Particle simulations of the nonlinear electron dynamics in the classical Pierce diode

摘要

The classical Pierce model consists of a one-dimensional plasma-filled diode into which a monoenergetic electron beam is injected. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are performed with the BITI code, involving a large number of super-particles. The evolution of slightly perturbed uniform equilibria into the related nonlinear attractor states for a broad range of alpha values, where alpha = omega(pe)d/u(o) is the diode control parameter, is investigated. A period-doubling route to chaos in the classical Pierce diode for alpha slightly below 5 pi is analyzed in detail.