Plasma density measurement by means of self-modulation of long electron bunches. (7th March 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Loisch, G; Asova, G; Boonpornprasert, P; Chen, Y; Good, J; Gross, M; Huck, H; Kalantaryan, D; Krasilnikov, M; Lishilin, O; Melkumyan, D; Oppelt, A; Qian, H; Renier, Y; Stephan, F; Zhao, Q
• Is Part Of: Plasma physics and controlled fusion. Volume 61:Number 4(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-03-07
• Subjects: plasma wakefield acceleration -- self-modulation instability -- plasma based acceleration -- plasma density measurement; Plasma (Ionized gases) -- Periodicals; Controlled fusion -- Periodicals; 530.44
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6587/ab04b9
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0741-3335

Abstract

Abstract: We present a new method to determine the electron density of a plasma by measuring the periodicity of modulations introduced to the longitudinal phase space of a relativistic particle bunch by the interaction with the plasma via the self-modulation instability. As the modulation is solely depending on the plasma density and the beam parameters, this method allows to determine the time-resolved density of a plasma at the position of beam passage, which is confirmed in particle-in-cell simulations. Densities in the range of 3.6 × 10 12 cm −3 – 7.2 × 10 15 cm −3 have been measured and the measurement accuracy is confirmed by comparison to spectroscopic plasma density measurements.