Self-consistent PIC simulations of ultimate space charge compensation with electron lenses

Further progress of fundamental particle physics requires high intensity and high brightness of accelerated proton and ion beams. This goal is essential for the FAIR hadron beams at GSI, for the neutrino production at the facilities such as Fermilab and JPARC, and for the Large Hadron Collider luminosity at CERN. One of the most formidable obstacles toward that goal is the beam's own space charge, whose forces cause beam emittance growth, losses and lifetime degradation. Typically, such effects become intolerable when the space charge tune-shift parameter Delta Q(SC) exceeds similar to -(0.25-0.5). To reduce these detrimental effects, it was suggested to use electron lenses to compensate the space charge forces. This paper reports on detailed particle-in-cell space charge and electron lens compensation simulations for extremely intense proton bunches whose space charge tune-shift parameter exceeds -10. Different scenarios were evaluated based on reduction in the emittance growth and particle loss at a 4 sigma aperture. We investigate phenomena and issues related to the focusing lattice errors, importance of the transverse and longitudinal matching of the electron beam profiles to the proton ones, and vary the strength and the number of the electron lenses distributed around a circular machine to optimize the reduction of harmful space charge effects.

Automated summary

Further progress in fundamental particle physics requires high intensity and high brightness of accelerated proton and ion beams. One of the biggest obstacles towards this goal is the space charge of the beams, but using electron lenses to compensate for this force has been suggested as a method to reduce harmful effects.