Formation mechanisms and optimization of trap-based positron beams.

Described here are simulations of pulsed, magnetically guided positron beams formed by ejection from Penning-Malmberg-style traps. In a previous paper [M. R. Natisin et al., Phys. Plasmas 22, 033501 (2015)], simulations were developed and used to describe the operation of an existing trap-based beam system and provided good agreement with experimental measurements. These techniques are used here to study the processes underlying beam formation in more detail and under more general conditions, therefore further optimizing system design. The focus is on lowenergy beams (∼eV) with the lowest possible spread in energies (<10 meV), while maintaining microsecond pulse durations. The simulations begin with positrons trapped within a potential well and subsequently ejected by raising the bottom of the trapping well, forcing the particles over an end-gate potential barrier. Under typical conditions, the beam formation process is intrinsically dynamical, with the positron dynamics near the well lip, just before ejection, particularly crucial to setting beam quality. In addition to an investigation of the effects of beam formation on beam quality under typical conditions, two other regimes are discussed; one occurring at low positron temperatures in which significantly lower energy and temporal spreads may be obtained, and a second in cases where the positrons are ejected on time scales significantly faster than the axial bounce time, which results in the ejection process being essentially non-dynamical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]