Gas-breakdown effects associated with the self-pinched transport of intense light-ion beams

Summary form only given. Self-pinched transport (SPT) of intense light-ion beams is being considered for delivering energy to a high-gain, high-yield inertial confinement fusion target. Proton beam SPT experiments are underway on the Gamble II generator at the Naval Research Laboratory. The physics of SPT in low-pressure gas is being analyzed with analytic theory and numerical simulations. A 1-D theory estimates the net current fraction necessary for stable transport as a function of gas density for a given beam profile. SPT simulations using the 3-D hybrid particle-in-cell (PIC) code IPROP determine the beam profile. Important to both theory and simulations is the inclusion of gas-breakdown physics. A comparison between the theory and the self-consistent simulations using IPROP is made.