TY  - JOUR
AU  - Awal, Awal
AU  - Hetzel, Jan
AU  - Gebel, Ralf
AU  - Pretz, Jörg
TI  - Injection optimization at particle accelerators via reinforcement learning: From simulation to real-world application
JO  - Physical review accelerators and beams
VL  - 28
IS  - 3
SN  - 2469-9888
CY  - College Park, MD
PB  - American Physical Society
M1  - FZJ-2025-02083
SP  - 034601
PY  - 2025
AB  - Optimizing the injection process in particle accelerators is crucial for enhancing beam quality and operational efficiency. This paper presents a framework for utilizing reinforcement learning (RL) to optimize the injection process at accelerator facilities. By framing the optimization challenge as an RL problem, we developed an agent capable of dynamically aligning the beam’s transverse space with desired targets. Our methodology leverages the soft actor-critic algorithm, enhanced with domain randomization and dense neural networks, to train the agent in simulated environments with varying dynamics promoting it to learn a generalized robust policy. The agent was evaluated in live runs at the cooler synchrotron COSY and it has successfully optimized the beam cross section reaching human operator level but in notably less time. An empirical study further validated the importance of each architecture component in achieving a robust and generalized optimization strategy. The results demonstrate the potential of RL in automating and improving optimization tasks at particle acceleration facilities.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
UR  - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:001447589700004
DO  - DOI:10.1103/PhysRevAccelBeams.28.034601
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/1040961
ER  -