enhanced breakdown in magnetic fields. The pattern of emitters changes over time and we show an example of a bright emitter which disappears during a breakdown event. We also present unique measurements of the distribution of enhancement factors, β, of secondary emitters produced in breakdown events during conditioning. We believe these secondary emitters can also be breakdown triggers, and the secondary emitter spectrum helps to determine the maximum operating field.