The injection of a relativistic electron beam (0.8 MeV, 6 kA, 150 nsec) into hydrogen gas of 190 Pa pressure results in a plasma with density ne≃1020 m−3 and temperature kTe≲kTi≃3.5 eV. The results of the measurements show good agreement with computations based on a model combining gas ionization and turbulent plasma heating. It is found that a quasistationary state exists in which the energy lost by the beam (about 6% of the total kinetic energy of the beam) is partly used to further ionize and dissociate the gas and for the other part is lost as line radiation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.