High Fidelity Simulations of Spin Dynamics in Colliding Beam Accelerators

Next-generation particle accelerators for nuclear physics research likely will include collisions of high-energy ions with intense electron beams. Although the use of polarized beams will be essential to the physics experiments conducted in these accelerators, the accompanying large beam intensities and beam-beam interactions could cause significant depolarization and render the experiments less valuable. While codes are available to simulate spin dynamics in particle accelerators, they do not include some key factors ¿ collective effects, emittance growth, and thick-element spin tracking ¿ required for the accurate assessment of spin optics in these new regimes. In this project, spin dynamics will be added to an existing code for tracking the motion of charged-particle beams, one that includes space-charge and collective effects. The enhanced code will be used to simulate an existing accelerator design, including the effects on the spin of the beam-beam interaction, misalignments, and magnet errors. The code also will be capable of parallel processing on clusters and supercomputers, and will include an improved user interface. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: The software development should directly benefit scientists working to design high-current accelerators for polarized beams, as required for fundamental advances in experimental nuclear physics.