Simulation and experimental studies on electron cloud effects in particle accelerators

Electron Cloud (EC) effects represent a serious limitation for particle accelerators operating with intense beams of positively charged particles. This Master thesis work presents simulation and experimental studies on EC effects carried out in collaboration with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva and with the INFN-LNF laboratories in Frascati. During the Long Shut- down 1 (LS1, 2013-2014), a new detector for EC measurements has been installed in one of the main magnets of the CERN Proton Synchrotron (PS) to study the EC formation in presence of a strong magnetic field. The aim is to develop a reli- able EC model of the PS vacuum chamber in order to identify possible limitation for the future high intensity and high brightness beams foreseen by Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Injectors Upgrade (LIU) project. Numerical simulations with the new PyECLOUD code were performed in order to quantify the expected signal at the detector under different beam conditions. The experimental activity, carried out at the INFN-LNF, was focused on the characterization of Cu foams as a mean for mitigating EC effects.