ANALYSIS OF ELECTRON BEAM-PLASMA SYSTEMS,
Abstract
The interaction between an electron beam and a plasma in metallic waveguides and in the presence of an external longitudinal magnetostatic field is analyzed. Plasma ions and electrons are considered. The treatment refers to a temperate plasma. The electron beam is rectilinear and has a well-defined unperturbed velocity. This velocity is assumed to be uniform over the waveguide cross section. Modifications for nonuniform velocity are also presented. The treatment is valid for slow and fast waves and for relativistic beam velocities. In the first part an exact analysis is made of the beam-plasma waveguide based on the linearized Maxwell equations and the Lorentz force equation. The 'operator' dielectric tensor description of the beam-plasma medium is introduced. The properties of this tensor are examined and the boundary conditions are formulated in terms of the elements of this tensor. The field analysis for the beam-plasma system is made, and the dispersion equation and the determinantal equations are derived from the satisfaction of the boundary conditions. Cutoffs, resonances, slow waves, and the quasistatic approximation are studied. Conservation principles for our specific beam-plasma system are formulated, and Chorney's bidirectional theorem is extended to our medium. Some variational theorems for this system are also studied. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 31, 1964
- Accession Number
- AD0609023
Entities
People
- Philip E. Serafim
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology