Related papers: Intense Ion Beam Neutralization Using Underdense B…
Ion beam charge neutralization by electron injection is a complex kinetic process. Recent experiments show that resulting self-potential of the beam after neutralization by plasma could be much lower than the temperature of plasma electrons…
Propagation of charged particle beams in background plasma as a method of space charge neutralization has been shown to achieve a high degree of charge and current neutralization and therefore enables nearly ballistic propagation and…
We investigate facility effects on a reduced-scale gridded ion thruster plume using a fully kinetic, three-dimensional Particle-in-Cell/Monte Carlo Collision (PIC-MCC) solver coupled with a Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) neutral…
A model of an electron-beam-plasma system is introduced to model the electrical breakdown physics of low-pressure nitrogen irradiated by an intense pulsed electron beam. The rapidly rising beam current induces an electric field which drives…
We have commenced experiments with intense short pulses of ion beams on the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment-II at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, by generating beam spots size with radius r < 1 mm within 2 ns FWHM and…
The space charge limited emission of ions from a target in the focus of an intense relativistic electron beam is studied analytically for the case of a spatially varying target density profile. In particular, the emission in the presence of…
We have commenced experiments with intense short pulses of ion beams on the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment (NDCX-II) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, with 1-mm beam spot size within 2.5 ns full-width at half maximum. The…
It is generally believed that relativistically underdense plasma is transparent for intense laser radiation. However, particle-in-cell simulations reveal abnormal laser field absorption above the intensity threshold about~$3 \times…
For the successful generation of ion-beam-driven high energy density matter and heavy ion fusion energy, intense ion beams must be transported and focused onto a target with small spot size. One of the successful approaches to achieve this…
Laser-driven ion acceleration provides ultra-short, high-charge, low-emittance beams, which are desirable for a wide range of high-impact applications. Yet after decades of research, a significant increase in maximum ion energy is still…
Multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations are used to study the generation of electrostatic shocks in plasma and the reflection of background ions to produce high-quality and high-energy ion beams. Electrostatic shocks are driven by…
The radiation pressure of next generation ultra-high intensity ($>10^{23}$ W/cm$^{2}$) lasers could efficiently accelerate ions to GeV energies. However, nonlinear quantum-electrodynamic effects play an important role in the interaction of…
The problem of electromagnetic emission generation in plasma with electron beams is relevant both for practical applications and for interpretation of radio emission processes in astrophysical systems. In this work, we consider the case of…
An ionization-induced plasma grating can be formed by spatially selective ionization of gases by the interference of two intersecting ultra-short laser pulses. The density modulation of a plasma grating can approach unity since the plasma…
We report the creation of an ultracold neutral plasma by photoionization of laser-cooled xenon atoms. The charge carrier density is as high as 2 x 10^9 cm^-3, and the temperatures of electrons and ions are as low as 100 mK and 10 uK,…
Ultracold neutral plasmas, formed by photoionizing laser-cooled atoms near the ionization threshold, have electron temperatures in the 1-1000 kelvin range and ion temperatures from tens of millikelvin to a few kelvin. They represent a new…
The propagation of intense laser pulses and the generation of high energy electrons from the underdense plasmas are investigated using two dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. When the ratio of the laser power and a critical power of…
Triggering vacuum breakdown at the upcoming laser facilities can provide rapid electron-positron pair production for studies in laboratory astrophysics and fundamental physics. However, the density of the emerging plasma should seemingly…
A possible solution to the unexplained high intensity hard x-ray (HXR) emission observable during solar flares was investigated via 3D fully relativistic, electromagnetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations with realistic ion to electron…
The electrical environment of a ground vacuum testing chamber creates facility effects for gridded ion thrusters. For example, it is well known that the plume from the thruster generates current paths that are very different from what…