Neutral Beam Propagation Effects in the Upper Atmosphere.
Abstract
This report presents a simple theoretical model of beam induced stripping of a neutral particle beam as it propagates in the upper atmosphere. A comparison of beam induced stripping with stripping induced by the atmosphere demonstrates that for 1 MeV neutral hydrogen beams propagating at 200 km altitude beam induced stripping is negligible when compared with the stripping of the neutral beam caused by the atmosphere. This model leads to two important conclusions: 1) beam effects will be important only when the neutral beam density is of the same order or larger than the atmospheric density. 2) at high launch altitudes, beam induced stripping will be the dominant energy loss mechanism for neutral beams. Keywords: Neutral beam; Stripping; Ionization; Beam induced stripping; Polarization drift; Cross section.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1984
- Accession Number
- ADA174896
Entities
People
- G. Kalman
- P. Carini
- P. Pulsifer
Organizations
- Boston College