How did the Tevatron accelerate and collide protons with antiprotons?

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Diagram of a linear proton resonance accelerator, or linac, showing protons entering from a source, passing through a series of labeled drift tubes powered by a radio-frequency source, and exiting as a beam through a cavity. — particle accelerator The accelerator is a large-diameter tube within which an electric field oscillates at a high radio frequency. Within the accelerator tube are smaller diameter metallic drift tubes, which are carefully sized and spaced to shield the protons from decelerating oscillations of the electric field. In the spaces between the drift tubes, the electric field is oriented properly to accelerate the protons in their direction of travel.

The Tevatron at Fermilab functioned as a superconducting synchrotron that accelerated protons and antiprotons in counterrotating beams to approximately 1 TeV before colliding them.1

Proton Acceleration

Protons began as negative hydrogen ions, accelerated in a linear accelerator to 400 MeV. After a carbon foil stripped the electrons, the protons entered the Booster, reaching 8 GeV. They were then transferred to the Main Injector, which accelerated them to 150 GeV before injection into the Tevatron ring for final acceleration.1

Antiproton Production and Acceleration

Antiprotons were created by firing 120-GeV protons from the Main Injector at a nickel target. The resulting antiprotons were focused by a lithium lens, cooled in a debuncher, and stored in accumulator and Recycler rings. Once sufficient numbers were gathered, they were injected into the Main Injector, accelerated to 150 GeV, and transferred to the Tevatron.1

Once both beams reached maximum energy, they were stored and directed to collide at specific points around the ring where detectors captured the resulting particle interactions.1