[en] The Courant-Snyder (CS) theory and the Kapchinskij-Vladimirskij (KV) distribution for high-intensity beams in a uncoupled focusing lattice are generalized to the case of coupled transverse dynamics. The envelope function is generalized to an envelope matrix, and the envelope equation becomes a matrix envelope equation with matrix operations that are non-commutative. In an uncoupled lattice, the KV distribution function, first analyzed in 1959, is the only known exact solution of the nonlinear Vlasov-Maxwell equations for high-intensity beams including self-fields in a self-consistent manner. The KV solution is generalized to high-intensity beams in a coupled transverse lattice using the generalized CS invariant. This solution projects to a rotating, pulsating elliptical beam in transverse configuration space. The fully self-consistent solution reduces the nonlinear Vlasov-Maxwell equations to a nonlinear matrix ordinary differential equation for the envelope matrix, which determines the geometry of the pulsating and rotating beam ellipse. These results provide us with a new theoretical tool to investigate the dynamics of high-intensity beams in a coupled transverse lattice. A strongly coupled lattice, a so-called N-rolling lattice, is studied as an example. It is found that strong coupling does not deteriorate the beam quality. Instead, the coupling induces beam rotation, and reduces beam pulsation.

[en] The macroscopic warm-fluid model developed by Lund and Davidson [Phys.Plasmas 5, 3028 (1998)] is used in the smooth-focusing approximation to investigate detailed stability properties of an intense charged particle beam with pressure anisotropy, assuming small-amplitude electrostatic perturbations about a waterbag equilibrium

[en] In a linear trap confining a one-component nonneutral plasma, the external focusing force is a linear function of the configuration coordinates and/or the velocity coordinates. Linear traps include the classical Paul trap and the Penning trap, as well as the newly proposed rotating-radio- frequency traps and the Mobius accelerator. This paper describes a class of self-similar nonlinear solutions of nonneutral plasma in general time-dependent linear focusing devices, with self-consistent electrostatic field. This class of nonlinear solutions includes many known solutions as special cases.

[en] To achieve high focal spot intensities in heavy ion fusion, the ion beam must be compressed longitudinally by factors of ten to one hundred before it is focused onto the target. The longitudinal compression is achieved by imposing an initial velocity profile tilt on the drifting beam. In this paper, the problem of longitudinal drift compression of intense charged particle beams is solved analytically for the two important cases corresponding to a cold beam, and a pressure-dominated beam, using a one-dimensional warm-fluid model describing the longitudinal beam dynamics

[en] Recent heavy ion fusion target studies show that it is possible to achieve ignition with direct drive and energy gain larger than 100 at 1MJ. To realize these advanced, high-gain schemes based on direct drive, it is necessary to develop a reliable beam smoothing technique to mitigate instabilities and facilitate uniform deposition on the target. The dynamics of the beam centroid can be explored as a possible beam smoothing technique to achieve a uniform illumination over a suitably chosen region of the target. The basic idea of this technique is to induce an oscillatory motion of the centroid for each transverse slice of the beam in such a way that the centroids of different slices strike different locations on the target. The centroid dynamics is controlled by a set of biased electrical plates called 'wobblers'. Using a model based on moments of the Vlasov-Maxwell equations, we show that the wobbler deflection force acts only on the centroid motion, and that the envelope dynamics are independent of the wobbler fields. If the conducting wall is far away from the beam, then the envelope dynamics and centroid dynamics are completely decoupled. This is a preferred situation for the beam wobbling technique, because the wobbler system can be designed to generate the desired centroid motion on the target without considering its effects on the envelope and emittance. A conceptual design of the wobbler system for a heavy ion fusion driver is briefly summarized.

[en] In plasmas with strongly anisotropic distribution functions, collective instabilities may develop if there is sufficient coupling between the transverse and longitudinal degrees of freedom. Our previous numerical and theoretical studies of intense charged particle beams with large temperature anisotropy [E. A. Startsev, R. C. Davidson and H. Qin, PRSTAB, 6, 084401 (2003); Phys. Plasmas 9, 3138 (2002)] demonstrated that a fast, electrostatic, Harris-like instability develops, and saturates nonlinearly, for sufficiently large temperature anisotropy (T_perpendic_ularb/T_parallelb >> 1). The total distribution function after saturation, however, is still far from equipartitioned. In this paper the linearized Vlasov-Maxwell equations are used to investigate detailed properties of the transverse electromagnetic Weibel-type instability for a long charge bunch propagating through a cylindrical pipe of radius r_w. The kinetic stability analysis is carried out for azimuthally symmetric perturbations about a two-temperature thermal equilibrium distribution in the smooth-focusing approximation. The most unstable modes are identified, and their eigenfrequencies, radial mode structure and instability thresholds are determined. The stability analysis shows that, although there is free energy available to drive the electromagnetic Weibel instability, the finite transverse geometry of the charged particle beam introduces a large threshold value for the temperature anisotropy ((T_perpendic_ularb/T_parallelb)^Weibel >> (T_perpendic_ularb/T_parallelb)^Harris) below which the instability is absent. Hence, unlike the case of an electrically neutral plasma, the Weibel instability is not expected to play as significant a role in the process of energy isotropization of intense unneutralized charged particle beams as the electrostatic Harris-type instability

[en] In an uncoupled lattice, the Kapchinskij-Vladimirskij (KV) distribution function first analyzed in 1959 is the only known exact solution of the nonlinear Vlasov-Maxwell equations for high- intensity beams including self-fields in a self-consistent manner. The KV solution is generalized here to high-intensity beams in a coupled transverse lattice using the recently developed generalized Courant-Snyder invariant for coupled transverse dynamics. This solution projects to a rotating, pulsating elliptical beam in transverse configuration space, determined by the generalized matrix envelope equation.

[en] Self-consistent Vlasov-Poisson simulations of beams with high space-charge intensity often require specification of initial phase-space distributions that reflect properties of a beam that is well adapted to the transport channel--both in terms of low-order rms (envelope) properties as well as the higher-order phase-space structure. Here, we first review broad classes of kinetic distributions commonly in use as initial Vlasov distributions in simulations of unbunched or weakly bunched beams with intense space-charge fields including: the Kapchinskij-Vladimirskij (KV) equilibrium, continuous-focusing equilibria with specific detailed examples, and various non-equilibrium distributions, such as the semi-Gaussian distribution and distributions formed from specified functions of linear-field Courant-Snyder invariants. Important practical details necessary to specify these distributions in terms of usual accelerator inputs are presented in a unified format. Building on this presentation, a new class of approximate initial kinetic distributions are constructed using transformations that preserve linear-focusing single-particle Courant-Snyder invariants to map initial continuous-focusing equilibrium distributions to a form more appropriate for non-continuous focusing channels. Self-consistent particle-in-cell simulations are employed to show that the approximate initial distributions generated in this manner are better adapted to the focusing channels for beams with high space-charge intensity. This improved capability enables simulation applications that more precisely probe intrinsic stability properties and machine performance

[en] Previous experiments on the Electron Diffusion Gauge showed that the diocotron mode damping increases with higher neutral gas filling pressure. Yet the energy dissipated from a rotating plasma by collisions with neutrals is predicted to excite the mode. To resolve this, experiments have been conducted to examine the coupling between expansion and the m=1 diocotron mode. Results from recent experiments have shown interesting phenomena: (1) The degree and sensitivity of mode growth is observed to be strongly dependent on filament conditions. Mode growth rates of nearly 20 sec^-1 have been observed even with negligible resistive drive. Specifically, at low filament bias voltages (and correspondingly low electron densities ∼1-2 x 10⁷ electrons/cm), the mode growth is very sensitive to the heating voltage across the filament, even though changes in filament heating voltage barely affect the plasma expansion, the plasma density profile, the filament emission, or the resulting electron density. (2) At low neutral gas pressure (<10^-9 Torr), the diocotron mode growth rate increases with neutral pressure. However, the growth rate is several orders of magnitude larger than theoretical predictions

[en] Ion beam propagation in a background plasma is an important scientific issue for many practical applications. The process of ion beam charge and current neutralization is complex because plasma electrons move in strong electric and magnetic fields of the beam. Computer simulation images of plasma interaction with an intense ion beam pulse are presented