Relaxation in a strongly coupled particle beam

We investigate temperature relaxation processes in bunched and coasting ion beams at high phase-space densities using the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation technique. A simple model is presented which describes emittance growth in the framework of extended envelope equations. The relaxation rate τc−1 for the temperature anisotropy is obtained from MD simulations. In the regime of strong coupling it decreases precursing the transition to an ordered beam. Some implications relevant for beam cooling and beam crystallization are discussed.