RADIASOFT LLC — Department of Energy SBIR Phase II: 30a

Description

Future accelerator applications for discovery science and industrial applications will require more intense beams than ever before. To get to this level while still safely transporting the beam requires new concepts in lattice design. One solution is the idea of using lattice designs with very strong nonlinearities, but still with bounded motion, to prevent the unstable collective dynamics that plague high intensity machines. In Phase I, work was carried out to support the design of these lattices, taking into account higher order effects which could make the beam unstable. This included preliminary studies of space charge, and a detailed analysis of how chromaticity affects the beam dynamics. In Phase II, the work will be extended to more detailed studies of space charge, leading to guidelines on beam stability for these types of lattices, and culminating in full simulations of high intensity accumulator rings for nuclear power applications. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits Operating future nuclear reactors, such as Thorium breeder reactors, requires accelerators transporting intense beams. The work supported by this project will provide a more detailed understanding of how such a system could be designed to minimize beam loss while controlling costs.