THE ELECTRON BEAM AS AN ELECTROMAGNETIC MEDIUM.

Abstract

This report presents a unified and comprehensive treatment of wave propagation phenomena in electron beams, with particular emphasis on fundamental physical aspects rather than specific applications. The theory is basically concerned with electromagnetic properties of the electron beams regarded as an electromagnetic medium. The first part of the work discusses the problem of proper representation of a beam with fluctuating boundaries, and describes two equivalent but conceptually different physical models. The first one is the familiar charge-current model; the second is a polarized model, representing the beam as a polarized medium. Other topics discussed in the first part are: general boundary conditions, dynamic equations and constitutive relations, as well as small-signal theorems and their interpretations. The second part of the report is concerned with wave propagation phenomena in uniform unbounded electron beams, in simple drift as well as in crossed-field operation. The matrix formulation used throughout the text provides a flexible mathematical tool for exploration of this fairly complex medium. A number of fundamental properties are derived directly from the inherent symmetry properties of the wave equation without the need for explicit solutions. Precise definitions are established for energy density and electromagnetic power density expressed in terms of the time- and space-dispersiveness of the electronic medium.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1966
Accession Number
AD0486688

Entities

People

  • Tore Wessel-berg

Organizations

  • Stanford University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boundaries
  • Electromagnetic Properties
  • Electron Beams
  • Electrons
  • Equations
  • Symmetry
  • Wave Equations
  • Wave Propagation

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics
  • Theoretical Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Microelectronics
  • Space