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Title: Shot-noise-induced lower temperature limit of the nonneutral plasma parallel temperature diagnostic

Journal Article · · EPJ Techniques and Instrumentation

Abstract We develop a new algorithm to estimate the temperature of a nonneutral plasma in a Penning-Malmberg trap. The algorithm analyzes data obtained by slowly lowering a voltage that confines one end of the plasma and collecting escaping charges, and is a maximum likelihood estimator based on a physically-motivated model of the escape protocol presented in (Beck in Measurement of the magnetic and temperature dependence of the electron-electron anisotropic temperature relaxation rate. PhD thesis, 1990). Significantly, our algorithm may be used on single-count data, allowing for improved fits with low numbers of escaping electrons. This is important for low-temperature plasmas such as those used in antihydrogen trapping. We perform a Monte Carlo simulation of our algorithm, and assess its robustness to intrinsic shot noise and external noise. The assumptions in this paper allow for a lower bound for measurable plasma temperatures of approximately $$3\,\mathrm{K}$$ 3 K for plasmas of length $$1\,\mathrm{cm}$$ 1 cm , with approximately 100 particle counts needed for an accuracy of $$\pm 10 \%$$ ± 10 % .

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
2482608
Journal Information:
EPJ Techniques and Instrumentation, Journal Name: EPJ Techniques and Instrumentation Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 11; ISSN 2195-7045
Publisher:
Springer Science + Business MediaCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
Germany
Language:
English

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