Simulation of a Photo Injector Electron Source at CERN

An investigation into the effects of changing input parameters for a radio frequency electron source by studying a RF photo-gun part of a prototype injector, which could be used for the CLEAR or AWAKE experiments at CERN. Beam simulations are utilized to vary the initial conditions of the electron source to acquire results of an initial acceleration for a single particle bunch to a distance of two meters. Multiple simulations were completed, where specific input variables, such as the accelerating voltage and magnetic field strength of the solenoid, are varied. Following the simulations, specific beam parameters are observed from the results to determine how these parameters can be optimized. The parameters of interest include the minimum emittance, minimum beam size, final energy, final energy spread, and final bunch length.