Kilpatrick limit

In particle accelerators, a common mechanism for accelerating a charged particle beam is via copper resonant cavities in which electric and magnetic fields form a standing wave, the mode of which is designed so that the E field points along the axis of the accelerator, producing forward acceleration of the particles when in the correct phase.

The maximum electric field $E$ achievable is limited by a process known as RF breakdown. The reliable limits for various RF frequencies $f$ were tested experimentally in the 1950s by W. D. Kilpatrick.^[1]

An approximate relation by least-square optimization of the data yields^[2]

$f = 1.64 M H z \cdot {(\frac{E}{E_{0}})}^{2} \cdot \exp (- 8.5 \frac{E_{0}}{E}),$ with $E_{0} = 1 \frac{M V}{m}$ (mega volts per metre).

This relation is known as the Kilpatrick Limit.

References

Template:Reflist

↑ Template:Cite journal
↑ Template:Cite book. This form apparently comes from a Los Alamos note:
T. J. Boyd, Jr., Kilpatrick's criterion, Los Alamos Group AT-1 report AT-1:82-28, February 12, 1982.

[1] Template:Cite journal

[2] Template:Cite book. This form apparently comes from a Los Alamos note:
T. J. Boyd, Jr., Kilpatrick's criterion, Los Alamos Group AT-1 report AT-1:82-28, February 12, 1982.

[1]

[2]

Kilpatrick limit

References

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