Cherenkov instability of a magnetized beam-plasma system with allowance for a momentum spread of beam electrons

Cherenkov instability is considered in a completely magnetized homogeneous beam-plasma system featuring a thermal momentum spread of beam electrons. The thermal spread in the beam is described in the scope of both the hydrodynamic approach and the kinetic equation method by giving the electron momentum distribution function in the form of theMaxwellian and semi-Maxwellian distributions. It is shown that two beam-plasma instability regimes, the single-particle and collective Cherenkov effects (Compton and Raman regimes) differing by the physical mechanism and the increments, are possible in a system (waveguide) with homogeneous transverse beam and plasma density profiles. Solutions to dispersion equations for these and a more general regime are obtained and analyzed.     

Axial magnetic field effect in numerical analysis of high power Cherenkov free electron laser

Cherenkov free electron laser(CFEL) is simulated numerically by using the single particle method to optimize the electron beam. The electron beam is assumed to be moving near the surface of a flat dielectric slab along a growing radiation. The set of coupled nonlinear differential equations of motion is solved to study the electron dynamics. For three sets of parameters, in high power CFEL, it is found that an axial magnetic field is always necessary to keep the electron beam in the interaction region and its optimal strength is reported for each case. At the injection point, the electron beam's distance above the dielectric surface is kept at a minimum value so that the electrons neither hit the dielectric nor move away from it to the weaker radiation fields and out of the interaction region. The optimal electron beam radius and current are thereby calculated. This analysis is in agreement with two previous numerical studies for a cylindrical waveguide but is at odds with analytical treatments of a flat dielectric that does not use an axial magnetic field. This is backed by an interesting physical reasoning.     

Coulomb interactions of massless Dirac fermions in graphene; pair-distribution functions and exchange-driven spin-polarized phases

The quasi-2D electrons in graphene behave as massless fermions obeying a Dirac-Weyl equation in the low-energy regime near the two Fermi points. The stability of spin-polarized phases (SPP) in graphene is considered. The exchange energy is evaluated from the analytic pair-distribution functions, and the correlation energies are estimated via a closely similar four-component 2D electron fluid which has been investigated previously. SPPs appear for sufficiently high doping, when the exchange energy alone is considered. However, the inclusion of correlations is found to suppress the spin-phase transition in ideal graphene.     

Interaction of a modulated electron beam with a magnetoactive plasma

Experimental results concerning the interaction of a modulated electron beam with a magnetoactive plasma in the whistler frequency range are reported. It was shown experimentally that when a beam is injected into the plasma, waves can be generated by two possible mechanisms: Cherenkov emission of whistlers by the modulated beam, and transition radiation from the beam injection point. In the case of weak beam currents (N _b/N ₀)≪⁻⁴) the Cherenkov resonance radiation is more than an order of magnitude stronger than the transition radiation; the Cherenkov emission efficiency decreases at high beam currents. The transformation of the distribution function of the beam is investigated for the case of weak beam currents. It is shown that in the case of the Cherenkov interaction with whistlers the beam is retarded and the beam distribution function becomes wider and acquires a plateau region. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 6, 378–382 (25 March 1998)     

Excitation of microwave by an annular electron beam in a plasma-filled dielectric lined waveguide

An axial relativistic electron beam passing through a slow wave structure is unstable to an electromagnetic perturbation whose phase velocity equals the velocity of the beam. This phenomenon of Cherenkov emission is the basis of all traveling wave tubes. In this paper an excitation of Cherenkov radiation by a thin annular relativistic electron beam in a plasma-filled dielectric-lined waveguide is analysed by use of the self-consistent linear theory. The effect of the thin annular electron beam on the beam-wave interaction is completely described by a jump condition. The dispersion equation and the simultaneous condition of the beam-wave interaction are derived. Finally, the growth rate of the wave is obtained, and the effect of the background plasma density and the electron beam radius on the growth rate of the wave are presented.This work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

Instabilities and quantum initiation in the free-electron laser

We describe the quantum initiation of the free-electron laser, starting from the N-electron position and momentum quantum fluctuations, both in the small-gain and in the high-gain regime. The Glauber distribution P(α) for the field is derived, obtaining the displaced gaussian which represents the superposition of a coherent field (stimulated emission) and an incoherent one (spontaneous emission). In the experimental gain regime the build-up time of radiation is estimated, showing its proportionality to ln √N.     

On the quantum theory of beam instability in plasma

The quantum theory of induced Cherenkov radiation by an electron beam of longitudinal waves in isotropic plasma is presented. Nonrelativistic quantum nonlinear equations of Cherenkov beam-plasma instability are obtained. A quantum dispersion relation is derived in the linear approximation and instability development increments are determined.     

Small mass enhancement near the metal–insulator transition in gated silicon inversion layers

The strong resistivity changes in the metallic state of two-dimensional electron systems have recently been assigned to quantum interaction corrections in the ballistic regime. We have performed analysis of Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations on high-mobility silicon inversion layers where we have explicitly taken into account that the back scattering angle has different influence on momentum relaxation and quantum life time. The consistent analysis under the assumption of the ballistic interaction corrections leads to smaller increase of the effective mass with decreasing electron density as usually reported.     

Transverse envelope dynamics of a 28.5-GeV electron beam in a long plasma

The transverse dynamics of a 28.5-GeV electron beam propagating in a 1.4 m long, (0-2)x10(14) cm(-3) plasma are studied experimentally in the underdense or blowout regime. The transverse component of the wake field excited by the short electron bunch focuses the bunch, which experiences multiple betatron oscillations as the plasma density is increased. The spot-size variations are observed using optical transition radiation and Cherenkov radiation. In this regime, the behavior of the spot size as a function of the plasma density is well described by a simple beam-envelope model. Dynamic changes of the beam envelope are observed by time resolving the Cherenkov light.     

Improved thermoelectric power factor in metal-based superlattices

In this paper we present a detailed theory of electron and thermoelectric transport perpendicular to heterostructure superlattices. This nonlinear transport regime above barriers is also called heterostructure thermionic emission. We show that metal-based superlattices with tall barriers can achieve a large effective thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT > 5 at room temperature). A key parameter to achieving high performance is the nonconservation of lateral momentum during the thermionic emission process. Conservation of lateral momentum is a consequence of translational symmetry in the plane of the superlattice. We also discuss the use of nonplanar barriers and embedded quantum dot structures to achieve high thermoelectric conversion efficiency.     

Quantum regime of a plasma‐wave‐pumped free‐electron laser in the presence of an axial magnetic field

The quantum regime of a plasma‐whistler‐wave‐pumped free‐electron laser (FEL) in the presence of an axial‐guide magnetic field is presented. By quantizing both the plasma whistler field and axial magnetic field, an N‐particle three‐dimensional Hamiltonian of quantum‐FEL (QFEL) has been derived. Employing Heisenberg evolution equations and introducing a new collective operator which controls the vertical motion of electrons, a quantum dispersion relation of the plasma whistler wiggler has been obtained analytically. Numerical results indicate that, by increasing the intrinsic quantum momentum spread and/or increasing the axial magnetic field strength, the bunching and the radiation fields grow exponentially. In addition, a spiking behavior of the spectrum was observed with increasing cyclotron frequency which provides an enormous improvement in the coherence of QFEL radiation even in a limit close‐to‐classical regime, where an overlapping of these spikes is observed. Also, an upper limit of the intrinsic quantum momentum spread which depends on the value of the cyclotron frequency was found.     

A test of virtual vacuum polarizations in a strong electromagnetic field

A strong electromagnetic field may modify the refractive index of the normal vacuum, which can be reduced to the light-light scattering amplitude via virtual vacuum polarizations in a microscopic sense. In order to observe the increase of the refractive index, Cherenkov light emissions associated with relativistic electrons into the strong field can be utilized as an experimental probe. In this letter, we will present the results of an experimental search for Cherenkov emission with a laser intensity of 10¹⁷ W/cm² with a wavelength of 800 nm and an electron beam of 35.4 MeV/c, in which the expected Compton energy and indications of unexpected lower energies in the visible range were observed.     

Cherenkov terahertz radiation from Dirac semimetals surface plasmon polaritons excited by an electron beam

We demonstrate a physical mechanism for terahertz(THz) generation from surface plasmon polaritons(SPPs). In a structure with a bulk Dirac semimetals(BDSs) film deposited on a dielectric substrate, the energy of the asymmetric SPP mode can be significantly enhanced to cross the light line of the substrate due to the SPP-coupling between the interfaces of the film. Therefore, the SPPs can be immediately transformed into Cherenkov radiation without removing the wavevector mismatch. Additionally, the symmetric SPP mode can also be dramatically lifted to cross the substrate light line when a buffer layer with low permittivity relative to the substrate is introduced. In this case, dual-frequency THz radiation from the two SPP modes can be generated simultaneously. The radiation intensity is significantly enhanced by over two orders due to the field enhancement of the SPPs. The radiation frequency can be tuned in the THz frequency regime by adjusting the beam energy and the chemical potential of the BDSs. Our results could find potential applications in developing room temperature, tunable, coherent, and intense THz radiation sources to cover the entire THz band.     

Nonlinear analysis of Cherenkov free-electron laser with double-slab structure

A compact Cherenkov free-electron laser is studied for a double-slab structure with no incident field or electromagnetic feedback mechanism. The simplified model is composed of a rectangular wave-guide partially filled with two lined parallel dielectric slabs and a sheet electron beam. The interaction between the electron beam and the electromagnetic mode is described with the macro-particle approach. The coupled equations are derived and solved numerically with the parameters of an ongoing experiment, demonstrating the amplification of emitted power from spontaneous emission.     

Hot electron relaxation in one-dimensional models: exact polaron dynamics versus relaxation in the presence of a Fermi sea

We present the exact solution for the time evolution of the electron and phonon momentum distribution for a one-dimensional polaron model with alinear electronic energy dispersion. The electron momentum distribution is shown to obey aMarkovian quantum kinetic equation. Numerical results for the polaron model are compared to the corresponding exact results, when the negative momentum states are filled in the initial state. The presence of this Fermi sea modifies the dynamics except in the short time regime. The different, long time dynamics might show up in comparison of hot electron relaxation of undoped and doped semiconductors.     

Non-relativistic quantum theory of stimulated Cherenkov radiation and Compton scattering in plasma

The stimulated processes in electron plasma, i.e., Cherenkov radiation by a nonrelativistic electron beam of longitudinal oscillations and Compton scattering of a transverse electromagnetic wave in plasma with quantum mode excitation (de Broglie wave), are considered in the three-wave approximation. The possibility of the occurrence of quantum oscillations is discussed.     

Electro-optic shocks from ultraintense laser-plasma interactions

Second harmonic radiation in the form of an electro-optic shock is produced in the blowout regime of a laser wakefield in a plasma. The shock is produced by the interaction between the laser field and the electron sheath surrounding the electron cavitation region. Because the sheath is thin, phase matching is unimportant, and the radiated energy grows secularly with the interaction length. The angle of emission is given by the Cherenkov angle associated with the ratio of the second harmonic phase velocity to the fundamental phase velocity. The shock formation is investigated in three dimensions via analysis and particle-in-cell simulations.     

带Wiggler场平板型部分填充介质CFEL的切仑柯夫自由电子激光的动力学耦合模理论

用二维波动力学耦合模理论研究了带Wiggler场平板型部分填充介质的FEL。研究结果表明,该系统可用低能电子束产生对介质厚度无特殊要求的短波长FEL。适当选择参数,可使其增长率和效率高于普通自由电子激光和切仑柯夫自由电子激光,并证明本系统超辐射放大的工作主模应是纵向截面电场模。     

The monochromatization of a beam of charged particles by Cherenkov interaction

The possibility of monochromatization of a real beam of charged particles (possessing energy spread and angle divergence) as a result of Cherenkov interaction with laser radiation in a medium is shown. The refraction index of the medium, the Cherenkov angle and the intensity of the wave, necessary for this effect are determined by the initial parameters of the beam. For the real parameters of the beam of charged particles and the laser radiation the degree of monochromatization reaches several orders. A method of raising the monochromaticy of the charged particles of a beam is suggested.