The Paul trap simulator experiment

The assembly of the Paul Trap Simulator Experiment (PTSX) is now complete and experimental operations have begun. The purpose of PTSX, a compact laboratory facility, is to simulate the nonlinear dynamics of intense charged particle beam propagation over a large distance through an alternating-gradient transport system. The simulation is possible because the quadrupole electric fields of the cylindrical Paul trap exert radial forces on the charged particles that are analogous to the radial forces that a periodic focusing quadrupole magnetic field exert on the beam particles in the beam frame. By controlling the waveform applied to the walls of the trap, PTSX will explore physics issues such as beam mismatch, envelope instabilities, halo particle production, compression techniques, collective wave excitations, and beam profile effects.