U.S. Particle Accelerator School
U.S. Particle Accelerator School
America's National School of Accelerator Science and Technology

Beam Dynamics Experiments course

Sponsoring University:

University of Maryland

Course:

Beam Dynamics Experiments on the University of Maryland Electron Ring

Instructors:

Rami Kishek, Santiago Bernal, Ralph Fiorito, Patrick O'Shea, Diktys Stratakis, David Sutter, and the UMER Staff

This course is limited to 12 students and will be held on the University of Maryland campus.


Purpose and Audience
The purpose of this course is to introduce the fundamentals of beam physics via experimental investigation on scaled experiments employing low-energy electrons. This course is appropriate for last year physics undergraduate students, graduate students or students from other fields with particular interest in accelerator physics and technology. The course is also intended to broaden the background of engineers and technicians working in fields related to accelerator technology.

Prerequisites
Courses in College Physics, first year Calculus, and the USPAS course "Accelerator Fundamentals" or equivalent.

Objectives
The course will cover a wide array of the measurements and manipulations that are needed for beam dynamics studies. Upon completion, students are expected to understand the basic principles and relations of beam dynamics, many of which they will have experimentally verified. Furthermore, they will have gained experience in measurement techniques and analysis of experimental observations.

Instructional Method
The course is structured into morning lectures which cover the theoretical background followed by afternoon lab sessions. Students will be divided into small groups during the lab session that will perform experiments in parallel on different stations. The main experimental stations will be the University of Maryland Electron Ring (UMER) and the Long Solenoid Experiment (LSE). Each group will be guided by one or more instructor and UMER staff persons who will assist the students and monitor their performance. Students will be assigned to write lab reports on selected experiments.

Course Content
Several major topics will be covered during the two-week period: source physics and Child-Langmuir law, magnet measurements, optical imaging and processing using both fast and integrating devices, phase space mapping and tomography, longitudinal dynamics and energy spread, beam control, and halos. Students will also be exposed to a number of state-of-the-art diagnostics and experimental techniques.

Reading Requirements
(To be provided by the USPAS) "The Theory and Design of Charged Particle Beams" Second Edition, Updated and Expanded by Martin Reiser, Wiley & Sons 2008. Instructors will provide additional notes.

Credit Requirements
Students will be evaluated based on performance: active involvement in the laboratory (40% of final grade); analysis of results and lab reports (40% of final grade); final exam (20% of final grade).