Simulations of crossed-field amplifier operation using guiding center dynamics

Reduced, slow time scale equations for the guiding center drift are obtained for electrons in crossed-field devices. In the synchronous frame the streamlines follow equipotentials of the transformed fields, while the flow is incompressible in steady-state operation. A closed, nonlinear set of equations, based on the guiding center flow, is introduced to model the crossed-field amplifier behavior, incorporating the secondary emission self-consistently. A numerical code, implementing the equations, has greatly reduced the computation time compared to particle codes. The code has run in multipass mode and demonstrated quick convergence to a steady-state and very good agreement with experimental results.<>