Accelerator and Beam Physics Course at UDP-MU

The development of charged particle accelerators and the underlying physical principles is a reflection of the enormous strides of theoretical and experimental progress made in the last century. Particle accelerators have become an essential research tool in a very broad spectrum of fields including high energy physics, nuclear physics, atomic and molecular physics, condensed matter physics, materials science, nanoscience and nanotechnology, plasma physics and space science, and laboratory astrophysics; using charged particle beams ranging from ~eV to ~TeV energies, as well as accelerator-based photon sources with energies ranging from the far-infrared to the hard x-ray regions.

The elective course on Accelerator and Beam Physics (PSPHE05) has been designed with inputs from some of the leading accelerator experts within the country, including senior scientists from TIFR, BARC etc. who are actively involved in accelerator-based research. It is intended to give the students a flavour of the very broad field of accelerators and accelerator-based science.

Specific objectives of the course include:

• Introduction to the physical principles of charge particle acceleration
• Introduction to beam transport (transverse and longitudinal dynamics)
• Coverage of wide range of applications
• Provide a first stage of training for a career in accelerator-based physics

Specific expected course outcomes are:

• Students will gain a bird’s eye view of accelerator physics
• Understanding of principles of beam acceleration and focusing / containment
• Ability to design / calculate basic lattice for beam transport
• Ability to calculate important accelerator parameters from user needs