Accelerator Vibration Issues

Vibrations induced in accelerator structures can cause particle-beam jitter and alignment difficulties. Sources of these vibrations may include pump oscillations, cooling-water turbulence, and vibrations transmitted through the floor to the accelerator structure. Drift tubes (DT) in a drift tube linac (DTL) are components likely to affect beam jitter and alignment because they normally have a heavy magnet structure on the end of a long and relatively small support stem. The natural vibrational frequencies of a drifttube have been compared with theoretical predictions. In principle, by knowing natural frequencies of accelerator components and system vibrational frequencies, an accelerator can be designed that does not have these frequencies coinciding.