Transverse stability of the primary beam in the plasma wake-field accelerator

The stability of the primary electron beam in the plasma wakefield accelerator is studied using a three-dimensional particle code, for cases in which a shaped electron beam, with length L approx-gt λp is used, where λp is the plasma wavelength. The electron-hose and the transverse two-stream instabilities are observed to cause transverse deflections of the beam, with the transverse two-stream instability having a lower growth rate. Operation in the electron-hose regime can be avoided by reducing the beam density. copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics