Emittance growth in displaced, space-charge-dominated beams with energy spread

Conversion of transverse energy associated with the coherent motion of displaced beams into thermal energy, and thus emittance growth, has been predicted theoretically by a number of authors. Here, we show, using 2-D particle-in-cell simulations, that emittance growth is inhibited for tune depressed beams, if the energy spread of the beam is not too large. Further, using a uniform density model to calculate the space charge field of the beam, we numerically determine the criteria for emittance growth as a function of tune depression, energy spread, and beam displacement over a wide range of parameters. A theoretical interpretation of our results is presented.<>