Review of single bunch instabilities driven by an electron cloud

Electrons generated and accumulated inside the beam-pipe form an “electron cloud” that interacts with a charged particle beam. If the number of electrons is sizable, this beam-cloud interaction can give rise to a two-stream instability, resulting in beam loss or emittance growth. The instability can occur within a single bunch, e.g., passing through the cloud on successive turns in a storage ring, or it can be a multibunch instability, where the motion of successive bunches is coupled via the electron cloud. In this paper, I review the experimental evidence for, simulation approaches to, and analytical treatments of single-bunch two-stream instabilities caused by an electron cloud. Depending on the parameter regime, this type of instability may resemble a coasting-beam instability, classical beam breakup, or transverse mode coupling. It can also cause long-term emittance growth. Despite the apparent similarities, a few fundamental differences distinguish the two-stream instability from a conventional impedance-driven instability, and limit the applicability of established accelerator-physics concepts, like “wakefield.” On the other hand, if, in addition to the electron cloud, space-charge forces, conventional impedance, or beam-beam interaction are also present, these can conspire so as to enhance the growth rate.