Boundary effects. Refraction of a particle beam

The refraction of light at an interface is familiar as a rainbow or the 'bending' of a pencil in a glass of water. Here we show that particles can also be refracted and even totally internally reflected, as evidenced by an electron beam of 28.5 × 109 electron volts being deflected by more...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 2001-05, Vol.411 (6833), p.43-43
Main Authors: Muggli, P, Lee, S, Katsouleas, T, Assmann, R, Decker, F J, Hogan, M J, Iverson, R, Raimondi, P, Siemann, R H, Walz, D, Blue, B, Clayton, C E, Dodd, E, Fonseca, R A, Hemker, R, Joshi, C, Marsh, K A, Mori, W B, Wang, S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Beams (radiation)
Bending
Boundaries
DNA methylation
Electron beams
Electrons
Fiber optics
Optical fibers
Optics
Pencils
Plasma
Refraction
Simulation
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Summary:The refraction of light at an interface is familiar as a rainbow or the 'bending' of a pencil in a glass of water. Here we show that particles can also be refracted and even totally internally reflected, as evidenced by an electron beam of 28.5 × 109 electron volts being deflected by more than a milli-radian upon exiting a passive boundary between a plasma and a gas -- the electron beam is bent away from the normal to the interface, just like light leaving a medium of higher refractive index. This phenomenon could lead to the replacement of magnetic kickers by fast optical kickers in particle accelerators, for example, or to compact magnet-less storage rings in which beams are guided by plasma fibre optics.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/35075144