Large-scale Simulation of Beam Dynamics in High Intensity Ion Linacs Using Parallel Supercomputers

In this paper we present results of using parallel supercomputers to simulate beam dynamics in next-generation high intensity ion linacs. Our approach uses a three-dimensional space charge calculation with six types of boundary conditions. The simulations use a hybrid approach involving transfer maps to treat externally applied fields (including rf cavities) and parallel particle-in-cell techniques to treat the space-charge fields. The large-scale simulation results presented here represent a three order of magnitude improvement in simulation capability, in terms of problem size and speed of execution, compared with typical twodimensional serial simulations. Specific examples will be presented, including simulation of the spallation neutron source (SNS) linac and the Low Energy Demonstrator Accelerator (LEDA) beam halo experiment.