Book Description
We study the microbunching instability in a bunch compressor by a parallel code with some improved numerical algorithms. The two-dimensional charge/current distribution is represented by a Fourier series, with coefficients determined through Monte Carlo sampling over an ensemble of tracked points. This gives a globally smooth distribution with low noise. The field equations are solved accurately in the lab frame using retarded potentials and a novel choice of integration variables that eliminates singularities. We apply the scheme with parameters for the first bunch compressor system of FERMI@Elettra, with emphasis on the amplification of a perturbation at a particular wavelength. Gain curves agree with those of the linearized Vlasov model at long wavelengths, but show some deviation at the smallest wavelengths treated.