Generation of dual pulses of the runaway electron beam current during the subnanosecond breakdown of atomic and molecular gases

With a diaphragm placed behind the anode foil, dual runaway electron beams have been provided in helium, hydrogen, nitrogen, and air under a pressure of several torrs to several dozen torrs and a high-voltage pulse amplitude of about 250 kV. These beams consist of two pulses with commensurable amplitudes with a time interval between them of several dozen picoseconds to several hundred picoseconds. It has been shown that the breakdown of the interelectrode gap at pressures from several torrs to several dozen torrs may occur in different regimes and dual pulses of the electron beam current are registered when the initial current through the gap is below 1 kA. It has been found that a supershort avalanche electron beam that consists of one pulse is generated when the delay of breakdown equals several hundred picoseconds. It has been shown that, when the gas pressure reaches several hundred Torr, including atmospheric pressure, the runaway electrons are detected behind the foil after the termination of the supershort avalanche electron beam pulse.     

大面积均匀电子束产生实验研究

在电子束泵浦气体激光实验中,大面积均匀电子束是获得高效能激光输出的必要条件。介绍了利用SPG-200脉冲功率源产生大面积均匀电子束的实验。SPG-200是基于SOS的全固态重复频率脉冲功率源,其开路电压大于350 kV。用于产生电子束的真空二极管阴极长294 mm,宽24 mm,两端均为半径为12 mm的半圆,栅网平面为阳极面,两者之间的距离在0~49 mm可调,阴极发射的电子束通过用于隔离激光气室和二极管真空室的压力膜及其支撑栅网引出。分别以石墨和天鹅绒为阴极材料,获得了大面积电子束输出,给出了二极管参数的测量结果,并对电子束发射均匀性进行了诊断。实验结果表明：在阴极材料为石墨、阴阳极间隙为5~9 mm时,二极管电压为240~280 kV,二极管电流为0.7~1.8 kA,输出的电子束很不均匀;在阴极材料为天鹅绒、阴阳极间隙为31~46 mm时,二极管电压为200~250 kV,二极管电流为1.5~1.7 kA,输出的电子束均匀性较好。     

大面积均匀电子束产生实验研究

 在电子束泵浦气体激光实验中,大面积均匀电子束是获得高效能激光输出的必要条件。介绍了利用SPG-200脉冲功率源产生大面积均匀电子束的实验。SPG-200是基于SOS的全固态重复频率脉冲功率源,其开路电压大于350 kV。用于产生电子束的真空二极管阴极长294 mm,宽24 mm,两端均为半径为12 mm的半圆,栅网平面为阳极面,两者之间的距离在0~49 mm可调,阴极发射的电子束通过用于隔离激光气室和二极管真空室的压力膜及其支撑栅网引出。分别以石墨和天鹅绒为阴极材料,获得了大面积电子束输出,给出了二极管参数的测量结果,并对电子束发射均匀性进行了诊断。实验结果表明：在阴极材料为石墨、阴阳极间隙为5~9 mm时,二极管电压为240~280 kV,二极管电流为0.7~1.8 kA,输出的电子束很不均匀;在阴极材料为天鹅绒、阴阳极间隙为31~46 mm时,二极管电压为200~250 kV,二极管电流为1.5~1.7 kA,输出的电子束均匀性较好。     

Generating a uniform transverse distributed electron beam along a beam line

It has been reported that transverse distribution shaping can help to further enhance the energy extraction efficiency in a terawatt, tapered X-ray free-electron laser. Thus, methods of creating and keeping an almost uniform transverse distributed(UTD) beam within undulators are required. This study shows that a UTD electron beam can be generated within evenly distributed drift sections where undulators can be placed, by means of octupoles and particular optics. A specific design is presented, and numerical simulations are performed to verify the proposed method.     

Numerical analysis of the concept of a laboratory experiment on the demonstration of runaway electron breakdown under normal conditions at high overvoltages

A numerical Monte Carlo experiment has been performed simulating the concept of a laboratory experiment on the demonstration of runaway electron breakdown of air at high overvoltages. The pronounced second peak of a picosecond runaway-electron pulse, which was observed in the laboratory experiment and interpreted as runaway electron avalanche initiated by the first peak of the pulse, is very slightly manifested in the numerical experiment. Only the initial stage of runaway electron avalanche can be observed in the laboratory experiment, but the fraction of secondary runaway electrons is too small to significantly affect the development of the breakdown.     

Numerical investigation of the methods for reducing the runaway electron beam divergence

We have performed a comparative numerical analysis of two methods for reducing the runaway electron beam divergence using an external magnetic field or a dielectric tube. The generation of runaway electrons takes place in an inhomogeneous medium that consists of a hot channel (spark channel, laser torch, etc.) surrounded by air under normal conditions. The model makes it possible to consistently calculate the formation of a subnanosecond gas discharge and the generation of accelerated electrons under these conditions. The possibility of effectively decreasing the runaway electron beam divergence using an external magnetic field, as well as a dielectric tube, has been demonstrated. However, the number of runaway electrons in the case with the tube is considerably smaller than in the case with the magnetic field due to the fact that some runaway electrons settle on the tube walls. The energy spectra of the runaway electrons significantly differ in these cases, which can be explained by the differences in the dynamics of the discharge formation.     

Hose instability and wake generation by an intense electron beam in a self-ionized gas

The propagation of an intense relativistic electron beam through a gas that is self-ionized by the beam's space charge and wakefields is examined analytically and with 3D particle-in-cell simulations. Instability arises from the coupling between a beam and the offset plasma channel it creates when it is perturbed. The traditional electron hose instability in a preformed plasma is replaced with this slower growth instability depending on the radius of the ionization channel compared to the electron blowout radius. A new regime for hose stable plasma wakefield acceleration is suggested.     

X-ray radiation and runaway electron beam spectra at a nanosecond discharge in atmospheric-pressure air

The dependences of the electron beam intensity and X-ray dose on the thickness of metal foils (Al, Cu) in a nanosecond discharge initiated in atmospheric-pressure air are studied theoretically and experimentally. Calculated curves of electron beam attenuation in aluminum and X-ray dose attenuation in copper agree well with experimental data. It is found that the amplitude of a super-short avalanche electron beam and the X-ray exposure dose reach maximal values at different values of the interelectrode gap. When the length of the cathode??s edge with a small radius of curvature increases, an interelectrode gap maximizing the amplitude of the runaway electron current shrinks.     

Evolution of subnanosecond pulsed electric breakdown of gas gaps for uniform gas preionization

Initiation and evolution of breakdown of gas gaps by surge voltage pulses with a rise time of ≤1 ns are investigated experimentally and theoretically. The propagation of ionization waves for a uniform initial electron distribution in the gap is analyzed. The results of calculation are in qualitative agreement with the experiment. It is shown that the evolution of ionization waves leads to electric field redistribution in the discharge gap, and a region of an enhanced field with the strength sufficient for initiating emission processes and generation of a short fast electron beam in the cathode region is formed at the cathode for a very short time (up to 100 ps).     

Polymethyl methacrylate glow under the influence of runaway electron beams generated in a gas diode

Spectral and amplitude–time characteristics of PMMA radiation under the impact of runaway electrons with subnanosecond duration are studied. The PMMA radiation spectra for a subnanosecond electron beam pulse duration are determined for the first time. The studies show that radiation of the band with a maximum at about 490 nm the intensity of which decreases toward the short-wave spectral region is recorded in the glow spectra. The glow intensity of this band varies proportionally to the number of electrons in the beam, which allows the possibility of using this radiation for determination of the number of high energy electrons in electron beams.     

Experimental and numerical investigation of two mechanisms underlying runaway electron beam formation

The electrical breakdown of a gas-filled diode with a highly nonuniform electric field is studied in the case when a 25-kV voltage pulse generates runaway electron beams with time-separated maxima of different duration behind anode foil. Experimental data are analyzed and numerically simulated using the PIC/MC code OOPIC-Pro. It is shown that, in terms of the model used, both beams arise at the cathode but their formation mechanisms differ. The first runaway electron beam no longer than 500 ps is attributed to the ionization mechanism; the second one, which may last several nanoseconds, is due to emission.     

提高等离子体密度抑制逃逸电子束不稳定性的实验研究

利用ECE电子回旋辐射和Ha线辐射等托卡马克物理诊断系统,研究了Slide-away放电过程中提高等离子体密度对非麦克斯维尔分布的逃逸电子所激发的逃逸电子束不稳定性影响作用.实验结果表明:在Slide-away放电模式下,提高等离子体密度能有效抑制逃逸电子束的不稳定性.     

提高等离子体密度抑制逃逸电子束不稳定性的实验研究

利用ECE电子回旋辐射和Ha线辐射等托卡马克物理诊断系统,研究了Slide-away放电过程中提高等离子体密度对非麦克斯维尔分布的逃逸电子所激发的逃逸电子束不稳定性影响作用。实验结果表明：在Slide-away放电模式下,提高等离子体密度能有效抑制逃逸电子束的不稳定性。     

Distribution of a nonstationary electron beam in a dense gas

The problem of the temporal and spatial dependences of the parameters of the action of a modulated fast-electron beam on a dense gas is posed on the basis of the transport equation. The problem is simplified by making it nondimensional and by transforming to the Fokker-Planck approximation. A Green's function formalism is developed for this problem and is used to express the solution of the general nonstationary problem in the form of a convolution of a nonstationary boundary flow with a stationary Green's function. The use of the derived equation is illustrated using as an example the solution of a problem with the simplest stationary Green's function corresponding to the straight-ahead approximation. This approximation is used to consider a general relativistic case with model scattering cross sections. The methods and results of a numerical computer solution of the nonstationary problem of electron retardation in the upper layer of the atmosphere are surveyed.Translated from Trudy Ordena Lenina Fizicheskogo Instituta im. P. N. Lebedeva AN SSSR, Vol. 145, pp. 172–188, 1984.     

Stimulation of high-frequency breakdown of gas in Uragan-3M torsatron by runaway electrons

In experiments on confinement and heating of plasma in the Uragan-3M torsatron, the method of high-frequency breakdown of the working gas is used. In these experiments, in conditions of a relatively stable magnetic field, the rf power supplied to the setup chamber has a frequency close to the ion-cyclotron frequency. Such a method of gas breakdown is not always sufficiently reliable. In our experiments, preliminary ionization of the working gas by the run-away electron beam is used for stabilizing the breakdown. This work contains the results of experiments on enhancement of the runaway electron beam and on the interaction of the runaway electron beam in the Uragan-3M torsatron with the HF electromagnetic pump field. This enables us to formulate a number of recommendations for using spontaneously formed beams of accelerated particles for stimulating the rf breakdown. Our results confirm the possibility of gas breakdown by runaway electrons.     

Statistical mechanics of a confinement electron gas in a uniform electromagnetic field

In this paper we study an ideal electron gas in the presence of a uniform electromagnetic field and confinement by a three-dimensional harmonic potential. We find the partition function of this system and in the sequel we examine the Boltzmann statistics and Fermi-Dirac statistics applying the grand canonical ensemble method.     

Optimum running conditions for a gas turbine cogeneration system

There are currently compact and reliable gas turbines that prove very suitable for cogeneration. The present paper deals with the basic structure of a program package that makes it possible to simulate, using manufacturers' data, four of the ways in which such installations can be configured.Furthermore, this package makes it possible to determine optimum running conditions for the system analysed. The complex algorithm is used to yield the minimum operation cost, which is the function sought. We conclude with an example of software application.     

Investigation of the effect of electron cyclotron heating on runaway generation in the KSTAR tokamak

Wave enhanced runaway generation is expected to play an important role in the conversion of plasma current into runaway current during major disruptions. The fast electrons created by electron cyclotron heating (ECH) were used to study this issue in KSTAR. It is found that the fast electrons driven by ECH can enhance runaway production in the flat top phase with high loop voltage. The runaway current in disruptions was not enhanced by the ECH produced fast electron population due to the strong magnetic fluctuations which inhibited the generation of runaway electrons. It is found that a complete loss of existing REs during thermal quench has occurred in KSTAR limiter configuration discharges.