Intense proton beam plasma interactions

A study has been initiated to investigate interactions between an intense proton beam and a background hydrogen plasma. The magnetic and electric neutralization of the ion beam by the plasma as well as collective interactions between the beam and the plasma are objects of this study. The plasma is produced by a conical theta-pinch gun and injected into a 3 kG solenoidal guide field. Plasma densities in the neighborhood of 10¹⁰ cm⁻³ and electron temperatures of a few eV can be produced by careful operation of the plasma gun. The plasma column is 1 meter long and 3 cm in diameter. A 60 A/cm² proton beam is emitted from a magnetically insulated diode at 400 keV and injected axially into the plasma column. This paper presents a description of the experiment and some initial experimental results.