  An AC dipole is a magnet which produces a sinusoidally oscillating dipole
field and excites coherent transverse beam motion in a synchrotron. By
observing this coherent motion, the optical parameters can be directly measured
at the beam position monitor locations. The driven oscillation induced by an AC
dipole will generate a phase space ellipse which differs from that of the free
oscillation. If not properly accounted for, this difference can lead to a
misinterpretation of the actual optical parameters, for instance, of 6% or more
in the cases of the Tevatron, RHIC, or LHC. The effect of an AC dipole on the
linear optics parameters is identical to that of a thin lens quadrupole. By
introducing a new amplitude function to describe this new phase space ellipse,
the motion produced by an AC dipole becomes easier to interpret. Beam position
data taken under the influence of an AC dipole, with this new interpretation in
mind, can lead to more precise measurements of the normal Courant-Snyder
parameters. This new parameterization of the driven motion is presented and is
used to interpret data taken in the FNAL Tevatron using an AC dipole.
