Can Low-Energy Electrons Affect High-Energy Physics Accelerators?

Present and future accelerators' performances may be limited by the electron cloud (EC) effect. The EC formation and evolution are determined by the wall-surface properties of the accelerator vacuum chamber. We present measurements of the total secondary electron yield (SEY) and the related energy distribution curves of the secondary electrons as a function of incident-electron energy. Particular attention has been paid to the emission process due to very low-energy primary electrons (<20  eV). It is shown that the SEY approaches unity and the reflected electron component is predominant in the limit of zero primary incident electron energy. Motivated by these measurements, we have used state-of-the-art EC simulation codes to predict how these results may impact the production of the electron cloud in the Large Hadron Collider, under construction at CERN, and the related surface heat load.