Origin and reduction of wakefields in photonic crystal accelerator cavities

Photonic crystal (PhC) defect cavities that support an accelerating mode tend to trap unwanted higher-order modes (HOMs) corresponding to zero-group-velocity PhC lattice modes at frequencies near the top of bandgaps. The effect is explained quite generally by photonic band and perturbation theoretical arguments. Transverse wakefields resulting from this effect are observed (via simulation) in a 12 GHz hybrid dielectric PhC accelerating cavity based on a triangular lattice of sapphire rods. These wakefields are, on average, an order of magnitude higher than those in the 12 GHz waveguide-damped Compact Linear Collider copper cavities. The avoidance of translational symmetry (and, thus, the bandgap concept) can dramatically improve HOM damping in PhC-based structures.