Relaxation of axially confined 400 GeV/c protons to planar channeling in a bent crystal

An investigation on the mechanism of relaxation of axially confined 400 GeV/c protons to planar channeling in a bent crystal was carried out at the extracted line H8 from CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. The experimental results were critically compared to computer simulations, showing a good agreement. We identified a necessary condition for the exploitation of axial confinement or its relaxation for particle beam manipulation in high-energy accelerators. We introduce the idea of using a short bent crystal, aligned with one of its main axis to the beam direction, as a beam steerer or a beam splitter with adjustable intensity in the field of particle accelerators. In particular, in the latter case, a complete relaxation from axial confinement to planar channeling takes place, resulting in beam splitting into the two strongest skew planar channels.