A General Model of Vacuum Arcs in Linacs

Abstract

We are developing a general model of breakdown and gradient limits that applies to accelerators, along with other high field applications such as power grids and laser ablation. We have considered connections with failure modes of integrated circuits, sheath properties of dense, non-Debye plasmas and applications of capillary wave theory to rf breakdown in linacs. In contrast to much of the rf breakdown effort that considers one physical mechanism or one experimental geometry, we find an enormous volume of relevant material in the literature that helps to constrain our model and suggest experimental tests.