Nonlinear Dynamics of Multipactor in Multicarrier Systems

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This grant supports the theoretical study of an electrical discharge phenomenon, called multipactor, that occurs in a broad range of microwave devices. Multipactor is a pernicious electrical discharge that can damage or destroy accelerator structures and microwave components and related electronics, such as antennas, satellite payloads, or radar systems. Despite decades of study, especially in connection with rf systems for particle accelerators, it remains a problem, and no consistent way has been found to eliminate it. The improved understanding anticipated from this work will enable more compact and higher-gradient particle accelerators. Many accelerator applications stand to benefit from this, such as compact medical accelerators, accelerator-based neutron and light sources used for basic research, and accelerator-based nuclear energy generation and transmutation of nuclear waste. Space and satellite communications will further benefit from this study. The grant will support one graduate student, and will contribute to the literature, course material, and further educational outreach.The objective is to analyze multipactor in multicarrier systems using a novel multipactor theory based on techniques from nonlinear dynamics and chaos. Multipactor in the presence of multiple carrier rf signals (i.e. multiple rf frequencies) is an especially challenging problem that has almost no theoretical studies. The new approach aims to identify multipacting region boundaries and stability by globally analyzing the structure of dynamical space. The theoretical results will be tested against computer simulations using a particle-in-cell code, and against experiments conducted by our collaborators at ValSpace Consortium in Valencia, Spain.