These projects involve the study of nonlinear beam dynamics in charged particle beams in accelerators, and a related project on the use of accelerators as models for galactic dynamics.
The performance of electron and ion accelerators depends critically on the quality of the beams they produce. This is true for many applications in high-energy and nuclear physics, materials science (e.g., spallation neutron sources and free-electron lasers) and biomedicine. As we strive to produce evermore intense beams, nonlinear dynamics play an increasingly important role in the evolution of particle distributions and resultant beam quality. At very low intensity, the beam distribution is largely determined by the external accelerating and focusing forces and is independent of the details of the particle distribution. At very high intensity, however, the self-electromagnetic fields of the beam play a dominant role in beam evolution, and these self fields are very much dependent on the particle distribution. To study intense beam phenomena we are currently developing the University of Maryland Electron Ring (UMER). UMER is a compact model of a large recirculating accelerator. Even though it operates at only 10 kilovolts, UMER is capable of reaching beam intensities far beyond that of other accelerators. It is ideally suited for student projects.
Projects suitable for undergraduate participation will be centered on the science issues to be addressed by UMER. Examples are:
Additional information about nonlinear dynamics in charged particle beam systems can be found at http://www.ireap.umd.edu/~poshea and by contacting Professor O'Shea at (301) 405-4977 or poshea@umd.edu.