Advanced Strained-Superlattice Photocathodes for Polarized Electron Sources

65723 The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory is colliding heavy ions to create conditions like those a fraction of a second after the big bang. As part of a planned luminosity upgrade, an electron cooling section may be built with fundamentally different parameters from previous systems. High-performance, high-fidelity numerical simulations will be needed for the research and design process. This project will develop a parallel three-dimensional particle code to directly model electron-ion interactions and capture the exchange of thermal energy from the warm ions to the cool electrons incorporating novel features for detailed simulations of electron cooling physics. The fast multipole algorithm will be used. In Phase I, proof-of-principle was shown by demonstrating the three-dimensional parallel advance of magnetized electrons using a fast multipole algorithm to simulate coulomb collisions between ions and electrons, and demonstrating the physically correct transfer of thermal energy. Phase II will complete the implementation and testing of the three-dimensional parallel simulation code. This code will be used to model the proposed electron cooling section for the RHIC upgrade, in collaboration with Brookhaven National Laboratory. A suite of visualization and post-processing tools, as well as comprehensive documentation, will be developed. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The parallel three-dimensional code should benefit scientists working to design the electron cooling section for the luminosity upgrade to the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. This code could also be used in modeling the Boersch effect in the transport of strongly-magnetized electron beams for coolers, the intrabeam scattering effect in heavy ion accelerators, and the formation of crystal beams.