Nonlinear properties of space-charge waves in a system composed of a relativistic electron beam and a Kerr-like medium

Nonlinear properties of space-charge waves which propagate along a relativistic electron beam drifting near the surface of a semi-infinite Kerr-like medium are investigated. In the analysis of the problem, we take into account only the Kerr nonlinearity of the medium, using the linear fluid model for the electron beam. When both the beam thickness and the gap between the Kerr-like medium and the electron beam are much smaller than the vacuum wavelengths of the space-charge waves, the numerical results show that bistable phenomena appear between the total power carried by space-charge waves and the wave number, and also between the drift velocity of the electron beam and the wave number. (C) 1998 Scripta Technica.