Prometeo is a multi-particle code developed at ENEA within the framework of scientific programs aimed at studying and developing Free Electron Laser (FEL) sources. The code has been used either as a research tool to understand the dynamics of FELs operating in different configurations and as a practical tool to design FEL devices.
It has been developed to model the physics of Free Electron Laser
(FEL) [1] and it has been conceived as a flexible tool to deal with the wealth of configurations characterizing the FEL devices including optical klystron and segmented undulators. From the technical point of view Prometeo (the name stands just to denote its flexibility) was initially conceived as a macro-particle device for the solution of the Neil-Prosnitz equations [3]. The code is capable of accounting for the evolution of the fundamental harmonics and for the coherent generation of higher-order harmonics in SASE or oscillator FELs. The original model has been generalized to include the effect of beam emittance and the undulator errors. The main efforts have been directed towards the understanding of 1-dimensional effects like pulse propagation in FEL oscillators and in high-gain SASE devices, including the spiking dynamics. In order to have a fast man-code interplay, it has been deliberately omitted important, but time-consuming, three-dimensional contributions from electromagnetic and electron beam propagation. The latter have been taken into account by including them as longitudinal effects. One of its important by-products has been the development of a series of practical formulae aimed at providing a quick evaluation of the FEL performances be it operating in the SASE, Oscillator or Optical Klystron mode [3].
[1] Dattoli G., Galli M. and Ottaviani P. L., ENEA report RT/INN/93/09 (1993).
[2] Prosnitz D., Szole A. and Neil V. K., Phys. Rev. A, 24 (1981) 1436.
[3] Dattoli G., Pagnutti S. and Ottaviani P. L., Booklet for FEL design: a collection of practical formulae (Enea Edizioni Scientifiche) 2008; aggiungere la referenza al nostro lavoro sul booklet interattivo.
