Realization of a Relativistic Mirror: Electromagnetic Backscattering from the Front of a Magnetized Relativistic Electron Beam.
Abstract
An intense relativistic electron beam has been injected into a cylindrical drift tube containing a counterstreaming electromagnetic wave (f sub i = 9.3 GHz and P sub i = 170 kW). Within a narrow range of axial magnetic field centered at 5 kG, a reflected wave at f sub s approximately 40 GHz was generated by the interaction of the beam with the incident wave. The reflected wave was observed to have a power of several hundred kilowatts (i.e. greater than the power of the incident wave) and a pulse duration on the order to nanoseconds. All observed experimental characteristics (viz. frequency shift, power amplification, pulse duration, and cyclotron resonance) were consistent with a model of reflection from the discontinuity in refractive index that is associated with an electron beam front near cyclotron resonance. This mechanism could be employed in a new class of short-pulse, ultra-high power, tunable generators at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA031556
Entities
People
- John Pasour
- M. Herndon
- Phillip A. Sprangle
- R. K. Parker
- Victor L. Granatstein
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory