Experimental studies of microwave amplification in the ion-focusedregime

Studies of microwave amplification with an in-focused electron beam drawn from an induction injector are reported. A free-electron laser (FEL) operating at 9.4 GHz and employing ion-focusing within the interaction region has achieved power in excess of 30 MW at 9.4 GHz, with a beam energy of 0.8 MeV and current of 0.7 kA. Peak gain is 20 dB/m, with no saturation after 15 wiggler periods. Also reported are the first evolution and detuning data for an ion-channel laser/maser (ICL). Two shortcomings of the prematurely halted ICL studies are poor frequency discrimination and a large axial plasma gradient. Prospects for operation with an upgraded 1.6 MeV accelerator are discussed     

Frequency upshifting by an ionization front in a magnetized plasma

The interaction of a light wave with a relativistic ionization front in the presence of an applied DC magnetic field which is perpendicular or parallel to the incident wave is considered. In both cases, four transmitted modes are generated in the magnetized plasma by an incident linearly polarized wave. The frequency upshifts of the various modes are calculated and compared to the unmagnetized case. The corresponding reflection and transmission coefficients are also obtained. Finally, the density ripple associated with the free streaming mode in a magnetized plasma for the perpendicular case is discussed     

Theoretical studies of the ion-hose instability in a plasma-focusedfree-electron laser

An `ion-focused' relativistic electron beam traversing a magnetic wiggler is subject to a transverse two-steam or `in-hose' instability, resulting from the coupling of transverse displacements of the beam centroid to the `slosh' motion of the (beam-focused) nonneutral ion plasma, and driven by the `V×B' deflection in the wiggler field. The equations of motion are resolved into an inhomogeneous `beam breakup' equation, and asymptotic growth is computed in the limit of linear focusing. The effect of nonlinearities is assessed numerically with a `distributed-mass' model. As examples, ion-hose growth is considered in a UV FEL and a microwave FEL two-beam accelerator     

Demonstration of the frequency upshifting of microwave radiation byrapid plasma creation

A technique for frequency-upshifting electromagnetic radiation is demonstrated. By ionizing azulene vapor contained in a resonant cavity using a laser pulse, the frequency of the incident RF wave at 33.3 GHz is upshifted by 5% with greater than 10% efficiency. Maximum frequency upshift of 2.3 times the source frequency is observed. There are two mechanisms thought to be operative in producing the observed frequency upshift: the time-dependent dielectric constant due to increasing plasma density, and rapid Q-switching of the cavity. This technique has the potential of being able to generate tunable and chirped radiation over a very broad (Δf/f≳1) frequency range     

High-gradient millimeter-wave accelerator on a planar dielectric substrate

We report the first high-gradient studies of a millimeter-wave accelerator, employing for the first time a planar dielectric accelerator, powered by means of a 0.5-A, 300-MeV, 11.424-GHz drive electron beam, synchronous at the 8th harmonic, 91.392 GHz. Embedded in a ring-resonator circuit within the electron beam line vacuum, this structure was operated at 20 MeV/m, with a circulating power of 200 kW, for 2 x 10(5) pulses, with no sign of breakdown, dielectric charging, or other deleterious high-gradient phenomena. We also present the first measurement of the quadrupolar content of an accelerating mode.     

Observation of parity nonconservation in møller scattering

We report a measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in fixed target electron-electron (M?ller) scattering: A(PV)=[-175+/-30(stat)+/-20(syst)] x 10(-9). This first direct observation of parity nonconservation in M?ller scattering leads to a measurement of the electron's weak charge at low energy Q(e)(W)=-0.053+/-0.011. This is consistent with the standard model expectation at the current level of precision: sin((2)theta(W)(M(Z))((-)MS)=0.2293+/-0.0024(stat)+/-0.0016(syst)+/-0.0006(theory).