[Table of Contents]

Plasma and Fusion Research

Volume 5, S2069 (2010)

Regular Articles

Electrostatic-Instabilities as a Source of Picosecond Termination of Runaway-Electrons Beam in High-Voltage Gas-Filled Ultra-Fast Diode
Mikhail M. TSVENTOUKH, Vadim G. MESYATS and Sergey A. BARENGOLTS1,2)
Lebedev Physical Institute RAS, 119991 Leninsky ave. 53, Moscow, Russian Federation
1)
Prokhorov General Physics Institute RAS, 119991 Vavilova st. 38, Moscow, Russian Federation
2)
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, 141700 Dolgoprudny, Moscow Region, Russian Federation
(Received 11 December 2009 / Accepted 23 April 2010 / Published 10 December 2010)

Abstract

The fast disruption of the runaway electrons-beam in a high-voltage picosecond atmospheric-discharge [G. A. Mesyats and M. I. Yalandin, IEEE Trans. Plas. Sci. 37 785 (2009)] is considered. The plasma electrostatic instabilities are proposed as a mechanism of such disruption. Strong over-voltage (more than 1 MV/cm at gas pressure 1 atm) provides an intense electrons-acceleration in the runaway regime. It is shown that neither collisions nor a static potential profile could deliberately prevent this runaway regime. Whereas, the cathodeanode bridging impossible within tens of pisoseconds. It is obtained that the characteristic times of a simplest electrostatic-instabilities build-up are consistent with the observed runaway-electrons beam-duration at the certain plasma density, which was considered as a parameter. The agreement our estimation results and the measurements [G. A. Mesyats, V. G. Shpak, S. A. Shunailov and M. I. Yalandin, Technical Phys. Lett. 34 169 (2008); Mesyats et al., ibidem. 32 18 (2006)] confirms that collective plasma processes indeed can provide the observed picosecond termination of the fast-electrons beam in a high-voltage gas-filled diode within the tens of picoseconds.

Keywords

high-power picosecond electronics, runaway electron, plasma oscillation and instability

DOI: 10.1585/pfr.5.S2069

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This paper may be cited as follows:

Mikhail M. TSVENTOUKH, Vadim G. MESYATS and Sergey A. BARENGOLTS, Plasma Fusion Res. 5, S2069 (2010).