Beam Longitudinal Dynamics Simulation Suite BLonD

Abstract: The beam longitudinal dynamics code BLonD has been developed at CERN since 2014 and has become a central tool for longitudinal beam dynamics simulations. In this paper, we present this modular simulation suite and the various physics models that can be included and combined by the user. We detail the reference frame, the equations of motion, the BLonD-specific options for radio-frequency parameters such as phase noise, fixed-field acceleration, and feedback models for the CERN accelerators, as well as the modeling of collective effects and synchrotron radiation. We also present various methods of generating multi-bunch distributions matched to a given impedance model. BLonD is furthermore a well-tested and optimized simulation suite, which is demonstrated through examples, too.