Ion acceleration by an electron beam with neutral gas ionization by an external source

The theoretical results for ion acceleration by a high current relativistic electron beam (REB) at the neutral-gas ionization front are presented. For a significant increase in the ion energy it is necessary to control the drift velocity of the ionization front so that it is close to the synchronous particle velocity. The most feasible way for such a control is gas ionization by an external source moving in synchronism with the accelerated particles. This work is devoted to estimating the characteristics of such a source. The space-time distribution of accelerating field is also analyzed and the dynamics of accelerated ion bunch formation is studied.