Analytical and numerical studies of the complex interaction of a fast ion beam pulse with a background plasma

Plasma neutralization of an intense ion beam pulse is of interest for many applications, including plasma lenses, heavy ion fusion, high energy physics, etc. Comprehensive analytical, numerical and experimental studies are underway to investigate the complex interaction of a fast ion beam with a background plasma. The positively charged ion beam attracts plasma electrons, and as a result the plasma electrons have a tendency to neutralize the beam charge and current. A suite of particle-in-cell codes has been developed to study the propagation of an ion beam pulse through the background plasma. For quasi-steady-state propagation of the ion beam pulse, an analytical theory has been developed using the assumption of long charge bunches and conservation of generalized vorticity. The analytical results agree well with the results of the numerical simulations. The visualization of the data obtained in the numerical simulations shows complex collective phenomena during beam entry into and exit from the plasma.