PATH — a lumped-element beam-transport simulation program with space charge

Abstract

PATH is a group of computer programs for simulating charged-particle beam-transport systems. It was developed for evaluating the effects of some aberrations without a time-consuming integration of trajectories through the system. The beam transport portion of PATH is derived from the well-known program, DECAY TURTLE. PATH contains all features available in DECAY TURTLE (including the input format) plus additional features such as a more flexible random-ray generator, longitudinal phase space, some additional beamline elements, and space-charge routines. One of the programs also provides a simulation of an Alvarez linear accelerator. The programs, originally written for a CDC 7600 computer system, also are available on a VAX-VMS system. All of the programs are interactive with input prompting for ease of use.