• A. Marinelli, J.B. Rosenzweig
  UCLA, Los Angeles, California

Longitudinal space-charge forces can be a major source of micro-bunching instability. We will discuss a three-dimensional theoretical model for the high frequency limit of space-charge interactions leading to density modulation at the optical scale. Particular emphasis will be given to the effect of transverse thermal motion on the angular distribution of micro-bunching and to its connection to the physics of Landau damping in longitudinal plasma oscillations. A comparison with the results of high resolution molecular dynamics simulations will also be discussed.