Growth and phase velocity of self-modulated beam-driven plasma waves.

A long, relativistic particle beam propagating in an overdense plasma is subject to the self-modulation instability. This instability is analyzed and the growth rate is calculated, including the phase relation. The phase velocity of the wake is shown to be significantly less than the beam velocity. These results indicate that the energy gain of a plasma accelerator driven by a self-modulated beam will be severely limited by dephasing. In the long-beam, strongly coupled regime, dephasing is reached in a homogeneous plasma in less than four e foldings, independent of beam-plasma parameters.

Coupled beam hose and self-modulation instabilities in overdense plasma.

Transverse stability of the drive beam is critical to plasma wakefield accelerators. A long, relativistic particle beam propagating in an overdense plasma is subject to beam envelope modulation and centroid displacement (hosing) instabilities. Coupled equations for the beam centroid and envelope are derived and solved. It is shown that the hosing growth rate is comparable to self-modulation, and coupling of the self-modulation enhances beam hosing and induces harmonic content. Large amounts of hosing significantly alters the structure of the plasma wakefields.