Wake fields and impedance

Knowledge of the electromagnetic interaction between a beam and the surrounding vacuum chamber is necessary in order to optimize the accelerator performance in terms of stored current. Many instability phenomena may occur in the machine because of the fields produced by the beam and acting back on itself as in a feedback device. Basically, these fields produce an extra voltage and energy gain, affecting the longitudinal dynamics, and a transverse momentum kick which deflects the beam. In this paper we describe the main features of this interaction with typical machine components.