Cornell University
High Brightness Accelerators
Thomas P. Wangler, (retired) LANL
Purpose and Audience
Perhaps the most important and challenging area in accelerator physics is the production and acceleration of high-brightness beams of electrons and ions. High-brightness accelerators are necessary tools for the continued advancement of science during the next quarter century. The purpose of this course is to present a systematic treatment of the physics principles and beam-dynamics design of high-brightness accelerators. The material in this course is suitable for advanced undergraduate or graduate students in physics or engineering.
Prerequisites
Classical and Relativistic Mechanics and Electromagnetism. An introductory course in particle accelerators will be helpful, but is not necessary, since discussion of individual accelerator types will include an introductory review of the basic principles.
Objectives
The course objective is to enable a student to gain the knowledge required for practical physics design methods for future high-brightness accelerators, or for future research in this field.
Instructional Method
This half-semester graduate course includes lectures and discussion sessions. Problems will be assigned to develop additional insight, to illustrate a particular point, or to provide the student with a better feeling for the numerical magnitudes of important quantities. A final exam will be given on the last day of the course.
Course Content
The first half of the course begins with a description of the importance of high-brightness accelerators, followed by an introduction to the basic principles, concepts, and definitions describing emittance, emittance-growth mechanisms, space-charge forces, and halo formation. Multiparticle beam-dynamics simulation codes are introduced as essential tools for a quantitative treatment of emittance growth, beam-halo formation, and for prediction of beam losses in high-intensity accelerators. The second half of the course provides some examples of application of the design principles to linear accelerators, such as the Radiofrequency Quadrupole (RFQ), RF ion linacs, electron RF linacs, and induction linacs. This course should be valuable for those who are faced with the physics design of new high-brightness machines.
Reading Requirements
(to be provided by the USPAS) "RF Linear Accelerators" by Thomas P. Wangler, Wiley, New York (1998), supplemented by specific handouts on additional topics covered in the course.
Credit Requirements
Students will be evaluated based on performance: final exam (50 % of final grade), homework assignments (50 % of final grade).