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Jiang K, Huang TW, Li R, Yu MY, Zhuo HB, Wu SZ, Zhou CT, Ruan SC. Branching of High-Current Relativistic Electron Beam in Porous Materials. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 130:185001. [PMID: 37204906 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.130.185001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Propagation of high-current relativistic electron beam (REB) in plasma is relevant to many high-energy astrophysical phenomena as well as applications based on high-intensity lasers and charged-particle beams. Here, we report a new regime of beam-plasma interaction arising from REB propagation in medium with fine structures. In this regime, the REB cascades into thin branches with local density a hundred times the initial value and deposits its energy 2 orders of magnitude more efficiently than that in homogeneous plasma, where REB branching does not occur, of similar average density. Such beam branching can be attributed to successive weak scatterings of the beam electrons by the unevenly distributed magnetic fields induced by the local return currents in the skeletons of the porous medium. Results from a model for the excitation conditions and location of the first branching point with respect to the medium and beam parameters agree well with that from pore-resolved particle-in-cell simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Jiang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ultraintense Laser and Advanced Material Technology, Center for Advanced Material Diagnostic Technology, and College of Engineering Physics, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen 518118, People's Republic of China
- College of Applied Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, People's Republic of China
| | - T W Huang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ultraintense Laser and Advanced Material Technology, Center for Advanced Material Diagnostic Technology, and College of Engineering Physics, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen 518118, People's Republic of China
| | - R Li
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ultraintense Laser and Advanced Material Technology, Center for Advanced Material Diagnostic Technology, and College of Engineering Physics, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen 518118, People's Republic of China
| | - M Y Yu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ultraintense Laser and Advanced Material Technology, Center for Advanced Material Diagnostic Technology, and College of Engineering Physics, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen 518118, People's Republic of China
| | - H B Zhuo
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ultraintense Laser and Advanced Material Technology, Center for Advanced Material Diagnostic Technology, and College of Engineering Physics, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen 518118, People's Republic of China
| | - S Z Wu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ultraintense Laser and Advanced Material Technology, Center for Advanced Material Diagnostic Technology, and College of Engineering Physics, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen 518118, People's Republic of China
| | - C T Zhou
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ultraintense Laser and Advanced Material Technology, Center for Advanced Material Diagnostic Technology, and College of Engineering Physics, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen 518118, People's Republic of China
- College of Applied Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, People's Republic of China
| | - S C Ruan
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ultraintense Laser and Advanced Material Technology, Center for Advanced Material Diagnostic Technology, and College of Engineering Physics, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen 518118, People's Republic of China
- College of Applied Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, People's Republic of China
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Gong Z, Hatsagortsyan KZ, Keitel CH. Electron Polarization in Ultrarelativistic Plasma Current Filamentation Instabilities. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 130:015101. [PMID: 36669225 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.130.015101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 10/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Plasma current filamentation of an ultrarelativistic electron beam impinging on an overdense plasma is investigated, with emphasis on radiation-induced electron polarization. Particle-in-cell simulations provide the classification and in-depth analysis of three different regimes of the current filaments, namely, the normal filament, abnormal filament, and quenching regimes. We show that electron radiative polarization emerges during the instability along the azimuthal direction in the momentum space, which significantly varies across the regimes. We put forward an intuitive Hamiltonian model to trace the origin of the electron polarization dynamics. In particular, we discern the role of nonlinear transverse motion of plasma filaments, which induces asymmetry in radiative spin flips, yielding an accumulation of electron polarization. Our results break the conventional perception that quasisymmetric fields are inefficient for generating radiative spin-polarized beams, suggesting the potential of electron polarization as a source of new information on laboratory and astrophysical plasma instabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Gong
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Christoph H Keitel
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
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