Conducting target for pion production

When particles are produced inside a magnetic field, the portrait at the end of the target depends on the nature and intensity of the field. Targets embedded in a strong solenoidal field have been up to now the reference configuration for neutrino factories and muon colliders as well. An alternative configuration consists of pulsing an axial current through the target. It is shown that a conducting target can produce a much brighter beam than a target magnetized by a solenoid for the same field intensity at the periphery of the target.