Asymmetric Hopf bifurcation for proton beams with electron cooling

We observed maintained longitudinal limiting cycle oscillations, which grew rapidly once a critical threshold in the relative velocity between the proton beam and the cooling electrons was exceeded. The threshold for the bifurcation of a fixed point into a limit cycle, also known as a Hopf bifurcation, was found to be asymmetric with respect to the relative velocity. This asymmetry of Hopf bifurcation was found to be related to the electron beam alignment with respect to the stored proton beam.