Harmonic cavities for the NLC damping rings

To achieve high luminosity, a linear collider needs damping rings to produce beams with very small transverse emittances. In the NLC, design constraints place the main damping rings in a parameter regime where intrabeam scattering (IBS) is likely to be a limitation on the emittance, and hence on the final luminosity. It is possible to mitigate the effects of IBS by lengthening the bunch: this may be achieved by redesigning the lattice with higher momentum compaction, or by use of higher harmonic cavities. Here, we consider the latter approach. We estimate the required bunch lengthening that might be needed, outline some appropriate parameters for the harmonic cavities, and discuss some of the effects that might be introduced or exacerbated by the cavities, such as synchronous phase variation along the bunch train.