The Influence of Drift Distance on the Attainable Energy Resolution of a Bunched Electron Beam

High intensity, low energy electron beams from linear accelerators are used extensively in photofission and (¿, n) threshold reaction experiments. The degradation of the energy resolution of the beam due to the action of longitudinal space charge forces and the presence of a conducting cylinder surrounding the beam is considered. Results are presented for varying drift distances, beam currents, and phase spread of the bunch for an L-band accelerator.