Direct Numerical Modeling of E-Cloud Driven Instability of a Bunch Train in the CERN SPS

The simulation package WARP-POSINST was recently upgraded for handling multiple bunches and modeling concurrently the electron cloud buildup and its effect on the beam, allowing for direct self-consistent simulation of bunch trains generating, and interacting with, electron clouds. We have used the WARP-POSINST package on massively parallel supercomputers to study the buildup and interaction of electron clouds with a proton bunch train in the CERN SPS accelerator. Results suggest that a positive feedback mechanism exists between the electron buildup and the e-cloud driven transverse instability, leading to a net increase in predicted electron density.