Using a waveguide in a THz FEL has been shown to maximize the coupling and enable efficient extraction of relativistic electron beam energy from a single passage through a tapered helical undulator. An oscillator configuration can further boost energy extraction above the single-pass limits and open the door toward very high average power THz sources. Embedding the undulator in an oscillator cavity is particularly useful in combination with high repetition rate electron sources, even if at reduced peak brightness, since recycling a fraction of the radiation as an intense seed can compensate for lower single-pass gain. In this paper, we investigate the efficiency scaling of a tapering-enhanced waveguide oscillator, showcasing its capability for frequency-tuning operation and high-efficiency operation at different wavelengths. Using a thermionic-driven beamline equipped with compression elements, numerical start-to-end simulation results indicate a 16% efficiency at 200 GHz and a 2.1% efficiency at 1.5 THz, resulting in kW-level average power out-coupled in radiation pulses with few hundred $\mathrm{\mu }\mathrm{J}$ energy and tens of MW peak power.

In this paper, we present a Monte Carlo event generator for radiative Bhabha scattering, based on the method of equivalent photons, and optimized for multiturn tracking simulations in the xsuite framework. We demonstrate the accuracy of the event generator with successful benchmarks of the luminosity and event cross section against currently existing alternative tools. Consequently, we use it to investigate existing estimates of the radiative Bhabha scattering beam lifetime at the FCC-ee, as well as the impact of radiative Bhabha scattering on the beam dynamics, using full nonlinear tracking models.

The world’s first 1.3 GHz cryomodule containing eight 9-cell superconducting radio-frequency (rf) cavities treated by medium-temperature furnace baking (mid-T bake) was developed at the Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The 9-cell cavities in the cryomodule achieved an unprecedented high average intrinsic quality factor ($Q_0$) of $3.8\times {10}^{10}$ at $16\mathrm{MV}/\mathrm{m}$ and $3.6\times {10}^{10}$ at $21\mathrm{MV}/\mathrm{m}$ in the horizontal test. The cryomodule can operate stably up to a total continuous wave rf voltage greater than 193 MV, with an average cavity usable accelerating gradient of more than $23\mathrm{MV}/\mathrm{m}$. The results significantly exceed the specifications of Circular Electron Positron Collider and Dalian advanced light source and the other high repetition rate free electron laser facilities [Linac Coherent Light Source II (LCLS-II), LCLS-II-high energy, Shanghai High Repetition Rate X-ray FEL and Extreme Light Facility, Shenzhen Superconducting Soft X-Ray Free Electron Laser, etc.]. There is evidence that the mid-T bake cavity may not require fast cooldown or long processing time in the cryomodule. This paper reviews the cryomodule performance and discusses some important issues in cryomodule assembly and testing.

In the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), bent crystals are used to efficiently deflect beam halo particles toward secondary collimators used as absorbers. In this crystal collimation scheme, a crystal with a length of a few millimeters can produce a deflection equivalent to a magnetic field of hundreds of Tesla at LHC top energies, improving the cleaning performance of the machine. However, crystals must be in optimal alignment with respect to the circulating beam to maximize the efficiency of the channeling process. A newly developed machine learning model automatically classifies the channeling condition of crystals using beam loss monitor signals during slow rotation of the crystal. This advancement represents a crucial step toward refining the process of identifying the optimal channeling orientation. The algorithm has been tested for the fist time in operation with Pb ion beams at the record energy of 6.8 Z TeV demonstrating its reliability.

S-band high-gradient accelerating structures were proposed to accelerate protons from 30 to 230 MeV for a compact proton therapy linac in Institute of Modern Physics. A backward traveling wave structure and a single-periodic magnetically coupled standing wave structure were designed, and differences between these two structures were analyzed to select a more suitable one for the proton therapy linac. In this paper, a novel single-periodic magnetically coupled standing-wave accelerating structure was studied, with an optimized nose cone that related to a smaller peak surface electric field and higher shunt impedance, with the reduced number of coupling holes and mechanical von Mises stress thus making it possible for higher duty factor and longer rf pulse operation, also with larger coupling holes and improved cell-to-cell coupling thus making this structure suitable for operating in $\pi$ mode. An 11-cell high-power prototype for $\beta =0.26$ particles was developed with an active length of 143 mm. This prototype cavity is supposed to operate at an accelerating gradient of $30\mathrm{MV}/\mathrm{m}$ with 0.1% duty factor, corresponding to a maximum surface electric field of $105\mathrm{MV}/\mathrm{m}$ and a peak rf power of 3.43 MW. Cavity design, optimization, manufacture, rf measurement, and high-power test will be discussed in this paper.

New algorithms useful for the calculation of dynamic aperture and momentum acceptance in circular accelerators, particularly synchrotron light sources, are developed and presented. The flood-fill tool from raster graphics inspired us to efficiently compute dynamic apertures by minimizing required trackings on stable initial coordinates, leading to several factors of speedup with respect to standard algorithms. A novel technique for momentum acceptance calculations, Fast Touschek Tracking, is developed. Thorough benchmarking using modern accelerator codes shows that the new technique can provide one or two orders of magnitude faster computation of local momentum acceptances with only limited loss of accuracy.

Space-charge tune shifts can affect the beam quality in storage rings. Laslett’s method, a classical approach for calculating space-charge tune shifts, may not hold valid assumptions for rings with extremely short bunches and small bunch spacing, such as in steady-state microbunching (SSMB) storage rings. To overcome this limitation, we have developed new formulas that are suitable for arbitrary bunch lengths and spacings for calculating space-charge tune shifts. Additionally, simplified formulas have been provided for the calculations of space-charge tune shifts specifically in the context of extremely short bunch lengths. Numerical computations were carried out to demonstrate the validity of these newly derived formulas. Moreover, the formulas were applied to compute the space-charge tune shifts in an SSMB storage ring characterized by typical parameters.

Harmonic analysis has provided powerful tools to accurately determine the tune from turn-by-turn data originating from numerical simulations or beam measurements in circular accelerators and storage rings. Methods that have been developed since the 1990s are suitable for stationary signals, i.e., time series whose properties do not vary with time and are represented by stationary signals. However, it is common experience that accelerator physics is a rich source of time series in which the signal amplitude varies over time. Furthermore, the properties of the amplitude variation of the signal often contain essential information about the phenomena under consideration. In this paper, a novel approach is presented, suitable for determining the tune of a nonstationary signal, which is based on the use of the Hilbert transform. The accuracy of the proposed methods is assessed in detail, and an application to the analysis of beam data collected at the CERN Large Hadron Collider is presented and discussed in detail.

We present a new approach that demonstrates the deflection and guiding of relativistic electron beams over curved paths by means of the magnetic field generated in a plasma-discharge capillary. The active bending plasma (ABP) represents a promising solution that has been recently demonstrated with a proof of principle experiment. An ABP device consists of a curved capillary where large discharges (of the order of kA) are propagated in a plasma channel. Unlike conventional bending magnets, in which the field is constant over the bending plane, in the ABP, the azimuthal magnetic field generated by the discharge grows with the distance from the capillary axis. This features makes the device less affected by the beam chromatic dispersion so that it can be used to efficiently guide particle beams with non-negligible energy spreads. The study we present in the following aims to provide a theoretical basis of the main ABP features by presenting an analytical description of a single-particle motion and rms beam dynamics. The retrieved relationships are verified by means of numerical simulations and provide the theoretical matrix formalism needed to completely characterize such a new transport device.

Beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA) is a promising technique to generate high-energy electron bunches for future electron-positron colliders. Longitudinal shaping of high-charge drive beam is highly desired for achieving high-transformer ratio and loading high-charge witness beam. However, the existing shaping schemes either focused on relatively low-charge bunch shaping or accompanied with significant charge-loss rate (typically over 50%). In this paper, a coherent-synchrotron-radiation-free shaping scheme based on velocity modulation is proposed to generate a high-charge beam with a linearly ramped profile. A $>10\mathrm{kA}$-peak-current shaped beam containing $>50\mathrm{nC}$ charge with a low charge-loss rate is demonstrated by a start-to-end simulation, and the tunabilities of the beam charge and the peak current, and the robustness of the proposed shaping scheme are also discussed. When loaded by a 3 nC witness beam, a $>\mathrm{GV}/\mathrm{m}$ accelerating electric field with a transformer ratio larger than 4 can be achieved in a uniform plasma for the shaped drive beam, providing the possibility of high-transformer-ratio PWFA for a high-charge beam.

A light source project named very compact inverse Compton scattering gamma-ray source (VIGAS) is under development at Tsinghua University. VIGAS aims to generate monochromatic high-energy gamma rays by colliding 350-MeV electron beams with 400-nm laser photons within a 12-m beamline. To produce a high-energy electron beam in such a compact space, the system consists of an S-band high-brightness injector and six X-band high-gradient accelerating structures. The goal of the X-band structure is to operate at a high gradient of $80\mathrm{MV}/\mathrm{m}$. Therefore, we adopts the constant gradient traveling wave approach, where the iris from the first cell to the end cell is tapered. The structure has 72 cells, including 70 cells and 2 couplers, so we named it XT72. The frequency of XT72 is selected to 11.424 GHz, and the $2\pi /3$ mode is adopted. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study covering the detailed design, fabrication, rf tuning, and high-power test results of the first XT72. Additionally, we compare the performance of this structure to that of the previous constant impedance structure. Our results demonstrate that the XT72 is capable of operating at an $80\text{−}\mathrm{MV}/\mathrm{m}$ gradient with a lower breakdown rate. This advancement paves the way for the development of VIGAS project and contributes to the wider application of X-band room-temperature high-gradient structures in compact accelerator facilities.

The surface resistance of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities depends on the strength of the applied rf field. This field dependence is caused by a combination of intrinsic losses and the extrinsic thermal feedback (TFB) effect. To test theories of intrinsic field dependence, the extrinsic part must be compensated for when analyzing experimental data from SRF cavity tests. Performing this compensation requires knowing thermal parameters that describe heat flow in the cavity walls. The relevant thermal parameters have been measured in the case of superfluid helium, below 2.177 K, but no detailed measurements have yet been reported for cooling of niobium surfaces in normal fluid helium baths. Because of this, the impact of TFB on the field dependence at temperatures near 4.2 K is unknown. In the present study, we report measurements of normal fluid helium boiling from niobium surfaces and its dependence on the orientation of the boiling surface and bath temperature. These measurements are used to create a finite-element model of heat transfer in cavities from TRIUMF’s coaxial test program. This tool is then used to compensate for TFB when analyzing a range of datasets from this program. Results are presented showing that TFB has a weak impact for the temperatures of 2.0 and 4.2 K, where SRF cavities are usually operated, but it is an important effect at intermediate temperatures.

We revisit the kinematics of Compton scattering (electron-photon interactions producing electrons and photons in the exit channel) covering the full range of energy/momenta distribution between the two colliding particles, with a dedicated view to statistical properties of secondary beams that are generated in beam-beam collisions. Starting from the Thomson inverse scattering, where electrons do not recoil and photons are backscattered to higher energies by a Lorentz boost effect (factor $4{\gamma }^2$), we analyze three transition points, separating four regions. These are in sequence, given by increasing the electron recoil (numbers are for transition points and letters for regions): (a) Thomson backscattering, (1) equal sharing of total energy in the exit channel between electron and photon, (b) deep recoil regime where the bandwidth/energy spread of the two interacting beams are exchanged in the exit channel, (2) electron is stopped, i.e., taken down at rest in the laboratory system by colliding with an incident photon of $m{c}^2/2$ energy, (c) electron backscattering region, where incident electron is backscattered by the incident photon, and (3) symmetric scattering, when the incident particles carry equal and opposite momenta, so that in the exit channel they are backscattered with same energy/momenta, and (d) Compton scattering [ála Arthur Compton, see A. J. Compton, A quantum theory of the scattering of X-rays by light elements, Phys. Rev. 21, 83 (1923)], where photons carry an energy much larger than the colliding electron energy. For each region and/or transition point, we discuss the potential effects of interest in diverse areas, like generating monochromatic gamma-ray beams in deep recoil regions with spectral purification, or possible mechanisms of generation and propagation of very high energy photons in the cosmological domain.

In current accelerators, numerous parameters and monitored values are to be adjusted and evaluated, respectively. In addition, fine adjustments are required to achieve the target performance. Therefore, the conventional accelerator-operation method, in which experts manually adjust the parameters, is reaching its limits. We are currently investigating the use of machine learning for accelerator tuning as an alternative to expert-based tuning. In recent years, machine-learning algorithms have progressed significantly in terms of speed, sensitivity, and application range. In addition, various libraries are available from different vendors and are relatively easy to use. Herein, we report the results of electron-beam tuning experiments using Bayesian optimization, a tree-structured Parzen estimator, and a covariance matrix-adaptation evolution strategy. Beam-tuning experiments are performed at the KEK $e^{-}/e^{+}$ injector Linac to maximize the electron-beam charge and reduce the energy-dispersion function. In each case, the performance achieved is comparable to that of a skilled expert.

Radio frequency knock out resonant slow extraction is a standard method for extracting stored particle beams from synchrotrons by transverse excitation. Classically, the beam is excited with an rf field comprising a frequency band around one of the betatron sidebands. This article demonstrates that the third-integer resonance commonly used for the slow extraction induces nonlinear motion, resulting in the appearance of additional sidebands of higher order at multiples of the betatron tune. Measured and simulated beam spectra are presented, revealing these sidebands and the beam’s response to being excited at first and second order sidebands. The feasibility of using a second order sideband for the purpose of slow extraction is demonstrated. This results in a significant improvement in the temporal structure (spill quality) of the extracted beam, but at the cost of higher excitation power requirements. This is observed both experimentally and in tracking simulations. The mechanism behind the observed improvement is explained using beam dynamics simulations.

This review paper describes the energy-upgraded Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) accelerator. This superconducting linac has achieved 12 GeV beam energy by adding 11 new high-performance cryomodules containing 88 superconducting cavities that have operated cw at an average accelerating gradient of $20\mathrm{MV}/\mathrm{m}$. After reviewing the attributes and performance of the previous 6 GeV CEBAF accelerator, we discuss the upgraded CEBAF accelerator system in detail with particular attention paid to the new beam acceleration systems. In addition to doubling the acceleration in each linac, the upgrade included improving the beam recirculation magnets, adding more helium cooling capacity to allow the newly installed modules to run cold, adding a new experimental hall, and improving numerous other accelerator components. We review several of the techniques deployed to operate and analyze the accelerator performance and document system operating experience and performance. In the final portion of the document, we present much of the current planning regarding projects to improve accelerator performance and enhance operating margins, and our plans for ensuring CEBAF operates reliably into the future. For the benefit of potential users of CEBAF, the performance and quality measures for the beam delivered to each of the experimental halls are summarized in the Appendix.

In SuperKEKB, movable collimators reduce the beam background noise in the Belle II particle detector and protect crucial machine components, such as final focusing superconducting quadrupole magnets (QCS), from abnormal beam losses. The challenges related to the collimator, which were not properly considered at the time of SuperKEKB design, have surfaced through experience with its operation. In this paper, we report the collimator operation strategy in SuperKEKB. In addition, a significant challenge of beam collimation due to the future increase in the beam background is highlighted. We also discuss another issue caused by unexpected and sudden beam losses in the machine that damage collimators, leading to weaker beam collimation performance and an increase in transverse impedance. Furthermore, we introduce a novel collimation approach called the nonlinear collimator (NLC) to address these challenges. We detail the concept of NLC and evaluate their effectiveness by assessing the collimator impedance, beam background reduction, and impact on the dynamic aperture. The possibility of using NLCs as absorber collimators to counteract events that damage the collimator is also shown to be helpful.