Combined Ramp and Squeeze at the Large Hadron Collider

In the first two years of operation of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the betatron squeeze has been carried out at constant flat top energy of 3.5 TeV. Squeeze setting functions are separated from the energy ramp functions. This ensured a maximum flexibility during commissioning because stopping at all intermediate optics for detailed measurements was possible. In order to then improve the efficiency of the operational cycle, combining the ramp and squeeze has been considered. In this paper, the various possibilities for this scheme are reviewed, and proposals of optimized operational cycles with combined ramp and squeeze are presented for different energies. Results of beam tests are also discussed.