Electrostatic cumulation: a convenient research instrument to obtain Mbar pressures in solids

Abstract

Magnetic cumulation is not the sole phenomenon capable to produce high-dense electron beams in relativistic vacuum diodes. Electrostatic cumulation phenomenon also exists and reveals at much lower accelerating voltages in relativistic diodes with a ring-type cathode. A distinctive feature of electrostatic cumulation is quite low spread of electron energies in the produced high-dense beam. These circumstances give advantages to electrostatic cumulation phenomenon if the latter is considered as a convenient research instrument for high energy density physics. Electrostatically cumulated electron beam with energy of 400 keV is capable of exciting a shock wave with an amplitude of 0.25 Mbar in a tungsten plate, which can be used to compress a target. Research can be carried out using one high-current beam or several.