UC Irvine

Propagation of a charge-neutralized ion beam, in a transverse magnetic field (Bz <400 G) and in a magnetized plasma, has been studied. Measurements indicate that the beam propagation mechanism is due to the E×B drift in the region of high β (1<β<400), where β is the ratio of beam kinetic energy to transverse magnetic field energy. Diamagnetic measurements, both internal and external to the propagating beam, confirm the fast diffusion of Bz into the beam on a time scale much shorter than the beam rise time of 10-7 s. When the beam is injected into a magnetized plasma the electric field is shorted to a degree that increases with increasing background plasma density. When the plasma density reaches 1013/cm3 (∼200×the beam density) complete shorting occurs and the beam is deflected by the transverse magnetic field.