Question

Synchrotron radiation takes energy from an accelerator beam and is related to acceleration. Why would you expect the problem to be more severe for electron accelerators than proton accelerators?

Short answer

Less massive particles accelerate more quickly than more massive particles. As a result, in a synchrotron, electron acceleration is greater than proton acceleration.

Step-by-step solution

Accelerator

A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to accelerate charged particles to extremely high speeds and energies while keeping them contained in well-defined beams. For fundamental particle physics research, large accelerators are used.

Acceleration of charged particles

Electromagnetic radiation is produced when charged particles are accelerated radially, that is, when they are exposed to acceleration that is perpendicular to their velocity. Synchrotron radiation is the name given to such electromagnetic radiations.

Synchrotron radiations are produced by charged particles that have been accelerated radially. As a result of the constant force applied by the synchrotron, the acceleration of less massive particles is greater than the acceleration of more massive particles. The emission of radiation occurs when a particle beam travels in a curved path.

Because the mass of the electron is much less than the mass of the proton, the amount of synchrotron radiation produced is much higher than that of the proton when it is accelerated in a synchrotron. The electrons lose a large amount of energy as synchrotron radiation, limiting the maximum attainable energy in the accelerator. As a result, in the case of electron acceleration in a synchrotron, synchrotron radiation necessitates a large amount of energy.

Therefore, electron acceleration is greater than proton acceleration in a synchrotron.