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Fundamentals of Accelerator Physics and Technology with Simulations and Measurements Lab

Sponsors:

University of California, San Diego Extension

Course Name:

Fundamentals of Accelerator Physics and Technology with Simulations and Measurements Lab (undergraduate level)

Course Website:

https://sites.google.com/view/uspas-2020-winter-fundamentals/home

Instructors:

Louis Emery, John Power and Kent Wootton, Argonne National Laboratory; Osama Mohsen, Northern Illinois University

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Purpose and Audience
This course gives an introduction to accelerator physics and technology. It is suitable for advanced undergraduate students and beginning graduate students in physics and engineering who are considering accelerator science and technology as a possible career. This course also can provide a broader background to machine operators, engineers, and technicians working in the field.

Prerequisites
Classical mechanics and electromagnetism at a junior undergraduate level is required. Knowledge of special relativity is recommended.

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that they meet the course prerequisites or have equivalent experience. Students may self-evaluate using these questions.

Objectives
Understand the basic principles of charged particle accelerators and beam acceleration systems. Gain hands-on experience with laboratory accelerator hardware.

Instructional Method
Lectures will be given in the mornings followed by afternoon laboratory sessions.  Laboratory modules will consist of computer simulation/modeling exercises and other measurements with mock-ups of accelerator hardware.  The evenings will be spent doing daily homework and writing lab reports. Instructors will be available to help answer questions about the homework and lectures during the evenings and the weekend.

Course Content
The lectures will start with a survey of the most common accelerator types and an introduction to charged particle beam dynamics. We will derive formalism for particle beam bending and focusing with static magnetic fields and principles of acceleration from electromagnetic fields. Both linear (straight line) and circular (ring) machines will be covered, with emphasis on electron beam rather than proton or ion beams. For linear accelerators, an overview of microwave structures and sources will be given. More time will be spent on circular accelerators, covering the transverse beam dynamics concepts of orbit, phase space, beam emittance, betatron functions and envelope, dispersion, tunes, natural chromaticity with its correction and beam stability. Adding accelerating fields to a circular accelerator leads to the topic of longitudinal motion, synchrotron oscillations and energy acceptance.

As a special topic, the problem of magnet alignment and field errors will convey to the students a sense for tolerances required in the building of a working accelerator, followed by its solution  via beam monitoring, orbit measurement and correction. Another possible special topic is synchrotron radiation effects.

The hands-on afternoon program is meant to solidify the understanding of select topics covered in the morning lecture. The computer lab modules cover the simulation of magnets with saturation and rf-cavities. Equipment for actual magnetic field measurements on a bending magnet and quadrupoles will be available to compare with simulations. Likewise for the measurement of various quantities on an rf-cavity. Diagnostics equipment such as a beam position monitor and a beam current monitor will be available as a lab activity. A written reports on each activity will be required.

Reading Requirements
Course reading materials and homework assignments will be supplied in electronic form. Particle Accelerator Physics (provided by the USPAS) Springer-Verlag, 4th ed. (2015) by Helmut Wiedemann. Refresher handouts on prerequisite topics will be available.

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UC San Diego course number: PHYS 40005
Indiana University course number: Physics 470, Accelerator Fundamentals (undergraduate credit)
MIT course number: 8.277, Introduction to Particle Accelerators