Process in high energy heavy ion acceleration

A review of processes that occur in high energy heavy ion acceleration by synchrotrons and colliders and that are essential for the accelerator performance is presented. Interactions of ions with the residual gas molecules/atoms and with stripping foils that deliberately intercept the ion trajectories are described in details. These interactions limit both the beam intensity and the beam quality. The processes of electron loss and capture lie at the root of heavy ion charge exchange injection. The review pays special attention to the ion induced vacuum pressure instability which is one of the main factors limiting the beam intensity. The intrabeam scattering phenomena which restricts the average luminosity of ion colliders is discussed. Some processes in nuclear interactions of ultra-relativistic heavy ions that could be dangerous for the performance of ion colliders are represented in the last chapter.