Some closed-form expressions for relativistic cross-field electron trajectories

Equations for nonrelativistic cross-field motion are first repeated from prior work, in a form suitable for piecewise trajectory calculation in fields that need not be constant. They are then extended into the middle relativistic range, using a new method of expressing the relativistic cyclotron frequency in terms of the fields and the starting conditions. The extended equations are found to include second harmonic terms, but not third harmonic. Accuracy is tested by comparison with Runge-Kutta integration of the relativistic equations of motion, and is found to be adequate for many engineering purposes up to peak velocities in the region of 0.6 c, corresponding to cross-field tube operating voltages on the order of 400 kV. Speed is similar to or a little better than R-K integration on a per-step basis, but is substantially higher when the fieldsallow large step sizes to be taken, since the closed-form expressions have no inherent step size limitation. The tests covered conditions appropriate both to gyrotrons and to relativistic magnetrons.