PLATO: a program library for the analysis of 4D nonlinear transverse motion

The PLATO (Perturbative Lattice Analysis and Tracking Tools) program, a program library for analyzing four-dimensional betatronic motion in circular particle accelerators is presented. The routines included in this library provide both the resonant and the nonresonant perturbative series that approximate nonlinear motion (normal forms); standard numerical tools such as the Lyapunov exponent, frequency analysis and evaluation of the dynamic aperture are also available. To ensure the highest flexibility, the code is fully compatible with standard tracking programs commonly used in the accelerator physics community.