Manipulation of annular electron beams in plasmas

The annular electron beam has significant practical potential in high-energy physics and condensed matter physics, which can be used for edge-enhancement electron imaging, collimation of antiprotons in conventional linear accelerators, acceleration of positively particles like positrons, structured x-ray generation, and manipulation of nanomaterials. The quality of an annular electron beam depends on its energy, flux, and topology. In this article, we study the transport characteristics of the annular electron beam in a plasma medium and propose a scheme to modify it. According to our theory and full three-dimensional LAPINS simulations, we have found that the self-generated magnetic field focuses the incident annular electron beam, enabling the adjustment of its annular width (AW). In addition, the annular electron beam, endowed with angular momentum (AM), exhibits contrasting transport characteristics compared to an annular electron beam without AM. The former requires an external magnetic field to ensure stable transportation in the plasma. Under the influence of this magnetic field, the radius of the annular electron beam can oscillate periodically, with the direction of change whether increasing or decreasing dependent on the field's strength. In this case, the radius of the annular electron beam will be affected by the external magnetic field and allows for the simultaneous adjustment of its radius and AW, significantly broadening its application range.