Longitudinal compression of a macrorelativistic electron beam

Abstract

We present a novel concept of longitudinal bunch train compression that can manipulate a relativistic electron beam across hundreds of meters. This concept holds the potential to compress the electron beam produced by a conditional linear accelerator at a high ratio, elevating its power to a level comparable with large induction accelerators. The method employs the spiral motion of electrons in a uniform magnetic field to fold hundreds-of-meters-long trajectories into a compact setup. The interval between bunches can be fine-tuned by modulating their spiral movement. We explore this method with the particle dynamic simulation. Compared to setups of similar size, such as a chicane, our method can compress bunches at considerably larger scales. Consequently, it opens up new possibilities for generating high-power beams using compact devices at lower costs.