RHIC Sextant Test -- Physics and performance

This paper presents beam physics and machine performance results of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) Sextant and AGS-to-RHIC (AtR) transfer line during the Sextant Test in early 1997. Techniques used to measure both machine properties (difference orbits, dispersion, and beamline optics) and beam parameters (energy, intensity, transverse and longitudinal emittances) are described. Good agreement was achieved between measured and design lattice optics. The gold ion beam quality was shown to approach RHIC design requirements