Laboratory realization of relativistic pair-plasma beams

Laboratory realization of relativistic pair-plasma beams | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Laboratory realization of relativistic pair-plasma beams Charles Arrowsmith, Pascal Simon, Pablo Bilbao, Archie Bott, Stephane Burger, and 24 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3726977/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 12 Jun, 2024 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Relativistic electron-positron (e ± )plasmas are ubiquitous in extreme astrophysical environments such as black holes and neutron star magnetospheres, where accretion-powered jets and pulsar winds are expected to be enriched with such pair plasmas. Their behaviour is quite different from typical electron-ion plasmas due to the matter-antimatter symmetry of the charged components and their role in the dynamics of such compact objects is believed to be fundamental. So far, our experimental inability to produce large yields of positrons in quasi-neutral beams has restricted the understanding of electron-positron pair plasmas to simple numerical and analytical studies which are rather limited. We present first experimental results confirming the generation of high-density, quasi-neutral, relativistic electron-positron pair beams using the 440 GeV/c beam at CERN's Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) accelerator. The produced pair beams have a volume that fills multiple Debye spheres and are thus able to sustain collective plasma oscillations. Our work opens up the possibility of directly probing the microphysics of pair plasmas beyond quasi-linear evolution into regimes that are challenging to simulate or measure via astronomical observations. Physical sciences/Physics/Plasma physics/Astrophysical plasmas Physical sciences/Physics/Plasma physics/Laser-produced plasmas Physical sciences/Physics/Plasma physics/Magnetically confined plasmas Physical sciences/Physics/Particle physics/Experimental particle physics Physical sciences/Physics/Astronomy and astrophysics/Laboratory astrophysics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Laboratoryrealizationofrelativisticpairplasmabeamssupplementaryinformation.pdf Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 12 Jun, 2024 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3726977","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":261923426,"identity":"4ac8d6a7-02e0-4eb5-9ba3-f2fadc317f74","order_by":0,"name":"Charles 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