Beam dynamics modeling of the Beam Plasma Interaction Experiment

Abstract:

The Beam Plasma Interaction Experiment (Beam-PIE) will use a sounding rocket hosting a small, next-generation electron accelerator to launch an electron beam into the ionosphere. The electron bunches emitted from the accelerator will generate plasma waves, which will be measured and characterized. The frequency, wavelength and amplitude of plasma waves emitted by the beam depend strongly on the beam properties. After emission from the satellite, the beam dynamics are dominated by the self-charge of the beam, and focusing of the Earth’s magnetic field. We have used the Parmela beam dynamics code to study the emission and propagation of the Beam-PIE beam. Parmela is a particle accelerator code designed to model the propagation of short bunches along an RF accelerator. In contrast, the Beam-PIE beam is long, due to the RF switching of the continuous electron source, resulting in a beam of order 100 m in length. We describe the challenges of modeling this beam with existing beam dynamics codes and the approximations made to develop a simple beam-dynamics model that can be used to study wave generation. Model predictions for Beam-PIE will also be discussed.