Collective Acceleration with Intense Electron Beams

Collective acceleration methods that employ an intense relativistic electron beam (IREB) are discussed. A brief history and a classification of collective acceleration methods are given. Methods examined include IREB injection into neutral gas; IREB injection into vacuum; plasma-filled IREB diodes; and vacuum-filled IREB diodes. Accelerating fields of order 106 V/cm have been observed experimentally. The collective acceleration processes for IREB injection into neutral gas and vacuum are discussed. It is noted that the collective acceleration processes for IREB diodes have not been elucidated yet. A summary of present collective ion acceleration research areas that involve IREB´s is given.