Computing the particle paths in an open-trap sharp-point geometry (Q1395093)

The article presents simulation results for the motion of electrons in two different regions: a high-current vacuum diode and an open trap. The entire system is immersed in an external magnetic field with sharp-point geometry. The electrons are continuously injected from a part of the cathode into the diode region, where they are accelerated to relativistic velocities. In this region, the self-consistent problem of particle motion in electromagnetic fields is solved by the ''large'' particle method. In the magnetic trap region, the particles experience only the external magnetic field, and their paths are computed by the test particle method. The simulation efficiency is improved by partitioning the problem into two: separate simulation of the high-voltage diode and integration of the particle paths in the trap. The calculations show that the bulk of the particles leave the trap through the side walls, moving along the magnetic forcelines, and only a small part of the particles undergo multiple reflections and remain longer inside the trap.