High pressure electron beam transport experiments

We have conducted a comprehensive set of experiments on electron beam transport in the VISHNU accelerator. The 1.1 Me V, 3.5–6.0 kA beam has been characterized after propagation in a narrow (4.5 cm 10) drift tube. Measurements include beam profile, transverse noise, plasma decay time, resistive hose instability growth, nose erosion, velocity, radiation length and radial particle emission in the 1–620 Torr pressure regime. The most important phenomenon in this regime is the resistive hose instability. The hose frequency is observed to be comparable to the predictions of theoretical models. That is, the frequency varies inversely as the measured plasma decay time.