Study of the Beam Breakup Mode in Linear Induction Accelerators for Heavy Ions

A simple theoretical study and numerical estimate is presented for the transverse amplitude growth of a nonrelativistic heavy ion beam in an induction linac, as envisaged for use in commercial power plants, due to the nonregenerative coherent beam breakup mode. An equivalent electrical circuit has been used to represent the accelerating induction modules. Our calculation shows that for the parameters of interest, the beam breakup amplitude for a heavy ion beam grows extremely slowly in the time scales of interest, to magnitudes insignificant for transport purposes. It is concluded that the coherent beam breakup mode does not pose any serious threat to the stability of a high current (kA) heavy ion beam in an induction linac.