Wake-Field Damping In A Pair Of X-Band Accelerators For Linear Colliders

We consider means to damp the wake-field left behind ultra-relativistic charges. In particular, we focus on a pair of travelling wave accelerators operating at an X-band frequency of 11.424 GHz. In order to maximize the efficiency of acceleration, in the context of a linear collider, multiple bunches of charged particles are accelerated within a given pulse of the electromagnetic field. The wake-field left behind successive bunches, if left unchecked, can seriously disturb the progress of trailing bunches and can lead to an appreciable dilution in the emittance of the beam. We report on a method to minimize the influence of the wake-field on trailing bunches. This method entails detuning the characteristic mode frequencies which make-up the electromagnetic field, damping the wake-field, and interleaving the frequencies of adjacent accelerating structures. Theoretical predictions of the wake-field and modes, based on a circuit model, are compared with experimental measurements of the wake-field conducted within the ASSET facility at SLAC. Very good agreement is obtained between theory and experiment and this allows us to have some confidence in designing the damping of wake-fields in a future linear collider consisting of several thousand of these accelerating structures.