Introduction to Accelerators and Free Electron Lasers (MAXM25/ EXTN95/ NFY005F)

Welcome to the Canvas information page for the course

Accelerators and Free Electron Lasers, 7.5 credits

given by the Department of Physics.

Please note: This page contains only general information about the course. It does not contain any course material. If you are a student on the course you have to log in to the Canvas portal in the site navigation to find the courses of your program.

The course focuses on accelerators for synchrotron radiation production (linear accelerators and synchrotrons), their function and structure, and how their properties connect to different areas of application. The different components of an accelerator are analyzed (different types of electron guns, linear accelerators, storage rings, problems and solutions). The theory of magnets (dipole, quadrupole and general magnets) and how they are used in beam dynamics are described (particle optics, focusing, matrix formulation, betatron and synchrotron oscillations, beta functions, betatron (frequency and) tune, emittance, etc.). This is used to build simulation models of accelerators. The impact of resonances, magnet errors and certain high-order optical effects are discussed. The acceleration process in cavities and linear accelerators is described.

The free electron laser (FEL) process and different types of FEL (SASE, cavity-FEL, harmonic generation, high-gain harmonic generation, seeding) are described, and the physics about the amplification process is analyzed. The course includes repetition of synchrotron radiation and undulators, but with a focus on FEL.

General information

New course code from spring semester of 2026.

Course codes: MAXM05/MAXM25 (Science faculty), EXTN95 (LTH), NFY005F (PhD)
Semester: spring
Study period: first
Level: advanced
Language: English
Forms of teaching: teaching sessions, lectures, group work, calculation exercises, laboratory sessions
Assessment: written examination, laboratory exercises and written lab report
Grading scale: Fail, Pass, Pass with distinction (U, G, VG)
Syllabi on Lund University's central website:

Course literature

W. Hillert, "Transverse Linear Beam Dynamics", Proceedings of the CERN–Accelerator–School course: Introduction to Accelerator Physics
Peter Schmuser et al., "Ultraviolet and Soft X-Ray Free-Electron Lasers", Springer Verlag

Course responsible teachers

Francesca Curbis, francesca.curbis@maxiv.lu.se
Sverker Werin, sverker.werin@maxiv.lu.se

Schedule

The latest schedule for the course can be found on the schedule software TimeEdit:

Enter the course code in the search box to search for the schedule on TimeEdit. Links to an external site.

Entry requirements

To be admitted to the course, students must meet the general requirements for admission to Swedish higher education and have 90 credits in science, including the courses MAXM06 Introduction to Synchrotron Radiation Based Science, 7.5 credits, MAXM07 Introduction to Accelerators and Free Electron Lasers, 7.5 credits, and MAXC11 Production of Photons and Neutrons for Science, or the equivalent.

Application

Science faculty

Apply to the course through the Swedish website Antagning.se Links to an external site. (in Swedish). Read more about the course and, during the application period, how to apply via below links.

For non-Swedish speakers, please refer to below instructions in order to apply to the course.
Instructions in English for applying to programmes and courses (pdf, 791 kB). Download Instructions in English for applying to programmes and courses (pdf, 791 kB).

Please note: to see if the course is open for application, always check the Swedish web page.

LTH

Apply for the course via Course application at LTH.

Doctoral studies

Sign up for the course by contacting course responsible and studentadministration@fysik.lu.se. (Remember that you need to have the course listed in your individual study plan, ISP, or approved by your supervisor to have it counted towards your exam.)

Do you have questions? Please contact us at studentadministration@fysik.lu.se