Field energy and RMS emittance in intense particle beams

An equation is presented for continuous beam with azimuthal symmetry and continuous linear focusing; the equation expresses a relationship between the rate of change for squared rms emittance and the rate of change for a quantity we call the nonlinear field energy. The nonlinear field energy depends on the shape of the charge distribution and corresponds to the residual field energy possessed by beams with nonuniform charge distributions. The equation can be integrated for the case of an rms matched beam to yield a formula for space‐charge‐induced emittance growth that we have tested numerically for a variety of initial distributions. The results provide a framework for discussing the scaling of rms emittance growth and an explanation for the well‐established lower limit on output emittance.