We present a synchronization phenomena occuring in an accelerator-based light source. When relativistic electron bunches circulate in a storage ring and emit synchrotron radiation (used for user experiments), a systematic spatio-temporal instability arises when the bunch contains a large number of electrons. This instability is characterized by the spontaneous formation of microstructures within the bunch, which appear with a bursting behavior. We demonstrate that these bursting events can be synchronized with an external sinusoidal signal by modulating the electric field in a radiofrequency (RF) cavity. This external modulation induces typical synchronization features such as Arnold tongues at fundamental, harmonic, and subharmonic frequencies of the natural bursting rate, as well as phase-slip phenomena near the synchronization threshold. The synchronization mechanism is analyzed using numerical simulations based on the Vlasov–Fokker–Planck equation, and a proof-of-principle experiment is conducted at the SOLEIL synchrotron facility.
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