Numerical investigation of the parameters of a runaway electron beam generated in a gas-filled atmospheric-pressure hot-channel diode

摘要

The generation of runaway electrons in an inhomogeneous medium under normal conditions is investigated numerically. The medium is represented by a hot channel (spark channel, laser flame, etc.) surrounded by air. A model is suggested that makes it possible to consistently calculate the initiation of a subnanosecond glow discharge and the generation of runaway electrons under such conditions. The possibility of generating 100-ps-wide runaway electron current pulses with an amplitude of several hundred amperes is shown. The influence of an air gap and an external magnetic field on the generated beam's parameters is studied.