Brief Introduction to Particle Accelerators

TL;DR

This paper provides a concise overview of charged particle accelerators, focusing on electron storage rings and how vacuum systems influence their performance, aimed at readers seeking foundational understanding.

Contribution

It introduces fundamental concepts and tools for describing charged particle motion and the impact of vacuum systems in accelerators, with emphasis on electron storage rings.

Findings

Vacuum systems significantly affect accelerator performance.

Basic concepts applicable to various types of accelerators.

Tools for describing particle motion are essential for design and analysis.

Abstract

This lecture is a brief introduction to charged particle accelerators. The aim is to provide the reader with basic concepts and tools needed to describe the motion of charged particles under the action of guiding and focussing fields, with an emphasis on those aspects that are relevant to understanding and quantifying how accelerator vacuum systems affect accelerator performance. Even though the focus is on electron accelerators and, in particular, electron storage rings used as synchrotron light sources, most of the concepts described are of general application to a wider class of particle accelerators.