Hose instability and wake generation by an intense electron beam in a self-ionized gas

Phys Rev Lett. 2006 Feb 3;96(4):045001. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.045001. Epub 2006 Jan 30.

Abstract

The propagation of an intense relativistic electron beam through a gas that is self-ionized by the beam's space charge and wakefields is examined analytically and with 3D particle-in-cell simulations. Instability arises from the coupling between a beam and the offset plasma channel it creates when it is perturbed. The traditional electron hose instability in a preformed plasma is replaced with this slower growth instability depending on the radius of the ionization channel compared to the electron blowout radius. A new regime for hose stable plasma wakefield acceleration is suggested.