Electron Cloud Studies for the Upgrade of the CERN PS

The observation of a significant dynamic pressure rise as well as measurements with dedicated detectors indicate that an electron cloud develops in the CERN PS during the last stages of the RF manipulations for the production of LHC type beams, especially with 25 ns bunch spacing. Although presently these beams are not degraded by the interaction with the electron cloud, which develops only during few milliseconds before extraction, the question if this effect could degrade the future high intensity and high brightness beams foreseen by the LHC Injectors Upgrade project is still open. Therefore several studies are being carried out employing both simulations and measurements with the electron cloud detectors in the machine. The aim is to develop a reliable electron cloud model of the PS vacuum chambers in order to identify possible future limitations and find suitable countermeasures.