Stability of runaway electron beam currents in nitrogen at 100 Torr. Experiments and numerical simulation

Abstract

This paper reports on a series of identical experiments and on a respective particle-in-cell and Monte Carlo simulation to investigate the stability of runaway electron beam currents produced in nitrogen at a highly inhomogeneous electric field. The experiments demonstrate a strong effect of cathode emissivity on the beam current. The numerical simulation shows that the cathode emissivity influences not only the current of the beam but also the mechanisms of its formation.