Vanderbilt University
Special Topics in Accelerator Physics
Alex Chao, SLAC and Yunhai Cai, SLAC
Purpose and Audience
Accelerator physics is a rich branch of physics covering a wide range of exciting topics. A selection of these topics will be covered in this course. A good knowledge of basic accelerator physics at the level of the USPAS Accelerator Physics course, is assumed. Although advanced in nature, each topic is introduced and developed based on first principles.
Prerequisites
Classical mechanics, electrodynamics, and physical or engineering mathematics, all at entrance graduate level; and the USPAS graduate-level course "Accelerator Physics" or equivalent.
Objectives
Although they are not expected to become experts, on completion of this course, the students are expected to develop a grasp on approximately half a dozen advanced accelerator physics topics.
Instructional Method
This course includes a series of lectures and exercise sessions. Homework problems will be suggested daily and answers provided in the exercise sessions. There will be an open-book, “take-home” final exam at the conclusion of the course.
Course Content
Panofsky-Wenzel theorem of wake fields, SLIM formalism of lattice analysis, echo effects, spin echo, fast ion instability, Siberian snakes, symplectic maps, Lie algebra, Truncated power series algebra, laser acceleration in free space.
Reading Requirements
(to be provided by the USPAS): Lecture notes are to be distributed in the class.
Credit Requirements
Students will be evaluated based on the performance on the final exam.