Ion Beam Pulse Interaction with Background Plasma in a Solenoidal Magnetic Field

Background plasma can be used as an effective neutralization scheme to transport and compress intense ion beam pulses, and the application of a solenoidal magnetic field allows additional control and focusing of the beam pulse. Ion beam pulse propagation in a background plasma immersed in an applied solenoidal magnetic field has been studied both analytically and numerically with three different particle-in-cell codes (LSP, OOPIC-Pro and EDPIC) to cross-check the validity of the results. Very good charge and current neutralization is observed for high values of the solenoidal magnetic field. However, for intermediate values of the solenoidal magnetic field, current neutralization is a complex process, and a sizable self-magnetic field is generated at the head of the beam. Collective wave excitations are also generated ahead of the beam pulse.