Non-Gaussian beam dynamics in low energy antiproton storage rings

In low energy antiproton facilities, where electron cooling is fundamental, the cooling forces together with heating phenomena causing emittance blow-up, such as Intra Beam Scattering (IBS), result in highly non-Gaussian beam distributions. In these cases, a precise simulation of IBS effects is essential to realistically evaluate the long term beam evolution, taking into account the non-Gaussian characteristics of the beam. Here, we analyse the beam dynamics in the Extra Low ENergy Antiproton ring (ELENA), which is a new small synchrotron currently being constructed at CERN to decelerate antiprotons to energies as low as 100 keV. Simulations are performed using the code BETACOOL, comparing different models of IBS.